Iron Grip: Warlord (PC) (2008)

20120912:
Today I played a single-player level and from I can recall (as of 20150213), the game was difficult, but unique.

The difficulty, however, must have stemmed from the fact that I was terrible at first-person shooters (I'm still pretty bad at them, but there's been a marked improvement).

In any case, what makes Iron Grip: Warlord unique is its blend of first-person shooter and real-time strategy gameplay (tower defense). After setting defenses and making repairs in RTS mode, switch over to first-person shooter mode and take down a soldier or two with your own bare weapons.

While Iron Grip: Warlord was probably unique in 2008, various tower defense games have since been released which blend a second, action-oriented genre. These games include Sanctum (2011) (+first-person shooter), Orcs Must Die! (2011) (+third-person action), and Dungeon Defenders (2011) (+third-person action RPG). Furthermore, these three particular games have spawned sequels: Sanctum 2 (2013), Orcs Must Die! 2 (2012), and Dungeon Defenders 2 (2014, Early Access).**

Personally I enjoy Orcs Must Die! and Dungeon Defenders more than Iron Grip: Warlord. Not only do they have better visuals, but the gameplay is also more fluid.

Steam Achievements:
10:18am Can't Keep a Good Stronghold Down
10:33am Power from the People
10:41am Decimation

**Dungeon Defenders II (2017)

[20150213]

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Iron Grip: Warlord (PC) (2008)

Relevant Links:
Iron Grip: Warlord (Wikipedia.org)
Iron Grip: Warlord (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Iron Grip: Warlord (Steam Store Page)

Typer Shark! Deluxe (PC) (2003)

Typer Shark! Deluxe

Relevant Links:
Typer Shark! Deluxe (Steam Store Page)

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20120908:
Typer Shark! is a typing game. You're a diver making his/her way down to the ocean floor and along the way sharks and piranhas try to attack you. Type the words on the sharks and the letters on the piranhas to destroy them and safely make your way to the ocean floor. While the graphics look a little dated, the game is a fun way to practice your typing. There's also a lesson mode for learning to type if you don't already know how. However, if you don't already know how, you can consider learning an alternative keyboard layout like Dvorak.

GAME OVER
Score: 2615773
Rank: Excursionist
WPM: 73
Accuracy: 97%
Level: 14
Time 30:28
[Difficulty: Expert]

[20130318]

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20130317:
I recently had a conversation regarding efficient keyboard layouts and I decided I wanted to learn one for the sake of proving it wouldn't take long to relearn. However, I needed a way to track my progress. As such, I loaded Typer Shark! up in order to determine how fast I can type with the QWERTY layout measured in words per minute. I eventually took other tests for a broader measurement.

GAME OVER
Score: 3062303
Rank: Helmsman
WPM: 81
Accuracy: 97%
Level: 17
Time 36:24
[Difficulty: Hard]

[20130319]

The Wonderful End of the World (PC) (2008)

The Wonderful End of the World (PC) (2008)

Big enough to collect the Pac-Man pellets.

Relevant Links:
Katamari Damacy (Wikipedia.org)

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20120908:
In The Wonderful End of the World, the player runs around and collects objects in the environment, where the size of the objects the player can collect increases as the player accumulates more mass. The goal of the game is to collect as much as possible within the allotted time limit.

But now I can collect the walls!

The game mechanics are simple and easy to learn. As such, the game is fun for at least a short period of time. I personally lost interest after playing a couple of levels and had no desire to improve my scores. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the game more if the graphics were better or the game mechanics evolved over the course of the game.

Bigger than the mushroom.

[20130327]

NightSky (PC) (2011)

NightSky (PC) (2011)

Using the action button to speed up.

Relevant Links:
NightSky Review (IGN.com)
Nicklas Nygren (Wikipedia.org)

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20120904:
I logged 13 minutes, beat The Beach, and beat Harara Mountains. Screenshots go from 9:43PM ET* to 9:54PM ET.

Using the action button to reverse gravity.

[20130106]

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20130106:
I didn't bring over my save file from Maryland so I started over. It's a fun little game. It has nice sound effects. The artwork is simple, but the colors and music create a soothing atmosphere. It's a short little game. "I will enjoy it more when my friends leave kekekeke," says my friend of what I should say of the game. However, the truth is I went to sleep after they left, which was hours later, after we watched Moonrise Kingdom (2012). I beat The Beach and Harara Mountains. Screenshots go from 8:52PM PT* to 8:59PM PT.

Using the action button to grip to the car.

[20130106][20190705 Edit]

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20130107:
I beat Skymning. Screenshots go from 4:04PM PT to 4:20PM PT*.

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20130118:
I'm in Maryland and while I think I have the save file from California, I went ahead and played Skymning over anyways. Screenshots go from 8:02PM ET to 8:04PM ET*.

Traveling inside some kind of vehicle.

I reiterate how much I love the simple artwork for this puzzle platformer. While there is color in the background, color in the sphere when using an action, and the occasional color in the foreground, the overall art style and dominantly black foreground reminds me of the art direction of the puzzle platformer Limbo (2011). Of course, complementing the artwork is the music. It's just so soothing!

Steam Game Time: 49 minutes = 0.8 hours (total game time) / 8 minutes = 0.1 hours (session game time)*

Level selection screen.

*There's actually some fun math that went into computing today's session game time. I had the following information: on 20130118, 0.1 hours session game time, 49 minutes total game time, and 0.8 hours total game time; on 20130124, 0.4 hours session game time, 62 minutes total game time, and 1.0 hours total game time. First I took the difference to determine 13 minutes session game time on 20130124. Next I played for an extra minute to confirm how Steam rounds the minutes (total game time of 63 minutes and 1.1 hours). Let X be my true game time on 20130118 in minutes. Then X/60 is rounded to .1 while (X+13)/60 is rounded to .4. The first implies X is between 3 and 8 minutes while the second implies X+13 is between 21 and 26, i.e., X is between 8 and 13. And there we have it, X must be 8.

[20130118][20190705 Edit]

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20130124:
I beat Old Ruins.

Steam Game Time: 63 minutes = 1.1 hours (total game time) / 13 minutes = 0.2 hrs (session game time)

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20250426:
Gameplay Log:
Started Alternative but was stuck in Harara Mountains level
Started Normal where there's instructions and learned that the "S" key will provide a speedup
I decided to continue on Normal. Keys:
- "S" special
- "Enter" activate green element
- "Space" restart
- "A" brake; can press left/right while holding "A" to move with precision
Complete Harara Mountains (Normal)
Complete Skymning (Normal)
Complete Old Ruins (Normal)

Steam Game Time: hours (cumulative game time) / hours (session game time)

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Snuggle Truck (PC) (2012)

Snuggle Truck (PC) (2012)

Relevant Links:
Snuggle Truck Website
Smuggle Truck Website
Snuggle Truck (PC) (Metacritic.com)
Snuggle Truck (Steam Store Page)

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There are several Jack Lumber's in the background. Both Snuggle Truck and Jack Lumber were developed by Owlchemy Labs.

Overview:
Snuggle Truck* is a casual, physics-based driving game. Carry stuff animals in the back of your truck bed and try to get as many of them safely across the finish line. While the minimum to succeed is one, you'll need to be fast and/or efficient to obtain all the medals.

*The original version was called Smuggle Truck. Smuggle Truck is available for purchase on Android or a DRM copy can be purchased for PC/Mac.

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20120903:
Steam Achievements:
10:17am 10 Fuzzy Catcher
10:17am Truck Flip
10:17am Horrible Driver
10:30am High Flier

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20140213:
Having played Joe Danger 2: The Movie yesterday, I wanted to replay Snuggle Truck in order to compare the two. As such, today I started up the game on Steam (no save file) and played the levels sequentially from the Tutorial to Northern Lights (the fifth hard level), skipping some medals along the way.

While the game is fun as a whole, some levels can be frustrating to play and I couldn't bear to play all the levels in one sitting. As mentioned above, I only played from the Tutorial to Northern Lights (23 levels: 1 tutorial, 6 easy, 11 medium, 5 hard).

Of course, the short length of the individual levels (under a minute each) makes the game perfect for short breaks or small moments of boredom.

Recommendation:
If you're looking for a new, fun, and casual game to play on your phone, then download Snuggle Truck and enjoy!

Levels with Missing Medals: (O=Obtained, X=Missing)
OOXXX Owl Country
OOOOX Claustrophobia
OOXXX Dire Depths
OOXXX Moose Crossing

OXXXX Pyne-O-Mite
OXXXX Dead Mines
OOOXO Flock of Moosen
OOOXO Down North
OOXOX Crawl Space

Steam Achievements:
6:12am 50 Medals
7:10am 50 Fuzzy Catcher

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20150509:
Today I booted up the game on my desktop and none of the levels were completed. I then tried looking for a save file, but didn't find any there either (apparently the game is not supported by GameSave Manager). In the future I'll have to back it up myself. According to a Steam forum thread post, the information is kept in a Windows registry key:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Owlchemy Labs\Snuggle Truck.*

*Save information for Jack Lumber is also located in Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Owlchemy Labs\.

EDGE (PC) (2011)

EDGE (PC) (2011)*
*EDGE (iOS) (2008)

Building EDGE time.

Relevant Links:
Edge (video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Edge (PC) (Metacritic.com)

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Overview: EDGE is a platformer that is occasionally fast-paced and contains some puzzle elements. As a cube, the player traverses a level as quickly as possible towards the exit.

Using the mini-map in the upper left to navigate.

Along the way, the player's secondary goal is to collect prisms that are spread throughout the level.

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Recommendation:
EDGE has many levels and has a grading system which encourages replaying levels to perfection - a combination of fast completion time, 100% collection of prisms spread throughout the level, no deaths, and high EDGE time.

Grading system.

While such a time-based game mechanic and grading system is generally sufficient to getting me hooked on a game, at least for a couple of hours, I am personally uninterested in EDGE. With that being said, results may vary, and if you generally enjoy playing platformers that require speed and precision, e.g., Super Meat Boy (2010) or Electronic Super Joy (2013), then there's a chance you may like EDGE.

Pulling off a difficult move in order to decrease the level completion time.

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20120902:
If I'm correct, today was my first time playing EDGE, but I didn't play for very long.

[20150215]

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20141211:
Today I started up EDGE and was surprised to learn that I had played a little of it before (the first three normal levels). In any case, I proceeded to play up to and including the ninth normal level.

[20150215]

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20150215:
Revisiting EDGE today, I played for another fifteen minutes, completed five levels (10-14), and only played each level once.

However, it has become clear that I don't have a strong attraction to this game.