Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
: The PC version was released in 2005
: The Steam version was made available in 2008
Typical view of Carl "C.J." Johnson
Relevant Links: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Wikipedia.org) 20121229:
The Grand Theft Auto series have a high metascore: 93 GTA III, 94 GTA: Vice City, 93 GTA: San Andreas, 90 GTA IV
Cut scene.
I recently acquired some of the games in a Black Friday bundle on Amazon.com, saving 80% instead of the typical Steam sale of 75%: GTA: San Andreas, GTA IV, GTA: Episodes from Liberty City, LA Noire
In any case, the only Grand Theft Auto I've played is the original: Grand Theft Auto (1997) and the only exposure I ever had of the modern 3D incarnation is from commercials. As such, all I could picture was the original, mission-driven Grand Theft Auto in 3D and with more violence. However, upon running Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I was surprised by the story and some of the gameplay mechanics being introduced.
Riding your first vehicle: a bicycle.
With that being said, I am not entirely fond of the bike controls. Related to this complaint deals with controlling the camera. Maybe there's something I'm missing. Of course, a positive trade off is the player can lean forward or back on the bike using the mouse, and in particular, one can do a wheelie. Holding the control button puts the character in position for a bunny hop and releasing the control button will execute the bunny hop.
Customize the look of your hair at the barbershop.
So the game definitely provides the player with little details such as adding a bunny hop to riding a bike. Other details include being able to change the radio station or changing your hair style. Of course, a change in hair style will cost money, and the combinations and possibilities are preset, but it's still nice to have some options. There also seems to be a car paint shop and tattoo shop, but I haven't visited them yet. Actually, the only reason I went to the barbers was because the game instructed me to.
A man's gotta eat.
So those were some cool features to include with the game. The next feature, on the other hand, is something I would expect to find in The Sims, but not in a Grand Theft Auto game: eating. I have to feed my character? Sure it adds to the realism, but I feel like it would also get in the way of just trying to finish the game. I guess I'll have to play more to see.
The game basically tells you that purple is bad and green is good.
Then the last game element I'll mention here is tagging. Spread throughout the city are purple tags and you should use your can of spray paint to cover the purple tag with your gang color, green.
Overall, I can see why this is a great game. One thing which is new to me, is the violence involved paired with the realistic setting. This contrasts with the violence in Street Fighter or Metal Gear Solid. In other words, the plot of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is plausible. In this sense, I'm on the edge of whether or not I'd want to play more of it. This contrasts with the feeling I had when I started playing Portal (2007) or Portal 2 (2011). I just couldn't stop until I needed sleep or finished them. In terms of open world games, I've played Red Faction: Guerrilla (2009) and would prefer to play that.
20121225: (First Impressions)
This game has amazing graphics and the environment is breathtaking. Right from the start, the game felt familiar to the first game, Portal (2007), but with a greater sense of danger. In contrast, the first game started out on a much lighter note only to end on a dark one. As for the humor, there's the same frequency of humor in the sequel as the first, but in between moments of humor, the environment of the sequel evokes a darker atmosphere.
Check out what's drawn on the panels.
I can't wait to continue with the game.
Progress: (via timestamps of screenshots)
20121225 10:45 PM PT to 11:08 PM PT End @ Chapter 1 Room 5
[20150204 Edit][20181208 Edit] 20121226:
I continued playing today and realized that I forgot to make in-depth comments on the voices. At the start of the game, the player is greeted by a robot with an English accent. I would liken the experience as if one is speaking to Ricky Gervais. Doing some research, I learned that the robot's name is Wheatley and is voiced by Stephen Merchant, a writer, director, comedian and actor who has collaborated with Ricky Gervais on various works including the British sitcom The Office.
Startling Wheatley.
Gameplay Log:
: Honestly, at least half the reason I enjoy playing the game is to listen to Wheatley's commentary.
: As an observation, this game seems to have longer loading time between levels than Portal has. As another observation, when the player enters an elevator, the next level loads with the player automatically facing towards the exit.
: Hahaha. This one cracked me up. "Well done. Here come the test results: You are a horrible person. That's what it says: A horrible person. We weren't even testing for that." - GLaDOS
: I like this new testing element: hard light bridges.
Hard light bridge.
: This one has a long set-up. "That jumpsuit you're wearing looks stupid. That's not me talking, it's right here in your file. On other people it looks fine, but right here a scientist has noted that on you it looks "stupid". Well, what does a neck-bearded old engineer know about fashion? He probably – Oh, wait. It's a she. Still, what does she know? Oh wait, it says she has a medical degree. In fashion! From France!" - GLaDOS
: I'm stuck at the entrance of the facility.
Progress: (via timestamps of screenshots)
20121226 8:31 AM PT to 8:50 AM PT End @ Chapter 1 Room 7
20121226 10:49 AM PT to 1:00 PM PT End @ Chapter 4 Room 20
20121226 2:14 PM PT to 3:27 PM PT End @ Chapter 6
[20121226][20181208 Edit] 20121227 AM Hours:
Yesterday I thought the game was close to finishing, but it turns out there is much more.
Orange gel.
Gameplay Log:
: More story unfolds and I've encountered two new testing elements: orange and blue gel.
: I unlocked an achievement for looking at a painting of Cave Johnson and Caroline. GLaDOS says for some reason she knows the woman. At that point I sort of catch on to what she was getting at. 20121227 Noon:
Gameplay Log:
: I get to a part in the game where GLaDOS repeats the name Caroline and tells the player character she has to go think a while. That's when I thought the situation seemed clear, but story can easily take an extra unsuspected twist. I'm excited.
: Aww. Not the saddest moment. But certainly sad. "Goodbye, Sir."
: I was really puzzled by one of the test chambers. (Chapter 7 Room 16)
The level that I had the most trouble with.
: In a different chamber, I wasn't stuck, but kept bouncing when I didn't want to. Then I remembered that you can press the control button to ignore the bouncing. Thank goodness.
: Observation: I like how the game adjusts for small errors - almost like a generalized auto-aim. It makes the game enjoyable as opposed to annoying.
: The ending is great, because there's still moments of tension regarding the player's fate.
Progress: (via timestamps of screenshots)
20121227 1:17 AM PT to 3:04 AM PT End @ Chapter 7 1972
20121227 12:07 PM PT to 2:25 PM PT End @ Chapter 8 Room 15
20121227 6:07 PM PT to 7:12 PM PT End.
Companion cube.
[20121227][20150204 Edit][20181208 Edit] 20130113 Comment:
The main story for Portal 2 took me longer to finish than the main story for Portal; I spent about 9 to 10 hours playing Portal 2 (on my first playthrough) and I spent about 4 to 5 hours playing Portal (on my first playthrough). 20140703:
Today my friend Josh and I played part of the game's co-op mode. More specifically, living in two separate states, we played the online co-op mode.
Co-op Mode: As Atlas, I placed a blue portal on the wall.
Co-op Overview: In this mode you and a friend play as Atlas (me) and P-body (Josh). While puzzle solving is similar to the single-player mode, it differs in that each player is only able to fire a single portal color: Atlas firing blue and P-body firing orange.* As such, you and your friend must work together in order to solve the mode's puzzles.
One useful feature the game provides is the ability to see what the other player sees (default: Tab). Another useful feature, or in fact a necessary feature, is a countdown timer.** Use it to get pass events that require precise, coordinated (possibly simultaneous) actions.
We stopped playing somewhere in the middle of Course 2: Mass and Velocity.
Co-op Mode.
*20200808: Later on each player character has it's own set of portals, but must still work together to solve most puzzles.
**20200808: Theoretically less useful in 2020 where voice communication is common place. One remark I would make is that the countdown is consistent in timing, which would make it superior to a human countdown.
[20150204] 20200808:
Today, my friends and I stopped trying to play Fall Guys because the servers were too full and not functioning properly. As such, "Cow" and I decided to play Portal 2.
Gameplay Log:
Using "Cow"s save file, we played a single chamber in each course.*
We played the first challenge level for number of portals.
: We used three and thought for a while about trying to use less.
: The main thing we tried was trying to stand on each other but the game seemed to prevent jumping after doing so.
We played then played for time.
Co-op Mode (20200808)
Moved onto the second challenge level
: Due to the flow of our initial solution we leaned towards going for time.
: We started with the "standard" solution (e.g., extending the platform near the exit)
: Small update: Don't need to extend the platform. Instead, prep a portal at the beam and when near the exit, fire a second portal to extend the beam which will catch the player characters.
: Big update: Cow managed to reach the other side directly. We proceeded to try and reproduce it. Cow eventually had it down with about a 50% success rate, though the success often came in streaks. My success rate was much lower, maybe 5% (I would estimate having succeeded about three times while trying between fifty and a hundred times).
Steam Game Time: 3.6 hours (session game time) / 17.3 hours (total game time)
*We didn't realize this until later. Summary:
Overall, this game is amazing. First, it has a fantastic story. Second, the gameplay is continually fresh. Third, the game has large, beautiful levels with attention to detail. Fourth, it has entertaining, often humorous, dialogue. And last, but not least, the game has a solid soundtrack and sound.
20121224:
Today, I loaded up the game and played for about half an hour, not counting about eight minutes of cut scenes. Overall, I'm enjoying the game and it's a lot easier to play now than when I played it when I was in high school. While I'll get surprised on occasion, I don't carry the fear of defeating the enemies now the way I did when I played the game years ago. At least, I recall being quite afraid.
Headcrab + scientist = Headcrab zombie.
Note, however, my screenshots from when I first played the game a decade ago indicate I made a good amount of progress. More than I thought I would have made given how scared I remember myself being of the enemies. Thus, perhaps I wasn't afraid as I think I was, I just played the game slowly and cautiously, or I was afraid but forced myself to play because its such a good game.
ANOMALOUS MATERIALS
UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES...
Screenshot from circa 2000 (left). Screenshot from 20121224 (right).
20121225:
Continuing to play today, I would have to say I have the most trouble with climbing up and down ladders. I seem to take a lot of my damage due to falling from a height.
Haha. Monsters are killing everybody and this guy says, "Well, there goes our grant money."
My first and last playthrough screenshots show me getting as far as turning on the power generator.
At one point I got two guards to help. They don't always follow properly.
Having turned on the fan and generator, I found myself stuck. After backtracking once or twice between the two, I decided to look at a FAQ. SPOILER. Turns out the solution is that after the generator has been started, the fan now runs fast enough to levitate Gordon to the ceiling. END SPOILER.
...UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES
OFFICE COMPLEX
WE'VE GOT HOSTILES
BLAST PIT...
HECU Marine eliminates a scientist.
I'd like to mention various tidbits to round off today's entry. First, while auto-aim makes the experience less realistic, I find it also makes the game more enjoyable. It's on by default, and while I'm pretty sure I could turn it off in the console, I'll leave it on during this playthrough. Second, it helps to save often and in fact create new save entries, as there were many times I would end up stuck in an area or stuck due to a glitch with respect to character movement. Third, the pistol is quite accurate, though this might have to do with the auto-aim feature. I like it best, and I like the shotgun second best. I largely overlooked the grenades until I started taking down the HECU ground sentries with them. Fourth, and final tidbit, the game has a great story and atmosphere. I would definitely recommend this game to any (standard) gamer.
20150108:
Having played a little of Half-Life 2 yesterday and working my way down the top rated PC games on MetaCritic.com, I was thinking to play a bit more of Half-Life today. Of course, I first had to search for any existing save files I might have backed up. Finally I found some and they seem to be where I left off (BLAST PIT). However, upon loading the furthest poitn of progress, I couldn't make heads or tails of where I was! As it turns out, I had basically got to the end of BLAST PIT!
"Follow it until you come to the big pipe, then climb on top of it and turn the valve. It will extend the pipe allowing you to jump across to the pipe opposite it. Crawl into the gap in the mesh and follow the pipe. Soon it will break under your weight and you will end up in a room full of crates. Break open the crates to find some laser trip mines. Head out into the hallway."
Remark: Another problem I had was not holding the use (E) button long enough on the valve. You have to hold it in order to fully extend the pipe.
Then in the ON A RAIL chapter, I got stuck at the Blast Doors. Apparently, however, you only have to walk up to them for them to open. My goodness.
So dumb! Haha. At one point during ON A RAIL, there's two guards behind boxes. But you can't bomb them ahead of time, because I guess they don't spawn until you trigger the event.
Finally at 1:20AM PT I finish ON A RAIL and reach APPREHENSION. And so, I'm apparently less than halfway done. ;_;
...(very end of) BLAST PIT
ON A RAIL
APPREHENSION (very start of)...
Remark: Examining my save files, I noticed that they get bigger and bigger as the game progresses! Why would a save file have to get bigger!?! Starting with 000 (1,178 KB) to 006 (1,765 KB), drops back down 007 (197 KB) and then begins to increase again all the way until the recent save 038 (3,330 KB). Between 007 and 038, there is one except: 018 (68 KB).
20121224:
I checked this game out today for nine minutes. It was interesting.
20130129:
The single-player mode, Tour of Duty, was a fun way for unexperienced FPS players like myself to become accustomed to Counter-Strike. The mode consists of maps with objectives to meet and there's no performance pressure, because the enemy AI bots are dumb (at least at my chosen level of difficulty). The player is also allotted several ally AI bots. 20170521 Snapshot: Steam Game Time: 102 minutes (total game time) Thoughts: Pros:
+ Two single-player modes: "Tour of Duty" and "Deleted Scenes"
+ AI system
Mission
Minor Con:
- Not backwards compatible with Counter-Strike (1999) Summary:
I haven't put a lot of time into the game, but a quick search will show that Counter-Strike 1.6 is easily more popular, with players choosing between Counter-Strike 1.6, Counter-Strike: Source, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive depending on various personal preferences such as graphics and movement. Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (PC) (2004)
Castle Crashers (PC) (2012)
Released on Xbox Live Arcade 2008.
Relevant Links: Castle Crashers (Wikipedia.org) This game was released for the Xbox 360 back in 2008, but not owning an Xbox, I didn't know about the game until its recent release on Steam. 20121221:
In the morning I played as the Blue Knight with a friend who played as the Red Knight. When she left, I played with another friend as the Red Knight and at first he played as the Orange Knight, but then later he switched to the Gray Knight.
Tip: If you're using the keyboard, look up the key mappings, because the game only gives controls using Xbox controller keys.
Note: The character sprints after pressing left or right. You will see a dust trail.
While playing with my second friend, the bandwidth at my home was being used elsewhere in the house and the game deals with lag by having all the players wait until the player with the lag to catch up. Eventually this made the game unplayable and we had to end the multiplayer session.
Note: Swords you have picked up are sent to the blacksmith. Pets you have picked up are sent to someone too.
Note: The game starts you off in a castle where all the tutorials are. You can access this area any time by going to Home Castle from the map screen. Once in the level, walk left.
Note: The game saves when you return to the map screen. In fact, I played a round with my second friend where our multiplayer game was disbanded before I made my skill point assignments. When I recreated a multiplayer game, I was able to assign my skill points.
Later in the afternoon I continued playing with the Red Knight and my friend he changed to leveling the Blue Knight. However, we got to the guy that plays the cannon organ couldn't beat him. It's possible my friend's lower level character was an obstacle.
[20130124] As of 20130124:
1) Last played 20130113.
2) 0.9 hrs last two weeks / 15.6 hrs on record 20140103:
Today I booted up the game and the video was behaving sluggishly but I didn't know why. Eventually, I discovered the cause was due to an old x360ce configuration file. After removing the x360ce setup, the game was able to boot and run smoothly.
20121209:
I've less than an hour of this game, and thus far I'd say the gameplay is solid. On the other hand, I found the game's cartoonish graphics to be unappealing. These graphics might work for a different type of game or if I was in the right mood, but it's an action RPG and I'm not in the mood to play an action RPG with cartoonish graphics.
Fishing.
Another deterrent to playing more was the time investment I might have to put into the game. Where leveling is involved, one might be faced with grinding and I'm a little sick of grinding for the time being.
In response to my time investment worries, I did a Google search, and several sources put the game time for the main story at around 15 hours. At that point, I had realized how much time watching a speed run would save (a speed run would probably be 4 hours long). On the other hand, I already own the game, and watching the speed run would deprive me of the game's entertainment value.
Attacking.
With that being said, I would probably prefer to put hours of my time into one of games in The Elder Scrolls series (e.g., The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim) over playing more of Torchlight. From what I've seen, The Elder Scrolls series is more realistic looking than the Torchlight series. Furthermore, from what I've heard, The Elder Scrolls series offers much more customization than the Torchlight series.
Overview: An open world game where players can destroy pretty much everything. Join the Red Faction movement and fight against the Earth Defense Force on Mars. It is the third game in the Red Faction series.
-- A remastered version of the game was released in 2018: Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-stered --
Alec Mason
20121120 AM Hours ET:
Screenshots suggest I played this game for at least one and a half hours, while Steam has it rounded to two hours even.
Steam Game Time: 2 hours
[20181031]
I'm a great driver.
Thoughts: Pros:
+ Drive vehicles around
+ Destroy buildings
Neutral:
~ Graphics aren't great, but decent.
[20181031] Summary: As of 20181031, I vaguely remember enjoying this game, but I don't have enough to go on. I'll eventually give the remastered version a spin and simply review that instead. Though there's a small chance I'd still play the old version for comparison purposes. Red Faction: Guerrilla (PC) (2009)
Sequence (PC) (2011)*
*Now known as Before the Echo (PC) (2011)
: Jax Ltd. (manufacturer and distributor of the board game Sequence) filed a claim against Iridium Studios (developer of this video game) over the name Sequence. To avoid any complications and fees, Iridium Studios renamed Sequence to Before the Echo.
Menu Screen
Relevant Links: Sequence (PC) (MetaCritic.com) Before the Echo (Steam Store Page) 20121029:
This game was pretty fun. It employs several interesting gameplay mechanics. One such mechanic is using experience (XP) points to pay for crafting recipes (synthesis). One can increase the amount of XP points to improve the probability that such a recipe will succeed.
Note: If the attempt to synthesize a recipe fails, the ingredients do not get used, only the XP points are consumed.
Of course the main mechanic of interest is switching between three possible music fields: spell, defense, and mana. When battling, attack arrows will occasionally fill the defense field and every arrow that is missed damages the player. Colored arrows damage the player more than regular arrows. In order to attack the enemy, heal, or defend, the player casts a spell and must successfully execute the sequence under the spell field. Casting a spell consumes mana and mana must be recovered under the mana field.
Difficulty options.
Tip: There exists an optimal amount of experience points to use to craft a recipe. Let's say the cost X gives a probability of Y. At probability Y, one can compute the expected number of tries it would take for there to be a success. Math below. Multiply that amount by X to get the average cost. As you increase X, you increase Y. At first this lowers the average cost, but eventually the average cost begins increasing again.
Optimal Use of XP Chart:
Difficulty 01: 010XP for 79.5% is an expected 012.578XP
Difficulty 03: 039XP for 67.3% is an expected 057.949XP
Difficulty 04: 056XP for 63.7% is an expected 087.912XP
Difficulty 0X: 074XP for 60.5% is an expected 122.314XP
Difficulty 0X: 117XP for 57.4% is an expected 203.832XP
Difficulty 08: 145XP for 57.8% is an expected 250.865XP
Difficulty 09: 168XP for 55.7% is an expected 301.615XP
Difficulty 13: 287XP for 52.7% is an expected 544.592XP
Difficulty 15: 347XP for 50.4% is an expected 688.492XP
Difficulty 17: 425XP for 50.1% is an expected 848.303XP
Battle. Red = Defense, Blue = Mana, Green = Spell
Caution: There was a situation where I loaded an enormous amount of experience for something, in order to record X and Y above, and then accidentally went ahead with the crafting. This situation is equivalent to playing a game for several hours and then losing the save file. It's equivalent because some of the time spent used to earn the experience has been lost. This was upsetting. I hope you can avoid the same error I made.
I should also note that I liked the voice acting.
Steam Achievements:
20121029 2:09pm Defeat your first enemy
20121029 2:34pm Obtain all three droppable items from any single enemy.
20121029 2:36pm Defeat the Holiday Whompa.
20121029 2:42pm Complete a battle without failing a spell.
Math:
Let $X=1$ be a success and $X=0$ be a failure, with the probability of success being $p$. Now we want to compute the expected number of trials until $X=1$. If there were $k$ trials until success, that means we had to have had $k-1$ failures and one success. Thus the probability of requiring $k$ trials is $p \cdot (1-p)^k$. Thus the expected number of trials until $X=1$ is $$\sum_{k=1}^\infty k \cdot p \cdot (1-p)^{k-1}.$$ This can be rearranged as $$-p \cdot \frac{d}{dp} \sum_{k=1}^\infty (1-p)^k$$ which in turn equals $$-p \cdot \frac{d}{dp} \left( \frac {1-p}{1-(1-p)} \right)=\frac{1}{p}$$
You synth (create) items using XP and can desynth (sell) items for XP.
[20130104] 20130104:
Upon booting up the game again in two months, I went back to replay all the enemies from Floor 1, Floor 2, and Floor 3. Then I did some grinding on Floor 3 until I had the ingredients to synthesize Inhibitor the Third, and more ingredients to synthesize Key the Third. On floors after the first, there is a corresponding floor guardian who uses his/her power to try to screw you over. Synthesizing the Inhibitor for the corresponding floor prevents the power from being used on the floor, with the exception of when you battle the guardian in person. To advance from one floor to the next, you have to synthesize the corresponding Key.
In any case, I was also reminded of how great the music is. I believe in the long run, the actual number of soundtracks used for gameplay gets repetitive, but the spells and difficulty of the monster changes. As such, repetition is actually good, since then you get used to parts of it enough to get a flow, but other parts of the game change.
As a side note, I had skimmed one review and the reviewer oversimplified the game as being a rhythm game with RPG elements slapped on, making the game needlessly complex and requires excessive grinding. In defense of the game, I would first say that grinding often goes hand-in-hand with RPGs. I would also point out that the rhythm game is being used as the battle mechanism. That is, one could have theoretically stripped this game of the rhythm game, replace it with a standard RPG battle mechanism, keep the story, and turn it into a standard RPG. The combination of the rhythm mechanic is what makes the game exciting and novel.
After you successfully synth a scroll, you have to complete a goal to unlock it.
Of course, the fact of the matter is that Sequence has a lower metascore than Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (2007), an RPG with Bejeweled as the battle mechanic. Thus I did some more reading and it seems other complaints consisted of a lack of songs and childish dialogue. I already mentioned how I saw the limited number of songs in a positive light, but it's a fair point to put forth. However, on the point of the dialogue being childish, I would disagree. I believe the dialogue matches the subtle humor found throughout the game. After all, there's a weapon named Doublerain Bow and the description of a Goblet is "A little goblin. His name is Billy."
Overall, the game seems to have several qualities worth loving or hating, and the combination of where you stand on each quality will determine if you like the game or not. I like the game, and would be willing to grind if I had the time, but alas, I have to move on to other games for the moment.
Overview and Recommendation: The Adventures of Shuggy is a puzzle platformer that places some emphasis on finishing each and every level quickly. While the game's single-player mode is fun, its multiplayer mode is even better. If you like challenges, try getting to the top of the leaderboards (or grab a friend and try getting to the top of the co-op leaderboards)!
Game Loading Screen.
[20181211 Edit] 20121028: Steam Game Time: 22 minutes 20121230:
Today I played through the co-op game with Michael while waiting for Josh to return. Michael had Num3 changed to Num0. He also used one hand to play. Although the randomly moving mosquitoes were annoying,* the co-op mode was fun.
Co-op.
I asked Michael what he thought of the game, and he told me that the two-player game had some decent tension and that it was a decent platformer. He felt like the game could have been made in 1991, but that it's still pretty good.
*20220531: I read that on the PC version their path is actually predetermined. However, it would take a good reason to memorize their path (e.g., cherry on top optimizations on a top run)
[20181211 Edit] 20130113:
Today I played through the co-op game with Josh. Josh had Num3 changed to Enter. I recall he used two hands to play.
We made a good team and we were able to make it to the top of the leaderboards on several levels.
[20181211 Edit] As of 20130119, I've achieved the following times (with Michael / Josh):
DUNGEON
Rnk - TIME. - TIME1 - Level Name
044 - 31.06 - 19.03 - Given The Run Around
004 - 13.65 - 11.85 - The Shuggy Wheel
084 - 24.35 - 09.03 - Platform Operator
016 - 05.35 - 01.88 - You Raise Me Up
022 - 41.93 - 17.75 - Up and Down
213 - 41.30 - 14.01 - A Mozzy Each
091 - 35.51 - 16.88 - The Divide
409 1:22.68 - 17.90 - Switch Central
GRAVEYARD
Rnk - TIME. - TIME1 - Level Name
XXX - XX.XX - 12.81 - Telesplit
001 - 13.91 - 13.95+- The Chain
001 - 09.90 - 10.55+- The Two Step
001 - 19.10 - 26.73+- And Then Back
119 - 25.66 - 12.68 - Split Feather
180 2:37.58 - 20.05*- Holes
001 - 13.76 - 13.95+- Guide Me
*The second best time is 50:95.
+This is the second best time.
Josh and I first got 24:91. But we felt we could break 24 seconds. First we got it to 24:73. Then we got it to 21:81! So then we wanted to break 21 seconds. And that's when we achieved 19:10!
Tip: When going for a best time, make sure you're aware of whether there is or isn't a power available on that level.
Steam Game Time: 4 hours (total game time)*
*20171026: I'm not sure if this is exactly 4.0 hours or approximately 4 hours
[20130119] 20130119:
Today I played the co-op level named Holes by myself and managed to get a time of 59.71, moving up in ranks.
Let Player H be the Horizontal Player.
Let Player V be the Vertical Player.
1. Player H runs to the top platform.
1. Player V runs to the block left switch, then to the block down switch.
2. Player H jumps up onto the block and gets the gems to the top-left and returns to the block.
2. Player V runs to the block right switch, but should get off after it passes the next platform located above the block up switch.
3. Player H gets the gems above the spikes and the gems to the top right. Then moves to the block down switch, then to the block left switch, then to the block right switch.
4. Player V gets the remaining gems.
Holes.
I numerically labeled the steps which I believe can be executed simultaneously when playing with two players. It's possible that Player V can take Player H's task of activating block down switch during Step 3. If not completely, then at least partially.
Consumed with the idea of playing two characters by myself, I played the level again and got 55:25, putting me at 3rd on the leaderboards. I played again and got 51:31.
The Switch Central time can be improved by first noting the order of the switches. Then determining a decently efficient route.
Steam Game Time: 5.1 hours (total game time) / 4.4 hours (last two weeks)
[20130119][20171026 Edit][20181211 Edit]
Ada played as Daisy and I played as Elvis (20171025)
20171025 Snapshot: Steam Game Time: 6.0 hours (total game time) 20171025:
Today I played the game with Ada. We played through the Gallery. It was strange because we encountered some levels which I had certainly played before, but I can't remember who I played them with.* In any case, it was fun to watch Ada fumble or master the controls. I would say that until today I didn't realize the amount of precise motor control that goes into playing platform video games.
There were a couple of other minute details I observed. Here are the ones I can remember:
1) Her: fear to collide with mines and consequently unnecessary reaction such as jumping to her death or running into said mine; Me: stand still because I know I'm not going to hit a mine or last-minute jump to safety if I miscalculated
After failing the first time, Ada wanted me to take over and complete the swing for her during the subsequent attempt, but I insisted she do it. She succeeded!
2) Her: jumping onto a platform, but then running past it; Me: jump onto a platform and land where I want to be
3) Her: timing of a delayed jump (a special game mechanic used in one of the levels); Me: quick refinement and repetition of action through visual cues to consistently execute, but in general, more intuition on the timing
4) Her: waits for enemies, generally due to fear of collision, but sometimes due to limitation of imprecise movement; Me: I can make it (sometimes I don't)
5) Her: sideways orientation was not intuitive, and her first encounter with it, she persisted in using left and right instead of up and down; Me: it's possible I also first tried left and right, but immediately switched to up and down and from there movement was nearly as precise as the normal orientation
Steam Game Time: 8.8 hours (total game time) / 2.8 hours (session game time)
After Ada was too tired to continue, I decided to go through and do a quick recording session that involved me going to each level and checking the time for it, for both co-op and single-player. I then played a level until I achieved a satisfying record. Unfortunately, when I finished playing, I had realized that the recording program (OBS) never started recording.
I did well on this level (20171025)
*20220530: It's possible the familiarity comes from single-player mode.
Steam Game Time: 9.9 hours (total game time) / 1.1 hours (session game time)
[20171025][20220530 Edit]
20171027:
Today I played solo for about 2 hours 20 minutes (10:37PM to 10/28 12:55AM*). Actually, I spent time going through the leaderboards (something I tried to do on 20171025), with the first 48 minutes for the co-op levels (and occasionally making comments or playing) followed by the single-layer levels (and occasionally playing). Later Ada came home and we played for about 1 hour (10/28 12:55AM to 10/28 1:59AM*). We played through the Graveyard. I then continued playing solo for about 1 hour 45 minutes (10/28 1:59AM to 10/28 3:47AM*).
*20220530: According to timestamps of my OBS recordings.
Steam Game Time: 15.0 hours (total game time) / 5.1 hours (session game time)
[20220530 Edit]
20171108:
Today Ada and I played through the Clocktower (and finished with one level from the Boiler Room).
Steam Game Time: 16.5 hours (total game time) / 1.5 hours (session game time) 20171113:
Today Ada and I played through the Gallery room and improved our times.
Steam Game Time: 18.7 hours (total game time) / 2.2 hours (session game time) As of 20171028/20171108/20171113 My friends and I have achieved the following times:
bold is better, italic is worse
DUNGEON
[DATEPLAYD] - Rank - TIME.. - TIME1. - Level Name
[<20171027] - 0102 - 030.73 - 018.88 - Given The Run Around
[<20130119] - 0008 - 013.65 - 011.85 - The Shuggy Wheel
[<20130119] - 0478 - 024.35 - 009.03 - Platform Operator
[<20130119] - 0049 - 005.35 - 001.88 - You Raise Me Up
[<20171027] - 0006 - 023.37 - 017.75 - Up and Down
[<20171027] - 0065 - 026.83 - 014.01 - A Mozzy Each
[<20171027] - 0064 - 028.31 - 016.86 - The Divide
[<20171027] - 0009 - 027.73 - 017.90 - Switch Central
Note that if the "DATEPLAYD" field is less than or equal to 20171027, then the "Rank" and "TIME1" fields were populated on 20171027. Otherwise, the "Rank" and "TIME1" fields were populated on the same date as the "DATEPLAYD" field.
20171122:
Today I focused on quantity over quality; I played as many levels in the Boiler Room as I could and only replayed those which I absolutely felt like I could easily improve. However, playing with the keyboard put a lot of strain on my left wrist. One reason was playing with bent wrists. Another reason was the left hand was handling both the directions and the jump (space). Though I suppose I could have used my right hand. Regardless, I should have used a controller.
Remark: I had not played any levels in the Boiler Room (Single Player) before today.
Steam Game Time: 19.9 hours (total game time) / 1.2 hours (session game time)
[20220522 Edit]
20220522:
Today I completed all the Boiler Room levels. Many of these levels make use of a repeating time mechanic where the current active player character's actions are recorded for a set amount of time (I believe 20 seconds). At the end of the time, a shadow will repeat those actions (and all the shadows before it will repeat as well). The active player character must not run into any of it's shadows (so the player must plan accordingly). One strategy I did not explore was using an active character to keep a door open without having to hold the corresponding button down.
As a side note, today I played with a keyboard (my old ROG laptop) and did not feel any strain on my wrists.
Steam Game Time: 22.6 hours (total game time) / 2.7 hours (session game time) 20220523:
Today I was able to play a few levels from the next unlocked area, the Gallery.
Steam Game Time: 22.7 hours (total game time) / 0.1 hours (session game time) 20220525: Steam Game Time: 23.1 hours (total game time) / 0.4 hours (session game time) 20220526:
Today "Hurdles" in the Gallery was a fun challenge. One tech I had discovered was to reset the level and hold down the action button. This allows an immediate jump over the first hurdle.
As for the "cave" area, I suspected there was tech to avoid going into it. I theorized that one could do an early jump that allows for a bounce off the cliff, then that would save the travel into the cave. Continuing to try this level, I eventually managed to do this early jump. At first I thought I wouldn't be able to repeat it, but eventually I was able to do it more frequently until eventually it was part of an 18.25 second run (rank 11). The trick is to make a small jump onto the platform that precedes the cave area in order to land onto the earlier part of that platform. Then make a small jump onto the floor. This allows an earlier charge to bounce off the cliff. Otherwise, the more common behavior is to make a big jump which places the player about mid-platform with no time to charge. The player character then naturally walks and falls to a spot that is beyond the starting spot required to bounce off.
And last but not least, the final platform can easily be reached by starting a jump charge as soon as one lands.
There is likely additional tech, but that's all I figured out.
Steam Game Time: 24.2 hours (total game time) / 1.1 hours (session game time)
20220529: Steam Game Time: 24.9 hours (total game time) / 0.7 hours (session game time)
20220530: Gameplay Log:
Finished all the Gallery levels
Started playing through Graveyard levels
Steam Game Time: 27.8 hours (total game time) / 2.9 hours (session game time)
20220531: Gameplay Log:
Finished all the Graveyard levels
Steam Game Time: 29.2 hours (total game time) / 1.4 hours (session game time)
20240103 Snapshot: Steam Game Time: 29.3 hours (cumulative game time) Last Played: 20220604
20240103:
I recently learned about a video game library manager called Playnite which I have found to be such an invaluable tool. After it imported my games, I have gone through and changed the Completion Status for games with time played greater than 0 to "Beaten" or "Completed" where applicable. After this process, I'm going down the list starting with the most played games and looking for games that I haven't Beaten and completing the first game which I decide not to put on hold ("On Hold") or abandon ("Abandoned"). The first game I decided to try and finish was this one!
Setup: Played on PC with a controller (Logitech F310).
Gameplay Log:
Having not played the game in a while I was a little disoriented. After some time and in combination with my records above, I discovered that I had just unlocked the Clocktower. Furthermore, an uncompleted room has a dark doorway and a completed room has a lit doorway. The areas have the following connections to the Dungeon:
Graveyard (finished 20220531) - Dungeon (finished) - Clocktower (not yet started)
Boiler Room (finished 20220522) - Dungeon (finished) - Gallery (finished 20220530)
Finished all the Clocktower Levels
Having completed all the levels in the single player mode, my total time was 01:05:39:55 putting me at a ranking of 20.
The next rank above me is ahead by 5 minutes, which is a lot to cut. However, it would be easy to find all the low ranking levels and improve on them first. It will, however, be a little tedious to capture the rankings for all the 116 levels.
Note to self: I have a Google Sheet with entries for the co-op levels.
Steam Game Time: 32.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 3.1 hours (session game time) 20240104:
With some exceptions, I want to bring rankings for all levels to below 100.
Gameplay Log:
I spent some time making a record of my current ratings and times.
I started tackling levels with the lowest ratings.
After 12 levels I improved my overall rating from rank 20 to rank 19.
I left off on "Time to Hide" in the Boiler Room but I couldn't easily even beat the level. I think I should take notes as well as review my prior solution.
It seems I did not record the 20220522 session - or maybe I did and it's stuck on my ROG laptop
In any case, because I didn't have a recording available, I decided to watch a run on YouTube (which happens to be a great run): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nAHDm8Um9Q
Steam Game Time: 37.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 5.4 hours (session game time) 20240105: Gameplay Log:
Went through about 15 to 20 levels with low ranks; my overall rank from 19 to 15 with progress towards 14
Left off on "Beast Cavern", which I played yesterday but I didnt' take the rank down to below 100.
Steam Game Time: 43.6 hours (cumulative game time) / 5.8 hours (session game time) The Adventures of Shuggy (PC) (2012)*
*The Adventures of Shuggy (XBLA) (2011)
