I played this game once or twice before, but apparently only for less than fifteen minutes. While I'd be suspicious of this, due to the fact that Steam inaccurately determined gameplay time on 20130103, I also only beat the first level, so how much time could I have possibly spent playing. I remember liking the music.
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| First boss. He's on the platform. Fume in blue and Nox in red. |
[20130104]
20130120 Comment:
Screenshots go from 2:36PM ET to 2:44PM ET.
20130103:
Today, I played through a good portion of the game with Chris (we beat Projects 2, the 10th out of 16 levels). We played for about an hour and fifteen minutes, but Steam only counted 27 minutes of gameplay.
Chris played as Nox, the protagonist, and I was Fume, the character that assists Nox throughout Sideway. As Chris was the main character, the camera would focus on him, unless he died and I was alive, then the camera would focus on me. Thus, if he got far ahead, Fume would get teleported to Nox's position. If I got far ahead, I would have to wait for Chris to catch up anyways.
As the game progresses, it gives you some power-ups, typically because the level somehow requires the power-up to progress.
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| Second boss fight. |
Tip: Certain monsters require you to slide into them, some have to be kicked twice from above, some you can only defeat with paint blast, some will detonate after being touched.
Tip: Graffiti images of vines and plants are instant death and annoying, because they can be on the walls, but blend in and are often unnoticeable until its too late. One plus, however, is the game spreads an abundant number of checkpoints throughout each level. It was convenient to play with two players, because if one of us hit the vines, the other typically had time to react to it.
Note: Water is also hazardous to touch.
Tip: You can typically get away with spamming your "mana," because monsters will often drop "mana" or health.
The game only has about three different tracks that repeat. Fortunately, the music is catchy and good enough that I didn't mind. With that being said, the game would have been better if there were more tracks.
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| The first boss has met his end. Tip: When you lose a boss fight, Fume will give you a hint on how to beat the boss. |
A more disappointing factor was that the game didn't have much of a story. Furthermore, half the story was just told in text (as a conversation between Nox and Fume). Agreeing with Chris, I thought the conversations would have benefited from voice acting.* Of course, there's different approaches to story-telling in video games. An example of a platformer with a simple, yet engaging story is Super Meat Boy (2010). Meanwhile, a platformer with little-to-no story is the Super Mario series: save the princess.**
Overall, the game is short and simple. The level design of turning around walls and changing your point of view is interesting at first, but the novelty wears off and the game is not as fun as a pure 2D platformer. If you have it, then you might as well try playing it. If you don't have it, then you're not missing out.
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| Beginning of the game. |
*The video game Sequence (2011) had great voice acting for its conversations.
**Or in Super Princess Peach (NDS): save the plumber.
[20130104][20190702 Edit]
Sideway: New York (PC) (2011)
Relevant Links:
Sideway New York (Steam Store Page)
Sideway New York (PC) (Metacritic.com)
Sideway New York (PS3) (IGN.com)
