Faerie Solitaire (PC) (2009)

Faerie Solitaire (PC) (2009)

Check out my Faerie Solitaire videos on YouTube or click play on the embedded playlist above!

Relevant Links:
Faerie Solitaire (Wikipedia.org)
Faerie Solitaire (Metacritic.com)

---

20140131:
I was trying to get back on track with a regular sleep cycle, but I figured playing a new game wouldn't hurt. Looking through my catalog of games for something that might be short, I booted up this game, Faerie Solitaire.

A sequential card game with a couple of twists.

Faerie Solitaire is a single-player card game. Easier to play than to explain in words, the game throws a couple of fantasy elements and obstacles into what would otherwise be a straightforward game.

Unfortunately, from the 2.3 hours I've played so far, these changes have yet to make the game difficult enough to convince me that the game is worth playing. I'll likely play more of the game in hopes that the difficulty increases, but so far the game is easy and uninteresting.

A dramatic story accompanies the game, but doesn't contribute to it in a substantial way.

[20140131 Assumed Post Date][20190630 Edit]

---

20140202:
Despite my previously expressed opinion of the game, I returned today to play the game for approximately five hours! While the game is simple, clearly something about it had me coming back for more!

---

20220911 Snapshot: Steam Game Time: 8.3 hours (total game time)
Last played: 20140202

McPixel (PC) (2012)

McPixel (PC) (2012)

Reference to Titanic (1997).

Relevant Links:
McPixel Website
McPixel (Wikipedia.org)

---

20140131:
After hours of research, I came home and first chose to play McPixel.

With no reason to suspect where the bomb is hiding, playing McPixel
requires trial and error and the will to have fun.

Not knowing what to expect, this game started off as a bizarre experience. It was, however, quite fun. With a short timer counting down, the game initially felt like it should belong to the WarioWare series. My initial gameplay were filled with confusion.

After a short while with the game, I realized that McPixel differed from the WarioWare series in three ways.

First, the content is not appropriate for kids. Examples include the following: 1) the main character kicks just about anyone and everything, 2) there's been the occasional brief nudity, and 3) somewhere in the game there's an alien who can be found smoking weed. While these inappropriate elements are used to a comic effect, I would not recommend this game to kids the age of 12 and under.

Second, while the mini-games in WarioWare differ from area to area, the levels in McPixel have one uniform structure. Each level consists of six stages and the game repeatedly cycles through the stages that haven't been beaten until all six are successfully completed.

What is going on?

Third, the timer for each stage in McPixel is quite long compared to many mini-games which show up in the WarioWare series. Furthermore, due to the cycling of stages mentioned previously, McPixel actually encourages the player to have fun and mess around.

Unfortunately, I had a long day and grew quite sleepy by the time I got to playing the third level of Chapter 1 and was dozing off during some of the stages. Of course, the game was so fun that I made an effort to finish the third level before heading to bed. Of course, after a nice long nap, I woke to play a little more McPixel.

Yikes, don't shoot!

Note that the menu screen can be accessed at anytime during the game by pressing the escape button. For whatever reason, you can find an FPS (frames per second) counter at the top left of it.

The menu, however, is short and video settings are limited to toggling fullscreen (on/off), toggling integer scaling (x1.5/x1), cycling through graphic options, toggling filter quality (16:9/4:3), and toggling sounds (on/off). You may also resume the game, go back to the menu, get help, delete the save file, or quit playing.

After taking a break, I resumed playing more McPixel and would like to add to the examples of content which may be inappropriate for kids. They include jerking off a giraffe, objects finding their way into butts, urinating places, and semen. I should repeat, however, that these elements are meant to be funny to adults who have an obscene sense of humor.

Uh... NSFW?

Rush Bros. (PC) (2013)

20140131:
Booting this game up, I thought it had a cool looking introduction. Unfortunately, the game didn't seem to be working: I would finish a level, but it didn't seem to be saving my time.

After doing random things, among which might have included restarting the game, my times were saved at the end of every level.

While the game had an addictive feel to it, its use of music was simple and uninteresting. Whereas Beat Hazard (2011) uses music to generate levels, this game simply has predetermined levels with obstacles set to the beat of the music.

Theoretically, getting the best times in this game is a combination of skill and the right track selection. Theoretically speaking, the player could create a music file that has beats timed precisely when they're needed.

With that being said, I haven't played the game to any of my own music yet, partially because I'm not at all compelled to do so. Furthermore, the tracks included with the game are pretty solid and the game felt like an overall letdown.

---

Rush Bros. (PC) (2013)

Relevant Links:
Rush Bros. Website
Rush Bros (Metacritic.com)

MacGuffin's Curse (PC) (2012)

Lucas (protagonist)

Overview:
MacGuffin's Curse is a puzzle adventure game where you play as Lucas MacGuffin. As the title suggests, Lucas eventually becomes cursed. Fortunately, this leads to the game's main puzzle mechanic: switching between human Lucas and (were)wolf Lucas.

[20150214]

---

Lucas becomes a wolf.

20140129 Early Morning, Morning:
While this game has many fun puzzles, there are also some tedious puzzles which keep the game from being perfect. More specifically, I don't mind easy, straightforward puzzles, as long as they're not tedious. Then again, perhaps I began to think they were tedious when I started playing too much.

The reporter Judy.

The main reason I was addicted to the game was for its story.

The game also has a lot of flavor text and I loved reading it all. In fact, at the beginning of the game, I was reading nearly every possible text in the game. I would probably have kept up with the reading, but some of the text would repeat or feel repetitive (especially as Wolf Lucas).

A typical Room/Puzzle

Remark: At one point I encountered a bug where Lucas grabs an object and doesn't let go. Fortunately, I found a Steam discussion thread that addressed the issue.

So far I've played for about eight hours and I've completed 54% of the game.

[20150214 Edit]

---

20140129 Evening:
I played for another hour and have increased my completion rate to 60%.

---

Troublesome youth...

20140129 Evening, 20140130 Early Morning & Morning: [20150214]
I resume playing two hours later (11:33PM ET) and continued playing for approximately 9.5 straight hours.

Note that I beat the game at about 5:50AM ET. The credits ran for about three minutes and include some interaction between Lucas and various game characters. Afterwards, the game sent Lucas back to his house where the player can choose to continue playing.

Alphonse

At this point I had only achieved an 88% completion rate and I chose to continue playing.

Finally, at 7:24AM ET, I achieved a 99% completion rate (which in hindsight is an 100% completion rate and I spend some time on a wild goose chase).

At 7:54AM ET, I read about the 99% completion rate bug and how to obtain the Fixated achievement in a Steam discussion thread. Subsequently I achieved the Fixated badge / Steam achievement at 7:57AM ET.

At that time, I decided to go to sleep, but fifteen minutes later I started playing again: from 8:15AM ET to 9:09AM ET, I ran around checking to ensure that the 99% percent is a bug in the game and not an error on my part.

---

Rena, the gypsy.

Recommendation:
While the game had some minor disappoints (the occasional tedious puzzle, the occasional repetitive flavor text, and two small bugs), my game time goes to show that I absolutely couldn't stop playing it. Explicitly, I completed the game over three game sessions which lasted eight hours, one hour, and nine and a half hours (with ten hours between the first and second session and two hours between the second and third session).

[20150214]

---

MacGuffin's Curse (PC) (2012)

Relevant Link:
MacGuffin's Curse Webpage
MacGuffin's Curse (PC) (Metacritic.com)
MacGuffin's Curse (Steam Store Page)

Costume Quest (PC) (2011)

Overview:
Costume Quest is a Halloween-themed role-playing game by Double Fine where you play as trick-or-treaters who transform during battle based on the costumes they are wearing. Collect costumes as you progress through the story (some are required, others are optional) and collect stamps which can be applied to add special abilities.

Statue of Liberty, Knight, and Space Warrior.

Story-wise, you start the game choosing to play as one of two siblings, Wren or Reynold; then, after choosing one of the two, your goal with be to save the other (because he/she will get kidnapped). Initially progressing alone, eventually you meet up with Everett, allowing you to battle enemies with two costumes. Then, further into the story, you will meet a smart girl named Lucy!

In terms of game mechanics, the battle system is turn-based with quick time events being implemented for bonus effects. Different costumes have different abilities and serve different roles in battle. For example, the Statue of Liberty costume is a support character whose special restores health to all members.

---

Recommendation:
If you like the battle system in Super Mario RPG or Paper Mario, then you'll be right at home with Costume Quest. Of course, I personally enjoyed Costume Quest for its overall theme and the simple, yet awesome idea of kids transforming into super heroes via their costumes. Then, if that wasn't enough, Costume Quest has a good story and great presentation.

---

20130309:
Today I played for a straight 3.6 hours. It is a surprisingly fun RPG (role-playing game).

[20140128]

---

20140128:
Today I played a little bit of Costume Quest. Prior to playing, I skimmed through my previous photo record and tried to look for anything important I should know.

Just a few more calculations....

Got it! Thank you ALGEBRA! - Lucy

Perhaps the two most important things are the timed attack bonuses and pressing shift to use your abilities on the map.

Having added an additional six hours to my playtime, I completed both the main game (Costume Quest, 3.75 hours) and the side game (Grubbin' on Ice, 2.25 hours).

Unicorn, Vampire, and Pirate.
The Pirate is part of the Grubbins on Ice DLC.

In the end, I had all but one achievement to accomplish: "Tisn't the Season." Unfortunately, this achievment requires playing Costume Quest on Christmas. Unwilling to wait, I decided to change the date of my computer clock. Actually, I wasn't sure if such a change would work, but in fact it did! The one drawback is the date of the achievement being unlocked is on Jan 28, 2014 1:52pm.

---

Costume Quest (PC) (2011)*
*Costume Quest (PS3/XBLA) (2010)

Relevant Links:
Costume Quest (Wikipedia.org)
Costume Quest (Steam Store Page)
Costume Quest (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Costume Quest (PC) (IGN.com)

Serious Sam 3: BFE (PC) (2011)

Overview: Serious Sam 3: BFE is a first-person shooter and prequel to Serious Sam: The First Encounter. As Sam "Serious" Stone, the player fights against aliens, with many different weapons to find and use along the way. Broadly speaking, Serious Sam 3 is quite similar to the Doom series (e.g., Doom (1993) or Doom II (1994)).* Serious Sam 3: BFE emphasizes traditional first-person shooter gameplay. Explicitly, this means more action and shooting over stealth and cover.

Sam "Serious" Stone

*Another common feature between Serious Sam 3 and the Doom series is friendly fire (enemies can damage enemies).

---

Recommendation:
While Serious Sam 3: BFE is straight up fun, if I were given a choice between it and Left 4 Dead 2 (2009), then I'd choose Left 4 Dead 2.

Wave after wave of enemies came. It was awesome.

With that being said, Serious Sam 3 places some emphasis on the single-player mode (as opposed to the Left 4 Dead series which emphasizes the four-player co-op). To be fair, I have yet to play Serious Sam 3's multiplayer mode. Supposedly it's awesome.

[20190630 Edit]

---

20140126:
Today I played some Serious Sam 3: BFE. It took a while to get the hang of shooting enemies. Overall, the game was fun.

Various Observations:
1) Items that can be picked up are highlighted. Furthermore, they are automatically picked up upon contact.
2) A really power movement is to use your melee attack (default key: E). For some enemies, this move is an instakill. For others, it knocks them back and stuns them.

3) The music plays whenever there's an enemy around, similar to some of the newer Prince of Persia games (e.g., Sands of Time).

As a newer player, I'm still not entirely used to pinpointing an enemy's location using sound and the direction of damage from the display.

4) Fortunately, the game autosaves in many places.
5) Kiting is effective, though running will cancel a reload, so make sure not to run unless absolutely necessary.
6) There were a couple of enemies that surprised me the first time they popped out. Those jumpscares were fun and exciting.

[20140126 Assumed Post Edit][20190630 Edit]

---

20140127:
Today I played the next level, Broken Wings. At this point in the game, the shotgun shells become standard and I basically use the shotgun as my primary weapon. Though for long-ranged shots the handgun should still be the weapon of choice.

I also learned while playing today that the aiming reticle changes color based on the enemy's health. The colors are green, yellow, orange, and red.

After playing a while, I begin to learn the precise number of shots required to take down various enemies. For example, most enemies that look human take one hit from the shotgun and two from the handgun.

The big monsters (your melee pulls their eye out) take about two hits from your shotgun (depending on how far they are from you) and I think a full ten from your handgun. While you can unload the handgun quickly, you'll have to wait for the reload time. On the other hand, the shotgun has spread damage and great for when a big wave is coming your way.

Note that it is possible for enemies to take damage from other enemy attacks. In particular, the bombs carried by the screaming enemies, the missiles fired by the missile enemies, and the bolas thrown by the bone enemies will all do friendly fire damage.

---

Serious Sam 3: BFE (PC) (2011)

Relevant Links:
Serious Sam 3: BFE Webpage
Serious Sam 3: BFE (Wikipedia.org)
Serious Sam 3: BFE (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Blocks That Matter (PC) (2011)

Overview:
Blocks That Matter is a puzzle platformer where you play as a nanobot named Tetrobot who is out to save its creators, a pair of game developers that have been kidnapped.

Constructing a T-block.

In each level, mine blocks of matter and combine any four blocks to build tetrominoes that you can use as platforms to reach the level's exit. Taking further inspiration from Tetris, a line of eight or more blocks will result in a line clear (the blocks become destroyed).

If you can reach a level's exit with a sufficient number of collected blocks, then you will obtain that level's Block That Matter.

Drilling a stone block.

[20150120]

---

Recommendation:
I found Blocks That Matter to be a fun and simple puzzle platformer. In particular, it was both short and interesting enough that I fully completed the game's story mode. While the story mode is interesting, it is quite easy compared to the game's challenge mode.

[20150120]

---

20140123:
Today I loaded up Blocks That Matter and all the progress I had previously made was gone. How unfortunate.

Unlock all the treasure chests!

Strangely, after I finished one of the levels, I unlocked a very basic achievement, making me question whether or not I had actually played the game.

While there are many fun and challenging puzzles in Blocks That Matter, I think there are also some minor aspects of the game which I dislike. For one, I dislike the repetition of any introductory chapter when a level is restarted (whether by death or by holding down the reset key). Of course, the game provides a shortcut key to skip the chatter, but I still think it's excessive to repeat it.

Reach the exit to complete a level.

A feature I think the game lacks is an undo button (or some rewind and fast forward buttons) instead of a full reset. This is a feature that's implemented very well in the puzzle platformer Toki Tori (2010). Then again, perhaps the game developers intentionally wanted to drive players crazy for trying unsuccessful strategies.

On a related note, some strategies are unsuccessful because some secret items and/or goals cannot be attained until later. In other words, a lot of backtracking will be necessary.

Overall, I personally wish Blocks That Matter was more of a puzzler and less of a platformer.

One of the levels I'm stuck with.

[20140123][20150120 Edit]

---

20140126:
Today I played much more of Blocks That Matter and I would say I appreciated the difficulty of the later levels as well as the replay value in unlocking the Blocks That Matter and unlocking the stars. Going back to get one hundred percent took a lot of time, and while sometimes a level attempt took many tries, finding and/or accomplishing a level's solution was rewarding.

In particular, I got over the fact that the game lacked an undo button. I also got over the fact that when inside a level, the star counter (whether or not you're set to earn a yellow/green star) only shows up after the player has previously collected the level's Block That Matter.

Another level I don't understand.

One annoying thing that happens is using the drill button to run, and then hitting a wall for too long. Tetrobot (the player character) will drill against the wall and sometimes this can get Tetrobot killed.

Overall, those are small complaints and I mostly enjoy the game.

---

20150214:
Today I tried playing the various bonus levels which I had not been able to complete (An Ice Glitch, Extreme Temperature, Quicksand, A14B26C34). Unfortunately, I didn't have any better luck this time around.

One of the bonus levels I have yet to complete.

Tip: Hold 'W' to restart a level.

Tip: Press 'C' to move the screen around.

---

Blocks That Matter (PC) (2011)

Relevant Links:
Blocks That Matter Webpage
Blocks That Matter (Wikipedia.org)
Blocks That Matter (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Botanicula (PC) (2012)

Botanicula (PC) (2012)

Please check out my Botanicula videos on YouTube or click here to check them out below!

Relevant Links:
Botanicula (Amanita Design Website)
Botanicula Website (a demo of Level 1 is available)
Botanicula (Wikipedia.org)
Botanicula (Metacritic.com)

---

Overview: Join Mr. Lantern, Mrs. Mushroom, Mr. Feather, Mr. Poppy Head, and Mr. Twig on an adventure to save the last surviving seed from the clutches of evil spiders.

---

20140110:
The music in this game is awesome, just absolutely awesome. The visuals are also a delight to see and the story is fun. Sometimes, I would trigger the proper event but go through all the incorrect events anyways. (I later learned this is sometimes necessary to unlock certain creature cards.)

While we were enjoying the game, we figured it'd be too long to finish and stopped playing a little after the completion of Level 3. More explicitly, we had just begun Level 4 and the prospect of collecting 14 bird creatures was overwhelming. Including cutscenes, getting to this point was about an hour of gameplay (approx. 9:50PM to 10:50PM).

Having played Windosill (PC) (2009) for thirty minutes and Botanicula for an hour, I figured we had enough point and click fun for the day and decided to revisit Legend of Dungeon [20140201: I realized today that Windowsill probably isn't a point and click game. If anything, it'd be more of a puzzler].

---

20140111 Comment:
After an hour of playing Legend of Dungeon, my friends went home and I went on to doing other things. However, at about 1:45AM, I got a hankering to resume Botanicula. Despite the craving, I ultimately decided it would be wise to get rest and I went to sleep.

---

20140113:
Today I resumed the game at last Friday's save point: in the room with the horns and the assembling of animal parts. Having tried to do the puzzle in my head, I conceded and started taking notes.

Hint: The body part that appears determines the color of the tubes that show up next.

Solution: If snailhead then top=chickenbody, mid=frogbody, bot=snailbody.
If snailbody then top=chickenleg, mid=frogleg, bot=snailleg.
If chickenhead then top=frogbody, mid=snailbody, bot=chickenbody.
If chickenbody then top=snailleg, mid=chickenleg, bot=frogleg.
If froghead then top=snailbody, mid=chickenbody, bot=frogbody.
If frogbody then top=frogleg, mid=snailleg, bot=chickenleg.

In frustration of a puzzle (winning the bug race, but not earning the helmet), I did a Google search. DEFINITELYUSEDFAQ: Hit the helmet off with the nearby mushroom.

Not long after, I happily finished the game, logging about three and a half hours of gametime and having collected 105 out of 123 creatures cards.

Summary:
10/10 Level 1 (Feathers); 01/01 Transition;
13/17 Level 2 (Keys); 01/01 Story Card I; 06/06 Interlude;
15/20 Level 3 (Children); 00/00 Story Card II; 01/01 Transition;
22/25 Level 4 (Birds); 03/03 Transition;
25/31 Level 5 (Elements); 00/00 Story Card III; 03/03 Transition;
05/05 Level 6 (Seeds);

Samorost, Machinarium (not shown), and Amanita Design references made here.

Unsatisfied with only 105 out of 123 creature cards and not having the proper save files to salvage the previous playthrough, I started a new run. However, this run didn't last long and I completed the first level a card short.

Summary:
09/10 Level 1 (Feathers); 01/01 Transition;

Being more meticulous and stopping along the way to determine which cards I missed on my first playthrough, my second full run took a whopping eight hours, give or take. Actually, I also took notes in anticipation of executing a speedrun.

Level 2; Missed 01/04; DEFINITELYUSEDFAQ: Music creature.
Level 2; Missed 02/04; USEDFAQ: A tiny creature from a tiny hole.
Level 2; Missed 03/04; Woodpecker creature.
Level 2; Missed 04/04; Creature revealed by the woodpecker.

Level 3; Missed 01/05; Venus fly trap.
Level 3; Missed 02/05; Make all the sprouts grow.

I determined an efficient (least amount of clicks) solution for making all the sprouts grow. With the labeling below, click on A, H, A, C, A, H, A, E, A, F, A, H, A, G, A, F, A, C, A, E, A, G, A.

__A_____
..B_C.._
___D..__
____..E_
_____..F
G.._____
____H.._

Remark: Without the reminder to click on A, we can write _HC HEF HGF CEG.

Level 3; Missed 03/05; DEFINITELYUSEDFAQ: Prevent a creature from hiding.
Level 3; Missed 04/05; Throw off all the sheep.
Level 3; Missed 05/05; DEFINITELYUSEDFAQ: Small, medium, and large cocoons.

Level 4; Missed 01/03; DEFINITELYUSEDFAQ: Find a moth in the balloon.
Level 4; Missed 02/03; DEFINITELYUSEDFAQ: Stork.
Level 4; Missed 03/03; In Frankenstein house.

Level 5; Missed 01/06; DEFINITELYUSEDFAQ: Frog.
Level 5; Missed 02/06; USEDFAQ: Runners in the loops.
Level 5; Missed 03/06; USEDFAQ: Sweep the tendrils.
Level 5; Missed 04/06; USEDFAQ: Bounce on the five.
Level 5; Missed 05/06; USEDFAQ: One of the ocean creatures.
Level 5; Missed 06/06; USEDFAQ: One of the ocean creatures.

Summary:
10/10 Level 1 (Feathers); 01/01 Transition;
17/17 Level 2 (Keys); 01/01 Story Card I; 06/06 Interlude;
20/20 Level 3 (Children); 00/00 Story Card II; 01/01 Transition;
25/25 Level 4 (Birds); 03/03 Transition;
31/31 Level 5 (Elements); 00/00 Story Card III; 03/03 Transition;
05/05 Level 6 (Seeds);
100% Creature Cards!

---

20140114:
Addicted to this game and having put the work in to keeping notes, I attempted an "100% creature card" speedrun.

Having failed to collect all the creature cards, I tried again and this time I succeeded.

---

20150115:
Today I made a new set of notes for the purpose of completing the game without any regard to collecting the creature cards.

While I eventually want to do a run where I watch all the cutscenes and see just about everything there is to see in the game, I pretty much had my fill of playing the game for the time being after this fifth full run of the game. I did, however, continue listening to the game's soundtrack a couple times over, because I love the game!