Volgarr the Viking (PC) (2013)

20141130:
When I first started Volgarr the Viking I tried various keyboard buttons and managed to guess some of the controls. In hindsight this was quite stupid, because I limited myself to certain attacks (namely throwing the spear and attacking with the sword while crouched).

However, I eventually looked up the controls and found that there was actually a separate key for attacking! In any case, I decided to reconfigure the controls a bit. For example, I changed the jump key to the spacebar.

Hilariously, at that point I had gotten used to the original key configuration and was confused for a while. Of course I ultimately liked my configuration more.

With that being said, I think the game has a high difficulty compared to a platformer like Super Mario. Perhaps that's because the game feels like its tapping the essence of classic platformers such as Super Castlevania IV (SNES).

By the end of my time with the game, I had made some progress and the parts that I had played had become easier and easier. However, I did not even complete the first world yet!

If you think you'd want to play a classically-styled, modern-day platformer, then consider checking out Volgarr the Viking. However, if you're more into modern platformers like Super Meat Boy (PC) or New Super Mario Bros. (NDS), then you might want to look elsewhere.

Personally, I thought the game was challenging and had some unique features, but I could only put so much effort in against the game's difficulty before giving up.

Note that in comparison, I own one of the older Castlevania games on the Nintendo Virtual Console and that game was similarly difficult. However, with enough effort I could make it from checkpoint to checkpoint and overall I felt as if I had made some progress.

On a different note, I remember trying to play Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the SEGA Genesis when I was younger. Save games were still uncommon and if you wanted to beat it, then you'd have to do it in one sitting. I recall coming close one day, but I never did beat the game.

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Volgarr the Viking (PC) (2013)

Relevant Links:
Volgarr the Viking Website
Volgarr the Viking (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Soundodger+ (PC) (2013)

Overview: Soundodger+ is an avoid-'em-up, a bullet-hell shooter except without the shooting. Dodge incoming wedges and circles as they fly onto the screen from the game's edges, often in tandem to the game's soundtrack. While the game has a musical quality, Soundodger+ is not a rhythm game.

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Soundodger+ (PC) (2013)

Sometimes you can bravely stay still in the center!

Relevant Links:
Soundodger+ Website
Play Soundodger (AdultSwimGames.com)
Soundodger+ (Steam Store Page)

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Other times, you can just run off to the side, just to be sure!

20141129:
The game starts off with levels of easy difficulty and gradually increases this difficulty. Note that you start with a set of levels unlocked, and each subsequent level requires an 80% completion. Thus, among the levels you have unlocked, let's say you have a total of 500% completion. That means you'll have unlocked 6 levels beyond the initial set, and you'll need another 60% to unlock the next level.

The inner black circle indicates how far you are into the track. The filled circle within it indicates your percentage (score).

In my hour and fifteen minutes or so of playing, I played each level one after another and did not hit the boundary of locked levels where I needed to replay a level. More precisely, I played up to and including the first advanced level (Daisy Wheel - Disasterpeace) and have unlocked up to and including the advanced level Foxtail Socks - Bill Kiley (the next level after that says 40% to go).

Again, staying still in the center.

While it is currently easy to unlock levels, its clear that the harder the level is, the lower my scores will be. Plotting the scores onto some stem-and-leaf plots, we have the following:

STAR:1       2       3
     7|      7|      7|65
     8|      8|02    8|1
     8|      8|589   8|75
     9|1     9|013   9|5
     9|886// 9|//

Remark: A "/" stands for 10. So a stem of 9 and leaf of / is 100.

Staying in the center doesn't work here. In fact I'm cornered! What the heck! What was I suppose to do!?!

Mini Ninjas (PC) (2009)

Overview: Mini Ninjas is a 3D action game where you play as a young ninja able to learn ancient magic. Two of the first magic spells you learn are possession of an animal and casting a fireball. Mini Ninjas incorporates other gameplay mechanics as well.

You are a ninja.

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20141129:
Today I played Mini Ninjas for the first time and I thought the game was fun. In particular, I like the fighting mechanics.

While this game is arguably best played with brute force, stealth can occasionally be used for the fun of it.

On a more detailed note, I initially didn't realize the importance of collecting plants and herbs - I thought they were just for show. Fortunately, the game lets you replay a level.

The average enemy.

Possessing animals is also a cool feature. However, I would have liked if each animal had more properties which are unique to that animal. Thus far, most of the creatures I've encountered behave the same except for the bear.

Another feature I would have liked is the addition of a world map. While the map doesn't have to reveal everything, I think it would have been nice to show the player a map of places that he/she has visited before.

With such a feature, instead of worrying about where I am and trying to focus on orienting myself, I could have focused more on the gameplay.

Fight bigger enemies.

Understandably, I suppose there's a difficulty in implementing a map system without revealing hidden areas. Perhaps the solution would be to only illuminate the main areas, and paths to hidden areas would remain unmarked.

In any case, I am definitely willing to overlook the issue, because the core gameplay is fun and the map progression is generally linear.

If you like action-adventure games like the The Legend of Zelda franchise or Beyond Good and Evil (2003), I would recommend you try out Mini Ninjas.

Fight bosses!

Note that the only trouble I had during my gaming session was facing the first boss. Perhaps that is my fault, because I did not completely understand the hint. But my hint to you is that you should try to interpret the picture in addition to the text of the hint and that the battle is more or less event driven.

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Mini Ninjas (PC) (2009)

Relevant Links:
Mini Ninjas Website
Mini Ninjas (Wikipedia.org)
Mini Ninjas (Steam Store Page)
Mini Ninjas (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Crazy Machines 2 (PC) (2008)

Overview: Crazy Machines 2 is a game where you place a fixed set of contraptions in the playing area in order to achieve some sort of goal (e.g., popping a balloon or putting a ball into a basket).

"Oh no! The mayor's rubber ducky escaped! You'll have to catch it. I've built a trap to help, but you'll have to activate it. Cut the rope that holds the metal cage to catch the rubber ducky. I borrowed the bowling ball from the mayor, so please return it to the basket on the right. If you manage to activate the trap door with a dart you'll earn some extra points for sure!"

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20141129 AM Hours:
When I was younger, I played a game similar to Crazy Machines 2 called Incredible Machines. Having had so much fun with Incredible Machines, I was looking forward to playing Crazy Machines 2.

Unfortunately, while the tutorials were bearable and informative (though often unclear with what triggers the tutorial progression), the actual levels themselves had unnecessarily convoluted primary and secondary goals.

"Now the brewery needs your help sorting the three top barrels. Here is the challenge: bring the barrels to the basement in the right order: first the middle one, then the top one, and then the bottom one. To win some extra points, open the trap door with the barrel that is lying on the right side of the big pile of barrels. After using it, bring it down to the basement as well."

To elaborate, every level I played was preceded with a long-winded explanation of the level's goal (see the caption under each picture in this post). However, when I play a puzzle game, I don't want the goal to be difficult to comprehend. Instead, I want the goal to be easy to understand, but the solution difficult to find.

In that respect, this game lacks a bit of transparency (though not as badly as AVSEQ (2012), a shooter which I played yesterday).

"The blimp test center has a challenge for you: test the different wall textures using the three blimps. The top one and the bottom one must be started and brought into the target zone, but not the middle one! If, in addition to that, you manage to place the ball into the target zone, you'll score extra points!"

Speaking of transparency, Crazy Machines 2 has busy backgrounds and creates a lot of visual noise. As such, it can be difficult to relevant objects in the foreground from irrelevant objects in the background. Again, this makes the levels difficult to play, but don't make the puzzles themselves inherently difficult.

In the end, I felt dissatisfied with the overall gameplay experience.

[20141218]

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Crazy Machines 2 (PC) (2008)

"This is an easy challenge. The two soccer balls have to be nudged by the red dominos. Use the ballons and you can earn extra points. The left balloon has to be popped, but the right one must stay intact."

Relevant Links:
Crazy Machines 2 (Wikipedia.org)
Crazy Machines 2 (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Super House of Dead Ninjas (PC) (2013)

Overview: Super House of Dead Ninjas is a platformer where you play as a ninja. Travel downwards through a level and play against the clock. When the clock runs down, you'll lose a life, so be sure to find pickups which will reset the timer!

Throwing projectiles.

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20141128:
The first part of the first level has all the keypresses you will need to know. I love games that use this tutorial setup.

A nice streamlined tutorial.

While some of the movements took me some time to get used to, I think the game has an easy learning curve. Perhaps the only command that I didn't understand immediately was the downward attack. This is done just by pressing down - no need to press the attack button.

Slash away with your katana!

As you play the game you'll unlock a bunch of weapons and upgrades so that in future plays you can use different weapons and upgrades. This makes the game fun to play and provides variety.

Ultimately, I think Super House of Dead Ninjas is pretty fun and has some good mechanics.

The first boss, Spite.

Note that today I was able to beat the first boss, which unlocks the second level. After finishing the first level, you can play starting from the second level from the menu screen. I was not, however, able to beat the second boss. The boss charges on the ground and he's about the height of your jump. As such, I couldn't figure out how to defeat him.

The second boss, Torment.

Unlike Rayman Origins (2012), I think this game has a good amount of flavor which sets itself apart from other platformers I've played.

Overall, I would definitely recommend you head over to Adult Swim's website and try a little bit of Super House of Dead Ninjas. Good luck and have fun!

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Super House of Dead Ninjas (PC) (2013)

Relevant Links:
Play Super House of Dead Ninjas
Super House of Dead Ninjas (Steam Store Page)
Super House of Dead Ninjas (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Pool Nation (PC) (2013)

20141128:
At first I tried playing Endurance, just to check out the game. Conveniently, all you have to do is press K to see the game's controls.

Eventually, after a couple of rounds of Endurance, I decided to go through all the tutorials. They were very helpful, especially for executing trick shots.

Upon returning to Endurance, I found the majority of the tutorials useless, because they take too much time to set up. With that being said, I had felt much more comfortable with the game and the game mode felt easier.

I had also read the rules for Endurance more carefully: I learned that the goal was not to reach twenty-four balls, but to keep the number of balls as low as possible.

In the end, I spent a good solid hour to hour and a half just playing Endurance and going through the tutorials. With all the other game modes available, I'd say Pool Nation has a decent amount to offer if you casually enjoy pool.

Going off that last statement, I would definitely rather play pool in real life, but playing the video game has its advantages. One, it's cheaper to buy a video game than to go to a pool hall or own a pool table. Two, the video game just takes up about five gigabytes of hard drive space, but a pool table takes up lots of physical space in a room. Three, I can pull off amazing skill shots (jump, spin, etc) with the video game that I wouldn't be able to do (at least not with significant practice) in real life.

However, let's talk about the advantages of playing in real life. One, I can get a lot better view of the table in real life. It's possible some pool simulation games might be better in this respect, but Pool Nation's view choices feel limited (overhead, rotation about the cue ball, and a limited free look). Two, having the cue stick in your hands results in a more tactile experience and helps with the adjustment of power. As a result, you can build muscle memory from playing in a real game.

Finally, I mention two differences which slightly change the game, but not necessarily for better or for worse.

One, the ability to shoot a ball is independent of the player's height. Two, the conditions are perfect: the table, cue stick, balls, etc. behave in a consistent manner without maintenance. On that note, the physics is going to be consistent. Nobody can bump the table, the table is level, the cue stick never needs to be chalked, and so forth.

In any case, I'll have to try the other game modes some time soon.

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20141217 AM Hours:
Tonight I actually started the 9-ball Tour, Sky Lounge Cup. I found it pretty fun. On top of just beating the AI at 9-ball, there are also challenges to meet, such as hitting two in a row or getting a skill shot. By the end of my session I completed Round 1.

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20141217 Evening:
To round out the experience prior to posting my blog post, I played a bit of the 8-ball Tour, Sky Lounge Cup. While I'm getting used to the controls and understand basic concepts of translation and rotational movement, the physics regarding how the cue ball behaves with respect to impulse, point of contact, and collision are not exactly intuitive. Maybe I should give it some extra thought the next time I play.

In any case, the fact that the game allows the player to execute these sort of skill shots is a satisfying experience and I'm glad I picked this game up. I enjoy playing pool every so often with my friends and I think this video game is a good opportunity to understand some of the more complex details within the comfort of my room.

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Pool Nation (PC) (2013)

Relevant Links:
Pool Nation (Steam Store Page)
Pool Nation (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

AVSEQ (PC) (2012)

Overview: In AVSEQ, connect falling nodes of the same color and use white nodes to connect different colored nodes. Try to trigger as many musical nodes as possible, and don't let any nodes touch the ground, otherwise you'll lose any musical nodes directly above the one that reached the ground!

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20141127:
This game is tough, but the musical aspect of the game is pretty cool.

Unfortunately, after playing the game for a little while, my tiredness caught up with me and my eyes began to droop. At that moment, instead of ignoring my state of mind, I decided to take a quick nap.

Then, after waking up, I decided not to resume playing AVSEQ. While the gameplay was mildly interested, it was also just mildly rewarding.

In particular, I thought the game lacked enough transparency. For example, there seems to be a hidden timer that's counting down, but I don't see a clock. The only indication that I can tell of a countdown is a warning that comes up as time begins to expire.

Another transparency issue is the effect of atoms hitting the bottom. At one point, it seemed as if they had no effect on ending my game. Consequently, I questioned the urgency in using them.

Upon making this point, I couldn't help but discover the answer. Going in game and re-reading the "How to Play" carefully, I learned that if atoms hit the ground, then you lose notes. What the "How to Play" doesn't explain, is that you only lose notes that are in the column of the atom that reaches the ground.

Returning to the game for this investigation also led me to try and learn that the One Button Mode, which is not default, appears to be much more efficient than the Normal Mode. If you're a League of Legend player, then One Button Mode is like using Smart Keys.

But getting back to the transparency, I hate how the atoms are all white with colors indicated by the surrounding rings. This is terrible, as a good amount of the time, I think an atom is white when its really some other color.

Also, there's some moments where an atom will split into four, or maybe this appears out of nowhere. These secret splittings are hard to detect, and can lead in a surprising loss of atoms. Again, a lack of transparency.

In the end, I need to stop playing and analyzing this game, or else I'm going to find more and more reasons to dislike it. I'm sorry AVSEQ, but you're one of the games in my library, which I think is bad.

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AVSEQ (PC) (2012)

Relevant Links:
AVSEQ Webpage
AVSEQ (Steam Store Page)
AVSEQ (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Jack Lumber (PC) (2013)

20141127:
Prior to playing this game, all I knew was that it'd be a casual game.

Getting into the game, I initially thought it would be a Fruit Ninja rip off.

The game, however, isn't about slicing furiously. Instead, in a given wave, a bunch of logs will come flying into the view. At that point, the player should choose a moment to activate their lumber time and draw a path through as many of the logs as possible.

As the game progresses, the player is introduced to new and different types of logs, each requiring different ways to chop. For example, some logs must be chopped from one end to the other, other logs require multiple passes before being cleared.

Casablanca (1942) reference.

While simple at first, the game begins to become more difficult at a nice and easy pace. Furthermore, the game leaves a lot of room for hopes of climbing the leaderboards and get a better score.

On that note, playing the same level will result in the same set of logs appearing. Thus, the strategic player looking to improve his/her score will plan out the right moment to activate the lumber time and the optimal path through the logs.

Note that by optimal, I mean whatever path it takes to get the highest score out of the logs which are on screen. Higher scores can be obtained by passing through multiple logs in a single swipe (straight shot) and by spending the least amount of lumber time.

Thus, efficient paths and proper use of exploding barrels will definitely help with improving one's scores.

This beaver is just full of pop culture references and jokes.

Overall, I thought the game was fun, at least enough to play it for twelve levels over the course of forty minutes. If you like casual games and/or Fruit Ninja, then you should check out Jack Lumber.

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Jack Lumber (PC) (2013)

Relevant Links:
Jack Lumber Website
Jack Lumber (Steam Store Page)
Jack Lumber (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Jet Set Radio (PC) (2012)

20141127:
First I went to the practice mode, but I found that it wasn't so instructive and just went into the game.

At that point, there were a couple of tutorial stages. I might be missing some lessons, but some of them are here: skate, jump, speed up, use graffiti, hang onto cars, and more complicated graffiti.

Besides getting Q and E mixed up, I also had trouble with the complicated graffiti for a while. However, I eventually figured out that the keyboard imitates rotation, by pressing the directional keys in order. For example counter-closewise rotation from down to up is done with Down -> Right -> Up.

Unfortunately, I began getting a headache after a while and decided to stop playing. While playing on roller skates and spreading graffiti was fun at first, I ultimately enjoy Tony Hawk Pro Skater much better.

Note that despite my negative experience, the game seems to have favorable reviews and "known for spearheading the use of cel-shaded graphics in video games." (Wikipedia.org)

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Jet Set Radio (PC) (2012)*
*Jet Set Radio (Dreamcast) (2000)

Relevant Links:
Jet Set Radio (Wikipedia.org)
Jet Set Radio (Steam Store Page)
Jet Set Radio (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Rayman Origins (PC) (2012)

20141127:
I've been waiting to play the game with my friends, because there's up to four player co-op. However, I've waited too long and we've played other co-op games instead. As such, today I decided just to go ahead and try the game out.

Part of the game's introductory cutscene.

In terms of attacks, Rayman has a directional attack in addition to the standard platforming jump attack. While collecting the objectives in the first level was quite easy, the game slowly ramps up the difficulty and I suppose it would take a while to beat the game with 100%.

Today I played three of the levels and found the game had good level design and a nice look to it, but I was uninterested in playing more than a half hour.

Rescue Betilla the Fairy and gain the power to attack!

Overall, the game was a standard platformer. As it stands, I wouldn't rush out to recommend the game, but I wouldn't recommend against it either. Furthermore, I have yet to see how the game stands as a multiplayer platformer. My guess is that this game was released some time after New Super Mario for the Wii which also featured four-player co-op.

Awesome punch attack!

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Rayman Origins (PC) (2012)*
*Rayman Origins (Various) (2011)

Relevant Links:
Rayman Origins (Wikipedia.org)
Rayman Origins (Steam Store Page)
Rayman Origins (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Waves (PC) (2011)

20120311:
Apparently I first played this game today for 13 minutes. Here are the achievements I accomplished:

10:43am GET TO THE CHOPPA
10:45am Antivirus
10:45am It fires more than once?

10:45am Couldn't Hold It In
10:46am Kill them all!
10:46am Killing Spree
10:48am Mega Kill

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20141126 AM Hours:
Today I read the rules and then played twice with my laptop's touchpad while lying down. Unfortunately, the touchpad buttons responed horribly and the only way I could attack and move was to hold down the attack button prior to moving. This meant my ability to combo suffered greatly, because combos in this game are best obtained by firing at enemies intermittently.

Since I didn't feel like using an external mouse for the remainder of the night, I decided to call it quits and try again tomorrow.

On a positive note, I did get an achievement for dying three times without killing anything!

Though my time with the game today was short, I was immediately hooked with the game. This is strange, it took me much longer to be hooked to Super Hexagon (2012). What makes the two different? Perhaps that Waves starts out much easier than Super Hexagon, yet shows a promising degree of difficulty.

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20141126 Evening:
Today I played this game the proper way: with a mouse.

With that being said, I still had some trouble at the start. However, after much perseverance, I was able to get five million points!

Tip: Concentrating on collecting the multipliers whenever you level up is important.

What I don't know, however, is the condition for leveling up. I think knowing this would help improve my strategy.

Tip: Try to use your slow-mo power in conjunction with using the bomb against the virus. Typically, clearing a patch of the virus will be enough to get you another bomb and so you can move to the next virus patch where you just repeat the combo.

And to think, I've only played one of the many game modes! While I didn't feel like touching the other game modes today, I will definitely return to try them out sooner or later.

Tip: At some point I noticed that you are a ball and carry some degree of momentum. Thus, stopping can sometimes be detrimental to avoiding the enemy!

Tip: You can freely roll against the perimeter, it doesn't bite.

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Waves (PC) (2011)

Relevant Links:
Waves (Steam Store Page)
Waves (PC) (MetaCritic.com)