Legend of Dungeon (PC) (2013)

Overview: Legend of Dungeon is beat'em up dungeon crawler with rogue-like elements with support for four-player local co-op. Explore a randomly generated dungeon and collect as much gold as you can without dying. Defeat enemies to gain experience, gold, and items. Got a potion? Maybe you should drink it. Careful though, because you won't know what it is unless you drank the same colored potion in the same run!

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Timmy T and J Dizzle (20131223)

Recommendation:
While the game isn't the best experience in terms of control, discovering the many different items available and playing the game with friends is a decent reason to get the game. You should, however, be okay with repeatedly dying.

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Legend of Dungeon (PC) (2013)

Relevant Links:
Legend of Dungeon Page
Legend of Dungeon (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Legend of Dungeon Wiki

Timmy T and C Fizzle (20140110)

20131223:
Possibly my first time playing Legend of Dungeon. I played with my friend Josh (J Dizzle).

[20150119]

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20140110:
After playing a little Botanicula, my friend Chris (C Fizzle) and I played some Legend of Dungeon. While Josh was also over, he had fallen asleep while we were playing Botanicula.

[20140119]

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20140122:
Today I check out the game by myself (Tim the Giant), possibly for the first time.

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20140125:
Some more solo gameplay.

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20141229:
Today, after Megabyte Punch, I played some Legend of Dungeon with Chris and Michael. Technically Josh was supposed to join us, but he was fast asleep. In any case, we each used a controller and our first run was terrible. We did, however, get an achievement out of it: Bar Brawl. Unlocked: Dec 29, 2014 @ 11:10pm.

Our second run went a bit more smoothly, with Chris becoming quite powerful, especially with his pen! (He didn't realize how strong it was when he first got it though.)

The pen is mightier than the sword.

Mike, Tim, and Chris.*
*For once we just use normal names!

For fun, the pen shoots ink and you can use it to mark where you've been, similar to the spray paint.

You can also squirt the ink on other players. The ink will stay until they wash it off at a water source!

On a different note, one game aspect I never noticed before is how some characters can jump further/higher than others.

[20150119 Edit]

Megabyte Punch (PC) (2013)

Overview:
Megabyte Punch is a brawler with mechanics derived from Smash Bros. What makes Megabyte Punch different is that it gives the player the ability to customize his/her fighter's parts.

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Recommendation:
While Megabyte Punch initially feels derivative, and in no way can it be a beat Smash's versus mode, it has a superior adventure mode and the customization can be fun. In particular, Megabyte Punch can sometimes feel less fluid than Smash. Overall, Megabyte Punch can be fun, but it's rough around the edges, so enter with low expectations.

As a side note, if playing with multiple players, a large monitor or television screen is recommended.

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20141226:
I played Megabyte Punch for about an hour today and I would definitely praise the equipment system.

As you play through the levels and collect parts, you can exchange the parts and customize your fighter (Megac).

Part of the Tutorial: Wall Jump

Of course, since you have a finite number of body parts, there are a finite number of possibilities.

Since some parts give special abilities, it's also important to assign certain abilities to certain directions (up, down, left/right, or neutral).

Interestingly, some combinations absolutely work better than others. There are also some combinations which do well in certain situations.

As for Megabyte Punch's fighting mechanic, that is mostly derived from Smash Bros.:
1) the regular attacks are executed with Z.
2) special attacks depend on parts equipped, but are activated by X and a direction (up, down, left/right, or neutral).
3) fighters (Megacs) accumulate damage and higher damage means higher knock back.

Select Different Parts for Different Abilities

In particular, the level one boss battle played out exactly like a stock match in Smash Bros.

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20141228:
Today my friend came over and so I busted out the USB controllers and we played a little of Megabyte Punch.

At first we went into versus mode and I had him check out some of the parts, had him put together a Megac, and we fought with three stocks each on the first available level.

After he beat me, we went into adventure mode and I thought that was a bit more fun. In versus mode, there was a lot of kiting and the fighting felt boring compared to Smash Bros. In contrast, having multiple players in adventure mode resulted in strategic splitting in order to explore divergent paths and cooperation in order to defeat enemies.

Two-Player Splitscreen

Note that the versus mode uses a single screen like Smash Bros. while adventure mode uses a split screen.

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20141229:
Today Chris, Michael, and I played level three and four of Megabyte Punch. Unfortunately we were playing on my laptop screen and so the split screen was a half screen for player 1, a fourth screen for player 2, and a fourth screen for player 3. Adjusting parts, as with two players, is private but switching out parts takes up the entire screen. Note that individual players can still attempt to navigate their "Y" screens when a single player is on the full screen menu.

In any case, the small screen was definitely a drawback. However, if we had access to a big screen television, then that wouldn't be a problem.

The life system (bits and disks) being individual instead of shared was also problematic. This meant that if a player died, he/she would have to wait until all the other players died. And in Megabyte Punch, the wait can be long. Note that an easy fix is to reduce the time that a player must wait before returning to the game. For example, in Smash Bros., the wait time between matches is generally minimal.

Other games which suffer from this flaw (a long wait for those eliminated) include Bang! the Bullet!, Risk of Rain (PC) (2013), and Monopoly.

Another thing we encountered was lag. While the frame rate was normal outside of battle, when enough enemies and/or attacks were being used, the graphics would jump and/or slow down.

After finishing level four, we fought once in versus mode. With my crab, I managed to win. Though honestly, I would say the crab won.

Two-Player Splitscreen

For a change of pace, we switched over to playing Legend of Dungeon.

20141230:
Today Josh, Michael, Chris, and I played this game on the big screen. We switched to it after playing some Fist Puncher (PC) (2013).

Playing on a big screen television, there was plenty of screen space for four players. Unfortunately, the boss battle had too much going on. Together we completed level five and we tried once to play through level six but failed.

After trying to play level six, I thought it would be fun to play Five Nights at Freddy's.

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20150104:
I tried to play level six today, but I kept dying.

After a couple of tries, it seems that wearing the head piece that grants immunity to red virus clouds is essential and damage reduction probably helps. A drill will also make many situations easier as well.

However, my hypothesis about the head piece was wrong! There is a solution that doesn't require it. However, the drill is still useful.


Eventually I defeated the three stages but barely lost to the boss. Fortunately, beating the three stages unlocks a door that leads straight to the boss. Unfortunately, it means I only get three lives instead of the four I had after the three stages. As such, it took me many variations versus the boss before finding one that works.

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Megabyte Punch (PC) (2013)

Relevant Links:
Megabyte Punch Website
Megabyte Punch (Steam Store Page)
Megabyte Punch (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

CreaVures (PC) (2011)

Overview: CreaVures is a puzzle platformer which plays like classic puzzle platformer The Lost Vikings (1992). With each creature having its own set of powers, the player must switch between them and get them all to the exit.

Bitey. He has a strong bite.

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Recommendation:
While the game has a nice visual look to it, it can sometimes feel sluggish. As such, I would instead recommend either The Cave (2013) or Trine (2009).

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20141224:
Today I played this game (on normal) and thought it had a cute introduction.

Pokey doesn't know how to cross the gap.

In any case, I began by playing the Tutorial levels and continued playing the Forest Floor levels.

While the game was initially fun, I eventually got bored and didn't see a reason to continue playing. Having stopped after levle 2 of 3 in Forest Floor, I had only been introduced to two characters: Bitey and Pokey. 10:56PM PT

Ah! Pokey can swing on Bitey's tail.

Random Thought: Given the choice between playing Lucidity (PC) (2009) and playing CreaVures, I would play Lucidity.

[20150106 Edit]

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CreaVures (PC) (2011)

Pokey can climb certain walls on his own, leaving spikes in them for Pokey to follow.

Relevant Links:
CreaVures Website
CreaVures (Steam Store Page)
CreaVures (MetaCritic.com)

Euro Truck Simulator 2 (PC) (2013)

20141224:
I thought it was neat to drive a truck, especially since trucks are so different from cars. Unfortunately, I found the game became boring all too quickly.

(20170115)

Having only completed one job, I had yet to purchase my own truck and experience the customization portion of the game. As such, my experience with the game is currently incomplete.

With that being said, I enjoyed the game's realism and might consider giving the game another go sometime in the future. For now, I can only say that I can see some people thoroughly enjoying this game, but my personal first impression was lackluster.

(20141224)

Steam Game Time: 43 minutes

[20150101]

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20170115:
Today I played Euro Truck Simulator again from the beginning and for the most part I felt as if I enjoyed it better this time around. In particular, I played through two jobs instead of just one.

Oops! (20141224)

As with Iron Snout, I opted to simply play with my keyboard instead of going through the hassle of setting up my Steam controller. This game, however, could warrant buying a wheel.

While I enjoyed the game more this time than the last, I wish there was a tutorial on backing up!

Remark: Perhaps part of what made this session more engaging was playing with manual gear shifting (CTRL and SHIFT).

Steam Game Time: 1.6 hrs (session)

[20170115]

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Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Realistic driving experience
+ Beautiful graphics
+ Can add music library as radio

Tip: Come to a break at the toll gate.
I didn't know the first time and I ran into it!

Neutral:
~ I wish the music interface was a simple matter of browsing to a directory (as opposed to dragging music into the game folder)
~ This game would benefit from VR, because using the mouse to look around is a disjointed experience

Cons:
- Can require too much patience for a video game
- Certain parts of the game can benefit from more instruction (e.g., when it starts raining for the first time, I want to know how to turn on my wipers)

Gonna need a loan for this... (20170116)

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Recommendation:
Euro Truck Simulator 2 is, unlike many games on the market, a fun and slow-paced experience.

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Euro Truck Simulator 2 (PC) (2013)

Relevant Links:
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Euro Truck Simulator 2 (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Euro Truck Simulator 2 (Wikipedia.org)
Euro Truck Simulator 2 (Steam Store Page)
Euro Truck Simulator 2 - Keyboard Controls*

*At one point during my second session it started raining (in the game) and I wanted to pause the game and find the controls for the windshield wipers. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to find where the list of controls were. While I still don't know where the official list of controls can be found, this page lists the defaults.

Magical Diary (PC) (2011)

Overview: Magical Diary is a visual novel and dating simulator whose story is largely based on the world of Harry Potter.

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20141222:
Today I tried Magical Diary, though I really wasn't so sure what to expect.

At first, upon learning that the basic story was essentially Harry Potter, I found the game a bit awkward.

Unfortunately, the awkwardness continued as there was no gameplay, just a bunch of story telling and occasionally a couple of choices to make.

Eventually, however, a character Damien reached out his hand and the player character was given the choice to either stand up on her own or grab his hand. At this point, a friend of mine told me this game was definitely a dating simulator.

This was particularly surprising because another friend of mine previously walked across and asked if the game was a dating simulator. Since there weren't any dating elements at the time, I just said no.

In any case, having never played a visual novel or dating simulator before, Magical Diary is my first for both.

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20141227:
Having only played the game for about half an hour, I decided to play a little more of it today.

In one part, the character mentions lawn darts. That's funny, because I first learned about them in conversation less than a week ago!

After playing for about one and a half hours, I found the game began to shift away from the Harry Potter based story and started to develop its own independent themes. While some themes have similarities to those found in Harry Potter, I find they are different enough to make Magical Diary interesting.

Having given this game more time, I find that there is some fun to be had, but overall it's not really my type of game. In particular, I dislike its pacing.

I could imagine, however, that some people would enjoy this game.

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Magical Diary (PC) (2011)

Relevant Links:
Magical Diary Webpage
Magical Diary Wiki
Magical Diary (Wikipedia.org)
Magical Diary (Steam Store Page)
Magical Diary (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Fist Puncher (PC) (2013)

Overview: Fist Puncher is a retro-styled brawler. With many distinct characters to pick from (four to start with), make your way through the city and save the beauty pageants!

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Recommendation:
Fist Puncher is a solid brawler with lots of moves and replay value. If you enjoy brawlers, then I would highly recommend Fist Puncher. In particular, Fist Puncher does a great job of capturing the look of older, more classic brawlers, so if you like retro, then check out Fist Puncher.

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20141222:
From what I've played thus far, Fist Puncher is a decent amount of fun.

One thing I like about the game is the number of moves available to unlock.

Unfortunately, I think it can also be hard to remember which keys (and key combinations) trigger which moves.

Yay! We saved a beauty pageant.

In any case, I like the game's retro style and would eventually like to try this game with two, three, and/or four players.

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20141230:
Today my friends and I played four-player Fist Puncher! While initially we jumped into one of the harder levels, I quickly realized this wouldn't work and we went back to the first few levels where my friends could level their characters.

World Map/Level Select.

While we had four controllers, one of the four failed to be recognized and so I decided to play on a keyboard. Unfortunately, the game only provides move combinations in terms of gamepad buttons and this diminished my contribution to the brawl.

With that being said, the four-player experience was still quite fun. Among my three friends, one praised Fist Puncher as being one of the best brawlers he's played, comparing it to the classic beat'em up River City Ransom (1989).

One of the other three (a fan of The Simpsons), contested that The Simpsons Arcade Game (1991) was one of the best brawlers and is much better than Fist Puncher. While I would agree that Fist Puncher has its weaknesses, it gives a lot more fighting options and unique characters than The Simpsons. Of course, there's no arguing The Simpsons is a classic arcade game.

[20150104]

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Fist Puncher (PC) (2013)

Relevant Links:
Play Fist Puncher Streets of Outrage (AdultSwimGames.com)
Fist Puncher (Steam Store Page)
Fist Puncher (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator (PC) (2012)

Overview: Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator gives players the chance to feel like they're a crew working together to pilot a spaceship. For the most part, you and your friends will feel like you're on the bridge of the Star Trek Enterprise. Assign roles such as Captain, Helm, and Weapons and work together to explore space.

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Third-person view of our ship.

Setup:* I advised as many of my friends to bring laptops as possible. Besides the additional laptops, I provided a desktop computer which ran the main screen on the big screen television and an additional console. I also provided a laptop to be used as an additional console. I might have also provided an older laptop for the Captain's screen. With the two-ship setup, I probably brought in an extra LCD television screen.

*As of 20170512, I don't completely remember the setup.

[20170512][20181211 Edit]

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20141220 ~11:38 PM to 20141221 ~12:20 AM): (Game 1)

Settings	Crew
Difficulty: 1	Artemis
Scenario: Siege	Light Cruiser*/Warp Drive*
Terrain: Few	Captain - Tim
Lethal Terrain: None	Helm - Thomas
Friendly Ships: None	Weapons - Josh
Monsters: Few	Comms & Science - Steph
Anomalies: Few	Engineering - Michael
Time Limit: 00

The Engineering Console. System Status (top) and Energy Allocation (bottom)

Post Game Comments:
: An issue we had was not knowing the effect of transferring energy to torpedo and vice versa.
: We discussed what the effects of Engineering had on other components.
: We thought perhaps Comms & Science was too hectic, and that maybe Weapons & Comms should be combined instead.

*This is assumed, because it was not listed in my notes.

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20141221 ~12:24 AM to ~01:02 AM: (Game 2)

Settings	Crew
Difficulty: 1	Flying Toaster
Scenario: Siege	Light Cruiser*/Warp Drive
Terrain: Few	Captain - Thomas
Lethal Terrain: Few	Helm - Tim
Friendly Ships: Few	Weapons - Michael
Monsters: Some	Comms & Science - Josh
Anomalies: Some	Engineering - Steph
Time Limit: 00

In-Game Comments:
: Lol, they were hiding in the nebula.

Result of Game 2 (~12:24 AM to ~1:02 AM)

Post-Game Comments:
: Steph was an energy saving engineer.

*Listed in my notes as "Standard"

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20141221 01:29 AM - 02:01 AM: (Game 3)*

Settings	Crew
Difficulty: 7	Nyan Cat
Scenario: Siege	Battleship/Jump Drive
Terrain: Some	Captain - Steph
Lethal Terrain: Some	Helm - Josh
Friendly Ships: Some	Weapons - Tim
Monsters: Some	Comms & Science - Michael
Anomalies: Lots	Engineering - Thomas
Time Limit: 00

Post-Game Comments:
: Facing a particular direction was confusing. Getting/understanding coordinates is key.

We cranked the difficulty up to 7 for Game 3! (1:29 AM - 2:01 AM)
Unfortunately, we lost and lowered the difficulty for Game 4. (~2:10 AM - ~2:32 AM)

*[20181211: The screenshot record suggests there may have been a game between Game 2 and Game 3. It's also possible that the interpretation of the original notes are incorrect, but I am unable to find the original notes.]

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20141221 ~02:10 AM - ~02:32 AM: (Game 4)
Same settings as Game 3 but with a lower difficulty.

Post-Game Comments:
: Lol, we used the jump drive to jump right into a mine.

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20141221 ~02:33 AM - ~04:03 AM: (Game 5)

Settings	Crew*
Difficulty: ?	Lemon Drop
Scenario: Border War	Missile Cruiser/Warp Drive
Terrain: ?	Captain - Michael
Lethal Terrain: ?	Helm - Thomas
Friendly Ships: ?	Weapons - Josh
Monsters: ?	Comms & Science - Steph
Anomalies: ?	Engineering - Tim
Time Limit: ?

Checking the LRS (Long Range Sensors)

Post-Game Comments:
: After 90 minutes we committed suicide because it was getting late.
: Both the Weapons and Science position seemed to have lulls in play.
: Maybe our ship used Comms heavily to move other ships around, etc.
: The Engineering position progressively became easier as I made more and more presets.
: We didn't focus much on changing the main screen during lulls this round.
: Michael was the most animated Captain and really got into the role.

*This crew is similar to the first crew, except with Michael and me in switched positions.

[20181211 Edit]

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20141221 AM Hours: (Version 2.1.1)
Overall Comments:
: Having read a lot of the wiki suggestions, I paid noticed when my friends unnecessarily said 'Thank you.' On the bridge, you just ask to get things done. However, I decided it was best to just observe and not bring it up.
: Printing out all the info would be helpful, but I think for the first couple of runs, just seeing a little of each position without details was good.

[20181211 Edit]

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Approaching a space station (in the distance, on the right) to refuel.

20141221:
Today I had various thoughts about the game:
1) The Captain's screen. The addition of the Captain's screen took away from the help of Weapons having to be in charge of pulling up various displays. Instead, without the Captain's screen, then the Captain can request Weapons to pull such a display up.
2) Nukes. Nukes are powerful, but can be dangerous because of the range of the explosion. If possible, ensure that all friendly ships are out of range.
3) User Interface. On Reddit, a user suggested that Helms and Engineering benefit from keyboard controls while Comms, Science, and Weapons are suited for touch controls.

Ideas for Two Ships:
: I've been trying to think of a good setup for two ships. With eight people, maybe each ship can have a Captain/Comms, Helms, Weapons/Science, and Engineering.
: One post I read said Helms, Weapons, and Engineering are not good to combine. This leave Captain, Comms, and Science to be moved about.
: As such, a possible six-person setup for two ships would consist of the following three persons per ship: Captain/Helms, Weapons/Science, and Engineering/Comms.

Captain, we've been hit!

Idea for Hardware:
: Yesterday at noon I was hankering to buy a joystick just for this game! However, I ultimately resisted the urge.

[20170512][20181211 Edit]

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20141223: (Version 2.1.1)
Today we tried various scenarios and played with two ships.

While I don't have all the details, I have four screenshots with Game Results that suggest the following information:
Game Result #1) 16:51 - 17:05
Game Result #2) 17:27 - 21:16
Game Result #3) 21:40 - 22:04 | Possible Crew: Warp, Artemis, 4/3; Warp, Intrepid, 3/1 | Possible Settings: Siege, Lots, Lots, Lots, None, Some, Level 3
Game Result #4) 22:06 - 22:43 | Possible Crew: Warp, Sea Bass, 4/5; Warp, The Flying Wang, 4/7 | Possible Settings: Single Front, Lots, Lots, Few, Few, Lots, Level 4

[20181211]

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Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Bridge simulator
+ Lots of potential for fun with friends
+ One license of Artemis can be copied to multiple devices for the purpose of playing as a group.

Splitting up the group into two ships.

Neutral:
~ Setup is theoretically simple, but requires a sufficient number of devices

Con:
- Medium to high learning curve
- While it might take three or less experienced players to run a single ship, it'll take about five or six inexperienced players to run one and gathering four or five friends isn't always easy.

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Summary:
Playing Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator with my friends was satisfying, and the fact that we played from 11pm at night to 4am in the morning was a clear indication of that. Overall, I would highly recommend Artemis to anyone who's ever dreamed of being part of a space bridge crew (which should be almost everyone who has seen a Star Trek movie).

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Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator (PC) (2012)

Relevant Links:
Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator Website
Artemis: Spaceship Bridge Simulator (Wikipedia.org)
Artemis: Spaceship Bridge Simulator (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator (Steam Store Page)
Unofficial Artemis Wiki

Results of Game 1 (20141221 ~11:38 PM to ~12:20 AM).

Result of Game 3 (20141221, 1:29 AM - 2:01 AM)

Result of Game 4 (20141221, ~2:10 AM - ~2:32 AM)

Result of Game 5 (20141221, ~2:33 AM - ~4:03 AM)

2-bit Cowboy (Android) (2014)

Overview: 2-bit Cowboy is a cowboy-themed platformer.

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20141214:
While the art is retro, the mechanics are modern (e.g., wall jumps and double jumps).

The player attacks with a gun and there are various stores along the way.

Collect rewards and money, but you'll need to finish the level to cash in!

In short, the minutes I spent with the game were okay; the game suffers a bit with its pacing. 2:04PM PT

While the game might sooth some retro gaming nostalgia, you should probably consider your alternatives.

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2-bit Cowboy (Android) (2014)

Relevant Links:
2-bit Cowboy (iOS) (MetaCritic.com)
2-bit Cowboy Webpage