I do love it when the game reviews itself for me.
Bossinabox is just that. A boss in a box. The game is only 4MB large, which has to be some sort of new record. That said, it's pretty insubstantial. You fight a giant tentacle mess, which looks like some kind of low-poly octopus orgy, until either it dies or you do.
the main problem with this game is that its a graphical nightmare. You will immediately have no idea where you are and will find yourself madly pressing the WASD keys while hearing some robotic voice scream "owie." Turns out, that little target on the side of the cube is you, and the monster attacks you by making certain parts of the cube red. Seems like someone slept through their conveyance classes.
That's really all I can say about this game. It's a really quick download, so I urge you all to check it out yourselves. It's a fun way to waste 5 minutes, if nothing else.
Until next time, stay sharp
Links
wat even is: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=400
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Boost, Blast, Bomb
Didn't work. Don't know what else you want me to say. Didn't work.
It set up ok, but its a multiplayer-only game which requires 4 players on different computers. I might be able to get it to work if I could gather up three other people and maybe play with my router a bit, but, to coin a philosopher, ain't nobody got time fo dat.
I did find a video of a trailer for this game, and it looks really good. What a shame.
Links
game?:https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=18592
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmdAl3he290
It set up ok, but its a multiplayer-only game which requires 4 players on different computers. I might be able to get it to work if I could gather up three other people and maybe play with my router a bit, but, to coin a philosopher, ain't nobody got time fo dat.
I did find a video of a trailer for this game, and it looks really good. What a shame.
Links
game?:https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=18592
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmdAl3he290
Bontago
Now, this was interesting.
When I scroll through the DigiPen game library and I see a game that proudly wears the title "IGF Game" or "IGF Finalist," I feel a bit conflicted. Part of me is happy that I'm about to play a game with ostensibly more time and manpower behind it than the rest, but another part of me silently weeps because these games tend to be the most massive, which is not optimal for a reviewer in my position.
While it took me over an hour to be able to get the info I needed from Bontago, the game itself is very simple. The objective is to stack blocks until your shadow reaches a goal marker, all the while racing against your opponent(s).
The game was pretty tricky to learn at first, but that's only because I left my mouse somewhere and had to use the good ol' trackpad for this game. See, mousewheel up and mousewheel down are two of the most integral parts of this game, as they dictate the height from which you drop a block. Even a small difference in height could mean the difference between neatly placing your block where you want it or having the block soar off into the distance, destroying your carefully arranged towers in its path of havoc. Since I was using the trackpad, I had to switch the controls so that page up and page down controlled the height, which worked well enough for me to be able to play the game.
While the meat of this game is simple, the bells and whistles are what makes it a truly massive game. There are certain "gifts" that you have a chance of getting instead of a block. I put quotes around "gift" because usually dropping them just destroys your progress in variously frustrating ways. Of course, you have to drop them in order to progress, making the powerups add a whole other layer of depth to the game. See, building upwards is by far the quickest way to expand your shadow of influence, but an earthquake gift will swiftly decimate a long tower, whereas the blocks that are closer to the ground will remain unscathed. All these factors have to be taken into account in a short time, as there is a timer that automatically drops the block you're holding if you hold on to it for too long.
I get the feeling this game would be really fun to play with friends. It's one of those games where you spend almost as much time setting it up as you do playing it, invoking the same kind of friendly discourse as do the item or stage screens in a game like Super Smash Bros (I know I mention that game a lot, but shut up. It's one of my favorites).
In addition, there's sandbox mode, a block-stacking creative experience that almost rivals Minecraft (except not at all). Usually though, when I play this mode I end up just randomly spawning blocks everywhere until the map resembles a carefully designed Lego city after a toddler's wreaked his vengeance upon it for an hour.
All in all, I recommend Bontago. It just might be the game that inspires me to figure out how to host a multiplayer match for these games. Until then, though, it's a fun experience that tests your mind and reflexes. It definitely gets my seal of approval.
Links
Blocks everywhere: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=535
When I scroll through the DigiPen game library and I see a game that proudly wears the title "IGF Game" or "IGF Finalist," I feel a bit conflicted. Part of me is happy that I'm about to play a game with ostensibly more time and manpower behind it than the rest, but another part of me silently weeps because these games tend to be the most massive, which is not optimal for a reviewer in my position.
While it took me over an hour to be able to get the info I needed from Bontago, the game itself is very simple. The objective is to stack blocks until your shadow reaches a goal marker, all the while racing against your opponent(s).
The game was pretty tricky to learn at first, but that's only because I left my mouse somewhere and had to use the good ol' trackpad for this game. See, mousewheel up and mousewheel down are two of the most integral parts of this game, as they dictate the height from which you drop a block. Even a small difference in height could mean the difference between neatly placing your block where you want it or having the block soar off into the distance, destroying your carefully arranged towers in its path of havoc. Since I was using the trackpad, I had to switch the controls so that page up and page down controlled the height, which worked well enough for me to be able to play the game.
While the meat of this game is simple, the bells and whistles are what makes it a truly massive game. There are certain "gifts" that you have a chance of getting instead of a block. I put quotes around "gift" because usually dropping them just destroys your progress in variously frustrating ways. Of course, you have to drop them in order to progress, making the powerups add a whole other layer of depth to the game. See, building upwards is by far the quickest way to expand your shadow of influence, but an earthquake gift will swiftly decimate a long tower, whereas the blocks that are closer to the ground will remain unscathed. All these factors have to be taken into account in a short time, as there is a timer that automatically drops the block you're holding if you hold on to it for too long.
I get the feeling this game would be really fun to play with friends. It's one of those games where you spend almost as much time setting it up as you do playing it, invoking the same kind of friendly discourse as do the item or stage screens in a game like Super Smash Bros (I know I mention that game a lot, but shut up. It's one of my favorites).
In addition, there's sandbox mode, a block-stacking creative experience that almost rivals Minecraft (except not at all). Usually though, when I play this mode I end up just randomly spawning blocks everywhere until the map resembles a carefully designed Lego city after a toddler's wreaked his vengeance upon it for an hour.
All in all, I recommend Bontago. It just might be the game that inspires me to figure out how to host a multiplayer match for these games. Until then, though, it's a fun experience that tests your mind and reflexes. It definitely gets my seal of approval.
Links
Blocks everywhere: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=535
Body O' Bob
Alright, I want to make up for lost time, so the next few reviews are going to be pretty short. That said, let's jump right in to Body o Bob
very simple game, this one. All you do is use the mouse to fly all around collecting vitamins and avoiding viruses.
Really the only noteworthy thing to talk about here is the control. It's way too floaty. I get that they were trying to mimic the feel of actually swimming through someone's digestive system, but the hitboxes are...generous, to say the least, and three hits can usually mean death. Sometimes it happens that I am flying around, collecting collectibles, and suddenly I see a germ approach from the far side of the screen. I immediately turn around, but I've built up so much inertia by this point that I careen into the germ and lose a life anyway.
On top of that, the spaces in which you're expected to maneuver can just be cruel at times. I've touched upon this before, but I think now is a good time to bring up the fine line between challenging and frustrating. Games like Blockhead or Arc Angle are challenging. They really test your skills and are designed in such a way that you feel like everything that happens is your own fault. Kill an enemy? Good. You deserved it. Got killed by an enemy? Good. You deserved it. Body O' Bob is frustrating because it doesn't feel warranted when you die. The sloppy controls and sporadic enemy movement make it feel like the game is being played by some vengeful puppeteer god and not you.
For this reason, I can't recommend Body O' Bob. Honestly, I can't even say I like the concept very much. There's nothing that sets this apart from any other game on this list and there are certainly things that draw it toward the lower tiers. It's not straight up dysfunctional like some other games (*cough* A series of Tubes *cough*) but its still just, in my humblest of opinions, not an exceptionally well designed game.
I appreciate what they were trying to do with this game, but I still say give it a miss.
Links
Gastrointestinal adventures: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25993
very simple game, this one. All you do is use the mouse to fly all around collecting vitamins and avoiding viruses.
Really the only noteworthy thing to talk about here is the control. It's way too floaty. I get that they were trying to mimic the feel of actually swimming through someone's digestive system, but the hitboxes are...generous, to say the least, and three hits can usually mean death. Sometimes it happens that I am flying around, collecting collectibles, and suddenly I see a germ approach from the far side of the screen. I immediately turn around, but I've built up so much inertia by this point that I careen into the germ and lose a life anyway.
On top of that, the spaces in which you're expected to maneuver can just be cruel at times. I've touched upon this before, but I think now is a good time to bring up the fine line between challenging and frustrating. Games like Blockhead or Arc Angle are challenging. They really test your skills and are designed in such a way that you feel like everything that happens is your own fault. Kill an enemy? Good. You deserved it. Got killed by an enemy? Good. You deserved it. Body O' Bob is frustrating because it doesn't feel warranted when you die. The sloppy controls and sporadic enemy movement make it feel like the game is being played by some vengeful puppeteer god and not you.
For this reason, I can't recommend Body O' Bob. Honestly, I can't even say I like the concept very much. There's nothing that sets this apart from any other game on this list and there are certainly things that draw it toward the lower tiers. It's not straight up dysfunctional like some other games (*cough* A series of Tubes *cough*) but its still just, in my humblest of opinions, not an exceptionally well designed game.
I appreciate what they were trying to do with this game, but I still say give it a miss.
Links
Gastrointestinal adventures: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25993
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