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Jan 26th, 2010 at 22:14:33 - Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (DS) |
Hmm...this game gets really hard, really fast.
I guess the strangest part of my experience so far has more to do with how quickly time flies while I play it rather than it's charm, gameplay, or anything else really. One of the things I'm most excited about as I write this is that I've just remembered reading somewhere that the soundtrack was released for free. It's that infectious.
I knew beforehand that I would have to divide my attention between two screens. However, that hasn't been hard at all. For the most part the audio cues are strong and clear enough that whenever there is trouble brewing in the bottom, I can quickly switch over. I thought that I would have to then pay attention to the top, but it turns out not to be necessary. The hardest part so far is dealing with the subtleties (read, challenge) of some of the platforming parts. Having to re-start an area is actually MORE painful than usual because it basically takes twice as long to get back to where you died. Not only do you have to platform your way there, but you'll also need to stop and deal with the puzzle as well.
At this point (World 3-3), I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it all the way to the end. I think I'm roughly halfway there.
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Jan 20th, 2010 at 20:59:26 - Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS) |
I wanted to make a note of a few of the more interesting puzzles I ran into. Spoilers ahead if you haven't played the game. I'm writing the solutions more for my own "records" than any particular reflection...
1. You're supposed to turn the electricity back on in a room upstairs. To do this you head into the electrical room and take a look at the breaker. There are two switches. You flick one (with the stylus) and then, as you try to flick the next one, the first turns off. If only you had two hands! Uh...wait, the DS touchscreen isn't multi-touch, right? I'm pretty sure it wasn't! Well, it is. Use two styluses to flick both switches at the same time and puzzle solved! This one DEFINITELY plays against your "knowledge" of the physical platform the game runs on.
2. You discover that a piece of Melissa's puzzle has something written on the back. Hey! It's time to put the puzzle together. That's the easy part. The screen changes to then show the completed puzzle on the top screen and the table surface on the bottom. How to turn the puzzle over? This one took me a short while before I remembered that the DS "knows" when you close it. (Drawn to Life! plays a special sound when you do that..). So, what if I close the DS? Wouldn't it be like flipping the puzzle over onto the touchscreen? Bingo! Again, a puzzle that is trickier if you assume that the DS can't do anything once it's closed...
3. Mila is KO and you need to warm her cheek. Something like that. Your face is on the top screen and Mila's on the bottom. After realizing that touching the touchscreen wasn't it...hey...close the DS (and bring both faces together!) Bingo. This one was even easier given puzzle no. 2.
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Jan 11th, 2010 at 22:40:05 - Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS) |
I'm probably about halfway through and the story has definitely become more interesting. Essentially, I've had enough time so that most of the games' characters have had some sort of decent introduction, a minor intrigue or two, and most importantly some hint at a potential reason for being there. Secrets are slowly being uncovered and I'm curious to see how it all unravels (or comes together, depending on your metaphor of choice).
Anyways...
I think I noted earlier how I felt somewhat uncomfortable skulking around certain locations in the game and essentially stealing items that I needed in order to solve puzzles. So, it was quite surprising when the story began to address these issues directly. First, another character (Louis) becomes my accomplice of sorts and often berates me for skulking around in parts of the hotel I shouldn't be in. He constantly warns me about getting caught. More recently however, due to one character complaining about having some stuff stolen (which, strangely enough, I had nothing to do with), the hotel manager starts to acknowledge that he's noticed some missing things. Of course, my character doesn't own up to anything, but I start to wonder whether or not I should return the items I've taken or what to do with them. Is it a better idea to carry them around or try to hide them in my room? If I try to hide them, where should I put them?
The stolen items situation escalates until I run into a character who is coming up the stairs and warns me that the manager (Dunningham) has just searched her person! She is, of course, shocked. That would be my cue to ditch everything. By mistake I end up walking down the stairs and I'm busted. Game Over.
The interesting part for me was that I re-started and unloaded some items. Namely three tools I had picked up as well as a bundle of cash I found. BUSTED!
What? For the first time that I recall, I was forced to go over all of the items in my inventory and reflect on how I got them and whether or not I should hide them. It actually took me one more failed attempt before I returned (or hid) everything suspect that I was carrying. It was an interesting moment of, to an extent, ethical reflection. Does having this item count as stealing if I don't think the manager knows it was there? (a lighter, he didn't care) How about this thing I found on the floor trapped under a piece of furniture, does that count? I found it in the manager's office, where I should have been. Would he recognize that? (a piece of paper with a clue, yes, he did recognize it).
This situation also forced me to really think about what the other characters know and what they think I know or don't. For example, I found $20,000 stashed inside my room's toilet (it was planted). However, if I bring up the fact that I know that $20,000 was stolen...GAME OVER! I need to somehow discover this information in a legitimate way in order to not have any problems. It's an interesting quandary that, because you can actually lose, you don't often find in adventure games. This game occasionally, and subtly, encourages you to NOT take the combinatoric approach with items (try everything with everything) or the exhaustive approach to conversations (ask all the questions and follow up on everything).
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Jan 11th, 2010 at 22:22:11 - Audiosurf (PC) |
I've been meaning to buy this for a LONG time. I eventually did, almost on a whim. To be honest, I couldn't resist the sale price on Steam. That'll teach me!
The game is pretty much what I thought it would be, though I've been surprised by a few things that I wanted to write down so I wouldn't forget:
(a) I experimented with a few different types of music. I thought that techno music would work best in the game given it's use of strong and regular beats. Surprisingly, for the songs I tried, they turned out to be rather uninteresting to play. The better songs where those in which the tempo changes a lot. Rock and pop did much better.
(b) Yes, I know it's an Indie game and all that, but I was surprised by how "clunky" some of the interface seemed. I'm not saying that it's bad...rather that the design seemed kind of...hmmm...not slick and polished? Slightly disappointed by that, but hey..the game still works.
(c) I had no idea there were so many modes of play with powerups and all that. Most of them seemed really scary to me, so I mostly played the most basic one, which was actually relaxed enough that I could enjoy the music while still tense enough that I had to pay attention to the game.
(d) At times, I could have sworn that the game was "jerky". Intuitively I was expecting a very smooth experience (like you have in all the other music games), so this effect was quite strange. I'm not sure that the track actually hiccups, rather I think it might be a perceptual issue where it FEELS like its doing so based on the music (and the "bumps")
(e) I tried to load up a looong song (60 mins.). That failed. You can do tracks that are 30 mins though!
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