Lego City Undercover: Holy moly, that was good. Really, really good. It's got a great balance between usual Lego levels and open-world tasks, and you can
really tell that there's a bunch more budget and effort put in to the game than is usual with a Lego title.I thought with the loss of the 'detector' cheats it'd be a little too hard to find the secrets in the open world, but the scanner mechanic pulls through really nicely. And it's so funny! I'll gladly buy a sequel. But next up we're back to the conventional franchise licenses with Marvel 1.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star: My 3DS is asleep at what I expect is the final battle right now, but I'm probably not going to get the chance to finish off until the clock passes midnight. I've got a lot of thoughts that I need to pull together, but for now, the simplest one: World 3 is far too long.
Just Cause 2: Another one I believe I'm right at the end of; one faction mission left, one agency mission that I believe is the last, and then pretty much done. Unlike the first game I really can't be arsed to do absolutely everything - there's just too much saminess - but keeping the content I do play down to a reasonable level means the game isn't outstaying its welcome. Which, as it happens, is making this about the same length as LCU. Not sure if that's positive for LCU (I'd gladly play more of that!) or negative for this (Lots of content that I'd find unnecessary). The game as a whole is fun enough, although I'm a little uncomfortable with the tone it sets at times; I'm not overjoyed with games that portray the player as a hero and then make lots of civilians trivial collateral damage - and I think there might be a slightly racist tone to it given some of the cartoonish villains (Here's a chinese general. He attacks you with fireworks!). But the actual *gameplay* is solid, with the possible exception of being a bit irritating when you're trying to diminish your Heat. The problem, I guess, is that it's got a bunch of portrayals that are perhaps intended as tongue-in-cheek and silly, but isn't quite silly enough to carry them off and so they appear jarring around the more serious gameplay aspects. Oh, yes, and Bolo Santosi's heavy-handed flirtiness is
ludicrous in the extreme.
Apotheon: I started this, but it never quite grabbed me, really. Control is a bit fiddly, and I'm struggling to care too much about the tasks at hand. And I'm left somewhat confused if I'm meant to be aggressively fighting off guards or going to great pains to try to keep within the law.
Pocket Card Jockey: Picked up the full game. I didn't manage to win a G1 race in the demo, then the first G1 race I had in the full game, I won. Go figure!
The Bridge: Not sure if I should strike this out, given I've unlocked the second half of puzzles, but I'm not clear if that's meant to be bonus content or more of the game. Either way, I think I've had my fill; I was finding it a little tedious towards the end. Not a bad game, as such; a nice design, and
gorgeous 2D artwork in an Escher style, but I'm not generally a fan of puzzle games where the execution is - for want of a better term - a bit fiddly.
The Magic Toyshop: Another from my occasional forays into the 1996 IFComp entries; this is actually a game I've cited from time to time in my discussions about puzzles, because it does something that actually makes the Towers Of Hanoi puzzle
interesting, and that's
not easy. The rest of the game isn't spectacular, but I like the core premise of subverting classical puzzles. While I'd completed the game before, I'd forgotten the final puzzle, and that's genuinely a brilliant one, I think. Indeed, I've half a mind to bring it up when a puzzle thread appears again, because it was really satisfying and methodical to solve. (There is however a puzzle in the interim which is less good, because it's somewhat referential about other IF works)
Toonesia: Another from the IFComp, this one was notable since it's set in a cartoon universe so you'd have to apply cartoon logic to the various problems - as such I suspect it might be a bit unfair to people who don't know classic Warner Bros cartoon logic, since these aren't things you can reasonably logically deduce, but for me, it works great. Also of some interest, you're effectively playing the bad guy; Elmo Fuld, out to shoot Bud Bunny (with all names avoiding copyright infringement, to the extent of the game telling you off if you use another, more infringing name. Oh, and having some delight about being able to call the Tasmanian Devil just that because it's a real creature). I remembered from my first playthrough the comedy being funnier than it actually was, I have to admit, although that may in part be simply because the setting was original.
Streetpass Puzzle: I wouldn't normally include this, but I'm down to fewer than ten pieces left to go to finish all current puzzles. Just need to meet a few people with good collections and I'll make it!
TMS next month! I'm craving an RPG, but I probably ought to hold out - or only play very short ones (Penny Arcade, possibly) - to keep my palate clear for when that's released.
