Humble Bundle V is AWESOME.

Latest Humble Bundle V has launched.

http://www.humblebundle.com/

Oh look, it's a bundle with Psychonauts, Amnesia, and the over average payout game is Bastion. If you don't own them, you've really got no reason not to purchase this one. It reads like a hitlist of must play games. Only two weeks though, so decide for yourself quickly or it'll be gone.

I already own most of them, and here's a quick summary(really quick, I'm in a rush to do a lot of stuff today):

Rant: Sonic 4: Episode 1

I'm hesitant to call this a review, mostly because I haven't finished the game in question.  Generally I like to finish games before posting reviews to give them a chance to redeem themselves with later gameplay.  But I feel this must be said now, especially since Episode 2 is out on steam and contains an incentive designed to sell copies of the first game.  I'll be quick here.

For clarity, I'm talking about Sonic 4 Episode 1 only.  The developers have said that many of these issues are addressed in Sonic 4: Episode 2.  I'm a bit short on funds to find out for myself, so everything in this ramble is only about Episode 1 and may not apply to the new chapters.

Sonic 4 is a decent platforming game that is decently good at everything except being a Sonic Game.  I had heard from others that the physics were a bit broken in this game, but this is much worse then I had imagined.


I know, you don't believe me.  Ok, let me explain in greater detail.

Portal 2: Steam Workshop Edition

Just a quick heads up for anyone who doesn't already know.

Portal 2 now has an official Level Editor, of the point and click together variety.  The trailer for it is pretty much self explanatory, so here's the store page directly so you can view it yourself in all it's glory.  By the way, it's a completely FREE update for those who already own Portal 2, and included in Portal 2 from now on for those new to the game:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/620/ (first video trailer is the official trailer from Cave Johnson himself.  It's also funny.)

The game is on sale for 66% off till 5/10/2012(midweek madness promotion), bringing it's price down to $6.79 USD.

Indie Spring Bundle and Review of Slydris

http://www.indieroyale.com/bundle/the-spring-bundle

The Spring Bundle is up but only for 2 more days as of this posting date and time.

This pack is actually quite good value for your money.  Mostly, I wanted to post about Slydris, as it's the only one I've had time to play but it already feels very worth the asking price for the bundle.  I can't vouch for the appropriateness of any of the other games in the pack as I've yet to play them myself and by the time I review them the bundle will more then likely be over.


Slydris, as you might have guessed from the name, is a tetris style block game.  It's tetris roots are obveous, solid rows of blocks clear themselves off the field, you make chains to get more points, if the blocks reach the top row you will lose, and between each move gravity takes over causing all the blocks to fall.  That's where the similarities stop however.  The block types are only horizontal bars, and you have no control over the new ones falling into the playfield.

Instead, you can grab and slide any block on the field horizontally.  After you slide a block and let go of it, gravity takes over and the blocks fall down.  The idea of course is to slide blocks to cause rows to be filled all the way across, and thus cleared.  It's a very simple mechanic and sounds boring on paper, but once you start playing you'll realize there is a great depth and even quite a bit of strategy to the game.

Microsoft Flight - Free to Play Flight Sim, now on Steam

Microsoft Flight Simulator has become simply Microsoft Flight, and is now a Free to Play game. Missions, collectibles, and exp.  It sounds like Pilotwings(SNES) all over again.  Even more perplexing, it's still mostly a Single Player Game despite having gone Internet free to play.

They recently released a Steam version of the game, so now you can try it out through Steam instead of downloading off the official site.  Benefits of that are you can use Steam's downloading service to grab the game(which is usually faster then the normal download speed).

It's probably going to be a while before I can review it proper, it being so big and all.  So I thought I'd share the news with you all now, instead of waiting to publish a full review later.  Please note that this info is based on my research into the game, as I haven't fully played it myself enough to properly speak as a player.

Trine 2 Steam Sale

Quick shameless plug for one of my favorite games.  If you've got a couple of friends who can play local and want a good co-operative platform/adventure/puzzle game, don't pass this one up.  You will need a couple controllers, but I know Trine 1 is well worth the effort to play, and Trine 2 looks to be even better.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/35720/

Trine 2 is 50% off this weekend on Steam, bringing it's price down to 7.50 for the regular or only 12.50 for collectors.  The first Trine is 80% off, or a measly 2.00.  Both are well worth the full price and basically a steal at this price.

Both games are very good 3 player local puzzle/action/platformers, with an emphasis on creative use of physics and the character's different powers.  Both are also MAC compatible, for you MAC gamers out there.

I haven't had the time to write up a review of them on here yet, but the first Trine is good clean fun, and from the looks of it, the second one continues the tradition.  Good clean fun for 1-3 players at once.

Dear Esther: A Review.

Ah, Dear Esther...

Not gonna lie, this game will either be two things to you. If you are not patient and not thrilled at the thought of taking a SLOW WALK through some scenery, while listening to pieces of a very broken someone's ramblings, with ample forced walking time between ramblings to think over what he is saying, this is NOT the "game" for you.  It will turn out to be one of the most boring things you've ever bought and you will quickly wish you had bought a few burgers instead.

It must be said, just to make things perfectly clear, there is NO INTERACTIVITY in the entire "game" besides using WASD to walk around(no run key), and mouse to aim where you are looking.  Clicking the mouse button simply zooms in a little bit on whatever you are looking at to examine it more closely.  No items, inventory, no puzzles to solve or people to talk to.  Not even zombies to run from or combat of any sort, not even a run button for those times you go the wrong way and need to walk back in silence(voices only trigger once per play).

There is a good reason for this, but I cannot explain it here lest I destroy what Dear Esther sets out and does so well.

Dear Esther is not a "game" in the traditional sense.  I think the best description of it would be "an activity that allows the player to explore and listen to a very broken man, while trying to make sense of what he is saying, with visuals that help support or add a physical backdrop to the audio."  In short, it's a jumbled audio book that you physically walk through at your own pace, that also relies on the scenery and sometimes which route you took through it to support telling it's story.

The fact you walk through it yourself and can choose to look deeper into things you come across helps distinguish it from what a movie can provide, while the otherwise stale lack of interactivity helps keep you from being distracted from the emotional roller coaster the story seeks to convey.  The fact most of the lines are randomized helps make each visit unique, while also revealing a bit more about the deeper meaning of Dear Esther as an entity.