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@bshootsclayjumps
Do you like reviews of bad video games? Do you like reviews of good video games? Do you love a bunch of games? Me, too!
Check out I Love a Bunch of Games, where I am playing through my distressingly massive collection of games from Itch.io and posting a short review every danged day, along with broader reflections on my week in games every Sunday.
Tra La Laa! Extra Life
Do you like video games? Do you like the life-changing magic of healthcare? Tune in to our 24-hour video game stream this weekend and help us raise some coin for Seattle Children’s Hospital.
We go live at 9:00 A.M. PST on Saturday, November 4, 2017, and we won’t stop for a full day. Watch us on Twitch, and don’t forget to throw a couple bucks toward our Extra Life page.
From my Ask Box:
Who's your favorite Princess in Little King's Story??
(Name withheld because I’m not sure if this question was intentionally private.)
We Have Issues
You’ve Got the Touch, You’ve Got the Nintendo Power
YEAH! On this lazy afternoon with the Tra La Laa! Radio Network’s magazine-skimming-est podcast, Jake and Tanner kick back with a stack of old video game magazines. Nintendo Power, EGM, GamePro, Official Nintendo Magazine, Game Informer, NextGen, PLAY, and even a couple rags poached from a long-ago E3. Join the Tra La Laa! Fun Club today! Mac.
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A brief review of Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse:
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse game is considered by most to be a Metroidvania, which is maybe a little deceptive. It's true; it's just a little generous. Like Metroid or the latter-day Castlevanias, it is a side-scrolling platformer in which you acquire new skills which allow you to return to previous areas and navigate previously insurmountable roadblocks. Can't clear this gap? Come back one you get the item that improves your jumping ability. That sort of thing - pretty typical.
The difference in my mind is that there's not much in the way of an interconnected world. Levels are discrete, and while you'll return to previous areas, it feels more like padding than exploration. You're not discovering and expanding the map so much as you're suddenly left directionless, poking and prodding across worn ground in search of the next event trigger. Honestly, I'd recommend keeping a walkthrough on hand for maximum enjoyment.
Because that's the thing - the action feels excellent for the most part. The animation is absolutely top notch - very Neo Geo - and every jump and whip feels superbly satisfying. (Shantae's primary attack is a whip of her long hair, a move that in no subtle way recalls the Belmont family's Dracula-killing whip in both reach and timing. The Castlevania influences are all over this game.) Chiptune genius Jake "Virt" Kaufman provides the score, and, unsurprisingly, it is a delight. If you treat Shantae and the Pirate's Curse as a straight-forward action game, you'll have fun.
The level design is poor, the majority of the dialogue is a waste, the obsession with gyrating bikini girls of identical body type is off-putting, every attempt to inject some challenge just comes off as frustrating, and the entire inventory system is a lazy design crutch that should have been removed, but the fundamentals are strong enough to leave a pleasant impression overall. I don't regret playing it, which might not be the strongest praise, but that's the most positive I've ever felt after playing something from developer WayForward. There's talent at that studio. I just hope they find the wisdom to question some of their lesser instincts one of these days.
The sequel, by request.
By request, a drunk penguin.
I don’t know. I draw what I’m told.
hireusnintendo.com/
Hogan’s Alley’s European box art. Slightly different from the Japanese one.
[The Video Game Art Archive] [Support us on Patreon]
Hey, you! Yeah, you. You think you’re funny or something? Why don’t you come over here and…
AUDITION! For a spot on a long-running improvisational comedy team!
Yes, indeed-y, Atomic Comic Improv is looking for new recruits, and we want to see if you have the right stuff, baby. Absolutely no experience required. If we like ya, you’ll be invited to our free bi-weekly classes. No kidding – you’ll get all the training you need to perform in our rib-tickling, all-ages, jokey-joke comedy shows, and it won’t cost you a thing. Not interested in being on stage? Not a problem. Our show is full of volunteer opportunities for anyone interested in publicity, lighting, sound, ushering, house management, and more. And if you just want some commitment-free chuckles, that’s groovy, too - as long as the room isn’t packed to capacity, we’d love to have you provide an audience for our auditions. So bring your good times and your laughter, too. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. Shareable snacks are encouraged, but don’t feel obligated. We can’t wait to meet you. It’s gonna be the best.
January 30th, 2016
1:00 PM
Redmond Regional Library
15990 NE 85th St. Redmond, Washington 98052
RSVP (not required) and questions:
facebook.com/AtomicComicImprov
Atomic Comic Improv was founded as a college improv troupe in 2008, and it’s been around ever since. This is our first time opening auditions to non-students. ACI is committed to fast, smart, interactive comedy that everybody can enjoy. We will begin holding our first public, professional shows later this year.
We’re less than a week away! We’ll see you there! A couple of snack rules from the Redmond Library where we’ll be holding tryouts: PERMISSIBLE - Food limited to snacks or wrapped items which are consumed individually. - Non‐alcoholic beverages in securely lidded containers (e.g. covered cups or travel mugs, twist top bottles) or spill‐resistant containers (e.g. aluminum cans, Thermos or sports bottles with closable spouts).
PROHIBITED - Group meals or open plates of food. - Messy, crumbly, sticky and/or odorous foods or snacks. - Alcoholic beverages. - Delivery of food or beverages to the library.
Games Of My Year
These are not the best games released in 2015, but the top games that I primarily played in 2015. These makes for some weird inclusions and some weird omissions. Rayman Legends, for instance, didn't make my list last year because I felt like I hadn't played enough to properly rank it, and this year I feel like I played too much of it last year to think of it as a 2015 game. (If you must know, its placement on this list would be number one with a bullet with butterfly wings, but it was hard enough to get this list to ten items as is.)Lots of words? No proofreading? Here we go!
10. Rock Bands
Brontë Loves Kafka has been producing an incredible number of tunes for the Tra La Laa Radio Network over the past 12 months, and they've been kind enough to let me sit in on a few of their recording sessions. It's made me think about how little I know about drumming, and I decided it was time to learn. Fortunately, all the suckers who filled their houses with fake plastic instruments over the past decade have decided they'd rather have free space than a bunch of dusty old toys. In other words, the secondhand Guitar Hero/Rock Band market is thriving. I picked up a Wii drum set along with Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Lego Rock Band, Rock Band: Track Pack 1, and The Beatles: Rock Band for a song. I'm still no drummer, but I'm starting to grasp the fundamentals, and, even better, I can hook up the drums to my computer for cheap and easy recording. As for the games, they're super fun, although most of the songs aren't especially appealing, and the game part often seems secondary to the rock-'n'-roll-fantasy part, which I don't care about at all. It ain't no Donkey Konga, I'm sayin', but I'm still having a blast, and it was all soooooo cheap.
9. PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+
This game is drugs. It is pure, pulse-pounding sensory overload.
8. LEGO City Undercover
"Grand Theft LEGO" is a reductive description, but it should give you a pretty good idea of whether you're in or out. Do you want to run around a LEGO city, stealing cars and smashing stuff to pieces? The answer is yes, yes you do. Admittedly, the mission design is totally uninspired, LEGO City is not the sort of "living, breathing" world you'd expect from a modern sandbox game, and the drawn-out cut scenes are only funny because they wear you down by repeating their lame jokes until you admit defeat. Doesn't matter. I get to run around a gigantic LEGO island dressed as Godzilla with a jetpack, blowing up trucks with a laser gun. It's half the game it should have been, but I still scoured the map to get every last special brick. It's joyfully dumb.
7. Woah Dave!
Put this in the same category as PAC-MAN CE DX+. It's short-form, fast-paced, retro chaos from the creators of the Bit.Trip series, and it's right up there with the rest of their output. Despite being interested from the moment it was announced, I couldn't understand what this game was until I played it myself, so I'm sorry if my description doesn't make sense. This is a classic risk/reward arcade game, taking clear inspiration from Joust and the original (pre-Super) Mario Bros. In classic form, there are some platforms suspended over lava. You can run, jump, throw items, and pick up items, which you do automatically if you touch something and you don't already have an item in your hands. The most common items are skulls and eggs. Eggs hatch into monsters, which then run in predictable patterns until they fall into the lava, which transforms them into faster, less predictable monsters. Skulls blink faster and faster until they explode. Hit an egg with a skull or hit a monster with a skull or an egg, and it explodes into pennies. Let a monster get stronger and its value increases. Find a rare WOAH! block (an obvious homage to Mario's POW block) to clear every monster at once. Sometimes you can even steal a UFO. But if an egg hatches or a skull explodes while you're holding it, or if you touch a monster or the lava, you're toast. I think my best score is something like $1.50. It's incredible. You should play Woah Dave!
6. The Fall
I'm hesitant to say too much because you should really experience it for yourself. Despite being a sidescroller with some pretty satisfying shooting sequences, this is a point-and-click adventure game. Find a thing, stick it on another thing, listen to dialogue, repeat. All of that is really good, but it's the story that makes it stand above its peers, and I won't spoil it. Come to my house and I'll let you play it. It's only, like, 2-3 hours long. This is part one of a planned trilogy, and while the ending doesn't wrap up every thread, it didn't leave me feeling cheated. Like everything that comes before it, it's dark and distressing, and I can't wait for more.
5. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call
Rhythm game + RPG? Sign me the heck up! There are significantly better rhythm games and better RPGs (some of them on this very list), but this is better than the sum of its parts. Leveling up, tweaking your party, traversing maps, and gathering items provides better incentive to replay even the less interesting songs than any other rhythm game I can name, and the fast, simple action keeps grinding from feeling like a grind. The nostalgia boost that comes from playing along to tunes from the handful of Final Fantasy games I've played is cool, but I don't have any attachment to, like, Final Fantasy XIII-2 or Advent Children or Dissidia 012[duodecim] whatever whatever, but even the unfamiliar music is beautiful. Plus, there's a ska take on the series' main theme. Yesssssssss.
4. Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Ahhhhhh! This game is so clever!! You get these shiny holofoil stickers, and then if you tilt the system, the reflection on the stickers shifts, and it's so natural and so subtle that I didn't even notice it was happening until I'd been playing for hours. Look, if you haven't played a Paper Mario game before, start with The Thousand-Year Door - it's not just the best Paper Mario, but the best RPG I've ever played - but for those of us who already dumped dozens of hours into that game, it's so cool that this game retains the cute, clever tone while crafting its own identity in just about every other way. The level structure is in the vein of Super Mario World, which is perfect for a portable game, and the battle system is is one of the most inventive I've seen. The puzzles are demanding and rewarding. I've laughed out loud multiple times. I still have a long, long way to go before the curtain drops, and already I'm overwhelmed by the memorable moments I want to relay.
3. Affordable Space Adventures
Survive a hostile murder-world in the cheapest, junkiest spacecraft in the history of video games. It's tough to write a funny line or draw a funny animation. It's far harder to make a game where the simple act of playing is a crack up, but leave it to the creators of last year's ingenious Spin the Bottle: Bumpie's Party to not only do that, but to combine it with wickedly tight environmental puzzles, and create what is secretly the most speedrun-friendly game since Super Metroid. And it's equally as good in multiplayer as it is in single player! It's short, it's kinda pricey, the load times are way too long, and I ran into some significant bugs, but I still think I might have made a mistake by not placing this on the top of my list.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles X
In a word, scale. After about 40 hours, I've only marked off, like, 15-20% of the map, and I am still itching for more. It's so weird, because I can rattle off such a list of huge problems - writing, acting, quest design, pacing, repetitive enemy types, embarrassing anime tropes, and more - but I'm so drawn into the world that I can shrug off dozens of issues that would instantly kill my interest in anything else and still call this one of the best games I've played this year. Plus, that music. So cheesy! It's magnificent! Even if you're not going to play the game, you should get to YouTube right away and listen to how silly this soundtrack is.
1. Microsoft Jigsaw
My most-played video game of all time is Solitaire. Despite all my snobbery about games, the truth is, I just want to sit in front of a computer and mindlessly avoid my responsibilities. Microsoft Jigsaw is an endless supply of digital jigsaw puzzles, and I can't stop. I actually have it open right now. My next puzzle is "Various Italian Dishes." There's linguine and pizza and garlic bread. Please help me.
- - -
Other games of note!
Super Mario Maker
It's great! I haven't played enough to rank it.
Splatoon
It's great! I haven't played enough to rank it. Soundtrack of the year though. It is the music of the future. It is what it sounds like in my head all the time.
Yoshi's Wooly World
I've only played a level or two. I thought I'd gotten enough of Good-Feel's shtick after Wario Land: Shake It! and Kirby's Epic Yarn, and, while I loved Yoshi's Island when it was new, the hard truth is that that game was aged horribly, and it's had some lame, lame sequels. My expectations were low, but what I played was a delight, and I'd like to play more.
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition
It gets pretty good by the end, but I feel deeply misled by the critics who said this belonged on the same tier as the better Metroids. I like a lot of what it does, but it's maybe a B+. Maybe add a few points if you have someone around for co-op, 'cause how often does a Metroidvania have co-op? But I played exclusively in single player, and I was pleased but underwhelmed.
Lumino City
I loved Lume for its potential. I am bummed out by Lumino City for falling short in all the same ways. The world - physical, handcrafted paper models, this time with intricate, clockwork moving parts - is beautiful, but it's never really shot in a way to capture the wonder of it. Swing the camera around! Crumple something! Play with lighting! Add layers! This stuff was fine on the first attempt, but they put way more time into this new game, and there's not much to show for it. There's MORE, but it's not significantly better. Ultimately, though, my biggest disappointment was with the puzzles. They look good, but they're confusing, and generally demand a type of trial and error that gives their completion a sense of exhausted relief rather than cathartic satisfaction. Add some major bugs, and you're left with a game that's decent, but hard to recommend, and certainly not the right step for my friends at State of Play.
OlliOlli
Pixel-trash sidescrolling Tony Hawk's Pro Skater! Tight! Some of that music is filthy in all the right ways.
Mario Party 10
Probably the worst Mario Party. Just awful.
Sonic Dreams Collection
Sorry daddy It's not easy being pregnant
Bubsy 3d: Bubsy visits the James Turrell Retrospective
Light defines form. But light also has a form of its own. Light has thingness. With art you can reach new heights ;^)
Ashpalt 8: Airborne
A free-to-play racing game. Unremarkable, but I played so much of it this year. Just barely missed my top ten.
Mole Mania
A Shigeru Miyamoto joint originally released for Game Boy in 1996. Cute, but inessential. I also replayed The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword this year (it's about how I remembered it - strong concepts and moments, but lacking the focus and execution to hang with the best Zeldas), and the Mogma-tunnel digging sections make a lot more sense after playing Mole Mania.
Pokémon Shuffle
The Pokémon Company's answer to Candy Crush. It ended up hooking me in a way I never expected, but it's ultimately nothing special.
Pokémon Picross
Talk about two great tastes that should taste great together! This should have been the top game on my list, but the free-to-play integration just about ruins the whole thing.
Nintendo Badge Arcade
It sounds so scuzzy and cynical on paper - pay real money to play a virtual crane game and win worthless icons to clutter your 3DS Home menu - but despite some laughably bad load times, this is actually a lot of fun. I haven't paid a cent (nothing here is worth your money) and I've already accumulated more than 100 badges. My Home screen is a mess, but I'm enjoying a few minutes of Badge Arcade each morning.
Gunman Clive
A really straightforward platformer/shooter with a beautiful art style and loads of replayability despite its short play time. My go-to bus game.
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Do you want a Paper Mario knockoff with a bunch of South Park references in it? Here you go. That's all this is. Good for what it is, but all those lunatics who put this on their own Game of the Year lists are delusional.
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
What a cool thing. It's a first-person action-adventure game with stealth and RPG elements - sounds like it would be a bloated mess, but it works. It's too bad my computer crashes so often when I try to play it (a problem with my computer; not the game), 'cause I really enjoy it. As someone who always found Deus Ex too directionless, I'm pleased by the way this game constantly moves forward while still letting me feel like I have a lot of agency with the way I want to play. The team that made this went on to make Dishonored, which seemed to be well liked for a lot of the same reasons, but I don't remember Dark Messiah ever getting its due. Maybe I just missed it at the time, but that seems like a shame.
Tokyo Bus Simulator
More of a delightful surprise than anything. This is a Dreamcast game, only released in Japan, about obeying all rules and lawas while driving a city bus. We popped this in as a joke during the Tra La Laa! Extra Life livestream, and were quickly hooked in spite of ourselves. Fun Fact: The new Yakuza uses a slightly more player-friendly version of this system for its taxi missions.
Armikrog
The Claymation follow up to The Neverhood, complete with new music by Terry Scott Taylor. Reviews have not been kind, but I'm still bummed I haven't gotten a chance to play it yet. It's supposed to come to the Wii U eShop next year.
Disney Planes
Possibly the worst game I played all year, although I only played a demo.
Killer Is Dead
Awesome, beautiful, boring, and gross in a sexist way, all in about equal measure.
Hitman Go
A great idea that loses its appeal in no time thanks to poor puzzle design. Lara Croft Go looks neat, though.
Jetpack Joyride
It's fine.
Shadow Complex
After years of hearing how cool Shadow Complex is, and how it's as good as Super Metroid, all I can do is laugh. Maybe I could take it seriously if I muted the dialogue, but still.
Words With Friends
Strangers quit playing because they're not as good as me.
Crossy Road
I don't get it. Frogger is the illest, but I don't get Crossy Road.
ilomilo
Cute enough, but I wish an editor would come along and cut out all the boring filler. Every level is at least twice as long as it needs to be. I think I got through the first world before getting sick of all the fluff.
Rampart
We played so much Rampart on Super Nintendo this year. It's a little too stressful for my blood, but I can respect it.
Sanrio World Smash Ball
Who would have guessed that the variation of Pong (outside of maybe Windjammers) is an old Hello Kitty game that only came out in Japan?
Top Girl
Bad and upsetting, but fascinatingly so.
Odama
Nintendo's Feudal Japan military pinball sim with voice controls from the creator of Seaman. Okay?
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
The fabulous successor to Four Swords. Unfortunately, I don't have two friends available to play with me at all times, and the online mode, neat as it is, isn't worth $40 to me, so I haven't bought Tri Force Heroes. On the one occasion when I did get to join a group after a Halloween party, though, it was super fun.
Undertale
I guess I’m supposed to play this. I’ve heard so much about it, and I see the appeal, but I also don’t feel much motivation to get it.
A Christmas card I made for a friend.
Bubble Snapple Brontë Loves Kafka
My pals Brontë Loves Kafka have arranged a bunch of video-game-y music for Tra La Laa! Radio Network’s video-game-y podcast, Super Smash Bros. Melee Mouth. If jokes about Nintendo characters are your bag, you should give the new episode a listen. If that ain’t your scene, they probably have another show that’s more up your alley.
MORE MUSIC FROM THE EPISODE
Gerudo Jackrabbit Brontë Loves Kafka
My pals Brontë Loves Kafka have arranged a bunch of video-game-y music for Tra La Laa! Radio Network’s video-game-y podcast, Super Smash Bros. Melee Mouth. If jokes about Nintendo characters are your bag, you should give the new episode a listen. If that ain’t your scene, they probably have another show that’s more up your alley.
MORE MUSIC FROM THE EPISODE
Green Hill Base Brontë Loves Kafka My pals Brontë Loves Kafka have arranged a bunch of video-game-y music for Tra La Laa! Radio Network’s video-game-y podcast, Super Smash Bros. Melee Mouth. If jokes about Nintendo characters are your bag, you should give the new episode a listen. If that ain’t your scene, they probably have another show that’s more up your alley.
MORE MUSIC FROM THE EPISODE
Little Turtles Brontë Loves Kafka
My pals Brontë Loves Kafka have arranged a bunch of video-game-y music for Tra La Laa! Radio Network’s video-game-y podcast, Super Smash Bros. Melee Mouth. If jokes about Nintendo characters are your bag, you should give the new episode a listen. If that ain’t your scene, they probably have another show that’s more up your alley.
MORE MUSIC FROM THE EPISODE
Theme From Super Smash Bros. Melee Mouth Brontë Loves Kafka My pals Brontë Loves Kafka have arranged a bunch of video-game-y music for Tra La Laa! Radio Network’s video-game-y podcast, Super Smash Bros. Melee Mouth. If jokes about Nintendo characters are your bag, you should give the new episode a listen. If that ain’t your scene, they probably have another show that’s more up your alley.
MORE MUSIC FROM THE EPISODE
