Braid: Concluded

Braid's beautiful, but too hard.

I never used to find 2d platformers hard. Flashback, Klonoa, any and all Marios (including spin-offs: Wario, Yoshi etc), Mega Man, Heart Of Darkness, Donkey Kong Country ... etc ... I could go on.

Granted, Braid has a unique mechanic: time control. As far as I'm aware, I don't recall having the ability to rewind time in a 2d platformer before and as such this contributes to making Braid an excellent game. All the legacy platformer features are there: pixel perfect jumps, gravity, keys & doors ... but Braid still manages to feel fresh. Maybe it's the superb art direction: Braid is a gorgeous, gorgeous game, dripping and oozing quality from every pore. Perhaps it's the level design: it feels like Jonathan Blow and co have spent decades planning and polishing each and every level. The sound design is excellent too, and the game as a package feels very polished.

Maybe I don't have the correct aptitude to be able to comprehend reversing time, maybe I've just become shit at platformers, who knows, too many sojourns into 3D territory. Unfortunately my inferior brain lead to me having to use gamefaqs toward the end, an admission which makes me feel ashamed.

Braid is too hard, but I enjoyed every frustrating, how-the-fuck-do-I-do-this teeth-grinding second of it.

Fable 2: Concluded

I finished Fable 2 around 3 months after starting it, which made me realise that the GTA 4 reference stands also in respect to the length of the game, although I had a lot more fun on the streets of Liberty City than in the woods of Albion.

Up until the end I wasn't really enjoying Fable 2, nor was it a drag ... I was just playing it. I was getting the feeling that the next mission will be amazing, the next task will be an outstanding setpiece but it just kind of ... existed.

But then the end came and I was blown away. Previously I've mentioned the lack of perceived choice in Fable 2, but the end forces you into the matter with a choice between three ways of continuing (I won't spoil it for you. Well, maybe a little.). Suffice it to say I spent a while considering my options, but ended up with the lesser of three evils. This simple ending dramatically changed my whole experience of the game, and with it my opinion. I can't see myself going back to Fable 2, but it was one of the more enjoyable games I've played recently.

Oh, and the dog gets shot.

What's in a name?

One of the most important things (in my opinion anyways) when embarking upon a creative project is the name. I set up the blogger account, chose a template, then realised shit I need a name. Not just any name, but a good name. A name that might take days, if not weeks to decide on.

I've been in bands before and choosing a name was a massive deal, so it was the same with my first serious blog. It's my identity, my persona. Having said all that, I really wanted to call my blog The Game Age, but getting a URL was tricky as it would have been gameage.blogspot.com, and gameage sound like a verb: "I fancy a bit of gameage today". Shame really.

After a bit browsing various online thesauruses I settled on gameconcluded, it's more descriptive and sounds a little bit mathematical. I hope you like it, I do.

Mirror's Edge: Concluded

If you frequent other games blogs or news sites I'm sure you will have read plenty of Mirrors Edge commentary. It mainly centers around the fact that the main protagonist is female, and the whole Mirrors Edge experience is a fresh and new take on a crowded genre.

When I first heard about Mirrors Edge I was skeptical: how can a game succeed where so many others have failed? Jumping, in FSP games is generally a complete nightmare and so I thought DICE would have to do something very special with Mirrors Edge.

When it works, Mirrors Edge is an experience like no other. Once the tutorial is over, you are handed the freedom of the city, and once you get a handle on the controls you're away, jumping over railings, teetering hundreds of feet in the air on narrow ledges, sliding under pipes, fighting, running, RUNNING. It's an exhilerating experience quite unlike anything in any other game.

When it doesn't work, it's frustrating. Let me repeat that. When it doesn't work, it's FRUSTRATING. As I said pelting along at a fair whack, sliding and jumping is an amazing experience, but then it all comes to a screeching halt with one slightly mistimed jump. Or a mistaken move. Retry, same again. Retry, same again. Be prepared to do this a lot, because in the world of Mirrors Edge retrying is as natural a mechanic as parkour.

Mirrors Edge is set in a clean, dystopian future, and the main character is Faith, a member of an underground society and is known as a 'runner'. The visuals are spectacular, with not a hint of slowdown or draw distance problems, however be prepared for a lot of repetition in these environments, and some of the areas are uninspired to say the least.

Violence was also an issue to me. I have the distinct feeling that DICE intended Mirrors Edge to be only about the parkour: no guns involved, but top brass were afraid that an FPS with the S wouldn't sell so the changes were made. I intended to complete the game without using any of the weapons; just using non-lethal force to overcome the enemies however this proved pretty much impossible. Shooting and fighting isn't very well implemented, so if that's what you're looking for move along please.

The story is quite engaging with plenty of twists and turns. It centres around Faith's trying to clear her sister's name who, as a policewoman, was framed for the murder of a politician (it might have even been the mayor, I'm not sure). I started off with the best intentions, but ended up skipping the admittedly excellent cutscenes towards the end. I'm fickle like that.

All in all Mirrors Edge feels like an opportunity missed, and if a franchise is intended one would hope that DICE are allowed, and take, the opportunity to make something very special indeed.