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Review in Quotes: Super Meat Boy

I was writing a review of Super Meat Boy while listening to an episode of the EXP Podcast when I heard Jason Rohrer describe Super Meat Boy in such a way that I had nothing to add:  

“ ... it’s incredibly hard but its brought me to this level of performance in a game that I’ve never really experienced before. Almost like a ballet like performance in terms of how good I was at controlling the game by the end, it forces you into really learning the systems. A beautiful experience.”

– Jason Rohrer

This perfectly sums up why Super Meat Boy is incredible. Through trial and error, you watch as your skills develop and eventually you come to this point where you have this almost unconscious mastery of  Meat Boy's movement that is uniquely satisfying. Super Meat Boy embraces old school game design in a way that feels rewarding and enjoyable experience.

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Review: Portal 2 [PS3/PC]

Review: Portal 2 [Single Player]

The original Portal caught almost everyone off guard in 2007. The combination of the clever and fresh portal puzzle solving mechanic as well as some really smart and witty writing made Portal an instant classic. Portal 2 looses the surprise but gains some polish and variety to create an incredible experience. 

Portal 2 had to prove it was a step up from its predecessor, and it does so right of the bat. The player is immediately thrown into an environment of such a scale and scope that it surpasses any area in the previous game. Stephen Merchant plays new comer Wheatley who is the stand out performance of the game, he perfectly finds a place in the Portal universe and has some really clever lines. The writing in general is spectacular; the small cast of Ellen McClain, Merchant, JK Simmons and Nolan North create a remarkable ensemble keeping the player entertained with their witty banter. That said the plot fails to shock the player in the way the previous game had, many plot twists felt far too obvious. It does an adequate job of serving the flow of the game, but without the shock of the past game the corners the narrative takes aren’t quite as interesting. The fiction developed around Aperture’s past is quite interesting and provides much of the mystery we are accustomed to in Valve titles.

Portal 2’s puzzles are expertly crafted with a solid difficulty curve. Portal 2 never felt unfair, rarely were there any extreme difficulty spikes, and never did I feel the puzzles were too easy. All the puzzles were fantastic; except, for when I had no idea what my objective was. In some areas I sat for several minutes looking around the room going ‘What exactly is my objective here’ this should never be a question in a puzzle game. In a puzzle game you should always know what the puzzle is, the challenge should be how, not why. 

With a far longer campaign Portal 2 adds several exploration sections to add to the variety, Portal 2 at times feels remarkably like Half Life 2 in terms of its pacing and environment design. Those concerned with Portal 2 being a mere gauntlet of puzzles with no substance in between need not fear. With all this in mind it is really disappointing to see so many poorly placed loading screens that have become a common plague with the source engine as it has aged. These loading screens can really diminish many of the more intense moments.  

Apart from the loading times, the Source Engine holds up remarkably well. With setting cranked up on PC the lighting it’s very dramatic and the way the old dilapidated industrial areas contrast the clean reflective test areas is really remarkable.

When Portal 2’s final act came to a close I was both satisfied with the results and disappointed it had to come to an end. Portal 2 further demonstrates that Valve is a stand out studio unlike any other, constantly finding interesting and unique ideas to further the medium. Portal 2 is an adventure worth your time and money.

Score: 8/10

[Reviews scale: 5 = Average, goes up 1 unit at a time] ­­­

Review: Enslaved [PS3]

Review: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.

Enslaved is a game that attempts to be a lot of things. It yearns for the emotional impact of Ico, and reaches for the cinematic quality action of Uncharted.  While it fails to achieve either it does offer a ride worth taking.

You are Monkey, a large brutish man who’s good at heart, tasked with returning Trip to her home village, whether he wants to or not. Enslaved is basically a linear 3^rd person action platformer. You leap from ledge to ledge and bash enemies with a large baton. The platforming is fast, well animated and elegant, yet often mindless. This works great in the games many action set pieces adding to the excitement as you seamlessly fly from platform to platform like a monkey from tree to tree; but, diminishes the impact of sequences that would be otherwise nerve racking and dangerous, because the threat of falling is almost non-existent. Games like Uncharted and Assassin’s Creed can play to ones fear of heights because the thought of falling is always present; Enslaved fails because the player knows safety is always one button prompt away.

 Enslaved’s combat is your standard Light/Heavy attack dichotomy. Combat takes a little bit of thought, the enemies they toss at you vary enough that you aren’t using the same strategies over and over. You’ll get caught in animations a lot, which leads to some incredibly frustrating situations. The game lacks the finesse of a Bayonetta or Ninja Gaiden, but manages to feel impactful. Hitting your baton against an enemy as it tears through its metal components feels incredibly satisfying and every so often the game rewards you with a sequence in which the camera shifts and Monkey smashes through a robot in a manner in which audio and visual elements combine to create a genuinely visceral moment.

Enlaved’s biggest success is the relationship between the titles two main characters Monkey and Trip. As the game progresses the characters develop and grow in an interesting way and there are plenty of incredible moments that the two share, such as emotional back and forth in cut-scenes or simply being able to carry your companion through certain sequences in the game. The game’s characters actually feel human, and much of this is because of the expertly crafted animation. The cut-scenes demonstrate great attention to detail, characters pull of emotions that have only ever looked comical in games before and small little mannerisms add incredible depth to the games narrative repertoire. This all cumulates into a narrative that is well crafted and enjoyable. 

Enslaved is an inconsistent ride, at times it feels on par with some of my favourite games, yet at other times it seems mundane and tired. It relegates itself to its genre constraints and doesn’t do much we haven’t seen before; its narrative is enjoyable but too often relies on cut-scenes and other non-interactive sequences. Enslaved comes close to being something wonderful but fails to take enough risks to achieve it. 

Score: 6 / 10.

I’d like to note that I never liked Dragon Ball.

[Reviews scale: 5 = Average, goes up 1 unit at a time] ­­­