1/3 through 2014, and only a slightly damaged liver to show for it...

That's not all that true, but will probably lay off the booze for a bit now the Easter holidays are over and I'm back at work. After talking about blogging with a mate, I realised it's been bloody ages since I posted anything on here. So thought I'd make it less specific and just blog about whatever the hell I like.

In all fairness, a lot has happened since my last post. Split up with my then girlfriend and had the joyous task of getting stuff moved out of the house and the like. Together for 5 years, and though I know that after it all I could never want to go back down that road, it still frustrates me how much time has led to nothing, not even a reciprocated platonic friendship.

A positive from this that has rubbed off on me, is my rekindled desire to shed a few pounds and generally be a bit healthier. This is going pretty well and I'm down 4, almost 5 trouser sizes. Had a bit of a rubbish end of the hols, but am back to being healthy, eating lots of veg, water and avoiding things overly bad for me. I still want to drink so I'm just avoiding beer and cider and have replaced this with Bourbon and Diet coke or just ice. I'm quite happy with this switch... :-D Doing a lot more walking around the place to help, too.

But hey ho, life is definitely not bad right now. I've been talking to the odd member of the opposite gender even arranging the odd date now and then. I've gone out and seen a lot of my friends, drinking far too much, especially during the holidays. I've rekindled friendships with people I've not seen for a very long time, which is just crazy when you consider how amazing they are.

And work is going well, despite the money still being crap. As I've been covering a lot of ICT lessons for staff though it looks promising that I'll be able to work on a higher pay band come September, which will also be on a permanent contract. I really hope that happens, as it really wouldn't take a lot more cash for me to live a lot more comfortably and still have long holidays.

Anyway, other thing I've done...

I went to Alton Towers! That was bloody brilliant. It was bogof tickets, and virtually no queuing for anything. Contrary to my last visit when I was in secondary school, I went on everything! And didn't shit myself, so I think that's pretty much a win.

I've been playing a bit more in band. We've only been doing rock covers and it's just for fun, but it really is awesome fun. Recently played Megalomaniac by incubus and after a whole practice was able to sing (read: shout) the high vocals on the chorus, so well pleased with that. Also starting to write more stuff acoustically, and actually get some ideas onto the old laptop. Leaving my mic set up, so should inspiration strike, I'm ready to go. Surprisingly still finding it challenging to write lyrics, but I'm getting there.

I saw one of my best friends recite his poetry! His name is Ian Bowkett and he is beautiful, as is his poetry. A scientists compositions about his love for both physics and females. Plus, he can complete a Rubix cube whilst reciting, which is pretty awesome. You can find his stuff here http://ianbowkett.bandcamp.com

I also saw the Australian Pink Floyd and The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain. Apparently I don't go to gigs with pits anymore - only those with seats for my ageing bones... Both were awesome anyway, and I highly recommend both should you ever get the chance.

Anyway, I hope to blog more frequently about more varied topics, and I hope you'll stick around to see what I have to say. If not, it's been nice knowing you.

I like to think I'm friendly so feel free to hit me up! Twitter is your best bet, and I can be got on @abbott_56

I'll leave you with this beautiful song by Middle Brother.
Take care. x

abbott_56's #GOTY

Christmas has been and gone. Hazah! I was extremely in the spirit and very much looking forward to getting my hands on some new games to celebrate the birthday of the baby jesus. There's just no better way I'm sure you (and he) would agree.

However, rather unlike me I have actually made an effort to buy some new titles for myself this year, and have played enough to feel that I can make an informed short list and choose a new title from 2013 as my game of the year. I don't have an Xbox so the titles I've picked are from Sony and Nintendo platforms only. Hold on tight now, here they come...

1. The Last Of Us (PS3)

A masterful execution of technology meets story telling and whilst it may not appeal to everyone, its exquisite looks, soundtrack and story means it's very difficult to ignore The Last Of Us as a contender for many people's GOTY lists. 

I like how this game makes you believe in the situation Joel (the main and most controlled character throughout) suddenly finds himself in. As much as I enjoy Resident Evil, it can feel a bit Haunted House, going more and more over the top with every iteration to try and scare you when actually it's in the what you don't see that creates real fear. The infection in The Last Of Us is believable, from the way it's contracted to the progressing symptoms in the infected. Rather than throwing in ginormous mutant bosses for thrills sake, you encounter different levels of the same infection, and it's more about stealth and conserving your ammo and med kits than it is about blowing the heads of as many zombies as possible.  

I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It really makes you empathise and attached to the characters right from the go. It explores morality, and has an unexpected conclusion without shoe-horning on (or creating) an alternate ending to try and please the masses. This is a story, and will be told as developer 'Naughty Dog' see fit. 

It's also about survival of the fittest. The earth is in turmoil; one man doesn't suddenly go off to rid the world of infection - people do what they can to survive, which is exactly what Joal does. This makes other humans just as much of a threat as the infected as you traverse the decaying world around you. 

Everything about this game adds to the scare factor, the environments are epic in design, and realistic in a world that's been left to it's own devices for two decades. Buildings are derelict; flooded, overgrown and capsizing. The soundtrack is minimalist, but perfect in developing atmosphere. The character design and animation really adds to the attachment - you can really see the emotion in the faces.  

It's hard to do The Last Of Us justice in just a few paragraphs, but it really did quite literally take my breath away during my first play through. It's worth adding as well that there are multiple difficulties and an online multiplayer, so it's value for money as well. If you haven't played this yet, I'd really recommend picking it up for the new year. 

(Screenshots from www.thelastofus.playstation.com/media.html#screenshots)

2. Ni-No Kuni (PS3)

I am definitely a fan of RPG's, traditional or not. I enjoy navigating through menu's, equipping magic, weapons and increasing stats. I enjoy what is normally gorgeous art work and design throughout and I'm definitely partial to the epic sweeping scores that normally accompany the action. And though developers seem to be moving ever away from the traditional turn based RPG, there is a still a lot on the market to devote hours, weeks and even months of your life to, without even looking at the offerings of online gaming. It takes something truly special to stand out from the croud. 

Luckily, Ni-No Kuni does this from the get go. I pre-ordered the special edition purely based on how pretty it looked before even turning it on. The collectors box, plush, magic book and game are all stunningly presented and even if the game had been rubbish, I would've been happy with that purchase. 

The game delves into the world of Oliver, who through some harmless mischief ends up losing his mother in an accident. Upset as you would be, Oliver cries in his room. His tears gently drip on to his own plush which is magically brought to life. It sounds cheesy, but it is so loveable you won't mind. 

The now alive plush, Drippy, informs Oliver of another world where everyone has their own counterpart, and that Oliver's mother looks suspiciously like a great Sage that has been captured. Using his new found magical ability, Oliver and Drippy set of between worlds to rescue her, often switching between the worlds to solve puzzles and problems. 

The game looks for the most part like playing a cartoon. The artwork of Studio Ghibli is masterful, and Level 5 have done wonders in bringing it all to life. The animation, the battles, characters and even voice acting is superb, helping to absorb you into this enchanted world and story. 

The battles are fresh, and use a real time menu system, where you select abilities and attacks while the rest of your party look after themselves until you tell them otherwise or decide to switch characters. There's also a Pokemon style familiar system, where creatures from the world can be called upon to assist in battle. These too look stunning, not one looking drab or cliche. 

But it's the over world that I love most of all. After putting up with Square-Enix's desire to move from open map to corridors in FFXIII, having an old style gorgeous world map actually feels new and refreshing. The accompanying soundtrack is full of sweeping orchestral scores, making the adventure just better every step of the way. 

In fact, the only real shortcoming of this game is a flaw of my own, and that's just that as an adult I could not devote the time to it that it truly deserved. now it's Christmas, I have more time, which will likely be taken up by any presents I may receive for being well behaved these last 365 days. I will try to play through this masterpiece again, and if you haven't already, please go and buy it and encourage more games of this calibre to come into existence. 

3. Super Mario 3D World (WiiU)

Is definitely the WiiU's killer app right now. It's just an excellent 3D Mario game. Closer to a HD Mario 64 than Mario Galaxy, the game ditches the excellent gravity based mind bending puzzles from the latter in favour of more traditional go at things. This can only be a good thing, and in HD Mario looks better than ever, as do his pals Luigi, Toad and Peach, who, if you can believe it, is not who we're saving this time round!

All four characters are playable, and the game caters to multiplayer very well. Player 1 on the gamepad, further players can pick up a wiimote, with or without nunchuck, or a classic pro controller and just drop in when it suits. It doesn't feel like you're missing out playing alone at all, but things are definitely more laughable with more of you on screen.

The display is just mirrored, and actually looks excellent on the TV and gamepad (my naff iPhone screenshots really don't do it justice). The gamepad image is a slightly fuzzier version of what is on screen, but I've probably played more without a TV then I have with.   

The map looks great - like an old school Mario map, except you can move about freely. People from Miiverse are dotted around your map; move towards them and see a comment from that person, complete with unlockable Mario stamps that they've posted about the level or world they are in. You can also toggle Miiverse ghost data, which inserts Miis in to the level your playing. It's a great user friendly way to introduce the WiiU's online capabilities and the world of Miiverse. 

The gameplay then is good old fashioned fun. No gimicks like the water canon in Sunshine or Gravity in galaxy. As great as they were, it's nice to have a normal Mario game on the big screen again and it's a great debut for Mario and co to the land of HD. 

4. Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)

I've already devoted a post to the latest handheld adventure, which you can get to here, but just to summarise, A Link Between Worlds is a perfect blend of old meets new. Nostalgic for Nintendo veterans, but easy to pick up for newcomers. It looks, sounds and plays great, uses Street-pass and 3D superbly and is quite simply another must-own title for the ever expanding 3DS library.  

5. Steamworld Dig (3DS)

Another game I've blogged about before here, Steamworld Dig is an astonishing accomplishment, and is making GOTY lists all over the shop according to developer Image & Form's twitter account. It really does hold it's own with some of the triple A titles, and is only an £8 download (or if you're quick, I think it's on sale for about a £5a right now). 

Again, to summarise, this is a Metroidvania meets DigDug or Boulderdash with a steampunk art style. There is an element of resource management as you strive to rejuvenate an old mining town by bringing rare rocks and gems to the surface for selling, in turn being able to buy more and better equipment to make your way further into the mines to find more valuable gems to come back and sell to buy even better equipment...ah, I think you understand. 

The look is extremely polished, and use of equipment ingenious. No two play-throughs will be alike as the map is created as you mine yourself as you mine. There are distinct levels where the look and enemies in an area will change, keeping the adventure nice and varied. There is a solid story holding it together as you hunt for clues about your Grandpas misterious disappearance, finding Metroid style powerups that have been conveniently developed just for you which again help you to explore previously inaccessible regions of the ever expanding mines. 

It's a great mix of elements and feels more expensive than it's price tag would let on. Just google it to see all the good things people have been saying about this utterly charming game. Very much looking forward to the next Steamworld outing. 

My Winner

Picking a winner for my own list is difficult - of course it is. It's my list of my favourite games from the entire year! It's supposed to be hard These games are completely different from one another and all have their own merits. In my head I feel it should be The Last Of Us, as it was just like nothing I've ever experienced before and really took my breath away. That's kind of the sensible option. But no one likes sensible, so just pipped to the post I think it would have to go to A Link Between Worlds. I just had such an immense amount of fun playing through the familiar land of Hyrule and becoming a living painting. It made me smile I think more than the Last Of Us had me terrified (just about). And for that reason, my GOTY goes to (with no trophy or anything - absolutely no expense spared) Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. Now go out and buy all 5 of these games right now! 

The Legend Of Zelda #ALinkBetweenWorlds

I am an avid fan of the Legend Of Zelda series ever since my first time playing video games, and to me, they opitimise everything good about video games - They're epic, they're colourful yet broad in appeal, they involve a big sword, and most importantly, they're fun. 

If anything, I lean towards preferring the handheld games over the console endeavours, as it's just amazing how something so grand in scale can fit on to such a small screen. Links Awakening DX was the first LOZ game I ever played and is still one of the very best. 

And now, Link makes his way to the small(ish) screen yet again, in a completely original Zelda game, A Link Between Worlds, a sequel to the stunning 16bit Link to The Past. The result of Ninty's merging of the nostalgia of old with the tech and design of new is pretty much flawless, creating an instant classic; a must own title for the 3DS and certainly a good enough reason to go out  and buy a system to play it. It really is that good. 

Frequent visitors to the pastures of Hyrule will instantly recognise a lot of the musical themes in ALBW. The 16bit midi has been reorchestrated and sounds exquisit, bringing with it excitement, tension and celebration throughout. Even the sound effects used are polished, with satisfying sounds signalling skipping through text for example - not an annoying beep on earshot. 

They should also recognise the overworld map. It really is a sequel to ALTTP, and whilst the game encourages you to explore very early on, you'll no doubt be treading some familiar paths and taking a walk down nostalgia lane. And it's all presented in brilliant colours and clarity, using the 3d effect throughout. This especially adds depth to the dungeons, which make use of the effect when moving from floor to floor. Early on, Link uses springs to ascend a dungeon, bursting out of the screen before landing safely one floor up. 

As for gameplay, the traditional complete a dungeon with the gear you find within has been replaced with a renting system, making the familiar in game currency of Rupees arguably more important than before. You rent your gear, and should you die, you lose it. A nice idea, though in my first play through I only died once, meaning I soon had enough rupees to buy equipment should I have fallen. Lots of the series staples are still available to equip, such as the hookshot, the bow, and the always inessential boomerang. 

Another new mechanic is the 'as seen on TV' ability to merge into walls as a painting. Link can move left to right in this  state as long as the magic meter lasts. It makes for some ingenious puzzles and some glorious artwork. Picking up painted rupees and hearts is beautiful to behold and really put a smile on my fave when I realised it could be done. 

The dungeons then, for me at least, were tricky, but combat is not. Puzzles and routes often take a lot of scratching your head to work out but fights, even with bosses, were never truly difficult. This is not to say they lacked tension, the music and cramped arenas see to this, but Inwas still able to make my way through with few casulties. Fortunately though, there is an included hero mode which is unlocked upon completion for those wishing to test themselves. 

Finally then, there is the StreetPass. This has been used to gain hits from other 'Link's' from other people's game. They show up in yours as Dark Links in the overworld. Bumping into these triggers a 1on1 battle using your currently equipped gear and nothing else. This is an intuitive and unobtrusive way of using StreetPass and definitely enriches the Zelda experience. 

All in all then, a pristinely polished game which utilises both the nostalgia from the prequel and the new tech of the 3DS to create something sublime. A must by for anyone interested in gaming adventures. 

(Screenshots taken from Official Nintendo Website, at http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/Z6ft-sYy0pxxdkRc-dIxtTH7XHqWVLl9)

#AnotherHalfTermGaming

So last Friday, and not a moment too soon, another half term was upon us. It feels both an age and no time at all since we started back in September, helping all the little darlings on their way to SATS glory. And as usual, a great chance to catch up on some gaming presented itself. Here's what I got up to over the week...

Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (WiiU)

Oh my! It's the already gorgeous Wind Waker, but in HD! And with WiiU controls which, whilst not revolutionary, make equipping, sailing and conducting a joy, utilising the touch screen superbly yet without killing it. Just what you'd expect from Nintendo. This is truly excellent and what your WiiU was made for. That is, until the next original Zelda on WiiU arrives. This has been lovingly crafted and updated, and bar the occasionally lag when things get busy, and a few (and I mean a few) pop up enemies/scenery is perfect. Buy it yesterday. Go!

Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)

I've never ever played a Fire Emblem game before. Ever. *Runs and hides from the hardcore fans* I do apologise to the gaming community unreservedly, and to be truthful i've only played a handful of tactical RPG's before. Which seems like a gross oversight considering my new found love for table games and my established love of all other kidns of RPG's. 

And so, with no real frame of reference, I think Fire Emblem so far has been superb. Before even looking at the gameplay, the presentation is immaculate  The drawn characters all look great, the CG battle animations with 3D on or off look fab, the map is great, even the sound that is played when you press 'A' to progress speech is brilliant.

The story has enticed me to proceed and I already feel an attachment to the characters. I love the varied equipment and class method of progression. And combat is varied and exciting throughout. I hope to see more games of this caliber on the 3DS, and soon please! 

Nintendo Land (WiiU) 

Essentially, WiiU's answer for WiiPlay on the old faithful Wii. Some interesting use of the gamepad, this game, though does include single player options, is best when enjoyed as a group. Myself and 2 others played through games, me on the gamepad, sometimes cooperating, others competing for victory. Short lived, but good party fun and a good way to show of the pad. 

X-Wing (board game) 

Why did no one tell me about this sooner? It's playing with Star Wars toys, but with rules for grown ups(ish)! I've played a couple of full matches with my friend, also called Matt, first using only the basic set and second using some expansions I couldn't resist buying. The game is extremely intricate, and i'm glad it came with a quick play rule set just to get us going to start with, but the rule book is easy to understand and on our second play through things when largely without pausing to check rules.

The miniatures are all hand painted and look fantastic, and typical of the movies the Rebellion have better quality of ships where as the Imperials attack en masse with a hoard of Tie Fighters. This game really attracts me as a gamer and as a collector and has so far been great fun. 

I do hope that they eventually release a Republic and Separatist collection of models to collect and battle with! 

Zelda: Oracle Of Seasons 

Never played this originally, so was happy to see this arrive on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. I haven't completed it yet, but it has been an enjoyable, very challenging handheld adventure in the graphical style of Link's Awakening DX. It's not quite as loveable as Link's Awakening, but it'll definitely tie me over until A Link Between Worlds. 


And that's what I've played this week! I had a couple of other games I wanted to play again, like ZombieU, Lego City Undercover and at some point I will play through the DLC on Skyrim! But they just didn't have a chance with Zelda getting all the play time. I do love me some Link. Anyway, thanks for reading!

abbott_56

Star Wars - The Old Republic #FatalAlliance Book

For me, Sean Williams' 'Fatal Alliance' was a difficult book to get in to. As you can probably see from a few past blog entries, I was really enjoying reading through some of the novels from the expanded Star Wars universe for a while. Even when they were badly written or lifting bits straight out of films starring Liam Neeson *cough*RedHarvest*cough* it was still good fun to discover new characters and places, as well as revisiting familiar ones. 

The book begins with a tantalising prologue; a smuggler called Jet Nebula, and his crew discover a ship called the Cinzia, which, after a short back and forth between the Jet and a strange voice on board the Cinzia, makes the decision to self destruct rather than risk being boarded. What could've been so important it deserved total inhalation over being stolen by a band of smugglers. 

After this the book jumps between new characters from chapter to chapter, including a Jedi, Sith, Ex-Special Forces agent and a Sith informer posing as a Republic intelligence officer. I think this is the reason I found it took some time to make a lasting impression. Just reading a chapter a night I was quickly forgetting who people were and having to backtrack to remind myself who everyone was. 

More recently however, I was able to give the book much more time (thank-you half term!) and it is a very epic tale with interesting characters that you do feel for. Predictably, the Cinzia turns out to have not been as totally destroyed as we thought, and the Hutts end up getting whatever they use as hands on some of the debris from the ship. With the tantalising prospect of a previously unknown resource rich world buried within the navigational computer found amongst the debris, the Hutts intend to auction off their findings to the highest bidder. 

Of course, this doesn't go to plan and eventually all character plot lines converge in a hectic battle in the Hutt palace. When it is learnt what the item discovered actually is and where it originated, in line with the books title, an alliance has to be formed between our now familiar cast for the greater good of everyone involved. With a few surprises and excellently told planetary invasion, the climax piles on the excitement,  making it very difficult to put down. 

Upon reaching our conclusion, I felt the story had a nice 'wind down' period of a couple of chapters, making the book feel nice and resolved, yet leaving a little bit of curiosity as to the fate of the Jedi and Sith characters you have come to know quite well. 

So, a good read then, and definitely not the fault of the book that I was unable to get into it at first. If you have the time to give, then this is a well told and captivating story and an excellent arc of the Old Republic group of novels. It's not literary genius, but manages to be intriguing, exciting and varied throughout. Definitely a 'read'. 

#Pullblox

Pullblox is definitely up there with the games actually worth paying the asking price for on Nintendo's fabled eShop. £5.49, it's again a little more than I like to pay for downloadable game (I am a stickler for wanting a hard copy and hoarding them all in my 'collection'). Pullblox just feels like a quality made game, like something Nintendo themselves would create on their own machines. The sounds, graphics and gameplay are all immaculately presented in this lengthy puzzle game for your 3DS.

The aim of the game, as is a little too thoroughly explained to you by a Pullblox veteran, is to save children from the world of Pullblox who have, thanks to a mischievous scamp, gotten themselves stuck at the top of towers of blox. The towers start of flat, but by holding B your character can pull the blox outward, aiming to find a route up and rescue the child on top.

Sounds easy right? Err no.. Pullblox soon becomes devilish, and if your not awake it can really be quite hard. Even levels rated 3 stars (out of 5) can be fiendishly tricky to wrap your head around. 

As you progress more features are added such as manhole covers - working like warp points, and colour buttons which fully eject all blox of a certain colour. These features make sure the game has some added longevity, increasing the difficulty at a good rate, without changing too much too quickly.

It's an addictive concept, but also looks great with the 3D on or off. The Pullblox levels are all laid out splendidly, with some of the earlier rounds resembling different day to day objects. It's bright and colourful and is just a happy game to play. Rather than play it all straight through, it's been a game, for me at least that i've kept returning to for short bursts. 

Intelligent Systems have added even more content to the already lengthy main game by adding in a Pullblox level creator. This is a superb addition and is great fun! It's easy to use and let's you use all of the features present in the main play-through of the game. It furthermore allows you to share these levels via a QR code generator. So far, I have made a Tetris themed level, a Mario puzzle block, and my girlfriend made a Tardis level. It really is good fun and extremely creative.

To sum up then, an ingenious, colourful cute puzzle game with loads of content and superbly presented. There's really hardly anything bad really going for it, and as long as you like the cutesie style (though I can't imagine a COD themed version..) it should be something you get immediately for your 3DS library. Expensive compared to puzzle games on mobile devices, but it's just completely worth it. 

9/10

(First screenshot taken from http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-3DS-download-software/Pullblox--298087.html#)

#SteamWorldDig

£7.99 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop, SteamWorld Dig was another game that was just a little more expensive then I care to pay for a downloadable version of a game, and as such I ignored it for a while. 

As time went on, I kept seeing more mentions of the game around twitter and gaming sites. It was getting 90%+ reviews in a number of places and people seemed genuinely excited by this new game in the SteamWorld universe (there was just one previous, SteamWorld Tower Defense, a strategy game made for DSiWare). And after developer Image & Form bothered to reply to a tweet I made about feeling intrigued by the title, I decided to take the plunge and support a friendly developer along the way. 

I was definitely glad I did. 

Set in a Old West meets Steampunk one horse town, you take the role of Rusty, the son of a minor recently missing down the mines in Tumbleton. It starts of gently enough, with a mix of Platforming meets Metoroidvania style exploration meets Boulderdash, chipping away at the rocks to obtain gems to get cash to upgrade gear to chip harder rocks, to get gems to get cash to upgrade gear and so on... 

Very quickly, it becomes very intriguing. The map you make will be truly unique as you dig through the Earth creating your own levels, and with only a small backpack and oil lantern to begin with, as well as some water powered abilities later on, it also very much becomes about resource management and deciding when to return to the surface to sell your finds and refill your lantern. You may have just reached a really exciting looking cave, but have absolutely no room for any more loot. 

Luckily, instead of trawling back to the surface every time, Image & Form have included teleports which are sometimes found, but can be bought and placed around your mines for easy access back to the surface. 

As you dig further and further down, through the varied environments which change when you reach the next 'level', you discover more and more about your dad's disappearance, learning that he'd been tinkering with steam based machinery and inventions, all of which is, luckily, tailored to Rusty's exact fit, meaning you can equip exciting power-ups for more varied exploration and combat. Yes, there are indeed monsters down there with you, some of whom are fiendishly difficult especially when supplies are running low. There's also a big variety of the bad guys, from hard shell turtle like creatures, to suicidal zombies. 

The story and gameplay are excellent in this game. It is a little short, but seeing as the map is pretty much unique every time there's great opportunity for a replay or two down the line. It also looks fantastic - the videos on the eShop just don't seem to do it justice. The way Rusty moves and reacts to different abilities is superb, and the environments and the rest of the characters are all just as exquisitely designed and drawn. 

Another 'buy' then it would seem for the eShop, which has been a little slow of late. I look forward to more games of this caliber popping up, as well as the next entry in the SteamWorld series. 

9/10

(Pictures taken from the official SteamWorld Dig site at http://steamworldgames.com/dig/)

Conduit 2

Sadly, the best part of this game is the first level. It’s kind of down hill from there on I’m afraid, but not so much that it ruins the whole experience.

The game looks stunning (the water effects in that first level are luscious) and it really pushes the Wii to its limits. The story is lame, though kind of cheesy lame which makes it bad, but enjoyable. It see's you visiting a wide variety of both alien and terrestrial locations.

The game also arms you with a mix of alien and terrestrial weapons. It sounds cool to be using lots of funky alien weaponry to blast your way through Conduit 2's interesting environments, but in truth it's a lot more satisfying firing an semi-automatic from good old fashioned Earth.  

The missions involve you collecting alien spirits, which apparently give you extra powers to defeat the games ultimate bad guy. This would be a good Zeldaish method of progression... Except there was no noticeable evidence of these rewards aiding combat in any way. Imagine getting to the next temple in Zelda and NOT getting a shiny new item to use? Yeah...  

This makes working through the game quite repetitive, so it's a good job it's nice to look at as you'd probably give up well before the ending if it wasn't. 

And if you get to the ending, you'll see it's predictably quite tacky, the incredible looking cut scene feeling far too short with a shoehorned plot device to make way for a possible sequel. 

This review sounds much more harsh than I originally intended, as I actually had fun playing through this game despite it's pitfalls. If you’re willing to take the rough with the smooth then this will make for a fairly enjoyable play, on a format that had a tendency to be ignored. I'd also recomend a Wii classic controller for the most fun. 

6.5/10

(originally posted on Tumblr a long time ago. Edited and reposted in October 2013)