Earthbound and Dune 10.07.17

Snuck in a bit of time with Until Dawn (PS4) this week. Taking cues from a classic teen horror setup it placed me in control of various characters as the holidayed on a imposing mountain. In the prologue to the main game while introducing the controls it also introduces the core concept of the game, choice is a massive part of it. Do I wake one sleeping party goer when I see something freaky outside the window or warn everyone else at the party? (that one seemed quite simple). It also throws in the choice of path, go the quick route or the safe, the quick tended to be, so far, a sequence of quick time events while the safe was wrapped in more tension. The opening to the game ends in a choice that I can only assume has to end one way, it seemed quite important to what comes next. That didn't take much away from the devastating consequences of my choice. Once in the main game it continues down the same path a lot of choices while being introduced to a divisive cast. I could tell instantly I was going to like certain characters more than others and as I get further into the game and the fate of the characters rests in my choices it will be interesting to see where it goes. Running parallel to the main story is a psychiatrist’s evaluation of an unknown (at the moment) patient I liked this a lot, again your given the choice between different scenarios as it builds a picture of the character your playing, its a cool respite from the tension on the mountain as well as one of better integrations of the touch pad on a PS4 controller. My only complaint so far is that its another game which talks me through the butterfly effect for way too long, surely a concept everyone has a grasp of from years of it being used in film, television and video games.

 

I happened upon a copy of Tin Tin in Tibet (Megadrive) in a second hand store and picked it up on a whim. It’s a pretty decent looking late Megadrive game, looking close to a video game form of the books. It uses a neat mechanic where Tin Tin can run toward the camera to avoid things like children running with suitcases on they're heads. It’s a cool use of perspective in the game and makes the platforming, which has been basic early on, a little more interesting. Haven't got too far in it, ended up banging my head again what is probably a fairly simple puzzle but its an interesting game and worth checking out.

 

I was really excited about the announcement of Micro Machines World Series (PS4) I love the original game and its 16bit sequels but with the transition to 3D I felt the series lost its way quite a bit. My main problem with where it went was the more weapon heavy driving that was introduced which distanced itself from the original games and there focus on driving skill and remembering the numerous courses. I should have reserved some of my excitement for this latest entry it turns out, it again is focused heavily on combat, with missiles and mines being an option I couldn't turn off. There isn't a huge amount of courses on offer either, which is a shame and more predictably the machine used on each course is no longer limited, so there is the option to pit tanks against fire trucks etc. I couldn't stand my first few races, the first issue I had was that I was thrown into online play, with little knowledge that was what I was doing, even more confusingly I could pause the game so I stopped to check the controls and found myself being obviously lapped. The controls in trying to feel like the original series felt way too squirrelly, or at least for an analogue stick. I noticed after a couple of online games that everyone was tending to use the tanks so I gave that a go instead and found the driving a lot easier and they weren't significantly slower. I also found the meagre single player offering in the game (one off races against AI) which gave me the chance to practice a little but without any real purpose. There’s loot crates in the game, because this is 2017 and these unlock things that also cost a currency which I can't really work out how to earn? like new voice lines, skins and colours. The mode which most resembles the older games is the elimination racing, which the aim is to squeeze other racers off the screen. This was more fun, especially online, and tends to be where I gravitate to when I play the game now. I hate to add another annoyance to a list but I've not found a way of continuing to play with a group of racers I'm racing with either, so the game boots me back to searching for a match every time I finish a race. Its all a bit of a shame, because I feel the original games had something unique about them which could really work now.