Finally!

One of my all time favorite video games has been released through Steam! Psychonauts can be downloaded and better yet, it's $2!!!

It's a true platformer, and one that was built for the Xbox. As such, I have no idea what the ported version's gameplay will be like. However, how can I NOT get it?!

While it makes me a little sad that it's inglorious run has come to this, I'm super excited to get it again. I misplaced my Xbox copy and haven't been able to find another.

"If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

What does illiterate mean?

I know I've been a bit lax about posting lately, and I do plan to try to get to it more often. Certainly not as much as DrHeimlich, but more often than I have lately (can't disappoint my 3 readers).

In any case, after reading this I had to throw my 2 cents in.

Apparently the school district of Menifee, CA has pulled the 10th edition of Websters Dictionary because a parent complained that their child found the phrase "oral sex". What kills me is that the school actually responded to her crazy complaint. The district has since ordered an investigation to determine if the books should remain off the shelves.

Really? What other words are cause for concern? They claim that "other dictionary entries defining human anatomy would probably not be cause for alarm", but where does this end? Cunninglingus and fellatio have always been in there, what about them? Maybe it's just that those are more than one syllable and the dumb bitch can't understand them. What about decapitation, massacre and dismemberment, are those as offensive? Probably not, we see those on TV every day (and should IMHO) . How about cock and prick? I know that we live in a puritanical society, but isn't it the job of a parent to explain these things to a child? Certainly, it's easier to just pretend that it doesn't exist, and simply cover our children's ears and eyes at everything offensive. That's what parenting is all about right? What's easiest for us as parents.

Plus, if the kid is able to look it up in a dictionary, chances are they've probably already come across it online. Next they're going to remove goatse and dirty sanchez...

Accurate Weather

Best weather site out there.

http://www.tomscott.com/weather/starwars/

Well, it would be without the Ep. I references for San Francisco...

Puzzling Times

In my absence from blogging, I've had the opportunity to finish a few more games. Some were new, some not so much.

Braid was next in line. Braid is a simple little side scrolling puzzle game that tells the story of Tim and his quest to save his princess love. At its core, not the most original of plots. However the way the game tells the story is very original. It's told through the various jigsaw puzzles that the player assembles with pieces earned as the game progresses.

I use the term "simple" to mean that it's simple to play. Its controls are very basic, which does ad to the game's charm. However, while Tim is easy to control, the puzzles of each level are pretty diabolical. The levels are all based on Tim's ability to rewind and fast forward time. This is easily the hardest game I've ever played, but it's also my favorite puzzle game.

The game is absolutely gorgeous. The graphics are designed to give you the feel that you're playing in the very paintings you're collecting. The game succeeds wonderfully here. You can almost smell the paint in the moving clouds and features.

Overall it's a game I highly recommend. Of course I'm just the latest of a long line of people that have raved about this game. So really, this blog post is old news.

An Excellent Adventure

This makes scary sense:



Thanks AOTS

Whips, swords, geometry and physics.

As part of my recent attempt to move away from shooter video games (at least until I can no longer resist Wolfenstein), I downloaded a few indie games, Trine, Braid and Ceville. First up, a little game called Trine. It's a side scrolling platformer, a genre that I normally stay away from. This time, however, I was pleasantly surprised.

In Trine, players control one of three characters; a Knight, a thief and a wizard. Each has their own abilities, the thief can swing from point to point a la Indiana Jones, the Wizard can create various geometric shapes, boxes, triangles that float and platforms and the Knight smashes. At any point players can switch between each character. Supposedly, each level can be passed solely be each character, though there are a few moments I seriously doubted that.

The game is absolutely gorgeous. The backgrounds are rendered in full detail, sometimes so much so that you want to jump to the bridge back there. It's part of a recent trend called "2.5D", an invented term to designate that the backgrounds are 3D. Really it's just to make you think you're not buying a side scrolling game.

The game play is very solid, each character does offer a unique way to solve the puzzles. The thief's swinging can get the player most places, but not everywhere. The wizard can geomancy his way around pretty effectively too, but can't fight. The knight is the strong arm, but also gives the player a shield to protect from various hazards. On their own, each can pass the levels. However, in order to find all the goodie filled chests and experience bottles, they must work together. The controls are basic, and using the "wasd" (or arrow) buttons in combination of the mouse took some getting used to, but works well.

As I said, each level should be passable by each character on their own. I'm definitely going to replay each character alone. In the end, this is worth taking a look at, especially for the $20 I paid for it. Plus it didn't make my brain hurt like Braid...

Ferret Gein

Rob Zombie should take notes:



Wonder where I can get a tiny little chainsaw...