I'll come right out and say it: I didn't really care much for this game. I wanted to get that out of the way early because I feel as though I'm standing in the minority with that opinion. Many others have been charmed by this quirky little title but I found it to be shallow, irritating, and, at times, rather frustrating. The Unfinished Swan is a first-person platform/puzzler (kinda like Portal or Quantum Conundrum) that is initially very intriguing. You begin in a room where EVERYTHING is completely white and you can only begin to see the path by splashing black paint around, thereby creating some context and contrast. Suddenly things begin to take shape; you are in a room and there's the door. You walk through it and...more white! Splash, splash, spalsh, a hallway.. the door to the outside.. grass, trees, buildings.. birds chirping overhead. No enemies, no failure, just white on white everywhere you go and a limitless supply of black paint. It's visually striking for sure, and it's actually kind of fun for awhile.
Then, after playing for about five minutes, I realized that I had been mashing the trigger button over and over and that my finger was beginning to get tired. Eventually I made my way to a castle where my black paint was replaced with water, and instead of using it to see things I was using it to make vines grow so that I could climb around and search for an exit. Water, water, water.. mash, mash, mash... After about 30 minutes of this I realized that my hand was really starting to ache from the constant button mashing this game requires! This was also the point that I realized that this game isn't actually much fun. Yes it's kind of cool in the beginning to splash the paint around and get your bearings, but once I realized that there's little else to do in this game it really got kind of irritating. The whole affair kind of feels like a series of half formed gameplay concepts that are loosely tied together with a boring "storybook" style narrative. There's just not enough here. Watch a YouTube video of the beginning moments and you'll see the best of what this game has to offer.
Grade: C-
NiGHTS into Dreams - PSN
As much as I love gaming consoles there have been a few over the years that I never had much experience with. Among them is the Sega Saturn. It had its fans, but back in the day I could only afford one gaming console at a time and I went with the original Playstation. What can I say? I was still feeling burned by the Sega CD. At any rate, even though I didn't play many Saturn games I was still aware of Nights and I had always wanted to give it a try. Given all of that it's sort of ironic that I'm playing it for the first time on a Sony console, right? Anyway, I really enjoyed this game. Over the years people have struggled to describe its unique gameplay mechanics and I'm afraid that I won't be able to find the words to do it justice either. It's part racing, part action, part total psychedelic clusterfuck...how's that for a description?
Basically, you take control of a flying jester called Nights as he soars through a series of bizarrely beautiful landscapes collecting items and racing toward the exit. Each level has four regular flying stages and is capped off with a unique boss fight. Really, I just kind of dig everything about this unusual game. It's fun and fast-paced, it's challenging, the graphics and music are fantastic (especially the HD graphics of the PSN version), and the boss battles are crazy. Still, I realize that a game like this isn't for everyone. It's very quirky and very Japanese, and it's kind of hard at first to even know what you're supposed to be doing! I myself came very close to quitting during my first few hours with it, but I'm glad that I stuck with this unique little gem and I definitely understand its cult appeal.
Grade: B+
Warioware Touched - DS
God damn I love these Warioware games! For those unfamiliar with the series, the basic idea is that it's a collection of super quick mini-games (think 3-5 seconds each) that you play in rapid succession. Most of the games are fairly easy to win, but the challenge comes in doing so many of them so quickly. You're constantly changing your focus to a new game with a new objective and it makes for some twitchy fun! I played the hell out of the Game Boy Advance and Gamecube entries in the series, and I thought for sure that I was going to love this one as well, but something about it just didn't grab me. I think the main issue is that unlike previous Warioware games, this one is controlled entirely with the touchscreen and stylus. This allows for the inclusion of "tap and swipe" style games that would have been impossible before the introduction of the DS (and that's good), but it completely does away with the more traditional mini-games that made use of the buttons and the control pad. This ultimately has the effect of limiting the gameplay options as well as the variety and scope of the mini-games offered. It all starts to feel kind of same-y after awhile and I found myself wanting to move on even before I had seen everything. In the end, Warioware Touched isn't a bad game, just one that feels relatively shallow compared to previous entries in the series.
Grade: C+
Ikachan - 3DS
Recently re-released on the 3DS eShop, Ikachan is the game that designer Daisuke Amaya (AKA Pixel) made before creating the incredible Cave Story. In it, players take control of a cute little squid named Ikachan as he explores an underwater cavern while helping other creatures along the way. While not an actual prequel, this game definitely feels like a spiritual predecessor to Cave Story as the graphics, sound, character design, and plot will all remind you of that storied title. It actually has a lot in common with Sega's Ecco the Dolphin series now that I think about it. Exploring underwater caves, eating fish to stay healthy, communicating with friendly creatures, gaining new powers...
The thing is, even with all of that stuff going on there really isn't much of a game here. You can easily beat it in less than 2 hours. With that in mind, I really can't recommend spending $5 to download it from the eShop. I enjoyed this title for what it was; a short concept piece that ultimately served to inspire something greater, but the experience is a little shallow overall. Have a look at a gameplay video on YouTube if you're curious, but don't spend the dough unless you can get it cheap.
Grade: B-
Gunman Clive - 3DS
I got this for $2 in the 3DS eShop. It's a Mega Man clone with a western theme and a unique, minimalist art style. It totally fucking rocks.
Grade: B
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