Tag Archives: Game

REVIEW: Limbo

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Another review! Since school’s ending (my finals week is this week!!), I’ve had a lot more time to play games, so I’ve actually been getting around to playing some of the games in my backlog. Today, I’ll be reviewing a game I purchased during Steam‘s Christmas Sale last year – Limbo.

Plot:

Let’s dive right in with me saying this: I don’t like open-ended and subtle narratives. I hate them. I like to have my narratives laid out in front of me with character as the more subtle element. That aside, Limbo’s plot is fairly simple: you know that you play a boy who is seemingly in Limbo (at least, that’s what I thought), who is looking for his sister. Although simple, that’s enough for the game to be enjoyed.

You do see a few things – a giant spider, dead humans, and even ones that are alive and hostile. What they mean, I have no idea, and this is my problem with subtle narratives – it’s all up to interpretation, and I don’t like that. The ending is the same way (and it’s rather abrupt), so you never actually find out what the story is – you’re supposed to interpret it for yourself. But, despite my distaste for these kinds of narratives, Limbo does do a really nice job setting its world and narrative up, and it really adds to the replay value for those who enjoy these kinds of narratives.

I don’t like it, but Limbo does it very well.

Atmosphere (Music/Graphics):

This is by far my favorite part of the game. Everything’s laid out to you Noir style, so you’re given only black and white, and it is stunning. The faded out backgrounds in grey, the lights and darkness at the end of puzzles, the lighting effects with blurs and shadows – all of it is simply fantastic! It really sets and maintains the mood of the game throughout the entire experience. I especially loved the character model. The few musical compositions are great, and they really invoke emotions when you do hear them since they’re during critical narrative parts of the game. Throughout most of the game, all you hear are sound effects, but those are fantastic background noise, especially once you get to the more city-like areas and you hear the gears and crackling of electricity. It was a game that I felt benefited greatly from the quietness of not really having a soundtrack.

I really can’t say anything more – you simply have to experience it yourself. I think this right here is enough of a reason to replay (and buy) the game.

Gameplay:

I was looking up plot details to see if anything official had been released (there hasn’t as far as I know), and I came across “trail and death” as a style of game, and I think this was a good way of categorizing Limbo. Some of the puzzles I died multiple times just to get the timing right, but while some may find this kind of game frustrating, I enjoy it. The checkpoints where nicely set, so I never felt like I had to do something I had just done over and over, and the difficulty wasn’t even bad – many of the puzzles were thought-provoking, and I enjoy that in a puzzle-oriented game. It definitely has replay value, but knowing the puzzles already does detract from it unless you enjoy time attacking.

Overall, Limbo delivers an excellent experience for those who enjoy puzzle games and a more subjective narrative. I would recommend it to anyone, especially since it’s so cheap! It’s indie games like this that I will continue to buy because they’re always good!

Score:

Plot: 4/10

Atmosphere: 10/10

Gameplay: 9/10

Overall: 7/10

Just sayin’.

P.S.: Limbo is currently part of the newest Humble Bundle that is out right now. It’s for a limited time, so I suggest you go get it – it’s got a ton of great games PLUS Limbo, and you get to name your price!

Go here to get it! — http://www.humblebundle.com/

Why Super Mario 3D Land has the perfect difficulty scale

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My girlfriend recently started playing Super Mario Advance 4, and as I watched her play I noticed something – she was having a much harder time playing Super Mario Bros. 3 (which is what Super Mario Advance 4 contains) than Super Mario 3D Land (SM3DL), a game I had suggested to her a while back. I began to wonder to myself why she was having such a hard time with Super Mario Bros. 3, when a thought came to me – Super Mario Bros. 3 has a high learning curve.

To the gamers out there who played the Super Mario Bros. franchise, this may seem a little off. I myself remember Super Mario Bros. 3 to be extremely easy – maybe a little long for my younger self, but definitely not difficult, and when I played it as Super Mario Advance 4 it was even easier. So why, I thought to myself, did Super Mario Bros. 3 have a high learning curve?

I thought back to Super Mario 3D Land (SM3DL). She had almost no experience playing, yet has been able to make it to World 5, and I realized why she’s been doing well: SM3DL has the perfect difficulty scale.

Let me explain. If you die 5 times on a single level in SM3DL, you are given a Tanooki Suit with infinite invincibility. This is for those who are having trouble dealing with the enemies and natural hazards in the game. Now, if you die 10 times on a single level, then you’re given a P Wing (I didn’t know this existed until she played the game), which takes you to the end of the level, no questions asked. This includes boss levels, and this can help alleviate a level that requires platforming that is too great for the player.

The Invincible Tanooki Suit

Mario in the invincible tanooki suit.

This may seem like a cop-out, but keep reading. At a certain point, levels start becoming blocked off unless you have a certain number of special coins. You can collect 3 special coins per level, and you must collect them without dying to obtain them.

When I was playing, I thought to myself, “this is stupid. Why would they impose these limits on players? It’s busy work.” But as I watched my girlfriend play, it dawned on me – they’re to stop the really bad players from breezing through the game with the super-powerful items. They’re forced to go through those levels that they may have used the P Wing for and get those coins, otherwise they won’t be able to progress at all, and hopefully, by the time they’re forced to collect those coins, they’ve improved to the point where they use those items a little less. It forces improvement while still allowing them to progress slowly so they don’t stop playing in frustration.

And for players like myself, the coins serve as a way to increase the difficulty. The game was easy, but collecting the coins in every level was difficult, and doing the same thing in the Special Worlds made it that much more difficult, so the game gave a satisfying sense of challenge, so besides catering to the casuals, it caters to the hardcore, creating the perfect difficulty scale. It can be as difficult as you, the player, make it to be.

Just sayin’.