Arrgh! Die! | Submitted by costik on Sat, 05/19/2007 - 19:48. |
Here's another genre they don't make any more--2D third-person platform shooters, like Duke Nuke'm back before the Duke went 3D. Developed pretty much by one guy (Dusan Stevanovic), it's a damn impressive effort for a one-man shop. If hopping about and blowing crap up sounds good to you, well, pally, that's what the download link is for, eh?
Games can do two things really well. They can be Fun, and they can be Not-Fun. Lots of games are Fun and Not-Fun in a mediocre way, and some games are amazingly good at being Fun. But when a game is great at being Not-Fun, the deep play of the mind comes tumbling down the mouse.
Like Ayiti: The Cost of Life, but in a totally different aesthetic, game, game, game and game again is not fun to a point of exquisite craftsmanship, but then turns around and surprises you with a sort of pleasure you didn't quite expect. The game combines the simple platform mechanics of Mario with sketch/crayon/scribble graphics (hanging together nicely) and post-post-modern lyric poetry. Great audio and video Easter eggs are scattered throughout.
