The Fourth Annual Coint and Plick Video Games Poll - Part Three: #53 - 79

#53: Epic Mickey – Wii – 20 pts – 1 vote
Official Game Site

http://slyoyster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Epic-Mickey.jpg

Princess TamTam: An enchanting journey into a dreamworld of magic.

http://static.gamesradar.com/images/mb/GamesRadar/us/Games/D/Disney%20Epic%20Mickey/Everything%20Else/Super%20Review/epic-mickey3--article_image.jpg

Warren Spector Interview

http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2010/333/reviews/975515_20101130_640screen013.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN0RcVD6_RA

Eurogamer review

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XdP6Lp2ceqY/TIMZWdCcCHI/AAAAAAAAa5c/XJ_pvWhOSf8/s1600/4827461956_3508bc8771_z.jpg

i do love ade's facetious quote for that one.

Additional quotes:

salsa shark: Not too sure what IGN is on about. I think the camera works fine for the most part, with only rare instances where you can't swing it behind you or go into first-person mode. Otherwise, you can move it all around you, though it's a bit slower than I'd normally like. The control scheme is basic but there are only two times it's irritated me: first, when trying to jump near a NPC, who I then end up talking to, because A is both jump and 'interact with NPC'; second, when trying to paint/unpaint a chunk of scenery on the ground and not being able to paint it because for whatever reason the game doesn't seem to understand where I'm pointing (it's hard to explain, but thankfully so far this hasn't rendered crucial parts of the game unplayable).

If there's anything that has me near Wiimote-throwing point, it's the poor quest management and the way every task seems to turn into a fetch quest. A number of non-essential quests 'expire' if you neglect to complete them during a specific moment/area of the game (the world isn't fully explorable; I don't think you can retrace your steps and revisit old areas unless it's part of the storyline moving forward), and I find the quests themselves are all kind of redundant. Collecting 5 spark plugs turns into 5 fetch quests for various NPCs who all look similar and are easy to forget/mistake for one another. It's all 'oh yeah, I have a spark plug, but you can't have it unless you throw these bunnies into a vacuum tube,' or 'yeah, I'll give you this statue, but you have to find me a flower so I can woo Henrietta,' then 'I'll help you arrange a bouquet of flowers, but you have to find me three flowers first,' then AARRRGHGHGH WHERE TF ARE THE STUPID FLOWERS JUST LET ME GET TO THE NEXT PART OF THE GAME ALREADY. Okay I love quests and adventure games but seriously this is almost too much even for me.

But it's a very nice game to look at and I'll stick with it for a while longer.

CaptainLorax: I read this thread before I went to sleep last night and at one point in the dream I was playing this game or something. I just remember the Bunny Kids except they were Bunny Boys that had chairs for faces. They were actually pretty cute.

Noodle Vague: Emo versions of kids cartoons are probly the most horrible fucking thing ever invented ever.

Warren Specter followed up this success with writing a DuckTales comic.

DuckTales!

#53: Deadly Premonition – PS3/360 –20 pts – 1 vote
Official Game Site

http://beefjack.com/files/2010/08/deadly_premonition_03.jpg

jjjusten: yeah yeah everybody is going to think that im being captain challops here but this really was my second favorite game of the year. it is completely unhinged but theres something so good underneath the slapdash budget production that everyone (well everyone w/a 360 at least) really ought to give it a try. this is a game that should be used as an example of the difference between badly thought out mechanics and broken mechanics, and a lot of reviewers seem to have flubbed that one. the gameplay is at times, and maybe often, kind of shitty (it does get better), but that isnt the point here, its a suda 51 sort of experience where the depth of abject weirdness just gets more and more satisfying until suddenly you dont care that the cars all drive like bricks and the combat mechanic is pointlessly easy once you get one of the special weapons and that the character models are at least a generation or two behind par. also make no mistake, the dudes behind this game are totally in on the joke, and if you stick with it long enough you will reap the rewards.

FAIR WARNING: if you have a pulse, you will hate the first hour or so of this game, no question, but stick with it because it's worth it. Repeat this mantra the first time you drive (oh and also be sure to hit the a button to talk every chance you get, there is hidden gold, especially when you are driving alone). Also keep this persistence creed in mind the first time you have a long long long series of timed button presses to escape from danger (trust me, you'll know it when you see it).
also, BEST PAUSE MENU IN ANY GAME EVER.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp5krDoflLI

Jordan: i'm heartened that there are still broken + hilarious games being made for the youth of today

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/104/1043970/deadly-premonition-20091110000512473_640w.jpg

Polyphonic: I enjoyed playing the first two hours of this. Definitely going to pick it up at some point. It is sort of a so-bad-it's-good thing though. I think you could combine elements of Nier, Deadly Premonition, and Alan Wake and make one amazing game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzvXBFwcyek

Eurogamer review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3AI7riy1Qk

Something Awful review

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/104/1043970/deadly-premonition-20091110000457552_640w.jpg

Goole: you know now that i think of it "deadly premonition" makes some actual sense as a phrase unlike "resident evil" and "silent hill" which are just stupid.

http://img.listal.com/image/1403774/936full-deadly-premonition-artwork.jpg

poly seriously you are awesome dude. thanks

#53: APB – PC – 20 pts – 1 vote
Official Game Site

http://gamernode.com/upload/manager///News%20Images/PC/epic_games_may_save_apb1284740256.jpg

Princess TamTam: Like James Dean... taken before its time…

http://www.pcgamersworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/apb_11-05-10_11.jpg

Will M: that oficial apb character artwork is really boob. i mean uh breasts. good. i meant good.

PC Gamer review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T8HjJNvqYo

Ste: APB doesn't look as impressive as first suspected

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JpVHuYRfWA

And that'll do it for 53s. See ya next week.

that deadly premonition cut scene is just, well, i cannot find the words

I just read that APB is actually coming back.

I just remembered that I completely forgot to send forks my write-up about why Epic Mickey was my Disappointment of the Year:

I disliked that the story was so heavily managed, like that you couldn't travel through/to various worlds at will and once you left certain parts of the game you couldn't ever go back to them. It was really the most closed-off 3D platformer I've ever played.

Also, the collectibles are the most pointless I've ever seen in a platformer and that includes Donkey Kong 64 with its 500-bananas-per-level ridiculousness. And then after you finish Epic Mickey, it essentially erases all the work you've done and makes you start again from scratch, so you can't even marvel at all the useless collectibles you've accumulated. I also changed my mind about the camera. It is pretty annoying as the game progresses.

Anyway, judging from the interviews and previews I had read before playing the game, I had really hoped that Epic Mickey would be a super creative celebration of old/forgotten Disney characters and art (say what you want about modern Disney as a horrible creepy corporate mastercompany but there was a time when they did interesting stuff with animation). Instead it was just sort of cartoony colourful 3D stuff that only felt Disneyesque because of the characters (who were very repetitive, which made quests difficult); the settings could've been from any children's game. The 2D sections were the only parts that I thought were interesting and creative wrt old Disney canon, and unfortunately they comprised only a small part of the game.

Sorry for the tldr here, rant over. Everyone can now go back to keeping it posi abt video games in the 2010.

I don't think you need to defend your love for Disney. They still make great flicks!

FAIR WARNING: if you have a pulse, you will hate the first hour or so of this game, no question

ha this happened to me, rented this and played the first couple of hours, but just couldn't summon the willpower to go on. see also : Alpha Protocol, Alan Wake.

deadly premonition was the game that started off as a VERY blatant twin peaks clone, right?

found the original trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbbhwO7pRHA

so, yes.

whoa the videos of 2 japanese schmups up there remind me why i both have tremendous respect for u dudes twitch reactions and why i also think ur all crazy

see i cant even spell shmups right, i obv have no business attempting to play them

im also glad that the video for deadly premonition up there gives everyone a sampling of the soundtrack built almost entirely on repetetive tuneless whistling

kind of curious how somewhere during development a game went from being a noir-investigative-horror-murder thing to…strawberry turkey sandwiches and rhyming wheelchair-pushers

looking over the list so far im p sure that at least one person voted for every single one of my pix, for the first time.

Same here! Maye we voted for the same stuff :|

Hey dudes, I am embarrassed to say that I messed this thing up from the beginning. I thought forks had finished the #66s so I started with #64. I'll do the other three #66s here. Before I move on to the next list.

OOOPS

#66: Digital: A Love Story – PC – 15 pts – 2 votes
Official Game Site

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/8/87209/1672835-box_digital_super.png

Mordy: Digital is superficially a love story. It's really about that feeling you get at 2 in the morning when insomnia has you surfing the internet checking out forums and pages you haven't been to in years. I can't remember the last time I connected to a BBS, but when I played Digital all those memories came flooding back. Downloading warez with my 56 kpbs (and less!) modem, listening to that satisfying dialing noise, playing MajorMOO and chatting strangers on bulletin boards. More interactive fiction than game, but one of the most moving things I've played (or interacted with) all year.

http://blog.hep-cat.de/pics/Digital_A_Love_Story_library.png

Nhex: The gameplay is bad and gets worse the further you get into it - fortunately it's only about an hour long, and well worth it if you have any memories of dialing into BBSs. I think RPS's take on it was pretty OTM:

RPS review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzPDXTP2QyI

http://www.commentsbling.com/graphic/cat/love/digital-love-myspace-graphics.gif

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3SkgokbK7E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVP7N9_Q6hs

Good job dude.

#66: Gran Turismo 5 – PS3 – 15 pts – 2 votes
Official Game Site

http://www.gamemanx.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/gran-turismo-5.jpg

Adam: the oddness of GT is a large part of its charm. completely bonkers menu design, the downtempo smooth jazz aesthetic, the baroque installation mechanics--at this point, like 12 years or whatever after the first GT, this shit is soothing.

http://www.windingdown.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/gt5-prologue-ss.jpg

Jeff LeVine: For me, the variety of content is the best thing about the game, but sometimes it's a weakness as certain areas seem to lack focus (rally in particular feels like shit to me). Online is undercooked and a mess... and that you don't get credits or experiences for online races is absurd (they claim it will be patched in at some point, I guess). Also the cars I'd most like to drive are too fucking expensive - I mean 14,000,000 credits expensive - THE GRIND. I don't want to lecture from the mountain tops, but if you're only going to turn off one assist, PLEASE turn off the racing line... you will find the driving much more fun the less crutches you use, but that one is the worst & totally ruins immersion in racing games, imo. Even with all the assists off, the fact that you can't turn off the HUD is also still a HUGE assist as you don't have to really learn the tracks or even braking points as there is no way to stop the game from telling you when to brake or downshift with a giant red flashing number. Also always having the map on screen should more than make up for no driving line even if you don't take any time to learn the track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2uQ2ayvvWY

if: Having not played a Gran Turismo since Gran Turismo 2 on the PS1, this certainly benefitted from a massive hit of nostalgia as the realisation hit of how much the familiar old tracks were still imprinted on my mind. The driving and range of features are more awesome than ever too though and eventually you even start to filter out the loading times and Byzantine menu structure. Racing around a virtual central London getting distracted by spotting familiar Chinese restaurants is also a great experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oRe7j9xHPg

Tracer Hand: can i just say again how much i love this game?? like, <3 <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HnaPkPXyPM

Eurogamer

this is exactly the kind of game i would rent if i rented games. i would love to have a go but there is no way i ever buy this until i see it for $5.

#66: Shatter – PC – 15 pts – 2 votes
Official Game Site

http://www.aeon.net.nz/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Shatter_Title.jpg

Nhex: Hadn't heard of this game at all until it went on sale during the Steam summer sale. Yeah, it's another indie PC Arkanoid clone among millions to come over the last twenty years - but it's just really fun. Sometimes the presentation can just win you over in games like this, which should be another generic clone, but the graphics were pleasing and the music just completely put it in another tier. I'll say it again: the soundtrack rules. http://sidhe.bandcamp.com/album/shatter-official-videogame-soundtrack

http://www.pcgamersworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Shatter-ps3-screenshot.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwx2czYmlT0

Will M: I love brick-breakers and since I got rid of my Blackberry this is what I've got. And the music!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLB2hdCbJek

Hamildan: Shatter is quite an addictive game....With trophies and a cosmic soundtrack you cant go wrong

Destructoid

this is exactly the kind of game i would rent if i rented games.

Yeah, I got it off Gamefly. But I think I'm going to buy it in a year or two once it drops in price a bit. Definitely a great game to have in your library.

Overall, Gran Turismo 5 took more than five years to complete, with a total cost estimated at approximately $80 million, making it the second most expensive game in history to developed, just behind Grand Theft Auto IV.[31]

#66: The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom – PC/360 – 15 pts – 2 votes
Official Game Site

http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/164708-review-the-misadventures-of-p-b-winterbottom/004-620x.jpg

Salsa Shark: Great soundtrack, great concept, great mix of difficult and easy puzzles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Triirdqmevo

if: Ok so it is pretty much a less divisive, less ambitious Braid, but that game actually did comparatively little to explore some of the fantastic time reversing mechanics that it had come up with, and there was definitely space for someone to do this good a job of doing so.

http://ve3dmedia.ign.com/images/06/24/62444_orig.jpg

abanana: hey guys don't buy p.b. winterbottom it is a bad game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEW6o5egk5Y

1up review

i stand by my quote. it is poorly programmed too.

Are you guys ready for the next part?

Grind baby grind. how much did you finish over the weekend?

Nothing, man. I do all of these a la carte.

Wait, I think I meant "to order". haha

they're delicious regardless.

for some reason wordpress is being assy about which YT videos it chooses to embed rn