Jan 12, 2009

A bit of a belated review lovingly mixed with a look at some demos and digital crayons

Penny Arcade AdventuresI bought, downloaded, installed, played, enjoyed and finished Ron Gilbert's Penny Arcade Adventures - Episode 1 (the brilliantly named On The Rain-Slick Precipice Of Darkness) over 3 months ago, and thus can't recall every little thing I loved about it, but I can assure you I loved it. I really did, and as I had promised to review the game ages ago, well, I thought I'd let you know. It actually is, you see, a fantastic game. Now, if you don't know what Penny Arcade Adventures is all about, you could read my previous more extensive post or, better yet, give the demo a try.

The game itself -provided I remember correctly, that is- fully delivers the goodies said demo promises. It's funny, at points hilarious, sports a truly weird lovecraftian plot that even comes to a satisfying end, some great dialog, excellent combat, light adventuring elements, exploration bits, RPG elements, jaw-dropping 2D cutscenes and a ridiculous amount of polish. What's more, the game is way longer than I expected, lasting me quite a bit more than 10 hours and that without any noticeable attempts to artificially lengthen it. So, my advice? Well, buy the game and please do consider this a review. A mini-review at least? Thank you.

Oh, and as the second episode of PAA has already been released, I'd suggest you give it a try too. Preferably by following this link. Having already tried the demo, I can assure you that, besides some minor enhancements, Episode 2 seems at least as intriguing as the first series installment. What fun.

Crayon Physics DeluxeCrayon Physics Deluxe, on the other hand, a brand new indie game suggested to me by dear NebachadnezzaR is not particularly funny. Then again, I'm pretty sure it was never supposed to be. Surely Crayon Physics was always meant as a rather impressive physics based puzzle game with innovative mechanics, a sandbox element, an intuitive interface and gorgeous graphics, that would go on and win the IGF Grand Prize of 2008. Apparently it succeeded. Hoorah! The demo of the thing is more than hefty too, mind.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:
Posted by at 12.1.09
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18 comments:

  1. I've been wondering what those Penny Arcades are like... I can download them for my PS3. I think there is 2 Episodes available now. Maybe I will check some gameplay and give one a try...
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  2. They are a bit like Final Fantasy meets Monkey Island and, well, they are ace. I'd give the PS3 version a look... I really would. You download a demo and see.
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  3. There's a DS homebrew version of Crayon Physics called DS Pocket Physics. It's not quite as robust, but it has enough features to make it highly entertaining.

    BTW, no matter what browser I use, your posts are black text on black background so it's a little difficult to read them. (I even cleared my browser cache in case that was the problem.)
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  4. Still, the DS homebrew scene is getting daily more impressive it seems. Now, as for the black on black thing my friend, I can't bloody imagin what could be so wrong. I checked and just rechecked the thing on Firefox, Chrome and two versions of explorer and all seems fine... Off to hit the forums and see what could be wrong...
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  5. Oh, and perhaps if you tried reloading the page?
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  6. I tried the first PA game sometime ago (no doubt because of your recommendation) and I gotta to say I loved it. The combat, even though it's turn-based, doesn't get as boring as with most RPG's and the humour was great. Can't forget those enemy clowns who would give you the finger one final time before dropping dead xD

    Never finished it, though. I played it on my pc and for some reason it would keep crashing in that part where you enter the "second part" of the amusement park. You know, after the energy barrier is gone.

    Oh, and thanks for mentioning crayon physics, I'm having a blast with that one :)
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  7. Oh, that's truly awful. You missed the glorious final battle... Why don't you check for a patch or something? It's really worth the finale.

    And, thanks for flagging Crayon Physics mate. A glorious new way to have fun. And a truly impressive demo.
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  8. Yeah, I tried it all on Firefox 3 and IE 7: clearing cache and offline content, restarting the browser, and refreshing the page. Obviously, if no one else is seeing it, it's on my end. But I hadn't see any display problem this persistent.

    Plus, I even tried it from a clean test machine here at work and saw the same thing so I know it's not a cache or refresh issue.
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  9. I just can't imagine anything... Perhaps you can't load http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh92/eblogtemplates/adstheme/sbbg.gif

    ?
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  10. I've been following Crayon Physics for a while, but haven't gotten around to playing the Deluxe version. It looks amazing. By demo, are you referring to the old Crayon Physics, or is there one for the full game as well? Good to see you blogging again, gnome.
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  11. Ithmeer! Long time no see my friend. Glad you're still around! Oh, and by demo I mean a brand new (extended) demo of the proper game. not the old tech demo.
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  12. I saw this and immediately though of the gnome:

    On this day...
    January 13 1822
    The design of the current Flag of Greece was originally adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus for their naval flag.

    ;)
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  13. Now that's something I'd never have known otherwise my learned friend. Quite impressed really...
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  14. I found it on wiki's front page while looking up something else. Although I had heard the bit about the flag being the old military one long ago though. ;)
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  15. I'm still amazed. Though, now you mention it, I remember hearing something about the military origin of the greek flag too. Not particularly nice sounding that...
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  16. I played Penny Arcade and it was all right, but I wouldn't call it stellar. Fights got repetitive after a while and so did basic mechanics. Humour, graphical and written alike, kept me going, the story is fun, but all in all I wouldn't call it a great game.

    As for Crayon Physics, I played it on my iPhone (before I sold the little bugger) and it was there where the game was shining. When you can draw these shapes with your own finger, well, that's when this becomes pure magic. Even more so when you can change the direction of gravity by turning your iPhone upside down!
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  17. think I'll follow Deitrix's lead and whack an episode on the old PS3...
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  18. I can see the allure of Crayon Physics on the iPhone dear Barts, though I can't really see how the repetition of the same glorious battle a hundred times could tire you :p No, really, I never tired of the PA battles, but I can see your point.

    Or at least try the demo father....
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