Last night, after playing through the Wolverine: Origins demo again (I WANT THAT GAME), I downloaded a few more demos to try out. The first one I downloaded was the Ghostbusters: The Video Game demo. I had heard very good things about it. I also heard that it was, essentially, the third installment of the movie series. As a huge fan of the movies (at least the first one), I had to give it a shot.
All of the original cast returns in this game, lending their likenesses and their voices to the video game characters. Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis, the creators of the series, even helped during development by doing script doctoring. All of this effort resulted in an amazing game (demo). You start off as the fifth member of the Ghostbusters, a rookie in training with newly developed proton packs and equipment. The controls are smooth, and the equipment is fantastic. The graphics are wonderful, and the dialog is exactly what you would expect it to be. This game is very well designed and written. There were quite a few moments where I was startled by sudden ghost attacks or paranormal activities.
Oh yeah, and fighting a massive book golem was awesome.
Over the weekend, we downloaded the Wolverine: Origins demo on our Xbox 360. I am generally hesitant of movie adaptations, but Lindsey had seen some gameplay footage, and I had read a great deal about the game, so we felt it would be a fun, free demo. I gave it a shot on Sunday night, and was immediately impressed by the graphics. The introductory FMV does a good job of introducing the character for people who might not have seen the movie (such as myself), as well as setting up the demo mission. Your first control of Wolverine in the demo comes while falling out of an exploding helicopter, many hundreds of feet above the ground. It is limited movement control, enough to dodge oncoming bullets and missiles. Near the end of the fall, the game takes over and seamlessly transitions to another FMV, which sees Wolverine land, claws first, into a soldier’s head, followed by dismemberment of his comrades. Control is returned, again, seamlessly, and you set out to rid the area of enemies.
The controls are unbelievable. The movement and attacks are incredibly fluid. It gives you a feel of how Wolverine would move in real life. The controls are very intuitive, seeming to know what I want to do before I actually do it, resulting in very smooth and clean gameplay. What I was most surprised by was the level of violence and gore in the game. I can’t remember playing a game that was so realistically and visually violent without the use of zombies. It was intense and excessive, in a very good way.
Based on the quality of the demo experience, I am very eager to get my hands on a full copy of this game. Once I do, I’ll put up a better review.
Today I was bored and felt like playing something fun. I remembered some people on Twitter telling me about Steam and how you can download free demos. You guys have probably figured out by now that I love free stuff, so if I could entertain myself and pass the time for free… you bet your sweet ass I was going to.
So I went to the Steam website and came across a demo I found interesting. After I downloaded the necessary stuff, I tried to play that demo and I thought it was crap. I was actually pretty bummed but then I came across a little jewel – Yosumin!
I love puzzle games. When I had a 360, I used to play the hell out of Hexic and loved it. I have Bejewled for my iPhone, I proudly own Super Puzzle Fighter II: Turbo for my PSX, and I cracked out on the Puzzle Kombat mini game for Mortal Kombat: Deception.
Yosumin! is a fantastic puzzle game by Square Enix. I did have my reservations about it since almost everything released by Square, since they merged with Enix, has been subpar. Yosumin! was like a breath of fresh air.
The controls were easy since you just use your mouse, and it wasn’t complicated. The number one thing I hate about PC games is that you use a keyboard instead of a controller or mouse. Yosumin! made sure that I didn’t have to screw around with that mess.
The demo was unfortunately limited to 60 minutes, and I knew that this was the type of game where time just flies. I was given the option to play Yosumin! Adventure or Endless Yosumin!, so I chose Adventure since I was curious as to what the story line would be for this game.
The story was actually pretty cute. Here is the actual description for it:
Once upon a time, deep in the Forest of the Yosumin!, which lies somewhere far away, but not too far from here, there was a shrine decorated with beautiful stained glass.
One night, someone came and took the stained glass, then smashed it into pieces and spread it far and wide over the world.
Work your way through the world of the yosumin in search of the lost pieces of their treasured stained-glass window!
Use the special Treats you earn along the way to help you make your way through the myriad of multifarious levels!
Image Courtesy of Steam and Square Enix
Pretty simple, right? Yes and no actually. The initial stages gave you tips, told you what to do, and I liked that. I didn’t want to have to play a guessing game regarding what I was supposed to do and what not. I wanted instant gratification. Yosumin! gave that to me. Within a matter of seconds I was playing the game like I was an expert at it, but that’s not to say that I didn’t fail a few stages because I did. Two of them actually. I was given the option to continue though, and to start right back at the same stage so that I didn’t have to plow through it all again. I liked that, a lot.
Image Courtesy of Steam and Square Enix
I also liked how each level was different. Since I started at the beginning, each level became more difficult and I loved it. Each level contained at least 5 stages and it didn’t seem like it was too much. Some of the easier stuff just required me to get a certain amount of red, orange, and green yosumin in order to complete that stage. You also had a meter and were timed. If you made large sets, the meter would go back up again.
The sounds were great too. It never became annoying, or too cheesy, nor was it to kiddie for me. I even found myself humming along after a few stages. The songs and sounds would change too when your meter was low which was nice because I hate when you get no warnings in games. It makes them frustrating.
Image Courtesy of Steam and Square Enix
As I progressed, there were more and more things to do in the stages. In some I was required to get a certain amount of glass shards in order to complete it, and in others I had to get a certain color shard in order for the shard to go away.
In the image below, you will see in the lower right hand corner of the board that there is a blue shard. To the left of the board you will see where it tells you how many yosumin and shards you need to get in order to pass the stage. With that particular shard, you had to get yosumin of the same color around it and make either the square or rectangle for it to disappear. If you used a different color the shard would stay and you wouldn’t get credit for it.
Image Courtesy of Steam and Square Enix
Once you completed all of the stages, you were done with that level. I believe I made it through 6 of the 10 levels that were in the demo. After each level was done, you watched a little clip of the glass you saved be put back into the shrine. Some of the pieces I earned started to connect with each other, but it wasn’t enough for me to make anything out. I did see some yosumin in the glass but there wasn’t anything else I could see.
Image Courtesy of Steam and Square Enix
There were a couple times in the game where I was able to make the entire board into a move. When that happened, the board would start to shake a little and then I would hear “YOSUMIN!!!” That move got me mega points so I tried to do it as often as possible.
Image Courtesy of Steam and Square Enix
When my 60 minutes was up, I was completely bummed. I really became enthralled with the game and really wanted to continue playing it. I was surprised to see that you could download the full version of the game for only $9.99 because I consider that a steal. The full version has so many levels and so much more content that I could honestly be here for a long time, boring you all to death with the details.
Out of all of the puzzle games I have played recently, Yosumin! has to be one of the best by far. If we had some sort of a rating system on our blog, I’d give it a 5 out of 5 or whatever. The colors were great, the sounds were great, the gameplay was great… literally my only complaint was that my demo ended. It’s rare for me to come across a game and be able to say that.
So, if you like puzzle games give Yosumin! a try. It’s fantastic and it’s cheap! What more could you want?
I did manage to record some video using the Qik app on my iPhone. It’s not the best in the world, but you can see the gameplay, hear the sounds (and even me humming), and get a feel for it. Enjoy!!
Everyone grows up; this is how the world works. Just because we grow decrepit and old, however, does not mean we have to forsake the things that make us happy, childish though they may seem. This is the core concept of Marooners’ Rock; we geek out on the things of our past, present, and future. Society and cultural norms be damned!
