Monthly Archives: November 2009

What else?

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Ah man, aside from the BBC having a reportgasm and seriously managing to irritate me with the constant news loop, it probably comes as no surprise to regular readers to discover that I have little to no interest in whatever the lastest COD splurge is from Infinity Ward or the Activision camp. It’s not some sort of anti-populist thing or anything like that, it’s more that I have little time for something as utterly mundane as the Call Of Duty series.

Yes, I went there. Mundane.

I’m sure (and given their popularity, I have little doubt) that they’re excellent games in their own right but man, it’s the whole setting that just puts me off. Replace the “shooting humans” thing with “shooting space cows” and I’d probably be there like a shot. As it is, nah, I really don’t think they’re for me.

So, I got to thinking. Given that the latest epic is somewhere in the region of 300 gazillion pounds, what else could you get for that price? I know, let’s make a list! I love lists.

I can’t say I surprised myself whilst compiling this little load, after all it’s little more than a rummage through the contents of my hard drive and spot the prices. Yet, for £40 you can have one megabudget game or…

Or you can buy all of these and go to some truly fantastical places.

Windosill – £1.75 (on Steam, direct is somewhere in that region depending on dollar fluctuation)

windosil

Absolutely first class physics toy puzzle game thing. Every screen is a joy and each one alone, worth £1.75 of your Earth money.

I played this through with my 5 year old. I’m not entirely sure who was more enraptured by it. I’ll say he was to save some face.

AAaaAA etc… £9.99 on Steam. $15 direct or currently part of a mega bundle with a few good games and some shit ones.

aaaa

When folks review AaaAaa there tends to be a fair bit of focus on its quirky nature, its daft humour and how lovely the chaps at Dejobaan are (and they are) but there really isn’t enough emphasis on the fact it’s an absolutely fucking lovely high score chasing game. Yes, it’s bonkers but hey, anyone can be bonkers. Being bonkers with a bloody good game… [insert Mastercard goading slogan here].

It does really screw with my vision after prolonged play, everything seems to have new layers of increasingly wobbly depth. To be honest, it’s worth a tenner just for that. Don’t try and go the loo till the effects wear off, mind. It made me feel like I had the biggest [That's quite enough of that - Ed]

Gravitron 2 – £2.99

grav

Thrust/Gravatar/Oids-combo-me-up-fest that’s really an insanely stupid bargain at the price. X-Out is an incredibly talented coder and there’s more game here for £3 than most high price offerings muster. It helps that there’s some pretty amazing good level design too.

Essential arcade gaming that’s not just retro in style but takes all the lovely bits from the aforementioned games and wraps them in a snuggly blanky of brutal spikey old skool hardness.

Just like when Grandad first started hallucinating Werther’s Originals.

Time Gentlemen, Please – £2.99

tgp

Unfortunate choice of initials aside, it’d be wrong of me to leave out one of the gems of 2009 and curiously, one of the best adventure games I’ve had the pleasure of playing. Shits on Telltale from a great height.

I always feel that’s a bit “damning with faint praise” but y’know, you get the point. It’s really, really, good.

Dangerous High School Girls In Trouble – £6.50 on D2D

itsadangeroo

Social-satire-board-game-RPG-not-really-like-anything-else-thing that’s wicked, smart and funny. And not porn, obviously. That’s two in a row now :(

Gets uber bonus points for upsetting a certain portal and some witless folk. In fact, you should probably buy it just to support that sort of thing.

Space Giraffe – £6.50 on D2D

giraffe

The game I’ve probably spent more words on than any other over the past couple of years. Ok, Crackdown and EDF come close but neither are in the same magisterial ball park as Space Giraffe. Quite simply one of the greatest games of the past 30 years. For under a tenner. Man.

I’m sure you already own it but just in case…

Noitu Love 2 – £6.99 on D2D

noitu

Fuck your bloom filter and your Phys-X and realistic dust trails or blood splats. Noitu Love 2 is infinitely more gorgeous than any game deserves to be and it’s probably more gorgeous than you.

Lunnye Devitse – About £1.50 ish

ddddd

The first release from Boss Baddie. Moon, mountains and pretty pixels. For less than a pint of finest booze. Oh yes.

So there you go. Slightly less than £40* can see you leaping from a futuristic roof trying to avoid breaking your face, flying through space, exploring mountains, battling pixel pirates and so much more. For me, there’s absolutely no contest as to where I’d be forking over my cash right now were it not for the fact that y’know, I already own the games above. Go on, give them a try. Give something different a try.

*Handily, I’ve also managed to somehow leave you with just enough money left over to buy a copy of SYNSO for the 360! Amazing.