How Too Human's Single-Player Tried To Hide What Its Co-op'd Already Exposed

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Too Human reminded me of Assassin’s Creed. While the latter’s extensive preview treatment proved more beneficial, Lead Designer Denis Dyack ensured through some fierce, arguably misjudged rebuttals that Too Human received at least the same level of coverage. Yet after all was said and done, both games proved to be distinctly average affairs that should’ve been so much better. Crucially, both games fell short of expectations because of a fault that often affects games with a grander vision, and that fault was that they were both really, really repetitive.

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Rainbow-Tinted Spectacles

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Nine other writers and I were kindly invited by Hi-Score‘s Daniel Lipscombe to write a few words on a platformer of our choice for his “Top Ten Platformers… with a twist” feature. I was happy to oblige with some musings on a game that’s been an inspiration in oh-so-many ways. This is what I wrote:

NB: With Hi-Score now sadly down and out, the “With a Twist” feature has now been reposted at Nidzumi.

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Mithra And The Indie Bar

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Last week I took full advantage of Steam’s indie collection sale, snapping up ten highly rated games for a paltry 24 bones. I’d already played three of the ten, having previously enjoyed Audiosurf, Braid and Everyday Shooter. Knowing that I could play seven more indie games of similar quality was too big a draw. The indie scene is just a bit special at the moment. The imaginative platformer Braid was one of last year’s best games, while Bit.Trip Beat and And Yet it Moves have provided two of my favourite, most distinctive experiences in this one. That second adjective is worth emphasizing; there’s an argument that when it comes to innovation, creativity and individuality in the games industry within the current economic climate, the first port of call should be independent games. The argument suggests that they represent personal projects made by developers free from the financial pressures and risks of the big studios. Looking back on the five indie titles I’ve mentioned above, that argument clearly has some weight.

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Catch-Up: Gears Of War

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My attempt to fill in the many, many gaps in my gaming knowledge, Catch-Up, returns. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to do another of these, especially since finally getting a Xbox 360 and inheriting the huge back catalogue that comes with it. Maybe it’s because it felt too soon after doing a Big Red Potion episode on revisiting retro games. Or maybe it’s because I’m pathologically lazy. Either way it’s been too long. It’s always interesting to come back to older games and see how they’ve aged, how things like gameplay mechanics, genre and graphics have changed. Also, it’s so much cheaper to play old games rather than buy new ones, and that tugs like nothing else at the heart of a struggling games journalist.

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