Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

What I expected:  A metroidvania game with a killer art style.  Basically another Shadow Complex.

What I got:  A metroidvania game with a killer art style.  Basically another Shadow Complex, but much shorter and not as satisfying.

What I liked:  Art style.  I feel like I'm writing about the art style in a positive way more and more often.  This is a good thing I think.  The shadow style is very reminiscent of the game Jose pitched for Guildhall, but with all my concerns addressed.  Even though the environment is all black (with a few very select highlights), the enemies are all very vibrant.

Exploration:  Even though the art style is all black, they very intelligently created a few very different environments.  Exploring the areas was a ton of fun. I was always excited to get to the next area just to see what it looks like.  I would post pictures, but I'm lazy.

World Map:  Best world map I've seen in a metroidvania game ever.  Wherever there is a progression gate, it marks it on your map and with the icon of the item you need to get past it.  NOTE: it only does this for gates you need to get past.  It does not mark "secret" areas.  This makes progression easy, while maintaining the allure of exploration.

What I didn't like:  Length:  I beat the game in 5 hours.  The campaign is super short, and I could rush through it much much faster.

The Ice World:  The only area I didn't like was the Ice area.  I hated this place for a couple reasons.  1)  ruins the art style.  Everything turns white and blue instead of black.  2)  The crystals that bounce lasers around are EXTREMELY BUGGY.  It is very hard to put the crystals in the sockets, and sometimes they don't even bounce light correctly.  Hard to properly describe how frustrating this was.

Items:  In metroid and Shadow Complex you get a lot of really interesting weapons and abilities to help you explore.  In Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, you only really get weapons.  I think this is primarily due to the fact that you fly around.  There are only so many ways you can manipulate your movement here.  Not like you can gain a double jump here.

Final thoughts:  Really fun, albeit short, game.  The art style is top notch, and would love to see more.  I really wish the gameplay stuff was a bit more imaginative, but O well.

How much did I pay:  $2

How many hours did I play:   5

Dollar per Hour:  $0.40

How much would I pay for this game in perfect hindsight:  $5

Why?  Basically everything I said in my final thoughts, plus I didn't feel like I wasted my time at all.

Psychonauts

What I expected:  An incredibly memorable game that had the patented Double Fine humor.  Everyone always talks about how this game was perfect.

What I got:  A mediocre platformer at best, that does not hold up well with age at all.

What I liked:  Honestly, not much.

Characters:  Unique characters that all have their own distinct personality, and even if I don't remember their names (no fault of Double Fine, I'm horrible with names), I do remember their faces.  The voice acting is all very well done.  Note that I'm comparing the game to current games.  Very few games have voice acting this good now, let alone back in 2005.

The world:  The environments are all very imaginative.  I really enjoyed the risks they took with creating a psychedelic world.  It's a very hard to market this world, and it really is very imaginative and fun.  The camp grounds are boring, but once you are in someone's head it's pretty great.

What I didn't like:  Or why I think this is the most overrated game of all time.

Menu System:  They tried to get clever with the main menu being an interactive 3d world.  I hate this.  I just want to play the damn game.  Games try and do something clever like this every so often, and it's not.  It's just frustrating and delays the time it takes to get me to your game.  Additionally, when they did this, they make you run up.  More specifically, they make you move the control stick UP.  This is contrary to literally every other game in the history of man kind.  You always start at the top of a menu and move DOWN.  I ran  all the way down, circled round the brain, coming up top.  This is silly, and it's not clever.

Communication (or rather lack there of):  They do a horrible job communicating what exactly they want you to do.  Their approach is to give you no clue what to do, fail then they have an audio cue tell you what to do....SOMETIMES.  They don't communicate what something is for.  For instance, I unlocked the fire badge, and ok now I can set things on fire.  I have no clue why I would use this ever.  The only thing I have used it for is to melt some scavenger hunt item out of ice.  It doesn't seem to serve a purpose.  The game really suffers from an overall lack of game direction.  The story and writing are all very cohesive, but it seems like they forgot they were making a game and not a book.  The level that I've heard at least two people compliment very highly is the Milkman level.  This is actually the level that broke my will to play this game.  I continuously felt like I was doing something wrong, and only achieved the goal by accident.  After the first stop sign, I felt like I was missing so many disguises.  I spent so much time searching houses with TERRIBLE cameras.  I eventually moved on.  I eventually found the graveyard, and proceeded, but man why was it placed at the end of the level?  These are things not limited by technology, they are things limited by basic understanding of teaching the player.  Maybe modern games have made me stupid, but this game just feels like they made it for themselves and for no one else.

Cutscenes:  They have tons of cutscenes all over the place.  If you find them funny, which I didn't, I suppose that's ok.  I just want to play the damn game.  The level I enjoyed the most, was the Godzilla level.  This would have been the highlight of the game if it wasn't for all the cutscenes that were placed all over it.  An introductory one would be fine, and an ending one would have been great too.

There is more, but it's hard to remember because I spent a bunch of time yelling at my tv.  I should start taking physical notes instead of just mental ones.

Final thoughts:  I stand by my statement of this being the most overrated game of all time.  I honestly couldn't finish it.  I quit playing this game at the book repository.  I couldn't figure out how to get past it.  I tried using the dudes as shields like the guides say, but the room for zero must be zero, as I was only able to successfully avoid getting shot once.  I really tried to finish it.  I constantly felt like I was playing a different game than everyone else.  I feel like this game is one you have to play when it was made, because it just doesn't hold up well in time.

How much did I pay:  $2.00

How many hours did I play:   5

Dollar per Hour:  $0.40

How much would I pay for this game in perfect hindsight:  $0.00

Why?  Perhaps when it was made I would have paid something for it.  Playing it now, there are just so many things (non graphical) that just date this game.  Pity, considering I really enjoy all of Double Fine's other adventures.

Bioshock Infinite: The best game probably ever.

What I expected:  A continuation of the Bioshock franchise.  I avoid most media on purpose to keep my expectations as clean as possible.  I knew that the theme this around was religion instead of politics.

What I got:  A nigh flawless execution of Bioshock.  A surprisingly violent shooter that tells an amazing story that I didn't expect at all.

What I liked:  Everything but one thing.

Art:  I loved the almost painterly style.  The characters remind me of a less exaggerated Fable, which is a good thing.  Columbia is a character all in of itself.  If the game had no combat, I would play it just to walk around the environment all day long.  Everything is alive and the inhabitants really feel like they are real people.  I loved sitting down and just listening to all the little things everyone had to say.

Story:  The story is by far the best I've ever experienced in a shooter.  A lot of the story is done through Audio logs, but I'm ok with that.  I would much prefer to listen to audio logs, and continue about my travels, then be forced to watch some awkwardly placed cutscene.  The ending was breathtaking and beautiful.  When song bird died, I almost cried.  I will admit, I had no connection to him as a character, but the way he died and the emotion they showed in his eyes........perfect.    

Characters/writing/ELIZABETH:  The dialog between the two characters was so good.  I really felt like they were real people developing a connection.  I honestly think their dialog and relationship would stand up in the best of movie history.  I actually cared about Elizabeth, and wanted to help her.  I got mad at Booker when he turned the zepp to New York and not Paris.  I have *never* gotten mad at a character's decision in a video game before.  This was pretty amazing for me.  I literally can't say enough good things here.

What I didn't like:  I'm really reaching here....

Combat:  It was good.  Gun play and plasmids felt good, but not as good as Bioshock or Bioshock 2 (2 being my favorite combat out of the series).  I really wish that I could choose to do more things with my plasmids, and half of the plasmids felt the same to me.  The water one however, was really cool.

Gun art:  The gun designs (art wise) are the most uninspired I've seen in ages.  I don't believe they were created by the same team.  Also unlike Bioshock, they don't visually upgrade.  This really annoyed me.

Final thoughts:  This is a game I will never forget.  It was so fantastic, and memorable.  Every moment was a gaming treasure to me.  I have to go back and play the other Bioshocks now.  I gladly purchased a season pass (something I have NEVER done before), and I honestly don't even care if the DLC never comes out.  I'm glad the developers have my money.

How much did I pay:  $60

How many hours did I play:   14

Dollar per Hour:  $4.29

How much would I pay for this game in perfect hindsight:  $100

Why?  My favorite game in my favorite game series.  Considering I got XCOM for free by preordering this, this is a steal in value.