This week was busier than I expected!
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| Let's not worry too much about why a Hedgehog who is the fastest thing alive needs a car... |
My new game for this
week was Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed, recently downloaded for the
Xbox360. This is a kart racing game with the usual line-up of Sonic characters,
plus another several characters from Sega’s other properties such as Alex Kidd,
Super Monkey Ball, Shinobi and, bizarrely, Wreck-it Ralph. I was expecting to
play a few rounds of this and then put it to bed, but I was astonished and
delighted by how much fun this game is! I’m working through the World Tour at
the moment, which is great for introducing the game’s modes – racing, battles,
time trials, drift challenges, that sort of thing. The races are pretty easy –
you don’t need to win the race to beat the level; you only need to come third –
but some of the other challenges are pretty tough. The drifts, in particular,
require a lot of precision. I initially chose Sonic for my play through,
because you don’t buy a Sonic the Hedgehog game not wanting to play as Sonic,
but when I’d levelled him up as high as he’ll go and couldn’t progress him any
further, I tried playing as Danica Patrick, who handles very well. I wondered
what Sega game she was from and was surprised to discover that she is, in fact,
a real person! I’ve got to the end of the World Tour – just the Bonus levels to
do now – but the game still has a lot to offer and I’m nowhere near fed up with
it yet, so I’ll keep going for a bit longer!
It’s a little strange how that works out as I tend to prefer
games with storylines. Or, at least, I think I do. But a competently-designed
racing game has a very addictive “just one more go” mentality that is proving
every bit as fun as an engaging plot. I enjoy having a nice balance between the
two.
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| A mixture of non-sequitur and smarmy self-reference often mistaken for comedy by the same sort of people who describe themselves as "random..." |
Later in the week I had a Wednesday afternoon in Warlords
and Wizards, and played an enjoyable game of Catan with a couple of the lads in
there which I was very pleased to win! I also had a go with Exploding Kittens;
it’s a card game where you have to avoid picking up certain cards from a blind
draw. The art is amusing, though very much “of its time,” and the game
mechanics work even though it is based on luck. But to be honest I didn’t think
much of it. It’s far too reliant on luck for me, and the theme doesn’t lend
itself to a compelling plot or reason to be doing what you’re doing. The kids
in the shop enjoyed it, and if someone got it out at a party I’d join in, but I
won’t be spending any money on Exploding Kittens. A change of schedule means
that my regular visits to Warlords and Wizards on Wednesdays have now come to
an end, but I will still pop in when I can. It’s a great little shop!
I had a few rounds of Eternal Crusade; what I’ve started
doing with that is trying to progress with one character until I’ve reached a
Requisition Points Bonus; there are usually three available bonuses worth 1500
points each, and once I’ve achieved one I’ll move on to the next character. The
reason for this is that the one you’ve won takes a while to be replaced, and
could be replaced with something you could have been working on while you were
playing. It also lets me have a go with some of the other factions, which is
always nice.
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| The level I'm stuck on, funnily enough. |
Finally, I continued playing 911 Operator, which I
originally tried way back in February (I had to go back through my blog to find
that out.) It’s odd to play games about going to work, but I really enjoy the
core gameplay loop! I think the campaign could have done with fewer cities and
a bit more time to develop in each city, as the improvements you make usually
only occur once before you have to move on. The map doesn’t make much
difference to what’s going on.
Let’s see what I’ve got time for next week…
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