Preplay : Blocks that matter

On June 19 2012 the Cube Pack hit the Steam Store front for €8,99. It included Bit. Trip Runner, Blocks That Matter, Critical Mass, Edge, Q.U.B.E. and Rush. I was especially interested in Q.U.B.E. after watching a Giant Bomb quick look. The other games were a nice bonus as I figured most of the games in this pack would be snack sized games that I could play during lunch. The only game in the pack I had some knowledge about, besides Q.U.B.E. and Bit. Trip Runner, was Blocks that matter (BTM). Giant bomb recorded a quick look for this game as well and I remember being mildly interested in the game going into the quick look. By the end of the video I found the gameplay to look rather bland and slow, rendering BTM another game that never...

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Postplay : And Yet It Moves

As soon as I started playing  'And Yet It Moves' (AYIM), it was hard for me to remember why I didn't like it before. At first glance the game wasn't astonishing but it certainly wasn't bad either. A feeling that stayed true throughout the game. The basic premise of AYIM is the ability to turn the world around in 90 degree increments. This allows the player to solve environment puzzles or jump gaps that would be otherwise impossible. Your goal is to reach a paper portal at the end of each level to advance to the next. There's no story, so the game's driving force is the increasing amount of puzzle concepts and craziness that AYIM offers. Although the concept appears simple, the developers successfully squeezed...

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Preplay : And Yet It Moves

In 2009 indie developer Broken Rules released And Yet It Moves (AYIM), a 2D puzzle platformer with a twist. I don't know much about the game except that rotating the world is the main mechanic and that it's next on my list. I bought this game as part of Humble Bundle 4 in 2011. A bundle that also included Super Meat Boy, vvvvvv, Shank, bit.trip runner , Cave Story +, Cogs, Crayon Physics Deluxe, Gratuitous Space Battles, Hammerfight, Jamestown and Nightsky.. I had already played Super Meat Boy and Shank on my Xbox but I liked the idea of being able to play them on my pc as well. Giant Bomb's quicklooks of vvvvvv and bit.trip runner sold those games to me and being able to buy these games and more in a cheap package...

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Postplay : A Game of Thrones - Genesis

About a week ago I said goodbye to my family and started my journey on The Kingsroad through Westeros. The journey only took me 5 hours but I believe I've seen enough of the scenery to tell you about my travels. I've been playing 'Game of Thrones - Genesis', a strategy game developed by Cyanide Studio based on the novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. I wasn't sure what to expect so I jumped in the tutorial before anything else. About an hour later I came out the other end feeling a bit confused but interested in the mechanics of the game. The first time you play GotG the sheer amount of mechanics and tactics might seem frightening. This feeling is enhanced by the unfamiliar nature of many of those tactics within the strategy genre. I'm...

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Preplay : A Game of Thrones - Genesis

Ever since my wife and I started watching the HBO series 'Game of Thrones' I have been hooked on the universe George RR. Martin created. Following the lives of Queen Cersei, Daenerys Targaryen, the Hound, Hodor and many other fictional characters, Game of Thrones caught my interest in a way not many other franchises have been able to. Needless to say, when season two of the show came to an end and the long wait for season three began I was hungry for more content. I knew the series was based on the novel series 'a song of ice and fire' so I put these on my new year's wishlist. Different people got me different books in the series and I was all set to go. In a matter of weeks I made my way through books one and two and dived head first...

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Full steam ahead : intro

These are exciting times for gamers! After last year's release of the Wii U the announcement of the Playstation 4 really announced the end of a console generation. Last time this happened I was about 17 years old, which meant I had several years of saving in front of me until I would be able to buy the console I preferred. This gave me time to get through a backlog of fantastic games that came out for the systems I already owned but hadn't played yet. A big benefit to this was that the console I wanted to buy kept getting cheaper while I was saving up and in addition most games I bought were classics that had seen significant price cuts over the years. I have decided that I will take a similar approach this time and wait a couple of years...

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