Where is my Heart? - a Playstation Mini

I don’t think many people pay attention to the “Minis” available on the Playstation Network, or even know of their existence. Sony doesn’t seem to do a very good job of informing people of them or showcasing them, even when something amazing comes out, as it has with Where is my Heart?  For those that don’t know, Playstation Minis are kind of Sony’s answer to apps; they are small programs, and tend to sell for a few dollars. As such, most of them tend to be of the same quality of a phone app as well. Most of them also play on both the PS3 and PSP. Every now and again though, a Mini comes along that is worth taking notice of.

Where is my Heart? has a simple premise, you’re trying to get a character (and shortly thereafter three characters) from the starting point to the goal. However the screen is divided into various grids, and moving from one grid does not necessarily mean you’ll end up in the grid alongside it. Finding your way around can become surprisingly challenging. The visual style is used for a new gameplay feature when one of the characters gains the ability to rotate the various grids. The gameplay style has been described as being like The Lost Vikings, and while I partially agree, so far I’ve not come across any level that required all three monsters to work together, but rather each level has focused on the ability of one of them. But perhaps that will change later on.

At $6.99 it’s definitely on the higher end of the pricing scale for a Mini, but it’s a charming and enjoyable indie game with some absolutely fantastic pixel art. If you’re looking for something new to put on your PS3 and PSP, keep this one in mind.

Tag: The Secret Origins of Portal 2

Many gamers may be familiar with the indie project that started the ideas for Portal, a small development team of 8 students at DigiPen made a game called Narbacular Drop that threw the player into the role of a witch that could summon a blue and an orange portal that were linked, allowing her to walk into one and come out the other. The game’s basic concepts intrigued those at Valve, who hired the team to flesh out their idea into what would become Portal.

Portal 2 has a similar origin story that once again starts with a small group of students at DigiPen. This game, Tag: The Power of Paint, like Narbacular Drop offers a single gameplay mechanic that leads to endless possibilities. In Tag, you’re given a SuperSoaker-looking gun that can be loaded with different colors of paint. If you paint something green, you can jump high off its surface, if you paint something red, you will run really fast over the red paint, and if you paint something blue, you can walk along the blue surface, regardless if it’s on the side of a building or on the ceiling. This of course would later be further developed by Steam in the Portal 2 game; while you can’t shoot the paint directly, you’ll find gels that you can redirect onto surfaces to help you along. The green paint to jump is now blue gel, and the red paint to run fast is now orange gel. The blue paint to walk along surfaces has been mentioned in numerous interviews as having been in the game at some point, but every play tester apparently became motion sick and they couldn’t figure out a way to prevent it, so it was pulled. Instead we have the white gel, which turns any surface into a portal-able surface.

While Portal is a solid, polished experience, Narbacular Drop was more of a diamond in the rough. Tag: The Power of Paint certainly feels more polished, with a smooth frame rate and an interesting visual design (the world is completely black and white except for the three paint colors). It is, however, very short, with only 8 levels and no save feature it’s meant to be beaten in a single playthrough. For anyone that’s a fan of Portal 2 and wants to see where these ideas originated, I highly recommend checking out Tag: The Power of Paint, it’s fun, it’s fast and it’s free!

Giana Sisters now available in North America!

The Great Giana Sisters was a platform game that came out for the Amiga and Commodore 64 computers back in the 80s. It borrowed heavily from Super Mario Bros, some boxes even having the tagline "The brothers are history". It wasn't long before Nintendo was made aware of the PC "homage" and forced them to stop selling the game, making it something of a sought after item for collectors.

Fast forward to two years ago, when the Giana Sisters made a surprise return, this time on Nintendo's own DS in Europe! However even with this more legitamate version, if didn't last long, and online prices for the European version often surpass $70. Then, in January of this year, an ESRB rating surfaced for Giana Sisters by Destineer, an indication that a North American release was nearing. A couple of months went by with no word of a release, when suddenly in the March issue of Nintendo Power they reviewed the game, giving Giana Sisters a respective 9 out of 10. Then once again not a word was said about the game, until now. Online retailers seem to quietly be getting shipments of the game in stock, specifically Wal-Mart and Newegg. At only $19.99, this quasi-sequal to a ripoff of Super Mario Bros can now be bought in the US. 

I just got my copy in the mail today and look forward to some old-school platforming action this evening. At the very least, it's something to satisfy my Mario craving until Super Mario 3D Land arrives later this month!

Let's Go Retro! - Ghostbusters (PC)

After a long hiatus from making these video reviews, I present the third Let's Go Retro! This time I'm taking a look at the game Ghostbusters 2 for the PC. I used to play the heck out of this game as a kid, and I still found it fun to play during this review. I'm also happy to announce that the next video should have much cleaner sounding voiceovers, as I've bought myself a Snowball Microphone after hearing some good things about them. 

Wizorb - Xbox Indie game

Wizorb is a new downloadable title on Xbox Live Indie games, made from a company called Tribute. In it, you command a wizard named Cyrus as he uses his magic wand to cast Wizorb magic and fight off the evil that has invaded his land. The game plays like an updated version of Arkanoid or Breakout, with the paddle on the bottom of the screen being the wizard’s wand, and the spell he’s casting is the ball that bounces around the screen.

The game is full of charm and has wonderfully drawn 8-bit style graphics and chiptune music. There’s also more depth than you’d find in a standard Breakout clone, as you can use magic spells to gain the advantage (as long as your magic meter is somewhat filled) and collecting money allows you to buy helpful items in the shops (or you can donate the money to your village to help rebuild it).

At only 240 Microsoft Points, it’s easy to recommend this title. The dev team clearly put a lot of their love of classic gaming aesthetics into it, and there’s just something fun about Arkanoid and Breakout that make you want to try just one more time to see if you can get farther. Give this one a look if you’ve got a few spare points lying around that you don’t know what to do with.