entertainmentoverdose

Heart of Darkness PSX

20/09/12 23:47

Do you have fun while seeing a little boy being stabbed, crushed, drowned, poisoned or chewed up by wild animals? You sick bastard! I have a game for you. A game called Heart of Darkness.

Heart of Darkness is about an African river boat captain named Charles Marlow at the turn of the twentieth century who, wait that's not right. Different Heart of Darkness, sorry let me start again. Ahem, Heart of Darkness is a 1998 video game released by Infogrames for the original Sony Playstation/Windows based PCs and created by French designer Eric Chahi of Out of this World as well as 2011's indie darling god simulator, From Dust.

This Heart of Darkness is about a scientific prodigy named Andy, who while at the park with his dog Whiskey, witnesses a solar eclipse. During this solar eclipse however, Whiskey is stolen away by unknown aliens so it is up to Andy to go get his home made spaceship from his tree house and fly off in the direction of the creatures on a quest to save his dog.

I know what you're thinking, dog questing, pretty epic stuff huh? BUT it's also filled with fantastic creatures and the struggle for control of an alien planet. This all unfolds by guiding Andy through, what we in the biz like to call, a "cinematic platformer". In a style similar to the original Prince of Persia, Heart of Darkness plays from a 2D perspective and involves careful thought, precise control and a lot of trial & error to pass enemies or solve environmental puzzles.

Even with those however, you'll see poor Andy meet his end again and again and once you've bought a new controller to replace the one you smashed, a couple dozen times after that. They can be pretty gruesome too so is it wrong that I get as much of a cheap thrill from watching those as I do from actually progressing into a new area? Yes, absolutely, I need help but the the visuals and sounds are so stunning that I just can't help myself.

Like all cinematic platformers, the animation in this game is superb, as is music & ambient sounds. So much care went into the presentation that it took six years to finish. But they kind of have to have that in order to keep people entertained and coming back for more despite the slow pacing and constant failures.

It worked on me but because of this, along with its niche style, Heart of Darkness isn't going to be for everyone and even for those of you for whom it is, there is no digital release for it as of yet. However, if you can track down a copy of Playstation version, it can be played through the backwards compatibility of some older model PS3s. So if you find one, pick it up. You won't regret it most of the time.

Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in the Pursuit of the Protruding Pectorals

10/09/12 00:48

I don't know about you but when I get tired of hooking up with so many beautiful women night after night, I like to just sit back and kick some games. Pwn some noobs, glean some cubes and not think about getting laid for a couple of hours. So why would I want to play a game where I do exactly that? Because it is one of the funniest & ahem "rewarding" games I've ever played and that game is of course Leisure Suit Larry.

Did I say one of? I meant six of, yes there are six of these games. No, no, please don't tell me about Magna Cum Laude or Box Office Bust, they don't exist. In fact, I just made up those words and am now putting my fingers in my ears. With a pencil in my teeth, I'm writing about the games created by Sierra On-Line legend, Al Lowe,

Al Lowe, whom you of course recognize as the musical composer for the Space Quest series also created & wrote Leisure Suit Larry 1-7. Four really doesn't exist for reasons it's better not to get into but they all follow (except when they don't) the lovable loser Larry Laffer. I could talk about each of these and I hope to eventually but for now I'm going to start with my favorite, Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in the Pursuit of the Protruding Pectorals. Try saying that five times fast.

While you do, I'll explain a bit more. These games are point and click adventures like Maniac Mansion or most recently the Walking Dead games by Telltale. That means that you will be wandering around, talking to people, collecting items and solving puzzles with them. In this installment, Larry is left by his wife so is back on the dating scene in Nontoonyt Island and that's it. Go get 'em you big stud.

Okay, there's more than that. As you read, it's really funny. Crude but funny and that's the first thing to look out for. If you're easily offended then maybe you should stick to Maniac Mansion. No wait, that's also offensive. Anyway, it can be crude but also satirical which is important because the writing is really what carries these games. The other thing you should look out for is how dated these can be. I said "point and click" but this one specifically predates that innovation so it is a lot of writing along with the reading.

And then there's the graphics. I hope you like fluorescent colors because it has some of the brightest 1989 had to offer and knowing the 80s, that's saying something. Personally, I think they have a nostalgic charm but that's just opinion. The last issue you might have is how do I play it? It can be bought alone or as part of a collection, downloaded digitally or are being released in updated formats through Replay Games starting October 2012.

Overall, I would highly recommend this game and this series to anyone who likes good humor, likes good puzzles or likes seeing the underdog get what he or she deserves in the end. I wouldn't know anything about that last part though, I'm already late for a drink.

Tags: Leisure Suit Larry