Gregory Weir’s games can be challenging to write about. The designer has one of the most prolific voices on game design, and his own creations consistently push his own philosophy in new directions.
One of his newest games, A Ride Home is his first 3D game and through minimalist mod graphical design he’s created a stark and lonely experience in which you need to investigate a beacon.
Surprisingly the game only has one ending which hasn’t been particularly Weir’s style as of late, but the simplicity is welcome.
The core experience of the game is naturally developing and linear, with little interaction from the player, but where it shines is in the knowledge that only one ending exists, and you can’t do anything to change that. How frustrating it must be for us, who desire full control of our worlds from the influence of today’s sandbox games.
The linearity is a beautiful thing, and I think it’s more like the human experience than the open-worlds of some of today’s designs. Whether or not one thinks it pathetic or accepts it and finds happiness in the silver lining, much of life for most of humanity is fairly linear.
Weir takes the single path idea that has been in place since Super Mario Bros. and places us at point A with only one single option.
Do we go to point B, even though we don’t have to, or even if what we’ll find isn’t at all what we wanted - but expected?
- Kyle
Good Game Get! Donkey Kong Country Returns
The platformer is a Nintendo genre. No one has ever really done it better, and Nintendo’s intelligent decision to have Retro Studios refresh Rare’s old Donkey Kong Country franchise could not have come at a better time in the Wii’s life-cycle.
The game is hard, and some reviewers have complained about that - but they seriously should reconsider the initial origins of gaming which focused heavily on difficulty. Donkey Kong Country Returns focuses on creative level design from start to end and whilst doing that it ramps up the difficulty gradually - until yes it has become fucking hard.
Co-operatively it is an absolute blast and is in fact more difficult with the exception of boss battles to play with another person. You’ll jump on a crumbling platform and your partner won’t be ready and he’ll tumble below and lose one of your shared lives. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but it will force you to communicate with your partner which is a good thing.
We like nostalgia and especially like feeling young. A side-scrolling platformer is a classic formula and while Retro has introduced nothing that feels too new, it does feel almost perfect. Without a doubt Donkey Country Returns is the definitive platformer of this generation.
- Kyle
Good Game Get! Drill Dozer
Drill Dozer is seriously one of the best platformers that no one knows about. It was sadly released towards the end of the GBA’s lifespan so I don’t think it received the chance it deserved.
It was created by famous Pokémon creators GameFreak and designed by Pokémon illustrator, Ken Sugimori. Drill Dozer makes you really wish GameFreak would do more than just Pokémon since the game is just so solid and incredible.
The game’s cartridge is awesome as well since it included a built-in rumble pack, which awkwardly sticks out of my beloved Gameboy Micro, but the game looks amazing on that tiny yet great screen.
I think it’s really one of the last original and solid 2D sprite platformers to ever be released, and it’s sad to think that games like these are truly almost dead in mainstream gaming.
If you can get your hands on the real cartridge instead of a rom, you’ll be in for a real treat as the rumble really does make all of the difference, especially when you are doing the fun shifting gear elements using the shoulder buttons.
The game rules, get it, and play it. That simple, and even though I feel that the rumble is very important to the game, this is truly one of those games that could get a wonderful second chance on DSiWare.
That is if Nintendo actually gave a shit about promoting good DSiWare titles.