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Archive for the ‘Mac’ Category

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Games That Rocked My World – #59: Depression Quest

In Mac, PC on March 12, 2014 at 1:29 am

Title: Depression Quest
Format: PC, Mac
Released: 14th February, 2013

I first came across Depression Quest for all the wrong reasons. Reasons that made me angry. Consider this article just a tiny bit of karma for all the nonsensical bile out there.

Depression Quest Logo

There’s a download service for games called Steam, which has a great array of titles for sale, new and old. It’s amazing. A new service, Steam Greenlight is intended to be a democratic system that allows users to submit and vote on which in-development games should be added to Steam, making them available for purchase by the everyday public.

The first article I read on Depression Quest was in Edge magazine, but went along these lines. Go on, read it. Or another like it. They’re all quite similar, because the behaviour being reported was as disgusting as it was drearily predictable. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked…Benita de Wit’s World – #53: Theme Park

In Amiga, DS, Mac, Mega Drive, PC, PlayStation, PS3, Saturn, SNES on January 24, 2014 at 1:12 pm

Title: Theme Park

Format: Amiga, Mega Drive, PlayStation, Saturn, SNES, Mac, PC, DS, PS3

Released: 1994

Theme Park Box Art

Hello Internet.

I’d like to tell you a story. A story about a child who spent a lot of time alone on the computer. A story about creativity.

As a kid I loved building games (that is to say, games where you build. I didn’t build games, great as that would’ve been). I loved to spend hours making something original, whether from paper or pixels.

I grew up in a bit of a gaming family and enjoyed a thorough videogame education. SimTower, Age of Empires and World of Warcraft were favourites of mine as they all had wonderful elements of customisation, where you could play the game in your own weird way. Being an odd child I took the most joy in making odd things happen. I loved allowing a 100-storey building to become roach-infested, building a civilisation of monks who converted entire enemy armies to a peaceful way of life or riding my frostsaber across the plains as a male night elf in a wedding dress. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked My World – #52: Papers, Please

In Mac, PC on January 17, 2014 at 2:35 am

Title: Papers, Please
Format: PC, Mac
Released: August 8th, 2013

Papers, Please Logo

“Travel broadens the mind”, they say. When it comes to Papers, Please, ‘they’ are goddamn right.

I’ll back up.

Papers, Please casts you as a border patrol officer for the fictional eastern European country of Arstotzka. Your job? To check people’s passport and immigration documents before they enter the country.

Papers-Please-October-Lottery

“Oh sweet, Jon – a game about paperwork?! Sign me up! While you’re at it, let me do all your tax returns whilst simultaneously potty training your infant!”

First up, don’t be a cunt. C’mon.

Secondly, Papers, Please is one of the most immersive, engaging and nail-biting games I have ever played. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked My World – #51: Botanicula

In Mac, PC on January 10, 2014 at 12:57 pm

Title: Botanicula
Format: PC, Mac
Released: 7th May, 2012

Botanicula Main Image

Sometimes, when the cold is creeping in and the skies are grey, you just want to play something green and warm. Something lovely. Something that has care, craft and love oozing out of every pore. (ergh) Sometimes, you want to play Botanicula, the Toy Story of lo-fi Czech adventure games. (obviously)

As I write now, I’m 3 days into a fairly pathetic cold. It’s one of those colds that leaves you light-headed, a little feeble, but essentially just a bit tired and hungry. It’s a great way to be: thoughts float about a bit more freely like gentle spores ready to fertilise, and although your head’s a bit tender, sitting around playing games and watching TV is a perfectly acceptable way to spend a weekday. So after playing through Papers, Please again, (article coming next week) finding myself comfortably ensconced in a den of tissues (STOP IT) and cups of tea, I moved onto Botanicula, by Amanita Design. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked…Jonny Garrett’s World – #44: The Secret Of Monkey Island

In Amiga, iOS, Mac, PC, PSN, Xbox 360 on July 19, 2013 at 10:36 am

Today’s post is by Jonny Garrett…

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Title: The Secret Of Monkey Island

Format: Amiga, Mac, Mega CD, iOS, PC, PSN, Xbox 360

Released: October, 1900

Monkey Island Box Art

A great man once said “Always be yourself. Unless you can be a pirate. Then always be a pirate.” I don’t remember who said that, but they are wise and, presumably, a pirate.

Sadly, when I first heard that saying I couldn’t be a pirate. I was 7 and lived in Oxford, a city so far from the sea we thought punts were an efficient way to navigate water. My ambitions were landlocked and somehow scuppered at the same time.

Then everything changed. My dad brought home a copy of The Secret of Monkey Island, installed on about 12 floppy discs and with a glossy stapled manual. From over my elder brother’s shoulder I watched Guybrush Threepwood shuffle onto my screen, dressed like a Jane Austen character pixelated out to protect his identity. Read the rest of this entry »

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