Recent reviews by Chances_

Crunchy crunchy combat

I play this when I'm frustrated, weirdly enough it helps me reorganise my thoughts.

The Red Strings Club is equal parts brilliant in its comtemplation of free will and the portrayal of its moral grey area. Most of the story will have you thinking about the consequences of total control of our emotions, as well as how it might benefit us, no matter how controlling it might seem. There's also something rather zen about pouring drinks (clumsily) but serving the final product - gives a sense of pride after every drink.

Why I like it: a brutally difficult rhythm game that uses a much less forgiving version of osu!'s HP system and is better for it. Cathartic. Industrial music heaven. Beautiful aesthetic that somehow still manages to communicate that the game will kick your ass (and you will probably like it).

Why I don't like it: the fact that I can't ragequit by Alt-F4ing in fullscreen. Stressful, both mentally and physically. Call-and-response reliant, rather than actual musical timing.

Overall: recommended, since this is the kind of rhythm game I've been waiting for since O2Jam was deleted from the public consciousness.

-Crypt of the Necrodancer is great though, plug plug-

DId you know I spent two hours on the penultimate stage?

OF WORLD 1?

That illustrates a lot that is wrong with BIT.TRIP RUNNER right off the bat doesn't it?

... and yet, I can't hate this game very much. This is very much a "white noise" game, a game I once played to reign in my temper. It made me want to cuss at the screen. throw my controller at the screen... throw my shirt at the screen for what it's worth. I still haven't finished it at time of writing and I was going to give it a thumbs down... but the game really did give me a fair shake. Yes stage 1-11 is pretty bonkers and yes I haven't played anything past that point (not that it matters because every other f*cking review seems to agree with me about the difficulty curve), but I never really felt that the game was not following its rules...

... no, that's all fine. What this game severely lacks is a F*CKING CHECKPOINT SYSTEM.

Other than that all good. Will play again and again until my temper goes down to a manageable level.

This is the kind of game I would play and watch with glee as every single little trick goes right according to plan and I get a 100% rating on that particular episode; very satisfying. Doesn't outstay its welcome too. Now if only more modern games would do this.

Bioshock 2.

I've heard that some really don't like it.

Maybe they're just like the guys selling bootleg tech at the night markets where I used to go; loud as hell and they make a decent amount of sense, but boy are they annoying.

Maybe it's the story; I told my friends about the halfway mark that the story didn't make a lot of sense and can go suck a big fat one, but that becomes much less true towards the end,

Maybe it's the gameplay; largely unchanged, only now, as you're playing a prototype Big Daddy, you becomes way more powerful and the horror element just kind of shows itself tokenly, but it is a hell of a lot of fun.

You know what I think?

It felt underwhelming to the naysayers because Bioshock 1 was just too good.

It feels like the Portal problem again.

The first one was so good with its story that Bioshock 2 was held to the same standard, but B2's story wasn't as strong as B1's because B1 just set the bar too damn high.

Take off your rose-tinted glasses and you'll find a damn fun shooter; slow, maybe, but fun.

Refuse to do so and you'll find yourself quite underwhelmed, and I doubt anyone can blame you for that.

This game still comes recommended, and anyone who thinks otherwise might perhaps be looking for a story, in which case, go get Bioshock 1.

Mass Effect.

I've played enough of this game to know that I want more.

More of BioWare's epic writing. More of the deep sci-fi world the game serves up for us on a silver platter, serviette included, in butler uniform (if male). Less of the vehicle sections though; whoever thought that was a good idea might need to revisit the corkboard and check his memos.

More of the characters. More of the combat. More consequential choices. More of... nearly everything.

Mass Effect may be a third person shooter, but it feels like you're playing an RPG. I've heard that a lot of times; I never really believed it. Now I've gone through the gates: now I see all. And it is awe-inspiring.

Yes, animation's a bit clunky, but I stopped noticing it. That didn't stop me from enjoying this epic and neither should it stop you.

Transistor. I'm going to wring this joke for as much as I can - is Steam selling electronic components now?

OK, done.

Transistor is beautiful. Transistor has a beautiful story, beautiful art style, beautiful characters and a beautiful setting. Combat holds very well and has tactical (read: time-stopping) elements that just about gel. That's not a spoiler, by the way, it's parroted almost everywhere that covered the game.

Transistor is also wonderfully short. Something other games should learn: do not overstay your welcome. Transistor doesn't overstay its welcome at all, and it's replayable on top of that.

In brief, unless you only like games with extreme action, get this game. Even if you belong in the former category, Transistor is likely to change your mind about games anyway.\

If you're wondering, I've only used a transistor in my projects once. I never understood it much. Similarly...

An immensely fun experience, great if you have like 5 minutes to spare or even an hour; you'll enjoy every minute. One quibble - the voice narrator, although I AM Chinese, so it's probably personal.

Buy it. Seriously. Even if you are Chinese and easily offended by stereotypes, that should not prevent you from spilling blood all over the virtual landscape using just two ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ fingers - or even one finger.