Something about gaming

I figured, as I have a moment, I would talk briefly about gaming. This has nothing to do with travel, so feel free to wander off, confused, if that is your want. On the other hand, if you’re yearning for something to pass half an hour of your life, you could do worse than getting hold of a copy of Eversion. It’s a free game that starts off in a delightfully whimsical manner, reminiscent of an old Mario game, but rapidly spiralling into a darkly disturbing beast. It’s short, will probably run on anything given it’s simplistic graphical nature, and best of all, it’s free. What more could one want.

In other gaming news that I have read this week, I am saddened to hear that the UK gaming magazine PC Zone is closing up shop this month, after 17 years. I actually subscribed to this from about it’s second or third issue (well, ok, my parents subscribed for me, but you get the idea) and loved it’s dark, irreverent and usually amusing take on gaming. It was where Charlie Brooker cut his teeth (he now writes good stuff for the Guardian), and well, everything I knew about gaming from about the age of 12 was sourced from this magazine. I guess the huge availability of online free review sites killed it off. RIP.

In not entirely game related but still on the technology page, I also see that Apple have fessed up on the iPhone 4 antenna thing. If you weren’t aware, from the last 22 days of hysterical media reports, if you hold the new shiny toy from Apple in slightly the wrong manner, the signal goes tragically out of the window. Apparently this is common with pretty much every phone, but obviously Apple took it in the throat, as flaws in their products are clearly going to spawn a media frenzy. I’m not a massive Apple fan, other than an owning an iPod Nano, but they seem to have done a pretty good job on the keeping-their-customers-happy-whilst-garnerning-loads-of-free-press front, admitting that there is a problem with antenna design, pointing out it is common across all phones, and offering everyone who has bought an iPhone a free case to resolve the problem. Sure, it’s not a fix per-se, but again, free stuff is free stuff right? Given most people will probably be buying a case to keep the shininess shiny, if it’s going to be free, well, party on.

So, that was a minor aside on some gaming / tech stuff I’ve picked up on. It may or may not have interested you. More may… or may not… follow.

Update – As per feedback, a more detailed game review of Eversion follows:

Game under review: Eversion.
Summary: A 2D side-scrolling platform game in a similar vein to the original Mario games, with a darker twist.

Cost: Free (normal version) / £3.49 (HD version on Steam)

Review: 
I played the free version of Eversion, a cutesy looking 2D platforming game. The game plot is pretty simple, (Princess is captured. you must save princess), and in order to rescue the princess you must roam across seven worlds, doing the usual gem collection, platform jumping and monster avoidance gameplay that will be familiar to anyone who has ever played any kind of side scrolling platform game.

The twist, and it's a pretty clever one, involves the use of "everting", where you change the mechanics of the level between one of seven states. This changes the behaviour of the monsters, the physicality of the blocks, and even the music - which is pretty spooky in itself. Everting is necessary to complete the game, as for example blocks which are impassable in one mode become passable in another mode. Cunning. The game starts out wonderfully twee and cutesy, with fluffy clouds and pretty plants, but it's not too long before you are being chased by walls of blood. Don't be fooled by the way it starts off, by the time you hit the third or fourth level you realise that this game is dark. The music cleverly matches the tone, becoming more and more disturbing as you progress, and the difficulty level ramps up carefully as you progress, so that by the time you reach the last two worlds, you really are having to think and react pretty quickly. It even features two different endings, depending on your prowess at gem collection.

The Good: An interesting take on the platforming genre that should pass half an hour of your life.

The Bad: Well, it is pretty short. Like this review was.

Score; 7.5/10