InvertY.com
A Gaming Diary
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP)
Sep 10th
You know a game’s got its hooks in you when you go to bed and lie there replaying a mission on the inside of your eyelids, trying to do better. If only I’d started with a lancer and that camp… or if I’d noticed the soldier in the long grass a turn earlier… etc.
It’s very, very, very special indeed – a fact confirmed by the existence of at least one dialogue scene all about knitting. The girls involved sounded just like my wife and and her friends
Minecraft (Mac)
Sep 9th
I have a map.
That’s a map of the multiplayer sever on which I’m playing Minecraft. My castle and garden is just above the centre of the image there. It’s not the whole map – that’s far too large to upload – but this map shows the vast majority of the building work. (You may have to download the full image to view it properly.)
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP)
Sep 9th
The original Valkyria Chronicles was a very special game, but it made huge demands on TV time, so I never actually finished it. The sequel is on the PSP and, though it’s had to be squeezed a little to make it onto the format, having it on a handheld format is very welcome indeed.
Not, though, that much has been sacrificed in the transition. The graphics have take a hit (though they still look great), squads are smaller and maps are split up into separate areas. None of this seems to hurt the game. I was slightly worried by the splitting up of the maps when I first read about it, but it works very well in practice.
It seems, though, that developers worried a bit about seeming to have dumbed down the game, so they’ve added huge amounts of new stuff that I’ve not even begun to get my head around yet. New classes, a new school-based interface between missions, tons of way to upgrade classes, weapons and individual soldiers… even having played the first the amount of stuff that keeps being opened up is dizzying.
It’s going to take some time to really become comfortable with all the processes, but the game seems like a brilliant sequel based on the first three hours or so.
Slingo Supreme (iPhone)
Sep 8th
Just getting started.
Didn’t play much yesterday. Had a doctor’s appointment and then watched Kick Ass, which did. Managed to get in a few games of Slingo, though, as well as my usual turns of Carcassonne and Words With Friends. Got a new high score of over six million, but I’m not sure how. I just looked at my score halfway through my game and had over four million and then it shot up by another couple of million.
Shrug.
Mirror’s Edge (iPhone)
Sep 7th
Speed running against my ghost last night.
My ghost is on the left there. Ha! He's rubbish!
I’ve always found competing against myself a great motivator in games, so this is wonderful. I’m all “Suck it, past self!” and “You bastard!” and stuff.
I guess I just exist in the moment and have no loyalty to other versions of me that are separated in time.
Slingo Supreme (iPhone)
Sep 7th
Oh yeah!
So, yes, it is possible to get over a million points – it just relies on unlocking the right power-ups. Oh, yes, and a fair amount of luck.
Mind you, one of my friends got over two billion last night, so I’ve got some way to go yet.
It’s still a pretty rubbish game, but I’m coming to terms with the fact that I like it. It may fail as a game, but it succeeds as an activity, or something.
Or maybe I’m just being a bit snobbish. Why shouldn’t a game that relies on luck still be a decent game?
Robot Unicorn Attack (iPhone)
Sep 7th
Always I want to be with you...
This has appeared on Facebook now, so I wanted to see if my scores would appear there, so my wife could compete against them. (Or, rather, laugh with delight when she sees how much better she is at the game than me.)
Turns out they don’t, even though I’ve linked the game to my iPhone account and posted my best score to my wall. Update soon, please?
Minecraft (Mac)
Sep 7th
Of course, Minecraft is still in alpha, so really quite buggy – especially in multiplayer.
Our server crashed over the weekend and chunks of the landscape reverted to an older version.
My clawing demon was missing half his face and most of his right hand.
Most of one room of my castle was gone.
I rebuilt the room of my castle that was half missing and gave it a better roof, then recreated the clawing demon. A huge tower I’d built that had completely disappeared I think I’ll give up for lost.
Slingo Supreme (iPhone)
Sep 6th
Rubbish, random cross between bingo and fruit machines – with power ups and incredibly shit mini games. Really, it’s a great big sack of crap.
Must... match... numbers...
So why do I keep playing it? And enjoying it? And wanting to play more?
If I could work that out, I think I’d probably be able to rule the world. Maybe it’s that there are just enough choices to make, despite the randomness. Maybe it’s that it keeps pumping new powers, slots and stars at you. Maybe it’s that I want to work out how it’s possible to beat the million point score that’s top of the default leaderboard. (My best is just over 100,000.) Maybe it’s just that it’s brainless enough to amuse without needing any real concentration (except during the shell game).
I just don’t know.
Ridge Racer 2 (PSP)
Sep 6th
Played quite a lot of this over the weekend and will probably play more, as Valkyria Chronicles 2 hasn’t arrived yet. Bah.
Not too much of a trial, though, as Ridge Racer 2 is pretty glorious. Slick, speedy and precise, it’s how a robot would dream of driving.
Or something.
The fact that it’s basically the same game as the first PSP Ridge Racer doesn’t matter in the least so many years after release, so hooray.
Only trouble is that I can’t take screenshots of PSP games, so here is a picture of my wife hugging a metal octopus that is playing chess.
My wife likes octopuses, you know.
Hastings is a strange and wonderful place.
