On a whim, I browsed through the recent games at the Experimental
Gameplay Project in search of a decent entry that was mostly complete in concept, gameplay, and execution. After a trying few disappointing quasi-games, I gave Petri
Purho’s Pluto Strikes Back a go and found it rather accessible but a bit irritating at times. Luckily, a recently updated version was posted on his blog, which made the game a more pleasant experience.
In it, the Plutans are quite miffed over the dwarf planet
demotion their home world has received. With vengeance pumping through their veins, they
power up the meteor magnet and wield their cosmic bat to reek their wrath upon
the solar system.
Even with its gravity/magnetism mechanics, Pluto SB played much like an old
fashioned baseball themed pinball game in a penny arcade, which made the
background music very fitting. I wish there was a way to control the strength of
the meteor magnet. It was too strong at times, and being able to manipulate it
would enable some interesting slingshoting.
Petri Purho plans to release a new game each month, and his next work will be out
tomorrow. Since each game he has released has been better than those
before, I’m looking forward to it. The style of his artwork alone has piqued my
curiosity, but I’m still hoping for something with a bit more gameplay than his past
attempts.
Now, if only the EGP and its developers would learn from Purho’s experience and
realize that, just like good graphics, a unique concept alone doesn’t make a
game fun. I’m truly thankful for all the quirky development they share and encourage, but I’m starting to get disappointed with the increasing number of “toys” they’re releasing.