Posts with ‘ReviewedByWilliamBroom’ Tag
Mobile Bomb Squad
By: Guest Reviewer
On: March 31st, 2010
[This is a guest review by William Broom. If you’re interested in writing an article for TIGSource, please go here.]
Mobile Bomb Squad is a puzzle-action game by fuegerstef that is reminiscent of old top-down DOS games like Chip’s Challenge and Hero’s Heart. The player controls a muscled bomb technician who must destroy bombs that have been planted around the city and eventually defeat the mysterious villain who is behind it all.
Most of the game involves pushing bombs and rockets around the screen, lining them up and then setting them off in a spectacular chain reaction. The goal is usually to destroy all the explosives in the level with a limited number of detonators. Fuegerstef does a good job of adding variety to the game, with new objectives and game elements appearing every few levels, but he never strays too far from the core concept. He also builds a nice difficulty curve, which (for me at least) was always challenging but rarely frustrating. Occasionally the mixture of action and puzzle elements can be annoying – like when you’ve spent several minutes setting up an intricate arrangement of bombs only to be killed by a passing enemy – but these moments aren’t particularly common.
The game’s presentation is equally impressive. The graphics are charmingly retro, the interface is highly polished, and the dialogue between missions is often funny. Overall, it really feels like a professional shareware game from some time in the 90’s. The music doesn’t quite live up to this – there’s only one track throughout the whole game, but it’s reasonably good and not likely to drive you insane.
Mobile Bomb Squad has 30 levels in total and took me around 3 hours to complete. It’s one of my favourite indie games released so far this year, and I highly recommend it.
Walker & Silhouette
By: Guest Reviewer
On: January 30th, 2010
[This is a guest review by William Broom. If you’re interested in writing an article for TIGSource, please go here.]
Walker & Silhouette is an interactive fiction by Pacian, creator of Dead Like Ants and Gun Mute, among others. His latest game is set in a fantastical steampunk world and follows the two titular characters on a brief but enjoyable adventure.
In Gun Mute, Pacian made his game more accessible to those unfamiliar with Interactive Fiction by removing most of the directional keywords: Instead of east, west, north and south, the player only had to deal with forward and back. In Walker & Silhouette, he has taken this one step further by highlighting all the keywords within the text. Although you can still type them in if you want to, it’s easier to simply click on the highlighted word. This system (which Pacian acknowledges as being derived from Blue Lacuna) makes the game very accessible and fluid. Moreover, when you’re stuck on a puzzle, it’s nice to know that you have all the pieces in front of you, not hidden away somewhere.
Ultimately, though, this kind of neat gimmick would mean nothing if the story itself were not up to scratch, and fortunately Pacian delivers on this front. His writing is frequently witty and amusing, with the banter between the two characters being his greatest strength. On the other hand, telling the story from both characters’ perspectives gives them a little more depth than your standard comedy duo. The puzzles, though few in number, are enjoyable and intuitive. You’re unlikely to feel frustrated at any point in the game, but IF veterans may find it a little too easy.
The only criticism that I could level against the game is that it’s too short – about 20-30 minutes playtime at the most. This isn’t really a problem in itself, especially as Pacian has said that he is considering extending the story with a series of episodic sequels. However, the story in this first ‘episode’ is a bit too big to fit into the small space provided, resulting in a slightly rushed feeling toward the end. But this is only a small blot on an otherwise charming and memorable little game.
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