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Tag Archives: gaming

The Room games

I recently played through The Room and The Room Two, available both on iOS and Android.  Aaaand…wow.  I like them a lot.

The Room and its sequel, The Room Two, are puzzle games developed by Fireproof Games.  They were released in 2013 and early 2014 respectively (for Android, because I am against Apple).  They’re relatively short puzzle games (I beat them both within a few hours of continuous play) set in a slightly dystopian, slightly horror, kind of steampunky era.  (And you know how I love dystopian, steampunk things.)

There’s is a broad storyline to the game where you are following a friend and his research on the Null element.  He leaves notes and clues to help you solve the various puzzles, first in the form of puzzle boxes and then whole rooms, in the game that allow you to see more of his research and mental state.

The puzzles are solved by manipulating various on-screen objects.  The touch control is intuitive and well-executed.  The puzzles themselves are also well crafted, graphics and all.  They’re moderately difficult and when you’re stuck, there’s an optional hint system that will provide hints in degrees to nudge you in the correct direction instead of giving you the answer outright.

Atmosphere control in the game is quite good in terms of what is revealed as you progress in the game as well as the accompanying music, especially in the second game.  There is a definite sense of unease and suspense as you find new clues and solve new puzzles.  But it’s not so bad that the panicky ones can’t handle the game.

I played The Room on my first gen Kindle Fire and The Room Two on my brother-in-law’s (henceforth known as the bil) Kindle Fire HD.  I definitely recommend going with a Kindle Fire HD if you’re going to play on a Kindle.  My Kindle struggled to load some of the puzzles and would crash opening some rooms.  Restarting my Kindle would fix the problem, but it’s annoying.

Also, The Room Two isn’t even available for the first gen Kindle Fire.  It makes sense considering how my Kindle struggled with the first game and the second game is much more involved graphically and otherwise.  Fireproof Games says it’s working on trying to make it available for all versions of the Kindle Fire, but I doubt that the first gen Kindle Fire would be able to provide as good as an experience.

So, The Room and The Room Two.  You definitely should play.

Attack on Titan

I missed Friday.  I was going to put something up but then the weekend got away from me too.  I’m terrible.  But I’ll tell you about Attack on Titan, which is partly to blame for my lackluster posting schedule last week (i.e. I posted only once and late…you’d think I’d be able to get at least one post up on time).

Attack on Titan.  I’ve been watching it.  Or rather, I have watched it, as I’ve already gone through all 25 episodes and the second season isn’t in the works right now so this might be it.  Even though the story is unfinished.  Shakes fist.

Ahem.  Attack on Titan is an anime based on the manga of the same name.  I haven’t been sucked into an anime in years now.  Nothing has really caught my interest.  But Attack on Titan has post-apocalyptal and dystopian themes.  I have a certain fondness for dystopian themes.  And it probably falls under the genre of dark fantasy.  Um…I guess I’m saying that overall, it’s pretty dark.  And brutal.  But so good.

And while the anime has good art and animation, it also has plot development.  And character development.  And a good story.  Those last three things are rather important to me.  I don’t really watch things just because they look good.

It’s been out for about a year.  You can watch a subbed version of it on Crunchyroll still.  I think they’re about to retire the first 13 episodes, so if you want to watch it on Crunchyroll, you should do it soon.

I may pick up the manga for it too (soft version because the only shelf space I allow for hard copies of comics are for Axe Cop, Dr. McNinja, and Girl Genius) because I like it so much.  There has been a lot of talk about how the art in the manga is pretty crude, but I don’t really think that’s going to deter me from enjoying the manga.  Again, it’s about the story and development.  Good art is a bonus.

You’ll note that I really didn’t say anything of worth about Attack on Titan.  That’s because I get yelled at about spoilers.  Which I don’t even believe in.  But people yell so stridently about them that it’s just easier not to say anything.

You can watch the Corridor Digital guys and assorted friends play the game here, if you want.  I find them rather entertaining.