An Experiment Too Brief

This will be my last update at Naked Gamer. It will be a tad underwhelming, but then so was this blog. In short I have decided not to update here any longer, I was planning to delete all my old posts but being the terrible hoarder I am I could not, so I am abandoning them to the internet. Please feel free to browse them, spam them, comment on them, and anything else you choose, but do not expect any thing further from me. I have decided I don't really have anything unique to say about video games, and so I will leave it to those that do.

Farewell to all you lovers, haters and indifferents. I had fun, and that's enough for me.

Goo Review

It's been almost a year since World of Goo was released for computer and Nintendo Wii, so I think it is just about time for me to review it. Getting closer, closer. Almost there...

Okay now it's time.

I have finally finished World of Goo, and by finished I do mean played to a point beyond which I can go no further ... because I am terrible at video games. All video games, without exception no matter how much I adore them. Just don't have a knack for it. But I do adore World of Goo. In fact, aside from my inability to get passed the level I have stalled pathetically at (which is a me thing not a bad game design thing), I can find no fault with it.

To alleviate my dismay at not being able to continue the divine ecstasy that is creating towers of little goos and watching them tumble adorably to the ground below, I am going to tell you all about the game. I am going to reminisce about the happy times when I could still pass each level. Specifically about the computer version because I have not played the Wii one, though critics tell me it's very good.

So on to World of Goo: a physics based engineering extravaganza. Or more specifically a puzzle game. You play some form of omnipotent being who gains perverse pleasure by encouraging little goo balls to form bridges, towers and ladders. It's never explained how you do this, but the goos seem to greatly enjoy it so it can be safely concluded that you aren't encouraging them with a portable taser... or they love being shocked.

Why do you do this? That one is easy. The goos need to get from point a: the ground, to point b: safely through a pipe. That’s where you come in. You have to work out how to get as many goo balls as possible through the pipe so they can happily bounce around in the goo equivalent of Heaven.

It starts off easy, but it gets very hard, very fast. You get help in the form of the Signwriter, but he's cryptic. There's always a way, but as stated at the start I for one have difficulty finding it. But ultimately the game is extremely fun. It’s challenging but entertaining, cryptic but funny, and graphically it’s gorgeous.

And that's why World of Goo is worth the price tag, because it's fun and endearing. You will spend hours sitting around trying to get past the various levels, and the game will look damn gorgeous whilst you’re doing it. So go and get your Goo on. Buy a copy here.

Screw a Rub a Dub

Well after almost a year of neglect I decided to play Super Rub A Dub with some friends tonight. Sure it's music is torturous, but at least it makes a fun drinking game. But you know what? Sony has screwed me. One mandatory update was all it took for them to reverted the game I paid for to a trial version. Thanks a lot Sony, you just stole the value of the game from me.

That's right, I paid for Super Rub A Dub. Why? Because I actually bother to try new downloadable games available in the stores for all my consoles. And how does Sony repay that? By stealing from me and screwing me over.

I hope you feel fabulous Sony execs.

Note: I did end up getting the game reinstalled, but that didn't eliminate my fury at the update bug stopping me playing with my mates so this post is not being archived and taken down. Sorry Sony.

Gettin' a Buzz On

The internet tells me there is a dearth of decent reviews of Buzz: Brain of Oz. Though on reflection this is hardly surprising, Sony seems to take perverse pleasure in screwing their Australian customers so most people probably haven't had a chance to play it yet. Even on their official website it is fairly well hidden.

Anyway, now that I have my very own shiny copy of the game I feel obliged to review it for the benefit of the unnamed masses... though no promises it will be decent. That's one thing Buzz: Brain of Oz definitely isn't... morally speaking not quality wise of course.

It's a fun game, I can't deny that. But I don't think I would let my young offspring play it. Though, since I am fortunate enough not to have any of my own I guess I can't say that with any certainty.

On first impression Buzz looks sweet and innocent. The colourful, cartoonish graphics and corny banter at the start of the game easily lull the player into a false sense of security. But Buzz, the puppet who hosts the game, has a wide variety of slightly smutty remarks to mutter throughout. It's quite hilarious, but definitely comes as a shock.

Not that there isn't a grand history of filthy mouthed puppets in the world.

So dialogue wise Buzz is fun. Corny, but fun.

Content wise Buzz: Brain of Oz also delivers. It is pretty much what you would expected from a quiz game; a range of topics, a variety of segments (point stealer and fastest finger are definitely my faves), with a fairly arbitrary means of determining a winner in the end. You can also make your own quizzes online, which is fun but so far my playstation3 has had serious issues uploading my questions.

At $109.95(aud) the game is definitely pushing the very top of the price bracket, but I managed to find it for less and at the lower price I would recommend the game as a definite purchase. The awesome plastic buzzers alone make it worth while. Plus it's a great party game. It is significantly more fun with four players then with two.

So if you are looking for a fun, casual game you can just pick up and play with friends you should grab a copy of Buzz. It's more fun then it the box makes it look.

Super Rub a Drink

Released in early 2007 as a download game for the PlayStation 3, Super Rub a Dub is widely agreed to be one of the worst games available on the console. Personally, I think this is unfair. It's clumsy controls, brilliant colours, and torturous duckling squeaks all combine to make the game fairly challenging and, at times, one that is almost fun. Though as unfairly criticised as I feel this game is, I don't think it is good enough to justify a re-review on Naked Gamer.

But, I do feel it is important to draw attention to the games one, clear, redeeming feature: Super Rub a Dub makes the perfect drinking game. How do you play? Just drink each time a duckling gets it.

Fat Princess

I have been anticipating this game for several months now, in fact it has probably been over a year. Part of this excitment may be due to the fact that, as a download game for the Playstation3, I won't have to wait months and months after the rest of the world to get a version of my very own... which is decidely awesome. Though I still don't entirely trust Sony not to screw up the supposed Spring 2009(northern hemisphere)launch date.

Anyway, since I haven't played the game I can't give you much info on it. But you should all be excited, so I am going to point you towards an excellent preview of the game's private beta test. You should watch it because it's funny and rambling and probably has other good qualities. Go here

Note: How awesome is that logo?

Go Here...

High Priest

eBook With a Difference

A friend sent me a link to this th'smorning, and I found it quite fascinating. I had never considered the need for such a thing as a brail eBook before, which undoubtedly is due to the fact I have never had a need one. But now that I have been pointed in the direction of such a device I find it absolutely brilliant and fascinating.

The idea of eBooks and eBook readers is something of a passion of mine. I love to read on the digital medium, and, although many of my friends fall into the anti-ebook category, I still find it hard to fathom why the technology is not more widely embraced. Sure, at the moment it's hard to beat the beautiful texture and smell of a paper book. But I assure you, a night spent lying under the country stars, reading a favourite book on an iPod touch or some other ereader, without the need to hold a torch in one hand to illuminate a page, will quickly change even the most stubborn anti-ebook fanatics mind.

But regardless of my love of the eBook, I think it is hard to deny the brilliance of this brail version. It is just fantastic, an excellent application of the technology, and I really hope a lot of people benefit from it.

Editor's Note: Okay, so maybe it's time to confess this is at best a prototype and at worst a hoax. But it is a brilliant concept design none-the-less.

Evernoteworthy

After hearing regular, raving reviews of Evernote for weeks, I decided to check out this software back in late February. Now that I have had a chance to really get to know it, and become scarily dependent on it, I think it is high time Evernote got a review.

Evernote is essentially a very comprehensive tool for managing information. Yes, I know, the internet is full of such software. As a species we seem to be obsessed with information management. A sentiment I would love to say was my own, but I think the writers of Deep Space Nine definitely beat me to it, in this episode. Regardless, Evernote is definitely a very good piece of software. I have found it invaluable since starting to use it, as a means of managing my many, many different research projects, and also just to keep track of things that interest me.

By far it's most bad arse feature is handwriting recognition. With the help of a digital camera, Evernote can store images of hand-written notes as easily as it can duplicate a web page or take a note. With it's extremely sophisticated handwriting recognition the software can also search these hand-written notes. I have included an interface screen shot displaying a hand-written note I wrote as part of my research for a co-authored book chapter on World of Warcraft, that I put in Evernote. Amazingly, Evernote successfully located almost all the terms I searched for in the hand-written note. As you can plainly see, I don't exactly have easy handwriting to read, and most people I know couldn't locate specific terms I had hand-written, even when they were pointed out.

You might think that any software that uses handwriting recognition that sounds like something out of a CIA blackops department, would be a nightmare to use. But the Evernote interface is beautiful and the software is generally easy to use. There are three different interfaces, all pictured, so you can choose one that suits you. It also regularly syncs with your account on the Evernote website, so you can access your Evernotes anywhere you have an internet connection. You can also make multiple Notebooks in Evernote, and set them to either public or private viewing. You can see all my notebooks in the interface screenshots. Which makes it even easier to manage all your clippings and notes.

I also think attention has to be brought to a fantastic piece of complimentary Evernote software, Everboat, by this software designer. This little piece of software is for Mac OS X only, but it makes adding notes to Evernote awesomely easy. All that you have to do is activate Everboat from the dock, and it will let you take running notes by typing into a tiny notepad. Update by hitting carriage return. And you will receive a growled notification that your note has been updated successfully to Evernote.

The software can be downloaded and used for free, but there is a storage cap. You can subscribe monthly to get an almost unlimited amount of storage. It can be downloaded for Mac, WIndows, iPhone and Web.

Evernote is an awesome information management tool. And since both Evernote and Everboat are free, for the most part, none of you have any excuse not to check them out.

Noby Noby Boy

I had no intention of making the next naked gamer post about this small, downloadable game for the PlayStation3. In fact the idea that Noby Noby Boy might even be worth reviewing had not crossed my mind even once, when I saw the promotional material and subsequent reviews for the game. But after playing with this spontaneous little ball of colour and random love for several hours on the weekend, I decided to spontaneously review it.

First up, Noby Noby Boy is weird. It is supremely weird, and I deeply suspect it’s creator Keita Takahashi, might find it extremely pleasing to hear that. But the game’s weirdness makes it immensely fun.

What do you do in it? Whatever you want really.

If you’re like me you will spend a good fifteen minutes utterly mesmerized by the plethora of strange, clashing, flashing and swirly colours, before realising there is actually a playstation controller in your hand. This revelation will be followed by hours terrorising the inhabitants of each different map, though playground seems more apt, with your enormous, gorging worm-like form.

So far I have greatly enjoyed destroying the pyramids, and eating any evidence that may implicate me in this crime. I have gorged on camels, cats and clouds. And on one, very very memorable occasion, I watched an extremely amused friend terrorise moon-people atop a floating platform inside our divine moon.

It really is a surprising game. As I already said, from the promotional material it doesn’t seem that interesting. And on first encounter Noby Noby Boy does seem to lull the player into some strange trance. But, like Noby Noby Boy’s careless devouring of the oversized baseballs that miraculously rain from the sky onto each Noby Noby Map, this game will eat you whole. It will suck you into it’s strange coloured innards, and you won’t even realise you’ve spent the last ten hours there until it poops you out shaped like an orange cat man, in front of your alarm clock, who’s face is cheerily reminding you that you are two hours late for work.