Experience Points: Alice, IHNMAIMS, Shadow of the Colossus

This is a new feature I decided to start throwing up on the site. Obviously I can only do so many massive reviews, entries, and reports per month/week/year/whatever timespan you want to use. Rather than do this for every game I'm playing, I'll post my thoughts about them quickly so I can not only cover more ground in the video game dimension, but also just blog more often without feeling overwhelmed by a massive post I'm working on. That's not to say that I won't do massive reviews of anything that appears in the Experience Points feature, as there are some cases where games just deserve more.

Carrying on!

American McGee's Alice: Playing this game through again, after having only been through it one time about 10 years ago now (maybe less, can't say for certain), it's safe to say that it holds up very well. If you're uneducated about this particular game (something I wouldn't actually blame you for, in this case), you take the role of Alice as she delves into Wonderland in an effort to save it from the clutches of the Red Queen. However, it's not exactly that simple...everything is twisted and grotesque. This is a result of Alice being the only survivor of a blaze that destroyed her home and the rest of her family, which has rendered her catatonic and caused her to be moved into Rutledge Asylum for the Insane. Wonderland is in her head, and so everything that you experience as you move through the game is actually representative of Alice, and her attempts to come to terms with what has happened. It's all presented very well, and although it runs on the now-dated Quake 3 engine, it still looks fantastic and stylish. I'd forgotten what a gem American McGee's Alice was, and I believe it's a game that I will replay much more often. Also, in hindsight, I'm pretty sure there's at least one weapon in this game I should have put in my Top 10 Weapons list...but alas, hindsight's 20/20! If you have nothing on the go and want to play an interesting third-person action game, check this one out. Chances are that your computer'll be able to run it, and I sincerely doubt you'll regret giving it a playthrough. Thinking of picking up the sequel, which comes out in store tomorrow...not completely sure yet though, I'll have to see.

Pictured above: not your mommy's Alice in Wonderland.

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream: What the fuck is this game, you ask? Up until a couple of weeks ago, I didn't really know either, but I'd heard about it every so often and the title always intrigued me. Finally I gave it a shot, and it's pretty cool. The game basically functions the same way as something such as King's Quest or Monkey Island...you control a character, interact with items and the world, and try to puzzle your way through the game's obstacles. In IHNMAIMS (massive acronym), you control five different characters named Gorrister, Benny, Nimdok, Ted, and Ellen. All of these people have been alive for 109 years or so, but haven't actually aged. This is because they're they only humans left alive on the planet after it has been taken over by a massive supercomputer known as AM, or Allied Mastercomputer. AM hates humans, and the only reason it's kept these particular five alive is to torture them endlessly to manifest its revenge in some way. It's a strange concept, which actually comes from a short story of the same name...I read through it in about half an hour, so check it out if you have a bit of time. Overall, the game is interesting...it's nice to play a game like King's Quest again, but unfortunately I encountered some error about half way through the game which prevented me from continuing with one of the characters, and thus stopping me from completing the game. A shame too, because I really wanted to see what else happened and how the ending panned out, but maybe I'll figure out how to fix it up soon and complete it.

This woman hates the colour yellow for some reason. Probably listened to too much Coldplay.

Shadow of the Colossus: After hearing the music and seeing footage of this game again at Video Games Live, I really wanted to play this game again. Fighting the Colossi and remembering how to take them down is just so damn epic and satisfying...this really is an amazing game. As I play it, I find myself wondering how the heck they made it look as gorgeous as it does, such that it still looks absolutely fantastic compared to quite a few games today. The gameplay is great as well, despite it being relatively simple. Seek out a Colossus, figure out how to kill it, make it eat the dirt, repeat...but it's in that simplicity that I believe the game gains much of its charm. It's a fun experience that just really stands the test of time, in both the visual and gameplay departments. As of tonight, I've beaten 12 of those big bastards...if my memory serves me right, that leaves 4 more...I plan on writing up a larger entry about this game specifically, but not until I finish it. And that may have to wait for a little while...

I reckon you might need a larger bow...or maybe something like a trebuchet.

Today is D-Day, you see, and in 6.5 hours' time I'll have my hands on Duke Nukem Forever. I'll get around to Shadow of the Colossus eventually, but not until I've at least finished the single player of DNF.