Chime Review: Tune In, Drop Out [Review]

There are plenty of games around that are built to be played any time. There are few, sadly, that specialise in being played under select conditions. Like if you’re stressed. Or have stumbled home from the pub at 3am. A puzzle game we’ve featured previously on Kotaku , Chime may at first glance appear familiar. You have blocks of different shapes that have to be placed in order to make them disappear. So far, so Tetris. Yet there’s also a strong musical influence in the game, apparent not only in the consistency of the tunes, but in the way the music is shaped to serve the puzzles. So far, so Lumines. But such direct comparisons are unfair. Chime is something else . Can it even be something better ? Loved Take Your Time – Other puzzle games of this ilk are stressful. Time, and a collection of blocks, are arrayed against you, your skills in a never-ending race against their size and speed. Chime is not stressful. It’s as far from stressful as you can imagine. Yes, there are time limits to the levels, but you can choose one that’s 9-minutes long, which is an eternity. Then once playing, because the blocks do not fall – you’re given direct control of them and can place them wherever you like on the level – you’re free to kick back, take your time, enjoy the music and place the blocks at your leisure. Level Playing Field – Because the challenge here comes from placing the blocks yourself, rather than reacting to them falling down, Chime has to go beyond the standard rectangular playing field. As you progress through the game’s levels, you’ll find the “maps” becoming more complex, requiring some great strategy on how best to approach them, and which pieces work best in which situations. It’s perhaps the best example of how the game manages to forge its own unique path in the genre. Music To My Fingers – I’ll often refrain from praising something like this, down to the fact music in games can be such a subjective thing, but the way Chime’s chilled-out soundtrack (featuring the likes of Orbital & composer Philip Glass) not only compliments the tone of the game, but helps shape your own mood to that required to play it, is worth mention. Admittedly, as a simple puzzle game with only a handful of levels, Chime doesn’t do much. But what it does do, it does with such a sense of confidence, of knowing that it’s targeting a market and catering to it almost perfectly , that those after a relaxing little Xbox Live chaser in the early hours of the morning would be mad to pass on it. Chime was developed by Zoe Mode and published by OneBigGame for Xbox Live Arcade. Released on February 3 for $5, with 60% of profits going to charity. Completed all levels on 3, 6 and 9 minute limits. Was happy to see Philip Glass featuring so prominently on a video game soundtrack. Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ .

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Chime Review: Tune In, Drop Out [Review]

Chime Review: Tune In, Drop Out [Review]

There are plenty of games around that are built to be played any time. There are few, sadly, that specialise in being played under select conditions. Like if you’re stressed. Or have stumbled home from the pub at 3am. A puzzle game we’ve featured previously on Kotaku , Chime may at first glance appear familiar. You have blocks of different shapes that have to be placed in order to make them disappear. So far, so Tetris. Yet there’s also a strong musical influence in the game, apparent not only in the consistency of the tunes, but in the way the music is shaped to serve the puzzles. So far, so Lumines. But such direct comparisons are unfair. Chime is something else . Can it even be something better ? Loved Take Your Time – Other puzzle games of this ilk are stressful. Time, and a collection of blocks, are arrayed against you, your skills in a never-ending race against their size and speed. Chime is not stressful. It’s as far from stressful as you can imagine. Yes, there are time limits to the levels, but you can choose one that’s 9-minutes long, which is an eternity. Then once playing, because the blocks do not fall – you’re given direct control of them and can place them wherever you like on the level – you’re free to kick back, take your time, enjoy the music and place the blocks at your leisure. Level Playing Field – Because the challenge here comes from placing the blocks yourself, rather than reacting to them falling down, Chime has to go beyond the standard rectangular playing field. As you progress through the game’s levels, you’ll find the “maps” becoming more complex, requiring some great strategy on how best to approach them, and which pieces work best in which situations. It’s perhaps the best example of how the game manages to forge its own unique path in the genre. Music To My Fingers – I’ll often refrain from praising something like this, down to the fact music in games can be such a subjective thing, but the way Chime’s chilled-out soundtrack (featuring the likes of Orbital & composer Philip Glass) not only compliments the tone of the game, but helps shape your own mood to that required to play it, is worth mention. Admittedly, as a simple puzzle game with only a handful of levels, Chime doesn’t do much. But what it does do, it does with such a sense of confidence, of knowing that it’s targeting a market and catering to it almost perfectly , that those after a relaxing little Xbox Live chaser in the early hours of the morning would be mad to pass on it. Chime was developed by Zoe Mode and published by OneBigGame for Xbox Live Arcade. Released on February 3 for $5, with 60% of profits going to charity. Completed all levels on 3, 6 and 9 minute limits. Was happy to see Philip Glass featuring so prominently on a video game soundtrack. Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ .

Continue reading here:
Chime Review: Tune In, Drop Out [Review]

Terror at 30,000 Feet: Game-Free Transcontinental Flights? [Well Played]

I found myself doing something strange as I prepared for a 14 hour flight back to the United States this week: Buying games. While games have long been my time-waster of choice for the frequent international flights I take, it’s usually video games I stock up on. Not so for my Sydney to San Francisco flight. This time around I was hunting for pocket chess, little wooden brain teasers and magnetic backgammon. With the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound Christmas Day flight and the heightened security that surrounded it, rumor quickly spread that one of the new rules for international flights bound for the United States might ban the use of all electronics. The very thought of not being able to access the library of books and video games stored on my iPhone, my DSi, my PSPgo put me in a near panic. So on the eve of my flight, my wife, son and I headed to an oddity in the Blue Mountains’ town of Hazlebrook west of Sydney. Selwood Science & Puzzles is housed in the Selwood House, an 1865 cottage wrapped in a garden of ferns and eucalyptus. The many rooms inside the old home are packed with the sorts of diversions and toys most familiar to children born before the rising popularity of video games and electronics. One room is dedicated to puzzles of metal and wood, board games big and small and a cornucopia of games featuring bits of plastic, dice, and magnets. There were pocket versions of chess, checkers and backgammon; bent nails nested in devious designs; decks upon decks of cards for games I had grown up playing and some I had never heard of. And not one of the hundreds, thousands of these games required a battery or electrical outlet to play. Other rooms were packed with science kits and experiments, books of brain teasers, IQ tests and short mysteries. If electronics, long the opiate for the masses of nervous fliers, find themselves device non grata for the near future, could these non-digital diversions be their replacements? Will flights start to resemble coffee shops with passengers hunkered around chess boards, games of Hearts and Dominoes raging in the back rows? Probably not, but it’s a reminder of how dependent some of us have become on the products of the digital age. Arriving at Sydney International Airport on Sunday I discovered little had changed in the wake of the latest attempted attack. I was assured, repeatedly, that electronics could be used during the upcoming flight. Not quite believing the reassurances I ducked into a bookstore to load up on the printed word, in case the digital one wasn’t available to me. The lines in the bookstore, the crowds milling through rows of paperbacks, made me think I wasn’t the only one fearing a last-minute, in-air electronics ban. For now I’ll keep the paperback and pocket chess at hand, just in case. Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

See the rest here:
Terror at 30,000 Feet: Game-Free Transcontinental Flights? [Well Played]

Terror at 30,000 Feet: Game-Free Transcontinental Flights? [Well Played]

I found myself doing something strange as I prepared for a 14 hour flight back to the United States this week: Buying games. While games have long been my time-waster of choice for the frequent international flights I take, it’s usually video games I stock up on. Not so for my Sydney to San Francisco flight. This time around I was hunting for pocket chess, little wooden brain teasers and magnetic backgammon. With the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound Christmas Day flight and the heightened security that surrounded it, rumor quickly spread that one of the new rules for international flights bound for the United States might ban the use of all electronics. The very thought of not being able to access the library of books and video games stored on my iPhone, my DSi, my PSPgo put me in a near panic. So on the eve of my flight, my wife, son and I headed to an oddity in the Blue Mountains’ town of Hazlebrook west of Sydney. Selwood Science & Puzzles is housed in the Selwood House, an 1865 cottage wrapped in a garden of ferns and eucalyptus. The many rooms inside the old home are packed with the sorts of diversions and toys most familiar to children born before the rising popularity of video games and electronics. One room is dedicated to puzzles of metal and wood, board games big and small and a cornucopia of games featuring bits of plastic, dice, and magnets. There were pocket versions of chess, checkers and backgammon; bent nails nested in devious designs; decks upon decks of cards for games I had grown up playing and some I had never heard of. And not one of the hundreds, thousands of these games required a battery or electrical outlet to play. Other rooms were packed with science kits and experiments, books of brain teasers, IQ tests and short mysteries. If electronics, long the opiate for the masses of nervous fliers, find themselves device non grata for the near future, could these non-digital diversions be their replacements? Will flights start to resemble coffee shops with passengers hunkered around chess boards, games of Hearts and Dominoes raging in the back rows? Probably not, but it’s a reminder of how dependent some of us have become on the products of the digital age. Arriving at Sydney International Airport on Sunday I discovered little had changed in the wake of the latest attempted attack. I was assured, repeatedly, that electronics could be used during the upcoming flight. Not quite believing the reassurances I ducked into a bookstore to load up on the printed word, in case the digital one wasn’t available to me. The lines in the bookstore, the crowds milling through rows of paperbacks, made me think I wasn’t the only one fearing a last-minute, in-air electronics ban. For now I’ll keep the paperback and pocket chess at hand, just in case. Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

The rest is here:
Terror at 30,000 Feet: Game-Free Transcontinental Flights? [Well Played]

Terror at 30,000 Feet: Game-Free Transcontinental Flights? [Well Played]

I found myself doing something strange as I prepared for a 14 hour flight back to the United States this week: Buying games. While games have long been my time-waster of choice for the frequent international flights I take, it’s usually video games I stock up on. Not so for my Sydney to San Francisco flight. This time around I was hunting for pocket chess, little wooden brain teasers and magnetic backgammon. With the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound Christmas Day flight and the heightened security that surrounded it, rumor quickly spread that one of the new rules for international flights bound for the United States might ban the use of all electronics. The very thought of not being able to access the library of books and video games stored on my iPhone, my DSi, my PSPgo put me in a near panic. So on the eve of my flight, my wife, son and I headed to an oddity in the Blue Mountains’ town of Hazlebrook west of Sydney. Selwood Science & Puzzles is housed in the Selwood House, an 1865 cottage wrapped in a garden of ferns and eucalyptus. The many rooms inside the old home are packed with the sorts of diversions and toys most familiar to children born before the rising popularity of video games and electronics. One room is dedicated to puzzles of metal and wood, board games big and small and a cornucopia of games featuring bits of plastic, dice, and magnets. There were pocket versions of chess, checkers and backgammon; bent nails nested in devious designs; decks upon decks of cards for games I had grown up playing and some I had never heard of. And not one of the hundreds, thousands of these games required a battery or electrical outlet to play. Other rooms were packed with science kits and experiments, books of brain teasers, IQ tests and short mysteries. If electronics, long the opiate for the masses of nervous fliers, find themselves device non grata for the near future, could these non-digital diversions be their replacements? Will flights start to resemble coffee shops with passengers hunkered around chess boards, games of Hearts and Dominoes raging in the back rows? Probably not, but it’s a reminder of how dependent some of us have become on the products of the digital age. Arriving at Sydney International Airport on Sunday I discovered little had changed in the wake of the latest attempted attack. I was assured, repeatedly, that electronics could be used during the upcoming flight. Not quite believing the reassurances I ducked into a bookstore to load up on the printed word, in case the digital one wasn’t available to me. The lines in the bookstore, the crowds milling through rows of paperbacks, made me think I wasn’t the only one fearing a last-minute, in-air electronics ban. For now I’ll keep the paperback and pocket chess at hand, just in case. Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Here is the original post:
Terror at 30,000 Feet: Game-Free Transcontinental Flights? [Well Played]

A Surprise Education [Well Played]

Where many video games have you hone your reaction time and eye-hand coordination to excel, a mastery of spelling and a deep vocabulary are key to succeeding in Jeremiah Slaczka’s DS title. But despite the seemingly obvious educational bent of Slaczka’s game, Scribblenauts’ potential to teach through fun didn’t dawn on the game makers until well into development. Slaczka said the team at studio 5th Cell didn’t discuss the educational possibilities of the mainstream Warner Bros.-published game until they realized the “impact it had on increasing vocabulary, helping with spelling, teaching words in a new language and also creative and critical thinking.” “The game sort of became education through an organic process all on its own.” In Scribblenauts players solve lateral thinking puzzles by writing or typing a word into the DS. If the word is part of the game’s more than 22,800-word dictionary, it appears as an interactive objective, creature or person in the game. If a player spells the word incorrectly, the game suggests possible proper spellings. But knowing what object to summon through typing to make a fireman happy, or break into a safe or distract a zombie is key to solving the puzzles. A player’s vocabulary and imagination deeply impact their experience, Slaczka says: “The more words you know the more crazy stuff you can do.” Game creator Slaczka isn’t comfortable calling the game an educational title. “It has inherent educational potential, but it was never designed with an educational slant in mind,” he said. “It was a positive byproduct more than anything else. ” There are also good business reasons to not call Scribblenauts an outright educational game. Traditionally, educational games don’t attract mainstream gamers and don’t do big mainstream sales. But Scribblenauts sold 194,000 copies in North America alone in September, the first month it was available and was well-received by reviewers. While the game isn’t marketed as educational, that hasn’t stopped some parents and teachers from using the title to help educate. Slaczka says he’s heard anecdotally from parents and teachers who have been using the game to positive effect. One mother emailed the developer to tell how she bought the game for her son who was having difficulty in school learning to read and write. The woman gave the child a game along with a cheat sheet of ten words for him to try out in the game. “He learned how to spell those words,” he said, “and now she said he’s up to two full pages of words that he can spell and understand which I thought was a really awesome story. ” Junior high history teacher Kevin Roughton was most interested in the game’s potential to increase a student’s ability to think critically. Roughton writes that in the future he hopes to use the game to study different periods in history by limiting the objects they can summon to historically accurate ones. Writing in his blog, Roughton described how he used the game in his classroom, having the students break into groups to come up with creative ways to solve the problems presented by the game. “We do not do enough… encouragement of creativity and critical thinking in schools today,” he writes. “This forces it!” Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Read the rest here:
A Surprise Education [Well Played]

A Surprise Education [Well Played]

Where many video games have you hone your reaction time and eye-hand coordination to excel, a mastery of spelling and a deep vocabulary are key to succeeding in Jeremiah Slaczka’s DS title. But despite the seemingly obvious educational bent of Slaczka’s game, Scribblenauts’ potential to teach through fun didn’t dawn on the game makers until well into development. Slaczka said the team at studio 5th Cell didn’t discuss the educational possibilities of the mainstream Warner Bros.-published game until they realized the “impact it had on increasing vocabulary, helping with spelling, teaching words in a new language and also creative and critical thinking.” “The game sort of became education through an organic process all on its own.” In Scribblenauts players solve lateral thinking puzzles by writing or typing a word into the DS. If the word is part of the game’s more than 22,800-word dictionary, it appears as an interactive objective, creature or person in the game. If a player spells the word incorrectly, the game suggests possible proper spellings. But knowing what object to summon through typing to make a fireman happy, or break into a safe or distract a zombie is key to solving the puzzles. A player’s vocabulary and imagination deeply impact their experience, Slaczka says: “The more words you know the more crazy stuff you can do.” Game creator Slaczka isn’t comfortable calling the game an educational title. “It has inherent educational potential, but it was never designed with an educational slant in mind,” he said. “It was a positive byproduct more than anything else. ” There are also good business reasons to not call Scribblenauts an outright educational game. Traditionally, educational games don’t attract mainstream gamers and don’t do big mainstream sales. But Scribblenauts sold 194,000 copies in North America alone in September, the first month it was available and was well-received by reviewers. While the game isn’t marketed as educational, that hasn’t stopped some parents and teachers from using the title to help educate. Slaczka says he’s heard anecdotally from parents and teachers who have been using the game to positive effect. One mother emailed the developer to tell how she bought the game for her son who was having difficulty in school learning to read and write. The woman gave the child a game along with a cheat sheet of ten words for him to try out in the game. “He learned how to spell those words,” he said, “and now she said he’s up to two full pages of words that he can spell and understand which I thought was a really awesome story. ” Junior high history teacher Kevin Roughton was most interested in the game’s potential to increase a student’s ability to think critically. Roughton writes that in the future he hopes to use the game to study different periods in history by limiting the objects they can summon to historically accurate ones. Writing in his blog, Roughton described how he used the game in his classroom, having the students break into groups to come up with creative ways to solve the problems presented by the game. “We do not do enough… encouragement of creativity and critical thinking in schools today,” he writes. “This forces it!” Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Read more from the original source:
A Surprise Education [Well Played]

Can You Solve This Professor Layton and the Demon Flute Puzzle? [Brain Teaser]

Chris Kohler over at Wired’s Game Life blog has gotten himself deep into a copy of Professor Layton ’s next out, Demon Flute, which was released in Japan last week. Here’s a tiny taste of the puzzles we can expect. Kohler’s translation of the puzzle reads: The four photographs below were taken in the same place. Of the four people in the photos, three of them came as a group, and each had their picture taken one after the other. The one other person came on a different day at a different time. Pick the three photos that have the people who all came together. He swears you can solve the riddle just from that screen shot — so go for it! Other than that tiny tidbit, there’s some interesting info about some new features introduced in Layton’s fourth outing. For one thing, we get some story insights since this is the first game in what’s basically a prequel for the Curious Village-Diabolical Box-Last Time Travel trilogy. (Last Time Travel is coming Stateside eventually, according to developer Level-5 headman, Akihiro Hino.) For another, we get a rundown of three new mini-games: Fish-feeding, Puppet Theater and… a train set? Sounds pretty cool to me. What’s New In Professor Layton’s Fourth Outing [Game Life, Wired]

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Can You Solve This Professor Layton and the Demon Flute Puzzle? [Brain Teaser]

BE VICTORIOUS WITH PUZZLE QUEST 2 COMING SPRING 2010

CAMBRIDGE – November 30, 2009 – Put yourself closer to the action with a more intimate viewpoint of the gem-studded match-3 video game Puzzle Quest 2, announced today for Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Nintendo DS™. Puzzle Quest 2 combines its trademark style with an enhanced real-time experience using all-new weapons, spells, and shields that make every decision meaningful and never passive in the deepest puzzle adventure yet. Named one of GamePro’s “Top Upcoming Sequels of 2010”, Puzzle Quest 2 is scheduled for release in spring 2010 from D3Publisher.

“Puzzle Quest is an award winning franchise with numerous accolades including an Interactive Achievement Award for “Best Downloadable Game of the Year” for Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords,” said Peter Andrew, vice president of product development, D3P. “Puzzle Quest 2 returns with a captivating, rewarding, and accessible journey for gamers of all levels as the ultimate delivery system for the mental release puzzle gamers seek.”

Puzzle Quest 2 features its hallmark blend of match-3 gem matching and fantasy, with a simple but meaningful role playing experience where players can choose any of four character classes; War Mage, Inquisitor, Barbarian or Assassin. Each character class provides interesting twists during multiple play-throughs as players reclaim the once peaceful village of Verloren from the evil clutch of the demon Gorgon. Players will be able to level up each character to progress through the adventure in Story Mode or even dive into Instant Action, Tournament Mode, or Mutliplayer Mode for a rich and diverse experience. With the entire Puzzle Quest world accessible on your fingertips in real-time action, players will be able to get a more streamlined experience for instant gratification.

Zelda Developer Was Stumped By New Zelda Game’s Puzzles [Ds]

The next Zelda won’t be too easy for veteran players, the longtime head of the series’ development at Nintendo, Eiji Aonuma , recently told Kotaku. Plus, the new DS adventure will cater to Nintendo fan’s research-proven taste for independent women. In a brief e-mail interview with Kotaku in advance of the release of next month’s The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks , Aonuma explained that Link’s latest adventure takes an unusual route to satisfying and challenging veteran gamers: “One of our lead planners for the game is a programmer, so he has a different, more scientific or mathematical approach, so to say, to creating puzzles,” he wrote to Kotaku. Aonuma is the producer on Spirit Tracks. “Development team members, including [senior Nintendo developer] Mr. [Takashi] Tezuka and myself, actually got stuck in several places. So the dungeons and puzzles pose a different type of challenge than what we have utilized in previous games, and will certainly require longtime Zelda fans to approach each challenge differently. ” Getting more specific, he noted: “I believe that the latter half of the Tower of Spirits dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks — [which] players will revisit throughout the game — has puzzles which require a different type of approach from those of previous games,” The chief architect of most of the major Zelda games, Aonuma has talked with your Kotaku deputy editor before about how to balance the creation of a new Zelda game to satisfy veteran fans and newcomers. A couple of years ago, I suggested that his team consider giving the player their boomerang and bow-and-arrow from the get-go. that might be a way to make new Zeldas more alluring to veteran series gamers. But never has he admitted to being stumped by some of the puzzles his designers have created. The game won’t all be harder. Controls, for one thing, will be easier, Aonuma said. I had asked him what his team had learned about the touch-screen controls implemented in the previous DS Zelda game, The Phantom Hourglass. That prompted this reply: “The one consistent piece of feedback we received about the controls in Phantom Hourglass was that it was too challenging to execute the roll move. You had to draw little circles at the edge of the screen to make Link roll. This is actually something we felt similarly about during development, but ended up not having enough time left in the schedule to implement another solution. In Spirit Tracks, this move is done by tapping anywhere on the screen, so hopefully players get more use out of it. ” Another tweak for the new game is in the Zelda character herself. In a change for the series, the Spirit Tracks Zelda takes on the game’s adventure alongside Link, in the form of a spirit. She’s not a damsel in distress just waiting to be saved. She’s an active adventurer. Aonuma said she was designed out of a desire among both Zelda fans and developers to have a stronger princess. “We recently received information from a survey conducted in the US that indicated that, among our female characters, users had a preference for those that were more on the independent side, such as Shiek and Tetra,” he wrote. He was referring to the Zelda-in-disguise incarnations of Princess Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. “Making Zelda a more integral part of the game was also a goal for our Director, Mr. [Daiki] Iwamoto, so we set out with this element in mind when we started making the game.” Link’s different in this new game too, of course. He so often is. Aonuma didn’t divulge if or how Link will behave differently. Visually he looks like the Link in the GameCube’s Wind Waker and the DS’ Phantom Hourglass, but with the new game set 100 years after Hourglass, it’s no surprise that this Link is at least a new hero. “The Link character in Spirit Tracks is different from those featured in previous games,” Aonuma said. “He’s a brand new Link. The game does share ties with Phantom Hourglass and Wind Waker though. This is mostly communicated to the player through the Niko character, who appears in all three games. Of course he is much older in Spirit Tracks, and his aging conveys to the player that much time has passed across the timeline of all three games.” Niko? That’s the stripe-shirted guy , not the GTA guy . The new Zelda, Spirit Tracks, will be released in North America on December 7 for the Nintendo DS.

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Zelda Developer Was Stumped By New Zelda Game’s Puzzles [Ds]

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