VGCs and such
May. 22nd, 2013 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psi_star_psiThings polished off in the last couple of weeks -
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance - Latest "Vorkosigan" by Lois McMaster Bujold. I missed the previous one, but it turns out they are chronologically swapped. All for the best. In this installment, we finally have an adventure entirely about That Idiot Ivan. Who is, as we know, quite competent on his own. He's just not Miles -- fast talk is not his thing. Still, hilarity ensues, most of Vorbarr Sultana remains standing by the end, and Emperor Gregor does not burst a blood vessel. Quite. Having named one of my daughters after a Bujold character, my opinion of her work starts at a high level. It was a fine book.
Portal 2 - As I noted in March, I got the "all the songs" Jonathan Coulton collection. Inspired by "Still Alive", I replayed Portal. Just as I was finishing it off, Steam had a huge discount on Portal 2. Well, there you go.
GLaDOS has been, justifiably, compared to SHODAN. But her moment of appearance in this second game is reminiscent of the arrival of Sinistar. Every bit as underwear-soiling, just accomplished in her more understated way. I laughed out loud many times at her lines. The script on this is excellent, the new gameplay features are nice additions, and the closing song has grown on me, just like "Still Alive". All this, and it was a good 2.5-3 times longer than the first game. Awesome all around.
Ghost Trick - This was originally for one of the handheld game things, but I played it on my phone. This is a fascinating puzzle game with a great mystery story. You start out as an amnesiac newly-deceased spirit learning about your Powers of the Dead. You can hop from object to object at a short range of about a meter, "activate" objects (turn knobs, switch lights, open cabinets), traverse phone lines, and link to corpses. Linking to a corpse allows you to talk with the dead spirit for some basic info, then use your last special ability to rewind time to 4 minutes before their death. You travel the city seeking info on yourself, using your abilities to avert people's deaths, and gradually unravel the vast mystery that explains how you can do all of this in the first place. Wonderful game.
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance - Latest "Vorkosigan" by Lois McMaster Bujold. I missed the previous one, but it turns out they are chronologically swapped. All for the best. In this installment, we finally have an adventure entirely about That Idiot Ivan. Who is, as we know, quite competent on his own. He's just not Miles -- fast talk is not his thing. Still, hilarity ensues, most of Vorbarr Sultana remains standing by the end, and Emperor Gregor does not burst a blood vessel. Quite. Having named one of my daughters after a Bujold character, my opinion of her work starts at a high level. It was a fine book.
Portal 2 - As I noted in March, I got the "all the songs" Jonathan Coulton collection. Inspired by "Still Alive", I replayed Portal. Just as I was finishing it off, Steam had a huge discount on Portal 2. Well, there you go.
GLaDOS has been, justifiably, compared to SHODAN. But her moment of appearance in this second game is reminiscent of the arrival of Sinistar. Every bit as underwear-soiling, just accomplished in her more understated way. I laughed out loud many times at her lines. The script on this is excellent, the new gameplay features are nice additions, and the closing song has grown on me, just like "Still Alive". All this, and it was a good 2.5-3 times longer than the first game. Awesome all around.
Ghost Trick - This was originally for one of the handheld game things, but I played it on my phone. This is a fascinating puzzle game with a great mystery story. You start out as an amnesiac newly-deceased spirit learning about your Powers of the Dead. You can hop from object to object at a short range of about a meter, "activate" objects (turn knobs, switch lights, open cabinets), traverse phone lines, and link to corpses. Linking to a corpse allows you to talk with the dead spirit for some basic info, then use your last special ability to rewind time to 4 minutes before their death. You travel the city seeking info on yourself, using your abilities to avert people's deaths, and gradually unravel the vast mystery that explains how you can do all of this in the first place. Wonderful game.
