 | ||||
| Robots! |
I'm not a very good gamer. Growing up, I often ended up watching the boys play games instead of getting to play them myself. I guess this was because most of our video game systems belonged to my brother, but I can also blame it a little on my lack of hand eye coordination.
As a result of this habit, I'm one of those people who almost always would prefer to watch a better gamer play a game rather than fumble through myself. As an example, I am a huge devotee of Silent Hill, but I have played all of 10 minuets of the very first game before I gave up and passed it on to my brother. I've since moved on to watching my husband play them.
Another series of games that I love, but have watched much more than I've ever played would be Myst. My cousin and I spent hours huddled around his old NEC computer, me with the game guide and him with the mouse, reading the sections aloud as he explored the worlds.
I've had a long standing love affair with point-and-click games, and I'm happy to see that they've had a resurgence in recent years.
One such title is Machinarium. It was released in 2009 and developed by Amanita Design, an independent Czech developer, and is available through Steam or via its website. It plays on Flash, and there are versions of the game for Windows, Mac and Linux. It's also being prepped for release as WiiWare.
As you might have guessed, it's a point-and-click style adventure. You play as a robot who has to rescue his robot girlfriend. It's a little unusual in that you can only interact with things within your avatar's reach.
The look of Machinarium is really beautiful. The scenes are all hand drawn, and the characters and interactive objects really blend in well. That can be a blessing or a curse, as anyone who has ever played a game like this knows. It can be hard at times to know which objects are important and which are just interesting scenery.
The music is a real treat, and I often found myself pausing in new areas just to take in the scenery and the music. I was often rewarded for this by an easter egg in the form of a flashback, or a funny or cute idle animation. I was thrilled that when you purchase the game at the website, you get a remixed version of the soundtrack as a bonus.
As any player of adventure games knows, pretty scenery and music only goes so far- if you can't solve the puzzles, the game loses its charm really quickly. Machinarium isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, but the puzzles in general are solvable. I admit, there were a few times that I had to ask for hints- lucky for me, there are hints built into the game. You can click on an icon in the menu, and your avatar will have a thought bubble that tells you what you need to do - just not how to do it. If you need more help, there is another icon that you can click that gives you a mini-game that unlocks a further hint. These hints are nicely spoiler free, and don't feel like a cheat when used.
When you do figure something out (whether it's with a hint or without) the gratification is instantaneous and very rewarding. If you aren't able to figure them out, there's always the internet (something I never had as a kid, and something that would have made those hours long sessions of older games so much less frustrating).
Overall, this game is really worth checking out. The price tag may seem a little steep at $20, but it's well worth it. The game play is fun, the story is heartwarming, and the free soundtrack is icing on the cake.
There is a playable demo available on the website. Give it a shot and see what you think.
That is really cute! I like the little flashback memories with the robot girlfriend. I really like the logic aspect too. But I have to say, I had more trouble with the mini games than the actual game. :)
ReplyDelete