All Consuming : wagglewarily

Consumed "Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:14:44 GMT

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

by Nintendo

WORTH IT!

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:54:16 GMT

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

by Nintendo

I just watched the credits roll on the game. Thoroughly enjoyable. I really loved “The Curious Village” and this sequel lived up to my expectations.

The game is made up of about 150 puzzles and riddles plus several fun little mini-games as well as a little mystery story to move the adventure along. The difficulty level of the puzzles range from tricky to I-don’t-know-if-I-want-to-spend-all-afternoon-on-this. However, you only have to complete maybe 90 of the puzzles to finish the game.

In my opinion, the story is maybe almost, but not quite as good as “The Curious Village,” but it was still great. Like the last game, it skirts the edge of the supernatural, but comes up with a thin, but ultimately plausible explanation for all of the strange events of the story. The animation in the cut-scenes continues to be attractive.

I highly recommend this game to anyone who loves a good riddle. I can’t wait for the next one!

Consumed "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:23:38 GMT

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

by Nintendo DS

WORTH IT!

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:23:38 GMT

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

by Nintendo DS

I found this game to be surprisingly addictive. It reminded me just a little of the adventure games I liked so much as a kid. King’s Quest, Space Quest, etc. The game play is not all that similar, but it’s the same sort of corny humor and cartoony graphics. The game gave me a warm, familiar feeling.

You play a brand new defense attorney. There are 5 cases. Each one moves along in a couple of modes. A sort of investigation phase where you visit different locations, talk to people and search for clues. Then a much more formal courtroom phase where you use the evidence you collect to try and prove your client innocent.

This is not normally the kind of game I really ever play, but the story hooked me right away. I also liked that I could save and quit instantly, so it’s a nice game to take on the go.

Certain parts of the game dragged a little and sometimes the way to move forward in the game was frustratingly vague as you sort through all your evidence and examine every little thing to look for the missing clue to advance the story.

Recommended if you like point-and-click adventure games, mystery games or even riddle games like Professor Layton.

Consumed "Coraline"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:42:42 GMT

Coraline

by Neil/ McKean, Dave (ILT) Gaiman

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Dummy"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:26:57 GMT

Dummy

by Greg Pritikin

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Who Is Mark Twain?"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:14:40 GMT

Who Is Mark Twain?

by Mark Twain

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Consumed "Illmoor Chronicles, The: The Ratastrophe Catastrophe - Book One (Stone, David Lee, Illmoor Chronicles, Bk. 1.)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:09:47 GMT

Illmoor Chronicles, The: The Ratastrophe Catastrophe - Book One (Stone, David Lee, Illmoor Chronicles, Bk. 1.)

by David Lee Stone

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:26:35 GMT

Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town

by Cory Doctorow

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Shadow of the Colossus"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:15:52 GMT

Shadow of the Colossus

by SCEI

WORTH IT!

Shadow of the Colossus (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:15:52 GMT

Shadow of the Colossus

by SCEI

A beautiful game, not like any I’ve ever played before. It totally breaks the formula for any comparable game. Most other games like it, you defeat monsters along the way through a “level” or “dungeon” of some kind, then fight the “boss.” Such conventions are not observed here. Sometimes you have to do a little puzzle-solving to find the Colossus you’re hunting for, but on the whole, you’re just exploring a beautiful world, and periodically fighting a seemingly impossible to defeat creature, David vs. Goliath style.

I recommend this game to anyone who enjoys action RPGs like Zelda. The only downside is the game is relatively short and can be finished in about 8 or 9 hours. However, there are lots of replay modes to present various new challenges and easter eggs.

A story about "Kenny & the Dragon"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:13:25 GMT

Kenny & the Dragon

This was a pleasant little book. It’s interesting that Diterlizzi is pursuing writing now when he’s had such a long and successful career as an artist. The book does showcase a bit of his art, but it’s mostly writing here.

A quick read. Nothing astounding or surprising about it. I think most kids would enjoy it.

Consumed "Kenny & the Dragon"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:13:25 GMT

Kenny & the Dragon

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:35:09 GMT

Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present

by Cory Doctorow

WORTH IT!

Consuming "Give Up"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:32:34 GMT

Give Up

by The Postal Service

Consuming "The Boys' Doodle Book: Amazing Pictures to Complete and Create"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:05:41 GMT

The Boys' Doodle Book: Amazing Pictures to Complete and Create

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A Graphic Novel (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:48:11 GMT

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A Graphic Novel

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I received this as a birthday present. I enjoyed the movie, but with some reservations. The book I enjoyed quite a bit.

This graphic novel follows the original short story very closely. Which is to say that it differs from the movie in almost every detail. It is a bittersweet story, but it is not really a love story in the way of the movie. It is simply the story of a man traveling backwards through life, physically, mentally and emotionally.

I really enjoyed the sepia tones of the art. The style is well-suited to the humorous, but melancholy story. I really cannot find a flaw.

I believe the book would be most appreciated by people who enjoyed the original story and those who enjoy slightly philosophical, whimsical stories. There is a possibility that if you really loved the movie, you might be disappointed with the graphic novel because it is entirely different in both tone and message.

Consumed "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A Graphic Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:48:11 GMT

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A Graphic Novel

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Little Brother"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 23:09:52 GMT

Little Brother

by Cory Doctorow

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm"

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:40:09 GMT

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm

by Betty MacDonald

WORTH IT!

Arkham Horror (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (wagglewarily) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:59:55 GMT

Arkham Horror

by Fantasy Flight Games

This is quite possibly the greatest board game ever. Really, it’s a work of genius. A genuinely cooperative game. The players must work together to defeat…the board. Your opponent is the selection of randomly drawn Mythos cards at the end of each turn. Over and over again, you watch as all of your cooperative efforts seem to be working, then the Mythos has its turn, foiling all your efforts.

I love this game because the balance is perfect. You are not likely to win this game without teamwork and skillful play. When you do win, it feels like a genuine accomplishment.

There are a lot of elements here that could draw in a lot of different people, even ones who don’t think they like board games. The strategy aspects are nicely done. The best part, though, is the story the game tells while you play. You aren’t just rolling dice and moving pieces. A plot with twists and turns is being revealed. It almost leaves you with the feeling the game knows exactly what it’s doing as your investigators get chased by monsters and sucked into portals to other realms.

The game has the following cons:
-It takes hours to play. Maybe 20 minutes to set up and generally about 4 hours to play, but as many as 8.
-There are a lot of pieces. If small children or clumsy people get hold of this, they may well make it unplayable after losing important tokens and cards.
-You need a BIG table to play. By the time the board and tokens are all laid out on my long dining room table, I sometimes have to get out TV trays for players to put their stuff on.
-As others have said, it takes a while to learn. You’ll probably want to set the game up in advance and sit with the manual and play a practice run through.
-Somewhat expensive. Especially if you obsessively collect all the expansions, this could turn into $100+ boardgame.