50 Games in 50* Days

The concept of this series of blog posts is 3 fold:

1. Play 50 games that I’ve never played before over (roughly) 50 days.

2. Write reviews of the games.

3. Select games on the basis that they’re cheap and offer an alternative to the cost of going out.

I thought this would be pretty cool as I’ve build up kind of a backlog of games and I wanted to play them as well as build up my review base.

*In all honesty, work is going to get in the way of hitting 50 games in 50 days but hey, it’s something to aim for!

48 – Machinarium

It’s £7.49 on Steam as a regular price – but you know, Steam sales… 🙂

Even though I don’t like fish and chips, I sometimes order it anyway. This is because just that one time whilst away on holiday I ate a fish and chips that was glorious. A divine amalgam of fish with batter – batter that was crisp and delicately flavoured – and fish that resonated with the flavour of success, of man’s victory over the denizens of the ocean. Yes that was truly a taste of godly nectar.

Usually it tastes like a fish finger wrapped in bog-roll.

Usually it leaves me feeling bloated and dull – unable and unwilling to haul my disgusting, greasy mess out of its seat even to wipe my mouth. I am like Jabba’s stupid, hick cousin.

It’s not as if fish and chips is even a cheap meal. I could buy a delicious beef chow mein for like 2/3rds the cost.

And now on a completely different topic…

Even though I don’t like point and click adventures, I sometimes buy them anyway. This is because just that one time during a different computer generation I played a game called Beneath a Steel Sky that was glorious. A divine amalgam of story with characterisation – characterisation that was crisp and delicately flavoured – and story that resonated with the flavour of success, of man’s victory over the denizens of the future. Yes that was truly a taste of godly nectar.

Usually I end up playing games like Machinarium.

Games that leave me feeling bloated and dull – unable and unwilling to haul my disgusting, greasy mind out of its seat even to swipe my mouse. I am like Jabba’s stupid, hick cousin.

It’s not as if Machinarium is even a cheap deal. I could buy a delicious beef chow mein for like 2/3rds the cost. (Yeah, I love beef chow mein)

Now, forgive me – Machinarium has proven very popular with critics and the indie community. Lots of people love this game. It’s gained 7s and 8s out of ten in most publications. God, even I don’t hate it – I just can’t get excited about it enough to want to solve its’ puzzles. Where other people see whimsical artwork, I see irritating throwback artstyle. Where other people see clever ingenuity in the puzzles, I see an unreasonably esoteric barrier to progression. Neither of these groups are wrong – it’s simply a matter of choice. Luckily for you, there’s a demo you can check out on Steam for the princely sum of £0.00 – a price even a Jabba like me wont sniff at.