PixlBit

Floating platforms with a touch of absinthe.

For better or worse, games like Braid, Limbo, and other 2.5D “masterpieces” have reconfigured what a platformer can be.  Spate, developed by Eric Provan and his development team at Ayyo, is not as complete a package as these games, but is still an astoundingly beautiful work of art, with truly arresting imagery, an interesting story, and a unique and moody soundtrack.  However, with its tired mechanics, inconsistent controls, and sloppy (yet forgiving) physics, it is hard to quantify, or to even categorize. It is a conundrum, as it stretches between these two poles – one of artistic genius; and the other of uninspired game design. 

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One of the less mediocre games to come from Data East.

A few months back, Monkey Paws Games began a 6-week campaign to bring several import games to the US.  Among them was Wolf Fang, released this past February on PSN.  Originally released by Data East in 1991 as the arcade sequel to Vapor Trail (Kugah in Japan), Wolf Fang is a game that heavily borrows from the many shoot ‘em ups that came before it.  If you’ve ever played a shooter that involved Vulcan spread shots, miniature helper drones, and anime-inspired character designs, then this game will be very familiar territory for you. On their own, the gameplay elements could be written off as merely generic. But together they form a surprisingly respectable game.

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Stand by for chaos.

With the large amount of hype and high number of preview awards given to TitanFall, it naturally has a lot to live up to. This goes double as it expects to do so solely online, banking on providing a new experience rather than one brimming with single player content. It seems to embody a new console generation in how it feels refreshing and new, yet it doesn’t show off graphical horsepower or introduce bells and whistles not possible on older technology.

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Come see four PixlBit staff members unbox their crappy games on video!

Sometimes it's necessary in life to shake things up. The fact is, the PixlBit writers seem to have it too good, so Chessa and I (but mostly Chessa) concocted a little event for our own amusement. Rather than allow our writers to continue to cover the things they love, we've decided to force upon them the junk games that have been sitting around PixlBit HQ for ages.

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“Sacred geometry.”

Every so often, I am lucky enough to play a game so delightful, so perfectly engineered for its platform, and so inspiring that I have to take a step back, stunned.  While other arts such as literature and painting seem long in the tooth these days, clutching to cynicism and nihilism like a terminal patient clinging to the sheets in his bed, great games seem imbued with a sort of impossible optimism and generosity towards the human condition.  Monument Valley, a game about redemption through sacred geometry, is one of those games. 

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