Tungsten | Cheerful Ghost

On steam sale for $3.39! Its one of the best puzzlers ever

http://media.gme.li/images/headers/SpaceChem_TitleImage.png.535x272_q85.png

On steam sale for $3.39! It's one of the best puzzlers ever made, and it has tons of replay value. I've put a hundred hours into it and haven't beaten it.

I rarely push games like this, but this is special and cheap (I think I bought it for $15)

April Fools? Probably. Still want.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/additional/large/ee04_marshmallow_creeps_basket.jpg

April Fools? Probably. Still want.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/looflirpa/ee04/images/

I was listening to the radio today and they were talking

I was listening to the radio today and they were talking about the recent controversy with the ending of Mass Effect. When the host asked for an example of a great ending to a game, this is the one the interviewee provided.

True enough, it was the best ending to a game that I can recall.

By the way, if you haven't played the game, you're not really going to benefit from the ending in the video above. It's purely an emotional payoff and if you haven't put the time into the game up until that point, you're not going to get it, so don't spoil it for yourself.

Also, if you haven't played the game, do so at your earliest convenience. It is much much more than GTA in the wild west.

One of the best games ever. If you have any interest in

One of the best games ever. If you have any interest in tactical RPG's, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. You can get it on Steam and Wii (and emulation...).

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/31/2012 at 07:40am

Never heard of this game before, but the music is cool. :D When you say tactical RPG do you mean like FF Tactics and Ogre battle?

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/31/2012 at 02:20pm

Ya, pretty much. It's a bit simpler, but that lends to a faster style of play. It also cuts to vignettes for all the combat, which adds a sense of fun.

I'll put a gameplay video up.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/31/2012 at 02:49pm

It's a Genesis game, and most of the RPG crowd went Super Nintendo. (Sorry Phantasy Star, you don't count). A lot of people missed it, but it has quite a following.

There have been a bunch of sequels, but other than one on the Saturn that never got a full translation, the rest have lost the tactical part.

The Shining Force Series is a spinoff of the Shining in the Darkness Series, which is a first person dungeon crawler also available on Steam. The others are okay (actually, there was one of the Sega handheld (the name escapes me now) that was really good as well - Shining Force Gaiden.)

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/01/2012 at 01:08am

Looks cool. Haven't played a tactics game before but loved the Super NES/Nintendo KOEI strategy games quite a bit.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 04/01/2012 at 01:54am

You shall not pass!

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Sequel? One of the best written comedy games ever. Sure,

http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/82/82033.jpg

Sequel? One of the best written comedy games ever. Sure, the platforming could drive you mad (I never actually did beat the meat circus), and it had its share of bugs, but it also had some of the best art, characters, and pure inventiveness, all wrapped in that patented Tim Schafer cleverness.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115713-Notch-Volunteers-to-Fund-Psychonauts-Sequel-UPDATED

Did you guys play the original? It didn't sell well (though I think I've technically bought it three times myself). What do you think about the idea of a sequel?

I havent been through Skyrim in about a week. I have Deus

http://vividgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Tiny_Tower_Promo1.png

I haven't been through Skyrim in about a week. I have Deus Ex, game of the year to several institution, sitting nearly untouched. I have about 6 games from the last humble bundle that I haven't even downloaded yet.

Tiny Tower is dominating all of my time...

Tiny tower is one of those "freemium" games where you do something a little fun, but then it starts to take a lot of time unless you give them money. In this case, it is building a tower, filling it with apartments and businesses, and stocking those businesses with products and services.

It sounds inane, and it kind of is. But I can't stop...

Anyone else ever get hooked on this evilly addictive little gem?

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/18/2012 at 07:42pm

Installed.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/19/2012 at 04:35pm

Dude, this game is awesome. Love the graphics and the simple gameplay.

Very similar to a simplified SimTower!

vdogmr25 wrote on 03/19/2012 at 04:55pm

I play it too. I CAN'T STOP!

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/21/2012 at 07:12pm

I picked this up last night. I can see why you guys like it. Although now I really want to go play Sim Tower!

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/21/2012 at 08:56pm

Sim Tower was en epic game.

Im gonna stitch together a picture of my entire tower and post it in the next few days.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/21/2012 at 11:24pm

I miss Sim Tower. Someone needs to mod it to raise the elevator maximums. I would love to play it with another bit's worth of elevators.

Actually, I bet it exists. Non-existent award to the first person who googles it to figure it out.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/21/2012 at 11:28pm

https://github.com/fabianschuiki/OpenSkyscraper/wiki

This is as close as I could find. Hey you, coders, I'm talking to you. Make this work on my computer. With gud grafix plz.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/22/2012 at 01:11am

What? Holy crap thats amazing!

I have SimTower and played it not that long ago! The end game was impossible and I couldnt figure out how to make people happy though. Totally awesome to see it live on beyond its commercial viability or whatever reason EA hasn't done rad things with it.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/22/2012 at 01:11am

PS... I can't stop paying attention to Tiny Tower every few minutes.....

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/22/2012 at 01:15am

Ya. The iPhone version > Android. The updates on your tower don't come through on Android. I still find an opportunity to check in every hour or so.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/28/2012 at 05:13pm

I recommend everyone save up tower bucks for the elevator upgrade. Its so much faster to get people up and down the building.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/28/2012 at 05:17pm

Oh and you can get a image of your tower by going to the menu -> share tower and then saving the image. I took screenshots and then GIMP'd the pictures together, yeah seems they make it easier to do that....

I use http://imgur.com/ to easily upload pics I can hotlink to, its nice.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/29/2012 at 02:45am

I'm on the second elevator upgrade. It's great. Stupid game takes up all my time.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/29/2012 at 02:48am

:) Yeah, few games can be played easily in spare 30 second cycles as well as this one.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/29/2012 at 06:40pm

Yeah the elevator upgrades are nice. My play time has decreased quite a bit now that the newness has worn off, but I do still enjoy the game and check it a couple times a day. :) I'm currently trying to optimize my work force, kicking out bitizens with crappy skills and trying to find some with dream jobs that match the businesses I already have.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/29/2012 at 10:52pm

I'm on a "dream job" kick too. Evicting bums is kind of satisfying. Makes me feel like a true capitalist.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/29/2012 at 10:58pm

Evicted someone that was straight up zero's. Felt good, those kind of people are not fun to work with at all.

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Play this now. Itll take you about 20 min. to beat, and oh

http://www.whatisnous.com/thumbnails/tn_Nous2.png

Play this now. It'll take you about 20 min. to beat, and oh boy is it worth it:

http://www.whatisnous.com/

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/11/2012 at 09:04pm

And hurry up because I want to talk about it.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/12/2012 at 12:50am

Gonna download it now. Let you know when I finish with it either way :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/12/2012 at 01:20am

Ok so I just stopped playing it. I stopped at the part where I am trying to hit the box and it keeps counting down cores.

Interesting game. Seems like its going for something Portalish. I am not sure I got how to play the game totally. I liked that the game pulled screenshots from my desktop and tried to crash and then come back.

I didn't like the dialog between me and the computer very much, it seemed.... For lack of a better word, annoying. My reactions to the text were way different than the options presented. It was like "Choose A" or "Choose B" and I didn't think either were what I was thinking. I also didn't like the test, like I don't know, just didn't like it.

In the end the game was fun even though I didn't know much of what I was doing most of the time. I liked collecting points but then I said something about wanting a lot of points and it gave me unlimited points and I was no happy with that and then they gave me negative full points. I didn't like that either. I think when a game is so whimsical with its score I don't know, that really lost me.

I get it, score doesn't matter or something? But I wasn't sure what the point was and the game didn't really go anywhere so I wasn't really sure why I should keep playing the "I need to catch you level" when its not clear me doing that meant anything cool would happen.

The game is unique, and if you want surprises and not to know what to expect next, check it out. I guess I would say it frustrated me but then again, thats most likely part of the design.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/12/2012 at 02:08am

SPOILERS*******************************

That was the end, and really the pay off. It's fine though if you didn't really buy into it, and I could see how it would be frustrating.

My own personal take was that it was a bit of an anti game: the points don't matter, there are no real levels, and in the end (after you beat that box) it basically just admits that it was a game.

It resonated with me, maybe because I'm kind of sick of games being what they have traditionally been. The game kind of mocks the idea of a score, the "crazy" AI, bosses, stories, even good guys vs. bad guys. I love a good God of War or COD as much as the next guy, but here and there the old formula just feels stale, and its nice to see another game that pokes at that.

And you have to admit that the whole Crash to Desktop thing was clever.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/12/2012 at 03:06am

It had a ton of unique moments that made me really think about what a game really is. It built up something and then tore it back down. Which I find interesting generally.

Cool project though and these sorts of experiments are cool.

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Do you like puzzle games? They you might like this. Dont

http://www.spacechemthegame.com/screenshots/ss3.png

Do you like puzzle games? They you might like this. Don't be fooled though, this isn't really a puzzle game. It is much more than that.

This game tricks you into being an engineer. It starts out all cute with these simple little puzzles, and 10 0hours in you're managing multiple plants, multiple processes, matching inflow with outflow, all while shooting lasers at giant floating pyramid.

I've never really been able to pick up coding, but I have a feeling that this game kind of feels like that. You are given a task and you begin to put together different little tricks that you have learned in order to complete that task. When you find out that your old methods won't work you have to devise new ones. Then you refine your design, improve upon your tweaks, and rework solutions in a more holistic manor to improve efficiency and economy.

Trust me, try the demo and you'll get hooked. You'll make your first solution and be all proud until you see that someone else solved it in half the number of cycles using 1/10 the commands, and you'll spend three hours tinkering until you can match half their success.

I know, it's really hard to explain why this game is so great. If you want a taste, go to www.zachtronicsindustries.com and try out "The Codex of Alchemical Engineering." It is a very similar game (though much cruder than space chem) and you should be able to see what I'm talking about. (While you're at it, if you're really into driving yourself mad, try out "Kohctpyktop.")

My quick first impressions from the beta (<1hour in): I

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/images/9/2011/09/diablo_iii_delay.jpg

My quick first impressions from the beta (<1hour in):

I miss the old art style. I wasn't a hater on the original footage, and I think that it's okay for the series to move in a different direction, but so much of the game right now looks like the early areas of WoW when you start as an undead. It's good, its fun, its interesting, but it's not how I think of Diablo.

One thing I really miss are the old 2D sprites. They were so detailed, while the new models seems so cartooney, just like the base models of WoW mobs.

Enough with the bashing. The gameplay is spot on. It's just like you remember except they've added fun little things like environmental damage and a more intuitive ability system, while ditching frustrations like identify scrolls.

I'm playing as a Monk and he's fun. click-click-click-CLICK and everyone's dead. I do feel perhaps a bit over powered right now, but I'm sure I'll go back on that the first time I die.

Overall, I'm very happy, and I'm sure I'll get used the the art style soon enough. I'm sure I'll pick this up whenever Blizzard deems it ready.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/07/2012 at 05:36am

Awesome. @chowda said that the beta is VERY simple and that the regular game would be harder.

The original sprite art was great, but as with everything 3D is the movement ahead. Wonder how much sooner the game would have shipped if it were 2D :)

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/09/2012 at 04:02am

After playing through it for a couple hours, I'm very happy with it. The game play is just fun and the atmosphere is great. It started seeming less cartoony and more just... dark. Not a game to play when you're already depressed.

The customization of the powers looks like it will be really cool, as will the artisan system. I'm not sold completely on the auction house, but, eh, so what if it breaks the game.

I need to run through it again as the other characters, but I think I need to go back to Skyrim and actually run through the main quest line (213 hours in and I still have no clue why the dragons are coming back).

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/09/2012 at 04:07am

Thing with the Auction house is you don't have to use it. It only breaks the game if you or your friends use it too.

I'm not sure, it could be cool... It could suck.

What characters have you made it through with so far?

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/09/2012 at 10:47pm

Just the monk. I think demon hunter is next

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/10/2012 at 01:45am

I am interested in the Demon Hunter and the Witch Doctor.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/10/2012 at 03:43am

They just unlocked Hardcore mode. Roguelike Diablo? Sounds like pure agony to me.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/10/2012 at 03:51am

Some will love it I imagine.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/10/2012 at 03:53am

I might try it once... Maybe. :$

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Lets do some math: Deus Ex: $15.99 ÷ 36 hours ≈

http://www.gamechosun.co.kr/dataroom/article/20120208/86159/0208sk1.jpg

Let's do some math:
Deus Ex: $15.99 ÷ 36 hours ≈ 44¢/hr
Skyrim: $54.99 ÷ 213 hours ≈ 26¢/hr
Portal2: $49.99 ÷ 23 hours ≈ $2.17/hr

And you know what, Portal was worth every penny.

It was my favorite game of last year, over Skyrim, over Deus Ex, over... everything. Shoot, there should have been an option to leave your web-cam on during the entire game so that you can go back and just watch your own $#!? eating grin for hours on end.

There wasn't a part of that game that I didn't think was about perfect.

Possible my favorite part is this: you go through an entire game without hurting a fly (unless you count personality cores or turrets). No, I'm not a huge pacifist, and I have zero problems with games where you run around cuttings heads off and running over prostitutes, but isn't it nice to be able to play a game that wins completely on gameplay and personality rather than OMGTHATISSOBRUTAL!!! It's a game that I show people who don't like games.

Can you think of any other games like that, "evangelical" games as it were?

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/05/2012 at 06:51am

I agree. I'm on my second play through and it still awesome. The game art is great and it's paced very well.

I've never broken out a game in terms of value per hour. I should. Wonder what my Borderlands value per hour would be? I got the game of the year on sale for $20 on Ps3. Such a great deal.

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/05/2012 at 06:54am

Shoot, I wish I knew how much time I put into Minecraft.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/05/2012 at 05:40pm

Did you do any Portal 2 co-op?

Tungsten Post Author wrote on 03/06/2012 at 03:00am

I never did it. I took some time with the single player campaign and by the time I got around to it, the only people I could find had already run it. Puzzles are no fun when the other person knows the solution.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/06/2012 at 04:57pm

I didn't realize the new Deus Ex had gotten so cheap. Adding that to my list of things I missed last year to pick up.

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Tungsten30

54 Posts

On steam sale for $3.39! Its one of the best puzzlers ever

April Fools? Probably. Still want.

I was listening to the radio today and they were talking

One of the best games ever. If you have any interest in

Sequel? One of the best written comedy games ever. Sure,

I havent been through Skyrim in about a week. I have Deus

Play this now. Itll take you about 20 min. to beat, and oh

Do you like puzzle games? They you might like this. Dont

My quick first impressions from the beta (<1hour in): I

Lets do some math: Deus Ex: $15.99 ÷ 36 hours ≈