Thomas Was Alone (PS Vita)

Thomas Was Alone is not a new game.

Well, "not new" in the sense of "we've-already-forgotten-this-summer's-memes-and-world-events-and-summer's-not-even-over" not new.

It started as Flash-based game in 2010, but really started building momentum as a PC and Mac title in 2010, and notoriety among a broader audience in it's content-enhanced Sony PS3 and PS Vita versions in 2013.

I hesitate to write something about the game, because I want you to experience it on your own. And I'm not going to be able to say anything that adds to it.

But I feel compelled to say something about it.

So go play it, avoid the Wikipedia spoilerific entry about it, then come back.

Good to go? Right, then.

The PS Vita version (the first time I've played it on the platform) is fantastic. Not just because the platform lends itself to this kind of game (whatever "this kind of game" is, but more on that later) -- No, it's great on the Vita because it makes subtle use of the Vita.

You can use the touchscreen to select your avatar, and skip cycling through all of it. Or, touch the icon avatars in the lower right corner, and scroll to the one you want, (when that one's not visible in the larger screen).

Simple. Clean. Appropriate )and not over-done) use of the hardware.

What about the game itself?

To say Thoms Was Alone is a "puzzle platformer" is kind of like calling Portal is a "puzzle game" or The Last of Us a "survival horror" game (I can't believe I never wrote anything about either of those, but especially that latter amazing title).

No, Thomas Was Alone is a puzzle platformer witty humanist allegory exploring the unconquerable, indomitable complexity of emotions and wants and will of the heroic and the tragic and the just existing ... us.

And yes, that's with the whole thing being presented in geometric shapes and bold colors.

Just ... play the game.

Enjoy the gameplay for what it is -- Tight, well-thought-out, consumable, replayable good design that makes you better at playing the game for having played the game.

Maybe enjoy it for it's clever wit, great musical score, and occasionally deep homilies.

Maybe be moved by something deeper being said about the human condition, and how special and flawed and amazing and petty and elevated and fallible and ever-changing we all are.

But I do recommend you play it.

Dark Souls (PS3)

Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to Demon Souls.

(I love that sentence.)

And it is a brutal, brutal game. I spent an hour getting my tail handed to me because I attacked a guy I was not ready to face, and kept respawning and could not undue the bad decision I had made, and I hadn't mastered the early-in-the-game battle mechanics needed to hold my own. And I didn't get my shield (which I was told to pick up). And almost nothing is explained.

This is not bad game design -- this is designed consequence.

I love how hard Demon Souls is. I love how much harder Dark Souls is. It's hard to explain, because it's not exactly masochism (not exactly). For me, it's wanting to improve in a game that feels so immersive because it does not hold my hand, and failure to pay attention and keep my wits about me is hours-upon-hours costly.

I have to play so many games that I don't want to play. I should be upset at how long this game it going to take me, but I'm not upset that I'm forced to spend time with such a caliber, sleeper offering.

MAG (PS3)

With MAG doing an open beta this week (through today), me being a shooter fan, having access to a PS3, and wanting to see if they could pull off 128v128 online play, I spent some time tooling around the game.

Brass tacks is the game has tremendous promise, and I hope people look at for what it is: A PS3-exclusive massive military-based shooter, who's promise lies in its premise -- a large-scale game where squad combat and communication is key to success (and having fun).

That's where the game fell down a bit for me. Since friends and I were trying the game, and not everyone had a bluetooth headset, we actually used our Xboxes and party chat to stay in sync as we played the game on the PS3. Irony aside, this helped us keep tabs on each other and at least try to work in tandem between us to accomplish the goals (basically a Team Fortress or Modern Warfare version of "sabatoge" / "demolition"). Other people in our squad ... not so much.

This is a game where coordination and cooperation are key to winning; you can't be a lone wolf without getting yourself killed, everyone else killed, and failing the mission. Unlike some competing titles, it also allows friendly fire, so we had some dillweeds in our sessions that were running around killing everyone, friend or foe, really marring the experience.

But it was still an engaging experience; while you have to scale up to 128v128 (the demo may have gone up to 64v, but it may have been just 32 in our sessions), large-scale combat and frenzy felt really good -- an evolution over EA's Battlefield franchise.

People will make inevitable comparisons to Modern Warfare 2, the current reigning online military-themed juggernaut -- but that's unfair. Because of its shear scale, MAG will not have the graphical fidelity of the smaller scale competitor, though that won't excuse any gimped gameplay. It's also single platform, so it won't have the gamer penetration of the every-platform MW2.

Jumping into a game was wicked quick -- a welcomed change from losing entire Friends lists in Modern Warfare as people go do other things waiting to connect to a session. I think that comes at a tradeoff to any genuine skill level matching, though, as I (as a level 1-3) was getting matched against level 22-24s who had been playing all week -- and they had waaaay better guns.

The other thing I'm concerned about is how they're hiding lag in online play. The game felt smooth and lag free, but I found myself emptying 5 rounds from a sniper almost point-blank into an enemy's noggin, then have him stand up and cap me with a single shot. I like to know when I'm lagging, so I can compensate.

Overall, the game has great promise, and I'm looking forward to how the shipping version addresses problems and feedback from the beta, though since the game launches at the end of this month, improvements will likely be limited to the server side of the product.