My year in games – Part 3 (Jul-Sep)
And we’re over halfway through the year already! I didn’t play a huge amount at this time, but I still got through a wide variety of titles.
Hereâs links to the other parts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
JULY
TANGLE TOWER
Another visual novel title, except this one is a murder mystery game with a comedy bent. You play Detective Grimoire and his assistant Sally as they investigate the murder of artist Freya Fellow at Tangle Tower, a strange twin-towered manor house where two high-status families have lived for generations. Sounds normal? Well, the murder weapon appears to be a dagger covered in Freya’s blood, which only exists in a portrait she was painting at the time.
This is very funny, with great characterisation and voice acting, and the actual âdetectingâ where you figure out whether someone is lying, or what a particular clue means, is pretty well done. Sadly, it doesnât really stick the landing, but despite this itâs still worth playing.
Score: Blood out of A Painting
AUGUST
FROG FRACTIONS
A very simple game where you control a small frog, and you use your long sticky tongue to catch insects as they descend towards you, all the while learning about basic maths. Except, it isnât đ
Score: Space Dragons out of The King of Mars
WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER
I decided it was time to go back to AAA games and blasted my way through this alternate-history first-person shooter. Playing as William âB.J.â Blazkowitz, you start the game in 1946, attacking the stronghold of Wilhelm âDeathsheadâ Strasse, a prominent Nazi scientist, whose inventions have turned the tide of the war. You fail (not really spoilers) and after an interlude, it is now 1960, and the Nazis rule much of the known world. The only hope for the resistance is you and your guns!
While the story sounds a bit hokey and does go to some odd places along the way, itâs actually delivered incredibly well, with believable characters you grow to care about. And as a shooter, itâs excellent fun, with nice meaty weapons, explosions and set-pieces to play through. And, in the end, who really needs any more of an excuse to kill some Nazis?
Score: Robot Dogs out of The Moonbase
SEPTEMBER
DARK MESSIAH OF MIGHT AND MAGIC
Ignore the clunky title, and the poorly written, trope-filled story, and stay for the gameplay. This is a fantasy action title that lets you choose whether to fight with swords and bows, or concentrate on building up your magic skills. And you get to kick people off cliffs!
And it’s fun because it really lets you play around with physics, with loads of traps you can set off by destroying wooden supports, and some fun spells like one that creates a patch of ice on the floor, causing your enemies to fall over on their arse. Yes, itâs looking a bit old now, but it is honestly still fun to play.
And you can kick people off cliffs đ
Score: Kicking people off Cliffs
