I'd equate OlliOlli to all those cellphone runner games, where you go down a path and avoid obstacles. Only this time, instead of running, you're on a skateboard. Meaning OlliOlli isn't a true skateboarding game. Tricks are easy to perform, and require no knowledge whatsoever - only buttom mashing. There's no difference in difficulty (at least using a keyboard) between an ollie and a salad grind, or a 360 flip. So there's no fun in landing a difficult trick. Levels are also fairly repetitive - each level seems to consist of a series of grindable surfaces, with very little flat ground in between. So most of the time you'll just jump from grindable surface to grindable surface, throwing a flip in between, with maybe a 180 or 360 spin for some extra points. To make the levels last longer, you're given a series of things to do in each level - collect a certain number of points overall, string tricks together to reach a certain number of points, grind certain surfaces, or collect items scattered throughout the level. It does turn each level from a level you'd spend a few minutes in, to a level you might spend an hour in just to complete each task. But the problem with that, is that each level seems to have almost the same exact challenges. There's just very little one can do in a sidescrolling skateboard game. And a lot of those challenges are easy to complete, since you don't need to complete them all at once. Most of them, you don't even need to finish the level to complete. If you need to perform a certain trick, you can do it at the start of a level, not finish the level, and it'd still count. A difficulty setting would have been nice. The game seems to also suffer from some minor bugs from time to time - like the game not registering key presses sometimes, and not even registering me pressing a button with the mouse. And from time to time the game would suffer a slowdown at the start of a level, usually making me wipeout. But maybe that only happens to me.
Puzzle Agent 2 feels very much like a DLC for Puzzle Agent 1, rather than a full sequel. Nothing much is changed from the first game, and whatever problems it had, this game has as well. Such as unclear instructions to its puzzles, repetitive puzzles, and a difficulty curve that goes all over the place. Puzzles seem to either be ones a child can solve, or ones you need mathematical knowledge to solve. I did find the puzzles here for the most part much easier than the puzzles in Puzzle Agent 1, but I suspect it's because some puzzles are taken directly from the first game, while others are repeated so many times, they become easy. And like the first game, some puzzles have several possible solutions, with the game accepting only one - usually the puzzles dealing with a series of numbers or objects. As far as plot goes, it's a disappointment as well. The mystery behind the disappearances in the town of Scoggins was interesting, but its conclusion seems hastily put together without much thought behind it. The game also feels a lot more linear than the first game, which was already fairly linear. It seems you're always told where to go and what to do. You're never at a loss as to how to progress in the game. The dubbing in this game also feels like it's a step down from the first game, maybe partly because there are so few conversations in this game. Overall, Puzzle Agent 2 is a disappointment, but having loved the premise so much, I wouldn't mind playing a third installment. It would need to have much better quality control, and have much more content to make it feel like a proper game, and it'd need to take place far away from Scoggins. That way maybe the series can reach its full potential. I just feel that with some extra effort put behind it, Puzzle Agent 3 can be amazing.
Pinstripe is a game that relies heavily on its looks, and nothing else. Not to say it's a bad game, but without it, it'd be yet another puzzle platformer. It does have a nice plot to it, but you're hit over the head with it so many times, whatever surprise or shock it could have garnered is ruined. It seems your daughter was kidnapped while you were on a train together, and you go on an adventure to a weird village to track her down. Needless to say there's something more to the plot than that, but you'll get large hints throughout the game as to what is really going on. As for the puzzles, they aren't that interesting, but can be tough at times, causing me to leave the computer a couple of times, just to clear my head. But once you realize the solution, it's fairly rewarding. Sadly, puzzles are repeated too many times, and there aren't enough unique ones for the puzzles to be a draw. Part of the difficulty comes from having to return to areas you thought you cleared already, causing me to look at a walkthrough a couple of times. The characters in the game are fairly interesting, but never get developed enough to become memorable - mainly the main bad guy of the game. Talking to the different characters, you sometimes get to choose what response to give them - a good one or a bad one, but most interactions seem to be set in stone, which is a shame. It made me feel as if I'm watching a movie. Experiencing what the game developer wanted you to experience isn't as rewarding as having a say in the matter. The music is also fairly nice, but not very memorable, and the game seems to stutter and sometimes freeze for several seconds, for no apparent reason. Other than that it has far too many loading screens, which take too long to load. Pinstripe just feels like it was coded in a clunky manner, causing the weird slowdowns and lengthy loading, despite me having an SSD drive, and no other program running in the background.
The Insult Simulator, in essence, is a good game, but as is, just isn't very fun. The insults you're allowed to construct are more weird than insulting, and the way they're scored is quite a mystery. Oftentimes I'd just try to construct an insult as quickly as possible, rather than try to build a good, lengthy one. Also, the words you can use to construct those insults get repeated far too often. You'll find yourself talking about your opponent's relatives far too much, using the same insults almost every single time. I would have much preferred grabbing words and phrases at random, and trying to construct an insult out of them at the end, and being scored on just how many of the words I actually used, as well as how "strong" my insult was. Playing against the computer, you also have to wait for it to play its turn, which is quite annoying. And since the words you choose get put one after the other, you get to see your opponent's insult as it's being made, and you get to see it once again when it's ready, and your opponent uses it. You can skip that last part, but it requires quite a few clicks, which becomes tiring after a while. The game's visual design is also a problem. The design choice is quite interesting, but the different characters don't seem to offer much of a change from one another, and feel more like a re-skin of the same character. Also, the insult-battle locations are quite uninspired, and each time you enter a battle, you're forced to see the cause for it - such as a fight over a train compartment. You can skip it as well, but it requires quite a lot of clicks, and becomes tedious after a while. Also, Insult Simulator has the feel of a mobile game more than anything, with its simple interface and very limited animations. It seems designed to serve as a ten minute distraction, rather than a play-it-to-the-end kind of game. You can play online, but you get no feedback on your chances to find an opponent. This game requires a radical update or DLC
There's simply no other way to describe it. Not necessarily because it's a bad game, but because it's an outdated game. Every new item, weapon or mechanic it adds to a level, is something you would have seen done somewhere else dozens of times before by now. So you don't get the excitement you would have got back in the day, from reaching a new level & unlocking something new. The newer weapons are fun, but it's best to use the basic unlimited-ammo ones, since by simply shooting at en enemy you incapacitate them - they can't shoot back when they're shot at. You can tackle half a dozen enemies that way and not lose much, if any, health in the process. The game does do its best in trying to kill you, by placing enemies just behind a door, or hidden in an alcove to your right or left, but since Rise of the Triad was released, that enemy placement became so stereotypical, you can sense when an enemy is going to pop up. And having dealt quickly & easily with the bulk of the enemies in each level, you're left with a sprawling empty level where each room resembles the previous one, and it's up to you to find the exit. Which, really, is half the challenge. It seems like a level design made with multiplayer in mind. In fact, it seems like it'd be a very fun multiplayer experience. But not as a single player game. Having to walk through sprawling empty levels just to get to the next sprawling empty level just isn't fun. I found it hard to even complete a level in one sitting, and had to force myself to finish a level because maybe the next one is much more fun. But it isn't. It doesn't help that the controls are fairly clunky. Rise of the Triad seems like a game one ought to play with a controller. Playing it with a keyboard just made me feel like I'm slogging through the levels. It's a far cry from the speed, smoothness and ease of use of a game like Doom, which, as linear as it was, felt more fun and much more challenging, and it achieved that with keyboard controls.
American Nightmare is one of those rare creations that immerse you in its world immediately, getting you extremely excited to explore it. Sadly, it wastes that start by introducing you to an easy budget title game, that as another reviewer has said, is basically DLC. American Nightmare simply feels slapdash, and forgoes a sensible plot for fetch quests and collectibles. Each level in this game is incredibly small and incredibly empty, and all you have to do in it is find three items hidden around the level, in order to move to the next level. Once you finish the few levels that there are, you discover you have to revisit each level, only this time you need to collect less items to advance to the next level. You can collect manuscript pages strewn throughout the levels, and you can also come across new weapons, but both collectibles are pretty much pointless wastes of time. You can tackle the supernatural elements that attack you with a simple gun. and the occasional submachine gun, without encountering too many problems. Especially since attackers can be stopped temporarily by using a flashlight. Enemies also spawn in far too predictable areas, as well as act in far too predictable ways for the game to become scary. If you do get overwhelmed you can usually run away, since most of the game takes place in open areas. You also get spots where your health regenerates, and a place to re-stock on ammo. So overall, American Nightmare isn't a tough game. It's even easier if you ignore the collectibles and only search for the main three items, aided by the map you get which tells you when an item of note is located nearby. It will cause less enemies to spawn, which isn't a bad thing, seeing as fighting them is so repetitive and tiresome. I also discovered, trying to find every collectible, that the levels are fairly empty, devoid of both items and enemies, which makes the game much more boring than if you simply tried to complete each level as quickly as possible.
