I've had my eye on A Story About My Uncle for some time. I have a certain enjoyment of First Person Puzzle Platforms like Portal and Quantum Conundrum. In many ways ASAMU hits that mark, but I also see a lot of missed potential. The story is simple: Your uncle goes missing and you have to find him. You find out he traveled to and/or got stuck in an alternate dimension full of floating rocks and salamander people. To find him, you're given a special 'Adventure Suit' equip with a special wrist mounted device with alternating right/left mouse button functions and a set of boots that prevent fall damage. You also have to stop a mad A.I. from running tests on- OOPS wrong game! Joking aside, it's nothing at all like portal past the basic ascetics. The story is fun and the handful of characters are amusing but the whole thing unsubstantial and incredibly short. I feel like this game could have done with a few hours added on. The game play is based around swinging around with your grappling laser from floating rock to floating rock. Seriously, that's it. No combat, no puzzles. You get a set of rocket boots at some point but beyond that it's just good ol' fashion swinging around. It's actually pretty fun but can be frustrating at times. You're limited to three uses of the grapple at a time and you'll often find yourself just barely missing the ledge and starting over. Check points are frequent enough so backtracking isn't that big of a deal. Still, this game could have used a ledge grabbing mechanic. Graphics are wonderful, although occasionally glitchy. Maddie, one of the main characters has a wide range of expressions and it really shows. Even though the graphics are showing their age they do a wonderful job of setting the atmosphere. In short: B+ game. Fun and simple. Could have used more story and the gameplay missed a few marks. Worth the $2.25 I spent.
I don't think I'll ever witness something as traumatizing as watching a baby badger getting eaten by a hawk...
This isn't an overly bad game, merely a disappointing one. The story is alright, the world has an interesting feel and shows the ramifications of the first game. There are some unanswered questions like why the Alien Clones from the first game that were no better than mindless animals suddenly sentient or why the leaders of this big conspiracy thought it prudent to hide in a sealed container where anyone from the outside can flood it with lethal radiation with the touch of a button. Overall a B- story. Needs work but still serviceable. Where this game fails is the combat or the "Why" factors. Why does this game tote the ability to go in guns blazing if you can't take a hit? Why do they keep sticking you in situations where stealth isn't an option yet stick you against power suit enemies that are nearly indestructible? Why are melee attacks nearly useless despite the wide variety of melee weapons? And why of WHY is ammo universal, hard to come back and every weapon eats it up like it was going out of style. I would have liked Invisible Wars, but the game was just too terrible.
