"Trial And Error" - Crayon Physics Deluxe

Title: Crayon Physics Deluxe
Genre: Puzzle
Developer/Publisher: Klooni Games/Petri Purho
System: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android
Release Date: January 7th, 2009

And just when you thought that a game involving flowers was crazy enough, there has to be a game involving CRAYONS. Well, it's true, there is a game with the use of crayons. In this post of Trial and Error, it's all about the puzzle solving and drawing simulator that is Crayon Physics Deluxe. 

An example of one the levels in the game.

While this game has no real story line to it, the game is more about thinking things through by get the circle all the way to the star. The first level (image shown above) tells you to draw a box in order to move the circle (though in later levels you'll have the ability to move the circle by clicking it.) You'll have to make a variety of objects and obstacles in order to get all the stars in the game.

Whenever you collect a certain amount of stars, a new level will be unlocked and ready for you to go on and play.

As this game is a physics related game, there will be puzzles in which involve the effects of gravity, mass, kinetic energy as well as momentum, which could pose as challenges even with the game's simple design.

You can create your own levels with the level editor.

One of the more interesting things with Crayon Physics Deluxe is the ability to create your own levels and share it with everyone. You can make the level as simple or as complex as you want it in whatever way you want it.

...Or you can just be bored and just doodle on the map. Your use of the crayons isn't restricted to just the levels themselves.

Crayon Physics Deluxe is an interesting puzzle game that makes the fun use of crayons and bringing drawings to life while making it fun and challenging with its puzzles and design. However, on Steam, the game is priced at $20, which for some people may be a turn off with the amount of content the game has. Though Steam does have a tendency to put things on sale, so if you want to try this game in full, it would be best to wait.

Thanks for looking up!
-Anthony-

Mother, What Is Earthbound?

Title: EarthBound/Mother 2

Genre: Role-Playing Game

Developer(s): Ape, HAL Laboratory

Publisher: Nintendo

System: SNES (original), Game Boy Advance, Wii U (ports)

Release Date: June 5th, 1995

If you don't get the title of this post, it is that "Mother" is actually the name of the series, though in the U.S., it was localized as EarthBound. It is the second game of the series, and the only game of the Mother trilogy to have been released in North America. Compared to all of Nintendo's other titles, it is one of the few series that is not well known. 

Unlike most RPGs in the 80s to mid 90s that are usually based in some sort of medieval settings, EarthBound takes place in a more modern time -- "199X" to be exact, and also in a world that resembles America. And, the enemies that you face can vary -- from strange bizzare people, inanimate objects, beasts, and even aliens.

The Starmen are the most notable enemies in the Mother series, and are generally fought near the end of all three games.

As stated, since the game takes place in Eagleland, which is based on America, you'll notice that the game has references to American pop-culture, through dialogue, and even in the game's soundtrack.

In EarthBound, one night, Ness awakens to see that a meteorite landed on top of a hill not far from where he lives. Near the meteor, he meets an Alien known as "Buzz Buzz" who tells him about a mysterious evil in the future that is too powerful, and that it is up to him along with three others in order to save the world. The task is to located eight melodies using an item known as the Sound Stone in order to unite his power with everyone else's in order to stop this evil from ever existing.

The main cast of EarthBound

Ness -- A 13 year old boy from Onett who has strong PSI powers, who's main mission is to collect all eight melodies in order to save the world from evil. He always has his red cap sideways, and wears a blue and yellow striped shirt. His weapon of choice aside from his PSI powers is baseball bats.

Paula -- An 11 year old girl from Twoson who also has PSI powers, and knew about Ness in a dream. She joins Ness after she has been rescued from some of the main villians. Aside from PSI attacks, Paula uses frying pans as her weapon.

Jeff Andonuts -- A 13 year old child prodigy and the son of the Dr. Andonuts, a notable professor/scientist who resides in Winters. He is the only character in the party to not have the ability of PSI. He uses guns/lasers to deal damage to enemies, and can also use bombs and bottle rockets.

Poo -- The last recuritable member who lives in Dalaam. A dedicated warrior and also popular with the ladies of his hometown. He lets his fists do the damage dealing along with his PSI skills. He also can wield a special weapon known as the Sword of Kings. Unlike other characters who can heal their HP and PSI with Western food (like pizza and hamburgers), this is not as effective for Poo, so having Eastern Foods and Water will help restore him.

Nintendo Direct is Nintendo's update series that talks about games coming out on its current consoles. 

Now, here comes the main reason why today's blog is about EarthBound and not something else. In today's Nintendo Direct, Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo announced that EarthBound will be coming to the Nintendo Wii U's eShop/Virtual Console sometime later this year.

I'm sad to say that I never played EarthBound when it first came out on Super Nintendo Entertainment System, but now I'm more hopefully that once I acquire a Wii U, I'll be able to play it for sure.

When EarthBound was released back in 1995, it wasn't very successful and sold poorly, but now that the fanbase has grown, and more people have been demanding it, with more people downloading EarthBound on the Wii U, it could gave future EarthBound games more availability to come overseas.

Also, while not mentioned in the video, EarthBound was not released in Europe, so there's a first for a lot of people over there.

If you want to learn more about the Mother/EarthBound series, the best site for all things related to these games would be Starmen.net, where they have new and previous information regarding EarthBound as well as Mother (known by the fans as "EarthBound Zero") and Mother 3 ("EarthBound 2").

Well, I think that covers everything for this blog, stay tuned for more exciting things to come!
-Anthony-

Show Me Your Poker Face! Poker Night at the Inventory (1 AND 2)

Titles: Poker Night at the Inventory 1 & 2
Genre: Card Game (Poker)
Developer/Publisher: Telltale Games
System: PC, Mac OSX (both games), PS3, 360 (Poker Night 2 only)
Release Dates: November 22, 2010 (original), April 23rd, 2013 (2)

Poker... with characters from various video games and other big franchises... well, now that's something to think about.

Poker Night at the Inventory puts you against four notable characters in a battle of cards, Texas Hold 'Em style (with the second game adding Omaha Hold 'Em in the mix). The first game features you going up against Max from the Sam & Max series, Strong Bad from Homestar Runner, The Heavy from Team Fortress 2, and Tycho from the Penny Arcade webcomics.

In Poker Night 2, you opponents this time are Brock Sampson from the [adult swim] animated series The Venture Bros., Claptrap from Borderlands, Ash Williams (not to be confused with Ashley Williams of the Mass Effect series) from the Evil Dead movies, and Sam from Sam & Max. GLaDOS from the Portal series also makes an appearance in this game, serving the role as the dealer.

The cast of Poker Night 2. 

The general gist of Texas Hold 'em poker is this: each player is dealt two cards, turn by turn each player can choose to call the amount the previous player put out or raise in order to earn more money. Players can fold if they feel that their hand is inferior to that of the others.

After all bets are done, the first three cards of the river go out, and the process repeats until there are five cards out on the table. The player with the best hand wins the pot.

And just when you think the game is all about money, you best think again. Each character has a special item that you can obtain which can be used for another game.

In the case with the first game (and probably the second), each of the character has a special item that they can put up as part of the bet, and if you win the bet, that item is yours. In the first game, obtaining a special item will grant you bonus weapons and gear in Team Fortress 2.

Winning more poker matches allows you to unlock extra tables and cards based on each character's series. In Poker Night 2, they made special areas/maps for all 5 characters.

If you're looking for something fun and/or want to learn about playing poker without using real money, then both Poker Night games are a choice for you, and both are $5, with pre-ordering Poker Night 2 (on Steam) will grant you the original Poker Night free of charge.

Thanks again for reading!
-Anthony-