Appearing in its usual Sunday slot, this week's Reviews Spotlight draws attention to Japanese melodrama, blue-collar employment, the Second World War, and the Bitmobbers who write about them.
Touch It!: The Incident
By Bruno Dion
What do all white-collar workers fear? A normal person might mention the possibility of another recession, salary cuts, or downsizings. The people at Big Bucket Software clearly aren't normal because their game, The Incident, has nameless cubicle worker attempting to survive something more sinister: an unlikely doomsday event.
For some strange reason, stuff is falling out of the sky…lots of stuff — everything from picket fences to couches and refridgerators. Unlike other organizational puzzle games, however, The Incident doesn't necessarily require Mr. Everyman to arrange the descending objects and conserve space. Instead, he simply has to survive the torrent of furniture and kitchen appliances.
We may have withstood the global recession, but can we survive an endless wave of falling junk? Bruno fills us in.
Final Fantasy 13: Sceptic Turned Disciple
By Stephen Barry
It comes with great pain, but Stephen is prepared to admit that he was wrong about Final Fantasy 13 and that he should've known better. Under the impression that the franchise's newest installment would fall flat, Stephen did his best to avoid and ignore the hype surrounding FF13. Turns out he had it all wrong. Since we're all so high-minded at Bitmob, we wouldn't dare utter a "told ya so." Instead, we'll give him the opportunity to explain himself. Take it away, Stephen!
Custom Music Game Roundup
By Alexander Case
With his computer filled to the brim with music, Alexander's been on the lookout for an opportunity to make the most out of his tunes. Enter the recently coined "custom music" genre, a category of video games which procedurally generate content based on the song you've selected.
Since the quality of these games depends almost entirely on the music the player uploads, a proper review is difficult. So instead, Alexander is collecting the genre's most famous and important titles for a good ol' roundup. Audiosurf, Turba, Beat Hazard, and Space Invaders: Infinity Gene all make appearanes in Alexander's mega-review.
A Look at VVVVVV
By Michael Edwards
Some concepts simply aren't easy to digest or understand. I won't lie and pretend that all of Picasso's Cubist works immediately make sense to me — after all, some art is intentionally esoteric. But VVVVVV takes esotericism to all new heights.
You play as one of six characters (all of whom have names which start with a V), and attempt to locate your other V-named friends. The letter "V" and the number "six" both make allegoric appearances throughout, and are often the center of puzzles and map layouts.
Thanks to a recent Steam sale, VVVVVV is enjoying the renewed attention of the gaming industry. If you've considered buying this quirky indie title, hold onto your spare change and check out Michael's review beforehand.
R.U.S.E. – Video Preview
By Daav Puke
Most real-time strategy games focus on one of two things: resource gathering or unit micromanagement. Oddly enough, French developer Eugen Systems took inspiration from a different place while designing R.U.S.E., their most recent strategy game.
Placed against a backdrop of war-torn, mid-century Europe, this RTS relies on deception and subterfuge to provide the sinew of the gameplay. Now, because these mechanics are understandably strange and foreign, I've enlisted the help of Daav to give you an ab initio course in deceit. Linked above is a nine-minute video preview of R.U.S.E., packed with more than enough information to get you started. Enjoy Daav's smooth, baritone voice while you consider purchasing the game in question.
An NHL 10 Retrospect
By Shawn Wedick
Memory lane can be a scary, often haunting place to visit. But sometimes, in order to take a few steps forward, we've got to take one step back. This seems to be Shawn's guiding philosophy as he reviews an old review of his. Meta, isn't it?
Line by line, point by point, this Bitmobber deconstructs a review of NHL 10 he wrote over a year ago, in the hopes of revealing a positive change in his own writing style. It's almost like watching a battle between the original Shawn and Bizarro Shawn. Since my dreams of an ilicit, underground clone fight club may never be realized, this is close enough.