Recent reviews by GhostlyB0nes

In my mind Celeste is the third entry in a trilogy of excellent, challenging platformers that all feature short levels and super-tight controls. The trilogy goes N+ > Super Meat Boy > Celeste.

I've loved all of those games, but among the three Celeste stands out for its gorgeous presentation. It has beautiful pixel art, a great soundtrack, and just enough of a cute, heartwarming story to provide motivation without overstaying its welcome. Celeste stays faithful to solid platforming design while simultaneously delivering a unique and memorable experience.

Gameplay-wise, Celeste is easily the most complex of my imagined trilogy. This mostly comes from the mid-air dash that you can perform in any of eight directions. In comparison, Super Meat Boy can only move left or right in his game, making him a breeze to control even with an analog stick. Maneuvering in Celeste adds up and down, plus all of the diagonals, so you'll need more concentration to avoid basic mistakes. A good directional pad is a must, and I found both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One controllers handle the game excellently. If you go in with an Xbox 360 pad, though, be prepared for frustration.

Celeste is a fantastic addition to a long legacy of great side-scrolling platformers. If you cut your gaming teeth way back on Super Mario Bros., or fell in love with any of the many platforming games inspired by it since, Celeste will make you feel right at home ‒ and then test your skills to their very limit.

The peak of the Tomb Raider series is Crystal Dynamics' first reboot: the three game trilogy of Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld. If you're looking for a Tomb Raider experience that's not outdated and unweildy like the classic series, and not limited by the linear action of the modern series, start here. The emphasis in Legend and its sequels is on exploration, platforming, and puzzle solving – just like it was meant to be.

Tomb Raider II was a solid step forward for the early days of the Tomb Raider franchise, which was still in it's infancy back in 1997. In many ways it's a refinement of the first game, carrying on with the same jumping and switch-throwing basics, but dressing them up in more varied environments. The somewhat monotonous rocks and sand of the original are swapped out for interesting locales like an opera house and sunken ship, and in a small but important change, most stages feature an outdoor portion under a blue sky.

Lara herself has been given a big upgrade, with a brand new character model that better matches her promotional art. She finally gets to wear her iconic braid in-game, and her chest no longer looks like it could take your eye out. This game is also the start of costume changes for Lara, kicking off the tradition with a particularly famous wetsuit.

Lara's action repertoire is expanded with two new moves. She can climb ladders now, which feels like a natural addition to her moveset, and integrates just as smoothly into the game's level designs. The new flares that she carries are less successful. Though necessary on a few occasions, it's questionable whether they earn having their own dedicated button – but at least they produce a nice lighting effect.

On the downside, even in its second outing there are signs that classic Tomb Raider is showing its age. Its new environments are assembled from the same clumsy building blocks of the first game, resulting in some weird proportions in places like the interiors of Lara's home. More egregiously, the majority of the enemies Lara faces this time are human, but with no difference in AI from the animal enemies she fought the first time around. Equipped with guns, the new human foes are a lot more dangerous, but your best tactic is still to find a high ledge where you can shoot repeatedly at them, as they stupidly run around in confused circles below. Eventually these encounters feel like tiresome interruptions of the core gameplay.

Of course it's no surprise that Tomb Raider II is at its best when it's not focused on combat, and the series' particular brand of puzzle platforming is still excellent when it's left alone to do its thing. Some standout stages are the monastery (which is formed as a central hub surrounded by short platforming challenges) and the temple (a thorough gauntlet that will test all the skills you've accumulated).

With it's second game, the Tomb Raider series was hurriedly growing into the fame that it had fallen into unexpectedly. Some of its improvements were essential to defining the character of the franchise's early years, and most of what was fun about the first game carries over intact. But at the same time, it's clear that the original formula is already being stretched toward its limit – and the series' ongoing struggle to balance action with adventure was a problem right from the first sequel.

A very nice documentary about the history of Atari, with the major selling point being the impressive number of Atari veterans interviewed. Many of the stories reviewed here have been covered in books about early video game history as well, but the real advantage World 1-1 has is letting us see these stories told by the actual creators who lived them. This alone makes the film a unique and valuable account of the early days of video games. Some archival video footage and photographs, though limited, also help the viewer to imagine the atmosphere of the time.
It's important to note that the film is almost exclusively about the history of Atari. That's fine, but it's a little misleading that Ralph Baer is pictured right there in the store banner when the man himself is relegated to little more than a footnote. There is also a good portion on the birth of Activision, though, which is quite natural considering that Activision was started by former Atari employees.
The movie doesn't do as good a job as it could introducting its interviewees. For the most part, you have to figure out who each person is from the stories that they tell. This may have been intentional, as there are a few "aha" moments where an interviewee casually reveals the title of the game they are most famously remembered for. Still, a little more exposition on who these people are would have been nice.
But all in all, the story of Atari is fascinating, and makes for a fascinating documentary. You'll definitely get more out of it the more familiar you already are with the relevant history, though - or if you view it after reading through the Atari chapters of a good written account (like, say, Steven Kent's Ultimate History of Video Games).

長くもなく、難しくもなく、ユニークな操作性と哀れでハートフルなストーリーをストレスなく経験させてくれるこのゲーム、とてもいい作品だと思います。

見た目からして童話のようだと思ったら大正解だが、ディズニーが作るようなおとぎ話ではなく、昔のグリム童話みたいなものです。序盤では割と明るい設定だが、兄弟の冒険が続くと話が段々暗くなっていきます。その傾向に伴うステージの変化が特に面白くて、兄弟が住む世界の異様な危険性が良く伝わります。後半は新しいステージに進むたびに驚かせてもらいました。

ストーリーの作り方もとても器用です。キャラクターは空想の言語で喋っていても、口調やジェスチャーから意味がちゃんと捉えられます。でもある程度の曖昧さが残るため、ニュアンスは自分の頭の中で想像することになり、本を読むときのような感覚がします。これも童話のイメージを強めてくれる要素の一つです。

メディアで高く評価されている“あの瞬間”については、まぁ、どれぐらい感激を受けるかは人それぞれでしょう。でも遊びのメカニズムとストーリーをこれほどうまくつなげるゲームは確かに少ないので、評価するのは正しいです。

小さいながらも、記憶に大きく残るゲームです。

Nearing 20 years on since its debut in '96, the original Tomb Raider makes for an interesting beast. Once a cutting edge invitation to a brand new era of 3D video games, today it offers a trip back in time to the rather primitive beginnings of modern gaming. But that sure doesn't make it any less fascinating.

The controls, of course, stand out right away for their inaccessibility compared to modern standards. The famous "tank" movement scheme, though, is easier to acclimate to than you might expect. Thanks to the game being in full 3D with a proper behind-the-back camera, you'll be moving forward most of the time anyway, using left and right to subtly "steer" Lara as you go. It isn't perfect (and in combat situations much less so), but it's never the mess that similar controls can create in 2D environments, like in the early Resident Evils.

More surprising is how finicky the jumping mechanics are. When standing still, the jump button must be pushed just before the direction to jump in, while running jumps over gaps have a specific logic to their timing that makes Lara jump automatically the moment she reaches a platform's edge. Points like these mean it's important to get acquainted with the game's eccentricities before you begin, but doing so is quick and easy thanks to a concise and effective tutorial that's selectable at any time from the main menu.

So once you've done that, and gotten into the mindset of a late '90s gamer, what lies before you? Why, one of the major milestones of video game history, of course. Considered in context, it's easy to see why Tomb Raider was such a big deal for its time. Releasing in the same six-month window as the original Quake and Super Mario 64, it gave its players an early taste of the sort of freedom of exploration that we take for granted today. And explore you will, as you make your way from room to room, throwing switches, finding keys, and stumbling across cleverly hidden item pickups, with little to guide you but your own skills of observation. At its core, this is a puzzle game about navigating 3D spaces, figuring out where you need to go next, and how to get there. These design principles are some that still form the basics of many modern games, so its only natural that they remain entertaining all these years later.

There's no denying that Tomb Raider is showing its age, and from start to finish you're not likely to forget that it was originally built for the Sega Saturn. But if you're willing to learn to play by its rules, you'll find that Lara Croft's debut outing is still a satisfying adventure, and her quest to uncover an ancient treasure has become something of an ancient treasure all its own.

一画面ずつ進んでいく昔ながらの謎解きグラフィックアドベンチャーです。不思議な布切れにさらわれた弟の後を少女のリリーが追い、画面中にクリック可能なものを操りながら進むための道を開いていきます。そして、過去の世界へ送ってくれる魔法のゴーグルが見つかり、過去でものをいじり現在の世界に影響を与える力が手に入ります。

長所として目立つのは絵とモーションで、特にキャラのモーションが細かくてかわいいです。ストーリーは「ない」と言ってもいいぐらい単純だが、その分は世界観が補充してくれています。またパズルの過半数は作りに想像力があり面白いです。ゲームの最後のほうだけ、色合わせのパズルが２～３個登場し、目的の色が明確に伝わらないせいで、結局は適当に色を変更し運にかけることになってしまいます。最後のほうのパズルの抽象的さと、全体ボリュームの軽さ（頑張って10面って感じです）を考えると、ゲームの製作が開発者が思っていたより大変だったように感じます。

でもよくできているところは確かにできがいいです。童話のような魅力があるので、小さい子供がいる人に動く絵本という感覚で子供と一緒にプレイすることを勧めます。（途中で行き詰らないように、まずは一人でクリアしたほうがいいでしょうけど。）

ゲームというより、ゲームの形をした短編小説です。一年間の留学を終えた主人公の女子大生が空港から帰ってきたら、家が真っ暗で家族が一人もいません。家の部屋を一つ一つ探検し、手紙や書類、家族の私物を見ることで、一年間でどんなことが起きたかが徐々に明かされます。ドアや金庫を開けるための鍵を探す遊びも多少ありますが、これはパズル要素よりも手がかりの見つかる順番をコントロールするための仕掛けです。

主なストーリーは妹の高校での生活についてで、探検の進行と共に解除されていく妹の日記から読み上げられます。でも両親に関する二次のストーリーもあり、そちらは家で見つかったものを考え自分で解くことになります。最初はホラーゲームらしく感じますが、実際はそうではなく、孤独感を強めるために不愉快な雰囲気をしているだけです。

字を読んだり話を聞いたりするばかりのプレイ内容なので英語力に自信のある人のみ楽しめます。妹の日記と主要アイテムは何度も聞いたり読んだりできます。だが、手書きで字が読みにくいものもあります。

一応面白かったのでお勧めのYES評価にしていますが、ストーリーに感動するかしないかにより好き嫌いが別れそうなタイトルです。

Being a Tomb Raider fan since the very beginning in 1996, this review is a tough one for me to write. For starters, let's be clear that this is a really high-quality game: graphically stunning, with excellent core controls for movement and gunplay, and based on a satisfying (if a bit brutal) reimagining of Lara Croft at the start of her adventures. Based on its own merits, this is a great game that's well worth playing.

But for fans of the series' former defining qualities of exploration, puzzle solving, and nimble platforming, the new direction taken for this reboot is almost heartbreaking. To put it simply, Tomb Raider 2013 is not the same genre of game as the older titles. What we have here is essentially a third-person shooter, with some light platforming elements and a few meager (and fully optional) puzzle rooms. If you take the original Tomb Raider's ratio of mental challenge to action challenge and flip it around, this is what you get. In rebooting Tomb Raider, the developers have created its polar opposite.

Highly polished and undeniably well made, this new entry successfully reclaims the Tomb Raider series' blockbuster status as a modern action game. But it has had to almost wholly sacrifice its own heritage along the way.