Fez – An imagination without equal

Fez – An imagination without equal

I was going to write a review of Fez. You know, traditional review structure, explain the story, go over the gameplay mechanics, describe the graphics… But in the end, I decided that would be a waste of everyone’s time. Instead, I am going to gush about the place the game is set, and how it is the most complete imaginary world I have ever encountered. even though I know next to nothing about it for sure. The evolution of it’s inhabitants should be first port of call.

This actually blew my mind when I realised it: Gomez’s ancestors, the ones with the tall heads and only one eye – their village was in two dimensions and their rooms couldn’t be rotated. Did they live in two dimensions simply because they only had one eye? If perception is the key to understanding the world, then maybe. It’s like trying to explain the colour red to someone who cannot see! I digress. They eventually evolved into more Gomez-looking creatures but with large, square heads, and most importantly: two eyes. When you go to their village and it is inhabited, it is clearly in three dimensions, with no rooms being neglected like in the tall-head village, or in Gomez’s home village. Now, this is the bit that felt like a penny dropping into place: The space-squids have three eyes, and can travel through folds in space, quite possibly known as the fourth dimension.

A correlation between number of eyes and number of dimensions perceived.

Gamerscore target reached

Gamerscore target reached

I hit my target of 80,000 Gamerscore today. I had until the end of the year, but it was playing on my mind a lot, so I just decided to get it over with before Halo 4 hits. And there are a few other games I want to play for fun in the meantime too, such as Deus Ex: Human…
Bioshock-ingly good

Bioshock-ingly good

This game was like an albatross around my neck. I started it in February 2011 after David and Katie got me Bioshock 2 for Christmas 2010. I didn’t fancy diving straight into the sequel, so I picked up the original Bioshock cheap from Gamestation. I didn’t play it for very long, I admit. It just didn’t grab me, and the PC-esque UI put me off.

Thirteen months later, I picked up from where I left off, and within seconds I was hooked. Why? I had my first proper Big Daddy/Little Sister encounter. From there, I completed the first game within a week, and Bioshock 2 (Campaign modes and single player DLC, at least) was finished off a week later. I was actually obsessed with the thing, and Bioshock Infinite seems so far away. I feel sorry for anyone who played these games years ago and have had to wait even longer for Bioshock Infinite.

Caution – there will be spoilers for both games in this non-review. I’ll be focusing on the stories a fair bit as they are the strongest elements. The gameplay itself was great, but the grand stories, deep characters and super-imaginative world is what will make Bioshock stick in my head for a very long time.

Bioshock then. Do I really need to explain the basics? I’m sure that by now, anyone who is even remotely tempted to read my blog would know about Rapture. No? Ok then. Rapture is a city, the dream of one man, the embodiment of conviction himself, Andrew Ryan. Oh yeah, and it’s an underwater city. In Rapture, genetic engineering is prolific. “Splicing” is not confined to simply changing your height, build or skin colour – you could go as far as shooting flames, electricity or ice from your hands, or turning invisible when you stood still. We join the story just after a civil war – one that you can actually play in Bioshock 2’s multiplayer – but we’ll get to that later. Splicing has got out of hand (excuse the pun), and things are generally quite fucked up.

Happy Birthday to me

I am now 32 years old, and I'm sure I say this every year, but I don't feel a day older than 25. My loved ones got me some smashing gifts. Jane got me Fable III, which, due to me working, she has played more than I have. Mum got me the new Rangers shirt, it's so nice, and a…