Escape from Puppy Death Factory

What can I say. That's... that's one hell of a name.



Concept

Escape From Puppy Death Factory is set in the far-flung future. The remaining puppies of the Earth have been enslaved, and it's up to you, the cannon-slinging corgi K9, to set things right. Relieve the puppies from the burden of captivity!

Yeah, so, it's a retarded plot. It's SUPPOSED to be retarded. Adult Swim games seldom take themselves seriously. Dog fans will get a kick out of the copious numbers of puppies strewn about a hostile landscape...

... and more serious players should enjoy the challenge Escape from Puppy Death Factory presents. Honestly, this is a HARD game (without a walkthrough), and is much more challenging than it appears on the surface. And despite the fact that it looks like a space-shooter similar to the Metroid series (awwww, the puppy looks like Samus), it's the puzzles that will keep your mind thoroughly boggled.



Controls

Though it's a puzzler, Escape from Puppy Death Factory is also a platformer, so you need to watch your step. There are lots of enemies and lasers and acid pits and so forth that will send your puppy whizzing back to the last checkpoint. Fortunately, the controls are responsive enough that this won't be a problem.

Your primary puzzle-solving tool is a gun, as you might have guessed. UNLIKE the Metroid series that this game parodies, however, your corgi's gun doesn't kill enemies or blow up blocks. Instead, it swaps K9's position with the object at which it's aimed. This makes for some ingenious methods to get through puzzles, as well as some insidious puzzles in the first place. Again, the controls on the gun are fine...

... with a bit of practice. Expect a lot of trial-and-error.



Graphics

I really enjoy the visuals in this game. They're crafted into a more cutesy version of Super Metroid. There are also a variety of different environments that aid the exploratory elements of the game, another perfect homage to the exploits of Samus. Overall, two thumbs up.

Sound

The music is good. Repetitive, after a while, but there's enough variety that I can forgive and forget. I more enjoyed the synthetic voice that dully sounded whenever I found a puppy.



Challenge Rating

Woof. This game is hard. Even mastering the mechanics isn't necessarily enough to turn Escape from Puppy Death Factory into a breeze. The puzzles are really well done, and though they're often easy with some PRACTICE, getting that far typically requires a lot of head-scratching. Your timing also has to be good, so expect the occasional descent into peril during risky jumps.

Fortunately, you don't have to beat ALL of this game to 'beat' it. Technically you can get an ending just by rescuing a single puppy and returning to your ship. You won't get a greeeeeat ending for doing so, though... and why would you leave any puppies behind? Really, now.



Conclusion?

Good game! No overt or game-killing flaws. Escape from Puppy Death Factory might be a little too hard for casual gamers to appreciate, but those with a nose for puzzles will love the death out of this one. Highly recommended.

PLAY ESCAPE FROM PUPPY DEATH FACTORY

Villainous - Tower Attack

With all the tower defense games available that force you to fend off enemy troops, I'm surprised it took so long for tower ATTACK games to sprout up. But they have, as of sometime last year, and one of the best of 'em is Villainous. It may be a little short, but Villainous is a great game.

Concept

Just look at the title and you'll have a good grasp of what's going on here. You, a cruel magician, want to rule the world. The world isn't so keen on that, so its inhabitants have penned themselves up in fortified cities, using their defensive towers to keep your troops out. Sound familiar? But in reverse?

Yep. That's Villainous. You're the OTHER side of the tower defense equation: you need to deploy troops on a set track and watch as they raid an enemy town. Get enough goblins into the town and you can move on to the next level. Use infamy (the game's currency) to buy upgrades for your troops, as well as purchase new and deadly magical powers.

At first glance, Villainous doesn't sound or seem all that original. And, hell, it's not THAT original once you start playing. Other games have done basically the same thing. What sets Villainous apart is its close attention to balance: it's not disgustingly hard, but the content does increase in difficulty steadily enough that you'll have a rough ride reaching the end. What's more - and I appreciate this most about the game - virtually every unit and spell you get will help you in the end. You don't see that very often in tower games.

Controls

Mouse and hot keys. I noticed during slowdown moments that spells didn't go off when triggered, but those moments were rare.

Graphics

Villainous doesn't stand out visually, nor does it insult the senses. I found it comparable to Warcraft 2, what with all the medieval towers and orcs and all, but a bit cleaner.

Also, my castle is awesome.

Sound

Villainous' music is very understated. Unless you jack up the volume you probably won't even notice it in the background. I didn't feel particularly guilty when I shut off the sound and listened to something else.

Challenge Rating

At least to an extent, Villainous encourages failure. You NEED to upgrade to survive some levels, and you earn more infamy when your troops are killed. Expect to repeat maps several times before you earn gold and finish 'em off for good.

Overall, though? Villainous isn't that bad. Like I said before, it's balanced. The learning curve is far from steep, and the upgrades are more than sufficient to cover some of the later challenges - so long as you keep an eye on your game. You can't just let your troops run through the circuit of towers over and over without casting spells each round.

Conclusion?

Though it doesn't strike me as the most original game I've ever played, Villainous is a success. It's a great combination of resource allocation and tactics, and should keep most players busy for at least a few hours.

PLAY VILLAINOUS - TOWER ATTACK

Corporation Inc

Ever wanted all the fun of a mindless, button-pushing desk job in the comfort of your own home? Now you can have it! Corporation Inc can fulfill your every monotonous need, and is guaranteed to be at least a LITTLE more fun than mindless eight-hour-a-day tedium! Joy!

Concept

Ever played SimTower before? Corporation Inc is fairly similar, though on more of a micro-managing level. You are the invisible building manager at a button-pushing company (literally, that's all they do), and it's your job to build an office, employ workers, upgrade facilities, provide entertainment, lavish promotions onto employees and otherwise deal with all the nonsense that comes with such a job. Balanced budget ahoy!

Really, that's Corporation Inc in a nutshell. It's a sim. Construct a vertical office and watch as tiny people run in and out all day, completing mindlessly repetitive tasks. I found it quite similar to SimTower, and thus enjoyed the experience. I'm sure others will find it boring. (Which is part of the point, no?)

Controls

Mouse!

My only control beef is accurate clicking. Eventually you have so many employees on the screen that's it's difficult to click on the right person, or environment, or whatever. A list for remotely promoting or firing employees would be grand.

Graphics

This isn't a beautiful game, nor is it an ugly game. Corporation Inc simply is. I appreciate the vacant, hopeless stares of the employees, at least. I can relate. (Also, the idea of a skyhook lifting people through a building is hilarious.)

The big problem here is scope. Once your office gets big enough, you'll have (literally) hundreds of employees running around at the same time. That can be a HUGE drain on system resources. I highly recommend downsizing the graphics to the lowest setting. Particularly if you're a laptop user. (Like me.) The difference is, after a few minutes, negligible.

Sound

The music is meh. It fades into the background and vanishes in no time. Whenever people are working you're subjected to the ceaseless clacking of keystrokes, which for ANY computer user is probably heard too often each day anyway. Muted.

Challenge Rating

Corporation Inc scales nicely, depending on the difficulty level. Easy is VERY easy, and Hard is quite hard.

... at least at the beginning. I've had the game running for about half an hour while I've written this review, almost completely unattended, and nothing's gone wrong. On Hard mode, no less.

Corporation Inc's primary problem is a lack of challenge once you squirrel away enough money. Hard starts you with very little, so it can be difficult to keep your employees happy for the first few days. The game's reliance on objectives makes gaining money easier than it initially seems, though, and with enough moolah you can simply hire enough employees to sweep away any difficulties.

(Or, yes, you could promote some of your existing employees to make them more effective. Truth be told, though, new hires solve more problems than promotions. Seemed that way to me, anyway.)

In short? Needs more foul-ups. More things should go wrong in Corporation Inc to improve the difficulty. Your own patience is the only real enemy here.

Conclusion?

I'm all for more browser-based sim games, and Corporation Inc is definitely a good start. As it is, though, this title still needs some refining. WAY too easy.

PLAY CORPORATION INC