Many moons ago, when mammoths ruled the plains, we had no idea of how awesome Zombieland was going to be, and House was still a good series. That's right, this week's Vault takes a look at some of my personal favourite games of 2007. Featuring a puzzle, a piece of art, and a very big stump (one might even say... tall?) these games represent some of the best the year had to offer.
- The Tall Stump - There's a good reason this puzzle/platform/physics/shooter took home not only first place but also the audience award in the 4th Casual Gameplay Design Competition... actually, there's a lot of good reasons, like the surprisingly engrossing gameplay and the visuals that seemed designed for the express purpose of making you grin. But the long and short of it is that it's simply rad. Both wildly imaginative and exceptionally clever, TeamMAW's weird and wonderful creation is ready to lurch on into your heart if you haven't already made a place for it.
- 3D Logic 2 - Sometimes the best puzzle games are the ones that take a simple concept and present it to you in one well-polished package. All you have to do is connect two coloured squares across a 3D cube in this game, making sure none of the lines overlap when you're working with different colours. 3D Logic 2 is one of those games that made me go "huh", but it's also one of those games that ate up a big chunk of my afternoon before I'd even realised what was happening. The lovely, clean visuals and maddeningly simple concept (why is this so ha-ha-haaaard?!) makes it a wonderfully clever puzzle that's hard to put down until you're finished with it.
- Seed - My husband is a gardener by trade and by talent. Me? Not so much. I can practically hear our vegetables shrieking in horror whenever I come near... I only want to help, but it seems all I can bring is ruin. Maybe that's why I took so well to this soothing, beautiful webtoy where the goal is to hybridize new breeds of flowers by simple means of point-and-click. It may not sound terribly exciting, and while it's not exactly a rollercoaster of thrills, there's something incredibly addictive about experimenting with different plants and seeds. Seeing the results of your crossbreeding (sometimes a simple colour change, sometimes more drastic) makes for the sort of simple, breezily enjoyable gameplay I could do with more of.
While we welcome any comments about this weekly feature here, we do ask that if you need any help with the individual games, please post your questions on that game's review page. Well, what are you waiting for? Get out there and rediscover some awesome!
3D Logic 2 is addicting as hell. Played that back in the day.
Awesome, three of my favorite games this week.
I love The Tall Stump. I still play it from time to time.
Oh. The tall stump.
How very very nice indeed...
Unfortunately, just like the first time I desperately wanted to love it but it just doesn't want my affection. For as nice as it looks and as smart as it is, I just can't stand millisecond-based puzzles anymore.
I am over 13, you see, and from a game I want fun, not mindless frustration and soul-crushing repetition.
In other words, the pointy (or apple-y...) capped guy can just die in those caves, if you ask me. And his girl wasn't any fun even before becoming a pink cube, anyway.
Ironically, Tracian, I absolutely hated The Tall Stump before I was 13 for being soul-crushingly repetitious (as died two dozen times in the room with the apple-hat alone), but the difficulty is perfect now.
Great selection, JiG; I'm surprised I haven't played Seed before...
Hi, I designed The Tall Stump and did the art for it, and honestly the room with the apple hat is probably too hard. Sorry!!
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