5 2-D games, pretty much.

Shadow Complex came out today, and I downloaded it first thing in the morning. Of course, I still had to wait until I got home to play it...

I'm way more impressed with the Summer of Arcade line up than I originally thought. I remember poo poo-ing it with friends, but consider me pleasantly surprised.

'Splosion Man seemed too simple to really catch my attention, but now that I've given it a shot it's really won me over. It's the most pure, straight-up platformer I've seen in a long, long while. And I will always take 2-D platforming over 3-D. I would say it's definitely the sleeper hit of the bunch.

Marvel VS Capcom was a gimme. I knew it was good. I already own it, too. But the ability to play online adds a ton since I don't live in a college dorm environment with constant competition anymore. So nice I bought it twice (this month alone).

TMNT: Turtles in Time is easily the dud of the bunch, it's just not very good. But it's Ninja Turtles and I am a child of the eighties. And TMNT, specifically, was my joint. Everyone liked Ninja Turtles, but I was the one that loved Ninja Turtles. So I can forgive the simple, boring combat and 45 minute game length just because they say "Shell Shocked" when they die...

I've thought Trials HD looked interesting from the start, and I remember a discussion about the PC version on GFW Radio way back (was it so far back it was CGW Radio?). The visual style didn't do much for me at first, but it's tactile nature is actually a nice fit when you're actually playing the game. The game just "feels" good, which matters a lot for a physics-based puzzle platfomer.

And finally there's Shadow Complex, the jewel in the Summer of Arcade crown. This is the one I've been super interested in it since I first heard details about it. 2-D platfomer? Orson Scott Card? Metroid-like? Nathan Drake's voice? I was sold. Everyone on the internet has a huge boner for it, too. I played about the first 1/2 hour of the story, and I went through some Challenge Rooms, and so far, I'm loving it.

Tonight I met Lindsay, Francesca, Chris C and Ryan at the studio and I tried to work on stuff. I made notes on a friends script, and I helped Ryan with his site a bit. I did a little drawing in Illustrator but there was just too many people to be productive...

We ordered some food from Galactic Pizza. I'm not a fan, so I just got a salad. I did try one of Lindsay's pieces, though, and I wish I hadn't. Within minutes I was sick, and felt that way all night. Yuck. Never again.