Limbo brings platform games back with a vengeance

Limbo Screenshot (Photo credit: JesseRad)

Limbo is one among few of recent platform games which is reinvigorating a genre which was all but lost by being outgrown and evolving to the great 3D craze which almost directly followed its virtual obsolescence (read more here).


The artwork is sombre without being overly brooding. The reductionist non-existent colour palette is offset by layered atmospheric scenes and complimented with intricate attention to detail and mechanics which alone is impressive. After playing the downloadable demo, it is evident that this is not just a looker. The puzzle solving element requires more than serial advancing and requires non-standard thinking to counter.

The minimalism is carried throughout the game with a very short menu system and control system which consists of moving, jumping and using objects. The very minimal sounds are more than adequate with certain end game effects enough to make this writer jump.

Try the demo now it's available at http://limbogame.org/ on Windows, Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360. For fans of platformers this one is sure not to miss.

Where have all the Platform Games Gone?

Super Mario Bros,  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Platform games were one of the mainstay genres in the early to mid 90's popularized by the likes of Super Mario Bros. Owing to improving hardware processing capabilities, developers sought novel ways to gain audiences, with the result that platformers were slowly relegated to handheld devices or flash games.

This neglected genre has had some noteworthy editions of indie fame, such as Braid and Super Meat Boy, quite recently. With it has come a resurgence and has reinstated its proliferation on all major gaming platforms.


The latest in this genre, Limbo is an excellent marriage of art, gameplay and entertainment. Click here to read more.

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Little Big Planet - Happy New Year!

Well here it is, the last day of 2011 and i'm spending it on the couch beside my girlfriend who is playing Little Big Planet (My much much belated review on that coming soon). There's no other place I'd rather be right now and nothing else I'd rather be doing.


With all our technologies and inter-connectivity it is truly a little big planet and it kinda neatly sums up the end of this year. It may true be able to communicate with people over vast distances but when it comes to intimacy, nothing beats the old-school way of face-to-face with a warm cup of a lil something to soothe and tastify the palate, mmmmm.

So with that, here's to the beginning of things new and the last entry for this year. See you in the new, Happy 2012.

Game On: an exhibition of the history of gaming

Fan of gaming? Grew up in the hay day of 8 bit gaming and before? Well then this is for you. 'Game On' is a history of the origins of gaming and follows it since the very first times humans sequestered electrons for entertainment through the decades leading to the recent past.

Unlike most exhibitions though, this one is very hands on. Almost every device on exhibit is ready to be played. A few of the exhibits piqued my interest. Gradius was one; it was something I played as a kid on an early MSX computer. The version I played was ported to the PS2, with outstanding improvements.

Each ticket allows an hour of perusing through the gallery, which starts from the progenitors of gaming tech such as the very first lab machines commandeered for game development, magnavox odyssey - first proper games console, the latest generation consoles, and everything inbetween.

My personal favourites were the section on classic handheld devices and coming face to face with consoles, the very earliest of personal computers and not to mention classic games all from my childhood.

A few issues detract from this otherwise wonderful trip down memory lane. The layout is somewhat organic and doesn't present a chronological flow from the very beginning to the latest. There isn't even a tenuous guide to say the very least. A dozen or so magazine covers on entering the exhibit is intriguing, but not enough to warrant people staying on and admiring their content, given the limited time frame of the ticket. A single wall would've done the job better than plastering them through a hallway.

In terms of being a comprehensive look on gaming history, it falls short of not including the current latest technologies and not to mention where future trends, software, hardware and will head. 

For some of its short comings, the Game On exhibiton is great experience not to be missed. I for one wouldn't mind going there a second, third or even tenth time. 


Game On is being held at the Ambassador Theater on Parnell Street, Dublin. Hurry the exhibition is slated to close at the end of January 2011.