timfg.com
  • home
  • timfg
    • work
    • play
  • us
    • alison >
      • my aim is true
  • stuff
    • what's new
    • caravan
    • brenda
    • about the site
  • blog
  • contact

Abby of Eden

24/2/2013

 
(Warning: This post is about video-games. If you are past a certain age, lacking in basic hand-eye co-ordination or still associate the subject matter with reprehensible pursuits for children who would be better off with a good book... look away now)

I'm lucky enough to be of a certain age. Specifically, an age that's about as young as it's possible to be and still have played the very earliest video-games as they emerged. (I'm not counting anything that required setup with a collection of cards with holes punched in them). No surprise then that I've been an avid follower of the games industry all my life, and still find a few minutes every now and then to find joy in the best of the industry's output. And, let's be clear - it's an industry characterised by a lot of samey, unoriginal dross. Which is why chancing on the occasional thing of beauty brings such excitement.

Ten years ago, I came across one such example - a game called Rez for the PS2 and Dreamcast. A game that wrapped the music into the gameplay in such an involving, hypnotic way that you couldn't help but be be entranced by it. When I sold the PS2 with all its games a few years later, I kept Rez back - and eventually sold it for £20, rather more than I paid for it: It had a huge cult following, despite limited success. You can download it on the Xbox 360 for a few quid and I recommend you do, just to get a flavour of the history to a game I picked up this weekend...

In an idle moment last week, after a frenetic round of Kinect Football with the girls, I googled around to see what were held to be the best Kinect games. And my Googling turned up a game I've never heard of before: Child of Eden. When I realised it came from the same stable - indeed, the same designer, Tetsuya Mizuguchi - I had to give it a whirl. Cost all of £11.

It's like Rez. But more beautiful, more hypnotic and more involving, primarily because of the perfect Kinect integration. Once you get the hang of it, you're totally lost in it: It feels like conducting a universe. An utterly absorbing and joyous experience, which is not a description I can imagine fitting many other video games. Abby and I fought for controller rights all evening, until I had to pull the 'I'm afraid it's bedtime - school tomorrow!' card on her.

Here she is. First go, so not really worked it out. She and I got really good over the next three hours...

For the sake of completeness, the original trailer:

So, if you're wondering if there's more to Kinect than cutesie sports and 'keep fit in your living room' nonsense, I suggest you go and invest some small change: You could spend £11 on LSD for a much less satisfying mind-altering experience....

Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    All
    Cherish
    Eat
    Frame
    Geek
    Listen
    Ponder
    Watch

    What are these tags?

    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    August 2019
    April 2019
    July 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    October 2015
    April 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012


    timmytime...?
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.