Sunday, July 24, 2005

Japanese games rock my world

You have probably heard about the wonderful Grow online puzzle. Now, from the same warped (Japanese) minds, here comes Grow RPG which adds RPG element to the whole thing.



On another note, there were no updates in the last few days because I was playing Killer 7 on my GameCube (also available for PS2). This game (also originally from Japan) really pushes boundaries of what we define as "videogame". It's definitely one of those "love it or hate it" things but for me, this is the prime example of what needs to be done with the stagnating videogame genre. Mind-blowing story, original gameplay (who says you actually have to control where your character moves?) and visuals which I'd like to hang on my wall (and which in no way push the available hardware to its limits!). I bet some time in the future, Killer 7 will be remembered as the game that started the videogame renaissance.

Also, I think Killer 7 is the first videogame featuring the rape of old braindead man by his pretty young nurse.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've discovered a bunch of very interesting games on the site you've link, but I was not sure, what exactly is the point of GROW, so I found it not as much interesting as the rest of the games... can you please explain ??

František Fuka said...

If you mean the original GROW (not "RPG"), the point is to get the "perfect score", which is 10,000 points if I remember correctly. To reach it, you have to find the exact order of placing the stuff so that it interacts in the right ways.

The point of GROW RPG is, of course, to defeat all the monsters, including the dragon on the top.

František Fuka said...

oops, the perfect GROW score is actually 20,000, it seems

Anonymous said...

Grow/Grow RPG are excellent games. Great concept.
emmacore

Anonymous said...

so in clasical version of GROW you basicly have to watch, what happens when combining and applying the elements in a row and then deduce how to improve your score ??

František Fuka said...

Basically, yes. At the end of the "game", all elements have to be at the "MAX" level. If some of them are not, it means you have to either "plant them" sooner or plant something else that helps them grow.

František Fuka said...

j.r.: It's rather innovative. Your path is pre-determined and you can only "Go forward" (Button A) or "turn 180 degrees" (button B). There are only specific points (e.g. crossroads, doors, items), where you can use the control stick to choose from several sub-paths. If you know about them in advance, you can anticipate them by pushing the control stick in advance and thus not lose any time at all at the junctions. When you fight (shoot), the screen switches to first person view and you cannot move at all. Either read one of the many reviews at gamespot.com or wait for my (Czech) review at games.tiscali.cz in 7 or 14 days.