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Buzzled: picross times three
17 April 2025
16 April 2025
xexyz
In Buzzled, every hexagon space is either yellow or black. Each has a number. Each row has a sum of some of those numbers, coloured yellow or black. You have to work out which hexagons should be yellow (or black) to lead to the correct sum. So, for example, on the bottom-left row here, you can see that only one of the 1s can be coloured yellow, and anything greater than a 1 should be black. The 5 on the far right side must be black, since that column has a maximum sum of 4 in yellow. The top-left row, not yet filled in in this screenshot, can only be configured in one way, with the 2 being yellow and all others being black.
PolyTrack: try try again
16 April 2025
15 April 2025
xexyz
PolyTrack is a Trackmania tribute – almost identical gameplay mechanics, but with digital controls, simplified driving model, and a very stripped-back graphical style. It’s even simpler than Virtua Racing in many ways, with the car having a polygon count almost in the single digits. This simplicity means that it runs incredibly smoothly, even in-browser athttps://kodub.itch.io/polytrack. Much like Trackmania, the courses are short but deceptively tricky to complete. There are (usually) a few checkpoints throughout the course, and you can restart from those if you want – but the time does not reset, meaning that if you want to log a decent score you’ll need to restart from the beginning, again and again and again.
Hero GP: 6000 mph
14 April 2025
xexyz
Hero GP is a brand new Game Boy Colo(u)r game,released via itch.iofor download to play in any emulators but also able to be used on a GBC itself via a flashcart or on an Analogue Pocket. It is obviously inspired by Hang On, but the constraints of the GBC make the game more streamlined, with more immediate controls and with a simpler game structure. Within a few minutes of buying the game you’ll be at the end of the first track, possibly even doing well enough to unlock the second. And possibly not. Despite the console’s limitations, this game is fast. This doesn’t show too much in terms of following the track – it’s a very standard 8-bit style single straightish road where the curves just simply nudge you along in the opposite direction a bit – but instead in terms of avoiding your opponents. As you ride along, you will see another rider appear ahead of you, and you’d better get out the way because you shoot past them in less than a second. There’s no speed indicated on the display, but if feels as if your opponents are going about 10 mph, and you’re going 1000.
Densetsu no Stafy: spin spin spin
11 April 2025
xexyz
When renewing my subscription to Nintendo Online it was only marginally more to upgrade to the expansion pass, which has given my sons access to the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC, will provide me with upgrades for Tears of the Kingdom on the Switch 2, and also gives me access to the N64, GBA and MD libraries. Tempted as I was to immediately start playing through Streets of Rage 2 again, I instead had a look for anything new and interesting. The first thing in the GBA list was a Japanese exclusive game, with a picture of a star on the cover, and a title which reads 伝説のスタフィー. Some research after playing indicates that this is Starfy, although that’s his Westernised name from the fourth game in the series, and a more literal translation is Staffy or Stafy. I knew none of this to start with, and so he became known as “Mr Spinny”.
Changing tastes
9 April 2025
9 April 2025
xexyz
I found a list on my Google Drive account, seemingly from 2008, which identifies itself as the “Best Games”. Obviously there have been a number of amazing games released since, but it’s interesting to see whether I still consider these to be near the peak of gaming. I’ll start with the list, and then below I’ll enter some thoughts.
Prince of Persia: completed!
7 April 2025
xexyz
Having completed level 10, I was expecting the difficulty to ramp up towards the end of the game. In fact, level 11 wasn’t that difficult, provided you didn’t take it too slowly. The first part of the level required a run along a long collapsing pathway in order to reach the end platform before it was too late; you had to run along this to avoid stepping on traps which closed the door to progress. After this it was fairly straightforward to the end of the level, after ascertaining where leaps of faith off the side of the screen were needed. Level 12, on the other hand, took me an absolute age. The first part of the level (which, for some reason, is back int he dungeon) is set up with the need to climb up several screens, going back and forth across two pillars in the centre of a gap. This requires a number of perfect jumps and preparation by knocking down tiles to allow for a grab on a solid platform. As you get near the top you have to open a gate by climbing up a screen, and you see the shadow prince waiting for you. I died twice straight after this point, before I got up and around the corner to face him.
Grand Theft Auto Vice City: completed!
1 April 2025
xexyz
It turns out that pootling around finishing up side missions was actually the right thing to do. I started by finishing up the taxi and ice cream van missions, unlocking the regular payments from them, then I headed for the golf club to see if there was anything more to do there. It turns out that there wasn’t, but I jumped in a boat and found myself on Prawn Island where there was a film studio in need of some tender care. Tender care through the production of tender movies, apparently, but fortunately Tommy Vercetti isn’t the sort of man to be directly involved in those – there’s no hot coffee here – and the missions associated with the film studio were altogether more entertaining and varied. Two in particular stood out. First, I had to pilot a plane around the city, dropping leaflets advertising the new film along set routes. Second, I had to take a motorbike up in a lift and jump out an office block window in order to land on another building’s roof, and then follow a path of jumps and ramps around until I finally got to a spotlight – which I could again use to advertise. Why I couldn’t just fly there in a helicopter, I’ll never know, particularly because a later mission at the studio had me using one to follow someone to take blackmail photos.
Prince of Persia: big guards on spikes
28 March 2025
7 April 2025
xexyz
With sufficient blocking of the guards’ attacks, and aggressive hits towards them, it’s possible to get most guards to back up over the edge of a pit, landing on spikes, or getting cut in half by the blades. Doing so take time, but it’s very satisfying. Serves them right for attacking me. I’ve completed level 10 now, and am back up in the palace after my return to the dungeons. In keeping with the way the original game allowed for saves, I am trying to keep my time for each level down as much as possible, so theoretically the overall game time would not exceed an hour, but the ability to adjust times per level after the fact makes the game much more fun to play. It’s still not easy – and it’s definitely my skill level that’s at fault here, not the controls – and I frequently die towards the end of a stage by misjudging a jump or accidentally just running over a cliff.
Prince of Prussia: completed!
24 March 2025
25 March 2025
xexyz
No, I’ve not got to the end of Prince of Persia as yet – I know what I have to do to complete level 9, but I keep making stupid mistakes right at the end – but this is a small puzzle-type platformer which riffs on Prince of Persia but adds in Nazi guards and a shiv. The movement, graphical background, and obstacles are derived from the original Persia game, although there are no buttons or moving gates; instead the puzzle is working out where to move, how to get from place to place, and where the guards are. The level starts in darkness with only the area immediately around you visible. Over time you fill in the level structure, although explored areas are shown only in blue (without guards and obstacles included). You can move left or right, and jump left or right or up, and when you’re at the edge of a platform you can climb down. This is a crucial ability to prevent you from falling to your death. All simple enough, although with the limited movement options it can take a little convolution to get to the right place at times, and you’re only ever one wrong keypress away from death.
Prince of Persia: time limit panic
15 March 2025
25 March 2025
xexyz
For Christmas I was given the new Prince of Persia game, the Lost Crown, and (despite this diary’s protestations) I have played a fair bit of it. It’s a very stylish exploratory platformer, similar to Metroid Fusion in many ways including themed areas and dynamic paths, but with much more flair over the combat and traversal. The systems and collectables are a little overwhelming at times, and the need to find save positions isn’t compatible with the way I want to play it. Still, a good game which I will write about and play more in the future. It has reminded me, however, that I have never really put much time into the original game. I believe I had it for an old PC that my dad brough home from work, but that also came with Lemmings and that’s where most of my time went. Prince of Persia seemed to be a bit too difficult for young me. Young me had better reflexes but less experience. Let’s see what matters here.
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