Keep Scrollin', Scrollin', Scrollin', Scrollin'

I've heard of side scrolling adventures but I've never heard of a top to bottom scrolling adventure. UNTILL NOW!

Scrollin' Adventure is a “Rock n' Scroll World-Wide-WEBSCAPADE”. Brought to you by the good folks at College Humour and submitted by Caldwell Tanner is a browser based adventure game where you play the roll of a silent and nameless protagonist. 

Your anonymity leaves endless opportunity for role play as you journey through various zones you find yourself with numerous challenges to overcome and nothing but your humble mouse to defend yourself. Some might say that the puzzles are kind of trial and error and that the controls can be kind of repetitive but I found the whole experience to be quite therapeutic in that regard.

The monotony of the overall calm and steady game-play is peppered with a few moments of true tension as you decide to either avoid pitfalls such as the Click Me Cat or the Free iPads Cat or take the chance for a potentially massive payout (such as a FREE iPAD!).

Some may say that the combat has little in the way of diversity but I found the system to be entirely in keeping with the overall tone of the game. Once you reach the truly terrifying Scroll Troll (artfully rendered in PixelArt) and deftly deal with that situation you will see exactly what I mean.

Narrated on your journey by an unnamed, yet remarkably witty, story teller who doubles as the fundamental driving force of the game, this raconteur alternates between gentle encouragement and vicious derision depending on your performance. The result of which is a burning desire to achieve. Much as one strives to satisfy a disappointed father figures vicarious dreams and aspirations.

The writing really isn't all heavy and preachy though. SA demonstrates some of the finest comedy game writing I have seen since the likes of Sam and Max. Once you reach the “Wintermediary” stage you know that you are truly dealing with an incorrigible comedic talent.

This free game is funded by in game advertisement which sounds terrible but is actually seamlessly blended into the overall aesthetic of the interface. In fact I completely missed the advert for “Jynx body yoghurt” on my first play through.

While a truly engaging and immersive experience Scrollin' Adventure IS a little on the short side, taking approximately 10 minutes to complete. But for what it is, it is a truly thought provoking creative, imaginative and, in a lot of ways, satirical take on gaming and the gaming industry as a whole. LOVED the final boss.

7.5/10

Slow News Cycle

So its the end of the year. Its usually pretty quiet around this time. Everyone's enjoying the period after Christmas, in which, no one does anything, nothing important happens and we all wait for the cluster fuck that will be, the New Year. But there are a few stories of varying scale and scope that deserve our attention, even if its only peripherally.

THQ Goes Bankrupt

This sounds like a much bigger story than it is. All that really happened was that the company defaulted on a loan and filed for some protections so it wouldn't have to close down. Right now THQ is being propped up by the Clearlake Capital Group, who bought the company for a song, in the interim while it gets back on its feet. Amid fears of cutbacks in the wake of their filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy a press release from THQ had this to say:

“THQ does not intend to reduce its workforce as a result of the filing, and employees will continue to work their usual schedules and receive normal compensation and benefits, pending customary Court approval.”
So basically the bankruptcy doesn't affect consumers, besides a few titles being set back a few months to reduce costs and it doesn't affect employees at the company because they will keep their jobs and salaries. Its really just a few numbers being moved from one ledger to another.

No Code Heroes(?)

The good folks over at Kickstarter have had a phenomenal year. Since the unprecedented success of Double FineAdventure in March. New indie projects have been getting crowd-funding monies out the yin yang ever since.

One game in particular has been raising eyebrows though. I personally think its a much less sinister than it would seem but there is no question, that the Kickstarter campaign for Code Hero (a programming game/teaching tool) has been behaving rather oddly. 

The developer, having promised many features and regular updates about his project, suddenly became very quiet once the project was fully funded. Now, to me, this seems like just another case of an overly ambitious project leader, making promises,out of enthusiasm, that they cant realistically deliver on. I truly hope, however, that this game is completed because I, for one, am VERY interested in seeing the end result.

Games Of The Year: From What I've Heard

There has been a few picks from various sites and sources across the interwebs but no real answer about what the definitive game of the year was. Halo 4 Tops Amazons list of Best Sellers of 2012 but the subjective, best of the year, is never decided based on sales. 

There have been picks bandied about from TheWalking Dead, to Mass Effect 3. Farcry 3 has been a major contender in the running. And i'm sure someone is saying that CodBlops2 counts as some kind of interactive experience that. I believe those people are typically considered 'barely cognisant' so I'm not sure they count as people, but I digress. 

Since I have not played any of these games and have no money to do so in any kind of a timely fashion I will be picking one based entirely on what I've heard about it, what I'm interested in seeing about it and really, simply, how much the thought of playing it excites me. 

My Game Of The Year: From What I've Heard 2012 is Farcry 3. Having played Far Cry 2 rather extensively i feel that i know what to expect from Far Cry 3, but while FC2 was a hugely satisfying experience I could see that there was so much more unrealised potential in the title and its direction. It truly thrills me that, from  what I've heard, its really lived up to that potential.

*wonders when the next end of the world is happening*

Sources: Escapist, Kotaku, Kickstarter, VentureBeat, Softpedia