LEGO Star Wars III - The Clone Wars ( PC (Steam) – Action, Adventure – 2011 ) + STEAM REVIEW

I hate to be the weirdo in this particular case, but I found LEGO Star Wars III - The Clone Wars grating on me which is surprising considering how much I enjoyed the Complete Saga.</b>

Story-wise we're getting off on a bad foot since I have little prior experience with The Clone Wars era specifically beyond Genndy Tartakovsky's excellent animated series. As such, whether game levels have done the episodes they're based on justice or not is entirely lost on me. Which means the game has to stand on its own. There are three "arcs" involved contending with major antagonists: Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress and General Grievous, each getting six levels to work with. You get a revolving door casting, but Anakin and Obi-Wan are your fixtures for the most part. That's not to say these are ALL the levels, and I'm not referring to prologue/epilogue either, since Separatists are your enemy and you have to recruit those characters somehow as well...

The Clone Wars expands on the Complete Saga in terms of variety, even though it is obviously a single game and as such smaller in sheer number of red and gold bricks to amass. What was previously a mostly static cantina is now transformed into two battleships you open doors to various sections using aforementioned shiny bricks. It's the familiar formula: you get a brick for completing levels in story mode, filling the True Jedi bar by collecting studs and by putting together Minikit collections. Those are the "normal" means, and what the Clone Wars adds are system assaults alongside space battles. Far more common are studs aka currency of the game that drop from every minute action you perform. You'll be using them for, well, everything. Unlocking characters, vehicles, purchasing game-altering red bricks, etc. It brings me back to the hub change and one critique where I wish you could straight up purchase characters from the selection screen rather than finding them in-game and making the purchase. Hub itself is very lively with plenty to do between levels, which are selected from a menu, but traversal becomes a chore with time.

So all that sounds really familiar. What exactly is my problem with the game then? Simple - too many assault levels overall.

Yes, their addition is a great novelty at first, but I started groaning as they become more frequent. Due to having complete freedom in how you tackle the story, this may have resulted in playing one too many in quick succession, but after two back-to-back I had to take a break from the game. They're not difficult or complex. Strategy simply doesn't factor into it and they play out the same as you're destroying buildings on lots to claim them for your own. Yes, you plop down unit-producing buildings, but I've found artillery and hopping into tanks was what actually mattered. Beyond ground assaults, I think the game is also too quick to put barriers in your way in story mode which are is built with free mode re-visits in mind. This is just a peeve of mine, but I did not like running into "oh, you need a Sith character, specific droid door and a bounty hunter" in the first hour when you're still just getting the hang of things. Some elements of the game, like one level turning into an Aliens finale homage, got a chuckle out of me here and there.

You're looking at shinier package able to display more moving Legos than ever. Characters still fall into defined categories, expanded just like everything else; from basic moveset Force users' ability to throw their lightsabers to brand new types such as Clone Commanders who can direct an entire squad. I'll always find it charming how much effort went into character animations and how well it plays with mime storytelling still employed here.

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Buck Bradley: Comic Adventure ( PC (Steam) – P&C Adventure – 2020 ) + STEAM REVIEW

Color me surprised if Buck Bradley Comic Adventure didn't turn out to be a neat little P&C adventure game. If you're a stickler for presentation I suppose the "animated comic" might turn you off, but I personally enjoyed it. This is actually only the first episode although I'd keep in mind it ends fine on its own.

We see our protagonist Buck who is just about to be confessed to by his friend Ciroki if only worldwide mutations didn't strike. Ciroki is turned into a blue-ish gremlin who clearly retains affection and intelligence as our pair embarks on a journey to reach New Milan where a solution might be. Needless to say, they won't get far without shenanigans as they're waylaid by, well, this being the first episode set in a world gone crazy... in good humor.

Probably the biggest surprise about about Buck Bradley is how well-realized it is. Yes, presentation is static with occasional page flips to simulate action, but when you look at its core everything is here: actual puzzles that even require item combinations with various degrees of moon logic, characters to interact although dialogs don't make the biggest impact, and witty writing only rarely going too far in terms of annoyance. This is a lighthearted affair so keep in mind you will find yourself strapping a bell on a dolphin to hitch a ride across an acid like, for example. One design choice that took actually chaffed at me first is how the game just lets you loose after a brief opening. You have various locations to freely explore while juggling multiple objectives with no clear short-term goal in sight. There's a hint system included if you need it, at least. What I'm trying to say is Buck Bradley has this rough window until you gather more items and start connecting things.

At the end of the day, game is roughly an hour long if you ignore me spinning my wheels for a while as I ended up overthinking some bits. Short and sweet. Side adventure at best meant to take you to the next leg of the journey, though.

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Masquerade ( PC (Steam) – Adventure – 2025 ) + STEAM REVIEW

Student project or otherwise, Masquerade is pretty impressive. Production value on display is pretty staggering with full voice acting and well-realized locations where intentional lighting does so much of the heavy lifting.

Romeo and Juliet it is except in this adaptation our enamored youth finds himself on stage and BEHIND stage chasing after his love who just so happens to be an automata with her exposed heart always one step removed. Along the way he's aided by the Narrator likewise set on finding his way off the stage. Why not help the pair as they're cheered on by equally mechanized audience. Still, is everything truly as it appears?

Masquerade is a charming combination of adventure, puzzle and even stealth-lite in just the right doses. I stumbled couple of times due to controls that could've used an additional pass of fine tuning, but this is a minor complaint when you observe the package as a whole and consider you're not paying anything for it. Under half hour is just about how long it takes before the game is through with its set of cards without repeating any of them. If you ask me I would've still liked it to be a bit longer as level designer(s) definitely knew their stuff. Especially that set piece in the finale.