PixlBit

These darn brick-breakers, that is. I've been trying to play the earliest gaming styles on Xbox to coincide with my console Gen 1 theme this month. It's been a struggle, and compromises have been made, but it's also been fun, if at times frustrating. Gen 1 might get a miss from me next year if I do this again.

On Gen 1 Theme:

Solitaire Tripeaks Flowers: Making slow progress at this late stage of the game. I get through a few new levels and then run out of wild cards or cash to progress. It feels wining or losing is a bit random at times, which does not please me. I'm still interested though. I play the previous hundred levels for perfect scores and more cash to help in the harder levels.

Arkan: The Dog Adventurer: I played the trial for this. It's a interesting 2D action game that uses the brick-breaker mechanchics but horizontially. You're a dog who can jump from platform to platform and whack a ball at a formation of bricks and enemies that shoot back at you. It works really well and I think I'll buy it when it goes on sale. Take a look.

Doughlings Arcade: This is a fanciful brick-breaker just like Breakout but with lots of powerups, a cute art style and lots of funky music. The controls are pretty close to perfect and it's a lot of fun, probably my favorite of the style. Trouble is, I can't seem to get farther than about level 50. I keep trying though.

Breakout Recharged: Still plugging away at the challenges and high scores. The controls are a tiny bit oversensitive which results in lots of errors at the slightest lack of focus. With stuff blowing up all over the screen, this is difficult. I enjoy it though.

Arkanoid Eternal Battle: More challenging than Breakout Recharged but it seems fair. I like playing online against randos when they show up, and fighting a boss in Neo mode. I also like playing the classic arcade machine. I am not great at this though. I wish for a paddle controller periferal for this games. (I realize Arkanoid is like a gen 2 or 3 game but it's based closely on Breakout, so it counts for my Gen 1 theme).

Fudging a Little Bit Section:

8Floor games remind me of Warcraft II resource gathering, which is a Gen 4 thing, but I feel like these games' elemental simplicity feel right with Gen 1. Plus I needed an excuse to dig in with them again, and not just one but three different series they do, all on the same (nearly identical theme): Lost Artifacts, Gnomes Garden and Royal Roads. Specfically, I'm playing Lost Artifacts: Time Machine, Gnomes Garden Halloween (which is like GG5), and the first Royal Roads. Their very addictive for me.

Shivering Stone: I figured a simple puzzle game might fit the Gen 1 style, so I got this on sale for $3 and proceeded to beat all 50 levels (and 3k achievement points) in just under 3 hours. It's very simply a game where you move rocks on ice to cover buttons that open the gates that let you progress to the next level. A handful of them made me really think, but most were extremely easy. It was fun though, and a real boost to my monthly achiement points.

Game Pass Games:

I gotta get my rewards, so I delve into something for a half hour or more every game day to get them. Right now it's a game called, While the Iron's Hot. This is a 2D game where you are a new blacksmith in a run down town. You make things to help the town thrive again. Take a look:

I really like it. Some others I used for Game pass points were: Ghostlore and Maquette.

Social Trumps All:

A friend at work got me thinking about Cult of the Lamb and so I downloaded the free trial and played a few hours. It's really cool! You become a cult leader through a weird twist of fate and have to manage your flock like a simulation game, then go out and fight like an action rpg for supplies, followers, and general mayhem against the unbelievers. Oh, and you're a sheep. It's quite deep in the various things you can do.

Minecraft: My friend Mad Krammer and I have been still trying to find a Fortress in the Nether, looking up youtube videos on various builds and devices, and generally having fun in Survival mode. When I see him playing Minecraft, I usually can't resist but to join him.

That's more than a week's worth and this month is only half done. Can I stand the Gen 1 theme much longer? Stay tuned to find out. haha.