You are in for a wild ride.

Howdy-doody, Lusiplayers! It is a known fact that we here at the LusipurrCom Offices love Jello Puddin’ Pops, lolicon, and indie games. But perhaps some of our incredibly bored readers ponder what our staff writers enjoy besides those things. Allow this writer to satisfy our readers boredom: besides tabletop role-playing games and aviator sunglasses, this writer also enjoys occasionally reading graphic novels and comic books. So it is fitting that this review should come to pass, since Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley is a video game centered around comic book shenanigans.

Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley is a platformer developed and published by Twisted Pixel games. It follows the story of Captain Smiley, hot-shot comic book protagonist extraordinaire. After his comic gets cancelled, Captain Smiley and his chest cavity-bound sidekick Star are hired by Twisted Pixel and assigned to guest-star in other comics by “jumping” into them, until he makes enough money to relaunch his own series. As is often the case with indie titles, the biggest draw to Comic Jumper will no doubt be the writing and story presentation. Comic Jumper is indeed hilarious. Captain Smiley and Star–both voiced by veteran voice actor Chistopher Sabat–play off of each other well, with Star’s wisecracks and snarking accounting for a good portion of the game’s humor. The game also boasts a number of other quirky characters to fill out its roster, including Captain Smiley’s arch-nemesis (and Star’s mancrush) Brad, morbidly-obese barbarian Nanok the Obliviator, the puppeteering Madame Ropes, and many more.

Gameplay-wise, Comic Jumper is solid. Most of the game is played out as a 2.5D run-and-gun platformer reminiscent of games such as Gunstar Heroes and Metal Slug, with the player having to battle wave after wave of enemies as he or she progresses. These levels are punctuated by action sequences that include melee sequences quick-time events, and bullet hell sequences. The levels are fairly difficult, despite having infinite lives that drop the player at a nearby checkpoint. The game has a nice balance of difficulty and fun as time goes on, making liberal deaths in Comic Jumper annoying, but rarely unfair. The game is not particularly long, and the amount of time spent playing it is padded out by the game’s difficulty.

Brad's hot groupies are out for your blood! Shoot them!

The art and design of Comic jumper is well-executed features an interesting twist: as the player progresses through different comics in the game, the art style changes to match the genre of the comic, resulting in a range of wildly different-looking levels. While many fans of comics and manga will appreciate the gags and jokes present in each level, gamers of all kinds will love the look of levels, which are detailed and filled with humor themselves. The music of the game also shifts from level to level, from the straightforward action music of the modern comic level, to the orchestral and sweeping music of the fantasy comic, to the cheesy and wacky silver age soundtrack.

Is Comic Jumper a game worth buying? From one Xbox 360 owner to another: go for it! Comic Jumper is an imaginative, hilarious tribute to and roast of comic books, and it is one of the better games available from the Xbox Live Arcade. It is well worth the 10 USD one would pay for it.

From Dust Box Art

From screen shots and trailers, From Dust appears to be a unique strategy game where the player commands a tribal god who reshapes the very face of the Earth in order to preform life saving miracles for his ungrateful little servants. What those previews do not show the world is that Ubisoft’s ideas of being an all-powerful god are dreadfully boring, and that their main sources of inspiration likely come from playing a game of Lemmings while sitting in a hole on the beach during high tide. Another great part of playing a god is just how many restrictions the powers that be, Ubisoft, place on the player, calling it DRM, and justifying the Hell it gives players by claiming it wards off pirates. The fact that any company would expect someone to even want this game, legally or otherwise, is amazing. Yet surprisingly, From Dust has two things going in its favor: The game does look rather good, with nice fluid physics, and the post-game challenge mode does have some fun moments. But, neither of the two warrant the price tag or time wasted on completing the game.

If Lemmings removed every part of the gameplay except for bridge building, the resulting game would be From Dust. The player’s only goal in the game is to move a tribe of men from point A to point B, over and over again. The only enemy or hazard in the game is water. If one were to reenact the previously mentioned hole-in-the-beach scenario, their first course of action upon having their hole filled with water would be to build a dam out of sand, and when that fails, they would likely just move away from the tide’s reach. Not the lovable little From Dust Men; they actually move further towards the water, until the final levels are almost nothing but water.

Once all of the bridges have been built out of piles of sand, the player can tell their eager little tribesmen to move out to a new potential village location, this exciting key mechanic of the game, second only to playing a god, involves mousing over the predetermined village location, hitting a key, and then waiting. Of the five villagers it takes to build a new village, it is almost guaranteed that one of them will take the longest possible path through lava and water to reach the village, but assuming the moronic fifth villager does in fact follow the rest of the group to safety, the player is treated to even more waiting as the villagers slowly approach the village and slowly begin their village creation ritual, which is signaled by screams that sound exactly like the screams of a burning tribesman.

Man, water, and ground, the stars of From Dust.

While the Men are forced to survive in the increasingly wet new world without the ability to swim, the player must battle with another force, similar to the god he controls. The DRM randomly crashes the game, much like playing Russian Roulette. With an unstable internet connection, a player could be kicked from the game, losing progress, at any minute, while other gamers fond of minimizing out of games to multitask, or hosting long Skype calls could face similar disconnection issues, albeit less frequently. Many fervent gamers can usually rely on their internet connection in this day and age, but that does not remove the other technical difficulties. The game is prone to crashing at launch for no reason, players may even boot the game up to find the interface did not load at all, and during game play the Men can get stuck permanently during levels.

Surprisingly, From Dust does have a few good points about it, but none of them actually affect the gameplay. Any gamer unlucky enough to preorder the game was presented with a special From Dust themed mask for use in Team Fortress 2, which, admittedly, is not a very good looking hat, but at the very least can be used to help craft other hats and weapons. For a cheap casual game, the graphics are very pretty, and it appears that a lot of effort was put into making the Men similar to real-world African tribes. The water, lava, and sand move and flow like one would expect them to in the real world. The miracles players can perform are all very cool the first few times, but after parting water like Moses for the tenth time, it starts to lose its novelty.

From Dust's promotional TF2 hat

As the player progresses through the game, various challenge maps are unlocked. Despite being called “challenges,” the maps still are not very difficult, but require more clever usage of the matter moving mechanics. The challenge maps still involve the basic moving man from point A to point B followed by the waiting, but is a huge step above, say, staring idly at a blank computer screen.

At the time of this article’s posting, Ubisoft is planning to release a patch to fix the DRM issues, and Steam is offering refunds for those not wishing to wait for such a patch. But even considering this, fifteen dollars is far too expensive for the messy second-hand console scraps Ubisoft has given gamers in the PC port of From Dust. Anyone with massive interests in moving sand and water from place to place should definitely pick up a copy of From Dust, but for anyone else, it is hard to even call From Dust a game.

Welcome to Hell.

It is a proven fact that LusipurrCom loves indie games. They are cheap, they are innovative, and their developers take risks. One would think that with a shorter game would come a shorter review, but many indie games nowadays are on par with the industry’s biggest titles in terms of presentation and as such require an equal amount of consideration when it comes to their critique. As such, this week’s review of Limbo is no exception

Developed and published by Danish studio Playdead, Limbo is a adventurous platforming puzzle game that revolves around an unnamed young boy, searching the strange and dark titular world of Limbo for his lost sister. This is the part of the review that would normally focus on providing a short synopsis of the plot and criticizing the depth of the game’s character development. However, this game has neither of those; the only story to be found is in the description through whichever platform it is purchased from.

It is worth noting, however, that just because Limbo does not have a narrative does not mean it cannot convey a deep and meaningful story. Rather, Limbo conveys its story almost entirely through its setting: The player must guide their avatar through a landscape that is lifeless and unforgiving. The game is surprisingly gruesome, as it shows a proclivity for having traps and hazards that kill the Boy in numerous ways, starting very early in the game with a seemingly-innocent object that players will quickly learn is a bear trap with a penchant for decapitation. The choice to have the game routinely show the Boy being killed in such violent ways in-game is malevolent, but integral to conveying the cold and uncaring nature of the world. During the game there is little music; it only appears at times of danger and will often put the player on edge, making the soundtrack itself a sort of bizarre adversary.

Some of our readers may not be entirely comfortable with certain portions of this game.

Limbo‘s controls are adequate enough for its content, utilizing only a directional control, a jumping button, and a grabbing button used to pull switches and push and pull objects. While the art of the setting is undoubtedly the central focus of the game, the platforming and puzzles are still very fun. The levels are well-designed and interesting, with surprising twists and fake-outs mixed in with classic tropes of platforming levels. Puzzles are similarly well-designed, ranging from standard manipulation of items to make platforms and weights, puzzles involving buoyancy and water transfer, timing problems, gravity manipulation, and everything in-between. And while the first half of the game focuses primarily on platforming and timed jumps, the game subtly increases the density of puzzles until the player is left primarily with real mind-benders. The game’s only problem with regards to gameplay is the length: most players will be able to complete the game within four to five hours, leaving players with little else to do once finished save hunting for achievements, or just taking in the scenery once more.

No. That is wrong.

The game is top-notch in terms of aesthetics and immersion. The colorless environment and grisly content are reminiscent of German Expressionism films of the 1920’s such as Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, with some elements of film noir in certain levels. The game uses shadows and silence to its advantage, with each of the levels having at least one part in which the player must guide the Boy through complete darkness, using only the light of his eyes. The levels are varied, taking the Boy seamlessly between haunted forests, savage villages, rainy cities, and nightmarish twisting factories and ruins. Hell has never looked simultaneously more chilling and stylish than in Limbo.

Limbo is a fantastic game, plain and simple. Play it. The aesthetics of the game tell just as much as a narrative could in this case, and the platforming and puzzles are complex enough to keep players immersed. Limbo is available on Steam, XBLA, and PSN, and is well worth the fifteen American dollars you will pay for it!

PAX 2011

It is that time of the year again already, Lusipundits. No, it is not time for Lusipurr.com’s Oliver Motok to take his annual bath in the creek outback, but rather for gamers to once again descend on the Washington State Convention & Trade Center for 2011’s Penny Arcade Expo! PAX 2011 sees intriguing offerings on the part of Lusipurr.com’s oft featured Japanese publishers, albeit with a surprising lack of Japanese software on their books.

Square Enix

The Eidos side of the Square Enix business is leading from the front this year with the largely well received Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which launched in North America this week. The theme of Western developed sandbox RPG goodness continues strongly with the first person zombie masher, Dead Island, which is fast approaching its impending release on the sixth of September. Square Enix’s high profile line-up is then further augmented by the inclusion of their own promising shot at redemption for the Final Fantasy XIII project, with Final Fantasy XIII-2 to see a Western release in the new year, whereupon players may enjoy such luxuries as towns, shops, and NPCs.

Wakfu Characters

Square Enix will also be looking to showcase some of their lesser known titles with the presence of French developer Ankama’s MMORPG for PC and Mac, Wakfu, which is currently undergoing Beta testing. Wakfu will then be joined by American studio n-Space’s multiplayer-centric 3DS RPG, Heroes of Ruin, which will see release in the first quarter of 2012. Finally, Square Enix have indicated that PAX 2011 will see the announcement of a new title being developed in partnership with Airtight Games, during their exclusive panel on the 27th of August. The project is being headed by Creative Director Kim Swift, who has previously worked on Portal and both Left 4 Dead games. The new project is described by Square Enix as “quirky“.

There will also be plenty of Square Enix swag available at PAX 2011, with a release party of sorts being thrown for Deus Ex: Human Revolution in the Diller Room, where gamers may indulge in food and drink, win exclusive swag and prizes, and sample the game via Eyefinity stations set up in partnership with AMD. Additionally, Square Enix’s “Word to Your Moogle” tour is set to stop over at PAX for its duration. Gamers will be able to sample Final Fantasy XIII-2, and will subsequently receive an envelope containing an alphabetic letter which they will be able to combine with fellow attendees in order to win fabulous prizes including: “Word to Your Moogle” Tshirts, discounted merchandise at the Square Enix shop, and signed copies of Final Fantasy XIII-2!

Trine 2

Atlus

If Square Enix’s internally developed content was scant, then Atlus’ output can best be described as nonexistent – unsurprising given the recent release of Catherine by the Persona team. Happily Atlus’ showing will be little weakened by this absence, given the publisher’s strong showing of niche titles, among which is ACE Team’s follow up to Zeno Clash, Rock of Ages. The game is described as a tower defense game with additional ball rolling mechanics (along the lines of Monkey Ball), and is fast approaching its August release date over PSN, XBLA, and Steam. Rock of Ages will be joined by Trine 2, the sequel to Frozenbyte’s well received platformer, which was recently enjoyed by Lusipurr.com’s own Ashley ‘Thea’ Polio, who gave it a glowing review. Finally, Atlus will be showcasing the latest entry in SNK’s venerable fighting series, King of Fighters XIII, a staple series of the ailing arcade scene for the last decade, and a title which looks set to release during October of this year on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles.

House of the Dead Overkill

Sega

Speaking of relics from the arcade era, Sega is to be out in force for PAX 2011, showcasing a robust line-up of franchises both new and old! The biggest game on Sega’s floor this year is undoubtedly Gearbox’s sci-fi themed FPS,Aliens: Colonial Marines, which is set to launch in calendar year 2012 on virtually every system known to man. Fans of Sega’s Japanese development efforts are also to receive the sci-fi shooter treatment with the Yakuza Team’s forthcoming squad-shooter, Binary Domain, which is to be released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 in February 2012. Sega fans looking to mark Sonic’s 20th anniversary are also in luck with Sonic Team’s Sonic Generations, a game which will allow players to tackle stages using either ‘classic’ (2D) or ‘modern’ (3D) mechanics – the game is to see release on the PS3, Xbox 360, and 3DS in October of this year.

Fans of arcade style on-rails zombie shooters are to be well catered for with AM1’s Kinect exclusive, Rise of Nightmares – the title made by the same people responsible for House of the Dead 1-3 looks set to release in September. Not to be outdone, PS3 owners are also set to receive exclusive on-rails zombie goodness of their own with Headstrong Game’s House of the Dead: Overkill – Extended Cut, a HD port of the well received Wii title, featuring exclusive levels and Move support – it is to be released this October. Griptonite Games’ newest sequel to Sega’s long dormant Shinobi series is to make an appearance, providing some much needed action-adventure to Nintendo’s beleaguered 3DS handheld in November. Finally, rounding out the list is Avalanche Studios’ topdown vehicle shooter, Renegade Ops, which will see release over PSN, XBLA, and Steam in September.

Elder Scrolls Skyrim

Bethesda

For fans of Bethesda’s seminal Elder Scrolls series (not to be confused with Minecraft developer Mojang’s new game titled Scrolls) there is little question of what is going to be one’s personal highlight of the Penny Arcade Expo. Director Todd Howard will be taking to the stage of the Unicorn Theater in order to speak at length on his newest title, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which is to release in November 2011 – in time for the busy holiday period. Howard’s demonstration is to kick off at 3:30pm on Saturday the 27th of August, and attendees are to receive a horned plushie helmet, as featured on the large hulking brute seen in Skyrim’s public relations media. Also on show at Bethesda’s PAX booth will be id Software’s post-apocalyptic FPS with RPG and racing elements, Rage. The game will herald the long awaited debut of the id Tech 5 engine when it releases in October. Finally, Bethesda will be hosting a video demo of Human Head Studios’ interesting looking cyberpunk FPS, Prey 2 – the title will be releasing in March of next year.

Kid Icarus Uprising

Nintendo

Nintendo are making their way to PAX 2011 with their 3DS heavy-hitting holiday titles in tow! First on the menu is Super Mario 3D Land, a game which many Nintendo fans are tipping to reverse the fortunes of the ailing 3DS when it launches in November. Completing the one-two-punch is the ninth entry in Nintendo’s hallowed Mario Kart series, the illogically titled Mario Kart 7, which will be released in December. This line-up is bolstered by the classic N64 remake, Star Fox 64 3D, which is to be releasing in September. Also making an appearance will be Nintendo’s airborne TPS, Kid Icarus: Uprising, which has been given a vague holiday 2011 release date. Rounding off Nintendo’s 3DS showing will be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Pokedex 3D (both of which were released back in June) – along with the aforementioned Shinobi and Sonic Generations, both of which will also be present at Sega’s booth.

With Nintendo’s 3DS taking centre stage, things are beginning to slow a little on the DS front, with naught to show at PAX but Square Enix’s monster capture RPG, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, along with Nintendo’s own sinister sounding stylus based franchise outing, Kirby Mass Attack. Both games are due out in September.

Kirby's Return to Dreamland

Finally, on the Wii front Nintendo will obviously be leading with the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which will finally be seeing release in November. They will also be featuring their follow-up to the well-received Kirby’s Epic Yarn, known simply as Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, due out in the Autumn of 2011. Nintendo will be showcasing the long-running Japanese electronic board-game/game-mascot crossover series, Fortune Street, which will be making its Western debut during the fourth quarter of the gaming calendar. Finally, the last ‘game’ on Nintendo’s PAX list is an unnamed entry in their Rhythm Heaven series, so look forward to that making a big impact at the expo! Beyond this there is no mention of the Operation Rainfall titles which began making their European debut during this past week. While PAX would no doubt make for a perfect venue wherein to stage a surprise announcement of Monolith Soft’s popular Xenoblade Chronicles or even Mistwalker’s The Last Story, one would nevertheless be ill-advised to hold one’s breath while waiting for Nintendo of America to listen to their fans.

The first boss encounter.

Outland has a story behind it, but it is largely inconsequential to the game as a whole. Something about wars of a distant age, sisters who created the world, and an ancient hero now reincarnated. The story is minimally related through very short narrated sequences. In truth, they are not terribly interesting, but the plot accomplishes its task of providing a backdrop for the world, gameplay, and atmosphere – and these are what sell the show.

At its core, Outland is a side-scrolling action platformer that draws similarities to classic franchises such as Metroid and Castlevania. There are plenty of jumps to make, enemies to slash, traps to avoid, and puzzles to solve. Everything controls incredibly well; the Hero (as he will henceforth be named, since he is in fact nameless) is very responsive both in combat and platforming sequences. Jumping and fighting are given almost equal attention; enemies are scattered liberally throughout the game’s stages, but they rarely feel intrusive or slow down the gameplay. Most foes the Hero encounters are dispatched fairly quickly, and they can often be avoided – though the player may find that it is less troublesome to simply kill them off, to allow for less bothersome platforming.

Similar to Metroid, Outland frequently gifts the player with new abilities that grant access to new areas. Finding the way around the world is quite a bit easier than it was in, say, Super Metroid thanks to frequent markers that indicate where the player should be going – but, regardless of this, it is still a rewarding and well-balanced system. The pace at which the Hero finds these new abilities is perfectly paced, and keeps the gameplay fresh and engaging. The game takes place in closed stages which must be completed in a certain order, but it is possible to re-visit cleared stages with new abilities and collect hidden goodies, such as health upgrades, energy upgrades, and tokens that unlock concept art.

Mind the glowing orbs.

As engaging as the running, jumping, and fighting is, the true genius of Outland is realized in its Polarity mechanic, which essentially defines the gameplay on the whole. Early in the game, the Hero is given the ability to switch between a Red and Blue energy. The switch is indicated by the body of the Hero himself; that is to say, his skin is either Red or Blue for the majority of the game. On the surface, this mechanic is quite simple. To defeat red-colored enemies, the Hero must be blue, and to defeat blue-colored enemies, he must be red. While red, the Hero can absorb red-colored energy orbs (as opposed to being damaged by them) and while blue… well, surely the picture is clear by now. Again, seemingly very simple.

However, it does not take long for Outland to deliver some clever, challenging, and occasionally downright devious puzzles based around this mechanic. In certain areas, energy orbs of both colors shoot, fan, and intersect in massive blanket areas – and these areas are often populated by several enemies of differing colors as well. To attempt explaining exactly how the puzzles of Outland play out would only do it a disservice, but suffice to say, they require extensive thought in addition to fast reflexes. It is worth saying that Outland absolutely does not shy away from challenging players; but while some of the more devious puzzles will likely result in multiple deaths, but it will never feel unfair.

The boss battles of Outland might be its most brilliant feature. They are simultaneously challenging, epic, beautiful, and decidedly cerebral in nature. There is no mindless hack-and-slash to be found here – in fact, several boss battles do not even require the swipe of a sword. And the ones that do cleverly combine the slashing with ample platforming, as well as the ever-present Polarity system. One battle in particular has the Hero falling down a massive chasm nearly the entire time, forcing the player to quickly platform on falling blocks while attempting to get close enough to his foe to strike. It is absolutely thrilling, delightfully challenging, and when the killing blow is finally landed it is very, very rewarding.

The game's main hub.

There is a small complaint to be voiced, however, concerning said boss battles. Challenging and puzzle-like as they are, it is more or less a definite that players will die several times while attempting to figure out what makes these multi-stage bosses “tick” as it were; and that in itself is perfectly fine. What is not fine, though, is the ridiculous amount of time players end up wasting simply reaching the bloody bosses. Upon death the Hero respawns at the beginning of the boss stage, yes, but for some odd reason a few bosses require extensive platforming or walking just to reach them. The final boss, for example, requires the Hero to climb up an absurdly long ladder every single time. It may sound like a minor annoyance, but when scaling that ladder for the fifteenth time, it is anything but.

The graphics of Outland need no reviewing. Just take a look at any of the screenshots provided in this review. Beautiful as they are, though, the game is even more breathtaking in motion. What is most impressive is the way the game’s environments are distinctly varied, yet maintain an overarching and unique sense of style that really works to create an immersive world. The gorgeous and somber musical score also deserves some credit for that, though. It might not be Limbo, but Outland is assuredly an atmospheric experience – sometimes almost surprisingly so.

Outland is an easy recommendation for anyone who can appreciate 2D platformers. It looks great, it controls fantastically, and it is very fun to play. It is hard to find any problems with it, honestly, aside from the aforementioned annoying treks to reach bosses. Do not miss this game, available through XBLA and PSN – it truly is a beautiful experience, with substance to match.