The Blue Casket » Let’s Play Sundays

Let’s Play Sundays – TIE Fighter

Michael Cook — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:00:20 +0000

I just went and bought Star Wars – Jedi Knight – Jedi Outcast off of Steam. I’m so glad the LucasArts back catalogue is being added, it really bodes well for the future of Steam. Anyway, I’m off to play that and I’m leaving you with a Star Wars offering for this Sunday too. It’s TIE Fighter! Pyow! Swoosh! Whee! etc. I should point out it’s entirely done from memory, in MS Paint. And is therefore hilarious.

The Blue Casket is going on holiday for a week, starting tomorrow! We’ll see you back soon.

Let’s Play – TIE Fighter

Let’s Play Sundays – Spelunky

Michael Cook — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:00:37 +0000

Today, we’ve got a whole Let’s Play of the superb roguelike-but-not platformer that is Spelunky. Part One is above, and you can find the rest at the link below. Then go download the final version of Spelunky from Spelunky World and get playing yourself!

Let’s Play Spelunky (via Penny Arcade)

Let’s Play Sundays – Dizzy

Michael Cook — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:00:47 +0000

EGGSONLEGS. Dizzy is one of my favourite childhood gaming memories – an egg that for some reason has heroic tendencies and four limbs. It was the Amiga, everyone was taking a lot of drugs. Maybe. Anyway, this is a playthrough of a version that’s even older than the flashy Amiga 800 (no Prince of the Yolk Folk for you) and it’s got all the components of Dizzy games to come – inexplicable death, ridiculous ‘puzzles’ and Dizzy looking like a possessed galia melon. Enjoy!

Let’s Play Dizzy

Let’s Play Sundays – Dungeon Keeper

Michael Cook — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:00:50 +0000

I’ve recently reinstalled Evil Genius and got addicted to it, so this week I’m inflicting Dungeon Keeper on you, as it’s in the same build-an-evil-base vein. Dungeon Keeper is one game that badly needs a revival. Screw Diablo. The sequel’s a little better looking (alright, a lot) but this is all about the writing too, so don’t judge it too harshly.

Let’s Play – Dungeon Keeper

Let’s Play Sundays – Monkey Island

Michael Cook — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:00:02 +0000

I think the new Monkey Islands are a brave attempt, and my friends tell me they’re pretty funny, too. But nothing will ever replace the original, because it’s one of my earliest gaming memories. This Let’s Play will ruin the game for newcomers, but it’s just a wonderful trip down memory lane for the rest. Read the first few chapters, and then go pick it up on Steam for a rose-tinted Sunday.

Let’s Play – The Secret Of Monkey Island

Let’s Play – System Shock 2

Michael Cook — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:00:39 +0000

This is a game you should probably play. This we know. There’s a good chance that you’ve never played it, though, because you’re a bad man. So here’s a great way to see the game’s insides – a guided tour.

This Let’s Play is movie-based, watchable through a series of half-hour Viddler links. It’s narrated by the player as he works through the game, talking you through the backstory, the challenges and so forth. It’s a great, great idea because he’s obviously very knowledgeable about the game (and also the friendly voice offsets the unsettling feeling of actually playing through the game).

It plays out almost like a documentary, Michael Palin in Space or something, so much of it’s delivered in a matter-of-fact way. And then occasionally the narrator just loses it and whelps in surprise or fear. And you’ll probably be so engrossed by that point that you’ll jump too. Worth watching, even if you just catch the beginning and end, because it’s a classic and it’s a part of a lot of people’s gaming past.

Let’s Play – System Shock 2

Let’s Play Sundays – Boatmurdered

Michael Cook — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:00:24 +0000

If you’re a follower of This Sort Of Thing that we post here at The Blue Casket, you might have expected some more Dwarf Fortress coverage than there has been. That’s because Dwarf Fortress, the incredibly deep strategy-cum-dungeon-sim, is a regular target for diary-writing, thanks to its humour, huge scale and random nature. This, Boatmurdered, is one of the best-known Dwarf Fortress run-throughs. And it just so happens to be a Long Play.

If I’d had the time, what I wanted to do for The Blue Casket was write a guide for Dwarf Fortress, one for people like me, who find the game completely inaccessible. One day, when I get the time, I’ll sit down and pick apart the many confusing guides that are around the internet on it. For now, though, you can just look on and dream. Boatmurdered is a hilarious and epic tale.

Whilst Boatmurdered does try to teach you to interpret the ASCII screenshots, what’s really important are the words, the account of what happened, from elephant wars to cabin fever to plain-old simple fuck-ups. It’s a great account of a very friendly succession game, with lots of personalities all taking the game in their own direction. Great fun.

Let’s Play Dwarf Fortress – Boatmurdered

Let’s Play Sundays – Flashback

Michael Cook — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:00:28 +0000

Man, Flashback. Flashback was so great. Wasn’t Flashback great? I particularly liked the bits where it made you want to smash your head into the coffee table in pure, unashamed rage.

Alright, no, that’s not a real screenshot from Flashback, it’s been doctored for the excellent Let’s Play I’m linking up this week. It’s very, very funny and if you’ve never heard of Flashback before it’s really worth looking at, because it deserves to be a classic. Of course, if you have played Flashback before then this will allow you to see past the frustrating bit that made you stop, burn the game disks and vow never to play videogames ever again.

This Let’s Play is a great combination of efficiently explaining the game as well as poking enough fun at it to keep you amused. It’s also nice to be able to see retro games in all their glory, without having to dig out the necessary games and emulators to see them. I’d forgotten a lot of Flashback, but it was a really superb platformer. This one’s short, but sweet, and well worth reading.

Let’s Play – Flashback

Let’s Play Sundays – Civilization IV

Michael Cook — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:00:32 +0000

More delving into SomethingAwful’s excellent Let’s Play archive unearths this run-through of one of my all-time favourite games. Civilization IV is such a brilliantly-designed gem of a videogame that even when I’m losing (which is all of the time) it’s still fun. This Let’s Play not only perfectly captures the game, but also provides as a really great tutorial.

The Civilization series are a major part of videogames history. Their recent adaptation for consoles has tried to open them up to a whole new kind of audience, but I think their real appeal will probably lie in the keyboard and mouse audience. Sad though it is, there’s something about abusing vassal states and implementing swathes of bureaucratic processes that only really feels right when you’re doing it at a desk. Word processing and exploitation. That’s what PCs are good at.

The complete pack is on Steam for cheap amounts of pounds, and it’s the game to play on a lazy Sunday afternoon. As long as you’ve got nothing planned in the evening.

Let’s Play – Civilization IV

Let’s Play Sundays – King’s Bounty

Michael Cook — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:00:57 +0000

Another trek into the vast Let’s Play archive, this time digging up a funny and well-illustrated account of an exciting King’s Bounty playthrough. The latest editions of King’s Bounty are extremely entertaining and frequently quite cheap, but the spirit of the game has always been the same, and this diary gives you a little taste of what that is.

The game itself is pretty oddball, and is well documented for being such. This playthrough entirely embraces that, and brings out the best of the bizarre world. Read it, and then buy the latest version and revel in its nuttiness.

Let’s Play – King’s Bounty