penny arcade game

I poked a bit at the demo last night. Not much, because I was very very sleepy and the demo won't let you save, so any progress I made would be wasted anyway. It's cute, but the bits I like most are the 2d stuff, and the actual 3d gameplay is a lot less interesting. (Also, the way the 3d character breathes/sways while voiceover goes on annoys me.) I'm a little confused by the combat, as one of the first combat sessions said something about blocking attacks when a bar flashes, but I never see anything flash. And, of course, the pathfinding often leaves the character standing in confusion unable to navigate around obstacles.

Here is my character design - I do like the way it came out.



Will I be buying? Dunno. Probably not at the moment, I have other demands on my time.

There is some huffing in some corners about the copy-protection. Am I bothered? No. Why? Because it's a downloadable game. I get really pissy about buying a CD and being told I can't reinstall it or sell it. With a downloadable, I thoroughly understand the desire to keep an eye on an install code and disable it if suddenly there are 1000 users a week trying to use it. From what I understand, that is the intent, rather than 'you can install once and then never again!!'

Anyway, it would be hypocritical of me to complain now, as I've bought a variety of small downloadable games that operate under similar principles and where I may eventually need to contact support if I keep reinstalling them. I do get annoyed with companies who say that you get X installs and that's it, but not so much with the "just ask, we're just keeping an eye on it" variety.