Short Review: Day of the Tentacle Remastered

So lets talk about something that I do feel positive about: Day of the Tentacle.

A short while ago I mentioned on this Blog that I learned of a remastered version of Day of the Tentacle, my second favourite point & click adventure game (Sam & Max: Hit the Road was my number one). Well I finally got to play it and it is everything I wanted in it.

So apart from a menu screen, the rest of the game plays much like it did back in the 90's, though it's been designed for a wider screen and the items menu is now a clickable side bar which does make the experience much more enjoyable. While the story is still the same, the graphics have been re-done and the sound improved. It's such a joy to finally play this again, given my old CD copy is very difficult to run on modern computers and this is the reason I do enjoy remastered games.

It's comedy is a little dated (given it's a remastered version of a 90's game) and the characters are very steriotyped, though that isn't a bad thing. The game is a comedic sequal to the classic game Maniac Mansion, of which we see the return of the nerdy Bernard as he returns to the mansion to stop one of Dr Fred's creations called Purple Tentacle, who has gained arms and become super evil after drinking toxic sludge which was being pumped into a river. What starts as a simple plan ends up as a time travelling adventure gone wrong. You start by conrolling Bernard, but eventually also get access to his housemates Hoagie (a rockin' Roadie) and Laverne (an unstable Med student).

As far as difficulty goes, it's much easier then the more moden point & click adventures, but it does also come with Maniac Mansion (just like the original Dott). The gameplay is quick to get the hang of, with the mouse really being the only tool you'll need, though keyboard shortcuts are there. Given that I'd played it years ago, I still knew what to do so I completed it in around two hours, so if you have a few puzzle troubles game wise it will take you between three to four hours to complete (the game does lack a hint system). Also, if you don't know what the hidden achievements are, you may find yourself replaying it at least once to get them. As far as bugs are concerned, I've rarely encounted any except one in which George and friends jump out of the window and in the original they yelled 'Fire', but they didn't when I played it (twice so far), but I can't tell if it's a bug or they just didn't put it in.

Overall, if you played the original and liked it then this is a must have (at $15US it's worth it) or if you want to play a light hearted game that's a point and click adventure (or even if your new to them) then I will recommend at least giving it a thought. Personally, I'm just happy to be able to play this again.

Now if I could get a Sam & Max: Hit the Road remastered game.

A Sad Retrospective

So over the last few weeks I've uploaded a number of posts which may come off as negative or rage inducing. Having spent time away on Easter break with family, I've had time too sit back and think. My problem is that as much as I am passionate, I'm also very emotional and have a strong sense of justice. The problem is justice in an unjust world.

Depression and Anxiety leave one in a very negative state and in turn let's more negative emotions come through. This means that when I get passionate about a subject, I also get very angry. Then we get stupid reactions from a load minority which only push me further. But I don't want to be angry, I just want to get my opinion out in a way that comes off more like a thought out discussion instead of a rage induced rant. As a result of the last few weeks (seriously, the stupidity is reaching ridiculous levels at this point) this has put my in a rather bad state and has effected my mental and physical health.

So my plan is to try and cut back on these rage filled posts (until I can find a better way to write them out) and try to focus more on positive and useful topics. I apologise if the blog has gotten a little off track...

What are you talking about? What track were we on to begin with?
~Zargooran 

...but those posts will remain as I do still stand by most of what was said. Also gives me something to consider when writing future posts as a sort of standard to do better.

Trendy VS ARK

Given that I play Dungeon Defenders 2, I now feel that I have to give my opinion over the lawsuit of Trendy vs Ark: Survival Evolved. From what I've gathered over the details, it has to do with a particular individual who left Trendy and signed a non-compete contract. Apparently this happens all the time in the industry, but got big notice with Konami vs Kojima. What it means is that a person agrees to signing a contract (usually terminating a current one they have) allowing them to leave, but can't work on video games for a set period of time. In this context, this lawsuit is partly over that individual breaking that contract.

Given that this individual was already slapped with a cease and desist letter shortly after leaving means they were already walking a fine line and the involvement of this individuals wife with the company that created the ARK game does sound rather suspicious, though what all this implies I'll leave for the legal experts in the court case to decide. In regards to such a case, I would probably agree that breaking a contract should be taken to court, though if both claims are to go ahead, then obviously Trendy would be bringing more information to the case as currently it does look like some parts would be harder to prove then others.

However, what concerns me is not the case (like I've stated, if this individual has broken the contract then Trendy has the right to sue), but the reasons why the individual left in the first place. If the reports are true, then it was in regards to the poor working conditions that they left in protest. Poor treatment and workplace harassment is something I am wholeheartedly against and if these are correct, then I am very disappointed in Trendy. Such a thing would leave me very concerned and has left me wondering about whether I should keep supporting one of my favourite games or leave in disgust over such reports.

Now to be fair in all this, I'm getting mixed reports about the individual in question. Some state he was standing up against the poor conditions, but others are stating that he was the reason for those conditions (and a bit sexist too if one persons post is to be believed). As for Trendy's current working conditions , I don't know. If they have improved then there really is no need for me to get too worked up about. What does get me worked up is the stupidity of people demanding left, right and centre for Trendy to cease it's lawsuit, some even going so far as to say that they don't care if those they are suing are guilty, they should stop cause ARK is a popular game. Given previous lawsuits in the gaming industry thus far, why do people only now try to bring that up? Cause this company isn't a triple A developer?

Honestly, I don't care about that. Didn't see a huge boycot of Metal Gear Solid V over the Konami vs Kojima incident, they still made huge sales. I don't see why all of a sudden this has become the issue. As far as my view on the ARK game is, it's another survival game, just with multiplayer elements. The only difference between it and others is dinosaurs. To me, Don't Starve will always be at the top of my list. I play games for fun, not to run a massive Youtube channel, so I have absolutly no interest in that game.



Moral of this story, if you don't like what you see, write a negative Steam review bitching about how evil that company is with no actual review of the game.


Before anyone get's the shits that I don't like ARK, it's called an opinion. I have mine, you have yours and theres nothing wrong with that. I have nothing against the game, it's just a game that doesn't appeal to me and so I have no interests in playing it. However, if I end up hearing about how riding dinosaurs is some great new idea again, I will redirect them to a toy line and cartoon from the 80's called Dino-Riders. Surviving on a strange world using dinosaurs as weapons is not some new idea, stop pretending it is.

Sorry, it's just that what I'm trying to say is that the game isn't for me and I have no interest in it. If I was a Youtube Let's Player it could be a good game to get views, but I'm not and so we'll leave it at that.

That 'Wyrd' Design

So Wyrd is building the Twisted Alternatives, which is the equivalent of taking beloved childhood story characters and making them...well...twisted. It isn't a new concept (hell, just look up Alice in Wonderland and you can see a variety of twisted variants), but it would be a concept I could associate with a company with 'Wyrd' in it's title. I love the look of the Tortoise, reminds me of the Ninja Turtles, though that Hare scares me.




Seriously..........that Hare is the stuff of nightmares.

The Jim Sterling Lawsuit

Article Here

I originally did write a large article on my Blog about this, but I'm now altering this due to just how much space I was wasting on all this. Instead, I'll break it down into a more simpler format.

Digital Homicide damaged their own reputation through their own actions. They could have walked away and focused their energy on making a better game to prove Jim wrong, but they didn't. Their tweets, their own actions in the interview with Jim Sterling show that they clearly are making these attacks personal and this lawsuit is a last desperate bid to make any sort of money and to silence criticism.

Fact is, their own actions will be taken into account and that I feel that this case will be thrown out before the first word is said. I hope Digital Homicide have thought this throw, cause as such it can easily go the other way and they could end up having to pay for Jim's legal costs (along with their own) instead. As such, a number of us are keen to see how this turns out.

Aionus Update

So now on to something lighter, I've spent some time and I'm almost finish the base for Aionus. It took a few goes to get the idea right and in the end I'm going for a simple design. The real problem now is painting Aionus himself as I'm not sure if I should stick to his colour scheme or do my own, though I'm leaning towards going in my own direction. Word has it the weather won't be as hot this week (yeah, Summer in Australia has been hotter then normal. It be that global warming I tellz ye!), so hopefully I'll might even finish it be the end of the week.

Assuming I don't get too caught up playing that Mordheim video game, little too addicted to that over the last few weeks.

The Truth of Elections

I must apologies for this rant in advance. It is about politics and as such if you are not interested (which is perfectly fine. I don't blame you, if I could skip it I would too) you can ignore this post. Trust me, this is just me letting off some steam and it may offend some people. That's what politics is sadly.

So we just had council elections with the added bonus of a state referendum and the results are this.....people are stupid. Having spent a number of years trying to understand the political system in this country (Australia for those who are new), I have learn much and that much is what is constantly being covered up. Sadly, people are still under the impression that when you vote for your representative in your electorate, that person will represent your electorate. The thing is, they don't.

Now I hate talking about politics cause it just pisses me off now (the side effect of trying to get to the heart of it sadly), but it seems I just need to keep repeating myself. When a candidate is part of the party, you are not voting for a representative, you are voting for a party. The same goes with voting for a Premiere or Prime Minister, it isn't the person your voting for, it's the party. Or perhaps I'm wrong and people are voting for the party cause they keep believing the shit that keeps getting spun. I mean hell, we spent three years under that moron Campbell Newman (I still don't know how he became Premiere, since he was one of Brisbane's worst Mayors and yet people still voted him in) and now people voted for a Four year term while telling me that if they can't govern then we can just have another election. Umm...no, it doesn't work like that. That would only apply to a minority Government and only if they went to the Governor-General to ask for one and only if the Governor-General approves it. In other words, unless your willing to force it through mass protests to the Governor-General (and lets face it, no one protests that good in this country these days), the people really don't have much power to make that happen. That and people somehow think a change in leader means a change in policy.

What do I mean? Well, Australia has coped a bit of flack for it's continuous jumping of Prime Ministers, which is fair. I believe that if you are chosen to lead then you must lead or throw another election. Recently we changed from Tony Abbott to Malcolm Turnbull and everyone was somehow thinking that this would fix things. Thing is, the parties stance and policies didn't change. The party had a new face, but it was still the same Government. They used media spin to make people believed that they were are fresh new Government, but the didn't fix their broken election promises nor did they change stances on important issues of the people. You can paint shit gold, but that doesn't change the fact that it's still shit.

We still have a great many problems that are not being addressed or are being shoved off in the 'We'll get to it if we win the next election' basket. I'm sick of being told about how they plan to fix things next time, but then when they get voted back in by those dumb enough to believe that, they still don't fix it and say they do it next time. How many times can people sit there and listen to the same crap over and over and tell me that they believe it. I may sound bitter, as if my political party didn't win, but the truth is that as the years have gone on I've noticed a shift away from Democracy and more towards Dictatorship when it comes to things like policies. Hell, the law is if you don't vote you can go to jail and that is your democratic right.

They say your opinion matters, but if that's so then why has the last few federal budgets attacked low and middle income families, the elderly and disabled. Why doesn't the Government do more to fix the taxation system, the legal system and domestic violence. Why has it been that only ones to benefit are the extremely rich and powerful, while those that are below the poverty line who ask for help are treated so badly. The ironic part about the Brisbane election was that on a number of corners were people asking you to vote for their parties, while on the other corners were the homeless and poor begging for a few bucks and yet the homeless issue was never addressed. One could say it was out of councils power, but not once did anyone say they would petition the State Government for help. Too much talk about traffic and I don't even own a car.

Sorry, I get emotional on this topic. It's just that when I started studying politics years ago I actually had the intention of becoming one and fighting for what the people wanted. Years later I've seen the lies, the cover-ups and the corruption and I've become so disillusioned by the whole thing. I've talked to those who see through it and those who are ignorant of it and it just annoys me. The recent changes to the Senate was to reduce the number of Independents to make way for more main party members, when it turns out that most Independents actually base their voting decisions based on their electorates feedback. You know, doing the exact thing you were voted in to do.

I love my country and it just makes me sad to see the direction it's going in.


Update: So the Senate change was to basically bully the Senate into passing the Governments bill or they'll force an election and some of those people will loose there spots. Funny thing is, the bill is to create an organization to stop building Union bullying. Hypocrisy at it's finest my friends.