f13.net

f13.net General Forums => But is it Fun? => Topic started by: UnSub on July 24, 2010, 10:08:03 PM



Title: Limbo - Playdead - Xbox 360
Post by: UnSub on July 24, 2010, 10:08:03 PM
Limbo (http://www.limbogame.org/video/) is a 2D puzzle platformer with a highly stylised art direction - everything is a mix of black, white and grey. It also has a pretty old-school play philosophy: you'll die repeatedly until you learn the way through. Everything being shown in such stark shades means that things could appear very flat, but the use of objects in the fore- and background, plus the edges of the screen appearing unfocused, give Limbo a sense of depth.

Controls are simple: A is jump, B is use. You can climb up and down at the appropriate places. However, it isn't necessarily easy - the puzzles aren't necessarily roadmapped, so trial and error is the only way forward - and it isn't for kids, given the many and varied ways your character (a boy) can die.

I'm 50% of the way through (49%, according to the display) and am enjoying the ride. The scenes with the giant spider were genuinely tension filled - impressive, since you are really only watching in silhouette - and I'm curious about where Limbo is going to end up.

The core question I've seen (and asked myself) is if Limbo is worth 1200 Xbox Live points. Right now I figure I'm going to take about 1 - 2 more hours to finish the game, for a total of 3 - 4 hours total play time. Reports are that a clean run takes about 1.5 hours (and is an Achievement if you do it with less than 5 deaths). At 1200 points, it depends on how much you like puzzle platformers - Limbo is a very solid addition to this category, executed in a distinct and creative way. Perhaps a better 'value' for Limbo is 800 points if 2D platfomers aren't necessarily your bag. I'm happy with giving 1200 points to a title that takes the 2D platformer somewhere different.

(One point: if you buy all 5 of Xbox Arcade's Winter / Summer collection - 5000 points in total afaik - you'll get 1200 points back, making it 760 points a title. If you only buy 3, you'll get 400 points back, for 1067 points a title. These are the 5 titles in this deal. (http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/summerofarcade))

Rating: Buy - 1200 points if you are keen, 800 or fewer points if you're happy to wait and see


Title: Re: Limbo - Playdead - Xbox 360
Post by: Rasix on July 24, 2010, 10:35:46 PM
I played and beat this over a couple sittings.  It's pretty short (I think I took 3-4 hours) and I died a lot. It's a little disconcerting to see a little boy die in just about every possible way (shot, impaled, sawed, shocked, burned, drowned, crushed.. etc etc etc). 

Normally I wouldn't go for a platformer, but the really neat aesthetics combined with the lack of douchebag stank (ie NOT Braid) made this a worthwhile gamble, but like Unsub I'm unsure if it was completely worth the money.

My only real gripe is that some of the puzzles were really obscure, especially when you get to the gravity manipulation devices.  I almost dislike gravity switching portions of games worse than time manipulation.  It cheapened the game a little.  The other slightly different game play mechanics (like the semi-brain slug thing) at least seemed to fit into the environment of the story-less game, but the gravity shit just screamed of "I can't figure out any more puzzles to make".

The lack of story is a real plus, especially at the end.  It really gives you something to ponder well after you're done with the journey.


Title: Re: Limbo - Playdead - Xbox 360
Post by: UnSub on July 28, 2010, 08:36:11 PM
Okay, I finished it - the 'Completed' counter actually includes stuff like egg collection and I missed some of them. (Apparently you can get 112% completion scores by finding all the eggs and not dying in a play through.)

Glad I bought it and it delivered enough of its promise that I feel I got value out of it, but I can certainly see why some people complain about paying 1200 points.