the last of my kind
and I must live as a block?
we'll see about that
Additional Comments:
So obviously there hasn't been anything new posted in some time. Let's just say I have a couple of games eating up more than their fair share of time right now...coughForza3andDDOcough...hence the lack of updates, on my end at least (ps, I've heard that Sven took down Torchlight - I just need to push a review out of him as I've been interested in reading it myself). Anyways, while browsing through DDO's wiki the other day, I suddenly felt the urge to look up some random browser games. Other than a few noted games that I have on my list that I've just been itchin' to play, I picked a couple random ones, and well, The Last Survivor popped up.
Overall, I find Browser/Flash games to be a bit of an oddity. For the most part, they're just mediocre stabs at showcasing a particular gaming element ad nauseum, but then sometimes you'll come across some that are just genius. Sadly, those "some" seem to be a bit rare. Another aggravating aspect of many of these games is their arcade and/or Atari-like construction, in that so many of them seem to be nothing more than randomized endless loops utilizing the archaic principle of the High Score. And finally, I hate, and will always hate, using a mouse and keyboard as any sort of controller, but I digress. Taking a step back from these games, you realize that a majority of these are made with seemingly a single goal in mind: to alleviate workplace boredom or to break the stale repetition of casual web surfing consisting of pointless RSS feeds and questionable weblogs about gaming - oh wait! Seriously, what better way to kill that nagging, empty feeling than by playing some mindless, simple games? And heck, you're likely to experience some genuine gaming elation from the more conceptualized works.
Whatever. Despite their shortcomings, like I said, there are still some really enjoyable, creative and/or outstanding Browser/Flash games out there. However, this is not one of them. Ok, that's a bit harsh. Honestly, The Last Survivor is a great little puzzle game. The problem is that by the time it hits its stride, it's over. Granted, and from what I understand, it was made as part of a contest in which the creator had 48 hours to slap a game together from scratch using whatever means necessary. Using that knowledge as a solitary platform, the game is great, but take that away, and it doesn't have a leg to stand on.
Now, at its core, the fundamental game mechanics from which the puzzles are derived are great - basic left/right movement, a simple jump and a telekinetic ability to move blocks around to help cross gaps, curb obstacles and climb incredible heights. And that's it - basic commands that can be exploited with limitless possibility. Unfortunately, the first 80% of the game is just needlessly drilling the tutorial concepts into your head with less than desired puzzles. Seriously, the puzzles were nothing more than "slide this block left" or "slide that block right." Sigh. But then, with the last few rooms, you finally begin to recognize the puzzling conundrums you hoped would be present from the get go. Still, they're difficulty is laughable, although I will admit that the second to last room stumped me for a bit. Nevertheless, that was the same room where I really began to see the incredible potential in this game, but instead I faced a subsequently easier puzzle only to be followed by an unexpected picture of our block...err, whiskered hero, rejoicing...err, relaxing in victory.
It's hard to give my honest opinion of this game because I can imagine so much potential and would love to see a fully developed version that really pushes the simple mechanics to the limit, thus creating some hardcore puzzles that require some serious use of your thinking caps. And if such a game came to fruition, I could definitely see myself enjoying it, because like I said, at its core it's a great game. Alas, that is not the case, so I'm left wondering what could have been if the game wasn't just a contest entrant. Oh well - so it goes with Browser/Flash representatives of the gaming world.
Rating: 2.5 Destroyer of Worlds out of 5
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