Puzzlement & Portability
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 10:11PM
Richard Terrell (KirbyKid) in Announcements, Puzzle

Update: I have expanded this list to all the games I've ever played. I keep the information in this google doc. 

About a year ago, I surveyed the state of the video games industry with regards to the puzzle genre. After clarifying a few things about the design of puzzle games, I concluded that the year 2008 for the puzzle gamer was an immensely bountiful one. Since then even more wonderful puzzle games have been released.

 

 

Before I get into the new games, I wanted to first talk about a personal goal of mine. Perhaps I owe it to the Pokemon spirit that I acquired with my copy of Red when I was 12 years old, but I aspire to be the best at what I do. Sometimes, in order to make this incredibly unrealistic goal more practical, I must define what I do in broader more creative terms. I know I can't be the best Super Smash Brothers player in the world, but I'll settle for the title of best Melee Kirby player. Likewise, I've been working at becoming a video game "puzzle master." Shortz and others may have earned the title for more traditional puzzling endevours, but perhaps I can carve myself a space in the video gaming world.

Real life puzzle master Will Shortz.

They say it becomes increasingly harder to play fast action real time games the older we get. I'm sure I'm an old fogie in a StarCraft pro's eyes, and competiting in ultra fast paced shooters are out of the question. But maybe the puzzle genre is one that ages well with the player. After all, most puzzle games don't have skill intensive real time gameplay. So I'm free to take my time and think my way through challenges.

So over the years I've been honing my skills and keeping track of all the puzzle games I've played as well as my progress with them. I do believe that delving deeper into a work/hobbie is one of the best ways to understand it and yourself better. For this reason, I believe video games should be studied like anything else worth understanding in life. With that said, here is my puzzle game resume so to speak.

 

OLD SCHOOL

 

OTHER NEXT GEN CONSOLES

 

GAMECUBE/Wii

 

DS

3DS

 

 

INDIE/FLASH

 

To finish up the list, I wanted to comment on how the DSi is my puzzle gaming platform of choice for '09. Just counting my downloadable DSi Ware titles alone, I've added these 9 games to the list (ranked below). If you're a puzzle fan, I highly recommend these games.

  1. Box Life: 100% game complete. High Score (lv.8) $53,322.00.
  2. Zengage: 100% puzzles solved. 80/108 puzzled golded.
  3. DigiDrive: 100% game complete. High Score (expert): 331,646m.
  4. Trajectile: 100% game complete. 230/230 medals earned.
  5. Link 'n' Launch: 100% puzzles solved. 43/100 golded.
  6. MightyFlipChamps!: 100% puzzles solved (41/41).
  7. Base10: 100% puzzles solved (27/27).
  8. Precipice: High Score on 10 floors: 6,392,450.
  9. Aquia: 100% game complete 25/25 aquariums.
  10. Pictobits: 100% game complete. 30/30 Levels.

 

Let's hope next year follows the trend.

This post will be continually updated with my puzzle progress. 

Article originally appeared on Critical-Gaming Network (https://critical-gaming.com/).
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