Limbo

Puddle was developed by Neko Entertainment and published by Konami. It was released January 25, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes. 

We like to think of ourselves as glass half-full people.  As game journalists, we have to be.  Consider us surprised then to find that Puddle defends blind optimism as its core game mechanic, requiring the player to salvage a puddle of liquid (on most stages) against all types of elements (mainly hot stuff). The game may appear artsy and Braid or Limbo-esque, but it presents no philosophical argument against the dangers of protecting a pool of liquid without transparent reason, and you’ll often find yourself wondering why you’re playing the game to begin with (maybe that IS the philosophical theme? Har Har!).

There are only two buttons to concern yourself with: the left and right triggers.  They’ll tilt the screen in two directions and are the only means of getting your pool of liquid from one area to the next.  If this sounds simple to you, then you’re just like us. Unfortunately, once you get your hands on the controller you’ll find that the combination of tilt and physics is much harder to control and that most deaths are cheap deaths, resulting in unwarranted frustration.

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Major Nelson has recently published the top selling XBLA games for 2011 and congratulations are in order for Zen Studios as Pinball FX2 was the number one seller last …
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Everyone loves playing games with their friends. Some of the best moments aren’t the game itself, but some interaction with each other: the trash talking, the gloating–you know how it is. But let’s be honest, sometimes we want to game solo: just you, your controller and some awesome gameplay. That’s why this weeks Top 5 is all about the best single player games on Xbox Live Arcade. Here are some great experiences that are definitely worth your time, whatever your play style: action, adventure, puzzle, artsy, you name it and it is here.

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Lots of people loved last year’s Limbo, a visually stunning game praised across the board for it’s graphic stylings. Well, the bros (literally guys, they’re brothers) over at Samsquatch Films enjoyed the style of Limbo so much that they’ve decided to film a movie called The Tide using the same visual effects. Unlike Peter Jackson, they don’t have a ridiculous special effects studio or an army of orcs at their disposal, so they’re going to need a little help. The Bucceri brothers have set up a Kickstarter for the film, where your donations can net you anything from a cellphone wallpaper to a gruesome death in the film. As of this writing there are 16 days and only $284 to go, so head on over to support what could finally be a good movie based on a videogame and let’s all hope Uwe Boll doesn’t hear about this idea. If you’re not easily freaked out by real people with crazy glowing Limbo eyes, check after the break for a video of the developers showing off some of their ideas.

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Not a whole lot this Wednesday with only one new release and a couple of classic games are on sale this week. Starting off fresh with Burger …
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Eurogamer has posted an article with some quotes from Playdead boss Dino Patti from the GameCity6 festival in Nottingham. Right off the bat Patti states that Playdead’s next project …
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While working on the well-received Limbo, developer Playdead Studios got help from some private investors to expand their original idea from a free PC game to the game we …
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Gamasutra editor Ryan Langley has released his Xbox Live Arcade sales analysis for the month of July. July marks the start of the Summer of Arcade promotion for 2011, so that …
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At XBLAFans, we normally don’t venture very close to retail considering the digital form of Xbox Live Arcade games. However, Best Buy is having a sale next week that’s …
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Develop is a game design website that focuses on developers in the gaming industry and with their Develop 100, they rank the top 100 game developers in the industry …
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