What this means though is that I'm honestly very easily capable of making a very strong series of First Impression like videos. When I throw in some game I never finished, was away from for a while, or just grab a new dirt cheap game I often find myself kind of talking about how good it feels. So... why not put that into a blog series here? It doesn't present as much pressure, effort, or demands as making a review but gets some interesting bits across. So.... lets talk games here, and lets talk about what I'm currently playing.
Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender
Aqua Kitty is basically a retro arcade shooter done in the style of defender... but with a lovely neon arcade-like shine to it, and a light hearted cat theme. Despite my usual feeling towards arcade games, I like it. $7 was a bit much for it, so thankfully I got a nice 30% off coupon and I feel its worth the Starbucks coffee price of it that came out of that discount. Funny story actually, to get that coupon I asked a total of 3 different sources that were generously offering it for free but never returning the call. I was a bit paranoid about getting responses, and tense and worried I had done something wrong to offend them by daring to take up their offers. Over time I was just getting more and more excited to play some twitchy reflex arcade game with the novelty of cutesy looks which I would usually hate. So there was an odd tension and build up to grab this game and play it, even though its not my kind of genre to intrude into. However... the 3rd guy answered, I was thrilled, and then I launched up the game and got hit with another realization..... everything was as simple as could be from the interface to even how your turning didn't flow naturally and needed a key separate for it. My first 3 minutes were kind of miserable, and I was beginning to wonder if that doubtful side of me had been right to say I was silly. I couldn't change the resolution, there was no scale for quality, no control mapping, controls are mapped side by side with xbox prompts and that's if your lucky (some screens just have xbox prompts only), and to restate myself there was an awkward turn key totally throwing my rythem off compared to anything else in the arcade style I had played.
However I slapped my stupid attitude out of my head and just played the game and took what it offered me. I started really enjoying it and blasting through enemies with a smile. My panic attack over settings was kind of dumb save for the controls that I had to keep checking up on as if I were grabbing cheat codes out of a manual per level. Supposedly this is being worked on, and has been the biggest common issue people have had (even with controllers in mind). I was blasting through levels and doing ok even on normal, and just had fun.... I kind of let go of my typical gaming demands and just relaxed with it. It was stylish and beautiful to look at, frantic but decent gameplay, rocking music that might be one of the best "chiptune" soundtracks I've ever heard, and a general aesthetic that I couldn't be mad at. I also started to like the turning for the most part. It can be a love/hate thing working to its benefit at times and being an annoyance at other moments. It also gave the developers room for an achievement on blasting through the end world of the second set using only one direction.... that's hardcore. So the game was coming off as pretty good once the poor knee-jerk first impressions were cast aside, and I was enjoying it despite the very simple and reflex based nature. Sure having mines swarm the screen while jellyfish mechs take your milk miners away for the 10th time is frustrating. However when your fail message is the same friendly kitty captain saying "Fish that cat out and lets try that again" every time with a (n_n) style smiley face, it can't really break your own smile. Worst case scenario you'll be deciding to call in a break and come back later (my plan after this post). The rest of the game is like that to. Its just very friendly, charming, colorful, and all that mixed with the arcadey bones of its structure make it an experience that make it just "fun" all around. It wears the fun careless happy video game nature on its sleeve. Its the kind of game that backs me up when I talk about things like the "mature" gaming scene and how pretentious and overly "proper" that line of work is. No Aqua kitty isn't going to go competing with Last of Us and no its not going to change some film critic's view on if a game is "art", but its doing all that it ever should need to do: Pleasing gamers with a full does of fun and charm. Also while we're talking about charm, there's a scoring system based on both combos and shots in addition to your main goal of keeping at least 1 milk miner around. Missing out and losing a miner but succeeding on a whole will give you a score screen where the appropriate amount of miners have been replaced by "missing" milk cartons with their wanted picture on it. That's a very clever and funny little charm they put in that I just love and had to mention here.
Now the main problem I have with this game comes in two forms.... 1) yeah its still arcadey. I love the game, but.... I dunno, I can't guarantee I'll be waking up early and playing it for hours on end or anything like that. Its a fun little game and I'm enjoying it more than I should, but once the novelty and new-ness of it wears off I fear for its lasting power over me. I just tend to want more than a 2D plane and some restricted pre-set modes to go through in most of my games. I couldn't get into gaming very seriously until I had a full extra plane to roam around and get immersed with, and I tend to stick best with games that have a better system of skill and depth to them that go beyond reflex and score attack. However like I said I'm getting my fun by trying to push that aside and just take it for what it is... the question is how long does that last even with a more respectful perspective? I still have work to do with it though, and I'll be happily playing it some more. Its honestly a great success that it's clocked 2 hours in 1 day already. 2) Arcade upgrades seem to be broken for me. I can't upgrade my weapons right because I can't figure out the control the menu and get my stuff. This basically feels like it sort of breaks the mode for me, unless I'm missing something and its supposed to be a random buy.... but if that was the case, why is it even in there to begin with instead of automatic? Why do I have the option to buy hearts by the looks of it, but when I need it the most I can't seem to scroll over a piece at all to get them? I just don't get it, and can't find any help as of yet. Despite these issues, I still love this game and its charm. I'm going to be playing it for a bit more at least and will try my best to complete it and enjoy the fun it has to offer. Maybe one day I'll even do a little review for it. So much subtle detail, care, charm, and fun is in it for such a simple game. It'd be a shame to have missed out on it, and I'm glad I got the chance to play it and enjoy it.
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