Cogs
Developed: Lazy 8 Studios Published: Lazy 8 Studios
Afantastic and innovative use of clockwork bits and bobs in order to solve puzzles. The entire game is a mix of a tile-slider with a kinda of domino's effect. Early levels are fairly simple and linear, but later on you've got things like squares and the dreaded double-sided tile. Due to the variety and the sheer number of levels, this is amongst the most impressive of the potato packs, and considering its thinky-thinky game aspect I'm not surprised to see it involved in the lead-up to Portal 2. It was also one of the few games I really played before getting involved in potato collection.
Actually, I can save a lot of time on the potato thing for cogs...
I ended up using both the script and a save game on this puzzle, and in fact all the puzzles. They were way too hard for anyone to do without dedicating HOURS of muscle memory training to it, and due to the end-game aspect of the puzzles it was extremely difficult to get to them.
Potato 1/3: Solve the second hidden puzzle ("BestLaidSchemes...") with Master Mechanic (Gold/Gold/Gold). The latest round of updates has changed the solution by making the gray blocks immovable. Video guides located here. Here is a script that solves the puzzle. Here is another script
password: movable panels
Potato 2/3: Complete the "WCC" level with Master Mechanic (Gold/Gold/Gold) (apparently). Requires 300 Stars to unlock (save file on the Cogs page). Video guideslocated here, too. Script here
Potato 3/3: Complete the "In the Box" level with Master Mechanic (Gold/Gold/Gold). Requires 400 Stars to unlock (save file on the Cogs page). Video guides located here, too. Script here
Overall: A really good idea, one that can appeal to anyone no matter what their puzzle skillage. Those that want a high score will feel awesome for getting gold, and those that just like to solve things will get the satisfactions for having completed them.
Play again: I really will, in fact I'm tempted to ask Steam Support to reset my achievements so I can have the satisfaction of getting them myself. I'm genuinely quite sad that the Potato's where so late in the game, and so bloody difficult to achieve.
Defence Grid: The Awakening
Developer: Hidden Path Entertainment
Publisher: Hidden Path Entertainment
I've always had a soft spot for tower defence games. There's many different' types, those where you build beside the path the monster runs along, those where you construct a maze for the monsters to run through, with a key division of whether or not the monsters can destroy the towers you build. Defence Grid takes a nice little handful from each of these types while keeping your towers invulnerable. There's "hotspots" where you can actually build your towers, and it's these that define whether you're on a maze level or a by-the-side level. There's a good variety in towers and effects, with different monsters having different weaknesses, all add to the depth of the game.
Potato 1/6 : Login user "jsharman" with password "ultraz7x4" in the console, run "tonylanche" and win the dot game. (Easy instructions here.)
This solution was fairly brilliant if I do say so myself. After struggling for a long time at beating the game I worked out that you could actually start two instances of the game at once. Then I chose on one account "go first" and another "go second", then played the moves against each other using alt-tab spiffiness. This eventually became a staple solution for everyone it seems, but overall it was a fun potato to get, even if I did just end up as an input monkey...
password: deadly lasers
Potato 2/6 : An updated version of the tonylanche console program (used for the first login) was added called super_tonylanche. Open the console, type: twood (as username) > GradsNotRads (as password) > i_beat_tonylanche_for_real > eimqufjnrv (as password, this will work for everyone)
You'll probably notice a trend with the defence grid potatoes... Very few of them are actually earned through the main game. I guess this was the main dump for solving the puzzles from the main arg itself, various console inputs etc from decifered codes. Ah well, there was still some fun to be had. I won't comment on all of the below, only the interesting ones.
Potato 3/6 : In console, login as "twood" password "GradsNotRads", go to "cd inventory", and run "enter_missing_unit". Use "kungfuhustle".
Potato 4/6 : In console, login as "twood" password "GradsNotRads", run "mutation". Get to round 18, then press "A". (I got this when I got to 17, may be even less.)
What I believe this is, is a basic mutation simulator. There's numerous alien organisms that you can choose to breed your one with, where you own gets some of the power of the original. obviously going to a higher alien will result in a higher growth for your personal one. I also believe that the organisms you choose from are organisms from other players. In essence, this actually became incredibly easy to complete, because you only needed to breed with the most powerful aliens from the most invested players a handful of times, instead of having to breed up with other lowbies. So for those at the high end? I salute you!
Potato 5/6: In console, login as "twood" password "GradsNotRads", run "mutation". Get a score over 3000 and press b.
Potato 6/6 : Complete CHAS with a gold medal on campaign and earn the achievement "Few and Proud". Then, in the console, login as "jsharman", password "Ultraz7x4". Run "cd recruitment", followed by, "recruit", you'll then be booted to the Steam overlay, and the Aperture audio page.
Got frustrated with this, used a savegame someone had floating around. Time was starting to run out on these, I'd essentially set myself a 24 hour period to get all the potatoes and this I got in the mid-afternoon.
Publisher: Hidden Path Entertainment
I've always had a soft spot for tower defence games. There's many different' types, those where you build beside the path the monster runs along, those where you construct a maze for the monsters to run through, with a key division of whether or not the monsters can destroy the towers you build. Defence Grid takes a nice little handful from each of these types while keeping your towers invulnerable. There's "hotspots" where you can actually build your towers, and it's these that define whether you're on a maze level or a by-the-side level. There's a good variety in towers and effects, with different monsters having different weaknesses, all add to the depth of the game.
Potato 1/6 : Login user "jsharman" with password "ultraz7x4" in the console, run "tonylanche" and win the dot game. (Easy instructions here.)
This solution was fairly brilliant if I do say so myself. After struggling for a long time at beating the game I worked out that you could actually start two instances of the game at once. Then I chose on one account "go first" and another "go second", then played the moves against each other using alt-tab spiffiness. This eventually became a staple solution for everyone it seems, but overall it was a fun potato to get, even if I did just end up as an input monkey...
password: deadly lasers
Potato 2/6 : An updated version of the tonylanche console program (used for the first login) was added called super_tonylanche. Open the console, type: twood (as username) > GradsNotRads (as password) > i_beat_tonylanche_for_real > eimqufjnrv (as password, this will work for everyone)
You'll probably notice a trend with the defence grid potatoes... Very few of them are actually earned through the main game. I guess this was the main dump for solving the puzzles from the main arg itself, various console inputs etc from decifered codes. Ah well, there was still some fun to be had. I won't comment on all of the below, only the interesting ones.
Potato 3/6 : In console, login as "twood" password "GradsNotRads", go to "cd inventory", and run "enter_missing_unit". Use "kungfuhustle".
Potato 4/6 : In console, login as "twood" password "GradsNotRads", run "mutation". Get to round 18, then press "A". (I got this when I got to 17, may be even less.)
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| D'awwww... what a cute little killer space mutant... |
What I believe this is, is a basic mutation simulator. There's numerous alien organisms that you can choose to breed your one with, where you own gets some of the power of the original. obviously going to a higher alien will result in a higher growth for your personal one. I also believe that the organisms you choose from are organisms from other players. In essence, this actually became incredibly easy to complete, because you only needed to breed with the most powerful aliens from the most invested players a handful of times, instead of having to breed up with other lowbies. So for those at the high end? I salute you!
Potato 5/6: In console, login as "twood" password "GradsNotRads", run "mutation". Get a score over 3000 and press b.
Potato 6/6 : Complete CHAS with a gold medal on campaign and earn the achievement "Few and Proud". Then, in the console, login as "jsharman", password "Ultraz7x4". Run "cd recruitment", followed by, "recruit", you'll then be booted to the Steam overlay, and the Aperture audio page.
Got frustrated with this, used a savegame someone had floating around. Time was starting to run out on these, I'd essentially set myself a 24 hour period to get all the potatoes and this I got in the mid-afternoon.
Overall: I'd highly recommend Defence Grid. Sure it's a little strange that most of the potato's weren't actually gotten from the main game, but overall the main game is a cute little distraction that involves a fair amount of forethought and planning. It's evident that the designers understood what they were working with and the mechanics they were crafting. I also found myself being endeared to the voiced computer a fair bit, though they did make him a litle bit too "english-man is english" for my liking. I guess tired stereotypes are a norm of video games...
Play again: Yeah, it's got everything I need in a game of this type.
Killing Floor
Developer: Tripwire Interactive
Publisher: Tripwire Interactive
Publisher: Tripwire Interactive
Think Counter Strike meets Left 4 Dead, with some cod and tf2 in there. Bunch of players surviving a bunch of zombies with a bunch of weapons, which you can buy throughout a level. Choose a class (or Perk) and it'll level up unlocking cheaper weapons, special abilities and blah blah blah.
Thing that strikes me about this game is that it actually happens in the UK during a zombie outbreak. Not quite as cool as the 28 days later, but a lot less overpowered for the zombies and therefore fairer on us the players. My initial thought was "cool, a game based in London, let's see what it's like"... 20 minutes of cockney accents, tired stereotyped phrases and a slutty shopkeeper later and I was near tears. See, Tripewire are American, and so we don't get English people in their England based game. We get "British".
I'm going to say this now so that we're all clear people. There's no such thing as a "British" accent. In the same way there's no such thing as a "European" accent, or "Asian". You can't take a large body of land, and the attribute to all its people one accent type, especially when there's multiple countries. It'd be like saying "Americans, both north and south, sound all alike". There's multiple different countries and languages in the UK. You wouldn't have a Welshman sound anything like and English-man, yet we tend to be attributed either a dodgey cockney, or a plummy posh and get told we've got a "British" accent. Am I British? No, I'm English. Get it right.
Anyway, enough of that brief rant, on to potatoes...
Potato 1/3 : Purchase Potato Gun In-Game
Did this with a listen server and a high cash count. It was easier than trying to grind my way through x0000 zombies.
Potato 2/3 : Press your 'use' key on the corpse under the "Use Me" graffiti in kf_bedlam. YouTube Guide. Play online (alone or with people).
Listen server and legged it there. This game gets a lot less scary (for exploration anyway) when you realise 2 things. 1) A new round only starts when all zombies are dead, so kill everyone and leave the one straggler walking at a slow-assed pace and you'll be fine. 2) You can probably get away with just knifing your way through the first 1 or 2 levels. I'm amazed at how weak the zombie spinal cord is considering the number you can sever with a standard combat knife...
Potato 3/3 : Press your 'use' key on the computer under the "Use Me" graffiti in kf_aperture. YouTube Guide. Solo Method. Play online (alone or with people).
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| TF2's Pyro. In Portal's Aperture Science.... With zombies. |
Again, soloed. Hardest part is getting a zombie to stand on a pressure pad. I think I ended up using one of those slow-assed spiders, just dodged its leap and then ran on through. Similar to The Ball's aperture level I can see a lot of fun happening in this map. Zombies in post-crisis dilapidated aperture is surprisingly fitting. I especially loved the personality core salesperson replacing the goddam normal cockney store keeper.
Overall: The thing that strikes me most about Killing Floor is that it seems to be the kind of game in which you need to decide how you're going to have your own fun. Get some friends, build a team based on perks and then go out there and see how you can do it.
It's fairly well executed, has some interesting weapons (or at least interesting use of weapons) and I actually quite like the perk system, though you can definitely suffer a bit from avatar strength, and older players judging newbies purely because they've got a bit more xp.
If there's any game it reminds me of most it's probably Borderlands, can have its suprisingly fun moments, has some fairly deep mechanics but is overall the sort of game you very much have to decide to play.
If there's any game it reminds me of most it's probably Borderlands, can have its suprisingly fun moments, has some fairly deep mechanics but is overall the sort of game you very much have to decide to play.
I think the game suffers most from the fact that it's always players versus computer-controlled, there's no option to play as "special infected" or anything like that. Kinda takes a bit of the edge out of something when it's purely co-op with no competetive aspect... a lot like Borderlands. Ultimately you're just defeating the computer.
Something like a Zombie Master mechanic where there's one (a la L4D) "Director" and players trying to survive them could have worked.
Something like a Zombie Master mechanic where there's one (a la L4D) "Director" and players trying to survive them could have worked.
However if you want this kind of game experience for a fraction of the price I recommend Alien Swarm. It's free and has a lot of the same core principles, just over-top view and aliens instead of first-person and zombies. Plus the characters actually have some personality, other than "I'm cockney, init".
Play again: I might take another look again in the future. When the game wasn't annoying me it was actually quite fun, but I'll likely need a few fellow zombie enthusiast friends that have gotten bored of left 4 dead (not going to happen) and want to try something else.
That's it for part 3. Next one might be the finale, but I'm not sure yet!
continued in part 4...
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