Stupidfool.org

via toucharcade.com

I missed this a couple weeks ago when it was announced at GDC 2011, but I'm so excited to hear that "Out of this World" is coming to iOS.

I loved "Out of this World"/"Another World" so much! It's one of the few games I've ever completed, in fact, because I never got tired of its puzzles and the gorgeous graphics. I'm looking forward to playing it again.

Mario Fashion

Via .tiff, Super Mario Fashion from Pixelgarten. This one from the Sims is my favorite, too:

Canabalt high scores!

Matt built a Canabalt High Scores site, which makes me very happy (I love Canabalt)! Now all he needs to add is pagination past the top 25, so that my high score can be on the list.

Canabalt

via www.canabalt.com

Canabalt is my favorite new iPhone game! It's absolutely perfect, because I can only possibly play it for a couple of minutes per game (and that's when I do really well; most of the time, it's under a minute), and yet it's a couple of minutes of pure escapism (literally).

Windosill

I started and finished Windosill this weekend. What an absolutely lovely & delightful game (and I'm not much of a game player, to be honest).

To put it another way: even though it's a puzzle game, and in the process of finishing it I solved all of the puzzles, I've now gone back a couple of times to play it through again, just because it's so enjoyable. Highly recommended.

Lots of Batali

I enjoyed this quote from Mario Batali in the press release about the new Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine video game:

"I'm delighted to be involved with Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine," said Chef Batali. "My video game counterpart is as passionate and competitive in the virtual Kitchen Stadium as I am in real life..."

Speaking of Batali, I made a batch of his Basic Tomato Sauce last weekend. It was satisfying work, and when it was over, I had around four cups of fantastic sauce, most of which I froze. I've used some of it already in making spaghetti and meatballs this week--they were wonderful.

And finally, you can watch Batali making the pasta sauce on this episode of Molto Mario, which even features special guest Michael Stipe:

Karting Under the Influence

Finally, a scientific look at the effects of drinking on driving (a Mario Kart, that is). (via Matt)

My verdict? I think the hypothesis needs more testing: "Coconut Mall", where I gather the tests were run, is a course where reckless driving might actually benefit the karter; but my guess is that such recklessness would actually be detrimental on e.g. "Wario's Gold Mine", or "Rainbow Road."

At the very least, it's probably worth another round of rigorous drinking testing.

Why Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the Greatest Game Ever

Anyone familiar with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City knows that it's a game with many modes of play (that's probably not the technical term): it's a driving simulator; it's a role-playing strategy game; it's an action shoot-em-up.

What it really is, I think, is a combination of all of these game structures. But the most interesting thing about VC is that, in creating its own alternate realistic world, it actually works on all of these multiple levels. Most games give you an escape from reality and are described as such--someone's had a bad day at work, so when he (and yes, I'll just be sexist and assume that in most cases it's "he") comes home he escapes into the heightened reality of his Playstation 2 console, blah blah blah.

The unique thing about Vice City is that it gives you an escape from the reality that it creates. If (when) I fail a mission, I can take out my frustration by driving around in a Ferrari listening to "More Than This," by entering in a rampage against gang members, by setting myself up in the parking garage with a sniper rifle, etc. Its multi-level reality, in other words, provides its own source of both frustration and relief.

Which isn't a revolutionary observation, I grant you, and I'm no gaming expert, so there are probably other games that qualify for the title of greatest ever; but I think it's why it's the only game that I could actually waste a weekend playing.