Echochrome and a little Metal Gear Online

I tried out the Echochrome demo that is available for download on PSN today. Needless to say, I am impressed with the concept of the game, but not so much with how the controls are set up. For those who don't know, Echochrome is a puzzle game based on the physics of impossible objects where the goal of each level is to guide a walking figure through the impossible object to collect its shadows. In a similar fashion to Super Monkey Ball, you don't control the figure but instead you rotate the stage (though it can be argued that you directly control the camera and not the stage).



As I said earlier, the concept for the game is quite original and intriguing. However I have to complain about the controls. You're given two ways to move the stage/camera - you can either just use the left analog stick for slow precise movements or hold the L1 button and use the Sixaxis/DualShock 3's motion sensing controls. To put it plainly, the motion based controls don't work at all and using the analog to move is painfully slow causing the player to continually pause the figure's movement so you can rotate the camera to where you want it to be. It would have been nice if they gave you an option to turn off motion based controls and map L1 to speed up the analog controls.

In any case, the Echochrome demo is worth checking out. I'm glad there are still developers out there trying something new.



I've been playing a lot of the Metal Gear Online beta since it's release on Friday. It basically feels the same as the MGS3 Subsistence release of MGO and there's not too much to say about it other than that the MGS4 engine looks gorgeous and I'm really enjoying playing MGO again. My only complaint would be that I've only been able to play Team Deathmatch. Once people start losing in TDM they leave the server before the other game types rotate in. I would really like to try out the Capture Missions and Base Missions before the beta ends. Most likely, though, I'll have to wait until MGS4 comes out.

Also, Mario Kart Wii comes out tomorrow. I've played a bit of the Japanese release and was quite impressed by how well the Wii Wheel felt with the game. Battle Mode online is gonna rock. I can't wait!