Wednesday 9 July 2008

Guest Post - Bacter

Hi everybody! This is Bacter.You'll probably see me around the Hall at some point - I got randomly placed there right after I registered on Kong, and liked it so much I stayed. I'm fairly OCD about getting badges,so odds are if you're having trouble with something I'm available to give you tips and such.

So what is it we like about The Hall so much? To start off, The Hall is a part of Kongregate. Sure the thousands of free, quality online games are impressive,and the badges keep everybody addicted, from the casual gamer to the hardcore obsessive. The interface is easy to use, there are active forums, and don't forget the collectible card game too. But what makes Kongregate so addicting is the ability to, well,Congregate. This is where The Hall really shines - while I usually hate the term "lovable bunch of ragtag misfits", it's not a bad way to describe the regulars here. There are plenty of experienced Kongregators available for help on badges,it's new user-friendly, and almost always troll-free. In addition, the Hall is beginning to adopt a "self-moderation" technique (read an earlier post in this blog) that's cutting down on the Vigilantes Who Need To Talk Self-Importantly To Trolls, something almost as annoying as the trolls themselves.

The problem comes you've got your badges for the week, and the game you're playing is too fast-paced, demanding, or processor-hungry for chat. It can be really frustrating when somebody asks you a question or says something you HAVE to respond to as the Wall of Doom bears down on your frightened dino, or another wave of zombies approaches your ramshackle stronghold.

So, this week I give suggestions and reviews for a number of games which are excellent to play when chatting.

5 Differences /6 differences : These games jointly take home the first prize. They are "spot the difference" games,and will patiently wait for you to pay attention to them (no time limit). The artwork is absolutely beautiful, the games are very well made, and they will even play soothing music. The differences are not the same every time, so there is some replay value. Give them a try, and chat away!

Pappa's Pizzaria: When Pizzas Attack : This platformer is pretty standard fare: run, jump, collect tokens. Two elements put it on this list. First, it's very well made. There's something so satisfying about cracking a rogue onion over the head with a cutting board that you don't mind playing it, and secondly you are never more than a few seconds away from a safe platform, where you can leave papa for an indefinate amount of time as you chat away.

Chat Sketcher Beta: The ultimate for people who need all their processing power for one thing at a time. True, it's just paint with a chat function attached to it, but you can draw unflattering pictures of the people who are making fun of you in chat, and, as the only game on this list without a badge, solidly establishes my reputation as someone who does any research for his articles.

That's it for this time, ciao till later!

Bacter

...and that guys was a post from a potential permenant author. Give us some feedback and let us know what you think! Lots of love, The HoO crew.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great work! Nice seeing new work!

T said...

Nice work there, look forward to seeing what other tricks you have up your sleeve.

Anonymous said...

A very original and fantastic games review. Good writing as well. Look forward to more of your work.