First things first, this is a review of the Tiny & Big: Up That Mountain beta demo available here.
Now, I need to get this off of my chest straight away. This has to be one of the most beautiful looking games I’ve seen for a while. The screenshots really do not give justice to how gorgeous it is in game. I think it had something to do with playing a game that isn’t based on the “gritty realism” of the, apparently, very brown world we live in.
Now, onto the story. As you might be able to guess it’s not going to be the gaming equivalent of War and Peace, but i find it a very engaging story line. I’ve spend a fair while trying to figure a way to word it properly but i think, in this case, the description given in the press release says it all:
…Your nemesis Big stole the only heritage your grandpa left you: A nice pair of white, fine rib underpants! And he‘s surely up to no good, why else would he hide in this forsaken and unexplored desert… Where no one ever goes…
In terms of hooks, that has me in there in a heartbeat. There’s mystery, theft, a clear cut good guy, an oddball baddie of Wallace and Gromit-esqe proportions. In short, the type of story only an Indie game can get away with.
The gameplay its self is a physics based puzzler. You have 3 weapons to (in this demo) get to the top of a mountain. With a click of your left mouse button you activate the laser. This will cut up the many pillars and rocks in your path to help you climb up the mountain. The middle button fires a rocket and with another click of the middle button it sets off. I’ve found this to be quite a dangerous way of moving objects. More often then not I’ve found myself flattened by a 20 foot pillar spinning like a DJ in an earthquake. With the finally with the right mouse button you get a grappling hook. This is to move everything into place so you can progress. It’s a lot safer then the rocket, unless you happen to be stood underneath whatever you’re pulling down. in which case you tend to end up as flat as a pancake.
The whole point of this level is to show off what you can expect in a full release. You progress through levels by using a mix of all 3 tools at your disposal as Big taunts you the whole way by just sitting there, staring at your before jumping out of your way.
In a game based of physics, the physics engine would obviously come under heavy scrutiny. Simply put, it works. There’s not really much to say. A game based on real world physics can go one of two ways. You can play it and yell “Bullshit, I’ve never seen that happen in real life” or you can play it and not get angry at the engine when you die from pillar-squishing.
I really like this game. It may only be a demo but you can see the direction it’s going. It’s much like Portal in the sense that it sticks you in the middle of a puzzle to be solved and just lets you go about it on your way to solve. But apart from that, very small, comparison, I can’t really think of anything else that it’s like. It’s great fun, the comic style graphics are a god send and you can try it out for free. So, maybe you should do that.
