Super Mario 3D Land: completed!

At least, I've seen the end credits, completing all the levels in Worlds 1-8.  I've rescued Peach, and Bowser has been consumed by lava.  And then the game reveals that it's actually twice the size, with 'Special Worlds' (some of which are very similar to existing levels with time limits reduced or different enemies) and Luigi's been captured.  Completing Special World 1 rescues Luigi, and you can then use him instead of Mario, making some of the jumps easier but landing on small platforms harder.

I've completed up to the end of Special World 3, but I don't have a huge desire to continue.  It's odd; this is actually a really good game and is much more of a 3D conversion of the 2D Mario games than 64, Sunshine or Galaxy.  There are no stars to collect or multiple goals in a level - just a clear run to the defined finish line.  Maybe I've overdosed a bit on Mario lately, with NSMB2, NSMBW and NSMBU; I can always come back to this.

But for now, it's done and my 3DS is all ready for something else all-consuming ...

DLC Quest: completed!

A quirky and charming little puzzle platform game, DLC Quest is intended as a satirical look at the way that console games have been progressing, with ever-more content locked away.  The game sees you collecting coins in order to pay the shopkeeper for items such as the ability to move left, or animation of your character.  As much of the humour is in the writing, I've hidden the rest of this post on its own page.

Super Mario 3D Land: depth perception

I'm up to world 5 now, so over half-way through the standard list of eight (though I suspect, given other Mario titles, that there may be more hidden).  It has got better, but I'm still not finding it amazing to play - it just feels a bit awkward to control at times and I'm finding it tricky to see which plane Mario's actually standing on when it comes to some of the side-scrolling sections.  Even with the 3D effect on maximum, some of the platforms blend too much into the background, especially on the cloud sections.

Still, I've collected lots of star coins, have around 50 lives to spare, and have no intention of dropping this game half-way through.  It helps that I've got a nine-hour flight on Friday ...