Review No. 100 Defy Gravity Extended - PC (3+)

Strong Points:
Strong, core mechanics
Music is good
Lengthy playtime for a game of its price
The concept of gravity is used in many different ways
Very cheap
Quite varied level design
Some truly great solutions to problems
An epilogue adds a lot more to the game
Good gravity physics

Weak Points:
The graphics aren't great
Some levels have your Gravity Shield permanently on, turning it into a basic platformer (although this is better used later on)
The platforms can go through walls
A bit buggy
Huge difficulty spikes
Story isn't very fledged out

Rating: 65%

In-depth Review:

Release Dates: 25 July, 2011

Controls:
W,A,S,D: movement
Mouse: aim
Left Click: fire gravity well (hold for a longer distance)
Right Click: fire anti-gravity well (hold for a longer distance)
Q: destroy gravity well
E: destroy anti-gravity well
Spacebar: tap gravity shield
S: toggle gravity shield

As the name suggests, this is a game about defying (and using) gravity. That is, if you can call it a game. After playing through half the game in 51 minutes, I did begin to feel that it was more suited to an app-based platform than a full game.

But first I will go into the core mechanics of this 'game'. As I have said, the main mechanic of the game is that you can create gravity (and anti-gravity) wells by shooting with your gravity gun. These wells both use gravity but act in different ways. The gravity wells (which are blue) attract you and any gold coloured platform and enemy and can be turned off with the button 'Q' while the anti-gravity wells (which are yellow) repel you and any gold coloured platforms and enemies. The wells can be shot further by holding down on the appropriate shoot button (this allows for some actually quite precise aiming).

The other gravity-based ability you have is the 'gravity shield' (which can either be tapped on for short bursts or toggled on). The gravity shield is pretty self-explanatory and, basically, prevents you from being affected by gravity wells. While this does add another realm of thought for how you should tackle puzzles, the levels where it is always on can become more like a basic platformer (although it can be quite well done when controlling a platform through the use of many combinations of gravity wells).

The final ability that you have is the jetpack which reloads even when you are in the air and allows for some great jumps and platforming (especially when combining it with many gravity wells and the ability to jump on certain enemies).

The soundtrack is amazing and atmospheric and the game is worth more just to listen to it. However, the graphics are not up to par with either the sound or the gameplay and have the feel of a much older game (without the retro charm). The story, also, seems pushed in just to add a reason for the game existing and doesn't really add much to the overall experience.

Overall, Defy Gravity is a decent enough game (especially for its price) but could be improved with some very simple fleshing out.

Goodbye for now, Harry