This is 1UP's first time learning about Gomibako. Though at first glance it appeared to be some variant on drop-and-match puzzlers, the true gameplay mechanics came as a bit of a surprise. In Gomibako, there's no matching of colors or anything similar; it's all about packing in garbage and disposing of it. And one of the best ways to pack in tons of garbage is to break fragile items over more sturdy ones by dropping them quickly. For example, breaking a wooden barrel results in a small quantity of splintered wood that occupies far less space than the original barrel, resulting in a denser concentration of garbage. But if you want to break a wooden barrel, 1) you're going to need something harder than a barrel to do it, and 2) you're going to need to drop it fast enough and with enough accuracy to make that happen (or, of course, drop the barrel on that item instead).
Nofi from TheSixthAxis writes that Sony have just released their first pay-to-play game on the PlayStation Store.
Gaming is moving towards pay to play model. Started off on a small scale with paid DLCs, charging for Home Items and now with could computing coming out of the shadows, it inevitable that the industry would move to pay to play model.
I am not sure if it would be beneficial or detrimental to gaming in general though.
Sony is just days / months ahead of its competitors. I am sure Nintendo & Microsoft (and possibly Apple) would also come up with such models in the near future.
Microsoft was already looking at a pay to play model for one of its downloadable games... Unfortunately I cannot remember the game right now.
I own the full version of Trash Panic and that game is not easy. Anyone who has played it knows what I mean.
Josh Kramer: "The game is fairly expensive for a PSN title at 1500 yen (or about $15 US dollars), and that, combined with the ridiculously tough difficulty, makes it really hard to recommend. I suppose if you are absolutely dying to pick up a new puzzle game and have some extra money to spend, you could do worse. Just remember, after failing to clear Stage Five for the hundredth time in a row, be sure to throw your PS3 controller at something soft (and not your cat)."
Pros
+ Unique theme
+ Addictive, physics-based gameplay
+ Polished visuals
+ Fun multiplayer mode
+ Allows for the uploading of in-game videos directly to YouTube
Cons
- Cannot save progress in Main Mode
- Excruciatingly difficult
- Too many things to worry about in the last few stages
- Horrendously annoying title screen music
- Expensive price point
Eurogamer writes: "Rubbish is a serious business here in Japan. Every week I have to separate my empty plastic bottles from their very wrappers and caps, because they're not to be thrown out together - and that's before I sort my plastic from glass, glass from metal, food waste from non-food waste, and flicked-through copies of Famitsu from everything else (because paper has to go out unaccompanied, on Thursdays). And no, I can't just sneakily put everything out together: What would the neighbours think? How long would the friendly concierge remain friendly? Besides, the city council generously supplies its citizens with a 40-page pamphlet that explains in unnecessary detail every possible rubbish-related faux pas. I can have no excuses."
A Garbage man simulator? Way to teach kids to shoot for the stars Japan,"Don't worry Jimmy if you try real hard, one day you can pick up the trash someday".
I love the Japanese culture, but sometimes I think they have just completely lost it over there.