Ethan: Meteor Hunter

I found this game more frustrating than fun, so I just stopped playing it near the start of the 2nd act. With most puzzle oriented games, I'd say that the struggle comes from finding the solution. With Ethan, you get that, and then get a bonus struggle of implementing your solution within the framework of the games mechanics. Take the pauses, a limited resource through pickups. If pauses were an unlimited resource, then the solution to the puzzles remains the same, and the frustration to the player of almost having the solution, but having to completely restart the puzzle because "oops, no more pauses" would be removed.

This is a platformer with puzzle elements, consisting of pausing the fast-paced jump-and-avoid-action to very methodically place wooden blocks to form stairs, bridges and whatnots. The idea is cool enough, but the pause-and-action-system really screws up the immersion. It's a few hours of pretty solid gameplay, but most of the time it isn't very fun, just annoying. The puzzles aren't that hard; they require more luck than anything. 4/10, I'd say.

It's not very good; by no means mechanically broken, or glitchy, but theres no inspiration or innovation to be found in this title. You play as a mouse/rat (whichever has the long tails) and you run through platfoming levels, collecting coi..I mean "fragments" and the gimmick is that every so often you pick up these pause items. All these allow you to do is pause the game mid action and move around blocks similar to how the Wizard in Trine and Trine 2 can. I'll admit I didn't give this game more than an hour or so, but I really could not keep playing after that. If you're a hardcore puzzle platformer, sure pick this up for a kick, but I'd advise waiting for a REALLY good sale on it.

At times awesome, at times frustratingly impossible. Bosses are a nightmare. Still haven't finished it due to annoyance. There's a lot of having to repeat levels over and over and over and over and OVER in order to get split-second timing right. I might pick it up again eventually but for now I'm totally over this game.

One of those games where the puzzles just can feel... Off. I've attempted to play it several times over the last few years and each time I've had to quit as the sounds, music, graphics and levels leave me feeling uncomfortable.

There have been a lot of 2D platformers hitting the various download services recently. In order to stand out you need to do something different and do it well. Ethan: Meteor Hunter aims to mix the precision and difficulty of the Super Meatboys of the world with some old fashioned block/tile sliding puzzles (the things that used to drive us mad as kids and when you could never get the last piece in the right place). You play a mouse named Ethan who needs to navigate a number of platform/puzzle levels while gathering chunks of meteor and eating cheese. While it might not sound that original it certainly does things a bit differently. The platforming elements are handled in pretty much the same way as a Cloudberry Kingdom or Super Meatboy, that being that they require precision jumps and timing with constant traps and dangers ready to kill you instantly. Ethan is more about precision than breakneck speed and your character handles differently than you may expect. Handling has changed a little from the PS3 game and there is a better flow to your movement. This allows for the more fluid run that the levels seem to be designed for. There are also numerous checkpoints to avoid having to repeat large sections and the improved handling does help to lower the frustration, however it is still a very difficult game. The main gimmick is the ability to use telekinetic powers to move blocks around to create platforms and solve puzzles. This, for the most part, works really well and adds variety to the game. Sometimes you’ll be simply moving blocks around to get to the next area, while at others you’ll need to be in a constant flow of jumping and pausing to move blocks to block flames or traps as you pass by. It’s in sections like this that the game really comes to life and the creativity of the development team really shines through. Levels themselves are designed to the highest standard and just about every conceivable way of twisting the basic mechanics is brought to the table. This means the game is always throwing something new at you or asking you to think about how to use your skills and abilities to reach the next area. Players need to stay sharp as this is a tough game from the start. You will die and die often and it’s certainly the type of game to cause controller smashing. Most of the time this is due to the player but there are odd occasions where the controls will let you down (it is much less prevalent than the PS3 version though). There are also a few minor issues that add to frustration. The main one of these involves small cut scenes or animations, especially when fighting bosses. You really don’t need to see a five second animation sequence over and over every time you die and it can tarnish the experience at times. Another minor irritation is the timing of some of the sequences. In areas where things drop from the ceiling or roll along it seems that, on occasion, they don’t start quickly enough. This means that after death you then have to wait a few seconds for the object to get moving before you start charging off as otherwise you end up in the wrong place at the wrong time and die again. These are all minor issues but in a game as difficult as this it does add to the frustration when you have to repeat a section a large number of times. Overall, Ethan: Meteor Hunter is a brash, inventive and challenging platformer. It has strong level design and a lot of imagination through its fifty or so levels. It certainly shows a lot of potential, the few minor issues with timing and controls seems to have been smoothed out somewhat since the PS3 release which creates a more enjoyable experience. For those looking for more platforming action this is another must have, just be prepared to smash a few pads on your way to conquering the game. Overall 8/10

I genuinely hate this game. I've played far worse, do not get me wrong, but there is something so hideously grating about my experience with Ethan that I feel should be used as a warning for those curious. Platforming is stilted, precision is nearly impossible, and "challenge" plentiful. Frustration mounts the further you go in, but hoo boy, if you want to find out the meaning of frustration, get to the first boss battle. You should be able to get there before the refund window is up but oh boy oh boy, are you in for an experience. Go ahead if you don't believe me. If anything, the opening art bits are nice, but the game itself looks like discordant trash. Only pain awaits you if you buy this.

Overall just a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ terrible game, the number of levels is ridiculous since the game is absolutely no fun at all. I mean this sure looks like a game made for kids..it's a mouse ffs.. I'd love to see someone under the age of...i don't know..14 actually be able to play through this unreasonably hard and way too long boring game...

If you want a fun, cute and quite challenging platformer game, look elsewhere. If you want a game that's harder than most men in the morning, this'd be for you. I wanted the former. Nuff said.

Мне понравилось и мозги можно чуток напрячь и время убить вечерком