Games

Pixel Perfect Memories: Betrapped!

42 Comments

For anyone who missed it, the Top 100 NES games countdown has commenced over at Death By Troggles.  Today's game, Cobra Triangle, is #74 on the list.

Release Date: 2004
Platform: Windows
Developer: Oberon

Murder Mystery and Minesweeper.  It took this long for someone to combine the two?  Your guess is as good as mine.

BeTrapped! is the brainchild of Jane Jensen, designer of the Gabriel Knight series.  You play as Mr. Parker, solving a mystery in a manor filled with hundreds of booby traps.  Each time you enter a new room, you must play minesweeper, determining which spots on the floor have traps and deactivating them.  Once you’ve cleared a room, you can talk to houseguests to unravel the case of the murdered estate lord.

Unlike minesweeper, you are allowed to screw up on occasion and still not die (though there are a few local time limits), and even if you do, you can save your progress.  And unlike most games that pass themselves off as mysteries, you actually do have to take notes and deduce the murderer at the end of the game.  Though reaching the end is incredibly easy, winning requires an acute mind, as the clues are devilishly woven throughout the game.  Sadly, if you’re wrong, the game will tell you who the murderer is anyway.

Overall, this game is quite fun while it lasts, though it’s short and leaves little reason to replay it.  You can create your own rooms of booby traps to practice in (and to best one’s own speed records), but after a while I longed for the original minesweeper that accomplishes the same goal while being less tedious.  But BeTrapped! is a clever idea that was given the execution it deserved by one of the genres most original minds.

Whatcha playing?

42 thoughts on “Pixel Perfect Memories: Betrapped!”

  1. Did I mention that I finally got a fourth controller for our Xbox (Gen1)? Haven't gotten to it yet, but the hope is that EAR, HPR, CER, and I can play Fusion Frenzy together. Or at least not against the computer, which at easy is still way better than us.

    I also picked up Tetris Worlds, Bowling, and an MLB game that I haven't played yet. Each cost me between $1-$3.
    I was bummed that Tetris Worlds does not include Tetris 2, which I used to play on my sister's NES a lot. I dug breaking up the corner-connected pieces.

  3. I played through Gears of War 2 over the past 2-3 weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two games in the series and plan on picking up 3 when I can get it for ≤$15.

    In the mean time, I think I'm going to re-start BioShock. I'm to a point with other games where I can devote more attention to this one like it deserves. Other than that, I've got a growing list of games that I think are really close to being cheap that I want to play, many of which will probably be for the Wii, what with Nintendo's recent announcement that they are publishing their last game for the thing. (I still haven't played any of the Metroid games or Skyward Sword, for instance.)

    1. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two games in the series and plan on picking up 3 when I can get it for ≤$15.

      GoW 3 was probably my favorite of the series. I've seen it around this price point pretty recently, so I think you should definitely be able to snag it before too long.

      1. I've got Gears 2 and 3 sitting on my 360, but haven't started them yet. It's my goal to finish 2 before Halo 4 comes out. I think I got 3 for around 10 bucks, but that was buying it used from Gamefly with a 10% discount.

      2. Gears 3 was definitely the best of the series.

        Spoiler SelectShow

  4. I've been playing a bit of Arkham City recently. I'm a fan. I like that my biggest complaint about Arkham Asylum (easy, one dimensional repetitive boss fights) has been turned into one of the game's biggest strengths. I also like that even as the city is sprawling and open world, I haven't felt the paralysis that I usually do with GTA games.

    I played through Kirby's Adventure on an emulator a week or two ago. That game is fantastic. I need to get more Kirby games.

      1. Ooh, I do have a Wii, and that looks great.

        The wife did just pick up Kirby's Epic Yarn not too long ago, which is why I was playing Kirby's Adventure in the first place.

  5. With school & work I haven't had a lot of time for gaming lately, but I have been playing a couple things when I have the time. The largest chunk of my gaming time has been taken up by Super Hexagon on iOS. It's by Terry Cavanaugh who created the wonderful VVVVVV and it is quite possibly my favorite game this year. Basically you rotate around the center of the screen to avoid getting hit by obstacles which are coming towards you. The game is brutally difficult, but you can re-try instantly. You just need to survive as long as you can. It's a blast, and it was $1 on the App Store, but might be $3. Honestly, if I'd paid $20 for the game I would be happy with it. It's brilliant.

    I've also been playing New Super Mario Bros. 2 on the 3DS and Mark of the Ninja which I downloaded off of Xbox Live Arcade. NSMB2 is really fun, and I'm kind of surprised at the lukewarm reception it's received. Yeah, the aesthetics of the NSMB series are really bland and you get so many lives it takes almost all the challenge out of the game, but the level design is really fresh and the game plays great. It's certainly better than the first NSMB on DS, which was a total turd. Mark of the Ninja is a 2D stealth ninja action game. It's the best stealth game I've played in about as long as I can remember. Each encounter with a guard is like a puzzle, and there's usually several ways to get past that encounter. The game plays wonderfully. The controls are intuitive, and the game has very slight visual touches to show you if you're hidden or not. It's really, really great.

    1. I was just reading about Mark of the Ninja yesterday and was very intrigued. I think I may download that this weekend.

  6. I just finished Assassins Creed Revelations last night. I've been playing each of them about a year after they came out, and I don't see a reason I'll change that trend with ACIII. It looks good, but the game mechanics can wear you out after playing through the game. I will say that this one hasn't been as bad as the previous games in that regard. The story wasn't near as good though.

    I've still got a large backlog of games, but I'm facing a difficult decision as to whether or not to buy Borderland 2 right away. I played the first one for so many hours.

  7. I started and finished Outland, a PSN/XBL game, in the past month. It's excellent. If you liked Super Metroid, and you did, you'll like this.

    The Milkmaid and I beat Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 over the last couple of months, and we went for 100% trophies. Unfortunately, one trophy is glitched and now she's playing through the levels again just to pick it up. It kind of drove us nuts.

    Right now I'm all over Borderlands. I thought it sounded semi-intriguing when it came out, but I haven't played an FPS in years. Now this one is one of my favorite games, ever, of any type. Throwing RPG elements and an open world into an FPS was right up my alley, and I love the post-apocalyptic, western setting.

    Just yesterday I got Scott Pilgrim and Double Dragon: Neon free from PlayStation Plus, and both were on my radar. I've played about a jillion games in addition to all these lately, too.

    1. Scott Pilgrim is a lot of fun, but certainly best played with a friend. On my own, I found it merely decent. The soundtrack is one of my favorite video game soundtracks, though.

    2. I need to get back and finish Outland. I bought it in the middle of playing the demo. The game is great. The Ikaruga-esque polarity mechanic totally rules.

    3. If I really like FPS games with RPG elements set in a post-apocalyptic/western-y world, would I enjoy Borderlands? Not that I need my list to grow any more...

      1. You probably would, especially if you like games with tons of sweet loot.

        I liked the first Borderlands a fair amount. I'm extremely hyped for the sequel next week. If anyone else here gets it on 360 I'd love to do some co-op!

        1. Is the single player experience worth a $14 purchase? It sounds like it is, but I'm more hesitant with game purchases these days because it seems like so many games are made more for the "online multiplayer"-ness of it.

          1. I think so. The game seems to have pretty seamless co-op, but it's not a requirement for enjoyment. If possible, I'd suggest the Game of the Year edition which has all the DLC in the package. Apparently all the DLC is really, really fun. I got a copy of it for around $10 a while back.

            1. Completely agree. I played multiplayer for awhile with some friends and that was a good time, but the majority of time I spent on the game was single player. Also agree about GotY edition, Borderlands' DLC is probably the best I've ever played.

              1. I think the co-op stuff for Borderlands 2 sounds awesome, since it's completely drop in/drop out. I have a friend who would probably enjoy playing with me, but I think at some point he'll buy the game himself. He could then skip missions we played together if he wants. And there's no requirements, so someone can drop in at any time. I'm surprised how excited I am.

  8. I forgot to mention, I downloaded the demo for Bastion, as well. It lives up to the hype, at least from what I've seen, it does. I'll have to buy the full version.

  9. On the topic of mobile gaming, that's been the lion's share of my activity, too.

    Currently, I'm playing through Osmos HD and Zen Bound 2.

    Both are really interesting games, with unique gameplay.

    Osmos HD features you as a blob, floating among other blobs. The goal is to get bigger by absorbing smaller blobs while avoiding bigger blobs. Navigation is done by tapping opposite of the direction you want to go, thereby ejecting a bit of yourself and propelling you in the other direction. The challenges are myriad, including sentient blobs who gun for you, puzzle levels (where all blobs are stationary at the beginning), and orbital levels, where everything is rotating around a large gravity well blob. The soundtrack is great and the graphics are nicely done.

    Zen Bound 2 is a game where the goal is to completely paint various shapes using a rope. The rope direction is stationary, and you control the rotation of the figure using a few different gestures, the levels aren't timed, and the rope is completely removable, leading to the ability to undo and redo your efforts while in the same level. The physics of the game are quite god, leading to the rope slipping from your intended area if move to aggressively in subsequent rotations. Overall, it's a great puzzle game, though it can be quite time consuming. Graphics are superb and the soundtrack is nicely done.

    1. I'm always looking for free mobile games as it's a work phone and I can't pay for games. This past week I played a lot of Super Stickman Golf. Best free game I've played so far. I've also officially pulled myself away permanently from Angry Birds. What a pointlessly addictive, entirely dissatisfying game.

      1. I played Angry Birds once. It was enough. It looks nice and the physics are good, but it's not even the most fun "knock things down with things" game I've ever played.

        What a brilliant idea, though, to use surly living birds as the ball. Nice move by the developers - the humor of that alone sold the thing.

        1. I've found it to be addictive like the old PC game "Lemmings".
          Trying to solve the problem of how to use the tools you're given to solve the problem.
          But I've only played twice and I'd get bored after a while.

          1. Lemmings is certainly higher quality. I didn't like it as much as many. Enjoyed it for a weekend and that was enough.

          2. I liked its immediacy. You fling your birds, you fail or succeed. A minute or two, tops. In Lemmings, you'd set everything up, release them, then wait for wait seemed like forever watching them walk towards the exit. It's a game that lived a lot better in my memory.

  10. Co-worker just told me he's going to give me his sister's old PS2. He's only got Ninja Assault and Taiko: Drum Master.
    Anyone got recommendations for family-friendly games for this console? Also, I'm gonna get a version of Tekken. (Tekken 2 is really the only video game I've played much of after the NES.)

    1. I'm really fond of the Ape Escape series. They're very fun and charming. I'd also recommend any of the Hot Shots Golf games. It's got a very "cutesy" aesthetic, but it's an excellent game of video golf. I think Fore! is probably the best one on the PS2. I've heard The Adventures of Cookies & Cream is a really good game for co-op play, though I never got a chance to play it. The PS2 also has a pretty good selection of Dance Dance Revolution games. Probably the best of any of the consoles. You can probably get a good mat for cheap, and the games sell for a song now. I recommend them highly as well.

    2. Tekken Tag Team Tournament. Full stop.

      Frequency was a lot of fun back in the day, I'd definitely hunt that down (plus it has cool music).

    3. Holy moly I can't believe I forgot these. They're PSone games, but get PaRappa the Rapper and UmJammer Lammy. My favorite two games on the PSX ever.

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