Tiny And Big: Grandpa's Leftovers For Mac

21-04-2021

Tiny And Big: Grandpa's Leftovers For Mac

Mac: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher, 32 or 64 bit. Linux:Tested on Ubuntu, Mint and SUSE, 32 or 64 bit. Full Version Tiny and Big Grandpas Leftovers Download. Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers 1.0 for Mac is free to download from our software library. This Mac download was scanned by our built-in antivirus and was rated as malware free. The actual developer of this software for Mac is Black Pants Studio GmbH. Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers for Mac lies within Games, more precisely Adventure. Tiny & Big in Grandpa's Leftovers does so many things well, but ultimately it fails to overcome shoddy mechanics and a buggy engine that is still being put through its paces.

Tiny & Big: Grandpa’s Leftovers
Developer: Black Pants Studio	Release Date: June 19, 2012
Publisher: Black Pants Studio	ESRB Rating: N/A
Platforms:PC (Steam), Mac	MSRP: US$9.99

I had a very weird experience with Tiny & Big: Grandpa’s Leftovers. I highly anticipated getting my hands on it for over two months, and when I got it, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. I instantly downloaded the game to my laptop – only to realize that the game requires a three-button mouse. I downloaded it to my inferior desktop and began to play. As I blew through the first hour or so (the first two stages of six), I could not stop thinking things like “I’m going to give this a near-flawless review!” “This is one of the best games I’ve played all year!” “If continued right, this could be the next big indie hit like BIT.TRIP and Super Meat Boy!” And then I got to the boss stage, and I began to see the game in a new light. But perhaps I’m jumping the gun a bit.

The premise of Tiny & Big is simple and humorous. You control Tiny, who the game describes as “the rightful owner of the pants,” as he goes after Big, who apparently stole the pants and is a “big meanie.” It turns out these pants have mystical powers and are all that Tiny’s grandfather left to him, so it is imperative that he gets them back. To do so, he has three tools: the Laser, the Rocket, and the Rope.

The laser can be used to cut almost any object at any angle. Seriously, over 95% of the game world is destructible, and it is fantastic. You can cut pillars to make bridges, cut flying boulders to remove danger, and much more. The second item, the rocket, has a much more limited use. The rocket can be used to push any object, and is usually used on objects that need to become bridges, or objects that you need to push out of the way after cutting them. Finally, the rope is the opposite of the rocket, and can be used for pulling objects.

The game is told with an endearing, comic-book cel-shaded style, only made possible with a clear amount of effort. The work pays off big time, as the game is beautiful in screenshots, and jaw-dropping in motion. The presentation is further enhanced by a wonderful soundtrack, which is a collaboration of many different indie bands. A copy of the soundtrack was graciously provided by the developer, and I can easily see why it is being sold separately. The variation is astounding, yet it somehow manages to always capture the feel of the game.

The exploration levels, which make up roughly two thirds of the game, are absolutely fantastic. You explore a seemingly-open world as you attempt to reach a set goal. Given the three tools, you can alter the world in any way you want in order to reach your goal. Even though there are definitely only a few ways to achieve at least a couple of puzzles, the game gives of the impression of having unlimited solutions and complete free reign. You may take the world at your own pace (for the most part), taking in the wonderfully-constructed world.

Unfortunately, this excellence is what seems to set Tiny & Big up to fall when it comes to boss stages. The pressure of constantly attempting to get to a certain place very quickly while also defending yourself from death is incongruent with the rest of the game. Against the first boss, for example, you have to push rocks to move forward, while also keeping an eye above you so as to watch out for any rocks flying your way. Once you get lucky and destroy them in a way that doesn’t mess up your carefully laid plan, you can take a couple of steps forward to continue your plan, before the entire cycle repeats. That is, of course, assuming you don’t die.

The main gameplay seems to be built on the idea of taking your time, which is wonderful, yet can cause highly frustrating scenarios come the boss battles. I will be completely honest and point out that after each stage, it ranks you against other people who played the game, and based on those rankings, I am in the vast minority with having significant problems with these boss battles. I just want it known that the possibility is there for frustration, even though you’ll feel right at home again in the exploration sections.

As I mentioned, Tiny & Big ranks you on a number of factors, which means that there is high replayability based on the leaderboards. Extra replayability is also found through the numerous achievements as well as the various collectibles. The base game, lasting six stages, will take you roughly two hours to play through, but you could spend up to ten or so just exploring the world, trying to do everything in the best way possible.

I truly want to stress that my own negative impressions with this game were effectively limited only to the boss battles, which others seem to not have problems with. For $10, I give this game one of the highest of recommendations, although I feel my rating must reflect my personal struggles with it. This is one game that definitely must be in your Steam library.

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Full disclosure: This game was reviewed using a copy provided by Black Pants Studio.

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Genre: Action

Min OS X: 10.5

Tiny & Big In GrandPa's Leftovers
August 29, 2012 | Ted Bade

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Click to enlargeWho's That Pale Guy?

Review:

Tiny & Big: Episode 1 (GrandPa's Leftovers) from CrimsonCow is one of the more bizarre, yet interesting and fun, games I have played recently. It is essentially a “physics” game in that you need to push, pull and cut objects that block your way as you progress through the game. The puzzles all involve moving through a world making a path using the objects around you, all the while, avoiding flying rocks that could crush you.

In this cartoon adventure you play the part of Tiny and are opposed by a relative named “Big”. Your common grandfather has left and passed along an item that gives the wearer magic abilities. The game refers to this object as pants. Somehow, Big has managed to steal them and Tiny is chasing after him to get them back. Big seems to be quite the jerk and not only teases Tiny, but has a habit of tossing rocks and other large objects at Tiny. All the while Tiny needs to move through the spaces of the levels to get to Big.

Tiny can run and hop pretty well, but a lot of objects are way too tall to hop onto or over. Luckily, Tiny is equipped with a laser gun that cuts most of the solid objects in this world. He is also pretty strong and can push or pull (using his grapple hook) objects of just about any size. He also has a rocket gun that puts a small engine on an object, then can be used to whisk it far away.

Objects in this world are generally rectangular solids. Many are longer rectangular solids, which are great to make ramps out of by slicing the object into two triangular solid objects. Once a ramp is made, and the unused part of it removed, it can be moved into a position to allow Tiny to walk up and onto whatever is needed. Ramps are the easiest challenge. A more difficult challenge is moving longer solid objects into a position to allow you to cross a wide gap. The issue is that, if you put too much of the object’s weight into open space, it will fall and no longer be available to use.

Cutting objects with the laser gun is easy. The challenge here is to get the angle right as well as being sure you don’t accidentally cut some object behind it, making it more difficult or even impossible to continue. It’s also a good idea to avoid cutting things so they fall on top of Tiny! Another challenge is not falling. Many of the paths can be narrow, and a wrong step, or cutting the floor underneath can cause Tiny to fall and die. Almost all of the areas have an edge that is high above the ground. It’s a great view, but there is nothing stopping you from falling. Sadly, the grapple hook doesn’t work to pull you back up or to break your fall.

In many of the levels your nemesis, Big, will be tossing rocks at you. There are generally two things you can do. First is to dodge them, provided you have the space to move around, or if you are lucky, hide behind an object that won’t be pushed on top of you when the rocks hit. The other option is to use your laser to cut the oncoming rock into two pieces. Generally, if you do this, neither piece will hit you. Sometimes the game forces you to do one or the other of these actions in order to progress (Of course, a third option is to get hit, but this just ends the sequence and you have to start again!)

Death is not a real problem. When Tiny dies, you can choose to start again. The game restarts at a point before you were killed. Usually this location is a few to several steps behind where Tiny was defeated.

The scenery in this game is rather blocky and basic, but interesting and well done all the same. The world of this game reminds me of a desert area. Lots of rocks, sand, and no plants. Little prairie animals pop up out of holes that pepper the ground in some areas. The sky is a bleak monotone. Yet, it all works to make the game unique and interesting.

Rather then a audio voice track, the speaking members in Tiny & Big communicate using squeaks and other sounds. Text bubbles provide the information of the communication. Since this game doesn’t have an active background environment, the background sounds all relate to the chopping, cutting, and tossing of the rocks, as well as a few others like the chirruping of the prairie animals.

The game’s music track is interesting. First of all it consists of a variety of European “indie” music tracks. The titles selected blend well with the game’s mystique. But rather then simply providing the music, the player needs to find audio tapes as he moves through the environments. Once a tape is found, that particular title is added to those that can be listened to. You can select a particular tape or move to the next one any time. Controls are provided to let you select a particular track and to ski along to another.

I enjoy the fact that Tiny & Big rewards a player for investigating the environment. In addition to the music you find, there are other items that can be found if you search a bit. One such is collecting “boring rocks”. Truly a rather unusual task, but what the hey! There are some other special items you might find as well. Some are slightly off the beaten path, while others take a bit of searching. Nothing related to finishing the game, but still, I like exploration.

After each section you get scored on what you did. This includes how many of the rocks and music tapes you collected (of the total available to find). You also get scored on the number of cuts and deaths as well as how long it took for you to complete the level. If you enjoy the game, this provides a goal to return to a level and see if you can beat your best.

The game saves at undeclared checkpoints. It can be frustrating to spend a bit of time playing, quit for some real world reason, then return to have to do the entire section over again. The only redeeming factor is that you are familiar with the level, and will more than likely move through quickly.

Overall, I enjoyed this charming game. It is a relatively quick play. If you stick with just the adventure, it might take only a few hours to complete. If you poke around a bit, it will take longer. The challenges aren’t really hard, but can take a bit of trial and error to get the best solution. It was enjoyable enough that I looked forward to getting back to playing. If you like a physics based game, this one is definitely one to look at.

• Fun gameplay
• Interesting music
• Intriguing puzzles

Cons:

• Checkpoints can be far between
• Quitting the game before completing an area often returns the payer to the beginning of that level when returning

Tiny & Big In GrandPa's Leftovers

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