Game EXP: Jack Lumber (PC)

It has been a loooooooong time since I last played Jack Lumber on my PC through Steam, but posting about Dustoff Heli Rescue II and the Three Star grading system implemented in that game got me thinking again about this game.  I think I did purchase it during a sale as opposed to it being bundled with a Humble Bundle.  And honestly, I like the concept behind the game, I like the artwork, I love the sound effects of the logs splitting, I like the humor, and even the story is absurd to the point of hilarity (Jack's grandmother is killed by a tree and he vows his revenge on trees, convinced that there is an evil overlord of trees out there.  Just watch the trailer.

I played Jack Lumber for a grand total of 2 hours until I reached the point where I had to stop.  Not really stop out of choice, but I stopped for the most damaging and saddening reason when it comes to video games.  Jack Lumber stopped being fun.

Jack Lumber works brilliantly as a touch screen game a la iPad or other large touch screen devices larger than a cellphone.  It even works pretty well with keyboard and mouse controls, and had I necessary tools I think it would work just as well (or better) with an artists stylus, or even Apple's Magic Trackpad might work really well; I never tried the game with trackpad, and I'm note even sure if it would be compatible with a gamepad.

Jack Lumber requires accuracy and timing, something that I have somewhat struggled with when using a mouse.  And if you are finished laughing at me, let me further explain.  What makes accuracy and timing important in Jack Lumber is that it is part puzzle game too, as you try to quickly figure out the quickest path to take before your timer runs out and the logs go back to their breakneck speed of spinning.  You gain bonus points for making cuts through multiple logs without turning, which can be difficult if you do not slow down the spinning logs at the right time or wait too long trying to cut a log that requires multiple cuts.  Even using the various types of syrups requires quick thinking lest you waste one requiring you  to save up a bit more money to buy more syrups.  This will often require additional playthroughs of previously cleared levels.

And that is where my lack of fun comes into play.  Like so many games, Jack Lumber uses the score and Three Star system for overall rankings in levels.  And this three star ranking is not for individual stages, but how you do overall across 10 individual stages.  This means that if you mess up on stage 6 out of 10, then you can either scrap all of your progress knowing you will not earn that coveted third star, or you can play through to earn more money to buy more items only to come back and try the level all over again.  Granted each stage lasts only a few seconds, as that is the amount of time you are granted with timed slowed down, but maybe that makes it even worse?

There was some point during the middle of the second area that I decided I would not try for three stars in every level, but instead move ahead after earning either one or two.  By the third area, Widowmaker's Peak, I hit a roadblock.  I was required to have more stars to play the next area than I currently had, halting my progress.  I looked back at the levels that I had only one star on and knew that it would require a lot of playing to either earn two stars or possibly even a third for the levels where I already had two stars.  But I did retry a number of those levels, earning a couple here and there, but still not enough to proceed through the next level which would have then required me to go back and earn yet more stars.

Playing Jack Lumber for me got to the point where if I made a mistake, I would esc out of the entire level, forgoing all progress regardless of what stage out of 10 I was on, only to restart it from the beginning; think Mario Kart when you are trying to beat the best time and you make one small mistake that you know will end up costing you 0.05876 seconds, so you quickly hit start-press down-restart-A button as if you have tucked the movement deep into muscle memory.  You know.

And this made me sad.  I wanted to love Jack Lumber far more than I ended up, and because of my inability (or focus?) to earn ever increasing Integrity Star Points, I will probably never finish this game.  Fare thee well sweet lumberjack, may you eventually fell the mighty evil tree that brought about your wrath.



~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
I Feel The Anger  Pulse Again