Squintillating Platform Perils: Focus

Apparently it's a Monday, which means Garfield is probably absolutely hating his coddled life somewhere, the comical ingrate. I'll never get tired of his feline japes. To alleviate the start of another working week I bring you a browser game that is far more intense than it first appears. It goes by the name of Focus and is a Flash version of a downloadable game made by Jesse Venbrux, creator of the Karoshi series. Although it rapidly becomes rather difficult, death is a minor inconvenience, if you can abide the textual mockery that follows. Play here now.

The very beginning made me think of Another World to the extent that I thought it was an allusion, but that probably says more about the amount I played Another World than anything about Focus. What other games start in a hanging cage? I'm sure it's a semi-regular occurrence now that I think about it.

Do get past the first few levels because it seems rather turgid until the extent of the titular skill becomes clear. The moment I realised the surrounding bubble slowed down incoming projectiles I was a happy man indeed and so could you be as you skip through the spaces in between with even guided missiles thwarted by your brilliance. Then you'll mess up and explode into bits again and again and again.

There are additional levels on top of the ones that were available in the downloadable version, including a set of 'Insane' challenges. They are horrible. Do not attempt them. Try the 'New' levels first, I reckon and if you're still hankering for more, give the originals a shot.

I haven't finished it but I want to because I feel like I know what I'm doing and am improving, which is more than can be said for the more complex games I'm trying to wrap my head around at the moment.