We’ve reviewed many games on TSA, and probably hundreds for various other platforms over the years. We thought we’d seen it all, but occasionally something arrives that shatters your notions of what makes great games great. TSA Towers, the debut by our very own indie developer Andy Torr, is one such game. Developed exclusively with the Pop-It development tool, and taking inspiration from a legendary web site, TSA Towers tells the story of what happens when good intentions go bad.
Torr has taken the traditional platformer and imbued it with a sense of pervading darkness, not only in the gritty art style, but with the perilous puzzles and characters you meet along the way. Eschewing voice acting for subtitles, he’s been able to accurately portray the text-based communication of the site you are traversing. Cameo appearances by some of the most interesting characters from the real site, with hilarious yet doom-laden dialogue, are so well crafted that replayability is guaranteed. Perhaps the best is that of Michael the Receptionist, a stunningly beautiful realisation of TSA’s most active and well-loved writer. *
Often over-used in games is music, and it’s here that Torr has stuck to the less-is-more philosophy that serves him so well elsewhere. The mostly joyful ditty that accompanies even dark moments is an amazing contrast, and when the music does change you can almost feel the atmosphere growing more tense. Eventually, you’ll encounter the mighty Nofi, towering over the game as he does the site. It’s a brave depiction, but it pays off and gives the game the extra weight it deserves.
There’s more to discover than the main story, with Torr incorporating plenty of general platform foraging and fun in order to collect everything on offer. It often provides a nice distraction from the main story, allowing you to take a breather from the heavy stuff. Torr has said he’ll send a “crappy plastic key” to the first person to ace the level, but unit sales and therefore revenue will ultimately decide that. There have been many PSN debuts over the course of the PS3’s life, but TSA Towers eclipses them all. This is a masterwork of story-led design coupled with a never-ending mix of satisfying platforming.
We await what comes next from Torr’s twisted mind with barely contained glee.
10 - Unmissable.
As this review went to press we heard that the game may be supported with DLC, including new secret areas and some previously unseen comedy subtitles. Search for “TSA Towers” from within LittleBigPlanet to find the level.
* - as voted for by Michael.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I played it. It has changed my life.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Brilliant
Thanks dude.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
ha ha ha great post. Now I may sound like a idiot but I can’t find where to search for levels, can anyone help?
hannes_truce Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
got to cool levels and in the search function hit the square button. voila
andytorr Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Dammit truce, with your ultra rapid reply abilities.
hannes_truce Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
muahahahahahahaa! too much free time at work! lol
andytorr Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Go to ‘cool levels’, and then search on the right. Then on the next page press square and type in TSA Towers. I think this is right, can’t say for sure without looking, but I’m at work
November 19th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
This must have been the best review ever. And I couldn’t agree more. It is a great level.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
good review, i completely agree. awesome game, a must.
though i feel i didnt get enough credit or (any)money for my cameo lol
andytorr Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I will spice up your role in the revised version. Its a bit annoying how they’ve put a lock on the amount of characters to use in the text box. I had full on epic paragraphs set for everyone, then I was shot down.
RocketSOL Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
everyone!?!?
hannes_truce Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
i agree, i’ve played some levels though where people have put much longer things in the speech bubbles. dunno how they did that though…
Thanks though, i was actually suprised and pleased to be in it! lol
andytorr Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
They have?! If I find out how, everyone will get new dialogue.
hannes_truce Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I’ll have a play round later and see if i can work it out….
i’ll let you know if i make any progress
yogh_wayne Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I think the text is very limited per speech bubble, but I created a simple trigger for multiple speech bubbles. After reading the first one, you close it with the circle button and the next one directly appears. With it you could split the text to several speech bubbles. I will send it to you as an object tonight, so you can have a look
andytorr Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Awesome, that sounds ace
November 19th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I’m extremely intrigued now! Can’t wait to get outta the office! :p
November 19th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
thanks for the info
November 19th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Am i the only one who doesn’t know what the password is? did i miss something?
andytorr Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
The clue is in the forum.
Michael Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Hush. Don’t tell him.
Michael Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Yep - the only one. Our plan worked.
rothbury Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Thanks for the help :p
I just worked it out now, i feel stupid. The fact it has the letters T, S and A in it really through me off.
Michael Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Me too!
Diver68 Says:
November 20th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Your not alone with that one…. It took me a good half an hour - then I had to read the above Thread post before I saw it!
November 19th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I’ve been following this one for a while. Ever since it was shown at TGS 06 I’ve been scouring the nets for any drop of info.
I’ve pre-ordered my copy. Should be getting it as soon as I finish work.
It’s out now. I can’t believe it!
November 19th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
If anybody wants to be in the updated version of the level, just send me a pm on ps3. But If you’re not a regular on the forums, you’ve got no chance
November 19th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
does it support trophies?
November 19th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Great review and a well deserved 10/10!! I think the Metacritic score is 97 at the moment.
Did I mention, that I have the high score of ~1400 points at the moment? Beat this!
November 19th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Definately a 10, i loved it, well done andy.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I haven’t played this, and I’m not going to pretend that I have, but surely TsA must have some kind of bias when you review a level dedicated to your site. The post was funny as always, but it lacks a youtube vid so I could see the goodness for myself.
Michael Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
We didn’t review a level - what are you on about? We reviewed a whole damn game, man!
November 19th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
It is a great level. I too had problems with the (first) password but CC was there to help me. I had genuine lolz at many points despite my (very sick with stomach flu) Mrs sat beside me going “why is that funny?” and “who is that?” every 30 seconds.
TSA is not quite as funny when you have to explain the jokes.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Had the same problem as colossalblue, but I assume that it’s supposed to be difficult to be challenging enough. Remember, it’s dark and gritty, and the difficulty should also reflect that.
fredrikpedersen, here is an excerpt from an unbiased, independent review:
“The game is the best ever. 26/10″
So there you have it, everyone loves it.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Oh shit I’m no where near my ps3 for hours. Oh well somethinf to look forward to I guess!
November 19th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
bin usin tsa for like six month n only jst joined lol
i also cnt sus out the frigin pass word!!!! tryin for like half hour!!!
how lame am i……
fredrikpedersen Says:
November 20th, 2008 at 12:26 am
I have no idea what you just said, but I totally agree.
November 20th, 2008 at 2:15 am
I had a look at the level this morning looks good up to the first password……Which i can’t work out, even from the tips
Would love to see the rest of it, if anyone would like to shed some light on the matter
November 20th, 2008 at 9:08 am
It may just be my amateurish skills but I couldn’t get past the spinning controller bit!
Michael Says:
November 20th, 2008 at 9:26 am
I know, I struggled with that. You need to get on the long point bit as it’s going up in the air, so that you are at the highest point when jumping. At least, that’s how I did it.
For anyone struggling with passwords: check the forum list and their descriptions - that’ll help with one password.
nofi Says:
November 20th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Yeah, that and the massive ball of fire thing were tough. Got the passwords, eventually, the first one made me laugh.
The ‘forum’ bit is awesome, it really is a brilliantly made level, I’m so proud.
Jeebers Says:
November 20th, 2008 at 10:12 am
The ball of fire was the nasty bit for me too. Need to look for the hidden stuff now that i’ve done that frustrating Sensei’s Castle level!
Michael Says:
November 20th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Ball of fire was tough until I realised you don’t need to jump over the three obstacles - SackBoy just ducks undearneath them…
November 20th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Got a call regarding this level the night it was out, but was too tired. Could not resist though.. So I obviously got stuck at the first password, which also proves I haven’t been lurking around the forum enough :/ Ended up with me going almost mad in the forums at school yesterday, and figuring out the password.. Feeling ashamed I was so proud when I could enter the password correctly when I tried the level co-op with Pingu later that day
It’s an awesomly made level, can’t wait to see mr. Torr’s later creations! 5 stars, heart and everything! And I love it how ‘normal’ people will find the humour in this level lame
November 20th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Didn’t even get passed the ‘great log of fire’ thingy. I did realize I did not have to jump over the obstacles, because sackperson auto-ducks. But I was actually thinking to jump over them to ease things up. unfortunately, that did’nt work either.
Probably a good thing, cause I now am starting to realize one needs a password to progress in the level. Which made me laugh a couple of times by the way. T-shirts 3,99 posters’r brilliant. Nicely made level also.
I’ll tjek the forum and’ll beat the b*****d tonight.
anyone played the Azure palace yet? That looked simply amazing. It has a dragon in it by the way.
November 20th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I love this level. I also love the fact that I’m the first character you come across!!!
When do I get my money back by the way?
Michael Says:
November 20th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
You don’t get it back. Ha!
November 20th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Il check it out tonight, bound to be great from the feedback.
November 21st, 2008 at 6:33 pm
It’s the greatest piece of art since Marilyn Manson made his debut.