Posts filed under ‘Reviews’

A week or two ago, I was browsing Reddit and came across a post from a developer who had some leftover codes for a game he had made with his friends. He was nice enough to pass a code to me as well as a few others. Feeling that no good deed deserves to go unnoticed, I felt that this game needed some light shone upon it. Behold to thy open eyes Cavemen VS Aliens.

Now before you get all gun ho on me, I don’t want you thinking of Cowboys & Aliens as that is a movie, has different letters in the title and was a complete waste of Daniel Craig’s talent. No, Cavemen VS Aliens is a simplistic RTS from the Xbox Live Indie Game section developed by WeAreColin. In the midst of working and being sick, I finally had a chance to play a few levels. Gameplay is broken down to this. There are four Pterodactyls. One carries cavemen to spots,One takes them back, one supplies them with rock and one with health. Each has a cool down time, so sometimes it is strategic to move men if you can’t heal them. You have to bring them to different zones to help capture the territory or defend it. Hold enough territory for a certain amount of time or kill all the attacking aliens and you win the round. Do I need to tell you that the aliens are bad and want turn the planet into a giant communication repeater that would kill all life? NO? Good!

Now I know what you are thinking, that this incredibly well drawn game sounds just too easy. Well I tell you that it is not and that I certainly struggled. As of right now, I have not made it very far at all, having only conquered the first three levels. My mission right now is to attack more points and, I think, leave the forest area. There are a few other types of environments and supposedly they affect gameplay, but I cannot tell you how yet. You see, even though I have a super powered caveman named Colin (the chief’s top hunter son who you can’t let die) I still seem to be overpowered. I haven’t figured out how many cavemen I need to placed in the zones before I attempt to take them over. Hopefully you do better. At least while doing so I am not looking at some horrendous art or listening to crappy music. No my friends, WeAreColin does not make you suffer visually or auditory.

So if you are thinking you want to pick this game up with a Pterodactyl of your own, swing by the Xbox Live Indie section and snag it for a $1 (80Msp if they haven’t changed the currency yet.) I found it fun and will continue to work towards redemption of my failure to complete it. Also, I’ve got my eye on the developer that dropped the loot in Reddit. He stated that besides being busy working on 100 player crowd games, he was about to release something for WP7. Ooh, mysterious.

The TV cartoon Ugly Americans tends to be one of my secret pleasures. If I spot it on, I’ll generally flip to it and watch the crazy antics of a guy trying to be a monster social worker. Not to mention the fact that it is kinda cool that his girlfriend is a demon. His co-worker is a wizard who more often than naught acts like a drunken stage magician (probably because more often than naught he IS drunk). Of course, I hadn’t realized just exactly I would be in for by picking up my PS3′s controller and firing up Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon.

A small intro plays that basically tells me that the world is doomed and I have to save it. Standard everyday crisis, right? Anyways, you’re given a weapon that fires anything you put into it and that means ANYTHING. Baseballs, paint-cans, tennis balls, and wrenches will all become your weapons of monster fighting destruction. My first case I took on, playing as Mark the social worker, was to stop the man birds. I made the mistake of playing this while in the company of my fiancee, who was promptly disgusted by the man birds. The man birds walk around flinging filth, dropping shit bombs and  curse the daylight out of anyone in their presence. Such vulgarities as “suckmacoch”  and others forced her to flee the room. Mission successful.

The graphics and auditory enhancements stay true to the series, as well it should. These are the same voice actors as the show has and I would be curious to know if the developer, 345 games, hired any of the animators to help. I question that simply because they nailed the animation style. The story line takes the same trepidations and offensiveness that the show puts out. Quite frankly, it is apparent that this is one of the secret pleasures that should stay secret in my household. I like that I don’t have to keep it secret if I have like minded friends, as the game allows for 4-players.

If you’re a fan of the show, this game is a must for you to get. Enjoy your zombie, demon, and man bird fighting either on PSN or XBLA for only $9.99. Simply put, if you don’t buy it I well send you a man bird to raise as your own and wreck havoc on your social life.*

*This offer is not valid as man birds do not exist, but you get the point!

Just this summer I sold off my old Tippman Custom 98 paintball marker. Even though it had an expandable stock, an expansion chamber with a drop down for the tank,and a response trigger and a cyclone feed system to properly push through balls; I still ended up selling it for $30. You see, I hadn’t been to a paintball course in years. I’ve forgotten what it is like to feel the sting of defeat while trying to doge and mark others. I just figured I was getting too old and fat to be crouching through the woods. Never in a million years have I ever considered giving a speed ball course a try. It seemed too fast paced for me, whereas I like to stalk my prey through the heavy brush. I would likely never have that experience again, if it wasn’t for Greg Hastings Paintball 2.

I find it interesting that before this game came, I spotted my former roommate playing a Greg Hasting’s game on his PS2. Interesting enough is the fact that Greg Hasting’s Paintball 2 is completely downloadable on PSN. I mean it shouldn’t surprise me so much as full games are downloadable, but what did surprise me is how small the game actually is. I wonder if the PS2 disc was actually full or not. I am unsure how big the sport is these days, it seems to be a pain junkie’s version of volleyball in regards to how far outside of mainstream sports it is, but how devoted the players and fans are. As the player progresses through the game, changes can be made to the roster which involves choosing actual professional paintball to add to your team. Heck, even if I was playing in a sport that wasn’t on prime time television, I would still clamor to get my face and stats into a video game. Also, I feel unsure if the average player would really care about the managerial side of things, such as buying a new roster or equipment, other than trying to buy a better marker with which to shoot. I myself rarely made any changes as I could not see the point. Though I did opt to purchase a different marker that had a slower fire rate, but a better accuracy and range. Even then, you’ll be making shots that have to be lobbed at an angle.

The matches themselves are fairly fun, even if the controls are non-standard for an fps. This is because there is quite a range of motion that is provided. Running and ducking throws you into a full dive and aiming while hiding will cause you to peak out from your cover. The option is available to switch which side of the marker your view is on in case you are on the other side of the inflatable cover you’ve hidden behind. While I did say the controls are non-standard, they are quite accurate. To me it seems you can perform most maneuvers a real professional would make. The only thing missing would be to lay on your back, but I don’t see other video games doing that either. I finally bought myself a move and tried a few matches out with it. The movement and aiming with the Move is excellent. I had to use a controller in my left hand as a replacement for the navigation controller, but I made due. I actually think I shot a little better using the Move, though it could be my imagination.

I certainly enjoyed this game, I tend to hit it up when I am sick of blood and gore in other games. The graphics are decent and I am glad that I could not spot a bit of cartoon appearances anywhere, as it would have spoiled the game for me. The management of the team certainly might appeal to some players, regardless of weather they follow the sport or not. I suppose if I go back and look into it, having better players on my team might increase my odds of winning matches, but I tend to be a lone wolf trying to take everyone out by myself. Of course, I myself rather enjoyed the woodsball. It seems this will be the only way to get me back on a field with a marker in hand. If you miss the nostalgic days of being beaten up by paint and would rather not remember the pain, why not give Greg Hastings Paintball 2 a try. It’s only $19.99 on the PlayStation Network and you can find it for the Wii or Xbox 360 for the same price if you look hard enough.

The words “Trailer Park King” immediately perk my ears up as if they are somehow able to hear through my eyes. Trashy, redneck styled games have a special place in my home along with such board games as Redneck Life. Trailer Park King is not only the title of the game, but also of the main character. You’ll play him as he tries to sleuth through clearing his name from a murder, meanwhile gathering information from sexy, scantly clad women. Of course, this isn’t so much as a game as it is an interactive story. Almost a point and click escape the room kind of story. Of course, the aforementioned scantly clad women with seductive voices drives the quality level of the story, among other things, sky high.  While normally I am not that fond of story telling works of art, especially when they require money to pay for, Trailer Park King is well worth your $1 of Microsoft monies. Even if it is just to gander at well drawn cleavage. Freelance games says the one of the characters, Celine, is modeled after one of their own employees. Who could know that we all work at the wrong place? Check out the Xbox Live Marketplace and the Youtube trailer as well!

If I were to say “Bumblepig”, what would immediately come to your mind? A black and yellow stripped pig flying around pollinating flowers you say? I’d say you were good at guessing, but there is a picture to the left.  Anyways, that is the basic concept of Bumblepig;  a cross bred bumble bee pig who you control to try and pollinate flowers in order to make a match. Sure, the first few levels are kinda easy. Using the triggers, you either shake the left or right leg to shake some collected pollen off your leg and onto a flower like a gardening Tinkerbell. Of course, you can always pollinate the flower with the same color of pollen, but where is the fun in that. You’ll get more coins to keep a string of one color going, and to do so you’re going to need to do some cross pollination. So shake that blue onto the red and the red onto the blue and string up some purple flowers. Whoops, did you just hit the button that drops the pollen and have no blue left to pollinate with? Yep, that will happen. Further out into the levels you’ll not only have to keep your matching skills going, but also have to dodge bugs and other obstacles that will knock your socks pollen off. It can become quite tricky to keep pollinating flowers of different colors and to keep that pollen intact. It’s totally worth it though, as you make enough money you can buy Bumblepig more clothes and he needs a party hat to go to a party. Yeah, ok so there really isn’t much of a goal and the graphics make me feel like I am 7. I’d like to see a 7 year old dodge fly around as well as I do. Actually, most 7 year old kids probably could dodge better than me. Still, I’m not sure if this would make a great game for a kid, but I guess kids are getting better and hand/eye coordination everyday. So either way, Bumblepig would make a great challenge for anyone 7-70! I mean, those 70 year olds need to keep their skills sharp too, right? It’s cheap too as Kindling Games is an indie developer and Bumblepig is available on the Xbox LIVE Indie Games market. Check out the gameplay video below to see if you think this game is as interesting as I do. For sure it is fun and well made!

While I’m waiting for their new Darbee HDMI cable to become available for review, the lovely folks at Snakebyte suggested I pick another product to review in the meantime. So I perused their website trying to find something catch my eye. With a gasp and almost a girly squeal I spotted the item I just had to have. The item in question is obviously their Wii Premium Fitness Board. As an overweight individual, the Wii Fit Board was something that I have never experienced before. However, with Snakebyte’s Premium Fitness Board’s max of 390lbs, I was well on my way to giving it a shot. After shoving some batteries in I gave the board it’s first test. I stepped on with no Wii in sight to give the scale readout a trial. Yes, you heard me right. There is a digital readout built into the board to act as a scale. No more needing the Wii Fit app just to find out how much you weight that day.

Next I synced it to the Wii and watched as my Mii plumped up in the Wii Fit Plus menu. Here was the real test. Regardless of how much weight the board can handle, the Wii software only allows for so much. Honestly I am still boggled why Nintendo hates fat people, but such is life. On the first go around, I had success being measured and playing some of the Wii Fit Plus games. I gave it my best effort to jump as far as I could on the slopes. Running out of time for the night, I left the board in the capable hands of my 50 year old mother. (I stopped counting at 50.) I returned the next day to discover two things. First off, Wii Fit Plus was no longer letting me play, stating that I was over it’s weight capacities. How it allowed me the brief glimpse into it’s world the previous night, I’ll never know. Second, the Premium Board’s feet were sinking into the luscious downstairs carpet, throwing off the readings. Of course, had I read the instructions, I would have been warned about the dangers of carpet. I added a piece of cardboard to the mix and it corrected my oversight.

So I waited a few days, to let good old mom give the board a test. It came with some surprising results. In four days she had to replace the batteries twice. Not good. My guess is that the board stays on to display the scale. This is definitely a product flaw. I have to wonder if the Play and Charge kit they have for the original board works with their own creation. It certainly would be needed or you will be messing with batteries all the time. Now, if you’re wary of this battery vampire you can certainly buy this product for many other reasons. It is quite durable, or I never would have tried to step foot on it. This means for you lighter weighted players, you can give this board your all and never worry about damaging it. The price is excellent and it works just as well as the balance board Nintendo made. Now we just need a Wii Fit game that allows for heavier people.  I’ll be working on downing my weight just so I can give this a try again. Meanwhile, I hope new purchasers of this board enjoy durability of their new product.

What timing could be better to create and release a Captain America pinball table other than when a Captain America movie is on the verge of release? It’s a trick question, so don’t answer it. Behold unto PSN and XBL, the wonders of ZEN Studios on their Marvel Pinball platform, the Captain America Pinball table. Complete with everything a young Nazi hunter would need to get their jollies. I say “young” Nazi hunter because as a child I grew up with movies based on the era of World War II. Ok so mainly just Indiana Jones. However, the theme is not lost on me. My recollection of Captain America, though, is not quite as old. Mainly I remember him as a walking cameo, appearing in cartoons across the 90′s. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised when this new table reminded me of Cap’s true origins.

Continue reading “Marvel Pinball: Captain America Table – Review And Giveaway” »

I was initially attracted to Minions! based on what Turtle Toss Studios, a team of University of Utah’s undergraduate Entertainment Arts and Engineering program students, had to say about their game. The idea of a twin stick shooter that can be played from both the top-down and also the third-person perspective was interesting. Then the ability to spawn minions to assist and subsequently upgrade abilities seems standard, but combined with the dual perspectives available seems unique.

Starting the game out, you take the role of  a hero leading a team of minions against the enemy. As you kill the enemy and collect gold, you can earn enough to buy a special minion that you customize. Each level has a specific task to accomplish. However, the spawning happens only at the beginning spot. This means that if you die, in order to catch back up to your team you will have to walk a long ways at times.

I’m also not sold on the switching between perspectives. The aiming and hit marking in the third person is atrocious. Even well placed shots do not hit their intended targets. On the flip side, in the top down view the shots do not seem to even hit floating targets.

Graphics are fairly basic. The 3d models need to be worked on more to make them smoother and connected. The levels are disconnected between difficulties and lack in amount. The leveling system requires you to replay some levels in order to successfully gain enough strength. I dislike having to grind the same levels over and over again.

This is a great first attempt from these developers. Hopefully they can learn and build from this game to create an even better second entry into the world of gaming. Of course, for casual player I have to say that this game is a pass.

This newest addition to the Marvel Pinball series was released at the beginning of the month and with the PlayStation Store finally back up I was finally able to review it. I’m always excited to see the newest Marvel tables as it always seems to relive a certain part of my childhood. Those wondrous moments spent on Saturday morning watching cartoons were a highlight of the week. Even though Spiderman is spectacular, a certain group of heroes has always held a special place in my heart. That group, of course, is the Fantastic 4. Now when you see this name put out for this table, it seems to be written Fantastic Four, but for me that word must always, ALWAYS, be written as an actual number 4.

Continue reading “Marvel Pinball: Fantastic 4 Table – Review” »

Over the weekend we were left a wonderful message in our chat room stating that On The Fly Entertainment would love to have us review their latest Xbox Live Indie Game. If you’ve been reading these reviews, You know by now that I love to review these Indie games. I am a big fan of the idea that these indie games are no longer trapped behind the XNA format. So of course I got on the horn (e-mail) with On The Fly Entertainment and said “Yes!”

Continue reading “Sum Fighter – Review” »