‘Reviews’

August 12th, 2013 Microsoft Systems, Reviews, Xbox 360 No Comments »

Cloning Clyde Review

Cloning Clyde Boxart

Developer: NinjaBee in Association with J. Kenworthy Games
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Platform: Xbox 360 – XBLA

The puzzle platformer genre is completely stuffed with awesome, decent, and poor titles. At least, it definitely seems to be that way now. How were things back in 2006? Although it wasn’t very long ago at all I feel like there were certainly less… Or at least it was around then that the so-called “indie game” saw itself rise from the corners of the internet. In any case, maybe when Cloning Clyde came out it was still something fairly unique.

All things considered, it does have some neat tricks. Cloning Clyde’s main feature is, well, cloning! You traverse around 2D levels and often need to reach new, higher areas, press buttons, or do various other tasks along the way. Some of these can be accomplished alone but others require you to clone yourself once or multiple times over. Cloning is accomplished at special machines so you can’t abuse it on the fly.

Cloning Clyde Featured

Levels aren’t tremendously long but they can become quite puzzling. Mainly you just need to get the Clyde you control through a level but there are more points awarded if you accomplish extra tasks. Each level has enemies to defeat, figures to collect, and you also get a bonus for saving the extraneous Clydes. There is also a feature to combine DNA between Clyde and animals/objects which yields pretty humorous results at times (as well as giving him new powers).

Cloning Clyde sure doesn’t look very good anymore, though. It’s quite a shock to find that it was actually published by Microsoft Studios considering the incredibly rough visuals. In any case, the gameplay still stands up as fairly fun – if simple. Finally, if you don’t like seeing Clyde’s bare butt in his hospital gown then you can turn on family friendly mode which gives him underwear.

Score: 2.5

2 1/2 out of 5 alpacas

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August 7th, 2013 PC, Reviews 3 Comments »

Saya no Uta ~ The Song of Saya Review

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Developer: Nitroplus
Publisher: JAST USA
Platform: PC

What a fabulously strange visual novel Saya no Uta is. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I dove into it one night. But, boy, am I glad I did.

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August 6th, 2013 PC, Reviews No Comments »

Experiment 12 Review

Experiment 12 Boxart

Developer: 12 different developers
Publisher: Self-published
Platform: PC

If you’ve been searching for something very unusual to play then Experiment 12 is something that needs to be on your radar. It is a collection of 12 games from different independent developers. For the most part, those involved are also well known within the community such as Jasper Byrne (Lone Survivor), Richard Perrin (Kairo), and Zaratustra (Eversion).  The multitude of developers decided to each create their own game in the span of 72 hours.

The main experimentation of Experiment 12 was not simply to make a game in a short period of time since that’s what game jams do regularly. Instead, each member of the team had to craft their chapter, pass it on, and the next person would continue the story from what was currently available. Therefore, the story was being generated bit by bit by each member on the team as they finally got their shot at making a chapter.

Experiment 12 Featured

Some of the chapters are longer than others but most take 5 to 20 minutes to complete. Things start out creepy and end creepy but there are definitely changes in between. For example, Ben Powell’s segment gives you gameplay like Missile Command in reverse. A few other sections completely change the “feel” of the narrative, but it’s not a flaw.

Only a few of the chapters are difficult making it a good entry point to indie games for many if they are interested. Experiment 12 is free and worth plunking an hour or two into just to see a creatively designed game. I would be interested in seeing more multi-developer work like this come out from far less ‘recognizable’ names.

Score 3:5

3 1/2 out of 5 alpacas

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June 27th, 2013 PC, Reviews 2 Comments »

Vida Review

Vida Boxart

Developer: Interactive Girls Club
Publisher: Interactive Girls Club
Platform: PC (DOS)

Wow, what can I say about this game? First off, I’m not even sure if the name is “Vida” or “Interactive Girls Club: Vida” or what. We’re just going to rule under the good faith that this FMV game is titled Vida. And boy, if it isn’t the worst game I’ve played all year – old or new.

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June 25th, 2013 PC, Reviews No Comments »

Castle of Dr. Brain Review

Castle of Dr. Brain Boxart

Developer: Sierra On-Line
Publisher: Sierra On-Line
Platform: PC (DOS)

When I was younger I was a big proponent of computer-based video games. Of course, at the time, a great deal of my games were so-called edutainment. Some were fun, some were not so fun, and some barely qualified as educational at all. One game that always felt like the latter to me was The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain. It basically featured a lot of minigames with a few mind-working puzzles at times.

Because of that game, I figured I should give another Dr. Brain game a chance sometime. That’s where Castle of Dr. Brain comes in which is in fact a much older game. Unlike the one I experienced however this was a far more challenging experience. Despite being an adult, I found myself stumped at more than one point within the copious puzzles.

Castle of Dr. Brain Featured

The game is part of the Sierra Discovery Series which is certainly meant as a teaching tool. The only problem here is that a few of the puzzles seem way too intense for a child to solve. Either that, or I have really lost my way with logic puzzles. All the same, there was a great deal of variety between them that was much appreciated.

One of my favorite puzzles involved one that taught the basics of how binary octets turn into “numbers”. I’m always a big proponent of friendly methods of teaching children aspects of computer technology and language. Anyway, beyond that, there were some other neat brain teasers and relatively few pure minigames. Any child playing this today is probably a genius.

Score: 3

3 out of 5 alpacas

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June 18th, 2013 Microsoft Systems, Reviews, Xbox 360 No Comments »

ARKANOID Live! Review

Arkanoid Live! Boxart

Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Platform: Xbox 360 – XBLA

Arkanoid is not my favorite video game in the world but it is a powerful time waster. Semi-recently, we’ve even seen some really good revitalization brought to the classic formula with the likes of Shatter and Wizorb. Maybe it’s because of my time with those games that anything far more “retro” feels just plain dull.

ARKANOID Live! is unfortunately one game that doesn’t do enough with Arkanoid to keep it compelling for a modern audience. Most strikingly it seems like the kind of game that could almost come out on the original Xbox Live, when the focus was on very simple ports of known games.

Arkanoid Live Featured

Basically, you go through two episodes of destroying blocks with a ball and paddle. The longer you survive, the more complex the block patterns get, such as surrounding breakable blocks by unbreakable ones. There are also enemies, which can be turned on or off, but don’t offer any extra challenge to the game.

The biggest feature of the game is probably multiplayer but I didn’t test that out. They tried to make ARKANOID Live! more interesting with neat music and 3D moving backgrounds, but really, it just isn’t enough.

Score 0.5

1/2 out of 5 alpacas

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May 31st, 2013 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Solar 2 Review

Solar 2 Boxart

Developer: Murudai
Publisher: Murudai
Platform: PC

When thinking about video games dealing with space, I usually picture a 4X strategy title. That, or the Space Quest series. What I don’t tend to imagine is the player taking control of a star and growing into a planet or solar system. Of course, that’s exactly what Solar 2 is about.

Having never heard of the first Solar, this was a pretty big shock. By collecting asteroids or other planets, you can grow larger. Planets even gain their own defenses once you have grown large enough to sustain life. There are a lot of dangers out in space though, such as aliens and other solar systems attempting to expand.

Solar 2 Featured

I think the game is pretty fun for a while as you wander about trying to expand. It gets a bit hard with the missions though as they are not really locked out by difficulty. That means you might be a tiny little planet trying to handle a massive swarm of aliens. At the very least, the mission text has a snide sense of humor that was enjoyable.

If the game were easier I’d enjoy it more, but as it stands it’s a simple but creative title that some many really end up loving.

Score: 2.5

2 1/2 out of 5 alpacas

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May 27th, 2013 Featured, Microsoft Systems, Reviews, Xbox 360 1 Comment »

0 day Attack on Earth Review

0daybox

Developer: Gulti
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: Xbox 360 – XBLA

Top-down shooters have a great deal of fans, many of which are partial to retro renditions of the genre. Sometime in 2009, Square Enix decided to publish one such shooter by the name of 0 day Attack on Earth. No, I’m not sure as to the purposeful lower case of the name, but that’s what it was brought over as.

The game is incredibly simple. You choose one of a variety of aircraft and from there fight against aliens busting out of the city. A few different cities are portrayed, such as New York City and Tokyo, but you’d be hard-pressed to really know which is which while playing. It also happens to be a twin stick shooter which means you’re aiming bullets with one analog stick and piloting your craft around with the other.

0day

It doesn’t take much to make these kinds of games good, but it also doesn’t take a lot of effort to make one bad. In 0 day’s case, it falls into the latter camp. The graphics are adequate but dull, the music is uninspired, and play is incredibly repetitive. Players, as well as enemies, are super small which means you’ll often ram right into one. Similarly, noxious purple clouds act as impenetrable barriers that you’re likely to collide with simply because you can’t zoom out enough to see more than a few feet in front of your ship.

There’s little reason to play this game and the online community is all but dead. There are far superior choices available within the XBLA marketplace.

Score 0.5

1/2 out of 5 alpacas

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May 23rd, 2013 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Nation Red Review

Nation Red Boxart

Developer: Diezel Power
Publisher: Diezel Power
Platform: PC

Nation Red is one of those games that is easy to ignore. With such a simple name and premise (shoot hordes of zombies), you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who opts to play that as opposed to more polished titles like Left 4 Dead. All the same, that doesn’t mean Deizel Power’s title is wholly unworthy of attention.

If all you’re looking for is something simple to pick up and play then that’s where Nation Red delivers. Each level contains heaping amounts of zombies and tasks you with shooting them down via a twin stick control method. Power ups drop every so often, as do new weapons. There are a great variety of these available, as well as special perks players get upon leveling up. These only last for a specific level and amount of time though, so don’t expect to take them with you to later stages.

Nation Red Featured

Both single and multiplayer modes are included although I stuck with single player. In this mode, there are 18 main stages to clear. It wasn’t particularly difficult to clear out, but then, I also had set the game to the lowest “normal” difficulty. The experience offered by Nation Red is extremely simple but there’s nothing wrong with simplicity. It just feels a bit bare-bones at times.

Score: 2.5

2 1/2 out of 5 alpacas

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May 21st, 2013 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

R.I.P. Review

RIP Boxart
Developer: Elephant Games
Publisher: Meridian4
Platform: PC

When I first encountered RIP it was while installing various games from my Steam catalog. I’d never actually heard of the game before, nor did I remember buying it. Regardless, the name seemed interesting to me and as such I decided to give it a shot.

RIP is a very retro-styled game. While playing, it felt like the game was actually from the early 90s. As it turns out though it came out in 2006. Either way, it’s a top-down shooter with a focus on throwing as many enemies at you as possible. Unlike other shooters of this type though you are unable to move. Instead you’re basically an upgradeable turret which can shoot 360 degrees around itself.

RIP

There are forty levels and nothing really changes aside from the backdrop as well as the configuration of explosive barrels around the area. Otherwise, you’re going to be playing dozens of same-y levels. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though as some people really dig this sort of gameplay. It’s not my thing, but I enjoyed it all the same. On easy, the game is manageable but is probably more infuriating if you try for harder difficulties.

The game isn’t particularly recommended unless you are in dire need of top-down shooters. There are currently two other games in the series, RIP 2: Strike Back and RIP 3: The Last Hero, which are probably better investments anyway.

Score: 1

1  out of 5 alpacas

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