Review: VIRGINIA

Posted on September 30, 2016 by geelw

A must for those who love cinematic game experiences, unique visuals and jigsaw-piecing together a compelling narrative that holds a few surprises and life-sized curve balls for its cast of characters. Short attention span types, those who think some/all games are “art” that require no commentary, and those who want everything explained at the finale need not apply, though.

Platform: PC (also on PS4/Xbox One)
Developer: Variable State
Publisher: 505 Games
# of Players: 1
Release Date: 9/22/2016
MSRP: $9.99
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Official Site
Score: A- (90%) BUY IT!

Variable State’s first game, VIRGINIA, is more of a work of interactive fiction presented in the language of videogames, but it’s also an impressive debut that works brilliantly. The catch is, in hoping players “get” the tricky mix of disjointed narrative and timed exploration sequences, the developer has unintentionally created a game that’s too damned smart for much of today’s gamer audience that craves explanation and arbitrary rules of realism apply to everything they play who also refuse to open their minds to something different that’s actually worth playing and replaying.

In a nutshell, the story is about an FBI agent sent on a missing child case with another agent who needs a close eye kept on as there’s an ongoing investigation into unorthodox methods being used. That both agents are female, minorities and have some usual human flaws seems to rankle a few skulls. But reversing the sexes of the agents wouldn’t make a dent in the plot, as anything presented could happen no matter the gender of the main character or agent under the magnifying glass. Continue reading →

Review: Pankapu (Episode One)

Posted on September 28, 2016 by geelw

Too Kind Studios’ absolutely beautiful, absolutely fun platformer brings lovely visuals along with tried and true platforming is a game made for both classic to current run + jump action/adventure fans.

In a way, Pankapu (only $4.99!) strongly echoes Michel Ancel’s wonderful Rayman, n a few key areas, but that’s a very good thing indeed. Both games have unique looking lead characters, fun, intuitive gameplay for all ages, and a dark thematic undertone that’s in direct opposite of the super-bright, stellar art direction that makes them so wondrous and eye-catching. The game presents itself as a bedtime storybook tale read by a father to his young son, which is a great way of making the fantastic seem real:

To help his child fall asleep, a father tells him the story of Pankapu, a tiny warrior created by Iketomi the God of dreams. His mission is to fight the hordes of Nightmares who are trying to invade his world. During his quest, he will meet many characters, such as Chii, a magical spider who will become his friend and guide him all along this great adventure in Omnia.

During this events, he will also be confronted with Gangreyn, a dark and viscous opponent who will challenge him to go see Yne’Ska, the Mother of Nightmares. Then, the tiny hero will decide to not just save his world but also to go in the center of the nightmares land, to restrain the problem at its source.

What follows is a mostly excellent mix of pure fun in some lush environments that’s going to be somewhat easy to old-school platform experts, but challenging for those players looking for a cool new world to bounce around in and discover.

Continue reading →

Review: Wheels of Aurelia

Posted on September 20, 2016 by geelw

Bravo, Santa Ragione and Brava, Lella! This driving sim/adventure hybrid’s a definite Game of the Year contender that will make those who “get” it want to crack open a few books and do some heavy reading and/or thinking.

Platform: PC (also on Mac/Linux/PS4/Xbox One)
Developer: Santa Ragione
Publisher: Santa Ragione
Release Date: 9/20/2016
# of Players: 1
MSRP: $9.99
ESRB Rating: N/A
Official Site
Score: A (95%) BUY IT!

Calling Santa Ragione’s outstanding Wheels of Aurelia a simple “driving simulation” is REALLY selling it short. This brilliantly conceived hybrid game is more of a mature “choose your own path conversation-based adventure that just so happens to take place in a almost constantly moving car” with 16 possible outcomes and more than that many ways to reach them. From the beautiful stylized simplicity of the art, the great soundtrack (buy it!) that captures the spirit of late 70’s Italian radio tracks, and the mature script that may rankle a few overly sensitive types while striking others as flat out fantastic and thought-provoking.

Save for the ride you choose, the game’s opening is exactly the same each time. In 1978, Lella and Olga, two young Italian ladies who met the previous evening at a disco, set out on a road trip to France on the Via Aurelia along the western coast of Italy. Along the way, the pair talk about life, pick up a hitchhiker or two (or none – it’s up to you) and based on the path both the conversation and car takes, the game reaches a conclusion in all of 15 minutes or so. 16 endings at 15 minutes each ends up at 4 hours total playtime IF you’re silly enough to think you’ll see every conversation and character variant possible. The combination of period-era history, frankly spoken dialogue and some VERY interesting hitchhikers make this very replayable as well as a great exercise in storytelling.

Continue reading →

Gurumin 3D: Priced, Themed – Now It Just Needs A Hot Date

Posted on September 17, 2016 by geelw

More happy news for you 3DS owners out there: Mastiff has announced a release date, price point and bonus downloadable themes for Gurumin 3D. You may commence with the happy dancing if you so desire:

During PAX West we let press in on a couple of exclusive secrets that we are now ready to share with you. First, the price. We are happy to let you know that Gurumin 3D will be released on the Nintendo 3DS eShop for the shortcake-sweet price of $14.99. And second, at launch we will also be releasing multiple themes to decorate your 3DS with. One of these themes will be free with purchase! We’re still undecided which theme we’re including, but rest assured you’ll be getting one theme for free ninety-nine! ;D

As for those themes, I like this one the best:

But Mastiff wants to hear from YOU about which of these others you prefer, preferably on their Facebook and Twitter pages:

What? Did you say you wanted a handy video screenshot/art gallery combo? Okay. Here you go:

I think that’s it… well, that actual release date is still incoming, so that will be the next big news on the plate to watch for.

-GW

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What The .dll? Or: Hot Ember Code Giveaway, Back On Track!

Posted on September 10, 2016 by geelw

Oh. Brother. And so, it took me three days or so to figure out that the registry cleaning and other maintenance I did on the laptop and/or Microsoft’s fiddly ding-crack wizzle Windows 10 being an unhelpful junk pile of coding somehow removed the .dll file certain games use to start up. Guess which game in particular WOULD NOT RUN at all and made me think it missed its launch day? Yep. Sure, I popped onto Steam to finally find people playing and commenting away. But I figured my early build was having issues of some sort.

Well, that actually wasn’t the case… Continue reading →

Ember: Waiting For My New Flame (And Yours) To Return…

Posted on September 9, 2016 by geelw

“Hey! There’s supposed to be an Ember review up already!”

Well, there would be, but the game isn’t back up Steam after getting carted away for some tweaking and having its release date shifted to sometime today. Amusingly enough, I got about five or six hours in over the last weekend and before the game’s temporary removal, but for some reason the game clock kept running. When I checked in at some point Monday to pop back into the game with my notes, it not only wasn’t running, I saw my time was a whopping 27 hours. Eek. I could have sworn I shut my laptop down a few times over the weekend, so I’ve no clue as to what happened.

Oh, look! The launch trailer!

Anyway, from what I’ve played so far… I say it’s a buy AND a bargain at $9.99 Or: YES, you should buy this if you’re an old school CRPG fan or a new fan who want a gorgeous game world to explore full of life and depth (as in the game world is lively and the books here are great little lore reads). My full review is going to be up once the game is back up and I sink some more time into it. I kind of left things at a crucial moment and I hope my save files are intact. Back in a bit. I had Eventbrite plans for today, but just tossed them out a window here. Hey, it takes a lot to get me to pass up free alcohol. This game’s one of those things.

Back in a bit. Funny, it’s Free Stuff Friday, too. I have two Ember codes here to give out, but not until the game goes live. Drop a VERY short note in the comments if you’re interested, and I’ll pick two of you later today. Er, once the game is back up. Yes, you need a STEAM account if you don’t have one yet.

Review: Monsters & Monocles (PC)

Posted on September 6, 2016 by geelw

A smashing, jolly good time in a cartoon steampunk Victorian run ‘n gun that’s a total blast. Grab your friends or go make a few new online ones!

Platform: PC
Developer: Retro Dreamer
Publisher: Retro Dreamer
Release Date: Aug 16, 2016
# of Players: 1 – 4
MSRP: $14.99
ESRB Rating: NA
Official Site
Score: A (95%)

Yeah, yeah. Run ‘n Gun games are RAMPANT on Steam these days, but exactly how many have you playing as a tea-sipping dog in a smoking jacket named Baron von Dogface? One. SOLD! Well, in Retro Dreamer’s spectacular Monsters & Monocles, you can also play as the sharp-dressed Lady Cannonhail, mustachioed Rupert Killingsworth, or the monocle and top hat-sporting Monobot, all solid cartoony killing machines worth taking through this tough twin-sticker.

Snazzy pixel art, bouncy animation and some great tunes drive the action here, and this isn’t a cakewalk you can one-hand through with a cucumber sandwich with the crust cut off in the other. In fact, the tough difficulty makes this a great game to solo and even better with like-minded friends. Local and online co-op keep thinngs rolling along, so if you’re having trouble with a boss or some of the monster packed rooms here, just recruit a pal (well, after you extol the virtues of this gem and they buy it, of course). Fans of the Alien Shooter games and the oldie but goodie toughie Soldiers of Fortune (or The Chaos Engine, for those of you who prefer the better original name) shoul eat this one up, as it packs in the non-stop action while being quite rewarding like a great arcade run ‘n gun should.

Continue reading →

Review: Overcooked (PC)

Posted on September 5, 2016 by geelw

“There’s gonna be a hot time in the old town tonight…”

Platform: PC
Developer: Ghost Town Games Ltd.
Publisher: Team17 Digital Ltd.
Release Date: Aug 3, 2016
# of Players: 1-4
MSRP: $16.99
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Official Site
Score: A- (90%)
Just what the ~~doctor~~ chef ordered in this era of “social” videogaming being primarily online, Ghost Town Games’ brilliant, peppy Overcooked is also a great family-friendly breath of fresh air as well as a perfect party game for up to four players. The game is a fun hybrid of elements from the classic PS1 import Ore No Ryouri (or it’s Americanized “remake” Cook, Serve, Delicious!), with a dash of Diner Dash for good measure.

Everything clicks right off the bat with that humorous tutorial that teaches you the basics, to the charming, colorful and cute visual style, bouncy tunes and yes, that fast-paced gameplay. There’s a story about feeding an ultimate demon meals that will keep it from chomping the kingdom you’re in, but it’s just gravy on the tasty as heck cake here. The assorted kitchens you cook in under all sorts of hilariously hellish conditions and the rotating cast of chefs you’ll meet make this one a game that will make you laugh a lot even when things are collapsing on the cooking front.

Yep, things get pretty heated pretty quickly in this instant classic, folks…

Continue reading →

Remember EMBER? PC, 7th September!

Posted on August 31, 2016 by geelw

Wow. For a while, I thought N-Fusion Interactive’s gorgeous looking mobile RPG EMBER was dead and buried. Snuffed out like a campfire. Ash, even. Well, my flame has been rekindled into a super-hot sun thanks to that day-making email from 505 Games telling me the game is not only arriving after such a long wait, it’s coming to PC via Steam on September 7 for a mere $9.99. Wow. SOLD. This trailer dropped today – let’s take a look:

SOLD. Here’s a handy screenshot gallery to eyeball as well:

N-Fusion’s lovely proprietary engine makes for a beautiful game, doesn’t it? Yes, there’s a review coming on launch day, so stay tuned… and YES, go wishlist this one and keep an eyeball peeled for when it pops up for purchase.

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ZAKU Is Back: Super Fighter Team Gives You A Chance To Nab This One FINAL Time

Posted on August 30, 2016 by geelw

If you’re a huge enough fan of the Atari Lynx but missed out on its first original boxed (online) retail game in years, well guess what? ZAKU is back! Super Fighter Team has heard the pleas from Lynx collectors worldwide and is reissuing the instant classic for a final time in a 400 copy run.

Just go click on that link above and get that wallet out. Or you can read my old review as you click on that link to BUY THE GAME. Whatever you’re going to do, you better do it FAST, as this is guaranteed to sell out ridiculously quickly.