Review: Battle Slots

Posted on April 25, 2011 by geelw

Platform: PC

Developer: 8Monkey Labs

Publisher: Phantom EFX

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating:

Score: B+ (85%)

At first glance, Battle Slots might look like yet another Puzzle Quest clone, but you’d be mistaken if you thought it wouldn’t be as solid or fun as Infinite Interactive’s two gems. It only takes a few spins of this one-button winner to find out it’s a really fun and addictive little hybrid RPG that’s easy to pick up but very difficult to stop playing. The light and breezy humorous notes the story hits keeps the game from sinking into overly serious territory even as the battles grow increasingly more challenging. While there’s no multiplayer modes at all, this is one of those tightly focused single player experiences that makes the hours fly by whenever you sit down for a session. After a few hours, you’ll be wanting to hook up a coin drop and REAL slot arm on the side of your PC, is all I’ll say…

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Review: Baron Wittard: Nemesis of Ragnarok

Posted on March 6, 2011 by geelw

Platform: PC

Developer: Wax Lyrical

Publisher: Iceberg Interactive

# of Players: 1

PEGI Rating: 7+

Official Site

Score: A

Despite the market overloaded with fast-paced shooters and action games as well as plenty of licensed properties that get a lot more press coverage, point & click adventure games are far from dead. The genre, while not getting the massive ad budgets of the aforementioned “Triple A” action blockbusters, continues to forge onward with a number of excellent releases from publishers brave enough to slow things down to a more cerebral pace while giving fans the mystery, suspense and puzzles they crave. Wax Lyrical's Baron Wittard: Nemesis of Ragnarok is an excellent new game that features a nicely (and increasingly) unsettling atmosphere, brain-bending puzzles and a solid story that grabs you right from the start. From the photo realistic pre-rendered visuals, excellent sound design and music that will have you looking over your shoulder every so often, the Baron is a worthy addition to any adventure fan's library.

Review: Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll

Posted on February 12, 2011 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation 3

Developer: Omega Force

Publisher: Tecmo Koei

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: B+

If you’re a big fan of hack & slash action RPGs and happen to own a PlayStation 3, Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll is going to be right up your alley. Omega Force’s latest is a solid dungeon hack with a few splashes of familiar genre influences (both Eastern and Western) from Diablo to Demon’s Souls. If that puts a grin on your face, you’re all set for many hours of quality monster slaying, loot grabbing and quests galore. The game’s non-linear structure allows for enough freedom that the main plot of a half-elf’s revenge against the evil overlord that killed his family almost takes second place to the sheer amount of rescue/escort missions, fetch quests, arena challenges and other RPG staples. I say almost because while the story does pick up as the game goes on, the simple, yet challenging gameplay is the star when it needs to be. While it isn’t perfect, Omega Force deserves a ton of credit for making such a fun to play experience that’s guaranteed to steal many hours from those players that fall under its spell.

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Review: Plants vs. Zombies

Posted on February 8, 2011 by geelw

Platform: Nintendo DS/DSi

Developer: PopCap Games

Publisher: PopCap Games

# of Players 1 – 2

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Official Site

Score: A-

If you're like me and you've somehow managed to miss the whole Plants vs. Zombies craze on every other platform it's appeared on and happen to own a Nintendo DS or DSi, you NEED to buy and play PopCap's excellent and hilarious strategy/puzzle game. Easily one of the best DS games to date, period, PvZ takes the tired Tower Defense genre and makes it fresh as a daisy with a more modern theme, the always popular addition of zombies to the formula and addictive gameplay that starts out simple and gets supremely challenging as the game progresses. Yes, the smaller, lower resolution DS touch screen makes things a bit crowded in terms of controls and less spectacular in the visual presentation. But again, if you've never seen or played the game previously on an HD console, PC, iOS or other device, you really won't care.

Review: Fighters Uncaged

Posted on January 17, 2011 by geelw

Platform: Xbox 360 (Kinect)

Developer: Ubisoft

Publisher: Ubisoft

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: D

As a launch title for Microsoft's otherwise interesting (and multimillion selling) Kinect, Fighters Uncaged suffers from a case of “good idea, poor implementation” but sadly, this didn't have to be the case. If you're feeling the need to compare, unlike Sony's PlayStation Move brawler The Fight: Lights Out, this is a supremely below average game that's quite undercooked and shows its flaws as soon as you start playing. The Fight does indeed have its own flaws, but it's at least actual fun once you get the hang of it, supports two players and can be played online. Fighters Uncaged is strictly a solo affair, which makes little sense for a game in the genre these days. The generic, poorly told “story”, stereotypical enemies straight out of a bad Final Fight clone and wonky Kinect controls all beat up on you as you're slogging through, making it a total chore to complete. It's not all bad news, however. It's certainly a game that's not getting a sequel (unless too many Kinect owners new to motion control gaming snap it up and make it a mega-hit).

Review: Venetica

Posted on January 13, 2011 by geelw

Platform: PS3 (also on Xbox 360, PC)

Developer: Deck 13

Publisher: Atari

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: C+

As a huge fan of role-playing games developed around the world for at least 20 years, one thing I've learned is how to appreciate the best parts of every game no matter the overall quality. Simply knocking a new title for what it doesn't have compared to similar entries within the genre is a wee bit too easy for some critics that fail to see that not every game needs to be “state of the art” nor “perfect” to be an enjoyable experience. US gamers never saw retail releases of imperfect Euro-made epics and non-epics such as Hard to Be a God, Vampire World, or Dragonfire: Well of Souls, but each of these (plus many others) have appeal as singular experiences thanks to levels of immersion distinct to each game. Deck 13's Venetica is another one of those really interesting games with similar rough spots that keep it from becoming an instant classic. However, once you overlook its quirks, it's an ambitious project that features an attractive and interesting lead character as well as a few nice twists to the standard RPG formula.

Review: Lost in Shadow

Posted on January 9, 2011 by geelw

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Developer: Hudson

Publisher: Hudson

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 +)

Official Site

Score: B+

Ethereal, innovative, methodically paced yet wholly rewarding, Hudson's Wii exclusive Lost In Shadow is one of those artistic gems that should appeal to gamers across a few different genres. The dreamlike visuals and puzzles that revolve around light and shadow play will draw in fans of games such as ICO or echochrome or the original Price of Persia, the platforming elements are fun and challenging for young to older players and the overall innovation and intriguing story will please fans of games with more than flashy graphics going for them. While it isn't quite perfect, it's amazingly well designed and has a way of keeping you hooked in as you traverse back and forth through some pretty trippy stages that play with your perceptions.

Review: Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Posted on January 5, 2011 by geelw

Platform: PC/Mac/Linux

Developer: Frictional Games

Publisher: Frictional Games

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: A

If you think a good survival horror game involves big guns and running around shooting monsters ’til the cows come home, you really don’t know much about the genre at all. There’s a distinct difference between scooting around with a big grin ready to take on all comers and being too damn terrified to move, but being forced to because you have no choice but to do so or die. Based out of Helsingborg, Sweden, indie developer/publisher Frictional Games has been quietly crafting some truly terrifying horror experiences that go above and beyond the “expected” genre cliches. From 2006 to 2009, there were the three excellently frightening Penumbra games, first-person horror/adventures with great physics-based puzzles and death lurking where it was least expected. Their latest work, Amnesia: The Dark Descent should put them on the map and in the minds of more gamers who crave an innovative, purely fear-filled and brutally direct horror experience. If you want to play a game that will have you sleeping with under the bed with the lights on, a baseball bat, guard dog and security blanket, this one’s for you.

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Review: Desktop Dungeons

Posted on January 4, 2011 by geelw

Platform: PC

Developer: QCF Design

Publisher: QCF Design

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: N/A

Official Site

Score: A+

I made a rather interesting “mistake” a few months back and I don't think I'll recover anytime soon, nor do I want to. I'd stopped playing Fallout: New Vegas while waiting for a patch to be released and one thing I did during that downtime was check out QCF Design's Desktop Dungeon, a free rogue-like RPG that condenses hours of gameplay into quick ten minute (or less) sessions. The “mistake” was downloading, then playing the game, thinking it would be yet another well-intentioned indie with a few too many charming flaws. Oops. That ten minute session (which was actually twelve, according to my PC clock) hooked me in and I've ended up finding a few minutes every other day or so to dive into DD for a quick session or eight. Best mistake I've ever made, but definitely very lousy for productivity, laundry and a few other non-Desktop Dungeons related things.

Review: TRON Evolution

Posted on December 28, 2010 by geelw

Platform: PS3 (also on Xbox 360, PC*)

Developer: Propaganda Games

Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios

# of Players: 1 (online 1 – 8)

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: B–

As licensed movie games go, TRON: Evolution does a pretty good job of bringing gamers into its world as a mostly enjoyable experience that while not a masterpiece, has some pretty cool elements going for it. It's not the usual licensed title that repeats the movie experience, but a bridge between the 1982 original and the new sequel (TRON: Legacy) that you may want to play BEFORE you see the movie. Enjoying the game fully requires a bit of knowledge (and yes, nostalgia) about the original's film's plot and characters, but you can complete it without knowing who's who. However, If you just want a new action game to play and go in cold with no intentions to see either film, the story might seem weak and hard to follow in spots. On the other hand, if you're a fan of the original and have seen (or plan to see) the new film, what's here does a solid job of updating and expanding while making you want more in the process. There's also the kernel of a great MMO experience here, should Disney decide to allow the developer to add to what's here and take the game further in future installments.