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Archive of "Review" Category
Babel Rising Review
As a freshly minted deity, it’s easy to fall in love with Babel Rising. How can I not have a soft spot for a game that prompted me to exclaim, “Ooh, I just made their bones crackle!”? Genesis weaves the tale of the people of Babel, heaven-bent on constructing a skyward tower. While Babel Rising doesn’t give you the power of tongues, or imbue you with any other language skills, you do have seven deadly powers to use against wayward mankind. Which is really OK, because in video game format cursing a people with language just doesn’t translate.
The Screetch Review
Coming all the way from Moscow, Russia, The Screetch proves that vodka-fueled development may be a successful model. Gameplay is addictive – the sort of addictive that aids in my procrastination of writing not just this review, but at least two others – and the style is distinctly eye-catching. The Screetch has effectively oozed its inky blackness right into my soul, and I won’t give it up.
Dark Nebula Episode Two Review
When an app comes along for review I entertain feelings of reward and punishment. I want you to reward the development team of Dark Nebula: Episode 2 with your dollar, I want them to experience the positive affirmation of your purchase. I want this app to sell well, so that they can go forth and create more awesome. Now hop to it.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Review
Lara Croft has been a disappointed woman. We’ve certainly heard it before: a re-imagining of the series, a fresh chance for Lara, a reboot of the franchise, and still others in a string of broken promises. This time around the buxom heroine must be pinching herself: Guardian of Light is a great game. Yet it’s quite possible that those left dreaming of the Lara of yesteryear will be dissatisfied. This is not Lara as she first broke ground on the PlayStation, this is a crossover series with Lara stealing scenes in an excellent dungeon crawler. Guardian of Light plays so nicely with others that once again the spotlight is on Lara as a true heroine, unburdened by franchise disappointments.
Just Half Review
Reviewing Apps and assigning scores is a tricky thing. There are gross volumes of apps with an amazing variety of price points, development efforts, game types and goals. Settling on a strength of recommendation for an App is a game in itself, and Just Half makes it a little bit easier at 5/10. Of course, in Just Half that comes out perfect.
Ancients of Ooga Review
Ancients of Ooga is spawned by NinjaBee, better known for their Keflings, and has some of the same quirky charm and fascination with god-like power. As the great spirit you possess different Oogani to direct their actions thereby solving puzzles, completing tasks and even the occasional sacrifice – of the same Oogani you possess.
According to the Oogani pleading for your intercession they got themselves into a bit of a pickle with some nasty folk called the Booli. After getting drunk on slugs the Booli brought them, they destroyed their own chiefs and ended up as slaves. Now, the slug munchers want your help in resurrecting those same chiefs so they can use their power for an emancipation effort.
A side scrolling puzzle platformer you use the Oogani you possess to free yet more Oogani, collect items, carry out sacrifices and pull levers to access additional areas. There is a bit of depth that allows you to hop from front to back on the levels, but it isn’t particularly well represented and can cause needless confusion from time to time.
Swapping possession between Oogani, however, is a breeze and your primary puzzle solving tool (it even allows you to float around the screen and check out areas you need to gain access to). As you collect items and complete tasks for the various Oogani they’ll believe that you’re the demon spirit they asked for and join your cause, putting more Oogani at your disposal for possession. The object is to solve all the puzzles and bring the tribes and their respective skills together. Each different type of Oogani is suited to particular tasks, like the Harvest Oogani that can survive walks through brambles hazardous to other Oogani , or the Firelings that can breathe fire and brave smoking hot surfaces.
There are some items to collect like bones, and spices so that you can eat less pleasant things. You see, all the items you pick up the Oogani are willing to put in their mouths. Many of them they’ll even swallow, and anything you pick up and chew on while you navigate the platforms can then be puked out at will – including other Oogani – miraculously unmasticated.
Using levers, gates and ladders, Ancients of Ooga is like an easy Toki Tori. Puzzles aren’t particularly puzzling, and the approach here seems to be quantity over complexity as the downloadable packs nearly a dozen hours of gameplay at $10. You can tackle levels with a friend in splitscreen co-op, but it slows the game down graphically and practically – it’s just plain hard to get around with a buddy.
Graphics are solid, but many early directives appear in flashing low-contrast text that is nigh unreadable, and at times the music is downright annoying. The points system is a bit obscured by the puzzle solving. You pick up points as you complete levels and are awarded more for things like minimizing the number of times you die as well as picking up items. Since dying and finding different ways to kill an Oogani was half the fun of the puzzle solving I abandoned high score as a personal goal.
Ancients of Ooga’s winning moments are playful and charming, but its low points will put you to sleep. The vibrant sillyness just isn’t enough to make you want to keep playing, and all too soon I was wondering not “What’s next?” but, “How much longer?” When just after you’ve had a romp blowing up some chickens you’re stuck completing a level that has you fetching potatoes, it strikes me that this game has filler. Still, you did get to chew, puke and blow up a chicken.
Pros
+ The storytelling scenes
+ Exploding chickens, eating Oogani, puking rocksCons
- Weak puzzles
- Unnecessary foreground and background
- Co-op is offline only7/10
Rage of the Gladiator Review
As much as I hate to play the “If you like game x, then game y” game, it’s a pretty sure bet that if you like Punch-Out!! then you’re going to really enjoy Rage of the Gladiator. Especially if you think the best possible improvement to boxing would be the addition of magic.
Pool Ninja Review
A single-player pool game, Pool Ninja is comprised of challenges that, among other things, teach you cool lingo like “pot”. Yeah, I didn’t know that one, which gives you a fair idea of my vast pool hall experience. Therefore, it’s most notable that Pool Ninja creates the compelling ilusion that I can play pool. (more…)
More Zombies?! Review
Do you find yourself in need of more zombies? Has Pocket Monkey Games got the survival shooter for you. In the cunningly titled More Zombies?! you play as Bob, a.k.a. Bullet Delivery Man, the guy who brings the hurt.
Fret Nice Review
Fret Nice endeavors to repurpose your guitar peripherals to a task outside the rhythm niche. Not all endeavors succeed. Some fail miserably, and Fret Nice is among that less illustrious set. It’s simple, you won’t want to play this game as the developer intended.
Weekly Gaming Review Wrap-Up Episode 14
I play catch up with the slow season in full effect, and break down our latest reviews including Mass Effect 2, Emberwind and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.
ZTGD Review Wrap-Up 13
This week I return after a long winter’s nap with the latest video review wrap-up including recently released games such as Bayonetta, Darksiders and Sky Crawlers.
Emberwind Review
Emberwind is a charming fantasy platformer from indie developer TimeTrap. You play as gnome watchman Kindle and are accompanied by your snowy owl Hedwig. I mean Wick. King Gyro rules over typically safe streets, but now an evil army has hit town. Bummer. A Fire Gnome, Kindle has the duty of lighting the lamps of Grendale and thus delivering it from the invading gremlins and the evil CandleFinger while Wick provides taxi service. Other than that, Emberwind is light on lore and heavy on combat. Of course, how many of us really cared about why we were rescuing Peach, or how the gal got herself into such a predicament anyway? We were in it for the mushroom devouring, Koopa stomping glory, and Emberwind largely forgoes the pretense. (more…)
Trenches Review
If there’s a chance you haven’t sated your patriotic thirst for WWI by deploying wave after wave of variably armed minions, Trenches is here to drench your iPhone with the blood of your enemies. Dig yourselves a foxhole, boys, we’re gonna shoot us some Jerrys. (more…)
Call of Duty Classic Review
Just over half a decade has passed since its original release, but Call of Duty has been relegated to the retro pile. The past six years haven’t been particularly kind, and even with some admirable upscaling COD looks and feels dated. Still, it’s remarkable and occasionally amusing to experience how little the series has changed since the first go round on the PC. Swapping between Modern Warfare 2 and COD Classic, some lines got a little blurry, some things drove me crazy, and it all made it that much more apparent why the game was such a rollicking success in its day. (more…)
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About
I’m Community Manager and Admin for the NewsBoiler Network, home to N4G, TechSpy, AnimeShinbun, FilmWatch and 11×2. I also write for network editorial site, ZTGD.
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