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…)
With its origins in the code-fest that was the 360iDev Game Jam, Imangi Studios has released Hippo High Dive to the app store in tip top accelerometer shape. Adding a purple hippo to the App Store menagerie, you don a tutu around your ample midriff and take to a diving board. Possessing as much grace as Fantasia and your phone-tilting skills can impart, you must guide the star of the show through flaming hoops suspended in the air until you finally land in an improbably tiny pool of water. (more…)
This week I deliver a holiday shopping guide of gaming reviews including Torchlight, MX vs. ATV Reflex and the final chapter of Tales of Monkey Island.
With line-drawing as established an app formula as match-3, it’s nice when one comes on the scene that doesn’t make me want to cry from the pain of bland mimicry. The abundantly titled Monkeys in Space: Escape to Banana Base Alpha stays true to the simple hook of path management. Polished to a sparkling sheen the addictive gameplay is made impossibly better by the addition of monkeys. (more…)
Before the game arrived on my doorstep I was unacquainted with the cute squishies known as Squeeballs. The animal-like little guys are apparently tailor made for destruction, and it’s about the time you’re tossing them into a meat grinder that things get kind of weird. OK, there’s no gore, but the concept is macabre enough. E for Everyone or not, it’s best if you don’t think too hard on it and just subject the little guys to the tortures designed for them across the game’s 11 mini-games. (more…)
A marriage of twin stick shooter and tower defense, Comet Crash melds the two popular downloadable genres with mixed results. Following their recent update, we took the defense with a touch of offense for a spin. (more…)
Cash Cow, a matching game, proves that sometimes all that’s needed for a good app is tried and true gameplay with a fresh spin. A port of the PC version released a year ago, there’s no doubt the iPhone offering is the superior version. Touting slicker gameplay and even increased content, well, it’s from Chillingo, so polish is practically guaranteed. (more…)
This week I break down the latest holiday reviews including Assassin’s Creed II, Crystal Alliance and a pair of PSP Minis games that are definitely ones to look out for.
Check it out on ZTGD.
Branded as a castle defense game, the game is advertised as “a cross between Guitar Hero and Metal Gear Solid”. For shame. The developers would have been better off controlling expectations by not comparing it to two of the most popular gaming franchises to date. How exactly is this game like either? Well, there is a guy with a mullet and bandana. (more…)
The Wrap-Up returns after the long holiday to breakdown the latest reviews including two expensive pieces of hardware and of course the latest games including LittleBigPlanet, Way of the Samurai 3 and of course Modern Warfare 2.
An action-strategy RPG, the story goes that four crystals and that many heroes are the last hope for the town of Thaladon. In a mysterious land where monsters rule, you command the heroes – with conveniently complementary talents – in an effort to take down the unstoppable hoard and reunite the crystals before Thaladon is lost to darkness forever. (more…)
I like indie games, and – like some others its ilk – liking WhipCrack requires perseverance. The early missions are laborious tutorials that teach you controls and basic gameplay mechanics. Tedious, yes, a problem complicated by the less than enjoyable gameplay. This might be alleviated if your sense of humor happens to match the tone of the game (mine doesn’t). If, however, you are part of that niche audience that finds their gaming heart won by the quirky offering, then by all means, crack that whip. (more…)
From the same folks that brought you and your kids JumpStart: Pet Rescue comes JumpStart: Escape from Adventure Island in all the kid-friendly trappings of an educational game for a slightly older audience – 5-9 years old, that is. Opening with a high flying adventure sequence that has an airship losing altitude and crash landing into an island (not nearly as fraught with trauma as it sounds) you child’s avatar is greeted by a friendly kanagaroo that explains that the island is chock full of helium tanks that will get you airborne again. These tanks that the islanders have in bountiful supply, however, must be purchased with sand dollars earned by completing tasks, or lessons and mini games. (more…)
This week I break down the latest collection of holiday madness including Ratchet and Clank, Dragon Age: Origins, Dark Nebula and of course Wii shovelware.
Brought to you by 1337 Game Design, the effort behind Dark Nebula is spearheaded by the lead designer of Battlefield 2, which almost makes the level of polish to the environments, controls and interface unsurprising – almost. Dark Nebula is a great looking game, and I love and appreciate the amount of effort that has clearly gone into the title. At about an hour’s worth of game time it’s a notably brief offering, but not without replay value. Frankly, I’m not sure what people’s demands are for a .99 title, perhaps we’re all a bit spoiled by the AppStore budget pricing. (more…)
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