A PASSION FOR ALL THINGS GAMES
Solve Problems With Punches – In the early 90’s the brawler genre dominated arcades and home consoles but as gameplay evolved this “punch-everything-and-walk-to-the-right” type of game gave way to First Person Shooters and RPGs. Zeno Clash, and now its sequel Zeno Clash II, are throwbacks to this old brawler genre but integrated with modern gameplay […]
Waiting To Attack – Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword is a variant on Punch-Out’s! parry-and-counter combat mechanics but allows free movement on the battlefield instead of being stationary in a boxing ring. However, these precision attacks grow repetitive as each fight against the common enemy is ultimately a battle of patience and repetition. The […]
Basic Crosswording – As a follow up to 2008’s original Crossword game on DS, Crosswords Plus is basically more of the same. There are hundreds of crossword puzzles each ranging in difficulty from easy to very difficult. Many early puzzles reuse words often; I must have written the word “elf” more times than the Lord […]
Curse This Shmup – Outside the mobile environment, the Shmup is a dying breed. UFO is looking to fill this gap by localizing Mamorukun Curse! to the PSN. Upon starting this Japanese “cute’em up”, I conjured mixed feelings. Thing is, UFO’s track record is pretty terrible thanks to the abysmal Johnny series on the 3DS […]
Up, Up, and Away – Back in early 2010, Nintendo developed and published Aura-Aura Climber to the under-utilized DSiWare service. This grapple-point platformer has players aiming for the stars in this two-dollar, or 100 Club Nintendo Coin (July 2013), 3DS eShop download. The simple and straightforward gameplay is quickly explained in the opening tutorial level. […]
Close This Open – Known for being over-the-top with super powers, quirky characters, and interactive courts, the Mario Tennis series has always been about colorful and wired gameplay. Mario Tennis Open, however, is a more straightforward tennis title that is loaded with needless grinding, lack of substance, and poor control schemes. The premise behind this […]
Unleash Your Hidden Potential – More app than an actually game, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone is a powerful, well-designed tool to train art newcomers as well as professional visual designers. Using a step-by-step process, the game gently guides the player from conception to finished product while simultaneously learning about art history and design theory […]
Up, Up, and Away – If you own a smart phone there is a good chance you have played Doodle Jump, an endless vertical jumper that is one of the most downloaded mobile games of all time. Now, Lima Sky has jumped from the gyroscopic mobile environment to take advantage of Microsoft’s full body control […]
Weak and Powerless – Countless platformers have been created since videogames were born but Spelunker is in a category of its own. The graphics are terrible, the soundtrack quickly gets annoying, and is one of the most frustratingly difficult games of all time; you cannot even survive your own jumps! This recipe should spell complete […]
Won’t Stay Puffed – Nintendo has kicked off the “Year of the Luigi” with Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon for the Nintendo 3DS. A true sequel from the Gamecube cult favorite, Luigi once again is tasked with busting ghosts and saving the day. Professor E. Gadd forces Luigi to help restore the shattered Dark Moon which […]
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