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Reviewing this game is difficult. Quite simply I have been a fan of the Prince of Persia games since the very beginning and as such have laid my hands on every iteration I could get hold of. The reboot of the series that started with the Sands of Time kicked off a series that I still play to this day and will always be held with reverence and love. The next reboot, the cel-shaded, one on one combat adventure simply titled Prince of Persia was supposed to be a return to the original roots of the series but fans dismissed it as too easy and didn’t like the fact that you couldn’t ever die. The tone was right but the execution was off and fans weren’t sure what to expect next. Well they probably didn’t expect this…
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I promised myself when I started to write these reviews that I wouldn’t lower myself to using casual profanity and inappropriate humour to describe any game no matter how infuriating or bad it was. This leaves in something of a quandary as unfortunately there is no other way to describe this adult nappy shit stain of a game.
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Popularity: 14% [?]
Every now and then a game will throw at you a set piece that’ll stay with you long after you stop playing it. In Gears of War it was either the moment the Kryll first spiralled across the moon or the Corpser appearing in front of you and dropping down to block your path. The battle with the Hydra, at the opening of God of War. The first toppling of a giant in Shadow of the Colossus. The battle with the Dahaka at the end of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Or the gigantic worm on level 3 of Lost Planet. I do love giant worms.
Ah, Lost Planet. When it first arrived it was loved for a short while but then vanished into sea of distant hardcore online gamers and not a lot else. The setup was simple: Shoot really big things with really big guns. Or climb into a robot suit with even bigger guns and shoot even bigger bugs. In the snow. And shoot people and people in robot suits too. Fun! Problem was, it had fiddly controls and the main character Wayne was a namby-bamby baby girl that ran like he had a weeks worth of crap in his snow pants.
The sequel takes place ten years after the non-eventful events of the first game on the same Lost Planet of E.D.N.3. The bugs are still everywhere and evil corporation NEVEC are still plundering for Thermal Energy, a hot lava-like goo that powers everything and is treated like it’s rare as rocking horse shit despite the fact it’s absolutely everywhere, which seems to imply that in the last game we achieved absolutely sweet FA. Except!!! Due to a massive release of even more really rare Thermal Energy pockets of the frozen planet have turned from glacial apocalyptic wasteland to thriving jungles, rocky mountains and vast deserts with each scenario featuring a different squad of soldiers.
It’s amazing how much of a difference a simple change of scenery can make with a game like this. The repetitive scenery was a bane to the first game and the freshness for each chapter here really helps proceedings. As does the fact that you can move slightly faster this time round. It’s not much faster but the character is at least moving quickly enough that when you’re trying to run away from the thirty foot armour plated creepy that’s smacking you around.
The guns and explosions are as impressive as ever. Really, gloriously over the top light shows of destructive glory that Michael Bay would be jealous of. Even the basic machine gun makes you feel like a man with every trigger squeeze. The sniper rifle has been refined and is one of the most satisfying guns in the game. Each snappy headshot provokes a sly grin and the new grenade launcher is a real treat.
The whole package just seems faster paced this time round. The waves come thicker and faster and rather than throw so many Akrid (giant bugs to the uninitiated) at you that you’re bored of them by level 4, Capcom mix it up a lot more with larger soldier encounters meaning that the Akrid assaults feel much more eventful. If you have any interest in this game you’re probably already aware of the train-in-the-desert-level featuring a giant worm. Allow me to assure you that a) that level is awesome and b) you’ll want to play it more than once. The worm in question would use the worm from the first game as dental floss and the giant worms from Dune as a tampon. It’s MASSIVE. So massive it would be foolish for one person to tackle alone. The best bit is… you don’t have to.
The campaign is now playable with 4 player co-op online and splitscreen and hellz to the yeah cause a bug blasting four-way turns out to be some of the best fun you can have on an Xbox. Chatting to total strangers about how exactly you’re going to down a 6000 tonne salamander are hilarious over the headsets and saving a team mate at the last second with a well placed shotgun blast feels like a moment from Starship Troopers every time and you can even share Thermal Energy between you to add to the whole feeling of camaraderie. (Thermal Energy also powers Harmonisers, devices that give the wearer superhuman regenerative abilities).
So everything has pretty much improved for this instalment. The VS’s (robot suits) are shinier, bigger and better and the enemies are much more varied (I love the new panther style Akrid that adjust their balance and movement based on how many limbs they have left! Sweeeeet!!!) the bosses are the biggest you’ve ever fought (No the Reaper in Mass Effect doesn’t count and I still haven’t played God of War III yet so that doesn’t count either – yes I’m bitter) and some of the set pieces are truly epic. The only niggles are that some of the boss fights take too long. Unless you’re playing with three other humans and not the surprisingly tolerable AI the larger creatures can take anything up to half an hour to kill and this ends up just feeling like a grind. The controls are still a little fiddly (they’re essentially exactly the same) and there is a certain amount of repetition after extended sessions of play.
Overall though this really is a great improvement over the original. The multiplayer is still great, there’s more variety in the levels and set pieces, the co-op adds a great new flair to an already winning formula. Some people may get narked off by the simplistic gameplay and the longer boss battles but this really is a great quality game full of great moments that it’d be a shame if you didn’t give it a go. Get your guns on and go hunt some bugs!
Popularity: 22% [?]
Archipelago is a beautifully simple real time strategy game, which has been boiled down into a puzzle format. I love the complexities a full-blown RTS but a mobile phone screen is not the place to reenact Age of Empire however Archipelago feels like it has a perfect balance. Does Archipelago stand out as a good example of games for the Android market?
Essentially Archipelago has the feeling of Risk with islands and planes but a difference is that It has no dice or turns, which makes it hugely addictive and the fact that you don’t have to wait ages for the other person to move their pieces after tussling with their inner-self wherever it’s politically wrong to take over Madagascar. With lots of small maps and fast action, the “one more go” mentality is strong which is guaranteed to force you to you miss your bus stop/train stop/own wedding. The game is played in landscape with no fancy motion or multi touch controls so perfect for those times you want to look like you are not playing games but actually reviewing some very important emails.
It’s hard to find a game that doesn’t feel like you have played it before on the Android market place as the android system is yet to have its renaissance unlike Apple’s app store where franchies and innovation seem to be part and parcel with owning the platform. The difference between the iPhone and App store is that the android market is not flooded with games so it gives niche gamer developers a chance to get their games noticed as the Android market place is lacking in original games.
However this does lead to a pattern emerging the fact of clones breaking out,such as Bejewelled and Tetris, that look and feel great but for anything more interesting or innovative feel underworked and ill thought out.
Archipelago does well at proving my point. The textures are not shiny and the animations are not as smooth and worse of all there is no sound which for a paid for app is disappointing. The user interface is average and I feel I have seen the art work before. Archipelago maps the physical buttons oddly; Archipelago does not use the menu button to bring up a menu it… well does nothing. To bring up the menu you hit back, counter intuitive as this could be used as an undo button for dire decisions/situations. There are no instructions only a, well worded, tutorial and one of my biggest problems grievances is that it has no save button! Although the game auto saves, I need to save to put my mind at rest and save, with a real button, I have already been caught out and have to start again! These are all small problems however it is the fact that I have seen this genre too many times recently that brings my overall view of it down.
Its very easy to criticise a game like this as it feels like a project two steps from being ready for release, perhaps if they put BETA in a shiny label on the corner I wouldn’t mind as much. Over all an just addictive enough to look over its flaws.
Archipelago, Android, $2.99
Popularity: 5% [?]
If you’re like me, then right now your suffering from a severe case of World Cup fever. The anticipation of unbelievable highs like ‘that’ Owen goal against Argentina are balanced in more or less equal proportions with a sickening terror that we are only 1 second away from another Maradona or Seaman moment, where all hopes are ripped away in a heart beat. You watch every game, whether its England labouring to another ill deserved and scrappy win or Brazil seemingly able bamboozle their fellow professionals with ridiculous ease.
But what do you do in between games? Read More…
Popularity: 14% [?]
Farming, a method that many city folk will never get the chance to participate in unless they are completely yuppy and decide to set up a farm in their city like the London farm. What is the attraction though for recent simulations that allow us to tend crops, plough fields and make sure that all of our workers are cared for and pass immigration laws.
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Popularity: 18% [?]
Abundante, Arrrrrriba Arrrriba. Que Tal, Me gustaria ir al discoteca.
When creating a puzzle game, you have to make sure that the idea is sound and that you implement and tune a control system that will work even when the user is panicking. Take tetris for example. The simplicity of its control system makes it easier to learn whilst in the beginning stages but like all good puzzle games, it will take a while to master. This is the same for Abundante. You will grasp the control system within minutes and then will have you speed and strategy tested as the levels progress and obviously get faster and faster.
In Abundante, the aim is to take blocks from above of selected colour and then link them to block of the similar colour, hence creating a chain. When there is a chain then boom, the blocks disappear and other blocks around it fall into place, which causes a combo hence forth increasing your point score ergo making your experience of the game better. If only life was that easy.
The game increases with difficulty through it’s levels by slowly speeding up the amount of the time that the blocks move down from the top of the screen and by adding various different blocks that are detrimental to your health. There are moss blocks that spread the moss to adjacent blocks, which can’ t be destroyed directly but will fall to its doom on destruction of those around it. Concrete blocks that can’t be grabbed by you and also have to be destroyed indirectly.
By expanding the game mode, the player has to re address their strategy to complete the levels and levels there are. On count there are 100+ levels so the game length warrants the price of the game.
Some blocks give up more gems, which is the prime purpose of the game. On the left side of the screen is a progress bar that you have to fill up by collecting jewels that fall on destruction of the block. You can earn acquire more jewels by creating shapes with the blocks that you have, which give you bonus jewels at the end to increase your score. It’s an idea that works very well but sometimes moving the cart gets forgotten by the player. To compensate for this the jewels nearly always fall automatically into the cart, but it does seem like moving the cart was a second thought.
However,
The control system works naturally as you touch the block you want, if its linked to any equal colours, these come join the party on et cart as well. You then touch the column where you want to place these blocks. Simples. The touch based controls could have had you smacking your head against a brick wall constantly but luckily the touch events have been refined to a 99% success rate for selecting the correct column where to place your blocks. The 1% failure rate is when you are moving to fast to carefully place your blocks, a fault of our own, not of the game.
What needs to be addressed though is that the developers really missed a trick by not including social gaming features such as Open Feint as this would have really benefitted Abundante. It’s ‘tell a friend’ feature is not enough to expose a game as I for one can say I have never used that feature. The facebook feature although currently over used can not be underestimated for how it can help get downloads of game.
If you like puzzle games and fancy a game to pass the time, then for$2.99, Abundante is for you.
Popularity: 5% [?]
- Good morning world. We are looking for writers, get in touch by DM and explain why. #
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Girls, dressed in Scantily clad clothes and with pillows. What else do you need to make a more manly game. Well a chance in hell might be nice.
Popularity: 80% [?]
In the past two weeks I have traveled America, gone to Mexico, learnt to ride a horse, and killed over 700 people. And how did I do this? By sitting in my pants, eating pizza and toast and playing the epicness that is Red Dead Redemption.
Popularity: 15% [?]
Hand Baked Arcade lands at Pure Groove Records
May 19, 2010 • Retro Reviews • Comments • Written by Vic
The Hand Baked Arcade returns to the scene with Pure Gaming to pump more retro video games in to people’s eye holes on the 29th May. This time they are installing themselves at Pure Groove Records, Smithfield, London, an apt location as accompanying the huge amount of retro classics are tunes provided by E:LF, Randomoidz and Schemeboy which should
appeal to you if you like your music electronic. Especially E:LF’s set as it is going to have plenty of chip tunes and other computer game inspired music (fiver says that the classic Tetris anthem “popcorn” gets played at least once)
What else to expect; well if previous installations at festivals like Glade and Glastonbury are anything to go by then classics like Street Fighter, Golden Axe, Pac Man and Space Invaders will all be inevitable. Along with those mega hits, I’m hoping on plenty
of other long lost gems and favourites that I may have forgotten. Back in the day these would be played on 15″ CRT sitting about 3 foot away from the screen, just to get all of the retina burning goodness. Hand Baked Arcade, however, promises 7ft projected screens (indoors and outside) along with the classic tube displays to keep the purists happy.
To be honest I was always far more interested in my GameBoy than the SNES. Perhaps I was daunted by a screen that was any larger than a postage stamp, enjoying straining my eyes on a screen with no back lighting (how did we ever cope before the GameBoy SP?). However the pull of a group of like minded children of the 80s may make me change my mind. There will be able to see a full report on Pure Gaming after the event as 7bitarcade will be looking for bricks with coins hidden in them and dodging barrels being thrown by apes. In theory of course!
Popularity: 31% [?]
Have you ever found yourself stuck in a town or city with no idea of what is going on around you? Be it drunk or completely sober, this can be quite an annoyance, especially if the timer in your stomach is telling you that it is nearly time for the food bomb to go off. Well, this is where Around Me comes in to hopefully save the day.
Around Me locates you and then depending on what type necessity you desire, it locates those that are nearest to you. A simple application that has be done now multiple times on the iPhone, but AroundMe is the only one i have ever put my faith in. However, this was not to be the case when trying to find a source of drinking tomfoolery in London. ‘Why do you need an app to find a pub in london? ‘ I hear you cry, as there are pubs on every street corner. The reason for this was a test of the applications metal, could it find out exactly what pub I was standing in front of. Sadly, the answer to this was no as the application put me deep in Camden Town when actually I was stood in Leicester Square.
This may be a fault on Apple’s part due to the GPS but any shortsighted user would put it down to being the App’s fault straight away. This is my only gripe with the application and overall it is probably not the fault of Tweakersoft as the current location aspect of Apple’s GPS software only has 4 or 5 settings.
Now lets talk about the impressive nature of the app. If you are so lucky to have a 3GS, then you can find where you need to go by using the Augmented Reality aspect of A.M. Turn your phone landscape and a world of floaty signs becomes your oysters. This is a lovely gimmick for the application but unless you wanted to become a large flashing target for muggers, then I really doubt it should be used.
Directions can also be given out to you by a simple tap on the options button whilst viewing a location and if you need to guide a friend to your whereabouts, then this location can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, a lovely addition to a fully formed package.
If you are stuck in a new area with no idea what to do, then Around Me is your buoyancy aid, as with only one touch (click to the desktop user) you are finding out where the nearest pubs are to you. But heed this warning, like all GPS systems, not all directions are correct but the majority are.
Popularity: 9% [?]
Split Second is a term that most women relate to men in the bedroom but for once, Split Second could be the best thing that could happen to your relationship. With your console that is. As many review sites get to put their hands on the juicy review code, we are left with a smattering of Split Second goodness, which is the demo recently released for 360 and PS3.
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Popularity: 68% [?]
Kleenex profits have just gone sky high with the release of Little Big Planet 2’s (does the apostrophe go there, I don’t know) teaser trailer. Many people around the world have been taking some happy time to enjoy this video of epicness.
Needless to say, Sony and Media Molecule may have taken the User Generated Content idea to a completely new level.
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So if you wanted to take over a hostile government regime how would you go about it? Infiltrate the local political field to convert followers to your cause? Rally a mob and march on the local parliament? Write a strongly worded letter perhaps? Or maybe you’d just like to take on the entire army single handed, steal a fighter jet, fly it into the nearest oil reserve leaping to safety at the last second before tying the last remaining enemy guard to the back of a car and dragging him screaming down the nearest motorway while you cackle maniacally? Well good news to all you video gaming revolutionaries, at least one of these is an option!
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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, actually it’s a badly drawn snake that another player has tried to draw with their fat fingers that instead looks like a sausage boutique. By another player however, I do not mean someone who you have just passed your phone too o no, Depict is a completely online game and the user experience benefits because of it but it can suffer if you are not always connected.
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Popularity: 22% [?]
Have you seen Death Race 2000? Even the remake starring Jason Statham? If you answered yes to either of these and had a private giggle to yourself then the odds are you’re going to get a bit of a kick out of this. The basic set up is what you’d expect. You operate one of many different armoured variations of standard vehicles; armed with a variety of weapons… you get the idea. It’s a top down racer focusing on tightly packed tracks; all in a Mad Max styled post-apocalyptic setting. You get junkyards, carnivals and other once familiar locations draped in fire and brown with bright clear checkpoints to guide your way through the ensuing carnage. It’s essentially Micro Machines meets Twisted Metal: Black. If that sounds appealing then read on…
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The title of this feature for all that are musically unaware, is a homage to Ian Dury’s song, ‘Reasons to by Cheerful’ a dry look at the slightly boring world that surrrounded him. The same goes for my Wii. However, this sad, dust attracting box is leaving me for a new home at a slighty deprecated value than what I bought for it. But why am I selling it I hear the Nintendo fan boys shout? Why are you selling the party wonder that is the Nintendo Wii, a console based on bringing people together so they can fling arms and potentially destroy all objects within their radius. The reasons for letting go of my fandom and the chance to play potentially the best platformer of 2010 follow:
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If you’ve played Perfect Dark before three things will happen before you fall back under a very familiar spell. A brief spinning camera angle, some echoing key strokes and a brief glimpse of a familiar grey and blue uniform. That’s it. It has you. End of discussion.
What then will those that haven’t played it be left with? Can an FPS that originally graced our gaming palms nearly a decade ago stand up tall amongst the current breed of realistic shooters? The answer may surprise you: Really quite well.
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Popularity: 27% [?]
So heres that final run down of those top ten free games on the iStore. With the final five we’ll see if its all toss or whether these bad boys are worth a good ol’ banging. Heres 5 – 1:
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Popularity: 52% [?]
When Toy Soldiers appeared in the Xbox Live Arcade, I was immediately captivated with its dignified and reserved class and style. With it’s classic War time look, it sits amongst it’s shiny and modern counterparts, quietly waiting for its time to be pulled from the shelf dusted off and enjoyed. A game that reflects the war-time days of our grandparents/great-grandparents, when games as we know them now were a distant reality that could never be conceived by man…well…except maybe Marty Mcfly. It harks back to the days of toy solders, wind-up toy tanks and good, honest fun.
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Did you know that bustin’ makes us feel good? Did you?!
Its competition time once more in the 7BitArcade camp and this time we’re giving away a copy of Ghostbusters for PSP. The rules are ghost ticklingly simple. Follow @7BitArcade on twitter and tweet this message:
Bustin’ and @7bitarcade make me feel good! RT and follow @7bitarcade for a chance to win Ghostbusters for PSP. Terms: http://7bitarcade.com
Its so easy Slimer could do it!
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Popularity: 50% [?]
It’s like it’s been a PopCap mid week weekend, if you understand that phrasing you will understand anything. But after finally discovering PopCap’s latest offering, what better time to jump and dive head first into the rest of their gaming library. Boom let us hit this game harder than a spoilt child on Christmas Day.
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Popularity: 10% [?]
Robotic, road bound, ever forward moving egg on wheels. Eggbot! Unfortunately the road is messed up to no end and you’ve got to reassemble it. Fixing the said roadway entails a task similar to that of a picture puzzle game that you might find in a stocking. Let it be noted this isn’t Eggbot’s first adventure, however just an Irish installment. It’s St. Paddy’s day today don’t you know?
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Popularity: 2% [?]
Yes yes yes, I hear what you are seeing. That’s right, hear what you are seeing. I know we have already reviewed the desktop version of this game, but isn’t it fitting that the iPhone edition get the 7Bit treatment as well. Even though the game has been shrunk down to zombie hand sized proportion, none of this games charm has been lost.
Popularity: 2% [?]
I have been thinking for quite a while about what words I could possibly use to describe the immense beauty of Braid. When I say beauty I don’t just mean the game’s stylistically exquisite visuals (which put me in mind of a living, breathing painting by one of the great impressionists like Monet). I mean everything about this game, from concept to gameplay to exposition, is just sheer beauty.
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Popularity: 2% [?]
Anyone who had a 5th generation iPod will remember some of the games that came included with it. You had solitaire and that bat and bricks game, but you also had that music game. You know, the one where it played you part of a song and you had to guess which one it was? Well iMusic Puzzle is the iPod Touch’s version of this game. Except for the fact you have to buy it of course but these developer types have got to make a living.
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Popularity: 2% [?]
You can’t get something for nothing. Or can you?
The App Store hosts a whole range of freebie games but the question is: are they all toss or are there any secret bargains amongst the bunch? In this two part article I’ll take the top ten free games (as of 08.03.10) and give them a run for their lack of money. Oh, and a toss-o-meter out of cabers only seems appropriate too.
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Popularity: 2% [?]
