Templar or Shadows?

Wow. Wow. Wow! What a week of gaming, with the release of B2W2 (Which will conveniently be reviewed by AlpAmbler and Galactic) as well as the release of DISHONORED! So that's what I'm bringing to the table today; a brand new, clear review about Bethesda's newest creation and how it is making waves in the gaming community.

Three guys? No problem.

The backstory: The protagonist is Corvo, a personal bodyguard in victorian times Dunwall (imagine a steampunk city mixed with magic). When he arrives back from a trip, mysterious assassins terminate the empress of the city in his presence, and he becomes coined as the main saboteur... thanks to a corrupt government.
As you escape jail to live a new life, new friends (nicknamed the loyalists) help you to clear your name. Apart from that, a mysterious entity named The Outsider gives insanely cool powers (and a steampunk heart?!) to aid you in the nasty plotting of revenge. It begins......
The game itself has openworld maps, each with multiple layers and fluid NPC movement/patrols. The game goes through various 'missions', played out like episodes. But this is where the normal stops.

Super, detailed environments!

Each 'mission' has different ways to get through it; whether that be stealth, elimination or just messing around with everyone's heads. Your gadgets and tricks can be used to extinguish enemies or take away their attention, and the character development is simply amazing! 

ZED: I really believe that this game is redefining the word stealth. Future games need to learn by this example; ArkaneStudios have recreated the meaning of the word assassin. I love the multiple ways to do something, whether that be possession, freezing time or just teleporting over peoples heads.

ZAWMBIE: Oh my gawd. This.....I can't even..... words can't even describe the detail in this game. Buildings are open for exploration; the plot is intense and ostentatious. Get this game! Get it!

Ratings:
Game-play: 4.5/5
Storyline: 3.8/5
Graphics: 3.4/5
Characters: 5/5

That comes to a grand total of.....(let me get my calculato--) 16.7/20! well done ArkaneStudios, congratulations on a momentous game! I'm off to go get some revenge!!!

ZED

Uwee hee hee... Game over! Don't feed the octopus, kids!

Hey, kiddos! Galactic here!

So, about a week ago, I decided that I should stop neglecting this blog, and go and post another review.
That was a week ago.
In the time between then and now, I have been glued my computer, playing on my Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES or Super Nintendo for short) emulator.

And then finally, I decided to close my emulator and think of a game to review.
Then the emulator was re-opened, because the game was right there anyway!

So, without further adieu, I present to you my review on Final Fantasy VI (though it's called III on the SNES).

Oh, wait. Before I begin, let me just say that this game is my favourite game of all time that isn't Pokemon, so it might be quite biased. Oh, well.

Final Fantasy VI (FFVI for short) is a turn-based RPG, set in a world where things like magic is just a dream. The game follows a group of people called The Returners, who face up against the almighty empire, who wishes to rule the world through force, and obtain and harness the endless potential of magic, and use that to their advantage. It's clear who the bad guys are- you've got to take them down.

So let's begin with the review, shall we?

Firstly, Gameplay:
Well... I could say a lot about this, but there isn't really much to it. Go walk around to get from destination A to destination B. Be careful, 'cause there are monsters, and probably a boss at the end. Because of this, it's not spectacularly hard. If you can't do something grind battles for a bit until you can.
...Yeah... Not really much to say in this area. It's just like any turn-based RPG, I guess.

Though, I mean, the battles are nice, and there are a few things that make battles easier and more interesting (for example, tools, or dance, or rage, etc.), but in the end, it's still doing a lot of the same things over and over.

Ah, and another thing. The SNES port of FFVI is filled with glitches and bugs. Be wary. Some are fun, and can be exploited to make the game easier (or a lot harder), and some just mess your game up. Before you play, be sure to read up about the bugs or something on gameFAQs to be sure that you avoid the bad ones.

Now, we'll take a look at sound:
Well now, sound is a whole other story. If there's anything about this game that I love to bits (there are several things I love, but hey), it'd be the music. Even keeping in mind that it's a game from 1994, FFVI has an amazing soundtrack. Each song really sets the mood, and it really makes the game a much more enjoyable experience than it would be if it had some kind of generic soundtrack.

I'd pull out some specific examples, but I just can't. There are too many good tracks in this game.

Of course I missed you, Ultros <3

Next, we'll go on to graphics:
Well... the graphics in this game aren't spectacular. Nothing on the SNES is really spectacular graphics-wise, but I do love how this game makes use of what they have. Yes, each character is only a small sprite in and out of battle, but it's big enough to have each character show some emotion.
But, I must say, I do like the enemy sprites. They're a lot more detailed than the character sprites, and I like that, for some reason.

Finally, Plot and Characters:
Yeah, I didn't include characters on my last review 'cause there really wasn't much to say about them, but in this game, you've got... fifteen(?) different characters, each with their own stories and whatnot.

A-anyway, back on track. The plot in this game, as stated above, is pretty standard: a large collective of bad guys doin' bad things, and it's up to the good guys to stop them.
That's the plot in a very, very broad sense.
I haven't even brushed upon the intricacies on the plot, and each character's subplot (of sorts) underneath it all. I probably won't, because then I'd end up spoiling everything for everyone, but still. Take my word for it when I say that paired with everything, it's a good plot, okay?

Unfortunately, that's for the first half (or so) of the game. Around mid-way, there's a large catastrophe, and the entire world turns to hell in a hand basket. From this point on, all the characters are scattered, and it's up to you to reunite them. And I mean it when I say it's up to you. Once you reach a short point after the mid-way mark, you can go straight to the final dungeon with, like, three characters, and that's the end of that. Although it does give a lot of room to do whatever you want, it also becomes more dull, as there isn't a main driving point.

Oh, well. It's still enjoyable.

Well, let's see the ratings, shall we?

Gameplay: 2.5/5
Sound: 5/5
Graphics: 3/5
Plot: 2.5/5
Characters: 5/5

Which leads to an overall score of 3.6/5 (apparently)
I personally think that it deserves a better score than what I've given it, but okay.

Anyway, I guess that's the review for now...

Cosmic Energy for the Win!

Galactic, out!

Fun Enough to Wake The Dead!

Yes! Finally I have purchased The Walking Dead for iOS, and I could not be happier!
Words cannot describe the joy i feel inside; this game is everything I have wanted in a zombie smash-em-up game!

For those not in the know, TWD is a choose-your-own adventure game, with fantastic (and slightly loony) consequences. Naturally as soon as I started playing, I chose the dark and slightly insane path, to see what my future would be.

Never have I had so much fun with such an amazing game. The integral mechanics of your decisions bring forth various relationships and endings, leaving you guessing of who is going to die next. The relationships you build make the game what it is; you can see how people in a zombie apocalypse can become either better or more worse then themselves.

The cinematics, lighting and music only add to this experience. (I also love the option of choosing a weapon when faced with danger, for instance you could choose a) to continue kicking the zombie, b) grab a hammer OR c) smash the door on it.)

The downside (You should know me by now, there is always a downside) is that this game plays in episodes. As in, episode 1 all the way to 5. Yes, and you MUST pay for these extra episodes. How much? Only about as much as paying for the game! Yep, I know. Kind of pricey. Also, the game is very sensitive to fingers, so using the look-around button can be difficult and irritating when you are about to become a zombie meal.


"Where's my screwdriver?" "It's buried at the moment...."

In my opinion, this app is rewriting what a good iOS game should feel like. The graphics are sharper, the buttons are well adjusted with the screen, and the producers have left nothing out like the original PC version.

My rating: 9/10 for playability, 8/10 for graphics and 9/10 for being an amzing zombie game! :D

Get this game, it's worth the price and the scares!

ZED

Retro Rollback: Gameboy Gaga

Twas' only recently when I found y gameboy, and I am quite happy with it! For those who were born or lived in the nineties, then this thing,  a Gameboy Colour, certainly brought all the 'nerds to the yard'.
Along with the gameboy, I found my childhood implanted in Pokemon: Crystal, and have suceeded in re-animating 'the good ol' days'.

Therefore, this week's retro roundup will be called '6 Things Pokemon: Crystal introduced and why they made the game good'. Let's start with #6.

#6. Girl Protagonist

"Hooray," cried all the tomboys! Krystal is actually fairly cool as a girl...  

#5. Whitney

I honestly love this gym leader. She gives a challenge, irritates noobs and her little tantrums entertain me. That's three awesome things in one!
Her Milk tank is a beast, as it's moves are STOMP, MILK-DRINK, ROLLOUT & ATTRACT.
Basically, it will flirt with your pokemon so it becomes infatuated, then it will stomp all over. Afterwards it will roll-over your team, and even if it's health drops, it can regenerate by sucking from it's own udder  using a disturbing move. Ghastly...  

#4. Crobats

This pokemon actually makes having a Zubat worth it. It makes me almost want to go to Dark cave to find one....just kidding, I  
                                                      hate that cave. 
#3. Kanto + Jhoto

Upon completing the game (or obtaining surf) you can go to Kanto, a short swim from your home-town. I loved this option, as it re-introduces the cast of the first games and created a bigger world to play in.

#2. Animations

It is a known fact that Crystal was the first game to introduce special animations as the pokemon was released into battle. New generation players should be thankful that Gamefreak took this step, as the games of nowadays would not be like this...

AND FINALLY...

#1. Day/Night/Weekday VIP areas

Introduced for the first time, Crystal created a schedule of the week, allowing only certain pokemon, people and items to appear either at night/day or on a certain weekday. Example: Martha, an NPC, only appears on Mondays near Olivine City, and will give you a sharp beak for finding her! How nice.

Also, phanpys only appear in mornings.....really early. I haven't been able to get one yet...

So that's it! Thanks for reading, we will see you next week for our next 'Retro Roll-back'..

ZED

New Map for Slender

 

Aww crap. Here we go again...

Recently developed news on Saturday speaks of a 'brand-new' slender map to be released. Eager downloaders and ambitious players were exuberant when downloading the file to find that the new level was based inside a school. Yay! The map is titled 'HOSPICE"

Here is what's new in-game:
> Developed AI (You cana ctually watch him move)
> Interchangeable area's for the goal
> Instead of 'journal papers' you now search for 'poem lines' (16 lines)
> Graphics have been redeveloped to look cooler


One of my favourite area's, a blocked end provides mild humour when in sho- OH MY GAWD!!!

> Movement and mouse sensitivity have been increased

Add caption

All up, the new map is fairly good. It's not as big as the original map, nor as scarier. There seems to be too much light, and therefore the atmosphere of fear has been lost. There is less tension, and the static that accompanies your diapeearance is scratchy. Also, slenderman doesn't pop up when you die!

It seems that this new map (which isn't developed by Parsec Productions, but ANOTHER indie game company) is not all cut up to what it seems to be.

I give it a 7/10 for graphics, a 8/10 for playability, a 4/10 for originality, and a 2/10 for scariness.

ZED

JONATHAN!

Hey guys, Galactic here!

CHARLOTTE!

And I'm here to do a review of a game I decided to replay recently.

JONATHAN!It's a game that I'm rather fond of, and I also really like the series...

CHARLOTTE!
Yeah... If you haven't guessed by now (you probably haven't), I'm talking about Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for the Nintendo DS.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin follows the same sort of playstyle as most of the other Castlevania Games (i.e. A Metroidvania), and follows the same sort of story as the other games: Dracula's Castle. Kill stuff and progress through to the final boss.
Except a little different. Unlike the other Castlevania games, the main villain is not Dracula, but rather a vampire artist called Brauner, who lost his family through WWII.
Nevertheless, he's a threat, and you've got to stop him. WITH VIOLENCE!

Alrighty, now onto the actual review.

So, first of all, gameplay:
Portrait of Ruin follows the general basics of the other RPG-styled Castlevania games (ie. equipment and item collection and whatnot), and in this sort of aspect, it isn't really very much of a change. Thankfully, however, the creators have fallen through, and added a refreshing touch: two playable characters: Jonathan, the whip-wielding vampire hunter, and his trusty sidekick magician prodigy friend, Charlotte. No, I don't mean that you can choose out of two characters to play as. I mean that you have two characters to play as at the same time. There are many aspects of the game that requires teamwork between the two characters, and only once you're able to master this teamwork are you able to proceed.

However. JONATHAN! There is one aspect. CHARLOTTE! About having two character switching. JONATHAN! Control which is verymildly irritating, and that's the voices. Oh, man. The voices.

Which leads us on to sound:
As stated before, the game uses voices in some situations, namely switching between characters, but some bosses also shout lines during battle (see: Astarte, Brauner, Death, etc.). While this isn't too irritating between bosses (in fact, sometimes it helps the battle go so much easier), it is a bit annoying between the characters, as there are situations where you'll need to switch. But by no means are the voices bad at all, they're just repetitive sometimes, and that can get annoying.

The music however, is an entirely different story. I've played a lot of Castlevania games in my life, and I must say that this game has the best soundtrack of them all (though you're free to argue). The game has a wonderful soundtrack that seems to fit nicely with the levels and to help set the mood.

Next part, graphics:
Honestly, the graphics aren't the most beautiful thing, but they're most certainly not bad. They're... well, what you'd expect from a Castlevania game.
Nothing too special here.

And lastly, plot:
The plot seemed good at the start. It had a lot of room to be different, and to reflect on how war can ravage families and change people for the worse, etc, etc. But, sadly, it didn't. It just went to the same sort of "Oh, trouble's brewing. Better go and kill Dracula again." plot. Of course, it had its interesting bits, but nothing really spectacular.

Alright, so an overall score

Gameplay 4/5
Sound 5/5
Graphics 4/5
Plot 2/5
Which leads to an overall score of  3.75

Last notes: While this game mightn't be everyone's cup of tea, I suggest at least giving it a little play. It's pretty fun, and it really helps to relieve boredom when you need to.

Thanks for reading!

Galactic, out!

Aion: Ascension (Part 2)

Hello, again! Here cometh part two of thine previous revieweth of Aion.

:D

Right! So you're at the point where you've found yourself in Aion and everything is manificent... Mostly everything. There still remains one problem.

Aww shit, son!

How in God's blazes do you fly?!

YOU CAN’T FLY BECAUSE YOU’RE A HUMAN!!1! Once you get to level 9 you’ll get a quest called “Ascension”, which once you’ve finished you’ll become a Daeva. Then you can glide and fly and flap your wings in front of all the lower levels who haven’t got their wings yet while falling off cliffs because you thought you could get to the other side to your heart’s content. Just press space in the middle of a jump.

Downfall? You can only fly in designated areas where the flow of Aether is strong. What is Aether, you may ask? Damn, well, it’s like the energy that flows around the whole of Atreia, basically it keeps everything in order. Very important stuff.



If you fix yourself up with a group like this-
you'll pretty much be set for the whole entire game.

So you’ll get out of Lowbie-Land and into Pandemonium (Asmodians) or Sanctum (Elyos). From there you’ll go to Lowbie-Land-part-2 and level there for a while. Protip: eat your greens do your campaign quests, they’ll make you strong and they give you buckets of EXP. Make some friends! Friends are expendable useful and very helpful when you need to do Group quests. You’ll have a lot of fun.



When you get to level 25 you’ll be able to get into the Abyss, which is basically the place where a war is raging between the Asmodians, Elyos and the Balaur (lizard people). Be warned, you can be killed by enemy players at any time once you leave your faction’s landing. It’s very fun to be in the Abyss, but frustrating as well. You’ll want to gear up if you're planning to go into PVP.

As well as the Abyss, there is rifting. Rifting is basically going through portals that appear on the map at any given time. They’ll take you to the other faction’s world, from Elysea to Asmodae and vice versa. Be prepared to run into the other race – and bring friends! Lots and lots of friends...

I really don’t want to waffle on too much, so I’ll just quickly skim over the rest of this post.

Behold! The Alchemy table.

The crafting system is massive, you can choose from Armour smithing, Weapon smithing, Potion making, Cooking, Alchemy and Wood crafting. All pretty self-explanatory, I only do Armour smithing and even then I don’t do it often. If you do take any (or all) of these up, you’ll pretty much be a step ahead of everyone else and you’ll be able to make most of what you need.

There’s a lot of stuff I’ve missed out but we’ll talk about that later.

Also Polar bears.

Magnificent Microwavable Mustard

Damnit, Ambler, this is a walkthrough!

(Edit: Yeah, oops. Here's the link to the site. http://na.aiononline.com/ )

Oh craaaaaaaap!

Cheers, 

Faggot

Ambler

Aion: Ascension

Hello, dudes! (and dudettes) Ambler here, breaking their promise for a Minecraft review in return for a review on the MMORPG Aion: Ascension! Great game, it has a huge range of in game things you can do (although personally I prefer the combat system) and there’s no end to the amount of stuff you can make. Honestly? I think the best way to experience Aion is to play it. If you like it; you’ll love it. If it’s your type of game; you’ll never stop playing.

Your wings won't actually look this cool.

Also you can fly.

You have wings and you can fly.

:D

So let me just go from the start. You’ll need to create an account (obviously) to begin playing. Best part about it? It’s free. Even better? It used to be a pay to play game with monthly subscription payments. I don’t know why they made it free to play but I’m glad they did. Maybe they made so much money their bank account overflowed and they couldn’t take any more?

So from there you’ll need to download the game, which is a great big whopping thirty gigs of data. Start making room, guys (I freed up ninety-four gigs instead of thirty, huu huu). Depending on how fast your computer is it might take a while to start up, (so sit down, relax and twiddle your thumbs impatiently while you wait for it to load past the NCsoft logo. Get up, make a coffee and call your friends, plan a holiday and play with your dog) or it’ll take twenty seconds and you’ll be at the log in splash screen. I think you know what you have to do from here.

So after you’ve got those log in details in you’ll be asked to read the terms and conditions. It’ll pop up every time you log in so you have plenty of time to read it, so just skip past. Choose a server and a faction, Asmodian, or Elyos. There’s no real good or bad, but if you want to pretend you’re a super villain or hero, choose the corresponding race. I’m on the Siel server as an Elyos Cleric. Add me, dudes, my username is Deque.

Shit, this is turning out to be a walkthrough!

The class selection screen doesn't actually look like this anymore....

Okay, whatever. You can choose between 4 classes. Warrior (Gladiator, Templar), Scout (Assassin, Ranger), Priest (Cleric, Chanter) and Mage (Sorcerer, Spirit master). You’ll make your character and depending on what race you chose you’ll be in either Poeta for Elyos or… the other place. I forgot what it was called but it’s a lot darker and less pretty than Poeta. Woohoo! So you’ll be on Lowbie-land for a while until you manage to get to level 10.

Well, would you look at the word count! Looks like I'll be saving the rest of this post for another time! Stay tuned for part 2.

Until later, folks!
Faggot
Ambler

CLOP

Latest Indie Flash game proves humourous and ultimate time-waster!
"I would try to review it, but Im still trying to get off my unicorn's back"- IGN

It was only yesterday that I was introduced to CLOP, the insanely hilarious flash game from Foddy.com, and I can say that I loved it.
Fans of CLOP will know that the developers of the whimsical game see you in the shoes (or hooves) of a Unicorn, whose only goal is to find a 'Virgin' on the other side of the hill, egged on by the naughty and nonsensical comments of your human friend. Putting it mildly, you have no idea how much pain this game causes you.

The controls are 'HJ KL' and each letter controls a leg. Simple right? No.
H controls front left leg, J Contols back right. Vice versa, K controls front right leg, and L controls back left. Completley confusing, as it puts you in a wierd, jangly dance to the finish line. Falling on your back ends the game and brings forth a spurt of egg-on comments from your male friend, which further aggravates you to press the damn space-bar and try again.
On another note, why do thy call it 'High and Pleasant Hill' when it's clearly the opposite!?

The protagonist, 'CLOP', engages with lust filled commentary of a fair maiden...
We can all see where this is going.

Needless to say, I spent hours on this game. I would write a more in-depth review, but I'm still trying to get over the first damn hill. It will happen, I can feel it in my hooves...

Have a good day!

ZED

If you wish to try this game, google CLOP or click the link here: http://www.foddy.net/CLOP.html
For other games by Foddy, you can check out QWOP:
http://www.foddy.net/Athletics.html

Welcome to the MMO WORLD Bethesda...

Out of all the games to look out for, this is perhaps a very important title to have on your list: IGN Live: The Elder Scrolls MMO. That's right, a confirmed demo is to be released sometime in October, as Elder Scrolls is introduced to the wide world of online insanity!
There were mixed emotions however, from the gaming community. Some shouted with triumph as they dreamt of Oblivion, Morrowind and Skyrim fantasies combine with showing off 'canon' gear. Others thought this was a mistake on Bethesda's part, and believed that they were heading in to the world of monotonous gaming.  


I personally think it's a huge risk, and if they stick to the level-up process found in Skyrim, then people will be level 98 pickpockets/sharpshooters/necromancers in the space of a week. If they come out with original fighting sequences, a difficult level up schematic, and perhaps the ability to RIDE FLIPPIN' DRAGONS GARGGHHHHH! then they can take my money...oh yeah...dragons.....

What do you think? Is it too soon to say and judge this newest MMO? Do you want dragons to tame in the online Elder Scrolls world?

Oh and one more thing: There will be guaranteed subscription fees.....

*Queue loud groans from MMO Community now*

ZED

More info from IGN: http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/122/1224248p1.html

Everybody run for cover.

No, really, I'm serious.

Hey, gamer people, dudes, bros and everything else inbetween that will not be mentioned here. I'm Alp Ambler and from here on in I will be contributing to the blog in the least embarassing way possible. Just kidding, it's going to be really embarassing. I'm not going to go into detail about my interests, so let's move on from the introduction and talk about nothing else.

Expect a Minecraft review from me sometime later in the week. The update has me impatient to play and I'm really eager to check out this LAN play and trading system they supposedly have going on. I would have told you by now how that Single Player LAN server went, but my bro was too busy playing Dungeon Defenders to join me. So, naturally, I closed Minecraft and played something else.
Who needs a brother to play with anyway, *sniff*.

There are many other games aside from MC that I could type a review about, but before that I'll be asking permission from Ms.Aware, since she's the head of this whole institute here. I don't wanna go ruffling nobody's feathers because I'm reviewing games people don't know anything about.

Noodles toodles,
Faggot
Ambler

Minecraft 1.3

Need we say more!?

Two days ago the developers tweeeted to the world this message: "Roughly 5.5 hours till deployment! Get Ready!" We were so excited, and looked forward to an incredible update from Mojang! Hours later, we opened the windows of Minecraft, to see that the power of updating had been bestowed upon us! Hooray!

We were deeply impressed. There were some incredible add-ins. For those of you who cheated and download the file that automatically updated before the designated day, you would know about the trading system, the new ore(emeralds) and several more civilisations. We will list them ALL right here:

The game now runs an internal server in single-player mode

The single-player server can be shared on LAN, with LAN server detection

Made it possible to use client-side commands by enabling cheats (this is defaulted as disabled for old worlds)

Added an optional “bonus chest” to get started quicker

It’s now possible to trade with villagers. Added emeralds as a currency

You gain enchantment orbs from other tasks than just destroying monsters. Max enchantment level has been decreased to 30

Servers can automatically suggest and distribute texture packs

Added new world map elements (does not need a new map, but they’ll only appear in new areas)

Added cocoa beans

Added an Ender chest

Added tripwire

Wooden logs can be placed sideways

More detailed change log here: http://www.reddit.com/r/edstonehelper/comments/p6lol/planned_for_the_next_update/

Wowza! Alot of things! Here is what the team at the Fabled Project had to say:

ZED: I loved the idea of jungle temples, especially with tripwire traps and...stuff. Certainly eager to play now!

GandalfTheBlue: That trading system looks fantastic! Also the sand temples and jungle temples I am looking forward to! I'm happy.

Zawmbie: Umm what about the glitches of LAN worlds. Not too happy about that but..meh. Still looks good!

Leave your comments below to tell us what you think! Will you be updating now, or waiting until servers and MCPVP get upgraded too? What's your concerns?

ZED

And now, photo's!!!



This is a Desert temple. No duh! XD



Emeralds, the brand new 'official' currency of MC

My own screenshot: A jungle temple in a forest? Hmmm...

Our First Series!

Due to the recent development of Indie Horror Games, my team and I have decided to our blog's first series on Indie Supernatural Thriller Games!
Firstly, we look at upcoming games that are inspiring this new breed of gaming genre... (Please feel free to mention any other games below that you think should join this series)

First up, we have SLENDER, which is developed by Parsec Productions. (If you want you can read the review under this post)

What makes it Scary?
Zawmbie: The fact that there is no light apart from the torch, and that he can turn up right next to you put's you on the edge of your seat.

Zed: I love the noises and music, absolutely fantastic! The noises as you spot Slenderman in the forest really drive you to insanity. That is what makes it scary.

GandalfTheBlue: For me, it's the setting. A dark forest, and your defenseless child? No wonder why you as a player feel helpless to do anything but run. I screamed so much...

Our team gave it a 6/10 for playability, a 5/10 for graphics and a 15/10 for scariness...


Next up is Anna, an Indie horror game recently released from Italian designers. Beautifully rendered map, and an ingame AI computer that measures your actions and decides the next encounter based on those actions.

What makes it Scary:
Zawmbie: Well, judging by the videos, this 'AI' is incredibly smart. Also, the fact that it can create multiple things to scare you makes me want to play this game. However, the setting of a green, sunny day really twists my view, and I don't quite see it as scary as Slender.

Zed: Just to counter Zawmbies comment there, I believe that the setting of a nice sunny day is a technique used to hide the scariness underneath. Although it is risky, I think it works well with the setting. Whilst playing I actually did not wnat to go i9n the house because the daylight ept me feeling safe.

GandalfTheBlue: The image above scares me enough. But I'm going to side with Zawmbie on this one, that 'sunny dayz' feeling just doesn't work....

Zed: Shame on you!!!

The team gave it a rating of 4/10 for playability (the damned controls), an 8/10 for graphics and a 9/10 for scariness.

Finally on our post is Among The Sleep, a brand new game that has been declared to be released next year.  Some of you may have heard on the grapevine about how this game is making waves on the internet; we certainly did. (Please note because this game has not yet been released, we can only judge it off trailers + gameplay videos)

What makes it Scary?

Zawmbie: I believe that this game is going to like amnesia mixed with Rugrats. The defenslessness factor comes in again, like Slender, because you are a two year-old with monsters coming for you...

Zed: I tried throwing money at the screen to buy it, but it didn't work. :(
I am extremely excited about this game! The video scared me so much, and the idea about playing as a two year old is fantastic!!! This was me watching the video:
*First 10 seconds* Ok cool, oh look stairs
*After window sighting* NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE
Like what Zawmbie said, this game makes you afraid simply because you can't defend yourself. There is no gun, or weapon, but only your will to proceed to the next room...
GAndalf The Blue: Wow, what a cool idea! This looked simply amazing as a game; and the environment reacting with shakes and ghosts makes me feel truly afraid. Definetley inspired from Amnesia, but with a twist... I will buy this game.

The team gave it a 6/10 for Graphics, an 7/10 for scariness and a 12/10 for originality!



Well, that's it! Next week, we take a look at the game that started it all: Amnesia, and discuss what these 'Thriller' games could hold for the future of PC games...

Link to Krillbites blog: http://krillbite.com/blog/
Trailer for Among The Sleep: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWDQN_X5b-M

Goddamit Slenderman!!!

Well, it seems amnesia has started a whole new generation of scare-yourself-crapless games.
For those of you who don't know, Slender is a new game recently developed to follow the Creepypasta story of Slenderman, a fictitous creature who creeps me out so much.
The story goes as follows:

"The Slender Man was created at the Something Awful Forums in a thread entitled "Create Paranormal Images." He is described as wearing a black suit strikingly similar to the visage of the notorious Men In Black, and as the name suggests, appears very thin and able to stretch his limbs and torso to inhuman lengths in order to induce fear and ensnare his prey. Once his arms are outstretched, his victims are put into something of a hypnotized state, where they are utterly helpless to stop themselves from walking into them. He is also able to create tendrils from his fingers and back that he uses to walk on in a similar fashion to Doc Ock, the Spider-Man villain in the Marvel Universe. The superhuman stretching ability could also be seen as a similiarty between himself and Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. Whether he absorbs, kills, or mearly takes his victims to an undiclosed location or dimension is also unknown as there are never any bodies or evidence left behind in his wake to deduce a definite conclusion."

Who is that I see in the background? What a pedophile!

So there you have it, a truly creepy monster. And what better way to poo yourself then to play a game based off this 'slenderman'?
That's exactly what the developers  (Parsec Productions) thought, and lo and behold, Slender was born. This game puts you into a child's first view perspective as they attempt to escape Slenderman's forest. All you have is a torch, your legs, some running skills and your sanity; but once any of them run out it's game over!
The objective for you character is to collect 8 pieces of paper that tell the story of another survivor which gives you a back-story to the creature (I have no idea how that defeats Slenderman).
Sounds easy right? You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. You see, the map is hella-large. And there are buildings, farms, trucks, pipes and stations for you to explore, just to find these flippin' pieces of paper. (Am I the first to wonder if Slenderman's weakness is paper, then why is he hanging out near a forest???)

Anyway, so the game has you start in the forest with a flashlight. You can only see a few metres ahead, and you need to hurry because
a) you can get hungry/tired and die
b) you can lose your sanity and die
c) you can have your batteries die.....and then YOU die!

The graphics are....well, uh... it's not about the graphics!

Insanely fun, hella-creepy, this game looks set to be a fantastic scare-yourself-silly game. You can download for free here: http://slendergame.com/download.php

Also, tonight my friend and I will be recording an in-game diagnosis + video reaction of Slender, so stay tuned to see us freak out! Have a good week followers!
 Zamwbie

Zawmbie is our newest writer for the blog, please introduce him with GlADos cakes and virtual slaps! Welcome to the team, Zawmbs!!!!

For Narniaaa!!!

"For Narnia!!!!" These are precisely the words I screamed as I begun the battle. My towers were ready, my forces stood strong, but the enemy approached like waves upon waves, obliterating my kingdom. I sat there, slumping in my seat, before I hit restart and begun the level again with fierce determination in my eyes...



Kingdom Rush has been an app that I have thouroughly enjoyed, and it brings me great pleasure to review this game. At first, I found the controls annoying and the gameplay a little dull, but if you just delve in a little bit more, you can find a real treasure of a game on the app store.

The app is a tower defense raider game, with various levels that follow a typical medieval story. There a multiple enemies, but not that many towers. Only four actually.
That's right, four towers to choose: barracks, archer tower, mage lair and bomb dispenser. Now, you may be thinking, "Four towers!? How gay" but I will stop you there good sir, as there is more then meets the eye.
My first arguement is that the developers, Ironhide Games Studio, have promised more towers. Great!
My second arguement is that these towers develop into 8 different specialty towers that look cool and
work great! This adds more units and more fun!

Even so, there are tower upgrades, hero's, and special 'God' abilities to turn the tide.

But, there is a downside... this game is hard! Like, seriously, take a rock, put it in concrete, then cover it with diamonds and then make it Chuck Norris's abs; it's almost as hard as that!!
I have spent many agonizing days having to restart endless battles, because in the end they overkill my units and I end up with butthurt >.> Not cool.
In other negative aspects, the monetary unit, gold, is extremely difficult to get in game. Defeating an enemy or summoning the next wave gets you more money, but in the end it's easily spent.

Even though there are these negatives, I still find it a fun game! Trust me, I have wasted many hours on this amazing game. Don't believe me that it's fun? Then read these reviews:

"Kingdom Rush is a beaut of a tower defense game, with new ideas that make it feel extremely polished and refined." Slidetoplay
                  
"This is easily one of the best tower defense games currently in the App Store." Gamezeebo
                  
"Kingdom Rush is an instant classic and is guaranteed to turn up on 2012 "best of" lists." IGN
                  
"Kingdom Rush can be filed in the thin folder marked -games that are pretty much perfect-." Jayisgames

I give this game a 5/5 for fun, a 3/5 for originality, a 4/5 for gameplay and a 3/5 for development. I like this app guys, it's a real beauty.

ZED

The Best of the Best...

2012 looks set to be quite a promising year for gamers, with massiv PC and Xbox platformers set to be relased around September to November. Some great titles include:

Dishonoured: Revenge solves EverythingCritics have described this stealth FPS as a mix between Assassins Creed and Bioshock. Recent trailers and gameplay reviews show a stealthy assassin with the ability to perform magic attacks, such as teleporting, freezing time and possessing animals in an open, steampunk world. Absolutely looking forward to this original title to see what promises they deliver.
Bethesda have announced that Dishonoured is set to be released on October 9th. Get ready for a full-on title....


WatchDogs: Anything can be hacked...
As it says with the slogan, watchdogs revolves around the modern day world, computer technology, and a 'disgruntled assassin' with the power of a city in his mobile phone. The trailer is interesting, based off certain statistics of illegal hacks, and follows a Open-world scenario, which is kind of like a copy of GTA. (Pssst, don't actually say it's a copy of GTA, or the fans will hunt you down)


Trailer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U8KsQPIrY0

Blobs 2:
Not much to say, although it is a follow on from Blobs, and no doubt will continue the story. To stay in the loop, people call it a CoD Copy. Not too sure about it's promises, but looks set to be action-packed!




That's it so far! Look forward to some of these titles. Each has it's own little rewards!
ZED

Swordigo: Child's Fantasy game popular with oldies.

For those of you who rememeber Mario, it was the age of revolutionary platforming systems. A little italian plumber runs across the screen dodging fireballs and jumping on enemies: ingenius gameplay! Well these platformer style games have arrived for the Iphone, and they look better then ever.

The main opening screen.

Swordigo, recently released by Touch Foo, has ingeniusly created a 2D world of fantasy that includes multiple gear, level up systems, power ups and enemies.
The game is simple in design, but incredible as a puzzle solver. A gamer can spend a max of four hours gameplay to finish the storyline, but spend another hour unlocking the maxed out items and weapons.

Pros:
Creative system- The user interface is smart. There are no moving buttons to imitate where your fingers touch the screen; the buttons stay where they are.
Level Up System- The classic level up system provides a prior goal to gamers should they finish the story-line quickly.
Puzzle Play!- Most maps have ingenius puzzles that require a lot of thinking and magic from the player.
Trinkets- THis was my most favourite aspect of the game. Throughout the worlds, certain places give you a 'trinket'. These magical spheres enchant your weapons, magic spells and armour to give it special abilitis. Currently I use the shadow trinket on my iron sword, giving it a purple aura. But it doesn't just change the image, it gives it special powerups too! But, if I was to use it on my armour, it would allow me to pass through enemies when I chose to! Amazing! (NOTE: In the above image of the app icon, the 'fire trinket, can be seen on the sword)
Multiple Bosses- Bosses unlock different achievments, and can be found in secret 'coves' under or abve the map. Defeating them will unlock trinkets for you character.

One of the many bosses of the 'Shadow Lord'. His minions will try to defeat you!

Cons:
Childish Graphics/Gameplay- The animation makes it look like a child's game. There is no detail in the characters, and the story-line is really simple to pick up (Which makes the ending easier to guess). 
4 hours!!!- That's right, depending on your thumb skill, this game has a max of 4-5 hours gameplay. The abd news: there is nothing online except for achievments. Unfortunetly, history in the appstore tells us that apps without online gameplay are rarely bought, due to their entertainment factyor decreasing by the time everything has been experienced.

Gameplay is very '2D' based. Like Mario!

Glitchy- Sometimes shuts down. Very aggravating. 'Nuff said.

My rating: 4/5 for creativity, 2/5 for gameplay, a 3/5 for price and a 3/5 for originality. Well done Touch Foo, you created a game that I thouroughly enjoyed!

Zed

iGet Ready For the Zombocalypse

Zombie Killing Gem of the App Store; that's what app enthusiasts are labelling this brand new zombocalypse FPS. Players take on the role of a survivalist amidst the zombie apocalypse; they are given a very simple but interesting story-line to follow.
What first caught my eye however, was the gravity field aspect. When you kill these Zeds, they don't just drop to the ground in a undignified, tedious way. No, developers have created multiple ways to finish them off, leaving the player with a giddy feeling that this game gives more then it first let on.

Imagine the players face as they experiment with multiple head shots, leg decapitaters and Zed bashing!

BOTTOM LINE: A Mob (enemy) in this game will react differently to each kill shot you give. Knock of its arms, and it will kick you in the shins (Which actually takes away a good ammount of health). Severe it's leg, and the zombie will shuffle after you till the final blow! It's this kind of authenticity that gamers want to feel; not just shoot the undead a couple of times and watch it fall down monotonously...
It's this kind of originality that put's other zombie shooters *cough* CoD Zombies *cough* in the online trash pile. Players want a humanizing effect of a game, and this app certainly delivers just that.

The developers of DEAD TRIGGER, Madfinger, have promised all this and more in their feature first game. Their continual updates have left buyers on the edge of their seats, asking for more! A pretty good deal for just 99c!

IN THE GAME:The opening menu of the game is a bird's eye view of the city, giving the player an RTS style genre. From there, the game allows you to selct missions in different area's of the map, which then determines
a) The number of zombies around AND
b) The setting of the game.

For example: Selecting a mission in the downtown area will put in a rustic, alleyway street, which might or might not be deserted. The 'levels' are linear-based, but allow open-fluid movement, meaning that you can move around and take different paths to a certain limit of that map. Clearly this game delivers more then asked for...


The gameplay is not that different from a regular Apple FPS. On the left side, the movement button. On the right: a trigger button, as well as iron sight and reload. The games ingenius interface allows users to customise the button style, to permit smooth play ability.


But, if there is a few things I can be a critic on, it would be this: Madfinger have allowed in-app purchases. This can be aggravating to a lot of buyers, as the currency model is based off the obtainable units (money) and purchased units (gold). To cut a long story short (and avoid the avid cursing), the games best suited weapons need to be purchased in order to kick some zombie ass.
Naturally, this got critics worried. But then came the final nail in the coffin...
Madfinger recently announced that the pressure their fans gave them about releasing a new app hindered the finished results in DEAD TRIGGER. Hence why the game has so many bugs, and currently only three NPC's. And just to rub salt into the wound, grammar Nazi's get a whole workload of sifting through error after error from various characters and plot-points in the game; a not so satisfying result for such a promising app. As for bug fixes and tweaks, Madfinger Games has managed to fix various issues in-game that reduced play-ability and interest.

However...

It's the next Dead Trigger update that you should really be excited about, though, for it will introduce the game's first survival arena, two new environments, two new flesh-eaters, and two fresh weapons (the chainsaw and boat motor). Oh, and iCloud support.

All in all, this game is brilliant. And it has potential to become memorable. I can agree with critics that this is a lesson to be learnt swiftly: don't rush into game development. That being said though, I give this game a 4/5 for graphics, 4/5 for story-line, 3/5 for development and a 5/5 for originality (compared to other zombie kill-em-up's on the App store). 


Buy this game guys; as you will not be disappointed...


ZED




RAWR I'M A ZOMBIE!!!