Kingdome Rush HD

So, I was wandering through my Steam collection the other day and I stumbled onto a game I'd gotten as part of a Humble Bundle and never gotten to.  So I clicked install, let the game download, then charged in.  This forgotten game was Kingdom Rush HD, and I am so sorry it took me this long to play

Deceptively simple at first, this gorgeous looking tower defence game gives you only four tower options, and two special abilities.  At first this seems a little inadequate, but as you progress, you come to realize it's perfect.  Each of the four towers can be upgraded, and at one point, the upgrade forks.  Each tower can become something different, but all are powerful.

Honestly I love everything about this game from the music to the graphics to the voice acting.  My favorite is when you upgrade to musketeers, and they shout, "this is my boom-stick!"  It's fantastic.

So, if you are a fan of games like Plants vs Zombies, or Crystal Chronicals: My Life as a Dreadlord, you will love Kingdom Rush.  Its an amazing tower defense game.  So till next time...

Civilization V

So, I'm a fan of RTS's, and I'm also a fan of sim games, so a long time ago, I picked up a copy of Sid Meier's Civilization.  I won't say that I was in love with the series, as much as obsessed.  The game had a hook I couldn't deny.  So, when the fifth edition of this game was offered on a Humble Bundle, I couldn't help it, I bought it.  It's just as addicting...

Honestly, this game is addicting in a way that steals hours of my life without me noticing, especially because the turns can drag on depending on the number of units you've constructed.  And with something like four or five ways you can win the game at any given moment, it keeps you distracted trying to learn tech, build an army, make friends, and be cultured.  All at the same time.  So, you kind of get sucked in.

One thing I have noticed, to my dismay, is that on a i5 quad core system, with 8GB of ram, the game seems to run slowly, and have graphics artifacts.  Now, if this was a bleeding edge graphics game, I could understand.  But this game is barely 3D.  I mean, don't get me wrong, it looks good, it just isn't stunningly detailed, and its still having issues with lag.

And my final grip is that the game is long, with options to make it even longer.  On a standard campaign, the second fastest option, with only four other countries and a medium sized map, it took me three days to complete the campaign.  This game is LONG.  And not always the most engaging.  So be careful, don't get too caught up, or you may lose a couple of weeks before you notice it.

All in all, Civilization V was okay, I just don't have the time to keep playing it.  There are other games I'd like to try.  So, until next review, I'll catch you later.

Pokémon Go

So, I was one of the luck few to get a few weeks heads up on Pokémon GO,  and I've really been mulling over this one.  It's hard sometimes to write a review of a game when it's as popular as this, especially when your review is something of a negative view.

That being said, I think Pokémon GO is terribly disappointing.  When I was told it was going to be a Pokémon AR game, I thought, cool, a Pokémon game that interacts with its suroundings.  A pokemon game that will make it feel as if pokemon were part of the real world.

What we got instead was a game that feels only half done.  I'm not saying it's terrible, just that it's not great.  There is very little beyond the drive to control your local gym to drive you on your quest.  And the reality is, if you aren't the kid wasting all the data on your parent's cellphone plan, you are never going to control a gym.  Then there is the lack of battling.  In the show from the very beginning when Ash caught caterpie, we have been taught that you battle a pokemon to weaken it before throwing a pokeball.  None of that is in Pokémon GO.  In fact very little of anything in the main Gamez or the show is incorporated into the new game.  Nor is there much Augmented Reality.  The only pieces of AR in the game are the GPS tracking, and the display fed in from your camera.  And the camera functionality does less to convince you pokemon are hiding in the world than being used to make inappropriate pictures with Diglet.

Over all, this completed game feels more like a beta, and leaves me wanting a full game.  It's a bit early to see how much the rest of you like it.  But this feels like a fad thing to me.  Once the glitter and shine wear off, I'm not sure how much staying power this game has.  I guess we'll see next month.  Till then, catch you later pokefans.

(The game has made me very aware about the bugs in my attic space, though.)

Just Can't Wait

So, in the days of the good old N64, I was a huge fan of platform games like Banjo-Kazooie and Mario 64.  In fact, they were my favorite games of the era.  And to be honest, I'm sad that these style games died out with the increase in graphics capabilities.  That seems silly to me, that a good genre should die out just because graphics have gotten better. (I'm not sure this is the real reason they died out, but I've not been able to find a better one.)

So, when I heard the guys behind Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country were running their own indie development of a new 3D platformer, I became ecstatic.  Enter Yooka Laylee.  Not even out yet but one of the best looking games I've seen this year, I'm chomping at the bit for news on when this title will make it's début.  I would love to have the chance to wander through encapsulated worlds of wonder and excitement, collecting up pieces after finishing puzzles.  I might actually sit down to game seriously again, rather than just squeezing it in when I have time.  I'd also like for my kids to know what a 3D platformer is like, too.  So, I have high hopes for Yooka-Laylee.

I really can't wait to get my hands on this game, and see what Playtonic has in-store.  Do you have any fond memories of the 3D platformers of old?  Let me know in the comments.

Blobs of Goo

Already know and loved by many, the World of Goo is one of the most excellent indie titles to have been released.  Not so much in pure wow power, but in simplicity.  The game is done in a classic 80's/90's game style, like Lemmings, with a slightly dark sense of humor that keeps you playing level after level trying to discover more about the World of Goo and the adorable little goo globs that inhabit it.  If you are a fan of puzzlers of any sort, you should definitely try out World of Goo.

I will give one warning, though, the games achievements can be stressful.  Not only are you trying out how to use the smallest number of goo blobs possible, you have an unseen timer tracking you as well.  Be prepared to play the same level over and over again seeking perfection, and failing again and again.  But still, have fun, and stack those goo balls to the sky!

Fez's Are Cool!

Honestly, if the title got you to this article, its true.  And Fez, from Polytron and Trapdoor, is cool.  In fact, its one of the greatest games I've had the pleasure of playing.

The premise is simple, you are Gomez, a vaguely marshmallow-man 2D creature that is happy living in your 2D world.  One day you wake up and receive a letter from the crazy old codger in town asking you to climb to the top of town and talk to him.  When you do, some crazy stuff happens and suddenly you are aware of the "third dimension".

Now, manipulating the difference between what you see in 2D and 3D, you progress through the world trying to set things right and figure out what in the heck is going on.  Full of puzzles and cryptic messages, Fez stands as one of the most challenging games out there.  It could be beat in just a couple of hours, but if you're not one of those spoiled people with the internet (oops, you must be, you're reading this!), the game can take your whole life if your not careful.  But seriously, PLAY FEZ!  If you are a fan of using your brain, you must try this game.