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Posted on 07.27.07 by skintari @ 8:15 am
So, I gambled and picked up a copy of Touchmaster for the DS. I really haven’t read too much about the games that were on it, although I knew that they were all based off of those monitor games (also called Touchmaster) that sit at the end of the bar. Being a fan of the bar version, I figured this would be worth the money to plunk down. Let’s just say I wasn’t totally correct. Yes, it does feature 23 games that can be found while imbibing on your adult beverage of choice. But that’s where the similarities ended for me. For those of you that are unaware (or underage), Touchmaster uses a touch screen to perform actions. Checkers, Tri-peaks (and other various card games), as well as a spin off of Othello, and a few others. The touch screen does work well for this, but that’s not the problems I had. My problem lied with the games themselves. Instead of getting 3 plays for 50 cents, you get one play for free. This makes some of the games very uneven, as you should get rewarded for progressing through a game. A few of the games are close to never-ending if you use logic, and some of them end abruptly because you have to rely on the luck of the AI. This can be extremely frustrating. Especially when you rack up a million points and then the AI gives you a situation that is impossible to win. The other thing I notice is that I tend to restart games when I realize that the “computer” is going to end up screwing me soon. Now, even with that major fault, I still find a few of the games very enjoyable. There isn’t any longevity for this game, but it’s something to do when you’re at a commercial break while watching tv! I rate this one a 2.5. If you can find it for 15-20 bucks, it’s worth it. But I definately wouldn’t pay the $30 asking price now that I know! Besides, you can save that extra 10 bucks and get yourself a nice pint of Guinness while you play this at the bar! Filed under: Nintendo DS and Review and skintari Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 07.24.07 by skintari @ 8:06 am
Well, this isn’t entirely true. See, I got the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider DVD game. It’s billed as a game for your dvd player and that’s exactly what it is. Tomb Raider for yet another platform. Now the game isn’t bad if your a hardcore, gotta have everything that is even remotely related to TR. The controller is the dvd remote and it functions as well as one would think. You get to a gate and a menu pops up for your next move. You push the corresponding arrow and yay, you’re in! Although I found that common sense would let you finish this movie-game with ease, it is a pretty neat concept. I think we may have a new genre of games on our hands if they can get some of those games that are like a choose-your-own-adventure types. Dragons Lair, anyone? Anyways, I’ll give this a rating of 2/5 only because my disk froze after the first chapter! Filed under: General and Review and skintari Comments: 2 Comments |
Being a gaming site and dealing with gaming things, I figured this would be an opportunity to tell you about a game I recently rented from Netflix. I know! Netflix has games?|
Posted on 07.13.07 by skintari @ 1:22 pm
Here I stand, peasants. Ready to unleash my demonic throngs of minions so I can rule this pathetic, fertile land.
That’s what I like to say every time I boot up Overlord. This game is plain, ol’ fashioned fun! The premise is that you are an overlord that is woken up by like gremlin type creatures. These little guys provide a lot in the way of humor as well as destruction. You have the ability to send out these little minions to do your bidding. As they are busy rampaging, they will return to you with their spoils. Or, if they happen to find themselves some makeshift weapons, they will gladly outfit themselves followed with some witty commentary. In an effort to not give away too much of the game, you are in charge of a total of four different groups of minions (there are the stronger fighters, and then the fire/water/poison minions) that you must unlock as you advance throughout the “world”. I quoted world because it mainly of consists of different stages, not a traditional open roam experience that you would expect. To me, this is ok, as I wasn’t necessarily focused on a roaming experience, more on the interaction between myself, the surroundings, and the minions. Which gets to my next point. The minion controls are solid with the ability to send out the minions of your choice with merely a push of a button. You can also send out all your minions or post them in a strategic position with ease. Calling them back is also a one button operation, which is very helpful when dealing with enemies from all angles. Your amount of minions also increases as you advance. This gives you the ability to take many different combinations of minions. Accruing additional minions is as easy as going back through early levels and killing off sheep or small creatures. Once a creature is attacked, the minions will grab the life force which, in turn, goes into your stock of minions. This is great as there are some enemies that will take several minions to get through, so there is never a worry of running out! Speaking of minions, you can also use them to upgrade your armor and weapons. You can increase your own skills by sacrificing different amounts of the four minions. This adds to the strategy a bit as you don’t want to kill off an entire section of minions while increasing your personal stats. You also determine how “good or bad” of an overlord you become. You have several choices throughout the game that helps determine the fear level that the peasants have of you. In this round, I am choosing to be a generous bad overlord. I shall play it once more as an evil emperor once I am finished. The one negative is the camera controls. While you do need all of the xbox buttons to move and control your minions, i find the lack of decent camera control for your overlord to be hindering. Many times, you can be attacked from the blindside and not have a real understanding why or who’s attacking you. With that said, it doesn’t happen enough to take away from the game, just enough to be a pain in the behind. So my overall for this is 4.75/5. I enjoy the “evil Pikmin” aspect and I think that there’s a lot of fun just going through the levels and creating 100’s of minions. Plus, the thought of sending others out to act out my evilness is always a plus to me! I’m just waiting now for some friends to get this game so I can check out the online multiplayer!
Filed under: Review and Xbox 360 and skintari Comments: None |
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Posted on 07.11.07 by skintari @ 12:21 pm
Let’s see what Nintendo has in store for us today, shall we…. Well, true to form, let’s get the stats out of the way. Obviously, Reggie is pointing out how well that Nintendo is doing in the market….Let’s get on to some gaming info, darnit! Heh, Reggie referenced soccer moms. 140 new DS games and 100 new Wii games, coming! But what are these games? Another Nintendo commercial….based off of bad You-Tubes. The Wii-Zapper? Hmm, looks interesting! So far, 10 games have a lineup of Wii-Zapper games. But when does it release?! Oh, $19.99 for the zapper! That may be a must have. Soul Caliber and a new WWE game. Meh, unless they fix the Wii-mote control schemes. I don’t want another Red Steel. Ninja Gaiden with the stylus? Interest is picqued. Mario and Sonic Olympics? Let’s just hope it’s not like Track & Field. And what everyone is waiting for…….Super Smash Bro’s Brawl. Hecks YA! December 3rd!!! Wait, wasn’t that supposed to be out already? Oh well, at least it’s an official release date Phantom Hourglass (DS). Me likes so far. Metroid Prime (Wii). Looks hot! So does the game…see what I did there, there was a hottie playing the game. har har. Wii online? Sounds like there may be some multi-player potential. Of course, they’ve been denying this for the past 6 months. Maybe they changed their minds? Looks so with Madden and Soccer coming out! Ok, Guitar Hero, let’s see some action there. Stop talking and start showing some demos! Failure! Mario Kart: with it’s own Wii-wheel. Wait, don’t they already have a steering wheel out already? Yay, a cooking DS game. In Japan…..Why, oh why don’t these games come stateside? Games are for everyone. Well, show us some games then! Why is Nintendo focusing on players and not the games? Shouldn’t this be a platform to show new technologies? I’m so confused. Wait, Super Mario Galaxy? This isn’t out yet. Why are they playing it? Gar, I don’t want to see some family “test” playing games. I want demo’s and release dates, darnit! Brain Age 2: August 20th. woot! Super Mario Galaxy: Nov 12th. This year. So much for being a release title… Picross and MySims. I think I’ll pass… Oooh, High School Musical! Think of that what you will. Rayman 2. Now if only they’d show us some solid play… Flash Focus, My Word Coach, and My Life Coach. More training games. But, once again, let’s see some of these stateside. I already have Flash Focus. Picked it up in Japan. For a slate of over 150 games to be released, as Reggie put it, I’ve seen nothing new worth getting. Outside of the Wii-zapper, I think a lot was left out of this exhibition. Overall, disappointed with the lack of anything really new coming out. I find the lack of actual demo’s also hindering this presentation. If they would have done without the 15 You-Tube video presentations and the test family play, they could have put out more info on everything else coming out. Now, the system is looking more and more like a novelty. Thank god I have a DS tho….c’mon Phantom Hourglass! Filed under: skintari Comments: 2 Comments |
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Posted on 06.29.07 by skintari @ 11:31 am
Good morning, peeps! I got y’all a little special today. That’s right, a 2-fer! As I’ve spent most of this week checking out my new gamefly games! I recently had Clubhouse Games and Hotel Dusk sent to me, and boy, have I been busy with them! First up, Clubhouse Games.
While not an entirely in-depth game, this one does offer a lot of variety. There are several sections of games to check out and they are all broken down into subcategories. There are card games, board games, “pub” games (billiards, darts, bowling, etc), and a few random ones thrown in there. While you won’t find the depth of an all card DS game and the like, you will find that the ones that they do add are quite fun. There’s a few casino games (blackjack, 5 card draw), and a few head to head types (7’s, Old Maid). This makes for a bit of a fresh game experience as you don’t find just one that you like and stick to it. There is actually incentive to play through the different types. About that incentive, it comes in a couple of different ways. You have the “free” play, which is playing all the unlocked games. Then there is the mission. The mission has you climbing a game ladder that goes for 5 stages. The good thing is that whether you win or lose, you always advance. The advancement plays as a stamp on whatever game you are on. 3 stamps allows you to move to the next game on the ladder. Your finishing place (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th) dictates how many stamps you receive. This is a good thing as a few of the games are frustratingly hard against the AI. The multiplayer seems intriguing, however, I have yet to try it as my compadre has been more involved with Puzzle Quest! My only negative is that the AI can be too tough on the “thought” games (chess, battleship). The other issue is that the “pub” games are almost impossible to play. Using the stylus for darts and bowling is completely useless. My Rating: 4/5. With about 30 different short games, this is great if you’re waiting for you girlfriend/wife try on clothes and you’re stuck at the Gap with her. Now, onto Hotel Dusk. This is a great game. Period. If you have any interest in a drama/suspensish “film noir” game, go get this. That’s about all I can say without giving away anything
My Rating: 5/5. Worth the investment and will keep you hooked for a long, long time! Filed under: Nintendo DS and Review and skintari Comments: None |
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