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Speedball 2 - Tournament Review
Speedball 2 - Tournament, developed by Kylotonn Entertainment and published by Ascaron Entertainment.
The Good: Fast-paced gameplay, straightforward controls once you learn them, some interesting power-ups and score bonuses, online tracking features, detailed character models
The Not So Good: Keyboard controls are imprecise and unusable, no tutorials and a sporadically detailed manual, poor teammate AI, stability issues, cumbersome menus
What say you? In the future, soccer (or handball) is slightly less boring: 5/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
With the NFL football season almost over, it’s time we turn out attention to lesser sports. Of course, one of those sports will certainly not be soccer, as the snore-inducting, riot-creating plague is not welcome in the U.S. But what if we brought outlandish violence to the sport to make it more interesting? That is the premise of Speedball 2 – Tournament: no rules, just right. Apparently, everyone played the original Speedball and I missed out, so the series is new to me. The object is to get the ball into the goal by any means necessary, which means actual physical contact. Oh the humanity!
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Speedball 2 – Tournament looks pretty good for a sports game. While the game only comes with four arenas and three basic characters, they are detailed and animated well enough to create a plausible environment of violence. The effects are sporadic at best, especially if you are viewing the game from a wider view (which you will need to in order to play). The style of the presentation mimics any sports title published in the past couple of years, so there are no surprises there. The menu system is unpolished and more trouble than it’s worth to get around. Ball control indicators should be better (players are simply shaded a slightly darker color) as well, but overall the graphics are decent enough and compare well against contemporary titles. The sound is basic for a sports game: background music, unnecessary swearing by the crowd, and repetitive goal celebrations. Speedball 2 - Tournament lacks play-by-play of any kind. And I swear the default music is saying “ice cream!” But in the end, the presentation of Speedball 2 – Tournament holds up.
ET AL.
Speedball 2 - Tournament plays like a more violent version of soccer with some alternative methods of scoring. The game lacks a tutorial (just a training mode against no opponent) so finding out where the alternative methods of scoring are located is tough: I still can’t figure out where the stupid impact domes are as the manual lacks a picture of them (took me a while to find the ramps as well). The game comes with a number of single player modes: single knock-out games, a cup tournament, and the league career. In the cup mode, you face an opponent twice, and if you beat them, you move on to the next most difficult level of competition, while league mode involves a larger schedule. Both modes feature the ability to customize your lineup, upgrade player stats using earned cash, and hire superior free agents if you save up. While the single player modes don’t have the polish or ease-of-use present in most sports games (like standings, for example), they are nice features that can keep you busy for a while. It is fun to follow your team and upgrade needed positions throughout the season. Knock-out games can be customized, choosing which score bonuses to use. While Speedball 2 – Tournament comes with a large number of different teams to compete against, there are only four arenas to compete in, although they are all the same from a gameplay standpoint anyway. Multiplayer games allow you to customize (but obviously not upgrade) your team for online competition. While an online league would be cool, Speedball 2 – Tournament does include support for clans and ladders and keeps track of your stats. You must register outside of the game before embarking in online games: a minor inconvenience.
Speedball 2 – Tournament features two sets of controls: classic and extended. The main difference is additional buttons for actions using the extended version, where in the classic mode they are all bound to the same button. You will need an analogue gamepad in order to play Speedball 2 – Tournament: moving your character using keyboard buttons will make it impossible to aim. If you’ve played any sports game in the past ten years, the controls of Speedball 2 – Tournament will make sense once you learn the layout: pass, tackle, shoot, check, jump, dodge, sprint, plus the ability to set overall team strategy and switch to another player or the goal keeper. The learning curve of Speedball 2 – Tournament is small once you get the control scheme down. Probably the hardest aspect of the game is aiming, especially when you are going for the ramps, but practice makes perfect.
The primary goal is to score goals (coincidence? I think not), which are worth 10 points each. You can gain additional points by shooting the ball at stars located along the side of the arena; stars are worth a permanent one-point increase per star if they are kept on (the other team can turn them off). In addition, you can shoot the ball through ramps (located next to the stars) which will grant a 1.5x or 2x bonus to goals and stars scoring. The ramps seem to be overly powerful and since it’s really difficult to shoot it in there, games can quickly get out of hand if one team has a double bonus. Electric fields can charge the ball, making them too hot for your opponent to handle, and teleport gates can send the ball to a different area of the map. Speedball 2 – Tournament also includes a number of randomly-placed power-ups that alter abilities (like speed), instantly transfer the ball, or reverse the controls, among other things. You can also pick up equipment to increase your stats.
Games in Speedball 2 – Tournament are short (90 second halves), brutal, and fast-paced: pretty much the opposite of real-life soccer. The game does play like a classic soccer or hockey game: maneuvering the ball up the “pitch” and to your forwards. It’s really easy to get behind the defense, as the combination of the “attack” team strategy, sprint command, and overall dumb AI makes it very easy for one-on-one encounters with the goalie. The computer-controlled players exhibit a number of dumb moves, namely moving away from the ball at inopportune times. Most of your goals are made off rebounds, and mandatory careful aiming makes goals less frequent. The original elements of Speedball 2 – Tournament make the game slightly more interesting than a basic sports game, though at its heart Speedball 2 – Tournament is soccer. I have experienced a number of technical issues with the game: locking up the computer when quitting, graphics disappearing after goals, and general slow performance and long load times. While I would assume not everyone would run into the same frequency of issues I have, the generally unpolished nature of the game extends to stability.
IN CLOSING
Speedball 2 – Tournament is fun in short bursts, which thankfully will be the amount of time spent playing the game. The game takes soccer and kicks it up a notch, introducing more violent hits and alternative scoring methods. The graphics are nice, but the menus could have used a more usable design. The single player and online features will keep interested players going for a while, but the repetitive nature of the gameplay and poor AI makes Speedball 2 – Tournament just an average game. The issues with Speedball 2 - Tournament balance out the innovative features: gamepad requirement, lockups and crashes, dim AI, and the poor menu system. Speedball 2 – Tournament will certainly have an audience with people who’d like a fast-paced version of soccer, but the game just feels incomplete and in need of some sparkle.
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Go Go Gourmet PC Game Review
Chefs, start your engines! Go Go Gourmet takes you on a culinary trip. Begin as a junior cook and sauté your way up to master chef. Once I get the hang of game player, I instantly gain a hearty for the game. Folks, this does not resemble any food game you’ve played. Sure, it has a little Cooking Mama in it, but Go Go Gourmet goes goes beyond the goals of cooking up goodies and fast.
Grandpa Henry hands over his restaurant to Ginger to do with as she pleases. The catch: Grandpa’s restaurant needs a lot of work. Well, hey, it doesn’t cost us anything to get a restaurant. So Ginger (us players) goes to work for Chuck Bergerman (har har, nice pun, designers) to earn money to revamp Grandpa’s restaurant as well as learn her way around the kitchen.
Here, we don’t just run around the kitchen and fulfill customer orders. A level starts with a customer’s face popping up along with a cartoon bubble that lists all the steps and ingredients in the requested dish. A step typically consists of the ingredients to find and ends with cooking the collected ingredients or delivering the dish to the customer.
In every level, the ingredients move around the kitchen. As we work in new restaurants, the kitchen set up also changes. The stove might be on the right in one restaurant and on the left in another. So don’t get too comfy. Impossible to get bored!
You get a feel for where some ingredients will appear, so it’s not as difficult as it sounds. As you cook more recipes, you earn new recipes and ingredients. The kitchen looks barren early in the game and overflows with ingredients later on.
Before you tackle the second or third step with your first customer, customer #2 pops in. Now we must manage two orders at the same time. Be ready to manage up to four customer orders. Sounds frantic, but it’s so much fun.
Don’t expect fake recipes here. The recipes for the dishes look authentic and come to life with a photo as you deliver them to customers. As we gain experience, we move to another restaurant serving different type of food. Ginger learns Pan-Asian, vegetarian, Parisian, seafood, English cooking.
A mini-game comes in every handful of levels. One mini-game calls for catching flying items, another requires you to find ingredients as fast as you can… in the dark. These fit the game nicely and involve memorizing anything like many mini-games tend to do.
As you successfully deliver customer orders, you receive tips. Those tips go toward remodeling Grandpa’s restaurant. On occasion, Ginger hears from, but he doesn’t hear so well during the phone calls. The story moves along smoothly between levels as Ginger converses with her bosses.
However, the game has a typo or two. Tiny nitpick considering the superb quality of the game. Before finishing the game, I had already decided I want another game… and there just might be.
By the end, I feel like a pro especially when I wildly managed multiple complicated customer orders. I memorized some recipes I ran for the first ingredient as soon as I saw the customer’s order and before checking the list of ingredients.
Boy, I wish this feeling would carry over into real life. Cooking in Go Go Gourmet almost makes me want to return to cooking real meals for the family. That’s almost — something about actually chopping and shopping for fresh ingredients doesn’t have the appeal of doing it virtually.
The ingredients of good music, high addiction factor, sharp graphics, and original concept make an award-winning recipe in Go Go Gourmet. Please, sir developer, may I have some more?
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Game du Jour: Week of 2008-01-28
The week ends with an appropriate game… football. February 3 is the day of the Super Bowl in the U.S. Remember the deal is good on Game du Jour for one day only.
28 January: Zuma 40% off
29 January: Make Bouncy Bouncy 55% off
30 January: Words Kingdom 50% off
31 January: Thugs 40% off
01 February: Dragon’s Abode 50% off
02 February: Atomaders 50% off
03 February: Football Mogul 2008 60% off
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Game du Jour: Week of 2008-01-21
The week ends with a smash hit: Chocolatier 2! Remember the deal is good on Game du Jour for one day only.
21 January: Crossword Compiler 50% off
22 January: Age of Emerald 50% off
23 January: Puzzle Mania: Chronicles of Unicorn 50% off
24 January: Auto Cross Racing 60% off
25 January: 3D Pool Pro 60% off
26 January: ButterFlight 50% off
27 January: Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients (Review of original Chocolatier) 40% off
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Dream Day First Home PC Game Review
The creators behind the series continue to add new features to keep the monotony away. At the start, we get to select one of two homes that need a little fixin’ and lovin’. One is a home from the 1930s craftsman and the other is Victorian style. If you’re indecisive like — no worries, you can play both. Pick one and you’ll do the other later.
Like most hidden object games, you search for specific items in the rooms of Jenny and Robert’s new home or at specialty stores like the cookware, hardware, and garden stores to get supplies.
Whether you’re in a hurry or not depends on if you’re playing timed or relaxed mode. Timed mode — although more challenging — offers a few twists. For one, every few levels you receive a special item that adds one minute to the clock. You must remember the item because it won’t appear in the list of hidden objects. When found, the clock gains one minute.
The best twist of all comes in the superclues. These hidden objects take two steps to solve. For example, you need to find a screwdriver. Since screwdriver appears in a blue font (different from the rest), it indicates it’s a superclue item. The scene has a toolbox, so click the toolbox to open it and reveal a screwdriver. Click that and the game crosses off screwdriver from the list.
Also new in Dream Day First Home is The Attic Mini Games. This contains three puzzles that you can play up to four times each.
- Perfect Match: This mini game hasn’t changed from earlier Dream Day games. It requires making pairs of matches (like Concentration).
- Puzzle Garden: Pair up two items that go together like match with a matchbox and rain with umbrella.
- Fix-R-Upper: Not really a game, but resembles a slot machine. You spin for new furniture and the slot gives you design options. You can lock and unlock three slots and spin three times. If you don’t like the result, you can play again.
Again, the piano supports the game’s classy style with classical music. Classical music may not fit many people’s tastes, but it works lovely with the Dream Day series. The series also has great storylines where we contribute by picking one of three events. Dream Day First Home tells the story of Jenny and Robert moving into their home, redecorating and interacting with their community.
Dream Day games don’t last long by hidden object standards. However, Dream Day First Home lasts longer because of the two homes. Complete both homes to reveal a surprise at the end.
My “Robert” loves hidden object games and this one caught his eye. He started playing where I left off! Talk about testing a marriage 
One other issue — the game would not run on a computer running Vista. It freezes near the beginning. The system requirements say the game can run on Vista, so try before you buy. 
System Requirements:
- OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista
- CPU: 1.0 GHz
- RAM: 128 MB
- DirectX: 9.0
- Hard Drive: 134 MB
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Rising Eagle: Futuristic Infantry Warfare Review
Rising Eagle: Futuristic Infantry Warfare, developed and published by Invasion Interactive.
The Good: Focus on squad play through distinct classes, futuristic without being implausible, hacking turrets is inventive and appropriately challenging, online stat tracking, low price
The Not So Good: No AI bots, some minor issues
What say you? This online shooter has a number of noteworthy innovative features: 6/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
Online first person shooters is an especially strong genre on the PC, and I have certainly been known to really enjoy them. Smaller developers have been able to use Internet distribution to dramatically cut costs; this also allows games to reach a global audience without ever appearing in stores. Myopic review sites ignore this growing aspect of the PC gaming market, focusing their attention only on games from big publishers that bring advertising dollars. But not so here! I’ll gladly review Rising Eagle: Futuristic Infantry Warfare from Israel’s Invasion Interactive and see if it’s worth your time in the land of big budget shooters.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Rising Eagle is very visually similar to War Rock, meaning it’s a bit behind the curve in today’s shooter market. This is to be expected, I think, as the game comes from a smaller developer. The game obviously lacks the visual splendor of Call of Duty 4, but as long as the game is playable (which it is) then I’m fine with the graphics. The environments of the game are generally bland with occasional detail (like cement trucks in construction zones) and feel like a game level than an actual location. The weapon models are slight alterations of existing firearms, since the game takes place in the near future. Rising Eagle just simply doesn’t feature the exacting detail and crispness that other games present. There are some nice aspects to the graphics: the bullet holes that appear on objects when impacted and deploying spider mines comes with a good animation. One thing Rising Eagle does feature is destructible buildings: you can take out windows, fences, and even walls if you shoot at it enough. The strategic implications of this are interesting and this air of realism is much preferred over the static environments of most online shooters. The audio in Rising Eagle is pretty standard fare: weapons are convincing and the background music fits the game well. Overall, the graphics and sound of Rising Eagle are exactly what I would expect coming from a independent source, and hopefully the general public won’t be turned away simply because it doesn’t look as good as other shooters.
ET AL.
Rising Eagle: Futuristic Infantry Warfare is an online-only first person shooter, which means you’ll have to use a Gamespy account in order to play. This also means the game lacks AI bots, something which is a concern considering the low populations seen on the servers (most players are from Europe and Israel). The game involves clashing American, European, and Chinese forces (strongly reminiscent of the recent Battlefield games); I would have thought a game from Israel would feature a more Israeli-focused game, which would have been more interesting if only from a purely superficial standpoint of changed character models and weapons. Rising Eagle keeps track of your progress online, handing out qualifications if you’ve earned a kill with a class and your team wins, an expertise in your favorite class, ranks, and medals. Higher ranks don’t unlock additional weapons so stat tracking is just nice to see but does not impact the gameplay. Skills points can be earned through kills, wins, hacking, obeying commands, and capturing a flag. It is easy to find online matches (Rising Eagle uses an in-game Gamespy browser), and games consist of classic team deathmatch (called search and destroy) and flag-capturing conquest modes.
Rising Eagle features a structured order of battle: players can choose a position at the start of the game as a member (or leader) of three squads, similar to America’s Army. Offering fixed squad positions cuts down on spamming of a single, powerful class (the engineer). Classes include the basic riflemen, sniper, battle hacker, and armored battle engineer. The battle hacker can access turrets, turning them on and off, syncing their aim with your gun (cool), or hacking enemy emplacements. The hacking mini-game is really neat and also realistic: you must set a series of inputs in a computer logic sequence (using and, not, or, and xor) to make the output “true.” This makes a whole lot more sense than a pipe rotation game or equally arbitrary task. Unfortunately, the turrets are not common enough to make the battle hacker class that worthwhile. The armored battle engineer is given a suit that can carry machine guns, rocket launchers, and other heavy weaponry. Thankfully, the class restrictions limit one of these per map, as they get a real firepower advantage. You can take an ABE out with headshots, however, or a well-placed air strike; they sure are fun to pilot. Squad or platoon leaders get a set of command tools similar to the commander mode in recent Battlefield games; you can call down air strikes, EMPs, smoke, or scans to help your team’s cause. The demolitions man is great for defending, as spider charges can surprise many foes. An oddity is the inability to change classes or teams during the game; you will need to disconnect from the server and join back up. Rounds are usually pretty short (around ten minutes) and you can change after the completion of a game, but this makes experimenting with different classes almost impossible.
The HUD of Rising Eagle is typical for a first person shooter: friendly units are indicated on-screen, which is a good thing since friendly fire is on. Everyone in the game is extremely well-armed: most people are given twenty clips (!!!) of ammunition, and the only player who will ever run out of bullets before dying is the ABE. Typical classes will be given a primary weapon, a sidearm, grenades, a sledge hammer, and the ability to kick and punch opponents. Primary weapons are dependent on the class you have selected and can include the typical assault rifle, grenade launcher, machine gun, sniper rifle, anti-material rifle (like an anti-tank gun), and anti-personnel guided missile. The ABE gets a wide assortment of scary weapons: heavy machine guns, automatic cannons, automatic grenade launchers, anti-personnel guided missiles, precise guided missiles, short range rockets, and a demolition hammer. ABE units can carry four of those weapons at a time, and missile ammunition is quite limited. All weapons are given a zoom function, though when zoomed in you can’t move your sight as fast. There seem to be some minor bugs in dealing with weapons: I was using the machine gun and was shooting an enemy (even getting the “hit” indicator) but they never died; this is the only gun I have experienced this with.
Rising Eagle takes a more tactical approach to the genre, although there are some futuristic enhancements to spice up the gameplay. Units can sprint very fast and jump very high, making the vertical nature of the game’s levels come into play. Typically inaccessible areas like rooftops are now in play, and the result is that you’re going to be shot at from multiple directions you wouldn’t normally be shot at from. Overall, Rising Eagle plays like a more methodical version of (dare I say it?) Call of Duty 4. Health is a bit high for a tactical shooter (people are more healthy in the future) so you need to unload a lot of bullets in order to kill someone, but in general the game is balanced well and there are plenty of hiding spaces scattered around the destroyed cities that make up a majority of the maps. It’s hard to tell how the game would play with a full compliment of players since servers have been decidedly empty in the afternoon (Eastern U.S. time); in fact, I had to download and play the demo in order to find some competition. But you can tell the potential is clearly there for a slightly unique experience, and that’s all we need in today’s over-saturated online shooter market.
IN CLOSING
Rising Eagle: Futuristic Infantry Warfare adds just enough new features to make it stand out. The game is futuristic without being outlandish: higher jumps are fun and weapons are better without being overpowering. The game is designed to be played with full squads receiving orders from their commanders and killing stuff; the set class structure means all squads will be balanced and you won’t be stuck with three other demolition soldiers. Joining a game is easy and Rising Eagle keeps track of your stats online. Each of the game’s classes are fun to play and offer a slew of weapons you can use to blow up walls and destroy the malleable environments. I enjoy the style of gameplay and the small enhancements playing in the future presents. Is the game worth $20? Certainly. Hopefully the servers will become more populated after both of my regular readers peruse this review. Most of the issues I have with the game are very minor, so fans of the genre looking for a somewhat distinctive game should check out Rising Eagle.
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PIQE: Chain of Puzzles Review
PIQE: Chain of Puzzles, developed and published by AlbyMedia.
The Good: Really challenging
The Not So Good: Puzzles come with hardly any explanation, all eighty-one puzzles are identical each time you play, you must play through each puzzle in one sitting
What say you? A confusing, limited, repetitive, and overly difficult logic game: 3/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
One of my favorite games for the Wii (yes, I have a Wii) is Big Brain Academy. The combination of straightforward intelligence-based puzzles and a fast pace makes for some good family fun. It’s not surprising, then, that logic puzzle games have started appearing in ever increasing numbers. Today’s entry is PIQE, a game that cleverly disguises “IQ” in the title. You sly dog!
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
The graphics of PIQE are simple at best. The game is very utilitarian and minimal, presenting just basic 2-D puzzles on a static background. There isn’t any overall theme, and the “action” is only punctuated by subtle background music (which I actually do enjoy). There are no special effects when you complete a puzzle (or even an indication of getting a puzzle correct). Even though PIQE would take up a minimal amount of screen space, you can’t play the game in a window. We are obviously not looking towards PIQE for outstanding graphics and sound, and you can tell by how short this section of the review is.
ET AL.
PIQE is a logic puzzle game that features eighty-one puzzles. And that’s it. As you’ll see, PIQE suffers from a severe case of minimalism. First off, while the game does feature eighty-one puzzles, there are really only twenty-seven unique puzzles at three difficulty levels (easy, medium, and hard). The puzzles come in the same order each game and feature the same exact numbers, colors, and shapes, even though these could easily be mixed. This means you’re playing the exact same game over and over. In addition, you must complete all 81 puzzles in one sitting, which can easily take a couple of hours. PIQE certainly lacks any replay value, making it an extremely tough sell.
If that weren’t enough, the puzzles make little to no sense. The directions are too vague to be helpful. Take the first puzzle as an example: “find differing element?” That’s it? I honestly have no idea what the game wants me to do most of the time. And this is on easy. PIQE also fails to tell you if you are correct, making trying to figure out what you are supposed to do even tougher. The game does provide a results screen at the end, but this is essentially useless. The puzzles are quite challenging and PIQE certainly requires a great deal of thought, but the featureless presentation and outright confusion surrounding the game will turn pretty much everyone away. I did find the puzzles I understood to be good enough, but PIQE has too many pitfalls surrounding the occasionally enjoyable puzzle.
IN CLOSING
I think there is a decent logic game buried somewhere deep within PIQE, but the game has way too many shortcomings to even come close to being a recommended title. Who thought that playing all eighty-one puzzles in a row was a good idea? Who thought that featuring the same exact puzzles in the same order with no variations was a good idea? Who thought that providing cryptic instructions was a good idea? It’s like the developers are trying to make you hate their game. The sad thing is most of the problems could be easily fixed. Put in some random variations. Allow the user to play a random mix of ten puzzles at a time, or even select the specific puzzles they want. PIQE is far too limited to be enjoyable. It seems that most (if not all) of the problems could potentially be fixed in the future, so there is hope for the game in the long run. But as it stands, there are much less frustrating ways of testing your brain.
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Imagine Poker 3 Review
Imagine Poker 3, developed and published by Candywriter.
The Good: Historical figures are cute, nice visual style, fast pace, persistent grading system
The Not So Good: No online play, questionable AI opponents, betting interface could be improved, restricted to five players per table, only Texas hold-em rules, constrained tournament format, limited sound in Windows version
What say you? A simple Texas hold-em poker game that’s too easy due to primitive AI and lacks several features: 5/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
I like poker games. The combination of strategy, perseverance, and tasty, tasty chips piques my interest. I’m not good enough to play for real money, but I have enjoyed my time with titles such as STACKED and World Series of Poker (which I have to review, but it keeps crashing so I can’t play for more than five minutes). That brings us to Imagine Poker 3, apparently the third installment of a poker series I didn’t know existed. This game features historical figures to play against (that’s the whole Imagine part, I suppose), so you have the chance to lose your house to Genghis Khan. Greedy bastard.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
The graphics of Imagine Poker 3 look good for a poker game, thanks to highly detailed and well animated character models. Each of the twenty characters in Imagine Poker 3 display some humorous reactions to positive and negative events in the game (including very excited wins). The characters are also easily recognizable, and even though they are rendered in 2-D, they look much better than if Imagine Poker 3 was presented in all three dimensions. Imagine Poker 3 also includes several locations to play in, although the backgrounds will probably be ignored by most players. The rest of the graphical design is pretty standard for the genre, though I like the chip stacks: they don’t repeat and are a great visual aid. As for sound, Imagine Poker 3 features really basic sound effects: just chips and cards. It would have been interesting hearing the characters respond to in-game action, rather than just seeing it. Imagine Poker 3 lacks background music (which is fine) and voice commentary is only available in the Macintosh version. Still, the graphics more than make up for the auditory shortcomings in Imagine Poker 3, creating a good theme and wonderful environment in which to play.
ET AL.
Imagine Poker 3 is generally your average Texas hold-em poker game. Its unique feature is that it has historical figures as your opponents: Napoleon, the Tooth Fairy, Dracula, Stalin, and Neptune, to name a few. This is a little gimmicky, but the great character design makes it more palatable. This alone won’t make for a distinctive title, and the remainder of the game doesn’t feature enough to make Imagine Poker 3 stand out from the crowd. The first thing you’ll do is create a character for yourself; while you can set your country of origin, you cannot pick a character form, so you will be a blank space during gameplay. Games come in tournament and custom form. Tournaments are done as a series of custom games at a set sequence of levels against different opponents; there isn’t a reason to play tournaments instead of single-round custom games, as you will eventually lose and offset any experience gained. Unlike real poker games that have winners from various tables come together, tournaments in Imagine Poker 3 are simply a series of matches that don’t feel like you are part of a larger event. Custom games allow you to set the specific opponents, room, chip color, and total chips at the table. All games are limited to no more than five players: while this reduces the number of bad hands, it’s less fun to play with an unrealistically low number of people. Imagine Poker 3 only features Texas hold-em, as other version of poker are not included. You can customize the betting rules (limit or no limit) and blinds (from 10/20 to 40/80, and automatic increasing), but having just one type of poker is yet another limitation. The game keeps track of everyone’s progress (human and AI players) and assigns a letter grade; this is a pretty cool feature that adds a bit of RPG flavor to the game. It almost makes up for the lack of multiplayer. Almost.
Imagine Poker 3 requires the use of the keyboard and mouse. While you can use keyboard shortcuts for commands (“C” for check), you must bet with the mouse. Betting is annoying at first: you must press and hold the “bet” button and then scroll through a long list of bets. If you simply press the “B” key, the minimum bet will automatically be chosen. Using the mouse wheel would be better, which is a feature from STACKED. Imagine Poker 3 features the Poker Ghost utility make by the developer, which computes the strength of your hand just like on TV. Unfortunately, the Poker Ghost is not automatic (you must click on the ghost icon) and it takes a good five seconds to compute the odds. While this doesn’t seem like a long time, five seconds per card adds up over an entire game. There should be an option to turn the Poker Ghost on permanently, which would also eliminate the wait since it can run in the background. The AI of Imagine Poker 3 is disappointing for a couple of reasons, namely an over aggressive nature and general dumbness. AI opponents will bet big when they don’t have a chance to win. They will fold even after they have invested a large portion of the chips into the pot. The small blind will fold, letting the big blind win. AI players that don’t flop anything will always check, making it way too easy to win. There are plenty of other examples of odd behavior that the AI exhibits, and since Imagine Poker 3 lacks multiplayer, the game dies by its poor AI.
IN CLOSING
Imagine Poker 3 is a couple of features away from being a notable poker title: online play and improved AI. While the official site purports the “artificial intelligence module that is sure to challenge even poker professionals,” I found the AI to be too aggressive and lay unintelligent bets far too often. Since the game lacks a difficulty setting, you’re stuck with the same level of intelligence the entire time. Of course, I could be wrong, but I simply found the AI not to be up to snuff. The inclusion of historical figures is a bit gimmicky but it works because of the spot-on animations and detail. I like how the game tracks performance through the grading system, giving you something to shoot for long-term as well as rivalries against AI foes. The inclusion of the Poker Ghost utility is nice, but performance should be more instantaneous. Placing bets should also be more straightforward than the drop-down menu that requires you to hold down the mouse button. The remainder of Imagine Poker 3 is fairly standard for the poker genre. Playing Imagine Poker 3 is fun, but the original features and streamlined gameplay are offset by the absent components. You would think these things would have been added in the third version of a game. The inclusion of historical figures is interesting and the gameplay is decent, but Imagine Poker 3 is missing several key features that would make it a distinguished game.
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Dream Day First Home PC Game Review
The creators behind the series continue to add new features to keep the monotony away. At the start, we get to select one of two homes that need a little fixin’ and lovin’. One is a home from the 1930s craftsman and the other is Victorian style. If you’re indecisive like — no worries, you can play both. Pick one and you’ll do the other later.
Like most hidden object games, you search for specific items in the rooms of Jenny and Robert’s new home or at specialty stores like the cookware, hardware, and garden stores to get supplies.
Whether you’re in a hurry or not depends on if you’re playing timed or relaxed mode. Timed mode — although more challenging — offers a few twists. For one, every few levels you receive a special item that adds one minute to the clock. You must remember the item because it won’t appear in the list of hidden objects. When found, the clock gains one minute.
The best twist of all comes in the superclues. These hidden objects take two steps to solve. For example, you need to find a screwdriver. Since screwdriver appears in a blue font (different from the rest), it indicates it’s a superclue item. The scene has a toolbox, so click the toolbox to open it and reveal a screwdriver. Click that and the game crosses off screwdriver from the list.
Also new in Dream Day First Home is The Attic Mini Games. This contains three puzzles that you can play up to four times each.
- Perfect Match: This mini game hasn’t changed from earlier Dream Day games. It requires making pairs of matches (like Concentration).
- Puzzle Garden: Pair up two items that go together like match with a matchbox and rain with umbrella.
- Fix-R-Upper: Not really a game, but resembles a slot machine. You spin for new furniture and the slot gives you design options. You can lock and unlock three slots and spin three times. If you don’t like the result, you can play again.
Again, the piano supports the game’s classy style with classical music. Classical music may not fit many people’s tastes, but it works lovely with the Dream Day series. The series also has great storylines where we contribute by picking one of three events. Dream Day First Home tells the story of Jenny and Robert moving into their home, redecorating and interacting with their community.
Dream Day games don’t last long by hidden object standards. However, Dream Day First Home lasts longer because of the two homes. Complete both homes to reveal a surprise at the end.
My “Robert” loves hidden object games and this one caught his eye. He started playing where I left off! Talk about testing a marriage
One other issue — the game would not run on a computer running Vista. It freezes near the beginning. The system requirements say the game can run on Vista, so try before you buy.
System Requirements:
- OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista
- CPU: 1.0 GHz
- RAM: 128 MB
- DirectX: 9.0
- Hard Drive: 134 MB
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Game du Jour: Week of 2008-01-21
The week ends with a smash hit: Chocolatier 2! Remember the deal is good on Game du Jour for one day only.
21 January: Crossword Compiler 50% off
22 January: Age of Emerald 50% off
23 January: Puzzle Mania: Chronicles of Unicorn 50% off
24 January: Auto Cross Racing 60% off
25 January: 3D Pool Pro 60% off
26 January: ButterFlight 50% off
27 January: Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients (Review of original Chocolatier) 40% off
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Battle Ball Review
Battle Ball, developed and published by Mindwave Games.
The Good: Simple but relatively deep gameplay, games are short, beginner and veteran modes of play, online stat tracking and game betting, free to play with an inexpensive optional lifetime membership
The Not So Good: Rudimentary graphics
What say you? An addictive (and free) online 3-D Pong game with MMO-like features: 6/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
Pong. The name brings up images of classic video gaming, being the first commercially successful game thanks to its easy to learn mechanics and addictive nature. There have been plenty of knock-offs since the game was released in 1972, and next in line is Battle Ball. This title takes the Pong gameplay into three dimensions and adds in some MMO elements. Will Battle Ball provide compelling online competition?
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Easily the worst feature of Battle Ball is the very basic presentation. The game looks like it was made by one guy (was it?), featuring a very frugal game world that provides the minimum of what is required to play the game. This isn’t completely terrible, however, since there isn’t much to distract you from the gameplay. The interface is designed well, clearly displaying the ball spin and assisting you with placing your paddle in the correct location. The game’s browser has the tendency to truncate text as well; although you can still make out the numbers, it shows the lack of polish with the game. Sound is low-cost as well, featuring just the basic impact effects. Though I will admit the “whooshing” of the ball is enjoyable and informative. Well, we’re obviously not playing Battle Ball for the graphics or sound.
ET AL.
Battle Ball takes Pong and moves it into three dimensions, so you will need to bounce the ball by moving your paddle up, down, left, and right. This obviously makes the game much harder than classic 2-D Pong titles, and the ability to add spin to the ball and careen off walls makes for some interesting results. This is an online game (you need to have an active Internet connection in order to log in and play), though training games are available against a challenging AI opponent. Battle Ball is free to play; there is an optional $14.95 one-time fee for a lifetime membership that unlocks additional rules options and removes the daily coin limit. So if you like it, you can certainly invest a humble amount of money to support the developer. In addition, you can actually cash in your game coins for real money (2000 coins = $20), though you have to play a whole heck of a lot for that amount to accumulate.
The controls for the more basic challenge mode involve simply moving the mouse to return the ball. If you are moving while you hit the ball, spin will be added, making the ball curve and subsequently more difficult for your opponent to return. You can also play with more advanced (meaning complicated) competition controls that involve rotating your paddle with the WASD keys and using the mouse button to apply power when you hit the ball. This adds another layer of complexity to the game and should satisfy the needs of more veteran players. Like in volleyball, you must serve in order to score (something it took me a couple of games to realize) and the first person to the predetermined limit wins. Physics in Battle Ball seem to be accurate; the use of varied arena shapes (boxes, tubes, hexagons) can make for some interesting trajectories. The gameplay of Battle Ball has just enough depth to keep you interested for a while. In addition, the online matches are quick (usually only a couple of minutes) so you never get bored by drawn-out games.
Battle Ball is an online-oriented title. Challenges are made to other players in the lobby, and you can customize the game rules and bet on your contest using the in-game currency. Paid members can introduce rotating levels and varied score limits to the rules, while everyone can adjust the amount of gravity and air resistance for a more (or less) difficult game. Most of the players seem to be from Europe as the server is popular around 3 P.M. Eastern (8-10 P.M. in Europe) and the competitors speak languages I am not smart enough to understand. Battle Ball does offer several “happy hours” that offer bonus coins to encourage people to be online simultaneously. The betting system in Battle Ball is well designed: it gives incentive for beginners to play expert players, as you can request different levels of bets for each player. In addition, you can also bet on other people’s games (and make a good amount of money from it); the amount you win is determined by the bets made on your opponent. You don’t even have to play to enjoy Battle Ball: you can just satisfy your gambling problem by betting on other players (and it’s all fake money, so no harm is done). Stats for each player are tracked and recorded online, so you can size up your competition in-game or on the web. You can level up your character and increase your paddle skills, although this is a slow process unless you defeat some heavily favored opponents. Battle Ball also offers organized tournaments if you are in to that sort of thing.
IN CLOSING
Despite appearances, Battle Ball is an enjoyable online game. The mechanics are intuitive, the online features are robust, and the gameplay is quite addictive. Presenting two levels of control makes the game challenging for both beginning and experienced players. The betting system allows for another level of interest in the game beyond simply playing matches. Games are certainly intense if the score is close (and even if it’s not) thanks to the short match length. The online community seems friendly and fair; I certainly had a much more enjoyable time playing Battle Ball as a beginning player than Threadspace: Hyperbol. And it’s free. So there’s no reason not to check it out!
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Fatal Hearts PC Game Review
15-year-old Christina and her best friend, Lucy represent the typical teen girls who like going to the mall and noticing boys. Although, this sounds like a typical girl’s game, it’s only a tiny part of the story. The mysterious part of the story enters when Christina turns in for the night and encounters a strange, yet familiar man in her dream. Those puzzling dreams continue, but they’re hardly as perplexing as Lucy’s parents’ behavior.
In the charming scenes, the anime characters face the screen making players feel a part of the game. Beware — sudden sounds easily startle players when Christina runs into scary situations such as finding a dead body in the woods and running away from people without knowing why. I’m no fan of scary movies or games, but I could handle the creepy and eerie moments.
My eight-year-old son couldn’t help be drawn in to the story. I questioned whether he should watch the game since Hanako Game gave a Teen rating to Fatal Hearts a Teen rating because of suggestive themes and fantasy violence. Since my son hates to read, I let him watch as the game contains heavy dialogue — but I talked with him throughout the game to make sure he was OK. Thankfully, he didn’t get to see any of the endings I encountered as I thought it was too much for him.
Starting the game was a frustrating experience, but the biggest problem was the fact it was loaded on a computer running Windows Vista (I know???) and the developer worked with me to solve the problem. So if you check out the game, try it first — even the game’s Web site recommends testing the demo before buying.
Fatal Hearts is like reading a fantasy novel where players decide what to do and solve puzzles. The decisions can be as trivial as whether to check on Lucy or wait at home, but they affect the direction and outcome of the game.
Most of the puzzles require creative thinking such as figuring out what a word means and unlocking a diary. With 14 possible endings, the game smartly lets players speed through parts they’ve already played and skip puzzles they’ve completed.
Hanako Games also offers a game strategy guide to those who join the forums. The guide includes hints and spoilers, and best of all — information on how to skip a puzzle. One exasperating puzzle involved moving a car through a maze without the bad guys catching up. I just couldn’t get through this one because the arrow keys were backwards for me.
Once players finish an adventure games, they rarely want to play again unless it’s to get a better score or try getting through a scene they skipped. But with its various endings, players will want to play Fatal Hearts again to check out the other endings and find new puzzles.
Download and try Fatal Hearts.
System Requirements: Windows
- Windows 2000/XP/Vista
- 64 MB+ VRAM
- DirectX 8.0 or later
- 60 MB disk space
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Jack’s Bouncy Qubes Review
Jack’s Bouncy Qubes, developed and published by Iik Games.
The Good: Intuitive controls, informative user interface, simple but effective graphics, several game modes
The Not So Good: Mouse control could be improved, less colors should be used in introductory levels
What say you? A Q*bert-like game with interesting gameplay: 6/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
With all of the clones of Tetris, Pac-Man, and Asteroids around the Internet, it’s surprising that we don’t seen more Q*bert games. The color-changing game from the early 80’s was one of my favorites back when the Atari 2600 ruled the gaming world. Answering my calls for an update is Jack’s Bouncy Qubes, a poorly spelled title from Iik Games (probably the sound Q*bert makes when you step on him…IIK!!). Jack’s Bouncy Qubes has you bouncing on cubes (surprise!), changing their color to make adjacent cubes match.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Jack’s Bouncy Qubes features a very bright color scheme. I like the design of Jack (reminiscent of Grimace) and the cubes are rubbery and respond convincingly to bouncing. The game is easy to navigate as your perspective is fixed, allowing for the game to be in 3-D while still being good for novices. The backgrounds are repetitive, however, featuring only one color in a “smoky” presentation. Still, I like what Jack’s Bouncy Qubes brings in terms of graphics. The sound is typical for the genre, with appropriate effects accompanying the in-game action. The background music is annoying, though. Overall, Jack’s Bouncy Qubes features good graphics and sound for the genre and the vivid palate is certainly distinctive.
ET AL.
Jack’s Bouncy Qubes combines the color-stomping gameplay of Q*bert with classic match-three (or, in this case, match-four) puzzle games. The idea is pretty simple: move Jack around the board, changing colored squares in order to make matches. You can control the character with the keyboard or the mouse, although mouse control is more limited than I would like to see. While you can keep the mouse button (or keyboard) held down to quick movement, a single click can’t move Jack automatically across the board. Each level in the game uses the same color sequence: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and back to red. Jack’s Bouncy Qubes features a good interface that displays what color adjacent squares will turn if you choose to land on them (just in case you forgot the rainbow). However, I would like to see introductory levels use fewer colors to make matching easier early on. Once you make a four-square match, you have a couple of seconds before the cubes explode to make additional adjacent matches for bonus points. You have time to accumulate large amounts of bonus points if you plan correctly. Large matches can produce gems; collecting gems will grant even more bonus points for your coffers. You will need to move off your squares before they explode, as you can lose lives in the game. This actually penalizes players who make too many matches simultaneously, as you might not have an escape path when a match is made.
Jack’s Bouncy Qubes features a number of game modes. The standard time-limited game mode requires you to clear a specified number of matches before time runs out. Free play eliminates the time limit for a more relaxed pace. The survival mode quickens the pace and getting caught up in an explosion results in an instant loss. Puzzle mode requires you to make a match of a specified color and shape before time runs out; this is an interesting game mode that adds an additional layer of complexity to the game. You can get lucky with your intended shape (since the boards are randomized) or come up with a tough objective, resulting in some tense gameplay as time runs out. Jack’s Bouncy Qubes has an amalgamation of gameplay features that isn’t too common in the genre, so overall the game seems fresh and exciting. The fast-paced gameplay can feature some tense moments, and Jack’s Bouncy Qubes also requires a good amount of planning in real-time in order to maximize your success.
IN CLOSING
Jack’s Bouncy Qubes takes a couple of gameplay ideas and successfully combines them into a successful and innovative game. While on the surface Jack’s Bouncy Qubes looks like a simple Q*bert clone, the title is more sophisticated and subsequently requires more skill thanks to its match-four element. The controls are uncomplicated, although I would like to be able to point at a square across the board with my mouse and have Jack move there automatically. The interface assists the player in determining where to move next to manipulate adjacent squares. Reducing the color count in early levels would easy new players into the game more instead of having to worry about six colors for the entire game. Multiple game modes keeps the action varied beyond the standard time-limited games. The theme of Jack’s Bouncy Qubes is great, creating a fanciful environments in which to stomp on cubes. Jack’s Bouncy Qubes is an entertaining puzzle/action game and quite fun, while providing enough of a challenge to keep you interested.
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Cryptex of Time Review
Cryptex of Time, developed and published by SOLO Development.
The Good: Circular board makes the game seem original, multiple game modes
The Not So Good: Some gems are too similar in appearance, can’t quickly string several moves together, no indication of when new gems will appear, can’t select specific rules for free games
What say you? Good features and a unique presentation makes this match-three game somewhat distinctive: 6/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
One of the best selling books of all time is The Da Vinci Code. I’ve never read it and could only stand about 30 minutes of the movie (even with Tom Hanks’s manly charm) so I never understood what all the hubbub is about. The author is apparently responsible for coming up with the term cryptex for a thing you rotate to unlock. They also used one at the conclusion of Treasure Hunters, which I found to be at least mildly entertaining. This brings us to Cryptex of Time, a puzzle game that involves rotating wheels of gems in order to match them. Will Cryptex of Time be a “Draconian devil” (is that a good thing?) or is it “so dark” like “the con of Man” (probably not a good thing)?
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Cryptex of Time looks fairly decent for a puzzle game. The main cryptex is rendered in 3-D and can be rotated on its vertical axis in order to access the entire cylinder. The cryptex itself features some nice detail with the jewels that adorn it, although some of the jewels are too similar in appearance, making the game more difficult. There is also the usual assortment of special effects when you clear some jewels and remove a wheel. Overall, the game has a clean appearance that promotes ease of use. The sound is also typical for a puzzle game: some average background music and effects that relate to the gameplay. Notable is the gem matching effect, which is well done. Overall, Cryptex of Time falls squarely in the middle of the genre in terms of presentation: not outstanding but not terrible.
ET AL.
While Cryptex of Time certainly has its roots in a classic matching game, it adds some unique features that makes it different enough from previous titles in the genre. Cryptex of Time comes with a story mode which introduces additional complexities to the game while introducing different themed areas (like Mayan and Egyptian). The puzzle board of Cryptex of Time is a cylinder that contains rows of gems that must be rotated in order to match three or more adjacent gems. Because you can only rotate the wheels of the cryptex horizontally, most of your matches will occur vertically. This alone makes Cryptex of Time somewhat more difficult than other games in the genre because of the limited nature of the cryptex. The basic gameplay is unique and manipulating the cryptex provides a good challenge for both beginners and puzzle veterans. The controls are simple, as you grab and move the wheels with the mouse and rotate your view using the right mouse button. It can be difficult to see gems on the other side of the cryptex (since they will be blocked by the side facing you), but you can always rotate your view before making a move. Since you can chain together matches, the game locks out moving the cryptex if you’ve made additional matches you might not be aware of; this can interrupt the flow of the game. Still, Cryptex of Time offers up a fairly unique challenge for the puzzle genre.
Cryptex of Time introduces varied rules that mix up the gameplay and change the level of difficulty. This makes the game less repetitive in the long run, something which tends to plague puzzle games. New wheels can be introduced during the game at normal or fast speeds, or never at all. Matches you didn’t specifically find are removed automatically, but this option can be turned off as well. Some puzzles will limit the amount of rotations you can make, prevent gems from falling down to fill in space, increase the number of matches required to clear gems, or introduce additional colors to the puzzles. In general, more difficult combinations are introduced later on in the campaign, and the open rules structure makes for some interesting gameplay recipes later on. While the game does play the same, the small changes certainly make Cryptex of Time feel different over time. Cryptex of Time can get quite challenging when more restrictive rules are introduced, and gameplay can range from fast-paced play sessions to drawn-out strategic matches: the amount of flexibility is commendable. You can’t specifically set a rules combination in “free play” mode, so it’s not as “free” as I would like. There are also some special gems that explode large areas of the cryptex to complete the gameplay picture.
IN CLOSING
Overall, Cryptex of Time is an enjoyable puzzle game thanks to unique mechanics and flexible game rules. The title distinguishes itself from “common” match-three puzzle games with its exclusive puzzle format. Controls are intuitive, gameplay is straightforward, and Cryptex of Time features enough variety to keep you coming back for more. Just when you think you have the game figured out, the story mode throws a match-five, move-limited, six-color cryptex at you. I would like the ability to specify the rules in “free play” mode (maybe this could be introduced in a patch), but this is a relatively small complaint in an otherwise solid game. A fresh take on the genre, Cryptex of Time takes a classic idea and expands upon it enough to produce a notable title.
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Peggle PC Game Review
Well, I had my 10 best casual PC games of 2007 all ready to go… then Ken Edwards from Blogcritics.org’s gaming section asks me if Peggle Deluxe is on the list. When I told him I hadn’t played it (I’d never get work done if I play and review every released game), he told me to check it out before posting the top 10.
Oi! Within minutes, I know this game deserves a spot in the top 10. But what unlucky game am I going to knock off the top 10 list?
Before digging into the world of Peggle Deluxe, let me tell you a story. My parents had a classic Pachinko machine with a door handle. It only worked some of the time, but I loved the noise when you hit a jackpot. Years later, Paul and I went to Atlantic City for the weekend and saw modern Pachinko machines with the round handles for sale.
So the first thing that I thought about when playing Peggle Deluxe was that it was a twist on the Pachinko. Sure enough, I found an article about PopCap’s creation of Peggle. Yes, it’s PopCap’s fault that many of us are addicted to several games… Bejeweled (originally Diamond Mind), Chuzzle, and now Peggle.
In Peggle Deluxe, shoot a ball anywhere and let it do the work. The goal is to clear all the orange pegs. After letting go of the ball, sit back and hope it hits lots of orange pegs along with a green peg for a power up and a purple peg for bonus points. Once it makes it through the jungle of pegs, hope that it lands inside the moving bucket that you can’t control. It simply moves side to side. It’s nice not having pressure to control the bucket on top of everything.
The game begins with a unicorn as your guide. Every guide has its own special powers that you earn when hitting a green peg. The unicorn reveals a guide so you can see where your ball goes next after it hits the first peg. I won’t mention the others as finding out their powers is part of the fun. Each character has its own theme that changes the pegs and background to match that theme.
The pegs often line up to look like an object or create a challenging shape. One level had three infinitys, another shows one of many animals, and still another has moving circles. Lots of variety! Impossible to get bored and almost impossible to tear yourself away.
The game compels you to cheer and whoop when you hit that last orange peg thanks to its cool close up slow motion effect. The view zooms in to the last orange peg, which slows down like a dramatic moment in a movie. Now, sometimes you might miss, but when you hit it — Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” plays with booming enthusiasm like a running back scoring a touchdown.
Would you believe that one of the best features — “Ode to Joy” — was originally a placeholder? That’s what the previously mentioned article says.
Occasionally, you’ll be amazed by a move. Watch it again with the “Instant Replay,” that does exactly that… replays the last move. After you play through the quest and conquer all the games with all of the characters, you unlock more game modes including Quick Play for playing a previously played puzzle using any character you want, Duel (to play again someone or the computer), and Challenge that contains 75 puzzles.
Each level comes with a specific amount of balls. The fewer balls you use to clear the orange pegs, the higher the bonus. You can also earn free balls by scoring a specified amount of points or dropping the ball into the bucket.
Just try it — play Peggle Deluxe for at least 15 minutes and you’ll love it. Download Peggle Deluxe from BigFishGames or Playfirst.
System Requirements
- Windows Vista, XP, 2000, ME, 98
- 256 MB RAM
- 700 MHz or faster processor
- DirectX 7.0 or later
Mystery in London PC Game Info
I don’t plan to play the full version of Mystery in London. The hidden object game has a 360-degree views where players explore around the room, up and down. I’m sensitive to this kind of movement. But other than this problem, Mystery in London is worth a try.
The story ties in with Jack the Ripper. I’m not sure how as I don’t get far enough in the game to see where it goes. The game takes you around London to its famous landmarks where you can view them in a panorama.
Mystery in London is similar to the Travelogue series.
Fairway Solitaire PC Game Review
I couldn’t believe I never got bored playing basic solitaire golf that came with Windows in the mid-’90s. I even loaded the game on my Palm handheld and played that for a long time. Since then, I got too busy to play the solitaire game.
Furthermore, after becoming a game reviewer, I didn’t have the luxury of sticking with a game for a long time. Whenever I played a game past my bedtime indicated a sign that a game was a hit and I blamed Fairway Solitaire for my recent tiredness.
The basic game isn’t good enough today. Most of your favorites probably have newer versions containing power ups, trophies, and other bonuses. Solitaire golf receives the same treatment.
The power ups show up in the golf shop. As you play each hole, you earn bucks to use in the golf shop for power ups. For a female golfer, buying a skirt provides her with the ability to x-ray a card to see through it.
The set up cards also contain hazards and bonuses. Because of these, you may not play golf the way you would when playing old-fashioned solitaire golf. Different situations call for different strategies, and that could mean sacrificing a long drive for a short one. A long drive occurs when you pick up at least six cards in a row without drawing a card from the pile, which drives up the multiplier and money pot.
Along the way, you can pick up irons and use mulligans. An iron has a number between one and nine. How a iron works: If there’s a card with an 8 on the board and the golf bag contains a 7 iron, pull it out so you can grab the 8. Mulligans let you undo the last move. Beware that the game only lets you use one mulligan at a time.
Although a tutorial explains the game and the different types of cards, it may not click right away. The best way to learn the game is just play it. A hole ends when you either clear the board or run out of cards in the draw pile.
When you begin a round, a positive number appears in the box on the lower left corner of the screen. As you remove each card from the board, the number shrinks. Just like in the game of golf: The lower the number, the better the score. Thankfully, a game with a par 7 goes onto the scorecard as par 5 (the maximum). When the score falls below par, it means more cash.
The end of a hole shows the statistics for that hole including the longest drive, time taken, long drive multiplier, and the cash earned. The scorecard tracks the score for all nine rounds. Players earn bonuses for low scores and successfully completing courses, which unlocks more courses and there are 70 courses available.
As for the Wild Shot mini-game, I wouldn’t call it that. The mini-game is too mini (oxymoron?). You can either play the shot or drop it and lose $200. Playing Wild Shot could lead to either good or bad results. Select “play” to flip the images and select “stop” to stop the images. What happens next depends on whatever image appears. You could lose cards, try to put for a hole-in-one, lose or win money, or gain an extra mulligan. Though I’m not crazy about Wild Shot, it surprisingly contains many possibilities. After playing the game for a couple of days, I continue to discover new possibilities. This is the only handicap of Fairway Solitaire.
Well, the game may have one other mini-game, if you call it that. An optional course appears every few course. Rather than playing it like the others, it’s timed play. If you clear the board before time runs out, the game awards bonus points. A long drive also adds a few seconds to the clock. It makes me cuckoo, but it’s also a nice change of pace.
Typically after completing a review, I move on to the next game. Not this time. I must play more Fairway Solitaire!
Download and try Fairway Solitaire.
System Requirements
- Windows Vista, XP, 2000
- 800 MHz minimum
- 256 MB RAM
- DirectX 6.0 or later
- 54 MB hard drive space
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Diner Dash: Hometown Hero PC Game Review
But I also wonder why some things don’t get better with the newer releases. The customers still come in crudely drawn monochrome (by today’s standards) colors — blue, green, brown. Wedding Dash proved it’s possible to create interesting looking customers without looking like stick figures.
Diner Dash games continue to be the hardest ones to play in its genre and it doesn’t stop here. I don’t get very far before they have me banging my head on my desk. I can’t be that lousy of a player at these games since I manage to get through other tough diner games including Turbo Pizza— an insane one.
Flo returns to her hometown to find it in near ruins, so she and Grandma help at the restaurants to try to drive up attendance at a variety of locations. She starts working at the zoo and makes her way to the ballpark, museum, and amusement park. Customers also don’t always order, eat, and tip since some order more food.
This game is the first to have meta-transactions where you can purchase more diners, waiters, and restaurants from the boutique. A restaurant costs $4.99 in real-life bucks. Items like clothing, accessories, and d??cor mostly cost less than a buck. Unfortunately, it requires having the Gourmet Edition to take advantage of these features.
Online multiplayer mode lets players compete against one other player by racing around taking orders, picking up tips, putting away dishes, and all that. Or for those jumpy about competition, try cooperative mode where both of you work together instead of against each other.
Flo also gets an assistant who is more of a pain than helpful. You can’t help but feel like you’re racing against the assistant. Plus, you don’t know what the assistant will do that you start to head to a table only to have the assistant beat you there.
As usual, players earn bonuses by chaining, seating customers by color, keeping customers happy, and placing customers at the right tables so they stay far away from customers at nearby tables who like to chat on the phone or having crying babies.
I’m not into changing outfits, but many others enjoy the feature and this one comes with plenty of new outfits. As you progress in the game, you get to choose the style for upgrading the counters, floors, tables, walls, plants, and so on. However, sometimes the game might only provide two choices instead of three if you don’t reach the Expert score.
Gamezebo has tips and tricks as well as a walkthrough guide for DDHH. Thank goodness. I went bonkers trying to get through a few levels and these came to my rescue.
Download and try Diner Dash: Hometown Hero
System Requirements
Windows OS
- Windows Vista, XP, 2000
- Pentium III 700 MHz or faster processor
- 128 MB RAM
- 800 x 600 minimum screen resolution
- DirectX 7.0 or later
- 30 MB available hard disk space
- Internet connection required for Together features (multiplayer, sharing content - PC only)
Macintosh
- Mac OS X 10.4 or newer
- G4 800 MHz or newer processor
- RAM: 128 MB
- Minimum Screen Resolution: 80000
- Hard Drive Space: 50 MB
Lists of Best Casual Games for 2007
Considering the numerous releases of casual games this year, it’s tough to put together a list of the best ones. I shared my top 10 and others share their thoughts.
Also, Joel of Gamezebo does an excellent job of capturing the life of the casual game industry in 2007 and what the future holds.
Sites with best casual games of 2007 lists:
- Gamezebo
- Blogcritics nominees: Part I and Part II series on a year of gaming in review.
- MSNBC (click “Next” at end of introduction to see the games — or save clicks and see list below.)
- Planet Puzzle League
- Picross
- Nervous Breakdown
- Prism: Light the Way
- Peggle
- WarioWare: Smooth Moves
- Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
- The Adrenalin Vault
- Gametunnel
- JayIsGames
- USA Today picks for best kid games
Some of the award winners won’t be announced until later in the year including the Zeebys presented at the CGA conference.
Best of 2007: Casual PC Games
One of my favorite gigs is doing game reviews for here, The Diamond Games, and Gamezebo. It means playing games without feeling any guilt. Plus, when I can’t focus or complete work tasks — I go to the games knowing that I’m working on a review since it doesn’t require focus (well, most don’t).
The casual games industry has come out with many entertaining and absorbing games this year. Most of these games are responsible for those nights where I stayed up past my bedtime.
Rather than sorting the best ones by category, we simply pick the top 10 and list them in alphabetical order.
- Build-a-lot: One of the more original games that also hooked Paul.
- Chocolatier 2: Another original game that is even better than the original Chocolatier.
- Cradle of Rome: A match three where you do more than quickly make matches and score enough points. You also have to try to “find” the towns people by making specific kinds of matches.
- Dream Chronicles: A hidden object and puzzle game with a nice story, beautiful scenes, and great puzzles.
- Farm Frenzy: Old MacDonald’s farm was never more entertaining.
- Gemsweeper: I never liked Minesweeper, but this one reeled me in.
- Miss Management: The cartoon graphics, character dialog, humor, tasks, everything makes this one stand out from the management games.
- Peggle
- Wedding Dash: I like Diner Dash, but I liked Wedding Dash better because the customers are drawn better and the game is more doable than Diner Dash, which is too hard.
- ZenGems: A different twist on match three with gorgeous visuals and great sounds.
Worthy noteables
- Azada: Challenging puzzles.
- Virtual Villagers 2: Play G-d to the adorable villagers who have their own personalities. The ending knocked it out of contention. While games are about the experience, not the ending… this one tells a story and it feels like it ends abruptly without giving all the information.
- Fairway Solitaire: A creative solitaire game that takes Golf solitaire to another level.
- Mortimer Becker and the Secrets of Spooky Manor: Awesome graphics and fabulous puzzles. Too short.
- Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate: Engrossing story, superb graphics, and clever puzzles. Missed top 10 because of a strange ending.
Love to hear your favorites and why.
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Game du Jour: Week of 2008-01-14
Wow! Two superb games in one week and one on my birthday. Remember the deal is good on Game du Jour for one day only.
14 January: Swarm Assault 60% off
15 January: Build-a-Lot 40% off
16 January: GeBall 60% off
17 January: Determinance 50% off
18 January: Jumba 50% off
19 January: Twistingo 50% off
20 January: Jewel Quest Solitaire II (Review of original Jewel Quest) 40% off
The Woot for Games
Game du Jour offers “one deal a day” for indie and casual PC games. For 24 hours, a game is available for a much lower price than its regular price. The nice thing is that you can first try the game for free to see if you like it. Remember to play and buy it by midnight Central Standard Time before the deal is gone.
The site sells action, board, card, puzzle, and strategy games. You can get an idea of the games sold from the PC Game page.
Like Woot, the game isn’t available once the 24 hours passes. To avoid missing a game that you might love, you can subscribe to the newsletter or RSS feed. Some sites publish the lineup for the week — but I could not find one that does it on a consistent basis.
Cradle of Persia PC Game Review
The major difference between the two comes in how you make the match three. In Cradle of Rome, you select three or more items to make the match. Cradle of Persia not only requires selecting three or more items in a row, but also deciding which direction to go in making the match. If you make the match starting with the first object and moving to the right, the objects behind the first match will move right to replace the matched items’ spots. The same goes for all directions.
It took time to get a handle on this new thinking because the direction you move in can create a new and needed match or break an existing match. Despite the need to use the brain in making the right move, I still prefer Cradle of Rome.
What made Rome appealing was the process of building the city and adding citizens. It’s a great feeling when the screen pops up saying, “You’ve earned a new citizen!” Persia does the same and changing the theme, of course, and the music fits well with the Persian backdrop.
Power ups are included, but they work differently. The power ups are not the same as the original and they each have four levels of power. Level 1 provides the least amount of power. For example, dynamite at level 1 only explodes one box while it explodes more at level 4 power.
The good thing about the four levels of power is that you can gain level 1 quickly and have something to use. In Cradle of Rome, you had to wait until the power up filled up to use it. Waiting for each level to power up can make a person antsy. A power up has a thin green line that glows as you destroy its associated power up. The green line proceeds around in a circle. When the circle completes, you gain another level of power.
Some gamers complain about developers releasing a similar version of a hit game, but Awem Studio did a lovely job Cradle of Persia with giving fans of Cradle of Rome the opportunity to get more of the same game play without being too similar. Awem took care to change the power up types, themes, objects, and tasks for earning citizens.
I’m all for Awem doing another. Maybe the company could explore a different one than the often-used Greek (though I do love Greek myths) or other frequently used themes. American history? African theme? Shakespeare theme?
- Windows 2000/XP/Vista
- 1.0 GHz processor
- 256 MB RAM
- DirectX 8.1 or later
- 81 MB hard drive space
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Game du Jour: Week of 2008-01-14
Wow! Two superb games in one week and one on my birthday. Remember the deal is good on Game du Jour for one day only.
14 January: Swarm Assault 60% off
15 January: Build-a-Lot 40% off
16 January: GeBall 60% off
17 January: Determinance 50% off
18 January: Jumba 50% off
19 January: Twistingo 50% off
20 January: Jewel Quest Solitaire II (Review of original Jewel Quest) 40% off
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SimCity Societies Review
SimCity Societies, developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts.
The Good: Simplified freeform gameplay, lots of buildings with useful filters, meticulous building and Sim attributes, achievements provide long-term goals, easily modified, random map generator, detailed graphics
The Not So Good: Not challenging, micromanaging special abilities is annoying, more achievements would increase replay value, minimap is useless and information icons are too small, poor performance
What say you? It’s not SimCity 5, but it’s still an enjoyable sandbox city builder aimed at a wider audience: 7/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
PC gamers are a finicky bunch: they have certain expectations for sequels and if they are not met, the backlash is severe. Take SimCity Societies as an example. Some people were expecting a true sequel to SimCity 4, and when the game ended up not strictly being SimCity 5, hardcore gamers were up in arms. Of course, SimCity Societies is not named SimCity 5, so I’m not sure what people were expecting. What they got was the removal of zones and railroads and the introduction of themes and values. You know, society stuff, similar in premise to City Life. I received this game late enough to play with the second patch, which adds a “strategic” mode for veteran players who thought the “creative” mode lacked any challenge (no disagreement here) or purpose. I’m sure you’ve seen my score for SimCity Societies; how come I like it while everyone else doesn't? Details to follow.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
SimCity Societies features some very nice graphics, but they certainly come at a steep price. All of the buildings are highly detailed which is impressive considering how many there are. The same building will always look the same, as SimCity Societies lacks the somewhat randomized appearances present in SimCity 4. Most of the buildings are animated as well, pumping out pollution and such, which really makes your city realistic. You city can feature an overall theme, although this seems to be limited to simple road textures rather than dramatic overhauls of building appearances. The Sims that populate your city are also varied in appearance, although you'll be zoomed out so much most of the time that you won't notice. SimCity Societies is probably the most visually impressive city builder I've seen, as its level of detail is unmatched. And now for the downside: the game runs very slowly. I expect to be able to run the game at high (or at least medium) settings with no problems, but once your city fills about half of the map, the game starts to chug considerable to almost unplayable levels. I also tried the game on a more modest setup and SimCity Societies bordered on being a slideshow, even at the lowest detail settings. Only the most robust machines will be able to run SimCity Societies at high settings and decent framerates. The sound of SimCity Societies is pretty typical for the genre: bustling city noises and background music that fits your overall theme. SimCity Societies also (not surprisingly) features the “Simlish” featured in other contemporary Sim games. If you have the computer to run it, SimCity Societies features an outstanding presentation that brings your communities alive.
ET AL.
Like other SimCity games, Societies puts you in charge of a new community and allows you to develop your city as you see fit. There are two modes of play to choose from: the trivially easy creative mode (complete with unlimited money and free play options) and the more difficult (but still easy) strategic mode, introduced in the second patch. While previous SimCity games weren't the toughest nuts to crack, SimCity Societies offers absolutely no challenge since your influx of cash is terribly large. While this is obviously great for beginners, veteran players might become bored rather quickly at the lack of a challenge. The strategic mode does fix this somewhat, incorporating daily maintenance costs and tougher-to-please Sims. These changes do make SimCity Societies more of a challenge, especially if you make your way up to the “hardcore” and “nightmare” difficulty levels. Still, SimCity Societies was clearly aimed towards more creative people who just want a simple open environment instead of a complex strategic model.
New cities can be customized just as in previous games, although you have less control of the specifics of the landscape. SimCity Societies provides a random name generator for your new town (a neat feature) and you can pick the overall climate for your city. Advanced map options include control over the amount of water, vegetation, elevation, erosion, and overall terrain texture. You can even import a height map for real-world geography. SimCity Societies is also built for mods, as most everything in the game is contained in XML files ready to be altered. The game also features an online exchange (the only sniff of online play SimCity Societies offers) where you can share your mods and cities.
There are two resources in play in SimCity Societies: values and money. Each of the game's six values (productivity, prosperity, creativity, spirituality, authority, and knowledge) are produced and consumed by the various buildings you will place. Unlike other SimCity games, you don't just zone residential, commercial, and industrial areas: you will place the specific buildings you want around your city. You will need to place power-producing plants, houses, workplaces, and venues, in addition to streets, decorations, and landscaping. In order for buildings to function, you need to have a positive or neutral balance in the values they use. The buildings that produce and consume values are mixed (meaning not all houses consume and not all businesses produce) so it takes some planning to balance out your values. You will also need to keep your workplaces full of workers in order to earn the city the maximum amount of money, so having the same number of housed workers as available jobs is another goal in the game. Venues are used to keep everyone happy, and having enough of them for everyone to visit on the way home from work is important to keep your city running smoothly. All work and no play makes for rogue Sims that shut down money-producing businesses. Decorations (fountains, billboards, parks) are intended for evening out small value deficits.
More buildings are continually unlocked as you reach certain goals (like population or value production levels) and there is an impressive number of structures you will build over time. The cities of SimCity Societies are far less realistic than in other SimCity games: while you need power and fire stations, you can construct a functional city devoid of schools, hospitals, and even police (although your residents might not be very happy about it). The game takes the idea of values and themes to heart, and a lot of veteran players will dismiss the unrealistic flexibility of SimCity Societies as being, well, unrealistic. Contrary to what a lot of reviews have said, proximity of buildings does matter: placing a nightclub next to a coal power plant makes it less desirable by lowering the happiness patrons will receive. While decorations can be placed anywhere on the map and power structures and be segregated to the corner with no ill effects, you do have to keep industrial businesses away from populated and recreational areas as you build. You will also need to make sure that venues are close enough (and plentiful enough) for Sims to use them. The game does come with a couple of ideas for themes, such as “romantic” or “authoritarian” towns; I usually just pick two or three values to concentrate on when I start a new city and go from there. SimCity Societies is really more about experimentation and seeing what will happen than ultimate realism.
SimCity Societies features and almost excellent interface. Since there are so many buildings to construct, the game has a good set of filters for finding exactly what you need. You can choose to show only buildings that use a certain value, and then sort those buildings by how much they produce or consume or their capacity. The game does need to have better filters for things like government buildings: they have special icons, so why can’t I sort by them? Also, the game should keep the filter if you select the same option in quick succession: having to press “houses” and then “creativity” five times in a row if I want to feature more varied housing is annoying. Remember those great color overlays from SimCity 4? Well, they are not here; good luck finding things like high crime areas due to the completely useless minimap and lack of colored overlays. Instead, SimCity Societies features hard to read icons that are not helpful at all. SimCity Societies also does a poor job of explaining which buildings do what: half of my buildings were broken during one game, and it was trial and error figuring out which building fixes them.
Some of your buildings will produce special actions. These can range from simple income bonuses to increased happiness at other buildings. These things should be automated as its very annoying to hunt around your city looking for poorly highlighted buildings. This is especially true during fires: you have to find where the fire is, then search for a fire station, click on it, and find where the fire was again, and click on that building. Isn't it the firefighters' job to know where the fire is? Playing an industrial city where fires are common is painfully annoying. SimCity Societies features a pretty sophisticated simulation under the hood, as the game keeps track of all the workers present in the game (while a condo may house 100 people, only 5 of them actually work and appear in the game; this is how the game features large populations without having huge cities). Sims have happiness levels that can be altered by purchasing goods from venues, like wine and furniture (or both!). Special Sims can also appear (there are twenty-seven in all): examples include burglars that steal enhancements, “men in black” that arrest street performers, and tourists followed by pickpockets. While the depth of SimCity Societies might not be present on the surface with the city building, there is a lot of detail when it comes to your city's residents.
As I stated earlier, SimCity Societies is a very easy game: just balance people and jobs and all the values and you'll make tons of money in no time. Strategic mode makes it just a bit harder, but veteran players should have no problems keeping a city running. While SimCity Societies comes with a handful of achievements to shoot for, the potential for more is definitely there. Personally, I would like to see an achievement for all of the two-value combinations (that would be twenty-one total for you non-Math majors). The achievements could be named after real life cities as well: creativity plus spirituality for a “San Francisco” award and low prosperity and low knowledge for “Detroit” (zing!). I like SimCity Societies: it’s a neat take on the genre and there’s a lot of detail when you delve beneath the surface of just placing buildings. I mean, it keeps track of how long someone’s had a CD for and how much happiness it grants: that's pretty impressive.
IN CLOSING
SimCity Societies would probably would have been better off not using the SimCity name, as that moniker begets some expectations that frankly are not met. Those looking for a realistic city builder should steer clear of SimCity Societies, but what the game does offer is a different approach to city management. Balancing your city's values, in addition to the budget, and choosing which values to focus on is the name of the game. If you want to create a prosperous authoritarian village, then go right ahead. This makes the cities look different over time, something that cannot be said for the cookie-cutter burgs of SimCities past. The amount of freedom in SimCity Societies may be too much for some, as there isn't a concrete overall goal (not that there was in SimCity 4) apart from the sporadic achievements that could have been more fleshed out. Most of the negative reviews harp on the lack of authenticity in SimCity Societies, but realism is not the focus. SimCity Societies is more about the interactions and less about the actual city building, so I think most of these people just missed the mark on the intention of the game. Thankfully the game now features the “strategic” mode that offers more of a challenge, but SimCity Societies is really focused on creation rather than challenge. The interface is well designed (for the most part), there are tons of buildings to construct, and the graphics are unmatched (though demanding on your system). Despite a number of annoyances I experienced with the game (most notably the special actions), I enjoyed my time with SimCity Societies and applaud its distinct approach. I think as long as you realize this isn't SimCity 5 and look at the detail of the interactions rather than the lack of realism, you'll have a good time with SimCity Societies as well.
