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Category: Weekly Gaming/Media

Weekly Gaming: Game of Thrones Episode 1 (PS4)

Given the amount of Telltale adventure games out there at the moment, and how much I love Game of Thrones so wouldn’t want the series to be ruined, I was sceptical at first about the new Game of Thrones Adventure game. It wasn’t until Sony had their 10% discount one weekend along with a sale because of their downtime over christmas that I decided to take the plunge and finally buy a telltale series whilst they’re still in development (instead of waiting until they’re finished like I usually do). So, with that being said, here’s my impressions on the first opening episodes (be warned, there will be spoilers throughout this).

Unlike other Telltale games, Game of Thrones will have you playing as multiple characters throughout the episodes, putting you in many different situations. You start out the episode as a squire called Garad who works for lord Forester, a noble knight who has allied himself and his army with the Starks. Your camp is based outside the Boltons keep on the night of the Red wedding (a part in the show/books where the Starks are effectively killed off from the series), meaning lots of death will be awaiting you in the first opening scene. Once the massacre ensues, it’s up to you to get out of the forest with information from the lord on what to tell your own uncle, something you don’t understand, and have to option to adhere to with the many decisions you now must make.

Eventually, you’ll come across your own family home, which has been ransacked by thieves from a competing family not too far away. In your desperation, you manage to fight off two of them, with a third one running away to tell his lord of your crimes against their house. Garads family is dead, and he must still make his way to the family’s (Forrester) household. It’s here that you learn that the new lord of the house is a young boy (about 15 in age) and is now struggling to be a lord with all of its decisions. It was taking control of Ethan that I had some of the more interesting moments in the series, with big decisions having to be made with next to no prior knowledge of what is right, and what is wrong.

The final character you take control of in this episode is Ethan’s sister, Mira, who’s at kings landing, and is a servant to Margaery Tyrell, the soon to be wife of Joefrey, king of the 7 kingdoms. It’s up to Mira to try and get support from the capital before the forresters rival family tries to take over their control of the forest of ironwood; world renowned for making the best ships and shields available. Mira’s part of the story is interesting, albeit fairly bitchy considering she’s at the capital and is being interrogated by Tyrian and Cersai Lannister. It’s an interesting break from what happens in the north, but starts to show the fractures in Telltale’s story telling in their games, with your decisions really having no impact on how the story actually unfolds. I suppose it’s genuis that they actually make you feel that your decisions will have consequences, but with so many games under their belt now, you’re sure and know these stories will play out the same regardless of what you do.

Eventually the game puts you back in Ethans shoes, pushing you to make decisions which will effect the whole family and your subjects. I have to admit that at times I struggled for an answer when presented with multiple decisions, but eventually said I would meet the new warden of the north in my hall, since the family doesn’t have much of an army and is just trying to get into the Lanisters good books after being loyal to the Starks for so long. After a length dialogue, the episode ends with Ethan being stabbed, a conclusion I found disappointing considering how well I believed it had gone up until that point, but a conclusion that apparently happens to everyone that plays the game, regardless of the decisions you make.

So, what did I think of the episode, and Game of Thrones translation to a adventure game series? Well first, it sucks that you need to be watching the TV series or reading the books in order to truly know whats going on in the game. I understand companies want “transmedia” content, but when many are pushed away from a game purely because they don’t have any knowledge outside of that game, it just sucks as a whole in my opinion. As for yet another game being made by Telltale games? I can’t help but think they’re being stretched pretty thin from a company stand point, with many of the scenes feeling underwhelming or outrightly blunt due to lack of funding or lack of staff available to make assets. One example I did not like was getting Garad to try and look outside the Forresters house window to the accompanying ironwoods behind, only to get Garad seen from a different angle to mutter the words “wow, look at the ironwoods”. It just felt.. bland to say the least, and severely limiting considering what we’ve come to expect from the TV series with all of its bells and whistles.

So is Game of Thrones a worthwhile purchase? So far, I’d say no. Granted, its nice to see the kingdom of westeros from a different perspective, especially from a new family standpoint who are effected by the bigger events in the show. But for all of it’s big branding, the game feels underwhelming so far, with decisions that ultimately amount to nothing. For a game whose entire premise is the decisions you make, time will only tell if Telltale games manage to put more effort into branching the story depending on what you choose to do, as it’s the biggest advantage gaming has over other mediums: the ability to choose and be an active member of a story rather than a passive onlooker.

3/5

20/02/2015
Weekly Gaming: The Unfinished Swan (PS4)

Carrying on with my moniker of playing old games I’ve always wanted to, I found the Unfinished Swan had been released on Playstation Vita and PS4. At £5, I couldn’t miss the offer of finally giving the game a go in stunning 1080p 60fps, considering I’ve always heard it’s an artistic game. Having completed the game and collecting majority of the collectibles, I feel I should give some opinions on the quality of the game and how I felt my time with it went.

The story of The Unfinished Swan was unique and lovely, comprising of a little boy who’s mother has recently passed away, and is only able to take one of her many unfinished paintings with him. The painting he chooses is the Unfinished Swan, a painting thats beautiful, but with a missing neck. It’s through these paintings that the story of The Unfinished Swan will unravel, with the whole game feeling like you’re playing through a children’s fairy tale book. It’s charming, and certainly keeps you hooked for the 2-3 hour long campaign it has, and offers enough variety as to make sure you’re never bored by it’s splendid presentation.

The first stage in the game has you painting an entirely white world with black paint. It’s a fantastic mechanic, one which looks rubbish at first as you can’t see detail on items, but takes on the looks of a painting once you stand back and see what you’ve done.

Each level in the game has it’s own mechanic all tied around the capacity to shoot little balls of paint or water wherever you go. The first level for instance compromises entirely around the mechanic of seeing where you’re going by painting the pure white world black. The second stage takes this one step further by giving you blue water balls, by which you can then interact with vines and grow them wherever you’d like to help you with your progress. The third stage has balls which can create “blueprints”, giving you the ability to make cubes of varying sizes depending on where you fire the balls. For a game whose advertising seemed to be based around the painting mechanic, the developers at Santa Monica managed to pull of some unique mechanics.

The Unfinished Swan is stylish in every sense of the word, with detailed and lovely environments brimming with life, it’s no wonder I found so much good coverage for the game around it’s original release. Frogs and animals you encounter look strikingly abstract, but alive, ensuring you’re constantly on your feet as to when you’ll next encounter another living thing. Throughout all of the story you’ll be chasing the swan from your mothers painting, with it’s gawks seemingly coming from nowhere at times, it leads you through the marvellous world the game has to offer.

The vines levels were some of my favourite, with the game giving you freedom on how you wished to proceed across an obstacle. Although there was only one solution, it still gave you the freedom to find the solution on your own.

Most of the game is fairly linear, with most levels just compromising of a series of corridors getting you from point A to point B. Where The Unfinished Swan deviates from this linearity though is in its ability to make each players experience different and unique purely from the fact the mechanics like the paints aren’t constrained so to speak. Granted, the mechanics are constrained within the confines of the stage as a whole, but how players paint the level or obstacles is different with each play-through. This in turn could show some similarities to real painting, with each brush stroke being different from person to person, with the end result always looking different as a result of that work.

Once you’ve finished the main story, there are always reasons to revisit, with collectible balloons hidden throughout the world you’re bound to come back a few more times. Collecting these balloons also counts as currency to use in buying abilities used throughout the story/chapters. Most abilities aren’t available until you’ve completed the game once, but given that they’re fairly game breaking in nature (e.g. you’re able to summon the cube making balls anytime in the game, by-passing massive obstacles on your way) you can understand why. Once completed I bought the ability to travel to any chapter, along with a hose for the water levels and the balloon hunter, which tells you when you’re close to a hidden ballon, making it easier to find the last few.

Environments are gorgeously rendered in The Unfinished Swan, with massive cities just as awe-inspiring as little woods and houses.

So, should you play The Unfinished Swan? I believe so. Given its game length (easily completable within a few hours) and unique story and style, I’d be hard pressed to tell you any reasons why you shouldn’t buy or even play the game. It’s shortness may deter some players who aren’t willing to fork out upwards of £10 for it’s RRP, but if it ever goes on sale again I’d recommend it. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and see what all the fuss is about.

4/5

13/02/2015
Weekly Gaming: Life is Strange (Episode 1) Xbox One

Hi all,

So this week, I managed to get a review copy of Life is Strange on the day of release, so proceeded to play it asap and get a review out. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the game, I’m concerned where the story is going, and fear it may be a completely different game to what Square Enix advertised.

Regardless, you can read the review below:

http://www.gamrreview.com/review/92392/life-is-strange-episode-1-chrysalis-xbox-one

As always, thank you for your continued support, and should you ever want to ask any questions, please don’t hesitate to shout out to me on Facebook or Twitter, or even my own contact form on this site!

-Dan

06/02/2015
I Done My First Interview!
Hi all,

So, in writing on my blog for 2 years now and writing for gamrReview.com for almost a year, I had never actually gotten around to interviewing a developer in what it took to make their game, and other questions consumers may have in mind for making a viable purchase of said product. Thankfully, out of nowhere I got an email from a PR representative on behalf of Rubycone Games who wanted to see if I’d be interested in an interview. I said yes and jumped at the chance to do this, and below, you can go to the published end result:

http://www.gamrreview.com/preview/92387/reinventing-the-horror-game-with-rubycone-games-hektor

A few things I’ve learnt for future interviews though:
- Make sure the software you use doesn’t corrupt any recordings you make, you’ll want to come back to the interview time and time again to ensure accuracy, or even a written transcript, something I couldn’t do in this example due to software problems.
- Prepare well ahead of time, and give yourself half an hour of relaxing time before the interview to ensure you’re clear headed to ask the correct questions (Skype fucked up for me and had a problem signing in, meaning I was running around worrying for half an hour).
- Write all questions well in advance, ensuring if you need to add to them you can.
All in all it was a fantastic first interview, the first of many I hope. Time will tell if this becomes a regular occurrence.

This Friday, expect a review of The Unfinished Swan for PS4.

-Dan
01/02/2015
Weekly Gaming: Race The Sun (PC)

The whole game is summed up in the title. It’s genius really.

Having seen Race the sun ages ago, I was interested at the offset. Here was a stylistically simple game, but with what looked like a complex and tough gameplay implementation. I didn’t buy the game straight away, and if I’m honest, I wish I would have kickstarted it, but alas, I waited a while and finally brought it on the humble store when it was on sale this past Christmas. Am I glad I bought the game? Hell’s yes I am! Flippfly deserve every penny of what I spent on Race the Sun, something I wouldn’t say all too often with most of the game I play. Read on as I explain what about Race the Sun drives me to this conclusion.

The game is centred around a plane that is powered by the sun, constantly moving forwards whilst avoiding obstacles. Speed increases to a certain point (dictated by how long you’re in the sunlight), to which the game stays strikingly hard until you crash into an obstacle and die instantly. This instant death mechanic keeps the player coming back for more, knowing that the game isn’t fobbing them off and it was actually their own fault they died. It’s a hooking mechanic, one which kept me playing for hours after I should have stopped many nights.

When the Sun’s like this, you better get your arse in gear, cause you’re next to death son. Only yellow star items can help you out in these situations.

Since your plane is powered by the sun, Flippfly studios wouldn’t want to make it too easy for you to play their game, so the sun that powers you is constantly setting into the horizon, making shadows on the stage longer (shadows limit your speed and kill you should you stay in them long enough) along with making it harder to avoid obstacles or get a higher score. It’s a lovely mechanic, one which keeps you not only on your toes with the obstacles, but also on your toes looking out for the items you can get to help you on your way through this weird and wonderful world.

You see, items help to not only improve your game, but to also keep the game going and making it interesting. . You have blue pyramids that you can collect to multiply your constantly increasing score, Yellow star shaped items that increase the amount of time the sun is up in the sky whilst also giving your plane a boost in speed, a green crown shaped item that allows your plane to jump. and finally a purple shield that can be otherwise known as an extra life. All these items ensure you’re constantly aware of whats around you, not only trying to avoid your imminent death, but also checking to see if you can grab any items that are nearby to give you the advantage.

Dodging all the obstacles can somethings feel impossible, but thankfully the developers usually give multiple ways out of any situation, helping you out greatly if you can think fast enough to react.

So far I’ve only talked about the mechanics, and that’s because the Race the Sun is all about the mechanics. Even the objective system, which is reminiscent of mobile games like Tiny Wings on iPhone, helps to create a feedback loop where the player is pushed to achieve the objectives (e.g. jump 20 times in one run), only to be given more items or skills in playing the game again. It’s a perfect loop, where players are encouraged to play more to unlock more to then progress further. It’s highly addictive.

Once you’ve played the game enough and gotten to a high enough level, Race the Sun will give you a new stage called “Apocalypse”. This new stage is extremely hard, being twice as fast as the original, with all manner of the hardest obstacles appearing from the offset. It’s not for the faint hearted, but was certainly challenging and fun once you start to master it on a given day.

The reason I say “given day” is due to the very way levels are built in Race the Sun. Although the stage is randomly generated, it’s generated from a seed that the developers push out to everyone’s machine daily. This seed will determine what each region will hold, so you can at least start to master the patterns of obstacles you’ll encounter. I found this aspect of the game just as intriguing as the rest, as I could never really feel comfortable, having to constantly change my tactics due to new layouts. It was refreshing.

The Apocalypse level was ridiculously hard but addictive, ensuring I came back time and time again just to master this fiendish stage.

So, with Race the Sun being made available on most platforms now (PS4, PC, Linux, PS3 and PS Vita), should you part with your money to play it? Well I for one completely understand some people being hesitant about paying $9.99/£6.99 for a game thats essentially a ported mobile game, but I can’t help but feel to surmise Race the Sun to it’s core mechanics is missing everything else it does so well. The feel of the craft and the precision gaming are fantastically hooking, so much so that you’d be hard pressed to find this simplicity elsewhere on the market. Should Race the Sun ever drop in price, either permanently or for sales, buy it, as I feel you won’t regret the time you spend with it.

4/5

30/01/2015
Weekly Gaming: The Novelist (PC)

Not much to see here, but at least you know the name of the game right?

Having brought The Novelist quite a while ago during another Steam Sale, I decided it was finally time to site down with this intriguing indie game and decide for myself whether it deserved all the praise and attention it got upon its release.

The game focuses around a small family comprised of the father (the novelist himself) Dan, the mother, Linda, and their child, Tommy, as they retreat to a getaway house in the forest whilst Dan works on his latest Novel. Whilst the main character is technically Dan, you start to realise that everyone has their own wants and needs, and it isn’t only about the father completing his book in order to achieve greatness.

Whilst you don’t control the characters in the house directly, you play as a ghost that observes the family, and can read their thoughts as well as past memories to figure out what they all want in a set of different situations. Once you’ve observed enough you can make a decision on what the family as a whole should do going forwards by whispering to Dan whilst he’s asleep. Once the decision has been made you’ll be shown what the outcome of your decision was, with some family members being happy at the decision, and others dreadfully sad.

Some of the decisions the family members want to make seem a bit contrived at times, but not to the detriment of the overall narrative, that each and every member of the family will think differently in any given situation.

Compromise

Compromises are a central theme of The Novelist, with constant different wants and needs affecting each and every one of the family in different ways. In one example, the family get some inheritance from a cousin, leading each of the family members to come to different conclusions on what should be done with the money. Dan wants to use it to advertise in magazines by himself, without the help of his publisher, which would motivate him to work harder on his novel. Linda would like to use the money to join an art community in the town near their getaway home so she can get properly back into her painting. Tommy on the other hand would like to use the money to go on a camping holiday, ensuring he can meet other children his age rather than being isolated out in the forest with only his parents as company. No matter which decision you make, you’ll always make the other two family members upset, so you best pick the best option for your family as a whole rather than concentrating on individuals.

Every night you whisper the decisions your family should make to a sleeping Dan, who then happens to follow your instructions without realising why he’s doing so.

After making your decision, The Novelist even gives you the chance to compromise with another family member, ensuring that they don’t get too upset about not having their first choice chosen. In the example above, I chose Dan’s method of spending the inheritance money over others as I knew it would benefit the family more in the long run if the book sold well due to the advertising they purchased. I was then given the option to give a compromise to either Linda or Tommy, to which I chose Tommy as he wasn’t doing too well in education and could have done with more attention outside of the house. In doing this, I made Linda upset that we had no money to support her becoming a member of the art community, which in turn put a strain on hers and Dans relationship.

Parallels

I could see great symmetry in The Novelist and my personal life in the previous year since working on Twixel. Every decision that was made would have an impact on another family member, through no fault of my own, something I never thought about in my own world which working on Twixel. I’m sure many would be able to sympathise with this notion, as we’re all quite self centred most of the time, but through playing The Novelist it’s opened my eyes to that selfishness. For the most part I was on Dan’s side throughout the game, being annoyed at Linda for wanting to take time away from Dan’s book, whilst also being annoyed at having a needy child in Tommy. But it soon started to dawn on me that my actions in prioritising Dan were affecting the rest of the family, something I know all too well in Twixel’s development process whilst I shut everyone out of my life and made no sacrifices. It was a thought provoking game, and one which I feel may better me as an individual going forwards for bringing this all to my attention, something I can rarely say for other forms of media.

Being a ghost you can read what the family are thinking, allowing you a more in depth look into everyones feelings on a matter or what happened in the past.

So should you play The Novelist? Absolutely. It’s a fantastic game that puts you in some very awkward moments, pushing your feelings for the family as well as drawing memories from your own life into view. Some may find the 2 hour playtime a little short and the graphics a little mediocre compared to many games on the market these days, but both do the job perfectly of getting the point across that compromises are made in every situation you ever find yourself in, and that nothing is ever as clear cut as you’d expect. I can’t recommend the game enough, and hugely encourage anyone who wishes to feel moved or touched by the media that they play to go out and buy The Novelist now, you won’t be disappointed.

5/5

23/01/2015
Weekly Gaming: Forza Horizon 2 (Xbox One)

It’s hard to explain how much I enjoyed the first Forza Horizon. I’ve never been a fan of the Forza games, as the simulator genre isn’t really my cup of tea. Don’t get me wrong, the Forza games are some of the most accessible racing sims out there, I just find it boring to drive around the same tracks time and time again using the same cars. Shaving seconds off lap times is not my idea of fun, but exploring a whole world that hundreds of artists and programmers created is. So imagine my surprise and glee back when Forza Horizon was announced, a entire world using some of the best graphics on the market? I got it a week before release, and played it so contagiously that I got every single achievement before Forza Horizon was even released. To learn that there was a second game incoming got me excited, but after the horrendous release of the Xbox One, I wasn’t going to buy the console just to play one game. Eventually, Microsoft came to their senses and released quite a few games that I really wanted, and so the Xbox One was mine, and with it, Forza Horizon 2.

The game starts out just the same way as the original, with you starting out driving to an unknown location just because someone on the intercom tells you to. I lacks context or story, but that’s not really the reason you’re here playing Forza Horizon 2. You drive across the beautiful french countryside, and happen across the Horizon festival, where some jerk of a boy racer sets you up with a car, money, and GPS to find your way to all the best stops across the country. It’s a typical set up for a racing game, but one where you don’t get a chance to change anything about your character. Yes, in a game all about being the biggest driving personality at a festival, you don’t have any options on how to change your appearance of the in game avatar, crazy I know, but Playground Games must have seen this as a minor point, one that I beg to differ on.

Going off road is a big theme in Forza Horizon 2, which is crazy considering how the majority of cars are meant to be road cars.

The handling of the cars in Forza Horizon 2 is superb, with every class of car feeling unique and spectacular no matter what the condition of the weather or surface. I found myself leaning more towards the AWD vehicles during my second half of the game, but this was more to overcome the challenges of the different terrains you can go across. Cars range from “Classics” all the way up to super cars, and each and everyone is rendered lovingly, with fantastic graphics showcasing what the Xbox One is capable of in the right hands. Granted the graphics don’t come close to matching the realism of Driveclub (especially since they added weather to the game), but the aesthetics are still gorgeous none-the-less, and take me back to my previous days of playing Test Drive Unlimited for hundreds of hours.

Being an open world game that takes place across two countries, Forza Horizon 2 takes you across different terrains and different landscapes, but surprisingly, they seems to be no variety between France and Italy. Cities look the same, with buildings not varying in any discernible way, and most of the countryside looking identical. Now I know that in real life, the borders of two countries so close together probably wouldn’t be so different, but in a game that takes liberties with the scales of roads or other general mechanics within the game, it seems a bit strange that the developers at playground games didn’t just chuck as much variety in as possible, like The Crew did with it’s scaled down U.S.A.

The on-screen HUD is alright, but sometimes detracts from the beauty of the environment.

The one thing that could be said for Forza Horizon 2’s size is the amount of collectibles spread across the map. I, for one, love collecting everything in games like this, and it was no different with Forza Horizon 2. There’s 150 signs to find and smash across the world, 35 speed cameras which you must beat the speed limit on, and much much more. It was enough to keep me gaming for hours, without thinking about the races at all.

The music is a mixed bag for me, coming from Forza Horizons stunning soundtrack (seriously, I loved the originals soundtrack so much I used it constantly for my workout playlist), I can’t help but feel the Forza Horizon 2 soundtrack is lax in comparison. in the 12+ hours of playing it, I can’t settle on a radio station I like, or even specific songs I look forward to listening to when they come on the radio. It’s a shame, as the music in Forza Horizon was some of the reason I enjoyed the game so damn much.

When it comes to events, you can boil Forza Horizon 2 down to 3 distinct ways to race, there’s cross country races, where you’ll drive for 5-10 minutes against AI either on road or off-road, normal lap races across different sections of the map, and crazy one-off events where you’ll take on a different method of transport, from hot air balloons to trains, nothings too crazy for these special events. All these races will add points to your currently selected championship, which comprises of 4 events. Once 15 championships have been completed, you’ll get into the Horizon Finale, where you’ll then take the Horizon trophy for best driver on the map (Yayyyyy).

The rain effects in Forza Horizon 2 are fantastic, changing the entire feel of vehicles and the look of the environment in an instant.

So, all in all Forza Horizon 2 delivered on being a worthwhile successor to the original, but it had it’s compromises. The lack of customisation for your player (not your car, there’s millions of customisations available for cars) was for me a silly thing considering you’re always in the spotlight, and the repeatability of the driving can get boring, but considering how chocked full of content the game is, it’s easily worth a go, if not only to experience some of the exciting events you’ll encounter or the lovely landscape and weather Playground Games have implemented. Like driving games that are simulators and give you a massive world to roam free in? Play Forza Horizon 2, you won’t regret it.

4/5

16/01/2015
It’s been a while…
Hi all!

First things first, I must apologise for my absence from the site these last few weeks. Since Twixel’s release on the 18th of December, I’ve taken some time out of my busy life to focus on family and friends over the Christmas and New Year period. Whilst it was much deserved after the previous year of working and the previous two years of consistently writing for this site, I couldn’t help but feel guilty for not working. Less of that though, cause I’M BACK!

So, what have I been up to recently? Well, with Twixel’s release of of the way, I’ve been watching a bunch of films, setting new years resolutions, and applying for new jobs (hopefully in the games industry, SHOCK HORROR!). I also have managed to fit in time to play through and complete Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix, as well as Forza Horizon 2. Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix is ready to read at the link below:

http://www.gamrreview.com/review/92255/kingdom-hearts-25-hd-remix-ps3

One thing about this review I want to talk about is the feedback I’ve gotten. Just take a look below:

Granted, a editor can only do so much with what I provide in the first place, but when an entire paragraph about this being my first time playing KH2 is taken out, or sentences are changed to take on a whole new meaning, I can’t help but feel duped. Lesson learnt I suppose, I must make sure to read edits going forwards to ensure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.

Soooo…. since I never wrote on New Years day saying what my New Years Resolution was, I’m going to give you all a hint of them below:
- Watch 52 films I’ve never seen before
- Complete and review 52 games for both Caesoose.com and GamrReview.com
- Read 12 books (one for each month)
- Make a second game for iOS and Android
- Get new job
- Port Twixel to iOS & Android
- Make a presentation for a convention about towing the line of being a journalist and games developer
- Attend 4 games conventions (Including E3)
So there’s most of my new years resolutions, with a few I’m keeping secret, just in case I don’t follow through with them. At the end of the year I’ll revisit these resolutions and recall whether I achieved them or not (I should be able to with no problems).

So, to everyone who frequents my blog, thank you all for visiting, and here’s to a fantastic New Year with lots of opportunities and fun!

Dan
09/01/2015
Weekly Gaming: The Old City: Leviathan (PC)

Hi all,

This week I take a look at postmodsoftworks latest and greatest narrative driven game, The Old City: Leviathan. I was hugely impressed with what I played, and will continue to come back to it time and time again. You can read my review below:

http://www.gamrreview.com/review/92218/the-old-city-leviathan-pc/

As always, thank you all for your continued support, as of next week I’ll have been doing this for 2 years, which is crazy! Here’s to hoping it continues for many more.

-Dan

26/12/2014
Weekly Gaming: NES Ultimate Remix (3DS) Review

Hi all,

So on the day of my games release (which you can buy below here: http://www.twixelgame.com), I still have writing left in me, so this week I bring you NES Ultimate Remix by Nintendo. You can read my review below:

http://www.gamrreview.com/review/92217/ultimate-nes-remix-3ds

I hope you enjoy it, and keep tuned, I’ll be doing a write up on my game soon.

-Dan

19/12/2014
Weekly Gaming: Lumino City (PC)

Hi all,

So this week I took a look at State of Play Game’s Lumino City, a fantastic looking adventure game where you’ll traverse a paper world that the artists created from scratch within an 8ft tall studio.

If you want to read the review I did of the game, click the link below:

http://www.gamrreview.com/review/92191/lumino-city-pc

Until next week!

Dan

12/12/2014
Weekly Gaming: Soul Axiom Preview (PC)

Hi all,

Sorry this is a little late but things have been hectic recently. Twixel is well on course to being released December 18th (after it was delayed by a month), and I’ve been playing many games to review for gamrReview.

This week, I look at Soul Axiom, a game by Wales Interactive, and one that looks set to be an interesting experiment.

To read it, click the link below:

http://www.gamrreview.com/preview/92197/deconstruct-then-reconstruct-the-world-in-soul-axiom

I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for your continued support,

Dan

07/12/2014
Weekly Gaming: Never Alone (PC)

Hi all,

So this week I’ve published a second review over at gamrReview.com, this time for Never Alone. The game was fantastic, seriously pushing the games medium forward in my opinion. You can read my review below:

http://www.gamrreview.com/review/92171/never-alone-pc

This coming weekend I’ll be working on a bunch of bug fixes for Twixel based on feedback testers have given. I’ll definitely get a new trailer done, and will get another preview/review done too.

Thanks for checking by,

Dan

28/11/2014
Weekly Gaming: The Binding of Isaac Rebirth (PSVita)

This week I take a look at a remake of one of my favourite games ever, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

Hi all,

This weeks post (technically last weeks), is a little later than usual as I was in Rome for the whole week for my Birthday, and whilst it was an extremely enjoyable holiday and a much needed rest, I’m back on with all the work that’s needed to be done.

If you’d like to read the review over at GamrReview, click the link below:

http://www.gamrreview.com/review/92162/the-binding-of-isaac-rebirth-psv

Over the coming weeks I’ll be reviewing Never Alone, Soul Axiom and The Lost City all within quick succession, allowing me to concentrate on Twixel to reach my 18/12/2014 release date.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to give me a shout!

Dan

26/11/2014
Weekly Review: Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)

The troublesome twosome are back in Bayonetta 2 following the fantastic original.

It’s weird to think that Bayonetta 2 may have never happened. Given the amount of praise the original got from almost every publication, you’d have expected the game to have sold well, but at ~2 million units sold, it didn’t make as much money as Sega would have hoped. Going from publisher to publisher trying to sell the premise of Bayonetta 2 was unsuccessful for the most part, until Nintendo stepped in at the last minute to fund the making of a second Bayonetta. It was a move that fans appreciated the world over, and I for one thank them after playing the masterpiece that is Bayonetta 2.

The game starts out with Bayonetta Christmas shopping with her partner in crime following her every step. It’s here that something’s amiss, with angels coming down and attacking jets going through the city, prompting Bayonetta to jump into action to put a stop to these “evil” beings, by fighting on top of a jet which is flying through the city. It’s a fantastic start to the game, one that shows how the game means to go on, with over the top action scenes and ludicrously tight fighting. From here the story only gets even more interesting, with Bayonetta’s best friend’s soul being taken to hell, and the balance between good and evil skewing, Bayonetta has no choice but to fly to Japan and it’s Fimbulventr mountain in search of both the gate to heaven, and the gate to hell.

The gun heels are back, giving Bayonetta that unique look and feel she’s always had. These can be change and exchanged for swords, whips and all manner of other weapons.

If you’ve played the original Bayonetta, or any action game like dynasty warriors, God of War etc. then you’ll know the basic mechanics of how the game will play out, with the game partially opening up to allow you freedom around a stage, and then putting you in a small arena to attack a bunch of enemies that spawn from no where. It’s a tried and tested technique, one that feels contrived but does the job of making sure you never go more than 5 minutes without fighting, because at the end of the day, the game lives and dies by its fighting mechanics, and oh boy do the fighting mechanics work well in Bayonetta 2.

Every punch, kick, slash, whip and dodge feels fantastic to pull off, with combos flowing naturally as you jump between enemies, using your arsenal of different combos as you go. The dodging mechanic is easily the most empowering, as every time you successfully pull it off the whole world slows down allowing you to destroy your enemies faster due to something you successfully done. It’s gratifying, and one of the main reasons to keep coming back to the game, as you feel cool for doing it. I’d have many instances where a housemate of friend would pass by, watching the TV explaining they had no idea what was going on whilst I managed to skilfully dodge most incoming attacks. It empowers you like now other game has in recent memory, and for that I thank Sega and Nintendo for producing such a fabulous and entrancing system.

Bayonetta 2’s graphics may at times look crude compared to modern PS4 and XBONE titles, but they’re a far cry from the original, with the game looking colourful and pretty without even trying.

New weapons, abilities and moves are unlocked during the main campaign, allowing you to spec Bayonetta out like never before, with weapons like whips or swords helping to vary up your combat a bit, with each different weapon dealing different combos to help you out against specific enemies. Everyone will find their own groove with Bayonetta 2, and that’s the beauty of its fighting mechanics; they allow everyone to feel as empowered and as badass as Bayonetta acts in the face of peril.

The game is rife with collectibles and unlockables, with every single fight being graded you feel compelled to come back to the game to do better in each and every encounter. The second you get hit instead of skilfully dodging a swing you sigh and groan, as it’s ruined your chance of getting a pure platinum award for this fight. It makes every encounter worthwhile and ties perfectly into the core fighting mechanic that feels so empowering. I managed to get around 75% of the collectibles on my first playthrough, totalling about 13 hours of story and gameplay. Once finishing the campaign I felt compelled to return to some stages to grade better, but was never able to find a few of the secrets I had missed on my first playthrough. Those of you that like to 100% games, be prepared to look up walkthroughs to find everything there is in Bayonetta 2.

The story can be corny at times, with terrible characters falling from buildings to comedic effect and Bayonetta’s cockiness coming across a little close to the knuckle, but it doesn’t detract from the overall fun of the game at all , and if anything had me in stitches at times. Bayonetta 2 does not take itself seriously, and to a degree, neither should you, just sit back, relax, and have a load of fun.

The action sequences that take part in cut scenes are astounding, making for an exciting game both when you’re passively watching it, as well as when you actively take part in it.

It must be said that the soundtrack and graphics were top notch as well, with each battle having extremely catchy music (seriously, just take a look at it, called tomorrow is mine) and the whole game being extremely colourful it was a joy to traverse each level. There were a few platforming sections that felt a bit annoying, but these were limited and far between, ensuring you can stick to kicking enemies asses rather than exploration.

Bayonetta 2 feels like a love letter from Nintendo and Sega to gamers the world over. With the introduction of more serious topics in games, from gritty marines to the explosion and saturation of FPS’s, Bayonetta 2 stands alone as one of the games that looks to be fun, unadulterated, dirty and funny fun. Every mechanic in the game feeds back into each other to keep you entertained and constantly progressing, improving you both as a player of the game, but also ensuring you’re kept engrossed and never bore of any of the games’ key moments. It’s a fantastic game, one which justifies a Wii U’s purchase in itself, and one I wish more gamers would be able to experience. If you own a Wii U, you owe it to yourself to play Bayonetta 2.

5/5

14/11/2014