Machinarium – Review

Machinarium is a point and click adventure unlike any I’ve played before. Firstly there is the look of it which is like a gorgeous graphic novel come to life. Second is the dialogue, or total lack of it. Nobody speaks other than via weird noises and you instead get what they are saying via little word balloons which appear over their heads. Well, I say word balloons, there are no words in them, just funky little scribbled animations from which you get the whole backstory of the game and are never left unsure as to what your goal should be. Also the music is really atmospheric and well done and I had the weird experience of stopping the game and having my wife in the next room ask why I’d turned off the cd as she was enjoying listening to it as background while she was reading.

If you’ve played a point and click adventure before you know the usual drill of “Find object A to use in Location B with item C” and this game does have that. It also has some really clever little logic puzzles and even some arcade games. For example in order to get a battery you need you first have to get an arcade token, take this to the arcade, power up the space invaders game using a bicycle powered generator and then get the high score in order to win a cash prize. This combination of traditional adventure game, plus arcade, plus puzzle really helps keep your interest.

It’s a bit hard to properly gauge the difficulty of this game as every location you visit has two help buttons. The first, shown as a small lightbulb in the corner gives you a visual clue of what your overall objective should be. The second which is a book, takes you to a mini game which if you complete gives you a comic book page with a full step by step of everything you need to do at that location. Yes, this is brilliant if you get totally stuck and frustrated, but if like me you get frustrated very quickly this can allow you to get more help than you probably should and can make for a much shorter gameplay experience.

At a cost of £12.50 I got three evenings worth of play, which would probably have been more were I less inclined to use the help. That said, the beautiful graphics and gorgeous music did make for an enjoyable visit to this weird little world and while I would have liked it to have gone on a little longer I didn’t feel cheated at all.

But don’t take my word for it. Go here : http://machinarium.net/demo/ and play the start of the game online for free.

GS Reviewer: Richard McAuliffe

BACK ON THE BATTLEFIELD – OPERATION FLASHPOINT®: DRAGON RISING™ GOES GOLD

This game as really flew under the rader for me but I’m really starting to like the look of it. I’m also on a real mutliplayer co-op vibe at the moment so it wil good to see how well this game handles that.

BACK ON THE BATTLEFIELD – OPERATION FLASHPOINT®: DRAGON RISING™ GOES GOLD, FIRE TEAMS ENGAGE FROM OCTOBER 6th.

Explosive new gameplay video at www.flashpointgame.com reveals ‘Eagle Offense’ mission’s deadly airfield assault

Thursday 24th September/… Set to deliver an intense, immersive and visceral military sandbox gaming experience, Codemasters today announced that Operation Flashpoint®: Dragon Rising™ has gone gold and will be available from October 6th (US) / 8th (PAL) / 9th (UK) for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC.

Gamers can today see the most explosive moments taken from Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising’s ‘Eagle Offense’ mission in a new preview video, now showing at www.flashpointgame.com. The trailer reveals how a strategically vital airfield is turned into a bloody, chaotic battleground as a USMC force, accompanied by aerial support, assaults dug in PLA positions.

The violence, ferocity and carnage of war is brought to life as troops on both sides attack in authentic formations, use cover realistically and engage in ranged, close-quarters and vehicular combat. USMC forces fight through the airfield’s perimeter before infiltrating the Control Tower, eliminating enemy targets with rapid, ruthless aggression. The Marines then assume defensive positions in readiness for the PLA counter-attack. A Chinese WZ-10 attack helicopter is spectacularly blown out of the sky by a shoulder-launched surface to air missile, before the conflict culminates with PLA armour advancing across a battlefield surrounded by mortar fire and strewn with burning wreckage. This flashpoint is still white hot…

Powered by the award-winning EGO™ Game Technology Engine, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising will set the standard for accessible, authentic war gaming. Preview the intensity of modern conflict in the new ‘Eagle Offense’ mission video, now showing at www.flashpointgame.com. Gamers can also receive the latest updates as they happen by signing up to Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/flashpointgame or follow developments straight from the studio on Twitter http://twitter.com/flashpointgame.

GS Reporter: Nuge

Indy Review : I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1

How does one Review an Indy game like this.  It’s hard.  IMAGWZ1I is a brilliant take on the Dual Stick Shooter genre (Smash TV)  The fact is that yes, He made a game with zombies in it.  You run around with the left stick and aim with the right stick.  The power-ups are relatively generic with the usual spread shot, lasers, flame thrower, machine gun, shotgun, etc. and if I were to review it just on that I probably wouldn’t consider it a great game.  What makes it a great game is the brilliant use of music.

The game starts with a catchy jingle about a guy who made a game with zombies in it that only costs a dollar.  As the music changes the gameplay changes.  The chorus hits and that slow wave of zombies suddenly becomes a ton of them.  The music slows a bit and suddenly Jellies that explode into multiple little jellies start coming at you, then it speeds up a bit and the notes stretch and centipedes start coming out.  After a while the chorus and the zombies pick back up and then once again the music shift to a very atmospheric and mellow vibe.  And suddenly you are playing Asteroids.  Then of course the music goes back to the chorus for a bit and we get back to the zombies.  At this point I’m wondering what can happen and the music goes techy a bit and suddenly it’s almost Geometry Wars with rhombusi, (rhombi, rhombuses?) of murdering death.  After this instead of going back to the zombies things just go completely insane as everything and more is thrown at you in an epic crescendo on pain and death.  Of course finally we get back to the main theme and the song ends.  When the song ends, it’s game over.  A mere 15 or so minutes after you started this epic adventure of zombie destruction.

Seriously.  I don’t talk much about indy games but if you buy one make sure it’s this.  What would have been a generic game uses perfect design choices to go from what should be boring to an epic thing of beauty.  Plus, it’s only a dollar.  Go hit the Indy games section and buy this bad boy NOW!

Stars (out of 5) - 4 Stars.  I have to take away one because of the uselessness of the laser.  But other than that it’s a great game and well worth the 80 Microsoft Magic Monies.

Dry Slaps (Out of 5) - none.  it really is a great game.  I would have payed $5 for this.

Penny Arcade Expo 2009 Quick impressions and meaningless awards!

As I sit here recovering from what has now become a horrendous case of con SARS I sit down to write what will be the first of many bits of previews and impressions from the awesomeness that was….

And there was a lot to cover.  And thus we must begin with the best and the worst stuff from the floor of PAX ‘09.

Review – Batman : Arkham Asylum : XBOX360

If I wanted to I could probably write my entire review as just one single acronym.  What would that acronym be?  GOTY.  Oddly enough I’m not really exaggerating.  The game is simply stunning.  It’s got it’s flaws but it is more fun than anything else I’ve played this year.  It’s not a superhero game, nor is it a game.  It’s a Batman simulator.  I didn’t feel like I was playing as Batman.  I felt like I was Batman.  I could go on and on talking about why I loved the game but instead I’ll just start to get into the role of explaining.  

Wolverine web games and Extended Clip!

Check out this latest press release we’ve just been sent regarding some viral games and other news from the world of the upcoming X-men Origins: Wolverine.

Street Fighter IV Review

Developer: Capcom

Formats: Xbox 360 (reviewed), Playstation 3

There are a generation of gamers with thumbs hardened to leather on SNES d-pads, for whom the mixed screams of “Hadouken!” “Sonic Boom!” and “Tiger! Uppercut!” are sweet, sweet music and the thought of a warm, slightly sweaty joypad being handed to you triggers the happy urge to fight!

Rondo Ballots Now Out For Voting.

There they are in their evil glory.

The Rondos, an award that recognizes achievements in the Horror and Fantasy community. They not only hand out these awards to best movie, book, TV show, etc., but they also recognize the achievements in dvd restoration and archiving of the history of the fantastic.

The award and it’s likeness is named after Rondo Hatton. He was a handsome actor who was struck with Acromegaly, an illness that distorts limbs and facial features. He later did roles in horror films and serials.

The Rondos is an open ballot award. Anyone can vote. Just hit their website at http://www.rondoaward.com/ , copy the ballot to an email, fill it out and send it to taraco@aol.com .

Ballots end and are counted March 28th.

Lord of the Rings Conquest – Xbox 360

What’s it about?

Star Wars Battlefront 2 in Middle Earth with more Hack n Slash. The game sees the player battle through various set-pieces from the world of Peter Jackson’s vision of Lord of the Rings, fighting for either the cause of good or evil.

Dead Space Game Review

Publisher: EA

Developer: EA Redwood Shores

Format: Xbox 360, PS3, Microsoft Windows

Age Rating: 18+ (PEGI) M (ESRB)

For a while I wasn’t sure I could recommend Dead Space. Don’t get me wrong, It is brilliant at what it does, but what it does is scare the hell out of me, my first couple of hours of play were spent frantically seeking the next save point so I could turn the damn thing off, have a nice cup of tea and calm down a bit.