Buddy & Me: Dream Edition (Wii U)
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Posted on August 17th, 2016 by
What if whenever you go to sleep, you could dream about playing with your best friend, who happens to be a big, furry, yellow floppy-eared smiley dragon thing named Buddy. Well that’s the premise behind Buddy & Me, a new downloadable game for Wii U. I’m not sure what’s so different about the “Dream Edition” in the title, but I imagine at one point this was a mobile game. It may be yet another continuous running 2-D platformer, but it’s certainly the most charming one I’ve ever played, as it combines the appeal of Dr. Seuss-like characters with a bit of My Neighbor Totoro for good measure.
Shephy (iOS, Android)
Posted on August 15th, 2016 by
I’m not sure how you pronounce it, but Shephy plays like one of those indie card games you buy at those fancy gaming and comic book stores. In fact, while looking up pictures for this review, turns out that Shephy IS a real card game. You can even buy it on Amazon. It’s a Solitaire style game where you try to build your flock of sheep up to 1,000 by strategically playing cards that add and take away from your flock. It’s a free-to-play downloadable title on iOS and Android, but reviewed on iPad here.
Tap My Katamari (iOS, Android)
Posted on August 12th, 2016 by
So there’s this new genre of mobile games called “Idle Clickers” or “Endless Clickers,” and all you do is tap on the screen repeatedly to make something happen. Like build a town or whatever. I’ve been getting countless press releases and announcements about these kinds of games, but so far I’ve refused to review them because I think the idea is stupid. But when they made an Endless Clicker based on Katamari Damacy, one of my favorite video game series, I just had to try it, especially since I missed out on the other mobile Katamari offerings. So here you go, a review of a game in a genre I probably won’t write about ever again. Hopefully. Tap My Katamari is available for free on iOS and Android, but reviewed on iPad here.
Frantic Shooter (iOS, Android)
Posted on August 10th, 2016 by
I love it when game titles describe what the game is like. This free-to-play downloadable for iOS and Android (reviewed on iPad here), reminds me of other intense overhead shooters like Robotron, Smash TV, Geometry Wars, or Assault Android Cactus, but with single touch controls.
DungeonBalls (iOS, Android)
Posted on August 8th, 2016 by
So I’ve played games that combine dungeon crawling with trivia games, Minesweeper, and lots of other crazy pairings. But I’ve never played one that combines dungeons with…pachinko? Pachinko is a kind of arcade machine where you drop balls that fall and bounce around pegs and you hope that they land in certain spots at the bottom. It’s very popular in Japan. Anyway, so in Dungeonballs you play as a group of anime styled characters who must venture into dungeons to battle monsters and earn money to rebuild their house that got burned down for some reason. It’s available to download on iOS and Android devices, but reviewed on iPad here.
Lumo (PS4, Vita, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on August 3rd, 2016 by
Back in the 80s, computers like the Sinclair ZX Spectrum were popular for playing games in Europe, and especially the UK. One type of game seen often on these computers were 3-D isometric viewed puzzle platformers. Even well-known game developers like Rare made a few of these. As a US gamer, that’s all I can tell you about that, but some of those types of games made it over to America. Like Solstice on the NES and its SNES sequel Equinox. I never played the sequel, but I did rent the first game a couple of times (mainly because the music was really good). The only other game I can remember like that was Monster Max on the Game Boy. Anyway, if you like those kinds of games, you’re in luck because a new game done in that style is out now and it’s called Lumo. It’s available for most modern consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS Vita here.
LightEaters (iOS)
Posted on August 1st, 2016 by
In this iOS game (reviewed on iPad here), you play as a boy who is afraid of the dark, but he must explore creepy pitch black factories and other dark locations for some reason. Armed with only a flashlight, you must help him gather keys and find the exit in this 2-D platform puzzler adventure, all the while avoiding shadowy creatures who can eat the light away from your flashlight and leave you in the dark!
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Wii U, PS4, PS3, Vita, 3DS, Xbox One, 360, PC, iOS, Google Play)
Posted on July 22nd, 2016 by
A (not so) long time ago in a galaxy (not too) far, far away, LEGO Star Wars came out and pretty much launched the massively successful LEGO movie-based video game line. Now the series is returning to the franchise that started it all with LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, based on the newest film. Join Rey, BB-8 and the rest of the gang as they play out scenes from the movie in LEGO form, which also features some new gameplay modes and sidequests that flesh out the characters and storyline of the Star Wars universe. It’s available for practically every game playing device on the market right now, but reviewed on Wii U here.
Adventures of Mana (Vita, Mobile)
Posted on July 18th, 2016 by
Final Fantasy is Square-Enix’s most popular RPG franchise, but they have another RPG staple that’s pretty well-known as well, called the “Mana” series. These are generally action-RPG titles, similar to Zelda. While most people in the US may be familiar with the Mana games because of Secret of Mana on the Super Nintendo, that wasn’t actually the first game in the Mana series. The first was actually on the old black and white Game Boy, and in the US it was called Final Fantasy Adventure. They probably called it that because of name recognition to help it sell (and it also had moogles and chocobos in it).
Grand Kingdom (PS4, Vita)
Posted on July 13th, 2016 by
Four opposing countries have turned their island continent into a war-torn battlefield, and hired mercenaries protect the land rather than chivalrous knights. You lead a squad of these mercenaries as you take quests from a guild on this continent. Grand Kingdom is a game that mixes strategy, RPG, and action, and it’s available for the PS4 and Vita (reviewed on Vita here).
