Living LIVE 10.26.09: Issue No. 44
Posted by Trace Aber on 10.26.2009
Featuring in-depth reviews of Panzer General, Tower Bloxx Defense, Night of Doom, LOL Runner, Caracophony, Crate Expectations, and Arkedo Series - 02 SWAP!
This week has pretty much been the week of Smackdown Vs Raw 2010. While we'll have a review up on the site shortly, I can say that this is easily the best of the series overall. The create a story mode is great for a first attempt (despite limitations – but let's not forget this is the first console game to allow us to create such content) and the new high-flying finishers are fun to put together. I've only played through HBK's and Orton's Road to Wrestlemania storylines, but much like last year they are a great addition that more than makes up the lackluster career mode. Any wrestling fan will enjoy this game because there's so many little things they changed that really made me enjoy it a lot more than last year's.
Also got a little bit further in Unchartered 2 this week, but I want to address something here. I have a couple of friends who will play games only to collect items. And, in Uncharted 2, there are 100 treasures to look for and find. These don't provide much use to the game other than collecting money and trophies, and when you're playing on somebody else's PS3 (like they were), I can't really see the point of spending all of your time playing looking for blinking white lights. Yet my two friends spent seven and a half hours looking for treasure in the first three chapters. Honestly, there is absolutely no excuse for this. I mean, for one, it should never take that long to find the treasures. And, two, just give up already. It's so boring to watch people jump around looking for something that isn't there. Don't get me wrong – I plan to collect every treasure. But I'm not spending my entire day doing it. Ok, end of rant.
Panzer General (800MP)
Everyone knows a little about War World 2. We all know who was in it, that Germany invaded Poland, the Pearl Harbor attacks, the atomic bomb, and that millions of people died. But, what most people didn't know is that all of the major decisions of the war could have easily been solved by playing a simple card game known as Panzer General. Panzer General is a virtual WWII board game played with a pack of 240 possible action cards. While not my personal cup of tea, those who are into card games (or strategy games) are going to find a whole lot to love about this new arcade title.
Featuring solo local player or online multiplayer (2 players only), each game begins with a board and the enemies facing one another. From there, each player takes turns moving their units across the map while attempting to defeat the enemy army. You'll be able to secure land and find certain tiles that give you special abilities or attack increases while also planning your strategy carefully. Panzer General is a pretty deep game that will have you thinking on your feet a lot. One problem with the game that will turn off a lot of people is the pacing. While most other actions are pretty quick, battles can take quite a while but also get pretty intense. When you decide to attack you'll have to place down cards, consider those around you (since they will help/hurt you), discard to further the stat increases, and then roll a die. That's the end of the battle…assuming you killed your enemy. If you didn't, well, they get a turn to do all of that all over again. Fans of card-based strategy games will love it while those who aren't so keen on the genre will probably hate it. Still, there is a lot of depth going on here.
While the gameplay is certainly deep, developers Petroglyph Games did not spend too much time on the other aspects of the game. The graphics and color scheme used are dull and boring and don't really incite much reaction in the experience, and the sound is passable at best. Explosions and animations just don't seem right and the death animations are non-existent. Still, people who are purchasing this game know what they're getting into and aren't buying it for the animations – they want the in-depth card game. And, if that's what you're looking for, this is the way to go. Rating: 7.5
Tower Bloxx Defense (800MP)
A quick internet search of "Tower Bloxx Defense" brings up a slew of similar games, all of which are free online. Granted, they may not be presented in HD or have "revolutionary social scoring," but they're free and pretty much the exact same game. Just thought I should throw that out there right away, because it pretty much defeats the purpose of this version existing. But, regardless, I know people will still buy this game and would rather spend money on it to have the game on their console, so that's the purpose of this review.
Tower Bloxx Defense has five modes of play, though all of them pretty much involves the same premise. You live in an alternative universe where building codes are thrown out the window and all you need in a crane and some oddly shaped pieces and you're an architect AND construction worker. Oh, and people will literally fly into your in-progress development and nobody will seem to mind. Yes, it's a strange world but a relatively fun one at that. The game is pretty simple – a piece of the tower that you're building is swaying back and forth and you are supposed to drop it on top of your last previously laid piece. You get combos if you match them perfectly but as long as you don't completely miss the tower should stand. If you happen to miss, the piece falls off and probably kills any civilians below. Way to go, construction man.
Some of the absolute worst construction I have ever seen
As mentioned previously, the game has five different game types. Quick Game, Time Attack, and Co-Op all sound exactly how they play and there's not much worth going into. In Build City mode you'll be building four distracts in the most optimal fashion and obtaining as many people as you possibly can. In this mode there are a variety of towers (green, red, blue etc) that you can place in the city, though you need to be careful just where you place them. Red towers need to be next to a blue towers while yellow towers need to be next to red, blue and green towers. So, as you can see, there's some strategy involved in building these districts if you truly want to get the highest population possible. One helpful hint is that the above listed placement rules are no longer enforced once you build the tower, meaning you can get rid of those other towers you had to build to build the big one. The other mode worth mentioning is Battle, where players attempt to be the first to build a tower to a certain height. Luckily, there are both offensive and defense power-ups to use during battle and can decide which ones are activated for each battle. Some of the power-ups allow you to control crane speed, avoid being affected by other's power-ups, and even cause an earthquake. Unfortunately, I believe multiplayer support is for local only, which really huts the usage of the mode.
All in all, Tower Bloxx Defense may be the most complete TBD game to date. And it's even pretty fun to play in small doses and with some friends it's probably a blast. But, see, the problem is that this game can be found for free online and with pretty much the same features. Sure, maybe you can't do this or that, but the idea of dropping blocks (or bloxx) in a tower formation is still there – for free. Save your 800MP for something that isn't free. Rating: 6.5
As you ponder whether or not to spend 800MP for something you can get free online, check out some of the great columns posted on 411Games in the last week…
Todd Vote and Sean Garmer discuss DSi updates, iPhone gaming are more in this week's edition of Fact or Fiction
Chris Lansdell dwells on some of the flaws of Prototype and how it can be improved in Working Title
Vote, Garmer, Salmela, and Oracheski all join in on Four Player Co-Op
Lee Price discusses the classic Star Fox in Retronomicon
Rod Oracheski discusses franchises in gaming in this week's Achievment Unlocked
In Week 34 the 411Games staff discusses their favorite villains in 411 Games Top Five
Jordan Williams shows appreciation for the top wussies in video game history in Working Title
Finally, Derek Robbins closes things out with his top ten Mario characters in this week's 10th Hour
Now that you've caught up with the last week, let's check out what's going on with Indie games this week.
Night of Doom (80MP)
Night of Doom is one of the many Halloween-themed Indie games being released this week, but the one thing that sets it apart from the other games is that it's a first person shooter with some rudimentary 3D graphics. Well, and it's absolutely horrific.
Featuring three levels (only the Graveyard was available in the trial version), Night of Doom has you shooting zombie-skeleton things and smaller zombie-skeleton things for ten minutes, which apparently is how long one Night of Doom lasts. The Graveyard was nothing more than a large open area surrounded by walls with enemies that pop up out of the ground. Two shots (of your infinite ammo) kills the normal sized enemies while the smaller guys only take one shot. Your gun thankfully has seemingly infinite range, so you don't have to worry about letting these guys get too close to your precious brains. You can pick up some grenades, though I'm not entirely sure what type of explosive they are. Everything disappears into a cloud of green smoke, so whatever type of grenades they're using it's pretty damn effective. You can also get a time powerup which takes time away from the clock, meaning the goal of this game is to play as little as possible (keep collecting those clocks!).
What the hell is that?
The sound is just God-awful. You'll hear gunshots, zombies chanting ‘brains,' a little girl laughing, and a little girl singing. And this goes on and on and on and on for the entire time. You almost feel like dying after a few minutes of this game, so perhaps it truly is the Night of Doom. Rating: 2.0
LOL Runner (80MP)
After having played through the entire trial version of LOL Runner, all I can really say is that this game is pretty damn weird. Featuring crazy techno music, third grade drawing abilities, and a few pop culture references thrown in (including a zombie who likes turtles), LOL Runner may not exactly be worth purchasing but is worth checking out at the very least.
Ninja's are always running away from their problems
LOL Runner has you racing against ten different runners who range from beans (who are tired of people assuming they all have high amounts of protein) to ninjas (who killed your family) to a random kid on the street (who wants to randomly race). I didn't really notice any difference when competing against them as far as speed and ability goes, so I think it's mostly for laughs (of the out loud variety. Damn, I'm clever). You run by pressing a series of buttons that appear and if you mess up you're sent back one step. There are sixteen levels you'll be running through over the course of five different tracks (from the field to space), though once again these are solely for look and do not effect overall gameplay. There is also a multiplayer mode which allows you to customize the game quite a bit. You can choose the length of the race, the type of buttons you have to press, characters and track selection.
While LOL Runner is not the most in-depth game ever released, it's still a fun diversion that isn't going to set you back any points. The dialogue exchanged between you and the challenger are typically humorous and the techno music fits perfectly with the whole atmosphere of the game. If you're into button response games, this is definitely one worth picking up. Rating: 6.5
Carcophony (400MP)
There are a lot of puzzle games on both the arcade and indie game platforms for the Xbox 360. And some of them are good while others are…well, not so good. Since I began writing Living LIVE almost a year ago, I have played quite a few puzzle games that generally fall into these categories. When I first started playing Carcophony I assumed it would fall under the "not so good" category. After spending some time with it, however, I can assure you that Carcophony may be one of the best puzzle games on the indie games channel.
The main idea of Carcophony is controlling the traffic on some very busy streets. The full game features five maps that increase in complexity with each level. At each junction there is a circle that is divided into four parts – the part that is green means cars facing that direction may pass while the non-green parts will have to wait. By determining which path is open, you control traffic. You will encounter a variety of colors of cars that all need to get to their specific "base," which is typically somewhere else on the map than where they came from. At first, this sounds pretty easy. But, the moment you feel comfortable you'll notice that you have a queue – meaning there are a bunch of cars waiting to get home. If you can't sort out that queue before time runs up – you lose. Trust me, it's much more difficult than it sounds. You'll also have to let ambulances get free reign for a bonus…it all gets very confusing very quickly.
I mean, VERY confusing.
The music takes a more serious tone and I found actually helps me concentrate a bit better. Graphically, the game isn't much but you are able to distinguish everything and I think if the graphics were 3D it would get far too confusing. This is a great puzzle game that you should definitely check out, even if 400MP is kind of pricey for an Indie game. Rating: 8.0
Crate Expectations (240MP)
Crate Expectations asks one simple question; "How much awesome could there be in a bunch of giant crates?" Unfortunately, it turns out not a whole lot of fun can be found in a bunch of giant crates, but, hey, that's the risk of asking such philosophical questions. Which is a shame because the presentation of the entire product looks great – it's just the premise of the game isn't the most exciting.
Somehow you've been asked with one of the weirdest jobs in the world – slide a bunch of blue colored crates down some ice and deliver the quota before the other crate sliders (of a separate color) finish the task first. Honestly, I can't imagine what the interview process for that job is like. Anyways, in the level I played we had a quota of seven crates to move down in this turn-based game. In each turn you have the option to create a crate, move a crate, or lay down a piece of ice. Create a crate puts you in the game, essentially. When you move the crate it will slide until it hits something, which is where the pieces of ice can come in handy (though you can also hit things such as trees or even other crates). You can have multiple crates at the same time, though you only have a limited number of moves (and time to complete them in). You go through this process until you or the AI get to the other side of the board and deliver the crates to them.
I have no idea how to get this view in the actual game
My biggest problem with the game was the inability to get a full look of the map at any one point. You can move the camera around and spend a lot of time attempting to figure out what's coming ahead of you, but it's all pretty moot to be honest. You're just going to have to guess to where you have to go, which makes planning any sort of a strategy hard. In addition, the game just isn't too terribly fun. It looks great and everything works out how it's supposed to for the most part, but, it just isn't fun. Rating: 6.0
Arkedo Series – 02 SWAP! (240MP)
SWAP is part 2 in the Arkedo series (part one being the highly popular JUMP!). Basically, from what info I've gathered on developers Arkedo is that they want to make a new game roughly every month with the goal focusing on simple but fun games that everyone will enjoy. Honestly, not a bad strategy when you think about it, which I'm sure you all did. While the last game was a platformer featuring giant Iron crabs, SWAP is a puzzle game in which you help King Kat get his castle back.
And when you do get his castle back, King Kat does a little dance
It's a typical match four type game with more blocks being added as time progresses with the ultimate goal being to eliminate all blocks and advance to the next level. Following the simple dual analog control scheme, you move with the left stick and swap out blocks with the right stick. You can get explosions which will take out a few extra blocks or coins to increase your points. The swapping may be a little too sensitive for some people (ie my girlfriend), but I personally didn't notice any problems with it. Overall, it's a fun and simple puzzle game that should be enjoyable for any fan of the puzzle genre. Rating: 7.0
Review Round Up Panzer General: 7.5 [Try] Tower Bloxx Defense: 6.5 [Skip] Night of Doom: 2.0 [Skip] LOL Runner: 6.5 [Try] Carcophony: 8.0 [Buy] Crate Expectations: 6.0 [Skip] Arkedo Series - 02 SWAP!: 7.0 [Buy]
Check back next week as I review the newest arcade and indie games and let you know what's worth buying, trying, and skipping. Also, don't forget to bookmark 411Mania! And a note to all of the Indie Game developers out there – if you have an upcoming title that's going to be released soon drop me a line at traceaber@gmail.com and let me know. I'll write a full review of your game to be posted on 411Mania.com, which is a great way to get your game promoted!
