hog puzzle beta game
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Half-Life
Developer: Half-life
Publisher: Sierra Entertainment
If you've never heard of Half-life then chances are you stumbled onto this website by mistake or you're reading this review twenty years after it's been written and we live in a bleak, dark, grim world where people don't know what Half-life is, I say this because EVERY gamer, even those that aren't fond of the FPS genre have at least heard of this series.
You play as a Gordon Freeman, a silent theoretical physicist employed in a massive Area 51-like secret research installation hidden in the Nevada desert, while conducting an experiment, he unwillingly creates a dimensional portal, which results in the installation being overrun by aggressive alien creatures.
Okay, so the plot isn't anything noteworthy, though, in this regard Half-life separated itself from the pack by conveying it to you without interrupting the gameplay, meaning there are no cutscenes or FMVs, it's all told through in-game conversations, this may not sound like much now, but back then, games often shipped with two or more discs due to all of the previously mentioned videos.
The gameplay is still very fun, you have the usual set of weapons such as the handgun, shotgun and grenades, but you also get some alien weapons like the snark which will eat the flesh off your enemies, speaking of which, I love the enemy variety when fighting the aliens, there's several races, big and small all of them with different abilities, which really help spice up the gameplay, you'll also find yourself facing human soldiers, but I found them rather boring, they all feel the same and they're not very smart, unfortunately, halfway through the game, you'll be seeing more and more of them.
I like how there aren't any 'levels', at least not in the strict sense, instead, you're continually travelling through this huge research compound as the layouts gradually change, a lot of attention was given to details, but I felt it was bit inconsistent at times, for example, at the start of the game you get to goof off and mess with the alarms or ruin someone's microwave oven meal, but towards the end of the game's midpoint you just sort of loose this interactivity. Along the way you'll also meet fellow scientist and security guards, these will follow you if you ask them, the guards will help you in a fight whereas the cowardly scientists will heal you, but again, after a certain point friendly NPCs become more and more uncommon.
Overall Half-Life is still a great game and hasn't aged as much as I feared, the alien A.I. isn't the best but that's understandable as they tend to act like mindless beasts, it's when fighting humans that these faults become more apparent. I also felt that towards the end of the game it loses some focus, but nothing too serious.
Pros:
- Gameplay holds up remarkably well for the most part
- Good use of alien enemy variety
- Exploring the Black Mesa research facility is a blast
- For the most part, the game has a nice attention to detail
- Leading Guards and scientists to safety/danger is pretty fun
- Good use of alien enemy variety
- Exploring the Black Mesa research facility is a blast
- For the most part, the game has a nice attention to detail
- Leading Guards and scientists to safety/danger is pretty fun
Cons:
- Human enemies aren't very fun or engaging, there's also too much of a focus on them in some areas
- Attention to detail is a bit inconsistent
Final Grade: A-
The game comes in a large orange box (so that's where they got idea for the sequel) with a lambda symbol on it, I... am neutral about this box art, it's not catchy but it does motivate me enough to want to read the back of the box, of course it could just as well produce the opposite effect and get the gamer to ignore it all together.
Inside you'll find the game, a manual and a Sierra games 'Catalogue', the manual starts out promisingly enough with a letter of employment from the Black Mesa research facility to Gordon Freeman, it makes for an interesting, if short, read, unfortunately that's the only interesting aspect of the manual, the rest are just basic game instructions, each page has a different concept art as a background, but most of these are obscured by said instructions, making it feel like more of a tease.
The Sierra 'Catalogue' (not sure why it's spelled like that) is actually pretty interesting, it advertises both famous and unknown PC games, some of which, like (namely Warcraft Adventures) never even saw the light of day, interestingly enough, the advertisement for Half-life seems to be using screenshots from the Beta.
Final Grade: B-
Phantasmat Crucible Peak Collectors
A disastrous avalanche... an evacuation... and mysterious residents who turn cold right before your eyes... literally! In this sequel to the classic hidden-object puzzle adventure game, you’ll find secrets buried under an avalanche of snow in Phantasmat: Crucible Peak.
You planned for years to ski the Alps, but your dream vacation turns into a nightmare when you stumble upon a resort town, lost five years ago in an avalanche. Uncover the mystery of what happened here. Did anyone ever really survive?
More secrets in the bonus game to uncover
Re-playable mini-games and cut scenes
Downloadable soundtrack
Wallpapers, screensavers and concept art
Integrated Strategy Guide
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Towers of Oz
Help Timothy gain his footing in the wondrous 3D world of Oz and then guide him as he battles wooden soldiers, saber-toothed tigers and giant frogs in intense tactical battles. Unlock new attacks, use strategy to eliminate foes and defend your towers to the last brick! With simple point-and-click gameplay, eye-popping graphics and a storyline that will have you in stitches,
Tower of Oz offers hours of fun for the whole family!
30 Missions
3D Graphics
Your Favorite Oz Characters
Battleship
It’s a hit! The all-time favorite naval battle game is reloaded for PC and Mac! Launch strikes with mouse-driven precision as you destroy enemies in Classic mode or Salvo mode. Witness 3-D guns blazing and smoke-billowing carriers sinking to their doom. Use strategic and tactical skills to earn Super Weapons, and improve your rank from Seaman all the way to fully fledged Admiral. Achieve total victory at sea!
Hotseat play
5-shots per turn in Salvo mode
Super-weapons
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
X-Men: The Arcade Game
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Played on: XBLA
Cons:
Publisher: Konami
Played on: XBLA
After playing through the Japanese Rom on Xbox Live Arcade I have to say, it's really disappointing when going back to the Western version, the main reason being: there are no power or health pick-ups.
I'm guessing Konami made this strategic decision so they could get the user to pump more quarters into the machine, but honestly, this just feels like a very cheap and manipulative way to increase the game's difficulty, not to mention it severely limits the only real difference of each playable character.
Other than that it's still the same game, the graphics and sound are still pretty good and the enemy variety prevents it from being too repetitive, but the boss fights aren't quite as fun when you're not given any means to recover health or special attacks.
In theory, the game may only cost a quarter, but honestly, it just might be cheaper to buy this for the PS3 or Xbox 360.
Pros:
- Playing with five other people is very fun... if a bit too chaotic
- Great 2D graphics for the time and a pretty catchy soundtrack
- Hilariously bad voice acting coupled with poor 'Engrish' writing
- It still has TWO different actors saying the 'Welcome to die!' line
- Great 2D graphics for the time and a pretty catchy soundtrack
- Hilariously bad voice acting coupled with poor 'Engrish' writing
- It still has TWO different actors saying the 'Welcome to die!' line
Cons:
- Singleplayer gets pretty old
- You can easily finish the game in under 30 minutes
- Lack of health and power pickups will often result in cheap deaths
Final Grade: C
- Lack of health and power pickups will often result in cheap deaths
Final Grade: C
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