Gamer's Day

Caverns of Hammerfest

2008-01-17T02:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm still alive, although this blog particularly isn't. I don't want to say "This blog's not dead, I'll be updating more", because *every time* I've seen that happen on other sites, it was the last update or the next-to-last update. So...this blog's not really dead, but not particularly alive either. If it gets updated, it gets updated, and that's that. :P

Anyhow, review time!

System: PC / Adobe Flash
Genre: Arcade-style adventure
Developer: Motion Twin
Publisher: Motion Twin

Storyline
It was a regular old day in the land of fruits and vegetables. The bananas were playing, and the tomatoes were building a happy snowman. However, this was disrupted when the evil Tuber the Sorcerer flew in and started capturing and mind-controlling everyone! Well, for some reason, in the same manner as Frosty the Snowman, the snowman sitting there -- who, by the way, Tuber, evil that he is, stole its carrot nose -- came to life, in the intention of freeing the brainwashed foods...and getting his nose back. And so, down he treks into the deep Caverns of Hammerfest...

Gameplay
If you've ever played Bubble Bobble or Snow Bros., you should enjoy this one. You'll start on a training course, to learn the basic controls, and soon after, the goal of the game: throw all enemies, in this case, the brainwashed baddies, into the chasm below by ice-bombing them in such a way that they slide off the platforms and drop down.

In regular gameplay, you'll be doing this as well as collecting items that appear on the field. Some items are just for point bonuses, and others will have special effects, which may prove either helpful or detrimental to your progress. Once all enemies are cleared, it is then safe to drop down yourself, as the next level lies below.

At first, it's just another one of those games that you'd see in the arcade. Then it turns into something else, and becomes *real* addictive. Keep reading.

Sound and music
Seeing as we're talking in Flash, and they want to try to keep the game accessible to all, this part of it is fairly limited. The music isn't really much to write home about, but it's good and arcade-y. Auditively, the sound is what really gets you going on what's going on and what does what. There are really just a handful of different sound effects, but they certainly do their job.

Graphics
The graphics are quite well immersive for this genre. You have the happy outside world to begin with, which quickly gets replaced with the slightly less happy top levels, which slowly become darker and gloomier as you go down. The sprite colours are quite vibrant, and special effects are fairly impressive, considering the fact that this is all in Flash.

Intricacies
One slight drawback is that, unlike many of the Flash games out there, this one is not quite 100% free. You start with five free playthroughs, with the chance to pick up another five in mid-game. However, after that, unless you reset your account to get another five games (destroying all your progress in the process), that's about it. Fortunately, one single payment of €5 (about $7.70 nowadays) will get you 25 playthroughs (31 if you complete a certain quest), plus four more awarded every Monday night as long as your account exists. Buying more, in certain amounts, will result in more free plays.

Now, this is the fun part. As you play, the items you collect are counted up in two places. First, most items count toward one or more quests; completing a quest results in something good happening, including unlocking more items for your collection in-game, starting with additional lives, or in some few cases, earning additional playthroughs. They are also counted in the Fridge; collecting so many of one particular item (usually 10, except for super-rare or unique items) will unlock its presence in the Fridge for all to see.

Furthermore, all scores are entered into a four-level pantheon. (A high score list, if you will.) Every Tuesday, the list is reset, and the top x number of players are bumped up to the superior level. The topmost player on the list -- the #1 spot of the top level -- is inducted into the Hall of Fame, where they get the chance to get a message out to the world, as well as receive seven free playthroughs per week forever, in addition to whatever they're already getting.

Caveat emptor: this game was made by a French development group, and currently has French, Spanish, and English versions. The English one only, sadly, is rather underserved; though it is fully functional, it suffers of Regional Cheapout syndrome -- many features found in the other two versions are not found in this one, and nobody really knows when (or if) the English version will be brought up to code. If you sign up to one and spend money on it, you won't be able to switch to another and expect to keep your account as it is.

So, in conclusion...
Grade as an arcade game: 9/10
General Grade: 8.5/10

If you do wish to sign up to this game, tell 'em KewlioMZX sent you...I won't deny the fact that this gives me a small bonus, though I'm not sure exactly what yet :P Using the link at the top of the article has the same effect.

Tetris DS

2006-04-30T16:16:00.000-03:00

System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

Storyline
Um...storyline? Dude, this is Tetris. I dunno...evil alien blocks from outer space are falling, and they disintegrate if you get a row of 10 squares together? You tell me.

Gameplay
Gameplay in this game is excellent... There are six different modes to play, one for each day of the week (except Sunday...but Sunday doesn't count :P).

In the multi-themed Standard mode, you play classic vanilla Tetris, with the exception of the moving scenery at the top of the screen that tries to distract you. (And sometimes succeeds :P)

In the DK-themed Push, two players play on the same field, one downward and one upward. Clearing multiple lines on the top will nudge the field down, and vice versa. The goal is to make the other player break their "Danger" line, and thus, lose.

In the Balloon Fight-themed Touch, you face a tower of tetriminoes, at the top of which is the hero from Balloon Fight. Your goal is to get his cage to the lowest level to free him; to do so, you move the tetriminoes around and make lines.

In the Yoshi Cookie-themed Puzzle, you are faced with a pre-built field, and a selection of tetriminoes. Your goal is to use those tetriminoes, in any order and any rotation, to clear the field.

In the Zelda-themed Mission, you are given a mission to complete in a limited amount of time. They get harder for every other completed mission. If you succeed, you get a new mission. If you fail, you're hit with five garbage lines, and start a new mission.

Finally, in the Metroid-themed Catch, you control a block mass and have to catch falling tetriminoes with it. The goal is to create 4x4 chunks; if you do this, they will explode. You lose energy by missing tetriminoes, hitting them while your block mass is rotating, or being hit by a falling metroid. Lose all energy, and it's game over.

There is also a multiplayer option for both standard and WiFi methods. Unfortunately, since I haven't had the chance to try them, I can't really talk much about them.

Sound and music
The music in this game is very reminiscent of the old NES days, *slightly* remixed and modernized. Very pleasant to listen to, and I think it fits the mood of the game. Who ever thought you'd be playing Tetris to the theme of Mario? :P

The sound effects are good and...uh, Tetris-y. Um...yeah :P

Graphics
The graphics are all nice and retro. Simple-looking Tetris tetriminoes, and the theme graphics are untouched from their original NES look and feel. They're old, yet new, and that's the way I likes them.

Intricacies
Now, this is the part they could've worked on. There's not a hell of a lot to discover in this game. The biggest thing you can do in this game is to raise your Tetris Points, which is basically an evaluation system for how good you are in the game (for instance, very high High Scores, many puzzles completed, etc.).

All I've really unlocked in the game is an endless option for Standard mode (otherwise, the game stops once you clear level 20). Unlockable features would have made the game even more addictive...though the thought of Tetris should make us all happy anyway :P

So, in conclusion...
Grade as a puzzle game: 8.7/10
General Grade: 8.2/10

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

2005-12-04T23:09:00.000-04:00

System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Action
Developer: Konami

Storyline
After his adventure through Castlevania which revealed to him that he holds the power of the Dark Lord, Soma Cruz thought that his troubles were over. However, one year later, Celia Fortner presents herself as leader of a mysterious cult which is bent on reviving the Dark Lord within Soma. Dark Lord or not, he decides to stop this evil plot before they finally release his power.

Gameplay
The rules of this game are very similar to the GBA game "Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow", in which you control Soma through the map, battling enemies and gaining dominance over their souls.

The game is split up into several areas, each with its own environment and monsters. This time, however, we have the touch screen. One of its uses is to break some surfaces after gaining the proper ability for it. Another is the Magic Seal system; bosses in this game are, by the game's terms, granted infinite energy. Therefore, Soma must weaken them first, then cast a Magic Seal to banish them and dominate their soul.

Sound and music
It's like every other Castlevania game. The sounds are violent, and the music is dark and mysterious. And that's the way we likes it!

The sound track for this game is just nice and dark. Great music, and great sounds. Sometimes, it's nice to turn off the sounds and voice to listen to the music, or turn off the music to listen to just the sounds and voice. I just find it neat that there's an option just for voice.

Graphics
It's hard to figure out 116 different enemies, ranging from very small to ridiculously large, and have an average of two or three attacks per monster, then have Soma be able to perform most of them right back. It's really admirable effort.

There is one room that really uses the full 3D potential of the Nintendo DS, where the background of the room really sets up that the room is cylindrical. Just pointing out what didn't *have* to be there, but was put in anyway.

Intricacies
The absolute *best* part of this game is that this is the first map-based Castlevania game where you can see both the playfield and the map at the same time. The other games would always make you stop the game to check the map.

Of the more interesting areas of the game is the sliding puzzle area. You get to move the rooms around and basically make your own map for that area. Ideally, you should enter every room, but there is a very convenient way to set the map up so that you never have to touch it again, as all the exits can be reached from any point.

So, in conclusion...
Grade as an action game: 9.5/10
General Grade: 9.2/10

Meteos

2005-07-04T00:34:00.000-03:00

OK, so the first review I want to do is on Meteos. At the same time, I can start to define a base template for my reviews.

System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Q? Entertainment
Publisher: Nintendo

Storyline
All existence in the universe is threatened by an evil planet named Meteo. This planet is shooting series of elemental rocks called Meteos at everything, destroying everything in their path.

The beings of the Universe thought it was hopeless, when suddenly, on the humble planet Geolyte, three Meteos of the same type aligned, causing a fusion. They started flying back up from whence they came, taking the other Meteos out with them. Word spread, and the planets started fusing and launching Meteos back into space.

They decided that the Meteo threat had to be eliminated, so they constructed the Metamo Ark out of the Meteos themselves, which has the ability to copy the environment of any planet it encounters. So, they set out to throw the Meteo threat back from where it originated and give planet Meteo a taste of its own medicine.

Gameplay
The gameplay is somewhat similar to Tetris Attack. Meteos fall from the sky, and you have to move them vertically using the stylus, and line them up horizontally or vertically in sets of three or more. This causes them to fuse, and launch up into the air. However, they usually won't launch up into space unless you keep fusing them a few times.

The game has 32 different planets, and each one has their own variables; gravity, launch power, well size, all sorts of things. Each planet has five or six of ten different types of Meteos, and as they are launched, they are counted up. Launched Meteos can then be fused to create unlockable items, such as new planets, game items, or music for the sound test. Rare Metals can also be fused through this method, or by a stroke of luck, found landing on your planet during a game.

The game has four single-player modes; Simple, where you can set up your own game with a defined set of rules; Star Trip, where you embark upon the quest to defeat Planet Meteo; Time War, a pretty standard time attack; and Deluge, pick a planet and play until you lose. It also has single- and multi-card VS modes, which I have not had the chance to try yet.

Sound and music
The sound effects aren't that impressive, especially during menus. However, the menu music will immediately put in mind, "Super Smash Bros. Melee". It's just that good, and even better through real speakers. (I tried it yesterday, sweet music.)

In-game music doesn't seem impressive, but fusing Meteos causes music to play, so your own progress will have a direct effect on how much music plays. The Meteo-fusing music is usually nice and appropriate to the planet you're on. Most of the sound effects also depend on the planet you're on, such as falling and landing Meteos.

Graphics
Who really cares? It's a puzzle game, it doesn't need fancy graphics :P

It has them anyway, though. The Meteos have different pictures on every planet, and every planet also has its own background. They have pretty much thought of everything designing graphics for this game.

So I may not have much to say on graphics, but I don't think I often do anyway :P

Intricacies
One interesting thing is about the menus. It's not a standard menu as in, all the options are stacked together. Instead, they're a set of icons on the screen. Using the stylus, you can move them around on the screen. (The positions won't be saved, though.) If you cover up an option, it will move until it's completely visible. If ever you feel dull, this is a good way to pass the time :P

The unlockable system is very interesting, and gets you playing the game just to get everything, especially when you get the chance to unlock planet Meteo. It takes a total of 32,000 various Meteos and 10 Rare Metals to unlock, so it'll keep you on the game for hours, just so you can brag to your friends about how you unlocked Meteo before them.

So, in conclusion...
Grade as a puzzle game: 9.3/10
General Grade: 8.7/10

OK, so I think I've got it figured out. I might change this format a few times before finalizing it, but this is probably about what it'll look like.

Introduction

2005-07-04T00:11:00.000-03:00

Hi! I'm Kewlio, if you don't know, and this is my new blog. Basically, I'll just be talking about games. Some I download from the web, some I buy from the store, but there are just so many games, and I feel like commenting on some of them.

If you want to know about my life, you want Dysfunctionaliblog. This one is games, games, and only games.