Category Archives: Games

Review: Mega Coin Squad (Xbox One)

Score: 8 out of 10

The earliest game I can remember playing involved a Plumber trying to save a princess and collecting coins along the way. There is something satisfying about collecting coins, ring, or whatever the point based items are for the game. If you like the collecting aspect of these classic platforming games then Mega Coin Squad is for you.

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Mega Coin Squad is the first console game by developers Big Pixel Studios and Published by Adult Swim Games. Mega Coin Squad is a platforming coin collecting game that is fast paced. The world map is comparable to the Super Mario Bros world map. There are 4 worlds and 4 levels in each world. Grass, desert, ice, and lava are the different worlds.The first 3 levels are based on collecting a certain amount of coins. The 4th level is surviving rounds of enemies.

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The goal is to collect coins and deposit them in the giant piggy bank in the level. There are other objectives that allow you to get Power Ups at the end of the level. The three objectives are collecting under a certain time per level, collecting all the coins in one bank or deposit, and not losing any lives. Each objective completed gives you a chance to hit a rotating block of different Power Ups that will strengthen your character for future play.

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There are a variety of characters to choose from. They all have different stats. There are 5 characters to start off with and you can unlock a 6th that is Robot Unicorn. You unlock the Robot Unicorn by completing all levels with a character. There are achievements that focus on passing levels and completing the game with different characters. There are also a few revolved around total coins banked, time and objective based.

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Mega Coins Squad is a fun but challenging game. It is available on Xbox One for $14.99. It can get pretty touch and will take time to master. This game has a lot of replay-ability with the different character, attainable achievements, and level objectives. There is a 4-Player local co-op mode, but I was unable to try this out. Overall I would recommend checking this game out if you are looking for something to play in between AAA games or looking to increase your gamerscore.

Review: Color Guardians (PC)

Score: 7 out of 10

Color Guardians is a fun little game where you play as this little colorful characters who is a Color Guardian. It is simple where you run left to right and back and forth from 3 different lanes collecting colored orbs to gain score. The initial feel of the game is simple and something that one might find in their mobile app store.

The story is fairly simple.  A dark bad guy comes and steals the color. Your job is to play through the game and collect color orbs. As you progress through the game you see color returning to the world via the world map. The world map is like most games where you select the level to play by moving your character forward or backwards. The individual levels start out colorless and as you collect color orbs the level gains color, but when you start to miss the orbs the world reverts back to its colorless look. The game literally is based around color and it looks really good as a result.

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The scoring system is pretty familiar. When you complete a level you see your score add up. Depending on how many color orbs you picked up depends on how high the score. The high score is  how many stars you get for that level. Three stars is the best you can get for a level. This is very similar to many mobile games that encourage replay-ability in order to gain three stars for every level. You can also see how many of each color orbs you collecting from that level as well as total possible orbs for the level.

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The game fully supports controllers or traditional keyboard. The Mouse isn’t used in the game. I kept finding myself wanting to use the mouse at the beginning of every level. If you are picking up a red orb you must click the button assigned to red. When you click one of the assigned buttons for the three different colors your character spins and that is how you get a perfect for the orb. You have to constantly click on the correct button for the correct color orb. This can get a little frustrating as the levels get tougher. Having to quickly switch between the different colors can be a bit challenging in the later levels.

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I would have to say overall the game is pretty fun. It does have challenging aspects to it, but it is a great game to play after marathoning a more intense game. I find myself playing a few levels before bed and a few levels in between other games. The music is upbeat and goes along with the colorful vibe of the game. I give it a 7 out of 10 because the game feels like it could have been a mobile game for a lot less. I did enjoy my time with Color Guardians and feel it is a solid game that many people will enjoy playing.

 

Trapped Dead: Lockdown Review (PC)

Score: 8.5 out of 10

I am always looking for a fun co-op game. I enjoying playing a game with a friend, and if I can play with 3 friends then it is even better. I was pleased to see that Bigmoon Studios had come out with Trapped Dead: Lockdown. Trapped Dead: Lockdown released on steam March 20, 2015 and is currently 15% off as of this review’s posting(March 26, 2015).

TrappeddeadTrapped Dead: Lockdown is a top down style action rpg zombie killer game. It supports up to 4 players It has partial controller support. It is good but not great. There are 5 characters to choose from, and they each have their own skills, powers, and weapons they can control. The skills are part of a skill tree system that increases with each level up. An issue with the UI is when you go to apply an experience or skill point you need to add to one ability and apply. This can be a little tedious especially when you are trying to quickly apply points and get back to the game. I hope in the future they add an apply all feature or just have it apply all assigned points instead of applying one at a time.

Trapped Dead SkillsThere is also a store system in the game that appears frequently enough. There is a mysterious looking vendor guy where you can buy items, sell items you pick up in game, and repair items. There are character specific weapons that any character can pick up and that is where selling comes into play. I played as the assassin and picked up a chainsaw, and since I was unable to use the chainsaw I sold it. Your weapons need repairing from the mystery guy as well if you plan to keep using the same weapon. It is simple enough and the loot drops frequently where I didn’t feel like I was ever short on cash in the game.

Trapped-Dead-Lockdown-10There is a story to the game, but it isn’t the games strongest feature by any means. You have to talk to characters to figure things out and sometimes to progress through the game. That wouldn’t normally be a problem, but it seems that only the host of the game can talk to the NPC in the game. This became a little frustrating when my friend was trying to talk to the NPC while I was in the menu applying skill points. This is by far no game breaker, but just an odd design choice.

nQ8QbwwI would have to say overall Trapped Dead: Lockdown is a fun game. It is especially fun playing co-op with friends. It is not too complex, but it has enough there to keep you interested while playing and chatting with friends. The controller support is good enough where this would be a fantastic console game, and the mouse/keyboard works well too. I would highly recommend people check this game out if they are looking for a fun game to play with a friend or three. The game is 15% off of its normal $19.99 price or $39.99 for a 4-Pack. The sale ends 3/27/2015 at Noon CST.

 

 

Homeworld Remastered Collection Accolades Trailer

Gearbox Software has released a new trailer for Homeworld Remastered Collection which is available now on Steam.

Trapped Dead: Lockdown Trailer

Trapped Dead: Lockdown is a zombie-action game with skill trees, 4 player co-op, different classes and more. It is releasing on Steam this Friday and if you are interested check out the feature list below as well as the trailer.

MAIN FEATURES
  • Zombie-Action in a rich horror atmosphere
  • An exciting story
  • Five different classes with individual storylines and motives
  • Complex skill tree to level up your abilities and attributes makes for an individual RPG experience
  • More than thirty active and passive skills to learn at each of the five classes
  • Hundreds of weapons and items
  • Diverse enemies and boss monsters
  • Use cars to smash through the enemies
  • Sell, buy and repair tools and weapons at the drifter – he’s always ready for a nice deal
  • Online Co-op-multiplayer for up to four players
  • Dialogue spoken by professional voice actors and fully subtitled
  • “Trapped Dead: Lockdown 4-Pack” containing three additional keys of the game and one of its predecessor ‘Trapped Dead’

Woolfe – The Red Hood Diaries – Release Trailer 2015

Just released today is Wollfe- The Red Hood Diaries, and along with that is a release trailer below. This game looks gorgeous. It is currently available on Steam with a PS4/Xbox One release that is TBA. If you want to know more the Key Features will be posted below as well.

Key Features
•  A twisted fairy tale story – GRIN’s take on the Red Riding Hood legacy is not an ordinary bedtime story. Four years ago, Red Riding Hood’s father, Joseph, lead engineer for Woolfe Industries, died in a work accident. At least, that’s what his family was told. All grown up, our heroine is ready to unveil the truth and present the bill for her tragic loss.
•  A Rich, Visual Experience – Woolfe‘s atmospheric artwork lets the player explore a rich fantasy universe centered around a city paralyzed with fear and occupied by tin soldiers. Sneak through the slums, descend into the city sewer system, run through the harbor and escape the city into an evil forest, where gravity, wolves and scary fairies are out to get you.
•  2.5D Action-Platforming – The tale’s 2.5D levels combine the simplicity of side scrolling gameplay with three-dimensional puzzles.
•  Fast, Axe Wielding Combat – Armed with her trusty axe, Red will need to skillfully execute combos to strike at her foes’ weaknesses.
•  Deranged Fairytale Enemies – On her journey, Red faces some bloody encounters with “familiar fairytale faces” such as The Pied Piper, tin soldiers, big bad wolves, scary fairies and – of course – her nemesis B.B. Woolfe.

The first of two fully-fledged, stand-alone yet successive volumes, Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries is now available on Steam for $9.99 (NA), €9.99 (EUR), £6.99 (UK) and CDN $10.99. Red’s journey will continue in Volume 2, which is scheduled for release on PC during August 2015. Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries is also planned for release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later this year.

Source: WoolfeGame.com

Quiplash (Kickstarter)

The makers of YOU DON’T KNOW JACK, Fibbage, Drawful, and more are looking to bring out another game in the same category.  Quiplash looks to be another great party game, but Jackbox Games promises to make it Stream friendly. How do they plan on doing this? We will have to wait and see. Check out their Kickstarter video below as well as the link. I know I’ll be pledging towards this. Let us know if you will too!

Source: Kickstarter

Minecraft is No Longer a Giant Hole in Your Computers Security

Minecraft has always used Java’s code system. It’s fine as long as the particular version you are running doesn’t have security exploits or load adware/crapware, which most versions tend to do right after an update. But if you wanted Minecraft to run as fast and smooth as possible you had to have that security-risk, of a software, up-to-date.

For the past couple months or so Minecraft has had a launcher.exe that you started before Minecraft. In a recent update, in the advanced settings, you can enable a feature that allows Minecraft to download a standalone version of Java that only runs while playing Minecraft. It can even be a bit of a performance boost and can even raise you FPS by double for some.

Now the only thing we are still missing is this wayward Modding-api that we were promised way back when.

Soul Axiom Trailer

Here is a a first-person action sci-fi game that full of exploration and puzzles. It looks like there will be an interesting story element to it. It also has a Bioshock feel to it. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments.

Over 9000 Zombies! Trailer

Here is another great top down arcade zombie shooter! It is available on Steam and comes with single palyer, co-op, local co-op, and full controller support. The best part is it is only $10. Check out the trailer below and see if it interests you!