Monday, 31 August 2015

Broken Sword 5: A Serpent's Curse (Xbox One) - Review

Broken Sword 5: A Serpent's Curse will be available on September the 4th on the Xbox One and will be priced at £19.99.

I've been a fan of Broken Sword games as far back as I can remember, when I used to sit and watch my Dad play the first game, The Shadow of the Templars on the old Playstation as a little kid. There was something about it that just captured my attention, and I remember begging my dad not to get rid of it when he'd finished with it because 'one day I want to play it'. I tried and tried on the Playstation to play through it, but only being young I lacked the know how. Years later I got it on the PC and locked myself away until I'd completed it. Since then I've completed each game multiple times and honestly, haven't bored of them yet. I actually bought the first game in iPad too, just because.

Broken Sword 5: A Serpent's Curse was released on Vita about a year ago in two parts. I bought the season pass straight away and threw myself into another adventure with George and Nico. As sad as this sounds, it felt like meeting up with old friends again, the characters are just how I remembered from my last foray into the Broken Sword world. Hell Nico still hasn't changed her outfit!

When I heard about the upcoming release on Xbox One I was super excited to play it again, man, I'm still hoping they'll somehow bring all of the old games to the console!

It doesn't disappoint. For ANYONE who has been a fan of the Broken Sword series, for no matter how long this game is a must buy. It goes back to the Broken Sword days of the original two rather than the fancy 3D graphics of the latter two. And it is all the more brilliant for it! As much as I enjoyed all of the games that Revolution have given me, my heart really does lie with the original two, they are by far the best in my opinion. With 5 they have brought back the 2D backgrounds, but have mapped the characters in 3D, giving it a slightly strange look, but one that totally works.

If you haven't already played the Broken Sword games WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Go and get one of the older ones on iPad or something and play it. Then come back and play this one. For anyone who hated the 3D games don't be put off buying this one, as it honestly recaptures the greatness of the original two.

I was worried about playing it on a console after really only playing these games on PC's for the most part, but the mapping to the Xbox controller is brilliant and works seamlessly. There were a few moments where I had lined up to click something to examine as George made his way there and missed because he was moving, but that was my fault. I was too impatient to move on and didn't want to wait for George, or Nico to get there. Unfortunately they haven't mastered the art of teleportation just yet.

I'm not gonna ruin story for you, but suffice it to say that it is too the usual standard for a Broken Sword game. There are plenty of characters to talk to as you get to the bottom of what's happened and plenty of good old fashioned puzzles to solve. I really hope that this game is the first of many MANY more to come.
10/10 BUY IT!
A code was provided for the purpose of this review. 

Friday, 28 August 2015

Commander Cherry's Puzzled Adventure (Xbox One) - Review

Commanders Cherry's Puzzled Adventure is available now on the Xbox One priced at £11.19.

I think that is the most random price I have ever seen on the Xbox One. And it's not even the strangest thing about this game....

Commander Cherry's Puzzled Adventure is a fairly simple little 2D platformer that sees you using the controller to control Commander Cherry. Oh and your body, to help Commander Cherry get where he needs to go.

The game is as insane as it sounds, which naturally means its a barrel of laughs if you have friends, family and especially kids around. My son could barely sit still in his poses for laughing so much at the little cherry climbing over his head. You have to take your picture, effectively, in a pose to help Commander Cherry reach the next platform and then, using the controller, walk him over your body. Do it and you get the catchphrase 'Yogawesome' said in what my son thought was a 'super creepy voice for a cherry', I don't know how he expected a cherry to sound?

If your Kinect has been gathering dust and you're looking for an excuse to allow it to do more than just listen to you barking commands at it, then this game is a no brainer. It's absolutely mental, but you know what? That's what makes it work!

8/10 BUY IT!
A code was provided for the purpose of this review. 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Xbox One) - Review

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £14.99.

This is a game that was originally released on the 360 and, as with seemingly everything these days, re-released onto the Xbox One recently. If I remember correctly it was a Game with Gold on the 360 not too long ago, but is it worth picking up on the One too?

Well not at this price it's not. If you've already played it there's only extra art and commentary in the Xbox One version, not enough to warrant the price tag in my opinion.

However I never played the game on the 360. I seem to remember it being a Game with Gold, but this was after I had got my One which had completely taken over my gaming. The poor 360 never got a look in. So I got to play Brothers on the One as a newcomer. And I LOVED IT!

You control two brothers, each one has a side of the controller so Big Brother is right trigger and thumbtack and Little Brother is the left. This is MEGA confusing. I'd like to say that you soon get used to it, but I didn't and all the way through my time with the game I was sending the brother's in the opposite direction. The poor guys spent a lot of time walking into walls under my supervision. Oops.

But Brothers is a beautiful game and I don't mean just visually. The controls, whilst I'm not good at them, work really, really well and the relationship between the brothers is so heartwarming and the whole game just kinda sticks with you. It really is pretty near perfect in its simplicity.

As I said, if you have played it before I struggle to recommend you pick it up again, unless you're desperate to own it on another console. But if you haven't had the pleasure yet just go and get it. It really is something else.

9/10 BUY IT!
(This score is for NEWCOMERS to the game only)

A code was provided for the purpose of this review. 


Thursday, 27 August 2015

Octodad: Dadliest Catch (Xbox One) - Review

Octodad: Dadliest Catch is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £11.99.

The minute I downloaded this my kids were in peels of laughter. 'An octopus that's a DAD?' shouted my lad with tears rolling down his cheeks. Since then he's had EVERYONE play it. I mean it, neighbours, grandparents, every person who has graced our living room has had a go at controlling Octodad.

The joy it has brought him is priceless and in my opinion if you're a parent that's all the review you need. And for those of us that have to battle our little ones in order to actually get to play a game, Octodad is a god-send. I mean yeah he's played it, but he LOVES watching it!

Octodad is a game that you've probably heard of, seeing at it was released on Steam a few years back. There are a few PC games being brought over onto console and I have to say that this is definitely one of the greats. Obviously it's not supposed to be easy to control, you're a goddam octopus in a suit, but for what it's worth the mapping onto the controller is really intuitive. Graphically the game is great, all cartoon-y and super fun. The voice acting is good, and I especially love the kids., even though I REALLY don't wanna know how they came to be....

The game is just chaos encapsulated, which is probably why my lad likes it so much. As you can imagine it's not easy to live life as an octopus pretending to be a man. He is the cause of MUCH destruction, even more if you let your kids have at it. Take him up the aisle, into the grocery store and even to the Aquarium in your quest to blend in and be good dad.

Honestly guys unless you're a complete fun-sponge you're gonna love this game. Just go get it.

10/10 BUY IT!
A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Bridge Constructor (Xbox One) - Review

Bridge Constructor is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £7.99.

Yes a game that has been out for quite awhile on mobile devices has made the jump to the Xbox One. And at over 4x the price to boot. Hmmm. Is it worth the money to play this game on the big screen?

In my opinion, nope. The game feels extremely bare bones. When I first opened it up there wasn't even any music, but I soon realised that this was because a half obscured picture in the bottom right of the screen had to be clicked for us to have music.

 This was one of the biggest problems with this game for me. The screen was too large, and I still can't find anyway to change it. I can't see how much money I have left, or a good third of any of the buttons along the sides. It's VERY annoying.

But past all that, this game just isn't very fun. I have it on my iPad and my son has played a lot of it on there. It just does;t translate all that well to the console market. Plus I think it's a little late to the party. Most people who have wanted to spend some time building bridges have already done it by now on mobile devices for a fraction of the price.

Skip this one guys. You know what you're getting unless you've lived under a rock, but is it really what you bought an Xbox One for? I know I didn't. My son will probably play it, so if you have kids possibly pick it up in a sale. He's the only reason this game got any stars from me.

2/10 SKIP IT!
A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Pure Hold'Em (Xbox One) - Review

Pure Hold'Em is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £15.99.

I'm actually pretty good at poker. I mean real poker where you can see peoples faces and call them out on their bluff. But when moving over to playing on a console I turn into a complete poker idiot.

I know my hands and I know when I have good ones. But I ALWAYS seem to encounter AI's that fold if you ever raise the bet. Does everybody else? And I've never before felt brave enough to take my poker playing online. I know I'd be playing against real people, but they are still people that I cannot SEE.

I've played a few versions of poker games on consoles and can honestly tell you that Pure Hold'Em is one of the best. I mean obviously they're all the same game at their core, but with Pure Hold'Em I feel like there has been more attention to detail then I've seen previously, at least. THE CARDS ACTUALLY BEND when you go to look at your hand, something that excited me MUCH more than is normal. But seriously, I don't recall playing any other poker game that actually bent the cards like you;d looked at them with actual hands, rather than just hovered them in front of your face like a magician.
BENDING CARDS!

For me Pure Hold'Em seems pretty realistic. The chips seem like they actually weigh something, and the sounds of the chips hitting the table are awesome. You can't seem toe scape customisation in any games anymore, so obviously there are a raft of customisable cards, chips and tables for you to unlock.

There's also a little mini game you can play once daily for free that's reminiscent of a game played on Bruce Forsyth's Play Your Cards Right, where, you've guessed it, you have to predict whether the next card will be higher or lower than the one you have just turned over. In doing so you get more money to play more poker, which I thought was a pretty good way of dealing with keeping your pot going.

There are a few different ways to play, namely Online in either an open table or a Tournament, or you can set up a private table online. For the Offline mode you can test your mettle against 7 AI's on a variety of different tables.

At £15.99 I'd say it is a little pricey, unless you're really looking for your poker fix wait it out for a sale. It is a great poker game, with plenty to keep you going, but I think this would have been better priced at around the £10 mark.

7/10 TRY IT!
A code was provided for the purpose of this review.