tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42030933803188464312024-03-13T07:46:21.505+00:00We Play GamesDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.comBlogger232125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-24782089192738349142020-10-08T21:18:00.003+01:002020-10-08T21:18:44.959+01:00Let's Sing Queen (Xbox One) - Review <p> Hi! I know, I know, it's been a <i>looonnngggg </i>time. How is everyone? </p><p>I think we can all agree there's been a lot going on these past few months for everybody, but couple that with some health issues, work issues and just general everyday life with two kids busy-ness and unfortunately this here little blog fell by the wayside. I'm not proud of it, but it's what's happened so let's acknowledge that and move on. </p><p>So I am back typing at you about GAMES! I didn't know whether I'd ever see the day again to be honest. But as life slowly starts to lean towards some semblance of normality - or at least as normal as my life ever gets - I've found myself with some time to not only play games, but write about them too! And more importantly, actually <i>wanting </i>to write about them. I've been itching to let my fingers lose on the keys for a while now and after a particularly crazy week (that anyone I have text this week can attest to) I decided enough was enough. It was time for me to do something <i>for me. </i></p><p>And it just so happens that what I want to be doing right now, for me, is telling you lovely lot about a game I've had the pleasure of sharing with my family this past week. </p><p>Let's Sing Queen. </p><p>We are a family of Queen fans, and rock in general (though my daughter has been known to break my heart and ask Alexa to play Dua Lipa or Ariana Grande, the little traitor!). So when I had an email about Let's Sing Queen I jumped on it, immediately replying to them basically begging for something to do with my kids that wasn't Roblox or Fortnite. Something I might actually have a chance at beating them at. Seriously. Kids playing Fortnite are something else, it makes me feel a little bit motion sick when I see them jumping around, shooting (and actually hitting) people, or worse 'ninety-ing' which I am reliably informed by both my 8 and 11 year olds is the term for building stairs impossibly fast at - you guessed it - 90 degree angles. Lockdown was tough, guys. </p><p>So whilst the game downloaded I realised we don't actually own any microphones for the Xbox One. Whoops. Luckily, developers have realised that not every household wants drawers full of plastic peripherals that only get pulled out when there are drunk people around and they have developed an app that you can download onto your phone and sing your heart out into. Brilliant. About nine seconds later, we were ready to go! </p><p>We went for the first mode that came up and was greeted with a huge list of Queen songs. Little fact about me as a parent - I used to sing Bohemian Rhapsody to my son every night before bed. I would like to stress this wasn't done in a serious manner - it usually involved copious amounts of 'duh-nuh-nuh-nuh'-ing and screeching the guitar solos - but I took pride in my ability to make him laugh his little heart out just by lifting my eyebrows as high as possible to try and make my voice go higher. What great times we had. </p><p>Obviously, we picked Bohemian Rhapsody as the first song we would try out. Each person takes it in turns to shout, scream, hum or whatever into their phone to indicate which player they are and away we went. The video plays in the background as the song words scrawl across the screen - which I have to say was a pleasant distraction - and we all wailed with varying degrees of success at getting the little glowing ball to stay in the bar that indicated where our voices should be going. </p><p>Now, obviously, one person can not sing every little part in a song - especially not Bohemian Rhapsody. But if you've ever used - or even seen - a karaoke machine in your life you will be familiar with the whole words as dots and bars thing. The bars appear above the lyrics and usually indicate how long you should sing that particular syllable for. There were obvious gaps in these, where the backing track would carry on the singing, but you'd be given a chance to suck a little breath in and not kill yourself trying to get every last word of the 'Galileo' part of Bohemian Rhapsody out of your lungs. I was disappointed though. When I used to sing it to my son this was the most fun part - the headrush and the very questionable sounds coming out of my mouth as I used the last of my breath to wheeze out 'magnificcco-ooo-ooo'. I felt robbed. </p><p>The song ended and the scores came up and sure enough - for the first time in months - I had beaten my kids at a game. AND THEY WEREN'T COMPLAINING! Anyone with kids knows that usually when you triumph over them you're met with whines of 'you didn't give me a chance' or 'I didn't know the buttons' or, the one I found the most annoying 'Mum you were blocking the screen on purpose!' How dare they figure that out so soon! </p><p>Instead they immediately started arguing about which song to do next. So whilst it wasn't exactly a relaxing environment at least neither of them were screaming about how toxic the other one was. Again, thanks Fortnite. </p><p>To cut a long story short - because reading this likely isn't as exciting for you as it is for me - what started as a 'lets pop this on for half an hour before bed' kinda thing ended up being a full size, headliner set at Glasto. Two hours later, voices hoarse and throats sore we turned it off - although the kids still wanted to carry on. </p><p>I can honestly say it was the most fun we have had in a long time. As I touched upon before, lockdown has been tough - as it has on everyone. We've been better than most, we've got an abundance of games, movies and books in our house, but with all the added stresses of the world I don't think any of us were actually enjoying the time we spent on games etc. We should have been, obviously, but we had had such high access to them over the last few months that things were starting to lose their shine. We were taking things for granted. Or just losing our excitement for them because we could play all day if we wanted. </p><p>Let's Sing Queen gave us a new experience that we really revelled in. And, honestly, one my son might not have been so open too previously, being at the age he is. But we all threw our all into giving silly performances to make each other laugh. The competition between us was healthy and fun. We laughed and danced and sang our hearts out to some of the greatest music ever made. </p><p>The one thing my kids weren't too pleased with was the fact we were playing on my profile and - as far as we could see anyway - there isn't the option to sign anybody else in so that everyone levels up. So I was levelling up and unlocking new avatars and the like and they weren't. My son wasn't too bothered, but my daughter wasn't pleased, especially when I unlocked a particularly cool avatar with star makeup on her face. </p><p>The app on our phones worked perfectly all night too, with no noticeable dropouts or issues, even when the kids phones dropped to below 5% charge - which usually means your phone can only work as a paperweight until you plug it in.</p><p>I think Let's Sing Queen could bring a whole new fanbase to the Lets Sing games. Back on the 360 (before the kids came along) we used to have singing games that featured the usual pop tracks that only came out of the drawers when we had parties that featured copious amounts of alcohol. We're just not really a pop music family, so the Let's Sing games are often overlooked by us and any we have looked at have been quickly put back, because we're just not that interested in the track list. But fill a game with just Queen tracks and we had a brilliant night. In fact, it was the first thing the kids asked to do when they trudged in from school the next day too. </p><p>What I'm trying to say is that by releasing a game like Let's Sing Queen, they're not going to alienate the already existing fanbase. Have you ever met anybody who doesn't like at least a few Queen songs? Instead, they have the opportunity to sell games to people who may not have bought a Let's Sing game previously - like us. The fanbase can only grow by adding a game like this to the stable. </p><p>Lets face it - we're still not going many places. If you're missing days out, making memories with your family then I wholeheartedly recommend you pick this game up. It's about £40, but lets face it, what else are you spending your money on this year? Pick this up, get the app downloaded on phones, iPads, whatever. Grab some cans of pop and some sweets and have a little house party with the kids. I promise you, you'll have fun. The nights we have spent on this game will be some of our fondest 2020 memories for sure. </p><p><br /></p>Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-69251443453693136002019-08-15T17:50:00.000+01:002019-08-15T17:50:14.923+01:00Forager (Nintendo Switch) - ReviewIt's been a while since I've been as obsessed with a game as I have been with Forager this week. I received the code last Friday, before a busy weekend that included two of my best friends getting married. So Sunday was the first chance I had to give it a look.<br />
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So hungover and tired I booted it up, thinking that I'd give it ten minutes and get back to it the next day after the hangover had subsided (or in a few days, as is often the case since I've hit my 30's). My kids were happily playing on their Switches, which allowed me to play this game for FOUR GLORIOUS UNINTERRUPTED HOURS before they asked for food.<br />
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I couldn't believe how fast that time had gone. Or that my children hadn't argued in that time. I didn't even feel any remorse at how long I had spent playing. This was the most surprising thing. You've all heard of Mum guilt? Well I have gamer guilt too. Basically, whenever I manage to get a few hours of uninterrupted game time (which is actually fairly rare) I make myself feel awful by thinking about all of the things I could have done with that time. I could have baked with the kids, gone for a walk, tackled Mt Un-Ironed clothes, or even played a different game - maybe one more story driven, or one that's deemed a classic. When I've spent time playing a more simplistic game, this feeling is usually pretty magnified (Farm Together I'm looking at you).<br />
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But as I put my Switch on the dock to charge whilst I hastily made my kids a sandwich I realised I couldn't wait to get back to Forager. It had it's hooks in deep.<br />
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I'm writing this on Thursday afternoon. Schools are out for summer which means that I am not working and my kids are off school. The weather is crap. We have spent almost every day in the house playing Switch. And unbelievably Forager is the only game I have played in this time. My Switch is still showing it as 'first played 4 days ago' but I will not be surprised if I have already spent 30 hours in Forager.<br />
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So, a little more about the game. The store page lists games like Stardew Valley and Terraria as influences and it is easy to see the similarities between these titles. However, going into this thinking it is going to be like Stardew Valley can do Forager a disservice. Whilst the influence is clear, the games are actually quite different, with Stardew Valley taking a slower, more methodical approach. The Forager Steam page also states that this is an 'idle game that you want yo actively keep playing' and I feel like this description more accurately portrays what Forager is than it's influences do.<br />
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Upon loading up the game your character is in the middle of a little block of land. There's no real tutorial, you're told to build a furnace and then left to your own devices. This could have been pretty daunting, but luckily Forager is a fairly simple game to get to grips with. Use the tools at your disposal to collect resources. Use those resources to build things like forges, inscription tables and factories - all of which unlock more tools for you to make.<br />
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As you progress you will level up, giving you skill points to spend on unlocks. Many of the buildings are hidden in the skill tree, but you level up fast enough that you don't go without a building you need for too long. You can also customise the look of your little sprite. Mine is currently sporting a fetching set of Mercy Wings and a crown, because why not?<br />
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Money can be spent on buying new pieces of land, that surround your initial plot. There are a few different landscapes and each are home to different dungeons, puzzles and people. Completing dungeons will give you special items, whilst helping the people and solving the puzzles yields a large treasure chest. The game has a limited amount of these large treasure chests and actually keeps track of how many you have found. As of writing this, I have found 41 of a possible 46 treasure chests and I am working on the next three.<br />
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The dungeons are a lot of fun to explore. They're each in a different biome of the map and thus are styled differently. You can finish a dungeon without fully exploring it by finding the main big blue treasure chest, which will place you back outside. I found myself re-entering at least two shrines to make sure I'd scoured the whole place for enemies and treasure.<br />
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The enemies aren't very challenging initially, but they do get bigger and badder as the game progresses. Luckily you can upgrade your sword and the damage you do with the Spirit Orbs you unlock throughout the game. Thankfully you can also get more hearts too, as you start with a measly three.<br />
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There are wild animals roaming the land too, that you can click on to get resources. Chickens will give you eggs, cows will give you milk (if you have a bottle) and sheep will give you cotton. There are also beautiful moose like creatures that will give you gems, obviously.<br />
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I went in to Forager expecting a slightly different game, which actually has worked in it's favour. I initially wanted it to be really like Stardew Valley, but now I have played it I realise that it's better because of it's differences. Lets face it, if I want to play Stardew Valley I can just load it up. Forager offers up something different, albeit not completely different. It's faster paced and for me it has more of a focus on completion. I want to tick all of the boxes in the items list off, whilst in Stardew Valley I want to take things slow with no real objective.<br />
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I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have spent so far with Forager, and I know that I will be playing it for a while longer yet. This game will be the perfect game to flick back into in between playing some of the Switches bigger, more story focused titles.<br />
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<br />Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-45581597890746995652019-05-30T11:02:00.000+01:002019-05-30T11:02:24.360+01:00Little Friends: Dogs & Cats (Nintendo Switch) - ReviewUsually my daughter is pretty unimpressed by the games I am reviewing. She likes gaming and loves her Nintendo Switch with a passion but her favourite games on it include a game where you make towers from cake. She's 7 so I'm letting her off, for now.<br />
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So it's a rare thing that I get to impress her with a review. She was quite excited by Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2 - until she actually played it with me and realised that I am the head chef from hell.<br />
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When I got the opportunity to receive a code for Little Friends: Dogs & Cats on Switch I knew I had to take it. My son gets to reap the benefits of my reviewing a lot more than she does and I had an inkling she'd love this game.<br />
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Little Friends: Dogs & Cats is basically Nintendogs for Switch and I'm sure we can all admit that we loved those games at some point, even I did when I was a teen with much more spare time than I have now at my disposal.<br />
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My daughter let out a squeal when I showed her what had downloaded whilst she was at school and immediately opened the game. The game opens and you can pick which dog you want. She went for a Chihuaha and called it Sofia and spent the rest of the evening lovingly tending to it's every need.<br />
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Once you reach level 15 you can adopt more pets from the Friends Plaza and each one will have a favourite food. You level up your friendship level with your pets by playing with them, petting them and feeding them.<br />
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You can also unlock achievement stamps for doing certain tasks - like walking a certain distance, petting your little friends and teaching your pets tricks. There are also different levels of competitive frisbee games where you can earn a little money, and an opportunity to practice your skills in the park.<br />
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My daughters favourite thing about this game is that you can dress up your pets. The clothing shop is full to the brim of ...err...interesting things you can dress your animals in. My daughter delighted in picking out outfits for her dog and two cats, (Rosie and Elsa) as you can see by the pictures below!<br />
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You also get to personalise your home in game with new furniture, wallpapers and flooring. This is the bit I prefer - I don't really like dressing up the animals with reindeer horns like my daughter does and would much rather make the house look nice. Luckily we both have separate saves so we didn't have to argue about it! For me, there's just something really weird about putting clothes on an animal, fake or real. My daughter has no such qualms and has delighted in buying her animals an array of crazy outfits.<br />
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At the time of writing this review my daughter has spent more than 25 hours playing this game. I can't claim to have spent anywhere near that much time on it. As much as I can see the appeal of this game for young and old alike I'd rather spend my precious game time on something a little more involved. The joy it has brought to my daughter is well worth the price of admission though, and if you have a child (or adult) who would love nothing more than to have a house full of pets they can dress up to their hearts content then this game is a no brainer.<br />
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I asked my daughter if there was anything she didn't like about this game. Her answer:<br />
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'You have to clean the toilet and that's just a bit weird.'<br />
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Spoiler alert kiddo, the toilet in real life doesn't clean itself either.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-6151008371683042842019-05-09T16:40:00.000+01:002019-05-09T16:40:11.079+01:00World War Z (Xbox One) - Review<div>
I'm sure we can all agree that it's been a while since any of us played a decent zombie slaying game. A few years ago zombies were the done thing, seemingly slammed into any game to make a quick buck (I'm looking at Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare here - though admittedly that was quite a lot of fun). They were popping up everywhere and we were lapping it up, spending untold amounts on the expansion packs for extra maps in the latest Call of Duty's zombie mode. </div>
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Zombie games were truly mindless escapism for me. I'd party up with some friends and we'd mulch through Left 4 Dead together. I had a go at Dead Rising, which never really gripped me - but admittedly my favourite part of the first game was taking photo's. Case: Zero however, the Arcade game released on the Xbox 360 was one of my favourite games of that gen. </div>
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Maybe it's because life generally got busier or maybe it's because there were more open-world games released that caught my attention, but I soon found myself shying away from zombie games. I found myself bored of them and have still yet to complete Season 2 of Telltale's The Walking Dead, despite loving the first one. My few precious hours a week gaming for my own enjoyment are usually spent on my Switch now that my kids are old enough to commandeer the Xbox. The little bugger's don't even go to bed much earlier than me anymore. *sob*.</div>
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I'd read World War Z a long time ago and had loved the book. The film, not so much but that's by the by. To be honest I'd forgotten that World War Z the game was happening. I had remembered hearing about it, but it seemed like such a long time ago that I assumed it had been cancelled. Luckily the PR people behind it sent out a fair few emails in the run up to the game releasing, so I sent in my request. </div>
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World War Z's campaign is separated into four episodes in different parts of the world. You can go it alone, but it was super easy to join in with three randoms and jump straight into the first episode set in a New York subway. </div>
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Now obviously this game isn't going to be a huge story driven game, but I have to admit I found more story than I was expecting. There's quite a lot of choice in terms of who you play as, and you unlock their own back stories by playing as them, which is pretty neat. You also unlock tiers within the six different classes on offer - gunslinger, hellraiser, medic, fixer, slasher and exterminator. Each of these classes has different strengths and weaknesses and they're a lot of fun to play around with. Each and every weapon has separate upgrades too, making your weapon of choice stronger the more you use it. </div>
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This first level starts off easy enough, but if someone on your team isn't pulling their weight you will soon notice. Luckily enough for me I was in a team of people who had all played the game much more than I had. </div>
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There was a point in that first level that had me in awe. If you've played it you likely had the same experience. The zombies in World War Z - or 'zekes' as they're known in this universe - are fast and numerous. They will clamber over everything in their path, resembling a giant wave. The first time I saw this I honestly just watched it. I thought the animation of this was brilliant. Then the bastards came crashing through the glass and into the building we were holed up in. </div>
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We had set up a couple of traps and were all equipped with plenty of weaponry but a few of us went down and needed reviving. They were running up the stairs towards us and I thought we had a handle on them. Then I realised I was receiving damage and turned around. Behind me the zombies had formed a what is basically a zombie pyramid and had used this to climb up and surround us. </div>
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Honestly, that first level of World War Z really made me fall for this game. I was surprised by it. Seeing that first huge wave of zombies crashing down the road was unforgettable. I had doubted that this game would feel the same as either the book or the film and I was wrong. </div>
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Continuing through the campaign will see you visit Jerusalem, Moscow and Tokyo in turn. There isn't really much to say about the objectives in any of these areas. Let's be honest if you were in the middle of World War Z, would you be bothered about anything other than fighting for your life? There are, of course, some objectives but these are mostly used to lead you around the map and keep you in certain areas for long enough that you can get swarmed. </div>
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Yes this can get repetitive. But what game can't really? In my spare time I'm currently playing Assassin's Creed: Odyssey - a huge open world game that has fort after fort to 'complete'. This gets repetitive too, but I'm still playing it 40 hours later. </div>
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World War Z looks better than I was expecting too. I mean this is a game that literally has hundreds of moving parts on the screen at any one time, but I never saw it stutter. Is it the prettiest game I've ever played? No. But it certainly couldn't be described as ugly and there's a level of detail I honestly wasn't expecting. </div>
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There are a few online modes too, which I have to admit I haven't ventured too heavily into, choosing to replay the campaign levels instead. I don't often get time to play online anymore, but there seems to be plenty here to keep the more active online gamer happy. </div>
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The long and short of it is whether or not you have fun with a game and I really have had fun reviewing World War Z. I challenge any of you to play it and come away honestly stating that you were bored. I'm betting that the numbers would be low. </div>
Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-36095359214334591232019-04-15T18:48:00.000+01:002019-04-15T18:48:57.087+01:00Outward (Xbox One) - Review My son was very excited when Outward turned up in the post. We had decided earlier that week that we needed to put a little bit more effort into spending time just us two, before he's a teenager that doesn't want to admit to gaming with his Mum. We don't game together half as much as I'd like to these days, mostly because his friends will spam him with invites to play Fortnite and fill the split screen that I'm using until I give up and let him do it. This seemed like a good game to try out together after his little sister was in bed, and would hopefully be less frustrating than playing Lego games with him when he was smaller. <div>
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It wasn't.</div>
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In fact, it may well have been more frustrating, but for once this wasn't down to my son. The days where he apparently couldn't follow simple instructions are long gone (hallelujah!) so there was no repetition of 'go to the left. No, the left. THE LEFT!' which made a nice change. We changed his settings to appear offline too (why didn't I think of this sooner?!) so my screen was my own. </div>
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YES Outward is a couch co-op game - not many of those around anymore are there? I think this fact was the biggest draw for me and my son. It's nice to be able to sit down and play a game together, sat together, you know, the old fashioned way. A lot of the couch co-op games we do have (mostly Lego) have been played to death by now. We needed something new. </div>
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We loaded up and made our characters. And I'm just gonna say it - man this game is not pretty. I don't want to descend into slating a game just because of how it looks, but the graphics on offer here make the game feel <i>much </i>older than it is, which is a shame. I'm not as fussed by graphics as my son is, but even I was taken aback. It's been a while since I've played a game that isn't visually stunning. That isn't to say I've stayed away from games because of their graphics - not at all - but more that games in general just seem to be presented better these days. </div>
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The tutorial is huge and weaves around a big map which allows you to skip over certain parts if you want to. This game is pretty in depth, with a lot of different mechanics to learn. If I'm honest a lot of the tutorial went in one ear and out of the other. I felt like it was too much information - without much time to digest it. I learn by doing, and really you could just read the prompts and continue. I would have liked it if the tutorial required you to do a number of different things in succession to make sure you had a firm enough grasp of the concepts. Instead there was a room per concept, with a quick info panel to read and a dummy in the room to try it out on. It didn't really give you an idea on tactics. We wandered around what we hope was the whole of the tutorial level and entered into the game proper. </div>
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The story is pretty interesting, but as ever I won't spoil that here. Suffice it to say that the world they've created has some pretty interesting ideas. Unlike some other RPG's you do not begin this game as a hero. In fact you're a very normal somewhat downtrodden, citizen of a town called Cierzo. </div>
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In order to leave town you will need to collect some items that you will not be able to survive without, a weapon, a backpack and a waterskin. We quickly found these items and ventured outside. </div>
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We died. </div>
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You come to within the walls of Cierzo. My bag was somewhere near the gate but first I had to take care of the negative status' affecting my character. Bandages were applied and we took it in turns to rest on a bedroll. And we left again. </div>
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We did better the second time, but still ended up being taken back to Cierzo to recover. Outward is a really challenging game, that required a lot of trial and error on our part. It's safe to say in our first hour, we didn't get far. </div>
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My son really enjoyed it though. And I have to admit I am surprised. I thought that he would lose patience with the repetitiveness required to get better but I was wrong. He picked himself up and tried again, and even gave me a pep talk on not giving up. And when we finally killed out first monster he high fived me gleefully, more proud of this accomplishment than he's ever been of a kill on Fortnite. </div>
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We're since spent many more hours exploring the world of Outward together and I have to admit they've been some of the best hours I've spent gaming in a long time. The game has many issues and I have to admit, I don't think I'd play it alone. But playing it with my son has been an immense pleasure that we've been unable to find anywhere else. It's a game that challenges both of us, which has allowed him to help me out of sticky situations. This doesn't happen with the Lego games we usually play together. </div>
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It isn't the prettiest game you'll play this year. Hell, it probably isn't even as pretty as some games you played ten years ago. But the story is interesting and the world they've created is great. It's not massively populated, but it works well. And this game isn't going to break the bank. </div>
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Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-91514414543519242722019-04-12T12:29:00.000+01:002019-04-12T15:15:43.420+01:00Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2 (Nintendo Switch) - Review I first played Cook, Serve, Delicious when it was an iPad game and I was hooked immediately. It was fast-paced and frantic and I loved that about it. Couple that with control over the menu and having to think about the "buzz" your restaurant received and I played nothing but that game for hours on end. It was basically all I used my iPad for.<br />
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So when Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2 came out on PC in 2017 I had to play it. Something didn't gel right with me though, and I spent nowhere near as much time with it as I thought I would. On paper it sounded right up my street - more food items, more challenges - but something just wasn't clicking. </div>
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Fast forward to 2019 and it turns out the game is coming to Switch! Which has fast become my favourite console because it is actually accessible to a Mum of two game-obsessed kids who keep stealing my Xbox One. Not only is it coming to Switch, but it's coming to Switch on my birthday! I reached out to the developer with my fingers crossed and happily received a code. </div>
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I downloaded it immediately and in the week prior to launch (and my birthday) I put in numerous hours of burger-flipping and latte making. I work in a school and the code happily coincided with my two week Easter break so I played it A LOT. I even played it whilst I re-watched Game of Thrones from the beginning ready for the new season. I am hooked. </div>
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I don't understand why I didn't feel so positively about the PC version of this game after playing it on my Switch for the last fortnight. In 2017 I (mistakenly) believed that the original iPad game was the best version of the game and that the sequel had not managed to come anywhere near as close. Playing it again, two years later on a console I adore has completely changed that for me. And I haven't even been using the touch screen controls that have since been added. The button controls work really well. I mean, yeah it can be stressful to try and find the right button fast - especially when you also play Xbox and the X and Y buttons are switched which leads to much confusion - but it only adds to the pleasure of the game. </div>
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There is so much content here too. The new console releases are up-to-date with the current PC build which is fantastic. There are so many different restaurants you can work in in the tower to unlock things for inside your own restaurant that, honestly, I don't know how anyone could get bored. All of the different restaurants offer different cuisines, which in turn, offer new ways to cook. </div>
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The game also offers a co-op mode which is perfect for the Switch. Though be warned, it could quite easily lead to domestics. I played it with my son and ended up delegating him to just the chores. I couldn't handle watching him slowly read the ingredients and take an age to press the corresponding button. Hey, nobody is perfect. I'm working on it. </div>
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Yes you don't just get to cook gorgeous looking meals in this game. As in real life a food prep station comes with chores. Take the trash out, do the dishes and flush the loo that your customer can't quite seem to get the hang of. Typing it like that it sounds a lot like my actual life with the tiny humans I've spawned. Luckily I don't have to set many mice traps in real life though. </div>
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I am having so much fun with this game and honestly don't see myself getting bored. At just £12.99 this game is a steal for how much content there is and I can't see how anybody at all could say they didn't have fun playing it. The Switch is the perfect home for it, but for you guys who haven't yet bought one Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2 is also out on Xbox One and I'm sure it will provide just as much fun. And that version will have achievements! I'm fairly sure I'll end up double-dipping and if that's not telling you how fantastic this game is, I'm not sure what will. </div>
Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-2818099947286041822018-10-28T16:11:00.000+00:002018-10-28T16:13:35.129+00:00Fallout 76 Beta Thoughts!When Fallout 4 was announced I went to my local Game and pre-ordered the Pip-Boy version the very next day. They hadn't even put it into the till system yet, but I knew that I needed that game in my life. And let's face it, the idea of wearing an actual Pip-Boy was really cool - it turns out the idea of it was much cooler than the reality, but it makes for a sweet collectible so it's fine that I only used it for about an hour, right? In my defense I had a rubbish phone at the time that didn't quite fit and left a lot of space around the edges. Maybe it'd be better now...<br />
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I had adored Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas (actually my favourite out of the two) on Xbox 360 and had spent countless hours exploring the Wastelands these games provided me with. I never actually finished the story on either of them. Call me stupid but I didn't want the game to end. I liked knowing that I could go back to it at a later date and it'd still be there. I completed side mission after side mission, but never to this day have I seen the campaign through to the end. I will. One day.<br />
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Fallout 4 was different. It grabbed me and it didn't let me go. I found that I wanted to complete the story first this time, so then I was left alone to explore the vast reaches of The Commonwealth at my own speed. I raced through it. I didn't even look into when certain alliances would stop you progressing with others like I had in the past. I played it how I wanted to play it. It was a revelation. I am not completely cured though. I still have unfinished business in the Commonwealth. I have the DLC, but I am yet to get past the first area of Far Harbour. I guess I'm not ready for my adventures in the Commonwealth to be over just yet.<br />
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When Fallout 76 was first shown I was unbelievably excited. Then they started talking about it being multiplayer, and my excitement started to wane. By the end it had been completely dampened. Not only was this game going to be full of other real people - who could attack you if they wanted - but there was a big push on the building elements of the game, something which just hadn't gelled with me in Fallout 4. And even though the Power Armour would be an <i>unbelievably </i>cool addition to my cabinet, I just couldn't bring myself to commit to it. I still haven't pre-ordered it.<br />
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My god do I regret that decision now.<br />
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I chatted with one of the guys at Bethesda about the game and basically asked him how well it plays as a single-player experience as I truly wasn't interested in a multiplayer Fallout game. He told me that he had spent a fair few hours adventuring alone and it had felt like a 'real Fallout experience'. But then he told me about the fun he had had when he had teamed up too. And my interest piqued a little.<br />
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I was lucky enough to be provided with a beta code for Fallout 76 last week. I couldn't make the first wave of testing as it started at midnight and I have two small kids, but I made sure I was home and ready yesterday for the 10pm start. I needed to see whether my first impressions had been right.<br />
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They weren't. At all. This game is A LOT of fun as a team. It was a bit annoying to hear the tell-tale sign of someone trying to hit my character as I chose how she would look. But then I heard the strains of a guitar, and when I had finished creating my character I was looking at another player sat in a chair playing the guitar. They then got up and waved at me. It was nice.<br />
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Interestingly enough, whilst the Fallout 76 announcement had left me feeling disheartened it had grabbed the attention of my husband, who has NEVER played a Fallout game before. He had little to no interest in them at all. But learning that it was multiplayer had him listening. Maybe it was just knowing that I could save him in this one...<br />
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So we teamed up the minute we walked out of Vault 76 and made our way through some quests together, stopping at some abandoned cabins along the way to forage for supplies. We were soon kitted out with bowie knives and pipe pistols, and even a bit of armour. The quests all worked seamlessly - ones that I had triggered updated on his screen and vice-versa - and amazingly we only encountered one bug! A Feral Ghoul who kept regenerating his health. Small scale bug for a Bethesda game, right guys?!<br />
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And then a little sign came up the side saying the servers were going off in eight minutes. Two whole hours had flown by. I can honestly say I hadn't looked at my watch (or my phone!) the entire time I was playing, which has to be a good sign, right?<br />
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I am not going to talk about the story missions we completed - though honestly we got sidetracked by side missions so there weren't actually that many. I just want to tell you a little about my experience with the game. There were plenty of other people running around the area I was in. But I didn't encounter any trouble, not a one turned their weapon on me. However a lot of them waved, or stood patiently whilst I was using the crafting station. I have since learned that you have to be Level 5 to be able to attack other players though, so maybe that could change.<br />
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Fallout 76 so far for me feels like a Fallout game. But one I can share if I choose. The world is rich with stories to pick up, and places to explore and I didn't feel like that was ruined by having a tag-along. I really expected that I would. But actually it was quite nice. This doesn't mean that I'll only be playing with friends though. No one can take my alone time with Fallout away from me.<br />
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It's hard admitting you were so wrong about something, but this time I have to hold my hand up. I should have driven to Game the day after the Power Armour version was announced. I will regret not having faith in Bethesda for a long time. Especially if I ever look on eBay at the helmet...<br />
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<br />Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-29337927792407654012018-09-25T18:45:00.000+01:002018-09-25T18:45:13.874+01:00Prison Architect: Nintendo Switch Edition - Review (Switch)I know I've already reviewed Prison Architect on Xbox One, but when the email came in about the Switch release in the middle of the school summer holidays - with many more days filled with my kids stealing my Xbox off me stretching before me - I couldn't believe my luck and replied instantly basically asking the lovely PR person to save me from the new hell that was Fortnite whenever we were at home.<br />
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Now they're not re-inventing the wheel with Prison Architect: Nintendo Switch Edition. If you've ever played the game before, you know what you're getting yourself in for. The Switch edition does come loaded with all of the post release DLC too though, which is an added bonus. And also you can now play it on the go, which is basically what we've always wanted for a sim game, right?? It can't be just me.<br />
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Cue to me telling you that I've now ran a prison from outside my kids' school, inside the seventh level of hell that is the Legoland Discovery Centre on an after school visit and in the waiting room for the doctor's - this last one more times than I'd have liked. I know that people might be sick of reading how people want game x, y or z brought to the Switch, but there is a good reason for it and that reason is THAT EVERYTHING FEELS BETTER ON THE SWITCH!<br />
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I mean, seriously, I have put more hours into the Switch version already than I ever did on the Xbox One. It just suits me better at the minute and I'm so grateful for all of the support that the Switch has received so far from other developers and publishers.<br />
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I haven't encountered any major issues with the game running in either docked or handheld mode, which is pretty great. I did kinda expect that there would be the choice of using touchscreen controls, though, and as of yet there aren't. This isn't a major problem for me, in fact I don't really like touching the Switch screen. But I know that could make a huge difference for some Switch owners out there.<br />
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I'm not sure whether I would tell everybody to buy this game. If you haven't played it before and are interested in the concept, go for it. It's a very fun game. If you've played some of it, enjoyed it but haven't had the chance to play the DLC yet then I'd still say that this package offers you something too. Obviously, this decision is yours to make, but I am in no doubt that my favourite place to play this game is on the Nintendo Switch, and I did already own it on the Xbox One and the PC.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-80828459475310260572018-06-05T10:13:00.001+01:002018-06-05T10:13:41.757+01:00Smoke and Sacrifice (Nintendo Switch) - Review Smoke and Sacrifice is available now on the Nintendo Switch and is priced at £19.99. There is a launch discount running at the moment that takes the price down to £15.99.<br />
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The beginning of Smoke and Sacrifice is quite something. It throws you into the game as Sachi, a new mother living in a village that believes they have to sacrifice a child to a Sun God for protection. Guess who just got picked as sacrifice? Yep, you got it; Sachi's new little boy, Lio.<br />
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Walking through the village before the sacrifice you are thanked, even celebrated for what you are about to do. One woman comments that sacrifice's shouldn't be named, to save yourself from a little of the pain. Whoops. Seems Sachi is something of a rebel. You have to go pick the baby up and drop him off under the watchful gaze of a laser beam.<br />
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Just as you're feeling completely disgusted with yourself and your actions the game then skips you forward seven years. Sachi is still living in the same village and dines't truly believe her son is gone. Then the protection surrounding the village fails and monsters attack the village and its people. Sachi is sent to find the village priests but in all of the confusion they're nowhere to be found. She heads into the temple and is transported to a completely new world and immediately sets out to see if she can find her sacrificed son.<br />
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I feel like I've given you more story than I ever have in a review before, but honestly these aren't spoilers. What I have described is literally the first fifteen minutes or so of the game, probably less. But I wanted to speak a little about those opening moments, to give you an idea of what the game is about. It started off looking so charming, but is much darker than I expected. It's a survival game with something actually at stake - you have to survive to see if Sachi can find her son. Don't worry though, no spoilers from here on out. Guess you'll just have to buy Smoke and Sacrifice if you want to find out what happens to Sachi and Lio :-) (or watch it on YouTube or something). <br />
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The new world is very different to the one we started in. Its gloomy and smoke-filled, and has monsters and something called Drear's roaming around. They're friendly enough and will set you tasks that start off simple enough and are actually helpful to Sachi. They'll teach you ways to keep the smoke at bay, craft weapons and even a warmer jerkin, and later some fur boots, so that you can enter another biome to continue your quest.<br />
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The crafting in this game starts out simply enough, with you being able to make nothing more that make-shift weapons and items. Eventually though your crafting recipes will increase to include much tougher weapons - even elemental ones.<br />
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I feel like the crafting system is much deeper than I initially expected given how simplistic the combat is. That's not to say that the combat isn't good, because despite it's simplicity - you literally just bash one button over and over until your foe dies - it is both fun and challenging. There is a dodge button too and you WILL need to use it. In a way playing Smoke and Sacrifice made me think of Kingdom Come: Deliverance. If you read my review for that, you'll remember that I liked that you played as someone who was rubbish at fighting. He was on a learning experience, just like the player. He got better as I did and it really helped my enjoyment of the game. Smoke and Sacrifice is exactly the same. Sachi isn't a warrior. She's a mum who's been thrust into a terrible world and will do anything to find her son.<br />
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The monsters in Smoke and Sacrifice don't always have to meet their end at the hand of whatever weapon you've managed to cobble together either. You can set traps, tame some of them, and even milk some of them to help heal yourself - as long as they're stunned first. And trust me, healing is important in Smoke and Sacrifice.<br />
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Smoke and Sacrifice is a fantastic entry into the survival game market. Yes, some of the tasks set can feel monotonous, but it's not so bad as to ruin the enjoyment of the game. The manual saves at terminals set at intervals around the world are something I really enjoyed, but I know they're not for everyone. Remember though, when playing on Switch you can just put your console into sleep mode if you suddenly need to stop gaming. The game looks gorgeous and playing a survival game with a story you really want to get to the bottom of makes a nice change to. I think Smoke and Sacrifice would be a valuable addition to anybody's Switch library.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-53566323111792281062018-05-19T08:22:00.001+01:002018-05-19T08:22:02.527+01:00A Normal Lost Phone + Another Lost Phone (Switch) - ReviewsIt's really difficult to review games like this. As you know, I never want to ruin story for you guys, I just want to give you enough information that might help you make your decision on whether you want the game or not.<br />
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I thought I'd do these games in a single review because, even if the stories differ wildly the core gameplay and ideas are the same. You have found a lost phone and you want find out more about who it belonged to, cos you're nosey like that.<br />
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Now, obviously, if you find a lost phone in real life this sin't what you would do. You would hand it in to the appropriate person - be it at a shop or a train station etc. - and go about your business as usual, never thinking twice about it again. But in these games you get to play out your nosey fantasies, deep diving into somebody else's phone, reading their emails and texts, scrawling through their pictures and even having a good ol' gander at their dating profile.<br />
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Now I played the first one way back when it was first released and I adored it. It felt so different to any other game available on the market and managed to paint a fantastic picture of a character, even though you never get the chance to meet them. It was unusual. The "story" - that is to say the information you find on the phone - was brilliant and it really did stick with me. Both games deal with difficult issues, but I think the first one in particular shone in this regard.<br />
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Now we all know that we should have pins and locks on our phones and these lost phones are no different. Luckily for us, there is enough content on these phones that isn't locked behind a pattern or code. But to progress you must find the Wifi password for the town, or information that will help you with the pin code on their profile for example. These were really interesting puzzles - nothing too difficult that you find yourself having to reach for an internet guide but certainly not always simple enough to feel like it was easy.<br />
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There is no part of me that wants to go back and play through these titles again, they were deleted from my Switch immediately after I finished to make way for other games. This isn't a bad thing, but obviously after you have cracked all the codes and found out who the phone belonged to, your drive to do it again is going to have vanished. You've done it. I have to admit, it felt nice to park a game quite so definitely. It certainly isn't something I generally do, I mean I have a very full 5tb drive on my Xbox One - just in case I ever feel the need to play that game for five minutes again one day.<br />
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I would say that if you're interested in trying out one of these games I would recommend A Normal Lost Phone more than Another Lost Phone. I felt like it dealt with it's own particular issue in a less clumsy and obvious way and the puzzles in general were just generally slightly better. Only slightly, obviously, because at their core these games are exactly the same. I just feel like there wasn't as much thought put into Another Lost Phone - the story felt rushed and the puzzles were a little too easy.<br />
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I do think that you should give one of these games a go at some point though, they really are interesting, though they do deal with subjects of a sensitive nature. This is done very well in both cases, but I definitely think A Normal Lost Phone shines slightly brighter than Another Lost Phone.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-13788615925752388242018-04-12T09:59:00.000+01:002018-04-12T09:59:18.130+01:00Shoppe Keep (Xbox One) - ReviewShoppe Keep is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £10.39.<br />
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When I saw Shoppe Keep appear in the Xbox One Store I was pretty damn excited - I love a good management game! I have whiled away many, <i>many </i>hours on games that have allowed me to manage hospitals, restaurants, malls, game dev studios, vets, hair salons, supermarkets, you get the idea. I guess I like being in control more than I realised.<br />
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Shoppe Keep is unlike any management game I have played before. My time as a manager of all the types listed above was spent in a more passive position I guess. You know, a view from above, a few neat little screens that allow me to micro manage every aspect of my budding business. Shoppe Keep literally puts you on the shop floor. You embody the shop keeper and oh wow it's harder than it looks. You will have to physically restock your shelves (until you can afford to buy a bot for it anyway) with times that you've had to wait to be delivered. It's a difficult balancing act that I have to admit I hadn't envisioned.<br />
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Worse still you have to deal with the people who decide they just don't want to pay for your beautifully crafted sword or cuirass. Some will rather childishly knock the item off the shelf and leave, but others will turn to crime. They'll swipe it and run, leaving you to either take the loss on the chin, or chase them down and kill them. There's no in-between. If you do choose to kill them don't forget to take the item back from their cold, dead body. I thought it would do it automatically upon their death but it doesn't, meaning that the first few times I was robbed I literally chased them down for revenge and left the item for the homeless. Bit pointless of me!<br />
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All of this would be much easier to deal with if the controls were easier to handle though. Shoppe Keep was originally released into Early Access on Steam quite a while ago and it shows. The controls are unintuitive at best and actually obstructive at worst. There is no active tutorial - just a few screens of text to search through to learn even the most basic parts of the game like building your shelves, or unsheathing your weapons. It is less than ideal, this game would have really benefitted from including a small beginner store that showed you the basics of the day-to-day running.<br />
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I've had a lot of fun with Shoppe Keep but it really annoys me that after a number of hours it is still the control system that I struggle against the most.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-10215775873058880972018-04-12T09:34:00.000+01:002018-04-12T09:34:13.964+01:00ACORN Tactics (Switch) - Review ACORN Tactics is available now on the Nintendo Switch and is priced at £8.99.<br />
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Strategy games feel so natural on the Nintendo Switch. I think we can all say that we have enjoyed a good little strategy game from time to time, even if it isn't the genre of game you generally turn to when you want a few hours of entertainment. I have put countless hours into Defense Grid 1 and 2 on the Xbox in the past, I just find that gameplay loop completely addictive. But I have to admit that - on the Xbox One anyway - seeing games like Defense Grid next to the big AAA titles I often found my head turned. I mean, if I'm getting to use the TV for anything other than a kids' TV show then I want to make the most of it!<br />
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I think we all suffer from something I like to call "backlog guilt" from time to time. You know you have those big releases queued up, and in some cases you bought them on release day, intending to play them straight away. Now though you can pick it up for a tenner and your £40 copy is still in the shrink wrap on the shelf because you kept getting distracted by newer games, or by the gems you had forgotten you owned. It's a struggle I'm sure we're all too familiar with. There are so many games released these days and we all typically have less time to play. The Switch changed that for me and I'm SO incredibly grateful for it.<br />
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You see now I can jump into a casual little game in handheld mode, whilst my kids are playing Minecraft. One that I used to feel guilty about playing after I'd got my kids to bed and I could have been playing a more cinematic game. I love that my Switch library offers huge variance in the type of games I can play without making me feel guilty about abandoning other games.<br />
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Anyway, I've digressed a little. ACORN Tactics is a neat little strategy RPG that sets you in a post-apocalyptic world where humans live on man-made islands in the sea. These little islands are now being invaded by aliens and it is up to you to save us. It's a fun little story set across 25 missions.<br />
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If you've ever played a SRPG before then you will know what you're doing from the off. You move your battalion of mechs around the island board and kill the aliens. Each turn your mech can move and shoot - if an enemy is in range, of course. You create your mechs in your garage but there isn't as much room for customisation as I had originally thought. You basically pick the size of the mech, which dictates which weapons it can carry and you can choose a colour and a name for your creation. It's all very standard fare - snipers, shotguns etc.<br />
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There are perks you can pay for along the way, but I have to admit to finding purchasing these tiresome. You always unlock a new perk when you have ample coin available for it and I never found myself having to make a tough choice between upgrades because I didn't have enough for both, so it just kinda felt like extra button presses for the sake of it.<br />
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If you lose your mech in a battle they are gone, which can hurt. They are easily replaced in the garage though so it is easy to brush yourself and get back into the battle. Your mechs level up with their kill score though, so you do lose some of those perks when you let your mech fall in battle.<br />
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ACORN Tactics is a fun little game but it does play it safe. It's cheap though and kept me interested whilst I was playing through it, I just wish that there had been something a little different about it.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-69129751443039712892018-02-22T10:28:00.000+00:002018-02-22T10:29:37.952+00:00Millie (Switch) - ReviewMillie is available now on the Nintendo Switch and is priced at £4.49.<br />
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There are a lot of games on the Nintendo Switch eShop that started life as a mobile game. Millie was originally released on mobile and Steam a few years back for a little less money up front but a fair few micro transactions once you got stuck in. <br />
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I hadn't really heard of it until it came to the Switch store. I was intrigued. I'm almost 30 and so I spent much of my teen years playing Snake on my Nokia 3310. No phone since has ever been as loved. Millie looked enough like Snake to pique my interest, so I fired off an email and got to playing it the minute the code came through.<br />
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Millie isn't a Snake clone. It's actually more like what would happen if Snake and Pac-Man had a baby in that you do grow as you eat pellets but the pellets are spread around a maze-like level a la Pac-Man. And these maze-like levels can be incredibly tough to get around when you get bigger every time you eat.<br />
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There are 100 levels that are spread through three environments and the first few left me feeling pretty confident. I was doing alright. But then the levels suddenly seemed to get a lot bigger and it was a hell of a lot tougher to not keep smacking Millie's head into her butt. I had to give up on my perfectionist preferences pretty soon. Until then I had been getting every last pellet and not bumping Millie into herself at all, but I soon began moving to the exit the minute it became open and after I had quit out a couple of times because I had made Millie headbutt herself, again, I gave up on that too and accepted the time penalty that came with it humbly. Ish.<br />
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You do get some items that will help you along the way, but I tried to stay away from them for as long as possible. It's not possible to for long though. Well, I guess it probably is, but I don't know how much fun you'd have. As I mentioned before, the mobile version had micro-transactions built in. These micro-transactions included things like scissors that cut a little bit off Millie (ouch!), and clocks that allow you to rewind slightly after you've got yourself into yet another pickle. Luckily for us Switch players these are bought with the stars you earn in game, rather than real money. I did find it annoying though that after using some of them in a level only to have to restart it anyway, I lost what I had used. I was kinda expecting that you'd get them back if you failed the level after using them.<br />
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Millie is a fun little game, but wow does it test your patience. It would have even the most seasoned of gamers moaning with frustration, especially in the later levels. Kids might enjoy the first few levels they would definitely tire of how tough it is a little later on.<br />
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<br />Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-18257870095654132572018-02-13T09:49:00.000+00:002018-03-15T11:09:00.993+00:00Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Xbox One) - Review In ProgressKingdom Come: Deliverance is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £54.99.<br />
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This review will be a work in progress. As of now I am roughly 16 hours into the game and have played it literally as often as I could for as long as I could (out of choice, not because I have to). I will come back each week to update this review until I have finished the game. I felt like this was the fairest way for the game to get the coverage it deserves at launch. As ever I will not include any spoilers.<br />
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Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an open world RPG that sees you play as a young blacksmiths apprentice. The world is incredibly well crafted and feels really different to most other open worlds I've played around in, in that this game allows you to just live in the world it has created. Don't get me wrong it isn't fit to burst with side-quests and extra games - though there is an incredible dice game I've just encountered that I know will take up a lot of my time in the future - but you don't wind up using the wait function for hours on end in KC:D and come on, we've all done that in Skyrim. This can probably be attributed to the fact that your character gets hungry and tired over time and obviously you can't fight as well on an empty stomach or when you're dead on your feet. Because of this you end up just walking around the town, waiting for your next quest to become available.<br />
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I am still running an original Xbox One on a plain old HD screen and the game still took my breath away. All of you lucky Xbox One X owners are in for a treat for the eyeballs as the game is Xbox One X Enhanced. I have encountered a fair few graphical glitches though. There is a lot of texture pop every time I enter a town, which is unfortunate. I've also had a lot of chat scenes where my character and the character I'm talking to have kinda merged into one being. Not great.<br />
The lip-syncing leaves a little to be desired too and makes the game seem older than it is. It's not a big issue by any means but it's a far cry from the likes of LA Noire. The voice acting, however, is brilliant and feels really authentic.<br />
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When the game is initially loading you're shown a video that tells you about the games world and the tough times that they are in. It tells of a beloved Emperor who's son, Wenceslas has taken the throne and basically disappointed everyone with his actions. Wenceslas has a half brother though, Sigismund and he has decided to challenge Wenceslas' right to the throne by kidnapping him and laying siege to many of the towns that were loyal to him. This story drew me in from the beginning. Once I'd got past the pretty long load I was treated to cutscene after cutscene filled with brilliant characters and plenty of drama. The first time I loaded this game my kids' had a party later that day and I didn't turn the game off until I was gonna be late. The prologue was insane. By the time the credits started I felt drained - in a good way - and couldn't believe that everything that had taken place was just in the opening act.<br />
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Combat takes a lot of getting used to. I lost my first few fistfights and I actually had to go running back to my mum so she could patch me up after I picked a fight with a man that owed my dad money. No, really. Once you get a sword though it begins make more sense (for me at least) and it is very satisfying when you finally manage to do it right! The character you play as is a young blacksmiths son who hasn't really used a sword before so it kinda works, he's not going to be a great swordsman from the off. The bad fist fight was on me though. The game isn't hand-holdy at all, obviously there are some tutorials but honestly they're handled in a terrific way. The only real tutorials are to do with the different fighting skills and trust me you'll be glad of those! The fighting mechanics are completely realistic; there's no marker for where your arrow will hit when using a bow and arrow and you have to move your right stick around to strike from that direction with your sword. It is the most truly in-depth swordplay I have ever encountered in a video-game.<br />
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Things can escalate really quickly, if you fail to complete a quest one way it will urge you to complete it another way. This lead to me being caught trying to pick the lock of a chest in the guard's quarters. Once caught I had a few options; pay the massive fine of 750 Groschen (to put that into perspective I had 6.8 at the time), sweet talk my way out, fight or flee. When I told the guard I couldn't pay he kindly offered to let me reside in jail until my fine was paid up.<br />
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There are autosave points; mainly after important cutscenes or, as I've found out straight after you've messed up. The game will also save when you sleep. If you ever want to save in between you have to use Saviour Schnapps - a liquor. It will save your progress whenever you decide to use it, but it does count as drinking alcohol and has the negative affects that come with that. It's a really cool mechanic that has stopped me from flicking to my dashboard quickly when I've messed up really badly, which I admit I have done with other games. What can I say, I'm a perfectionist!<br />
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I want to show a little love to the in game map because it is really pretty cool. The art style of it is lovely, and it's super easy to navigate. Anywhere you haven't ventured to is covered in fog, but once the fog disperses you are left with a detailed map of the town. Each quest shows up on there as a colour-coded letter which makes it incredibly easy to head to the correct quest marker, unlike so many open world games where you have to set your own marker near to the one you actually want to head to, or disable every other quest. You can keep as many of your quests active as you'd like on here. You have a little icon that shows where your character is and when you choose to fast travel it plots a route for you and you watch this icon make it's way across the map.<br />
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Henry, the games protagonist is a young lad who is training to be blacksmith like his father. He is naive, but eager to prove himself. You can choose to play Henry a few ways I guess, but from what I feel I've learnt of the character (at least thus far) he has a strong set of morals that he won't want to part with easily. So with that in mind, I play Henry as someone who is unwilling to loot corpses or complete the shady jobs for people and will look for an honest way to earn the coin he needs to pay his debts. I am willing to change this later if at some point in the story it seems like Henry has changed - which may well happen - but for now I'm very glad to be telling crooks that I will not help them steal from graves. The quest marker is still in my log if Henry ever changes his mind. My Henry also eats pretty much only cabbage, unless someone kindly lets him eat from their pot of stew. Hey, don't judge! Cabbages seem to offer the best nutrition to price ratio I have found so far.<br />
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I think this is what I like the most about this game so far. It's an incredibly well-crafted story - one that has had me dying to experience more - but it still has the freedom to create your own story like in Skyrim. Yes it can be very, very difficult but I honestly find that so much more immersive. Henry is a flawed 'hero'. He isn't already a gifted swordsman or a master archer. He's not even a great blacksmith. He's learning as he goes, which does make it easier to accept the crushing defeats I have experienced all too often. At 16 hours in I have only killed three men, all of whom threatened me when I was on my way back to my home town and wouldn't yield when I miraculously managed to get them on the back foot. I love that this game really charts Henry's progression through the story and I can't wait to carry on with his journey!Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-20435105580508134252018-01-10T16:36:00.000+00:002018-03-15T11:13:05.788+00:00Pic-A-Pix Deluxe (Switch) - Review Pic-A-Pix Deluxe is available now on Nintendo Switch and is priced at £6.99.<br />
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I became somewhat addicted to nonograms last summer. It was my dad that started it, during the long hours in the hospital he had downloaded a few little free monogram games onto his phone and showed them to me. I have a Windows phone (yeah, silly me right?!) so there were very few for me to choose from, but I managed to find a couple and quickly lose a few hours trying to decode the pictures.<br />
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I imagine that everyone reading is familiar with the idea of a nonogram puzzle, but they may not be familiar with the name as they can go by so many others. Basically they're like a crossword but for coloured blocks. Each column will have a number - and sometimes colour - attributed to it and you need to find where these coloured blocks reside. Do this for each column and you're rewarded with a pretty, pixellated picture. They are stupidly addictive and whilst they may sound simple enough, they can be incredibly tricky.<br />
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There are a couple of games like this available on the Switch now, Picross S and Piczle Lines DX. I have only played the latter but found myself losing an hour at a time rather than the ten minutes I had previously thought I'd play it for. I completed puzzle after puzzle in huge marathon sessions with Friends on in the background. It was the perfect game for the slump I found myself in at the time, allowing me to completely veg out. I completed it very fast.<br />
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So when I saw that Pic-A-Pix Deluxe was coming to Switch I knew I had to try it out. I downloaded the free Christmas themed demo first and whizzed through it one sitting, absolutely hooked on the simple gameplay and intuitive controls. I didn't use the touchscreen capabilities at all, for me it felt so easy with the Joy-Cons in handheld mode that I didn't even consider attempting a different control method. It made sense to me.<br />
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I was sent a review code on the Friday just gone and have spent the weekend snatching moments to play it whilst the kids are watching TV, or while I'm overseeing dinner. Then when they're in bed, when I could be playing LA Noire - which I'm in the middle of - I've found myself instead succumbing to marathon sessions of Pic-A-Pix Deluxe. So much so that by Monday I had finished the coloured puzzles, most of them with medals - which I think are given for not using the 'Fix' option or blank space markers. I never use blank space markers anyway, but I have used the Fix option a couple of times when I've been left flummoxed. I know I'll go back to get the rest of the medals one day though, it's nice to see them hanging over the finished pictures in the menu. First of all though I'm going to finish the rest of the Black and White puzzles found in the Extras menu, I believe I still have about five pages of puzzles left in there.<br />
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Pic-A-Pix Deluxe also includes a multiplayer mode which makes for some rather frustrating fun. I guess I'm more controlling than I thought, because I found it really difficult to work with someone else to complete the puzzles! We split the puzzle into segments, but I found it really difficult to relinquish parts of the picture for someone else to solve. It was a lot of fun though and it's certainly something I haven't done before. I found it much better to go back and do puzzles I had already completed on my own beforehand, I think it helped me feel like I wasn't missing out on solving the whole thing for myself. Silly, I know.<br />
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Overall, I've loved almost every second of the time I have spent with Pic-A-Pix Deluxe and I will be sad when I've completed all the puzzles. There is the promise of extra puzzles to be added in the future as paid DLC packs - one of which is available now for £3.49 I believe. These packs will typically include around 150 puzzles which offers pretty good value for money. The one at the minute includes the puzzles that were included in the Nintendo DS release, so if you have already played those puzzles save your cash for the next DLC pack.<br />
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I'd definitely recommend Pic-A-Pix Deluxe to Switch owners. It's a perfect fit for the console, especially in handheld mode which is how I primarily play my Switch. It doesn't tax the battery so you can get plenty of hours of nonogram goodness in a single charge and it is SO satisfying when you complete the puzzle that you've been struggling with for a little while and get a pretty picture!Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-73672980159794721362017-12-08T14:59:00.000+00:002018-01-05T12:13:48.697+00:00Quest of Dungeons (Switch) - Review Quest of Dungeons is available now on the Nintendo Switch and is priced at £7.99.<br />
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You may feel a little deja vu reading the title of this review. Yes I have <a href="https://dkplaysgames.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/quest-of-dungeons-xbox-one-review.html" target="_blank">reviewed this title</a> before, way back in the September of 2015 when it was released on the Xbox One. I <i>loved </i>it and gave it a massive 9/10. So when I realised it was released on Switch I didn't hesitate to reach out to the lovely game developer David and ask if I could review it again on the Switch. I had a feeling Quest of Dungeons had found it's true home.<br />
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How right I was! Everything I loved about the game initially has been magnified tenfold by the fact I can now <i>take it with me!!! </i>It really does feel super special on the Switch, I've played it for hours on the TV and when my kids want to watch a film I get to <i>carry on playing. </i>I'm one of those annoying parents that turns up to pick the children up from school half an hour early (in my defense if you don't do that you don't get anywhere near the school) and having Quest of Dungeons on my Switch has been the perfect companion to those last few minutes of peace.<br />
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In fact I'd go so far as to say that the experience of playing Quest of Dungeons on the Nintendo Switch has made me reconsider how highly I rated it on the Xbox One. I'm not going to go back and change the score but if I was going to score this now, on the Switch, I'd give it 9/10. I can't give it a ten because there could be more of it - the option to reenter a dungeon you liked would be a sweet addition for starters - so it's not quite perfect. But it is definitely closer to perfection than it's Xbox One counterpart is. It feels like the definitive edition of the game.<br />
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That being said though it does feel like a little more could have been added for this re-release. There have been some tweaks and new additions - mainly in the form of a new achievement like system that keeps track of your feats and a new "mansion" level that has some new enemies. I might have liked an extra character or two but what I <i>really, really </i>wish we'd seen come to the Switch version of Quest of Dungeons would have been a little co-op mode. Ah that'd be truly glorious. A Joy-Con each as you try and make your way through the dungeons? It's be the perfect way for me to introduce my kids to this type of game. They're too young yet to appreciate the type of game where one mistake can mean you start again from the beginning, but if I were able to support them through it I'm sure we could have a lot of fun together. Hint, hint David!Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-83948823996843622182017-12-08T10:53:00.001+00:002017-12-08T10:53:15.650+00:00Catching UpIn the lifetime of this blog I've had to write a fair few of these apology posts. But none were as hard as this one. Because even though I'm sorry to my followers and the developers I've let down by not being here and reviewing the games I said I would I can't say I'd have behaved any different. I couldn't.<br />
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As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows I lost my beloved Mum to cancer at the end of September. She was just 48. The last six weeks or so of her life were spent in the hospital. Actually she spent much of the last six months in and out of the place. But in the last six weeks it was clear there wasn't much time left. So I was there pretty much every day, spending all the time I could with her and attempting to support my dad through this horrific time.<br />
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In the now two and a half months that has followed - I can't actually believe it's been that long since I last saw her face - I have been trying to spend as much time as possible with my family. I'd like to say helping them, but sometimes I fear I've been more of a hindrance than a help. Also my Dad has surprised me with his strength and hasn't needed me as much as I've needed to feel like I could help. If that makes sense. I'm realising now, that as much as we may not want it too life has to carry on. We have to pick ourselves up and carry on through every day, knowing full well there will always be a huge black hole in our hearts that can never be full again. It isn't easy. It doesn't feel right, or fair. But this is the hand that life has dealt us so we adapt and keep going.<br />
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So I guess instead of apologising I guess I'm asking for understanding. I'm going to start catching up on the reviews I should have been doing these past couple of months, starting today. Because I have to carry on - even if I want to shy away from the world.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-16992271701793795502017-09-13T14:57:00.000+01:002017-09-13T14:57:02.829+01:00Agents of Mayhem (Xbox One) - ReviewAgents of Mayhem is available now for the Xbox One and is priced at £49.99 on the Xbox Marketplace.<br />
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This review should have been up a while back. Yeah home life has been hectic, but actually the biggest problem I have had with this review has actually just been in the <i>writing. </i>I've had severe writing block where this game is concerned, because I'm still not sure where I stand with it. Helpful, right?!<br />
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Agents of Mayhem is an open world game by Volition, set after events in Saints Row 4: Gat out of Hell. On paper that game sounds <i>amazing, </i>an open world, with plenty of different heroes to play as in a battle against the guys who are trying to take over the world. But somehow, it falls flat.<br />
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I wanted to love it. I wanted to be dying to jump back in every time my playtime was rudely interrupted by yet another kid's party. But I just wasn't all that bothered about getting back to what basically ends up being a rather lifeless world. The open world of Seoul just doesn't seem very full, generally there are only a few NPC's, vehicles and just general signs of life. Don't worry though there are some collectibles dotted about to flesh out the world. Oh goody.<br />
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This is where my issue in writing this review started - who will believe that Volition have managed to make a world that's stale and boring after the first hour?! But everything about this game does feel stale - at least to me. The characters only ever managed to raise a slight smile, although mostly the attempts at humour made me cringe. Agents of Mayhem just doesn't hit the silly comical heights that the Saints Row games have managed to before.<br />
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There are a lot of characters to choose to play as in Agents of Mayhem, but again this just doesn't feel right. I wish they'd made a few less characters and put more effort into writing the ones that stayed. There are too many that just feel completely interchangeable. It's such a shame. Some of them are pretty interesting and have fairly decent backstories but these may only standout because of how dull the others are. You pick three of them to take with you to your missions, and can switch between them at will, utilising their different special abilities to wreak havoc on the baddies. Unfortunately there's no way to control the people you're not playing as, which feels like a big missed opportunity. If you'd had some squad control elements this game could have been a lot more interesting.<br />
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The gunplay is alright, it doesn't break any molds but it all works pretty much how you'd expect. I had some issues in some of the bigger battles with stuttering, but it wasn't too bad. The worst thing about the battles is how repetitive they feel, the same baddies will appear over and over and to top it off they feel a bit bullet-spongey.<br />
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The biggest problem with Agents of Mayhem is that it feels very much like a game that you'd stick on for half an hour or less to just do a couple of missions. Which would be fine if there weren't plenty of games like this already available that are <i>better. </i>I found myself playing this and dreaming of Overwatch and ultimately putting it on for a while afterwards to take the sour taste out of my mouth.<br />
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<br />Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-82037851592870476922017-08-21T20:37:00.001+01:002017-08-21T20:37:39.917+01:00Ironcast (Switch) - Review Ironcast has now been released on the Nintendo Switch and is priced at £11.99.<br />
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I have <a href="https://dkplaysgames.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/ironcast-xbox-one-review.html" target="_blank">reviewed Ironcast</a> before when it was first released on the Xbox One and despite being crap at it I kept going back for more. So when I saw that it had been released on Switch I was pretty excited. I had a feeling this game would work perfectly on the Switch - specifically it's handheld mode. Boy was I right!<br />
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Ironcast feels completely at home on the Switch and the fact that in all probability you won't complete the campaign on the first try works <i>brilliantly </i>here. I've found myself picking up my Switch to have a go on a couple of levels of Ironcast tonnes of times this last week or so - during ads on YouTube, waiting for the kettle to boil etc etc. I know for a fact I won't be going back to the Xbox One version anymore, even though that means missing out on those 'cheevs. I'd say, for me at least, that the Switch version of Ironcast is definitely the definitive version. Yeah it's a bit pricier - especially when you consider that Ironcast will likely have been on sale on the Xbox store a few times by now - but honestly it's worth it.<br />
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I was hoping to be able to play it with the D-Pad because I remember getting a bit annoyed at how inaccurate the analogue stick could be when making your matches - I ended up retracing my steps a fair few times when playing it on the Xbox. But you can match diagonally on this board so obviously a D-Pad wouldn't work well here, which is a shame none the less.<br />
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Another thing I'd like to add is that the menu hasn't gotten any better. Or moreso the navigation of the screen where you can fix your gear or craft new stuff. It's like a mouse cursor that you hover over where you want to go and then press 'B' to get into. Why can't this just be done by moving up or down? Or even better with a hotkey. In combat you press 'Y' to enter the repair mode and then each trigger is a different area you can repair - I feel like this could have worked in the main hub too.<br />
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Overall though I haven't got many negatives to tell you about this game. It's good fun, pretty damn challenging and perfect for on the go - it doesn't tax the Switch battery at all. If you're yet to buy it on any other console but have been interested in it previously I'd say pay the extra couple of quid for this version. Hell, I'd even recommend double dipping on this one if you enjoyed it on a home console before. It definitely feels better when you can take it anywhere too.<br />
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<br />Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-30618382975740449232017-07-19T14:04:00.003+01:002017-07-19T14:04:58.611+01:00Oceanhorn: Monster of the Uncharted Seas (Switch) - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oceanhorn: Monster of the Uncharted Seas is available now on the Nintendo Switch and is priced at £11.99.<br />
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You may be feeling a little deja vu reading the title for this review. Way back in September of last year <a href="https://dkplaysgames.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/oceanhorn-monster-of-seas-xbox-one.html" target="_blank">I reviewed Oceanhorn</a> when it was released on the Xbox One. I reviewed this before I stopped giving scores out of ten and I have to admit to being surprised now by how highly I scored it back then. I guess a few things have changed since then.<br />
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As I said in the last review Oceanhorn: Monster of the Uncharted Seas is pretty much a Zelda clone. And when I reviewed it last we were all very much in a Zelda drought, having to revisit old games to get our fix. Oceanhorn for Xbox One couldn't have been released at a better time really, it had been such a long time since a new Zelda game had been released that I (and I imagine a fair few others) was just excited to play a game that reminded me so much of one my favourite game series. But since then we have been given the gift of the Nintendo Switch and Breath of the Wild, a game that I am over 100 hours into and nowhere near finished or even slightly bored of it. I love it so much I'm even attempting to collect all 900 Korok seeds.<br />
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So coming down from this Zelda high to play Oceanhorn for review was quite a bump. Everything I liked about it in my previous review is still true; it still looks beautiful and the music is still a treat for your earholes. But playing it on a Nintendo console, home of the real Zelda just brings it home that this isn't Zelda.<br />
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Which should be a good thing, right? I wouldn't want to release a game for it only to ever live in the shadow of another series anyway. But unfortunately for Oceanhorn playing it on the Switch just made me even more aware of the games shortfalls. Again all of these shortfalls were mentioned in my last review; the sailing is automatic, the levelling up system is a bit crap and uninvolved and makes me wonder whether it would have been better to just <i>not </i>have it and there is still no quest log or world map, which just seems silly really.<br />
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I was more forgiving of these issues in my previous review, and I still stand by that decision. It's easier - for me anyhow - to be more lenient with the Xbox One version. I know that if I ever want to replay this game it will be on the Xbox. When I realised this I was really surprised. My Switch has taken over my gaming life - it has been weeks since I have played on my Xbox at all and I don't even have many games yet. But as a mum of two being able to play a game on the TV whilst the children aren't around and switching to handheld when they're home has been invaluable. I can't wait for the Switch game library to grow.<br />
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Even considering the limited number of games available on the Switch up to now I can't really recommend Oceanhorn. It's really unfortunate because I did genuinely love the game when I played it on the Xbox One, but turning from Breath of the Wild to this highlights how much of a Zelda-lite this game is. And that's not as much of a compliment as it was last year.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-32004442906188346072017-05-04T10:03:00.000+01:002017-05-04T10:04:25.268+01:00Table Top Racing: World Tour (Xbox One) - Review <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBVf0TSKGZUP2xbN0O2oEiozdYNDobbWIDqEpOTn98silNzj0_WBeGGL_HqW5D_fIcHsUUUATS-cLSloGaRtCmnin0EDDTXDhIBfibN7Wgn0k9hQoQdgtXk2ZGUn_K-kJe4pyyi54fh-s/s1600/Table-TOp.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBVf0TSKGZUP2xbN0O2oEiozdYNDobbWIDqEpOTn98silNzj0_WBeGGL_HqW5D_fIcHsUUUATS-cLSloGaRtCmnin0EDDTXDhIBfibN7Wgn0k9hQoQdgtXk2ZGUn_K-kJe4pyyi54fh-s/s200/Table-TOp.png" width="200" /></a>Table Top Racing: World Tour is available now for the Xbox One and is priced at £11.99.<br />
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Let me get this out of the way straight away, as of yet this game has NO LOCAL MULTIPLAYER. There are mumblings online of it possibly being patched in, but as of yet it hasn't. In my opinion this is a massive oversight. This game would have been played regularly in our house if it had a split screen option and instead it is barely ever opened.<br />
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My children came in from school the day I got sent this to review excited to try it out together. Instead they had to take it i turns to go through the campaign races, which is fine I guess but it really does affect the longevity of a game. After the campaign is done what would make you come back?<br />
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For me the answer (with this particular game) is nothing. Yeah the game is fun enough, but I don't want to grind the same races over and over again. There is an Online Multiplayer option, but I don't tend to play online as such anymore and let's be honest an online community eventually dies off.<br />
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It's a shame because this game really could have been excellent for families and groups of friends, the Xbox's answer to Mario Kart. But I really can't look past the fact that there isn't an option to grab a couple of controllers and play it with my children. The cars can be upgraded and there are a number of stars to earn on each level which can drag the game out to be a bit longer. There are a limited number of tracks that you revisit for different events over and over. It just feels lacklustre.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-29310916499286474372017-04-18T13:43:00.002+01:002017-04-18T13:43:51.369+01:00Voodoo Vince Remastered (Xbox One) - Review <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_RiDSjs5iNgjpqaEfSgHm107OOIG9uLjmgRE9Q1vXgiHrFKhUGadrai8SKe4dEpEtx7YGsqQwWy4OnHHhDmgO2JDjZcr_FInMxDi2kYoIGI7fzVvRvyTmGBTDCVYuvrD_p3klzcSHZw/s1600/300.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_RiDSjs5iNgjpqaEfSgHm107OOIG9uLjmgRE9Q1vXgiHrFKhUGadrai8SKe4dEpEtx7YGsqQwWy4OnHHhDmgO2JDjZcr_FInMxDi2kYoIGI7fzVvRvyTmGBTDCVYuvrD_p3klzcSHZw/s200/300.jpeg" width="193" /></a>Voodoo Vince Remastered is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £11.99.<br />
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Confession time, I had never even heard of Voodoo Vince before I received the email about the remastered version. I was a young teen when it first graced the Xbox back in 2003 and was at the mercy of my parents' choices where consoles were concerned. We were always a PlayStation household after my dad first got his hands on the original PlayStation after years of Sega consoles. Our Mega Drive is actually still alive and living next to my Xbox One, PS4 and Wii U quite harmoniously. It was actually the console we played on most over the long Easter weekend, with the whole family round.<br />
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Anyway, back to the point, eh? This review won't be commenting on what changes (if any) the remaster has given us because they wouldn't truly be my words, I'd have to read them elsewhere first. I mean, obviously, the graphics look better than I imagine it did on the original Xbox but I am coming to Voodoo Vince Remastered as someone who has never played it, or even seen it before.<br />
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So Voodoo Vince sees you take control of a cutesey little voodoo doll, Vince. He's brought to life to rescue Madam Charmaine and of course there are a number of items for Vince to collect on his journey. These can increase his life bar, give him an extra life for if you send him down one of the bottomless pits and they can give him new voodoo powers to use against the many enemies he will encounter on his travels through New Orleans. These powers are pretty cool, they all hurt poor old Vince, but luckily due to him being a voodoo doll his enemies get the same treatment a few seconds later. The first time I triggered a voodoo power I have to admit to being a little confused as I did what the game asked (pull RT + LT) and swiftly watched as poor Vince died in the middle of my screen. Luckily he came back and a second later the enemies that were circling me carked it too. Wahoo!<br />
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Voodoo Vince is a fairly standard platformer, gameplay wise. All the usual suspects are present and correct; double-jumps, spins, punches and plenty of gaps for you to fall down. I thought the tutorial was really well incorporated in this game though, there are too many games where the tutorial feels like a chore that can't be skipped and jars the experience. In Voodoo Vince you can just walk past the little pictures that appear in the environment to teach you how to suck eggs, I mean teach you how to jump, punch and spin your way around the world.<br />
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I had a lot of fun with Voodoo Vince and felt that the roughly 8 hour completion time suits me perfectly. I know that some people prefer more game for their money, but I feel that Voodoo Vince was just long enough to stop me getting bored or frustrated. I don't need - or want - to spend 20 hours on a platformer if I'm honest. Voodoo Vince is a solid little game that I think is perfectly priced for what you get. Very rare these days!<br />
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<br />Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-88991307737057069402017-03-15T17:08:00.000+00:002017-03-15T17:08:15.819+00:00Zombie Vikings (Xbox One) - Review <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBvTqghIRnaeVmqNs8dgfpOp6UEVbaZ3NH4b2qTEWN_bQYy79vuiOBD0hts1pnZAIhZwTf4Q_P8gRoDYlJOsvmlHgAwr7tzdnEifNZlS4JO8bHUD_CX7PwFae2q3jMt0DLj7Usfb4-Ao/s1600/image-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBvTqghIRnaeVmqNs8dgfpOp6UEVbaZ3NH4b2qTEWN_bQYy79vuiOBD0hts1pnZAIhZwTf4Q_P8gRoDYlJOsvmlHgAwr7tzdnEifNZlS4JO8bHUD_CX7PwFae2q3jMt0DLj7Usfb4-Ao/s200/image-3.jpeg" width="133" /></a>Zombie Vikings is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £9.59.<br />
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If you've read anything I've written before, including my Twitter, you know that I have a ready made four player set up at home. My kids love to play games and "help" me with my reviews. So they were super excited when I said we'd sit down and play this together after school.<br />
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The art style is lovely and I loved all of the different playable characters' designs. The voice over work is pretty good too. Unfortunately that's about all I have to say about Zombie Vikings that is positive. Oh I like the fact that you can play four player couch co-op too. Or, I did, until I actually played it.<br />
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Zombie Vikings is a side-scrolling hack and slash with about 30 levels, which is at least ten too many. The easiest comparison to make would be Castle Crashers. You know, if Castle Crashers was crap. And riddles with bugs.<br />
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Where to start with where this game fall short? The story is lacklustre and the "funny" moments are just completely cringeworthy. Seriously, I don't remember the last time I cringed so much at an attempted joke. And I'm not quite sure who this "humour" is aimed at, at times it's too infantile for adults and other "jokes" are a little too offensive for young children's ears. And mine actually, they really were that bad.<br />
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If you want to play a game with 3 friends or family members or whatever do yourself a favour and <i>don't </i>pick this one up. Replay Castle Crashers. Or watch paint dry. Your friends will thank you for it.<br />
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<br />Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-89219345732769884472017-03-15T16:44:00.000+00:002017-03-15T16:44:04.893+00:00Chime Sharp (Xbox One) - Review <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Chime Sharp is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £7.99.<br />
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People have repeatedly compared this game to Tetris and I have to say I disagree. Yes they're both games about placing blocks and clearing the board, but Tetris is so much more intuitive and simplistic than Chime Sharp. You don't need a tutorial on Tetris to know what you need to do. Chime Sharp tried to reinvent the wheel a little and didn't tell us that that was what they were doing, resulting in me playing the game for about an hour wondering why I was only getting 40% progression, thus not unlocking any new tracks or modes.<br />
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The reason for this, once you know is fairly simple, but it shouldn't be something that isn't clear from the off in my opinion. In Tetris the aim is to clear lines, hopefully more than one at a time, yeah? Well in Chime Sharp you clear blocks using "Quads" or blocks of at least 3x3. Simple enough. But you also have to try and use every part of the game screen. This is what the progression percentage is linked to, not how many quads you get or whatever. You're supposed to try and utilise the whole screen with your quads and doing so unlocks more of the song that is playing. So put a quad in one corner and then you never have to use that corner again. It is a fairly interesting mechanic, but it's one I'm not so keen on in all honesty, especially considering that the game NEVER TELLS YOU that that's what you're supposed to be doing.<br />
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You have a point multiplier in play that seems to be lost randomly. I ended up asking someone because I couldn't really see why I was losing my multiplier. Turns out that the fragments you have on the board (the pieces that aren't part of a quadrant) drop after some time. When they drop your multiplier waves bye-bye too.<br />
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As I mentioned before when you hit a certain percentage completion on each song you unlock new modes and new songs. In these modes is Sharp mode which sees the timer disappear and be replaced with lives. Earn more lives by forming the perfect quadrant and lose them by letting the fragments drop. You also get Strike mode which gives you 90 seconds to get as high a score as you can and Challenge mode which is basically the same as the standard mode but you have a dodgier board and a smaller variety of pieces to play with. Oh and you can practice any of the songs endlessly too.<br />
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In all Chime Sharp offers a pretty good alternative to games like Tetris, but to compare them properly is unfair on both. I'm a huge Tetris fan so I thought I'd love Chime Sharp too. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy my time with Chime Sharp and it does have that addictive "one more go" quality. Unfortunately though I found the colours used in game to be too bright in Chime Sharp for an extended play and whilst the game is addictive enough I feel like it just throws a little too much at you if you want those high scores. They both have their own merits, exclusive of the other, so if you're not a Tetris fan don't be put off by the people that tell you that is basically what Chime Sharp is. It isn't. It's much more than that, I just don't know whether I was ready for more yet.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4203093380318846431.post-100903797809764642017-03-15T10:50:00.000+00:002017-03-15T10:50:07.671+00:00Kitty Powers' Matchmaker (Xbox One) - Review <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Kitty Powers' Matchmaker is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £12.39.<br />
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I had played Kitty Powers' Matchmaker before when it was released on Android. My Twitter was full of screenshots and praise for the game and thanks to the Android Rewards app I had a few quid going spare so I grabbed it. I had a lot of fun with it whilst I was waiting in the car for my kids' to get out of their clubs or whatever I'd turn it on and just do a date or two.<br />
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When I heard it was coming to consoles I was a little concerned. I did wonder how it would translate to the big screen and more importantly a traditional controller rather than a touch screen device. Luckily my concerns were unfounded, the game is mapped to a controller like it was always supposed to be there. They work wonderfully.<br />
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So Kitty Powers' Matchmaker is exactly what it says it is, you play as a matchmaker under the tutelage of Kitty Powers. She'll guide you through the process of setting up your matchmaking empire, explain all the mini games to you and talk you through the traits of every singleton that comes through your doors as well as advertising in new places to get different types of people as you level up. Ain't she good?!<br />
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So singleton's will come in and ask you to find their soulmate for them. Then you give them a little ear piece and follow them on their date. You'll feed answers into this ear piece so make sure you listen to what their date is saying. They'll all have certain things they're attracted too, hair and eye colour being the first thing that they notice about each other. As the date continues you'll choose their food based on what they say they fancy and pull the Love Handle to choose topics of conversation. Everyone has different interests, occupations, guilty pleasures and bad habits and you can either be truthful and hope that your date respects that or lie and take your chances with the roulette wheel over whether they believe you or not. It's a very simple premise that is incredibly addictive. I've played it for over ten hours now and still go for "just one more date" when I put the game on.<br />
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You earn money through fees and tips and this money can be spent on new pages for your little black book, a salon or a gift shop and some new restaurants for your daters to enjoy. These restaurants unlock new mini games too. These include a game that sees you trying to hold in a fart by playing a higher or lower card game, or deciding whether or not to splat a spider that invades your table. They can also test your memory by giving you a Generation Game style conveyor belt full of pudding options that your date won't remember the name of, just the order in which they were shown. What's wrong with a traditional menu?! Well, I guess it wouldn't be as challenging that way. You'll also have the chance to play pachinko to decide who pays the bill and exercise your maths brain to work out how much to tip the waiter.<br />
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The variety of mini games keeps the game interesting. No date is the same and failing some of the mini games results in some pretty funny moments. It's a really fun little game, but I do wonder why it has been priced so highly. In my opinion an £8 or lower price would have suited this casual game better. Don't get me wrong, that isn't to say this game isn't fun because it really is and I will continue playing it long after this review is written and not just for the achievements!Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938889485896821435noreply@blogger.com0