Azkend 2 (Xbox One) - Review

Azkend 2 is available now on the Xbox One and is priced at £6.39.

Now you all know I love Sparkle Unleashed and Sparkle 2 by the guys at 10tons and I still play them both fairly regularly (I will complete them on Nightmare mode!). So when a code for Azkend 2 dropped into my inbox I was super excited to try it out, but how does it compare to 10tons previous Xbox One releases?

Azkend 2 is basically a match-3 game, with the addition of a story. The story isn't all that bad, though the voiceover reminds me a lot of the hidden object games we have seen come to Xbox One by the guys at Artifex Mundi, a little bit cheap and cheesy sounding. A story in a game like this is a little unnecessary in my opinion; I don't pick up a puzzle game if I want to immerse myself in a brilliant story, I pick it up because I have 15 minutes spare and want a quick game, but maybe that's just me. Anyway, because of this I found the story to be more of a distraction from the game than an asset.

There are over 60 match puzzles to make your way through. Along the way they get a lot tougher, but you also acquire various upgrades. They are given to you after you've completed a certain amount of levels and you are asked whether you want to equip it before going into the next level. I do wish there was a way you could see all of your available upgrades here, rather than backing out into the menu screen, I just feel like the game would flow a little better that way.

Overall Azkend 2 offers a fairly entertaining challenge, but for me it doesn't reach the heights of Sparkle Unleashed and Sparkle 2. It doesn't have that same addictive streak that keeps me coming back and spending hours at a time playing. If you like match-3 games then obviously you should probably get it, otherwise skip it.

6/10 SKIP IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review. 

Human Resource Machine (Wii U) - Review

Human Resource Machine is available now on the Wii U.

I didn't expect this game to be as tough as it is. I think I jumped to this conclusion because it's on the Wii U and I primarily see that as a machine for kids (don't shoot me, I still love it). Oh how wrong I was. 

In Human Resource Machine you play as a cute little dude/dudette who goes to work for a big corporation. Your supervisor will set you tasks which you then must complete to finish the level. These tasks start off simple enough - you just move stuff from one side of the room to the other. But they soon become much more complex, with you needing to only take certain things to the other side and leaving the others behind. 

Now this sounds simple, doesn't it? What's so hard about just sorting through some mail or whatever? Well yeah, doing this manually would be much simpler, but in Human Resource Machine you don't sort things manually. Instead you basically write a line of code for your little employee to follow. Now, I'm not a coder nor have I ever dabbled in any form of coding, so I found this really quite difficult. I found it really hard to wrap my head around the code required to hit some of the goals for each level. I was fine when it was just move that from here to there, but the minute it started asking me to leave zeros behind I started getting lost pretty fast. 

And that's where Human Resource Machine really falls down. It's cutesy art-style leads you to believe that this is going to be a much simpler game than it is. I found myself getting incredibly frustrated with it, fairly early on which is incredibly disappointing. My partner however is an analyst and he whizzed through it with ease, laughing at how hard i made it look. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this game feels too tough for the casual puzzler it appears to be - it should have been more serious looking in my opinion. The graphics definitely attract a younger audience, but I fear my son would break the Wii U pad in frustration with this game. 

The touch screen works really well for this game (which is also available on Steam) so much so that I wonder whether it may be ported to iOS or Android. I think it'd be a good game to while away the commute with, but maybe not if you struggle as much as I did. I don't really know who to recommend this game for, definitely not kids or the more casual puzzle players. But at the same time saying people who code will love it seems silly too - if you code for your job do you really wanna come home and play a game that basically sees you writing code to complete menial tasks?!

5/10 TRY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9/10 BUY IT!

(This score is for NEWCOMERS to the game only)

A code was provided for the purpose of this review. 

Unmechanical: Extended (Xbox One) - Review

Unmechanical: Extended released on 11th February in Europe and is priced at £7.99. Unmechanical was a game released in 2012 for Windows, and the devs have now seen fit to bring it to the console with a bit of an extension. It features quite possibly the cutest robot ever on its apparent quest to escape from....well somewhere.

This was one of the most intriguing things about Unmechanical: Extended for me, it has literally no dialogue. There is no over-arching plotline. Nothing to guide you on your way, and NO TUTORIAL! Many people have grown sick of the hand holding tutorials within games now, that stop you from getting into the action for what seems like a huge amount of time. Well have no fears with this game, as everything is left for you to figure out, and it's all the better for it.

Cutest robot ever?

As you make your way through the scenery, you come across little puzzles that will unblock that route and allow you to venture forth. These puzzles are simplistic but brilliant, much like the game. There is enough variety that you won't get bored, but at the same time the game never really throes you a huge curveball. With just a little thought these puzzles are quite easily overcome, and this isn't a bad thing - quite the opposite in fact - as it makes for a truly enjoyable experience instead of one marred with frustration at the sometimes silly solutions to the puzzles. we've all been there right?

No Unmechanical:Extended takes puzzle games back to their beautiful basics. The music is relaxing and so so fitting to the overall feel of the game. The lack of story only makes the game MORE interesting, as you attempt to fill in the gaps. Who is this robot? Where is he? Why does he need to escape? The graphics are gorgeous and the extremely simple controls are a pleasure to use. This game is proof that a simple little game can be excellent if done correctly.

Priced at £7.99 I'd say this is very competitively priced (although what happened to indies being <£5!?). Considering the last game I reviewed was also this much I have absolutely no qualms in stating that if you have that amount sitting about then THIS is the game you should get. It is a brilliant experience, and one that you won't regret. For the hardcore gamer it might feel a little slow, but for anyone else I'd say give it a go!

9/10 BUY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Hack This Game 4 (XBLIG) Review

Hack This Game 4 is the latest in the Hack This Game series from Utopioneer. Available now on the XBLIG Marketplace for just 80MSP.
As usual the first three people to complete the game will be featured on the cover for the game. After trying and failing to complete this game (for now!) that is definitely a worthy prize for the winners!
This game is a unique puzzler which sees the player launched into brilliant vintage green computer style graphics to simulate hacking.  There are many different puzzles to enjoy (25 to be precise) and a brand new mini-game.
I found this game challenging, obviously. I think up to now I've managed to get to file 14 or 15. Players have to use all their wit and intellect to get there. I found I used a lot of trial-and-error to get to where I did. None-the-less though this game is addictive and I found myself staying up far too late in a desperate attempt to get further. Needless to say it didn't work and just left me too tired to function the next day :/
Now obviously if you are the type of person who likes to 'switch off brain' when you sit down for a gaming session this isn't for you. But for anyone who wants something a bit different, a TRULY challenging puzzle game and the chance for your avatar to be a star then 80MSP for this is an absolute steal.

7/10 TRY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.