Its about Fraken time...

About the game: The sequel to the best RTS of all time? I think that says it all. This review is going to be about the single player experience. In Starcraft there are 3 races the Terran humans (which this single-player game is all about), the Protoss (Aliens with awesome tech) and Zerg (disgusting insect creatures like the "Bugs" in Starship Troopers).

Controls: The controls are upgraded since the original and are that much better.

Graphics: These graphics will not be the best you have ever seen, but they certainly have some wow factor to them. The cut scenes are tops as in all Blizzard games, and the interlude in game scenes are also high quality.

Sound: The music/sound is tops as in all Blizzard games. The music has that epic feel to it when your in the middle of some insane mission or lulls to a slow symphony.

Gameplay: This is the is the RTS of the future. The game has the feel of the original game but with many upgrades. Though you only get 1/3 of the story, it feels like a "complete" RTS.

In the standard RTS you have a base and have to farm resources in order to build buildings and units. Then you use these units to beat the enemy (whomever that may be). The game deviates a bit from this at times as you might have to escort people to a destination or you might have to defend for a certain amount of time, but the standard is still the standard even in this game.

This portion of the single-player is the Terrans and your old friend Jim Raynor is back looking older, wiser and still flying on a huge battleship he stole in the first game.

The game has an epic single-player story but it includes many RPG elements. For example when your not doing a mission you can wander around the ship your flying on. As you walk around you can talk to people touch various things and it might give you some information or it might advance the plot a little.

One of the best things blizzard did is include units in the single-player campaign that aren't in the multi-player. This makes for a real unique experience as you will be using your medics and firebats to heal and burn. As you complete missions you will get a currency that can be used to upgrade your units and even hire mercenaries. You also can find these Protoss and Zerg artifacts that will allow you to make permanent upgrades to your base. Like you can get turrets on top of the bunkers or even build a building that slows down the Zerg.

Mercs are a super cool feature, basically they have their own building and after a cool down you can summon them to the battlefield in small numbers. What makes them awesome is that you can summon them instantly so they can help you out in a pinch. Especially in some of the very hard missions that occur later in the camapign.

The storyline for the game is pretty straightforward and I will not spoil anything but you do get the opportunity to play as another race other than Terran.

The game has some surprises along the way and it really is an epic feel, the only let down was that when your done with the game you have to wait another year (or more) for the next installment.

This really only brushes the surface as to how good the game is. If you have not played the original, I suggest you go and get it and at the same time buy this for when your done.

 

Verdict: Playworthy!!!

An Original Jewish Themed Card Game

About the game: In case you do not know this, I have been working on a card game with a couple friends. We have been working on it for about a year now and we are in the process currently of getting it produced. Its a simple blind bidding card game. Oh.....its called "Cholent, The Game!" and its the most original Jewish card game to hit the market in years..

Components: The game is a card game pure and simple. The game will come with 160 cards when it hits stores later this year.

The cards are seperated into 5 categories:

Recipe Cards
Shuk Cards
Ingredient Cards
Gelt Cards
Chevra Cards

There is also a cholent pot card to signify whose turn it is.

Artwork: I will link the game at the end of this post to show off how awesome the artwork really is.  I think seeing the artwork will speak for itself.

Gameplay: The game is very easy to understand but takes some strategy to master.

To start shuffle each of the decks and place them face down in front of everyone. Each player is then dealt a recipe card which is kept secret until the end of the game. Lastly, each player takes 4 gelt cards and 1 chevra card into their hand.

The youngest player then takes the cholent pot and turns over the top card of the shuk deck. Each shuk card will have an immediate effect and will initiate a bidding phase which works as follows.

1) The player who turned over the shuk card takes the number of ingredients indicated on the card and places them face up next to the ingredient deck.
2) Each player takes gelt cards equal to the number of ingredients being bid on.
3) Each ingredient is bid on separately in the order they were turned face up.

Bidding works as follows:

Each player decides how many gelt cards to use, and everyone simultaneously turns them over at the same time. The player with the highest total wins the ingredient.

After each ingredient is bid on, the cholent pot passes to the left and the next player starts the process over.

Now your probably telling yourself that it sounds interesting, but where is the awesome? This is where the chevra cards come in. These are special one time use cards that will help you get the ingredients you need.

You have to pay 3 gelt to get one, and there is no limit to how many you can have, but a smart player will know better than to spend all his gelt on chevra cards. A hand with no gelt is like a Cholent with no ingredients. Just like you need ingredients to make a cholent, so to here you need gelt to get the ingredients for your recipe.

If your interested in the official rules, head on over to the website and check them out.

My Thoughts: Of course I am a bit biased when it comes to this game, because I designed it, but I know a good game when I see it and I think we have a winner here. I feel so strongly about it, my friends and I created a company and are trying to get it produced. We currently have a website, facebook page, board game geek page, and are trying to raise funds through kickstarter.

If you have not heard of kickstarter, it is a website that allows people to donate money to your cause. Of course, you give some sort of reward in exchange for the money. In our case we are offering pre orders of the game, t shirts, a cool sketchbook and more!

If you have any questions, comments or anything at all do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Verdict: Playworthy!!!


Website
Kickstarter
Board Game Geek

"3D" Puzzles should only be this much fun

About the game: This game is just like the first Picross, but with 3D puzzles. You get some sort of square, rectangular shape and you have to carve out the item.

Controls: Touch screen makes the game pretty awesome. Being able to slide and turn the item in circles plus being able to mark or destroy cubes makes the game pretty easy to control.

Graphics: Nothing special, your standard DS graphics.

Sound: The tunes are catchy and add a little bit to the game.

Gameplay: The game starts out by explaining the basics. You first get some rectangular shape. The shape is made up of smaller cubes with numbers on them. This is a 3D shape so you can maneuver the camera all over to see all around the shape in question.

You then learn how to destroy and mark cubes. You destroy the cubes by pressing up on the d-pad and touching the cube in question. You mark a cube by pressing right on the d-pad and touching the cube in question. This makes sure you do not destroy a cube by accident.

The numbers on the cubes represent how many good cubes there should be in that row/column. Supposedly the game never requires you to guess, but I have found otherwise. The tutorial does a very good job of giving you some hints and tips to figuring out the numbers.

The more cubes you destroy the more you see of the item your carving out. If you destroy a cube that is part of the puzzle you get a strike. 5 strikes and your out. When you destroy your last cube, the puzzle will auto go into a little animation and you will get a number of stars depending on how well you did. If you do not get any strikes you get a star, if you beat the puzzle within the recommended time you get another and as long as you beat the puzzle you get another. So, you can get a total of 3 stars per puzzle.

As long as you complete the puzzles, you will unlock more puzzles. There are quite a few puzzles to unlock and they get harder as you go along.

This is one of the best puzzle games I have played in a long time. The game just keeps you coming back for more and more. I have powered through all the easy and normal puzzles and I am now onto the hard ones.

 

Verdict: Playworthy!!!

A sequel worth "punishing" yourself over

About the game: You play as either the female or male protagonist and are trying to escape earth. You have to fight your way out of course and this is no easy task.

Controls: There are a ton of options for this game, but I chose the wii remote and nuchuck and I do not see how any of the others could top it.

Graphics: The graphics are not bad, but they are not Super Mario Galaxy quality. I think it becomes very impressive when there are a crap ton of enemies on screen and there is no fps issues.

Sound: Some catchy tunes. There are voice overs for the characters, but the story really is not the games strong point. It is really all about the game play.

Gameplay: "Sin and Punishment: Star Successor" is the sequel to the awesome Sin and Punishment. If you have not played the original, I recommend head on over to the VC and download it right now. Its a fantastic game that was out for the N64 but never made it to the states, until now. After you have downloaded it then you can sit down with "Star Successor". I say beauty because this game is just so much fun.

The game is a 3d rail shooter, like the great "House of the Dead" series. You can move from side to side on the screen (even flying up in the air), but the game will automatically move you forward to the next area. 

There are thousands of enemies to destroy and you have the choice of characters to destroy them with. I played as the female character because her ability is to lock onto targets, which you would think would make for an easier game. But, I can tell you right now this game is not easy, even on easy!

The whole point of the game is to escape the world you are on and along the way you will destroy tons of enemies. Every time you destroy an enemy your score multiplier will go up. If you get hit it will go down. Sounds easy, but its not so easy to avoid the barrage of fire that appears on screen. 

Also, there are tons of bosses that are some of the best I have ever seen in games. These bosses are no easy feat to beat and will take many continues to finally destroy.

The game is not very long, but the online rankings will keep you going back to stages that you did not do well on, to try and achieve a high score.

I think this is one of my favorite games so far this year and I would recommend it to anyone looking to have a good time.

 

Verdict: Playworthy!!!

Star filled Adventure

About the game: Bowser steals the princess. You have to save her and to do that you need to get stars. Instead of going to Rosalina's ship now you get your own ship and use it to go from world to world/level to level.

Controls: Just like in the first Galaxy. You use the wii remote and nunchuk. You use the control stick on the nunchuk to move, you use A on the remote to jump, B on the bottom of the remote to shoot star bits and lastly you shake the wii remote to do a spin.

The controls work very well for the game and the sensitivity is just right.

Graphics: The game has some of the best available on the Wii.

Sound: Even better than the first game, there are some classics that have been brought back and that will make any Mario fan squeal with glee.

Gameplay: The game is the same as every Mario game. The princess is kidnapped and you have to rescue her from Bowser. You get a ship at the start and have to make your way to the center of the galaxy. Along the way you will get tons of stars and tons of fun as well. Oh one more thing.... Yoshi is in the game too. He is here in all his 3d glory and hes a blast to ride.

I think what set this game apart from the first Mario Galaxy is the sheer awesomeness each and every level provided. Every level there was something new and original that surprised me.

This game provided me with so fun that I could not put it down and had to get all those 120 stars (which I did). I am now working on the 2nd part of the game which is another 120 stars that have to be found.

I do not think I can talk enough about how great this game is.

 

Verdict: Playworthy!!!

A Torrent of Fun

About the game: This is your normal vertical scroller shooter. You control a ship and shoot enemies, while racking up lots of points.

Controls: The stylus is not used instead you use the D-Pad and B and A.  B shoots your main weapon and A uses your special weapon.

Graphics: The graphics are pretty good for the game. Some cool 3d worlds, but graphics really are not a big part of the game.

Sound: Some decent tunes that are catchy. Keeps the mood and tone of the game.

Gameplay: What makes the game interesting are the 2 different types of ships you can choose from.

Firstly, you have the easy ship where you are basically invulnerable. You have a special ability that turns bullets into torrents. This way once you use your special ability which in turn uses some energy, you can then use the torrents they leave behind to refill your energy. The biggest part of the game is using the special ability at the right time to turn bullets into torrents. The only way you can die as this ship is if your energy bar runs out and then you get hit.

The other ship is for experts. The special weapon is much harder to use and you are not invulnerable. Any hit will destroy your ship. As of this writing I still have not completed the game using this ship.

There are also 2 different modes you can play with (4 modes total 1 with each ship). Pattern mode which like galaga the enemies come in a specific pattern so you know whats coming next. Also a random mode, so you will have no idea whats coming next.

Something that has been sorely missing on most DSi games but is included in this one is online leaderboards. This adds some competitiveness to the game and makes you want to get in the top 10. You are also able to watch the replay of the top 10 people in any of the modes, which can allow you to learn some strategies.

This is a very fun game and super cheap. Its not very long, but these games never are. The point of the game is to keep you playing so you can get a real high score.

 

Verdict: Playworthy 

3D without the Glasses

About the game: The game is pretty straightforward. You are helping this animated character complete this story. You have to find the words in each stage in order to move on.

Controls: Very spotty. I started playing and everything seemed to work well. After awhile, I am not sure if the light wasn't right or the game just doesn't like me this became a nightmare.

What is supposed to happen is as you move the camera moves in the game which allows you to look all over the screen. This becomes a nightmare because the game just is not as responsive as you want it to be.

Graphics:  Very Impressive. This is what you want to see. The puzzles pop out at you and the effect is very impressive.

Sound: Some catchy tunes that do not impede the game at all.

Gameplay: You take a picture of yourself to start. Then you enter a stage where you have to find various letters/pictures hidden all over.

What makes this unlike other puzzle games is that the game uses head tracking. This is the reason you take the picture. You are looking at a 3d area and you have to move the camera around to sometimes actually make the letters/pictures appear. 

The game sounds solid, but as I said under controls it falls way short. The camera is just too spotty and it makes what should be a very enjoyable experience a painful one.

Verdict: Not Playworthy!