For us hardcore gamers -- who are wont to hold Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in almost legendary esteem -- it might be kinda galling to see that classic title transmogrified into a puzzle game, let alone one for the iPhone. But, come on, don't be a closed-minded douche. Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night is an innovative, entertaining, and actually pretty dang faithful gloss on one of the best of the best.
In terms of story, characters, and setting, EotN is essentially identical to its console granddaddy. Alucard, Dracula's half-human son goes into his father's castle to pursue vampire hunter Richter Belmont who seems to have been possessed by the spirit of evil and? okay, whatever. Suffice it to say that if you're familiar with the original's story, you'll experience plenty of nostalgia playing through this game. And if you aren't, you'll be just as confused as the rest of us, so have no fear. Whatever you've played before, you'll be playing EotN for a while, because ? like SotN ? it requires a lot of backtracking and teleporting around.
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For us hardcore gamers -- who are wont to hold Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in almost legendary esteem -- it might be kinda galling to see that classic title transmogrified into a puzzle game, let alone one for the iPhone. But, come on, don't be a closed-minded douche. Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night is an innovative, entertaining, and actually pretty dang faithful gloss on one of the best of the best.
In terms of story, characters, and setting, EotN is essentially identical to its console granddaddy. Alucard, Dracula's half-human son goes into his father's castle to pursue vampire hunter Richter Belmont who seems to have been possessed by the spirit of evil and? okay, whatever. Suffice it to say that if you're familiar with the original's story, you'll experience plenty of nostalgia playing through this game. And if you aren't, you'll be just as confused as the rest of us, so have no fear. Whatever you've played before, you'll be playing EotN for a while, because ? like SotN ? it requires a lot of backtracking and teleporting around.
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BlazBlue: Continuum Shift is ARC System Works much needed revision of last year's title, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. While Calamity Trigger was a fast-paced, unique, and easy-to-pick-up fighting game, the unbalanced roster resulted in only a few of the characters being viable on a competitive (or even casual) level, which led to many players dropping the game after only a short while. Continuum Shift not only addresses the balance issues of the previous game, but adds new characters and tweaks to the overall gameplay system, resulting in a far more complete package.
If you're new to the BlazBlue universe, you'll find the game has a small cast compared to other fighting games on the market, but makes up for it with a diverse roster. The four main attack buttons -- A, B, C and D -- chain together easily to form combos with each character's Drive attack, which makes each feel immediately distinct. For instance, Arakune's Drive Attack lets him curse his opponents, while Ragna's can absorb his opponent's life with each attack.
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Strip the internet of all the pornography, box cat videos, and idiotic Facebook status updates and you're pretty much left with one thing: lots and lots of "Who would win" forum threads. From what I can tell, the only thing more universally appealing than conflict is conflict that's extremely unlikely or altogether impossible -- like we're hard-wired to argue about whether a bear could take a shark or something. Even the most recent Fight Night sported an imaginary bout between Muhammed Ali and Mike Tyson on its cover.
Someone at Spike TV clearly understands mankind's need for far-fetched bloodsport, because Deadliest Warrior: The Game (and the television show that inspired it) taps right into the spirit of "this vs. that" internet discussions. Ever wonder what would happen if a Spartan hoplite went toe-to-toe with a ninja? What about an Apache warrior against a medieval knight? Deadliest Warrior takes those questions and answers them with a fighting game that's one part Soul Calibur, one part Bushido Blade, and almost entirely too generic for its own good.
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You'd think that floating through the nebulous vacuum of space as a globule of water (called a Mote) and absorbing smaller Motes while trance-like music plays would make for a relaxing and stress-free game. Not so in Hemisphere Games' Osmos for the iPad (originally for PC and Mac) -- managing your moves and control inputs becomes more than just a test of skill, but rather a battle with the environment. Osmos' portability is where it falters though, as it doesn't make concessions for the different play style that a portable game calls for.
Osmos is not a game you should play while going through the rigors that portable gaming often puts you through. Be it the jostles and bumps of a bus ride, accidentally elbowing the person sitting next to you on the train into work, or sitting uncomfortably on the ground while waiting in line; those factors will play into your Osmos progress. Since the game relies so heavily on precise movements, one accidental tap can send your Mote careening in the wrong direction, spelling doom for the remainder of that level. The game might be on your iPad, but keep your Osmos playing to comfortable and stable locations only.
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Over the past ten years, the original arcade Hydro Thunder has lodged itself in my brain, albeit for a strange reason: the game seems to exist (perhaps by law) at every rest stop within my home state of Ohio. On my long-distance travels from point A to point B, I inevitably have to pull over at some point -- and when I do, Hydro Thunder is there, offering cheap thrills for a mere 75 cents. I usually find myself falling for Midway's siren song, if only because they made the original Thunder during those desperate days of the arcade, when a developer had to rely on a steady supply of outlandish spectacle and elaborate housings in order to succeed. Who knew that Hydro Thunder Hurricane would come along to remind us just how charming the games of the not-too-distant-past could be?
Many games get called "arcadey," but Hydro Thunder Hurricane is the very definition of the word. Sure, it's based on an arcade game of yesteryear, but the fundamental mechanics haven't exactly been updated for the demands of a modern audience. Even though you're surrounded by opponents, the eight courses of Hurricane don't offer you any direct means to destroy them -- in fact, actively trying to ram or otherwise impair an enemy vessel will end up hurting you in the long run. The only thing that matters in Hurricane is speed, and grabbing the power-ups necessary to maintain this speed. It's a game that's more about reflexes than strategy, and also one that stresses the old art of finding the best shortcuts, in the vein of classics like San Francisco Rush.
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Remember Choplifter? 'Course you do. Okay, take that concept, add a decidedly weird backstory, an arcane control scheme, a healthy heaping of Lunar Lander's gameplay, and you've got a pretty good approximation of what Landit Bandit is about.
The key mechanic here is gravity: you pilot a helicopter of sorts (pedal-operated and based on the ancient designs of Leonardo da Vinci) and you gotta keep the darn thing from plummeting to earth. The R2 button does that for ya, and you're gonna need some subtle middle-finger skills to make sure you hit it at just the right time for just the right amount of time -- Landit Bandit is brutal about even the slightest mistakes. Throughout the game you'll acquire new "abilities" for your helicopter, too, including a grappling hook, dragon's breath, and a really hot chick -- all of which you'll need to master.
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Limbo does a great deal with very little. Stark black-and white-visuals and a simple two-button control scheme ("action" and "jump") highlight the power a talented developer can wield by keeping things simple. While the game's story (and its abrupt ending) leaves a bit to be desired, the framework surrounding it provides more than enough reason to explore the game's haunting world.
At its heart, Limbo is a puzzle game: you interact with the environment and overcome obstacles while trying to avoid an untimely (and messy) death...but you'll die a lot anyway. Learning to find the dangers cleverly concealed in the game's shadows keeps you aware of your simplistic surroundings, and draws focus to the minute details of the landscape. Limbo presents it's fair share of platforming and precision button pressing as well, but unlike, say, Mega Man, you're never forced to start back at the beginning of a stage. Any frustration you might feel at an inopportune death melts away when you respawn right next to where you failed. And when you finally figure out the solution to open the path forward, you feel like you've accomplished something. Limbo is not a game that gives up its secrets through mere trial-and-error -- its puzzles demand thought and contemplation.
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While titular character DeathSpank attempts to convince an orphan girl to get into his bag (there's context to this, which I will leave for you to discover for yourself in-game), she demands that he find her a cell phone. You then have to choose from a bevy of adventure game dialogue-style options, one of which expresses confusion with, "What does an orphan need a cell phone for?" To which she replies, "To update my blog, of course!"
That is the kind of humor that peppers DeathSpank (the game): a sort of deadpan absurdity where pretty much anything -- no matter how anachronistic or fourth-wall-breaking -- gets said as naturally as we would discuss the time of day. The unflinching delivery of some of the most surprising and out-of-left-field (yet flowing and not at all awkward) dialogue makes DeathSpank simply one of the funniest games to watch and listen to. The script, filled with references and quips covering topics from fantasy RPG tropes to the secret history of felt to the value of unicorn excrement to even sly references to other games, positively shines with classic designer Ron Gilbert's influence. The jokes hit on so many topics that something is bound to make you chuckle -- multiple times even. Even the diverse color palette, the Animal Crossing-esque "on-a-hill" perspective, and the visual gags, along with the voiced dialogue, all make DeathSpank a charming standout compared to other games of its ilk.
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The Disciples games had their own comfortable sub-niche in the genre of fantasy strategy. Unlike games with finicky tactical combat, Disciples focused on the units moving around the strategic maps. Battles played out quickly on a simple grid rather than the extensive, chess-like encounters that characterized games like King's Bounty, Heroes of Might and Magic, Master of Magic, and Age of Wonders. It was simple, fluid, and uniquely slick.
But for whatever reason, Disciples III has decided to be like the competition. Now it's virtually identical to King's Bounty and Heroes of the Might and Magic, except for the fact that it's nowhere near as good as either of them. If you're going to compromise your unique identity, the worst thing you can do is do it poorly.
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