good luck on your trip, Cary!
Pre-PAX Reviews
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 On 08/29/2013 at 08:40 PM by Cary Woodham See More From This User » |
Well folks, this weekend I’ll be heading down to Seattle for PAX! I’m really looking forward to it. At least for a few days throughout the year, I can do what I feel I was MEANT to do. Anyway, please pray that I have a safe trip there and back. When I do get back, you can check out my PAX Prime impressions at GamerDad.com. I’ll post links to all my PAX articles at the end of next week here so you can click on them and read them. Sorry it’ll take that long, but I have to actually write the articles first and arrange and edit pictures. Plus I still have to go to work during the day. But in the meantime, here are some links to games reviews I’ve written in the past month or so. Please click on and read as many as you can, and maybe even post a comment or two! I’d really appreciate it. Thanks so much for reading all my blogs and reviews!
I can describe this game in five words: THIS GAME IS MY CHILDHOOD. Of all the games reviewed here, I hope you all make a point to read this one most. Normally I only review games I get press copies of. Ones that I buy myself I rarely review unless I feel that strongly about it that it warrants the extra work to write the review. I bought this game myself, if that tells you anything. I apologize if I got too gushy in the review. I try to be as objective as I can in my reviews, but sometimes I think a little gushing is in order on special occasions. Playing this game just makes me smile.
It’s basically Skylanders with Disney characters. Believe it or not, as big of a Disney fan as I am, I still like Skylanders better. With Skylanders, you can play and see most of the game and not have to buy a bunch of figures to do so. But with Disney Infinity, I feel like I miss whole parts of the game unless I buy more figures and playsets. Infinity is also more limiting than you might think when it comes to where you can place figures. And even though the world is more open-ended and allows for more gameplay variety, the goals and objectives aren’t as clear as they are in Skylanders either. Even so, I still got somewhat addicted to this game, and if Phineas and Ferb and Wreck-It Ralph get playsets and figures, I may be tempted to buy them. Maybe.
Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff (Wii)
While we’re on the subject of Disney, I might as well put this next on my review list. It’s just a basic 2-D platformer and most reviewers would probably bash it for that. News Flash, folks, not all games are made just for you. This is clearly a kids’ game and that’s OK. It may not be the ultimate Phineas and Ferb game, but it does retain a lot of the humor from the show, and I think kids will like it. I’m not really the biggest fan of the cartoon show, as I think it can be a bit ADD sometimes, but I have respect for it all the same as it can be really funny every now and then. I just wish Disney wouldn’t show it so much. It’s becoming Disney’s Spongebob. As far as Disney Channel cartoons go, I prefer Gravity Falls much more.
G.P. the GamerPuppet Unboxes the Tales of Xillia Collector’s Edition (PS3)
I got the collector’s edition of Tales of Xillia, so I had G.P. the GamerPuppet show it off. I haven’t had time to play the game yet, though, because I’ve been so busy with other things. But I knew I wanted the collector’s edition so that’s why I got it right away regardless. Someone who has played the game: pick out a character that you think I’d like, OK?
Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale (3DS)
This is a really unique downloadable 3DS title where you play as a Japanese boy living in the early 70s in a suburb of Tokyo where giant ‘Kaiju’ monsters are supposedly real. Despite the aggressive sounding name, this is a rather passive gaming experience as you mostly talk to kid neighbors and friends, play a monster card battle game, and participate in childish games and antics. It kind of reminds me of Chibi Robo in a way. Very neat little gem.
Layton Brothers: Mystery Room (iPad)
All the Prof. Layton games have been on 3DS, but this one stars Layton’s son and is on the iPad. I was never big on the Layton games because the puzzles required too much math and interrupted the flow of gameplay a lot of the time. Which is a shame since the Layton games exuberate a lot of charm. But the animated movie is really good, too, by the way (I have it on DVD). But Layton’s son’s game is totally different. He’s an investigator and the title plays more like a Phoenix Wright title! The first two cases are free, but I enjoyed them so much I might spend money to buy the other cases, which is something rare for me to do. So if you like Layton games and the Phoenix Wright series, you may want to check this one out if you have an iOS device. Speaking of which, I can’t wait for the Prof. Layton vs. Phoenix Wright game, which was recently announced to release in the US next year!
Surprisingly, this is actually a really good portable fishing game from Natsume, the Harvest Moon folks. They kept things simple so you can pick up and play it anytime, perfect for mobile gaming. Best of all, it’s truly free! No micro-transactions, no game time limit, no ad bombardment, and you don’t have to always be connected to the Internet. I’m not even sure how Natsume can make money with this! So download it while you can if you like fun, simple fishing games.
Angler’s Club: Ultimate Bass Fishing 3D (3DS)
I put this next as kind of a comparison. Because while Reel Fishing is very good, this downloadable 3DS fishing game is horrible. I couldn’t even catch a fish! And I’ve reviewed lots of fishing games so it’s not like I didn’t know what I was doing. Stay away from this awful smelly fish!
This is a cute little simulation game for kids. You have rabbits burrow tunnels and you can build and buy furniture and decorate their rooms with wallpaper and grow food to feed them and breed them. It’s kind of like a cross between Animal Crossing and Viva Piñata, with a little bit of Dig Dug thrown in for good measure. It’s a spinoff of the popular Animal Jam game, although I don’t really know much about that one.
Zorbit’s Math Adventure (iPad)
I don’t know why, but I love reviewing educational titles for kids. This one teaches preschool math skills with a little alien and his friends.
A while back I wrote a blog about the new computer animated TV cartoon series on Disney XD called Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. But a few days before I posted that, I wrote a little review about this free-to-play continuously running game starring Pac-Man and based on the recent cartoon. It’s all right, but I think it’s just a clever ploy to sell the toys based on the new franchise. You can buy power-ups, or scan barcodes from the toys to get them. Although I’ve never seen the toys in stores yet.
This is an overhead 2-D platforming puzzle challenge. It’s not a bad game, but not great either. The simple gameplay and tacked on four player mini-games remind me of some of the games we would’ve seen on the N64. So it’s a bit nostalgic, too.
A lot of folks were making a big deal of this game when I initially read about it, but it’s just a randomly generated 2-D platformer that gets tougher the better you are at it. I’m not really a fan of 2-D platformers that are difficult just for the sake of being hard, though. Otherwise, it’s not too bad of a game if that’s what you like.
Yeah I reviewed a strategy guide for a game I’ve never played. It’s obvious that I didn’t know what I was talking about. I did like the car in the game book that looks like a panda, though. I do know the Saints Row games can get pretty crazy.
And finally, here’s a free-to-play card game with a futuristic space war setting. The card game rules are easy to understand, and battles play out via a 3-D action packed war scene, so it’s somewhat unique.
And that’s all for now! Thanks for reading! --Cary
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