Mega Mall Story

As the name implies, Mega Mall Story you will be running a mall! wow who would have thought.. The game begins the same as all Kairosoft games. You start off with the lowest of the low mall, and must grow into a full 5 star mall in a certain amount of years, also might I add losing isn't really a possibly. So with this in mind players will make money and grow their mall at a steady pace, almost automatic and you have to do nothing. The challenge is to grow as fast as possible to achieve the 5 star rating faster than all of your friends. With the game ending at year 15 like all Kairosoft games, you really need to push the boundaries to create the best out come for your mall to succeed in this game.

Gameplay:

Mega Mall Story has two major currencies players must juggle: Hearts and Money. Hearts are earned when customers decide to stop by your shop, and are used to unlock new shops and to upgrade the inventory or products from your current shops. Players spend their cash on building more store, adding several new floors, advertising on blimps, and investing in the community of course. Like any sim game it should be a lot of cut throat decisions. Players should always have a bit of money left to make sure if things go wrong they have something to fall back on, for example, do you want to build elevators or create a new shop, the choice is up to you. The eye popper about Mega Mall Story for me comes from how many different types of shops there are and the graphs that show based on the stores created what which you lean towards making. With nearly 100 stores, all the additional upgrades to your mall this game is very amusing to see the mall you designed flourish with customers. Each month is considered another in-game round. The store that were sold out re-open, the weather changes accordingly that effects what type of crowd you'll receive (rainy not many customers). Not to mention my least favorite part, rival malls open and try to take your customers, to combat this you must invest in the community and win back the customers that way. Mega Mall is a very addicting game with a lot of fun shops to choose from, while the touch controls are a bit sensitive, and even unresponsive it's something that you will learn to get over and then the game is very fun. While the game is very good at explaining how to play the game the down fall in my opinion would be they really never explain how a customer that comes to your store every day is not a "regular" but others that don't are. It's never fully explained and leaves me wondering but it's not so big that it ruins the imagine of the game.

Closing comments:

Mega Mall Story represents Kairosofts greatest potential. It's near perfect, the simulation depth and options you can choose along with the addictiveness that it brings is amazing. Anyone out there that has ever played a Kairosoft game and didn't like it I'd advise you to give them one more try and download this game for the current sale of .99 and try it for yourself you won't regret it.

Mario Kart 7

New Nintendo System can only mean one thing.... more Mario games. So far this has been a good things seeing as all of the world loves Mario. The Mario Kart series has always been commanding the whole kart-racing genre and will in my opinion will continue to rule for years to come. Mario Kart 7 on the new 3DS marks in my book as a big accomplishment for Nintendo. With new incredible features along side the other recently added features that makes the game outstanding. Along side all the same characters, MK7 still has that same formula the previous games had that we've come to know and love. For those new to the Mario Kart world, there are several different things that you should know. First you will need to pick your own player which has their each individual play style. After all that is said and done you will select different cups to race on ranging from 50cc all the way up to 150cc, the most difficult in the game.

Gameplay-


Added on to the 3DS this
Add-on compliments the game
very well.



Most of the gameplay closely resembles that of the other Mario Kart games. Grand Prix puts you into 4 different races, and a total of 8 cups times 4 races means there's a total of 24 different races. 4 of the new cups are all of brand new course while 4 cups are filled with retro courses that are fan favorites. With Mario Kart 7 some of the most new innovations include gliders and underwater submarines. With the glider you can dive bomb to gain extra speed or even stall a bit to get the floating power-up either way the glider was a great invention to add a little more strategy to the game. In other news remember those coins that didn't mean anything in previous Mario Kart games? well now as a matter of fact they do. You can grab a maximum of 10 coins per race, increasing your max speed and giving you a slight boost. Collecting coins unlocks new kart frames, wheels, and gliders. Different wheels give you faster acceleration, off-road, or even more top speed. MK7 was genius in this sense that they let the player further customize their kart. After you completed the single player and haven't had enough you will be able to unlock Mirror Mode, which lets you race on all the same course but reverse which really is a big change when you are so used to the current track layout. With the 3DS the new circle pad really adds a bit of precision into steering. It's very nice that you are able to use the 3D feature as well, it really helps you visualize the corners better and makes the whole experience better. While MK7 didn't have much to change on the gameplay side, the power-ups were one of the first things I noticed. The "Lucky 7" was the newest power-up which allowed you to have a banana, green shell, red shell, etc. at once. The hardest part about this power-up is it's really up to chance which one will shoot out. Sometimes you might want a banana to get that opponent off your tail and will get a red shell. bummer.. Because of this it makes the "Lucky 7" not so powerful that it gets everyone out of your way and more balanced with the rest of the game. If you are to get bored with the single player you will be able to compete around the world with countless people and even your friends. You can choose to decide if you like the Grand-Prix mode better or even a full out balloon battle.

Closing Comments: While Single player pulls it's weight in MK7, it's a bit dull. After you win all the cups and play them all with the mirror-mode, it's very repetitive. Sure when you play it only it will be different every time but when people stay out of first on purpose to not get hit by the blue shell it's a bit annoying knowing they will just pass you on the last lap. Other than that MK7 in my opinion was a huge bench mark for Nintendo and they are currently on the right track. this game surpassed my expectations because I thought it was just a quick way Nintendo could save the dooming 3DS and make a quick buck.

Street Fighter

It's every 10 thousand years a fight game takes center stage from any game platform, let alone a Nintendo spotlight. So why exactly is Street fighter getting so much attention? Well if any of you readers out there have ever played the arcade Street Fighter that's what you can expect from this game on the 3DS. Super Street Fighter in my opinion is along side Ridge Racer as the best games at launch. This Street Fighter game is in all honesty the only game that I would recommend to anyone that has a 3DS. Just keep in mind they had to cut out some nice features in our to make it in a portable form. In the Big Picture the developers did one one thing right for sure, they added all 35 fighters from the console versions. Various different customization is also included which has different costumes and colors. On a down note in my opinion* Players are given all the characters at once, which I'm not a fan of because it gives no incentive to play longer. But other than that It's the same old core concept, Pick your fighter and face off against you opponents. You'll instantly feel the rush you did playing the game for the first time or just 20 minutes ago. Either way the game was very well made and has very nice polish, no bugs to be reported.

Gameplay: Street Fighter has a total of 6 attack buttons- three punches three kicks and this doesn't vary from character to character so it's very well balanced. there are four buttons a,b,x,y as well as the shoulder L and R buttons. But where are the special moves? Luckily Capcom crafted an interesting solution. splitting the touch screen into fourths, which both have customizable controls either Lite or Pro. The Lite scheme allows you to execute full combos and special attacks are easier to dish out thus making the whole game a cake walk and fairly easy. While the Pro mode is what most players will choose to get the traditional Street Fighter experience back. It's sad to say but I enjoy the Lite controls because it makes you feel as though you're actually good at the game which I currently am not. while the Lite controls are not very experience oriented, when you are able to use the Pro controls and be good at it you will be able to deal much more damage and deal deadly combos a lot faster than you would using the other control layout. After beating single player on several different characters I decided that I was to now try challenge mode which is a big bonus to the game. You are able to complete different challenges and in return receive some figurines of the character which is always cool to brag with your friends about if you get a rare figure. When that begins to simmer down there is always online mode which is personally my favorite. You can again like Mario Kart battle people from around the world but be careful if you have a lag filled game it can become very frustrating seeing as there can be punches that come flying in from god knows where and you are already down to half health. Lastly the 3D effect is a very nice feature, Capcom really wanted to set the standards on this game and they did it well. the presentation and the graphics are very nice the intros of all the character in 3D mode is astonishing. The best part of all this is that the 3D for the most part didn't impact the frame rate of the game at all.

Closing Comments:

Porting a console game onto a portable comes at a big price typically. Capcom attempted and succeeded at keeping this to a bare minimum, While there still is a lot of room for improvement with the game itesle. the touchscreen in particular for lefties isn't very friendly seeing as how I must stand in place and then use my stylist to select a special move. all in all it's a great game, maybe the best launch title for the 3DS and one of the better purchases for the new year.

Peggle

PopCap, my favorite iPhone development team also known to create Plants V. Zombies, but have another smashing hit Peggle. Peggle was a massive hit on the PC, and the game seems like it made it's way to the Apples Apps store, yay. If you missed the Peggle revolution this is the rundown: it's like bricks on the original iPods. you control a cannon loaded up with a couple of balls. below a field of pegs and bricks. To complete the stage, you must hit every single orange brick you can see, normally though the orange bricks are in the middle of a bunch of blue insignificant bricks. Blue bricks are worth points but send your ball of to any direction, but sometimes you need to do that in order to set up your next shot. If you have a good eye for geometry and angles along side enjoy physics games you will enjoy this game seeing as trajectory of the ball plays a big part into this game.

Gameplay:

The game is fairly simple, as I stated before the object of the whole game is to smack all the orange bricks before you run out of silver balls. There's more than that though, a bucket slides across the bottom of the screen. If you are lucky enough to land the ball in the bucket you automatically get the ball back and it is reusable. There are also purple pegs worth more than blue pegs, but the real treasure here is the green pegs. These active special powers of the Peggle hero you are currently playing as, such as fireballs, being able to see the long trajectory of the ball, or even multi-ball. Peggle is awesome. When you hit the last orange peg, the game slows down and plays "ode to joy" which then creates buckets at the bottom 2 10k's 2 50k's and 1 100k slot. This moment is awesome because you know you've already completed the mission and can just wait back and watch to see which slot your ball falls into, the outcome has no effect on what happens just your score various (which does nothing except bragging rights). There are two different control schemes in place for Peggle. A wheel on the right side of the screen for precise shots. and a just swipe and get it close shot. Once you are ready to fire you look to the upper right part of the screen and you press the "fire" button. This launches your ball into the playing field bouncing from one side of the area to the other. There are 55 stages in the main story in Peggle, alone side 40 challenge stage that are extremely hard to complete. PopCap also includes a two-player duel mode that lets you face your friends, sadly you can't use 2 devices it has to be on a single phone, tablet. However, it's still a lot of fun to attack the pegs with another player at your side.

Closing Comments: Peggle is an awesome game, not only for the original PC, but for the iPhone and iPad alike. The iPhone game is truly a instant classic and I am for certain you will not get bored with this game, seeing as there are almost 100 stages in the entire game and in addition to multiplayer what's there not to fall in love with. If you have played Peggle before you will not be disappointed with this title on a portable in fact you'll fall in love with the game all over again.

Portal 2

Portal 2 the sequel to the ground breaking Portal 1, Portal had the element in surprise of the first-person physics-based puzzle gameplay. GLaDOS the robotic villain, was one of the most interesting and also one of the most pleasant bosses I have ever faced. Valve didn't unlike most development teams hit every key note they did with Portal 1 and added even more in portal 2.

From the first moments waking up in the same old Aperture Science facility. Portal 2 feels bigger, the story a bit thicker, and the character detail more surprising. While GLaDOS, the facility's operator, does what ever she pleases and pokes and prods you with jokes it's a great experience all in all to keep on progressing in the game just to hear what GLaDOS has to say. GLaDos has a very sarcastic sense of humor and when you're not starting at your screen blankly trying to figure out which laser goes where you can expect to be laughing.

You play as Chell, the same as Portal 1*, dragged back into Aperture after the end of Portal 1, how sad. You meet Wheatley almost like the oracle in Halo who helps you through the early stages. It's difficult to not see how well crafted all the lines are in Portal. All of Wheatley's lines are very witty and are all consistently clever. While there is several verbal battles between GLaDOS and Wheatley, I often ignored them seeing as I just walked into a new room that has a puzzle awaking to be solved. At the start of Portal 2, Aperture's labs are all but normal, everything is in a state of disrepair seeing as how Portal 1 ended. Once GLaDOS is rebooted again in the sequel, and whirs back into action, the facility follows. As you progress through the game a lot the test chambers become more complex, until you finally come face to face with the final boss.

Gameplay- you'll spend a lot of time trying to finish puzzles as quick as you can and hopefully will not become tangled in trying to solve it. Valve brings back the epic same portal gun while greatly expanding upon it's capabilities. While in Portal a lot of the chambers you will get annoyed and will become frustrated while others are a simple I got it solution. What Portal is great about is even the hardest levels don't make you feel stupid, it's more of a challenging event because the levels have become bigger in portal 2. As good as the single-player is in Portal, the co-op is the real highlight of Portal 2, while instead of just using the single player recycled levels Valve decided to let the players create their own levels and share them on PSN or Xbox Live. This was a genius idea, and to make it better and more communication oriented 1 robot gets one side of the portal and friend the other side. While it is fun to play with your friends it's not all about completing just the chamber, you can look at who took the least amount of steps to complete it and so forth to keep the fun up.

Closing Comments: Portal 2 is an extremely fun game that starts from the very beginning, while the story takes a while to get into, I can safely say it's a ton better than any Call of Duty single player which is just shooting and progression. Portal 2 was everything I expected from Portal 1, a crazy play at your own pace first person puzzle. The best part about portal 2, once you're done with the single player you don't have to stop there and can continue your adventures with your friends in this never ending puzzle.

Borderlands

Borderlands, a cartoonish animated game that was hand drawn you don't see very many of those anymore. well for those that aren't aware of what Borderlands is, it's a game that similiarly mimics a loot style game like Bilzzards Diablo. The game starts and you're on a bus ride going to who knows where and you're pretty much a mercenary that will do whatever stands in their way between them and their reward. Getting off the bus you can select one of four different characters all with unique abilities. after selecting your character that's where the fun begins. you recieve a handful of quests and countless "baddies" will do whatever it takes to prevent you from stealing their goods and killing their leader. The main reason why you're on the planet in the first place is because there was a tale of a mysterious vault that contained important artifacts and technology that no one had ever seen before. While just starting out there will be an imagine of a woman several times providing you with further detail on certain situations including what may lie ahead for you in your journey. You'll begin with corrded pistols and shuttering machine guns but the more time you've put into the game and the further you get you won't be as bogged down by harsh enemies because you've have found new weapons and shields that fit your play style. Borderlands is by far different from any other game on the market right now. the design is a very relaxing one that isn't over complex and that's what really makes the game fun for me. Borderlands is full of different color and the development team did a great job making this game look anything but dull. all the fights are very fluid, frantic, and exciting all at the same time. From time to time you'll come across "Badass" guys which are just version of the normal guys just harder and bosses that each have a little funny caption before you fight them.

While it may feel like you're often going through the same place, You instead are traveling through swamps, docks, clustered close quarters urban areas that add a sense of variety to the game. You'll also be treated to awesome cliff views and distant images that are still well drawn and thought out by the develops that thought of everything. while Borderlands is a vast open world game in which you can pretty much whatever you'd like in, luckly they have added convenient transportation systems (like a dune-buggie) and quick travel systems which allows you to travel anywhere in the entire game which the push of a button.

Gameplay.This is main event and the best part of Borderlands. There are Snipers, Shotguns, Machine Guns, you name it and not only that they have said there are over 11 million different types of guns including design and stat features. As you level up and progress in borderlands you're frequently change your shield and weapons so you're always in your prime for when those baddies come rushing at you. Another really cool feature to Borderlands is that each class has three different talent trees each specializing in their own thing. This is cool and all but there is a down side, Each class gets one and only one primary action skill, which you'll be using a lot when you're quickly reloading. The Hunter which was chosen class throws out a falcon and dive bombs the enemy, which is cool and all but I would rather have like a insta headshot skill. As you level in Borderlands you also aquire points to allocate where ever you'd like in your desired skill tree, which in return can increase your damage, or make you survive better. In borderlands like I stated there are a ton of guns to choose from and really that's what gearbox was aiming for, better customization so you could find the right gun that fit you. But this is like every first person shooter, it's just mindless firing and fast-paced gameplay. One thing I would have liked to see Gearbox do was add in some armor collection, seeing as all you can do is choose a character name and change the color of your clothing. While I'll admit that would make the menu very cluttered and it doesn't bother me that much it just feels like something is missing.

The shooting mechanics of borderlands is that to be admired. Like Call of Duty and many first person shooters today you can aim down the sight or scope on any weapon, but why this is amazing on Borderlands is because every gun is different and the different colors of your gun and the firing rate really plays a cool factor while playing. In Borderlands you will face many different enemies aside from humans, you will fight bugs, spiky dogs, robots, even zombies. Gearbox was very smart adding different monster type and behaviors to the game as well. Some enemies prefer to attack in groups while others just go with a full out bonzi charge. All the fights in Borderlands are very fluid, frantic, and exciting all at the same time. From time to time you'll come across "Badass" guys which are just version of the normal guys just harder and bosses that each have a little funny caption before you fight them.

Closing Comments:

While playing Borderlands is fun alone, like any game this game is ten times better when playing with friends. Playing with friends adds benefit, the more characters you add the harder the enemies come which adds a big of strategy, but in return you receieve rare loot more often. all in all borderlands is a one of a kind game that its unique style will not go under the radar. Borderlands will be a smash for a while to come as well as the upcoming Borderlands two

Batman Arkham Asylum

Batman... where to begin, Adam West? Cartoons? Movies?.... Video Games? I'll be honest I am not a fan of DC comic character video games. but playing Batman Arkham Asylum I'd say my boycott of their video games is lifted. There was just something about the idea of batman revisiting all the villains of his past not only that but all in one game? I picked the game up from best buy for $19.99 and in this review I will tell you why this game is one of DC's best creations.

The game begins with Batman in his rad Batmoblie.. clever name.. racing to Arkham which is Gotham's prison for the criminals. Batman's special cargo this time is none other than the joker. from the dialog it seems that the joker broke out a few weeks ago, but Batman was there to save the day and subdue him... again.. as you get into the prison you hear many of jokers goons chanting his name and there was a supposed fire at their prison so they all went to where the joker is now heading... Holy Ironic, Batman! as you could have guessed the joker breaks free and you have to save the day, once again.

Gameplay

With the Joker in charge of a whole prison it's quite scary, he controls everything, the intercom, the T.V.'s I mean everything. In the game there will be several times that you have to swing over gas filled rooms, save medical staff, blow up walls, pull off grates.. you have no idea how much you do that., and find plenty of different ways around locked doors, as quick as Batman can to stop joker for the ten thousandth time. Looking through the Asylum it's a bit eerie, every criminal batman has ever faced is in there in a small little facility with guards littering the halls and green smiles painted on walls. When playing the game you meet cool villains like The Riddler, Ivy, Zsasz, etc. but after a while I thought is this game suppose to happen all in one night? really? that must be the longest night in Batman's life. Other than that the Gameplay is awesome, it's dark, creepy, and the controls are simple. the concept of the game is to be sneaky and attack your enemies with a flying kick but you can fist fight as well whatever suits your needs. I prefer to just stalk my prey but it the game makes it quite hard when you open a door and they are all just sitting there ready to kill you. While Batman is a very fun game when you're trying not to get caught the mechanics for fist fights are just plain. It's a common smash X type that sometimes you add B but it's an easy to learn hard to master combo system. While it's a bit boring the healthy set of animations of drop kicks, elbows, and even flipping someone over your shoulder is satisfying to see every once and a while. When in combat the higher the combo you get the more powerful attacks you can use like a spinning kick. another incentive to get combo's is after you finish your last move you will receive a bonus depending how high you got on your combo. But another thing to consider is you also get a bonus for taking out enemies silently. I prefer this method because it really makes you feel like Batman and actually badass. unlike Robin. While I enjoy the silent knockouts a lot the henchmen almost feel too stupid, they don't notice that one of their buddies is on the ground I get that but when I plop down from 20 feet up you I feel as though it's a bit hard not to be seen. Anyway the game is great because there are various ways to approach enemies and how to take them out, which adds a little replay value into the game for you to test out other methods on your favorite moments in the game. After completing the campaign the developers decided to add challenge rooms into the game just to make you play a bit longer, I actually enjoyed these more than the original game but that's just my opinion. On another note finding data collectors is also fun because you can unlock character bios that tell you a little bit more about each villain, this was obviously nice for me because I don't play any batman games or watch the shows all that much.

                                                                                 Closing Comments-

While it's a DC comic game and I'm not a huge fan of them this game really opened my eyes a bit. The game feels like a movie within itself and it shows that they really put a lot of time into this game. while the game is a bit ironic and you have to constantly save everyone, it's a fun game and that shouldn't ruin the big picture of the game the developers had in mind. Batman is maybe my favorite superhero now that I've played this game but I still can't understand what he's trying to say. maybe I'll buy him a Darth Vader Mask instead.

L.A. Noire

L.A. Noire takes place in the 1940's, The game is published by Rockstar and surprisingly you're the cop and not the guns blazing rebel in this game. You as a cop are sworn to protect the citizens of L.A. from the already mob infected streets. Being a cop you are the lowest of the low, you need to find all the evidence as quick as you can because detectives are always around to take the glory of reporting your case completed. The first mission starts out with a bang. The cut scene fills you in with everything you need to know up up to where your character was standing. The siren turns on and you answer the radio there's been a case of a shooting, you arive at the scene and your boss tells you to find the evidence but he doesn't expect much because this case isn't very important. You it begins, you can search everywhere and I mean everywhere you can possible imagine. The tip that the game gives you is that it'll make a little bing or a suspenseful sound when you pass an object that you can interact with whetheror not it's just a cup or even a bloody pistol there is a lot that you cna pick up and sometimes it's irrelevent to your case thus making it a true dectective almost mystery like game.

Gameplay

Team Bondi did an amazing job creating this game with their new technology called MotionScan, what MotionScan does is takee very wrinkle, twitch, downward glance, grimace, and hard swallow is from an actor playing a part, not an animator manipulating things from behind the scenes. Adding this to the game not only adds more depth into the game but adds almost a movie like trait. When playing video games it's easy to fall into your old habits like going to get food or responding to a text message, but when it comes to L.A. Noire you have to pay complete attention to who you're talking to and what their reaction is to the questions asked. As a decective you are at the crime scene quite a bit finding clues and questioning people, there are always 3 choices "truth" where you believe what they are telling you, "doubt" implying they are telling you the right thing but not how they explained it or they were missing some details or "lie" this is just a blunt action that can either go really well or really badly. Chosing the "lie" option normally you are required to show them why you think they are lying upon request of the person. sometimes they will just come out with it or maybe not. The trouble and struggle is if you chose the wrong action several times they can lie to you and send you into loops with your case while other times you might not get anything at all and they might say "get out". The nice thing they included in the game was that there is no abrupt failure if you fail to catch an important clue or accuse wrongly. The only game over screen comes from when you obviously die in a gun fight or fail to catch someone fleeing. the only part that is a little on the downside about the game, after a couple cases solved I felt like it was just a chapter book, solve one case go to the next and it felt a little repetitive but not so much that it's boring. L.A. Noire isn't all about cases though, it's still an open-world game like GTA4, you're free to do what ever you please in this recreated 1947 Los Angeles setting, and every once in a while take on 40 different radio call-in missions that are more action oriented including car chases and shoot outs. L.A. Noire is a bunch of fun filled with many landmarks that are well known as well as hidden cars, and intuition points (which help on interrogating). Finding certain areas and objects like these gain experience and help you level up thus giving you even more intuition points and more clothing options.

Closing Comments:

L.A. Noire is a fun action, mystery, detective game. it's a game that you will talk about for a little bit but it's not really a game to remember. Playing the game I find certain missions really have a certain stature but other times I just feel like it's just a 2nd rate case of just finding the suspect and chasing them down either on foot or in an ally. While L.A. Noire isn't perfect, Rockstar is taking the proper steps into making another great game.

Splinter Cell Conviction

Tom Clancy Renowned author in recent years has been tapping into the video game industry, this time with his game Splinter Cell Conviction. The game has been out for a while now and can be purchased at GameStop for a mere $19.99 new.

In this game Sam Fisher (main character) is back and he is not in a good mood. Every line spoken is a representation of how he feels down to the very word. The way Sam walks could be described as determined, and aggressive, not only does this play into the way you feel about what your doing but how sam progressively wants to kill everything in sight. Tom Clancy took a big step into the unknown by changing the mechanics of the game but in the end and my opinion it was a huge risk that was for the better.

The story itself starts after his previous game "Double Agent" in which Sams daughter was kidnapped and supposedly murdered. also during this time Sam turned rogue and killed his best friend and split apart from a branch of the government in which he has considered home for many years. Sam shell shocked has gotten quite a few leads on those who killed his daughter and later on finds out are planning an attack on the white house, something sounds a bit cliche, anyways like 90% of games it's your job to save the day and stop the terrorists.

What I love about the game play in Splinter Cell most importantly this one is that it's continuous you have non stop action and it's not repetitive partly due to the vast environment changes, and different guns and customization's. Another praise that I will give the game is that there are absolutely no loading screens. that is unless you die, but other than that there is nothing that is holding you back from playing a level that could be an hour long without instant gratification because you don't have to wait to play part 2 of the mission. Ubisoft was genius in this game integrating your objectives on things like flags, sides of buildings and placing them in the direction your next objected is located. Unless previous Splintercells and having to keep glancing at your stealth meter they revamped everything, when you are stealthed all the color bleeds off the screen and everything turns black and white. This concept really helps sell the agent concept that you're shadowing your enemies and waiting for the right time to strike and really helps the gameplay when it's very obvious to tell if you need to find cover quickly and when you're hidden. Convictions took everything they learned from the previous games and added more, Splintercell included a cover system which is very easy by just bumping the left trigger you silde jump dash into immediate cover. Switching between barrier to barrier is also a very simple system and I feel as though it's so flawless no other game compares to their technique used in the game. While in most stealth games once you're found it's incredibly hard to continue the game because you have a little pistol and you have to blast through waves of enemies. Splintercell on the otherhand took a completely different approach to this tactic. They figured you should run away, doing this in the game creates a shadow of where your character was last seen and that causes guards to scramble over to that position, unload their guns, and even through grenades at your last known position. Playing the game after a while I came up with a couple of my own tactics you can decide to flank the enemies and attack them or just avoid them totally. The last outstanding part of this game is the mark and execute feature, what it does is when you decide to get up close and personal and perform a hand to hand combat takedown by pressing B when in range of an enemy, you gain a 'Mark' with a mark you can point your gun on an enemy and press the right bumper. This causes a red arrow on their head and when you decide to shoot your gun it's almost like an automatic kill, with this feature each gun has it's set amount of marks which can be upgraded to 4 marks or 4 easy kills and when you're trying to sneak around it's very handy.

Closing Comments:

While single player even on the hardest difficulty will only last you around 7 hours, it's only a part of the bigger package. There is a Co-op mode that you are allowed to play alone or with a friend and I can safely say it never gets old. Playing with a friend is obviously more fun and requires a bit more communication and percision but when it's all said and done Tom Clancy did a great job with this game doing everything and more that was expected from the gaming community.

Angry Birds Space

Is there really anyone out there that hasn't heard or even played Angry Birds at this point? By now I'm sure everyone gets how it works: just pull the slingshot to the left and release and away your bird goes. The single touch-screen input sends your bird hopefully on a collision course with the evil pigs. Angry Birds has always been one of my top games being very simple and polished, but after several hundred levels and multiple different Angry Bird season games it's beginning to be a bit stale and boring.

Space of course features two major innovations: Gravity Wells and Zero Gravity. In Zero-G, the birds seem to only fly in a straight line. Hitting a dynamite box sends debris flying in almost every way possible, while nudging a green swine sends it floating through space. Most of the stages in Angry Birds Space feature tiny moons that have their own gravitational pull that will suck in birds and pigs/objects alike. This can pose a challenge when obstacles are in the way, but as long as you're an adaptive player you can use the gravity effect to your advantage to hit hard-to-reach pigs or dynamite. In Angry Birds Space sometimes you'll even has to sling birds around a planet to attack from the back.

Rovio's newest sequel is the first to actually feel like a sequel as sad as that sounds. Angry Birds Space adds new elements to the game right from the start and that's always a plus, and with the increase in difficultly later in the game with more planet gravitations it's a challenge and with 60+ stages and more coming soon it's almost too much to ask for. Not to mention the two new birds introduced into the game which keeps the stages fun and fresh. A square like ice bird can be detonated like the black bird to freeze any blocks or near by pigs to set up the little blue bird for a clean shot. The Yellow dive-bombing bird has also had a little tweak in color and use, instead of doing a straight dive you can now send him anywhere on the mission just by tapping the target, this includes going backwards. Angry Bird Space adds a new style of Physics to the game and it does kinda bring down the experience down a little. you can fling the same bird five times and have totally different results which can be very frustrating when you want to snipe the last pig on a level.

Should you buy it?

Angry Birds Space is the kick in the pants Rovio needed. Everyone was burnt out on the same birds flinging and flying concept. Angry Birds Space however brings a whole different idea to the table, it's action filled and you need a bit of skill combined with luck in order to complete missions and with 60+ levels it's going to take you a long time to beat, but an entire third chapter with 30 more levels is only available via a $.99 purchase (in my opinion I wouldn't get it). Additionally, the "Mighty Eagle" isn't as Mighty anymore. The level-cleaing bird used to be a one-time purchase, but now can only be purchase as a consumable aka you can only use it so many times*. Each 20 uses of this last resort now costs player an additional $.99 bummer...

Beat Sneak Bandit

Beat Sneak Bandit

Iphone/Ipad

Price - $2.99

Beat Sneak Bandit is the only game in my library that requires the player to have a certain level of thought before moving his character as well as having a sense of rhythm. The game itself starts with a short caption to breifly explain why your charcter is a bandit. The story goes that where is an evil millionire, that he has stolen all the clocks in the world, his name ironically is 'Evil Baron Von Clockface' and the main objective is to get as many clocks as you can while not getting caught.

Beat Sneak Bandit combined the challenge of a puzzle with the simplicity of a one finger tap to move your character. The whole experience of the game is that to be remembered, the beats are different and varied from each level and that provides a little toe tapping fun as you try to collect all the clocks.

The gameplay of Beat Sneak Bandit is an area where no puzzle game has gone before. Beat Sneak is very challenging in that fact that if you screw up your beat you will instantly destroy any clocks that are on the same floor as you. As well as if there is a security guard he will easily discover you if you don't move quick enough. the main idea of the game is to collect all the clocks on the level without getting any destroyed or getting caught. While some of the puzzles are frustrating and not as clever, Later levels rely on complex network of teleports and wheels to get you to your destination. Beat Sneak Bandit shines the brightest when players have to use their logic and sense of rhythm to complete the mission.

Should you buy it?

One word, yes. Simogo really showed how to create a true master piece that is mind boggling but remain polished. The game itself is very original and a lot of fun to play around with, it's a perfect example of presentation and how to get the gamer really involved, and with the corky sounds it's a extremely fun game. while there are over 65+ stages you can tap your way through at a price of $2.99 it's a for sure steal.

Osmos

Osmos Iphone/Ipad

The words wonderful, spectacular, amazing, and magnificent. If I had to talk about Osmos those are the words I would choose. I'm a huge fan of the game and I'm going to take it one step further and say that Osmos is just like World of Goo and is a wonderfully chilled experience that is not without a challenge, but in the same way, not at all punishing.

You the player control a mote, what the mote is, is an orb of a blue substance that grows when it absorbs smaller orbs/motes. You move the mote by placing your finger on the opposite side of the direction you need to go. This ejects some ooze as tiny bubbles -- which can then later be picked up again to regain your size. In Osmos if you aren't carful and blast around too much, you eject so much mass that you're easy prey for larger motes. But if you don't get a move on, other larger motes may get to you first. What's so fascinating about this game is there's literally limitless survival options.

 

Luckily, you are god and have the ability to manipulate time. This feature will be your savior later in Osmos when you are staring down other hungry motes. Swiping to the left slows time, allowing you to be more precise and making narrow escapes, while flicking to the right allows you to speed things up if you missed your opening, but watch out, you will still continue to go on your current path.

Now, just watching your mote coast in open space might be relaxing but I admit it gets pretty old. Osmos offers several different game "types" that present you with a variety of different challenges to change your survival tactics.  Solar, aka my least favorite, puts your orb on a orbital path circling a sun sphere. You can affect the orbital path by tapping opposite of your blue sphere but again you need to be careful, in the game mode if you aren't careful, you can swing your trajectory right into a wall or into the solar sphere. Good things come to those who are patient and if you're willing to be nimble and weave out of the spinning orbs cycle you'll be able to become the biggest sphere. Take my word for it, there is not a crummy level type in any of these level packs. Every mission is both fun and challenging, and bouncing around the different styles of Osmos keeps the game fresh.

Osmos is genius. Flinging orbs around the screen isn't always satisfying but it does create a gorgeous game. The physics styled game is an amazing buy for those who are looking for a game that is "different". The art concept was very key too you can easily distinguish which orbs are smaller than you by turning blue while the ones bigger have a red ring. Playing Osmos with headphones is key, they even recommend it when you open the app so you can truly enjoy the eletronic masterpiece between sound and graphics.

Closing Comments 

Osmos is one of the front runners for best music on a portal device, I enjoyed playing the game since day one. This game is truly a perfect match. With all the touch controls there is no disconnection feeling between you and the game itself, which in turn pulls you deeper into the game. Don't hold back for one second to download this, you will miss out on something truly special.

World of Goo

World of Goo

Ipad / Iphone

World of Goo is a brilliant puzzle/construction game that was originally made for the iPad.  It is now available for the iPhone. The iPad was my personal preference to review this game because the larger screen made it so easy to play.  All you need to do is use your finger to drag the little goo balls around the screen to create several different bridges, strings, or other various escape routes. It's a game that's not really a touchy control game but I feel like it somehow creates an amazing connection between the player and the action.

World of Goo is an in-direct, clever puzzler. You're instantly a newcomer to the new world *you guessed it* 'World of Goo'.  It's a world of mystery and discovery. Hints not just about the gameplay, but also the potential troubles going-on throughout the circular World of Goo. In the World of Goo lucky for us they have left behind "Sign Painters". What they are there to do is tell you if there is a certain new goo or even tips on how to get to your final objective on the other side of the stage. World of Goo doesn't go crazy with written narrative. 2D Boy knows that you can create a story without the need of further instruction, or place. World of Goo is a fascinating and possibly strange place if you ever find your self wanting to explore more. Of course, if you ever want to explore it, you must complete a couple of missions that normally consist of getting the goo balls from one side to the other and help them "escape". To do this, one must drag good balls to the edge of the other goo balls to start linking them together and soon enough you will need to add more and more. The con side of this is once you use one goo ball that ball is removed from play so you must maintain a decent amount of goo particles left to complete the mission. If you are completely stumped and are about to throw your iPad/iPhone against the wall stop right there. Fortunately they give you three free "skips" per day if the same level is getting very repetitive so you can bounce around levels.

There are several different types of goo balls, each with special abilities, and every one more important than the last for planning escapes. The main black goo ball is just used for basic towers. While the white goo balls can create stringy, rope-like constructions. Green goos *my favorite* allow you to climb up stages and re-use previously placed orbs. The game gives you so many different obstacles. Nothing ever gets boring. The game producers went even as far as to have balloons to carry your goo over structures and over pits and spikes. Stages can range from windmills to the boules of monsters.  Everything has its own element and it fits perfectly. The ability to actually reach in and move goo with your fingers, and on an iPad none the less, makes you feel like a engineer more than a gamer. This is one of the few games I have never gotten frustrated with when I have failed because it's the amazing feeling of achievement you get when you accomplish the task. It keeps you playing for hours and hours.

Though there is not an online feature, what could be just as good in my book is you can go to what is called the "Corporation's Headquarters". There you will find players that you can complete with to erect the tallest tower of Goo, but be careful not to stack to many on one side or it will tip over. It's a very cool thing to do once the game is all finished. My current best is 1,987 ft. and I would welcome you to try to beat my tower. 

The video above shows a little bit of the basics of the game and it starts from the very beginning so you can have a good understanding of the game if you decide to get it for yourself.

The main screen doesn't really represent World of Goo at all because this is one of the most interactive, not to mention the most attractive game of it's style on the iPad and iPhone yet. I don't want to overdo the comparisons but World of Goo is just like Kingdom Rush. Both of these games are amazing and nothing else in the app store is just like it. The art is the main thing that stands out for me in this game, it's kinda like a dark 300 look because of the goo industry with the fun and creativeness of Dr. Seuss. The music is top notch.

CLOSING COMMENTS

World of Goo is a perfect app for the iPad. Using your fingers to create works of art has never been so rewarding. There is nothing mechanical about it, you are a caretaker and an architect interacting with the goo, not some passive gamer like Pocket League Story. The art and sound are incredible. At a current price of $4.99 for the iPad and $2.99 for the iPhone, some might be a little stunned by the price being a bit high but take my word for it you're getting what you pay for - and in this case, you get a very neat and fun puzzle game that will shine for a couple of years to come.

Still not sure if you want to spend your hard earned cash on this great game? On the website below you can try it for yourself by pressing "try free" on the right side of your screen. The game will give you a complete experience of the game and hopefully sway you into buying this game for your portable device.

http://www.wildtangent.com/Games/world-of-goo

GameSTATION REVIEW

RATINGS FOR 

WORLD OF GOO (IPAD/IPHONE)

Rating	Description
out of 10	Click here for ratings guide
9.5	Presentation The way they present you with the game is that they need help cleansing the land and they will provide you with short mini clips and "sign painters" if something is new.  It's very nice.
9.0	Graphics The childish look strikes again.  I'm in love with the graphics. It's like Dr. Seuss meets the 300's darkness. A very neat game with very well drawn backgrounds.
9.5	Sound The sound of tinkering is always in the air. It's by far one of the best soundtracks to try to solve problems with that's for sure.
9.5	Gameplay Great variety on the puzzles, they offer different challenges and 4 different worlds each having their own path if you choose to pick another mission. World of Goo will keep you busy for a long time.
9.0	Lasting Appeal The game is very fun, while it lasts. The game itself lives up to the price tag but once you're done all you can really do it replay missions you've skipped or just build an extremely large tower.
9.3 OVERALL	SPECTACULAR  (out of 10)

Kingdom Rush

Kingdom Rush is currently the #1 Strategy Game for the iPad on the iTunes store. The cost to play this tower defense genre game is $2.99 but it's currently going for $.99 - What a deal!!

Kingdom Rush is created by Armor Games. You might know them from various gaming websites, they are known for their games that involve strategy and cunning gameplay. Kingdom Rush is no exception, it's a defense game that combines much-needed wit and exceptional polish. The core experience is similar to games like balloon defense - waves of enemies follow a pre-set path and must be eliminated by structures purchased in the given area. The concept is that a player can place "Barracks" towers that send out three foot soldiers, they normally are able to slow down the enemy. If players were to put archers or mages next to the barracks, they would easily be able to turn the tide of war in their favor.

Although Kingdom Rush only contains four base tower types which seems a bit small, each tower can be upgraded into two separate categories. These towers can then to be customized even further by having special abilities. This not only gives players a suprising amount of special abilities, but it pays off for those that plan ahead and have a solid plan. For example, the archer tower upgrades are able to shoot very far away or able to deal massive amounts of damage. The "Ranger" or the high damage archer is very useful at the beginning of the enemy's path, but minuscule at the end.

Kingdom Rush is one of the best tower defense games on my chart, let alone on a mobile device. Each level or battleground has their perfect balance of gameplay. It's tough to complete levels but it's not so hard that it makes you feel stupid. If a giant Orc gets past you - use more soldiers. Fast enemies getting on your nerves - upgrade your archery tower to pick them off. It's a play and learn type of game, one level at a time. What in my opinion certainly helps the entire game is the looks and the sound. I'm a sucker for games that have a basic graphic look. If I were to describe the game, I would say it's a stylish, cartoon look that has a slight "fantasy" feel. The sound is on a whole different level, every tower says a one-line phrase when upgraded, the clashing of swords and the zap of lightning bolts through your headphones is pretty awesome. The music plays a heroic tune that just makes you want to kill some goblins and fight to save the kingdom. 

The Video above is from youtube, it shows the basic concept of the game. you are able to build towers on the areas with signs on them and the main goal is not to let the enemy fully deplete your hearts on the upper left corner of the screen.

Closing Opinion

Kingdom rush is a great game for those who have experience in tower defense and those who want to get into that genre. After clearing the 12-mission campaign, you are more than welcome to return back to your favorite battles and complete special challenges, adding hours upon hours of replay value. More importantly, Kingdom Rush is a game that keeps you on your toes with Bosses on certain missions, Easter Eggs, and over 50 achievements. This games seems to have it all in one package, while still having that "I want to play more" feeling. All in all it's high quality game play and nice clean polish will make it the #1 strategy game for a while, and an almost guarantee in my book to turn up on the 2012 "best of" list.

The Armor Games website below provides more detail about the game if you're unsure about purchasing it yet. The link takes you directly to Kingdom Rush so you can try it out to see if you really want to spend the money to have it on your portable device.
http://armorgames.com/play/12141/kingdom-rush

 GAMESTATION REVIEW 

 FOR

 KINGDOM RUSH (IPHONE)

Rating	Description
out of 10	Click here for ratings guide
9.5	Presentation Kingdom Rush has one of the best presentations I've ever seen. I was never good at tower defense games, but with this tutorial you'll get how to play within minutes.
9	Graphics The cartoon childish graphics doesn't lose its luster in this game.
9	Sound The sound of the battlefield never gets old. Swords shattering, the release of arrows, and shooting spells have kept me playing the game for about 4 hours over the weekend and I'm still in love with it.
9.5	Gameplay The first few missions can be nerve racking at first but you have a good understanding of what needs to be done. They have displays on the areas where enemies are coming so you know what to prepare for.
9	Lasting Appeal You can change your basic layout however you'd like. You can be archer based or wizard based, either way with +50 achievements this game won't be deleted anytime soon.
9.2 OVERALL	Amazing (out of 10)