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REVIEW / Tacoma (PC)



Tacoma, the latest game from the creators of Gone Home, is a unique sci-fi narrative that utilizes the environment, NPC conversations and genuine player curiosity to tell its story. You play as Amy Ferrier, an A.I. Communications Specialists. While her full name, title and the fact she’s from California is really the only thing you learn about her, it’s what she’s doing on the corporate-owned space station, Tacoma, that’s important. Amy was sent to recover Tacoma’s in-house A.I. unit, the Operational Data Interface Network (ODIN), and bring him back to the Venturis Corporation.













Shortly after Amy boards the Tacoma, the player quickly learns that something must have happened that the Venturis Corporation wants to keep under wraps. Amy receives an email telling her to ignore any remaining AR surveillance footage found within the station. She is also sent a privacy agreement from Venturis. How curious…













Through a series of digital conversations recreated through Tacoma’s AR surveillance system (that you agreed not to watch) and connecting a dot or two, players learn about what happened to the six Tacoma crew members who are nowhere to be found upon Amy’s arrival. Witnessing these conversations is the main aspect of Tacoma and is what makes the game so interesting. Players will literally have to follow the conversation as the crew members aren’t just sitting around talking. They’re constantly on the move, sometimes talking to themselves down a hallway or utilizing their AR interface to send someone an email. One crew member might talk to three other members in one recording; in three different rooms.













Outside of the AR conversations, players can have Amy explore each crew member’s work space and living quarters, as well as snoop through their email and direct messages to one another. While this doesn’t help solve the mystery as to what happened to them, it does give players additional insight into each crew member’s backstory. It’s in these rooms players learn that three of the crew members are gay, that two of them are married, why one of them has a heart problem, what the Venturis Corporation thinks of them…and the list goes on. I truly appreciated this humanizing element of the game as it allowed me to connect with each crew member and understand them more fully.













Tacoma‘s story was intriguing which motivated me to keep playing, there was a diverse cast of interesting characters, the graphics were pleasing and the controls were simple and very intuitive. Though not a long game by any means (3-5 hours tops), Tacoma does offer players a satisfying narrative with exceptional voice acting and light exploration. There’s even sign language used throughout the game, which is something I’ve never seen in a videogame before! As someone fluent in ASL, I was pleasantly surprised. The $20 pricepoint may cause some potential players to shy away. If that’s you, definitely wait for Tacoma to go on sale as this is one narrative adventure you won’t want to miss!









This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.



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Get Juiced with All-Star Fruit Racing on Steam



It’s the year 2017 and we are facing an enormous dilemma that affects all people around the world; the kart racing genre is nearly extinct! Sure, we always have Mario Kart, and games like Gran Turismo and Project CARS are helping to keep the genre on life support with bonus modes. However, is that enough to sate our kart racing drought? I say nay, and luckily the indie developers at 3DClouds agree with me as they have premiered their very own kart racer, All-Star Fruit Racing, on Steam Early Access.









All-Star Fruit Racing may be 3DClouds first major project, but they are far from inexperienced in the art of the race. Members of the team have previously lent a hand to games such as Moto GP, Sebastian Loeb Rally, and Ride. The previous experience shines through even just in the trailer for All-Star Fruit Racing. The character models and environments look sharp and stylish and the gameplay looks smooth. Even the amount of karts, tracks, and modes look incredibly promising.









In the trailer we see fully customizable karts, 2-4 player local split-screen, 8 person online multiplayer, 22 characters, 21 tracks, 5 modes, and 5 racing formats. The amount of depth in this title, especially for a developer’s first official attempt, is staggering. All-Star Fruit Racing also adds in a strategic element with their power-ups in the form of The Juicer. Racers will pick up different fruits on the track and fill 4 separate tanks on their kart, allowing players to mix and match moves as well as fill up all 4 tanks for a “Mega Juice” power move.



I’m excited for this one. I may not be the biggest racing fan, but I’m an absolute sucker for a hectic kart racer. Outside of established racing sims tossing in kart modes, the only cartoonish fun outlets we’ve had were Mario Kart and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Both are excellent games, mind you, but variety is the spice of life and All-Star Fruit Racer is adding in a tropical flavor to the stagnating shallow pool of kart racing.









They also win brownie points from me for the clutch Jurassic Park reference





You can test the juiciness of All-Star Fruit Racer for yourself now on Steam Early Access for $14.99 USD, a $5 discount from the planned official retail price of $19.99. You can also follow updates from 3DCLouds at their official website here.



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Having a blast with indie devs at Play NYC



From PAX to E3 to Gamescom, there are numerous gaming conventions where gamers can see and test some of the hottest new titles. With the creation of Play NYC, a new gaming convention here in the Big Apple, you get an experience unlike any other. Rather than long lines and huge crowds, attendees got a chance to experience three floors of gaming with developers right by their side, chatting them up and helping them explore new titles. Though these games might not have big name recognition, playing them alongside their creators offers a fresh perspective on the game making process and makes the gamer a part of that. There were also far fewer people there than at E3, and I was given a swag bag with food inside of it, so…advantage, Play NYC. Read on for my thoughts on some of my favorite titles from the show!




Vidar











I got a chance to meet Dean Razavi from Razbury Games and he told me a bit about his RPG title, Vidar. Vidar is a very melancholy type of game, where you play as a stranger visiting the titular village. A terrible Beast lives under the town that kills a villager every night. With only twenty-four villagers remaining in the town and twenty-four days to figure out a path to the Beast, you literally cannot save everyone. The game is random, as well, meaning every time you play the game, different villagers will die at different parts of the story. Even the game’s puzzles will not stay the same. It’s a great concept that I found intriguing, especially since a lot of titles these days don’t really deal with themes of permanent death and loss (something Dean himself told me he was eager to explore in Vidar).













In my time at the festival, I manged to complete a single quest, using an Xbox controller. After talking to a villager and receiving a mission to conquer, I proceeded upwards from the main town into a cave. Immediately upon entering, a ten minute timer started, which ALWAYS gives me great anxiety. This cave was filled with icy structures, which was the basis for its central puzzle. I had a lantern on me that lit the cave up nicely, and I continued onward. I noticed icy blocks in my path that made me slide across them without a way to break my momentum. There were also blocks with arrows on them that made you go in the direction they were facing.



Aha!



Thus began the long process of me racking my brain to figure out how to conquer each room inside of the cave. I’d slide from block to block, arrow to arrow, going from one room into another. At times, I would have to head in one direction to hit a switch that would change the direction of an arrow in the previous room so I could escape from a different exit. Partway through I met an ice ghost mermaid who I was quite cautious to approach because I thought it would start a battle. She just followed me around and talked to me, though, probably because she didn’t get many visitors. The final puzzle of the cave involved color coded arrows that I could create myself, in the direction I desired. It took a while to figure out and I know Dean was watching me struggle, laughing on the inside (probably). I made it out with time to spare, however, and the demo ended.













From my short time with Vidar, I found a lot to like. The visuals reminded me of FFVI, one of my favorite RPGs. I love how Dean’s game tackles the inevitably of death. The puzzles were tough enough to make you feel like there was no way you could complete them without running out of time, but you manage to succeed, anyway. Random dungeons and puzzles give the game infinite replayability, as well. If you think Vidar sounds worthy of your time, check out the game’s website, and watch the trailer below:












Plunder Kings











The folks over at Goodnight Games showed me a build for their upcoming gambling/shoot-em-up hybrid, Plunder Kings. This game has an interesting gimmick that involved games of chance; if your ship exploded, you rolled a die in order to keep all the money you obtained by destroying enemy ships. If you rolled right, you’d keep everything, but if you rolled wrong, you’d lose money from your savings. If you manage to stay alive but get captured by the enemy, you can then choose whether to gain an extra life and keep going until the next checkpoint or cash out and spend your hard earned currency on ship upgrades and abilities. The longer you played through a stage, the more money you made; however, there was a greater risk of death because the enemies got harder and filled more of the screen.













Plunder Kings has a lot going for it, so far. I loved the balance between risk and reward with the gambles players are forced to take. Being able to move your constantly shooting ship (of which there are three to choose from) anywhere on the screen offered a great sense of maneuverability, since a lot of mobile games adhere to staying in one spot (all of those endless runners, for example). Holding your finger down on the screen keeps you shooting and moving, but letting go of the screen caused your ship to vacuum up any coins from fallen enemy ships.



This added an element of danger and vulnerability since there are so many enemy ships surrounding you at any given time. Pressing two fingers on the screen unleashed your special attack after you destroyed enough baddies, which was super flashy to see. Goodnight Games looks like they have a unique, fun little shooter on their hands, so check out their website here and a trailer for Plunder Kings below:












Meowximum Catpacity









THE PUNS







I was immediately drawn to Meowximum Catpacity because of its terrible pun. I played with two other people using an Xbox controller AND WE WERE ALL COLOR-CODED CRAZY OLD CAT LADIES. The object of the game is to fill your home with as many stray cats as possible. However, doing so wasn’t so simple: a dog would straight up murder any cats it was near, other players could grab cats off of you, and there was also a black demon cat that had teeth for a face. This cat could be picked up and placed into an opponent’s house, where it would rapidly deplete all captured cats (probably because it was eating them all). So, the game became grab the demon cat out of your house and put it in your enemy’s, which led to much screaming and intense matches.













Meowximum Catpacity was a pleasant surprise for me at the show. I stumbled upon it between my appointments and was immediately hooked on it, even though I am more of a dog person. The title supports up to four players for maximum insanity, and there are power-ups that help lure more cats to your home (like cat food). Big fans of multiplayer games that require quick thinking and strategy should check out the game here. Michael Calvert, one of the game’s developers, informed me there are even more puns than just the main title, so I’m definitely gonna spend more time with it at home.




Mama Hawk











Mama Hawk is a super addicting adventure that I got to play on a tablet device. The title is a delightful mobile game where you play as Mama Hawk, and your mission is to feed your children every stage. You’d pick up animals like mice and rabbits using your finger to guide Mama in order to feed your eggs which eventually cracked, revealing a baby bird’s face. If you continued to feed your offspring, they’d eventually hatch and go flying off into the sky. Mama Hawk required a bit of strategy: do you feed your kids that are close to hatching to finish the stage quicker or do you prioritize who is the most hungry (shown by a depleting meter under the eggs) and spread the food out among your children for more points? Animals had their own attributes, too: rabbits would try to jump out of harm’s way, skunks would hit you with gas that lowered your health, and deer could get away from you quickly. The most hilarious part of Mama Hawk was seeing her pick up a whole deer and drop it into her baby’s mouth; hell, it’s worth playing for that image ALONE.











The power-ups in this game are ridiculous







I couldn’t get enough of Mama Hawk and dropping gigantic animals into my kids’ mouths. It’s fun to speed around a level, grabbing coins that you could spend on power-ups between stages (gaining more health, being able to hold more animals, quicker flying speed, etc.) while also worrying about your birds dying of hunger. Based on the gameplay shown on the game’s website, things get way harder and more frantic as new enemies and animals are introduced, so I’m definitely looking forward to playing the full release during my morning commute.




Awkward Date











Good God, Awkward Date is a ton of fun. Another pleasant surprise, Awkward Date is a platformer that requires two people to play. The mechanics are deeply unique: each player controls a man (Marlon and Nathan), and these two men go on dates together (getting coffee, using the bathroom after drinking said coffee, etc.). If you are too far apart from one another, you both get lonely and die. However, if you get too close to each other, you both die of embarrassment. Levels are a constant balance of staying close together but giving each other distance (just like a real relationship!). At times, you both would need to reach an exit together, but later levels require you to jump into separate heart rings at the same time in order to advance. Check out the teaser below to get an idea of what I am describing:













I was eager to test out Awkward Date. As luck would have it, the person behind me in line was a super cool, coordinated gamer, and we worked well off each other. We’d scream and laugh as we fell off platforms, got too close or too far away from each other, and mistimed our jumps. However, we were very verbal with one another and came up with great strategies to beat each stage of the demo. We managed to get through every stage of the trial, and we had a blast doing so. At the end of the demo, we got a chance to try out the love tester to see how compatible we were together. We didn’t get that high due to our large volume of deaths by pitfall/embarrassment/loneliness, but what does a machine know about compatibility, anyway?













If you have a partner or friend with which you share wavelengths, give Awkward Date a go. It’s one of the best co-op games I have played in quite some time. Check it out at its Facebook and Twitter page.




Neon Wasteland











Artist Rob Shields showed off his punk motorcycle action racer, Neon Wasteland. There was a small comic you could buy at his booth that filled in some of Neon Wasteland‘s backstory, and the plot sounded fairly involved: it contained hacking, missing identities, and corrupt corporations; so it wasn’t that far off from real life. The title combines racing, puzzles, shooting, and hack ‘n’ slash gameplay. The aesthetic reminded me of Hyper Light Drifter while the gameplay brought to mind Rez and Panzer Dragoon. It’s pretty to look at in motion, so check out the reveal trailer below:













Gameplay-wise, Neon Wasteland was all over the place in the short demo I played, but that’s what I loved about it. The player had to think quickly on their feet: one second you’d be jumping over obstacles, the next you’d be using a shield to protect yourself from barriers, and then you’d be shooting your way through blocks. There were checkpoints peppered throughout the stage I played, as well as videotapes that rewound time if you crashed; these gave you a do-over of whatever section you messed up on instead of pushing you back to a faraway checkpoint you passed minutes ago. I enjoyed this reaction-based, quick reflex approach to Neon‘s gameplay. However, the game was quite unfair at certain points: pathways would fall away with no prior warning, forcing you to make a decision whether to jump left or right, with only one of those paths being the only viable way forward. This led to a lot of trial and error and being pushed back again and again to a prior checkpoint until you memorized the correct route to advance. Having no context clues about these disappearing paths hurt Neon Wasteland and caused unnecessary frustration.













Complaints aside, I think Neon Wasteland has the potential to be a great title. If better visual cues are implemented into the game’s final build that give the player a heads-up that the path they are on is about to disintegrate, then Neon will turn out just fine. The mix of gaming genres makes the title highly unique and tough to put down. Check out Neon Wasteland‘s website if you are hungry for more.




Cutthroat Gunboat











I only had about three minutes to spend with Cutthroat Gunboat due to its multiplayer nature and the line that formed behind me to play it, but those were three minutes well spent. The game is basically a “choose a pirate ship and sink all the opposing boats to win” kind of game. Along with a group of three other people, I sat down and chose my pirate ship. Each ship had its own strengths and weaknesses; some were faster, some had more durability, etc. Maneuvering my ship was easy enough, and holding down the A button on my Xbox controller kept me at max speed. Using the left and right bumpers caused you to unload cannons on the respective side of your ship. You could also drop powder kegs to lay traps for your foes. I died pretty quick on my first round, while I destroyed the last remaining ship on my second; however, I crashed into a mountain at the same time, so that round was a draw.











There was also booty to be had! The coins were chocolate, though, which I only found out after leaving it in the sun for a few days







Cutthroat Gunboat felt like a good time to have with a group of friends. If I had more time learning the game’s controls and played a few more rounds, I’m sure it would have become my second favorite game involving pirate ships (sorry Gunboat, my fave is still Black Flag). Check out its Steam page if it sounds up your alley!




Crystal Rescue









It looks cute, but it’s tricky as all hell!







Creator Jason Khabra was nice enough to lend me his phone to check out his game, Crystal Rescue, since all the tablets playing the title were occupied when I visited his booth. A cute little puzzle game that required serious strategy skills to overcome each stage, Crystal Rescue tasks your red, big-eyed, teardrop protagonist with draining all the crystals in a given stage. The game has a great learning curve, starting you out with moving in squares to drain each crystal. Crystals drain quickly after you occupy their space, so if you need to move back to a space with a crystal you already drained, you’d better do it quick; spaces with drained crystals will trap your avatar there, and you’ll be forced to start the level over. This element became clear in later stages since objects like green crystals explode after draining, leaving the space they occupied inaccessible; Crystal Rescue requires a chess-like level of strategy and foresight, forcing you to plan your route carefully to achieve success. As I neared the end of my time with Crystal Rescue, it was evident that Jason loved adding new elements to later levels to throw players off, while also reminding them of rules he’d established early on (I almost threw his phone in frustration during one tough stage before I remembered I could jump across gaps and didn’t need to move in a straight line).











I don’t even want to know what those skull crystals do







I am eager to play more of Crystal Rescue after meeting with Jason and playing his demo. I can’t wait to see what new elements later levels hold, and how tough the puzzles become. Jason has been working on his baby for six years, and from what little I saw of his creation, he should be quite proud. Check out a trailer for Crystal Rescue below, as well as its website.













Play NYC was a fantastic event. I got to meet the creators behind many different videogames and see their eyes light up with enthusiasm when I played their titles. Indie developers have so many creative ideas for the gaming medium, and having an event showcase their talents like Play NYC really helped them connect with gamers one on one. I hope more events like Play NYC become the norm in other parts of the world, and I can’t wait to check it out again next year!



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TEAM REVIEW / SUICIDE GUY (PC)



I think that we can all safely say that there is one major rule in gaming. With the exception of certain genres, most games boil down to durviving. Staying alive is a really important factor if you want to stand a chance of completing your goal. But what if a game turned this on its head, making your over-arching goal to die. Interested? Myself and my good friend Will Georgiadis certainly were. Interested enough to have a peek at Suicide Guy, a tongue-in-cheek action puzzler from developer Chubby Pixel, and tell you all about our adventure.










What do you do when you see this coming toward you? Stay put of course!





Will Georgiadis



If I had to summarize Suicide Guy without referencing the game itself, I’d say this: just imagine a mix-tape of every time you got bored cruising the streets of Los Santos, the Mojave Wasteland, or any other suitably vast, open world. What happens when the ennui begins to seep into your gameplay? You take a helicopter up as high as you can, and then you jump, reveling in the mess that your character makes of the pavement below. You make a quick save, walk into Caesar’s Fort, and start hitting people with a sledgehammer until they retaliate.



The small team assisting developer Fabio Ferrara must have realized that virtual suicide is an important part of any real videogame. As a result, Suicide Guy boasts a wonderfully unique premise; kill yourself, using anything and everything at your disposal. Oh, and before you begin hammering me for handling suicide in such a flippant manner, understand this: not one pixel of Suicide Guy promotes, advocates, or otherwise encourages actual self-harm of any sort.













Your character is a bearded, beer-bellied couch potato. Asleep in front of the television, the game begins the moment his dreams begin to get a little crazy. Dimly aware that something terrible is about to happen in the real world, Suicide Guy’s dream-persona quickly learns that suicide is the only way to wake up (turns out, Christopher Nolan was right all along).



Twenty-four different dreamscapes stand between you and your literal awakening. Each presents a more complex puzzle than the last. My absolute favorite was a thinly-veiled, legally-ambiguous knock-off of the world’s most famous cartoon family home. In fact, popular culture oozes from Suicide Guy‘s every pore, as it quite unashamedly mocks everything from Indiana Jones to the Portal game series. It’s all tongue-in-cheek, and will always prompt a few laughs, but I have to admit that the game excelled when it wasn’t trying to imitate someone else’s designs.













Suicide Guy is lazily made. The mantle mechanics were simultaneously massively helpful and painfully infuriating; leaping from platform to platform was easy, whilst hopping up a foot-high step proved impossible. You’re able to manipulate many of the objects that populate each level, but woe betide anyone who accidentally pushes an object through a wall, or attempts to rotate a large object using your character as a pivot. The visual effects – streams of water, fire extinguisher foam – are laughable, as are the inaccessible, purely aesthetic game areas visible from the actual levels. Sure, Suicide Guy was made for a laugh, but these things are the bare necessities. Right?



If I’m being honest, though, the simplicity did not detract from the enjoyably puzzling feel of the game. Suicide Guy is a puzzle game, and as such, each level is a brain-teaser designed to force you to think outside the box. The answers are not always clear, or indeed possible without bending the game’s physics a little; there is nothing quite like sinking your teeth into a good “how-to-kill-oneself” challenge, particularly when all you are offered is one square room, and a gun that looks suspiciously like it’s waxing lyrical about the cake being a lie.











You’ll be killing him a lot before he wakes up.







Suicide Guy blends cartoon artwork with a pastel color palette to waylay any sense of the macabre. The levels are goofy, primitively drawn and rendered with a sickly-sweet glow. Sure, it’s a little basic, but I’ll forgive this sin for the simple reason that Firewatch set the community ablaze not so long ago with a similar aesthetic. The audio was equally goofy, taking its cues from the rip-off world around it and in some cases making John Williams grind his teeth in frustration. I loved the fact that each level contained a few red cassette players, playing the background music for the level in question. More to the point, I loved the fact that these little speakers were occasionally required to complete the level in question.



It’s details like those, that push Suicide Guy from a shamelessly lazy knock-off to a tongue-in-cheek cartooned laugh. And though I may gripe and moan about the low quality and low effort feel of the game, there’s no denying that 24 levels later, I’m sitting here wondering if they’ll make another one. I enjoyed committing suicide, and would happily do it again.



Score:

Gameplay: 7

Plot: 6

Design: 4










Interestingly enough you aren’t interested in that saw …





Alex Southgate



The first point I’m going to make, and I’m echoing Will here, is that Suicide Guy doesn’t parody suicide. The game isn’t out to offend anyone. Equally important, the game doesn’t condone suicide in any fashion, or actually even mention it. This is simply a game about someone scaring themselves awake.



Right … serious bit done, what do I think of the game? In very brief terms, I rather enjoyed it. There’s something whimsical about this title that takes me back to the PS2 generation. I actually rather like the roughly drawn out feel. Yeah some of the effects are coming out of the Ark but as this is a game that nods towards throwbacks I think it kind of asks for a throwback style. It isn’t a tour de force of spectacular art and groundbreaking sound effects (you all know how I feel about games coming over as pretentious for trying to be more than they are), rather it’s a first person puzzler pure and simple. It’s also actually quite a bit of fun.













I have to admit I rather liked that each level took you to places that you already knew, even if things become somewhat close to being a bit copied in places. Whether you are romping around an Aztec temple in true Indiana Jones fashion or hopping about a suspiciously familiar Mario-esque landscape it all feels familiar and comfy. The objective in all of these levels of course is just that you have to engineer your own death.



Take the aforementioned temple level. The goal is simple. All you have to do is grab a big gold idol which is dangling like a carrot only feet away from you. Above said statue is a big block of very pointy objects that are obviously going to be coming straight down on top of your head the moment you touch it. This is where the weird sets in. It’s a really strange feeling knowing that you aren’t interested in the carrot, rather the thing above it that’s definitely detrimental to your health. You just have to work out a way of getting to it.













Are we noticing anything familiar about this?







Wandering around a level where you know that literally nothing can kill you other than whatever it is that will be your way to the next stage conjures some very mixed emotions. On one hand you know you’re free to try a bunch of different solutions to the puzzle until you get the right one and that nothing is going to eat you for putting a foot wrong. On the other hand some of the levels actually feel a bit lonely. Take the Mario-esque level I mentioned. You have all the color, the floaty blocks, the suspiciously dead looking plant, (not sure how Nintendo would feel about that actually,) but where are the Koopas and all the other creatures that you would expect? I was left with a very strange empty feeling in places that I’m not sure I’m one hundred percent comfortable with.



With respect to the gameplay mechanics I can see where Will is coming from. Personally I would say lazy is possibly a tad harsh. I’d go with rough around the edges instead. It’s banefully annoying to have a very important puzzle item being eaten by a wall but I think I could overlook this. You have to restart the level when this happens as there’s literally no other way of solving it and this is really frustrating but most of the levels aren’t that long and it doesn’t happen that often. One thing that I couldn’t get used to is our portly protagonist’s platforming, (say that three time’s fast,) skills. I spent more time missing ledges and falling off blocks than I did completing levels. When you’ve missed the same jump for the umpteenth time you realize just how easy rage-quitting can be.













I also agree with Will’s point regarding the pin-point accuracy needed to shift blocks in this game. One graphical irk is that it’s very easy to forget you’re still moving a block. Sometimes although you’ve got hold of something and it’s moving, you aren’t actually touching it. You think you’ve dropped said block exactly where you’ve needed it and move away only to realize it’s following you. On account of not believing that our character can move things with his mind I’m assuming that this is a graphical glitch and it’s bloody annoying.



Relatively small grievances aside this is still a very solid puzzle game and with a few tweaks could be absolutely stunning. As it stands, it’s above average. I’m a very patient gamer and I can put up with a lot and see the core gameplay shining through. If you aren’t a patient gamer and some of the bugs we’ve mentioned are going to drive you completely nuts then this isn’t going to be something you’ll enjoy in it’s fullest. If you like a good puzzler though, I’d definitely recommend giving Suicide Guy your time. It’s charming, funny and actually quite tricky in places. If you’re looking for a new brain-bender this could certainly be it.



Score :

Gameplay: 7

Plot: 5

Design: 6







This team review is based on the retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.



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REVIEW / Black The Fall (PS4)



Robotic looking and ominous feeling, Black The Fall was a very intriguing experience. I can’t even remember the last time I played a game that downplayed its color scheme like this! The storyline is vague for the most part, so don’t expect to know exactly what’s going on. I felt the message it was trying to relay was peppered throughout the game. It had its ups and downs, but I’m glad I stuck with it.












Simplistic in design, Black The Fall starts out with no direction to ease you in. There was no instruction of what my purpose was or what I was supposed to do. Shrouded in mystery, I proceeded through the game. You quickly learn your character is basically a type of prisoner, trapped in this place and looking for a way out.



Puzzle after puzzle, you quickly learn that you need to figure out each room’s secrets before proceeding to the next room. There are no traditional levels, it’s just a seamless room-to-room progression. It leaves a feeling of monotony; you come across other guys who look like you, stuck in their own type of purgatory. But your character refuses this life; he wants out, and will do whatever it takes to escape.












Design-wise, this was an interesting game. It was dark and felt depressing in its color scheme. Mostly gray tones with low, creepy dungeon-esque flickering lighting, red warning lights were a common theme throughout. Yellow colored items indicated you might be able to use or activate the item to proceed. There were lots of metal surfaces, which had a nice reflecting effect in the low lighting conditions. There are different types of enemies – workers who will kill you if they see you moving, turrets that shoot on sight, mechs that will obliterate you. Navigating all the enemies who will kill on sight, exercising care and good timing is your only hope for escape. You’ll find a laser pointer not long after starting, you use this to open doors and activate things to progress.












Never uniformly the same view, the camera adjusts and swoops around you for optimal views. You don’t JUST progress from left to right. For example, I came up a spiraling ramp and the camera moved fluidly around me. But the game is fairly strict in which way it wants and allows you to go. I didn’t have a terrible experience with the controls, I just wish there was more options to explore the environment. Most of the time there was no music, you just heard turrets or fire blasting your way, realistic types of noises that otherwise gave a sense of quietness. There were a couple Easter eggs that I found, like a new hat here or there.












A little further along in the game, you come across a little robot dog friend. He starts helping you on your journey, and you can command him to go somewhere specific or stay where he is. He can arch his body to allow you to jump on him and reach things you may not otherwise be able to reach. The puzzles become more complex, and you won’t be able to progress unless you position your dog somewhere or so something specific first. In a way, I really didn’t like there not being specific levels or knowing exactly where you were. As the puzzles became more difficult, I had to find full gameplay trailers to figure some puzzles out. Another thing that took away from my experience a little was I felt the character was a little slow in response time. But it mostly held up without me experiencing any glitches, which was nice.














Black The Fall occupied my time and was interesting to play, if you can get past the more difficult puzzles that I got frustrated with. I know there are hidden things that I missed, and things that are so well hidden that I will NEVER find, which I feel took away from my own experience. The color scheme was mysteriously interesting, and the little dog made things much cuter and fun. All in all, if you’re looking for a time-killing puzzle game, I think Black The Fall would be right up your alley!




This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.


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Sonic Forces zooms to console this November



On the heels of the successful, retro-themed Sonic Mania, many fans of the iconic blue hedgehog may have wondered when the next installment to the franchise would come. The wait is over as SEGA has just announced the new Sonic Forces title releasing November 7. Fans can now pre-order the physical bonus edition for PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.







The new Sonic title, reminiscent of Sonic Generations, once again incorporates the fast-paced action of modern Sonic with the platforming classic Sonic from the 90’s. This comes as little surprise as the developers for this game are the same team behind Generations and Sonic Colors.



The title also seems to introduce a darker aesthetic we are not used to seeing from the franchise into a mix of traditional platforming and modern action-based gameplay.













In this new release, players also get to experience a third type of gameplay with the addition of the custom hero mode. Now you can design your own character and use powerful new gadgets in your fight to defeat Dr. Eggman and others.



Furthermore, a darker theme promises even darker villains. Including Eggman, players will face a strong rogues gallery full of characters such as: Zavok, Metal Sonic, Chaos, and ultimately Sonic’s greatest challenge yet, Infinite. It will take a team effort to destroy the evil inhabiting Sonic’s world.



For a limited time, fans who pre-order the physical-only bonus edition will receive four Sonic Forces art cards and the SEGA/ATLUS PACK add-on, offering 13 more in-game outfit items and accessories to recreate the five other SEGA/ATLUS icons for your hero character.











To learn more and pre-order the game, visit the Sonic Forces website. The digital pre-orders will be available at a later date, so be sure follow the team on Facebook and Twitter for the digital pre-order date and all other information on your favorite blue hedgehog.



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Rock of Ages 2 rolls onto Steam, Xbox One and PS4

You can’t beat a bit of weird. As gamers we tend to be drawn to the odd, wacky, and out-right insane. If there’s something not quite right about what we need to do you can be damn sure that most of us will want to do it. Speaking of mad as a box of frogs … who remembers a strange little game from back in 2011 called Rock of Ages? If you do and loved it you’ll be rather pleased to hear that thanks to ACE Team’s efforts Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder has been released for Steam, Xbox One and PS4.









If you’re wanting to get your rock on, (sorry,) you’ll be able to find the game in stand-alone digital format but also as a bundle for Steam and PS4 owners. The bundle will contain the game and the Classic Pack DLC, featuring the smiley boulder, Sisyphus avatar and three army banners. As part of this set you’ll also get a copy of the original Rock of Ages. The Classic Pack can of course be bought separately for those of you who may already have a copy of the first game. If you have Steam and go for the Classic Pack you’ll even get a copy of the soundtrack thrown in for good measure.









Speaking of DLC you can also grab your free copy of the Binding of Isaac Pack. This DLC bundle contains a very special Isaac boulder, three avatars in the shape of Isaac, Azazel and Blue Baby and three Isaac-themed banners. You’ll be wanting to get this quickly as it’s only available for the first four weeks of release and will be available with all purchases of the game.









So what needs to be crushed beneath your rocky heel then? Art history obviously! You will find yourself helping Atlas as he smashes his way through various eras of art looking for a very important something that he’s lost. As you steamroller everything in your wake there is one very important think to remember. Fortune favours the boulder.









In your quest you’ll find yourself exploring lavishly developed artistic worlds as you smash your foes and crush famous figures into obscurity. Expect new stages, characters, units and, of course, boulders. ACE Tean have also revamped the multiplayer system so even more players can experience the pure joy of smashing everything in sight with a large, fast moving, lump of rock. This being said you can play either locally or online with upto four of your friends, with each team getting it’s own customisable colours and banners. These modes feature a two vs. two war mode enabling you to see which set of boulders is the hardest. If you just want to prove your superiority then the multiplayer obstacle course may be just the way to do it.









Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder is an interesting mix of tower defence, racing and art history lesson. With a concoction like that it’s hard not to be at least a bit interested in seeing just what this title is all about. When you add in a nice big dose of Python-esque humour this is definitely a recipe that could be a serious winner.





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Final Fantasy XV collaborates with Assassin’s Creed and WTF is happening?!



Some things are actually more delicious together than they are apart. Chocolate and peanut butter. Rainbow cookies and more rainbow cookies. Final Fantasy and … Assassin’s Creed?!









Stab me, I must be dreaming!





What you are seeing is not a joke: beginning today and lasting through January 31st, 2018, Final Fantasy XV will be hosting the Assassin’s Festival in-game event. Noctis and the boys will take part in a festival honoring a mystical hero who stood against oppression that loved stabbing people in the face. Gameplay elements that are inspired by the Ass Creed series will be implemented into FFXV: expect to become very acrobatic, stabby, and an avid lover of treasure hunting.









Fly like an eagle, my friend





What’s a collaboration without costumes, though? Noctis and his crew will gain access to the Medjay Assassin’s Robes, and the Master Assassin’s Robes for just Noctis (this piece of fanciness is only obtainable via the Dream Egg from the Moogle Chocobo Carnival). Other collaboration items include the Assassin’s Creed-themed Regalia items (decal and full body decal), and a themed photo frame and filter that can be applied to Prompto’s photos.









They’ll never find me in this dumpster!





The Ass Creed update for FFXV cvan be downloaded for free right now, through either the PlayStation Store or Xbox Games Store. Check out a trailer for the Assassin’s Festival below, as well as read more info about the event here.









Funnily enough, this latest update adds even more content to FFXV, including:



– Noodle Helmet Outfit: bow to your corporate overlords with the Nissin Cup Noodle outfit, which increases the party’s HP recovery rate.



– Timed Quest Updates: limited-time quests have been added to the quest tracker.



– Exhibition of Third Snapshot Contest Winning Photos: the winners of the third community Snapshot Contest are now on display at Galdin Quay, for the whole world to see (bragging rights, ho!).



– Bestiary: players can now view the enemies they have slaughtered in cold blood using this gallery.



– Chapter Select: gamers can now select any chapter from the main game to play, though one must complete the main story in order to access this mode.



More information on the preceding info can be found here. Anyone eagle diving back into FFXV to check out these updates?



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Team17 announce Worms W.M.D for the Nintendo Switch



Team17 has announced today that their hit turn-based strategy game Worms W.M.D will release on Nintendo Switch this year.









Players with the Switch port of the game will be treated to all of the game’s existing campaign missions, levels, customisations and updates, including Liberation and the fan favourite Forts mode. All this whether they’re at home or on the go!



However, this isn’t just a port. The Nintendo Switch version of Worms W.M.D also features

– a brand new space theme

– new Mushroom and Tree forts

– new customisations, including three new outfits and three new gravestones to mourn the departed



Worms W.M.D will feature support for single Joy-Con play, local wireless multiplayer, as well as local and online multiplayer in all-out tactical worm warfare.



Worms W.M.D is available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac and Linux. The Nintendo Switch version will launch in Q4 2017.





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Gear.Club Unlimited races onto Switch later this year



Deep into its first year of life, the Nintendo Switch is still feeling out the market and trying to fill in all of the gaps of its library. There have been a lot of complaints about a lack of titles on the quirky console/handheld hybrid, but slowly they are falling into place. Now it looks like the Switch is getting its very first realistic racing sim, a la Forza, later this year with the upcoming Gear.Club Unlimited.









In a new trailer, the development team at Eden Games and Microïds gave a sneak peak at the roster of vehicles in the genuine realistic racing experience. We see 16 fully customizable cars that include big name models in Bugatti, Jaguar, Chevrolet, Dodge, and Mercedes AMG. The customization options shown in the trailer include new paint jobs and body kits for your racing machine. There’s also a glance at some genuine gameplay, as well as some of the scenic vistas players will be racing through.



Gear.Club Unlimited is a very important addition to the Switch library as it gives a viable competitor to the Microsoft and Sony racing sim exclusives in Forza and Gran Turismo, respectively. That being said, just from the trailer shown, Gear.Club Unlimited looks to be just a few steps behind the latest entries in the competing franchises. With racing simulators on the other platforms operating as a technical test of the graphical powerhouses that are the new HDR 4K systems, the Switch racing sim entry falls under that new graphics standard a noticeable amount. However, it goes without saying that the Switch and Gear.Club Unlimited holds portability as a major trump card over the Microsoft and Sony consoles.



Gear.Club Unlimited races into stores shelves on December 1st this year. You can follow the official facebook page of the game’s publisher here for updates as they become available.



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