iPhone

Mecho Wars – Review

Published By: Creat Studios, Developed By: Oyaji Games, Genre: Strategy, Release Date: Jan 10, 2012, Rating: NA, Systems: PC, Iphone, Playstation Portable, Playstation 3 (Minis), Mac, Wii.

Presentation: For reference pertaining to this particular Gamer Blog article i played Mecho Wars via the Playstation 3 as a Minis download. In essence Mecho Wars is a turn-based strategy game between two warring factions known as the Winged Crusade and Landians. When looking at Mecho Wars entire presentation it holds up surprisingly strong for a Minis. The gameplay is deep and rewarding. The visuals were good along with the sound design. There is content in the form of multiplayer and various unique gamemodes. During my playtime with Mecho Wars i noticed no glitches or technical issues. The game performed practically flawless as a Minis title.

The menus were all navigable and seamless included: Single Player, Multiplayer, Challenge, Options and Extras. When i started Act 1: Rising at first i was alittle confused. Mecho Wars doesn’t tell you literally that there is a tutorial for this strategy game. You just sorta dive in. Since i don’t play many turn based strategy games i was confused at first as to what my goals were. That all changed once the second mission started. The story campaign was good when it was all said and done. Not only do you play practically everytype of gamemode but there is some story elements featuring cutscenes.

Story: The story was a simple one. The story is basically about the Winged Crusade rising up against the Landians. The Winged Crusade are sick of being repressed and decided to take the land for themselves. Gameplay mirrors the story in that you’re creating an army, collecting gold and building bases to fight the Landians (according to the single player story campaign),

Visuals: Creat Studios’s Prime Engine delivered a goodlooking little strategy game. Mecho Wars’s visuals shine most when you’re fighting in turn based battles. The Landians and Winged Crusade troops are nicely rendered with imaginative art designs and good texture texture work. The game doesn’t use many advanced effects but the explosions were always fun to look at. This game uses many light/soft colors which ultimately gives it a relaxed atmosphere which in turn lets you focus clearly when engaged in battle.

Sound Design: The music was good. So was the game’s sound effects. The main menu music was catching enough. Some of the orchestra tunes presented throughout gameplay were conducive in creating a good vibe. The sound design of the explosions while engaging in battle were memorable.

Gameplay: Mecho Wars is a strategy game at its core. You collect gold, buy troops, collect material to build bases and fight turn based battles. Its deeper than that and does take some strategy on the more difficult maps. As i played through the single player i learned strategies and techniques that i then used on the Challenges and Multiplayer sections of Mecho Wars. Gameplay becomes addicting as you build up armies and engage in turn-based battles. Eating cactus is one way of improving your HP gauge after battles. You acquire Gold by capturing structures. Personally i play very little strategy turned based games so this experience was sorta fresh in my mind.

As far as gamemodes go there are plenty when you access the Challenges menu of Mecho Wars. You have Conquer: Capture HQ structures to defeat the enemy.  Golddigger: Accumulate a certain amount of gold in the shortest amount of time. Assassination: target a member of the opposing team and protect your leader. Annililation: Exterminate the enemy and capture structures. Playing through the single player is a great place to learn all of the basics before jumping into a Challenge match. Even still Challenges are diverse, fun and got quite addicting on a few occasions.

Replayability: Online Multiplayer as well Challenge gamemodes lets you play on a few maps including: Mount Isle, Beach Front, Mountain Base, Choke Point, Narrow Pass, Patches, Warfare Isles and Battle Isles. There are many different gamemodes to choose from after you playthrough the story campaign. You can put many hours in this Minis game no problem.

Final Verdict: Mecho Wars is a really good strategy game wrapped in a smaller yet just as enjoyable package as bigger strategy games. Gameplay was fun, addictive and rewarding. The various gamemodes and maps for Multiplayer and Challenge modes adds good replay value.

8/10

Playstation Minis Review – Doodle Fit

Published By: Gamelion Studios, Developed By: Gamelion Studios, Genre: Puzzle, Release Date: September 6, 2011, Rating: E, Systems: iPhone, Android, PsP, Playstation 3 (Minis).

Presentation – Doodle Fit is a accurate fit (pun intended) for its name since this puzzle game’s presentation and core gameplay revolves around fitting blocks into shapes.  The opening intro music and visual design gave me an immediate “this is an educational puzzle game” vibe which was neat. Doodle Fit at first appeared to be a kid’s puzzle game but as you delve deeper into its core you are presented with some challenging puzzles.

The main menu screen had your normal handheld type menu options such as Play, Settings, Other Stuff and Help. I went into the Other Stuff section which had an About page, Stats page and More Games section. In the More Games section i saw I Must Run which was a game i reviewed on this site. It hadn’t dawned on me Gamelion Studios were the developers of both games till i saw that. The Stats page keeps track of Levels Solved, Solutions Solved, Games Played and Time Spent. The controls were basically me using just the d-pad to move/place blocks and X to set them into the shape. The presentation of Doodle Fit was decent.

Story – No story to write about regarding Doodle Fit.

Visuals – Average graphics for a handheld game. Nothing jumps out at you regarding textures colors or whatever. Its a puzzle game and does its job fine but the visuals are mediocre at best.

Sound – The opening musical tune gave me a old school 16-bit vibe and gave me the impression its a puzzle game. Sound effects were decent for this handheld to console port. Not much distortion or fuzzy sounds involved.

Gameplay – Gameplay is clearly the strength of Doodle Fit. Its addicting, challenging and fun and makes this game what it is. The first puzzle you have to solve involves filling up a Rectangle (appears as an outline) with three blocks. The blocks were all shaped differently and had different colors. It took me maybe two seconds to complete the first puzzle. But as time went on it took me longer and longer to solve the more complex puzzles.

The right side bar of Doodle Fit shows Solved 0/27, Solutions 0/41 and Hint Added. As you complete puzzles you will be required to use more blocks to fill in more exotic shapes such as a Hour Glass and Fire Demon design. You have to arrange and place over five blocks to complete those puzzles. You can use the Hint system by pressing X (Duel Shock 3) to see what type and where a piece should be placed. Using Hints are extremely limited so you have to use caution. The gameplay is what should make a game what it is. I am glad to write the gameplay dictates Doodle Fit completely.

Replayability – You can unlock 12 different themes as you complete levels. There are 350 different puzzles that will challenge your wits. Over 600 solutions when you count every way you can solve a puzzle. So unlike many handheld type games this one does have some lasting appeal.

Final Verdict – Doodle Fit is a fun addicting educational puzzle game. Its challenging and has replay value. If you enjoy puzzle games check it out. Thanks for reading.

7.5/10

Playstation Minis Review – Age of Zombies

Published By: Halfbrick Studios, Developed By: Half Brick Studios, Genre: Horror Action, Release Date: February 25, 2011, Rating: Teen, Systems: Iphone, Android, PsP, Playstation 3 (Minis).

Presentation - For my second Playstation Minis review of the day i give you Age of Zombies. Age of Zombies is a historical zombie killing romp led by eccentric “bro-man” protagonist Barry Steakfries. What immediately grabbed me about Age of Zombies was that its a top down zombie game with real humor, nice visuals and good sound design. The atmosphere is that of a light hearted crude humorous slasher zombie flick.

The main menus include New Game, Continue Game, Survival Mode, Options and Credits. I spent most of my time in the Story Mode section and played Survival quite a bit. Both modes were fun and addicting for a handheld game. However don’t forget i played this game as a Minis title on my Playstation 3. It was free afterall since i am a Playstation Plus member.

Story – About 80% of the Playstation Minis games i play do not have a story. Age of Zombies does albeit very cheesy but its there. The story starts off with the protagonist Barry Steakfries confronting a evil maniacal Professor Brains. The Professor invented a Hyper  Timeological Transfer Machine. But what’s worse is that he released his Zomb Bomb which turns people into zombies. Barry Steakfries hears enough and shoots Professor Brain in the face. A time portal iopens up and Barry jumps in to clean up the mess and have some fun in the process. The story is told through text boxes with pictures of the character’s face on the side. Is the story good? No, hell no. However, it is a story or should i type, reason to play the game.

Visuals – Age of Zombies is a goodlooking  handheld game in my opinion. The semi top down view features hordes of zombies getting sprayed by Barry Steakfries looked nice graphically. The varied historical settings in ancient Egypt, 1930′s USA and prehistoric times really showcased what the game’s engine is capable of. I really do like the artstyle of the characters most notably the zombies.

Sound Design – Really good. Most Playstation Minis titles sound distorted with too much base. Age of Zombies had crisp sound and the music was catchy that also changed along with the historic settings accordingly.

Gameplay – This game is a zombie shooter at heart. There are massive waves of zombies attacking you from all angles. Item drops contain SMGs, shotguns, flame throwers, grenades, mines and more. My major gripe with Age of Zombies was easily the controls. I had to aim with the buttons. No analog support. Lucky the crude humor kept me laughing or else i would’ve been more upset. Gameplay is well rounded. The enemies look like they fit in from the historic timeline ala caveman zombies, mob zombies etc.

There are bosses including a zombie T-Rex and a Mob Boss in a speeding car. There are kill counts and score multipliers for the score junkies. After each stage you’re ranked in Time, Kills, Deaths, Shots Fired, Shots Hit and Accuracy. Survival Mode isn’t that much different from the regular story mode but was  just as fun and addicting. The on-screen HUD shows your guns and grenades count, lives left, score and multiplier and zombie gauge.

Replayability – Not much content. You can beat the game pretty fast and the Survival mode lasts even less. Its a fun shooter but not alote of reasons are there to make you want to keep playing.

Final Verdict – Age of Zombies is a good looking,  fun, hilarious, addicting zombie shooter. The problem is the content. Its too thin to warrant any real replayability.

7/10