PixlBit

Things are starting to pick up for me as far as reviewing games goes.  We’re getting closer to the Christmas season so hopefully I can continue the momentum in the next few months!  Anyway, so here’s another batch of reviews I’ve written lately over at GamerDad.com.  Please read as many as you can, and maybe even post a comment or two here or there.  I’d really appreciate it.  You’ll at least want to read this blog anyway just to see how I came up with that crazy title for it!

Lara Croft GO (iPad)

While I think that a female Indiana Jones is a pretty cool idea, I never really got into the Tomb Raider games.  Just too serious for me.  Especially that last one where she was all muddy and dirty and needed to take a bath.  Poor Lara!  Maybe if she had a pink dinosaur sidekick who threw cupcakes at bad guys, I’d be more interested in her games.  Take note: that’s ‘Stupid Idea #1 that Makes People Glad Cary Doesn’t Make Games.’

But when I got the opportunity to review Lara Croft GO for iOS, I was surprised at how much I liked the game.  But that’s mainly because it’s an isometric puzzle game where you help Lara solve block pushing puzzles and figure out how to get past enemies.  I also liked it because it reminded me of Captain Toad, another isometric puzzler.  That gave me an idea that I think it would be cool if Captain Toad and Lara Croft teamed up in a game!  OK, that’s ‘Stupid Idea #2 that Makes People Glad that Cary Doesn’t Make Games.’ 

I was only disappointed with the ending.  Lara just escapes the crumbling temple and dives down a waterfall.  If I were making the game, I’d have her find an artifact at the end of the ruins, but this artifact has special powers.  When Lara touches it, she turns into Super Lara Croft, and now you can play the game over again as her stronger powered-up self so she can mow down enemies and stuff.  And that’s ‘Stupid Idea #3 that Makes People Glad that Cary Doesn’t Make Games.’  But I still liked Lara Croft GO a lot.

Runbow (Wii U)

This is a competitive 2-D platformer for up to 8 players (yes, 8), with elements of Smash Bros. thrown in for good measure.  The gimmick is the background changes color every couple of seconds, and any platforms that are that same color will disappear, so you always have to be on your toes.  You can also unlock various indie game characters to play as, like Shovel Knight or Juan & Tostada from Guacamelee.  So it’s kind of like an Indie Game All-Stars.  It’s very fun, and one of the better Wii U indie games out there, provided you have a lot of friends to play with you.

It Was a Good Day Amiibo Hunting

Here’s another batch of recent Amiibo purchases.  I was able to get all I wanted this time thanks to the help of a family member.  I sure do like Amiibo figures, I just wish they weren’t so hard to get.  By the way, I have an extra Bowser Jr. and an import Zero Suit Samus.  If anyone is interested in making a trade, just send me a PM.

Mario Kart Fruit Snacks

I know most video game news sites would scoff that I wrote an article about this, but I write for a gaming web site for families, so I think it has some relevance to the audience.  I think it’s funny how the fruit snacks aren’t even new at all, they just reused the same ones from the Super Mario fruit snacks they had a few years ago.  Just goes to show you how popular Mario Kart is I guess.  I don’t know if it’s an age thing or they changed the ingredients (probably both), but fruit snacks just don’t taste as good as they used to.

Unplugged: Cinelinx

This is a card party game where you test your knowledge of movies and movie stars by connecting related cards until your hand runs out.  You really have to know a lot about movies and celebrities, but unfortunately, I do not.  Maybe if they made a game like this but about video games or cartoons, I’d fare better. 

Reader Review: Daemon Detective Gaiden (PC)

My good friend reviewed this PC 2-D platformer for me.  I don’t think he liked it very much.  But you should check out his review anyway.

I am Bread (iPad)

This is a quirky game where you are a piece of bread and must use the touch screen to nudge and flop over to a toaster to you can be made into toast.  Just don’t touch the ground or water or ants, or your ‘edibility’ meter will go down and if it reaches zero, you lose.  Unfortunately, the play control on this was awful.  I love quirky games like Chibi Robo and Katamari Damacy, so I really tried to like this one, too, and even watched a few Let’s Play videos of it to see if I was missing anything (and I hate watching Let’s Play videos).  But I just couldn’t get past the bad play control.

Next Time: Cary’s New Job!

And that’s all for now!  Thanks for reading my reviews and posting comments.  You folks just don’t realize how happy it makes me when you all do that.  Anyway, next time on my blog, I’m going to talk about my new job!  I won’t tell you what it is now, but I’ll give you a couple of hints: I’m designing happy homes, and my clients are real animals!