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 On 12/08/2015 at 07:15 PM by Cary Woodham See More From This User » |
Merry Christmas! It’s time for me to do what I always do on my blog this time of year: my Pretend Christmas Present Party! Here’s how it works. In the comments section, give me a pretend Christmas present. It can be anything you want! It’s the thought that counts…literally! And in return, I’ll reply with a pretend Christmas gift for you! It’s fun when it’s fun! And as a special Christmas bonus, I’ve got extra presents for all of you: more game reviews that I’ve written recently on GamerDad.com! Please read as many as you can and maybe even post a comment or two! I’d really appreciate it! I could certainly use some cheering up since I don’t have a job right now and this year kind of sucked at times.
The first thing I’ll post is some Nintendo-related news I wanted everyone to know about. McDonald’s is doing Pokémon toys in their Happy Meals, and you can get a special Pokémon when you bring your 3DS and connect it with their Wi-Fi. That lasts through most of December I think. Also, Nintendo is doing a Holiday Mall Tour this month, so check their site to see if they’re coming to a mall in your area. Click on the link above to see pics and links to the site.
Minecraft Story Mode: Episode 1 (PS3)
I was really excited to play this. At least at first. I don’t really get into Minecraft but it was nice to see TellTale doing a more whimsical, family friendly game after doing Walking Dead and Game of Thrones series for so long. The darker themes just weren’t my cup of tea. Unfortunately, it plays more like a Walking Dead title and less like an ‘old’ TellTale point and click adventure. Most of what you do is just listen to people talk and choose things to say, with maybe a little bit of quick time events thrown in. It feels like you’re just being led around by the nose the whole time, with no gameplay involved. Hopefully they can improve it in later episodes, which TellTale is usually good at doing. But I still miss the ‘old’ TellTale when they made great stuff like Sam & Max and Wallace & Gromit.
Gravity Falls: Legend of the Gnome Gemulets (3DS)
I love this cartoon! I haven’t been this into a cartoon since DuckTales, Rescue Rangers, and Animaniacs. Unfortunately, the game is a typical 2-D platformer. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still fairly fun and looks GREAT! But I think Gravity Falls would make a better point and click adventure, so that’s what I was hoping for. If you get a chance, you should watch the cartoon on Disney XD.
Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations (Wii U)
I’ve reviewed TONS of Adventure Time games. In fact, out of all the cartoon licenses out there, I’ve probably reviewed more Adventure Time games than any other. And I don’t even watch the show! Although BMO is my favorite character. When I first saw the title of this game, I thought it would play like Phoenix Wright. But when I saw screenshots, it looked like a 3-D platformer. But it’s actually a point and click adventure! And it’s pretty darn good, too, like something TellTale would make back in the day. Good timing, too, since I was hoping for a point and click adventure after playing Minecraft Story Mode and the Gravity Falls game. And it’s a really good game. Probably the best game Little Orbit has published. Usually Little Orbit publishes crappy licensed titles, but this one is really good! If you like Adventure Time and point and click adventures, I strongly suggest getting this one.
Snoopy’s Grand Adventure (Wii U)
This title is based on the new Peanuts movie, and is aimed at a very young audience. It’s a very derivative 2-D platformer. But while we’ve all played games like this before, for a little kid, this could be a brand new experience for them, so I was OK with it. You just control Snoopy (and Woodstock in two-player mode) as they tromp around Snoopy’s imagination while finding the kids who are playing hide-and-seek. Just a cute game for the little ones, and that’s OK. I’ll also say that the Peanuts movie is very good, even though it’s computer animated. I even liked it better than The Good Dinosaur, and it’s rare for me to choose something above Pixar. But then, Peanuts was super popular in the 70’s and 80’s when I was a kid. Actually a lot of comic strips were popular back then. I kind of miss those days. Do kids even read comic strips anymore? Oh yeah, and if you older players want a good Peanuts game, try Snoopy vs. the Red Baron on PS2 or the online version on Xbox Live. You may have to track them down a bit since they’re old, but I enjoyed them.
Fallout 4 Vault Dweller’s Survival Guide
I think a lot of people would balk about me reviewing a strategy guide for a game I haven’t ever played, but when you’re pretty much the only one writing for the site, it can be a struggle to find content. Besides, I’ve been doing this thing for nearly 20 years now, I think I know a good guide when I see one. Plus, my brother Jeff plays Fallout 4, and he says it’s a good guide, too. So nyeah!
Barbie and Her Sisters Puppy Rescue (Wii U)
I guess this game isn’t bad if you’re into Barbie. I am a guy with six brothers, so I don’t have much experience with Barbie. The game is a bit repetitive, but again, right on the mark for Barbie fans. I had no idea she has three sisters, though. Guess you do learn things from video games sometimes.
This mobile game reminded me of classic arcade titles like Son Son or City Connection. You move between three rows of automatically scrolling platforms, collecting coins and fighting enemies. But just because it reminded me of classic games doesn’t make it any good, that’s just what it made me think of.
And last is this continuously running mobile 2-D platformer with Mexican themes. The stages aren’t random, but they are super hard and the choppy scrolling and tough controls don’t help. With some polish, it might make a good console game, though.
Merry Christmas!
And that’s all for now! I hope you all get a chance to read my reviews and play the Pretend Christmas Present game! I appreciate it. Later! --Cary
I want to see that Peanuts movie bad.
I don't know Cary, it's getting tougher every year to get you an imaginary present as awesome as you are. You're just hard to get imaginary presents for since you already seem to have a lot of imaginary presents. 
But, after reading your blog, I'm going to get you a BRAND NEW point and click Pac-Man Telltale game with lots of humor and pac-man gameplay. You will like it, I know it!
Point and click Pac-Man, huh?
Step One: Pick Up Dot
Step Two: Use Dot on Pac-Man
Step Three: Repeat First Two Steps
YOUR Pretend Present is a point and click adventure from TellTale starring Batman! Oh wait, that's actualy coming out next year!
I had a dream last night that I had Pac-Man wallpaper that was interactive. You could take control on any maze on the wall and play it at any time. Cool huh?
Wallpaper like on your computer desktop or what you stick on your walls in your house?
Oh, on the walls of my room.
Pac-Man on the wall sounds cool.
Gravity Falls is indeed awesome.
It IS a great cartoon! I'm worried that the series might be over soon, though.
Gravity Falls is a pretty cool show, it's just so good!
As far as a present goes, here, have the three journals from the show. Complete with decoders and a black light!
I'm surprised there aren't more products like that. There's not very much Gravity Falls merchandise, that's for sure.
YOUR Pretend Present is a grappling hook! If you like the cartoon, you'll understand that joke.
"However, all aspects of this game feel like they are just leading you around by the nose, and there is hardly any actual gameplay involved." That says it all for me and all the Telltale story games. After Tales from Borderlands, I think I'll avoid their stuff from now on. I like gameplay, not TV episodes masquerading as video games.
How about a plasma globe present. My roommate is obsessed with them at the moment.
Yeah I was disappointed with how TellTale has become. It just baffles me how so many people named The Walking Dead their Game of the Year when it came out. I guess that's why I was so pleasantly surprised with the new Adventure Time game since it was so much like classic TellTale stuff. By the way, I'm working on reviewing yet ANOTHER Adventure Time game!
YOUR pretend present is ALL the Skylanders! Yes, all of them! Even the silver Spyro I got at E3 one year!
All the Skylanders? I just fainted.
That's the beauty of pretend presents!
Your pretend present is owning Sam & Max as pets.
Good luck working that out.
If I had a pet dog and a pet rabbit, I would consider naming them Sam & Max.
YOUR pretend present is a super vitamin pill that'll give you super powers for life!
Hmmm ... but what superpowers? Do I get to choose?
OK here's how that works. After taking the vitamin, if you want to be super strong, just lift weights once and you'll be very strong. If you want to go fast, just drink a sip of espresso and you'll go super fast. For an invincible immune system, just drink a glass of orange juice. And you get the idea. :)
So video game power ups. Awesome.
Yeah but don't expect to eat a mushroom and grow really big. I mean, that's just ridiculous. Whoever heard of a mushroom being able to do that to anyone? Now, if you ate a pizza, you'd turn into a ninja.
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