I might have to check out Minit if they put it on Game Pass on XBO.
May Review Flowers
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 On 05/03/2018 at 09:13 PM by Cary Woodham See More From This User » |
Game reviews are blooming over at the GamerDad site, so here’s a bouquet of ones I’ve recently written. Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe even post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d really appreciate it! OK let’s begin!
For some reason, I’ve always been interested in the virtual pet phenomenon. I don’t know WHY I am, but that’s the way it is. I didn’t grow up with the Tamagotchi fad (I was an 80’s kid, not a 90’s kid), but Tamagotchi did start around the time I began writing game reviews professionally, so it’s always been something I’ve followed. So naturally I reviewed this new free-to-play game. It plays like the old key chain games, but looks much better and the mini games you play with your pals are way more fun. It definitely held my interest longer than what I thought it would.
When I was a kid, my first gaming ‘console’ was actually a PC. An Apple ][+ to be exact. I played a lot of games on it. Some of my favorites included Spare Change and Aquatron, but another one I played a lot was Lode Runner. This updated version adds a lot of new features and modes, and I really liked it.
In this top down Zelda adventure, you pick up a cursed sword and can only live for 60 seconds before dying and being sent back to your house. So the trick here is to figure out what do to and where to go in less than a minute, and then do it. Luckily the game saves your progress when you pick up a key item, so the game is all about finding quick ways to get to where you need to go. It kind of reminded me of one of my favorite PSP games, an RPG called Half-Minute Hero. The black and white graphics also have a bit of an Undertale vibe, and for some reason the game also made me think of Atari’s Adventure. The game held my interest all the way through, but the only problem is it took me only an hour to beat! It is one of the games that people can play again and again to get a faster complete time and such, though.
Cartoon Network Match Land (iPad)
It’s yet another match three puzzle game with RPG battle elements, but this one features characters and settings from popular Cartoon Network shows. I did like the pixel graphics, and my brother Jeff really enjoyed the game.
Speaking of Cartoon Network, you have to wonder if the developers of The Adventure Pals wanted to make a game based on the Adventure Time cartoon, or were at least inspired by it. You play as a boy who lives in a weird cartoon world and uses a sword to dispatch crazy enemies. For your birthday you get a magical yellow giraffe with a stretchy neck, but soon after that, your grandpa gets kidnapped by Mr. B., who wants to turn all the senior citizens into hot dogs…for some reason. So you and your giraffe set out on a 2-D platforming adventure to save him. My brother Jeff says the game looks like something you could play on Newgrounds as well, which sounds about right. It’s a 2-D platformer and controls well and isn’t too bad, really.
From the look of this game, and the title as well, I’d say they were making fun of another popular mobile game: Crossy Road. It’s not made by the same people, though, I don’t think. Speaking of which, if you do want to play a good Pac-Man game by the makers of Crossy Road, Pac-Man 256 is pretty slick. Anyway, in Mowy Lawn, your job is to mow all the grass in a level, so it is kind of like Pac-Man, too. But you have to watch out for obstacles and enemies, as one hit will make your mower explode. Yup, a game about mowing lawns. You only tap on the screen to turn right and that’s all the controls you get, so it’s pretty simple, too. It has a bit of humor to it, and I liked it for what it was.
It’s kind of a mix of hockey and soccer, and the playfields make me think of Atari’s Combat game on the 2600. The reason for the 99 in the title, at least according to the developers that I talked to at PAX South, is that NHL 99 was their favorite hockey game.
And last is yet another mobile continuous runner, except in this one you can run on the floor and ceilings to avoid obstacles. And the music is better than average, too.
And that’s all for now! Thanks so much for reading my reviews and giving me ‘likes’ and comments, I do appreciate it. Later! --Cary
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