PixlBit

Just got one final Christmas present for you all: one last batch of reviews for the year.  Please click on and read as many as you can, and maybe post a comment or two.  I’d appreciate it.  And if you’d still like to participate in my Pretend Christmas Present Party from last time, you’re more than welcome to here as well.  Just post a pretend Christmas present you’d like to give me in the comments section, and when I reply, I’ll give you a pretend Christmas present, too!  OK, let’s get on to the reviews!

Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! (360)

First two games are from the same franchise.  This one is like a mix of Mystery Dungeon titles and Gauntlet games.  Although in this one you play as Adventure Time characters while tromping around the dungeons.  I wish I could’ve played as BMO, but you can unlock cartridges to play games on him.  So instead I chose to play as Cinnamon Bun.  Only problem with the game is that it’s a bit too slow-paced, but fans of the show and old-school style dungeon crawlers probably won’t mind.

Ski Safari Adventure Time (iPad)

Apparently there is already a game called Ski Safari, and this one just adds Adventure Time characters and settings.  It’s a 2-D ski slope race, and kind of reminds me of skiing parts of 2-D platformers like Yoshi’s Island.  And it’s also surprisingly fun and addictive, and I like the simple arcade gameplay.

Halos Fun (iPad)

Halos are a brand of little oranges that remind me of those little Clemetines or Cuties brand oranges.  This is a free iPad game I reviewed that stars those little Halos oranges.  Gameplay reminds me of a mix between Angry Birds and Peggle.  Even though it’s just one big commercial, at least it’s advertising something healthy, right?  Advertising in video games usually doesn’t bother me much anyway.  Sometimes I like it.  For instance, in Crazy Taxi, it was easy to spot the licensed locations you had to drive to, like Pizza Hut and KFC, because the buildings and logos were so recognizable.  When SEGA re-released Crazy Taxi but didn’t have the rights to use those logos, it was a little harder to spot the buildings.

The Bridge (360)

This is a unique platformer puzzler where you rotate the world around to get a man to a door.  It has an M.C. Escher vibe to it, since the ceiling can become floors and whatnot, and the black and white pencil sketch graphics add to that as well.  It’s a bit short, but still fun.  If you liked Braid, you’ll enjoy this, too.  Actually I liked this one better than Braid, as I thought that game was a bit pretentious.

Pretentious Game (iPad)

And speaking of pretentious, in this game you must guide a blue square to a pink square that he loves.  It reminds me of Chuck Jones’ cartoon, “The Dot and the Line.”  The game is a bit counter-intuitive in places, and not very impressive visually.  But what disappointed me is how short the demo is, and then they have the gall to have you buy the rest of this puny little game.  That’s what felt pretentious to me, and I don’t do pretentious.

Everyday Spelunker (iPad)

Spelunker is an old NES game famous for its difficulty due to the fact the main character dies so easily.  It’s especially popular in Japan for that reason.  I think they even made fun of it in an anime.  This is an iPad version of that NES game.  Spelunker is hard enough as it is, now made even harder due to touch screen controls.

CastleStorm (360)

This was made by the same folks who did the Pinball FX2 titles.  It’s a 2-D battle strategy game that has elements of Angry Birds as you use a slingshot to destroy the enemies’ castles.  And you can send troops out to fight their troops trying to steal your flag and bring it back to their castle.  Even though it’s totally not the same game, for some reason it reminds me of an old SNES title called King Arthur’s World.  Anyway, CastleStorm is a fun game, but I had trouble with all the multitasking you must do, and the graphics were a little on the small side, too.  So it was a little too hard for me.

Hello Hero (iPad)

This is a typical free-to-play card battle game.  But what makes this one stand out is the really cool character designs of the heroes you can collect.  There’s a singing cactus, cute succubus, playing card knight, and more!  I wouldn’t mind seeing these characters branch out to other games.  So if you like these kinds of card battle titles, you may want to try this one out.

Reader Review: Poof vs. the Cursed Kitty (PC)

And last is a reader review by my good friend.  Looks like an arcade-y indie style game.  With a title like that, how can you not read it?

Merry Christmas!

And that’s all for now!  Please read as many reviews as you like, and maybe post a comment or two, I’d appreciate it.  And don’t forget about the pretend Christmas presents, too!  This Christmas, and all through the year, don’t ever hesitate to do or say something nice for someone.  You never know when it might make their day. Next time on my blog, it’ll be my famous “Cary’s Best Games of 2013 Awards Show!”  Later!  --Cary