PixlBit

Don’t know nothin’ ‘bout history…

This review is part of the 2014 Sh*tty Game Review Fest - read about the event here.

When the directors of PixlBit approached the staff with Operation: S----ty Game Review, I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve been off the writing horse for a bit, and there’s something a bit refreshing about getting a chance to eviscerate critique a game that you know isn’t very good. If anything, it helps put things in perspective. So, when we got our games and did our unboxing videos, the general consensus amongst the PixlBit readers and staff was that I got off easy with HISTORY ™: Great Empires: Rome. Well, as someone who has absolutely no love for classic PC-style games (no, seriously), an old-school, turn-based strategy title ala Civilization is about as appealing as playing Barbie’s First Free Clinic Visit.

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Angry Birds + Tower Defense + Side Scrolling Beat ‘em up = Concept Over-saturation

When I first downloaded CastleStorm, I was expecting a tower defense game akin to the classic Flash games. What I found, however, was a game crammed with bits and pieces of different classic genres that should have satisfied my nostalgia itch, but failed horribly. With a twist of tower defense, a mechanical snippet of Angry Birds, and a smidge of beat ‘em up, I was left in a state of confusion about what this game desired to be along with horribly cramped hands from the poor control schemes.

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Classical music meets crowd-funded art.

It's been quite a journey for the game Spate, from initial conception, to successful Kickstarter campaign, to final release on Steam.  Dragged into reality by Eric Provan of Ayyo Games, the game is a dreamy, artistic experience. Ayyo Games might have struggled to make this game, but they didn't do it alone: they were accompanied by classical composer and game scorer Mike Raznick, who approached them during the Kickstarter campaign.  The result is a stark audio experience unlike most games.  Enamored with both the game and the soundtrack, we caught up with Mike Raznick to talk about how he created the score, his influences, and what he thinks of video game music. 

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Embrace the flames!

To help you cope with the encroaching demise of online Wii gaming, your PixlBit family is here to help you send the service off to its eternal existence before it all ends on May 20^th. What better game to do this with than one of the few that had a significant online community:  Mario Kart Wii. Join us on Thursday, May 15^th starting at 9:00 p.m. EDT to play Mario Kart races until we puke blue shells. If all goes according to plan, we’ll also record the event so you can see how it played out from at least one other person’s perspective. To get in on the fun, just post your Mario Kart code in the comments and we’ll add it to a big list for everyone to tediously enter into their Wiis.

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