RETROSPECTIVE: Limbo

   When talking about current-generation games with friends of mine, I often find the conversation drifting to a talk on graphical quality rather than game mechanics. However, I would argue that good graphics aren’t necessarily required to make a good game. Games like Thomas Was Alone, Katamari Damacy and Pony Island have all functioned perfectly with their visuals, despite their obvious lack of graphical quality. 

   While I enjoy high-fidelity graphics, (Look up renderings in Unreal Engine 4. Just remember to pick your jaw up afterwards,) poor graphics can be easily redeemed if the games aesthetic picks up some of the slack. Today, we’ll look back on a game that lacked “Triple A” graphics, but used the game’s aesthetic to truly set the mood for the game. 

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   Looking back to 2010, we’ll find the release of Limbo, a 2D puzzle game developed by Playdead Studios. This game won VGX Award for Best Independent Game of that year, and a swift play-through of the game will prove why.

   The story is simple enough: A young boy loses his sister in Limbo, and is searching for her in the mysterious dimension known as Limbo. His journey through towns and forests is what drives the core puzzle gameplay. The player is required to tread carefully in the environment, avoiding monsters and clever snares that would otherwise kill the young boy. 

   Objectively speaking, 2D puzzle-platforming is a relatively common gameplay mechanic. Come to think of it, the story certainly isn’t what won the awards either. However, Limbo is an effective game in at least one respect: The aesthetics. 

With a simplistic yet oppressive art style, Limbo certainly stands out visually.

   A single glance at the game will immediately provide a peek into the mood of the game; the monochromatic, fuzzy grays of the color palette coupled with a heavy use of silhouettes gives the game a depressing, tragic air. Prolonged play session will no doubt immerse the player in a dark and dreary world, full of danger and depression. The aesthetic fits nicely with the simplistic graphics, with the traps and disgusting creatures further emphasizing the depressing mood. The use of silhouettes helps provide ambiguity to the game’s many dangers, encouraging tension and stress due to a lack of visual understanding.

   The traps themselves are a somewhat violent addition to the mix, since each triggered trap will kill the player character as gruesomely as possible. This macabre addition to the gameplay actually helps emphasize what are, arguably, the main themes of the game: No matter how far you go, the world is in control. The player is ultimately powerless to change the world, despite their constant drive to survive the horrors of Limbo. 

The environments weigh heavily on the tiny player character, showing just how small the player really is.

   While I like the game for the atmosphere, there are a few things that diminish the game as a whole. The length would be a good place to start, since the average play through lasts less than four hours. While Portal was able to tightly contain its puzzles and story into a 3-4 hour playthrough, I’d argue that it was designed with just enough content to succeed but not much more. Limbo had the aesthetic, creatures, puzzle ideas and vistas to have expounded more on the world as well as providing insight on the nuances of Limbo itself, much like what Silent Hill 2 was able to achieve. 

   A little bit of a spoiler here, so perhaps you might want to skip to the next paragraph. The ending is a little bit of a letdown, considering it arrived without any warning and consisted of a brief, five-second cutscene before finishing the play-through. This, I assume, is due to the simplistic story, but I feel that it could have been handled much better. Some of the traps are somewhat unfair as well, necessitating several deaths just to pinpoint their trigger times and locations. However, what with the fast death/resurrection state, the unfairness of the puzzles juxtaposes adequately with the fast reload times. 

The sickening death sequences mesh with the grotesque atmosphere, allowing the gameplay to carry weight while allowing respawn times to maintain the game's natural flow. 

   All in all, I will put out a cautious recommendation for Limbo for the rock-solid atmosphere and puzzle alone. Due to its short length, I would encourage players to buy the iOS or Android version of the game. This version, while slightly more fiddly, costs about a third of the console price at only $5. 

   If you’re into tension and excellent aesthetics, then wander into the world of Limbo. However, if you’re looking for a happy platformer that will put a smile on your face, I’d advise you to wander right on out. 

   Want to talk about how Limbo did and didn’t work? Have at it in the comments below, or at our Twitter @GamerGweek! 

   Written by Spence

FIRST LOOK: We Happy Few

   Welcome back from Spring Break! Today, we’ll take a look at an upcoming indie game that has held my attention since its announcement: We Happy Few. We’ll talk about the basics of the game and how well the mechanics might hold up after the initial release. 

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   We Happy Few comes to us from Compulsion Games, the creators behind the experimental puzzle-platformer Contrast. We Happy Few relates the story of a futuristic 1960s English dystopian town called Wellington Wells, a place of happiness and merriment. The citizens of this town maintain their cheery mood by taking Joy, a narcotic that induces a lovely disposition in the consumer. Life is good in Wellington Wells, so long as you take your Joy. If you refuse, the citizens turn hostile and attempt to do away with anyone intending to kill the mood. These killjoys, also known as Downers, are hated in society and are denounced by Jack, the local TV personality. Should you be a Downer, you can expect a bad time in this quaint village… 

A classic 1960s village with a retro-futuristic twist, Wellington Wells is filled with secrets and grand locations for the player to enjoy.

   Incidentally, the player is just that. The three playable characters, each a Downer for different reasons, have pledged to find other like-minded citizens and escape the town, foraging supplies and acting happy for the time being. The game’s mechanics mainly involve scavenging and survival, since the player character requires untainted food and water to survive.

   However, an interesting mechanic is used here with great effect: Societal survival. In this case, the player must try to blend in with the crowd as well as a Downer can, usually by returning pleasant greetings and avoiding suspicious behavior. Should the player act out of the ordinary, the police and townspeople with chase them down with bloodthirsty intentions. The player can defuse the citizen’s aggressions by taking Joy, which can be found on nearly every street corner. For a few moments, the situation will become pleasant and the player’s aggressors will move on. However, Joy dehydrates the player and plagues them with withdrawal systems, incentivizing the player to avoid reckless behavior in the first place. 

Even the police are in on the Downer hunting, meaning even the most friendly constable isn't to be trusted.

   The game also lacks a respawn system, meaning that a dead player stays dead. Should the game be restarted, not only will the player have to start from square one, but the entire town’s layout will have shifted, meaning a genuinely fresh experience. 

   The highly stylized aesthetic of the game certainly help emphasize the citizen’s uncanny behavior, coupling bright colors and pleasant architecture with the dark underlying intentions and hidden decay of the society as a whole. The citizens are rendered as caricatures of human beings, which helps emphasize their brutality against the hated Downers. 

The cartoonish graphics help magnify the cheery disposition of the citizens, which in turn emphasizes their grotesque behavior towards the player character. 

   Overall, the game appears promising. The themes, mechanics and graphics all smack of an oppressive and entertaining experience. However, since this game remains unfinished, very little of the actual narrative structure is unknown, which worries me a little. The developers promise a rich story to accompany their world, but due to the game’s open-world nature, it might be difficult to create an enticing underlying narrative. A disappointing story just might kill the game, seeing as the mechanics all feed into the central theme of exploration and survival amongst a people that inexplicably hate you for your origins. 

   Pessimistic quibbles aside, We Happy Few is a title to keep an eye out for this Summer. With its interesting take on societal interactions, immersive world and inherently dark themes, this game promises an unforgettable experience that begs to be played. Just don’t play too long, or you might find yourself dodging looks in the real world! 

   Want to speculate on the narrative of We Happy Few, or talk about the mechanics at length? Go at it in the comments, or at our Twitter @GamerGweek!

   Written by Spence 

A Response to Alexi's Presentation

   Last week, Alexi gave a brief presentation about the 1980s video game console crash. While listening, I was struck by two thoughts. The first being a mental thumbs-up for her choice of topic. This subject isn't as the most popular topic to speak on when studying the medium, yet its role was too significant to simply forget or cover up this period in history. 

   However, my second thought was on how short and somewhat insubstantial the presentation was. Granted, what was there was interesting, but the facts presented were sparse and the overall lack of information made the presentation as a whole feel a little vague. 

   The topic presented is one of great interest, but the information presented here didn't do much to satisfy. Perhaps with a little more time and research, this presentation and the paper soon to follow will truly cover the topic. This presentation was a good start. I can't wait to see what comes next! 

Response to Spence's Presention

Spence's presentation was fluid, entertaining, and informative. Instead of reading off of his presentation or his paper, he explained what he knew. It wasn't a conversation with the class, but that allowed space for more information to be presented. He explained the history of comics fully to lead up to the invention of current web comics and why they are important to the community. No questions were left unanswered because the presentation was thorough. The presentation itself was pleasing to the eye. Bright colors were utilized for emphasis and pictures were utilized for clarification. Examples to the comic and web comic community were received, giving Spence authority on his chosen topic: the History of Comics.

Horseisle Among Other Horsey Games

Classified as a MMORPG for its online gameplay, Horseisle is a virtual world centered on the car and training of horses. Similar to other MMORPGs (or massively online roleplaying game), the player can complete quests and feely roam about on the many islands Horseisle has to offer. Released in 2007 by the married couple Joe and Miranda Durbin, Horseisle functions off of Flash and Java. However the game is still popular with 4,000 active accounts and over 100 daily players. Horseisle has five basic gaming characteristics; questing, whispering, training, competing, and selling. These characteristics make the game unique compared to other MMORPGs.

Horseisle's popularity is minimal and perhaps this is due to its subject manner: horses. Many gamers could not be interested in the training or raising of equines. More than often horse games are received by the gaming community as a joke, since the bulk of the community is male-based and horse games are often targeted to younger girls. Examples of this are listed below, however there are more examples of marketing horse games to young girls, including Bella Sara and Alicia online.

Horseisle is different from this since it is difficult for new players to join. Therefore, the majority of 

gamers are veteran players can be found on servers. These players are mostly college women who 

were there on Horseisle's initial release date. From this, an intelligent community has formed. 

REVIEW: Fallen London

   In my first article, we examined the three fundamental elements that make up a game: Interaction, Graphics, and Mechanics. Most of the games that I have reviewed or displayed have allowed each of these mechanics to exist equally, with each element supporting each other. The visuals especially have contributed to the major charm and overall feel of the game, and few games would have been as memorable or impactful if they lacked this visual individuality. 

   What happens when a game lacks fancy graphics, or even characters models? This worked in text adventures during the early years of gaming. In an industry obsessed with bigger and badder graphics, could a simple text-based game even carry the same punch? Today, I hope to answer these questions with a game I’ve found terribly engrossing. Let’s take a look at it and how it allows story and mechanics to make up for the lack of fancy graphics. 

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   This week, Fallen London, (formerly known as Echo Bazaar), has taken up a lot of my time this past week. It is a rather bare-bones style roleplaying game in which the actions of the story take place entirely within the thumbnails and expository text. The player is invited to choose a gender and stock avatar before being thrown into the game. The plot opens with the player character being imprisoned in a shabby London prison cell, their sole objective being escape. After doing so, the world of Fallen London is open to be explored and exploited for any adventure that comes the player’s way. From simple spy missions to fighting demons (for science!) the player can explore and enjoy a large variety of activities the game has to offer.

Lists of directions are provided to the player, allowing for a wide variety of directions and experiences

   The mechanics are rather simplistic at first, allowing for ease of execution. The game presents challenges, or “opportunities,” in the form of a deck of cards. Each card that is drawn presents a new story thread to follow, with new characters and situations to work through. Each decision that accompanies these challenges is marked with a difficulty tag. This tag, ranging from “Straightforward” to “Nearly Impossible,” allow the player to be aware of what their player can and cannot do. Should you risk a sneaky pickpocket routine, an action that has a great risk accompany its massive reward? Or would it be wiser to safely tail your suspect, and slowly gather data in small chunks? With these simple mechanics, the player will swiftly be pulled into the grungy, yet fascinating world of Fallen London.

Opportunity cards can give simple, one-time encounters or the beginning of an expansive story thread. What will you draw?

   While the mechanics are simple, they are by no means easy. This game is not one that a newbie can immediately jump into and immediately understand the core mechanics. In fact, very little information is conveyed immediately, and what information that is given is somewhat buried in the website. Most of what I know about the game stemmed from trial and error as I slowly stumbled around the interface and exposition. Also, if it wasn’t evident in the intro, Fallen London is text-based, meaning a great deal of reading is also required to get the intended experience. Think of this as more of an interactive Choose Your Own Adventure story, rather than a traditional gaming experience. The game also boasts a move limit system that allows the player to make 20 moves (or 20 leaps in the stories) before forcing the player to wait a certain amount of time to make more moves. More moves can be purchased with real money, however, so a Free To Play experience swiftly becomes a Free To Wait or Pay system.

Although the art stylization was terribly unique, the interface is not only somewhat unintuitive but many of the key elements were poorly explained. Proceed with caution. 

   In spite its incredible fiddlyness, (A small tutorial wouldn't go amiss,) Fallen London is an interesting experience that allows for a great deal of player interaction without the need for flashy graphics. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with traditional graphics, the narrative found in this game simply wouldn’t have the same impact if the player wasn’t allowed full imaginative freedom to visualize the game world. The writing aids the player’s imagination, with witty dialogue and rich flavor text that teases the player and creates a detailed setting in which the game takes place. Should you have a spare moment to play through a story line or two, it will become apparent that good stories can come from anywhere. Let’s just hope you won’t have to pickpocket a professor to get to them! 

   You can find the game here, if you're interested. It's totally free, too!

   Want to talk about the game’s many story threads, or how Fallen London could be more user-friendly? Look no further than our own comments section! Write something down below, or tag us on Twitter @GamerGweek! 

   Written by Spence

Hello gamers and book worms of the world.  This week, I have paid special attention to a new game that I have downloaded called Magic Sword.  This game takes place in the medieval era and involves all sorts of sorcery, knights, and elves whom are assigned to be your guardians.  In the prologue, you are a princess whos kingdom is under attack by King Arthur who is in search for the magical sword Excalibur.  In the havoc your mother, the queen, is slightly injured but you want to go and retrieve the sword.  In order to do so you must be accompanied by three men who will help you on your quest. 
Ethan, the knight, is a born leader guided by his own conscious but he refuses to let you fight along side him.  This red headed knight has a way of doing his own thing while holding the justice of right and wrong.
Ray, the mage or sorcerer, is gifted in magic with a cool and collected head with a mysterious side.  This dark haired magician is serious all the time, only with you will he let his guard down, but still his dark side calls to you.
Estel, the elf, is a graceful fighter and has a heart of earth.  Meaning that his heart belongs to the earth and forest where he grew up with.  With a strange tug at the back of your mind you wonder if you and this blonde elf have ever meet before. 
For this particular game, I chose the elf as I love all things magical.  As you are introduced you feel a tug in your mind as if a memory were trying to push itself foreword, but you ignore it and begin your quest.  It doesn't help when he comments "You've grown into a beautiful lady".  How do you ignore that?! 
So far this game has caught my interest, and though I have just started this, I would recommend this game to those who would enjoy a medieval romance. 

RETROSPECTIVE: Fez

   In storytelling, what is implied is often more important than what is said. Visual storytelling, or relating an event or story without using words or dialogue, can lead to powerful arguments and ideas in games and other forms of art. Fez, a pixilated indie title from 2014, allowed the environment, mechanics and actions to speak louder than the sparse dialogue. Let’s take a look at Fez, and how its elements came together to unify a story. 

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   If I had to describe Fez in a single word, it might be “humble.” The visuals are 8-bit and simple, the sound engineering is almost quaint in its execution, and the plot is somewhat clipped and elementary. However, this 2D platformer uses its perspective to bring to pass a fascinating game mechanic: shifting perspective. 

Though the assembly of the Hexahedron shards is the main motivation, the perspective tricks make exploration a more substantial and enjoyable part of the experience

   The player character is Gomez, a small creature that lives on a floating village. Gomez is summoned by Geezer, the village elder, to meet the Hexahedron. The Hexahedron, a godlike construct, gives Gomez a small red fez that allows him to twist his two-dimensional world and interact with it on three dimensions. However, when Gomez begins to test his powers, the dimensional strain causes the Hexahedron to explode dramatically. The player learns that the universe will collapse if the Hexahedron is not reassembled, and is encouraged by a four-dimensional being named Dot to gather the pieces together for reconstruction. This adventure leads from deep below the ground to across time and space as the player bends the universe to their whims, collecting secrets and learning more about the world around them. 

The explosion of the Hexahedron forms the major plot point of the game, yet the deeper underlying lore and narrative told throughout the experience is far more complex than what initially meets the eye

   The world is made all the more accessible with the central mechanic, or the perspective tricks allowing for greater exploration. The player is allowed to rotate the cubic world 90 degrees in any direction, allowing the flat platforms and environment to shift in a manner that allows for out-of-the-box thinking. Tiny ledges are revealed to be adequate bridges, or two towers shifted in parallel allowing the player to move between vast spaces. This method of transportation, along with the game’s inherent focus on exploration, allow for a calm and contemplative gameplay strategy. 

   I’ll say right now that this is not a game that will raise one’s adrenaline or blood pressure. There is no combat or hostile threats to be found, (minus a rising lava flow at one moment, but this wasn’t too difficult) death was easily rectified and with no penalty, and the soothing music and vistas offer a relaxing and contemplative experience. This was the game that I played to calm down after a hard day at work, and I recommend it as a relaxation aid. 

   However, I doubt that this game would have been as nice as it was if it lacked the unique vistas, and by extension the stories those vistas told. You see, the world around you has hints and traces that allude to a civilization that came before your own. Relics and secret rooms show (not tell) of the construction of a teleportation machine, and how it has aided in the breakdown of the world around you. It shows how these people think, count and otherwise communicate in their unique and blocky fashion. This minute and unprecedented attention to detail encourages exploration at a tighter level, motivating the player with comprehensive fragments of the story.

The charming aesthetic meshs nicely with this versatile and simple mechanic to create a visually stunning game, with the pixilated textures and traditional 8-Bit sound engineering working with the game to create a comprehensive whole.

  In this case, while the elements are simple and easy to understand, the wealth behind the overall story experience is easy to notice. While the puzzles may seem a little directionless or somewhat confusing, (Note: A QR code is NOT a puzzle) the simplistic style and emotive aesthetic certainly aid in picking up the slack. I’ll recommend this game to any and all, so long as they have the appropriate attention span… and love of brightly colored headwear 

   Want to talk about the core mechanics or how they aided the story? Continue the discussion in the comments below, or at our Twitter @GamerGweek !

   Written by Spence 

The Monster Hunter Series

Although it is a difficult series to jump into, the Monster Hunter series is a fantastic time waster. Classified as a action RPG, the first Monster Hunter was released in 2004. The mechanics of Monster Hunter are not straightforward and just like any real skill, the player must adapt to the game mechanics and learn how to be a hunter. For instance, there are several different kinds of hunters. There's the classic sword-wielding type- then you've got the Hammer Hunting Horn class. Playing your horn gives you buffs and increases your strength, but to substitute this the player could carry similar items. However, these items must be made through combinations of other items. In other words, the player must learn to be a gatherer.


Monster Hunter offers the player the choice of play as well as many different levels to explore. The game isn't free roam, but it makes up for this with strategically placed areas. For example, one area may be filled with Anteka, while another will be filled with Aptonoths. Aptonoth are fairly common, however the player needs them for meat, which provides the player with health. The Anteka on the other hand give the player horns which can be used for crafting.


Although at times the mechanics of Monster Hunter can be confusing, once the player understands the basics they can begin to fully enjoy Monster Hunter. The more the player puts into Monster Hunter, the more they'll feel comfortable with branching off into individual classes and skills to home their talents. The recent Monster Hunter also provides online connectivity, so the player can join up with friends to create a hunting guild. The limits in Monster Hunter are few while its gameplay remains timeless.

Once Upon a Fairy Love Tale

Hello gamers of the world, I hope that you all have had a wonderful Valentines Day and having a good week.  So far there are so many games that I have downloaded, it is difficult to remember the different story plots that it is beneficial to take breaks from different stories to give your brain a rest.  Moving along to the different stories, I took some time to explore Once Upon a Fairy Love Tale which is another fairy tail story that puts a different spin on the stories that we all know and love, without the genderbenders.  In the story you are choosen to be the next princess and you are to choose your own king to rule at your side.  Some of the interesting characters that I have come into contact with is Harold, the White Rabbit, and King Luca, or as some might recognize as the big bad wolf.  The characters are all so interesting and the design of the game is beautiful, creating a romantic setting with gentle colors.  The one downside so far was the prologue, and I love the prologue.  The prologue was so long it took me a few days to finish before making a choice on my future king, the game throws out so many characters at once so it was a difficult decision choose one character.  After the prologue I had to take a break from the app in order to soak up the story, however I can't wait to reemerse myself into this world of magic and romance. 

FIRST LOOK: No Man's Sky

  In video games, as in all media, the world in which the story takes place can make or break an entire concept. The setting and place of a game or story can add emphasis and personality to the actions made by the characters. I doubt that the film TRON: Legacy would have been as interesting if the setting was a beach in San Francisco, or if Fallout had taken place in the arctic tundra!

   Today, we’ll take a look at an upcoming game called No Man’s Sky, an ambitious indie game slated to be released by Hello Games in June of this year . This game will boast multiple worlds and planets for the player to enjoy, with the gameplay mainly focused around exploration. Let’s jump right in and see whether or not this game deserves the amount of hype it has received, and discuss how the game’s world affects the player experience. 

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   I suppose that a more fitting word would be “worlds” plural, for there are a great many to be found in this game. 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 to be exact, or roughly 18 quadrillion. Each planet is not only relatively earth-sized, but each world is fully explorable with new vistas and secrets for the player to discover. The player is an unknown being who begins life on a planet close to the outside of their galaxy, armed only with an object called the “Multitool.” This tool can mine resources and used as a light firearm in case of danger. The player is instructed to mine resources and earn enough money to purchase a ship, allowing the game’s literal galaxy open up a little further for exploration. The more the player explores, the more resources and animals can be found, and the further the player can progress. Since the planets are procedurally generated, or stored in a mathematical form that takes up less space, the game has no loading screens to hamper an otherwise seamless experience. 

With a wide variety of terrain and creatures to explore, No Man's Sky promises to be visually magnificent

   While there is no “endgame” per se, the developers have offered a goal to strive for: If the player can reach the center of the galaxy, a great surprise will be revealed. The player isn’t required to reach the center, however. In fact, the player doesn’t even have to leave their starting planet. The player is entirely in control of how they experience the seemingly infinite universe. One could be an explorer, another a pirate. Another could be a valuable space warrior or a peaceful explorer. The story is up to the player to tell. 

   Perhaps No Man’s Sky is attempting to emulate titles such as Elite: Dangerous, or games that rely on the player to construct the story of the game. Personally, for a game that has no end or beginning, I think that the lack of narrative works well for an infinite open-world style game. Other games that try to balance an open-world style and a rich story fall flat on both, since a tight focus needs to remain on the story for it to work, and a loosening of the reigns needs to take place for the player to really enjoy an open world. 

   However, there are a few quibbles that I have with No Man’s Sky. Due to the lack of a story, there may not be anything left to engage the player after the wonder of the explorable galaxy wears off. Sure, new scenery is nice, but exploration usually takes place once a player has a need to do so, e.i. an end goal. Also, there is a distinct possibility that the planets may start to see similar the more you explore. This issue was relevant when Spore was released, and with a bigger playable universe No Man’s Sky is even more susceptible to this stagnation. 

With a map the size of a literal galaxy, will No Man's Sky be the perfect exploration game, or will it be too big to handle? (Image courtesy of www.gameinformer.com)

   Nonetheless, No Man’s Sky will truly be a marvel of both artistic and mechanical merit. Sean Murray, the CEO of Hello Games, mentions that his love for science fiction storytelling was what originally inspired the game. “You’re living out your sci-fi fantasy,” he says, “And when you tell me your story of what you’ve done in the game it sounds like a legitimate science-fiction story.”

Dinosaurs and red grass? What else could possibly be out there? (Image courtesy of no-mans-sky.com)

   Will No Man’s Sky be the marvel that everyone claims it to be? Or will it be the bust of the century? Discuss below in the comments, or at our Twitter @GamerGweek!

   Written by Spence

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Animal Crossing (or ACNL for short) is a portable version of the classic Animal Crossing which came out on Gamecube in 2001. Animal Crossing has had a few sequels but none had ever featured a playable human character until this point. Not only this, but in ACNL the player can mold their town as mayor with public works projects.

Animal Crossing is a title that offers many customization options to the player including dress, home furnishings, and the choice to landscape their town as they desire. In ACNL, these options are expanded. There are now pro designs, which means that instead of a copy-paste design offered as clothing, the player can actually customize front and back designs to their outfit. New home styles have been added, including a 7/11 exclusive furnature style and a Monster Hunter style. For landscaping, public work projects are offered, including lighthouses, bridges (brick, fairytale, greystone, wood), and much more. There are around 456 villagers with different personalities to meet and befriend in contrast to the 218 initially introduced.

Animal Crossing also recommends daily interaction to unleash its full potential, so the portable convenience of the 3Ds can be utilized. This is what makes Animal Crossing highly addictive and enjoyable, as each interaction with the game adds up between days. Animal Crossing is a game to leave the player feeling productive and satisfied.

BALDIES: Hair Loss is No Longer an Issue.

First published in 1995 on the PC and then on the Playstation 1, Baldies is definitely something special, Imagine playing civilizations except the player must lead an army of bald guys while the npc governs an army of hairy guys. Probably one of the quirkiest games out there, the player must utilize traps and strategy to defeat the enemy. Build up from tiny houses to castles, learn the mechanics to unleash full gameplay potential. For example, rain brings threatens the player's strength (or energy) required for expanding your army. The player can cannon enemy harries into the depths of the sea, but first the player must have enough energy to do so!



Baldies has many secrets for the player to discover. First, the player needs to throw a skunk or fox into the sea, then grab a fish and throw it into a scientist house. Then they must select the option on the blackboard. The fish rain will recharge based on how many scientists are available to process the request. When engaged, it will rain fish! The baldies will eat the fish they catch and then will eat them. There are all kinds of secrets in Baldies, but the player will have to discover them as there is no online guide or official guide available for assistance.


There are many levels to baldies, and after several levels are worlds. Each world changes how gameplay is done. For example, the last world is a lava world. Each world is filled with secrets and different strategies waiting for you to discover. Not only are there different worlds, but the game contains four different types of baldies. There are workers, builders, soldiers, and scientists. Each baldy is assigned to type to tell the game how the player would like them to behave. The builder for example will build homes.

Baldies is not meant for everyone but for a casual gamer looking for some time to relax, Baldies is a great place to start. A level can take from a few minutes to a few hours and will leave the player feeling engaged. There are many different ways to play and Baldies offers the player a variety of choices.

REVIEW: Crashlands

   Let’s get straight into it, since I have quite a bit to say. First off, let’s have a chat about derision. When something is derivative, it is blatantly stealing or copying a design from an already existing object. This practice, as one can deduce, is harmful to creativity since it fails to introduce new ideas to the medium or genre, therefore stagnating the medium. 

   Frustratingly, this can easily be describing Crashlands, a game recently released for PC and mobile systems. I apologize if I sound a little displeased with this game right off the bat, but I’m afraid that this feeling only continued as I tried to play. The story, for one, is a little anemic. You are an intergalactic deliveryman who is attacked by a monster and crashes on a planet. Scavenging for supplies is soon revealed to be a major mechanic, along with crafting and other survival elements. When these are introduced, it soon becomes apparent what this game really is: A Sci-Fi Don’t Starve clone. 

A quick glimpse of combat within the game. Unfortunately, the game's interface doesn't allow for the quick execution the game requires of the player. (Image courtesy of the Google Play Store)

   Sure, the aesthetic and storyline are different, but only in the sense that they’re somehow more bland than the game they're trying to ape. Don’t Starve at least had a delightfully grim art style, with thick scratchy lines and simplistic features. Crashlands has brighter and more cheerful graphics, but in a very by-the-books generically “cute” fashion. The combat is genuinely fiddly, especially when your character has little health and even less armor, and the different “attacks” are awkward to deploy at the quick pace the game demands. The menu is somewhat unintuitive, with slow loading times and a cluttered interface that conveys a lot of information in a very scrambled manner, making it a genuine pain to use.

   With all of these issues, it became harder and harder to find the will to continue playing the game, and the core gameplay certainly wasn’t helping. Scavenging and crafting works well if implemented properly, as seen in games like Minecraft. You wanted to build a strong house in case the zombies come knocking, and the need to eat necessitated farming and hunting for survival. Crashlands fails on both of these fronts by offering these options without giving us a reason to use them. Sure, you could build a house, but what would the point be? You'll only be leaving to scavenge and quest anyway, so you'll be away more than you'll be here. You can hold all they want in their roomy pockets as well, meaning you don’t even have to go back to unload your inventory. Sure, you could cultivate healing items, but you'll be able to find these items wherever you go, and in greater quantities as well. 

Though you can build as big of a house as you like, it still begs the question: Why would you set up a base of operations if the game requires you to be continually on the move? (Image courtesy of the Apple App Store)

   On the whole, I’m afraid that I can’t recommend Crashlands. With the unintuitive interface, generic and somewhat irritating graphics, and mechanics still bloody from when they were ripped off of other, better games, Crashlands is something that genuinely has no reason to exist. Even a game like Thomas Was Alone, with dull graphics and non-challenging gameplay, had some wit and a good story to redeem it. Crashlands just feels like a Free-To-Play game that excludes the micro payments to make room for token, niche-appeal gameplay elements. While I try to remain optimistic, I’m afraid Crashlands would have to do more than build a house for me to be favorable in my sight. 

   Want to defend or discuss Crashlands? Write a comment down below or on our Twitter, @GamerGweek!

   Written by Spence

Frustrations

Hello to all the gamers and readers out there.  This weekend was so much fun playing on my phone and all the romantic stories.  One of the things that I have found difficult about these games is that you have to log in everyday in order to get rewards such as "money" or "gifts" that one would need to go through the game.  If you do not log in, you have to start over from "Day 1", even though you get to keep the rewards from earlier.  I discovered that it is a good idea to make time for you and your "guys" such as in the morining or at night, even if you dont have time to play it is always good to log in to recieve "gifts".  I personally log in at night or in the morning because that is my time and I don't have to worry about interuptions such as pestering siblings or persons of no personal boundaries.  Another thing that is frustrating about the games is when you have to meet a checkpoint.  A checkpoint, for those of you who don't know, is a barrier where you must have a certian amount of "money" or "style" for your avatar in order to continue with the story.  This can be even more frustrating when you don't save your money or do activities to build up your "style" or "charm", such as in Fairy Tales you can work on your cooking or flying.  I encourage the gamers out there playing to keep at it because the stories you get out of playing are worth your patience and frustration. 

Love Bug

Hello people of the internet and Happy (almost) Valentines Day!! For those of you about to grab your bae and celebrate I am going to celebrate with my baes from all the new dating sims I've downloaded spending time in the stories.  Some like Love Tale give you Holiday log in bonuses every day.  Ok so far Fairy Tails has been by choice game this month because who doesn't want a prince to come and sweep you off your feet on Valentines Day?  As I said in my last post I chose Seanwhite and went on about how he was a womanizer, well its not just ladies of the human species... its the entire female gender that is attracted to him; birds, mammals, reptiles, women, dwarves (there are two), and other female counterparts that exist in this digital world I'm living in with him.  Its fun to see how you, the main character, thinks and how you/she responds to him as you are indifferent to his charms, and its cute how his face changes when he doesn't understand why you don't understand that being with him really is all that he wants from you to be happy.  Its funny how they don't have voice actors or fluid motions that you would get in some games but reading and taking your time to look at him and notice the little changes that happen in his face is fascinating.  In a sense you are making this world your own and more personal especially when you start making your choice s with these characters and I have learned that the more choices that you make to make you "love" stronger the more opportunities you get to make choices.  I personally get butterflies when I get to make a choice of my own and pick what I want to do or say to him/them because it almost feels like a real person getting the heart string orchestra to play and want more.  I love this game and cant wait to curl up with a full battery and big box of chocolate and just relax.  Happy Valentines Day!!

MOBILE DOUBLE BILL: A Review of Westport Independent & The Room 3

   In my previous article, we discussed the diversity and impact that is found in mobile games. These portable delights range greatly between Triple-A shooter games to interactive text adventures, with more ideas coming every year. Today I’d like to review two different mobile games that I played last week, namely Westport Independent and The Room 3. 

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   First up, Westport Independent, or as I’ve come to call it, “Censorship Simulator.” This game relates the story of a 1940s newspaper publisher that is under the power of the totalitarian government. The government trusts the editor in chief (the player) to censor articles that might spark rebellion and promote wholesome messages. It is up to the player to promote the governors or the rebels before the Government seizes total control of the paper within 12 weeks. 

Putting together the paper was rather tricky, since the position of the articles changed what demographic was reached.

   The game was developed by Lucas Pope, the creator of Papers, Please, which explains the look and feel of the game. The graphics are terribly bleak and pixilated, portraying paperwork being filed and sent with an emphasis on story and choice. Although, after playing the game twice through, I’m afraid Mr. Pope failed to bring his A-game this time. For one, the game is disappointingly short; reading all the text and responding to situations carefully granted only an hour of play. The game also feels terribly redundant, relying on the player to make the game more interesting by chopping articles to bits and putting them back together. 

   However, I think the harshest blow to the game was a lack of stakes. In Papers, Please the player knew that accuracy and speed meant life or death for your family. Moral choices had impact, since you could choose to follow the rules or let exceptions occur. In Westport, however, there is no payoff for your actions except a two-minute text scroll that lists what happened after the paper was seized. Sure, you can choose to incite rebellion, but you never have to deal with the consequences, so all impact is lost. Articles are manipulated, but the effects that come because of it are arbitrary at best. 

The censorship mechanics at work

   With repetitive mechanics, a glitchy interface and bleak graphics, the game was only made more annoying by its $5 price tag. I’m afraid I can’t recommend Westport Independent unless they added 200% more fun in the next patch and refunded my time and money from the last playthrough. 

   Moving on to The Room 3, the newest and final installment of the Room series. These games are most famous for their mind bending puzzles and stunning graphics, all of which are back and better than ever. While the game could get by without a story, with each new room comes new exposition about a scientist that has discovered a way to bring the back the dead. The player must solve riddles and puzzles to progress, each one uncovering shreds of the scientist’s former life and experiments. Each of the puzzles usually fall under one of two categories: finding the right pieces to fit into a mechanism, or deciphering riddles and codes to get another piece. Helpful hints are given to the player upon request to ensure a successful playthrough, making the puzzles a greater joy to encounter. 

Each building on the table above housed a secret, but only to those clever enough to unlock their true potential.

With thirty massive levels, the game rounds out a nice length but doesn’t overstay its welcome. The push-pull-press interface is intuitive and is easy to pick up on for new players. The graphics are incredibly pretty, if a little murky at times, though it emphasizes the dark underlying tone of the story. The Room 3 is a game that one simply must play, if only to feel the rush of satisfaction as you watch a complex mechanism fall into place and reveal a new secret. 

Just another piece to a grand design... what secret does it hide?

   While it does cost the same as Westport, I’d rather pay $5 for The Room’s meaty challenge than Westport’s insubstantial pastry. Games are meant to offer a challenge with solid payoff at the end, and I’m pleased to say that whatever disappointment I felt from Censorship Simulator was abated by Glorious Puzzle Extravaganza. Take a look for yourself, and I’m sure that you’ll come to agree with me. 

   Want to discuss or defend Westport Independent? Leave a comment here or at our Twitter, @GamerGweek!

   Written by Spence

ON THE GO: The Merits and Detriments of Mobile Gaming

   Ever since the Microvision was released in 1979,  video game developers have been trying to find a way to let customers take their games anywhere they want. Sadly, most handheld consoles were bulky, inefficient and difficult to handle. 

   However, when the iPhone was released in 2007, a reinvigoration of what is known as “mobile gaming” came to be. Inspired developers soon realize the true power of intuitive gaming in the palm of a hand. Let’s take a quick look at how games have changed and evolved on the mobile platform, as well as the Pros and Cons of mobile development 

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   Games for the iPhone and other smart devices have been around almost as long as the devices themselves. The first handful of games that were originally released, such as Angry Birds, were graphically and mechanically simple games that made use of the touch-sensetive screen and other tools found in a smartphone. Adding the camera into the mix only maximized the chances for gameplay innovation, and developers took this to heart when creating these fascinating interactive apps. For instance, the multiplayer experience Ingress used GPS tracking to bring the game to the real world, elevating multiplayer gaming by allowing players to collaborate in real life and focus on real-world landmarks.

In Ingress, players choose a faction and fight to obtain digital control over real-world landmarks. This requires the player take their device with them, necessitating a mobile format (Image courtesy of activewirehead.com)

 Local multiplayer is easier on mobile as well, what with Bluetooth and WiFi connections being expedient and easily used. Call of Duty: Zombies was an app that offered the Zombie Mode from previous titles to be accessible to all with a smartphone, while also allowing for others to join in through local connections. Even simple console/PC games like Rayman and Minecraft were able to be converted into apps, allowing fans to take their favorite titles wherever they went. 

   However, while most of these games were functional and somewhat cathartic, they were more casual in their execution and failed to offer anything by way of real story or narrative. Controls had to be displayed on-screen, obstructing the content with interfaces and other info. The screen itself is smaller than that of a TV or computer, so detail and visibility is reduced dramatically. Heavy screen and processor use devoured battery life, making gaming sessions short and less than fulfilling. All in all, early mobile gaming seemed somewhat shallow: Short, snack experiences with little to no impact in story or mechanics.

   Yet, what with recent devices now clocking in with 1-2 gigabytes of RAM, games have a little more room to grow and evolve with better graphics and mechanics. Moore’s Law has blessed smartphones with smaller and more powerful processors, and battery life is longer than ever before. This allows for bigger and more complex game files to be processed, including better graphics and environments. Many apps even support gaming peripheral for those that wish for a dedicated controller. 

A chart representing the increase of processor power of Apple's iPhone devices. (Image courtesy of Apple) 

   There’s no doubt that mobile gaming will only improve as the years go by. Already we have luminaries like The Room and Infinity Blade, games that boast console-grade graphics despite growing up on mobile platforms. Even conversions from console/PC to mobile is more sophisticated, allowing complex games like Transistor and Five Nights at Freddy’s to enter the app store. 

With stunning graphics and fluid animation, Infinity Blade boasts a console appearance while remaining in the pal of the player's hand (Image courtesy of videogamer.net)

   Mobile gaming also allows for some interesting artistic choices to be made in development. Device 6, a heavily text-based puzzle game, makes use of the touch and sound mechanics to manipulate puzzles and provide more ways to experience the rich story. Thomas Was Alone offered an engrossing story while remaining simple enough for new players to enjoy, essentially being a sliding-tile puzzle with an excellent narrative. 

Device 6 contained literary pages of text to offer the story, while requiring the player to scan the "environment" for clues to progress the story. One such puzzle is pictured above. (Image courtesy of simgo.com)

   With technology constantly marching towards improvement, mobile gaming will only get more intuitive and enjoyable. Perhaps in the future we should stop looking for innovations in labs and focus instead on what’s in our own pockets. 

   Have your own opinions on mobile gaming? Why not continue the discussion in the comments below, or at our Twitter @GamerGweek! 

   Written by Spence

Be A Pro Mode Update

So turns out the playing goalie on NHL16 due to all their more accurate movements, it complicates it and makes it somewhat harder. It is still a lot of fun tho. My team's record so far this season sits comfortably over .500 (14-6-4), which is good.
One of my favorite and most enjoyable feature of this game is the fighting, who doesn't love to see two goalies going at it on Center Ice. Everybody stops to watch, no matter what you were doing you are now about to experience one of the most entertaining and rare moments ever.

This is my character just feeding Jake Allen (St. Louis Blues goalie) some dinner. Even though this is one of the most fun features, you can't be fighting every game... Sure you can do it, but it affects your overall "grade". The coaches basically grade you every game in three different main categories, based on your grade you will either get another start or sit out for a couple games, which is ok. It's never the end of the world when that happens! They have a really "funny" way to let you know when you are sitting out...

It's a bad feeling, but unlike the real world you can just SIM right past it and get back to your net! 

One of the classic movements as a goalie is when you flash the leather and make an unreal windmill glove save. This game has no problem in allowing you to make those kind of saves. 

Come back next week to read about how I overcame my slump and managed to stay in the big leagues. 

Sloth King

Updated Gear Customizer

Hey guys, here is your long awaited gear update. In NHL16 you can create your own player wether it is a skater or a goalie. With this option it opens the door to a whole new world, the equipment world. I am going to be focusing my articles in goalie equipments, due to the fact that I am a goalie as well.

You can now use the most recent lines of every brand as well. They have released the CCM Premier line and it is out of this world amazing. The SubZero 3's from Brian's are also out there and they are a hell of a lot of fun to mess around with. In order to give my Be a Pro player a new look I spent over 3 hours just in the customizer messing around with all the different color options and different lines and brands. This were my two top options for my Chicago Blackhawks Color scheme. (You have to have matching colors... you just have to).

SubZero 3's

In this case it took me a while and I decided to do something no goalie has ever done for Chicago, to add yellow details. Even tho their primary colors are Red/White, they have some yellow in the feather and the face of their logo so I decided to try it out. However it wasn't my favorite look so I decided to go and keep the one below, the CCM Premiers. 

CCM Premiers

I decided to keep this one for now. To finish off with this post I am going to show you guys my actual equipment, the one I am using this season. My teams colors are similar to the Edmonton Oilers. 

I'm using the Bauer NXG with Vintage Sock Graphic and the CCM 760 stick. I created a whole new goalie to show this gear, without the Chicago Blackhawks jersey. That's why his overall statistics are so low, they haven't been tampered with yet. 

I will be showing off some of my new sets next time so make sure you come back to check them out!

Also, if any of my readers have any favorite team they'd like to see me do please comment below and I will make sure I get a couple sets done for you!

Sloth King

Maintaining Gaming Life

Hello my lovelies, BookLife here and giving you the latest summary of some of the games that I updated you on last time. 
Fairy Tales is an app where you are a wizard in training and are zapped into another world where you have to make someone happy by using magic.  Easier said then done when some people don't want your magic but want you.  Through the final test of your training, or the prologue, you get to pick a door based on the Prince charming that you want to be with in the end.  There's Seanwhite (male Snow White) a man who doesn't want the crown for his own gain and doesn't want to let you go even if he attracts all of women gender to fall in love with him. 
Cindo (male Cinderella) basic run of the story his mom dies after marrying his stepfather and two sons who make him their servant.  He is desperate to marry rich and powerful to get his life back even if it means to have two different personalities, kind and sweet versus proud, mean, sadist.  But after meeting you will he be willing to change?
Ocean (male Ariel) wants to know what its like to live on land like other mortals.  After almost being beached, you agree to help him gain his wish.  But there are evil forces working against you.  Can you help change his fate?  Or will he be lost to the witch forever?
Thumbelina (male Thumbelina, although there is no difference in their names so ya)  a thumb size man born in a flower has the power to give off a pheromone to entice women to his whim.  But even with all these women flocking to him like a chocolate shop, he doesn't seem to know what true love is.  Your different, even after you become shrunk down to his size you still don't fall for his sweet smelling charm.  You become his new interest, but can you help him find true love?
Gretel (male from Hansel and Gretel)  a novice in art, as is his brother Hansel, and an admirer of his father.  After you find him lost in a forest, he becomes embarrassed because you are so beautiful.  Shy but reliable, can you get him home safety?
So far I have chosen Seanwhite, or Sean, as my prince charming and he is such a cutie.  Although it is annoying how much of a womanizer he is, he is always true to you.