Fantasy Friday 10/31

Welcome to the special Halloween edition of Fantasy Friday!  We normally do something game-related, but 1) it's Halloween and 2) we do what we want.  So, without further ado, we just need you to solve this puzzle box...

Image from the Hellraiser Wiki

...and now we can talk about who has two thumbs and damns people to Hell in the most excruciating way possible?

Image from Comic Vine

This guy!

Hellraiser is a series of nine films by Clive Barker that combine the genres of horror and fantasy (see?  It's still fantasy).  Originally a novella called The Hellbound Heart, it became a series of nine movies called Hellraiser, with the main antagonist the above pictured Pinhead.  Pinhead is a special kind of demon called a Cenobite, who, as you can tell from the leather and chains, has a serious BDSM vibe (emphasis on the "M").  He is summoned by the puzzle box pictured above, called the Lament Configuration, which hurls the user into a parallel dimension that combines the real world with his world.

Although pure evil, Pinhead (originally simply called "Lead Cenobite" in the credits of the first film) was once a human being.  It may be this fact that sometimes allows the people he attacks to sometimes barter with him, as well as he occasionally showing a just side, and not merely adhering to a strict set of rules about who he does or does not damn to Hell.

His human side is seen the most in the first two films; like any horror genre, the series begins to lose what makes it different so that it can appear like your typical slasher fair.  That said, the series does a great job of turning what could have been a Freddy Kruger clone and gone a whole different direction.  The victims are not just random high schoolers; they are people who have allowed themselves to be deranged, who have grown bored of all the pleasures of life, becoming unfulfilled from even murdering others.  The Lament Configuration calls to those who seek otherworldly pleasures, and unfortunately, they are obliged.

If you need a different kind of horror series to watch tonight, give Hellraiser a shot.  Last time I checked, all nine movies are on Netflix streaming.

Zombie Evil 2

Since it's Halloween, it seemed appropriate to review a game that involved zombies.

Image from mob.org

Zombie Evil 2 by FT Games is a castle defense game centered around your character having an enormous machine gun turret thing that mows down hordes of zombies and infected animals.  Each level throws waves of the unruly undead at you, and you have to gun them all down before they attack and deplete your health bar.  To aid in your campaign you can purchase defenses, such as extra walls and turrets, as well as new weapons.  Both can be upgraded to serve you better at surviving.

Image from Game Hub

At your base, you can choose which missions to go on, what defenses to upgrade, as well as purchase weapons and buy items.  Luckily it forwent having you build a town or whatever, as it just simply would not have fit the bill.  You can place defenses on the game grid before each match, but you're not planting crops or raising livestock or doing favors for NPCs.  Speaking of, the game is odd in terms of being a badass zombie mower, since all of the human characters are stylized chibis, but of course sexier for the female ones.  Because nothing is more arousing than a sexy soldier woman who looks like she's eight.  In contrast, dead zombies explode in a pool of blood and guts.  It's an interesting art direction, but it does allow the game to not be taken too seriously.

The gameplay itself is quite simple.  On the game grid, simply hold your finger down and drag to where you want the spray of bullets to fire.  You can switch to an alternate weapon by tapping it, and then controlling it the same way.  It could not be easier to hold off the demon spawn.

For an interesting take on the zombie genre, Zombie Evil 2 is simple and easy to pick up.  If you like castle defense games, or a male viewer of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, give this one a try.

Throwback Thursday 10/30

This week's Throwback is for everyone's favorite yellow orb eating...man?...Pac-Man!

Image from Garotas Geeks

Pac-Man is a game where the titular character navigates a game grid eating pellets while avoiding the four ghosts Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde (I can only remember which one is Pinky).  Why the ghosts are after Pac-Man is beyond me (and the grave) but despite having seemingly random patterns, they actually have different styles of movement (revealed on page 4); understanding the style of each ghost is what makes the game challenging.  

To fight back, the four large pellets give Pac-Man temporary invulnerability.  The ghosts will flash blue and white and will run away from Pac-Man.  In this state, he can actually eat them for points, and they will be sent back to their pen and respawn.

Each level has a unique bonus food which appears temporarily.  Consuming it give an added point bonus.  Each stage increases in difficulty.  With every new stage the ghosts move faster, and the time given for invulnerability decreases.

As to why his name is Pac-Man, I don't think anyone explains it better than Scott Pilgrim.

Ice 10/30

Image from mob.org

I refuse to apologize for this.

Ice by developer ice cold muffin (I could not find a site for them, but believe me, that is their name) is a simpler take on the RTS genre.  You play as...ships?  Like the ship from Asteroid I think?  After choosing your team color you are brought to the game field, where it is you versus several other teams that are fighting to the pixelated death.  

Image from PCMag.com

Everyone captures the NPC white bases, then tries to eliminate the other teams by taking over their bases.  Bases, both white and otherwise, are captured by hovering inside the circular area and having your ships fire at the box inside, until the circular area becomes your color.  Once that happens, the base is now yours and ships will begin to spawn from it.  The only catch is you can only attack bases that are connected to the current one (represented by the colored dashed lines).  

As your ships kill other ships, experience points are earned, filling a gauge at the top of the screen.  Once "leveled up" you can spend a point to boost your ships' attack, health, or speed.  The game ends when there is only one color left, which generally becomes very easy or a long war of attrition as it comes down to you and one other team. 

The game features one touch controls, as ships are moved to wherever you tap.  In Alternative Mode, ships can be sent to two different locations, but this isn't nearly as useful as it seems; instead of dividing and conquering, you are spreading yourself too thin.

Simple gameplay with a kill or be killed motif. Is it commentary on foreign occupation?  An evolved form of the RTS genre?  Or just an old school style time waster that is easy to pick up?  It's certainly different and interesting, and it's worth at least a try.

Woman Crush Wednesday 10/29

Since Marvel just gave us a new Age of Ultron trailer, it felt appropriate (and it always does) to crush on Scarlett Johansson this week.

Image from Picky Wallpapers

From Russian assassins to Mermaid princesses to Bill Murray dramas about being stuck in Tokyo, Scarlett does it all, does it well, and looks amazing while she does it.

Why the hell Ryan Reynolds couldn't have made this work (other than possibly Marvel vs. DC debates) is beyond me.

Gods Rush 10/29

Image from IGG.com

Gods Rush is a side scrolling RPG featuring Greek Gods by IGG.com.  Your party of Greek heroes and gods go through levels, each of which consist of you fighting through three waves of enemies per stage, the third wave consisting of the level's boss.  Rewards are collected from the boss and are used to upgrade party members.  Once you've upgraded a party member enough they can evolve to next class.

And that's it. That's the game in a nutshell.  The game does nothing to offer any further explanation to anything else.  You have no idea who you're fighting or why other than they are Dark doppelgangers of the very same character you're playing.  The game starts with an intro cutscene of Zeus telling Pandora to get her box, but it's honestly very confusing.  You're then thrusted into your first match, but you basically watch it until the "Rage" meters of the characters are full, allowing them to use their special ability.  

Both party members and the Team level up.  How does the Team level up?  I have no idea.  There is no where tell you what events or how many experience points are needed.  I couldn't even find what the "Rage" meter was called until I came across an item whose description was that it shortened the time to fill it.  You are pretty much all on your own to figure out how the game works.

Controls are incredibly simple as it is watch your party hit and be hit until the "Rage" meter fills, then tap them.  And then tap the "Next" arrow when the wave has been defeated to go on to the next one.  While I'm not looking for complicated controls, it makes it feel like I'm watching a weird cartoon than playing a game.

Image from Google Play

There are Daily Missions with certain tasks to complete to give you some sort of direction, which is nice.  On the main menu is a slew of different game modes to try such as unlimited enemies and PvP matches in the Arena.  ...if they were actually available, but they all say "Coming Soon" at the time of this post.

The game has a unique premise, but lack of clear understanding and highly repetitive game play makes Gods Rush become boring very fast.  Especially if you replay a level you have already cleared to get a certain item, as there is a "fast forward" option to put the party on auto pilot, making it even more hands off than it already is.  Right now there is not enough content or replay value for Gods Rush to be fun.  Maybe once all the content has been released, but Greeks gods hitting each other over and over again with no clarification doesn't do it for me.

Temple Tuesday 10/28

It's Temple Tuesday again!  This week, another water dungeon, but with a different group of heroes.

Image from Das GS-Archiv

Welcome to the Mercury Lighthouse from Golden Sun.  In Golden Sun, a small group of villagers who can use special powers that are hidden from the rest of the world must stop a group trying to unleash the full power of that magic onto the world.  One of the temples you must traverse through is the Mercury Lighthouse, which is filled with Water energy.

Image from the Golden Sun Wiki

Armed only with your wits, you must solve the water-based puzzles and try to stop them from igniting the Lighthouse and unleashing the full power of Water unto the world!