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Jillian will play any game with cute characters or an isometric perspective, but her favorites are Fallout 3, Secret of Mana, and Harvest Moon. Her PC suffers from permanent cat-on-keyboard syndrome, which she blames for most deaths in Don’t Starve. She occasionally stops gaming long enough to eat waffles and rewatch Battlestar Galactica.
  • The Last Door: Chapter 3 – The Four Witnesses Review
    Reviews
    • PC
    The Last Door: Chapter 3 – The Four Witnesses Review

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    The Last Door: Chapter 3 - The Four Witnesses is the first time that our protagonist, Jeremiah Devitt, is completely without control.  In chapters one and two, he deliberately traveled to Beechworth Mansion and his old boarding school, respectively, in an attempt to uncover what drove his friend Anthony to madness and the source of his own nightmares.  While Devitt ultimately unearthed more questions than answers, this search was driven by a personal desire for knowledge and clarity.  In The Four Witnesses, someone else is pulling the strings.Devitt begins this installment in the same predicament that ended Chapter 2 - Memories: trapped in darkness.  Forcing his way to freedom, a dehydrated and weakened Devitt soon learns he's been transported to the slum of Old Nichol in London, a fair trek from the boarding school in Scotland where he lost consciousness.  With no sign of his captors and only a mysterious ticket to the play "The Four Witnesses" in his pocket, Devitt must try to find his way out of Old Nichol and back home.  Surrounding the slum, though, is a dense fog that can only be navigated with the proper "map."  Finding said map, and the strange red-headed man that seems to be leading Devitt around the city, are our two main goals in The Four Witnesses."Despite having these concrete goals to work toward, The Four Witnesses is more vague and mysterious than its preceding chapters.  The inclusion of interactive, non-playable characters has returned from chapter 2, providing Devitt a variety of dialogues to initiate and pursue.  Many of these characters speak in partial riddles, whether it's the fortune teller who recommends you follow "the path of the bird" or the decrepit composer who directs you to "search the Simurg."  These, and other seemingly random comments, are critical to finding your way through the fog, but they come off as nonsensical-yet-poetic ramblings until you have collected all the pieces of the puzzle.
  • Ring Run Circus Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    Ring Run Circus Review

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    In the gravity-defying world of Ring Run Circus, motion and precision are key.  Performers Nina, Ned, and Nelson have perfected the art of wheeling along their circus's myriad of interconnected rings, performing acrobatic stunts to wow the crowds present only in the mind of big top dreamer Ringo.  Ringo's ideal circus takes place high above the ground on dozens of metallic circles, and it's the player's job to maneuver his star performers along these rings to the exit gate that marks the end of each standalone show and stage.Our three acrobats share the ability to roll around the stage and switch between rings by simply tapping at their intersections.  However, each character also boasts a personal skill that allows them to perform a talent unique to them alone: Nina can jump over obstacles, Ned can slap other characters that get in his way, and Nelson can activate switches by tugging them with his cane.  While every level demands the same goal—collect the key located somewhere in the stage and use it to exit the gate—the challenges and design of the stage will differ depending on the character being featured.  Nina is pitted against bouncy blockages, Ned's levels are filled with circus lions and strong men that will knock him down if not smacked first, and Nelson's stages are more puzzle-like, requiring levers to be pulled in order and rings moved to open paths to the key and gate.The stages are separated into four worlds, with each performer soloing a series of 13 levels and sharing the stage in the final set, which features changing stations that allow players to swap between characters when needed.  In order to move on to the next world and performer, you'll need to collect at least 16 flowers total for a given character; flower pieces are scattered about each stage in tricky-to-reach places, with three complete flowers available per level.  A fourth flower is attained by perfecting the level within a specific time, but strangely, this flower does not count toward the required total and acts merely as a personal challenge gauge.
  • Episodic crowdfunding: The ingenious financial model of The Last Door
    News
    • PC
    Episodic crowdfunding: The ingenious financial model of The Last Door

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    Less than a year ago, The Last Door surpassed its humble Kickstarter goal of £3,852.  The crowdfunding pitch promised a heavily pixelated horror experience set against an enthralling, orchestral soundtrack.  The series would be episodic, with each new entry coming to life only if the community willed and made it happen. With the third chapter, The Four Witnesses, having just reached its funding target, the community has spoken: we're not ready to close the door.  We talked with The Game Kitchen's Community and PR Manager Raúl Díez about crowdfunding, crowd support, and the challenges and joys of maintaining an episodic game series that, thankfully, shows no sign of ending any time soon.While a successful indie game campaign is not an uncommon event these days, The Game Kitchen had a unique, elongated approach to crowdfunding from the get-go.  Kickstarter was only the (critical) beginning, funding the pilot chapter in what would hopefully become an ongoing web series.  Backers on Kickstarter earned early access to this pilot, and backers who pledged 10 pounds or higher became "premium members" for life.  
  • BIT.TRIP RUN! Preview
    Upcoming
    • iOS
    BIT.TRIP RUN! Preview

    By

    We've been gleefully bounding through the colorful and surreal world of BIT.TRIP Presents Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien since its release in March, blissful yet tethered to our PCs, desperately in need of a shower.  Gaijin Games smelled our seven-month game funk and has come through with an updated port of Runner2 that can be played on the go: BIT.TRIP RUN! for iOS.  Although BIT.TRIP RUN! won't be available until an as-yet-undisclosed future date, we got a chance to go hands-on with both its beta build and the brain of lead designer Danny Johnson for a doubly delicious sneak peek.Unlike the other upcoming port of Runner2 for PS Vita, BIT.TRIP RUN! has been tweaked and rebuilt specifically for touch screens.  Stages still offer an intense amount of challenge—and three difficulty levels to choose from—but the difficulty won't be due to sloppy controls.  What once took an entire gamepad's worth of buttons can now be completed with the tap or swipe of one finger.  CommanderVideo will still jump, slide, block, kick, and dance his way to victory, performing every action he is capable of in Runner2. ""We did not remove any abilities," Johnson told Gamezebo, "but we did take out some obstacles that would be difficult with the new control style. The slide jump is trickier to perform now, so we replaced those obstacles. The interaction with other obstacles has been modified to be more straightforward and less demanding of constant input."  One example of this reduced input is the addition of "stair hoppers," or automatic trampoline-like bouncers that make the many short steps in BIT.TRIP RUN! easier to navigate.  Not every step contains a hopper; they are integrated intelligently throughout stages to prevent tap-exhaustion.
  • Lost Echo Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    Lost Echo Review

    By

    Lost Echo is a modern point-and-click adventure in every sense of the word.  Its near-future setting focuses on technology over fantasy, presenting even mysterious occurrences as explainable scientific phenomena.  Puzzles emphasize logical conclusions instead of random item combinations, and its streamlined gameplay allows players to concentrate on the stunning world around them rather than hunt-and-peck quests for things they'll never need again.  Beside its modern upgrades, though, Lost Echo is missing some of the heart that defines the genre: its characters and plot feel rushed and incomplete, able to carry us through to the end but not fitting of the otherwise immersive game they exist within.Which is a shame, because Lost Echo's story starts off strong.  Greg, our protagonist, meets his girlfriend Chloe at Highway Park.  After a very brief introduction with little time for filler, a bright light suddenly fills the park, and Chloe vanishes as Greg passes out.  Greg awakens in the hospital and is informed by his close friend Tom that an arc flash occurred, and most visitors to the park were knocked unconscious.  Insisting that he's fine, Greg inquires about Chloe; Tom responds that he's never met this "Chloe," Greg's long-term girlfriend that Tom has had dinner with numerous times.  Confused but unable to make sense of the situation from the hospital, Greg shrugs it off and decides to seek out Chloe once he's back home in their shared apartment."At home, Greg quickly finds that Chloe has essentially been erased from his life: pictures of her are missing from their apartment, a birthday card she gave him is now signed from his mother, and any trace of Chloe even existing is impossible to find.  What follows is Greg's attempt to uncover what happened to Chloe, piece together the events in the park, find her and return life to normal.  The strange events that surround Greg are a fantastic pull into the world of Lost Echo; from only a few minutes into the story, players are presented with a mystery that will guide the rest of their actions.  Chloe's disappearance is surreal yet weighted in science, as is the major plot change encountered around the halfway point.
  • Imagination Is The Only Escape Preview
    Upcoming
    • Android
    • iOS
    • PC
    Imagination Is The Only Escape Preview

    By

    For decades, video games have provided players an escape from the challenges and tragedies of the real world.  Whether we're searching for a reprieve from everyday stressors or a way to live out unattainable fantasy goals, games have filled that need. In recent years, we've seen an increase in gaming experiences that aim less to strictly entertain and more to inform, educate, and empathize: titles like Actual Sunlight and That Dragon, Cancer offer interactive opportunities to explore the personal, emotional topics of depression and illness, respectively.  Papo & Yo confronts the demons of alcoholism.  And soon, Imagination Is The Only Escape will provide a new way for modern players to remember the Holocaust: through the eyes of a child."Creator and director of Imagination Is The Only Escape, Luc Bernard, aims to craft an authentic and haunting portrayal of France's Nazi occupation in 1942.  The story will follow a young Jewish boy named Samuel and begin just before the Nazi invasion; his life is normal at this time, filled with friends and schoolwork, the normal events of youth.  This soon changes, though, during the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup and mass arrest of Jews in Paris: Samuel's mother encourages him to flee the city and find sanctuary with a Catholic priest, but she is shot and killed during their escape.  In one instant, Samuel's life—and that of all Parisians—changes dramatically.
  • Hands-on with Citizens of Earth
    News
    • iOS
    • PC
    Hands-on with Citizens of Earth

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    We've been waiting oh-so patiently for Citizens of Earth since our first peek at its colorful, cartoony 2D visuals back in January.  While the wait is not quite over, its launch on Kickstarter this week and the inclusion of a playable alpha demo has sated some of that hunger and confirmed many of our hopes: namely, that this game is going to be good.  And it's going to be even better for fans of Earthbound.The story follows our "hero," the Vice President of the World, during his post-election vacation at his childhood home.  After being forced out of bed by his Chrono Trigger-cameo,curtain-pulling mother, the VP decides to head to Moonbucks for a late-morning pick-me-up.  What begins as a simple trip to the local coffee shop quickly turns into a series of challenges and mysteries that need solving.  Why are protestors picketing on your lawn?  What happened to all the bags of Special Blend coffee?  Can anyone stop the sick bee that is infecting hikers?"As the Vice President of the World, our hero has one main talent: recruiting followers.  This comes in handy since he's also above fighting his own battles (because he can't risk ruining his $500 suit, come on!).  The first two, default recruits are your brother and mother, but there are dozens of other NPCs available to charm into your party.  Most require you to complete a goal first: for instance, the Barista will join you once you find her missing Special Blend coffee, while the Baker will join after you run off the guy who's trying to take his giant donut.  Each character comes equipped with their own stats and special skills: Mom can heal status effects with hugs, while the Conspiracy Guy can interrogate enemies to learn their weaknesses.
  • SimpleRockets Walkthrough
    Walkthroughs
    • Android
    • iOS
    SimpleRockets Walkthrough

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    SimpleRockets is a physics-based rocket-building sim developed by Andrew Garrison/Jundroo.  In this game, you'll build operational spacecraft and launch them into orbit in either challenge or sandbox mode.  Gamezebo's quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game."