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  • Republique Episode 2: Metamorphosis Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    Republique Episode 2: Metamorphosis Review

    By

    Hope is still alive -- and if you didn't want any spoilers, you should go play the first episode of République before reading the rest of this review. The second installment is titled Metamorphosis, a word that has multiple meanings within Camouflaj's story-driven stealth and puzzle-solving epic. Happily, it doesn't mean the game is changing into something lesser, just building on a great first chapter by adding on a few new layers to both story and gameplay.Metamorphosis picks up right where Exordium left off, and in some ways, right where it started as well. Hope is trapped somewhere she'd rather not be, and to keep her safe, it's going to take a mastery of hacking into the network of surveillance cameras and computer systems in her environment. A default profile can be used to skip right to this chapter if so desired, but playing through its predecessor helps in understanding the core mechanics and is virtually mandatory for making sense of the plot.
  • Record Run Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    Record Run Review

    By

    Record Run has the makings of a mobile best-seller: a short-burst, pick-up-and-play runner that lets players dodge obstacles to the beat of their own tunes.  With a triple-A pedigree from publisher Harmonix, known for catchy music game must-haves like Rock Band and Dance Central, the sky was the limit for this bite-sized behemoth.  Unfortunately, forgettable gameplay and a limiting IAP structure weigh down the experience and prevent it from soaring.The main gimmick behind Record Run is a popular staple of the rhythm genre: you can load any song into the game and it will generate a level synched to that tune.  Like Audiosurf and Beat Hazard before it, Record Run has chosen this method of content generation as its banner, and has barely supplemented its user-provided music library with four built-in songs. The problem is that Record Run also limits its user-injected library by forcing players to purchase "song slots" for every new song they wish to play, and offers no option to delete previously uploaded songs so a slot can be reused.  You'd better be sure you want a song in your library before you upload it, because it's not going anywhere.    
  • Last Inua Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    Last Inua Review

    By

    A father and son battling harsh elements and demonic corruption as they attempt to restore the three guardian spirits of the land: This is Last Inua, a 2D side-scrolling tale of survival in the deep Arctic, a visually stunning game that approaches excellence but ultimately overstays its welcome.Last Inua is an "art-platformer," a term I just now made up to describe platformers with powerful aesthetics and unremarkable gameplay - although calling it "unremarkable" might in some instances be overly harsh. In most cases it's really just simplified, which I suspect is a conscious choice intended to encourage all players, even those of dubious skills, to reach the end and enjoy the entirety of the experience.Last Inua is very much like that. It's the the story of the Inuit Ataataq and his son Hiko, who are racing to restore three guardian spirits in order to foil an attack on the North by the demon Tonrar. Ataataq is a powerful man, able to leap great distances, climb frozen cliffs and shatter massive blocks of ice with a single blow. His son Hiko is sickly and weak, but possesses magical abilities that allow him to walk through the air and travel great distances in the blink of an eye. They must work together to survive and triumph, and you'll switch back and forth between them many times as you play, relying on both Ataataq's strength and Hiko's magic in equal measures.
  • Dragon Coins Review
    Reviews
    • Android
    • iOS
    Dragon Coins Review

    By

    Whenever you go to a casino or an arcade, you can usually count on the coin-pusher machine being devoid of participants - save, maybe, for a stray person gawking at it and wondering if a running jump-kick will deliver an easy payout.SEGA's Dragon Coins is a role-playing / collectable card game powered by a coin-pusher that actually does offer significant payout. Namely, capsules containing monsters that can fight for you. Who needs to play for that crumpled five dollar bill hanging out in the back of the machine when you can net your very own dragon?Dragon Coins' closest relative is GungHo's Puzzle & Dragons. You go through several missions and fight monsters with the aid of your own monster cards. Victory in battle earns you gold coins and more monster cards that can be raised into warriors, or used as fodder to upgrade your favorites.
  • Intake: Be Aggressive Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    Intake: Be Aggressive Review

    By

    What do you get when you cross Dr. Mario with Ikaruga? Finger-tapping bullet hell with a dose of wubwubwub, that's what. Or at least that's what you get from Intake - a blisteringly fast puzzle game from Cipher Prime, the makers of fantastic little gems like Pulse, Fractal and Splice: Tree of Life.The gameplay here is easy enough to grasp. Pills of different colors descend down the screen in varying directions and you'll need to tap to eliminate them - but only if they match the color that you're meant to be hunting for. You'll only deal with two different colors at any given time, and switching your target color is as easy as tapping the bottom of the screen. If any of the wrong colored pills reach the bottom of the screen, it's game over.It's simple on paper, but devilishly difficult in practice.
  • Kentucky Route Zero: Act 3 Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Kentucky Route Zero: Act 3 Review

    By

    We've been driving back country roads of rural Kentucky for over a year now, although it's only been one night in-game.  What started as the final delivery of antiques truck driver Conway and his straw-hatted dog, Blue (or Homer), has turned into a circular expedition for an ever-growing group of nomads with nowhere preferable to go.  Shannon Marquez remains determined to see Conway to his destination after her mysteriously vanished cousin Weaver led them to each other.  Young Ezra and his gigantic eagle companion, Julian, have joined up with the trio when they're not transporting cabins between the forest and museum.  And shortly into Act III, two new additions appear, rounding out the group to seven souls in search of Dogwood Drive off the Zero.Like Act II's interim chapter Limits & Demonstrations before, developer Cardboard Computer provided fans with a free, short lead-in to Act III with The Entertainment.  Arranged as an amateur play written by Lem Doolittle and set by the now-recognizable Lula Chamberlain, The Entertainmentis the perfect appetizer to what Act III will offer players.  It's flooded with dialogue and new characters who pour their mundane woes into the bottom of a whiskey glass.  Much like Conway's simple desire to make his final delivery, the barflies of this pre-chapter have modest dreams: a poolside vacation, a faithful husband, an honest living.  It's only in brief snippets describing the "strange boys from Hard Times" Whiskey that we are reminded of the surreal world Kentucky Route Zero is set within, and the reality of what awaits these characters outside their seemingly average troubles.  
  • 2-bit Cowboy Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    2-bit Cowboy Review

    By

    At its most basic, 2-Bit Cowboy is the lost Game Boy platformer you're hoping for. With tight controls, great level design, and monochromatic visuals, you can play this as the simple "let's head for the exit, cowpoke!" game that it seems to be at first glance. Scratch a little deeper though, and you'll find that 2-Bit Cowboy is a whole lot more.The platforming itself is tight, and despite a total lack of physical buttons, this is a spot on representation of the vintage 1989 experience the developers were clearly after. Layered on top of this is a collection of missions that forces players to explore every last nook and cranny of a level if they want to earn the most coins.Starting these missions requires a bit of exploration too, as they're found on wanted posters scattered throughout the level. You'll face goals like "destroy all the bottles" or "stop the gang," and while the objectives won't change much from stage to stage, each level is so well designed that you won't mind hunting for every last scorpion again.