Vorp feels like it could have been released 10 years ago. We don't mean that in a bad way at all; rather, it's an indication of how far this sort of team-based space battler has come over the last decade - that is, not very far at all. The moment you jump into Vorp, it feels sort of familiar and safe, and for this reason the game never really reaches lofty heights.
If there's a sweet spot for the segment of geekdom that enjoys playing games of the non-video variety, it would have to be where tabletop miniature battles meet collectible card games. BitFlip Games has come up with an ambitious way to combine the two in a virtual sense with Minion Master, a strategy game where summoned fantasy and horror beings duke it out in solo or multiplayer battles on your PC.
Like most horror games, Grimind isn't exactly rooting for you. It pits you against vicious monsters, compromises your escape attempts with tricky puzzles, and tries to creep you out with eerie sounds and minimal lighting. In theory, all these elements should work in tandem to make for an excellent experience. But in practice, they're all tarnished by the game's myriad flaws.
Marvin, a young lad of indeterminate age, has lost a mitten. Fortunately, he has the time and the inclination to look for it, and a wooded winter wonderland surrounding his house that makes his quest both epic and utterly worthwhile. Marching through the trees, but never beyond the reach of his mother's call, Marvin climbs snowy hills and trees, discovers small animals and birds, and even stumbles across a group of elves - real, live elves! - who share his problem: They, too, have lost their mittens.
American McGee is best known as the man behind the Alice games, dark re-imaginings of the Alice in Wonderland lore which offered a macabre twist on the well-known tale. McGee and his studio Spicy Horse Games are again mining the world of fairy tales for their latest game, Crazy Fairies, but this time around they're taking a much more lighthearted approach to the source material.
Detective Quest: The Crystal Slipper starts with a familiar story... a handsome Prince fell in love with a beautiful woman who he danced with at the royal ball. She left suddenly, without even telling him her name, and leaving behind only a crystal slipper for him to remember her by. So the Prince enlists in the help of a detective (that's you!) to help him find his fair maiden. From then onwards, the Cinderella tale takes some unfamiliar turns and becomes an original story. It comes from Elephant Games, a studio which has clearly been busy recently, having also released the excellent Christmas Stories: Nutcracker less than a month ago.
Even though the "scary" hidden object game has been overdone, there are still plenty of great games released in this subgenre every year. Unfortunately, for every great game, we're also given tons of duds, and Twilight School is one such disappointment.
I've never been one to believe in ghosts. But Haunted has recently shown me that ghosts are not only real, but that sometimes they can be a cranky two-foot pirate named Oscar who won't leave you alone. Using this as its hilarious groundwork, Haunted serves as a wonderful throwback to point-and-click adventure games like The Longest Journey and the Monkey Island series, with a charming story and challenging gameplay style all its own!