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5 Minute Review: Axel and Pixel

March 3, 2010

This is a rather simple, sweet wee point-and-click game that I downloaded from Xbox Marketplace when I was looking for some time to kill.  You control the character of Axel, an artist trapped by an evil rat in a perilous Dream World of Axel’s own creation.  Your task – to find a way to beat the rat and escape from Axel’s crazy dream world.

As you move through the different chapters you need to find the usable items and solve various puzzles – some are logic problems, some are button games, and all of them will put a smile on your face – unless of course you have no soul and were never a child, in which case, you’ll probably hate it.  As well as solving the various problems in your path, there are tubes of paint to collect, sketches to complete, and of course bones to collect as treats for Pixel.

When you reach the end of the final chapter you have to face the tree troll, a button game that will ultimately lead you to a successful escape and return you to your normal life where you can complete the painting that all the sketches have contributed towards.

There are also 3 mini-games as you go through, and if I’m honest, I found them a little frustrating at times as I’m not a huge fan of mini-games, but they’re really very short, and not enough to detract from the sheer light hearted fun of the game.

This is never going to be one of the great games of all time, and if you’re looking for something with hours of entertainment, lots of bloodshed, tactically challenging battles or state of the art visual effects, then this is not the game for you.  On the other hand, if you’ve got a couple of hours to spare and you want a light hearted, easy going way to fill them, then this is a fun and innocent way to do it.

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Review: Mass Effect 2

February 28, 2010

Well I promised my initial thoughts on this quite a while ago, but given the amount of time I was dedicating to playing it, I thought I may as well wait until I finished it, and so I did, then started playing other things, and before I know it, nearly a month has passed – apologies!  However, thankfully, in around 30 hours spread across 6 days I have once again saved the galaxy from certain annihilation.  Go me!

Commander Shepard returns and in the beginning all is well – you and your crew are aboard the Normandy, happily floating around in space and then BAM! A big ass ship starts tearing through yours!  You have to save Joker (well, who wouldn’t?!) and then, in a cut scene, you are hurled off into space and certain death.  I’ll be honest, this left me a little baffled, I thought I’d messed up the mission already and hadn’t saved Joker quickly enough or something, but no, it was all part of the plan…  Your body is recovered, your physical being restored, and you are able to head out and save the galaxy once more.  There’s just one catch – you’ve got the evil self-serving Cerberus to thank for it…

Read on to see how, sometimes, working for the bad guy’s the right thing to do…

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**NEWS** Return to Ostagar on its way! **NEWS**

January 28, 2010

 

You’ve played the game, you’ve played the 2 available DLCs, you’ve replayed it all and you’ve wondered when the heck they’re going to be re-releasing the new Dragon Age: Origins DLC ‘Return to Ostagar’, preferably without all the save corrupting, game locking bugs it had first time around.  Well, BioWare have spoken; and the answer is – soon.  Probably.

While perusing their forums this morning I found an update from Victor Wachter, the Dragon Age Community ‘Facilitator’ – read on to see what he had to tell us…

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Mid-Point Review: Bayonetta

January 12, 2010

Not so very long ago, I tried out and reviewed the Demo for Bayonetta, and quite frankly, I loved it.  The game had promise, an advanced hack and slash is what sprung to mind, and while the fighting style was a little too Street Fighter-esque for it to be ideal, I didn’t think this detracted from the game’s overall appeal.

Well, I have since purchased said game and begun to play the full version, and having reached almost the middle of the game, I thought I’d explain why, right now, I feel I was not entirely correct.  I have said elsewhere online that I now have very mixed feelings about this game, having been full of joy and expectation as I gingerly hurried home through the ice and snow, clutching it in my mitten clad hands on Saturday.  Read on to see why Bayonetta, for me at least, has failed to deliver in its entirety.

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5 Minute Review: Bayonetta Demo

January 5, 2010

Sadly, being stuck over here in the old USofA, I have not yet had the chance to play the full version of Bayonetta as it only came out today, though I have heard from others that it will be well worth it when I finally get the chance.  I have however sampled the demo and felt suitably impressed to write about it.  Read on to see why, even if Bayonetta’s oh-so-wiggly strut and skin-tight clothing don’t float your boat, the game is still worth a look… Read the rest of this entry »