Angry Birds GO! is a free to play kart racing game. Though it's not as extensive as Mario Kart, Angry Birds GO provides some degree of fun casual gameplay for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry 10 systems.
Angry Birds GO! will have you racing down a slide track from top start to dock finish. The gameplay mechanics work by having you sling the kart to make it start and it automatically accelerates and speeds. You can steer by selecting either to tilt or touch arrows. Each kart is like something any kid could construct but doesn't have an engine. Collect coins for upgrades and you can buy more content from the app store such as new karts.
Angry Birds GO! provides a great Angry Birds experience beyond that of the simple flinging of Angry Birds to destroy rival forts. You will play as the red angry bird and play in several different modes which will include racing pig faced greens, racing one to one with Stella, time trials, and fruit attack. The graphics for the game are cel-shaded and look really great for an Angry Birds game, especially with a 3D perspective. The detail put into this game is great. It may only be a casual racing game and nothing as special as Mario Kart but Angry Birds GO! manages to take advantage of what's available for it.
While Angry Birds GO! may have you losing appeal after playing it for a while, it's still a fun game to play. Angry Birds GO! greatly resembles and portrays the characters from the Angry Birds series and attempts to make this game as identical as playing Angry Birds, but with a racing twist. Angry Birds GO! manages to capture spirit of both Angry Birds and engine-less go kart racing.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Roll Back: Mario Party 8
Mario Party 8 was released for the Wii in 2007 and received mixed reviews. Does it deserve the ratings it got?
For starters, how does the game play? Mario Party 8 is a party game of numerous compiled mini-games. How do these mini-games play? Numerous mini-games are fun to play and quality depends on how the games control. Some will be easy to control while others will require much effort. The main thing for this game is the Party Tent mode which puts you in a board game rivaling other players both AI and real. As with other party games, with each turn on this board game each player will play a randomly selected mini-game which is either brawl, 2 vs. 2, or 3 against 1. Even duel against another player in a special event.
Though Mario Party 8 can be fun at times with collecting stars and coins to compete for victory and numerous candy power ups, it can be repetitive and lose lasting appeal easily. This game does have a scaled back look for it as graphics look like this game could be made for Nintendo GameCube. The game doesn't look bad but the graphics haven't improved for this game from it's then previous generation. Mario Party 8 had some disappointments for Wii players.
Though I did enjoy playing it with the board game I do feel Mario Party 8 isn't the best party game. It does however give the feeling of a wacky adventure with numerous themed boards. Select different options such as how many turns, plus you can even select the characters themselves instead of having them randomly selected for you. I like games where you can select your rival AI characters.
What do I think of Mario Party 8 after playing it? Looking back I really feel that Mario Party 9 would be better as the latter actually has graphics that are appropriate for it's time instead of looking like a GameCube game ported onto a Wii console. Mario Party 8 certainly isn't the best Mario Party game available but at least it sold amazingly and was fun to play for awhile.
For starters, how does the game play? Mario Party 8 is a party game of numerous compiled mini-games. How do these mini-games play? Numerous mini-games are fun to play and quality depends on how the games control. Some will be easy to control while others will require much effort. The main thing for this game is the Party Tent mode which puts you in a board game rivaling other players both AI and real. As with other party games, with each turn on this board game each player will play a randomly selected mini-game which is either brawl, 2 vs. 2, or 3 against 1. Even duel against another player in a special event.
Though Mario Party 8 can be fun at times with collecting stars and coins to compete for victory and numerous candy power ups, it can be repetitive and lose lasting appeal easily. This game does have a scaled back look for it as graphics look like this game could be made for Nintendo GameCube. The game doesn't look bad but the graphics haven't improved for this game from it's then previous generation. Mario Party 8 had some disappointments for Wii players.
Though I did enjoy playing it with the board game I do feel Mario Party 8 isn't the best party game. It does however give the feeling of a wacky adventure with numerous themed boards. Select different options such as how many turns, plus you can even select the characters themselves instead of having them randomly selected for you. I like games where you can select your rival AI characters.
What do I think of Mario Party 8 after playing it? Looking back I really feel that Mario Party 9 would be better as the latter actually has graphics that are appropriate for it's time instead of looking like a GameCube game ported onto a Wii console. Mario Party 8 certainly isn't the best Mario Party game available but at least it sold amazingly and was fun to play for awhile.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Forzapalooza: Reviewing two previous Forza Motorsports
Forza Motorsport 2 was released for Xbox 360 in 2007 and was considered to be among the best racing games at that time as it has excellent graphics, real physics, and an assortment of over 349 cars. There was downloadable content released for this game during it's first year but has been discontinued for years.
How did Forza Motorsport 2 improve in terms of gameplay and how can it be looked back upon? With more cars from the previous Xbox installment and a more sharp graphical view you can clearly see differences in performance and how Forza Motorsport 2 has improved from it's predecessor. The framerate was 60fps and 720p which was somewhat rare for a game back then. Tracks for the game are based on real tracks while a couple are tracks that are real streets. Forza Motorsport 2 is truly an improvement from the predecessor making Forza Motorsport for Xbox forgettable. What's not to give preferential treatment to Forza Motorsport 2 for? It's got improved graphics, more content, and a more real feeling of racing simulation. Upgrading cars has been a great feature and auto upgrade is something Gran Turismo doesn't have. Forza Motorsport 2 was truly an amazing game for it's time and improved in every way from it's predecessor.
Forza Motorsport 4 is in my view the most complex game of the series as it includes over 500 cars and 27 tracks. What makes this game the most amazing is how much content it has and how great the graphics are and the gameplay mechanics. You can adjust settings of difficulty to affect payouts. The graphics are pretty much the same as the previous Forza Motorsport games from Xbox 360. Forza Motorsport 4 also utilizes the Kinect but such a feature has been criticized for having lackluster controls. Another improvement for Forza Motorsport 4 is online multiplayer could include 16 players instead of a mere 8. Forza Motorsport 4 also added more racers to each race making the game more challenging. Of course you can influence the difficulty of the racers. Forza Motorsport 4 is truly unforgettable in how it has a great assortment of cars and will take you by surprise. Sadly, Forza Motorsport 5 cut down on some content despite having newer and better features.
How did Forza Motorsport 2 improve in terms of gameplay and how can it be looked back upon? With more cars from the previous Xbox installment and a more sharp graphical view you can clearly see differences in performance and how Forza Motorsport 2 has improved from it's predecessor. The framerate was 60fps and 720p which was somewhat rare for a game back then. Tracks for the game are based on real tracks while a couple are tracks that are real streets. Forza Motorsport 2 is truly an improvement from the predecessor making Forza Motorsport for Xbox forgettable. What's not to give preferential treatment to Forza Motorsport 2 for? It's got improved graphics, more content, and a more real feeling of racing simulation. Upgrading cars has been a great feature and auto upgrade is something Gran Turismo doesn't have. Forza Motorsport 2 was truly an amazing game for it's time and improved in every way from it's predecessor.
Forza Motorsport 4 is in my view the most complex game of the series as it includes over 500 cars and 27 tracks. What makes this game the most amazing is how much content it has and how great the graphics are and the gameplay mechanics. You can adjust settings of difficulty to affect payouts. The graphics are pretty much the same as the previous Forza Motorsport games from Xbox 360. Forza Motorsport 4 also utilizes the Kinect but such a feature has been criticized for having lackluster controls. Another improvement for Forza Motorsport 4 is online multiplayer could include 16 players instead of a mere 8. Forza Motorsport 4 also added more racers to each race making the game more challenging. Of course you can influence the difficulty of the racers. Forza Motorsport 4 is truly unforgettable in how it has a great assortment of cars and will take you by surprise. Sadly, Forza Motorsport 5 cut down on some content despite having newer and better features.
Monday, February 10, 2014
iOS and Android Games reviewed for February 7, 2014
Flappy Bird is a bird flying game where you click on the screen to make the bird jump but if you don't do so it will fall to the ground. There are these tubes from Mario Bros. which you must avoid hitting. The thing about this game is that it's too hard to be considered playable as the bird you try and keep from falling can easily crash into these Super Mario tubes. Plus, graphics look like Super Nintendo and movements can feel shaky. On the other hand, Flappy Bird has been addictive and it is now free. It has generated many users as you get the bird through the pipes and collect points as well. What else is bummer is that getting several points will take a half hour. Flappy Bird can be addictive and fun at times but ultimately repetitive and frustrating to get further in this game.
Glass Tower 2: An app game similar to Tetris as you must eliminate the blue glass blocks while preventing the red glass blocks from breaking or falling. Once blue blocks are dealt with, the level is complete. Levels get progressively harder and this game emulates the classic Tetris. Gameplay is simplistic as Tetris and has many different levels. First 20 levels are free but you can purchase more packs for $0.99 each. This game can be fun for puzzle solvers. Glass Tower 2 is a fun game for iOS systems.
Clash of Clans: A strategy based game for iOS and Android system where objectives and gameplay include building your community, defending it from attackers, training troops, and attacking other players to earn gold and gems which can be used for more upgrades and equipment. This game is freemium so upgrades and more content can be purchased from either App Store or Google Play. This game's theme is centered on medieval fantasy themes as gobblins, archers, barbarians, witches, giants, dragons, and more medieval creatures. Clash of Clans truly puts you on edge for a strategy battle to maintain your kingdom from invaders. This game has everything a strategy game of this kind has to offer. I will admit the graphics aren't next-generation but what can you expect from a freemium game? Despite being initially free to play, there are many add ons and content that do cost money and this game has generated much revenue.
Glass Tower 2: An app game similar to Tetris as you must eliminate the blue glass blocks while preventing the red glass blocks from breaking or falling. Once blue blocks are dealt with, the level is complete. Levels get progressively harder and this game emulates the classic Tetris. Gameplay is simplistic as Tetris and has many different levels. First 20 levels are free but you can purchase more packs for $0.99 each. This game can be fun for puzzle solvers. Glass Tower 2 is a fun game for iOS systems.
Clash of Clans: A strategy based game for iOS and Android system where objectives and gameplay include building your community, defending it from attackers, training troops, and attacking other players to earn gold and gems which can be used for more upgrades and equipment. This game is freemium so upgrades and more content can be purchased from either App Store or Google Play. This game's theme is centered on medieval fantasy themes as gobblins, archers, barbarians, witches, giants, dragons, and more medieval creatures. Clash of Clans truly puts you on edge for a strategy battle to maintain your kingdom from invaders. This game has everything a strategy game of this kind has to offer. I will admit the graphics aren't next-generation but what can you expect from a freemium game? Despite being initially free to play, there are many add ons and content that do cost money and this game has generated much revenue.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Forza Motorsport 5 review
A launch title for Xbox One, this racing simulator is one of a kind for not only it's awesome racing and amazing cars but also features you won't find on other racing games.
How is Forza Motorsport 5 an amazingly different and new experience? Take for a fact that instead of Ai you have something called Drivatar. Drivatar is a program that has cloud servers download player data in how they overall race and uses it to race in other races in the game. It will even sync your performance in racing to give other players the same experience. Cloud computing is just one of many advantages Xbox One has over PlayStation 4.
There are many cars both veteran and newbie for Forza Motorsport 5 as not only do these cars run and look amazing but you can also more or less examine them in depth with Forza Vista. Plus, you can actually look at your cars in a real garage. The livery has gotten more awesome as players can upload custom livery and other players can choose such for their cars. If you've played Forza before then you'll love that when you buy a car for a series the game will automatically set the highest upgrades for a maximum allowed class. The Affinity and Driver levels still exist but use tokens to purchase not only cars but also a temporary boost in XP, which works towards driver and affinity bonuses. Affinity bonuses award you extra earnings if you drive a certain car marque. When I began driving an Audi several races, I got extra earnings.
The difficulty level is still custom set and there are a few differences such as instead of a total percentage being shown it instead simply shows the bonus percentage, which will either increase or decrease earnings. You can't turn off rewind for bonus but if you do use rewind it will cost you a very small percentage of earnings. What I've seen in this game is that instead of it automatically being 1st, 2nd, or 3rd being required for Gold, Silver, and Bronze metals respectively it has you placing 1st-3rd for Gold, 4th-7th for Silver, and 8th-10th for Bronze.
As for difficulty, you can set the Drivatar difficulty from new driver to extreme expert. Earnings bonuses will range from -15% to 60%. The Assist settings will determine the car assist settings and eliminating assists will increase earnings reward. Change transmission, steering, damage, braking, and other assists to influence total earnings.
Forza Motorsport 5 proves that it is better than Gran Turismo series as the former is easier to upgrade and handle even with it's amazing physics. Forza Motorsport 5 runs at 1080p and 60 fps and is one of the very few Xbox One games to do so. While many other third party games have no problem running 1080p and 60 fps natively but Xbox One yields lesser results, Forza Motorsport 5 manages to look stunning and have such amazing visuals and graphics.
Forza Motorsport 5 in my opinion is the best Xbox One game currently available since most other Xbox One games have trouble running at the same 1080p and 60 fps that Forza Motorsport 5 has no problem running at. Come to think of it, Forza Motorsport's mainstream rating of 8/10 is disgraceful and deserves to be higher as it has totally improved from the previous generation of gaming. This game has numerous features that no other racing simulator has. Forza Motorsport 5 is better than Gran Turismo 6! Only gripe about Forza Motorsport 5 is it takes long to install but bright side is you can simply play the game if enough of it is installed and the rest will be gradually installed. Another gripe is that out of all the Forza games, Forza Motorsport 5 has the second least amount of content as Forza Motorsport 4 had over 500 cars and over two dozen tracks while Forza Motorsport 5 has only over 200 cars and only around 14 tracks.
Final verdict for this thrilling and amazing game is a 8.9/10.
+Exciting Racing
+Innovative and Exclusive features
+Cloud Technology Fully Mastered
+Highest Graphics Quality
-Long Installation Time
-Cut Downs on Amount of Content by half.
How is Forza Motorsport 5 an amazingly different and new experience? Take for a fact that instead of Ai you have something called Drivatar. Drivatar is a program that has cloud servers download player data in how they overall race and uses it to race in other races in the game. It will even sync your performance in racing to give other players the same experience. Cloud computing is just one of many advantages Xbox One has over PlayStation 4.
There are many cars both veteran and newbie for Forza Motorsport 5 as not only do these cars run and look amazing but you can also more or less examine them in depth with Forza Vista. Plus, you can actually look at your cars in a real garage. The livery has gotten more awesome as players can upload custom livery and other players can choose such for their cars. If you've played Forza before then you'll love that when you buy a car for a series the game will automatically set the highest upgrades for a maximum allowed class. The Affinity and Driver levels still exist but use tokens to purchase not only cars but also a temporary boost in XP, which works towards driver and affinity bonuses. Affinity bonuses award you extra earnings if you drive a certain car marque. When I began driving an Audi several races, I got extra earnings.
The difficulty level is still custom set and there are a few differences such as instead of a total percentage being shown it instead simply shows the bonus percentage, which will either increase or decrease earnings. You can't turn off rewind for bonus but if you do use rewind it will cost you a very small percentage of earnings. What I've seen in this game is that instead of it automatically being 1st, 2nd, or 3rd being required for Gold, Silver, and Bronze metals respectively it has you placing 1st-3rd for Gold, 4th-7th for Silver, and 8th-10th for Bronze.
As for difficulty, you can set the Drivatar difficulty from new driver to extreme expert. Earnings bonuses will range from -15% to 60%. The Assist settings will determine the car assist settings and eliminating assists will increase earnings reward. Change transmission, steering, damage, braking, and other assists to influence total earnings.
Forza Motorsport 5 proves that it is better than Gran Turismo series as the former is easier to upgrade and handle even with it's amazing physics. Forza Motorsport 5 runs at 1080p and 60 fps and is one of the very few Xbox One games to do so. While many other third party games have no problem running 1080p and 60 fps natively but Xbox One yields lesser results, Forza Motorsport 5 manages to look stunning and have such amazing visuals and graphics.
Forza Motorsport 5 in my opinion is the best Xbox One game currently available since most other Xbox One games have trouble running at the same 1080p and 60 fps that Forza Motorsport 5 has no problem running at. Come to think of it, Forza Motorsport's mainstream rating of 8/10 is disgraceful and deserves to be higher as it has totally improved from the previous generation of gaming. This game has numerous features that no other racing simulator has. Forza Motorsport 5 is better than Gran Turismo 6! Only gripe about Forza Motorsport 5 is it takes long to install but bright side is you can simply play the game if enough of it is installed and the rest will be gradually installed. Another gripe is that out of all the Forza games, Forza Motorsport 5 has the second least amount of content as Forza Motorsport 4 had over 500 cars and over two dozen tracks while Forza Motorsport 5 has only over 200 cars and only around 14 tracks.
Final verdict for this thrilling and amazing game is a 8.9/10.
+Exciting Racing
+Innovative and Exclusive features
+Cloud Technology Fully Mastered
+Highest Graphics Quality
-Long Installation Time
-Cut Downs on Amount of Content by half.
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