Game Diary

Mahjongg Artifacts for the Kindle Fire Review

Game Diary, Reviews March 29, 2012

Mahjongg Artifacts for the Kindle Fire Review

The Hype: Escape from the rush of modern life into the immersive ancient atmosphere of Mahjongg Artifacts®! The prequel to Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 and a new fan-favorite comes with three gameplay modes which take you through five exotic cultures. It also comes with innovative gameplay twists, like Special Tiles that allow you to use new strategies to clear layouts, Bonuses for skillful play and Trophies for special accomplishments. Story Mode features an epic quest for lost relics, Classic mode allows you to choose the layout you want to play, and Endless mode allows you to remove tiles from an…

The Magician's Handbook: Cursed Valley for Kindle Fire Review

Game Diary, Reviews March 29, 2012

The Magician’s Handbook: Cursed Valley for Kindle Fire Review

Hidden object adventures continue to evolve on smartphones and tablets, with PC games being ported that are more complex, more interesting and have better stories. The success of games from folks like G5 Entertainment has resulted in an explosion in the category. The latest one to try to capture the Kindle Fire gamer’s interest is the Magician’s Handbook, which I already reviewed for the iPad. Let’s see how it does! The Hype: Remove the evil curse in this captivating adventure by finding hidden objects in the dark and mysterious Cursed Valley! The fabled “Magician’s Handbook” has fallen into your hands….

Draw Something Is an Evil Time-Waster That I Can't Stop Playing

Game Diary, Gear Bits March 26, 2012

Draw Something Is an Evil Time-Waster That I Can’t Stop Playing

You would think that with a name like DrawSomething, you would need artistic talent to play. But that is simply not so. All you need to get addicted to this evil, rotten game is one friend who will play you, a sense of humor, and a bit of patience. I first found out about this game last week while I was getting my nails done. Tracy, my nail tech, said she was playing and was addicted. I’d never heard of it, so I downloaded the free version and said I would check it out later. I put it off for a…

Fix It Up 80's 'Meet Kate's Parents' for the iPad Game Review

Game Diary, Reviews March 24, 2012

Fix It Up 80’s ‘Meet Kate’s Parents’ for the iPad Game Review

Based on my lackluster review of the original Fix it Up Kate’s Adventure, and my glowing review of Fix it Up: World Tour, I really wasn’t sure what to expect this time around. Would the game take advantage of all of the things introduced and carry forward, or would it stumble again? Let’s check it out! The Hype: Take a trip back to the 80’s in this totally tubular, time management adventure! Kate visits her father and he explains how the family got its start in the auto repair biz. Play as Kate’s parents, Frank and Mary, to purchase, fix,…

Fix It Up World Tour for the iPad Game Review

Game Diary, Reviews March 22, 2012

Fix It Up World Tour for the iPad Game Review

When I reviewed Fix It Up: Kate’s Adventure last year, I found it fun and loaded with content, but there were a few things I didn’t enjoy that kept it from being one of my ‘go to’ casual apps. Now Kate is back, joined by Steve and Martin, and she is ready to take on the world – literally! Let’s see how things go this time! The Hype: Go global in this fantastic strategy adventure! In this sequel to “Fix-it-up: Kate’s Adventure”, you must help Kate expand her car-repair empire around the world! Build car-repair shops anywhere from snowy Canada…

Zombie Highway for iPhone/Touch and iPad

Game Diary, Reviews March 21, 2012

Zombie Highway for iPhone/Touch and iPad

As I watched the season finale of The Walking Dead Sunday night, one of my kids hollered from the other room, “Why does everything have to do with zombies?” We do not let them watch the show of course, but he knew I was watching what he calls, “that zombie show.” Even though he had a point, I did not have a good answer. I simply replied, “because killing zombies is so fun.” He definitely agreed and told me there are some fun games where you have to kill zombies. It just so happens that I also found a game…

The Smithsonian Joins the 'Top 5 Games' List Fray

Editorials, Game Diary March 20, 2012

The Smithsonian Joins the ‘Top 5 Games’ List Fray

Are video games art? Who really cares – so long as they are well designed, immersive and fun! But many people DO care, and the need for some – film critic Roger Ebert in particular – to stick his opinion where he has no knowledge has resulted in a large and broad-ranging debate. Ultimately I think most gamers would say that video games have the potential to be art, but that not all video games ARE art. At the peoak of the debate in 2009, Ebert and game designer Kelee Santiago had quite a series of exchanges. From Smithsonian Magazine:…

The Island: Castaway HD for iPad Review

Game Diary, Reviews March 16, 2012

The Island: Castaway HD for iPad Review

Statistics are very much in my mind now – not the least reason for which is due to my profession. First off we have March Madness kicking off, and I employed a non-linear regression technique to try to predict my way through the tournament rather than just guessing like I normally do. We also have the release of ‘The Hunger Ganes’ movie next week, which uses the phrase ‘may the odds ever be in your favor’. What does this have to do with The Island: Castaway? Well, before I started playing I was thinking – G5 has had a really…

Mass Effect 3 Has Import Issues and Reveals EA's Untruths About DRM

Editorials, Game Diary March 10, 2012

Mass Effect 3 Has Import Issues and Reveals EA’s Untruths About DRM

The launch this week of Mass Effect 3 is a huge event in the gaming world. It is a Bioware RPG, which already makes it a big deal. But it is the end of a trilogy that has sold millions of copies across platforms and has enchanted gamers who have fallen in love once again with the same characters we find in every Bioware games, but now with different names and in a non-Star Wars sci-fi setting. But there are a couple of clouds hovering – issues with importing your existing character, and some DRM details that cast an unfavorable…

XBox Live Game Review: Nexuiz

Game Diary, Reviews March 9, 2012

XBox Live Game Review: Nexuiz

Want more for your money? This arena-based, futuristic first-person shooter game, which was originally free, has now been remade for Xbox Live Arcade and is now available for 800 MS points.

Raptor M3 DKT Gaming Mouse Offers High Precision at a Great Price

Game Diary, Reviews March 6, 2012

Raptor M3 DKT Gaming Mouse Offers High Precision at a Great Price

When it comes to making a great gaming mouse, only one thing matters: precision. Precision and feel. OK, so I am not going to continue the ‘Spanish Inquisition’ line, but suffice to say that unlike just a few years ago there are many hurdles to making a successful gaming mouse. Let’s see how Raptor did! The Hype: The optical sensor of the M3 operates with precision accuracy at ultra-fast speeds up to 500Hz and 1600 dpi, and the dpi settings can be adjusted to 3 different levels: 400 dpi, 800 dpi, and 1600 dpi. The extra large Teflon mouse sliders…

The Bard's Tale for iPad Adds Classic Bard's Tale from 1985!

Game Diary, Reviews March 6, 2012

The Bard’s Tale for iPad Adds Classic Bard’s Tale from 1985!

I am still finishing up my dual review of The Bard’s Tale – I had been working through the PC game for a retrospective review when the iOS version launched, so I have now completed both! But the game just got a HUGE update that makes it a more compelling buy than ever – and trust me, it is already a great game! Here are the notes from the update: New Features: • Includes the original classic game The Bard’s Tale I: Tales of the Unknown! • Earn free gold through TapJoy offers! Spend gold on in-app-purchases, or buy in-game…

Virtual City Playground for Kindle Fire Delivers City Builder Goodness!

Game Diary, Reviews March 3, 2012

Virtual City Playground for Kindle Fire Delivers City Builder Goodness!

Recently I reviewed Virtual City for the Kindle Fire, finding it the first mis-step in the franchise for me – while the content was there, the performance was laggy on my Kindle Fire even compared to the normal Android version. Since I had loved the Android version of Virtual City Playground, my big concern was that Virtual City playground would suffer the same fate – so let me assure you that it does NOT. Virtual City Playground brings the full Virtual City experience, and is a pleasure to play! Let’s take a look! The Hype: Virtual City Playground allows you…

Fly with Me for iPhone/Touch

Game Diary, Reviews February 25, 2012

Fly with Me for iPhone/Touch

  We have all flung birds at enemy pigs and used our tiny wings to navigate the hills of an unknown world but how many of us actually get to fly on our iOS device? Do not ask me to explain it, but bird games seem to be fun. As I was scouring the Appstore trying to bring you the best of the bargain apps, Fly With Me jumped at me. I knew being from EA and having a bird as the main character I could not go wrong. The app is actually free as of this writing, on sale…