Star Fox 64 3D Nintendo 3DS Review
Nintendo updates their 1997 N64 game “Star Fox 64” on the Nintendo 3DS with a fun local, download play multiplayer mode complete with live stills and video from other players using the Nintendo 3DS inner camera.
Game Diary
iPad/iPhone App Review: G5 Games Navigator
One thing most of us can agree on – finding games on the iTunes App Store (or Android Market or Amazon Appstore or Microsoft Marketplace for that matter) can be a daunting task: if you know the exact name you will have no problem … but if not, you are in for quite a challenge! Hoping to help navigate at least their own corner of the App Store as well as Mac and PC games, G5 introduces the G5 Games Navigator. Let’s take a quick look! The Hype: Find quality casual games in the App Store! Stay updated on G5’s…
Mac Game Review: Tiny Token Empires
As more and more games hit the Mac App Store after finding success as iPad games, sometimes actual full-sized Mac games get lost in the shuffle. Take Tiny Token Empires, for example. It has a bright and charming style and ‘Match 3’ combat system that might make you think it is a simple game, but underneath there is a full sized game to match the full sized $25 price tag. Let’s take a look and see if it earns that paycheck! The Hype: Tiny Token Empires is an amazing mix-it’s a puzzle game, « Match 3 » game and turn-based…
Android Game Review: Virtual City Playground
A couple of months ago G5 released the iPad version of Virtual City Playground, and I noted it was like ‘Sandbox mode set free’ and really enjoyed playing. Now it has arrived on Android and iPhone. Read on to find out what I thought! The Hype: Your favorite Virtual City gameplay is now FREE in Virtual City Playground! Make even your most ambitious dreams a reality! Build the city of your dreams… and then run it. • Play sandbox mode for FREE! No predefined missions • Over 85 new optional quests • Over 90 new buildings, landmarks, and decorations, including…
Deus Ex: Human Revolution PlayStation 3 Review
The Deus Ex game series continues with engaging themes involving modified, or “augmented” humans in a futuristic world, set in 2027, amid various international settings, amazing musical score, and “choose-your-own-adventure”-type decision making format.
Gear Games Guest Viewpoint: Jeff Vogel on Why “You Can’t Have Every Game for a Dollar”
Today we have a special treat: Jeff Vogel is providing a guest editorial on game pricing. Vogel is the founder, CEO, and primary developer of Spiderweb Software – a company that was making ‘old school’ RPGs before it was hip to do so, and from the very start using the ‘shareware’ model of a generous demo with paid unlocking that we see so often now under the guise of ‘in-app purchases’. Many of the games Mac & PC RPG fans love now – such as “Eschalon Book 1 & 2” from Basilisk Games, “Depths of Peril” and “Din’s Curse” from…
Gotham City Imposters Preview Video
Check out the preview for this upcoming first person shooter Batman game adds wild mayhem, character customization, multiplayer options and action amid the classic hero showdown with The Joker.
Android Game Review: Special Enquity Detail – The Hand That Feeds
Mix together a crime-drama mystery, puzzles, hidden objects, and tons of twists and turns and intrigue … and you have the makings of one of the most compelling casual games made this year. The name of that game is “Special Enquiry Detail: The Hand that Feeds” from G5 Entertainment, and I reviewed the iPad release earlier this year. Now it is available for Android! Let’s take a look and see how the port stands up to the original release! The Hype: Try your hand at investigating a crime, crack the case and catch the criminal in this perplexing hidden-object game!…
Game System Retro-Review: iPod Touch, the MP3 Player That Killed Nintendo and Sony’s Gaming Systems
Last September Apple unveiled the iPod Touch 4th Gen, with super-slim design, dual cameras, and great performance. The Retina screen and top-notch graphics clearly marked the iPod Touch as the ‘gaming system to beat’ – and games like Infinity Blade still defy the competition a year later! With Apple about to unveil their latest ‘next big thing’, I wanted to step back and take a look at the iPod Touch, the oversized MP3 player that has changed the gaming industry at a fundamental level. The Nintendo 3DS came out earlier this year, and Michael Siebenaler did a great review here….
Android Fragmentation: Some Perspective from the Developers of ‘Magic Defenders’
The other day I wrote about my frustration about the state of fragmentation in the Android ecosystem, citing my inability to buy the game Magic Defenders for my Acer Iconia A100 7″ Honeycomb-based tablet. I have been fortunate in the two of the developers from Clueless Ideas, the company making the game, have reached out to me – and one even commented on my post! His reply was thoughtful and insightful – and I thought it warranted being highlighted. When I saw in my email that someone from the developing company was commenting, my initial concern was that they didn’t…
Gaming Headset Review: Sharkoon X-Tatic SR Surround Sound Headphones
It is hard to believe, but not everyone wants to listen as you pump sound from video games through your home theater system. That is why there are gaming headsets to begin with – they provide a microphone, but can also provide very sensitive audio … or blast your face off with mega-sound! I use basic Apple or Sony earbuds most of the time, which are adequate but don’t begin to emulate the home theater experience – which is why there are ‘portable sound-systems like the Sharkoon X-Tatic SR. Let’s take a look! The Hype: Sharkoon headsets are sophisticated in…
Android Fragmentation: Alive and Devastating Android Gaming Efforts
I love Tower Defense games such as Plants vs. Zombies and Fieldrunners, so when I saw a link on Google+ for a great new tablet / Honeycomb based TD game I got excited! When I heard it was a magic-based variant on the genre, I was intrigued and based on a couple of comments I was pretty well sold! Here is the description of Magic Defenders HD: Ready for magic circles, spells and an endless army of orcs? Be the hero and defend your village from the evil orcs in three different invasion episodes. You will fight in the forest,…
iPad Game Review: Fix It Up: Kate’s Adventure
The latest time-management casual game from G5 Entertainment is called Fix It Up: Kate’s Adventure. Centering around young Kate, who has just returned from college and needs to help bring her father’s auto-repair shop back up to standards after several employees have left, Kate’s Adventure continues as she moves on and seeks her own fortunes by expanding and branching out. How does it play? Let’s take a look! The Hype: Get ready for a time management adventure that will keep you on your toes! Kate comes home from college to find her dad’s auto repair shop grappling with financial difficulties….
Video Games and Marriage: Game Related Divorce Rampant in Real and Virtual Worlds!
I have no intent to make light of divorce or marriage or anything else related to human relationships – they are tough enough as it is. But recently there have been a couple of reports related to video games and divorce that I found interesting. So let’s dive right in! While just about any hobby involving a significant singular time commitment can cause strain in a marriage – my father and a couple of his friends called themselves ‘quilting widows’, and there are people I work with who go on fishing/hunting/camping weekends, and on and on – it seems that…
iPad Game Review: Stand O’Food 3
G5 Games is one of the big publishers of so-called casual games, and my favorite publisher of those games for iOS devices. They have found a sweet spot of hidden object, puzzle and time-management games that play well and present an excellent value on those platforms. Some of these games – such as Treasure Seekers and Supermarket Mania – have spawned full franchises that carry from one game to the next and bring the audience right with them! Now the next entry in another time-management favorite has arrived – Stand O’Food 3! Let’s take a look. The Hype: The most…
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron PlayStation 3 Game Review
This Biblical inspired one player adventure game follows the adventures of Enoch and his God-given quest to return seven fallen angels to heaven.
Android Game Review: Virtual City HD
Late last year I reviewed the iPhone and iPad versions of Virtual City, noting the huge addition of the sandbox mode in the iPad version and the huge playability increase in the larger screen version. Since then there have been updates made to the game, and now it has arrived on Android. Read on to find out what I thought! The Hype: Build the city of your dreams – a residential paradise or an industrial center. Build dwelling houses and industrial buildings. Produce goods and deliver them to the shopping malls. Setup mass-transit system to take your citizens to places…
PC/XBOX360 Game Review: Portal 2
Back in 2007 Valve release The Orange Box, which collected up the 2004 PC game Half-Life 2 along with the ‘Episode’ expansions for release on the XBOX360 (and later PS3), and added two new games: Team Fortress 2 and Portal. Team Fortress 2 was the big news of the collection … but the little two hour physics FPP (first person puzzler) called Portal was the break-out star. I thoroughly enjoyed it and reviewed the Orange Box back in 2007 and showed my kids, but it was only this past year that my younger son got interested in the game again….
L.A. Noire PlayStation 3 Game Review
Authentic chronicles, engaging investigations, and expertly captured characterizations combine into an impressive array in Rockstar’s L.A. Noire crime-themed action game.
Drop7 Free by Zynga for iPhone/Touch/iPad
I recently noticed my wife enthralled with an iPhone game. That is kind of strange in itself. I didn’t ask what it was for a few evenings, but could tell it was some sort of puzzle game. When I finally inquired about what she was doing, she told me I had to download Drop7 Free. That was either a big mistake or a good thing depending on how you look at it. Now we both cannot put the game down. In fact, while trying to finish this paragraph, I have played the game twice! Let’s take a look at how…
Gear Games Review: Everything You Need to Know About Madden 12 for iPhone/iPad in a Single Image
Late last night I spotted Madden 12 HD in the iTunes App Store, and like the impulsive fool I am … I bought it. I had planned to run through a full and thorough review of the game, but instead spent a few hours trying to be sure that I wasn’t actually still playing Madden 11! This afternoon I came across the review at TouchArcade … and it really sums things up perfectly. All they did was take their review from last year and make a few cross-outs and changes: ‘m kind of at a loss as to what to…