Game Diary

PSP Mini Game Review: Mystery of the Crystal Portal

As I mentioned in my iPad review, I had bought that version of Mystery of the Crystal Portal for my iPad when I was heading out on vacation. When I got a message from G5 offering a review code for the PSP Minis version, I quickly accepted but also immediately knew there might be significant enough control and graphics differences that I would need a separate review. Unfortunately … I was correct. The Hype: Embark on a brain-bending adventure that’s full of unique hidden object fun. Journalist Nicole Rankwist has always been close to her archaeologist father. So when her…


iPhone Game Review: mTanks!

I am embarrassingly tardy with this review, but the reasoning is actually good news and worth mentioning. I had been playing mTanks on my iPod Touch but then the kids got out of school, we went on vacation, and I got busy getting my iPod Touch set up for my wife to use to read ebooks on vacation. Long story short, I forgot about the game completely. Before I finish the story, let’s see what this mTanks is all about: The Hype: 4 days ago NASA’s Spirit rover discovered a growing army of tanks beneath the surface of Mars. The…


Omino for iPhone/Touch App Review

Games are advancing at a blistering rate and the iPhone has become a wonderful platform for today’s video games.  Most new games are all about reality and 3D graphics.  When I try to explain Atari or NES games to my son, he thinks it is crazy nothing was 3D and totally realistic.  The joy of playing 16 bit games while I was in Jr. High School cannot be explained.  With power-ups and level bosses, our idea of video games completely transformed into what would become modern-day gaming.  I still remember sitting up all night during the summer with my buddies…


iPad Game Review: Mystery of the Crystal Portal

I had bought Mystery of the Crystal Portal for my iPad when I was heading out on vacation. While I was quite occupied with Puzzle Quest 2 on the DS, I love the occasional ‘hidden object’ game, and have been VERY happy with stuff from G5 games (like Mahjongg Artifacts) … so I figured I’d give it a try. When I came back I got a message from G5 noting that the game was being released as a PSP Mini and offering me a review copy, which I quickly accepted! I figured that I would be able to quickly decide…


PSP Mini Game Review: Mahjongg Artifacts Chapter 2

Not long ago I reviewed the recently released Mahjongg Artifacts, which was a sequel to one of the earliest PSP Minis, Mahjongg Artifacts Chapter 2. Recently Sony announced that more than 1 million PSP Minis had been downloaded worldwide … and guess what game was #8 on the ‘top ten most popular’ list? That’s right – Mahjongg Artifacts Chapter 2! So to celebrate that achievement the kind folks at G5 have provided us a review copy of their hit game. The Hype: Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 is one of the most popular mahjong games on PC now available on PSP…


The Netbook Gamer: XIII (2003, FPS)

Wait – wasn’t XIII called out specifically in this article a couple of months ago? Yep – but through perseverance I managed to get it uninstalled and re-installed and properly running … so naturally I played it again and am here – well, quite frankly I’m here to stop you from bothering! XIII is one of those milestone games that tells a good and bad tale from my gaming life. I was very interested in this game based on what it offered – a quality FPS presented in a stylistic graphic novel presentation with a compelling story of mystery and…


Build-A-Lot for iPhone/Touch App Review

This week’s Blue Plate Special brings me a first…  The app was completely chosen by my wife.  My wife often plays the games I choose or she uses them, but rarely does she tell me about an app. So, I was playing poker the other night with all of the coaches and I texted her a few times expressing my woes of a slowly shrinking supply of chips.  The fact that she did not respond was not an issue, but about an hour later she replied, “Sorry, I saw your crying messages but I found this game that I can’t…


nVidia Optimus – Not Ready for (Gaming) Prime Time

It was supposed to be a great day … I had written first impressions about the original Alienware m11x and about how I was ordering the new one as soon as it became available. And while I was away on vacation my order shipped and arrived, so it was waiting for me upon my return. I was thrilled and couldn’t wait to get busy with it. After all, I loved so much about the original Alienware m11x (now called R1), including: – Near-netbook portability. – Better than netbook battery life (on integrated graphics) – True gaming laptop performance. – Better…


Tiki Totems Premium for iPhone/Touch App Review

Well, the summer of addicting games continues!  I found Tiki Totems Premium on sale for free today.  The premium version includes over 200 levels and guarantees any new updates will come to your phone free of charge.  The game is basically a puzzler with a cute twist.  Here is the background story for the game. The tribes of the mythical island Tikonia have for centuries worshipped the Tiki God. All was fine and dandy until one day the tribe elder looked at the gathered worshipers and asked a simple question, “My beloved, how do we know that our great God…


Do Kinect and Move Make PC Gaming Look Like a Bargain?

An interesting thought came up in some post-E3 discussions with friends: with the introduction of the new Kinect for the XBOX 360 and Move for the Playstation 3, has console gaming become more expensive than being a PC gamer? Common wisdom through the years has been that PC gaming is more expensive, that you need bleeding edge equipment and a two-year upgrade cycle, and will pay up to 10x the price of a console for a decent gaming computer. But is that still true? Over the last four years since the latest console generation arrived PC prices have plummeted, and…


World Series of Poker Hold’em Legend Free for iPhone/Touch App Review

Sunday evening I came home from playing some low stakes poker with some of my coaching buddies and still felt like playing.  I searched for a good iPad poker game but came up empty handed so I searched on the iPhone for some poker goodness.  There is a number of poker apps on the phone so I first tried a free game just to see how much I liked it.  Well, that turned out to be a great decision since I found a fantastic Texas Hold ’em game that I can play anytime. Anyone who enjoys poker has watched it…


Mahjongg Artifacts, a PSP Mini Game Review

The Hype: A prequel to Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2, the Story Mode of Mahjongg Artifacts introduces players to the start of the adventure through graphic comic scenes. As players explore five ancient cultures and master more and more complicated Mahjongg layouts, they will uncover lost relics as well as special tiles that will help them in their quest. The Classic mode of the game will allow players to choose which layouts and tile sets they want to complete, while Endless Mode constantly produces a never-ending arrangement of tiles, which will provide a limitless challenge. The Reality: As I mentioned at…


First Impressions: OnLive Gaming Service

I have written here and here and here about the OnLive gaming service, which was announced over a year ago as a way for gamers with relatively modest computer hardware to run the latest and greatest games in HD. The service was supposed to release on June 17th, but folks sporadically started gaining access on the 18th – which is when I got access to the service. I’ve had the chance to get some play time with the service and wanted to give you some first impressions. The service runs on most reasonably powered Macs or PCs without any issue….


The Netbook Gamer: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (2003, RPG)

I made a big deal in my Neverwinter Nights Netbook Gamer about how that game had reignited my love for role-playing games after nearly a decade away. But I also mention that there was a reason I picked up Neverwinter Nights in the first place – I was enjoying the recent Star Wars games and was really looking forward to the promise foretold in Knights of the Old Republic previews, but wanted to get a feel for the state of the RPG again to see if it was even worthwhile for me to give the upcoming Star Wars RPG a…


Penny Arcade Sums Up E3 In Three Panels

Image Courtesy of TechShowNetwork I didn’t lead with the comic itself as it contains some language and phraseology that might offend some … so click on in to see the comic itself – or head to Penny-Arcade to check it out! I have written at some length about the Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony presentations, but in their most recent comic Penny-Arcade sums up the whole thing much more efficiently than I have seen anywhere: Um … yeah. What they said. Source: Penny-Arcade


My Summary of Sony’s E3 Presentation: Buy Our 3D TV’s, We Make a Better Wii-Mote, People Are Too Dumb for the PSP

I am honestly beginning to believe that hubris is so tightly ingrained in the Sony Corporate culture that ‘berate the customer day’ likely stands alongside ‘casual Friday’ as a regular occurrence. OK, perhaps that is a bit harsh, but what came out of the mouths of Sony at their E3 press event were definitely NOT the words of a company in DEAD LAST in every possible category of gaming for the last several years who should be looking to ingratiate themselves with the customers who had previously made them the biggest name in console gaming. How bad is it? Nearly…


Shift for iPhone/Touch

Once again my weekly app store search has brought yet another game.  This week’s choice combines subtle, simple graphics and a cool soundtrack with platform game play and puzzle strategy into a truly addictive and unique gaming experience.  Shift utilizes simple, yet intuitive controls to guide the character through each level.  The game usually costs $.99 but has been free the past couple of days. Shift’s graphics are extremely simple, yet work amazingly well.  No fancy 3D rendering or colorful puzzles, just black and white.  Much like Spy vs. Spy, the game is entirely in black and white which is…


GearGames Retrospective: 5 PC RPG Games That Defined The Year 2009

Last month I provided an introduction to the series I am now kicking off for real: a look back at the last decade as seen through the lens of a PC Single Player RPG fan. Now after getting all of the full reviews completed for my top games for last year, it is time to begin the journey in earnest by looking at five games that shaped the genre in 2009! As a reminder of what I’m doing, as we enter a new decade I thought it was worth taking a look back at the last decade and what has…


Angry Birds for iPhone/Touch App Review

It is summer and time to have some fun.  I have recently heard rumblings of another great iPhone game.  The game was mentioned in the same sentences as Plants vs. Zombies so my ears perked up and I paid attention.  I needed to check out the game if it is near as good and addictive as what I was hearing.  First I tried the Lite version and thought about using it as the Blue Plate Special, but I was having so much fun I had to go ahead and buy the full version. I was trying to find the words…


Sony Casts ‘Rewrite History’ to Explain the PSPGo Flop

Way back in the fall of 2009 Sony introduced the PSP Go. Before releasing the system, they touted the all-digital system based on the appealing physical form, the removal of the slow & noisy UMD drive, the ease of using the PSN store, and the new PSP Mini games. With the rumored UMD-to-PSN trade-in system, the system looked appealing despite being much more expensive than the PSP-3000. But then suddenly, shortly before the system launched, Sony killed any sort of ‘UMD to PSN’ transition system, killed any pack-in games for North America, confirmed that many games wouldn’t arrive at the…


Dragon Age: Origins The Darkspawn Chronicles DLC: PC/XBOX360 Game Review

I have already detailed my feelings about the epic role-playing game Dragon Age: Origins, stating in my review that “not only do I love nearly every aspect of the game, I also love how after finishing it a couple of times I am thoroughly enjoying a new play-through as I contemplate my actions and consequences from the prior runs.” After such praise, it is a pretty easy guess that I am a lock to get any and all new content for the game. There have already been several add-ons released, from the initial Return to Ostagar DLC to the much…