12 Days of 3DS-mas Day 6: Game Review: Bit Boy!! Arcade

Game: Bit Boy!! Arcade
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Bplus
Release Date: 17th April 2014

Bit Boy!! Arcade is a rather strange eShop game on the 3DS; firstly there's not any instructions for players to work out what they're supposed to be doing in the game. The level hub is presented as an open world which can be explored, with explanations of animation and game programming alongside the level selections. Each level has 20 phases, 10 regular and 10 action; regular phases see players rescuing Bit Boy's friends by moving around and collecting them, whereas action levels have a little more puzzling involved.

Gameplay is pretty bland with a Pac-man style to collecting Bit Boy's friends, whilst avoiding Shadowmen. During levels, and inbetween levels Bit Boy will talk with the giant floating head of the game's guide, in truly bizzare conversations. Whenever the guide attempts to explain a feature, Bit Boy says he knows what he's doing in a comically deep voice. This all happens whilst players are attempting the level, and is a major distraction from playing the game.

The graphical style of the game is bland with no real though behind the use of colours and uninteresting character and enemy sprites. The animation is pretty smooth, but it's not enough to make the visuals enjoyable. Musically the game also lacks any real sense of interest, with the conversations mentioned before often drowning out the game's music anyway. The game seems to be generally poorly put together, either in a rush or without play-testing.

Overall Bit Boy!! Arcade doesn't reward progression through the game at all; there's nothing fun to unlock or see, save for the knowledge you've done all the levels, the environments aren't worth exploring, the gameplay is similar to, but less exciting than Pac-man, and the overall difficulty level is far too easy. Maybe this game would appeal to very young children, but so does Mario, and he's much more fun!

Rating: 44/100
Grade: E

12 Days of 3DS-mas Day 5: Game Review: AiRace Xeno

Game: AiRace Xeno
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Qubic Games
Release Date: 12th June 2014

AiRace Xeno is a "racing" game consisting mainly of time trials with a few additional bonus levels. Players fly high-speed airships through 2-4 laps of circuits, aiming for a fast time in order to win medals and unlock new tracks. In bonus levels players must guide their ship through rings within a certain time. There are no computer controlled opponents, and the ship's top speed is such that it's near impossible to control well whilst boosting, yet most time trial goals require players to be almost constantly doing so.

The handling is a little floaty for my liking, but understandable due to the nature of the airships. Without constant braking the ship flies a little too fast to reliably control and will often end up crashing into purposely placed track obstacles. The tracks are designed to resemble parts of an industrial looking space colony, and alien parts as far as I can tell, which is an interesting theme that could have been even further expanded upon.

Graphically the game can be a little bland, both in terms of colour and overall theme. Flying quickly through the environments is perhaps not the best way to experience them. Musically, racing is accompanied by an electronic soundtrack which doesn't do a lot to enhance the game experience, and only provides rare moments of joy for players. The 3D effect of the console helps a little to spice up the game, but it's not enough to bring the environments to life.

Overall AiRace Xeno could have been improved with AI opponents, a better progression through its main mode, more exciting environments and a little less focus on speed over controllability. That said, it's not an expensive game and there is some fun to be had with the time trials and tracks included. Fans of the Wipeout and F Zero series might get a kick out of the game, with its genre similarity.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

12 Days of 3DS-mas Day 4: Game Review: Proun+

Game: Proun+
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Engine Software
Release Date: 5th March 2015

Proun+ is a racing game (of sorts) where players guide a small ball along a track populated with obstacles. A full 360 degrees of rotation around the cylindrical track is possible, and so the game is all about dodging obstacles, and planning a route through. There are several level sets, designed for different speeds, each increase in speed making things a little harder than before. Levels are unlocked as players earn stars by beating goals which are specific to each type of level.

Race levels challenge players to beat other balls to the finish line over a number of laps, Points levels challenge players to string together combos of point scoring as well as avoiding obstacles and Endless levels challenge players to go as long as they can without hitting any obstacles. Although these are the only types of races, the three categories are alternated in such a way that it hardly ever feels limiting.

Graphically the game has it's own style which works well with the overall concept and makes the game an interesting and memorable experience. With the console's 3D capabilities also, there's a lot to enjoy from the overall sense of speed whilst completing courses. Musically there's some enjoyable tracks which play behind levels, and the ambience is generally fitting.

Overall Proun+ is an interesting and exciting game which offers a fairly unique experience to players, with a good amount of content and visually pleasing presentation. It's the kind of game which the eShop was designed for; just a little small in scope for a full release, but put together well enough that it's worth something.

Rating: 77/100
Grade: B

12 Days of 3DS-mas Day 3: Game Review: Dead or Alive: Dimensions

Game: Dead Or Alive: Dimensions
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Tecmo Koei
Release Date: 20th May 2011

Dead Or Alive: Dimensions is a compilation game of sorts, offering the stories of many other Dead or Alive instalments told through cutscenes and fights, more fighters than in any other game, and a variety of different game modes. For me there are many issues with the game that prevent it from being as good as it could be. Firstly, an issue with the series; besides being able to launch enemies down inventive drops and cause additional damage to them, Dead Or Alive's moveset and system feels underwhelming and unexciting to me.

In the main mode, character stories are told via lengthy cutscenes, resulting in each chapter lasting at least 20 minutes or more, with just 8-10 fights, that could be completed in under 5 minutes without the cutscenes. Unless you're super interested in the backstory of Dead Or Alive fighters, there's very little to enjoy about the poor voice acting, dramatisation and scripting, coupled with character mouths with don't move, and confusion as to what's even going on.

Arcade mode offers some enjoyment, but unlike a regular arcade mode, there are 6 courses of varying difficulty (all of them too easy) where the same few fighters are pitted against each other. There's a good variety of unlockables and a few other game modes, but compared to many other standard fighting games, Dead Or Alive: Dimensions finds itself lacking. I couldn't find anywhere to change the difficulty of the game overall either, which was frustrating as I didn't lose a single fight in my review playthrough.

Graphically the game looks pretty good for a handheld release, but there are small issues like mouths not moving when characters are talking, and odd movements in cutscenes. For all the characters the game features, none seemed particularly original or memorable, even from previous instalments which I've played. The music behind fights and cutscenes is generic and almost difficult to even comment on, but it's the awful voice acting that lets the game down even further.

Overall Dead Or Alive: Dimensions is a bit of a mess as a fighting game; it's two main modes both have big issues which let the down in terms of player enjoyment. There are many other ways in which the game could have gone about presenting character stories from previous games in a much better way, and including a standard arcade mode should surely have been a priority.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D

12 Days of 3DS-mas Day 2: Game Review: Box Boy!

Game: Box Boy!
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: HAL Laborotory
Release Date: 14th January 2015

BoxBoy! is a puzzle platformer released to the 3DS eShop, which sees players taking control of the titular character who can project boxes out from himself in order to overcome a series of platforming challenges. Initially these boxes are used to bridge gaps, but they can also act as hooks to reach high ledges, shields to deflect lasers and weights to hold down switches. Although the game remains fairly easy all the way through, there's some inventive thinking needed to collect all of the bonus crowns hidden in the game.

Although there's not a huge plot, that's to be expected from an indie looking platformer, even if it's developed by a larger company. The difficulty and level progression is good, and it's an excellent game to play on the go, rather than all at once. The controls are tight and easy to get used to, with simple button presses used to control Box Boy.

Graphically the game is pretty basic; 2D, in black and white, with squares making up most of the play areas. Although this is the style of the game, it's also pretty lazy in terms of what could have been done on the 3DS. There's no way to theme worlds with such a basic theme and colour palette, and with minimalist music behind it all, things can get a little boring in terms of presentation.

Overall BoxBoy! is a cheap, but tight and interesting eShop title. There are enough levels to enjoy it for a while, but it's not the sort of game you can sit down and play for hours, owing to its presentation and general easy puzzle solving. Considering HAL Laboratories have made some very good games in the past, this is somewhat of an unremarkable effort.

Rating: 68/100
Grade: C

12 Days of 3DS-mas Day 1: Game Review: Rhythm Heaven Megamix

Game: Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 21st October 2016

Rhythm Heaven Megamix, the latest instalment in one of my favourite series of video games brings many new features to the table whilst bringing back classic minigames from its 3 previous instalments in addition to 14 completely new ones. The most obvious new addition is that of a story; other games in the series have featured a grid with a choice of minigames which unlock as the player progresses, but in Megamix, it's all about helping Tibby make his way back to Heaven World through restoring "flow" back to many different locations.

Story mode is surprisingly long with a good 7-8 hour completion time when playing normally. Alongside the story, challenge mode provides some good post-game content, with unlockables and achievements also helping to keep players interested. Unlike previous series instalments, the overall difficulty ranges from very easy to super tough where previously it had been more like easy to a little bit tough. This creates a better learning curve and allows players a deeper and longer investment in the game as a whole.

Smaller changes include a timing meter on the bottom screen of the 3DS, indicating how late or early players have pressed the buttons, more lenient scoring, and trials in the story mode levels constructed from old rhythm bonus games. The variety and quality of minigames available in this compilation is great and a big part of its appeal. For long-time fans of the series, and newcomers alike, there's a lot to enjoy and this instalment feels like the most complete and well rounded game in the series.

Graphically the game sticks to the cartoon style of previous entries, and the music is the main focus of the games so it's always top quality and enjoyable. Perhaps the only negative quality to the game is the fact that it provides enough enjoyment to new players that they won't check out previous games which are just as great.

Rating: 92/100
Grade: A

PC Action Puzzle Double Header: Duet and Rflex

Game: Duet
Console: PC
Developer: Kumobius
Release Date: 10th October 2013

Both of the games featured in today's review are action puzzle games with an arcade touch both in their gameplay and their overall difficulty. Duet tasks players with navigating two balls through an ever more complex set of falling blocks. The balls can only rotate on a circular path, clockwise and anticlockwise, so careful planning is required in order to make it through without any mistakes. If either ball touches a block, then the levels resets to the beginning instantly, to be tried again. In the top left corner there's the number of moves remaining in order to complete the level perfectly.

Each level is named after a stage of grieving, and there's a loose story which is narrated as players continue through the levels. Alongside story mode there's an impressive selection of additional modes with an epilogue, daily challenge, endless mode and more. This is important in a game where the difficulty can be overwhelming at times and a break from certain levels is needed. There's always the sense that the level is beatable with a good enough performance from the player, but some of the later levels are devious in how many blocks are thrown at players to dodge.

Graphically the game is similar to many indie games in its simplicity; the two colours against a black and white backdrop give clarity to player actions and leave no excuse for mistakes. The narration in the story modes is presented as text before levels, which could perhaps have been a little more creative. The music fits each set of levels well and provides a welcome bit of entertainment when repeatedly attempting difficult challenges.

Overall Duet is the type of challenging game which allows its players to relax into a trance like state and follow what's onscreen, dodging almost automatically after a while. It can be a frustrating or relaxing experience depending on different factors when playing, but I definitely enjoyed my time with the game, even if some of the later levels took a disproportionate amount of my time playing to complete.

Rating: 76/100
Grade: B

Game: Rflex
Console: PC
Developer: Wesley Le Ferriere
Release Date: 26th August 2015

Rflex is a fast paced block dodging game in which players control a pentagon which is inside a 3x3 grid of 9 dots. The arrow keys or WASD are used to direct the pentagon around the grid and avoid any incoming blocks which appear in patterns and pass through the grid. The player's score is recorded as the amount of time they spent without being hit by a block. The first level's goal is to last 60 seconds without being hit. This is harder than it sounds, as a fair amount of concentration is required to keep track of where the blocks are coming from.

The game features different levels of difficulty which range in speed and block patterns and generally become more and more impossible as they progress. I'm sure with enough practice any mode is completable, but unlike Duet, some of the harder levels in Rflex feel almost impossible without mind reading powers. This said with it's fast paced action and near-instant resets, there's always another try just around the corner, and it's easy to rack up hundreds of go's at the game without thinking too much about it, as the chase for the high score becomes addictive.

Graphically the game is very basic, bringing early arcade games to mind, especially with its imitation CRT screen bend. The grid moves around a little during gameplay which can be disconcerting when concentrating, but it adds a little more challenge. The soundtrack is very energetic and suits gameplay until players are able to relax into that almost trance like state of dodging blocks as they come, where a more relaxed set of tunes might be nice.

Overall Rflex is the type of action arcade game that gets played for 10 minutes at a time every now and then, in the hopes that you've somehow got better at it without practising. I can't see myself sitting down for hours in front of this due to its lack of depth and variety, but it's a fun little distraction nonetheless.

Rating: 67/100
Grade: C

Game Review: Beyond: Two Souls

Game: Beyond: Two Souls
Console: Sony Playstation 3
Developer: Quantic Dream
Release Date: 8th October 2013

Beyond: Two Souls is one of the strangest games I've ever played, for many reasons. I knew what to expect from David Cage and Quantic Dream games; a cinematic element, QTE's and some outlandish plot elements and twists towards the end of the game. That said, I was still surprised by just how little gameplay and choice there actually was, and how little emotional investment I ended up with in Jodie, the game's main character, and in events as a whole. The game's timeline plays out like a Tarantino film, jumping all over the place, yet with little reason to do so.

The game begins with Jodie being pursued and wrecking a small town police station, as SWAT teams converge to surround her. With the help of Aiden, her friend on a spiritual plane who never leaves her side, she manages to escape, and we begin at the start of her life, growing up with what appear to be strange powers (which are actually just Aiden's actions). Players can control both Jodie and Aiden at various times in the game, and often the action cannot progress unless something is done on the spiritual plane by Aiden, in order to solve a problem.

Much of the time, the range of actions given to players is small and affects the overall plot marginally. An example of this is when Jodie decides to sneak out for the night and finds herself in a rough bar on the edge of town. Depending on what players do, she can either stay or leave, with the former resulting in a rather unpleasant experience for her, compared to simply leaving the bar after feeling uneasy. That said, the following chapters are unaffected by the choice made, and this is the case for several other seemingly big decisions made by players. Dialogue choices also seem to follow this rule; though there usually seems to be a wide choice of things to say, the responses will often be very similar, regardless of player choice.

The story itself is rooted in science fiction, with large gaps in time which aren't explained by the parts of the story which we do see. While it's safe to say that Jodie endures several important events during the course of the game, it's not entirely clear that her character is shaped by what happens to her, and the sparseness of actually storytelling is hidden by the constant time skipping. There are some important emotional moments within the game, but confusion and apathy meant that I felt next to nothing for Jodie by the time those moments arrived.

Graphically the game is impressive, with some of the best facial detailing on the Playstation 3, some well created environments and special effects, and movie-like dialogue sequences. If there's one thing the game succeeds at, it's looking almost as good as a movie; the characters are visually realistic and although the locations tend to be less detailed than they might be in real life, it's a good effort. Soundwise the voice acting is also of very high quality, with clips for all situations sounding natural and well voiced.

Overall it's easy to see what Beyond: Two Souls was trying to do, following Heavy Rain as Quantic Dream's next production. An over-reliance on help from Aiden, decisions which affect nothing, and a sub-par plot prevent the game from reaching it's full potential. There seems to be only one true ending, despite the choice of 5. Having sat through them all, it was clear to see that 4 of them had been thrown in as a failed attempt at branching paths in the game. I enjoyed a few parts of the experience, but much of the game was boring, predictable or destined to happen eventually, whatever choices I made.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C

Game Review: Gran Turismo 5

Game: Gran Turismo 5
Console: Sony Playstation 3
Developer: Polyphony Digital
Release Date: 24th November 2010

New games in the Gran Turismo series often fail to noticeably improve on their predecessors, having nailed the simulation handling model and provided a more than adequate selection of cars since at least GT4. While there were numerous small changes to Gran Turismo 5, they're tough to spot when first booting up the game, and make little impact on the overall gameplay. There's standard and premium cars, meaning that they've only improved a handful of cars from their previous models. Premium cars show damage far better than their standard counterparts, but it's nothing impressive for the times.

There's changeable weather on a handful of tracks, and the Top Gear test track is included though as an actual track it's fairly freeform in terms of navigation unless you're an avid fan of the show. Karts are included in the game for the first time also, along with licenses for Ferrari and Bugatti vehicles. DLC and the purchase of in game credits is perhaps the biggest change, making it now almost impossible to own all of the cars featured in the game without a tremendous dent in your bank account balance, or thousands of hours grinding credits as they've been rebalanced to favour the purchase of credits from the Playstation Store. For players still enjoying the game, there's no way to access any of the online challenges or races which featured in the game either.

Career Mode has been rearranged a little, now featuring levelling up for both the A-spec and B-spec modes, and 5 classes of racing, with 9 series per class for a total of 45 racing cups, in addition to the offline driving challenges which appear. This is significantly less than was featured in Gran Turismo 4, though the online races may well have made things more even whilst they were available. Cars bought or won in Career Mode are no longer unlocked for Arcade Mode automatically, and instead must be saved to Favourites to be accessed in that mode. This means that there's no neat way to sort and access the cars in Arcade Mode, and anyone who wants to enjoy the full range of cars available in Gran Turismo 5 (as I do) won't be able to.

The separation of A-spec and B-spec modes seems needless also; in Gran Turismo 4 players could compete in A-spec mode (where they drove the race themselves) or B-spec mode (where an AI driver drove the race, and levelled up according to experience) and a win in either mode would clear the race. In Gran Turismo 5, all races would have to be completed twice to clear Career Mode, which is not only repetitive, but the option to increase the race speed when the AI driver is racing has been taken away also, meaning longer periods of sitting and watching someone else race.

This isn't the end of the issues with the changes to B-spec mode; there are less options for giving instruction to your AI driver with just 4 commands; Increase Pace, Maintain Pace, Decrease Pace, and Overtake. I can't think of a time when you'd want to decrease the overall pace, and none of the commands seems to have much impact on the AI driver anyway, save for overtake, which he just won't do otherwise. This means that there's little to no enjoyment in B-spec mode, and you might as well just hand the controller to a friend and watch them play A-spec mode as it'd definitely be more exciting.

Graphically the game is good; there's not a huge improvement on Gran Turismo 4 on the face of things, but the premium cars look nice both inside and out, and there are lots of small improvements which aren't immediately obvious. Car sounds are generally good and add to the overall excitement of racing, and the music provided for background entertainment is enjoyable at times, though perhaps not as catchy as the tunes provided in previous instalments.

Overall the racing action in Gran Turismo 5 is as good as ever; there's more licensed series to enjoy, more cars and some new tracks, but it doesn't feel like as big of an improvement as it could have been. For those wanting something past the Career Mode endgame, there's not a lot to offer, and the track editor is particularly bare bones, with only sliders to edit your custom tracks. It's worth a play, but the microtransaction based economy will likely halt progress before all of the race series can be beaten.

Rating: 63/100
Grade: C

PC Puzzle Double Header: Mini Metro and Hexcells

Game: Mini Metro
Console: PC
Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club
Release Date: 6th November 2015

The London Underground map is a wonderful piece of design which simplifies and easily conveys the information needed by passengers. Mini Metro's art style is heavily influenced by this design and almost instantly playable thanks to a near universal understanding of the tube map concept. In mini metro, stations of different shapes appear on the map, to be connected by player designed train lines. Passengers appear at stations, represented by the shape of station they wish to travel to, and are taken to the most efficient station of that type.

In normal mode, the game ends when too many passengers are waiting at a station for too long and it becomes overcrowded. In endless mode, the goal is efficiency and players strive to find the best way to connect the stations which appear. In extreme mode, the game ends when overcrowding occurs at a station, but any tracks placed are permanent, meaning that careful planning in needed in case new stations appear in difficult locations.

There are several cities to choose from within the game's main mode, each with their own set of problems such as overcrowding, rivers or islands, making it harder to connect the stations in an efficient way. After a week has passed in-game, players are awarded upgrades such as more trains, carriages, tunnels, and lines with which to build. There's a maximum number of lines which can be used, but it's possible to wipe the slate clean and redesign the train system in all but extreme mode.

Oddly shaped stations provide somewhat of a challenge, as while circles and triangles appear fairly often, pentagons and stars will be unique stations on the map, requiring connection to as many lines as possible to avoid complex journeys from outer stations. There are stats and video progressions available in the game, which can be interesting to follow, and contribute to the element of strategy within the game as players attempt to constantly improve on their previous efforts.

Graphically the game is very pleasing, taking big cues from the London Underground map and eloquently modifying the necessary features to make an easy to understand game. The soundtrack is gentle and fits well with the gameplay to convey a buzzing transport network viewed from an overhead perspective.

Overall Mini Metro is the type of puzzle game which may only appeal to a particular set of gamers given its lack of action and story, but as a transport based puzzle game, it gives a surprising amount of options and playability which I find myself coming back to again and again. It's not the type of game that I'll play for hours on end or every day of the week, but for an hour here and there, it's a wonderfully relaxing and visually pleasing experience.

Rating: 84/100
Grade: B

Game: Hexcells
Console: PC
Developer: Matthew Brown
Release Date: 19th February 2014

Hexcells is a puzzle game which shares similarities with the Microsoft classic Minesweeper. As a fan of Minesweeper it was fairly interesting to see the concept work with cells sharing 6 borders rather than 8 and a clean, minimalist design. As players progress through the game's 6 "worlds" new elements are added to keep the puzzling fresh, adding elements of sudoku and mathematics. Players are given gems for completing a level, the number of which is based on how many mistakes were made. A certain number of gems is needed to unlock each world, though nothing really changes from world to world, save for the slight complexity twists.

Hexcells is a very short game, with just 36 puzzles and can easily be completed in one sitting. I found myself getting a little bored of the concept by the end of the game, and it's definitely not something that you'll want to play for hours on end. While it's a clever adaptation of Minesweeper, little has been done to up the excitement or overall replayability. The greatest thrill came from solving a puzzle in a logical way without making any mistakes, but was about as thrilling as it sounds.

Graphically Hexcells is clear and neat, using just three colours. It's a predictable look for such a puzzle game but it works well and makes things easy to see. Musically too there's a minimalist soundtrack which is linked to button presses and events within the game. My biggest frustration with the title overall was the fact that the right and left click buttons are easy to confuse once deeply focused on the game, as the right click marks unlit spots, and the left marks lit ones. This resulted in a few avoidable mistakes, but ones which were perhaps my fault and not the game's.

Overall Hexcells is a competent but short and somewhat middle-of-the road puzzle game. It's since received two sequels which expand further on the formula, but might have been better released as a complete set of 108 puzzles instead of 36 per title for 3 fairly short games. I enjoyed my time playing but will likely never touch it again now that all 6 worlds are complete.

Rating: 66/100
Grade: C