Pang Adventures (PS4)

It's been a long while since I've encountered a game so inviting, and so addictive as DotEmu's, and PastaGames' "Pang Adventures" is. I think what attracted me to it the most, and made me seek it out for review was the fact that it reminded me of a certain retro game I played back in the day. A game that I absolutely loved. At first I couldn't think of the game I was trying to reference, but through some Googling I found out why the gameplay seemed so familiar, and which game it was that featured similar mechanics to the ones in "Pang Adventures". That retro game being "Buster Brothers (Pang in Japan)". If you've never played a "Buster Brothers" game before the objective is simple, but challenging. Through single player, or multiplayer co-op your goal is to basically bust bubbles as a wacky character while dodging said bubbles as they move about the screen. At your disposal is a harpoon gun which pops the bubbles, and clears them out, systematically. Similar to this formula, but not quite the same is the experience that 'Pang Adventures' brings to the gamer. The developers at PastaGames have ultimately expanded upon what games like 'Buster Brothers' offered in the past, and have made the arcade style action even more fun loving, and challenging than it was before. With new graphics, a catchy soundtrack, and some interesting modes of play 'Pang Adventures' aims to capture it's audience's attention, indefinitely.

The Destiny Update

Yesterday, after a significant wait for the latest update to launch it finally dropped, and I downloaded it with great expectation. I delved back once again into the immersive universe that makes up the Destiny lore hoping for the best. As one of Destiny's paying founders I was anxious to see if Bungie had redeemed themselves with this hyped mini-expansion. The teaser trailers, and studio commentary boasted like it was one of the biggest things to hit Destiny since it's release. The videos showed some fairly impressive new features, some of which have been long awaited by dedicated gamers like myself. I won't lie in saying that I was a little excited to see if these add-ons made sticking around for the long haul worthwhile. At this point Destiny was in desperate need of a revival. Both for the gamers who were invested in it, and for the developers who are pushing it.

Stranger of Sword City (PS VITA)

NISA, and their co-developer/publisher 'Experience Inc.' have a surprise up their sleeves for all those dRPG (Dungeon Crawler Role-playing Games) lovers out there. One that may, or may not attract all audiences ...

This latest dungeon crawler which is titled, "Stranger of Sword City" takes the gamer on a journey of discovery the likes of which have never really been ventured into in such a game genre before. That journey of which I speak begins intently with a modern era plane crash into a mythical city known as Escario, and follows up almost immediately with a subsequent assignment of heroic duty to the lone survivor. That survivor being a character of your own creation. As you awake amidst the wreckage of the missing north Asia airliner you were aboard you are greeted by a couple of mysterious individuals in a foreign landscape. One character, which is a hooded old man seems to want to guide you to safety, but ends up luring you into a trap filled with monsters instead. Thankfully Riu (a sword wielding school girl) shows up, and explains things to you while getting you situated in your newly discovered environment. The whole "you are the chosen one" cliche plays out in full with you ultimately being appointed a position in Sword City's(Escario's) Stranger's Guild as one of it's lead members. Your main objective there being that of monster slaying, and the collection of blood crystals for you and your party's betterment. It seems "Strangers", which you are referred to as being, are the only ones who can fight the lineage monstrosities that are plaguing Escario and it's people. Thus you pretty much get thrust into the job whether you wanted to or not.

Once you are back at the Stranger's Guild you are given proper introductions to the main role players of the realm, and to the vendors of the guild. Through the current leaders you are also given an entry level test before being accepted and sent out on errands to kill the baddies (lineage monsters), and collect the blood crystals from which they respawn. From start to finish, regardless of difficulty, your dungeon crawling skills will be tested to the max in a fashion that seems to be more brutal than that of a 'Dark Souls', or 'Demon Souls' game. Even your entry point test will kill your assigned party off with ease if you are not careful in your approach. Thus character customization, and party management are the main focus of this fantastical journey into this land that is unlike your own.

Green Game: TimeSwapper (PS VITA)

iFun4All's color coded game series about a non-particular mechanical bird protagonist returns once again in the form of "Green Game: TimeSwapper". As the title of this latest interactive, and touchscreen reliant Metroidvania style indie suggests it is all about time tampering, and not so much manipulating the world around you in a direct manner. Along with the introduction of time manipulation (the moving of time forwards & backwards via a green ray of light) comes a corresponding environmental color change (to that of green), and a plethora of new hazards and gadgets that are in place to guide the now more skeletal bird from glass cage to glass cage. There are 50 levels in total which are each made accessible via the game's gear menu interface. An interface that is moved through by applying a vertical swipe of your finger upon the PS Vita's touchscreen. The game itself begins, and picks up where "Red Game Without A Great Name" left off by briefly showing the former red environment before hinting at an upcoming "Blue Game", and ultimately taking the bird downward into an underground laboratory where a mad scientist tinkers with it's innards while leaving it in a mechanical skeleton state. All before sending it on it's way for some unknown diabolical reason.

Let's Talk - BETAs & ALPHAs

In the past several BETAs I've participated in I've noticed a disturbing trend. That trend being the dissection of the games at the hands of modders, and hackers. It seems that these lowlife scum are constantly testing the waters looking for exploits, and are finding them through their misplaced efforts. With early access to a game via a BETA or ALPHA they can easily break it down, and manipulate it long before the game launches. The EULA, or "End User License Agreement" that is in place to stop this does f**k all to deter these delinquents though, because they are hiding behind several layers of anonymity which includes everything from faked IP addresses to multiple modded accounts. Do you seriously think a EULA, and it's legal technicalities are going to stop someone who can hide from the law. Nope. Therein lies the problem. How does a developer, or a publisher deal with such a threat?