Sunday, March 30, 2014

Plague Inc. Evolved Review

Calling all gamers! Today I will be reviewing Plague Inc., made by +James Vaughan, which has recently mutated onto PC. The game looks bigger and badder than ever with its spectacular graphics, 3d models of each disease type, and the gameplay that made it known by all strategy game fans. Let's take a look!

Gameplay: 10/10
Modifying the genetic code.
Evolve Symptoms to change what your disease gives people.
The gameplay for this game is amazing and very complex. It is the best strategy game I have ever played. For those of you that have never seen the game before, here's the scoop. You control a disease that you can evolve to control where it goes. To make it stronger, you evolve Transmissions, Symptoms, and Abilities using DNA points. DNA points are earned by infecting or killing people. Humanity will do everything in its power to make sure that it does not get overrun, and will start researching a cure, shutting down public buildings, and anything else it can to reduce the spread of the disease. You win the game when every human on Earth is dead. Before the game starts, you can select genes to insert into the organism's genetic code to give it certain traits, as pictured. Your disease can be transmitted to other countries by land borders, planes, or boats. The special plague types, the Neurax Worm and Necroa Virus, both have special abilities that let them manually spread the infection with Trojan Planes and Zombie Horde, respectively.


Oh, poor India.
Graphics: 9/10 
The graphics for the game are very good. They show how capable Ndemic Creations is by doing exceptionally well in both the gameplay and visuals aspects of their games. The graphics have been completely redesigned from the mobile version, and look fantastic with all of the cloud animations and better detail. 

New Features: 10/10 
I cannot express enough how excited I am for +James Vaughan to add the planned content in the near future. Currently planned content is multiplayer, where you can team up with other players online and fight the cure, or work to destroy the world in the classic gameplay. Another major feature that is coming is the laboratory, where you can make your own custom disease types, scenarios, and worlds and share them with your friends on the steam workshop. You can read more about the planned updates in the page below:


Overall: 9/10
+Plague Inc.  Evolved is a very solid strategy game that clearly shows a great game developer in its creativity, graphics, and excellent gameplay. It is a game that is truly unique in every aspect and challenging enough to keep you coming back. If you have not checked it out, go and buy it! When future content is released, I will review it on this page. Although lacking in features at the moment, I am confident that it will receive some shortly. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Mobile Version Pros: Mobile, cheaper than PC, scenarios
PC Version Pros: Better graphics, (probably) more future updates




Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Kingdom Rush: Frontiers for Apple, Android, and Amazon Review

Hey guys! I have decided to do app reviews on my blog, this being my second. Today the subject is Kingdom Rush: Frontiers, a work of art and awesomeness from +Ironhide Game Studio. The game is one of my favorite tower defense games ever, along with Bloons Tower Defense 5, one that I will be reviewing soon. So first, let's discuss the first subject that makes this game great.

Gameplay: The game is, I think, very unique in terms of enemies, bosses, tower upgrades, and hero abilities. If you have played other tower defense games before, you should definitely try out this one, as the base mechanics are largely the same. The main difference is there are set plots of land on each level that you have to build towers on for defense. Almost everything about the game is balanced well, like the mage does lots of damage against armored enemies, the bomb tower does powerful area damage with its bombs, and the archer is effective against aerial foes. On some levels, there are enemies that cut a new path through the ground to form another attack route. The enemies are quite various, like a shaman that can protect its tribal allies from magic, a massive bird that shoots arrows rapidly, or even a giant gorilla! There are also environmental hazards, like the carnivorous plants in the picture below, which eat whatever gets near them, be it friend or foe.

Graphics: The graphics are truly unique, since they are in cartoon style. The game also has words that appear on screen when a certain weapon is used, like "sok!" when a soldier hits an enemy with a sword, as you can see in the picture, for example. This makes the game a joy to play as it is cool to see all the creativity that Ironhide Game Studio put into it.

Upgrades: I personally like the upgrade system a lot. When you finish a level, depending on the number of lives that you have left, you receive 1, 2, or 3 stars. You can then use those stars for upgrades for all of your towers, your reinforcements, or the meteor power. The final upgrade for each tower is super cool, like the archer, where it gets a chance to shoot two arrows at the same time! In-game, the final 4th upgrades are really powerful, like the fully upgraded mage, which can create up to 3 magical bolts at once when not in combat, and launch them all at one enemy when they get within range, not to mention a roughly 30% increase in base attack power from its previous upgrade.

Price: Kingdom Rush: Frontiers is super cheap, going for $0.99 on all Android phones and tablets. On the iPod touch, iPhone, and Kindle Fire I think it costs $2.99, and for iPad it is $4.99. This is not a huge price to pay, so if you haven't already checked this game out, give it a try!

Be sure to stay tuned for my review of the legendary Bloons Tower Defense 5 in a couple of days!

And the links to download:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ironhidegames.android.kingdomrushfrontiers

for the iPhone and iPod touch:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kingdom-rush-frontiers/id598581396?mt=8

The iPad:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kingdom-rush-frontiers-hd/id598581619?mt=8

Kindle Fire:

http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Frontiers-Kindle-Tablet-Edition/dp/B00G4PX1MO


Monday, March 10, 2014

Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies for Android and Apple Review

Call of Duty has been one of the most famed first person shooters in gaming history, but just recently has it taken an exciting step and jumped onto mobile devices! Here I will review the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies app for the App Store and Google Play. This blog will have a link to the game's page on both stores at the bottom, in case you are interested.

Price: 5/10 
The game is extremely pricey, weighing in at a huge $6.99. When it is on sale, it costs $0.99. I bought it on my galaxy tab 3 for a dollar. For what you get, this app is incredibly expensive.

Maps: 7/10
Black Ops Zombies only has two maps, the famous Kino Der Toten for Black Ops veterans, and Ascension, which is only available on a DLC pack for consoles. I think that the game takes a huge hit in this section, because the maps do get quite boring after a while. If you played Black Ops before on the Xbox, PC, or PlayStation, you will find everything on Kino Der Toten, including the pack a punch, in the same place.

Dead Ops Arcade: 10/10 The game just wouldn't be the same without Dead Ops Arcade! This game does include the retro-style overhead view zombie shooter that was tons of fun in the first game. To unlock it, you have to find four pieces of a token that are found in various places throughout the game. Even though I can't remember where they are, it is pretty easy to find them.

Controls: 6/10 I found the controls to be pretty crappy, especially the double joysticks to move around. I found that I was constantly pressing the ADS button when I wanted to reload, and had to reach all the way up to the top of the screen just to shoot. Luckily, there is a tilt option that lets you move with the left joystick and tilt the device to aim and look around. I liked this a lot better.

Graphics: 8/10 The graphics are scaled down for the mobile version, but nevertheless are good for a tiny little phone. The lighting is okay, and all of the gun animations, zombies, and everything else look and sound the same as on your Xbox.

Overall: 7/10 Black Ops Zombies is a good port of the famous game mode for consoles and PC's, but the lack of maps, terrible controls, and huge price tag hold it back from what otherwise could have been legendary in the history of mobile gaming.

Here are links for you guys, and thank you so much for viewing!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/call-of-duty-black-ops-zombies/id471063940?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.atv.blackops