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Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: The Sacred Star of Milos Review

April 16, 2012

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: The Sacred Star of Milos
Studio: BONES
Publisher: FUNimation
Format: DVD
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Price: $29.98 – Available Here

Overview:
There are many anime franchises which have seen high levels of popularity in Japan as well as in North America. One such anime franchise received not only one, but two anime adaptations that have since concluded. The franchise I’m speaking of is Fullmetal Alchemist, which received an anime adaptation early in its publication and another adaptation called Brotherhood that not only stayed truer to the source material, but told the entire Fullmetal Alchemist story from beginning to end.

However who says that a good franchise has to end once the final chapter/episode is released? Though a few OVAs have been made since the anime ended and will be released soon by FUNimation, another new release is gracing the anime world, a full length movie called Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: The Sacred Star of Milos. Will this side-journey of the Elric brothers be one to remember?

Story:
We join the Elric brothers shortly after a non-violent criminal has broken out of a prison in an extremely violent manner alchemy that not only destroys half of the prison but wounds countless soldiers. Encountering this escapee Edward and Alphonse Alric realize that this man is no ordinary alchemy user as he uses strange alchemy circles and techniques that neither of them has seen before. This man with unknown abilities manages to escape from them.

Upon investigation, Roy Mustang and the Elric Brothers discover that the man is heading to Table City, apparently in pursuit of a woman named Julia Chrichton. Soon the brothers find themselves in the middle of a rebellion, attacked by werewolf-like chimera, new enemies and allies and a philosopher’s stone sitting right in the middle of it all. Can the Elric brothers survive and save Julia or will these new enemies be too much for them to handle?

Anyone who has paid any attention to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood should know that the anime’s storyline was wrapped up in a nice neat package that left nearly everyone happy. Which brings about the question as to where The Sacred Star of Milos happens to fall in the series’ plotline. The answer to this question is vague at best, as barely anything relatable to the main story occurs; in fact nearly all of the cast of the main show besides Ed and Al have barely any purpose in the show at all.

This wouldn’t have been too much of an issue if the characters were never included in the first place, but for an extremely basic reason, Winry is brought in to the show for a few minutes, with Hawkeye and Roy appearing as well. However Roy Mustang, a fan favorite character, barely impacts the story at all and doesn’t even fight on screen as everything he does occurs off screen so the show can focus on the newly introduced Julia Chrichton and the Elric brothers.

For what it is worth, the plot of The Sacred Star of Milos is rather enjoyable and features all of the same themes, such as temptation, playing with the power of god and more. To top it off it is also very action packed and anyone who is looking for some fast paced battling will be glad to hear that there is plenty of action here. With the new form of alchemy being used by the main antagonist, we also see a number of new alchemical attacks, including an end-show encounter that bears striking resemblances to a Dragon Ball Z clash where two fighters’ attacks duel against one another.

Not only is the plot full of action but also plenty of twists that will catch the viewer off guard and shift the story in a number of ways and keep the viewer guessing as to who is truly right or wrong in this conflict. It is unfortunate however that, despite the movie’s length and content basically covering a well thought out story arc, that nothing in this movie affects the FMA universe in any way as nothing is gained or lost.

In fact those unaccustomed to the series who feel like giving the movie a shot will be able to jump into the movie rather easily as many things are explained more than once. This includes what happened to the Elric brothers to make them who they are today and references to how Edward is a State Alchemist. Newcomers to the series will miss out on some small details but each character’s motivations and plans are explained via gratuitous monologuing.

Visuals:
While the anime series for Fullmetal Alchemist usually had a high level of quality artwork, that same quality unfortunately did not successfully transfer into The Sacred Star of Milos. While most of the characters will look decent to start with, the consistency of this artwork varies greatly, with proportion issues and coloring problems appearing too many times to count. This is alarming considering the fact that most movies usually have a much higher budget than their anime counterparts, which begs the question as to why the artwork for the movie is such a blemish on the series.

While the artwork of the movie itself has suffered greatly, the animation quality has not. Whenever a battle of any kind ensues the viewer can expect some amazing scenes, both involving the use of alchemy and without, the most notable being a battle on top of a speeding train. It is strange to see this distinct separation in quality and it is worth noting that, given the fact that this is a FMA movie, the action is also a bit more graphic and violent than the original anime series ever was.

Audio:
Fans of the Fullmetal Alchemist series will be happy to learn that all of their favorite characters have retained their voice actors in both the Japanese and English dubs, with Vic Mignogna handling the voice of Edward Elric and Maxey Whitehead handling Alphonse. With these same voice actors taking the lead we have the same level of quality one would expect from the main Brotherhood series, which was top notch. The newly introduced main character, Julia Chrichton is voiced by Alexis Tipton and she provides a suitable job alongside the other more familiar characters.

While The Sacred Star of Milos may have an impressive theme song, which is “Good Luck My Way” by L’Arc-en-Ciel, the rest of the movies background music just barely supports what is going on at any given time and will likely be quickly forgotten, such as the opening credit’s song “Chasing Hearts” by miwa.

Extras:
While the movie comes on only one disc, there are in fact two discs included in the release of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: The Sacred Star of Milos, with the second disc devoted only to extra content. In the first disc we are presented with your standard inclusions of the U.S. trailer for the movie as well as trailers for past and upcoming FUNimation release. The shining star of the first disc’s special features is a full movie-length commentary track that features rotating members of the English voice cast as well as the ADR team.

The commentary track itself doesn’t really follow the movie itself, as the voice actors rarely mention what is happening on the screen at any given time but it is still worth listening to as it gives these actors a chance to say their goodbyes to a series they have worked on for quite a while, minus the aforementioned OVA release next month.

The second disc containing the rest of the special features contains a slew of miscellaneous content that is all still in Japanese with English subtitles. This includes a few TV spots and theatrical trailers, though the two key features on the second disc are the Fullmetal Alchemist: Making of Sacred Star of Milos featurette and a Web Promo. The Web Promo is presented with a very simplistic art style but lasts nearly 20 minutes and is interesting to watch at least once.

The “Making of” bonus feature lasts for over an hour and features a behind-the-scenes interview with the production staff that reveals various elements of production and how they created certain parts of the anime. It is worth noting that the subtitles are occasionally difficult to read due to the overlapping of the Japanese captions so certain sections may need to be paused and read to be understood.

Overall:
The Sacred Star of Milos expands the Elric brothers’ journey with what can be best described as an entire story arc combined into one viewing experience. However the quality of the movie’s artwork does not remain consistent nor does it even meet with the standards most long time viewers would have for such a long running series. Despite this, there is plenty of action and a decent story arc to be found in this Fullmetal Alchemist movie, even if it adds practically nothing to the franchise.

Skullgirls Review

Jahanzeb Khan

April 15, 2012

Skullgirls
Publisher: Autumn Games, Konami
Developer: Reverge Labs
Platforms: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PlayStation 3, PC
Release Date: 11/04/2012
Price: 1200 Microsoft Points

Overview:

Skullgirls was unveiled last year and it immediately turned some heads because it had a rather quirky and unique art direction and style to it. Announced as a digitally distributed title, it initially may have come across as another simplistic and gimmicky fighting game that was just going to be a bit of fun. Fighting game releases on digital platforms thus far have only been re-releases of very retro titles with online functionality. There really hasn’t been a major new IP exclusive to the digital platform until Skullgirls.

Skullgirls is pretty much the brain child of Mike Zaimont and Alex Ahad. Mike Zaimont is well known in the fighting community as ‘Mike Z’ and he brings in his experience and expertise as a tournament level player, while Alex Ahad provides all the artistic and creative juice to create the world and characters of Skullgirls. The end result is a fighting game made by passionate fighting fans for fighting fans. It’s out now for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a PC release to follow soon.

Story:

Skullgirls contains a rather unique and refreshing world that has a ton of character and style. The basic premise of the game revolves around these female combatants, who battle it out in a tournament to claim the ultimate prize, the Skull Heart, an ancient artifact that has the power to grant any wish of its holder for a price. However, the Skull Heart also consumes and corrupts a wielder who carries ill intent, turning them into the monstrous Skullgirl.

While the basic premise sounds simple enough, the plot of the game is still fairly convoluted and deep, and the game’s characters have very rich backstories and personalities. The game’s story mode takes you through each character’s personal journey and their motive to acquire the Skull Heart artifact, during which you meet several other support characters. It’s actually a fairly interesting story but it gets plenty crazy and confusing, and the final ending in particular really makes no sense. In a way, it’s almost as if the game taking a stab at how convoluted and nonsensical plots can be in modern fighting games, in particular the BlazBlue series.

That said, the story is entertaining and it will amuse you just because it’s so blatantly over the top and ridiculous. It still benefits from a more Western style of character portrayal and storytelling, along with some elements of Japanese anime conventions that are thankfully not too overpowering.

You will appreciate the unique characters as they are really interesting and have so much richness in their backstories and portrayal. Also, the in-game world is very inspiring and just brims with life and personality. Skullgirls definitely deserves praise for having such a rich setting and world, even if the delivery is a little crazy.

Visuals:

Skullgirls is uniquely remarkable and exceptional in its aesthetics. The visuals and art style is so refreshing that you’d be hard pressed to find another fighting game that looks quite like it. It has a strong 1940s-1950s American pop culture vibe to it but with a very strong postmodern twist. There are traces of Japanese anime/manga influences, but thankfully they are weak as the overall art direction of the game is dominated by a profound Western comic book/cartoon influence with a ton of personality and flair. The character designs are out of this world and will leave a lasting impression and being an all-girl fighting game, they are heavily sexualized but in a more Westernised manner. The characters designs range from crazy, to scary, and even elegant and pleasing.

The game’s graphics engine is unbelievable and is perhaps one of the best looking 2D fighting games you will ever see. The character sprites are amazing to look at and have a ton of detail and character, and their animations are absolutely stunning, effortless, and fluid. It’s like watching a modern day animated show as sheer amount of detail and animations is just crazy. Not to mention, the stages and backdrops are pretty awesome too with a ton of artistic flair.

This is a truly fantastic looking game, and while the art and character designs carry some traces and influences of other fighting games, they are but homages. In the end, Skullgirl has a look that really belongs to it alone.

Audio:

The soundtrack of Skullgirls is just brilliant. You will find traces of several musical styles and themes, in particular Jazz, with heavy use of piano. It’s a varied and unforgettable score that even has a few lovely vocal tracks thrown in. The soundtrack, like the general vibe of the game, draws heavily upon the 1940s-1950s American culture. In a much similar fashion to games like Bayonetta and even the first Bioshock.

The main reason why the soundtrack is so stellar is because it was composed by acclaimed video game composer, Michiru Yamane. She is most famous for the amazing music she composed for several Castlevania video games, and while the style music in Skullgirls is much different, it still retains some of that haunting aura that characterised her work in Castlevania.

Gameplay:

The moment you start playing Skullgirls, it becomes clear that this is a refined fighting game created by people who are passionate fans of the genre. It’s mechanicially sound, very accessible, and has amazing depth to it. It borrows gameplay elements from fighters like Marvel vs. Capcom and Guilty Gear, but like everything else about Skullgirls, even its gameplay feels refreshing and unique.

The core fighting mechanics have all the necessary intricacies that characterize modern fighting games, and are beautifully implemented. It includes things like cancelling, dashes, recoveries, staggers, and all the tools that you need to create a refined tournament worthy fighter. The core combat mechanics are a lot of fun, allowing you to exercise creativity in creating massive chain combos with great fluidity. It has a tone of crazy special moves and super combo attacks, likes of which you may not have seen in other fighting games.

Much like in BlazBlue, each character in Skullgirls feels mechanically distinct. A good example is Ms. Fortune, a fast paced kind of character who has this interesting mechanic where she can throw her head around, and that has some implications on her offensive and defensive tactics. They’ve really put a lot of work into making each of the eight playable characters in the game feel profoundly distinct in play style. It’s hard to do this sort of thing without compromising game balance, but Skullgirls pulls it off rather well.

The style of play include the traditional one on one type of battles, but you can also choose to have teams of two or three and engage in some Marvel vs. Capcom style team based mayhem. The team based mechanics allow for some massive multi-character combos and strategies, and includes the usual assist attacks where a team member can just hop in to perform a special move. While the game will ask you to select one of the predetermined assist attacks for a team member, it also has this really cool feature where you can input a command for a custom assist attack. This feature allows for a lot of freedom and creativity in creating some unique team combos.

The game contains the standard modes of play for a fighting game. The story mode is told with beautiful animation stills much like in BlazBlue, and there is a very useful tutorial mode that does a great job in explaining all the mechanics and game systems to new comers. The online mode offers a fairly robust net-code for a digital title, and I had some hitch free match ups with my fellow countrymen thus far. It’s still in its early days so it will take time to develop a thriving local community. The game has an extras mode, which so far only contains the credits sequence and a message promising more content in the future, it’s a shame that these extras weren’t included now as it would have been nice to have an art gallery at least.

The most annoying aspect of the game is the final boss, now fighting game bosses are known to be notoriously cheap and unfair but the game’s final boss, the Skullgirl ‘Marie’, is easily among the worst. She has three forms, and while you will get by the first two forms fairly well, her final form is an absolute jerk as the hit box becomes really small and she just launches a cheap barrage of overpowered attacks from just about every angle. Eventually you will learn cheap ways to get by, but it’s still not a fun battle at all.

Overall:

Skullgirls is a pleasant surprise and will perhaps end up being the sleeper hit of 2012. It’s a refreshingly unique fighting game in every aspect, one that is beautifully executed in every aspect as well. It has some shortcomings, but overall this is a fantastic game that has all the elements of a standout title. It will be great to have some more content soon for the Extras section, as well some new DLC characters (just as long as they don’t handle it like Capcom did). For now, what’s present is entertaining enough as the game’s eight playable characters will keep you busy with their distinct mechanics and play styles, and the game’s world, art, aesthetics, and audible flair will impress you. Hopefully this game gains a strong following as it would be great to see more of Skullgirls in the coming years.

Midnight Mysteries – Haunted Houdini Review

Jamie Laike Tsui

April 15, 2012

Midnight Mysteries – Haunted Houdini
Developer: MumboJumbo
Publisher: MumboJumbo
Platforms: iPad
Release Date: April 12, 2012
Price: $6.99 USD/ $7.49 AUD Get it Here

Overview
The casual game market is the big unconquered gold mine of the video game industry and it’s the gold rush all over again. MumboJumbo is bringing its fourth entry to the Midnight Mysteries series with Haunted Houdini. Billed as a premium casual game, can Midnight Mysteries – Haunted Houdini justify its hefty $6.99 price tag?

Story
Midnight Mysteries – Haunted Houdini follows our hero as he attempts to delve into the mystery of Houdini’s dead at the ghost of Houdini’s wife Bess’ request. In death Houdini was supposed to send Bess a message tell her that he made it to the afterlife, but the message never made it. Haunted Houdini guides you through a world of secret societies, psychics, and séances to discover what really caused Houdini’s demise and reunite the couple. It appears that Midnight Mysteries – Haunted Houdini uses the book The Secret Life of Houdini as the inspiration for the story line. I found the story to be entertaining and the magician theme to lend itself well to the game. The dialog options with the ghosts of some well-known historical figures were a little on the sparse side for my liking. Overall, the storyline is solid and harmonizes well with the game.

Gameplay
Haunted Houdini is a hidden object puzzle adventure game. The game balances the three genres well, the game providing strong examples of each style throughout the game. The puzzle sections are creative, challenging, and at times downright devious. Thankfully those playing on Casual or Advanced difficulty will be able to skip puzzles after a certain period of time has elapsed. The hidden object portion of the game becomes challenging in its own right as the game progresses and manages to stay fun even after the fourth or fifth hidden object puzzle you encounter. Clues become vaguer, requiring players to be able to think creatively, not just have a sharp set of eyes. The adventure aspect of the game is extremely strong at well, the adventure puzzles are well balanced between logical and challenging.

There are three difficulty modes to play through and an unlimited hidden object mode. The first three difficulty modes are unlocked from the start of the game and adjust the difficulty by changing the recharge time between hints, the time required before a puzzle can be skipped, and allowing some tools that can be interacted with to sparkle on lower difficulties. I wish it was possible to change the difficulty of the game on the fly. Unfortunately the difficulty you start with is the difficulty you are locked into for the rest of the game. It is possible to start again by create a new profile and starting again though. Once 40 of the possible 70 four leaf clovers are found in the regular game mode, the unlimited hidden object mode is unlocked. This mode is exactly as the name says, allowing you to race against the clock as you find every single collectable object in the scene. As to prevent random tapping, only 12 items at a time are on your list of items to be found.

The controls in Midnight Mysteries – Haunted Houdini are on a whole very tight and responsive. Thanks to the ability to pinch to zoom, I had little problem interacting with objects in game. However, there were a few puzzles where it was impossible to zoom in and the hot zones were extremely small, leading to some very carefully tapping. The plus button used to merge objects is also extremely small, which had led me to press the wrong button several times. I believe this may be a by-product of the fact the game is also released for the PC, which benefits from a much more accurate mouse pointer for controls. But for the exception for a few hiccups, the game works well on the iPad.

Visuals
The graphics are very nice; the visual style is detailed and fits well with the theme and time period of Houdini. There is a nice balance between subtly highlighting objects that can be interacted with and having them blend in with the rest of the scenery. It is a very fine line to tread and MumboJumbo does a great job at it. I am not 100% sure if Midnight Mysteries – Haunted Houdini is Retina optimized. There are moments I swear it is, others I’m not quite sure. No matter what, the graphics are extremely sharp and is a pleasure to stare at for extended periods of time.

Audio
The audio is a spooky and moody experience, fitting for the theme of the game. The sound effects are well done. The game is a pleasure to listen to and doesn’t get tiring after hours of listening to it. I do however wish there was some voice acting in the game. It would have provided a more immersive experience in the game. Overall, Midnight Mysteries – Haunted Houdini provides solid audio experience that comes close to perfection but just misses the mark.

Overall
I can strongly recommend Midnight Mysteries – Haunted Houdini to anyone looking for a casual game to play on their iPad. For some the $6.99 price tag may be a sticking point, but I feel it is definitely worth it. The game is of extremely high quality and very polished. The graphics are gorgeous and the audio experience is near perfect. The controls on a whole work well. The gameplay is a great example of the genre and the story line is interested and engaging. The game can be upgraded with extra content that provides a bonus chapter or a strategy guide for $1.99 each. The collector’s edition comes with both the extra content and the guide for a $2.99 in app purchase. Even without the bonus content, Midnight Mysteries – Haunted Houdini is a fantastic addition to the Midnight Mysteries series.

Incipio Releases Dungeons and Dragons Rise of the Underdark Themed iPhone 4/4s Case

Jamie Laike Tsui

April 15, 2012

Incipio has released Wizards of the Coast licensed Dungeons and Dragons: Rise of the Underdark themed feather Ultralight Hard Shell Cases. Rise of the Underdark is D&D’s new campaign setting that spans campaign books, D&D online, novels, and now iPhone 4/4s cases. The case is a 1mm slim case that provides generous cutouts for buttons, ports, and the camera. In addition, the case comes with the Incipio Vanity kit, providing you with two screen protectors, a microfiber cleaning cloth, and an applicator card to not only protect the back of your iPhone, but the front too. The case is black and you can choose between an image of a Drow, a Lolth Spider Queen, or the Lolth symbol. The case priced at $29.99

Retro Games Review

Thomas Giles

April 14, 2012

Retro Games (Packs 1 – 3)
Developer: Elite Systems
Platforms: iPhone (reviewed), iPad
Release Date: April 6th, 2012
Price: $0.99 (BUY NOW), HD (BUY NOW), Free (DOWNLOAD NOW), Free HD (DOWNLOAD NOW)

Overview

Retro Games, released by Elite, is essentially an emulator than runs the ancient 8-bit “classics” of old. It runs on the iPhone and iPad, with free and HD versions also available. The app comes with Bruce Lee, as well as 3 game packs, with 3 games apiece.

Gameplay

Well, the emulator works. It even has the graphics glitches when loading at times, and some games even feature the nostalgic garbled audio buzzes and bleeps that are just as annoying as the real thing! Seriously, though, Elite have done a good job of accurately recreating the original games, which look and feel like their aging counterparts.

All versions of the app come with Bruce Lee. The paid-for version ($0.99) comes with the first 3 game-packs for free, including the following games: Archon, Tales of the Unknown, Infiltrator, Black Magic, Alternate Reality: “The City” and “The Dungeon”, Emlyn Hughes International Soccer, Monty on the Run, Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior (aka Death Sword).

Another feature of the app is the all-new “iDaptive controls”, letting you customize and reposition virtual buttons and joysticks to your heart’s desire on your touch screen device. It even lets you resize and move the “screen” itself (referred to as the canvas in-app). These controls are also compatible with the iCade.

And this brings us onto the games themselves. While the emulator recreates the titles down to the pixel, they are still really old games. Which means that some of them are really hard, and most of them take a lot of figuring out (or at least require reading the huge, tome-like manual that comes with each game) to be able to even start playing.

There was a couple of games hidden away in the 10 available that were playable… in a broken, glitchy kind of way. But the others are simply too old to be played by a modern gamer. And Elite are going to be releasing a total of 100 titles for their new app, so I’m sure there will be more retro games that have some playability to them, but for now, I’m just not sure it’s worth the money.

Now, Elite specialise in making these emulated games, and push out lot of these rehashed games to the market. So there’s obviously a decent amount of people buying these games for it to be worth their while. If you’re looking for a nostalgia trip, and want to remember those heady days of cartridges and tape cassettes, then you’re sure to get a kick out of playing your favourite classic titles. But if otherwise, there’s not much here for you but frustration and annoyance (a staple of games made that long ago).

Audio & Visual

The sound is faithfully recreated, keeping the good ol’ bleeps and bloops of yesteryear intact. And they even kept the glitchy whines and dial-up-type sounds some of the older consoles had. The music is pretty good in these games, and with the resurgence of 8-bit inspired chiptunes and games in recent years, it’s quite interesting to see where it all came from.

The graphics, too, are equally faithful to the original games. The sprites are simple, but descriptive, and some scenes are down-right impressive for the time and hardware they were made for.

Overall

If you’re looking to blow some money to feel some nostalgia through one of your old faves, then by all means, have at it. Else, I’d give this one a miss. So all-in-all, some will think it’s awesome, and others will think it’s… not-awesome.

Avernum: Escape from the Pit Review

Joshua Moris

April 14, 2012

Avernum: Escape from the Pit
Publisher: Spiderweb Software
Developer: Spiderweb Software
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Mac, iPad
Release Date: April 11, 2012 (PC Version)
Price: $9.99 – Here

Overview
Indie developers tend to be overlooked or overshadowed by big name developers and should truly merit more attention. Spiderweb Software is one such indie developer but has a healthy line-up of games to share. From previous titles like the Avernum trilogies, Geneforge, and Avadon: The Black Fortress, Spiderweb Software holds a promising track record.

Spiderweb Software has worked hard to deliver this title not only to PC platforms but also make it available on the iPad. This sort of dedication provided me with the understanding that they stood by a valuable product. The only question left is: “Can you escape from the pit?”

Story
Stories have been told of Avernum. A dark place saved for those that have committed crimes against the Empire. But we have not murdered anyone nor stolen goods. What we have done is spoken against the word of Emperor Hawthorne – an act that will not go unpunished.

There is no appealing the judge’s decision. One morning we were taken to the far wastes before a large stone dome. In this structure a magnificent portal shimmered in front of us, emanating freedom and terror. The guards covered from head to toe in armor took off our chains. As we breathed our last breaths of fresh air, the pits of Avernum awaited us.

Being thrown into the dark depths initiates a story of despair that creates motives for survival. Faced with an eminent fear, players are driven to understand and develop their own purpose. With three attainable game-winning quests, players will be able to decide their own fate.

Gameplay
The main focus throughout the entire gameplay is the development of characters. Upon starting the game, players must identify and create the group of adventurers that will be thrown into the pit. Preset classes like soldier, barbarian, and priest can be chosen. While the developers hint towards making a diverse group, any combination of classes can be done. Creating an adventuring group of barbarians may not be the best idea as a priest would be helpful for healing teammates during battle. Additionally, advanced Avernites can create custom classes for each character and allocate skills to their liking from the very start of the adventure. To attest how customized the game is, you can even choose to play the game solo with one character. However, I do not suggest taking on legions of monsters on your own.

Character progression and customization is the result of leveling up and acquiring traits. No matter the preset class a character is given, the traits an individual can possess are based on skills and attributes chosen. For example, a barbarian class would be geared towards strength with lacking intelligence, but enough skill points could provide the character with priestly spells and traits to compliment – Healing Focus. Having this kind of class cross-over will also reduce the amount of specialization a character could potentially achieve. Points spent on priest spells could be better placed with an advanced skill such as Parry or Riposte.

Skill trees can be confusing at first because everything seems unlocked. Further investigation shows that the top tiered skills cannot be acquired until the lower skills have a similar point value. To attain a rank in Riposte, a player must allocate one rank in the following skills in order: Melee Weapons -> Hardiness -> Parry. Understanding this concept is essential to create a specialized character of any class. Miscellaneous skills such as Luck or Cave Lore can prove useful in finding hidden places or evading battles.

Avernum is not only a place of hardened warriors but also a world of magic. Spells can dictate the outcomes of battle by providing assistance or creating destruction when needed the most. Healing becomes ultimately important as you cannot rest out in the wilderness (resting occurs once players reach a town and instantly heals all living party members). Characters that have invested points in priest spells can perform abilities like Minor Heal in battle to help prevent death. Alternatively, mage spells can cause elemental damage to a range of opponents. Keep in mind a fire spell will not do damage to a Lava Bat or similar fire based enemies.

One of the more diverse aspects of the vast caverns is approachable foes. Even as humans are thrown into the portal from above, there are other races claiming dominion in Avernum. Amongst the threatening races are the nephilim and slithzerikai. Nephilim are cat-like humanoids that follow only powerful beings and hold little tolerance to humans. Perhaps the more organized of the two dominating races is the slithzerikai or sliths. Sturdy lizard humanoids that have the potential to be peaceful or absolutely barbaric. Understanding the difference quickly is a matter of life and death. Other foes include magical spiders, mystical dragons, and unnerving undead.

Visual/Audio
The art contributed to the introduction scenes are wonderfully crafted which offers viewers a glimpse of the imagination that Spider Software instills into Avernum. An image of a creature grasping around a pillar nearing an adventurer offers players the understanding that anything can appear in the cavernous depths. In this instance, the artwork emanates a bulk of truth as large foes may present themselves unexpectedly.

Visual in-game components are set in a 2D environment and do not emanate the same appearance seen in the opening artworks. While I was initially deceived, I sensed a striking similarity with another game, Baldur’s Gate. Even though the quality is much better in Baldur’s Gate, I felt that the user interface offered a close resemblance. In a positive light, Avernum: Escape from the Pit delivers full environments by incorporating unexpected objects like mushrooms and colored stones.

Strictly text driven, there are not any actual speaking parts through any of the storyline. Since I focus more readily on voices versus text, I felt disconnected from the characters when reading text driven dialogue. Nevertheless, conversation is necessary to pick up quests, but the temptation to skip or skim is always present.

Making up for the lack of character vocals, sound effects dominate your every step in Avernum. Truly, every movement on the map will create a footstep sound. As it does produce a viable sound for moving around the map, the effect emphasizes the dark unknown of the wandering cavern. In addition, battles are brought to life with sounds of spells and sword swings against your falling foes – or your own motionless body.

Overall
Countless hours can be spent playing a role playing game merely on character creation. This happens to be the best attribute about Avernum: Escape from the Pit as the leveling and advancement of a character build gives a player that something more to look forward to. As another level nears, you begin planning what attribute to increase and what new skills you can acquire.

The poorest qualities lie with the solely text-based dialogue and limited sprite details. There becomes a lack of connection when reading a quest because we do not get to feel the power or tone that a character can influence. Voice acting could make the story more captivating and allow players a more immerse experience. Additionally, if the visuals matched the artwork seen at the game start-up, there would be little discussion for the top 2012 indie game.

Role playing fanatics should summon this title to their shelves immediately. For a mere $10, Avernum: Escape from the Pit is a fun-filled experience that is very affordable. Spiderweb Software has made it available on PC, Mac, and iPad resulting in few excuses not to own this.

Burnout Crash! iOS Review

Jared Hilliers

April 14, 2012

Burnout: Crash!

Developer: Criterion Games
Publisher: EA
Platforms: iPhone (Reviewed), iPad, PSN, Xbox Live
Release Date: 11th April, 2012
Price: $6.49 USD/AUD – Available Here

You can check out the Xbox Live Arcade version of our review here

Overview

Well, this was like nothing I expected, but I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much, I didn’t know too much about this version of Burnout. Given the intensity of the Burnout series, which I love, something like that can’t be emulated on the iPhone without some sort of compromise. The title makes the game pretty self-explanatory; it’s all about the crash, from a top-down view. This game started out as a PSN/Xbox live downloadable title, and was ported for iOS, but tilt controls don’t work for it unfortunately.

I basically went into this blind, knowing nothing of the previous downloadable titles or what it was all about. I’ve heard the console iterations are quite enjoyable, but the transfer to touch controls didn’t really do it for me, the game is basically like the Matrix with cars. If you can handle the absurdity of flicking a car around on the screen, trying to make it cause as much damage as possible, then this Physics Puzzle type game can be fun.

Gameplay

Easy to learn, difficult to master, would be one way to describe the mechanics of gameplay. Annoying could be another way, depending on your preference, but it maybe because of the lack of a tutorial. Apparently the console versions have a tutorial, why they dropped is for iOS is beyond me. You’re basically thrown into the game without any real direction, you’ll figure it out, but it deters you from an otherwise decent game.

You can take control of one of several vehicles ranging from pick-up trucks to sports cars (different vehicles are unlocked as you achieve more goals). You basically accelerate into steady streams of traffic in different intersections and create maximum mayhem with explosive “crash breakers.” These are explosions that emanate from the car and hurl it in the direction you swipe on the screen, this is where the Matrix style absurdity comes into play. The car only moves on its own as it initially drives into the intersection; after that it is only moved around by swipes, explosions, bumps from other vehicles, and its own crash breaker explosions.

If destruction is your thing, it’s no doubt watching the mayhem can be fun, that’s the whole appeal of the original burnout and Crash! stays true to the roots. There are several different game types playable on each level meaning Crash! has reasonable replay value, considering it’s $6.49, you would hope so. Some modes also include insanely over the top special events like super tornados or giant lobster monsters (see above), which adds to the absurdity. Each intersection is unique with its own distinct traffic patterns, buildings, and features, so the level design is varied.

Visuals and Audio

All similarities to the original GTA games aside, the game looks fairly decent compared to it’s console counter parts. A few gripes, some of the textures in game look low-resolution on the iPad, and the colour palette is abit muddy for my liking. The explosions in general are pretty good, and things get alot more interesting once special events come into play. Most noticeably for me was the frame-rate drops as you approach intersections, other than that, it’s not a bad looking game.

The constant boing! sound effect when you swipe is probably the most annoying thing, that definitely needs to go, but the general feel of the soundtrack is cheesy arcade game. It’s intentional, so it works for the game and Burnout in general, but quite a bit of the voice-work from the console version is missing. The game currently sits at 146MB, maybe they were aiming for 3G downloads? Unsure, but I doubt most people will notice what’s missing and what’s not from the console version. Another thing, Game Center issues occur sometimes, the game often tells me that the game is not recognized by Game Center. There’ll probably be a fix for this at some point, but it’s sort of annoying right now, especially just after opening the game.

Overall

Burnout: Crash! isn’t a bad port, there are a few issues, but it’s a good fit for the iOS pick-up and put down style of gameplay. It’s more suited to the iPad, with the iPhone feeling a little too small for the mayhem, but that’s a matter of preference. Overall Crash does a decent job for the swipe and tap interface, at times it can feel as though the action is playing out by itself, a little absurd and out of control. But that’s vintage Burnout everyone has known since yesteryear, total mayhem and out of control destruction linked to high scores is what it’s all about.

MasterAbbott’s iOS Game Suggestions #15

Philip Federico

April 14, 2012

Welcome back for this week’s iOS Game Suggestions. If you missed out on last week’s suggestions, click on the links below and check what cool games you should be picking up for your iOS along with the introduction and disclaimer on how the suggestions work, as I’m not going through the same old intro every week. (suggestions 1 has the disclaimer)

MasterAbbott’s iOS Game Suggestions

What I’ve also introduced is video game play footage (if it’s possible) on some of the iOS games I’ve suggested, you can check this out at the bottom of the article. Currently video game play footage for this week’s suggestions are not available, check back in a few days there will be some more added. For now, if you jump into previous suggestions there are a few videos to check out.

Once again it’s been a great week on iTunes, it started off slow but ended with a bang with many amazing games released, this week I’ve suggested a total of 24 great quality titles. As always for this week’s suggestions are all new titles that you should take a look at and spending your hard earned iTunes cash / time on. This week I’ve focused on Free and games over 99c.

For The Cheapskates – FREE GAMES

	Aero Vacation – Price : FREE – Publisher – Chillingo. (See the world on an Aero Vacation ! Captain the ultimate airship in this highflying adventure. Keep your passengers happy as you travel around the world. Upgrade your ship with marvellous facilities like roller-coasters and water parks that are sure to make your airship the greatest vacation destination to sail the skies.) on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
	Jumbled HD – Price : FREE – Publisher – Brightside. (Welcome to Jumbled! The gravity puzzle game full of brain-teasing logic to challenge even the greatest puzzlers! The aim is simple. Move all of the blocks around until they fit perfectly into the empty space. Can you complete all 90 levels across the FIVE beautiful stages? The faster you complete each level, the more Stars and Coins you earn. Use your Coins to buy Hints and Level Skips which will help you unlock more stages! You can even customise your level of gravity, friction, spin and linear speed to make Jumbled unique to you!) runs on iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
	Garfield’s Diner – Price : FREE – Publisher – Web Prancer. (It’s summertime and Irma’s off to Hawaii for a well-deserved vacation. But who will run the diner while she’s gone? Irma convinces Jon to take over for the summer, but it’s Garfield who’s really in charge! Everyone’s favorite fat cat is in the kitchen and laughter’s on the menu! Join Garfield and his friends as they do their very best (or worst) to run Irma’s diner and serve savory signature meals to her regular customers — fresh, hot and fast…daily!) runs on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
	Doodle Ball – Price : FREE – Publisher – Sandy Games. (Find a different way to enjoy sketch on the screen? Take the challenge on our sketching doodle ball! Express your creativity and madness thoughts to find every possible way to make through each level. How to paly? Click on chalk to start drawing! Draw on an exact location where ball suppose to bounce into the container. Once the ball is within the container, player may make through to the next level. As the level goes higher, it will be tougher to succeed! Let’s start the challenges~ ) runs on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
	Farm Invasion USA – Price : FREE – Publisher – HandyGames. (It’s been a peaceful day in Texas, with the sun burning down its last rays on Redneck Pops and his two sons Joe and Otis, counting the harvested corn on their porch… when suddenly unknown flying objects are landing and hoggish blue noses start frying fresh corn to make popcorn of it! Reasons enough to welcome the new visitors the Earthling way! Help the two brothers Joe and Otis, get a shotgun, the deadly rocket launcher or a hunting rifle and start the engine of the family’s heirloom, the mighty corn chopper! Race down the fields and banish the popcorn raiders with the sharp blades of your thresher! Use aimed shots to get down their spaceships and avoid obstacles on the field to collect the remaining corn! The craziest invasion of the third kind has just begun!) on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
	Spell Slingers – Price : FREE – Publisher – Oscar Mike Games. (Welcome to the world of Spell Slingers! Here wizards are pitted againts each another in fast paced 1 on 1 dueling combat and to the winner go the spoils! Use your winnings to outfit your wizard with magical weapons, fantastic customizable outfits, powerful off-hand items that can give you the edge in combat, and much more. Challenge the world and prove you have what it takes to become the top SpellSlinger!) on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
	Hippo Gum – Price : FREE – Publisher – MaxReality. (Pass from start to finish by chewing gum, avoiding traps and obstacles on your way. And funny little Hippo will help you with that because he likes to chew and blow up bubbles so much! Hippo Gum – is a mix of arcade and puzzle. There is a great variety of levels from simple to highly complicated in store for you. Pass the levels earning stars and awards! This game is suitable for children from 4 to 104.) on iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
	Fighter City – Price : FREE – Publisher –Gamevil. (Fighter City Where Only the Strong Survive. It’s a dog eat dog world in Fighter City. Around every corner is a cutthroat hooligan waiting for their next victim- the only way you’ll survive is to fight your way to the top. Develop into the ultimate fighter by training in a diverse range of martial arts, from Muay Thai to Tae Kwon Do to Jiu Jitsu. Become the top dog of your real world city by establishing a dojo and accepting apprentices. Climb up the ranks of notoriety as you and your posse run Fighter City. ) runs on both iPhone & iPad. GET IT NOW FOR FREE

For The Bargain Hunters – 99c Games

	Cure John – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Appsolute Studios. (C’mon! let’s cure John! John is the very ill and he need to be cured. This is fun game and worth to try. You will become one of John’s white blood cell who dare to fight against the filthy bacteria, the flu virus and more. But not only that, you can also challenge your survival instinct. We also add some interesting fact on the game related to the John’s disease. Try to read that because maybe you never know about that.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
	Touch Traffic HD – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – TRADEGAME Lab. (‘Touch Traffic HD’ is a simple fun and addictive traffic control game on iPhone & iPad. Don’t compare with any other traffic control games. It’s very different and unique! There are heavy traffic cities, and their residents are suffering from air pollution and the drivers under a lot of stress. Can you give them your best solution?? Of course you can do it!! ) runs on iPad. BUY NOW
	Rotate And Roll – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Gamextar. (Rotate and Roll is an addictive gravity driven game. Rotate the world through 54 challenging levels. Pick up all the stars and roll the balls to the bubble portal to escape from these bizarre worlds. Use your finger to rotate the world. Pick up all the stars and help the blobs find the bubble portal while avoiding enemies and falling into outer space.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
	Cubis Creatures – Price : $0.99 – Publisher –FreshGames (Slide, Stack and Crack your way to victory! – Cubis, the #1 cube puzzler is back with lots of new and exciting features! Bomb-away for bonuses, fire lasers to rack up score multipliers, and compete in daily tournaments to show your stuff. Completing the puzzles in each world gets you one step closer to unlocking the whimsical mystery put upon our sleeping furry friends.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
	Crazy Animals – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Woodpecker Bros. (The craziest animals from all over the world have gathered under one asylum, will you be able to cure them all before they commit suicide? “Crazy Animals” is a time attack drag & drop game with a unique play system. Drag the needed pills to the insane animal in order to cure it. Squash the mice before they scare your animals again. Electrify animals to delay their insanity.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
	Got Cow? – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – David Miller. (The Milky Way needs YOU! Peaceful Cows are being abducted by mischievous Alien Invaders! Take aim with your Rocket-Launching Spacecraft & blast the enemy to Smithereens! Can you solve 60 challenging levels of Explosive gravity-based puzzles?) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
	DevilDark: The Fallen Kingdom – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Triniti Interactive Ltd. (An old king’s greed has unleashed a plague of evil upon the land, and destiny has chosen you to banish the monsters. The time has come to take up arms and deliver your people from darkness! But beware! As you grow stronger, so will your foes. You’ll need every skill and weapon in your arsenal to prevail. Do you have what it takes?) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW

For The Millionaires – All games over $0.99

	MASTERABBOTT’S OVER 99c PICK OF THE WEEK Max Payne Mobile – Price : $2.99 – Publisher – EA Mobile. (Max Payne, the award-winning title is now available for iOS. A fugitive undercover cop framed for murder, hunted by cops and the mob, Max is a man with his back against the wall, fighting a battle he cannot hope to win. Max Payne is a relentless story-driven game about a man on the edge, fighting to clear his name while struggling to uncover the truth about his slain family amongst a myriad of plot-twists. The groundbreaking original cinematic action-shooter, Max Payne introduced the concept of Bullet Time® in videogames. Through its stylish slow-motion gunplay combined with a dark and twisted story, Max Payne redefined the action-shooter genre.) runs on iPad & iPhone. BUY NOW
	Burnout Crash! – Price : $5.49 – Publisher – EA Mobile. (MASTER THE DISASTER! Burnout™ CRASH! explodes onto iPhone and iPad with huge pile-ups, mega disasters and more! Crash and burn with this spin-off from the award-winning console series. WARNING…ROAD HAZARDS AHEAD… UNLEASH DEVASTATING DESTRUCTION. Activate catastrophic Super Features and trigger road-shattering disasters like tornados, tidal waves, asteroids, and even UFOs!) runs on iPad & iPhone. BUY NOW
	Crow – Price : $5.49 – Publisher – SunSide Inc. (Crow is a story-driven action-adventure for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Combining unique exploration, combat, and game mechanics, Crow takes the player on an exciting journey to faraway lands where an ancient battle is unfolding. Created using Sunside’s in-house game platform Radiance™, Crow delivers stunning visuals and immersion in a fully 3D world. Your choices will forever alter the course of this world. Will you Curse your foes or Spare them and risk the consequences?) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
	The Secret Legacy: A Kate Brooks Adventure HD – Price : $7.49 – Publisher – Big Fish Games. (Explore Egypt and discover The Secret Legacy of Kate Brooks’ grandmother in this exciting Hidden Object Adventure game! After being given the grim task of cleaning out her deceased grandmother’s office, Kate discovers a letter that describes an entire Secret Legacy! Travel across the globe and uncover a buried treasure! Collect the clues to the mystery behind Kate’s grandmother’s death and save the day!) runs on iPad. BUY NOW
	Miku Flick – Price : $14.99 – Publisher – SEGA. (Hatsune Miku arrives on iOS with Miku Flick! Flick characters in time with the lyrics of Hatsune Miku’s most popular songs in this new rhythm game! Match your flicks with on-screen lyrics to score points and clear songs. Each cleared song will unlock additional Miku content to play and watch in “PV Mode”! Become a “Miku Master” and challenge your friend’s high scores over Game Center!) runs on iPad. BUY NOW
	Hot Donut HD – Price : $1.99 – Publisher – GameNUG. (Hot Donut – Completely Resigned for iPad with HD Graphics! You are a high velocity donut in a beautiful world of hills. But there is water between you and escape. You must ROLL, JUMP, and DASH your way to freedom. Just touch anywhere on the screen to increase gravity and ROLL down hills. Let go at the top of the hill to FLY through the air. Not going to make it over a gap? just use two fingers to DASH forward and make the landing. Earn power-ups to make your donut FLY upwards, FLOAT in mid air, or get a instant BOOST of speed.) runs on iPad. BUY NOW
	iSiege: Nuclear Option – Price : $1.99 – Publisher – Pew Pew Entertainment. (iSiege: Nuclear Option features single player, multiplayer, and pass n’ play modes with several difficulty modes. Take turns as you try to destroy the opposing side’s capitol with tanks, troops and ICBMs. Defend yourself with countermeasures when things get tough. Score bonuses and unlock challenges in Gamecenter by scoring combos, destroying enemy forces, and precision Nuclear Strikes. Track your scores against your friends and the world as you play for world dominance!) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
	The Rebus Show – Price : $1.99 – Publisher – Atlantyca Entertainment. ( Being scared is all part of the fun! What do you get when you take one very heroic bat in the world’s most creepy place? The Monster-Help! A mummy who cannot sleep? An ogre with love problems? A vampire who has lost his teeth? No problem: here it’s Bat Pat! Drag Bat Pat through 30 different levels in three creepy locations, avoid the traps and discover all his super powers! Because the monsters don’t really want to hurt anyone. In fact, what they really want is… help. Drive them out from every room and solve their problem… But watch out, don’t get too closed to them! ) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
	Hero Mages – Price : $2.99 – Publisher – D20Studios (Hero Mages is a turn-based tactical strategy fantasy game that combines the fun of role playing games (RPGs) with competitive and cooperative cross-platform multiplayer gameplay. Designed and developed by a single individual driven to share his passion for gaming with the world, Hero Mages also blends the best elements of tabletop miniature and collectible card games.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW

There you have it folks, these games should keep you busy for quite some time. I’ll be back next week for another dose of iOS goodness, in the meantime if anyone would also like to suggest their own suggestions, please feel free to share them in the comments section below.

Remember kids,

Play Hard Or Don’t Play At All!

Game Play Videos coming soon.

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MasterAbbott’s iOS Game Suggestions #15