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Mystery P.I: The Lottery Ticket Review

Katie Bennett
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0

Game : Mystery P.I. : The Lottery Ticket
Publisher : POPCAP GAMES
Developer : POPCAP GAME
Genre : Puzzle / Hidden Object Game
Format : PC
Buy Now : Online POPCAP Store

Who doesn’t dream of winning the lottery – with the possible exception of past mega jackpot winners of course! That said, even Donald Trump himself might be swayed by the 488 million dollars of virtual prize money at stake in the latest Mystery P.I game from puzzle specialists PopCap, Mystery P.I: The Lottery Ticket.

At the start of this installment we discover that ol’ grandma Rose has correctly picked the lucky numbers needed to snag a frankly staggering 488 million dollar prize in a lottery draw. All well and good, fantastic in fact until the forgetful senior realises that she has unwittingly lost her ticket. Talk about some serious bad luck! Only grandma Rose will know the sweet pleasure and pain of what must have gone from the elation of this life changing, potential best day ever to the deepest despair in a heartbeat as the reality of her faux pas sets in! Although such a loss is enough to test even the most grounded of people thankfully grandma didn’t lose her faculties along with the winning slip and hires a private investigator to find the lost ticket before time runs out. And here’s where the player steps in, asking for little more than thanks in return for your professional help… okay who am I kidding – your fee for this job, only 20 million dollars! As what must be the most expensive private investigator in history you have just 12 hours to find the missing ticket. Did I mention your reward for doing so is a whopping 20 million dollars? Better get cracking then…

Put simply, the objective of Mystery P.I: The Lottery Ticket is to locate hidden items dispersed throughout the city to progress to each new level. At the end of each level you are also required to seek out the hidden jigsaw pieces, of which there are 20. In doing so you will complete the puzzle to unlock the bonus stage which in turn unlocks the final level where the missing lottery ticket can be found, aka pay dirt!

Mystery P.I goes easy on you at first by giving players a fairly short list of items to find within different locations within the city. The earlier stages each require you to find around 20 different objects per level to progress onwards. This increases to around 80 plus on later stages. Despite the relatively high number of objects to locate down the stretch the game never gets boring and instead compels you to keep hunting as the timer steadily counts down to the twelfth hour. Even at it’s most challenging, this addictive little scavenger hunt never devolves into a needle in the haystack affair and rewards players for quick thinking and accuracy by giving extra points if you find the items quickly.

PopCap certainly aims to challenge even the most seasoned of gamers and puzzle game veterans. Players may initially find success by scanning locations for collectable objects by their individual colours but time is quickly called on that tactic and, as is to be expected from any good puzzler, as the game progresses so do the complexity of the levels. For example, some areas later in the game are based underwater which not only provides objects with a unique new perspective but, as with the lounge levels, means that objects are incredibly well disguised with many being of a similar hue to the background scenery and very difficult to spot at first glance. Furthermore, as players progress more and more random objects appear making it even more of a challenge to find the ones needed. There are hints available to players at any time although these come at a price with 7500 points being deducted for each one used. That said the actual learning curve isn’t too steep and the game does a great job of easing the player in to the action and remains fun throughout it’s 20 levels.

After finding the required amount of items needed to progress to each new level you will be presented with a mini-game in the form of a memory test. This can get a little repetitive but each memory game smartly requires a you to not only group objects that match by colour but also by use. For example, a tennis ball and a tennis racket or a horse and a horse shoe. After finishing each memory based mini-game you will be given a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.  PopCap have also included additional mini-games within each of the city’s different locations giving players the option of finding up to 20 cleverly hidden keys which can be used to unlock bonus game modes such as Unlimited Seek and Find. In Unlimited Seek and Find players have no less than 2000 hidden items to find within each of the locations that appear on the game map (including bonus areas) increasing the longevity of the game considerably.

Its fairly commonplace for hidden object games to re-use locations and true to form Mystery P.I: The Lottery Ticket does exactly this. However, I actually found this helpful from time to time as revisiting certain areas enabled me to find keys that I missed upon my first visit. Mystery P.I certainly gets a thumbs up for it’s clever re-use of existing locations in this manner and as repeat play reveals you never seem to find the same item in the same location more then once or twice. This not only introduces a random element into the game but also requires that players continue to rely on skill and not memory, something which has marred other hidden object games in the past.

Occasionally the game can get a little testing when it comes to finding certain smaller objects especially as there is a tendency for them not always register on your first mouse click, particularly if they are surrounded by other items. Sometimes it can take several attempts to collect an object with each previous click costing you the valuable points needed to amass a high score or purchase clues. PopCap have come up with some pretty ingenious items for you to find over the course of the game and have really gone out of their way to try and fool players and keep them guessing throughout. During one of the levels for example you have to find five spots which I incorrectly assumed would be five different spots… In another location you are required to find two bats, turns out only one is a mammal! Mystery P.I definitely encourages out of the box thinking with some fairly wild resolutions.

Overall The Lottery Ticket is a highly enjoyable entry into the Mystery P.I series. The locations are varied and visually great and there are even some catchy tunes that help immerse you in the action without being overtly cheesy or becoming grating, surely a rarity amongst puzzlers! Whilst personally I felt the game could have benefited from a few additional levels this is predominantly because I was enjoying the experience and was sad to see it over so soon.  Although the object placement appears random in the main game the replay value after the ticket is found really hinges on whether the player has been able to find all twenty hidden keys to unlock the bonus Unlimited Seek and Find game mode and most importantly whether the player is having fun.  With unexpected twists and turns, an engaging storyline which keeps you guessing and fun and quirky mini-games, Mystery P.I: The Lottery Ticket proves to be great fun and a solid addition to the series from PopCap. I’d certainly encourage puzzle fans to give it a spin to see if poor ol’ grandma Rose ever becomes filthy rich ol’ grandma Rose! Hopefully the 20 million dollar reward for finding the missing lottery ticket won’t see this particular Private Investigator go into premature retirement…

8-0-capsules-out-of-10

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project – XBLA Review

Dylan Radcliffe
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4

Game Name: Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
Platforms: Xbox 360
Publisher(s): Xbox LIVE Arcade
Developer(s): 3D Realms
Genre(s): Action
Release Date: 6/23/2010
ESRB Rating: M (Mature) Blood and Gore Violence
Price: 800MSP ($10 USD)
Demo: Add the Demo to your download Queue here.

Story
“Duke Nukem is back in Duke Nukem Manhattan Project™! New York City is being overrun by a mutant menace and it’s time to de-worm the Big Apple. This explosive 3-D action game features the politically incorrect action hero defending the city that never sleeps, and its babes, from the evil Mech Morphix across 24 levels from Chinatown to Space. A super-sized collection of weapons, enemies and bosses await. As Duke would say, “Babes, bullets, bombs. Man, I love this job!”” [Via Xbox.com]

Take control of Duke Nukem as you fight against Mech Morphix and his evil mutated forces. Mech Morphix is placing GLOPP bombs throughout New York city on scantily dressed girls. It is your job to save the girls and in turn save the world from Mech Morphix. The game does indeed take place in New York city, even it isn’t noticeable due to a lack of any noticeable landmarks.


Gameplay
The side scrolling gameplay for this game is quite fun. There are multiple dimensions in each level and by pressing up you can either go deeper into the levels background or closer to the camera at certain locations. While this mechanic is pretty good at creating much bigger and more complicated levels, it tends to make the player lost and confused. I found myself lost a few times in some levels, just to find out there is one location in the background that I could go into.

A majority of the game is focused on shooting and jumping through the levels. It would’ve been nice if there was more focus put onto these roles, since such a large majority of the game has to do with it. Sadly double jumping is awkward and annoying at times, and many of the guns are hard to aim. You can either shoot forward, or up. Pipe Bombs are even more annoying to use since they have a certain range and they are hard to aim. The game still succeeds successfully in both fields and you get used to the style pretty quickly.

Every level contains a multitude of secret areas as well as collectable “Nukes”. By collecting all 10 within a level you gain a stat increase that will help you later in the game. The stat increase sadly isn’t that noticeable. The “Nukes” do provide something to collect for those people that enjoy collecting things. As for the achievement, you only need to collect half of them and on most levels you will easily get 5 of the 10 without even trying.

There are 8 levels in total, and each level consists of 3 zones. In order to progress through each zone you have to find the key card and rescue the babe. This progress gets repetitive after a while, but by the time it gets really annoying the game comes to a close. At the end of each level you have to fight a boss. These bosses aren’t challenging and only require you to pump them full bullets. The last boss is pretty epic though, and kind of challenging but I’ll let you see his awesomeness for yourself.


Audio & Graphics
Classic Duke Nukem music is back to tantalize the player’s ears. There are also regular comments made by Duke Nukem as you play through the levels. Each level has a specific music track and some even have unique ‘Duke’ sayings specifically for that level. The music is only audible if you are actually trying to listen for it, at all other times you just hears Duke Nukem jumping around, shooting, and spitting out one liners.

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a 2D sidescroller with 3D models. The game is actually really dark, and I suggest increasing the brightness to the max. With it at a normal darkness it is almost impossible to even see anything. The most memorable graphical thing in the game are the explosions, but it is Duke Nukem after all.


Achievements
The achievements in Duke Nukem are easy. There is nothing more to say about it. You will get pretty much all the achievements just by beating the game on easy. You have to pick up nukes and squish a few enemies that you demutate, but overall you can get every achievement in one playthrough on easy. The hardest achievement is literally beating the first level in less than 3 minutes, and even that one only takes a few attempts to memorize exactly where everything is. Some people may like these easy achievements because they either want an easy 200g or they have OCD and like a game that they can complete. Other people won’t like these easy achievements because there is literally nothing to go back to after you beat the game.

The Achievement List is:

  • Deworming the Big Apple – 20 – Finish ‘Rooftop Rebellion’
  • Confucius Say…Die – 20 – Finish ‘Chinatown Chiller’
  • Max Pain on the A-Train – 20 – Finish ‘Metro Mayhem’
  • I Love the Smell of Sewer Scum – 20 – Finish ‘Unholy Underworld’
  • Worker Safety, Last – 20 – Finish ‘Fearsome Factory’
  • This Ain’t the Love Boat – 20 – Finish ‘Tanker Trouble’
  • Going Down Faster Than Enron – 20 – Finish ‘Deviant Drilling’
  • Space, the Final Frontier – 20 – Finish ‘Orbital Oblivion’
  • My Boots Are Made For Stompin’ – 10 – Stomp on 20 enemies.
  • Pig Out – 10 – Kill 75 enemies.
  • Glow Like Dr. Manhattan – 10 – Collect 120 Nuke symbols.
  • New York Minute – 10 – Finish the first level in under 3 minutes.

There are also two Avatar Awards in Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project. See the video below for what they look like.

  • Jetpack :: Complete the game.
  • Male/Female T-Shirt :: Save one Babe.

Overview
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a sweet and fun game featuring the ultimate antihero, Duke Nukem. This game is an awesome Action Sidescroller. Duke’s one liners are funny and witty but tend to get annoying and not everyone will like them. Some camera angles are kind of awkward and the multi dimensional levels can make you lost at times, but the game is still a fun experience. For only 800MSP, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a fun package that also has avatar awards. Some people may not like the sidescrolling Duke Nukem, but download the trial and give it a try.
I give Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
8-0-capsules-out-of-10

Pros

  • Save the New York as Duke Nukem and hear his witty Remarks.
  • Leaderboards
  • Perfect Length

Cons

  • Awkward camera angles.
  • Once you beat it there isn’t much reason to continue playing.
  • Hard to tell where to go sometimes

Optional

  • Easy Achievements could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.

Knights Contract – Hot cinematic trailer!

Gyzmo34
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0

We have new details about Namco-Bandai’s future action-adventure title, Knights Contract.

This time it’s a cinematic trailer depicting what appears to be a woman being chased by some human-looking atrocities. She is saved at the last moment by a warrior wielding a sword-like weapon.

The game will come out sometime in 2011 and will be available for the X-Box 360 and the PS3.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit – Driver and police devices!

Gyzmo34
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0

New game info has been released for the upcoming title in the NFS series!

It seems that as a driver we will make use of the, now common, Nitrous Boost which will be upgradable to Overdrive. We will also have  a cloaking device and a decoy.

Police will use road blocks and spike strips, they will also be able to call air support (which in turn will have the ability to deploy spike strips) and use an Electro-Magnetic Pulse Device (EMP) which will reverse the drivers’ controlls.

The game, which is being developed by Criterion Games and published by EA, is set to be released on November 16th and will be available for the PC, X-Box, PS3 and Wii.

Silent Hill 8 – Debut Trailer is out!

Gyzmo34
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1

The debut trailer for Silent Hill 8 has just been released!

The newest title in the series tells the story of Murphy Pendleton, a convict who after the prison bus has an accident, takes shelter in (can you guess?) Silent Hill!

The game is being developed for the X-Box and PS3 by Vatra Games and will be published by Konami. Both companies promised “an all-new storyline and unique evolutions in gameplay” for this horror action adventure title.

Dead Rising 2 rising up on the 1st of October !!

Philip Federico
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1

Capcom today confirmed that one of this year’s most hotly anticipated titles, Dead Rising 2, is set for release throughout Europe on October 1st. Sequel to the million plus seller, Dead Rising, and set in the gambling paradise of Fortune City, Dead Rising 2 introduces new main character, Chuck Greene, and delivers 1000s more zombies with even more ways to defeat them as players try to survive for 72 hours in this darkly comedic, no holds-barred action title.

Who’s excited about this ?? I IS !! Get ready for some no holds bared ZOMBIE DESTRUCTION on the 1st of October !!

1112 Episode 2 Review

Travis Bruno
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1


1112: Episode 2
Platform: iPhone (Reviewed), iPod Touch
Developer: Agharta Studios
Genre: Mystery, Mild Horror, Adventure
Last Update: May 10, 2010
Price: $4.99 – Buy Now!

Story:
Right off the bat as you begin the story, you are shown a bit of a recap over what happened in the first episode of 1112.  Though this little bit of a recap is very vague but covers the bases in what you will be seeing in episode two.  The game itself picks up quite literally where the very first episode left off, which is a nice touch.

You control Louis who is the owner of an antique store, but has severe headaches often and sees very strange visions.  As Louis awakes he finds himself in a hotel room with zero recollection of how he got there or why he was there.  Thus begins a very muddy story of what happened to Louis, though more questions are raised than asked throughout the storyline, as intriguing as it may be.

Graphics:
One thing you will notice quite literally as soon as you load up the game from the iPhone/iTouch menu, is that the game is beautifully drawn and flat out gorgeous.  One of the first things you will notice upon waking up in the hotel room is that the rain on the outside is actually moving, pattering against the window.  This stays true throughout the adventure as the background is rarely ever static.  Each character is also very well drawn and the attention to small details are very noticeable.

Also every item that you pick up an object it enters your inventory, which there you can then view for a closer look.  In this closer examination you can turn the object and discover various bits of extra information in a three dimensional plane which looks very well done.

Sound:
When you have graphics as good as the ones in 1112, then of course you would have sound to back them up correct?  Thankfully the atmospheric sound and the bit of background music is very well done and each area fits well.  The various sound effects to things occurring around you and things you are doing yourself also sync up perfectly.

My only complaint is that there was literally zero voice over work for the large amount of text you will be dealing with, but a nice feature is that when you begin the game, it says that it was designed for headphones.  Trust me in saying that the headphones add to the overall experience of the game by increasing the atmosphere.

Gameplay:
As this is a point and click adventure game, the gameplay is entirely point and press. As you look through an area you will have something akin to a monocle at your fingertip which highlights areas in the environment that can be interacted with. The majority of these objects do not have an actual function in the gameplay, but it is funny to tell Louis to lick a glass case and see what he says. Also the feature of being able to zoom into the environment is a nice feature that helps with your exploration.

Beyond exploring the environment you can also find clues to what has happened by talking to the various people you meet in the environment.  While you talk to them there are a few select clues that you can talk about already set up, however during a conversation if a green word appears you can touch it and then ask said person about it.  This is a nice little feature, and the extra conversation pieces while not necessary, help to set up the story well.

Through this method you will find various items that will be useful, so try to interact with everything that you can. When such an object is obtained, there is also the option to see the item in a turnable environment, which can reveal more clues and is a nice little feature reminiscent of the first few Resident Evil games.

Also reminiscent of every good adventure game, are the puzzles. There are quite a few puzzles to be dealt with, most of which involve simple uses of items you have previously collected. Others use the iPhone/iTouch’s two touch system. However there is a puzzle with a bit of an annoyance.

The annoyance appears when it comes to the increasingly difficult Sudoku. Yes there is Sudoku in the game coming in three different levels. There is no tutorial for this bit and there is also no way to bypass it. Potentially one instance of Sudoku would have been excusable but when it shows up three different times it is an annoyance and feels like artificial game lengthening. Also for those who have never played Sudoku or who are simply not good at it, could be stopped dead at this part without the use of a solver.

One small bit of enjoyability though, is that the game does recognize certain motions with the iPhone/iTouch. To use Louis’ phone you must make the same action you would as if you were dialing on the iPhone. Plus once you obtain the crowbar you have the option to use it nearly everywhere, though be prepared for the consequences.

Overall:
1112 Episode 2 contains many of the features you would have seen in Episode 1, but upgraded. The story is furthered a bit but there are still plenty of questions unanswered. Throw in a few random instances that make zero sense, and a few puzzles that are irritating and you see what the game can do incorrectly. But beyond these few missteps, 1112 E.2 is an adept adventure game and most likely one of the best you will find on the iPhone/iTouch.

I give 1112: Episode 2

6-0-capsules-out-of-10

Vehicle Customization in Mafia II gameplay video

Travis Bruno
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3

Getting rid of the cops is a bit more complicated in Mafia II, especially if you so happen to be caught performing a crime in one of your favorite vehicles, or stealing a potential favorite. In the gameplay below you will see that instead of a simple pay n’ spray type legalization, you actually have to change the plates of the vehicle, adjust the paintwork and the tires. You can even change the type of alloy used on the car’s frame.

In the beginning half of the video we see how car interaction works though. Popping tires and shooting engines has always been seen before, but the interesting feature of being able to look under the hood is now included, which could mean potential repairs done by your own mobster.

Catch Mafia II on store shelves on August 24th in the US, and August 27th elsewhere.

Capcom PC games on sale for 72 hours

Philip Federico
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1

How perfect is this … Capcom are currently running a 72-hour PC game sale. Smashing over 50 % off the prices of 7 major PC titles.

Below are the titles on sale.

  • Dark Void — was $59.99, now $14.99
  • Street Fighter IV — was $39.99, now $14.99
  • Neopets Puzzle Adventure — was $29.99, now $14.99
  • Dark Void Zero — was $9.99, now $4.99
  • MotoGP 08 — was $39.99, now $9.99
  • Age of Booty — was $9.99, now $4.99
  • Flock — was $14.99, now $4.99

Make your way over to the  to grab yourself a bargain before time runs out !!

King’s Quest – The Silver Lining Coming July 11

Philip Federico
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0

You asked for it .. you begged for it .. you pleaded for it .. and FINALLY Activision have approved the release of Phoenix Online Studios’s fan-man King’s Quest Episode 1 : The Silver Lining.  Phoenix Online Studios is a group of dedicated game developers who have devoted themselves to making adventure games.

If you’re as old as I am you will know all too well about the King’s Quest series by Sierra who were also the masterminds behind such other classics like Leisure Suit Larry and Police Quest.  The King’s Quest series had a total of eight titles  from 1984 to 1998 in which Roberta Williams had a hand in all of them. I still believe that the King’s Quest series was one of the most interesting and complicated adventure game series from Sierra. 

King’s Quest Episode 1 of The Silver Lining is coming soon on July 10th, and check out the official website at :  tsl-game.com for all the latest news as we count down to Release Day!

We also have the trailer  below, click play and enjoy 🙂

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