Grab your stylus: Scribblenauts sequel coming this fall
5th Cell’s Scribblenauts had quite the lofty intentions, even if its wings began to melt a bit as it approached the goal. Still, the revolutionary game in which the entire game world can be influenced by your jotted words, apparently was profitable enough to warrant a sequent after mixed reviews.
Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced plans for a Sribblenauts follow up that’s set to arrive this fall. In it, players control the returning hero, Maxwell, as he attempts to snag the “Starite,” the prize earned from solving the various puzzles.
Review: Bejeweled Twist (DS)
I’m of fairly certain mind that no video game developer wants their product associated with drugs (well, at least publicly), but Popcap’s Bejeweled series, in its many incarnations, has been my equivalent of digital crack. The most recent addiction has been Bejeweled Blitz which has devoured the vast majority of may Facebook time. Forget friends, forget updating the status; there’s not much social networking going on when all you can eat, sleep, and breathe is matching colored shapes.
So when Bejeweled Twist was announced, I was naturally curious. Bejeweled Blitz, after all, is my favorite puzzle game of all time–how could Bejeweled Twist compare? It turns out that it’s remarkably solid, although I still prefer the intense pressure cooker structure of Bejeweled Blitz.
Vempire Takes A Bite Out Of The Puzzle and Strategy Genres
Vampires rule this country and there’s nothing to be done that can stop their reign.
A casual stroll through Barnes & Noble this past weekend opened my eyes to this fact as I watched teenagers, young adults, and a few people who looked to be beyond the target demographic flock to the True Blood and Twilight novels that peppered romance and fantasy sections. Whether you think that sparkly, emo bloodsuckers are the epitome of fiction, or further proof f the softening of America, you can’t deny the recent impact of the vampire.
Impressionware is looking to appeal to vampire-lovers with Vempire, a casual puzzle game for Sony’s handhelds that asks players to collect artifacts, summon minions, and collect powers to be used during the levels. Strategic thinking will be required to tackle the various different levels and the monsters the player will challenge to become king of the monster empire. Vempire is available now from the PSN.
Popcap Releases Its First Hidden Object Game For Mac: Escape Rosecliff Island
Hidden object games is a genre that, frankly, sounds boring and perhaps a hair tedious until you give one a go. My first entry into the genre was Dream Day Wedding, a game that totally tanked a weekend as I became obsessed with finding all of the items cleverly blended into the beautiful backgrounds. It was far more passive experience than, say, playing a beat ‘em up, but the level of engagement was far greater.
Popcap looks to contribute to the underappreciated genre with Escape Rosecliff Island, the company’s first game of this type for the Mac. After an unexpected storm has left you shipwrecked on a mysterious private island, and you’ll need to find hidden objects and solve puzzles to escape. Popcap has included 2,100 concealed objects in 25 locations, plus five different types of mini-game puzzles and numerous clues that will lead you to safety.
Jump over to Popcap Game’s website to download a free trial version, for purchase it outright for a cool $20.
Minimum System Requirements
- Mac OS X 10.4.11
- 1.66-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
- 512MB RAM
- Internet connection to register the game
Review: Magical Drop Touch (iPhone/iPod touch)
Bubble popping games have been the face of “casual” gaming for decades, but the more hardcore among us may have mistaken them nothing more than the playthings of those that aren’t “true” gamers. I’ll openly admit that I once dwelt in that camp, but it was the Neo Geo’s Magical Drop III that swayed me to the side of those that seek light merriment in making colorful orbs burst.
Review: Scribblenauts (DS)
Scribblenauts is not a good game.
The controls are absolutely maddening. All movement is controlled by the touch screen, and that wouldn’t be so bad if every other action in the game (save moving the camera) weren’t also controlled by the very same tiny surface. You combine these controls with a physics system that would most accurately be described as “zany,” and you find your little jumpy man, frantically hopping around until he inevitably nose dives into the pool of lava you were just trying to build a damn bridge over.
But then, you were a fool for trying to use a bridge. They never work. Next time, go with wings and a rope. You can solve almost every puzzle with wings and a rope. In fact, of the thousands of words in Scribblenauts‘ dictionary, you will only need about five or six for you basic utilitarian purposes. Sure, some of the other puzzles will ask you kindergarten-level pseudo-riddles like, “What kind of animal lives at a farm?” Maybe you’ll squeal with glee before typing, “cow.” But that’s about all you’ll really need from the dictionary.
Mini-Review: Chu Chu Rocket (Dreamcast)
As many games there are in the puzzle genre only a few of them can hold my attention. Lumines, Super Puzzle Fighter, and of course, Tetris, are among the few I care about, though once in a while I pull out the Dreamcast to replay one of my favorite – and one of the oddest – exports out of Japan, Chu Chu Rocket.
A puzzler by Sonic Team, the goal is to lay down arrow panels that direct your brainless mice to safety – into rocketships – before the evil orange cats get to them. Imagine Lemmings with more stalking felines and interstellar travel.
Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming Sprouting in a Game Store Near You
Say what you will about the general non-excitement of a series based on farming and agriculture, but Harvest Moon is one of the rare RPG franchises that actually garners my attention with each release. The fact that it’s decidedly non-swords/dragons/spells/grinding certainly helps, as that aspect of gaming has been beat to death with a dusty broomstick. So it was with much joy that I set my weary eyes on today’s news that Natsume’s Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is heading to a Gamestop near you right now.
Set in the world of last year’s Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is a puzzle game that continues the tale of the island’s residents. As the press release states:
Something strange is happening on Sunny Island! Crops are popping up everywhere and growing out of control! If something isn’t done soon, the once-tranquil island will be buried in an avalanche of vegetables! It’s up to the player to solve the mystery of this produce predicament as they tame the crops and gather as many vegetables as they can!
Besides dodging out of control exclamation points, players select one of 12 characters that have their own unique stories and abilities that enable them to stop the overflow of veggies. Judging by the gameplay video, characters can unleash farm-related power ups (such as chickens or cows) that trigger very cool anime-inspired cut scenes.
The game features a variety of modes, but the most interesting may be the Multi-Player mode where you can test your farming skills against a bud’s, and even play against people who don’t have the cart via the Nintendo DS’ Download Play. Unlockables include character art, music, and special surprises in the Collection Room.
Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming is available for a cool $30.
Zuma’s Revenge! Comes to Macs and PCs on 9/15
Popcap Games, the mad and wondrous wizards behind Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 and Plants vs. Zombies, announced that the ball-blasting action of the smash hit Zuma is returning this September 15th in Zuma’s Revenge!
This sequel brings the our heroic amphibious friend to the Polynesian paradise of Zhaka Mu where he fires colored spheres into a seemingly never-ending chain of balls to make matches of three or more. The Mac and PC-compatible title features high-resolution 2D graphics, 3D-particle effects, support for widescreen monitors, new mechanics, gameplay modes, and power ups such as Laser Frog and Lightning Color Nuke.
In order to make sure that Zuma’s Revenge! is up to snuff, Popcap has recruited Rick Fortin (whose score of 3,384,820 in the original Zuma is the highest in the known universe) to beta test the game. Video of the game in action can be found here.
Zuma ranks right up there with Tetris as one of those rare puzzlers that manage to sap away hour after hour of my day if I decide to fire up a session. Anyone else geeked for this followup?
Review: Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 (PC)
Popcap merges a brain challenging puzzler with the most basic of fighting game elements in Bookworm Adventures Volume 2, the sequel to 2006’s Bookworm Adventures. Like its predecessor, Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 places our plucky protagonist, Lex, into a gauntlet of storybook-inspired challenges which require deft word-forming ability in order to defeat enemies. It may not posses the “I gotta play just one more match” draw that permeated Plants vs. Zombies, but it’s a very enjoyable title nonetheless.
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