New Year's Resolutions

We've come a long way this year, haven't we? With (at the time of writing) 160 posts and 8916 views from all across the world, it really has been a good year. Thanks to everyone who read, shared and commented on the blog who without, this blog would still be stuck on 100 views! Thanks to the game companies who have put out some really good games this year so that we have enough material to write about. Thanks to anyone who has put blogs link up on their own blog (retrocosm.net), so we can get just a few more views. And finally, thanks to the writers of this blog as, without their smart ideas about walkthroughs, Top 5's, YouTube, app reviews etc., this blog would be so much less. With all the cheesy stuff out of the way, here are some things you can look forward to next year:

The 12 Generations of Gaming - Gen 6

On the 6th gen of gaming,
Rockstar sent to me,
Lots of steal-ing.

On the 6th gen of gaming,
Microsoft sent to me,
X Box No. 1

The Sixth Generation – 1998 - 2013

Consoles:
Xbox Classic
PlayStation 2
GameCube
Sega Dreamcast

Popular Games:
Halo 2
Super Smash Bros Melee
GTA: San Andreas
Call of Duty

This is the generation that I really got into gaming (with the PlayStation 2 actually) and apparently not much changed from fifth gen other than better hard drives and new reaches in graphics and software. It also saw the rise of the Xbox as well as the fall of Sega as well as the best-selling console of all time (PlayStation 2).

In this post, I will talk about all four consoles as well as some of the best software to grace their systems.

The 12 Generations of Gaming - Gen 5

On the 5th gen of gaming,
Nintentdo sent to me,
Six-teee Four!

On the 5th gen of gaming,
Sony sent to me,
Play- stat-ion!

On the 5th gen of gaming,
The world sent to me,
Three Dee-e-e!

The Fifth Generation – 1993 - 2001

Consoles:
PlayStation
Nintendo 64
Sega Saturn
3DO
Atari Jaguar

Popular Games:
Metal Gear Solid
The Need for Speed
Tomb Raider

The fifth generation marked the beginning of the 3D era (also known as the 32 or 64-bit era) as well as a massive jump in gaming technology. The 5th gen also saw the end of using bits as a show of power (except the Nintendo 64 and some Atari Jaguar adverts) as they had reached a technological level that meant that just having more bits didn't relate to power as much as before. Finally, the fifth generation saw the rise of emulation due to many PC's being able to successfully emulate older 8-16-bit games. The development of the Internet also helped with this as well as being able to download and store ROM's onto PC's.

In this post, I will talk about the three main consoles of the generation (PlayStation Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn) as the other two (3DO and Atari Jaguar) didn't make enough of an impact for future gens so are not included here. Of course, I will also be talking about the software of the gen however, for games like Pokémon please be patient as a post will be coming soon.

The 12 Generations of Gaming - Gen 4

On the 4th gen of gaming,
Sega sent to me,
Mega Drive, and Soni-ic.

On the 4th gen of gaming,
Nintendo sent to me,
A world of Mari-o

On the 4th gen of gaming,

The World sent to me,

Nintendo and Sega rivalry.

The Fourth Generation – 1988 - 99

Consoles:
Mega Drive/Sega Genesis
TurboGrafX/ PC Engine
SNES/Super Famicon
Neo Geo

Popular Games: 
Sonic the Hedgehog
Super Mario World
Samurai Showdown
Bonk's Adventure
Starfox/Starwing

And so, the 8-bit era ended only to bring around the 16-bit era of gaming bringing with it the SNES and Sega Mega Drive as well as a few more consoles and lots of games including IP's like Sonic the Hedgehog and Starfox. It was also the first time when several companies started to take notice of the gaming industry and start to make plans to release consoles in the future. Once again, Nintendo led the crowd but this time was closely followed by Sega. Let the rivalries commence.

Once again, I am going to talk about both some of the consoles as well as a few of the more important games.

The 12 Generation Of Gaming - Gen 3

On the third gen of gaming,
The Nintendo sent to me.
Many new IP-e-es.

On the third gen of gaming,
Sega sent to me,
The Sega Mark III.

The Third Generation – 1983 - 95

Consoles:
Atari 2600
NES/Famicon
Sega Master System
Atari 7800
Nintendo Game and Watch

Popular Games:
Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros
Metroid
Dragon Quest/Warrior 
Final Fantasy
Mega Man 2
Metal Gear
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
FIFA International Soccer

It's time for third gen now and some of the more recognisable and popular games are making an entrance as well as some brilliant hardware as well. Third gen (also known as the 8-bit era) signalled the end of the North American video game crash as well as the transition of gaming dominance from North America to Japan. Also, the blocky graphics are gone! (well almost) Sprite based graphics are here to stay. The world says hooray! Gaming companies get pay! If you don't like these rhymes just say... Yeah, I'm going to stop that now. Other pivotal features of the third gen include: the amazing D-pad, better scrolling, 256*240 resolution and 32 colour graphics!

In this post, I'm going to talk about both the hardware as well the software. Oh, and some of you may have noticed the lack of any handheld hardware based paragraphs but don't worry, they will be coming later.

The 12 Generations of Gaming - Gen 2

On the second gen of gaming,
Atari sent to me
A game which didn't start with P.

On the second gen of gaming,
The world sent to me,
The video game crash of 82 and 3.

On the second gen of gaming,
Nintendo sent to me,
the handheld industry.

The Second Generation – 1977 - 83

Consoles:
Atari 2600
Intellivision
Colecovision

Popular Games:
Space Invaders
Pitfall
Pac-Man
Mario Bros.
Donkey Kong
Galaga 
Frogger
Breakout 
Asteroids 

And so, the first generation came to an end but with its death it brought rise to a new generation of gaming, which brought another, and another, and another... well you get the picture. It introduced things such as the microprocessor as well as 2 to eight colour graphics! It's so colourful! Second gen also brought about many companies and games that would define and change the video game industry forever. 

Rather than talk about the consoles that were in this generation like I did with my last post I've decided to write about the games as it was them that really defined the 2nd generation. Ever heard of Space Invaders? What about Pac-Man? Mario? Donkey Kong? Of course you have. At least I hope you have. If not, you definitely need to read the next few paragraphs.

Top 5 - Best Selling Video Game Home Consoles

This Top 5 is dedicated to the facts not my opinion (not all of it anyway). Anyway, on with the post. What are the best-selling Video Game Home Consoles of all time?

The 12 Generations of Gaming - Gen 1

On the 1st gen of gaming,
Magnavox sent to me,
The Magnavox Odyssey.

On the 1st gen of gaming,
Atari sent to me,
Tennis like Pixel-ls.

The First Generation – 1972-77

Consoles:
Magnavox Odyssey
Atari Pong

Popular Games:
Spacewar!
Pong

So then, the first gen of gaming saw the rise of many greats including Atari and their game Pong. Pong is largely considered to be the first commercially successful video game of all time, but it is not the first. That prestigious title goes to the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device in 1947. But to bring it back to the time of 1st gen (and something that resembles a video game) we'll cut down the competition to just coin operated systems which means the prestigious title would go to Computer Space in 1971. Although games like Spacewar! were released 10 years earlier.

So, the success of that paragraph: confusing you all and showing everyone how messed up the start of the video game industry was. Don't worry, it gets easier from here. 

Top 5 - Nintendo Home Consoles

This Top 5 is all about Nintendo and the great home consoles they have made and revolutionised gaming with. Enjoy.

Review No. 66 Mario Kart Wii - Wii (3+)

Strong Points:
Lots of items
Lots of characters including hidden ones
Lots of stages
Time Trial, Grand Prix and Versus are great
Up to 12 players on multiplayer
Bikes and Karts are completely different adding variety
Tricks help you to overtake the competition

Weak Points:
Online servers are weak although the actual gameplay is all right
Characters don't have their own speeds and strengths but have the same as in their class decreasing variety
Not very challenging
Some items are overpowered
Battles aren't the best

Review No. 65 Wii Play - Wii (3+)

Strong Points:
Nice graphical styles for the games
Good use of Mii's
Another showcase for the Wii Remote
Shooting Range, Charge!, Tanks! and Laser Hockey are good fun
Addictive
Anyone can play

Weak Points:
Only 9 minigames
Soon gets repetitive
The rest of the games suffer from bad controls or lack of originality
Having to unlock each of the games is a chore, especially when you have to play through the lacklustre ones to get to others which may be more fun

Video Game Character of the Month - December 2013 - Pac-Man - Pac-Man

Video Game Character of the Month

December 2013

Pac-Man
Pac-Man

Overview
Oh Pac-Man, what are you? A pizza missing a slice? A Japanese character? A legend? A hero? A fat little half circle who's afraid of ghosts and likes pellets and fruit? Well the answer is all these things and more. Oh Pac-Man, thank you.
Sorry about that, now back to the award. I have always liked Pac-Man and have enjoyed playing his games (if I can find them). A quick bit of info on Pac-Man:

App Review No. 29 Moto Heroz

Strong Points:

Great graphics

Variety of levels

Good amount of level packs/cars (11 in total)

Nice physics

Unique level design

Leaderboards are all right and don't seem completely out of reach

Weak Points:

Hard to get coins except for just completing levels

Massive difficulty spikes

Power ups are difficult to control sometimes

Upgrades are unoriginal

App Review No. 28 Tiny Tower

Strong Points:

Lots of floors

A variety of floors

Things aren't too expensive

You don't have to restock the tower daily as some things don't run out for a long time

Lots of different jobs

Bitbook is a nice addition

Bit bucks are easy to come by

Addictive

Weak Points: 

All to soon your tower reaches the sky and you can no longer compare its size to anything else

VIP's are a bit useless

Elevators can be ignored as you can rent rooms with bit bucks

Trying to find someone that looks very similar to everyone else in a tower that is 100 floors high can be very boring

Challenges are boring and more or less useless

App Review No. 27 Stickman Downhill

Strong Points:
Addictive
Brilliant graphics
Good physics
Challenging
Lots of bikes
Lots of levels
League Cups (Europe etc.) are great

Weak Points:
Some difficulty spikes are too big
Frustrating
Some bikes require you to have accounts on other things e.g Facebook which some people may be too young to have.
Repetitive after a while

App Review No. 26 Fruit Ninja

Strong Points:
Great and innovative gameplay
All three modes are good fun
Lots of achievements
Lots of unlockable blades and stages
Premise of a Fruit Ninja is original
Lots of levels
Addictive
Competitive
Minigames and tournaments add more variety to the game (removed as of version 2.3.3)

Weak Points:
Blades/stages are only unlocked by spending the in games currency of starfruit (as of version 2.0 and removed as of version 2.3.3 - now unlocked by leveling up)

Besides graphically the blades and swords don't affect gameplay at all (no longer an issue as of version 2.0)
There aren't enough types of fruit!

App Review No. 25 NinJump Rooftops

Strong Points:
A good, solid endless runner
Good use of the enemy powerups from the last game
Good pick up powerups
Upgrades aren't ridiculously expensive
Multiple planes of view make it different from other endless runners
Addictive!

Weak Points:
Missions are basically useless except as a coin bonus due to there being no levelling system and therefore no competitiveness with missions
Some enemies (ninja, squirrel and bird) are really common and others (bee and panda) are less common but their power doesn't increase
Not enough upgrades (it would be nice if you could upgrade the enemy powerups as well)

Review No. 64 Wii Sports Resort - Wii (7+)

Strong Points:
Lots of games
Multiplayer is as good as Wii Sports
Single Player is fun
Even more variety
Better, more accurate controls
Swordplay, Wakeboarding, Table Tennis, Bowling, Cycling and Air Sports are great
Basketball, Archery are all right
Graphics are good for the console

Weak Points:
Golf, Canoeing, Frisbee and Power Cruising are not as good
Tennis isn't in the game!
While the Wii Remote Plus is good for controls, it is fiddly to put on especially with the Nunchuck which disrupts the flow of the game slightly
Some of the games are not as polished as the others

Review No. 63 Wii Sports - Wii (7+)

Strong Points:
Good range of sports
Variety of gameplay
Easier to pick up but challenging to master
Innovative controls
Multiplayer is amazing
Tennis and Bowling are amazing
Baseball is great
Boxing is good (when it works)
Training mode is fun for single player

Weak Points:
Golf is awful
Simple, not detailed graphics
Sometimes unresponsive controls
Not much depth
Single Player is not as fun as multiplayer

App Review No. 24 Hill Climb Racing

Strong Points:
Lots of content
Content is easy while still challenging to get
Gameplay is good
Gameplay changes (in stages and vehicles) are good and different
Great put time in get rewards back system
Addictive!

Weak Points:
Graphics aren't great
Controls are a bit fiddly
Some of the latest vehicles/ stages are a bit gimmicky
In some parts of the stages you can get stuck and have to wait for your fuel to run out

App Review No. 23 Parking Mania

Strong Points:

Lots of levels
Most levels are free
Reasonable IAP's
Fun gameplay
Addictive
Pick up and play value
Not very repetitive

Weak Points:
Controls aren't very responsive although there are three different ones to choose from
Massive difficulty spikes
Graphics aren't that good
Sounds get annoying
Always vibrates when you hit something (you can't turn it off)
Collision detectors aren't the best

Video Game Character of the Month - November 2013 - Red the Bird - Angry Birds

Video Game Character of the Month

November 2013

Red the Bird

Overview
Don't you think that the character of Red is a bit strange, I mean he's the leader of the Flock and yet he has no power? This might just be me but if I were Red, I would at least try to become a bit more powerful. But anyway, a little bit of info on Red:

App Review No. 22 Pocket Mine

Strong Points: 

Addictive, simple gameplay

Lots of content

Great music

Nice aesthetic upgrade changes for cards and picks

Chests enable you to get premium content for free (if you spend your time unlocking them, of course)

Characters add even more collectibility
More mines add more variety

Weak points: 

Graphics and animations are a bit boring

You end up getting a lot more chests than the keys needed to unlock them or you can have loads of keys but no chests

Missions can be frustrating

There is no message asking if you want to pay your premium cash (if you press the item accidentally it buys it for you)
You can only ask for artifacts through Facebook and not through Game Centre

Characters cost a lot of rubies

Review No. 62 GTA IV: Episodes of Liberty City: The Ballads of Gay Tony - PS3 18+

Sorry I haven't been doing anything recently, as you may have guessed I am the member of the blog that does the least, but don't worry, I'm still alive, just been very busy going through games to review (i.e. playing video games until the early hours and eating loads of chocolate....)

This is a bit of an outdated game now, as it was released a few years ago. But this was the real revolution of GTA. Now the graphics are still amazing, it is a hugely detailed map, and there are so many interactive parts of the map I can't even count them!

Strong Points:
Very interesting story
Many different vehicles to drive
Loads of new weapons

Weak Points:
Lots of bugs/ glitches
Not much to do when missions aren't available
Character not very customisable (same with vehicles)

First Impressions: Pokémon X and Y

I've played this game for about four hours now and I have to say I'm impressed. From the word go the game introduces you with a cinematic video that starts the game, the closest to a proper cut scene in the Pokémon series yet. Then you see yourself and the room you're in and I actually had to check if I was playing the right game, the graphics were so different. The next change occurred as soon as you stand up, when I moved the circle pad expecting a normal grid based movement, I was greeted with something that was also free movement! OK, it's no Dragon Quest or Skyrim like movement but it's still a huge improvement.

Review No. 61 Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 - DS (3+)

Strong Points:

Even more Pokémon to catch!

Lots of mini games and things to do post-story

Downloadable battles for PWT are challenging.

Nice graphics

Good League

Pokéstar studios are a fun and quite big mini game

Medals to collect and show off

Online infrastructure is good

Join Avenue is a good feature

Weak Points:

Not the best storyline

Linear world

Sprites are pixelated

Musical is awful compared to contests

Not enough high levelled trainers

Some Pokémon are only in certain stores or wi-fi events
Entralink is also bad

Review No. 60 Pokémon Black and White - DS (3+)

Strong Points:

156 new Pokémon

Great gyms

Good soundtrack

Lots to do post story

New pseudo 3D

Two EXP shares makes training a whole lot easier

Weak Points:

No VS Seeker or the ability to re battle trainers at all

The elite four are all the same level

You can't get any old Pokémon until post story

The musical is awful compared to contests

Entralink is terrible
Map is very linear (it's a circle for heaven's sake)
Except for ones given to you, berries are only available on Global Link

Review No. 59 Pokémon Platinum - DS (3+)

Strong Points:
VS Seeker in this game
Berries available to be picked
Pokétch is a good feature with upgrades for extra apps
Large non-linear map
Lots of things to do
Lots of legendries
Good and improved storyline
New trading/battling system is good
Global trade
Resort, survival and fight resorts add more to the game
Contests are back!
Secret bases are also back!
As is the Battle Frontier!
Palkia, Dialga and Giratina are available to capture
A few aesthetic and gameplay changes have been made

Weak Points:
Global trade has quite a few bugs
Rival is rubbish
Too many ubers
Underground isn't too fun without lots of people

Review No. 58 Pokémon Diamond - DS (3+)

Strong Points:
107 new Pokémon
VS Seeker is in the game
Berries available to be picked
Pokétch is a good feature with upgrades for extra apps
Large non-linear map
Lots of things to do
Lots of legendries
Good storyline
New trading/battling system is good
Global trade
Resort, survival and fight resorts add more to the game
Contests are back!
Secret bases are also back!

Weak Points:
Global trade has quite a few bugs
Rival is rubbish
Too many ubers
Underground isn't too fun without lots of people

Review No. 57 Pokémon Emerald - GBA (3+)

Strong Points:

Brilliant Story

Lots to do

Good gyms

Two bikes

Secret hideouts

Good Enemy Teams

Music is amazing

Pokémon sprites are good

Battle Frontier

Contests are good
Pokécentres and Pokémarts 

Cycling Road
Pokénav is awesome

Weak Points:

Can't level up very quickly

Trading is difficult

Wi-Fi events has finished and were quick to do so

Battle Frontier is overpowered compared to the league

Not much of a rival

Controls are slightly unsensitive
Your animation isn't as good as the Pokémon

Review No. 56 Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver - DS (3+)

Strong Points:
Two regions
16 badges
Lots of things to do
Pokéathlon is amazing
Lots of Pokéballs
Loads of nostalgia
Pokégear is great
The Battle Frontier is still here

Weak points:
The Pokéwalker isn't great
Storyline is weaker than other Pokémon games
The Victory Road is poor
Not the best rival ever

Review No. 55 Pokémon FireRed - GBA (3+)

Strong Points:
Hours of content
A massively updated version of the original games
Pokémon from Kanto to Hoenn
Great music
Lots of legendries
Lots to do after the main game
One of the only good rivals
Habitat mode on Pokédex is nice
Great storyline

Weak Points:
Trading system is terrible
You can't catch any of the Hoenn Pokémon (except Wynut) and many Johto aren't catchable either so a lot of trading is required
There aren't any mini games (that don't require wireless) like contests, Pokéstar studios etc.

Review No. 54 Pokémon Conquest - DS (3+)

Strong Points:

Great story

An amazing crossover

Innovative gameplay

Lots to do (such as final scenario)

Double collection (warriors and Pokémon)

Great abilities and warrior powers
Music and graphics are great

Weak Points:

There are many quests that are wi-fi downloaded and so are not available any more

Not quite as much strategic depth as other strategy games

Not all Pokémon are obtainable in the game

Your own castles are barely attacked
Items and resources are not needed to complete the main game

Review No. 53 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity - 3DS (3+)

Strong Points:
Storyline is good, can be surprising
Variety of buildings
Great music
Nice graphics
Some new mechanics are good

Weak Point:
Not much to compel you to keep playing after completion
Paid DLC to complete Pokémon "friended"
Only 150 Pokémon
Old mechanics like hunger are missing in main dungeons
Easier than other three

No personality test to decide starter Pokémon

Only five starter Pokémon

Review No. 52 Pokémon Mystery Dungeons Explorers of Sky - DS (3+)

Strong Points:
Great music
Huge map
Lots of things to do
Loads of Pokémon to befriend
Lots of legendary battles
Great and slightly darker storyline
Loads of Starters
Personality test is still great
Challenging
A variety of missions
Spinda's Cafe is a great touch
Special Episodes adds more to the game

Weak Points:
Can get frustrating
Music overtakes graphics yet again
Friendship areas are gone

It's much the same as its predecessor

Review No. 51 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time - DS (3+)

Strong Points:
Great music
Huge map
Lots of things to do
Loads of Pokémon to befriend
Lots of legendary battles
Great and slightly darker storyline
Loads of starters
Personality test is still great
Challenging
A variety of missions

Weak Points:
Can get frustrating
Music overtakes graphics yet again
Friendship areas are gone

Review No. 50 Pokémon Mystery Dungeons Blue Rescue Team - DS (3+)

Strong Points:

Amazing storyline

Great music

Brilliant ending

Nice gameplay

Lots of Pokémon

Friend areas are a nice touch

Personality test makes the game different to main series starts

Can be difficult

Lots to do

Weak points:

Wireless play isn't great

Can be frustrating

The music is far better than the graphics

Review No. 49 Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs - DS (3+)

Strong Points:

Brilliant, detailed graphics- for a Pokémon game
Guardian Signs adds more gameplay
Flying is fun if limited
Good story
Capturing is fun
Good controls
Can use Pokémon you capture in battles
Quests are good fun
Multiplayer is great
2 different times

Weak Points:
Only one partner
Not as many quests as the last one
Underwater is good but not as fun as flying
No online multiplayer
World isn't that big

Review No. 48 Pokémon Ranger: Shadows Of Almia - DS (3+)

Strong Points:
60 side quests to do
Capture arena is fun
Story is all right
Lots of partners
Good graphic style
Nice controls
Four different styluses
Can level up stylus
Charging
Great Music

Weak Points:
Long tutorial- not good for returning fans
Not many new features
Feels like the same game but with a new control system
Frustrating
Not as challenging as the first game

Review No. 47 Pokémon Ranger - DS (3+)

Strong Points:
Nice gameplay mechanics
Brilliant music.
Nice art style
Good story
Fun missions
Challenging
Need to get Manaphy in Diamond and Pearl

Weak Points:
Can't use Pokémon in battle only their powers
Capturing is frustrating
Not that much to do post-story

Review No. 46 Pokémon Battle Revolution - Wii (7+)

Strong Points:
Amazing graphics and animations!
Great music
Different gameplay for different coliseums
Transfer Pokémon from 4th gen enabled
Lots of content- do not take this game at face value!

Weak Points:
No storyline
No mini games
Pokémon after 4th gen are not transferable

Review No. 45 PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure - Wii (3+)

Strong Points:

3D Pokémon

Good attractions

Nice soundtrack

Fun, colourful graphics

Weak Points:

Very short

Easy to complete
Besides the attractions, the rest of it isn't great

Review No. 44 Pokémon Rumble - WiiWare (3+)

Strong Points:

Loads of Pokémon

Great bosses

Different battling system to the main series

Weak Points:

Rubbish storyline

Very repetitive

The same levels are repeated each time

Very hack n' slash

Review No. 43 Pokémon Link! - DS (3+)

Strong Points:

All right storyline

Challenging

Nice gameplay mechanics

Good art style
Nice sprites

Addictive

Lots of modes
Cool Music

Weak Points:

Difficulty spikes

Some modes are not as good as the others

Frustrating

Repetitive

Review No. 42 Pokémon Dash - DS (3+)

Strong Points:
All right controls
Nice clear menu where you can also play with Pikachu
Good multiplayer
All right terrain physics
Nice sound effects
Good tutorial
Lapras is fun
GBA levels are all right

Weak Points:
Repetitive
Slightly confusing with the hot air balloons
Graphics are bad
Boring
Can be completed easily
Power ups are unimaginative
Hot air balloons are boring
Music isn't great
Map is confusing
Insane difficulty spikes

Review No. 41 Pokémon Dream Radar - 3DS eShop (3+)

Strong Points:

Boss Battles are fun

Lots of exclusive Pokémon to catch

Music is great

AR effects are alright

Good add-on to the main series

Weak Points:

Long wait/ recharge times

Except for Boss Battles, Pokémon are not shown

Gets boring, slow and repetitive after a while

Upgrades are useless 

No challenge

Review No. 40 My Pokémon Ranch - WiiWare (3+)

Strong Points:

Great storage for your Pokémon

Lots of upgrades and Pokémon allowed

Exclusive legendries available

Nice graphics style

Good music

Weak Points: 

You can only take 20 pictures

You can't return to club look see members

Only Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are compatible

Review No. 39 Pokédex 3D - 3DS eShop (3+)

Strong Points:
Great 3D graphics
Evolutions, stats, matchup, type and description are all listed
FREE

Weak points:
No area listings
You don't start with all Pokémon
Only Unova Pokémon listed

App Review No. 21 Pokédex for iOS

Strong Points:

Great 3D graphics

A move and Pokémon Dex

Evolutions, stats, matchup, type and description are all listed

Weak Points:

You have to pay real money to get the different regions

The area where you can find Pokémon is not shown

Video Game Character of the Month - October 2013 - Steve - Minecraft

Video Game Character of the Month

October 2013

Steve
Minecraft

Overview

What do I think of Steve, the genderless cube person with a male name? Well I suppose the answer is that, I'm not really sure. You could suppose that a character who can change his/ her/ it's skin has no personality or feeling and so shouldn't be awarded the coveted title of Video Game Character of the Month. Well, I am afraid that you would be, at least, partly, wrong, as will be covered in the following paragraphs.

A quick bit of info on Steve:

Review No. 38 Awesomenaughts - PC (12+)

Strong Points:
Brilliant art style
Nice voice acting
Lots of characters
Lots of upgrades and weapons
Nice gameplay
Addictive
Leaderboards are not out of reach

Weak Points:
When you die, you have to wait ages to get back in the game during the later stages
Hard to get Solar
Balancing
Weak almost non-existent storyline

News: iOS 7

So, iOS 7 has finally come and if you have an iPhone 4 and up, an iPod Touch 5 or an iPad 2 and up (as well as iPad Mini) you can download it. In this blog post I am going to show you some of the new features as well as give a comparison to iOS 6.

5000 Views Extravaganza!

Thanks, everyone for 5000 views! As always, your continued support is what has gotten us this far, whether you have commented on the blog, been a guest blogger, recommended the blog to your friends or just read some of our reviews we couldn't have done it without you. Now with the cheesy stuff out of the way here is all the new things you can except out of the blog and YouTube channel from now on.

Walkthrough No. 2 Animal Crossing New Leaf - 3DS (7+)

This walkthrough is a walkthrough in the loosest sense. As Animal Crossing isn't a game you can walk through (is it even a game?) so I suppose that this is more than a tips and tricks section more than anything. But in the interest of keeping the amount of different types of things we do to a relative minimum I'll call it a walkthrough.
Warning: spoilers, obviously.

Cheats and Codes No. 1 - Super Pokémon Rumble

This is a collection of passwords for the game Super Pokémon Rumble. The passwords give access to special, super-powered Pokémon which can help you in battle but will sometimes make it slightly boring as they are over powered.

To input the passwords, you have to have gotten to the second town and talk to Munna. Once you talk to Munna you then input the passwords on the second screen. Munna then tells you which dungeon they are in (note - some Pokémon may be in a dungeon further in the story than you are in, so will be there when you get to it). You then have to go to the dungeon and battle the Pokémon, it will turn in to a toy which you can collect.

Below are the passwords for the Pokémon in Japan, North America and Europe.

If you see any mistakes or know any more then please comment.

See Ya,

Martin

Review No. 37 Evoland - PC (7+)

Strong Points:
Brilliant concept
Nice gameplay changes
Good audio
Good graphics
Nice story with some laughs
Lots of action styles
Double Twin is fun
Nostalgia is certain

Weak Points:
Too short
Save points are too few and far between
Not enough content (items, upgrades)
Jumps between ideas
Can sometimes get repetitive
Could be more genres they could explore

App Review No. 20 Dots

Strong Points:
Addictive
Different modes
Lots of achievements
Leaderboards aren't out of reach
Power ups

Weak Points:
Repetitive
Can get boring

Video Game Character of the Month - September 2013 - Sora - Kingdom Hearts

Video Game Character of the Month

September 2013

Sora
Kingdom Hearts

Overview:

Sora is a great character and one that I have stuck with since I was about seven. It was the main character of the game that made me buy the PS2 in the first place. My first game was the original game Kingdom Hearts soon to be followed by every game in the series. A quick little bit information on Sora:

App Review No. 19 Sniper Shooter

Strong points:
Lots of levels
Lots of guns 
Great (and not so great) puns 
If you wait long enough then the game gives you the gun to reach the next level enabling free flowing gameplay
Good updates

Weak Points:

Controls are very sensitive or not sensitive enough

Can be very frustrating as if you mess up once then goodbye 3 stars

Review No. 36 Deus Ex: Human Revolution - PC (18+)

Strong Points:
Brilliant stealth gameplay
Good sound physics
Good storyline with many plots
Lots to do
Nice shooting mechanics
Choices are fun and can change the way the story turns out

Weak Points:
Can get confusing
Frustrating when you die and have to restart to far back
Inventory space is too small
Can get repetitive

App Review No. 18 Metalstorm Online

Strong Points:

Great graphics and sounds track

Good sound effects

Lots of planes

Lots of upgrades

Survival mode is fun

Campaign is difficult but still possible to complete

Weak Points:

Too many things are premium

Campaign is too short

Not enough good updates

Gyroscopic controls mean that you have to be standing still

Needs wireless connection to play

App Review No. 17 Minecraft Pocket Edition

Strong Points:
Great Minecraft formula
Exclusive items
Lots of updates
Good controls (except flying)
More of a pick up and play attitude due to it being on a phone
A lot cheaper than the computer version

Weak Points:
Small world compared to computer version (not since version 0.9 where the world is now infinite)
No superflat, hardcore or large biomes modes (superflat has been added in version 0.9)
Not as much content as the computer one (it's getting close though)
You can actually empty the world of resources (not since version 0.9 where the world is now infinite)
No modding
Flying is fiddlier than it needs to be
Infinite worlds can lag a lot

App Review No. 16 Powder Game Viewer

Strong Points:

Lots of elements

Viewer is fun but isn't within the app

Addictive

Limitless

Weak Points:

Gets boring after a while

Multiplayer is impossible 

Not as good as PC game

Not many updates
Pixel limit

Review No. 35 Super Mario 3D Land - 3DS (3+)

Strong Points:
Nice Graphics
Nice gameplay style
Good for beginners and experts
Good 3D
Lots of content
New powerups are fun
Addictive
Streetpass features are good
Invincibility Leaf is good for beginners

Weak Points:
Not enough powerups
Huge difficulty spikes on some levels
Gets repetitive
Bosses are too easy
The P-Wing makes the game to easy

App Review No. 15 The Sandbox

Strong Points:
Lots of elements
Lots of campaigns
Free mode is fun
Nice mechanics
Lots of achievements

Weak Points:
You have to buy most of the campaigns (for real money)
You run out of mana quickly
Frustrating
Quite repetitive

Review No. 34 Sonic And Sega All-Stars Racing - PS3 (7+)

Strong Points:
Lots of characters
Lots of stages
Good graphics
Nice mechanics
Ability to choose audio
Local multiplayer
Fun missions
Three difficulties

Weak Points:
No one on online multiplayer
Some people are clones
Balancing is a problem
Difficult to get all the stages, music etc.
Can get repetitive
Not as polished as other karting games
Some of the missions bring gameplay which can't be used in the main game

App Review No. 14 Planet Plop

Strong Points:
Addictive
Free
Good gameplay mechanics
Nice graphics
Pick up and play
Challenging
Epic music

Weak Points:
Gets repetitive
Huge difficulty spikes
Slightly boring
Start again from beginning (no checkpoints)

Review No. 33 Minecraft - PC (7+)

Strong Points:
Endless possibilities
Nice gameplay mechanics
Good graphics which can be changed
Lots of different game modes
Multiplayer is fun
Mods are great
Sound effects are good
The Nether and End are amazing
Addictive
The game is very customizable
Updates are frequent adding more to the game
The mobs and fun and creative
Value for money

Weak Points:
Adding mods is difficult and requires you to download lots of other things
LAN is difficult to use
Not enough animals or mobs
Lots of the blocks are the same
Some bugs
Music is all right
Not enough achievements
Not enough tools
Not enough everyday furniture
Not enough sky or underground space for big projects

App Review No. 13 Bad Piggies

Strong Points:

Great physics

Good Angry Birds graphics and sounds

Lots of modes

Great variety of levels

It's good to be green!

Weak Points:

Not enough levels

Levels can be very frustrating (huge difficulty spikes)

You can't fight the Birds, only run away from them

App Review No. 12 Angry Birds Star Wars

Strong Points:

Great Angry Birds formula still used

Great new powers that are still linked (slightly) to the Birds old powers

Good storyline

Different sort of levels from the other games

Incorporates all features from all games

The Pigs are still in the game!

Weak points:

Not enough levels

More updates needed

Lots of frustrating levels

App Review No. 11 Angry Birds Space

Strong Points:
New costumes look good
Gravity physics are great
Freezing effects are good
Ice bird is different

Weak Points:
Levels can be frustrating
Only one new bird
Not enough levels

Video Game Character of the Month - August 2013 - Mario - Mario Bros.

Video Game Character of the Month

August 2013

Mario
Mario Bros.

Overview:
Mario is one of the greatest video game characters of all time and has the title of the two best franchises of all time (Mario and Super Mario). He is one of my favourite characters and indeed was one of the first games I played properly (Super Mario 64 DS). I really enjoyed that game and have completed it twice (although not with every star). For me the older Mario platforming games were better than the new ones as they were simpler and didn't depend on power ups as much. While I say this my actual favourite Mario adventures have always been in 3D such as Galaxy and 64. Well that's enough on me I hope you enjoy the rest of the post.
A little background history:

App Review No. 10 Angry Birds Rio

Strong Points: 

Still keeps the great Angry Birds formula while giving it a new spin

Boss battles are a great and different feature

New birds are good

Weak Points:

The movie tie in enemies aren't as good as the Pigs! 

Levels aren't as good as the first two games

App Review No. 9 Angry Birds Seasons

Strong Points:
Changes the formula of the original while keeping the great Angry Birds gameplay
Lots of themed levels
Great variety of themes
Great sound effects and soundtrack
A good variety of birds and pigs
Great physics
Addictive

Weak points:
Only one new bird
Some themes are similar
Some levels can be frustratingly difficult

App Review No. 8 Angry Birds

Strong Points:
Innovative gameplay
Lots of levels
Great sound effects and soundtrack
A good variety of birds and pigs
Great physics
Addictive

Weak Points:
Some levels can be very frustrating
Powers make game less about skill and more about having the right power
Bonus eggs can be very difficult to find and collect

Note - YouTube Channel and Archiving

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/GamesAppsAndReviews

Review No. 32 Halo Combat Evolved - PC (16+)

Strong Points:
Amazing graphics
Exciting story line

Weak Points:
Can become very laggy on certain computers

Well I guess most of you know this one. Halo Combat Evolved. The first ever Halo game. I started playing this at quite a young age, I have 2 older brothers who were 16, and 14 at the time who would play this constantly, and one day I asked them both 'can I play with you?' Well this is where my love of the games began. My brothers would bring their Xbox when they came to visit me (as they lived with their mum and I lived with my dad (who divorced her) and my mum) but I was hitting the time when I became very mischievous for my working parents, so my dad bought it for me on the family computer. I would play it for ages and ages without thinking about what the time was. Anyway, let's get back to the game.