Live Blog: EGX 2014

11:42:

Just about to go to EGX in London! Looking forward to playing all the new games and seeing all the exhibitions. If you're going what are you looking forward to playing the most? Mine would probably be Splatoon while Satamer's is Smash Bros. although there are many great games there. 

See you there!

Goodbye for now, Harry

Review No. 74 Space Engineers (Alpha) - PC (3+)

Strong Points:
Great damage system
Weekly updates
Workshop contains easy download mods and worlds
Designers listen and act on community’s wants and wishes
Dedicated servers
Growing a lot of support even though it is in alpha
Video Tutorials on the YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/SpaceEngineersGame)

Weak Points:
Bugs (as expected, it is an alpha)
No pressurization
No food or water option (for immersion nuts)
No random generation for asteroid shapes (Position and ore are though)
No setbacks when using drones over ships

25,000 Views Extravaganza! *faints*

OMG! (Oh My Games) we did it guys! Mario, Master Chief, Kratos, Gordon Freeman, Pac-Man and Red the Bird (we serve all here) have left the building! Jokes and clichés aside thanks to everyone for helping us get to this all-important mile stone (1/4 to 100,000). From the writers who work tirelessly (they say) to get the reviews to the readers who read and respond to all these posts (it's the circle of gaming) thank you. And with all the cheesiness out of the way, next comes the stats:

First Impressions: Super Smash Bros. for 3DS (Demo)

Well, after being able to finally download the demo (my internet wasn't working for a while for some reason) I started to play. And then kept playing. And playing.

App Review No. 68 True Skate

Strong Points:
Lots of tricks
Fluid movement
Great graphics
Range of skateparks and customisation options
Lots of missions
Addictive
Intuitive touch mechanic
Amazing freeplay
Good sound effects

Weak Points:
Skateparks and unlimted slow-mo, wheel colours etc. can only be purchased via IAP's
All other purchases can be made with True Credits, which are extremely hard to get
Missions are repetitive and not as good as freeplay
Can get boring after a while
Tricks are just variations of a core few
Control scheme is hard to grasp at beginning
There are IAP's in a paid game!

App Review No. 67 Boom Beach

Strong Points:
Nice, strategic gameplay
Lots of upgrades
Great animations

Great variety of units

Fight style is innovative

In game and social battles are good
Lots of defences
Upgrade and build times are small
Resource bases are great
Diamonds are easy to get
All gunboat powers can be used with each other and all are helpful
Submarine makes it easier to get resources
Filling in a world map adds a sense of achievement
Being able to keep the troops that live after a raid enables multiple raid sessions
Statue's adds the option to improve your base even further
Dr Terror stages are a great way in which to get resources
Daily Rewards are also a good way to get resources
Task Forces are good and add another reason to attack bases
Operations are a brilliant idea and add another reason to attack bases 

Weak Points:
Unbalanced gameplay (much easier to defend than to attack)
Difficult to get certain resources (a surplus of some, none of another)
Your basically impenetrable base leads to less of a reason to keep playing
The upgrades can feel insignificant
No social aspects (clans/neighbourhood) (no longer an issue as of version 18)
No chat function (no longer an issue as of version 18)
The graphical changes between upgrades aren't as big as Clash of Clans

App Review No. 66 Swipe the Arrows

Strong Points:
Good, strong gameplay
Three separate modes
Clean graphics (in black and white mode)
Colour mode can be turned off
Addictive

Weak Points:
Colour mode is strange and disorienting
You can't choose which colour you have in colour mode
Sound effects aren't great
Can be frustrating

App Review No. 65 BREAKFINITY

Strong Points:
Good, classic Breakout gameplay with a twist
Nice, classic graphics
Good powerups
Nice controls
Nice sound effects
Some variety in levels
Everything can be paid for through in game crystals or by watching a video
Defence Shield is a nice add on that makes it slightly easier
Addictive
No ads (other than videos that you can choose to watch)!

Weak Points:
Only three upgrades for power ups
Only one mode
Not enough powerups

App Review No. 64 Swing Copters

Strong Points:
Clear graphics
Sound effects have a retro feel to it
Unlockable characters
Easy to learn, hard to master
Challenging
Randomized layout means the app will always be different
Addictive

Weak Points:
Pretty much impossible to master
Sometimes too challenging
No tutorial or learning curve
Frustrating
Leaderboards seem to be, again, hacked
Slightly harder to learn than Flappy Bird
Gameplay is not quite as simple as Flappy Bird

App Review No. 63 Circle the Dot

Strong Points:
Nice, clear graphics
Good sound effects
Interesting gameplay idea

Weak Points:
No music
Based on luck instead of skill
Very one note
Only one mode

Frustratingly difficult

App Review No. 62 2048

Strong Points:
Crisp and clear art style
Simple gameplay
Challenges add more stuff to do
Multiplayer is a good extra
Addictive gameplay

Weak Points:
Can get repetitive
Can be rather frustrating
Challenges can be very hard from early on

Video Game Character of the Month - September 2014 - Mega Man - Mega Man

Video Game Character of the Month

September 2014

Mega Man
Mega Man

Overview:
Mega Man is apparently as 'mega' as his name suggests due to him winning this award. See if his name had been Rockman (I'll get onto that) then he wouldn't be 'mega' he would just be a 'rock'. Bet he's glad he had to endure an identity crisis now!
Now for some quick information on Mega Man: