Fraps is a good recording software, and the one that I use for making my videos. Some of you may notice that there will be a gap in the recordings of the Prison Architect videos going out on the YouTube channel. This is due to Fraps.
Saturday, 28 February 2015
Tuesday, 17 February 2015
Review No. 105 Cloudbuilt - PC (10+)
Strong Points:
Great gameplay
Nice, different, graphical style
Great music
Good speedrunning game
Gameplay gives you lots of freedom
Completing a section perfectly gives you a great sense of achievement
Challenging
Storyline is nicely paced and keeps you going
Lots of levels
4 modes adds a bit more variety
Level editor is very in-depth...
Weak Points:
Graphics locked to very low for lots of laptops (with a graphics card of about 512mb)
Skins are not available for lots of laptops (with a graphics card of about 512mb)
Storyline never quite lives up to its potential
Huge difficulty spikes
Can be a bit unfair
Thinly spread checkpoints
Levels are quite long for this type of game
A/S Rank (or really anything above C) are really (and I mean really) difficult to get
... but perhaps a bit complicated/in need of polishing
Rating: 76%
Great gameplay
Nice, different, graphical style
Great music
Good speedrunning game
Gameplay gives you lots of freedom
Completing a section perfectly gives you a great sense of achievement
Challenging
Storyline is nicely paced and keeps you going
Lots of levels
4 modes adds a bit more variety
Level editor is very in-depth...
Weak Points:
Graphics locked to very low for lots of laptops (with a graphics card of about 512mb)
Skins are not available for lots of laptops (with a graphics card of about 512mb)
Storyline never quite lives up to its potential
Huge difficulty spikes
Can be a bit unfair
Thinly spread checkpoints
Levels are quite long for this type of game
A/S Rank (or really anything above C) are really (and I mean really) difficult to get
... but perhaps a bit complicated/in need of polishing
Rating: 76%
Sunday, 15 February 2015
First Impressions: Half-Life: Blue Shift
This is the second of the two expansion packs for Half-Life and has you playing as Barney Calhoun, a Black Mesa security guard. This gives you another, whilst not as drastic, outlook on the storyline from the original game and shows you how the security guards live and work (not to mention how rude the scientists are).
Saturday, 14 February 2015
Rant No. 3 Steam Gems
Hello Banters and Bantresses,
I'll start with a question that I often ask myself - Valve: why?
I have 100 gems, okay? I thought that, hey, I might get a game. But no, I just got slapped in the face. I am not a casual gamer but I don't spend all my time on the computer. It seems that gems are worthless, over a thousand are needed to get the worst games put up for auction - tens of thousands for good ones.
Are you trying to make a uniform Steam currency? If you did, you failed because you need at least two years of owning Steam to come close to getting a game. This DOES NOT make new players welcome. I could have got about 15p for the cards a swapped for gems. They are a null concept and pointless. I want that 15p in my Steam wallet! I was completely f****** off when I realised how poor a decision converting to gems is. What were you thinking?!?!?
There is, of course, the argument that you can convert items rather than trading cards which, in actuality, can be quite an easy way to get gems. In addition you can get a cheap badge (convert one item to gems) which was a nice incentive (but could have been developed by making it harder to achieve/being able to level it up - get 250 gems for example).
Overall, the main problems are the conversion rate between gems and money and cards/items and gems as well as the, already present, problem of actually getting these items and cards without spending money (which would be more than the gem price due to the low conversion rate). If these problems were addressed, and the required security was added, then Steam Gems could become a proper currency with a thriving marketplace (if the Steam Marketplace wasn't already broken, that is - but that's another rant for another day).
You've been reading an Olimg rant (with some help from Harry). Thanks and come again! (If something else annoys me enough).
I'll start with a question that I often ask myself - Valve: why?
I have 100 gems, okay? I thought that, hey, I might get a game. But no, I just got slapped in the face. I am not a casual gamer but I don't spend all my time on the computer. It seems that gems are worthless, over a thousand are needed to get the worst games put up for auction - tens of thousands for good ones.
Are you trying to make a uniform Steam currency? If you did, you failed because you need at least two years of owning Steam to come close to getting a game. This DOES NOT make new players welcome. I could have got about 15p for the cards a swapped for gems. They are a null concept and pointless. I want that 15p in my Steam wallet! I was completely f****** off when I realised how poor a decision converting to gems is. What were you thinking?!?!?
There is, of course, the argument that you can convert items rather than trading cards which, in actuality, can be quite an easy way to get gems. In addition you can get a cheap badge (convert one item to gems) which was a nice incentive (but could have been developed by making it harder to achieve/being able to level it up - get 250 gems for example).
Overall, the main problems are the conversion rate between gems and money and cards/items and gems as well as the, already present, problem of actually getting these items and cards without spending money (which would be more than the gem price due to the low conversion rate). If these problems were addressed, and the required security was added, then Steam Gems could become a proper currency with a thriving marketplace (if the Steam Marketplace wasn't already broken, that is - but that's another rant for another day).
You've been reading an Olimg rant (with some help from Harry). Thanks and come again! (If something else annoys me enough).
Thursday, 12 February 2015
Review No. 104 Half-Life: Opposing Force - PC (16+)
Strong Points:
Superb gameplay
A great range of weapons (greater than the original)
Music is atmospheric
It's challenging
Puzzles are good
You will have to use all the weapons
Storyline is good
You will be on edge for the whole game - no hand holding here
Lots of different types of gameplay (even more than the original)- platforming, shooter, stealth, puzzler, grappling etc.
Being able to save whenever you want to is very helpful
More characters makes the world seem more alive
Makes more sense than the original from your characters perspective (i.e. a soldier could definitely survive better than a scientist)
Very similar to the original
Weak Points:
Not very long
Graphics haven't aged very well
Slightly anti-climactic compared to the first
It can be ridiculously hard (I had 5 HP for the majority of the game - again)
There are no cutscenes so you can miss information
Some glitches
The enemies AI isn't great/sometimes too good (can see through walls occasionally)
HP restore points aren't very evenly spaced
Difficulty spikes
Ropes look terrible and handle even worse
Night-vision goggles aren't as good as a torch (harder to see)
Very similar to the original
Rating: 88%
Superb gameplay
A great range of weapons (greater than the original)
Music is atmospheric
It's challenging
Puzzles are good
You will have to use all the weapons
Storyline is good
You will be on edge for the whole game - no hand holding here
Lots of different types of gameplay (even more than the original)- platforming, shooter, stealth, puzzler, grappling etc.
Being able to save whenever you want to is very helpful
More characters makes the world seem more alive
Makes more sense than the original from your characters perspective (i.e. a soldier could definitely survive better than a scientist)
Very similar to the original
Weak Points:
Not very long
Graphics haven't aged very well
Slightly anti-climactic compared to the first
It can be ridiculously hard (I had 5 HP for the majority of the game - again)
There are no cutscenes so you can miss information
Some glitches
The enemies AI isn't great/sometimes too good (can see through walls occasionally)
HP restore points aren't very evenly spaced
Difficulty spikes
Ropes look terrible and handle even worse
Night-vision goggles aren't as good as a torch (harder to see)
Very similar to the original
Rating: 88%
Saturday, 7 February 2015
Author Update (Guest)
Hello and welcome to another Author Update with me, Harry! (Anybody get the reference? Watch our YouTube Channel to find out!). Another Author has entered our midst and it's... you! That's right, you can now send us your posts and reviews (as well as what you'd like to be called - but, please, no obscenities) and we'll publish them using our, new, Guest Blogger account (provided they're good enough, that is)! Please send all posts to gamesreviewsandotherstuff@gmail.com. This is the next step for Games, Apps and Reviews and I hope you can all be a part of it! Happy blogging!
Goodbye for now, Harry
Review No. 103 Dead Rising 3 - Xbox One (18+)
Strong Points:
Strong, solid game-play
Great scavenging element - weapon crafting is fluid and makes sense (some of the time)
Graphics are beautiful - really nicely done textures
Voice acting is great - even though it's clear story isn't the focus
Challenging - not impossible, but difficult
Weak Points:
Difficulty - can be a little too challenging at times (I am stuck about halfway through the story)
Leveling is a little weak - could be better, but could be worse
Can get repetitive and brainless - large swarms of zombies are too easy to deal with
Rating: 79%
Strong, solid game-play
Great scavenging element - weapon crafting is fluid and makes sense (some of the time)
Graphics are beautiful - really nicely done textures
Voice acting is great - even though it's clear story isn't the focus
Challenging - not impossible, but difficult
Weak Points:
Difficulty - can be a little too challenging at times (I am stuck about halfway through the story)
Leveling is a little weak - could be better, but could be worse
Can get repetitive and brainless - large swarms of zombies are too easy to deal with
Rating: 79%
Thursday, 5 February 2015
App Review No. 81 Make Them Fall
Strong Points:
Rating: 71%
Colourful
Lots of different game modes
Challenging
Simple controls
Simplistic
Weak Points:
No currency
Split screen is difficult on smaller devices
Too simple
Rating: 71%
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
First Impressions: Minimum
First of all, I really like the graphics. Yes they're minimalist but that's the point. Also, while it is minimalist, it's also crisp and clear and helps you focus on the gameplay and, you know, actually shooting the enemies.
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Video Game Character of the Month - February 2015 - Little Mac - Punch Out!
Video Game Character of the Month
February 2015
Little Mac
Punch Out!
Punch Out!
Overview:
Left, left, right, dodge, dodge, left, left, uppercut and finish him! Ah, not me! Uh hmm... That's enough training for today I think, I have to write the VGCOTM for Little Mac. What do you mean he's a worse boxer than you? He won the world championship and didn't try to finish me! Now, a little bit of information on Little Mac:
Left, left, right, dodge, dodge, left, left, uppercut and finish him! Ah, not me! Uh hmm... That's enough training for today I think, I have to write the VGCOTM for Little Mac. What do you mean he's a worse boxer than you? He won the world championship and didn't try to finish me! Now, a little bit of information on Little Mac:
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