Ilomilo is all about coming together. The objective of every puzzle is to get these two cutesy characters back to each other by traversing levels crafted out of paper and quilt supplies from SouthEnd Interactive’s local arts and crafts store. The gameplay is simplistic but Ilomilo has a lot of charm and is perfect for the casual and family market.

The world of Ilomilo has a unique patchwork art style that lends itself to the storytelling of the game. The levels are 3d but everything is on a grid and made up of cubes. If you’ve played bug! On the Sega Saturn, then you have a good idea of what this type of level construction is like. Your movement is very limited in this game since the challenge comes from traversing this fantastical world, defying gravity and reuniting this pair of friends.

The game does a good job of introducing new gameplay mechanics throughout the entire story. The challenge of the puzzles is well paced and the game doesn’t force you to beat every level before progressing to the next chapter of the game. You start off by moving simple blocks but soon enough there are elevator blocks, animals to ride and more. Despite the puzzle complexity, you never need to fear death and the controls stay simple: move around with the left stick, pickup and place blocks with the A button and switch between Ilo and Milo with X. The switching mechanic adds a nice wrinkle to the game since switching characters helps you look at puzzles from a new perspective and makes you feel that you are never too stuck.

The graphics of Ilomilo are pretty enchanting and help pull you into this unique fairy tale. The presentation is elevated by delightful sound effects and catchy music. Despite the solid execution, Ilomilo will not be for everyone. Its slow methodical pace and its cutesy graphics limit it to the casual crowd but the later levels’ difficulty will likely frustrate younger and more casual gamers.

There is a good amount of game in Ilomilo. Along with the single player campaign there is a cooperative multiplayer mode and an arcade mini game. Each level has some replay value since there are gallery items to collect. You can also attempt to solve each puzzle in as few moves as possible. Despite the excellent production values and whimsical story I did tire of Ilomilo’s puzzles and whimsy…especially during long play sessions. Ilomilo is best played in short spurts of fancy. It’s a good game just not a very memorable one.

Comic Jumper is Twisted Pixel’s 3rd Game and follows the exploits of Captain Smiley as he tries to earn cash in other comics to re-launch his cancelled book. The comic jumping premise allows the game to portray several different art-styles. Captain Smiley and his sidekick Star – the talking star on his chest – transform as they jump into comics that range from 60s throwbacks to Manga.

The post-modern, self-aware story may not be for everyone. Twisted Pixel not only made the game, but they also star in it. Captain Smiley and Star are acutely aware that they are in a comic book inside a video game made by the guys at Twisted Pixel. Personally, I found the story to be a little too over the top for my tastes, but there’s no denying that the script is witty, funny, and excellently voice acted.
Smiley and Star’s constant bickering is hilarious and there’s a great cast of supporting characters and villains. Favorites include the ego maniac juicehead Brad and evil mini-golf fanatic, the Puttmaster. What makes all of these characters even more enjoyable is the excellent voice acting that goes along with them all. From the Conan-inspired character’s Arnold impersonation to the gruff sarcasm of Star, Comic Jumper has top-notch voice talent which helps deliver the clever script’s punch lines. The great sound and music doesn’t end with the voice acting either. Sound Effects vary depending on the comic and help depict the era and theme of the book. The game also features some memorable original songs and has a great soundtrack.

Audiophiles aren’t the only ones who will enjoy Comic Jumper. The character design and animation is excellent. What makes this downloadable title even more impressive is the variety of enemies, costumes, locales and art styles. Discovering new comics, different art styles and Captain Smiley costumes is definitely rewarding.

Unfortunately, Comic Jumper’s high production values and clever dialogue can’t save it from its tedious gameplay. Comic Jumper is primarily a shooter but features a mish-mash of gameplay. The bulk of the gameplay is a 2D shooter where you control Captain Smiley with the left stick and aim with the right stick. This core gameplay is very challenging and punishing. There’s absolutely no health pickups in Comic Jumper so be prepared to die a lot. The requirement to play sections of levels over and over again, only to die and realize that you didn’t reach a checkpoint can be very frustrating. This frustration and repetition eliminates a lot of the fun from the 2D shooter sections of the game.

Twisted Pixel attempts to mix in some other game types to keep things fresh with mixed results. The 2D shooter sections that make up the bulk of the game are broken up with 2D beatemup, 3D shooting, and Quick Time Event sequences. The 2D Beatemup is just filler. There’s no depth to it at all since you only have two moves: attack and shove. Despite the crappy fighting sections, I found the Quick Time Event and 3D On-Rails shooting to be highlights. Tons of great games have QTE elements and Comic Jumper uses them well to break up the action and show off some great sequences. I actually wish there were more QTE sequences since they are few and far between. The 3D Shooting sequences are the most fun; they are reminiscent of Space Harrier and Panzer Dragoon. The 3D shooting gameplay features a great variety of scenarios with Smiley running and gunning, flying in space and driving a golf cart through a huge mini-golf course.

It’s not often that the gameplay interferes with the enjoyment of a game, but that’s the case with Comic Jumper. Players will find themselves suffering through frustrating and repetitive shooter mechanics to progress the story, unlock the next comic, and hear more humorous dialogue. The gameplay isn’t all bad and Twisted Pixel does its best to offer variety and breaks in the action. It is a shame that the gameplay itself is a low point. Even with the tedious gameplay, players will find themselves sticking with Comic Jumper. There’s no denying that there’s some fun to be had with this game; it just won’t be the gameplay that you’re smiling at.

Comic Jumper is not for everyone. Its story and humor are an acquired taste – that sometimes can be obnoxious and offensive. If you’re looking for great gameplay though, try Twisted Pixel’s Splosion Man or the Maw.

I wanted so very much to love every bit of Deadly Sin 2. For the record I am a huge fan of retro RPGs. The 16-bit era of consoles produced some of the best role-playing games ever, including several titles that modern games are still hard-pressed to live up to. Deadly Sin 2 is a 16-bit RPG in all but release date, bringing together familiar visuals and gameplay to create a fun if flawed adventure.

Deadly Sin 2’s is at its core your standard turn-based RPG. Battles proceed in cycles; you pick your moves and following that the enemy counterattacks. You have four different characters in your party, each representing a different class. These are for the most part the usual mix of melee and magic fighters. Each character has its own unique set of abilities that only they can learn. No one can be a jack of all trades. This is a smart move as each character feels like a vital part of the team rather than just a replaceable cog.

What really helps differentiate the otherwise standard battle system is the addition of “threat.” Threat is an additional stat that rises as each character does damage. The higher a character’s threat level, the more enemies will focus their attacks on them. It’s a small addition that adds a light layer of strategy to the game. For instance, mages may be able to dole out loads of damage via their spells, but doing so will bring down the wrath of every enemy on the screen. You can mediate this by using your melee fighter’s special abilities to redirect the enemy’s attention. In most every RPG I’ve ever played my sword wielding warriors were the heavy hitters while the magic users played support. Deadly Sin 2 effectively flips this on its head.

The game also streamlines a few things that will likely sit well with fans of role-playing. The dungeon design is fairly good, but as with other random encounter based RPGs exploration can be a bit cumbersome when every few steps results in a new battle. Deadly Sin 2 solves this by positioning nodes throughout each dungeon that can be deactivated to halt the flow of monsters. If you find yourself stuck and frustrated by constant encounters, finding a node can be a godsend. That said, there are other elements that could have been done better. The inventory system can be a bit confusing initially and there is little explaining what means what. You’ll need a bit of trial and error to figure it out.

Accompanying the fine gameplay are visuals that hearken directly back to the16-bit era. The environments and sprites are a bit smoother than what you might have found on the SNES circa 1995, but they are nonetheless decidedly retro. The game world, in short, is colorful and well drawn. Comparatively, the combat sections are equally well animated. Your warriors are large and detailed, and the monsters and backgrounds during battle are quite attractive, showing a genuine level of care. The music similarly is nice if a bit forgettable. I didn’t walk away from the game humming any particular tunes, but the soundtrack as is does the job well enough.

The game stumbles in its writing. It isn’t anything worse than some mainstream games have put out in recent years, but it is still rather uninteresting. The ironic thing is that it flies through a number of plot points that should be anything but boring. Within the first few hours alone you deal with terrorist plots, religious genocide, and full fledged war, none which are very well explained. They just seem to happen. The dialogue floats between poles of adequate and cringe worthy. It tries to sound adult with the occasional expletive and open talk of adult situations, but most of the speech falls flat. It doesn’t help that the main cast is composed of your essential RPG clichés; the stoic warrior, the lady’s man, the quirky witch, etc. In short, if you’ve played most any other JRPG, you’ll see every twist in Deadly Sin 2 a mile away.

That said, Deadly Sin 2, flaws and all, is a fun RPG that brings some interesting elements to a table that is full to point of collapse. While there are a few bumps along the road, the developers have done an admirable job and I look forward to seeing what they come up with in the future.

Zeno Clash is one of the oddest games that I have played since the original Oddworld. You play as Ghat, a relatively normal looking human, who has killed Father Mother. Father Mother is this crazy looking rooster that has apparently spawned all of the weird inhabitants of Zeno Clash’s world. The story really isn’t important; all you need to know is that a bunch of bizarre critters are pissed and want to beat you to a pulp.

Zeno Clash other unique feature (besides the out-there art design) is the fact that it is a First Person Brawler. The majority of the gameplay revolves around punching and kicking rather than shooting. While there are some interesting weapons, the game stays focused on small arenas and brawling. There are a million first person shooters out, so it is nice that Clash offers a new spin and game mechanic. There’s a good variety of moves, blocks, and counters. It’s an interesting game mechanic, but it never really hooked me and the brawling became a little repetitive.

The game’s biggest strength is the odd art design. The bizarre looking creatures and locations all look great on the Xbox and are pretty impressive for a downloadable title. Everything is well animated and looks good up close – which is important since you get up close and personal with your enemies quite frequently. I would describe most of the creatures in Zeno Clash as ugly and sometimes grotesque. Like a car accident, the main draw of this game is the grotesque and disturbing visuals. It’s wonderfully and completely out there. In fact the only graphical flaw is that the menus and title screen feel like an afterthought.

Zeno Clash could have better leveraged its unique art style and game mechanics. While the visuals ooze style and substance, the story is simplistic and nonsensical. The game is further hampered by its linear level design and sparse environments. There’s no exploration at all. You basically follow a path forward and encounter larger ‘arena’ areas where you fight enemies. There’s some levels that focus on shooting too where you just make your way along a path and shoot at smaller critters. This lack of freedom and variety really hurts the game.

Sound wise, Zeno Clash serves up some great effects as your fist smacks someone’s jaw. The music is fine too, but the game’s voice acting is amateurish. I haven’t heard voice acting this bad since the first Resident Evil and the writing isn’t much better.

The Xbox ‘Ultimate’ Edition adds in some features that definitely enhance the original title. Online or split-screen multiplayer is available and there’s also a bunch of new challenge modes and leaderboards. If unique battle system grabs you, there’s a lot here to keep you busy.

Zeno Clash impresses with its odd and intriguing art design and has a fresh take with its brawler mechanics. It’s a shame it gets bogged down by simplistic level design. With no story to motivate you, the game becomes somewhat of a chore.

Rayteoactive have put together a cute platformer that feels a decade too late, playing and looking just like an old school 16 bit game, and really offering nothing innovative to the genre, Tobe’s Vertical Adventure doesn’t seem to strive to make any type of impact.
Graphics:
Presented in retro-style 8 bit graphics, anyone who has experienced 8 bit as a child will be instantly surging with a sense of nostalgia. Crisp colors and cute, simplistic animations really add to the retro feel. The art style does a good job in differentiating between platforms and walls, letting the player know which are hollow, solid, collapsible, or hiding unexpected straps. Each level holds it own color scheme that correlates with the location, giving you more of an atmospheric feel for the environments rather than just relying on ascetics. The game is cute and colorful-which makes it fun to look at.

Gameplay:
Using either the D-pad or analog thumb stick to move Tobe, and using face buttons to perform various actions, the game controls were a little tricky to get use to. The majority of the controls were good and the only main concern came in with the jumping. Rather than just jumping from plat form to platform, you are able to run up walls and jump off them to reach more difficult areas. When running you will push the analog stick (or D-pad) in the direction you want to jump in. When you want to jump off a wall, however, you need to push the analog stick in the direction of the wall and not the direction you want to jump in. This feels a little awkward as you are enticed to aim the character in the direction you want him to jump in. This finds you falling and having to start the climb over again. Controls could use a bight more polish sometimes they felt a little unresponsive or awkward.
Sound:
The soundtrack stays true to the retro feel with ‘bleeps’ and ‘bloops’ being the main element and with the mix of percussions to give a modern touch. The songs seem to take influences from some modern electronic music, but keep an 8 bit generation feel to them. Each world contains its own song with each song being great to listen to as they are well produced and put together. If there is anything to note about this game it’s the fantastic soundtrack.
Lasting Appeal:
With four worlds made up of four stages, the game can be completed on single player in around 3 to 5 hours at most. On multiplayer co-op, that time could either be extended or cut down, depending if you and your partner are goofing off or not. Levels become repetitive very quickly with only once or twice offering anything new to the game, other than that it become hard to tell the difference between stages. Little frustrations, such as certain items not being able to be picked up that regularly should, and crashing issues, puts it at the lower end of the list of games to re-play. Lack of online leader boards gives you no incentive to play the game more than once, and most disappointing are that there are no difficulty options or unlockable content after completing the game. The game becomes incredibly simple once you figure out the levels, and with no way to increase the difficulty the game will become boring and dull very quickly. With minor frustrations here and there, awkward controls, lack of stat tracking, no difficulty settings, and repetitive levels. Tobe’s Vertical Adventure is enjoyable the first time through and perhaps once again with someone who has yet to experience it.

Click the picture to download the free demo

Telltale’s Wallace and Gromit: The Last Resort is a hilarious adventure game. In this installment, Wallace and Gromit plan a holiday at the seaside only to be derailed by some bad weather. Not only is the holiday off, but Wallace and Gromit’s basement is flooded by plumbing problems. In true Wallace fashion, the underappreciated inventor schemes to open a beach resort in the flooded basement. But it won’t be Wallace and Gromit without things going horribly awry. For Wallace and Gromit fans, it’s sure to please.

If you are a fan of the Telltale series, you will be happy to know that the gameplay is the same as the previous installment, Fright of the Bumblebees. Like other adventure games, the gameplay of The Last Resort involves interacting with elements of the environment to collect items and clues to solve puzzles. The player is once again transported to West Wallaby St. to gather clues by interacting with familiar residents (and some new ones) to solve the abovementioned puzzles. This definitely showcases the great job the animators did on the characters. The puzzles themselves aren’t that difficult and you won’t find yourself horribly perplexed or at a loss. With generous hints provided by the characters, many of the puzzles can be straight forward (this can be changed with the “hint-o-meter”).

Like the previous installment, The Last Resort is broken into chapters with a particular goal (i.e.-collecting items to set up a beach resort) and the player takes turns playing as Gromit or Wallace to complete each chapter. Once the “resort” is established, the action moves to keeping the “patrons” happy with their beachside holiday. The chapter, Hounds of Horror, was also a nice departure into the realm of mystery and added a new dimension to an otherwise run of the mill point and click adventure game.

My only criticism on gameplay is that at times the dialogue/story dominated over actual gameplay, that’s the only area where The Last Resort fell short for me. I found myself playing more to see where the story took me versus the mental challenge. For a casual game audience this works and I didn’t think it took away from the experience. Also, I wish I could have seen more of the Rube Goldberg type machine puzzles as in Bumblebees. Challenge aside, the colorful dialogue and humorous story will keep you engaged in the game. Telltale made this episode standalone, so don’t worry if you haven’t played episode 1.

With The Last Resort, Telltale has continued the precedent set by Fright of the Bumblebees with their top of the line animation style. I’m still impressed by the way the animators have captured the claymation feel and even the facial expressions of Gromit. In this regard, the animators did a great job on the characters. The outside environment could use a little more work. Some of the environments seemed a little drabber this time around, but I think that’s the point – with a beach resort in a cellar and all.

Telltale continues to impress with the music and sound effects. Hats off to the top-notch voice acting, I felt like I was instantly transported to West Wallaby St., which is to say, subtitles were helpful at times. This is an essential component in Telltale’s objective of making a playable Wallace and Gromit episode. I only experienced some minor interruptions in the dialogue, but it didn’t ruin the game for me. Since much of the puzzle solving revolves around the characters interactions, it’s important to get these little things right. And Telltale got this one right – Spot on!

The Last Resort is a good additional to the Telltale Wallace and Gromit adventures; however, both games lack a certain replay value. Fans of Wallace and Gromit are sure to be happy with the latest installment, but it’s hard to see the fun in solving the same puzzles over and over. Additionally, the action is limited to a few environments which also cuts down on some replay value. On the positive, the player tends to feel injected into an episode of Wallace and Gromit and it’s great to experience the franchise from an interactive perspective. So far, Telltale has done a great job bringing the Grand Adventures home.

Winner of Bytten’s Most hardcore game award, it’s easy to see most people struggling with the steep difficulty curve of this game. Initially it’s very difficult to learn how to successfully manoeuvre your one man ship through the intricate tunnel systems that make up the levels. The controls feel a little unnatural to begin with. I tried using both the keyboard and a wireless controller and found that the controller felt far more suitable, but still difficult. It’s also difficult to stop your ship once you pick up any momentum which results in flying straight into the cavern walls more than a few times which inevitably causes extreme frustration.. You’ll find yourself begging for some miraculous transition into a geometry wars style control system. This feeling will pass. After a couple of solid hours coming to grips with the thrusters and learning braking distances, the fun finally kicks in. You start flying through the tunnels at high speeds, taking part in intense dog fights with the first enemies of the game which – after a couple of weapon upgrades – aren’t difficult. This is short lived. The enemies soon grow to match your ships capabilities and surpass them. The pure number of ships that can be following you at one time is daunting and the A.I being as good as it is makes them difficult to outsmart. To the casual gamer this may seem a little too much, but those looking for a real challenge won’t be disappointed. There are so many things that you need to be thinking about at one time. Whereas most games of this genre focus primarily on the combat aspect, Gravity core is always having your mind split between the combat, the most direct route to your objective and of course making sure you don’t sway into the walls which is always the main concern. It has to be said that really getting to grips with the inertia and finding your way out of the most difficult situations does fill you with a great sense of “I’m awesome.” It’s a good feeling.

The game does lack some variety. The missions can become a bit too familiar and the objectives repetitive. The upgrade system is hit or miss. Some upgrades don’t seem worth bothering with and others are absolutely essential to be able to progress through the game. I found myself upgrading my weapons and shields to the maximum rather than bothering with anything else because the game was so hard without these essentials covered. It didn’t help matters that the upgrade menu was hidden away in the options menu so I only actually found it after I went about altering my controller set up, resulting in spending the first five or so levels unaware that an upgrade menu even existed.

The game lacks sound. Aside from a very short piece of electronic music in the main menu there is no music. The only sounds are that of the gun fire, thrusters and crashes. For a while it’s okay. It does add to the sense of desolation across the asteroids that you’re navigating through, but soon I found myself growing tired of this emotionless lack of soundtrack. It was simply disappointing.

The graphics were clean and simple. Basic layered backgrounds and some pretty stars, but no particular detail in them. The level design itself was also a little bland. The rocky levels didn’t change in their appearance at all. There were some details that were paid attention to . The explosions were very nice, illustrating debris spiralling off into different directions. There’s also a nice little dust cloud that forms when your thrusters get close to the asteroids surface which brought a side smile to my face. The enemy ships and turrets look excellent and had enough differences in their appearance to be able to estimate which they were before they were close enough to shoot you so you could formulate a quick plan of action against them. Everything that played an importance to the game looked good.

The game is long. With over 50 levels you aren’t going to be disappointed with the $11.99 or £6.99 price tag and with a randomly generated campaign you will be able to come back to the game again and again. I wasn’t able to find any multi player internet matches, but the game does offer a multi player experience. I was able to try it across a LAN network and it worked just fine. The co-op play provides more campaigning fun and the PvP can provide entertainment for 10 minutes here and there.

Overall this is a solid game and an excellent début from a small developer. A fine incorporation of shooter with inertia based game play and providing you’re up for a serious challenge then this is worth giving a shot.

Mithra: Episode 1, Chapter 1 is short, but sweet.

But way, way too short. The introduction to this action-adventure series lasts just under an hour, if you’re a clever player. But, the handful of puzzles are fun, thoughtful, and even innovative in a couple of cases.

Players guide Tag, an anthropomorphic alien, on his quest to escape a spaceship where he is being held prisoner and learn of the impending doom his tiny newfound friend Vee warns of. The plot is whisked along by actual voice acting and cut scenes, and the dialog is witty, creative and helpful. Tag’s voicing is just a little flat, but Vee’s flutish tones are charming, and fit right with his cartoonish demeanor. The sound design is just generally good; one particularly great sound effect is the gutturally brutal sound of the guard robot’s laser blasts. It’ll make you jump every time. The game’s atmosphere does an excellent job of conveying a sense of danger and foreboding

The graphics are also impressive, even if this first chapter’s setting is a bit dull (brown metal walls is about all you’ll see here). Of particular note are the lighting effects. An early puzzle has you controlling Vee in a dark ventilation shaft, which is softly lit by his illuminated body. The character models are inspired by some impressive, whimsical artwork that is sampled on the title screens and as collectable bonuses scattered throughout the game world. The jumping animation is oddly sloppy, leaving both characters rigid in the air and floating unnaturally back down to the ground. It even hampers gameplay a little, although the game never presented any major platforming challenges. But, it could offer some great action with a little improvement.

The shortness remains the biggest offense. Games divided into episodes makes sense on some level, but dicing those episodes into even smaller chapters is going to make the story telling awfully choppy, and that’s going to make players lose interest in Mithra. It’s going to be especially irritating if developer Afiction charges for the individual chapters (this first download is 240 points, which comes out to about three bucks; it was reduced from 400 points).

But bite-sized gameplay could have its merits, too. The game could be described as a casual adventure game that doesn’t look down on its audience. The puzzles gently encourage players to think outside the box. The game isn’t too head-scratchingly hard, nor does it hold the player’s hand, instead finding a happy medium that should really appeal to the casual crowd, although the hardcore should revel in this contribution to the rebirth of the adventure genre.

Even though it feels like a tutorial level, Mithra looks like it’s worth getting invested in. Here’s hoping those updates get here soon.