Friday, October 4, 2013

LostWinds- Review

  Frontier Entertainment have created a lasting classic with LostWinds. Take control of Enril, the spirit of the wind to help Toku, a young boy destroy the evil spirit Balasar, who threatens to destroy Toku's home land, Mistralis. And so, when Toku falls into a cave, he frees Enril and an epic adventure begins. Go over large mountains, ruined villages, and lightless caves as you set off to save Mistralis.

As the game progresses, Enril gains more and more powers which help you to progress through the lush valleys of Mistralis. In the end, there's a boss, Magmok, who's been taken over by Balasar's powers, and you have to defeat him. LostWinds is worth Rs. 220 on the App Store, but is worth it. There is also a sequel, 'Winter of The Melodias', which I'll review later.

It all started when Toku was walking on the bridge. It collapses and Toku frees Enril. Then, they visit Toku's sitter Deo, who is actually a very powerful spirit, but doesn't remember anything. So, we have to visit four locations all over Mistralis, to find Deo's memory, which was broken into three because of Balasar's powers. The first chest is hidden in an abandoned village within a dark cave. The second one is deep inside some mines. The third one is at the top of the Wither Falls and the last one is in a room east of the abandoned village. In the end, Deo takes you to defeat Magmok ,who has been taken over by Balasar.

This game is innovative and interesting to play. I highly recommend it for those who are willing to pay the cost. It is also available on the Wii, and can be purchased from the WiiWare store for 1000 WiiPoints.

My ratings for LostWinds-

FUN: 4/5
It's a great game, and the land of Mistralis is lush and peaceful. Exploring it is really a lot of fun.
GRAPHICS: 4/5
The graphics are nice- somewhat 3D. I can't really say more- you need to see it to experience it.
PLOT/STORYLINE: 4/5
The storyline is obviously well-planned. To bring someone as regular as a babysitter into the story is quite creative.
GAMEPLAY: 3.5/5
I would've liked Enril to have more powers to unlock, with more monsters which are harder to beat.
CHILD-FRIENDLINESS: 3.5/5
Children would really enjoy playing this epic adventure. However, they might need help to move around and defeat foes.
REPLAY VALUE: 2.5/5
After defeating Magmok, he can be battled an infinite number of times, which is quite interesting.
MUSIC: 5/5
The music is SO relaxing and peaceful, it deserves a five. Even in battles, where you can't possibly have peaceful music, it has a sort of drum solo which really makes it seem as if it's a big battle.

TOTAL: 26.5/35

LostWinds- published by Frontier Entertainment- Rs. 220 on the App Store. Get it today!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Infinity Blade- Review

  The immortal god-king, Raidriar, lives in his castle, surrounded by trolls, monsters and beasts. A man, armed with a magical ring, a sword, a shield and a suit of armour sets out to destroy him.

Sounds interesting? Well, that's the main plot of Chair Entertainment's Infinity Blade. For Rs. 350, it's a brilliant deal on the App Store. The graphics while battling the 'titans' are incredible and can dwarf the graphics of many PS3 and XBox games.

To simplify battling, you have to reduce the titan's health to zero before you're killed. To do this, you can block the monster's slashes, or dodge or parry them. You have to break their slashes and stun them, and then you can combo slash them, reducing a great amount of health. In the end, t's essentially a dungeon-crawling game in 3D Unreal Engine, where you defeat the monsters, collect experience and loot, and eventually defeat the God King.

The game is set in 'Bloodlines' where each person you fight with, when he dies with the God King, a descendant comes to avenge him and destroy the God King, retaining the same weapons and items of the last bloodline.

I really enjoyed playing this game, and now, a Part 2 and a Part 3 are out.

To access the menu, just swipe down from the top of the screen. This is a handy feature and serves as a sort of pause button.

One thing I appreciate about this game is that unlike other games, where, when you reach a certain level, defeating all monsters becomes a piece of cake. Instead, Chair Entertainment have found a solution to that, by which, in each bloodline, the monsters slowly and gradually increase their levels. So, even when you ave the Infinity Blade, the most powerful sword in the game, it would still be difficult to kill a few monsters and you would have to keep a more than a few potions ready.

Finally, my ratings for the game-

FUN: 4/5
Infinity Blade is a sort of dungeon crawler, and might seem a little too bloody or violent for some. However, for those who don't mind blood and gore, I highly recommend this game. For the price of an ordinary PS3 or XBox game, you can buy around 6-7 copies of Infinity Blade (provided you could do that on iOS).

GRAPHICS: 5/5
The graphics are simply AMAZING. While the game screenshots in the App Store may not seem too impressive, the entire area is like taking an exaggerated walk outside with giant monsters guarding gates and crumbling castles dotting the background. It's beautiful. Chair Entertainment has given a lot of attention to details, but has not made it seem too detailed. And that's wonderful.

PLOT/STORYLINE: 3/5
Well, I give a deserving three to this game, as it's just a bit illogical that the descendants have the same weapons as the dead people from previous bloodlines. It's essentially a repeat of all bloodlines as the game goes on.

GAMEPLAY: 4.5/5
The titan battles are unique. It's clear that Chair has put a LOT of thought into this game.

CHILD-FRIENDLINESS: 3/5
It's a dark game, with the lights casting shadows criss-crossing the room, with bloody battles between giant, fearsome titans. Not really appropriate for a younger child but is good fun for the 14+ age group.

REPLAY VALUE: 3.5/5
This game has a lot to do- forks in the path which lead you to weird places, and treasure hidden in statues. But it gets a little boring after a few bloodlines.
MUSIC: 4/5
The music is dark and creepy, and really sent a shiver up my spine. Just how a game music should be.

TOTAL: 27/35





Supermagical-Review

   Match-three-color games are very common on the App Store today. But what if, instead of bubbles or jewels, the things to match are demonic little creatures called Minix, wouldn't that boost the quality of the game?Well, that's exactly what Gala Pocket Games has done with Supermagical.

   Basically, in Supermagical, you follow the path of a young witch called Nina, the only one of her eight sisters not exiled to the Underworld for being evil. The seven sisters are named after the Seven Deadly Sins:
(you talk to them in this order)
1) Laziness (Sloth)
2) Gluttony
3) Greed
4) Lust
5) Wrath (Anger)
6) Envy
7) Pride

The main objective is to destroy all the Minix, which have invaded each level, and reach the sisters to exile them back to the Underworld after their escape.One thing Gala Pocket could have improved is a sort of actual battle against the sisters; instead, you just talk to them and you're supposed to choose the option that will send them back to the underworld in the form of a multiple-choice.

Supermagical is FREE on the App Store, and I would recommend you giving out a try. However, the colours of the game and the drawings might seem a little too childish for some, but some might actually enjoy it.

The landscape changes rapidly, and so do the difficulty of the levels. You start at the 'Sunny Eastern Land', where the levels are very easy, and then the 'Snowy Land' is a little difficult. But the hardest by far is the last zone, the Sky Islands. However, you can also unlock warlocks, who have different powers to destroy Minix, they are-

1) Elifo- A male fairy-like thing which removes one Minix randomly
2) Giordano- A friendly ghost who can remove all Minix of one colour
3) Nostradamus- A robot who can summon his pet, Floppy, which pushes the Minix away from the edge.
4) Paracelso- A polar bear who removes the otherwise indestructible white Minix
5) Papos- A giant who can destroy one line of Minix randomly
6) Ogmios- An ancient wizard who destroys all on-screen Minix (WRITER'S NOTE: This guy has saved me more than a billion times on hard levels!)

And finally, the ratings-

FUN: 4/5
While Supermagical might be a nice game to play, it might seem too childish for some.

GRAPHICS: 3.5/5
The graphics are nice and bright, very colourful. However, a more 3D-integrated experience would've been better, given the games that we get today.

PLOT/STORYLINE: 3/5
I really liked the idea of a bubble-bursting and a semi-role-playing game combined. However, the game was a little too short and I would've liked it to be a little more interesting with more twists. Also, as mentioned, I would've enjoyed a sort-of 'boss battle' with the evil sisters, instead of just speaking with them by choosing the right option.

GAMEPLAY: 4/5
This is a unique game- semi-RPG and bubble-bursting. And, most importantly, it's free!

CHILD-FRIENDLINESS: 4.5/5
Any parent hesitating to download this on their iOS device for their child should forget about their worries and directy download. The game is easily navigable and is extremely child-friendly.

REPLAY VALUE: 1/5
After I finished the game after a day of serious playing, and then I deleted it- I was done, and there was no more point playing.

MUSIC: 3.5/5
The music is nice and bouncy.

TOTAL: 23.5/35

-Published by Kyogre