Monthly Archives: March 2015

Ori and the Blind Forest Trailer — A Game with Pride

When I watch the Ori and the Blind Forest trailer, I think, PRIDE. The international team of developers and artists who make up the Moon Studios team really have some serious pride in their work. Just look at all the details. The movement in Ori’s tail. The lights and the aura. And the fluid, one-world environment is jaw-drop amazing. Each asset is unique. No tree or rock is the same. Now, that is some serious love for your work. And based on this trailer, this is a game that everyone who worked on this would be proud of for the rest of their lives.

That’s refreshing considering all the marketing rehashing and sequeling major studios are doing these days. Nope, definitely no selling-out here.

Ori and the Blind Forest is a coming-of-age, side-scrolling action adventure puzzle game. It’s also sure to be a tear-jerker. Ori is a young spirit orphaned in a strange and dangerous forest. A kind bear-like creature adopts Ori and helps him to get strong and grow.

ori blind forest video game

World moves fluidly. It’s huge. There are save points and additional save opportunities you earn. The world is dangerous and a big puzzle and Ori will need every skill he can learn to survive. Kind of like real life, except real life isn’t this beautiful.

The game is out on Xbox One and Windows on March 11, 2015. It’ll also be out on Xbox 360 later this year.

Dawn of Titans Announce Trailer — Truly Epic F2P?

War is here!

Zynga’s NaturalMotion wants to go where no mobile game has gone before. War is coming. And it ain’t your garden-variety split-screen turn-based old-school battles. We’re talking massive epic battles with hordes of troops. We’re talking Lord of the Rings battles. Total War battles. Desktop battles but it doesn’t need the oomph of your desktop. It’s called Dawn of Titans, and it’s on your phone, man. And it’s free-to-play, which means it’s got to be kick-butt and catchy as well as epic. NaturalMotion claims it passes its “Starbucks line test” – which means it can be played quick, like when your boss is on that phone call, or your tutor’s taking a leak.

The announcement trailer shows some amazing gameplay and graphics. Battles are indeed epic. You command thousands of men in real-time massive warfare against other players.

dawn of titans video game

The power of ten thousand soldiers…on your phone!

The titans are indeed titans. They’re big. They kick butt. There’s a wide variety of them.

So far, Dawn of Titans seems to be as advertised and hyped.

But it’s still an F2P!

Does that mean the same F2P lameness like energy meters and in-app purchases and other F2P annoyances? So, if you want to build those troops or that castle, you gotta wait an hour or more, or spend real money?

This game looks awesome. And I’ll pay for that awesomeness. A game of this quality should just be pay-to-play, and do away with the F2P peeves.

dawn of titans video game

My kingdom for free?

Staying Together Level 5 Walkthrough

Staying Together Level 5 Walk-through

Staying Together is a metaphor for the crazy and perilous journey of love. It’s also a free-to-play mobile puzzle game. And it rocks. And tough. Level 5 is the toughest you’ll face early on. Here’s how you’ll get past it.

Staying Together Video Game Mobile

Staying Together is not as tough as getting together.

The level starts with the guy to the left and the girl at the right in a pit. If she tries to jump right away, it’ll kill him.

Staying Together Video Game Mobile

This is how level 5 it starts.

So, the first thing you do is move the guy to the right past the sharp spikes (she’ll just move against the wall while you do).

Staying Together Video Game Mobile

Should be like this before jumping her out.

Once the guy is safely away from both the spikes and not too close to the ditch, jump to get the girl out of the pit.

Staying Together Video Game Mobile

Jump!

Now, move the girl to the left and position the guy close to the edge. Jump to get the guy on the ledge above.

Staying Together Video Game Mobile

Get the guy up on that ledge.

Then move the girl to the left until she clears the spikes (the guy will keep moving toward the wall while she does).

Staying Together Video Game Mobile

Spikes will kill her. Clear them!

The final move is to bring them together. Will they stay together? There are many more levels after this one!

Staying Together Video Game Mobile

Boogie time!

Amplitude Reborn Video Game Trailer — Dropping more than just notes….

The original Amplitude was to video games what 2001: A Space Odyssey was to movies. A wild crazy trip after dropping…stuff. Pumping Garbage, Bowie, DJ HMX, et al, you go for a ride through psychedelic-ville. Sometimes you miss a note or two but it don’t matter because it’s the process that matters, man. The journey. Some serious good times, good times.

It calls itself a cult classic. The first game wasn’t that long ago. When I think classic, I’m thinking Hendrix and Zeppelin, not Coldplay, but it says the 2003 games is a classic so I guess it’s a classic. A cult classic, like The Warriors, right?

It took crowd-funding on Kickstarter, and Harmonix, the original group, is rebirthing it. The trailer’s out, and it looks like more wild rides to be had, very soon.

At first, the game seems like a mobile deal. Like the ultra-annoying Minion Rush. But keep watching and rocking to the groove. Drop some…stuff, inhale some…oxygen, and you’ll be like, this is groovy. And groovy times three because you can play with your buddies. Multiplayer, man, get my drift? In the trailer, Roger, Mari and Ryan are having some good times together, “kickin’ it easy with the fellas”, as I used to call it.

You gotta hit the notes, move with the rhythm of the music. The more you groove with the beat, the higher the score. So, yeah, it’s a music game, but it’s also a groovy-get-down game, know what I’m saying?

Yeah, you do.

It’ll be out on PS3 and PS4 sometime this year.

Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power Announcement Trailer — It’s Manly to Glide!

Side-scrollers are still pretty cool, especially ones with intriguing puzzles and creative battles. The first thing that sticks out about Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power is that it’s more than just a side-scroller like the first two in the series. It’s still a side-scroller, but it’s got some 3D elements, too.

trine 3 artifacts of power

Side-scrolling action!

Check out the announcement trailer for Frozenbyte’s game, which is out on major platforms, including PC, sometime in 2015.

As the previous games in the series, the thief, knight and wizard must work together to solve puzzles and win the game. One player can control two characters, or co-op with two buddies. You have to work together and optimize each character’s strengths and special abilities. The thief has a grappling hook that allows her to swing from place to place like Spiderman. The wizard has magic and stuff, which is not as interesting. The coolest ability belongs to the knight. He uses his shield to glide. Some weird physics there, but it’s still cool to watch this big dude gliding with his shield. Not exactly the most masculine thing a dude can do, but whatever works, I guess.

The game’s got some beautiful scenery. The colors and shadows and silhouette show some sharp art direction. It looks really good.

The worlds, from the darkest dungeons to the vibrant tropics, present some interesting settings for adventure.

trine 3 artifacts of power

Some nice colors in this game.

Based on the trailer, the game looks worth trying out. I can’t wait to glide on that shield.