"Trial And Error" - Crayon Physics Deluxe

Title: Crayon Physics Deluxe
Genre: Puzzle
Developer/Publisher: Klooni Games/Petri Purho
System: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android
Release Date: January 7th, 2009

And just when you thought that a game involving flowers was crazy enough, there has to be a game involving CRAYONS. Well, it's true, there is a game with the use of crayons. In this post of Trial and Error, it's all about the puzzle solving and drawing simulator that is Crayon Physics Deluxe. 

An example of one the levels in the game.

While this game has no real story line to it, the game is more about thinking things through by get the circle all the way to the star. The first level (image shown above) tells you to draw a box in order to move the circle (though in later levels you'll have the ability to move the circle by clicking it.) You'll have to make a variety of objects and obstacles in order to get all the stars in the game.

Whenever you collect a certain amount of stars, a new level will be unlocked and ready for you to go on and play.

As this game is a physics related game, there will be puzzles in which involve the effects of gravity, mass, kinetic energy as well as momentum, which could pose as challenges even with the game's simple design.

You can create your own levels with the level editor.

One of the more interesting things with Crayon Physics Deluxe is the ability to create your own levels and share it with everyone. You can make the level as simple or as complex as you want it in whatever way you want it.

...Or you can just be bored and just doodle on the map. Your use of the crayons isn't restricted to just the levels themselves.

Crayon Physics Deluxe is an interesting puzzle game that makes the fun use of crayons and bringing drawings to life while making it fun and challenging with its puzzles and design. However, on Steam, the game is priced at $20, which for some people may be a turn off with the amount of content the game has. Though Steam does have a tendency to put things on sale, so if you want to try this game in full, it would be best to wait.

Thanks for looking up!
-Anthony-

Going Western with Gunman Clive!

Title: Gunman Clive

Genre: Action, Adventure, Platformer

Developer/Publisher: Horberg Productions

System: iOS, Nintendo 3DS

Release Date: April 3rd, 2012 (iPhone)

The year is 18XX, and a group thugs and outlaws have been overrun in the west. One day a group of bandits decide to kidnap Mayor Johnson's daughter and spread havoc across the western plains. Now, it's up to Clive to rescue Ms. Johnson and bring order to the west...

So, if you're looking for something that's both worthwhile and of course easy on your wallet, then Gunman Clive's here for you at only $2. The game consists of 20 levels, split into four areas of five in which Clive must defeat all of the biggest baddies in the west in order to save Ms. Johnson. Of course, rescuing damsels in distress being a thing, you know that it won't be easy to reach the end.

Gunman Clive plays very similarly to the Mario games, with some exceptions.

In the 3DS version of the game, you use "B" to jump, and "Y" to shoot enemies with your gun. Sometimes you the enemies you defeat will drop a piece of cake to restore your health, and sometimes there will be an upgrade that can allow you gun to fire multiple bullets at once, shoot a bouncing bullet, or even make your bullet size bigger. Enemies range from gunmen, birds, and even sometimes you'll come across sharp obstacles.

There are three playable characters in this game, with two being available from the start. 

Clive is the main protagonist, who's duty is to save Ms. Johnson from her captors. He bears no special abilities of any sort, and plays similarly to Mario.

Yep. It's true.

Ms. Johnson herself is also a playable character. In her story, the roles have been reversed, and it's up to her to rescue Clive. She has unique ability in which she can float in the air temporarily, similar to Princess Peach. 

A Duck is also playable once you've completed the game one time. The duck in this case has no methods of attack, but can flutter in the air, similar to Yoshi.

Don't expect this game to take you very long to beat, but if you're looking for something quick to pass the time, then this game is the perfect choice, especially with it having a great graphic design and music tracks.

That's it for now everyone!
-Anthony-

"Trial And Error" -- Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the TItan Demo

Hey guys! It's time to do something a little different for this blog and have some more variety to it. Generally up to this point, it's been me going over games that I've been familiar with. In this series of posts known as "Trial And Error" it follows me playing various demos and learning more about the games as well as how they play.

Title: Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan

Genre: Role-Playing

Developer/Publisher: ATLUS

System: Nintendo 3DS

Release Date: February 26th, 2013

Today's first posting for "Trial And Error" will be on Etrian Odyssey IV, the first game in the series that's been developed on the Nintendo 3DS.

Etrian Odyssey IV takes place in the land of Tharsis, where a mysterious tree known as the Yggdrasil looms over the area. The Outland Count of Tharsis decides to sponsor an explorer's guild in order to learn more about the tree's secrets, and like in every previous game in the series, you are the latest explorer arriving in the said area in order to seek fame and fortune.

You never know what might come at you, and sometimes, you will.

Etrian Odyssey IV, and all games in the series are dungeon crawler RPGs, where the battles take place in labyrinth like areas filled with monsters, and you don't know what you're going to encounter at most points. To know when you're getting closer to an enemy, on the bottom right hand corner of the 3DS' top screen, when it turns red, you're most likely to encounter something.

If you're familar with games such as the first two Elder Scrolls games -- Arena and Daggerfall, or something more recent like Legend of Grimrock, these are some examples of what dungeon crawlers are like.

Three of the character classes you can have your party members as.

The game features 10 different character classes, seven of which are available from the start -- Landsknecht (Swordsman), Nightseeker, Fortress, Sniper, Medic, Runemaster, and Dancer. Each class has their unique weapons, skills, and preferred positions (the front line or the back). You can have up to five members in your party for battle, and up to 30 members for your guild. 

Of course since you are the leader of your own guild, you'll be expected to take quests and help other people out along the way. The Mark Grand Court is where you get your missions which will progress the story, while the Dancing Peacock is an area to receive side quests.

Other areas of interest while in Tharsis include: the Saehrimnir Inn, which is where you can rest and restore HP and TP, revive fallen allies, and save your game, the Berund Atelier, the weapons, armor, and items shop, the Explorer's Guild where you can create more characters, and the City Gates where you can set off for adventure.

Things may have to be cut short...

Of course, like any demo, you can only have access to the game up to a certain point. However, an interesting thing with Etrian Odyssey IV is that you can save during the demo, allowing you to continue with your adventure once you have the full game.

So anyways, tell me what you think about this, and what I can do more for Trial And Error. Thanks again, guys!

-Anthony-                         

Mother, What Is Earthbound?

Title: EarthBound/Mother 2

Genre: Role-Playing Game

Developer(s): Ape, HAL Laboratory

Publisher: Nintendo

System: SNES (original), Game Boy Advance, Wii U (ports)

Release Date: June 5th, 1995

If you don't get the title of this post, it is that "Mother" is actually the name of the series, though in the U.S., it was localized as EarthBound. It is the second game of the series, and the only game of the Mother trilogy to have been released in North America. Compared to all of Nintendo's other titles, it is one of the few series that is not well known. 

Unlike most RPGs in the 80s to mid 90s that are usually based in some sort of medieval settings, EarthBound takes place in a more modern time -- "199X" to be exact, and also in a world that resembles America. And, the enemies that you face can vary -- from strange bizzare people, inanimate objects, beasts, and even aliens.

The Starmen are the most notable enemies in the Mother series, and are generally fought near the end of all three games.

As stated, since the game takes place in Eagleland, which is based on America, you'll notice that the game has references to American pop-culture, through dialogue, and even in the game's soundtrack.

In EarthBound, one night, Ness awakens to see that a meteorite landed on top of a hill not far from where he lives. Near the meteor, he meets an Alien known as "Buzz Buzz" who tells him about a mysterious evil in the future that is too powerful, and that it is up to him along with three others in order to save the world. The task is to located eight melodies using an item known as the Sound Stone in order to unite his power with everyone else's in order to stop this evil from ever existing.

The main cast of EarthBound

Ness -- A 13 year old boy from Onett who has strong PSI powers, who's main mission is to collect all eight melodies in order to save the world from evil. He always has his red cap sideways, and wears a blue and yellow striped shirt. His weapon of choice aside from his PSI powers is baseball bats.

Paula -- An 11 year old girl from Twoson who also has PSI powers, and knew about Ness in a dream. She joins Ness after she has been rescued from some of the main villians. Aside from PSI attacks, Paula uses frying pans as her weapon.

Jeff Andonuts -- A 13 year old child prodigy and the son of the Dr. Andonuts, a notable professor/scientist who resides in Winters. He is the only character in the party to not have the ability of PSI. He uses guns/lasers to deal damage to enemies, and can also use bombs and bottle rockets.

Poo -- The last recuritable member who lives in Dalaam. A dedicated warrior and also popular with the ladies of his hometown. He lets his fists do the damage dealing along with his PSI skills. He also can wield a special weapon known as the Sword of Kings. Unlike other characters who can heal their HP and PSI with Western food (like pizza and hamburgers), this is not as effective for Poo, so having Eastern Foods and Water will help restore him.

Nintendo Direct is Nintendo's update series that talks about games coming out on its current consoles. 

Now, here comes the main reason why today's blog is about EarthBound and not something else. In today's Nintendo Direct, Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo announced that EarthBound will be coming to the Nintendo Wii U's eShop/Virtual Console sometime later this year.

I'm sad to say that I never played EarthBound when it first came out on Super Nintendo Entertainment System, but now I'm more hopefully that once I acquire a Wii U, I'll be able to play it for sure.

When EarthBound was released back in 1995, it wasn't very successful and sold poorly, but now that the fanbase has grown, and more people have been demanding it, with more people downloading EarthBound on the Wii U, it could gave future EarthBound games more availability to come overseas.

Also, while not mentioned in the video, EarthBound was not released in Europe, so there's a first for a lot of people over there.

If you want to learn more about the Mother/EarthBound series, the best site for all things related to these games would be Starmen.net, where they have new and previous information regarding EarthBound as well as Mother (known by the fans as "EarthBound Zero") and Mother 3 ("EarthBound 2").

Well, I think that covers everything for this blog, stay tuned for more exciting things to come!
-Anthony-

Show Me Your Poker Face! Poker Night at the Inventory (1 AND 2)

Titles: Poker Night at the Inventory 1 & 2
Genre: Card Game (Poker)
Developer/Publisher: Telltale Games
System: PC, Mac OSX (both games), PS3, 360 (Poker Night 2 only)
Release Dates: November 22, 2010 (original), April 23rd, 2013 (2)

Poker... with characters from various video games and other big franchises... well, now that's something to think about.

Poker Night at the Inventory puts you against four notable characters in a battle of cards, Texas Hold 'Em style (with the second game adding Omaha Hold 'Em in the mix). The first game features you going up against Max from the Sam & Max series, Strong Bad from Homestar Runner, The Heavy from Team Fortress 2, and Tycho from the Penny Arcade webcomics.

In Poker Night 2, you opponents this time are Brock Sampson from the [adult swim] animated series The Venture Bros., Claptrap from Borderlands, Ash Williams (not to be confused with Ashley Williams of the Mass Effect series) from the Evil Dead movies, and Sam from Sam & Max. GLaDOS from the Portal series also makes an appearance in this game, serving the role as the dealer.

The cast of Poker Night 2. 

The general gist of Texas Hold 'em poker is this: each player is dealt two cards, turn by turn each player can choose to call the amount the previous player put out or raise in order to earn more money. Players can fold if they feel that their hand is inferior to that of the others.

After all bets are done, the first three cards of the river go out, and the process repeats until there are five cards out on the table. The player with the best hand wins the pot.

And just when you think the game is all about money, you best think again. Each character has a special item that you can obtain which can be used for another game.

In the case with the first game (and probably the second), each of the character has a special item that they can put up as part of the bet, and if you win the bet, that item is yours. In the first game, obtaining a special item will grant you bonus weapons and gear in Team Fortress 2.

Winning more poker matches allows you to unlock extra tables and cards based on each character's series. In Poker Night 2, they made special areas/maps for all 5 characters.

If you're looking for something fun and/or want to learn about playing poker without using real money, then both Poker Night games are a choice for you, and both are $5, with pre-ordering Poker Night 2 (on Steam) will grant you the original Poker Night free of charge.

Thanks again for reading!
-Anthony-

Gotta Conquer Them All! - Pokemon Conquest (Part 2)

Hey everyone, and welcome to part 2 of my discussion on Pokemon Conquest!

As a brief reason for why there's a part 2 was mainly due to me not feeling very well over the course of the last blog's posting, and there's plenty of things that I feel that I didn't cover in the previous part, which will be rectified as of this post.

Oichi and Jigglypuff, your first partners in the game.

One of the first things you'll notice that (with the exception of the hero/heroine) every major character's name is Japanese. Every warlord in all of the nations of Ransei is based on a particular person in Sengoku-era Japan, or has some involvement in Japan's history. Oichi for instance is the younger sister of one of the warlords. Who is it? Well.... you'll have to play the game to know for yourself.

Pokemon, as well as the warlords have unique abilities that can assist their own Pokemon and others in battle.

Even though I did mention this previously, the warlords, like their Pokemon have their own unique abilities that they can use during battle. Some abilities can increase certain status such as Attack or Defense, increase the range of attacks, or even heal.

Pokemon, since the third generation of games (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, & LeafGreen) have special abilities they can use during battle (and some outside of battle). Some abilities from the main games (such as Static, Torrent, and Overgrow) are featured, along with some that are only exclusive to Pokemon Conquest.

Obtaining new Pokemon to your party is different from the main series.
 

Normally you would use Poke Balls in order to acquire new Pokemon to your party, however, Poke Balls are absent in Conquest. The only way to add new Pokemon to your party is by forming links with them.

On the bottom screen of your DS you'll notice yellow orbs and small gauge. When the yellow orb reaches the dotted circle, you press A at that moment and it will increase the gauge. Missing the timing will cause the gauge to be lowered. Even if you don't fill it all the way up in one attempt, you can still try again until the bar is full.

In every kingdom, there are areas to find other Pokemon, a shop for buying items such as Potions, and a Ponigiri shop.

Even though that Poke Balls are absent, items like Potions and Antidotes are still available for to buy at item shops (buildings with blue roofs). Ponigiri shops (buildings with red roofs) will allow you to feed ponigiri to your Pokemon, which can increase their energy level for upcoming battles.

These buildings can also be upgraded and they'll be able to provide you with more powerful items for you to use.

On some occasions, there may be a traveling merchant who will sell you items that are not generally in the item shops, such as evolutionary items.

Evolutionary items also work differently in this game. Rather than using it right away or having to trade in order for the Pokemon to evolve, the conditions are different. Pokemon who evolve that require these items need to either win a battle or win and recruit someone into the player's army.

Every one of the warlords has their own story to tell.

The last thing that I will mention is that after you clear the main story, you will get a series of side stories or "episodes" that follow around certain warlords, which unlock after fulfilling certain conditions. There were 5 extra episodes that are downloadable via Nintendo Connection, however, as of December 31st, 2012, those bonus episode are no longer available for download.

Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed my second part of Pokemon Conquest!
-Anthony-

Gotta Conquer Them All! - Pokemon Conquest! (Part 1)

Title: Pokemon Conquest
Genre: Tactical RPG
Developer: Tecmo Koei
Publishers: Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
System: Nintendo DS
Release Date: June 18th, 2012

It's one of the VERY RARE events in which one of Nintendo's main franchises decides to have a cross-over game with another series of games that isn't the Smash Bros. series. Pokemon Conquest is a game that combines the game play and strategy/tactical adventure of Nobunaga's Ambition with Pokemon.

The story of the game takes place in an area known as Ransei, where a legend states that if one nation has control over all seventeen of the kingdom's regions (which are based on all 17 Pokemon types), that the creator of the region will return once more. 

The Ransei region, the setting of game. The landmass itself is based on the legendary Pokemon, Arceus.

As stated previously, the goal of the game is to conquer all 17 nations of Ransei. You start off as a hero/heroine of Aurora, an area that specializes in Normal-type Pokemon. Like in Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, your starter Pokemon is an Eevee.

Unlike in Pokemon games where normally, you would send out a Pokemon and face an opponent 1-on-1 (or 2-on-1/2-on-2 for Double Battles), you and your allies each send out one Pokemon and that Pokemon is the only that can be used for that battle until all enemies are defeated. There is also a handful of different things that differ from normal Pokemon rules:

                             - Each character can vary in the number Pokemon the can have (most 8, least 2).
                             - Up to 6 characters can be in one nation at a time.
                              - Pokemon evolve when they reach a certain energy level
                              - Oddly enough, warlords themselves can also "evolve"
                              - Pokemon may sometimes leave a character's party
                              - Characters may also leave the army if not used at all
                              - All Pokemon will only have one attack to use.
                              - Warlords and other characters can use special abilities to aid the party

Now that's some of main things to look out for in this game. There's a lot, but once you start playing, you'll understand the mechanics quite easily.

A battle in the Fire Nation, Ignis, home to Fire-type Pokemon.

I think that I'm going to put a stop for now, and have a Part 2 for this entry as well, since there's a lot to talk about, and I haven't been feeling well. So stay tuned!