Hooked Gamers - The Book of Unwritten Tales Review

Point-and-click adventure games, good ones that is, are very rare nowadays. You really have to search for them as they apparently lie beyond the realms of mainstream interest. That is a huge shame really, if for no other reason than that the genre has always provided an unparalleled humour. Perhaps it is their relative slow pace, or their naturally clunky gameplay when compared to other genres that deemed them unsuitable for today's gamer. Whatever it may be, they have been cast out of the sphere that is currently occupied by shooters and sports games, and discouraged to ever attempt a comeback. On the bright side, there is hope coming from the likes of Germany-based King Art Games. Their original release of The Book of Unwritten Tales in 2009 was met with great success in their native country, but they wanted to expand the experience to English speaking players and set out to localise the game.

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IGM - Friday Fiver: Five Games For Under £5 Each!

Sometimes I feel I do not play enough games. Other times I play lots and don’t bother to write anything about them. To resolve this issue, I have vowed to produce a weekly feature for you every Friday. The goal is to review five games that cost under £5 every Friday. I would like to think that if any of these games gets a shining review then you would be inclined to have some weekend gaming fun with it. If that is achieved, then at least this has a further, more grandiose point to it.

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Hooked Gamers - Dark Souls Review

Reputation can hold a foreboding presence. It is passed around by word of mouth and is digested as an underlying anticipation. It brings fear and excites the mind with illustrious thoughts and runaway fantasies. Rarely does the arrival of the reputed object deliver to the promises of the hushed whispers that so eagerly painted its ominous being. On occasion though, the reputation is surpassed by the material embodiment; its presence chokes the throat. Such is the case with Dark Souls - an unrelenting experience that only the audacious should dare enter.

 
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IGM - Orcs Must Die! Review

Spiky floor or wall-mounted blades? Which would spice up the castle interior more? This is not a sadistic version of The Sims at discussion here. No. This concerns the art of orc killing; a most vivacious sport to suit any young, sprightly mage. In Orcs Must Die, the consideration of your interior design is a most vital practice, especially as you will be spraying chunks of green flesh and red gore all over the walls. Good luck removing those stains. You could look upon the struggle of the last survivor of the Order as he battles a massive army of orcs as quite epic. But the truth of the matter is, there is way too much fun to be had here than to worry about whether you are fighting for some noble cause. Blood squelching, skull crushing fun, that is.

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IGM - Xotic Review

 Xotic sticks out like a sore thumb amongst other shooters. A simple glance at a screenshot will prove this. There are colours barfed up everywhere and it appears that more familiar weaponry such as a standard barrel-and-trigger gun, has been replaced with a large fly. You are bound to question exactly what it is that you are looking at and how many drugs you have taken. But while Xotic may look a million miles away from your typical shooter, it is arguably more of a shooter than the current majority in the genre. You are probably more interested in the fly though, aren’t you?



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Game Tunnel - September 2011 Independent Games Round-Up

Welcome to the September 2011 Independent Video Game round-up, the latest in our long-running panel that reviews all the latest Indie games. We passed on doing a video feature for this round-up, but if you want us to bring it back just sound off below. We hope you enjoy this very close match-up of some excellent indie games. Seven of the ten games received an award this month and some of the top games scores were very close! Needless to say, there are always great independent games out there to find. We hope you enjoy reading reviews from each of the panelists on all 10 games in the September Independent Game round-up.

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IGM - Gemini Rue Review

After Gemini Rue delivered its final message about the human condition, I found myself sat upright before my monitor as the end credits rolled, applauding. But what was it that had caused me to feel the need to demonstrate a physical appreciation of the game in a room occupied by only myself? Mental disabilities aside, let’s just say that Gemini Rue is a poignant package that commands the respect it deserves.

 
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Hooked Gamers - OIO Review

Despite the capacity to tell stories in a whole myriad of ways, the most popular games simply adopt a cutscene enamoured, Hollywood-style narrative. It's disappointing to say the least. That is why we need more games like OIO. This sidescrolling puzzle platformer weaves a promiscuous plot by dropping its players straight into the peculiar. The inevitable curiosity of the player is only resolved through the gameplay; a drip-fed reward that drives a constant need to solve the mystery of the eponymous character's situation. Its narrative hook dismisses the usual action-packed formula and instead favours a slow pan across its twisted environments. Uncanny Games certainly know how to create an atmosphere worthy of their name.

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IGM - Demolition, Inc. Review

Being a demolition guy is perhaps the most satisfactory job there is. You get paid to blow things up, is that not ridiculously inviting? From our youth we have been crushing ant hills and beating up our younger siblings, now it’s time to destroy whole cities. Am I right!? Well, Demolition, Inc. is going to let you get a little closer to that realisation, but it is certainly not going to make it an easy task. After all, this is a strategy game but do not get put off; there are exploding cows, cars jumping off ramps into buildings and earthquakes under your control. Surely that is much more fun than simply pressing a big red button to level a few blocks?

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Hooked Gamers - The Book of Unwritten Tales Preview

“Nobody can die in this game!” moans Death as he sits atop a crate, kicking his pink bunny slippers to and fro. He continues to complain about his destitute situation; finding himself in a point-and-click adventure rather than a role-playing game in which hundreds of rats are killed before even reaching level two. Confused by Death’s references to ‘the game,’ Wilbur the Gnome exits the miserable conversation that he describes as “deathly unhappy.” As soon as those words exit his lips he turns to the player and apologizes for the terrible pun and claims it will not happen again. Moments like this epitomize my love of graphic adventure games. The Book of Unwritten Tales marks a glorious return to the root of their existence. It is a breed of game that is best described as the love child of Lord of the Rings and Monkey Island.

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