The short answer is: No. Alphabetic is a fun game but it’s completely simplistic it’s way fun to pick up randomly just to have a little bit of a brain tease it may be for you children. with lots of fun and vibrant colors. I don’t feel I need to say much more because this game is really cut and dry that’s about it as far as explaining this game.
If this game ever goes down to a dollar pick it up or if you really want a game picking out random letters from a group of letters pick it up otherwise you might find yourself bored.
Overall rating: 5.5/10
If you are interested in learning more about how your computer works and what makes it tick you might have heard of linux, well my favorite distro of linux has release a new update today!
A few things about this Distro, it is not for the faint of heart, you will spend most your time in the terminal window getting to know all the programs that come installed and you can even make a live cd so you can use it anywhere or just try it out.
If you have never tried linux and would like to try it out I would suggest ubuntu for a much more user friendly experience.
I will be the first to admit that I am not always the best at finishing my Iphone/touch games. A large portion of the time I become annoyed with this or that, then quickly become sidetracked on a new game. Star Pagga though caught my eye because I’m such a sucker for flight simulation games. In the genre of flight simulators Star Pagga is nothing revolutionary except for the fact that it’s well done and on the Ipod well. If you enjoy floating blue and red lines with little variation this game is for you! I knew that’s exactly what you were all waiting for!!
simple graphics, fun play
The good: Star Pagga yields some amazing game play and interesting graphics at the least. Despite the low detailing in the graphics it does show some power in the gameplay. It’s simple yet entirely fun. Many different weapon types in two familiar classes, it keeps it simple yet interesting.
The bad: It has basically no graphics its all lines and colors to represent everything you do, it was fun for the first time through, but the when I went back to play more it lacked any reason to play. Nothing revolutionary except for the fact that it works.
A fun game that is worth supporting the development of the game for possible future development. If you find it on sale I would reccommend picking it up just for a different playing experience. Pick up the lite version and see what you think its basically more of thae same when you buy the full version.
Overall rating: 7/10
Part of 
Christmas this year I received a few XBox points and decided to download Raskulls from the Arcade. I had heard about this game a few months ago after I became a fan of HalfBrick and their great development house. Upon completion of the download I started right into the multiplayer without any instruction because I had three little boys begging to play. Basically it is a race game go from the start to the finish and bash your competition with anything you can. The menu selection is laid out similar to any race game where you select a “cup” and then what round you want 12 are unlocked from the beginning without any interaction and 4 more are unlock-able though the single player game play. Me and the boys cruised through all 12 of the levels pretty quick and caught on pretty quick you can zap the blocks and they fall timing is critical as you want to try and smash the people behind you also you can pick up treasure that you can use against other players, very similar to a mario kart style.
After several hours of gameplay in the multiplayer i decided to try my hand at the single player/quest mode. the dialog is funny playing on many of the tropes of the video game industry and the character are fun, you can unlock character for gameplay in the race mode and some rounds do offer a challenge like the conserve your zap round where you have to figure out how to get out of the race without running out of zap power.
With strong multiplayer and decent single player game this is worth a few hours of game play and definitely worth the 800 point download especially for a fun party game overall it got an 8/10.
When Puzzle Quest game out several years ago I really though it was a great twist on a puzzle adventure, after playing it on the XBox and iPhone originally I felt the company had a great new franchise but I was skeptical after Puzzle Quest Galactrics came out that they could really improve on the original game play. So when I purchased it for the iPhone and started to play I felt much the same a bit underwhelmed and mostly because it just felt so small and meaningless. I got through the first dungeon and pretty much put it away. But finding myself with a bit of spare time this holiday I decided to download it to my iPad and try it out again on a bigger screen.
All I have to say is wow what a difference I’ve now poured several hours into this game and I am happy to go back and play again. I think the big difference was size but i’m not sure I just feel more in control on the iPad luckily its a universal app so if you already purchased it on the iPhone then its a free download for the iPad, but I now find myself playing a few quick puzzles on my iPhone. The new equipment is amazing the decisions to upgraded items are brutal. and every choice you make is a very active role in the game and to your style. basically the biggest weakness is now they have given me a JRPG character feel I want to be able to walk around now just click action items I think this update proved to me there is still room to go in this puzzle sub genre of RPG, I’d like to seem more animation more movement, and some good quality voice actors. So all I can say is get this game try it out, and thanks a lot Puzzle Quest you have left me wanting.
When I heard that Sqaure Enix was trying an RPG on the Iphone, I had a lot of mixed feelings. would this be like a lot of other recent sqaure products that haven’t done so well or would they manage to pull of the hit piece we have all be waiting for.
I’m quite happy to say i think they have pulled off something I wasn’t sure could be done they made an RPG that lets you go at your own pace, but yet can be equally challenging or easy depending on what kind of gamer you are. Granted there is a minor gripe that it may not be hard enough and a little bit simplistic occasionally.
I believe though that honestly this game provided a great experience for both new gamers and the highly seasoned gamer. This game holds a place in my small handfull of games I have yet to delete.
Pros: This games skill system, is actually rather fun and unique, but yet back to basics like the good old days of RPG’s, but yet it showcases what RPG’s have become as advances in technology change the nature of gaming.
Cons: This game can get rather repeptitive and easy after you play through the first couple times. You start to care less how everyone turns out. All the sudden you realize life is going on around you.
overall rating 9/10
So I really enjoy the sport of running it always seems to clear my mind so when geek mixes with running, I’m one happy man. Not so recently Nike released the Nike+ system with some of their shoes and I haven’t quite tried it all out till now. So just a month ago I picked up some new running shoes and they were Nike+ compatible I was way excited I had finally been able to get my hands on this system I had been drooling over for a while.
Basically Nike+ is a way to track how far your running how many calories you’ve burned and any overall improvement you have over time. By sticking a small chip in your shoe you can receive the data while running with a watch that Nike sells or simply by jogging with your Ipod while listening to music, that is what I did. Apple has loaded into the newer generation Ipods the nike plus program that gathers the data recorded by the chip which is activated by movement so it doesn’t hog loads of battery. Then after running you sync your Ipod or watch with the computer and it is loaded up to Nike’s website where they organize it nice and pretty for you record you distance ever ran and your best run times. It’s a handy way to keep it all in one spot and you don’t hardly have to do any work just push play then when your done plug it into the computer.
I personally have loved having my new shoes that are Nike+ compatible I would recommend it to those people who don’t wanna spend oodles of money for other equipment that is even more expensive and honestly only marginally more convenient. If you don’t have a pair of nike+ shoes you can take buy the chip and a case to put the chip on your shoelace then off you go in your favorite pair of running shoes, it’s not quite as pretty as sticking the chip in your shoe but just as useful.
Ill wrap it up and just say if you have been looking for a way to keep track of runs and even to motivate yourself this really can be a great tool.
If you would like to know more visit nikerunning
As a dad of three awesome boys I’m always looking for fun things to do with them so when I heard that Lego was releasing board games I jump onboard even before I saw the results. My most recent one I acquired was the Lava Dragon. Even though the box says 6 and up I decided to try it out on my 4 and 5 year old, and after a couple games I have to say I was pretty impressed. The small size of the microfigs makes it a little hard to move the pieces but the rules where simple enough to understand and they got right into the game.
Ok so I admit I finally got sucked into one of these dumb farm games but come on when there is zombies involved I have a soft spot. basically take your typical farm game of growing crops and arranging your farm, and then throw in zombie farming. Awesome huh… Well even though there are some very fun aspects of this game there are a few glaring flaws that hopefully will iron themselves as the app matures, I understand the in app purchases to try and create a revenue, but let me attack other farms of visit neighbors farms. I would say download this game so you can see when new updates come out but don’t spend to much on brains its kind of dead ends fast(no pun intended). oh and one final though I really believe that the touch screen platform is the best for these farms games in fact its really peaked my curiosity about Simcity on the iPhone.
I know it is kind of weird to talk about PC games twice in a row, especially since that is not normally what we have talked about, but that appears to be the most interesting gaming at the moment with Starcraft 2 out, Civilization 5 coming, and likely the one I am most excited about Elemental- War of Magic.
There are a couple of reasons why Elemental has really caught my attention. First, it is from Stardock. This has become my favorite developer over the last couple of years for me because they work to make their games accessible. You don’t have to go out and buy a new gaming computer for their games. In addition, they listen to their fan base better than any other developer. I’ve been participating in the Beta, and it is amazing how many changes they have implemented because fans have made suggestions. It is incredible the speed at which this thing has been updated. It seems like every update adds loads of features.
The second reason I’m looking forward to Elemental is the bang for the buck. The entire campaign from Elemental will be built using the same tools that will then be provided to the modding community. It appears that the modding will be extremely accessible which really just gets me excited because I am sure that in just a few months we will have enough campaigns and skins to push the replayability to hundreds of hours. Essentially they are providing resources to create a whole new platform. Other games such as Civilization 4 have had some great mods like Fall From Heaven 2, but this game will make modding commonplace.
Finally, the game is fun. It is a mix of many different genres with the ability to win the game in many different ways. It’s coming out in two weeks, and I hope to block out my entire weekend after to play. There are some pretty cool bonuses in the collector’s edition of the game which is what will be showing up on my door. Check it out on www.elementalgame.com
