Description: Information is freedom. As a hotshot computer security cracker, you will solve over 50 puzzles and fight against totalitarianism, abuses of power, and terrorism.
Another puzzle game. This week seems to be fraught with puzzle game reviews, doesn't it? This game is mercilessly difficult. A seductive mistress that lures you in with the promise of a potentially fun, but not too challenging, puzzle game, yet leaves you with a bad case of blue balls. The tutorial teaches you what to expect, but the one thing it doesn't tell you is that you have to take into account timing, too.
I won't go too deep into the story, because I feel that the description sums it up better than I ever could care to. As for the game itself, the premise is to send packets of data to the correct area using the tools the current puzzle gives you. The first chapter gives you a decent challenge. What you'd expect from the entire game, really, if there was any justice. There was the perfect balance of ease and challenge, and solving puzzles without outside help left you with a sense of accomplishment. Coupled with a somewhat believable, even if fictional, story and cause and effect, and the fact that the puzzles were at least somewhat interesting, this meant the rest of the game was going to be just as good, right?
If anything, the game would have been much better off following the same course. Not only does the story get a little strange, but puzzles ramp up violently in difficulty, leaving you clicking frantically to try to get things done with the correct timing. In the game's defense, it at least gives you a means of beating a level by allowing you a one-time.. uh.. advantage, but it's a paper-thin defense at best, especially since, as far as I could care to tell, you only get one, and there's still forty levels to go through to get the second badge. Sigh.
The game achieves what it set out to do, even if it starts off sailing smooth and then hits a bumpy road. Maybe I'll sit down to the game and try to rapid-click my way through it at a future time, but I got frustrated as hell and just couldn't sit through any more of the game. For all of my dislike of impossible puzzle games, I figure it's an enjoyable game if you're one of those people that have a knack for these kinds of games, or have the patience to sit through it. The story might be worth sitting through.
Rating: 7/10
Achievement: .Sol Editor (Easy - 5 Points)
Description: Complete the tutorial.
Tips: An easy five points.
Achievement: Information Wants to Be Free (Medium - 15 Points)
Description: Complete chapter 3 of story mode.
Tips: I have yet to find the time or patience to sit through this one. If you can't get this one, good luck with..
Achievement: Charlie's Mom's Sweet Treats (Hard - 30 Points)
Description: Complete all 20 challenges.
Tips: Not much I can say here to help you, seeing as I don't generally bother with challenges until I've beaten a game. Considering that challenges are there to do just that - challenge you - there's a good chance that these ones may easily be on the impossibly hard end of the scale. Good luck!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Neverending Light
Description: A guided tour goes horribly wrong when everyone is eaten by monsters!
Sigh. Personally, I don't even know where to start with this one. I appreciate when game makers attempt to make a new and interesting game. Something that's never been done before. Taking those ideas and bringing them to life. For that, Neverending Light succeeds. However, for everything else, it falls flat on its face.
Using a flashlight (or other source of light) to look around and fend off creatures is a concept that is not often dealt with. The odd game here and there, but I've yet to see a flash game attempt something like this. If I have, I sure as heck don't remember it, and I sure don't remember it being pulled off this badly. I don't want to run the game ragged, because I can appreciate what the guy tried to do with this game, but.. I just couldn't sit through it the whole way. I didn't even bother trying to get the sole badge for this game, because that would have required completing the game, or even getting close to the end.
Anyway, the game deals with the main character going on a tour in some caverns. Nameless and faceless as a protagonist, the only thing that really drives the story are four main factors: survival, the obligatory love interest, your flashlight and, of course, darkness. I got about as far into the story as just shortly after finding your love interest, and then after losing her so abruptly, I had pretty much had enough of the game, and I started looking elsewhere.
For those of you that have the patience for this game, I commend you. For those of you who actually like this game, I question your taste. I say this because the game has four out of five stars as of this review's writing. This can't be some kind of crazy fluke, because over 20,000 (as of time of review, of course) have voted. Either this is a shining example of why the five-star system in any form is flawed and overrated, or more than half of the voters thought the game was decent.
So, I guess by this point you're probably wondering what irked me so much about this game. Well, if you've read this far, you're probably willing to stick around long enough to find out. You're about to be rewarded!
* The Darkness. Using the darkness as a tool for fear is hardly a new concept. When you know something is lurking out there in the darkness, that can be pretty terrifying. This game pulls this off fairly well, but only because your guy moves so god damn slow, and the fact that his main method of sight and deterrent sucks.
* The Flashlight. I appreciate the game creator aiming for a tiny speck of realism in this game, but the fact that the flashlight only lights up five percent of the screen in front of where you're aiming and the walls of the cavern are unforgiving, often times looking like there's a path you can take, but it turns out not to be the case.
I can't really appreciate a game that takes place mostly in the dark. Not a whole lot of fun takes place in the dark, besides what takes place behind closed doors, and Neverending Light is a disappointment, because its negatives just outweigh its positives. Maybe I'm being too harsh here, but I just couldn't find much of anything to enjoy in this game. Sorry.
Rating: 2/10
Achievement: "Go Toward The Light" (Medium - 15 Points)
Description: Collect all 49 sprite droppings.
Tips: These are little balls of light scattered around the game. It's my assumption that you can probably do a bit of exploring during the course of the game and easily find all of them, but considering, that outlook might be too positive.
Sigh. Personally, I don't even know where to start with this one. I appreciate when game makers attempt to make a new and interesting game. Something that's never been done before. Taking those ideas and bringing them to life. For that, Neverending Light succeeds. However, for everything else, it falls flat on its face.
Using a flashlight (or other source of light) to look around and fend off creatures is a concept that is not often dealt with. The odd game here and there, but I've yet to see a flash game attempt something like this. If I have, I sure as heck don't remember it, and I sure don't remember it being pulled off this badly. I don't want to run the game ragged, because I can appreciate what the guy tried to do with this game, but.. I just couldn't sit through it the whole way. I didn't even bother trying to get the sole badge for this game, because that would have required completing the game, or even getting close to the end.
Anyway, the game deals with the main character going on a tour in some caverns. Nameless and faceless as a protagonist, the only thing that really drives the story are four main factors: survival, the obligatory love interest, your flashlight and, of course, darkness. I got about as far into the story as just shortly after finding your love interest, and then after losing her so abruptly, I had pretty much had enough of the game, and I started looking elsewhere.
For those of you that have the patience for this game, I commend you. For those of you who actually like this game, I question your taste. I say this because the game has four out of five stars as of this review's writing. This can't be some kind of crazy fluke, because over 20,000 (as of time of review, of course) have voted. Either this is a shining example of why the five-star system in any form is flawed and overrated, or more than half of the voters thought the game was decent.
So, I guess by this point you're probably wondering what irked me so much about this game. Well, if you've read this far, you're probably willing to stick around long enough to find out. You're about to be rewarded!
* The Darkness. Using the darkness as a tool for fear is hardly a new concept. When you know something is lurking out there in the darkness, that can be pretty terrifying. This game pulls this off fairly well, but only because your guy moves so god damn slow, and the fact that his main method of sight and deterrent sucks.
* The Flashlight. I appreciate the game creator aiming for a tiny speck of realism in this game, but the fact that the flashlight only lights up five percent of the screen in front of where you're aiming and the walls of the cavern are unforgiving, often times looking like there's a path you can take, but it turns out not to be the case.
I can't really appreciate a game that takes place mostly in the dark. Not a whole lot of fun takes place in the dark, besides what takes place behind closed doors, and Neverending Light is a disappointment, because its negatives just outweigh its positives. Maybe I'm being too harsh here, but I just couldn't find much of anything to enjoy in this game. Sorry.
Rating: 2/10
Achievement: "Go Toward The Light" (Medium - 15 Points)
Description: Collect all 49 sprite droppings.
Tips: These are little balls of light scattered around the game. It's my assumption that you can probably do a bit of exploring during the course of the game and easily find all of them, but considering, that outlook might be too positive.
Exorbis 2
Description: This is a colorful puzzle game which starts off easy but gets very difficult. Can you get the perfect score on every level?
Kongai Card: Girdle of Iron Will
Description: Complete any 20 levels.
I've never had the misfortune of playing the first Exorbis, and it seems that I'm not missing out on a whole lot. The description for this puzzle game doesn't really do it justice. It's just one of those puzzle games that, once you get started, you know that you'll be wondering why you even bother. Exorbis puts upon you the task of placing colored balls into their properly colored recepticles. To further challenge you, the game asks that you do this in a certain number of turns. That means, in most puzzles, there are faster, more efficient ways to do the puzzle, which is frustrating, because in many cases you're not sure how much better you CAN do.
In all honesty, I only played long enough to get the first two badges. The last badge, for as merciful as it is, just isn't really worth the trouble, and looking up a guide just doesn't really seem worth it in my opinion. If you're really hardcore into puzzle games and love the challenge, you'll feel most welcome here. Otherwise, anyone else should focus for the decently challenging twenty points and keep on walking.
As a game, Exorbis is relatively simple and delivers appropriately. There are a few curveballs here and there, but they don't change the game so dramatically that it's impossible to deal with them. Examples of changes include adding obstacles or panels that cause balls to move around them when clicked on, but as mentioned before, these changes aren't radical or thrown at you so quickly that you have little time to accustom yourself to them.
With one hundred levels and a difficulty that goes from easy to hard at the start and finish of each row, you can see why it's so easy to net yourself the initial twenty points. Without letting my own personal bias against impossible puzzle games cloud my judgment, Exorbis accomplishes what it set out to do. It's got a ton of levels, which only adds to the challenge, and the premise is simple and easy to understand, even with gradual changes.
Rating: 8/10
Achievement: "It Puts The Orbs in the Basket" (Easy - 5 Points)
Description: Achieve 10% overall progress.
Tips: Simply put, beat any ten levels.
Achievement: Push It Real Good (Medium - 5 Points)
Description: Ace 25 levels.
Tips: If you simply beat the first two or three levels in each row, which are considered the easiest in each row, you'll get this badge eventually. You might want to challenge yourself and try to ace the harder levels in the first two or three rows.
Achievement: "I'm Flippin' Balls, Man" (Hard - 30 Points)
Description: Complete 100 levels.
Tips: Since 100 levels is all that Exorbis has to offer (as far as I can tell, anyway), actually getting this is as simple as beating the game. Unfortunately, due to the difficulty of the game, actually acquiring this badge requires a guide and a lot of patience. Or, just having a knack for puzzle games like these. I haven't acquired this, and it's unlikely I ever will.
Kongai Card: Girdle of Iron Will
Description: Complete any 20 levels.
I've never had the misfortune of playing the first Exorbis, and it seems that I'm not missing out on a whole lot. The description for this puzzle game doesn't really do it justice. It's just one of those puzzle games that, once you get started, you know that you'll be wondering why you even bother. Exorbis puts upon you the task of placing colored balls into their properly colored recepticles. To further challenge you, the game asks that you do this in a certain number of turns. That means, in most puzzles, there are faster, more efficient ways to do the puzzle, which is frustrating, because in many cases you're not sure how much better you CAN do.
In all honesty, I only played long enough to get the first two badges. The last badge, for as merciful as it is, just isn't really worth the trouble, and looking up a guide just doesn't really seem worth it in my opinion. If you're really hardcore into puzzle games and love the challenge, you'll feel most welcome here. Otherwise, anyone else should focus for the decently challenging twenty points and keep on walking.
As a game, Exorbis is relatively simple and delivers appropriately. There are a few curveballs here and there, but they don't change the game so dramatically that it's impossible to deal with them. Examples of changes include adding obstacles or panels that cause balls to move around them when clicked on, but as mentioned before, these changes aren't radical or thrown at you so quickly that you have little time to accustom yourself to them.
With one hundred levels and a difficulty that goes from easy to hard at the start and finish of each row, you can see why it's so easy to net yourself the initial twenty points. Without letting my own personal bias against impossible puzzle games cloud my judgment, Exorbis accomplishes what it set out to do. It's got a ton of levels, which only adds to the challenge, and the premise is simple and easy to understand, even with gradual changes.
Rating: 8/10
Achievement: "It Puts The Orbs in the Basket" (Easy - 5 Points)
Description: Achieve 10% overall progress.
Tips: Simply put, beat any ten levels.
Achievement: Push It Real Good (Medium - 5 Points)
Description: Ace 25 levels.
Tips: If you simply beat the first two or three levels in each row, which are considered the easiest in each row, you'll get this badge eventually. You might want to challenge yourself and try to ace the harder levels in the first two or three rows.
Achievement: "I'm Flippin' Balls, Man" (Hard - 30 Points)
Description: Complete 100 levels.
Tips: Since 100 levels is all that Exorbis has to offer (as far as I can tell, anyway), actually getting this is as simple as beating the game. Unfortunately, due to the difficulty of the game, actually acquiring this badge requires a guide and a lot of patience. Or, just having a knack for puzzle games like these. I haven't acquired this, and it's unlikely I ever will.
Civiballs
Description: Choose Greece, Egypt or China and solve the puzzles by cutting the chains. If you get stuck, just try another civilization!
Kongai Card: Cain Solomon
Requirements: Complete any 15 levels.
Games, let alone flash games, that deal with some kind of physics are by no means uncommon, and generally for good reason. Puzzle games like Civiballs takes physics and adds.. well.. balls. The balls are most often attached to chains, which can then be cut to allow the ball some sort of momentum in a direction, allowing you to gradually solve a puzzle by placing colored balls into the appropriate vases.
I say gradually because, while the first five levels are fairly easy, the difficulty ramps up to the point where you'll spend a small chunk of time just trying to figure out the best way to approach the puzzle, and the answer isn't always there. Personally, I'm not a particularly big fan of puzzle games, but ones that are done well - and that aren't impossible to play or complete - are ones that tend to pop up on my radar, and Civiballs is a surprisingly good puzzle game.
The learning curve on Civiballs is gradual and not overwhelming, and you actually feel some sense of accomplishment when you figure out the solutions to the puzzles and then, in some of the more difficult levels, pull them off. My only real nitpicks is that the first five levels of each civilization act as a pseudo-tutorial, leaving the last five puzzles to be the more difficult and fulfilling ones. Which, of course, means that instead of thirty levels, you're really only getting fifteen. Not to mention, even if you spend a bit of time on each level solving them, you can get the game done in two hours or less.
Fortunately, the achievements are realistic, and if you're stuck, the game offers a nice step-by-step guide, even if the website that hosts it is a little confusing in how it utilizes its flash games. All in all, the game was enjoyable for a puzzle game, and it feels fitting for just about all challengers.
Rating: 9/10
Achievement: Basket Case (Easy - 5 Points)
Description: Complete any 5 levels.
Tips: If you play through the aforementioned tutorial levels for any one civilization, you'll have this badge easy.
Achievement: Momentum Spherical Mayhem (Medium - 15 Points)
Description: Complete all 31 levels.
Tips: Fairly simple. Because there's a step-by-step guide to beating each level available at all times, try your best to figure out a puzzle before you throw in the towel. It's much more satisfying to beat a level than it is to let someone show you.
Kongai Card: Cain Solomon
Requirements: Complete any 15 levels.
Games, let alone flash games, that deal with some kind of physics are by no means uncommon, and generally for good reason. Puzzle games like Civiballs takes physics and adds.. well.. balls. The balls are most often attached to chains, which can then be cut to allow the ball some sort of momentum in a direction, allowing you to gradually solve a puzzle by placing colored balls into the appropriate vases.
I say gradually because, while the first five levels are fairly easy, the difficulty ramps up to the point where you'll spend a small chunk of time just trying to figure out the best way to approach the puzzle, and the answer isn't always there. Personally, I'm not a particularly big fan of puzzle games, but ones that are done well - and that aren't impossible to play or complete - are ones that tend to pop up on my radar, and Civiballs is a surprisingly good puzzle game.
The learning curve on Civiballs is gradual and not overwhelming, and you actually feel some sense of accomplishment when you figure out the solutions to the puzzles and then, in some of the more difficult levels, pull them off. My only real nitpicks is that the first five levels of each civilization act as a pseudo-tutorial, leaving the last five puzzles to be the more difficult and fulfilling ones. Which, of course, means that instead of thirty levels, you're really only getting fifteen. Not to mention, even if you spend a bit of time on each level solving them, you can get the game done in two hours or less.
Fortunately, the achievements are realistic, and if you're stuck, the game offers a nice step-by-step guide, even if the website that hosts it is a little confusing in how it utilizes its flash games. All in all, the game was enjoyable for a puzzle game, and it feels fitting for just about all challengers.
Rating: 9/10
Achievement: Basket Case (Easy - 5 Points)
Description: Complete any 5 levels.
Tips: If you play through the aforementioned tutorial levels for any one civilization, you'll have this badge easy.
Achievement: Momentum Spherical Mayhem (Medium - 15 Points)
Description: Complete all 31 levels.
Tips: Fairly simple. Because there's a step-by-step guide to beating each level available at all times, try your best to figure out a puzzle before you throw in the towel. It's much more satisfying to beat a level than it is to let someone show you.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
GlueFO 2.0
Description: GlueFO is back, this time with 3 game modes, 8 challenges, 42 awards and new upgrades. GlueFO manufacturers could not afford conventional weaponry due to a credit crunch, use your GluVex 3000 to capture and fling the tiny orbs!
Kongai Card: Origami Crane
Requirements: Split 5 orbs in a single shot.
GlueFO is a simplistic game with a simple premise. You play as a UFO, and you have absolutely no weapons.. except the GluVex 3000, that allows you to capture tiny orbs and throw them. Mastering this aspect of the game is fairly easy, but the real challenge comes in dodging the larger orbs as you try to split them into smaller orbs. Naturally, this means that at the end of most levels, your screen is flooded with tiny orbs, which then latch to your ship and make things easier as the game goes on.
So, finishing the game is not particularly difficult. The game warns that you have only one health bar, and you can't refill it, which should keep you on your toes. The addition of enemies, with the same weapons as you and with varying speeds, help mix things up a bit, so you're not just splitting greater amounts of orbs in each level. They aren't generally overwhelming, but in numbers they can be, especially since the bigger orbs can't hurt them, and they make a bee-line through anything to get to tiny dots, because they can do the same things you can.
If you're not careful, this can lead to chaos real quick. It's best to just kill the enemy UFO's that appear first before going after the bigger orbs. By monopolizing the tiny orbs, this makes handling the enemy UFO's easier.
Once the game is finished, then it's time to head for the challenges! They range from slightly challenging to damn near impossible. I didn't manage to beat the last challenges, because some of them are just impossible. Not to mention, you can't keep any of the upgrades you got during the main game, so that only complicates things further. Not an easy game for points, at any rate.
The replay value is still pretty low for a decent game. Once you finish the challenges and earn the rewards for the badge, you can pretty much move on. There's really no incentive to keep you there and playing, even if it may take several sessions to get all the badges. Not to mention, the achievements in the game have very little variety, and aren't particularly inventive. They just seem to be there because they can be, and don't offer much.
Rating: 5/10
Achievement: Warrior of the Worlds (Easy - 5 Points)
Description: Kill 10 evil UFO's in any mode.
Tips: You should easily get this badge just playing the main game.
Achievement: "I'd Like To Thank The Academy" (Medium - 15 Points)
Description: Earn any 25 awards.
Tips: Not particularly difficult, either. You'll be pretty close to this amount by the time you're done with the main game.
Achievement: Unstoppable Flying Object (Hard - 30 Points)
Description: Complete all eight challenges.
Tips: I don't even have the patience to get this one. Some of the challenges are hair-rippingly challenging, to the point where it's not even worth it. The first four or so aren't nearly as bad as some of the last ones, and can lure you into a false sense of security. Try for this at your own risk.
Miscellaneous Tips: In the main game, focus on the UFO upgrades, first. The ones that allow you to pull in orbs and turn in place. These are considerably more valuable than the other upgrades, and I managed to get through the main game without even knowing they were upgrades.
Kongai Card: Origami Crane
Requirements: Split 5 orbs in a single shot.
GlueFO is a simplistic game with a simple premise. You play as a UFO, and you have absolutely no weapons.. except the GluVex 3000, that allows you to capture tiny orbs and throw them. Mastering this aspect of the game is fairly easy, but the real challenge comes in dodging the larger orbs as you try to split them into smaller orbs. Naturally, this means that at the end of most levels, your screen is flooded with tiny orbs, which then latch to your ship and make things easier as the game goes on.
So, finishing the game is not particularly difficult. The game warns that you have only one health bar, and you can't refill it, which should keep you on your toes. The addition of enemies, with the same weapons as you and with varying speeds, help mix things up a bit, so you're not just splitting greater amounts of orbs in each level. They aren't generally overwhelming, but in numbers they can be, especially since the bigger orbs can't hurt them, and they make a bee-line through anything to get to tiny dots, because they can do the same things you can.
If you're not careful, this can lead to chaos real quick. It's best to just kill the enemy UFO's that appear first before going after the bigger orbs. By monopolizing the tiny orbs, this makes handling the enemy UFO's easier.
Once the game is finished, then it's time to head for the challenges! They range from slightly challenging to damn near impossible. I didn't manage to beat the last challenges, because some of them are just impossible. Not to mention, you can't keep any of the upgrades you got during the main game, so that only complicates things further. Not an easy game for points, at any rate.
The replay value is still pretty low for a decent game. Once you finish the challenges and earn the rewards for the badge, you can pretty much move on. There's really no incentive to keep you there and playing, even if it may take several sessions to get all the badges. Not to mention, the achievements in the game have very little variety, and aren't particularly inventive. They just seem to be there because they can be, and don't offer much.
Rating: 5/10
Achievement: Warrior of the Worlds (Easy - 5 Points)
Description: Kill 10 evil UFO's in any mode.
Tips: You should easily get this badge just playing the main game.
Achievement: "I'd Like To Thank The Academy" (Medium - 15 Points)
Description: Earn any 25 awards.
Tips: Not particularly difficult, either. You'll be pretty close to this amount by the time you're done with the main game.
Achievement: Unstoppable Flying Object (Hard - 30 Points)
Description: Complete all eight challenges.
Tips: I don't even have the patience to get this one. Some of the challenges are hair-rippingly challenging, to the point where it's not even worth it. The first four or so aren't nearly as bad as some of the last ones, and can lure you into a false sense of security. Try for this at your own risk.
Miscellaneous Tips: In the main game, focus on the UFO upgrades, first. The ones that allow you to pull in orbs and turn in place. These are considerably more valuable than the other upgrades, and I managed to get through the main game without even knowing they were upgrades.
Penguinz
Description: Unrivaled Penguin gore mayhem in this action-packed shooter. 15 enemies and 4 bosses. 9 weapons with 33 upgrades and 6 special upgrades.
Kongai Card: Reinforced Breastplate
Requirements: Kill 200 enemies. This can be done on any difficulty setting.
Penguinz, on paper, doesn't seem to be much different from any other game of a similar nature. You play as a penguin, and you shoot up a variety of Antarctic adversaries, ranging from a wide variety of other penguins, to eskimo and.. polar bears. A game about penguins just wouldn't be complete without gun-toting bears, would it? Interestingly, I thought the penguin with a big sword was a take on Cloud Strife, but it turns out I was wrong. What a shame, because I was enjoying slaughtering masses of sword-wielding penguins with that in mind.
There's a variety of weapons you can get, but following a trend, your starting weapon has infinite ammo, which is a nice touch, but certainly something you'd come to expect from a game like this. Enemies drop items at random, and range from ammo, health and money. While health won't become an issue until, perhaps, level twenty, the use for it quickly becomes obvious past that point. If you're any decent at side-scrolling shooters like Penguinz, you'll probably have little trouble getting ANY of the achievements, let alone the card. If you missed the card, know that you can at least have fifty points for just an hour of your time.
My nitpicks with the game is that it should be considerably more difficult. Most enemies can't fire at an angle, and those that do are easily avoided. Once you get the minigun, the game is pretty much a breeze by that point, especially when you buy the upgrades for it. It's pretty much the Golden Ticket to fifty points, especially since you don't even have to complete the game to get the last badge. If you want a challenge, you can use another weapon, but with a minigun, you can mow down anything quickly and slowly pick up the items left behind.
Anyway, while the bosses aren't much better than the normal enemies, some actually are a challenge, but mostly only the later ones, and most of their bite is stolen with the advent of the minigun.
There's plenty of violence to be had, but the game is relatively unspectacular. Another one of those games that you pick up for the points and drop like a bad habit and move on to the next experiment.
Rating: 6/10
Achievement: Carbon Offset Funding (Easy - 5 Points)
Description: Earn $100,000 in a single game.
Tips: This comes naturally through normal progression through the game.
Achievement: "It's Coming Right For Us!" (Medium - 15 Points)
Description: Encounter all 19 enemies in Penguinz.
Tips: Another badge that comes naturally through normal progression. You'll get this long before you get the last badge.
Achievement: Antarctic Chainsaw Massacre (Hard - 30 Points)
Description: Defeat Clive, king bird of Antarctica.
Tips: More progression goodness! Seeing as there's no alternate methods of play, this is only a natural course of action. Defeating Clive just takes quick fingers on the up arrow, and a heavy mouse finger. Oh, and some decent aim and, if you're this far, you probably have the minigun, so it's an easy win, if you max out your ammo.
Miscellaneous Tips: Don't invest in the Rocket Launcher. It takes too much ammo to fire and doesn't even seem to have splash damage. Avoid at all costs. The AK-47 should support you until you can have enough money to get a minigun, if you're careful.
Kongai Card: Reinforced Breastplate
Requirements: Kill 200 enemies. This can be done on any difficulty setting.
Penguinz, on paper, doesn't seem to be much different from any other game of a similar nature. You play as a penguin, and you shoot up a variety of Antarctic adversaries, ranging from a wide variety of other penguins, to eskimo and.. polar bears. A game about penguins just wouldn't be complete without gun-toting bears, would it? Interestingly, I thought the penguin with a big sword was a take on Cloud Strife, but it turns out I was wrong. What a shame, because I was enjoying slaughtering masses of sword-wielding penguins with that in mind.
There's a variety of weapons you can get, but following a trend, your starting weapon has infinite ammo, which is a nice touch, but certainly something you'd come to expect from a game like this. Enemies drop items at random, and range from ammo, health and money. While health won't become an issue until, perhaps, level twenty, the use for it quickly becomes obvious past that point. If you're any decent at side-scrolling shooters like Penguinz, you'll probably have little trouble getting ANY of the achievements, let alone the card. If you missed the card, know that you can at least have fifty points for just an hour of your time.
My nitpicks with the game is that it should be considerably more difficult. Most enemies can't fire at an angle, and those that do are easily avoided. Once you get the minigun, the game is pretty much a breeze by that point, especially when you buy the upgrades for it. It's pretty much the Golden Ticket to fifty points, especially since you don't even have to complete the game to get the last badge. If you want a challenge, you can use another weapon, but with a minigun, you can mow down anything quickly and slowly pick up the items left behind.
Anyway, while the bosses aren't much better than the normal enemies, some actually are a challenge, but mostly only the later ones, and most of their bite is stolen with the advent of the minigun.
There's plenty of violence to be had, but the game is relatively unspectacular. Another one of those games that you pick up for the points and drop like a bad habit and move on to the next experiment.
Rating: 6/10
Achievement: Carbon Offset Funding (Easy - 5 Points)
Description: Earn $100,000 in a single game.
Tips: This comes naturally through normal progression through the game.
Achievement: "It's Coming Right For Us!" (Medium - 15 Points)
Description: Encounter all 19 enemies in Penguinz.
Tips: Another badge that comes naturally through normal progression. You'll get this long before you get the last badge.
Achievement: Antarctic Chainsaw Massacre (Hard - 30 Points)
Description: Defeat Clive, king bird of Antarctica.
Tips: More progression goodness! Seeing as there's no alternate methods of play, this is only a natural course of action. Defeating Clive just takes quick fingers on the up arrow, and a heavy mouse finger. Oh, and some decent aim and, if you're this far, you probably have the minigun, so it's an easy win, if you max out your ammo.
Miscellaneous Tips: Don't invest in the Rocket Launcher. It takes too much ammo to fire and doesn't even seem to have splash damage. Avoid at all costs. The AK-47 should support you until you can have enough money to get a minigun, if you're careful.
Smatch
Description: Utilizing the awesome power of physics, gravity, and boxes, we present Smatch, Beta.
Kongai Card: Jade Demon Figurine
Requirements: All avatars collected, Collect 50 K's
Smatch is an interesting game at first glance, and it's.. simplistic. Anyone can pick up this game and earn the Kongai card offered with just a little effort. The basic premise of the game is that you hold down the left mouse button, and roll your cursor over falling boxes. What happens when your gamefield fills up with boxes? I have no idea, because in the three games I played, I never even got close.
The boxes are accompanied also by falling spheres. While the boxes seem to be default Kongregate avatars, the spheres seem to be of fruit and.. Juggernaut. I kid you not. While the premise is amusing, the simplicity is its double-edged sword. Its replay value is next to nothing, and once you get the card, assuming you even play Kongai, you can move on and never look back. This can be achieved in one game if you're good, but three or four tries max, each play clocking in at two minutes.
The game offers a variety of 'achievements', as well as keeping track of 'combos' and 'Smatchables', which are basically all the avatars and spheres you can pick up during a typical game. I'm still wondering why the creator even bothered to add achievements, because not only does it not offer an explanation as to how you get the achievements, they seem pointless, serving only to momentarily distract you with pictures and text during normal gameplay, and to frustrate those of us who are die-hard completionists.
Anyway, the game is simple and easy to approach. One of few games on Kongregate I've seen that can actually cater to a wide audience, which is probably what makes it so popular, since I can't imagine anyone playing it other than just from passing curiosity.
Tips: Move your cursor fast and, periodically, grab some of the squares on the sides and bottom of the stack for some quick points while you're waiting for new squares to fall from the top of the screen.
Rating: 6/10
Kongai Card: Jade Demon Figurine
Requirements: All avatars collected, Collect 50 K's
Smatch is an interesting game at first glance, and it's.. simplistic. Anyone can pick up this game and earn the Kongai card offered with just a little effort. The basic premise of the game is that you hold down the left mouse button, and roll your cursor over falling boxes. What happens when your gamefield fills up with boxes? I have no idea, because in the three games I played, I never even got close.
The boxes are accompanied also by falling spheres. While the boxes seem to be default Kongregate avatars, the spheres seem to be of fruit and.. Juggernaut. I kid you not. While the premise is amusing, the simplicity is its double-edged sword. Its replay value is next to nothing, and once you get the card, assuming you even play Kongai, you can move on and never look back. This can be achieved in one game if you're good, but three or four tries max, each play clocking in at two minutes.
The game offers a variety of 'achievements', as well as keeping track of 'combos' and 'Smatchables', which are basically all the avatars and spheres you can pick up during a typical game. I'm still wondering why the creator even bothered to add achievements, because not only does it not offer an explanation as to how you get the achievements, they seem pointless, serving only to momentarily distract you with pictures and text during normal gameplay, and to frustrate those of us who are die-hard completionists.
Anyway, the game is simple and easy to approach. One of few games on Kongregate I've seen that can actually cater to a wide audience, which is probably what makes it so popular, since I can't imagine anyone playing it other than just from passing curiosity.
Tips: Move your cursor fast and, periodically, grab some of the squares on the sides and bottom of the stack for some quick points while you're waiting for new squares to fall from the top of the screen.
Rating: 6/10
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