Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed – Ecto Edition and Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Peter (Devee)

The latest DLC for Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, Ecto Edition, released recently and continued the campaign for the first time since the base game. It was perfect for Halloween, and I enjoyed jumping back into the game.

The video above shows all the cutscenes along with the cutscenes. The gameplay itself starts at 9:03 in the video. The update brings Samhain, the Ghost of Halloween to the game. He was first introduced in the 1986 The Real Ghostbusters cartoon.

I never did talk about this game on here previously despite really enjoying it. It’s a 4v1 shooter pitting the four Ghostbusters against a ghost. The goal for the Ghostbusters is to trap the ghost after destroying their rifts, which allows them to respawn if left intact. The goal of the ghost is to fully haunt the building before getting caught. It’s designed to be a multiplayer game, although you can play with bots just fine.

While the story is minimal, especially compared to 2009’s Ghostbusters: The Video Game, no game has made me feel like a Ghostbuster more than this one. Hunting the ghost with my PKE meter, chasing the ghost, tethering it, sliding a trap out, and wrangling the ghost into the trap – it all feels great!

Here’s some gameplay without any story bits too!

Panzer Dragoon: Remake for Switch

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Peter (Devee)

Panzer Dragoon was a North American launch title for the Sega Saturn. Despite hearing good things, I’d never played it until recently when I saw the remake on sale as a downloadable title on Switch. It’s a rail shooter, meaning that the game follows a particular route while you can move around the screen – think Star Fox, for example.

This game features two weapons – you can hold the attack button and pass the reticle over enemies to lock onto them. After locking onto one or more enemies, letting go will shoot each of them. You can also tap the attack button to shoot a bullet without any tracking or locking onto enemies. At first I was almost using the charge attack, but I realized that you can’t lock onto enemy attacks, but you can shoot them down with your simple attack. Besides attacking, you can move around the screen as you fly forward as well as turn the camera to the sides or backwards to shoot enemies coming from any direction.

The art is pretty simple, which you can see in the above launch trailer. What I really enjoyed about the game was that it was short – less than an hour to beat it my first time. I enjoy a game that I can beat but then spend more time improving my run or playing on a harder difficulty, and Panzer Dragoon allows for both.

Checking the Switch store right now, it’s base price is $24.99 but is on sale for $2.49. It was also on sale when I bought it, and that sale was allegedly ending. I bet it’s almost always on sale. I wouldn’t pay $24.99 for it, but it’s definitely worth the reduced price. The Panzer Dragoon series also includes another Saturn rail shooter, a Saturn RPG, two handheld titles, and an Xbox rail shooter. All three rail shooters and the RPG are critically acclaimed, so I might just need to continue the series with the next one!

Hades

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Peter (Devee)

Hades is a rogue-like in which you control Zagreus, son of Hades, as he attempts to escape the Underworld. As someone who loves Greek mythology, I was thoroughly impressed with all the references and story in the game. In fact, Hades was the first video game to ever win a Hugo Award, the annual awards for science fiction and fantasy, first awarded in 1953. I’ve been playing Hades on and off for a while now, and I’ve certainly been making slow progress as I pause to look up myths and figure out references. I won’t say what the epilogue is so that we avoid the spoiler, but I recently finished the epilogue and maxed everyone’s affinity, which makes it a good time to blog about the game.

I won’t spoil any major story beats in this post; I will be showing a couple screenshots with some funny dialogue, and I’ll be mentioning the boss of the third area. This doesn’t reveal any twists or anything like that, but I don’t want someone to be disappointed they read it.

The trailer linked at the top gives a great overview of what the game is like. I was going to embed a clip of my own gameplay, but I figured using the official trailer would summarize nicely and not give away anything that wasn’t intended to be known right off the bat. Hades features fast-paced action with a ton of different character builds that will be different each escape attempt. You have some permanent upgrades to your character as well as abilities that you gain during a run but reset when you die. You also have affinity, relationships with the various other characters that can you improve through particular actions in the game.

The dialogue and lore in the game is just fantastic. In this screenshot, Dionysus mentions how he doesn’t like Theseus. “There’s this nice lass helped him out one time, and he just dumped her rotten, I don’t like that, man!” In one Greek myth, Ariadne helps Theseus defeat the minotaur and then fled with him on his ship. He leaves her behind on an island, where Dionysus later finds her before marrying her. This isn’t explicitly called out in the game, likely because it wouldn’t really further the plot, but this type of detail and reference make it even cooler for people who know the mythology.

In another part of the game, Zeus says “Ah, most splendid of an offering, young man. And while we’ve yet to even meet in person, I already feel as though the two of us are close, why, closer than you must be even with your father! Oh, hahaha! Perhaps we ought to go telling everybody I’m your real father, am I right?” In some myths of Zagreus, he is indeed the son of Zeus. The game really works in these contradicting myths in fun ways.

The other bit about contradictions that I loved was this message from Dionysus. “That chap comes up with the most smashing songs, so I was thinking, maybe we could spin him a tall tale, something like how maybe you and I, like, we’re connected or something?” In Orphism, the set of ancient beliefs based on the poet Orpheus, Dionysus is Zagreus reincarnated. It’s really cool to me how this game creates a cohesive, internally-consistent lore while still acknowledging the real-world myths that conflict with each other.

As a side note, they really downplay how all the gods are basically related to each other a hundred different ways! But I suppose that takes some of the awkwardness out of it.

There’s still a lot I could do in the game. Hades has a “heat” system in which higher heat values introduce changes to make it more difficult. I haven’t pushed past 2 or 3 heat, and I don’t have all the hidden aspects or even all the normal aspects. There are still a few prophecies (achievements) to fulfill. However, my main goal was to finish the story, earn the epilogue, and max my affinity with all the characters. I’ll likely play it a little in the future, but I met my goal. Now I’m itching to reread Homer or maybe look for another Greek mythology game. Is the God of War series fun?

Kirby and the Forgotten Land events and 100% completion

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Peter (Devee)

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is easily one of the best games I’ve played recently and now one of my favorite platformers. You can probably guess that I wanted to explore it fully by that 100% clear screenshot. It’s fun and challenging while also being welcoming to less skilled gamers, which I think is fantastic. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start by talking about an event before the game launched.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land 3D Walkthrough was a fun little pop-up back in March at Universal CityWalk Hollywood, the shops outside Universal Studios Hollywood. They had these various photo-ops with Kirby characters and gave attendees small draw-string bags and lanyards. My friend gem came with me, and I’m glad she asked about fun poses because someone working there suggested posing as if my foot was getting stomped by the hammer! I also love the photo implying I got hit by Car Mouth Kirby!

I brought my backlit Game Boy Pocket so I could play a little classic Kirby Pinball Land too! Or maybe I didn’t really play it at all and just recorded it for the Internet. I’ll never tell.

I wasn’t done looking for Kirby in the real world, because I also heard that Target had these Kirby covers on their red ball bollards. I definitely had to go hunting for them! I think I probably checked close to 10 Targets before finding one that had them. Then I had to ask gem to come out again to take photos of me with them. Tangentially related, multiple people commented on my Aquabats t-shirt that day!

Now let’s talk about the game itself. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the first main series Kirby game to be fully explorable in 3D. Like most Kirby games, it’s bright, colorful, and fun – at least at first. It does get darker at the end, but it’s nothing that would be bad for children. The world shown in the above screenshot of the game was one of my favorites because I absolutely loved the bright colors and amusement park setting.

gem was playing the game at the same time as me, so it was fun to talk about it and compare what we were doing and what we thought. At first, I was trying to 100% each level as I went, but later I decided to just try to beat the game and then come back to 100% each part. The final boss was quite challenging, and then there was a whole additional post-game world to master!

The game features “mouth full mode” for the first time. Rather than just sucking up enemies to gain abilities based on them, Kirby can stretch around large objects to control them. In this video, Coaster Mouth Kirby rides the rollercoaster!

The levels feature gorgeous cinematic intros as well that I thoroughly enjoyed.

What I love most about the game is its variable difficulty with so many optional goals. You can choose between Wild Mode and Spring-Breeze Mode at any time. In Wild Mode, enemies are tougher and you have less health, but you earn bonus coins that are used for upgrades and power-ups. You can change difficulties at any time, but you’ll need to restart the current level to do so. I played in Wild Mode, but I’m glad the easier option was available too.

More important than that in my opinion is all the side goals. Like most platformers, the goal of most levels is simply to get to the end of the stage. But each level also has a number of other tasks that reward additional Waddle Dees to be saved, a way of marking progress in the game, as well as other collectibles. A younger or less experienced player might choose to blow through each level and ignore all the extra collectibles and goals. By doing this, the game can feel much easier than it would if the player wanted the additional challenge. I think it’s fantastic that I can truly challenge myself to 100% the game and feel accomplished by doing so, but I can also let my friend’s young son borrow the game and watch as he enjoys it too. A game that I can 100%, that I can give to my friend’s son to enjoy, and that I can give to a different friend as one of a few wedding presents? Love it!

Like I said at the top, this is one of the best games I’ve played in a while, and I’m surprised it’s not getting a bit more attention. I highly recommend it anyone who loves platformers or for kids who want to have some fun in the beautiful levels!

Adventures in Valheim

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Peter (Devee)

Back in October and November, I put about ten hours in Valheim with some friends. It’s a survival RPG in an open-world that requires crafting, building shelter, and upgrading skills. Here you can see nine of us or so on a ship one of us built.

Here six of us sit outside “RAPPRAPP ABODE” by the fire.

Skorn was telling us a story in this shelter.

The server is offline now. The group as a whole defeated all the bosses, but I had quit playing before that point. I didn’t have time to keep up.

This is my home! It wasn’t much compared to the ones others made, but it was fun and satisfying to make.

gem domesticated some boars and named them after us.

There are various events that can happen, such as the forest trolls attacking, which I didn’t know it until it happened to me. I was happily picking flowers near my home when this guy came and clubbed me over the head.

This is the first boss in the game, Eikthyr. I died the first time we fought him but survived for the second!

The second boss is the Elder. This time I managed to stay alive for the group’s first kill!

That’s as far as I got in the game, but I had a lot of fun. I’d like to return to it and play it slowly, at my own pace.

Bowser’s Fury, kaiju-sized fun

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Peter (Devee)

Bowser’s Fury is the new game added to the rerelease of Super Mario 3D World in the aptly named Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury for Switch. Super Mario 3D World was absolutely terrific on Wii U, and Bowser’s Fury was a wonderful addition.

Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World are now some of my favorite Mario games. I realize they don’t have the nostalgia that the earlier games do, but I enjoy the more abstract 3D levels over the world design of the other 3D titles. And while I know the Galaxy games are also abstract, I prefer the 3D Land and 3D World design. With four player local co-op in 3D World, it’s really great fun.

Bowser’s Fury plays with the 3D World engine but adds a different spin. It’s an open world with areas that change and unlock as you unlock more cat shines. You play as Mario who helps Bowser Jr. calm/fight his dad, now known as Fury Bowser after being corrupted by goop. He’s a giant kaiju-like Bowser that Mario fights as Giga Cat Mario, which also makes him kaiju-sized. I had a blast with Bowser’s Fury, and while it’s short compared to full Mario games, the price of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury was definitely worth it just to play Bowser’s Fury.

I beat the game in May after collecting 50/100 cat shines. I embedded a video at the top with some clips of the ending stitched together. I haven’t had time to go after the remaining cat shines, but I plan to get back to it soon!

Super Mario 35

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Peter (Devee)

Super Mario 35, the 35-player, competitive, last-person-standing Mario game, is set to go offline at the end of this month. It was introduced for the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. I thought it was pretty fun, although really it was just nice to have another reason to revisit Super Mario Bros. Besides the goal in each round of bring the last person alive, you also have to unlock levels. To start the round, you select a level you have unlocked to throw into the mix of levels playable that round. At first, you can only select 1-1. You unlock the next available level by beating all levels before it. (Beat 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 to unlock 1-4.) You can also unlock a level by beating a level thrown into the mix by someone else. Unlocking and beating all the levels took longer than getting a first place win by a wide margin. Often times I’d add the level I need to beat to the mix, but the round would end before I could get to that level.

It was pretty easy to get in the last 2 or 3 people, but getting first was a bit harder. I only had 3 first-place wins.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to check my stats once the game goes offline, so I decided to save them… not that I’d expect to need them either, but I’m obsessive. I bet we’ll see the game again in the future for limited events. I had fun with it!

Mar10 Day with Bowser’s Fury

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Peter (Devee)

I celebrated Mar10 day with the newest Mario game – Bowser’s Fury! I even felt like his fury was after all evening. It rained so hard while I was driving that I could barely see. It started with a definite fury and then died down to a light rain within 10 minutes.

I’m really enjoying the game so far. As much as I loved Super Mario 64 when it released, I find that now I prefer more linear levels to open-world. This is why I loved Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World so much, the best Mario games in the last 15 years to me. Bowser’s Fury provides a bit of a hybrid. The “levels,” or rather, the tasks to obtain specific Cat Shines, are rather abstract in design and linear (at least in the sense of having a forward direction), yet they exist in an open, although not too big, world. It’s pretty great.

Plus, I love becoming a giant cat Mario to fight Fury Bowser!

Halloween in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

Happy Halloween! I know it’s nearly Thanksgiving, but let’s go on a tour of Luna, my island, from Halloween! This is me in my steampunk costume looking quite scary in front of my house. My house is surrounded by a river on three sides, which I find really cute. I decorated the outside a bit for the holiday.

Nook’s Cranny is looking spooky under the full moon.

From left to right, there’s Stitches, gem, Ribbot, me, and Marina in front of Resident Services. I love gem’s costume!

Stitches said he was scarier than me, so we had a scare-off.

Here’s my little pumpkin patch!

Is it spookier in black and white?

I visited gem on her island, calamansi, too! Check out her pumpkin patch. SpooOooOky! Is that a mad scientist on the ledge? A crazy doctor? gem?!

Die, zombie!

I tried to kill the zombie, but my axe wasn’t strong enough! And yeah, we decided to come take this video after Halloween had ended, haha!

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!

I wanted to scare Aurora, the cutest penguin, but her house was freezing!

Kody is so cute in his little costume!

Raymond seemed unimpressed by my attempt to scare him. For those of you don’t follow Animal Crossing info online, people kind of went crazy over Raymond. I’m not super sure why he’s so popular. He’s not even a bear or a penguin!

I’ll take a nap in Cherry’s bed while gem asks politely for candy.

Beau was definitely scared!

Come back and get scared, Boomer!

Hippeux, you look silly!

I even scared Snake before he moved out!

When I came to calamansi to trick or treat with gem’s villagers, she immediately tried to scare me!

A bunch of bears hanging out on Halloween at Poncho’s house.

I love you, Sprinkle! Come move to my island!

Merengue is one my favorite villagers of course.

Spookin’ it up wth Antonio, Kid Cat, Murphy, and Jack.

Tough cub Murphy wasn’t scared at all.

Come back, Fauna! I’m trying to scare you!

Klaus was too cool to pay attention to us.

Hanging out with Antonio in front of the museum. Not the spookiest picture, but too cute!

Patty spend Halloween walking on the beach.

Papi seemed scared, but only because he thought we were Jack.

I really like that you can trick villagers out of candy if they think you’re Jack!

Happy Halloween! (…in November. Yeah, I’m terrible at this.)

Shameless murder pays off in Among Us

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

If I’m about to lose, I might as well shamelessly murder in front of a bunch of people, right? Somehow it definitely paid off.

But in all fairness, I wonder if Taco’s game glitched during the vote. Definitely one of my funniest kills though!

Nude rock thief vs gem in New World’s preview

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

New World had a preview week back in August, and I’ve been meaning to share this gem (pun intended) of a clip that features a nude rock thief stealing gem’s rocks. (That’s less confusing when you know that ‘gem’ is the name of someone who prefers it lowercase.)

This post was originally posted to my WoW blog, Kor’kron 501st, which also covers other Blizzard games and MMOs.

Unfortunately, I only recorded her microphone and not mine because, well, I make mistakes. But somehow I think it makes it more hilarious.

In this clip, you can see me go through some of the introduction area. You can see a bit of the combat mechanics and skills as well as a gorgeous look at the island.

Kody’s birthday in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

Monday was Kody’s birthday! I dressed in blue to match Kody, but gem one-upped me by dressing a blue cub herself!

I think Kody was having a splendid time!

AND LOOK HOW PRETTY AURORA WAS!

The day after his birthday, Kody was back to working on his gains.

He’s wearing the shirt that gem brought him for his birthday! Why wasn’t he wearing what I bought him?! Well, that’s okay. Happy birthday, Kody!

Giving Stitches my Friendship Sparkler in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

Whenever there’s a special item you can give to a single villager in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, I always give it to Stitches. Now I’ve given my Friendship Sparkler to him! I also reviewed all the past special items he’s given back to me as a thank you.

Crucible’s Bugg is awesome and cute!

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

Bugg, the Crucible hero, is super cute, and I had to record this audio log. In game, he grows little plants that attack enemies. In lore, he used to be a gardening robot who was happy that people liked his vegetables!

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This is his Honey Bee skin. I want it!

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Here’s a closer look at it even though you can’t see the wings.

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His Garden Grower skin is pretty cute too!

Joining Amazon Games

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

I joined Amazon Games a couple weeks ago as a technical writer on the Automation, Tools, and Insights team. I mentioned it on Kor’kron 501st, my other blog, where I talk about World of Warcraft and other MMOs and Blizzard games due to Amazon Games having a new MMO called New World coming out soon. I wanted to mention it here as well because I’ll talk about non-MMOs on this blog.

Crucible is a hero-based shooter released last week developed by Relentless Studios and published by Amazon Games. I don’t have much experience with this genre, but I’ve been playing it a lot this past week and really enjoying it. I included the trailer at the top!

K.K. Slider arrived on Luna

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

K.K. Slider visited Luna for the first time last week! I’m excited to get him to visit!

I finally spoke to Isabelle because I was curious how my island was doing. I wasn’t focusing on anything in particular to get K.K. Slider to visit. As soon as I checked with her, K.K. Slider wanted to visit!

Now I get my buddy K.K. Slider every Saturday! I love his songs and am glad he’s back again!

Some friends visited Saturday to listen to the concert.

gem even had a special request! 🙂

Dapper Day on Luna

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

Sunday was supposed to be Dapper Day at Disneyland, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19. They encouraged Dapper Day at Home, so I threw a Dapper Day party on my island, Luna!

From left to right, that’s Jenn, Joe, gem, Duncan, me, Aren, and Haley! While they weren’t shown in this screenshot, Niki and Steph visited as well.

gem from calamansi was looking very dapper on her third day of owning the game!

DrAstroPhD (Joe) from Drapland was quite the striking duck.

Tarok (Aren) from Thighland was oh-so-handsome.

Duncan from Robot Isle was stylish and our second duck.

Jenn from Calico had a variety of cute outfits and was our third duck! I especially liked the outfit you can see her wearing at the top of this post. Disneybound Donald Duck!

HAywinz (Haley) from `meruem` was not only looking good, but she brought me a cherry-blossom wand, and I’m so excited to be able to transform my outfits! Thank you!

Nikē (Niki) from Avalon was fabulous and quite purple.

Stay_Fresh (Steph) from Sty’lnd was indeed looking fresh in her dapper dress!

I hosted a scavenger hut by burying a ton of junk, a few bags of bells, and two pieces of fencing around the island. The fence pieces could be redeemed with me for Nook Miles Tickets! Congratulations to Joe and Duncan (I think)!

At one point Duncan led an assault on me!

Niki, Jenn, gem, and I played in the aquarium a little.

Jenn also shared the pitfall with us so we could all learn the recipe. Plus, somehow a few of us fell in accidentally!

Happy Dapper Day! It’s too bad we didn’t get to have it in person, but I enjoyed playing on Luna with my friends!

Animal Crossing with Nikē (who might be a monster)

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

I visited Nikē recently, and we spent some time exploring her island. I can’t believe it was our first time playing together!

Okay, I’m dumb and accidentally took a screenshot instead of taking the photo in the game. Oops.

She invited me to her island so she could craft me cherry blossom items that I was missing. Sounds nice of her, right? But deep down, Nikē had scary motives. She came in the bathroom and watched me as I try the bidet! You can already see how alarming it was when the water hit me, but it was so much weirder with her watching.

And then she used the toilet with me! What happens on this island? Why are there side-by-side toilets? Why is the bathroom covered in turnips?! Oh god!

Cherry blossoms in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

The cherry blossom seasonal event in Animal Crossing: New Horizon was great! I wish we could get a little longer with them, but I guess they want to be true to reality.

This is the side of my house – a little place for a picnic!

As the sun set, the cherry blossoms looked extra beautiful!

I have this nice little swing chair in the back.

Here it is fully-equipped with all the cherry blossom items, which I didn’t have earlier in the day.

After the event ended, the trees outside returned to normal. I moved the cherry blossom items inside with the sakura wood floor and walls.

I like the cherry blossom floor and wall even better! Isn’t that magical?

I decided to make it my bedroom. I think I’ll just stay in this bed all day!

Bunny Day in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

Bunny Day was the first major holiday in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and I’m just glad it’s over. If you didn’t play it, basically everything you do could drop eggs, and those eggs were used as materials to craft items. But there were way, way too many eggs. Nintendo nerfed the drop rates a couple days into the event, which is good, but this is still a bad sign for future events.

That said, it didn’t stop me from collecting everything and creating a Bunny Day room.

Here it is with the lights off. I really like the Bunny Day lamp, which is an egg, and the garlands that can be turned on and off.

You can see a little clip showcasing my Bunny Day room above!

P.S. Zipper is creepy.

Another week on Luna

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

It’s been another beautiful week on Luna in Animal Crossing: New Horizons! I’m loving all the cherry blossoms everywhere right now, but I guess I’m getting ahead of myself.

I built Nook’s Cranny, the new store. It’s great except that it closes at 10.

Luna also now has its first bridge!

Do you ever wake up with Duncan standing over you? How frightening!

While I was hanging out with Duncan, Joe decided to visit! It was pretty unexpected, which was hilarious.

I also visited Joe’s island. He has a pizza oven! I have on in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp but not New Horizons. I need it! I really need it!

I ran into this monstrosity on his island! Ahhh!

I also visited Kristine, and she gave me cherries – the last fruit I needed!

I did a lot of fishing. April has some fish that are only found on the pier.

#AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/YB74fH4Ief

— Peter Anargirou (@TheUser) April 2, 2020

The stringfish was one of the fish that was going away at the end of March. It was March 31st and approaching midnight, and I still hadn’t caught it. The clocked rolled over into April. And then I saw a shadow of a fish. I ran for it, and I got the stringfish I needed!

Here I am enjoying a nice bamboo island.

When lightning strikes, the sky flashes for a brief moment.

I really love the sky in this game.

Look, a shooting star!

Lastly, my resident services and plaza got upgraded today! Hooray! Now, I need to continue searching for Stitches!

Exploring Luna, visiting Avalon, and making friends

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

I’ve been exploring Luna, my island more! Isn’t it beautiful?

Gulliver washed up on my shore, and I helped him fix his phone so he could get rescued.

I made a new friend named Wisp who likes to visit at night. He’s a little bit… easily frightened… but if you’re careful around him, he’s quite friendly!

Cherry likes to appreciate the local bugs.

This is my buddy Kody. Sometimes we like to hang out and fish together. I don’t get to see him as often as I’d like because he goes to bed early.

Okay, okay, Kody. I know you like to work out.

We built a new museum near my house, which is great! I love to appreciate the local exhibits!

I decided to venture into parts unknown and visit a mystery island. I love this spiral! I met Marina and asked her to move to my island.

I wasn’t prepared for the rain, but Marina was!

This island beat me up a bit, but I managed to capture tarantulas.

I also visited my friend nil on the island of Avalon.

His neighbor wasn’t around, but she apparently stacks up fish and bugs in her backyard. What a weirdo! Also, I think nil wanted to kill me.

nil came back to Luna with me next. We explored the museum together and had a great time.

Ooo fish!

Look, I’m part of the exhibit!

nil left this nice note on my bulletin board for Kody, who he didn’t have the chance to meet.

Thanks for visiting, nil!

Welcome to Luna! My first day with Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

Welcome to Luna, my island paradise! I decided to get away from civilization and move far away to a remote island. I’ve set up my tent here next to water where it was so peaceful and serene. I made it perfect with some tiki torches and a little fire so I can step outside and stay toasty.

My time on Luna hasn’t been perfect however. I’ve been attacked by wasps… twice… during the single day of my new life here. But no matter, because I learned how make a medicine from Cherry, one of my neighbors.

I caught this hermit crab friend practically first thing. I think deep down it wants to be friends with me.

So now I have a roommate.

[It’s nice to play such a relaxing game. Even the calm music is nice in the background while I do other things. I have to admit, it juxtaposes Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp so harshly! That phone game is nothing but stress and timed chores! I’m really loving New Horizons though!]

Giving the Heartfelt Present to Stitches in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Posted on February 14, 2020 by Peter (Devee)

Stitches deserves every present I can give him. If you don’t have Stitches at your campsite, you are incorrect.

Ghost Pokemon escape from Ghostbusters Firehouse!

Posted on December 27, 2019 by Peter (Devee)

While in New York City recently, I heard there was some trouble with the ghost containment unit down at the Ghostbuster HQ. Everything seemed okay to me at first, so I had fun taking some photos.

And then a Gengar spooked me! The containment unit had failed, and the ghost Pokemon had broken out!

These two bystanders seemed oblivious as they approached the Gastly.

Earthwormgem and I fought the ghost Pokemon, fixed the containment unit, and started trapping the ghosts back inside Ghostbusters HQ.

Shedinja seemed harmless, so Earthwormgem posed with it before we recaptured it.

You’re not scaring her, Haunter!

Ghosts like to haunt places that were significant in their lives. One got away from us, but I knew where it would go. It was time to venture to the New York Public Library.

A free-floating, full-torso, vaporous apparition! It fled inside, but I was in pursuit.

She just wants to be with her books, eh? Maybe I can let this one hang out in the library…

And, uh, here’s some more ghost Pokemon that escaped from HQ:

Giving the Harvest Fest invitation to Stitches in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Peter (Devee)

I had to give my Harvest Fest invitation to Stitches – just like how I gave him the best-friend confection back in February. He’s clearly the best village.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp neon dance club!

Posted on August 23, 2019 by Peter (Devee)

Welcome to my neon dance club! I just love all the colors and lasers. Plus, I like K. K. Slider! I’d like to visit a place like this 🙂

gem came to visit, too. She didn’t intend to match me so exactly, but she chose most of the same items!

And here’s Stitches, my favorite villager; he’s ready to party with me!

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Pizza Place

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Peter (Devee)

Did you know you could have your own pizza place in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp? You can if you build it! At my Pocket Camp Pizza Place, we can bake two fresh pies for you a time and offer plenty of seating to enjoy the hot slices.

Ready for dessert? A sweet treat is always a good compliment to pizza. Just visit the other side of the campsite to sweet pies, cupcakes, ice cream, or candy!

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Mario campsite

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Peter (Devee)

Welcome to my Super Mario-themed campsite. It’s so cute that villagers can slide down the flagpole!

Stitches is proud to wear a Super Mario shirt.

Maple looks fabulous as Princess Peach.

And I think the Wario hat goes perfectly on Hippeux!

Here I am hanging out with another Mario – or wait, is that gem?!

Can’t forget the cabin, which in my case is now an aquarium of underwater Mario fun!

Finished a Boss Challenge and earned Costume dragon in Dragon Mania Legends

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Peter (Devee)

I hate Boss Challenge events in Dragon Mania Legends. Most events have a refresh period of 6 hours or so – meaning you have certain objectives you have to complete every 6 hour period. That’s nice because even if I have to play 15 minutes, I don’t have to worry about it again for a while.

Boss Challenge has a 2 hour delay delay between each part, which is much more annoying. It’s also hard to know how much of a grace period you have. If you wait three hours, you’ve wasted an hour. If you waste too much time, you probably can’t finish.

Well, I finally finished one. Yes, I had to spend some gems at the end, but I never purchase gems with real money so I’ll consider this a win! I also never needed to interrupt my sleep or anything important during the day. I just tried to be more punctual about checking the event when I was able.

Animal Crossing and Pokemon Go birthday celebrations

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Peter (Devee)

Yesterday, Stitches wished me a happy birthday in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

He’s my favorite friend in the game.

Thanks Stitches!

Pikachu also celebrated my birthday with me at work!

Whoa, calm down Pikachu! 🙂

Giving my best-friend confection to Stitches in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Peter (Devee)

For Valentine’s Day, Nintendo gave each player one best-friend confection to give to their animal of choice in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. When you give it to an animal, that animal gives you a bell-jar bouquet with a note attached. There are three types you can get, but I didn’t think about what reward I wanted. I knew I had to give my best-friend confection to Stitches! He’s the best!

2-man Attack Forme Deoxys EX raid

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Peter (Devee)

I had two EX Raids to do at the same time and didn’t get a response in the Discord for the second about a later group. I went anyways, and no one was going for a second round. I figured I might as well attempt it despite neither of the two accounts with me being 40. Turns out, this raid is incredibly easy. I had about half the time remaining!

Happy Wailmer

Posted on September 13, 2018 by Peter (Devee)

Is there a Pokemon that’s happier to try to defeat you than Wailmer? I don’t think so!

Divine New Year in Dragon Mania Legends

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Peter (Devee)

Dragon Mania Legends is a typical phone game in that there are multiple currencies in the game, and one of them is purchased using real money. Their events ramp up in difficulty in what I assume is obviously an attempt to get people to spend money to finish them. And I don’t spend real money on this game.

In this style of events, you go through multiple levels unlocking chests. A chest can contain the key to the next level or a puzzle piece toward unlocking a dragon. (Collecting dragons is the primary goal of the game.) The last level has a chest that will contain the a dragon itself, and this is basically the goal of the event. This event celebrated Chinese New Year, and the final dragon was the Nezha dragon.

For the first time, I was able to get that final dragon! The event ends tonight, and I got it this morning. And yet I did some quick math and found that it would be impossible for me to get the puzzle piece dragon at this point without spending real money. Still, I’m happy I finally got the end dragon in one of these events!

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp – New Year

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Peter (Devee)

I’ve been playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp recently. Is it time for a new hat, or can I wear my Happy New Year hat for a little longer? I realize I haven’t blogged here much in a while, and part of that is because I think I need to say something specific. Should I explain what Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is and review it before I start to write about it? No, I don’t want to do that. I just want to talk about the game. But if you want to add me as a friend, my ID is 2604 7697 654!

Also, this amuses me. These are my only two friends in the game that I actually know, and for a moment I wondered how my friend could be in two spots at the same time. It took me a second to realize that they just dressed similarly today. That’s gem on the left and Anela on the right. Nice fashion!

Super Mario Maker: Peter’s 30th Birthday Bash

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Peter (Devee)

No celebration is complete without some Super Mario Maker! It was my birthday last month, and while I was spending the day with some of my closest friends, I wanted everybody to come together to make a level with me. Our creation was Peter’s 30th Birthday Bash! If you look closely in the screenshot above, you’ll see “Happy birthday Peter” spelled out in the level.

For those interested in playing it, you can find it using the ID BBD9-0000-01E1-1F90.

Anela kicked off the level with some springs, pits, and a number of enemies. She didn’t pull her punches either. Just when you think she might be nice, she has a trick up her sleeve.

Antonio worked on the next section, and his girlfriend Kaleigh contributed as well. His section contain projectiles, fire beams, thwomps, and more. The POW comes in handy though!

You can usually tell gem’s sections because they’re filled with coins. The areas void of coins in her section spelled out “happy birthday.” You have to take your time here or you could fall to your death.

Edward started his section by spelling my name. He also filled it with lakitus. You really need a star to get through this part (which we added when the level was too hard).

This section was also created by Edward. It seems like he likes enemies.

I ended the level with some Bowser, Jr. enemies and one Bowser.

It was a blast making the level with everybody. I love how you don’t have to be super into video games to enjoy Super Mario Maker. Check it out using the ID BBD9-0000-01E1-1F90.

Thank you to everybody who celebrated my birthday and made Peter’s 30th Birthday Bash with me!

Chip’s Challenge 2 (finally) released!

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Peter (Devee)

Chip’s Challenge has always been one of my favorite games since I first played it with my dad, grandpa, and uncle on the Atari Lynx. Chuck Sommerville made a sequel, but due to issues beyond his control, he wasn’t able to release it. Twenty-five years later, Chip’s Challenge 2 has finally been released.

It was released alongside Chip’s Challenge 1 on Steam and can be purchased in a $5 bundle that contains both games and the CC2 level editor.

It’s a tile-based puzzle game tasking you with helping Chip collect keys, unlock doors, avoid deadly traps, and plan how to retrieve important items that allow you to get past obstacles. Chip’s Challenge 2 appears very similar but adds a variety of a new game elements.

It’s probably too early for me to talk about it too in-depth as I’m only eight levels into the game. However, I’m having a lot of fun, and it’s almost unbelievable that I’m finally playing this gem of a game. It came at a time when I’m about to be extremely busy for the next week, but I’ll see if I can squeeze in a few levels while at my conference next week!

Congratulations, Chuck, on finally getting Chip’s Challenge 2 released! Go Bit Buster!

Trimming the backlog

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Peter (Devee)

In an effort to get through my backlog, I played a lot of my games in the last couple months. I found most of them boring and didn’t give them much time, but some were entertaining for a while. Let’s look at some of the games I tried and decided to stop playing.

Tyrian 2000

Tyrian 2000 is a scrolling shooter with nothing special about it. It didn’t grab my attention at all.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

I’d call this a run ‘n’ gun game, but I guess that’s not really a genre. It’s like a fast-paced Contra, only not as good as Contra. I do like the visual style, but there’s too much happening on the screen all the time. You control a rabbit who’s the prince of hell, and you travel around killing enemies in bloody ways. I know it’s trying to be over the top, but it felt too over the top.

Ben There, Dan That

This point-and-click adventure game obviously draws inspiration from Lucas Arts. It references a number of early, pioneering games of the genre, which I think is neat. From the few minutes I spent with it, I feel like it could be a good choice if you’re craving a point-and-click adventure game with some chuckles, but it wasn’t doing enough for me.

Time Gentlemen, Please

This is the direct follow up to Ben There, Dan That. As the first didn’t interest me, I didn’t give the second more than a minute or so before decided it didn’t interest be either.

Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel

This point-and-click adventure game was translated from a Russian game based on a Russian sci-fi detective novel (at least according to Wikipedia). It seemed very forced, like the game was dragging from to each scene, and nothing seemed particularly engaging. The voice-acting was odd too. Reviews claimed it was very anti-climatic, and it seems that some pretty major plot points were changed with negative consequences from the original novel. I decided to pass on this.

Limbo

While I probably put less than an hour into Limbo and don’t feel like playing it more, I’m glad I experienced it. This screenshot alone does a decent job of summarizing the feel of the game. It’s a strange puzzle platformer game that’s a bit eerie. Deaths are definitely gruesome as well without having too much gore and shock value. From what I understand, it’s a fairly short game too, which is nice.

Hotline Miami

Hotline Miami reminds me of Grand Theft Auto in a number of ways. You commit crimes, you beat people senseless, and it’s pretty brutal. It has an arcade vibe that I liked, but I just didn’t feel like I was getting enough out of it. My friend Michael loves the game though, which does push me a little bit more toward putting more time into it. I just don’t quite care enough.

Nidhogg

Duncan bought this simple game on his PS4. It doesn’t quite fit in this list because I didn’t really give up on it. There’s a single-player that mimics multiplayer, but it’s basically a multiplayer game. And I played it a bunch! In a pixelated, stylized setting, two players engage in sword duels in relatively quick matches. It’s great when people are at the house and has lots of settings you can change to mix the gameplay. It also supports tournaments if you have more than two players.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

I’m not really sure how to describe Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP. It’s definitely visually and aurally beautiful. From what I played, it was mostly an intellectual game. There is combat, but the game is mostly about exploring, figuring out what to do, reading minds, and dreaming. Oh, and music is important too. Yeah, it’s a strange game. Compared to most of the other games I discussed, this game appealed to me a lot more.

Snapshot

Snapshot is a neat idea for a platformer. You control the character with the keyboard but are able to cut and paste objects using the mouse. That’s it. That’s the idea. The visuals are neat, with a cute main character too. If I didn’t have so many other things asking for my time, I’d probably play this one a bit more.

Trimming the backlog with the AGS Bake Sale, Part 1

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Peter (Devee)

In an effort to get through my backlog, I’ve played a lot of games recently. I own a lot of games that I’ve even tried, so I decided to try as many as I could. Honestly, I prioritized games that I thought I wouldn’t enjoy so I could try them and cross them off my list quickly.

I owned a bundle of adventure games from the AGS Bake Sale from Adventure Game Studio, and I had never tried any of them. It seemed like a good place to start. Here’s my thoughts on the first half of them!

As these are all indie games, I feel the need to preface this post with an apology to some of the creators in case they happen to find this. I really do realize that I didn’t give many of these games more than a couple minutes of play. I own a lot of games that just aren’t my cup of tea, so sometimes I judge quickly.

9 Months In

9 Months In is the most interesting game of the AGS Bake Sale that I’ve tried. This adventure games stars a woman in prison who claims she’s been set up. The title comes from the fact that she’s pregnant. I like the art style, and I quickly found that I was interested in the starring character. I’m leaving this title on my backlog and plan to come back to it.

Escape the Barn

In Escape the Barn, you find items, clicking to add them to your inventory at the bottom of the screen and then figure out what items to use on what other items to escape the barn. It was pretty boring, but as it only took five minutes to beat, I decided to finish it.

Entrapment

Someone’s been repeatedly framing you for murder, and you have to get away and figure out who is doing it. It’s a much better premise than Escape the Barn, but it still pique my interest enough to get me to keep playing it.

Ben Chandler, Paranormal Investigator – In Search of the Sweets Tin

Honestly, I can’t really remember much about this AGS Bake Sale title except that it didn’t hold my attention more than a couple minutes.

Barn Runner: The Rich Dame Who Cut The Cheese

This is a pretty interesting world that’s been created. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic future in which humanity is contained to enclosed cities in which almost all work is done by robots. There are 11 titles in this series as of writing this according to this page. I like the idea of the setting, but I played for about five minutes and got bored.

Abner

In Abner, you play a character who appears to think he’s a heroic knight. It’s definitely full of comedy even though it starts with a tragedy – all the world’s color is gone! It was a cute idea and style, but it didn’t hold my attention.

Falling Skywards

Let’s end this half of AGS Bake Sale games on a high note. Falling Skyward is gorgeous. It’s set in the future after an asteroid has struck the Earth, launching chunks of cities into the sky where many still orbit. You play a young boy who scavengers these ruins that are, as the game describes, “perpetually falling skywards.” I only played for a couple minutes, but I couldn’t cross it off my list. I’ll need to return to play it more!

The Last Arcade on the Planet’s finale party

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Peter (Devee)

The Last Arcade on the Planet is a private collection of arcade games owned by Juan Sanchez that he opens for public parties once a month or so with his girlfriend, Satu. I’ve written about it previously, and it’s really awesome. Saturday night was the last party; Juan’s going to turn his warehouse into a workspace to fix up the machines and sell many of them.

I wore my Space Invaders t-shirt from Threadless because it seemed appropriate. And don’t worry, I played a lot of Space Invaders.

Edward came with me, and you can see him in this photo playing High Speed. Sadly, the next two pinball machines over were both out of service – Pin·Bot and The Machine Bride of Pin·Bot. The Machine Bride of Pin·Bot is my favorite machine, so it was bummer that it was out of service. gem and I played it extensively on previous trips.

Luckily, Jack·Bot was working. It’s such a gorgeous machine, although I still prefer the rotating box of The Machine Bride of Pin·Bot representing your quest to improve her.

Juan collects machines from 1986 or earlier and charges a $10 cover charge for the parties with everything on free-play. He knows what he’s doing with them too. Throughout the night, he could be found working on them and keeping the machines running smoothly.

Here’s gem playing Asteroids in her Asteroids t-shirt back in September!

This was the first night I had a chance to talk to Juan and thank him for the good times. I’m glad I got to talk with him, because he’s a really interesting person. He works as an animator at Turtle Rock Studios. His latest work can be seen in February’s Evolve. I haven’t had the chance to play it yet, but I posted about it back in February 2014 when I first saw the trailer because it looked so awesome. Juan plans on keeping some of the machines and wants to continue doing some kind of events. He talked about the ideas of Arduino workshops or game jams as well as some personal projects. I’d love to attend some of these events, so I’m looking forward to learning what happens.

I’m sad to see The Last Arcade on the Planet go, but I’m glad Juan’s moving on to his next projects. Good luck, Juan!

Best part of World of Tanks

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Peter (Devee)

World of Tanks requires a pretty decent amount of skill and strategy, but there’s a mode that let’s you forget about all that. It’s my favorite mode, and it also happens to be the only time I can successfully play World of Tanks without solely following my friend Joe’s orders. Check it out.

Pixel Press Floors

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Peter (Devee)

[Updated on 1/30/15.]

Pixel Press Floors is an iOS and Android game that allows you to make your own platformer levels. I Kickstarted this around June of 2013 because of an interesting hook: you actually design by hand on paper and take a photograph of the paper to import it into the game.

There were a few hiccups, such as the Android version being significantly delayed. As an iOS user, this didn’t bother me. However, two others things did. First, the game changed from a paid game to a free game with in-app purchases. As someone who backed the game early, I got an account in the game that reflected this. Supposedly this would give me bonuses. I don’t know what those are. I thought I was supposed to be able to place enemies in my level (it’s normally an IAP), but I don’t see any option for that currently. [Update: I contacted the developer, and they fixed everything for me within a day. Great customer service!] The second, bigger problem is that the creation mode ended up being iPad only. That’s great if I owned an iPad, but I don’t.

Regardless, I finally had a chance to sit down and make some levels with gem’s iPad, and it was a ton of fun. I’m still annoyed about not being able to create on the iPhone, and I’m hoping they add it. As for the backer bonuses, I don’t know what the deal is there, but I just reached out to Pixel Press to find out.

As for making levels? Fun! You don’t get to change any of the physics or design your own sprites, but you still can set the layout of levels. Even though what initially piqued my interesting was designing on paper, I did the whole thing on the iPad. You can watch the video embedded above to see my level, appropriately named The Adventures of Peter. And hey, I published it around 1:30 today and it already has 77 plays!

If you like platformers, you might want to give this a try. As mentioned, it’s free. There are a ton of community-created levels, and you can search for mine as well.

Fully clearing the board in Dr. Mario Express

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Peter (Devee)

When I get down to the last virus in Dr. Mario Express, sometimes I like to keep trying to clear the extra pills so that I can fully clear the level. Usually there are leftover pieces. This is the first time I’ve managed to clear every last pill along with that pesky virus! Woo!

Finished Gears of War 3

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Peter (Devee)

Yes, I’m behind, but I started 2015 by beating Gears of War 3. I really enjoyed it! I suppose there are going to be some minor spoilers here, but I won’t spoil the big points.

The opening of the game on the CNV Sovereign is cool because it’s nice to see the ship and Michaelson, leader of the COG Navy. He was a major character in the novels, but this was his first appearance in game. Unfortunately, I felt like major changes from the books were changed rapidly. Michaelson is only in the very beginning of the game, likely because people who didn’t read the books wouldn’t care about him. The former Chairman Prescott returns early in the game too with his MacGuffin. It makes sense from a story standpoint, and by the end of the game, it all makes sense, but it still feels weird.

From there the game progresses well. There are more characters that follow Marcus, which makes it more varies and interesting. Anya, Sam, and Jace are all major characters now too. There are floating gas barges that are pretty cool, but at one point you’re forced into combat using one. Similarly, you later control the guns on a submarine. I don’t play Gears of War to do these things. I feel like these levels are the modern equivalent to the “obligatory mine cart” level. I’m not sure what to call them, but I don’t want to take control of some larger contraption with a totally different feel.

Getting through some less-than-amazing parts get you to Anvil Gate, another major location from the novels, so I suppose it’s worth it. We also get to see Colonel Hoffman and Bernie, so that’s pretty cool too! Dom seems a little more reserved and depressed after the events of the second game, which makes for some interesting character development. He has a really amazing moment during the game. The Carmine in this game is a bit more badass too.

The end of Gears of War 2 had gameplay that differed a bit from the main game. It felt anti-climatic regarding gameplay even if the story itself was quite climatic. This wasn’t a problem in Gears 3. The last battles felt really climatic and awesome, which is one of the most important things in a game besides actually being fun.

Now I just have to resist the urge to spend money on Gears of War: Judgment until I beat some of the other games I own!

Offspring Fling!

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Peter (Devee)

Offspring Fling! is a cute puzzle platformer on Steam that I tried recently. It was very enjoyable, and just look at that art! What you can’t hear, because I’m not including it, is the great music.

When this mean looking dinosaur shows up, your babies scatter. It’s up to you to rescue them!

You can run and jump as well as pick up and fling your babies. As you carry more babies, you won’t be able to jump as the high. Each level tasks you with getting your babies to the door. Some of the stages definitely took some thinking, but I was never really stumped. You won’t find yourself losing repeatedly like in a platformer such as Super Meat Boy or N+, but you will have to think about the puzzles.

It’s a neat little game with adorable graphics. There are still extras to unlock if I choose to keep playing, but it only took me about four hours to beat the base game. It was definitely worth it.

Fatal Labyrinth, Genesis roguelike

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Peter (Devee)

While going through the games I hadn’t tried in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection, I stumbled upon Fatal Labyrinth. It started with a corny story for a minute or so before the action started (and even that minute of story could be skipped). Despite showing its age (bad music; can’t go back one level in the menus, so you have to close the menu), it was a very enjoyable game. Not only are the levels randomly generated, but the items are described by colors with each color corresponding randomly to a specific spell. On one play, a blue cane might do blizzard damage; on the next, it might confuse the enemy.

I’ll admit that I used save states to determine what each color did so I wouldn’t waste any items. I never did manage to get the best armor or sword in the game in spite of fully clearing every level. There were are also a couple of interesting tricks I found on GameFAQs. Cursed weapons are very weak, and a curse removal item can remove the curse, allowing you to unequip the weapon. If you remove the curse before equipping the item, it’ll say it has zero power while actually being devastating to enemies. Similarly, if you equip two bows back and forth, your armor will decrease by three each time until rolling over to an ungodly amount of armor. I tried the tricks because I was curious but restored a save because it made me too powerful.

Food was an interesting in the mechanic. While your HP will slowly regenerate, your food value will slowly decrease. You don’t die when you reach zero, but you’ll begin to lose HP. This would lead me to think that I should collect all the food I find, but too much food causes the character to move slower, and if a certain amount of food is eaten, the character die on the spot. Overeating is the number two killer of knights, you know (just after dragons).

It’s been a while since I’ve played a fun roguelike. It reminded me of Azure Dreams, one of my favorite PlayStation games. After playing the game on and off for the past four days, I beat it last night.

Another month, more games crossed off my list

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Peter (Devee)

My backlog is now down to 314 unfinished games and 269 unplayed games, down from 323 unfinished games and 277 unplayed games from my last post on April 25. Slow and steady wins the race.

SQUIDS Odyssey

I was given a download code for this game to review for Game Boyz. You can read the review, if you’d like. It’s a port of the first two games in the series with additional content. Fun game. This increased my backlog count by one, and I haven’t crossed it off yet because I’m not quite done with it.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria and Cataclysm

As usual, I won’t spend too much time talking about WoW. I’ve been playing three characters. First, I’m still doing some LFR for transmog on my main, Devee, the troll priest. I’ve also been playing Voidgazer, my undead warlock. Voidgazer’s in his 50s now. Lastly, I made a pandaren monk named Sleepypaw that recently joined the Alliance. I have some friends that play together every Friday night Alliance-side, so I thought I’d try to catch them. Sleepypaw is 12 or so, and my friends are approaching level 30.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All

I’m currently in the third case. I don’t spend a lot of time in this because I only play while I’m walking at lunch at work. It’s fun though!

Dr. Mario Express

I just can’t stop playing this. My high score is currently 55,200.

Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic 2

This game was part of Sonic Mega Collection Plus, and it was about time I finished it. I’ll admit, I didn’t go for the Chaos Emeralds. There was some pressure to reload save states when I failed the special stages, but at this point, I need to decide whether something is worth my time and provides enjoyment. I hated those special stages, so too bad. The game was fairly fun, but I wish the stages were updated more for Knuckles. There were many places in which I climbed and then suddenly hit an invisible wall. Also, I remember there being better enemy and pit placement. If I’m moving fast, as expected of you in a Sonic game, and in a ball, I shouldn’t roll right into a spiky enemy. The game should reward you for going fast. Even so, I like Sonic 2.

Sonic Drift, Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic Blast,The Ooze, Flicky, and Dynamite Headdy

Here’s a nice set of games in Sonic Mega Collection Plus or Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection that were just bad. I was glad to cross them off my list. I jotted some notes down in my backlog after I tried them; I’ll reproduce them here.

Sonic Drift: “Wow, this is bad. I’m glad that they improved the formula by the time Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing was released.” It’s a racing game but just barely.

Sonic Labyrinth: “I finished one level. It’s nothing like a Sonic game and quite boring.” It’s like an even worse version of Sonic 3D Blast.

Sonic Blast: “Played one zone. It’s so slow and bad.” Surprisingly, this isn’t like Sonic 3D Blast. It’s just a really slow, bad Sonic game.

The Ooze: “What? No. Just no.” I don’t know how to explain this one. You’re a puddle of ooze, and you ooze around in a boring fashion.

Flicky: “More fun than I expected, but I’m not going to keep playing it.” You play as a flicky bird, and jump between platforms gathering up your little chicks.

Dynamite Headdy: “Cute style but weird game. I don’t want to keep playing.” You fling your head around or use it as a bomb. Reminds me a little of Vectorman.

Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2

I own Streets of Rage in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection and thought it was about time to give it a try. It seemed boring as beat ’em ups go. I decided to stick with it until I either beat it or got game over. I was on the last round with I reached that game over screen. I’m crossing you off the list, Streets of Rage.

Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection contained Streets of Rage 2 as well (and I also own it on iOS). I went it with the same mindset as the first game and actually liked it a bit more. This I managed to beat.

Ecco: The Tides of Time

Here’s another Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection game. I think the Ecco series contains some really interesting and eerie games. I’m very glad to have experienced them, but I don’t think experiencing more of this game is worth the time put into it. Unfortunately, I’m crossing it off my list.

Shining Force

Okay, one last Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection to mention. It’s interesting to me how old RPGs spend such little time building the story at the beginning. It’s seems less realistic to have you mission and be on your way within two minutes, but at the same time, it’s refreshing to jump into the game. I was also expecting a menu-driven RPG and not a map with a grid. I didn’t realize it was a tactical/strategy RPG. I played it a little, entering a few battles, but I don’t think I’ll play it more.

Rock N’ Roll Racing and The Lost Vikings

I didn’t play either of these, but I added them to my backlog because Blizzard added them to everyone’s Battle.net accounts. Unfortunately, that causes my backlog account to increase by two.

Trying a new batch of games

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Peter (Devee)

My backlog at Backloggery is now down to 323 unbeat (277 unplayed) from 338 unbeat games from my last post on the subject. That’s a nice bit of progress, but keep in mind that I don’t mind marking games as null, thus removing them from the unbeat count, if I get sick of them and decide they’re not worth more time. I played some games that I thought I’d enjoy like I normally would, but I also played some that I thought I wouldn’t like with the intent to cross them off my list quickly.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

I usually open with WoW mainly because I don’t want to talk about it here. I already talk about WoW much more at Kor’kron 501st. My warlock has reached his 40s and just finished the Hinterlands.

DC Universe Online

I also started playing DC Universe Online. Again, I talk about it at Kor’kron 501st because it’s an MMO, but I’m playing a mentalist hero, and I just beat the Scarecrow.

Super Mario 3D World

I’m enjoying this a lot, but I still liked Super Mario 3D Land a lot more. I’m currently in World 4.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

While I don’t have much to report, I began playing this again. I put it down a long time ago now, so it’s nice to get back into it.

Rhythm Heaven

I beat one level. Does that count as progress?

Star Wars: Tiny Death Star

I have some terrific news about Tiny Death Star: I stopped playing it. Good bye.

Chuck’s Challenge 3D

I finished the fifth bundle, Eclair, in Chuck’s Challenge 3D. It was a lot of fun; I really love this game.

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls

I picked up the Collector’s Edition of Reaper of Souls when it was released and have been having fun with it. I’m taking my time, so I haven’t finished the new act yet.

Ticket to Ride Europe

Thanks to Collin for letting me know that this was available for free. I never played the board game, but the iOS game is fun. Unfortunately, it’s pretty easy, but I still enjoyed it.

Scotland Yard

Here’s a DS game I wasn’t expecting to like as much as I did. I was looking for a quick game to cross off my list as boring, but I ended up needing to beat it. It’s a board game as well, so I might need to check out the physical game. Scotland Yard involves multiple detectives and one criminal, Mr. X, taking turns moving around a board. Mr. X wants to last until the turns are expired without being caught while the detectives want to land in the same space as him.

Mystery Tales: Time Travel

One…

Hidden Mysteries: Salem Secrets

…two…

Murder in Venice

…and three bad hidden object games I was able to cross off my list quickly.

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House

Here’s another I thought would be bad. It seems to be a lot like Layton although they don’t explain the goals of the puzzles. That could be a little annoying, but it was fun enough that I’ve decided I’ll return to it later.

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Mummy

Oh, another Sherlock Holmes game. This is bound to be like the last one, right? No. This one was a terrible first-person exploration game with dismal controls. Next.

Naval Warfare

Naval Warfare is a Steam game that’s basically a “twin-stick shooter” using keyboard and mouse. I can’t say for sure whether I’ll want to play it to completion, but it’s worth keeping in my backlog.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War

I’m not usually a big fan of RTS games, but this was decently fun. I highly doubt I’ll beat it, but here’s another I’ll leave on my list.

Again

Speaking of “again,” I find myself leaving a game on my backlog again. Again is a DS game about the FBI. One agent can see the past and must match the present to look like the past to unlock scenes of what happened. It could be decent!

All done with Castle Doombad

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Peter (Devee)

When my friend Joe told me about Adult Swim’s new iOS game, Castle Doombad (developed by Grumpyface Studios), in February, I immediately bought it. I’m a fan of some of their previous games, so I was excited to play this new one. I don’t intend this post to be a formal review, so I’m not going to worry about going into too many details on the game. However, it’s a tower defense game in which you try to protect your captured princess from heroes. You can beat a stage by ensuring a hero never rescues the princess, but you can also crown a stage by keeping a hero from ever reaching her. You earn currency in the levels and can use it to purchase new traps or upgrade current ones. In addition, there are thirty tasks called “TO-DOOMS” that reward a second type of currency, used for powerful abilities.

Here you can see that I crowned every stage in the first chapter.