Angry Birds: App Review

What is all the hype about “Angry Birds”? It seems to be phenomenal the rate of success this game has achieved. The objective of the game is to crush the enemy (in this case pigs were want to eat the birds eggs, making them “angry”), through game play that is physics based and requires logic, skill and force. Maybe it is the concept, or the fluid graphics and game play that propelled it into success or it might have been the marketing and the timing, whatever the case its success cannot be disputed with merchandise appearing as well and it being made available for PCs and Macs.

Having been one of the most popular games on the Apple market (iPhone/iPod/iPad), it has finally made its way to the Android market. Basically, you get to hurl the angry birds at loosely made defensive forts made from glass, wood, and stone with pigs inside, and the aim is to destroy all the pigs at each level with as little moves possible. You get more points if you achieve destroying the pigs with as little moves as possible, destroy as much structure as you can, and have remaining birds that have not been used.

There are different birds with different abilities: to name a few, the default red bird has no special properties, while the blue bird splits into three with a second touch, or the black bird which explodes when tapped...Read More>>

Sally's Spa: App Review

Time management games are plenty on the Apple App store, and Sally’s Spa is just one of those games that is actually entertaining and enjoyable. Similar to Diner Dash in concept: you are running a salon (helping Sally) and have to serve the customers as best and as fast as you can. And yes, you guessed it, it is one of the games that I actually bought and so here are my thoughts on it. There is also a lite version available.

There are different locations, scenarios, customers, and upgrades of the spa’s equipment (e.g. Sauna, nail station, spa, massage table, and hair station). As you advance, you can also hire staff to speed up the process. The objective of the game is to get all the customers that come through your spa to complete the various treatments and leave with a smile on their faces and a huge tip for you. You are also able to sell various products to earn extra money. There is a chart that tells you what products customers’ would be interested in buying that day, and an indication of how well the items might sell...Read more>>

Amazing Sudoku: App Review

With the many available Sudoku games made available on the Apple App Store, there are various designs and graphics that offer different game play experience, most of them plain and unappealing. I happened to chance upon Amazing Sudoku, which is currently available for $1.99 for the full version, when it was offered free for download one fine day (lucky me). There is also the free version, which limits the difficulty.

Some people may deem the colorful background and graphics too distracting, but I think that it adds a nice touch to an otherwise “boring” game of Sudoku. Within Amazing Sudoku, there are two modes of game play: Classic and Magic, each with 3 difficulty settings...Read more>>

Cut The Rope: App Review

“Cut the Rope” is one of the games that I bought from the Apple App Store, costing USD$0.99. The objective of the game is to feed the green cute looking creature with the sweets that you are supposed to navigate to the little create by cutting ropes, all the while collecting stars to advance to the next stage / box. You do so by cutting the ropes loose, in a way that the sweet will land up in the little green creature’s hungry mouth and collecting stars at the same time. Recently this app has also been made available on the Android Market as well...Read more>>

The Sims 3: Traits Guide

The Sims 3 traits enable your Sims to have personalities that are unique and diverse, which can be interesting as well as entertaining. Sims in the game can have a maximum of 5 traits, which are further divided into 4 categories: mental, physical, social and lifestyle. There are 7 stages in a Sims life: baby, toddler, child, teen, young adult, adults and elder.

When your Sim is in a good mood while pregnant, you can select 1 trait for the baby when it is born, else it is selected randomly. As babies, toddlers, children and teens grow; they will be given traits based on their happiness (if they are happy enough you will be able to choose the trait for them, else the traits are most likely to be randomly assigned). However, when you are creating a young adult, adult or senior Sim in the create Sim mode, you have the opportunity to give them the traits you prefer before starting the game.

There is a wide range of traits that you can choose for your Sims: to be brave, cowards, heavy sleepers or slobs. Each of the traits will impact your Sims in regards to their lives, socialization, happiness, choices, skills and careers. There are metal traits like artistic, genius, green thumb and neurotic, or physical traits like heavy sleepers or slobs. Traits determine/affect how quickly your Sims skills develop, what they enjoy and how they relate to other Sims, greatly impacting their social interactions. There are also social traits like charismatic, dislikes children, good sense of humour and no sense of humour.

It would be good to note that a Sim cannot have opposing traits (e.g. great sense of humour and no sense of humour). Hence, choosing one trait could render its opposite obsolete. There are also traits that deal with lifestyle such as angler, frugal, kleptomaniac and vegetarian.

Each trait opens up different social interactions for your Sim and will affect the speed and success of learning a skill. For example, a Sim who is a workaholic will be very upset if they miss work, while a loner can last longer than Sims without any socialization. A flirtish Sim would be able to use different romantic interactions far sooner into a relationship than other Sims, and their flirting will usually be well-received. And an artistic Sim can paint and play the guitar much better than others.

Finally, the traits that a Sim’s has will help determine their lifetime wish. A Sim may want to grow the perfect garden if he/she has a green thumb, or raise a big family if family-orientated. In addition to selecting traits for you Sims, you are also able to select your Sim’s favourite food, colour and music. Voices of your Sims can also be adjusting via pitch to further enhance your Sim, making it a unique and interesting character.

Here is a list with descriptions of some personality traits:

• Absent-Minded: Often get lost in their own thoughts and forget what they are doing or where they are going.
• Ambitious: like that name suggests.
• Angler: Enjoy fishing and will be more successful at getting more... Read more>>
  

The Sims 3 Ambitions Review

‘Ambitions’, released June 2010, is the second expansion pack for The Sims 3. And for the first time since The Sims 3 came out a year ago, it finally adds some worthwhile content to the game. I found the base game incredibly boring, with very little for the sims to do and nowhere for them to go aside from a few parks, libraries, gyms and other such uninteresting locations – there were few hobby items, and most of the community lots were ‘rabbit holes’, ie fake buildings that your sim disappears into and you are simply left sitting there blankly watching a progress bar showing the progress of whatever it is that your sims are meant to be doing in there.

The first expansion pack, ‘World Adventures’, was a disappointment – basically all it delivered was the ability to send your sims on holiday, and while that added a small amount of interest, it soon became repetitive and the pack just didn’t add enough to the gameplay or the content to be very worthwhile. As I mentioned in my review of it here, it was worth getting just for at least SOMEthing more for your sims to do, but a far cry from what gamers wanted.

But now, with Ambitions, the developers have finally got back on track and given players some substantial content, both in gameplay and in new objects. I was not expecting much from this pack, as everything else released for The Sims 3 so far had been very disappointing, but was really pleasantly surprised when I installed this pack last weekend and for the first time since I bought The Sims 3, I’ve actually been playing the game and enjoying it! Prior to that, I mainly just created custom content (to upload on the Mod The Sims website) in order to try to alleviate my own boredom and that of other players by creating quirky content to try to make the game a bit more fun, but I didn’t play much. But, finally, now there are things for your sims to actually DO, and most of the time you can now watch them do them as well, rather than disappearing into rabbit holes.

This pack adds some good new content:

• PROFESSIONS

Your sim can now follow a ‘profession’ as opposed to just to having a job. There are some good ones to choose from – my self-sim is just starting out as an Inventor, and has to go to a new community site, the Junkyard, to rummage through piles of scrap to find useful raw materials. So far, she’s made a rather Steampunk-looking decorative object called a ‘Rotational... Read more>>

A beginners guide to The Sims 3 (PC)

New to the world of the Sims or stepping in for a second or third round of it? In either case, The Sims 3 presents much of the same action available in the first two games while simultaneously adding and stripping away a fair amount. This little guide will help you get started on a new family, if you so desire one, and ensure they flourish.

The first step is to make said family. When just starting out you should tinker with a pair of young adults, as they're capable of doing just about anything and can get full-time jobs to make plenty of money.Go into the sims creation screen when opening the town and design them as you please; once you get to traits, though, I'd advise picking favorable ones for your first run. Anything that compliments a career path is probably best until you get the hang of how your sims interact. Make sure you don't leave the creation screen until you've created all your sims, as you'll either have to start over or do some fancy wrangling to get your desired family, both of which are annoying.

Time to move in. You'll either want to buy a house or make your own, and while it is tempting to just pick something pre-made I recommend just making a house. It's good practice and you'll save money in the long run. You need the following things to make sure a house runs smoothly:

• front door (it's surprisingly easy to forget this)
• A couch in front of a TV
• A bookshelf
• One bed for each person in the house, with an accompanying alarm clock; depending on your budget these may or may not be in the same room
• A kitchen with a fridge, trash bin, sink, oven, extra counter space and a fire alarm
• A bathroom with a shower, a mirror and a toilet
• A phone
• Wallpaper and carpeting to keep them from getting depressed about their surroundings
• Windows for light; try to get a cheap lamp or two if you have a bit of extra cash

Your sims need to eat, sleep and clean themselves, so the above should keep them occupied. The mirror can help you build their charisma for raises at work while the TV is good for working out. The bookshelf is handy for several different skills, though make sure your sims don't waste time learning skills that won't benefit them at work, or at least not at first. Keep in mind that walls are extremely expensive, so working the living room and kitchen into one area is advantageous. The only room that absolutely must be contained is the bathroom. Overall you want to end this process with a couple hundred bucks left over... Read more>>

How to play as a ghost in The Sims 3

One of the main reasons I bought The Sims 3 was because I discovered I could play as a ghost. That single fact made the whole thing worth buying. What I didn't know, however, is that it can be a rather annoying process to achieve - especially if your sim works in the morning.

To get a ghost in your household you either need to kill somebody off or bring in a grave. Killing an active sim is probably the easiest method of doing this, as you'll have a handy grave on your site and they'll start haunting your house almost immediately. Killing a sim depends on your own malicious preferences: you can drown them in a pool with no way out, electrocute them while tinkering with a stove or TV, starve them... there are quite a few possibilities, you just need to pick one. Your ghost will act differently depending on the route you've chosen, mind you.

If you don't want to go to all that trouble then you'll need to go to the local cemetery at night and befriend a ghost. Be sure not to pick a fraidy cat sim, as they'll likely pass out over and over (and possibly die of fright) from seeing ghosts. Take a sim into the cemetery each night after 10 pm, pick one of the roaming spirits and then keeping using friendly actions towards them until they become good friends with your sim. Once they are friends you can pick up their grave and take it home with you.

This can prove problematic to sims with a daytime schedule, so expect a few tricky nights before your sim's sleeping patterns adjust accordingly. Keep in mind, too, that the same ghosts don't always appear every night, so chances are good you'll have to go back several nights in a row to find the same ghost more than once. Try and befriend a few different ghosts and go with the first one you get to good friend... Read more>>

Different Variations of The Uno Card Game

Here is a different variation of playing with UNO cards, it is called "Stress", is a pretty fast paced game and would consist of only two players at a time. All cards that do not consists of numbers like the "wild", "reverse" and "adding" cards, are removed from the stack; only numbers remain...Read More>>

Sony unveils new 'God Of War' PSP game

Sony Computer Entertainment America has unveiled a second God Of War game for the PSP, which will carry the suffix Ghost Of Sparta.

The new game is being developed by Ready At Dawn and SCEA's Santa Monica studio, who previously worked together on 2008's God Of War: Chains Of Olympus.

Writing on the US PlayStation Blog, SCEA PR Eric Levine said that God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta will be a "prequel of sorts, picking up where God Of War left off".

The story will focus on lead character Kratos's ascent to power as he must confront his nightmares and dark past to "prove his worthiness to the gods".

Over the journey, players will learn about the "origins of lost worlds" and understand more about Kratos's tattoo, scar and family history.

"I can tell you from first-hand experience that we are pushing the limits of what PSP can do with state-of-the-art visual technologies, higher resolution environments, and greater depths of scale," said Levine.

"We're also providing over 25% more gameplay, an improved weapon system, and new magical powers - all enjoyed anytime, anywhere."

God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta will be released on PSP and PSP Go later in the year.

DS

'Kingdom Hearts' PSP coming in September

Square Enix has announced that Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep will be released exclusively for the PSP in September.

The new handheld role-playing game will act as a prequel to events in the original Kingdom Hearts, which was released on PS2 in 2002.

Developed in collaboration between Square Enix and Disney, the game will feature new characters and plotlines, along with familiar environments from the worlds of Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

Alongside boasting "exceptional graphics", Birth By Sleep will also offer three new battle systems and four different multiplayer modes for up to six players.

"Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is a spectacular epic adventure that will bring joy, action and suspense to anyone who embarks on the game's journey," said Square Enix vice president of brands PAL region Larry Sparks.

"Birth By Sleep is one of the most beautiful titles to grace the PSP and we're excited about its forthcoming release across PAL territories."

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Gameloft: 'Better phones lead to more sales'

Gameloft has said that more powerful phones lead to better game sales.

Senior vice president Alexandre de Rochefort commented on the iterative nature of the iPhone, which has released with a new and more powerful model each year, such as the recent 3GS.

"From a business point of view, I think the better the phone, the more the games will sell. It's as simple as that," he told DS.

"We view this with a lot of optimism and we're very glad to see companies like Apple that are really pushing the limits. Apple entering the mobile market has been the best news in the past few years."

Gameloft has been optimising titles for the 3GS, with Driver providing a better frame rate and draw distance and Nova with additional bloom effects.

He also said that despite being the leading supplier of games for the system, they have no indication of what new iPhone models will be like.

"Even though, in my belief we’re the number one suppler of games on the App Store - we're the number one partner from this point of view - we don't get any insight on how or when the new iPhone is going to be launched."

Gameloft has over 4,000 employees worldwide and a distribution network in over 80 countries.

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PSP Mini titles on the PS3?

PSP Mini titles are likely to be available to play on PS3 consoles, according to rumours on website Joystiq.

PSP Minis, which includes Tetris and Pinball Fantasies, are currently available to download on the PS3 before they are transferred to the PSP.

One source suggests that the titles will be available to play on the PS3 "before Christmas", while others simply say that the games can be played on the big screen "later this month".

In addition to being able to play the titles, each game is said to receive a graphical boost, with every title set to appear on the PS3.

Sony is yet to confirm the suggestion, saying it does not comment on "rumour or speculation".


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Hotel Dash: Suite Success

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Rating: 4/5

When Quinn’s new travel business hits a snag, she needs Flo’s patented elbow grease to help renovate and run hotels all over DinerTown! Experience a Hotel Dash as you deliver guest’s luggage, drop off room service and provide extra towels and blankets! Along the way you will use your tips to decorate and restore each hotel back to its original charm. Watch out for the mysterious mishaps and accidents that threaten your progress in this fast-paced Time Management game!

• Gripping gameplay
• Powerful upgrades
• Go on a Hotel Dash!

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Cute Knight

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Rating: 3/5

Hero, princess or villain? You get to decide who you want to be! With its unique blend of role-playing and time management, this sequel to Cute Knight would definitely appeal to those who like role-playing games where pretty magical princesses grow up to marry handsome princes. You get to choose your own outfits, travel the kingdom, meet new friends, find treasure and even encounter monsters! Take classes to improve your skills necessary for your success. You could be anyone you want to be, with dozens of endings depending on the choices you make.


Story
The story unfolds when your character (of mysterious origins) has three years to discover her destiny. So she leaves home on her eighteenth birthday to find her destiny, with you guiding her through the choices she makes and adventures she encounters. Opportunities abound with classes to take, or jobs to earn money in areas of magic, fighting, defense and much more...

Game Play
The game starts off with you naming your character, and selecting from a set of twelve types of characteristics. Each character type determines the abilities your character would have. Interactivity revolves around story-driven dialogues, working, learning, and battle. Skills that are developed, achievements accomplished and your general game play will result in one of its many possible endings. With its multiple endings, playing this game more than once can be entertaining and addictive.

Graphics
Being a little rough around the edges, the game loses some points in the graphics department. The constant traveling becomes slightly cumbersome after some time. Despite that, the graphics are still adorable enough to appeal to those who like good old role-playing with lots of character customization.

Sound
Music is clear and enchanting, matching the theme of the game well.

Creativity and Innovation
By incorporating role-playing and time management, Cute Knight is innovative and creative. Its complex skill system sets it apart from similar titles; though I would have preferred being able to continue playing after those three years. While the game can be addictive and full of surprises, it might end up repetitive for some players after several plays.

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Dream Chronicles ™ 2: The Eternal Maze

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Rating: 4.5/5

Adventure, mystery, puzzles and fairies! This game sets your brain thinking and is simply entertaining with its breathtakingly smooth graphics and apt music. In this second installation of the Dream Chronicles series, you have to help Faye save her family from the evil Fairy Queen, Lilith. The storyline, together with the game play makes it an alluring sequel.



Story
The evil Fairy queen, Lilith, wants Faye's husband all to herself as he was promised to her long ago. As a result, Lilith curses Faye's daughter and imprisons her within the Ancient Place. To save her family Faye needs to escape from her prison by navigating through magical landscapes and solve intricate and challenging puzzles; with the guidance of her mother-in-law.


Game Play
This game is definitely more than just your usual hidden game object. Its adventure styled game play and mesmerizing graphics makes it more fun. With its smooth game play, and the freedom to play at your own speed, finding hidden dream jewels to unravel secrets that would help in the quest and unlocking secret doors is challenging. The game starts off in an easy to follow story mode, continuing off from the first installment; with the story getting more intriguing as you play.

Graphics
The graphics are simply beautiful, drawing players into the breath taking world of fairies with intriguing and believable drawn sets.

Sound
Music used in the game adds to the ambiance of the game. It makes the game more fun to play, and it is easy on the ears; making game play an enjoyable experience.

Creativity and Innovation
Compared to the puzzles in its prequel, puzzles in The Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze is definitely more challenging. Unlike usual hidden object games, the way in which The Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze incorporates the storyline with the hidden object theme, and solving puzzles is seamless and engaging. It is definitely innovative and creative, and worth playing.

YOU SHOULD BUY THE DREAM CHRONICLES: THE ETERNAL MAZE IF
- You loved playing its prequel The Dream Chronicles: The Chosen One.
- You like playing challenging and fun puzzle games that are engaging, and yet not frustrating.
- You are looking for a game other than the usual hidden object/puzzle games with a twist, with beautiful graphics, smooth game play and an interesting storyline.

YOU SHOULD NOT BUY THE DREAM CHRONICLES: THE ETERNAL MAZE IF
- The storyline of the Dream Chronicles or things about fairies does not appeal to you.
- You are looking for a fast paced adventure game.
- You have not played the first installment The Dream Chronicles: The Chosen One

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Luxor Adventures

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Rating: 3.5/5

Time travel, Egyptian mythology, and archeology all within a hidden object game infused with puzzles and mini-games! It even has a good storyline to boot. Being a hidden game game, there bound to be similarities with existing with hidden object games. However, Luxor Adventures is still entertaining, extremely challenging and full of surprises.



Story
An ancient port has become unstable, with objects from the future turning up in places of the past. In a bid to restore history and prevent the villain from attempting to alter history, the heroes travel through time in an attempt to save the world from the wrath of Osiris by finding hidden objects (from the future in places of the past) and solving puzzles.

Game Play
As with most hidden object games, you have to scour a cluttered environment for items that are listed on the bottom of the screen while racing against the clock per level. At each level, you have to find two orbs and two Ankhs. Once you have collected all eight orbs, you will be able to play Luxor, a color ball-blasting game. Finding two Ankhs at each level allows you to unlock more game modes from the main menu. Objects hidden in this game can be very well-hidden (small and/or well camouflaged) and hard to spot, making it slightly frustrating. Luckily there is a Hint button to reveal those hard-to spot objects.

Graphics
The graphics are aptly drawn and beautiful, reflecting Luxor Adventure's Egyptian theme well.

Sound
Music used in the game adds to the ambiance of the game, drawing players into the ancient Egyptian world and the excitement of saving the world.


Creativity and Innovation
Being able to infuse the hidden game genre together with an interesting story, and bonus games to boot certainly makes this game unique. To add to its innovativeness and creativity, some items have to be completed by combining them, such as inserting batteries into a flashlight. The game also has a high replay value, because each time you play a particular level you will be asked to find different objects.


YOU SHOULD BUY LUXOR ADVENTURES IF
- You are looking for something different from the usual hidden object games.
- You like challenging hidden object games (objects can be very hard to find).
- You love the storyline and enjoy finding hidden objects while saving the world.

YOU SHOULD NOT BUY LUXOR ADVENTURES IF
- Not being able to spot some very cleverly camouflaged (and possibly small) objects frustrate you.
- You prefer playing the usual untainted hidden games.
- You did not like the trial version.

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Crystal Chronicles' dated for Wii

Square Enix has revealed the release date for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers on the Wii.

The game, which is set 1000 years after the original Crystal Chronicles for the Gamecube, will be released in Europe on February 5, 2010.

The Wii exclusive sees players control a crystal bearing a mercenary called Layle, who comes into contact with a long-forgotten enemy while accompanying a passenger airship on its maiden voyage.

The title, which was announced in 2005, was made available in Japan on November 12.

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The Sims 3 Secret - Mysterious Mr. Gnome

If on one of your sim travels and you happen to find a Mysterious Mr. Gnome, DO NOT SELL HIM!!!!! Apart from being a very valuable item, he has some entertaining qualities. When you go to sleep at night he will move... not when you're watching of course but if you kick him and stand him up again he will change positions.

The Sims 3 Secret - Easter Egg: EA Games

When your Sims take a video game break, you can zoom in on the TV and identify various EA games on the tiny screen.