Owner: Graduate Games: Game Reviews, Gamer Diary, and FREE arcade URL:http://blog.graduategames.com Join Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2006 14:24:49 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Game Reviews, Developer Diary, retro gaming, indie game reviews, console video game reviews, gaming articles and news, family friendly games, children's games, casual games for the whole family. Site statistics:Click here
Lost Planet Preview 2006-11-25 21:15:00 I just recently downloaded the multiplayer demo of Lost Planet
. I had already played through the first player demo and was really impressed and liked the gameplay a lot. The multiplayer demo is coming along. I only played a handful of matches, but the graphics and framerate were all top notch. I think I really need more time with the controls and mechanics of the game. I've been playing a lot of Gears of War and it is way different than that game. The biggest thing that stands out is that players are very mobile. You have a grappling hook that can zoom you to whereever it attaches (even the large mechanical VS suits). Players who were owning me were constantly zipping around. The controls are very tricky and are less traditional than most shooters. The VS suits absolutely dominate in multiplayer as well. I have mixed feelings about the multiplayer. I had high expectations because the single player was so awesome. There are things I really like about it...like having to dig Read more:Preview
Cloning Clyde Review: 2006-11-24 16:19:00 A smaller game gets a smaller review. Nothing against the game, but since its more simple in nature, it will just save me from my verbosity if I keep Xbox Live Arcade Game reviews shorter. Since this is the FIRST! xbox Live arcade review I have to set precedent, even though I will be using the same scale. So onto the review....CloningClyde
is a really quirky and fun platform/puzzle game. Basically, Clyde has been the subject of some screwy cloning and DNA experiments and Clyde (all of em) want to escape. Each Level involves moving your clyde to the exit in typical platform fashion. To complete a level 100% you have to get all of the cloned copies to safety and collect all the Killer Kenn Dolls.Gameplay: 8/10Pros: Like most Xbox Live games, the gameplay is simple and easy to pick up and play. Changing a Clyde into a chicken clyde, frog, sheep, etc. is the best part of the gameplay because it gives him different powers and is just a riot. The co-op mode is quite sufficient as w
Halo 3 is Coming and I haven't talked about it! 2006-11-22 15:47:00 You can't have a real video game blog without talking about Halo 3. Like many other gamers, I have been following Halo 3 very closely and absorbing all the information and screens available to me. 1up.com has been the best source in the past couple weeks because they were invited to play the pre-alpha build and spend a day at Bungie. Please see this link: http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3154510to catch up on all of the news that I will be commenting on.First things first. The absolute best thing about HALO is its multiplayer. Even with Gears of War out (and amazing at that), I still get frustrated every now and then and think to myself "if this was Halo that wouldn't have happened." I'm sure in the months prior to Halo 3, I'll pop in Halo 2 to brush up on my skills. I should also note that I am a Halo 2 Fan and not a Halo 1 fan. I got xbox right after Halo 2 was released and eventually bought Halo 1 to fill in the single player experience. Halo 1's campaign is much better than
Do you have a Game that you Want Reviewed? 2006-11-21 22:13:00 As an Indie Developer myself (who I must admit is not too saavy when it comes to marketing), understands the need for publicity and the help that criticism and reviews can bring. So if you have a game and would like me to review it, please contact me and I will happily review your game as promptly as I am able (It should only take a couple days). I'll also offer my criticisms and improvements on any pre-release game or whatever. Just offering my help and if anybody else out there offers free video game reviews or free computer game reviews or even free suggestions on games, I would love to hear from you because I will be doing a lot more tweaking before I enter the level design phase for my next and really first commercial project (since I was a student and taking classes for much of Meteor Mayhem's design process). Also feel free to pass along the word and links to free game reviews in this blog:http:://gnadegames.blogspot.com
OKAMI Review: 2006-11-16 19:38:00 Okami is an absolutely gorgeous game. Yes, it can't compete with Gears of War, PS3's resistance of man, or any of the next-gen games in terms of photo-realism and polygons per second, but it can compete in the general category of graphics. The visuals in Okami are phenominal and amazingly stylistic. A new look you've never seen before, Okami looks like a living breathing watercolor. Words really can't describe the way the game looks like in motion. The gameplay and puzzles are topnotch too. The celestial brush technique is different and is really fun incorporating into the puzzles and even the battles (though I think it is sort of cheap in battle since it freezes the screen). One of the best things about Okami though is getting your wolf, Amaterasu running at full speed and just enjoying the scenery. Basically the structure of the game is like most other action rpgs: Explore area, solve puzzles, defeat bosses, gain new abilities, and gain access to new areas to explore. Wh
Gears of War Review 2006-11-15 15:58:00 Gears of War is the most widely hyped game in recent memory and only the likes of a new Zelda game, or Halo game can truly rival the hype and press that Gears of War has received. To answer the question: Does the game live up to the hype? Yes! I have been playing this game nonstop since I purchased it the day of its release last Tuesday. It is incredibly fun and addictive and I haven't played another console game since. Does it have its flaws? Yes, of course, but ultimately the whole package makes you forget about them. So what are the flaws? some may say the campaign mode is too short, this is the one critique I have read and would really argue with someone about. The campaign has only 5 acts and if you're any good at VGs and play the game on casual...you'll beat the campaign in under 10 hours. Casual is ridiculously easy and makes you the Suk online. However, Hardcore is a decent challenge without being frustrating (and I've heard Insane is...well insane). Regardless, the campaig Read more:Gears
Link Exchange 2006-11-08 19:49:00 The massive renovations occuring @ Graduate Games.com have birthed a new links/partners page with easy code for linking to us. We of course would appreciate any link to us and readily welcome link exchanges. Check it out at: http://www.graduategames.com/links.html! and feel free to comment on the slight tweaks to the website, so that we can further tweak it. Cheers
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, Link Exchange
New Free Arcade Game: CatchThis 2006-11-07 14:38:00 Catch This was just posted online last night. It's the simplest game so far and involves....that's right catching things! The object is to catch as many bouncing shapes as you can while avoided the designated bad shape. Catch the wrong shape 3x and its game over, but watch out because as the colors of the shapes change, so do the bonus shape and the bad shape. It's really harder to explain than play. Enjoy and compete for high scores online!Scoring goes as follows:Catch a shape: 1ptCatch the bonus shape: 5pts
Why Donate? 2006-11-03 15:41:00 Back over the summer when I was accumulating student loans and getting paid a measley $8/hr, I got blinded and distracted by money. All of a sudden, I wanted to get "Paid" for making games. Now that I have a steady job and my finances are no longer in a rut, I realize that that's not what I want. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to shell out $$$ for webhosting and all that for nothing, but I do want to make games somewhat for free. I want our games to be a bargain. I truly want as many people as possible to play and enjoy the games we make @ graduate games. That being said, we do need to pay the bills! So, getting to the point: Why Donate
? Well, donating helps us pay the bills (webhosting, advertising, business licenses, etc.) keep our games cheap (as in cost effective), and of course motivates us to continue to create and pump out games. Did I mention that donating is also good karma? Regardless of whether you donate or not, there are many other ways that you can help us...
Student Driver Released and FREE to Play 2006-10-08 18:43:00 I just finished up another little arcade game called StudentDriver
. In the game, you drive your car with the mouse and avoid cones and other cars in order to get to the parking lot. In the parking lot, you want to try and park as close as possible to the designated spot to earn more time and points. Compete for the high score online now! and please send us feedback about bugs, fixes, or tweaks to make scoring better.
The Magic Pencil and our Online Arcade 2006-10-02 15:05:00 This weekend, I finished up on a nice FREE game for our new online arcade. The website aspect is still not quite finished and will probably see some more ad support (since it does take time to make these games), but the game is ready to play and enjoy. The top 100 scores will even be saved/displayed online. The game is the MagicPencil
and in it you are tasked with protecting your homework from these creatures who feast on it. You can draw with ink, paint, pencil, etc to protect your homework from these enemies. There is more explanation about all of the play mechanics etc. in-game...just click help. Hope people enjoy the game. I'm hoping to get a couple more games online in the next couple weeks...so keep checking out our arcade. Please send me an email (mike[at]gnadegames.com) or post comments about any bugs/etc. and I will address them. Cheers-
Mario Hoops 3 on 3 Review 2006-09-27 19:59:00 Mario Hoops
is hard to review. Nintendo and Square-Enix put so much production and money into the game, that it is very distracting when trying to review the game on its own merits. This game screams big-budget! It's the equivalent of a summer blockbuster movie...only it's a video game on Nintendo DS. When I first picked up Mario Hoops, played through the tutorial, and started playing I was blown away by the graphics, presentation and even the unique gameplay. It is very impressive in the first couple hours, but as I went on to the second tournament and then the third, I realized that this was the most ridiculously easy game I had ever played. I just lost my first match yesterday and am now being challenged in the Hard Mode Star cup...so the 7th tournament. It has made the game a little more interesting and a little more annoying. The controls, which I had no problems with in the early easy part of the game when I was just dunking nonstop on my competitors, have become proble Read more:Mario
Gnade Games will now be called Graduate Games 2006-09-25 22:41:00 The website overhaul is finished...or should be relatively finished now. Please leave comments or email me if there are any links or dead-ends or any problems with the new website. I think the new website has a much more professional and better overall look. The other thing that I should mention is that Gnade Games
is now officially Graduate
Games. Though some references to Gnade Games will still exist (for instance this blog), our actual company name is going to change since now that my friend Zak is on board it is just more inclusive and less pretentious to not have my name in the name of the company. Just keep that in mind and be aware that Gnade Games is synonomous with Graduate Games and hopefully by the time the first Graduate Games title comes out all this naming nonsense will be behind us. September is coming to a close and Meteor Mayhem will be featured in GameTunnel's September Roundup. This upcoming review is actually what sparked the whole website overhaul since I was
Marble Blast Ultra Review 2006-11-27 01:55:00 Marble BlastUltra
is a next generation twist on the classic NES title Marble Madness. The graphics are even reminiscent of the isometric checkerboard of the NES original. It is made by Garage Games Torque Engine, a huge Indie studio that offers engines and platforms for a lot of Indie developers to make games. I personally have never used Torque Shader or any of the other Torque based engines, but I can say this about Marble Blast...It is by far the best looking Xbox Live game that I have played or seen. Super clean 3d graphics, and simple gameplay permeate through this title. Gameplay: 8.5/10Pros: The gameplay is very easy to pick up and play. As you play through the levels, each level offers a new twist on the gameplay from superjumps, to gyrocopters, to gravity altering properties, to moving platforms and hazards.Cons: Not nearly enough levels. Certain levels (like black diamond) you just want more of because they are so fun to play. All the different power-ups and twists could've Read more:Marble
Do you have a Particular Game that you Want Reviewed? 2006-11-21 22:13:00 Do you have a Particular Game that you Want Reviewed?Whether it is your own personal title, or a new console or computer game that you are hearing about...we are open to reviewing it.As an Indie Developer (who I must admit is not too saavy when it comes to marketing), I understand the need for publicity. Criticism and reviews can really help improve your game and generate interest. So if you have a game and would like me to review it, please contact me and I will happily review your game as promptly as I am able (It should only take a couple days). I'll also offer my criticisms and improvements on any pre-release games or whatever.Just offering my help and if anybody else out there offers free video game reviews or free computer game reviews or even free suggestions on games, I would love to hear from you because I will be doing a lot more tweaking before I enter the level design phase for my next and really first commercial project (since I was a student and taking classes for much o
Small Arms XBOX LIVE ARCADE Review 2006-11-29 19:19:00 Small Arms ReviewThis is one of the bigger disappointments of Videogames that I have faced in awhile. Not because this game is awful, but because if tweaked here and there, it could be great. Small Arms is a rip-off of Smash Bros...one of the best brawlers around, sadly it does just enough right to remind you of the heavenly Nintendo Series while making blunders along the way. It comes up short in just about every category as I will get into. On the bright side, the characters are quirky and deliciously wacky, the graphics are good, the sounds are good, but it all just doesn't come together in a great gameplay package...simply OK.Gameplay: 5/10Pros: Smash Brothers Like, frantic multiplayer brawls and platforming elements, Great LIVE battlesCons: Several things are wrong with Small Arms Gameplay... First, the jumping is not there and it is too hard to save yourself from a fall. Second, melee attacks are pointless and you are better off running for a new gun then bothering to press the Read more:ARCADE
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A sort of call to Arms...or in this case Blogs 2006-11-30 16:01:00 Fellow Bloggers and Webmasters,Would you like a spot in our links section? Do you have a quality Blog or Website? Link to us and we'll link to you! It's that simple!Just comment to this post with your linkor send us an Email with your link after you've linked to:http://gnadegames.blogspot.comor http://www.graduategames.comor bothand we'll add your link to our blog, or site, or both!please see http://www.graduategames.com/links.html for more information and link code.
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Halo 3 Public Beta Update 2006-11-30 22:41:00 The Halo 3 Beta will not be available on Xbox Live. At least not initially. Instead, on December 4th, the internet will surely come to a crawl as people log onto halo3.com in order to register for the chance to be one of the players lucky enough to test this highly anticipated game. Don't fret yet Halo and football fans, because there will be a 60 second trailer of the game airing during Monday Night Football (as well as online and on the Live Mktplace). The picture to the left is from said trailer.
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Outpost Kaloki X Xbox LIVE Arcade Review 2006-12-01 15:55:00 Let me start out by saying that I love this game. More power to Ninjabee(http://www.ninjabee.com)! They have 2 of my favorite Xbox
Live Arcade games and they've only made 2 games for the 360 so far (as far as I know). I don't really know how to describe Outpost
Kaloki X. It is part Real Time Strategy Game, part Action Game, and part Puzzler. It all winds together into a great package. Outpost Kaloki was originally available for PC and was heralded with critical acclaim. Only reason I didn't get it for PC was because I figured Xbox version for $10 was better than PC version for $20. Yes, as surprising as it may be, I dont' make the big bucks blogging and making Video Games- the 9-5 job is the one that provides me with food. Bottom line is that Outpost Kaloki is a very addicting and frantic Action/RTS game and an absolute must buy for Xbox 360 owners.Gameplay: 9/10Pros: Gameplay is way quicker and action packed than most RTS. You really have to build things in the right order, and be Read more:Xbox LIVE Arcade
What to look out for in the Coming Weeks 2006-12-03 17:29:00 This upcoming week should see reviews for 2 of Grubby Games...er...Games: Professor Fizzwizzle and Fizzball. I also have 2 new arcade games in the works, but I can't promise when they will be out. Definitely in the coming weeks, but not necessarily next week. Cheers-
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Professor Fizzwizzle PC Review 2006-12-04 15:03:00 Let me start off by saying that Grubby Games has some of the absolute best kid's games on the market. That's not to say the appeal of Professor Fizzwizzle is only for kids, just that it has an excellent pace, graphics, sounds for kids, not to mention the problem-solving puzzles that make up the levels of the game. I must admit to using the "Solve Puzzle" feature on quite a few occasions myself. This feature is brilliant because at the moment a level gets frustrating and you feel it is impossible, you can simply pause and click for the solution. This definitely decreases the frustration factor and keeps you playing into the later levels. Prof. Fizzwizzle also keeps things interesting by adding new puzzle elements at a good pace from level to level. This keeps things from getting repetitive. In fact, my only major complaint with Prof. Fizzwizzle is that the gameplay is not for gamers. To the game's defense, it was not designed to appeal to the hardcore 2D gamers of yesteryear, the gr
Halo 3 TV Teaser Trailer and Beta Registration 2006-12-05 13:59:00 Go to Halo3.com to register for the Beta available this spring and check out the Halo 3 TV ad that was on last night during Monday Night Football. It's a pretty sweet teaser movie. Just can't wait till actual gameplay footage starts getting churned out.
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, Teaser
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Professor Fizzwizzle Demo and Order Info 2006-12-06 19:50:00 We gave Professor Fizzwizzle a 89%!If you would like to support us and Grubby Games you can:Download the Free Demo
Read more:Order
My Aplogies, but the online arcade is down 2006-12-08 17:22:00 Wow- I really missed the memo on this one! the V-cade which hosted the online
scoring boards for all of the online arcade games is moving...their servers are down...I'm not quite sure. Of course, fixing the online arcade games is of the utmost importance to me. I will announce when the games are playable once more and hopefully I will not have to change the code on all my websites and games. Worse comes to worse I will host them myself, but that will definitely take me longer than waiting for the Vcade to get sorted outs. This is a major bummer as I just went to go check the leaderboards!
My Apologies, but the online arcade is down 2006-12-08 17:22:00 Wow- I really missed the memo on this one! the V-cade which hosted the online
scoring boards for all of the online arcade games is moving...their servers are down...I'm not quite sure. I guess that they are changing things for when Vitalize 4 comes out or something. Of course, fixing the online arcade games is of the utmost importance to me. I will announce when the games are playable once more and hopefully I will not have to change the code on all my websites and games. Worse comes to worse I will host them myself, but that will definitely take me longer than waiting for the Vcade to get sorted out. I don't know, I really just want the games back up since this obviously affects the release of my 2 remaining arcade games. How do people feel about a downloadable worms clone? As always, there are plenty of ideas brewing in my head. Nonetheless, this is a major bummer as I just went to go check the leaderboards (and perhaps play a game or two on this Friday- but don't tell my boss)!
Halo is 2nd to Metal Gear in my Heart 2006-12-11 17:22:00 As excited as I am for Halo 3, it is not my favorite game franchise. My favorite franchise is no other than the Metal
Gear Solid series. First off, these two games are quite different, and although Halo 2's multiplayer was significantly better than MGS3's, I still prefer the visual presentation and tactical action of a Metal Gear
game. Furthermore, the Metal Gear Game's stories though convuluted, entrall me every time. I didn't care for the Halo 2 campaign at all, and though Raiden was a poor choice in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, you had to at least appreciate the post-modern themes in the story. Kojima played with the reality between the player and Raiden, and the very reality of the game. Yes it was out there and not nearly as good of a story as Snake Eater... it was at least interesting and engaging. and can anyone really argue with the superb gameplay in any of the Metal Gear games? Simply sublime...with incredible depth and options. Will Metal Gear Solid 4: G Read more:Heart
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