REVIEW: Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef on Xbox

Review by Jon Donnis

The lovely people at Rogueside sent me a key for Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef on Xbox, and I couldn't be happier, for I love 2D side-scrolling run & gun shooters. I grew up on them!

Let us first take a look at the synopsis

"For many centuries, the planet of Luteus Alpha has been producing much-needed material for the wars raging on in the Armageddon sector. Many are drawn to the planet, and so is the great Warboss Ogruk Gutrekka. Upon arriving on the planet, Gutrekka stole your most precious hair squig. Filled with vengeance, you've sworn to do whatever it takes to return your hair squig, and prove who's the strongest!

Fight your way through the hive city of Luteus Prime in single-player mode or as a party of up to 4 battle-hardened Orks in online or local co-op. Pick your class, grab your weapons and get ready to battle Humans, Orks and Genestealer cultists, and ultimately put an end to Warboss Gutrekka!"

Now I have to be honest here, I am not very up on Warhammer terminology or lingo, so some of the verbiage went straight over my head, but this game is full of comedy and action. So, what more could you want.

When you start the game and can choose from 4 different characters, all with their own weapons and tools, apparently true to Warhammer 40,000 lore. As you play you will collect teeth (teef)? Which you then use as currency to buy weapons and headgear.

With 20 different distinct weapons to collect, and a large variety of headgear, the only thing that could possibly stop you is wave after wave of bad guys. Which of course we get.

Gameplay is your standard 2D side scrolling stuff. You can jump and double jump, you have directional aim of your weapons using the right joystick, and control the character with the left one. You can throw bombs with the bumper button, and even fight hand to hand with the other. All of this you will quickly pick up as you play.

Each level has an end boss to beat, learn the pattern, swap through your weapons to see which one works best, and then destroy them. As you play you will come across checkpoints which also act as shops, which let you choose your load out as well as buy new items. There are also handy health collectables to keep you strong. And once you pass a level there is a nice little hand drawn cinematic to tell the story and give you a chance to breath. Finished off with a heavy metal soundtrack, composed by Deon van Heerden, and this is a really fun little game.

The Good

Easy to pick up and learn, controls are pretty straight forward, and on easy mode you will soon get the hang of things. There are lots of weapons and explosions, and everything just feels frantic, in a very good way. The graphics are all hand drawn, and look fantastic, the soundtrack is the kind of music I listen to anyway, so I turned it up nice and loud. This is one of those games that you will find hard to put down once you start playing.

The Bad

I was getting very slow load times. Not the end of the world, but for a 2D side scrolling shooter, things should be loading up much quicker.

Overall

I really enjoyed this, and dispute having no idea of the Warhammer lore or lingo, I got into quick. The graphics are really special, and that soundtrack is awesome.

If you are a fan of Warhammer or side scrollers then this is a game, you should check out.

I score Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef on Xbox a solid 8.5/10

Out Now on Xbox

https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/warhammer-40-000-shootas-blood-teef/9nts4d892smw

REVIEW: One True Hero on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

I was sent a key for One True Hero on Nintendo Switch, by Rat Cliff Games, described as quirky 3D platforming adventure, One True Hero has you take on the role of a young farmer, who is thrust into being a hero who will save the town.

The game never takes itself too seriously, and offers lots of fun interactions and light-hearted content.

A 3D platformer at its core, the game looks and plays very much like something you would have played on a Nintendo 64, so you can see where a lot of the inspiration came from.

The town is sinking, and despite your lack of reputation in the town, you seem to be the only one capable or at least willing to actually save it, this will have you completing little tasks, locating things, collecting diamond like things, fighting the evil minions (no not those minions), solving puzzles, and general 3D platforming stuff.

There are dungeons and ancient ruins to explore, and once you have collected enough of the diamond things, you will go through a portal, and then try to pass over a ridiculously hard obstacle course, to get your reward.

The game works well on the Nintendo Switch, I played on the Switch Lite and I found the controls to be decent. The camera angles can be a pain sometimes, usually when you go inside a building, you see as you move around tight areas the camera will become fixed and swap to different viewpoints, the problem is that you might be moving in on direction in one camera shot, but when it changes you are now pressing the wrong way on the controller, so sometimes it can become confusing as well as frustrating.

Luckily in the outdoor areas this isn't a problem and you can run and jump to your hearts content. Every so often your path will be blocked and you will have to engage in combat to pass. This is your typical sword slashing fight. As you progress you will gain skill points that can be spent on increasing your attacks and health.

Whether it is moving blocks to reach higher places, hanging off ledges, or jumping off buildings to reach a diamond collectable, the game offers pretty much everything you would expect from a 3D platformer.

The Good

The voice acting is all pretty good, I liked the style of humour throughout. And for what is a one man development team, the graphics are acceptable, if a bit retro in nature.

The Bad

The camera angles when in tight locations are a pain, and some of the combat isn't as good as it could be.

Overall

Considering the small budget and one-man team behind the game, I am impressed with how much is on offer here.

This is a fun little 3D platformer, with good humour and a nice little story.

I score One True Hero on Nintendo Switch a strong 7.5/10

Out Now on Nintendo Switch at

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/One-True-Hero-2278451.html

TRAILER: Live by the Sword: Tactics released October 28th, 2022

 

Live By The Sword: Tactics is an unashamedly old school tactical RPG with modern gameplay ideas. Set after the fall of the land, you control two brothers who must traverse the kingdom to stop it from falling back into the darkness of conflict. It’s a journey that will test their brotherly bond and the player’s tactical skills as they form a team and go on this heroic quest.

The game is a new take on Tactical / Strategy gameplay. Characters do not gain experience points and you cannot collect overpowered equipment to easily bypass difficult fights. You, the player, must become more skilled to achieve victory. Are you up for the challenge of becoming a true Tactician?

Check it out at

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1363210/Live_by_the_Sword_Tactics/

REVIEW: The Pinball Wizard on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

What do you get if you cross an old-fashioned dungeon crawler, with a pinball game? You get The Pinball Wizard on Nintendo Switch.

You will use your character like a ball on a pinball table, each level acts like its own little table, and you will "dash, hurl, and flip your way to the top of the tower castle."

Along the way you can level up your characters skills, loot treasure and fight monsters, but all within the kind of confines of pinball mechanics. For example, you will use the paddles to hit your character, direct him to collect things, to hit enemies, and eventually once you find the key, hit him towards the door which takes you to the next level.

Once you reach the top of the tower, you will restore the power of The Eye and "bring peace to the lands".

The game mechanics are super simple to pick up, and as you progress you will unlock extra skills which can be used as you play, for example while mid dungeon you can stop and fire your character in a certain direction, or even fire a ball which can collect things for you.

This is a game that on paper shouldn't really work, but in practice it seems to work really well.

I played on a Nintendo Switch Lite, and the game looks and plays great, even on the small screen. The sound effects and music etc are all decent, the graphics are clear and easy to see. And the game itself has an addictive quality you really need in a game like this.

The Good

Bright clear graphics, and super easy to learn gameplay. 

The Bad

Nothing really.

Overall

Super simple pick up and play Pinball/Dungeon Crawler. Totally unique gameplay that I have no seen before.

I score The Pinball Wizard on Nintendo Switch a solid 8/10

Out Now £6.29(-10% off) at

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/The-Pinball-Wizard-2282518.html

REVIEW: Serious Fun Football (Early Access) on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

Although this game looks pretty polished, it is still in early access, and it has a long way to go before it is anywhere near ready for full release.

There aren't many indie football games that have done well, in fact I can't think of a single one off the top of my head. That doesn't mean it is impossible, it just means that in a world that is dominated by the FIFA franchise, and with PES a distance second, to even stand a chance you game has to be very good.

Serious Fun Football tries an interesting approach, games are played in a 3 vs 3 environment. With fences surrounding the pitch, there are no corners, throw ins or even penalties. The game is purely about passing and scoring.

As this game is Early Access, some of the modes are not available, and bizarrely you cannot even play as your whole team, you can only control one player at the moment. This is not all bad, but to expect someone to come to the game and have this as the only available option, you are risking alienating your players before you even begin. Obviously as the game develops and is updated these options become available, but disappointed to see this from the get go.

The characters all have detailed attributes which will help them seem unique on the pitch. Some players can shoot better, others are better passes, and some can run faster, pretty standard stuff.

As you play through the game you will earn in game currency that can be used to unlock new stadiums, upgrade your player and so on.

There are three separate viewpoints you can play with, horizontal view, which is your more classic viewpoint, a horizontal one and 

I am not going to talk too much more about the game, most of you know how a football game works. I want to concentrate purely on how the game is coming along.

The Good

The game looks great, the graphics are good, the pitch and stadiums all look very nice. No complaints there at all.

There looks to be a lot to come with teams, attributes of players, career mode, and so on, everything you would expect in such a game.

The Bad

The game plays very slow, the characters move very slow, I even put the graphics on the lowest mode to see if that was slowing things down, but nope, that is how it plays. This is a huge mistake. Arcade style footy games need to be fast and fun, and in this game, it is neither. Maybe less time spent on making things look pretty and more time spent on speeding up the game play, and making everything just play better.

The lack of ability to play as an entire team from the start is a huge mistake, a massive mistake, a monumental mistake, and one that the game makers should instantly work to fix, everything else put to the side. Let people play as the whole team, and speed up the play.

Overall

The game is early access so you can forgive a lot of the problems. It is being funded by private money, and is a truly indie project, but you really need to get the basics right. The game has been in development for 6 years and at some point, you have to ask why the basics aren't better. Forget the graphics, forget the fancy menus and stadiums. Get the basics right, get the gameplay right and everything else can be fixed later.

No score for now. And this game does have a lot of potential, a simple FIFA like 3 v 3 Footy game can work, but it has to be fun and it has to have quick gameplay.

Check out the game on Steam.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1392560/Serious_Fun_Football/