REVIEW: Freddy Spaghetti on Xbox One

Review by Jon Donnis

You have never played a game like this before. You just haven't! Accept that fact now! Ok, onto the game.

You play as a piece of Spaghetti that was created in a lab by Dr. P Starr, not the deepest of plot lines I know, but let's not worry too much about that, this is a simple game whereby the aim is to get from Point A to Point B, but there are things to do in between. Those things might be obstacles, or things to complete, for example in one level you have to run away from cops, in another you have to set off car alarms, in another you need to avoid falling off a table, or even smash everything on a table. Get the idea?

Think of your piece of Spaghetti as more of a rope, the game uses rope physics (apparently this is a thing), you control your Spaghetti in 3 ways, first the direction in which you want to move, and then the left and right bumpers on your gamepad control each end of the Spaghetti, hold down the bumper and you will make that end jump.

This truly is a bizarre and original game, it is fully narrated as you play, it's funny, interesting, did I say bizarre? Oh yes.

Check out this video of me playing the game.

The Good

Pretty and clear graphics, incredibly original game play, and a new idea which is very rare in the video game world.

The Bad

I am not keen on the bumpers being used, and I can't see a way to map these to other buttons, it just takes some getting used to.

Overall

I've never played a game like this before, and neither have you. It is something different, and I score it 8/10

Review by Jon Donnis

Freddy Spaghetti will be priced for 4.99 $ / € for all platforms, and it will launch on:

PS5/PS4 America: December 15th

PS5/PS4 Europe: December 16th

XBOX (One + Series X): December 16th

Nintendo Switch (NA & EU): December 18th

* PS4 and PS5 versions will be cross-buy, as well as Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

Another video of me playing the game

Titan Saga - Chains of Kronos - From Kneeshaw Developments

Titan saga is an open world fantasy rpg, focused on deep customization of a character and town. Through tough choices, tactical battles and epic dungeons, you will experience an exciting and unique adventure.

Imperial Unity, it was supposed to save the humans. As the lord ruler began to lose power to the growing houses, he made law that the higher houses would have to wed their heirs to the lesser houses. He needed to redistribute the power, to stop a coup from the most powerful house. He knew the elves had been on the move and he should be ready to mount a defense. He was under attack from the inside and out.

Unbeknownst to all, an ancient force has awakened. The elves have found their Titan. The very paragon of their race. He had crafted the first Elves in the times of old. The magic they once had, is beginning to return. The Elves will no longer need to bow to the Human's Engineering marvels and steel.

Human long knew they would never be able to use magic. Their titan had been sealed away for his great misdeed, but they were a people who looked forward. A large empire-wide guild of engineers, tinkers and scientists because of this humans had long been the most powerful race. As magic begins a new, that will not last.

You begin your journey as an unfortunate young heir, to a lesser noble house, forced to flee from your city. Elves were provoked to attack your small city on the edge of the human empire. Nefarious enemies seem to want you dead and your family name destroyed. You must save your family, your name, your people, your land and maybe… your race. As you begin to notice more and more strange magical anomalies, you know something bigger than just you is happening.

Choose your allies wisely, as this journey will not be easy.

Features

*Fast paced unique charge-action combat. Enemies and Players charge actions to unleash them outside of a classic turn order combat.

*An exciting and deep tale following a young noble cast out into a war torn empire. Most quests are dynamic and contain small and large consequences. The hero can shape the world and empire with their actions. 4 Main Story Chapters are designed to be 10 hours each.

*Customization is key. Classes can be mixed and matched with the skill equip core. With 336 base weapons and 144 base armor types which have 5 to 12 traits that can be randomized, Titan Saga has limitless equipment. A player owned town centered on a rogue-like dungeon offer even most customization.

*Hundreds of unique hand drawn enemies offer different enemy behaviors and skills to challenge you at every turn.

Links:

https://www.voxpopgames.site/store/288

https://store.steampowered.com/app/659140/Titan_Saga_Chains_of_Kronos/

REVIEW: DRAGON QUEST®XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age™ - Definitive Edition

Review by Jon Donnis

I have always been a fan of the Final Fantasy games, but I have never really got into any other Role-Playing Games outside of that franchise, I decided to take a look at Dragon Quest XI. 

(I have been posting some of my gameplay clips on my youtube channel, check them out at https://www.youtube.com/c/TheJonDonnisShow or scroll to the bottom of this review to watch)

34 Years ago, the first Dragon Quest game was released, known as Dragon Warrior in the West, it was a 2D pixel style RPG, fast forward to 2020 and we have a wonderful, sprawling, open world game that takes the whole genre to the next level. Perfect for new players to the genre, I found myself quickly getting immersed into the gameplay, and never at any point feeling overwhelmed, which is often a problem with such games.

A nice touch to this game is the option to play in a 2D pixel style, as well as the glorious 3D mode. Of course, I chose the 3D mode because I am all about the visuals! There is also both English and Japanese audio, not really sure why non-Japanese speaking people would choose Japanese but I am guessing some people might want to authentic feel?

So let's take a look at the plot, the game is set in the world of Erdrea, your Kingdom is invaded and destroyed, your are but an infant and you are found floating in a river by an old man, you are adopted by his family and raised in the village. Once you have grown up, your adopted family tell you the truth about your life, how you came to be with them and so on. You are sent to meet with the King of Heliodor, but he accused you of being evil, and throws you in the dungeon, you meet a thief and the pair of you escape. This is when the story really starts and you start to explore the world. There are missions and side missions to complete. You will fight monsters, you will collect treasure, you will buy and sell goods, upgrade your weapons and armour, as you play you will meet lots of new characters, some will join your party. This game has everything you would expect in an epic RPG style game. Fans of the genre will not be disappointed.

Fighting monsters is done in a typical turn-based manner, you can have a free camera or fixed camera mode when fighting, it doesn't really make a difference to the fight itself, but it does provide a bit of fun during fights. And there is a perfect learning curve too when it comes to the fights.

The Good

This is a big game, and by big, I mean huge. This game easily has 100 hours of gameplay in, there are endless things to do, to enjoy, to collect. This is not a game you will play a few times and then forget about. It is an immersive game that will take preference over all of your other games for quite a while. The graphics are stunning, the soundtrack is moving. The whole game is something special.

The Bad

Nothing really, I struggle to find anything to complain about.

Overall

I really like this game, and I feel like I have only experienced a very small part of it so far.

I score this game 9/10

Review By Jon Donnis

DRAGON QUEST®XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age™ - Definitive Edition is out now

Nintendo Switch

https://amzn.to/3nmn0sk

PS4

https://amzn.to/2IDdH8n

Xbox One

https://amzn.to/3oG34Ba

REVIEW: Orwell's Animal Farm on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

in 1945 George Orwell released an allegorical novella called Animal Farm, it is often hailed as one of the greatest books of all time.

Written during a time of war, and Stalinism, its basic premise is one of a critique of the rise of Communism. Pretty light stuff for a video game don't you think?

Well, some 75 years later a game has been developed whereby you can take the decisions, make the important choices and basically be part of the revolution.

The game itself is not really a "game" in the classic sense, it is more of a visual novel but with defined journeys and outcomes that you decide.

You are in charge of Manor Farm, and you have a group of various animals, you chose who is listened to, who is ignored, who works what job on the farm and so on, every choice matters. The main purpose is to last 7 years, of course the wrong choices will end up with everything going wrong. Everything is about balance. Keeping everyone happy or at least content.

With the game being released now, I suspect that the game makers think they are pointing out a certain set of issues that exist in 2020, but perhaps inadvertently they are actually exposing what is to come. Either way this is not a kid's game, and I think it would be hard for anyone who has not read the book to take much out of this game.

The Good

The game is very well drawn. And you will replay the game to see the different outcomes.

The Bad

Far too often you will find yourself not really paying attention and instead just clicking through actions to see the different outcomes. So good and bad in that respect.

There isn't really that much to do, you are just making the odd choice and seeing what happens.

Overall

This is a tough one to judge. I understand what the game makers wanted to achieve, and in many ways, they have achieved what they set out to do, the problem is that in many ways it is all a bit dull. The lack of actual game play is a problem here. This is basically a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, but stripped down to the absolute minimum to fit into a game. I actually think this would work better as a proper book.

I Score the game 4/10

By Jon Donnis

Steam, Humble, GMG and Epic Games Store $9.99 £7.99 €9.99

App Store, Google Play, and Amazon's App Store: $3.99 £3.99 €3.99.

REVIEW: BROK the InvestiGator on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

I was asked to take a look at BROK the InvestiGator by my good friends at CowCat Games.

If you have been following my reviews on this site, then you will know I am a fan of the old fashioned point and click adventure games made famous in the 80's and 90's, well for the first time ever (I assume, I have not actually checked), we have a point and click adventure mixed with a Beat'em Up and RPG.

You play the part of an InvestiGator, (The G is capitalised due to the character being an Alligator), you live in a world where the humans are gone, and replaced by animals, you have the privileged class and the not so privileged class. You live with the son (Graf) of your deceased wife, and you are just trying to make your way in this new world. As with all point and click adventures, you will examine a scene, pick things up, try to solve the various puzzles that come your way, but here is the big twist, your character is an ex-boxer, and as such with a click of one button, you can use your fists to help you in your travels, that might entail you beating up some bad guys harassing a friend, or destroying a panel to open a door. Either way it is a nice addition to a genre that has seen pretty much everything before.

As you play and meet new people you will have various missions and side missions to complete, puzzles to complete, some you will need to use your brains, others you might just need to beat up, the story will change depending on your choices you make, giving your different endings depending on those choices.

The Prologue which is out now gives you full access to the first chapter of the game, there will be 6 in total.

The Good

This is a well-crafted game, fantastically drawn characters, full voice acting, the puzzles are just what you would expect in such a game, and the beat em up elements are fun and really do give a tired genre a kick up the ass.

The Bad

None really, this is a fun well-made game.

Overall

The Prologue is free, so download it, play it, and I am sure if you are a fan of point and click adventure games, then you will enjoy it.

I score BROK the InvestiGator a solid 8/10

Review by Jon Donnis

The "Prologue" is available NOW on Steam and GOG : https://store.steampowered.com/app/1318790

Release date

Free prologue : December 2nd

Kickstarter : January 5th

Full game : Winter 2021 (PC), 2022 (consoles)

Platforms

PC (Steam, GOG, itch.io)

PS4™

PS5™

Xbox One

Xbox Series X|S

Nintendo Switch