REVIEW: Casual Challenge Players Club on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

Casual Challenge Players Club is a very simple, classic arcade style pool game. Remember back in the day when you would go to the local fare with your parents, and you would have the little arcade with the 2P Pusher machines, those mechanical horse racing games, and an assortment of fruit machines and arcade games. Well, you will also remember that there was always super simple pool game arcade machine. Well this is basically like that.

There are 4 game modes, 2 modes for single player and 2 modes for multiplayer.

Now strictly speaking this game does not follow any official pool rules that I know of, it's not UK pool, nor is it US pool, (Ignore the photo on the logo).

In this game you get so many strokes to pot balls. So, for example, 16 shots, and if you do not pot a ball on a shot you lose a stroke. You can hit any coloured ball you like, there is no order that needs to be followed. As I said earlier, super simple arcade game.

In another mode you may not have the 16-stroke rule, instead if you miss, it is game over. And all of this is wrapped up in some weird anime introduction.

The Good

The music is the best! Seriously, I just turned the music up loud and was enjoying that. The game play is super simple, you don't really need to know any rules outside of point the arrow from the white ball to any other ball and try to pot it.

The Bad

The physics of the ball movement is a bit off, feels like you are hitting balls on grass and not a pool table top, and I really would have preferred proper pool, whether that was 8 ball UK style or 9 ball US style.

Overall

It's a simple game, it's not going to break any records, nor will it make any top ten lists, however it is perfectly fine for a quick blast. If you are a fan of snooker or pool games then there are much better alternatives, and this  probably isn't for you, but if you got a young kid who doesn't really care about rules, then I am sure they might enjoy this

I score this game 6/10

Review by Jon Donnis

REVIEW: Encodya on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

Let me start off by saying that I am a big fan of point and click adventure games, my recent reviews of the Leisure Suit Larry games will tell you that a well written game with great puzzles will give you endless fun, so when I was asked to review Encodya (Stupid name I know), I jumped at the chance.

Let's go over the plot quickly, set in the year 2062 and based on the short film "Robot will protect you",  you play as Tina, a 9-year-old orphan girl, and her guardian robot Sam 53.

You live in a shelter on a roof top. Dystopian future, robots, you get the idea, you have seen it a thousand times before.

As you play the game you are given daily tasks, to start with they are things like fix the shelter, get edible food, and so on. The graphics are stunning, the voice acting is decent. All in all it looks and sounds great.

So far so good. In pretty much all point and click games, when you are on a screen you will press a button and that will highlight everything you can interact with. In Encodya this is done with the Space Bar, however it doesn't really highlight clearly anything, maybe something will lighten slightly in colour, and that is it, and it will often only be something that you can directly pick up, nothing else is highlighted, so you will end up scanning the entire screen slowly trying to find things, this is beyond frustrating.

You will soon get stuck, luckily there is built in hints, but to access them you have to take control of Tina and then speak to Sam, you then have to go through annoying dialog EVERY SINGLE TIME to get to the question you want to ask to get the hint on. And then the hint you get is next to useless. What this leaves you doing is getting even more frustrated, endlessly walking around and trying a process of elimination with regards to things in your inventory, hoping that two things match up that may help you figure something else. Unfortunately, this tedious game-play will just either leave you thinking "what's the point, this is no fun", or just simply watching a walk-through video on YouTube and copying that. Which basically makes playing the game pointless.

How to fix this. 

1. Hints system needs to be a simple question mark on the side of the screen, one click help.

2. The help itself needs to actually help you, not tell you things you already know.

I wanted to enjoy this game, but there is just nothing in it to make me want to come back and finish it. I am left feeling indifferent, which is such a shame as clearly a lot of work has gone into the game, but the control system is annoying, the Robot gets in the way when you are trying to see something, and although you can control him and move him, it is just another thing to wind you up.

The Good

The game is beautiful, a lot of work has gone into it, and I really appreciate the hard work.

The Bad

The game is poorly designed, controls are slow, and you end up wasting too much time clicking through to get to what you want. Things need to be instant. It is 2062! SPEED THINGS UP!

Overall

With a better control system, and maybe making the robot tiny so he doesn't get in the way, and a much improved hint system, this game could be great. It is one of those annoying occasions where everything that annoys me, is so very close to being done right, but then these little things all add up, and just drove me mad.

I rate this game 5/10

By Jon Donnis

Ride 4 - Next-Gen Launch Trailer - PS5

 

Are you ready for the ultimate competitive gaming experience for two-wheel enthusiasts? Ride 4 will spark your competitive soul with hundreds of bikes, challenging tracks and a whole new level of realism. Ride 4: It's for real!

Order from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3iz0Bqv

Choose among 176 Officially licensed bikes and ride on 30 tracks all around the world, carefully designed with an extraordinary level of detail! Every asset has been created starting from Cad data, laser and 3D scanning to achieve precision down to the smallest detail and let you enjoy the best two-wheel racing experience ever.

Jump into an amazing and dynamic adventure that interacts with your decisions and choose your own path from the regional events up to the professional leagues. Show your riding skills through challenging races, ability tests, track days and a huge set of events. You could even become an official tester for the most celebrated manufacturers!

Ride 4 features a fully dynamic weather conditions system and a complete day/night cycle. Experience the race in a new light and prove you are the best rider in any condition. And for the first time, the "Endurance" Mode will put your tenacity to the test, with animated pit-stops and long lasting races: prepare to face a world where strategy is the ultimate ingredient of your success!

VoxPop Games, Inc. with a First Look at the Next Generation of Indie Platformers with EALU.

 

EALU (pronounced ee-lou) (Escape in Galic)

Think Terminator meets Celeste/Super Meat Boy meets Mario Maker

Ealu is a classic side-scrolling adventure, created for and by you. Jump into story mode to learn the origin of Ealu or head online to test your skills on worlds created by players from around the Globe. The in-game level builder allows you to unleash your creative potential and share it with the world If creation isn't your thing you can jump in to online mode and experience other creations through 100 lives mode or the level browser - Fully fleshed out, exciting, and dynamic Story Mode - Expansive - In game level creation system - 100 lives Online mode (Start with 100 lives and battle your way through 10 randomized user created levels) - 60+ level components and game objects (With more on the way) - Online Level browser system (Search for your World) - Custom physics for a true retro feel  

https://ealugame.com

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

Storyline

Year 35XX, a Lonely traveler, traversing through a devastated earth beset by a global Extinction Level Event, White-haired protagonist Dimensional Time traveler looking to Escape from unending dead dimensions, communicates with his only living ally named “EALU”

Travelers must reach new areas, and new “Worlds” trying to jump into the correct or “interworld” LIGHT Dimension that will lead them to a paradise of other promised realms and riches.

Travelers must defeat various A.I. Hunters, deadly villains & upgraded environmental disruptions, trying to destroy our hero’s footprint in time.

EALU is the answer.

ESCAPE time and build your OWN world beyond worlds.  

Interview with Harki Games LTD. (Developer, Anthony Harkin)

1. What can people expect from EALU, where does it fit for gamers?

Ealu captures the skill based platformers of the 80s and 90s but integrates modern features such as level creation and sharing. Ealu is a pure platformer, no gimmicks all skill. The learning curve will be steep but the feeling of beating a difficult level is hard to match. There are 3 ways to play. Story mode will introduce you to the mechanics and quickly test your skill. The level builder is there for the creative players. For those more competitive the 100 lives mode is the perfect place to pit your skills against player created levels

2. How did EALU come about, what are its origins?

The first time I picked up a controller it was on the SNES and my love for platformers has been there ever since. As I got older I got the degree, got the career and earned good money. But I never found joy in it, what I did find joy in was learning to code and creating games. So I decided to quit my job and dive in head first. Ealu will be my first fully released project

3. Why are you going Exclusive with VoxPop Games for it's launch?

VoxPop is unlike other game distribution platforms. It focuses on a symbiotic relationship between streamers and indie game developers and that appealed to me. With other platforms it seems to be a race to the bottom whereas this project is a fresh take that really appeals to me

4. What is something you hope EALU will accomplish in 2021?

I'm hoping to get a good community around Ealu that will generate enough interest to keep pushing forward with more features such as multiplayer races and user story modes. I'm also eagerly looking forward to how the relationship with VoxPop Games progresses. 

PREVIEW: Kinetic Edge on PC (Steam)

Preview by Jon Donnis

Kinetic Edge is a physics game where you control a verity of shapes and objects to complete game modes and challenges. Sounds fun right?

There are 5 modes of play.

Kinetic Race - Race with friends to get the best time or against others online.

Kinetic Arena - Knockout other players to make them lose points and stay in the green zone for maximum points gain.

Kinetic Survival - Increasingly difficult challenges knocking out players, last to remain wins.

Kinetic Golf - A physics crazy golf game you can play with friends.

Kinetic Freefall - Continually falling to the end of the race. Avoid collisions to gain speed.

I played each of the modes, and I was so frustrated and annoyed, that I uploaded a screen grab to Steam and wrote the following. This will now stand as my official opinion of the Preview Build of Kinetic Edge. These were my immediate thoughts and impressions of the game. Can you sense I was a tad annoyed?

❝You'd think the golf mode would be the simplest to figure out! But NOOOO, even when you tap the power button in front of the hole you just bounce off the flag. The other modes are just poorly designed. No tutorial to help you figure out the controls. Race mode, don't get that at all, no idea what to do, where to go, just a waste of time. The maze is ok I guess, but soon gets boring. Gauntlet? No idea. My suggestion to the game makers is to stop trying to add modes, and get one right first and then move on from there. Because right now, I wanted to turn off after just a few minutes of trying each mode, not a single one attracted me to play more. And it is a shame as the game looks great, the music is cool, just figure out what kind of game you want to be, and make that better.❞

Preview by Jon Donnis