REVIEW: Super Kickers League on PC (Steam)

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Super Kickers League is a fun, arcade style football game. This is about as far from FIFA as you can get, this is not in any way a simulation, this is an arcade game, there are no referees to give you a yellow card, there are virtually no rules, other than who scores the most goals wins. This is the kind of old-fashioned arcade football game you could imagine playing for 10 minutes in an airport, or in an arcade on the side street of your town, (when they still existed). These days you can download them off the internet in a few minutes.

The main gimmick of the game is that your "Captain" has a special power, that might be to a super jump, or stop time for opposing players, or cause a meteor strike. These special powers can be used for a set period of time, and can help make the difference between losing and winning.

There are ten teams to choose from, various modes to play, from the usual exhibition game, to cups and leagues. To play certain modes you need to have completed previous ones to unlock, and yes this can be a problem, as I will mention later.

"Kickers Mode : Play with 3 captains to get many powers while you play!

Team Mode : Play with your favourite team and use your captain's power to win the match!

Retro Mode : Pixel and Football are all together! Feel the 90's vibes in this retro mode!"

You can play alone and local or online multiplayer. There are a few different camera angles to play with.

The game itself can feel very frantic to play, you won't really be stringing together 20 passes before scoring a goal, and nor should you want to. This is an arcade game, so everything is quick and to the point. Whether that is sliding for the ball from kick-off and shooting and scoring within 3 seconds, or going on a mazey dribble and passing the ball into the goal.

The different modes are ok, although not really that different, and the special powers although fun, I actually didn't bother too much with them, preferring to play regular football the best I could.

Now I did mention a problem, that being that to play certain modes you need to unlock them by completing other modes, for example, to play the League you need to play and win the cup first, that is fine, however the game does not save your progress, so unless you want to sit down and play for a few hours to unlock everything, you are stuck with the basic modes if you just want to play for 10 or 15 minutes. This seems to be a problem that has existed for a while, and there is no sign of it being fixed unfortunately. Obviously, this mainly affects the single player mode. If you are playing against a friend, then this is less of an issue.

The Good

This is a fun game; graphics are bright and colourful, gameplay is easy to pick up, and does not take itself too seriously.

The Bad

The fact your progress is not saved is a big problem, fix that and the game is a pretty decent little arcade kick about. The play area is also a bit small, perhaps bigger pitches would improve things, but then we are going into a more standard footy game environment that is perhaps not what the game is about.

Overall

Despite the saving issue, I am enjoying the game, it is everything that you would expect from an arcade footy game, lots of fun arenas to play in, easy to pick up and play.

I score Super Kickers League on PC a solid 7/10

Available from the Steam store at

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1210850/Super_Kickers_League/

REVIEW: Effie on Nintendo Switch

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Loading up Effie I suddenly felt transported back to the time of the Nintendo 64, and some of the classic 3D action-Adventure games of the day. The kind of game that you could just play without needing to think too much, just a fun easy playing experience.

Now despite the game being called Effie, she is in fact your daughter (or granddaughter, not sure), and you are telling her the story of what happened to you. How you were cursed by a witch when you were young, cursed with old age, and all because you never helped the witch out, mainly because you were lazy and then how you went off on a quest to recover your youth, by getting rid of all the black magic.

 

You will travel through an area called Oblena, a city that is full of said black magic, which the witch conveniently cast everywhere, you have your magic shield, (strangely called the Runestone) a shield that is literally your only way of attack and defence, but it can also be used to surf on, to travel on the over ground! Well, it is a magic shield so needs to do more than just defend you.

Effie is played in full 3D, you control your character with the left stick, and your view point with the right stick. You will fight foes, solve puzzles, and explore various locations. As you play your shield will grow in power, as you collect magic and you have a few different special attacks. 

The boss fights always involve the Witch, but each time the challenge will be a bit different.

The game itself can be completed in a few hours, and is relatively easy.

The Good

A good old fashioned 3D action-adventure game, that does not take too much thought to play. Nice easy gameplay, for a younger crowd.

The Bad

There are quite a few graphical glitches, which I put down to this being a port from a PC game. Hopefully these can be fixed over time.

Overall

A fun game, perhaps lacking in challenge for the more experienced gamer, but perfect for the younger gamer.

I score Effie a fair 7/10

There is also a great limited edition physical release of Effie.

Available at Amazon - https://amzn.to/3lcZKP8

Also, out now on the Nintendo Shop

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Effie-1959110.html

REVIEW: Lake on Xbox One

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Lake is what I would call a pallet cleanser game. It is a story driven game, whereby you play as Meredith Weiss, a graduate from MIT who has come back to her hometown of Providence Oaks, Oregon in 1986 to help out her father while he is on vacation. And how do you help out? well, you take over his job for a few weeks as postman (Mailman/Mailwoman) to the town that surrounds the lake.

From working in the big city at a software company, to a sleepy town, driving a mail truck, and talking to the locals. That is the game.

And this is why I call the game a pallet cleanser. This game is not so much about delivering mail, or even driving a mail truck, it is about talking to people, old friends you knew growing up, as well as new people. Helping people out, doing favours for people, you can even start a romantic relationship. As you meet people you are given choices of how to answer, no right or wrong answers. But since the whole point of the game is the story, if you just avoid conversations, meetings, or helping people, then the game will be very short and very boring. And at the end of the game, you have to make a decision, to return to the city, or stay in the sleepy town you grew up in.

Driving the truck is nice and easy, you can't kill anyone, or be killed, you can't even drive into the lake. (I tried) You can even put the auto pilot on and just sit back and enjoy the view.

This really is a game that is you, just taking part in the life of someone over a two week period.

In many ways the game is boring, and it is supposed to be boring, but the word boring does have a lot of negative connotations to it. Sometimes just driving around a beautiful lake, with stunning views, is just fun to do. From playing games where you constantly feel either frustrated, stressed or exhilarated, here is a game you can just sit back and relax playing.

It is the ultimate pallet cleansing game. Whether you sit and complete it in one go, or just play it for a few minutes here and there, it doesn't really matter.

The Good

The graphics are stunning, such a beautiful game to play. Easy to play, great soundtrack. 

The Bad

I imagine people wanting more of an "gameplay" experience will be disappointed.

Overall

This is a tough one to score. If you know and understand what the game is about, what it is trying to give you, and that is something you want, then it is really quite a relaxing and enjoyable game. But if you just play it expecting it to be more of a "game" than a story, then you will be disappointed.

Personally I enjoyed it, I liked the change in pace, and sometimes I don't need to shoot zombies, or drive off a cliff to have fun while gaming.

I score Lake a solid 8/10

Out now on Xbox One

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/lake/9n5glftt40sn

PREVIEW: Moo Lander on PC (Steam)

Preview by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

I was asked to take a look at the new demo for Moo Lander, an upcoming action adventure "platform" game. I put quotes around the word platform as you play as The Lander and fly around in his spaceship. The story has you taming mighty ancient cows, fighting all manner of alien life forms, solving puzzles and exploring alien worlds.

Now here is the big gimmick. MILK! Yes milk! Milk is your main objective here; you are in search of the source for infinite milk. Milk powers everything, your spaceship's shield, your weapons, everything is milk related. After "The War", all milk has been lost, so you need to recover ancient devices that are capable of producing infinite amounts of it. 

The mighty ancient cows I mentioned earlier, well they are your "boss fights". Well, if you can reach them, you see each level will have you exploring and trying to unlock routes to get to the end. Did I mention milk? From early on you will see that you need milk to replenish your weapons, or even upgrade them. A milk saber not only sounds good, it is surprisingly efficient in destroying alien plants that are trying to kill you. Milk gun is also good, but I prefer the milk saber. And of course, a milk shield.

Since the full game is not out yet, I was not able to enjoy the full story, but from what I did play, I did enjoy.

Control of the space ship is easy, and the milk weapons are fun to use, especially the milk saber. You will find yourself needing to solve basic puzzles to open the path to progress further, as well as avoid aliens trying to kill you. All in all a fun game so far.

The graphics are all hand drawn, everything looks and sounds great.

As Demos go, this is worth a look, it is free, so what do you have to lose.

Give it a play. Let me know what you think.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1080040/Moo_Lander/

REVIEW: Struggling on XBOX One

Review by gamingcouchpotato.co.uk staff

Struggling is one of the more bizarre games I have ever played, instantly memories of the disgusting failed experiment in the original "The Fly" film comes to mind.

You play as "Troy" a deformed monster created from Hector and Achilles, two heroes who were horribly conjoined, so two separate arms connected to a head. That is your character. Each arm is controlled independently, and to move, you throw one arm out and grab on to a surface, and then drag yourself along. This game can be played as a two-player game, but I played it only in one player mode. And to say the controls take some getting used to is an understatement.

Luckily if one arm is torn off, you can grow it back. This is a physics-based platformer, and you really need to learn the method of movement to progress at all in this game, from within the first moments of play you will be screaming at the game, it is incredibly frustrating, it is a huge "Struggle" I guess.

As you progress through the game, you will go through weird levels, with other deformed creatures, and seemingly impossible obstacles to pass.

Luckily you will also unlock some upgrades to your character, these include slowing down time, which allows you avoid various traps or hazards. You can detach your arms and use them to crawl around, and even use your separated body parts to attach to various obstacles which you can then use to complete the level.

Now let me make one thing very clear, this game is tough, very, very tough, at no point do you ever feel totally comfortable with the control system, but I guess that is the point, it is called "Struggling" for a reason. The game will drive you made, but when you do eventually overcome that seemingly impossible chasm or obstacle, there is a strong feeling of accomplishment.

The graphics are all hand drawn and disgusting, the soundtrack is surprisingly good, clearly some time has been taken to really match the music to the gameplay.

The Good

If you enjoy really challenging physics-based puzzle games, then this is about as challenging as you can get. With the hand drawn graphics and great soundtrack, this is all very impressive, and you can tell a lot of work was put in.

The Bad

You will never get used to the controls, and you will be forever shouting at the screen. The fear is that people will just give up when they realise how hard it is.

Overall

As challenging, physics-based platformers go, this is one of the better ones in recent times. Frustratingly hard at times, but a good challenge should never be a bad thing.

I score the game a strong 7/10

Review by gamingcouchpotato.co.uk staff

Out now on Playstation and Xbox

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/struggling/9ngd1f29jfqf