REVIEW: Trail Out on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

Very much in the style of the Flatout games, comes Trail Out. An arcade style racer with a whole host of gimmicks and modes to keep even the most experienced of gamer busy for a while.

"You're in for a mad race in different parts of the world, your main goal is to live to the finish line and take the main cup of the festival! Exploding cars, flying and screaming drivers, the hype from the fans, and unseen destruction around the entire track - it's all waiting for you here! Relive the story of racer Mihalych, a simple story where you'll try to take the main cup of the festival by defeating all the bosses in unique battles."

40 cars to choose from, in different classes and from different time periods, we have a nice collection here to play with, throw in 45 tracks, derby arenas, and all sorts of crazy courses and mini games, this is a game that I have enjoyed playing so far.

There is a nice selection of game modes which you can read about below.

Cross - Race on tracks where halfway through you might encounter opponents coming the other way

Rush - Race on larger tracks where you have to fight your way to the finish line

Derby Classic - Classic destruction derby - last one standing wins

Derby Domination - Fight opponents to score points where the winner is the one with the highest score

Hunter - Destroy as many cars as you can, defeating your opponent's high score

No Time - Drive on a difficult section in time with special vehicles

Stunts - Various mini-games, such as, bowling, darts

Escape - Escape the armed aircraft that destroys anyone in the last place

All pretty straightforward and instantly recognisable for people who are fans of the genre.

In the story mode you will be able to buy cars from a scrapyard, fix them up, upgrade them, buy nitros and eventually make them good as new. As you race and complete challenges you will gain fans, beat bosses to collect licenses which in turn will allow you to unlock more cars.

There are even boss fights to be had, for example you might need to destroy a Monster truck in an arena, while his minion cars try to ram you, a tall task to say the least. As well as your classic boss races. 

The main story with the Mihalych character is pretty generic stuff, but due to the terrible English translations, it becomes pretty fun and more enjoyable than it would be with a perfect translation, I am sure.

There are split screen modes, which I was unable to try.

The Good

This game really does have a classic arcade feel to it, everything is fun, the tracks are gorgeous to look at, just seeing helicopters flying about shooting at people, while you are trying to race against a boss is the kind of detail and added excitement that many games miss. Pretty easy to get enough money to unlock all of the cars, so you will quickly be able to experience all the game has to offer.

I loved the mini games too, giant darts board, bowling etc, all great fun, as was the ragdoll physics on the driver as he flies out of the window of the car. There is just a nice mixture of the crazy stuff, and more serious stuff, that should appeal to a wide section of gamers.

Stunning graphics all round, destructive environments, damage to the cars etc, all look great.

The Bad

The storyline is hilariously bad, the translations are terrible, but does add its own charm. The car damage physics need work, and some of the boss fights, especially the Monster Truck boss are way too hard, if not impossible.

Overall

This is a fun game, I really enjoyed it, and will come back to it regularly.

I score Trail Out a solid 8/10

Out now on Steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1664220/TRAIL_OUT/

REVIEW: V Rising on PC (Steam)

 

Another mini review from my personal twitter account https://twitter.com/JonDonnisShow

This time I took a look at the Early Access release of V Rising on PC (Steam)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1604030/V_Rising/

1/2 #GAMEREVIEW: #VRising

An Open-world #Vampire Survival Game.

The Good
Great graphics, fun gameplay, early access but very well developed.

The Bad
Not a fan of the camera, and needs gamepad support.https://t.co/smV8ZeCZZ6 #IndieDev #GameDev #IndieGameDev @VRisingGame pic.twitter.com/A8DpaeTMzm

— 🍊 The Jon Donnis Show www.jondonnis.com (@JonDonnisShow) May 31, 2022

REVIEW: Blood Waves on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

"Sometimes You" are back with their latest release Blood Waves. Released on consoles, Blood Waves is a hardcore and bloody shooter. Playing a bit like a mini game you might find in the Assassin's Creed franchise, but with a Lara Croft like character, your job is a simple one, repel wave after wave of zombies.

You start off the game with just a simple pistol and a knife, and are stuck in some kind of underground dungeon area. After dealing with the first wave of zombies, then the game opens up its main "gimmick", between waves part of the dungeon opens up and you spend a few minutes preparing yourself for the next wave. Luckily as you destroy zombies they will drop cash, you can then use this cash to buy ammo, upgrade your character or buy new weapons, but better still you can also buy and then place barricades and traps in the main fighting area. This brings in a whole extra level of tactics. Do you spend your money on more powerful weapons, do you place traps and barricades behind which you can hide, or do you spend the money upgrading yourself, giving you new abilities, more health and so on.

As you progress through the waves, just as you improve your abilities, the zombies themselves will have new and improved abilities, which in turn will need you to buy better weapons and defensives. The are even electrified zombies, zombies who can attack you from afar, some even learn how to avoid traps.

Every time you think you have the advantage, the zombies pull something new out to make you have to plan all new attacks and defensives.

When you eventually die, then you will need to start all over again, but each time you play, you will get a bit further, and you will learn to better prepare yourself using what you experienced previously as the perfect lesson plan.

Throw in a stamina bar which depletes when you run, the obvious health bar, and ammo limits, and there is something of a decent challenge to be had here.

The further your progress, the more points you will earn and the higher on the leader board you will go. 

The Good

Decent graphics, even on the small screen of the Nintendo Switch Lite. Controls are decent, and the game does have a strong replayability factor.

The Bad

Firing at enemies is not that accurate, and you seem to hit them more often than not, meaning not much skill is needed there. Also from the first wave shooting a zombie in the head didn't stop him instantly, which should always be the case. Although you can later upgrade the power of headshots.

Overall

A simple idea that works well.

I score Blood Waves a fair 7/10

Out now on Nintendo Switch, and coming to all consoles by the end of the month

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Blood-Waves-1523963.html

REVIEW: GOLAZO! 2 on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

It has been a while since I have played a simple arcade style "soccer" game, and despite most the of the civilised world calling it Football, I thought I would check out new arcade Soccer game "Golazo 2". Now I have never played the original, nor have i heard of it, so I am coming at this game from a totally new perspective.

Since this is an arcade game, there isn't much in the way of depth, so if you have been playing FIFA then this game might seem very simple in comparison.

When you start you are given a few choices, Quick match, Street Tour, Tournaments or World League. You can play with National Teams or "Street Teams", which craftily gets around any licensing issues. 58 national teams with 10 international stadiums, 6 Street fields with 12 street teams.

When you start playing you will see that everything is very simplified, passes are basic, lobs, shots etc. You can have a quick dash with a player, which is a nice touch, and the ball sticks to your feet too.

There is no motion capture for the player animations, which do seem quick jerky, and the sound effects are terrible, you will quickly turn down the sound, trust me, after hearing the scratch sound for a slide tackle a few times, it will annoy you.

The AI for the computer controlled teams is a bit too strict, and difficulty is set way too high to make this a really enjoyable arcade game.

The Good

For an arcade soccer game, it has some nice touches, the dash is cool, and some of the player hairstyles are fun.

The Bad

If you have ever played FIFA or Evo then this will just feel empty in comparison, maybe we are spoiled, but the day of the arcade soccer game is long gone.

Overall

Very generic arcade soccer game, no real innovation, and pales in comparison to the big name footy games.

I score GOLAZO! 2 on Nintendo Switch a poor 5/10

Out now at https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Golazo-2-2258685.html

REVIEW: Chenso Club on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

Chenso Club is a Japanese style 2D side scrolling action platformer, I say Japanese style as it is actually developed by Swedish studio Pixadome and published by Curve Games.

"The Chenso Club girls are sassy, strong and eager to show off their moves. Our heroines want any excuse to use their newfound powers. It's up to you to master their moves, increase their power and show the world the might of the Chenso Club."

As you start the game you will first be able to choose one character to play with, but as you progress more will be unlocked. All the characters are female, which is a cool touch and not something you see that often. You will start off with a character called "Blue" which is a Chainsaw wielding android, but you will soon gain access to Carmine who wields a heavy hammer. With 5 characters in total, all very unique with their own fighting style.

Once you have chosen your desired character, you can then choose between Story mode, which is exactly what you think it is, a Casual mode, a Standard mode which is for your regular platform game fan, and then the Insane mode, which is just everything like the other modes but much harder.

The levels are separated to various locations, and each location has single screen areas you need to progress through. And of course there is a boss at the end, and when you beat them, that is when you unlock a character.

Between levels there are bonus areas, where you can upgrade your character, unlock chests, but also there is a social media aspect to the game, where you need to gain followers.

Fighting is pretty simple and follows the classic arcade style, depending on the weapon your character has, general swing of the weapon, jump, dash, special moves and so on, all very easy to pick up. As you beat opponents pick up gems to boost your power and so on.

I played in solo mode, but there is also a "couch co-op" mode, which I did not have chance to check out.

Really easy to play, and a lot of fun, the graphics are retro style, as is the music. I played on a Switch Lite, and the game felt perfect on the small screen.

The Good

Fun colourful graphics, easy to pick up and play, nice layout of the levels, and as you gain characters you will want to replay earlier levels with the new characters.

The Bad

Not much to the story, and a little short. But enough to keep you interested.

Overall

Simple and fun 2D platformer, interesting characters to play with, lots of enemies to beat, what more could you want?

I score Chenso Club a fair 7/10

Out now on Nintendo Switch

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Chenso-Club-2261208.html