Home » Articles and Reviews by 'Peter Willington'
Hands-on with Pentumble, the fast-paced platformer that sucks (but doesn't suck)
Pentumble has you rolling around environments, sticking to walls, hanging upside down off of platforms, zipping around cogs, leaping over hazards, and so on. It's quick, it's tricky, and the controls are spot on. Here's me rocking through some early parts of the game for your viewing pleasure.…
PlatformerAll aboard the hype train from Valadeline: Syberia 3 screenshots revealed
Fans of the Syberia games have been waiting since 2004 to see how the events of Syberia 2 would resolve. Ten years is a very long time to wait, but finally there are now more details (and a few tantalising screens) of Benoît Sokal and Microids' third Syberia title. Syberia 3 is an adventure game, as you'd expect, and kicks off immediately after Syberia 2. New York corporate lawyer Kate Walker will uncover more of the mysteries surrounding Syberia, all the while interacting with the Youkol tribespeople. These screens show a marketplace of the Youkol, complete with Snow Ostriches, and our heroine Kate Walker. I'm currently working my way through the PC versions of the first Syber…
Pokemon Trading Card Game heads to iPad, AppSpy team expecting Hell to freeze over any time now
Josh Wittenkeller - an extremely likeable chap who talks about Pokemon on The Internet - tweeted a very interesting picture from The Pokemon World Championship in Washington DC this weekend. As you can see in that link (and the pic below), it's the Pokemon Trading Card Game running on an iPad, the first time the game has been available on a non-Nintendo portable device. According to various poke-sources, it appears to be a version of the Windows and Mac game Pokemon Trading Card Game Online, but running on a tablet. So why's this exciting? First, the Pokemon TCG is a pretty cool card game that's been going since 1996 and has a loyal following, and getting to play it on iPad is going to…
Hands-on with Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf, where XCOM, CCGs, and Space Marines become one
HeroCraft popped over an early build of Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf the other day and, by gum, it's shaping up to be something pretty special. It's a turn-based strategy game, with card collecting elements, squad levelling, and an intriguing plot that's only just beginning to get started in the section of the game I'm showing you in the video below. It also features the Space Wolves, a legion of the Space Marines that has a mysterious and brutal past that's rarely explored in video games. So click play below for a super early look at Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf.…
Super Hexagon - EncyclAPPedia
In today's EncyclAPPedia, we get incredibly frustrated that we can't last longer than 60 seconds in Terry Cavanagh's Super Hexagon. EncyclAPPpediaɛnˌsʌɪklə(ʊ)ˈpiːdɪənounA video or set of videos giving information on many mobile games or on many aspects of one game and typically arranged entirely at random.…
Hands-on with Rules!, where following commands is all sorts of stressful fun
The rules of Rules! are very simple: you simply follow the rules. That might be to only tap green cards, or tap cards in descending order, or only animal cards. Whatever the rules, if you follow them then you remove cards from play, can keep playing, and are then given more rules to follow. If you don't, you run out of time and it's game over. Sounds boring, but it's actually lots of fun. Here's video proof.…
Hands-on with Dante's Fall, the auto-faller with the hellish difficulty curve
In Dante's Fall you fall continually and at very high speed, until you come into contact with something. At which point it's game over, you check to see if you beat your high score, and then try again. The controls are thankfully simple: just tap either side of the screen to move left or right. It's a hard game, and while that's totally fine with me, it feels like it's too hard too quickly, giving you no time to learn the subtleties of its play. I explain in the video below that I believe those that thought Super Hexagon was kid's stuff will lap this up, but for everyone else, from what I've played so far, Dante's Fall is an exercise in punishment and frustration.…
Kroll - EncyclAPPedia
We take a closer look at early iOS beat-em-up Kroll in today's entry of the EncyclAPPedia, seeing whether time has been kind to its "cinematic" visuals. EncyclAPPpediaɛnˌsʌɪklə(ʊ)ˈpiːdɪənounA video or set of videos giving information on many mobile games or on many aspects of one game and typically arranged entirely at random.…
Hands-on with One Tap RPG, the roguelike crossed with Pachinko
One Tap RPG is a blend of roguelike and Pachinko, two types of game that you rarely see combined. The result is a curiously entertaining, but heavily luck-based affair in which you tap where you want your hero to begin, cross your fingers, and hope that he / she makes it through the dungeon safely whilst racking up as high a score as possible. I was completely taken by One Tap RPG's pixel art aesthetic, but I definitely had my concerns as to how long the gameplay would remain appealing. This one's an interesting one, so take a look at my hands-on below for more info.…
Hands-on with Murl the Squirrel, where you shoot one squirrel out of lots of cannons
The peeps at Ravenous Games are behind Murl the Squirrel, and they're the lot responsible for the high action platformer League of Evil. But this isn't a game about brutally killing evil scientists. Oh no, it's not as ludicrous as that. Instead, it's about firing a cute squirrel out of floating cannons to climb as far as possible into the sky. Obviously. Murl the Squirrel reminds me a lot of the barrel sections of Donkey Kong Country, and that's a very good thing indeed. Here's my video explaining a bit more about the game.…
Flappy Bird - EncyclAPPedia
We return to a mobile gaming classic for today's EncyclAPPedia: the simple, frustrating, addictive, and highly controversial Flappy Bird. EncyclAPPpediaɛnˌsʌɪklə(ʊ)ˈpiːdɪənounA video or set of videos giving information on many mobile games or on many aspects of one game and typically arranged entirely at random.…
The Construct Quarter is now available for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Another week, another Hearthstone update, another reason to sink another billion hours into the seemingly unstoppable game of card slinging. This time you're headed into The Construct Quarter to fight a bunch of new beasties. The rewards for this Quarter are pretty sweet, here's what they look like... And just for posterity here are those vital stats; UndertakerWhenever you summon a minion with Deathrattle, gain +1/+1Mana cost: 1Attack: 1Health: 2 Mad ScientistDeathrattle: Put a Secret from your deck into the battlefieldMana cost: 2Attack: 2Health: 2 Zombie ChowDeathrattle: Restore 5 Health to the enemy heroMana cost: 1Attack: 2Health: 3 Wailing SoulBattlecry: Silence your other min…
Hands-on with Space Colors, the asteroid-blasting roguelike with pretty lighting
Containing everything you would want from a space-based roguelike - i.e. shooting lasers, death, and experience points - Space Colors is unfortunately a disappointingly hollow experience. At least it certainly is at the beginning of the game. The combat is very simple for a long amount of time, you die often, and the upgrades you need to progress always seem so far out of reach. But Space Colors has its redeeming features as well, including a gorgeous game engine with stylish lighting effects, plus a sardonic (and genuinely funny) sense of humour. Take a look at the game in motion below.…
Chopper - EncyclAPPedia
We go way way way back into the vaults today to reminisce about Chopper, one of the very first titles officially released on the iOS App Store, and still an enjoyable tilt-based action game. EncyclAPPpediaɛnˌsʌɪklə(ʊ)ˈpiːdɪənounA video or set of videos giving information on many mobile games or on many aspects of one game and typically arranged entirely at random.…
Hands-on with Solar Max, the float-about-in-space-until-you-die-of-asphyxiation-em-up
I really wanted Solar Max to be fun, because its art style and soundtrack is wonderful: I'm a sucker for pixel art and chiptunes, and this features great examples of both. The core idea of Solar Max is cool too. You float around space, trying to find air tanks, to refill your oxygen levels and continue playing for longer. But the gameplay just isn't there. Items are too small to pick up with any regularity, and there's no radar to see where the next pick up that you should be headed to is located. On top of that, the jet pack you're using is ineffective at turning and guiding your hero in the cold gravity-free environment of space. Here's Solar Max in motion.…
