QCF: Micromon

hen you think of household names in video games today, what are some of the games that immediately come to mind? Just to name a few universally recognized ones, there’s Call of Duty, Super Mario, and even what most moms across the world have affectionately referred to as “that weird Mine game with crafting.” However, there’s still one going strong; Pokémon, and while many of its contemporaries have challenged and it failed—one indie studio went a different way, and flattered the hell out of it in their game, and on a format that Nintendo openly displayed cold feet towards venturing in no less.

Micromon from Moga Studios blurs the line between love letter and thievery, but it fills it satisfies a very specific appetite of that monster-raising/battle adventure that mobile gamers have hungered for, and to its credit, Micromon actually does it quite well.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Republique-Episode 2: Metamorphosis

 This Review was Frelanced by Rob Rich; you can find his other work here.

 few months have passed since Hope first began her desperate escape from implied brainwashing at the hands of her rather nefarious captors. Or are they her protectors? Nothing is entirely clear or as it seems in the world of Republique, and Episode 2: Metamorphosis keeps things just as confusing.

This new episode takes Hope through The Library as she attempts to get in touch with the one person she’s relatively sure she can trust in this lavish prison. But can she get to him in time? Well, that’s for you to find out.

Click to read more ...

Late To The Party: Tower of Fortune

hen you ingrain yourself in the culture of video games, giving in to the lifestyle it can manifest, then there’s one consistent rule of thumb that should be understood if anything else; video games do not stop for you, they stop for no one, and they will continue to move by the numbers with every passing day. There’s no shame in it, even the most privileged individuals who can afford the time and money for their favorite past time will find themselves cast on the sidelines when it comes to certain games; it’s honestly one of the best assets from the gaming community and how connected we all are with each other.

That’s why we ‘re introducing this new feature, Late To The Party: a feature profiling our impressions and overall thoughts on individual games that we initially missed on our radar during their launch run, and why they’re worth mentioning now. It just so happens that I have a game for this inaugural feature too; Tower of Fortune, it’s something else.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Republique

This Review was Freelanced by Rob Rich; you can find his other work here.

eorge Orwell’s ‘1984’ and the bleak, oppressive image of the future it paints, is a theme that’s been adapted many times over throughout many forms of media ever since 1949. It’s referenced in other novels and movies, comics and cartoons, and of course video games. The latest piece of interactive fiction to give a nod to the Orwellian classic is Camouflaj’s Republique - Episode 1: Exordium; a surprisingly compelling stealth adventure game with some serious talent behind it.

Hope is a young girl living in some kind of super-swanky “we’re just kidding ourselves it’s totally a prison” compound, and the powers that be just found out she’s been reading something she shouldn’t have. It quickly becomes apparent that her would-be protectors have some rather nefarious plans for her, but there’s not much she can do about it locked in a cell. That’s where you come in.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Infintity Blade III

This Review was Freelanced by Rob Rich; you can find his other work here

here are always a few games that become synonymous with their platforms. Not just because they’re exclusives, not because there are plenty of “this console only” titles out there, but because they exceptional exclusives. Infinity Blade is one such game, and it’s one of the biggest (if not the biggest) names in iOS gaming. The first was a tale of revenge against a seemingly immortal tyrant told over the course of centuries, and it blew minds thanks to its use of the Unreal Engine to create some truly amazing visuals--on a phone, no less.

The second continued the story of Siris and his crusade against the Deathless, and dressed the visuals up a bit, but the big change was a more impressive scope and variation to the enemies and environments. Infinity Blade III is the wayward hero’s final stop as he attempts to make up for his past and put an end to the reign of the Deathless for good.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Regular Show-Best Park In The Universe

e live in a day and age where a blue jay and raccoon can make a living being hilarious through the lenses of rose-colored glasses of nostalgia, and it works... really well. Nostalgia is a strange thing, regardless of whatever we hold close to our hearts. Regardless of its age, the argument over whether or not it’s a product of the time becomes nullified; it’s a beast of philosophical proportions and a prevalent one within media -- especially video games. In this case, though, it’s been a mine of delight for nerd-culturist and artist J.G. Quintel and his wildly successful property, Regular Show, a program full of homages and references to video games. It only makes sense that a video game adaption would soon follow suit.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Ridiculous Fishing

lambeer sure seems to have its collective stuff together. Super Crate Box is pretty boss, Luftrausers is shaping up to be one of my favourite games ever, and they recently released one of the more addictive games to show up on the iOS app store: A little thing called Ridiculous Fishing, a sequel to Vlambeer's own previously released free-to-play flash game, Radical Fishing.

Click to read more ...

GDC 2013: Lost Orbit and Finding All Audiences

ne of the greatest challenges in game design involves designing titles that successfully cater to everyone. If a game seems too simplistic, veteran gamers may dismiss it entirely. If it’s too difficult, you lose another potential audience of would-be players, therefore robbing more individuals of an experience they could have had otherwise.

The Canada-based studio PixelNAUTS aspires to conquer this challenge while designing Lost Orbit, their newly announced title which they’ve been developing in the past two months.

“The hardest challenge is getting something that feels good,” designer Alex Golebiowski told me. “Above all else, that’s what you have to get right first.”

Click to read more ...