Explore the Tales of Mr. McDuck

Going old school with a review of Duck Tales 2 for the NES.

Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey and Louie are back and on the hunt for lost treasures. Travel to five famous destinations: Niagara Falls, Bermuda Triangle, Mu, Egypt and Scotland. Each level offers bountiful treasures, a treasure map piece and a boss to boot. You can find all seven map pieces but it is not necessary to complete the game, but with them you unlock a secret level and more treasure.

Some changes were made with this sequel. The pogo jump now only requires you to press the B button alone and now there is an inventory that can be stocked with health items and safes that save your money, if you were to fail in your quest to be the richest duck in the world.

Enjoy my play through !!

Calling all dungeon crawlers and treasure hunters!!

The mining town of Torchlight needs your help! Traverse the 50 dungeon floors in search of loot, adventure and to secure the safety of the town from the evil bubbling up from beneath it.

While mining the townspeople stumbled upon a type of ore that is the richest and most pure element ever found known as ember. Ember is the essence of magic and a key component in alchemy but it is also a source of much evil. It is on you, the chosen champion, to help rid the town of all the evil crawling out from the dank underbelly of Torchlight.

KEY FEATURES

• Randomization – level layouts are randomly created, so each adventure is unique. Monsters, treasures, puzzles, and items are also different each time you embark on an adventure.
• Easy, approachable interface – The intuitive interface gives players easy access to a rich and varied world.
  
• Retirement System – Once characters are sufficiently leveled up, they can “retire” and bestow specific benefits and perks to new characters.
• Pets – Players will choose a pet to accompany them. Pets can level up along with the player, and will help in battle, carry items, and perform a variety of helpful services.
• Character Classes – Players will create and customize a character and choose an animal companion. Through cosmetic choices, skill path decisions, and the treasures they acquire, each character will be custom-tailored and different.
• Fishing – Players can take a break from the high-energy pace of adventuring to visit one of the fishing holes and relax and see what they can catch. Fish have interesting benefits for the player and pet, and other rewards can also be discovered
• Editor – Runic Games is embracing the modding community by providing an editor so our players can create and design their own content.

Three things really make this game worth purchasing:

1. It's similarity to Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction, Titan Quest and Fate. It's like if these three games were to have mated and then had a spawn, Torchlight would be said spawn. From the music, to the skill tree design, to the randomized level design and even to the story the similarities are too there to be missed. This is all due in part to the developers of the game. Development of the game is led by Travis Baldree, designer of Fate and Max Schaefer and Erich Schaefer, co-designers of Diablo and Diablo II, joined by the team that developed Mythos. While similar, Torchlight still holds its own with its unique pet design, limitless modding and seemingly endless in and out of game extras, including achievements.

Torchlight Town Music


Diablo 2 Tristram Town Music


2. The what's next factor for the game. Right now Torchlight is a single player RPG that is exclusively for the PC but by 2011, there will be an MMORPG version of the game, that is still set in the town of Torchlight, and a version for the Xbox 360. "We're going to put some serious effort into it, pretty quick, getting Torchlight onto consoles," Runic CEO Max Schaefer confessed on The Rumble Pack on March 12, 2010.

3. Price! As has become the trend for most of my posts and most gamers price is a leading factor in purchasing a game. Retail Torchlight goes for $19.99 but you can find it on direct download sites like Steam, Direct2Drive.com, or gamestop.com for as low as $9.99 and on sale for $4.99 .

Boy put that game down!

So while going around the news sites today I came across an article that basically touted that video games are a possible but indirect cause for the decline in males receiving degrees. While this seems odd for me to post something about males and gaming, this does relate to females and gaming too. A "study" was conducted and the conclusion was that males become addicted to games and thus fall behind in their studies. (Click on the link to read the full article)

"Robert Weis and Brittany C Cerankosky of Denison University measured a group of boys' academic baseline achievement and surveyed their parents and teachers as well. They then gave half the boys video-game units. Boys receiving the video-game stations experienced an academic nosedive. The control group of boys without video games continued with solid schoolwork. This established the cause-and-effect relationship." Taken from University World News.

My question for this article and my linking it to females, is why in this case study did they not perform the same trial on a group of females? It seems biased to say that females do not become as addicted to video games when you don't conduct the test or study on a group of girls to come to said conclusion.

More and more woman are emerging in this market and articles like this, while yes it promotes that woman are doing well in school and apparently don't have video games to blame, it also seems to be denying women gamers too. With out a fair and equal case study that had a group of girls that were giving video games and girls that were not it is biased to say that only boys become addicted to games and then begin to fail in their studies.

While I do pat myself on the back for being one of those females that was able to attain a degree, I did it with a huge video game addiction. I know that I am only one female but I also know that there are many more just like me that have done the same.

Defend that Grid

Defense Grid: The Awakening is a similar yet different tower defense game. Swarms of robotic aliens are out to steal your orbs of power and you must defend your grid with varying towers.

The world of Defense Grid is brought to life by a well composed soundtrack, engaging environments and beautifully rendered graphics. There are multiple ways to construct your defense and that leads to a high replayability. Another perk of the game is its diverse enemy selection including 15 different types of alien hordes. With 20 unique levels, a multitude of tower upgrades and budget price tag of $9.99 Defense Grid is worth the try.

Game trailer ahoy !!


And me beating the game !!

Pew Pew !!

So you say you want shooting plants and zombies in your game? Done! With Plants vs Zombies.

A game that is simple, cheap and fun to the point of being addictive, Plants vs Zombies is a great game for any one, gamer or not.

One day you get a letter from these zombies that just want to have fun, oh and eat your brains. You have to put up a defense in your back yard with zombie-zapping plants, including: peashooters, wall-nuts, flaming chili peppers and more to fend off the 26 different brain munching zombies. So think fast and plant even faster or else your brain is num nums for these persistent zombie foes.

• Play five game modes: Adventure, Mini-Games, Puzzle, Survival, plus the stress-free Zen Garden
• Conquer all 50 levels of Adventure mode -- through day, night and fog, in a swimming pool and on the rooftop
• Battle 26 types of zombies including pole-vaulters, snorkelers and “Zomboni” drivers
• Earn 49 powerful perennials and collect coins to buy a pet snail, power-ups and more!

Created buy PopCap Games, the creators of Zuma, Bejeweled and Peggle to name a few, aims to make games that appeal to everyone.

With a motto for making games that, "... are easy to learn, tough to master... and utterly addictive!" as said on PopCap's website. (Click on the link to be redirected to PopCap's website to learn about them) The best part about a majority of PopCap games is the fact that they are free or really cheap. Plants vs Zombies is priced at $9.99 but you can catch it on sale for only $4.99 and it's available every where. You can buy it for your cell phone, on the PC and on your consoles.

Enjoy the trailer!!