After winning an IGN “Best of 2011” award and BAFTA Scotland’s “Game of the Year”, Denki and UTV Ignition Games have finally released Quarrel on XBLA and I’m already addicted to making anagrams anywhere I come across an eight letter word which has made shopping trips a nightmare…

Previously available on iOS, combining Risk Factions-esque strategy with Scrabble-type play where words that need an apostrophe, a hyphen or that start with capital letters are forbidden (The XBLA version is supported by the Collins Official SCRABBLE Dictionary 2nd Edition 2007 © HarperCollins Publishers 2005, 2007), Quarrel takes place across four differently themed, boldly coloured environments. Each island is split into territories that players battle to control using excellent word play AND strategy. Whoever takes over all the territories is declared the winner. It’s simple but brilliant.

The best way to get to grips with the game is to jump into a quick match as I found the tutorial was a bit slow. With my troop of ninja’s all eagerly bouncing, I figured attacking early might be my best option and sent five of my best against four of my opponents, only to quickly learn that although swallowing a dictionary certainly helps, creating solid high scoring words isn’t the only way to win. Choosing at which speed to play also affects the outcome – my five troop word scored the same as my opponents four troop word and they were quicker than me so got the win. Bah!

Supporting up to four players, everyone on the board starts with the same number or troops similarly distributed across a mixture of strong and weak territories so selecting where to attack and where to reinforce also needs consideration. Creating words is an easy process. Selecting letters from the cards in the thought bubble at the bottom of the screen hands them to waiting troops. There’s the option to shuffle the letters or clear the letter cards completely, handy as I kept seeing an even bigger scoring word just as I was about to submit. The maximum word length than can be created depended on how many troops were available. The value of the letters on the cards is visible (which unlike in Scrabble is based on their occurrence in spoken English rather than written), but the final word score isn’t revealed until you hit ‘OK’ though people with calculators for brains won’t have any trouble doing a spot of quick maths. The highest scoring word is shouted out by the troops in a giant, boastful, spiky speech bubble whilst the losing player whispers their lame effort in a vaporised cloud. It’s cute and charming animation that will appeal to audiences young and old.

In some of the challenge matches, there’s an evil countdown clock, which made my brain go to mush. I tried guessing but three nonsense words in a row means automatically forfeiting the match – must…not…give…in… At the end of every turn, extra reinforcement troops arrived for each of my territories, with each territory able to hold a maximum of eight troops. During every word battle, there are a maximum of eight letters on offer from which to create a word. Gaining the maximum eight troops became my ultimate and obsessive goal as I hunted down the elusive anagrams for big bonus scoring. I can spot anagrams far easier than having to come up with a high scoring five letter word but the beauty of the game is it allows for planning and playing to strengths. Transferring troops between neighbouring territories became a vital tactic, especially after one game where I found myself defending one territory with only two troops as eight kilted Scotsmen mounted an attack. Losing the quarrel would have meant losing my whole squad and territory but I triumphed with “ZO” for 11 points and was declared a GIANT KILLER! Spreading myself out thinly over the board almost backfired but I bravely fought on. Even as the underdog, the chance to get back into the game was a refreshing option, helped by there also being treasure up for grabs! Taking over territories and making words is rewarded with treasure, which in turn stacks up and can be exchanged for yet more back up troops! You’ll never take me alive!!!

With a super-catchy marimba soundtrack, produced by Ged Grimes (of Simple Minds fame), there is plenty to enjoy with Quarrel. Quick single player matches can last around 8 – 10 mins whilst the Challenge Mode where you can compete against nine fiendish artificial players, all of whom have unique personalities and play styles will take well over a couple of hours. Studying the character profiles and remembering that Dwayne, Biff and Helena are slow players, unlike speed demon Caprice or genius Kali, means you can to some extent prepare for battle. Added social network features including leaderboards, achievements and in-game messaging/voice chat, means the online multiplayer is also great fun.

This exciting balance of quick thinking word and strategy battles against friends is unique and exciting. Deciding whether to attack, defend, retreat, transfer troops or reinforce armies whilst successfully winning the ongoing word challenges I found was a winning formula. Not having to labour over just creating massive scores per word is a good twist to the genre and a good reason to encourage quarrelling over the Xbox.

Good times :)

• The balance between using words, strategy and speed makes for some tense battles.
• The layout and animation is bold, bright and engaging whilst the soundtrack is pretty catchy.
• Great range of modes on offer so perfect for either long or short sessions.

Bad times :(

• Though the words are valued on their occurrence in spoken rather than written language, non-US players may struggle to work out some of the colloquial American anagrams. Similarly, UK spellings or words are sometimes not recognised.
• Longer sessions can feel a bit repetitive.

Family Focus:

Rated PEGI 3 this certainly is accessible for all ages though younger players might struggle against some of the more intelligent AI or whilst playing on the larger maps. It’s a great way to get young people engaging with language as each word created also has its definition explained on screen.

I’ve been effectively spamming news about Christine Love’s latest offering: Analogue: A Hate Story and thankfully I feel vindicated in my eagerness. The game places you, anonymously, aboard a spaceship which has been empty and abandoned for many hundreds of years. It’s your job to search the records with the help of the AI on the ship’s computer to discover what happened. But really you can decide what the main story should be. You can decide to assume the role of a criminal investigator or you may find the AI more interesting as people, if that’s not a contradiction in terms (which it absolutely is). It’s a testament to Christine Love’s skill as a writer that she makes the player feel this way. It’s hard enough to get the player/reader to empathise with a fictional character, but to achieve this when that character is also not alive within the conceit of the game is truly extraordinary.

Now not to gush too much about Love’s work, after all it’s not completely perfect. The start of the game is rather confusing. Almost akin to a Dickens novel or one of the later unedited Harry Potter books, there’s a wealth of characters that floods the player’s mind and it’s very difficult to keep track of. This is further amplified by the cultural boundary between the player and those characters. This is necessary as Love is, to some extent, addressing the nature of feminism: the society that the player reads about is so far removed from ours. It’s based upon the Joseon Dynasty in Korea: the medieval oppression of women makes many of the characters entirely unlikeable (this, of course, being the point).

As you discover more about the AI and the what happened to the spaceship so the AI discover more about you. Without providing a character build screen the characters gradually learn more about you as you choose what to tell them about where you come from and why you’re here. I’ve only played one playthrough, and I must say that the inclusion of a timer for one sequence really put the stress on. This was something I was not expecting from a gentle visual novel and it was a welcome change. As for my ending, I was satisfied, although the way I played it meant I didn’t feel quite as much of a sleuth as I could have had I played it differently. That’s the advantage of having five different endings to a game: though it may not be very long I will certainly go back repeatedly to unlock them all, and if Love’s prior games are anything to go by, I’ll have a totally different response next time around.

Speaking of prior games, how does Analogue stand up against Love’s former work. Well, don’t take it personally, babe, it just ain’t your story is certainly a hard act to follow. Objectively I’d say it’s not as engaging a story for me, perhaps because it wasn’t as easy to relate to and the plot twists didn’t feel so shocking. But that may be more of a comment on my ignorance and gullibility when I was playing DTIPB. I would say that Analogue felt like much more of a game than a visual novel (though don’t go expecting any platform sections) and in this way it is, as its name suggests, much more akin to Digital: A Love Story. I’d say this game is Digital, with a more engaging plot, nicer graphics and music, and a far less abstruse gameplay mechanic.

Graphics and music are aids to the story here. With DTIPB the occasional shoddy art really ruined some people’s immersion, but no such complaints can be launched at Analogue. It’s gorgeous throughout as is the music. Subtle and elegant, much like in DTIPB, though I’ll admit while I imported the music files from that game into “My Music”, the musical score for Analogue belongs more in the game than iTunes. The gameplay includes a fair bit of coding, but everything is taught to you. At one point I got an error message from Renpy (the game’s engine) and wasn’t quite sure whether I’d managed to screw up the coding that badly or the fourth wall had just fallen into a black hole.

Check out this masterpiece in plot and get your MSDOS fingers ready for Analogue: A Hate Story. Though not as great as last year’s Christine Love release, it’s a damn sight sharper and cleaner, and it tackles moral issues the rest of the industry might not consider for another thirty years.

Good stuff

• Engaging plot
• Attractive layout
• Impeccable art and music

Bad stuff

• Story a little slow to get into
• Number of characters could be confusing

Family Focus

Tackles some adult themes, but nothing too explicit. Being an indie game there’s no PEGI rating but I’d imagine it would be given a “12″.

I’ve had several rounds now on different levels of Syndicate’s four player multiplayer which has become vastly more polished, I can say with great confidence that this will be Syndicate’s secret weapon. Aside from being an incredibly solid experience what it does best is recapture the essence of the original – and it does this with tactics and terror.

Sat there with my SteelSeries headphones on (too early to hint for these as a valentine’s day present?) I was reminded of the kind of chaos you’d hear on a Battlefield 3 match. Screams of terror from cowering guards, barked orders from your team and the thundering chatter of machine guns – Syndicate is an audio feast which is somewhat appropriate given how infamous its Skrillex penned trailer soundtrack has become.

Comparisons with Battlefield don’t end there however, each map on the multiplayer felt like a game of “rush” as your agents scrabbled to hold or destroy objectives, hacking door points to proceed further in the level or deactivate impassable gun turrets that threaten to cut you down to ribbons. These stages can’t be blundered through – the AI is way too smart for you, satisfyingly so as you increase your difficulty, speed runs will become the stuff of legend as you franticly try to counteract being flanked and struggle to “reboot” your team. It’s been a long time since I’ve been pinned behind cover in an FPS and hand to turn to the player next to me and ask him to bail me out – this is how intense an experience Syndicate is!

Run and gun battles are the order of the day but even with the best developed battle plans the enemy will constantly keep you on your feet, it’s unlikely that you’ll play out levels in the same way twice. This is especially true when the feared bosses come into play. For all the mercenary goons and hired thugs you’ll fight their ranks are bolstered by high ranking officers sporting advanced equipment (the nature of which is still under embargo, sorry), you’ll come to dread sightings of these, they evoke the classic fear of the “end of level boss” – each encounter is genuinely challenging they in turn bring out the best of the multiplayer experience, taking down each boss requires planning and communication, heroics will see you cut down and member short – the last thing your team needs! Upping the difficulty bolsters the enemy’s ranks with additional troop types (and a few surprises).

There are multiple ways to tackle these levels and a great many rewards to reap, including upgrades for your agent if you snag enough loot, all the more incentive to push on through the co-op. the sci-fi flourishes only accentuate what is already a slick and accomplished FPS. When I cast back my mind to the original 16bit my memories are of carefully setting up ambushes, watching everything come together with a cacophony of explosions and gunfire, I’d say 2012’s Syndicate carries on that grand tradition just fine.

A demo of Syndicate is available to play from tomorrow (31 January) – so make sure you check it out!

When I first heard about ScaryGirl, I was unsure as to what to expect. I was not a big fan of the graphic novels that the game is based on, but I knew of them. I knew about a girl that had been lost at sea and rescued by an odd Octopus that became a pseudo-parent to this lost child. But beyond that I had no idea how this strange concept would play out in a video game. Thankfully, ScaryGirl found a way to mix unique visuals with a tough as nails platform title that is as fun to play as it is to look at.

As stated, things have not gone so well for ScaryGirl. She was found at the bottom of the sea by an octopus named Barney, who clothed her and set her up with a house with items found at the bottom of the ocean. This explains ScaryGirl’s appearance, which is a mash up of all things odd, like an eye patch, a strange vest and stitches for a mouth. She even has a tentacle arm, although that is never really touched on in the explanation of the character here in the game. We do find out that ScaryGirl is being haunted by dreams that lead her on a quest to find out what is happening with The Tree of Knowledge.

Of course, getting to the Tree of Knowledge isn’t as simple as walking down the road, or ScaryGirl would be a rather dull and pedestrian game. Instead you have to travel through several distinctly different lands, each with its own unique palette and design style that look absolutely gorgeous. The whole visual style immediately brought to mind Psychonauts, in the sense of being very colorful and unlike anything out there right now. The animation flows very nicely with all of ScaryGirl’s movement and even to the little things like background animation.

ScaryGirl does move beyond its visuals to its core gameplay which plays out as a standard fare platformer. The game does do a few things to change the playbook a bit, as you have branching paths that allow players to approach a level in different ways. And the game moves in a weird 2.5D style, where the world is sort of rotating as you play it. If you are on a winding road up a mountain, you see the action not from a side view, but more on an isometric view of the curved road up the mountain. ScaryGirl has standard attacks like a light and a heavy attack, and each can be bolstered with upgrades that you can buy from a roaming salesman that randomly appears in certain levels. You collect gems, which then work as the currency of the game. While the upgrade path was not deep, the upgrades do add to the overall fun of the game.

Things falter a bit when you get to controlling standard movement, as ScaryGirl’s controls feel a bit floaty. Many times, I found that when I tried to pull off a finesse move, the touch was just not there more often than not. I never felt like I had solid control with the character as she interacted with things like jumps, or short movements. I tried a second controller to see if it was a controller issue, but the problems still remained. This becomes a bigger issue in the later levels of the game, as the enemies come fast and furious and the difficulty ramps up and you start fighting the controls to control the mayhem on the screen.

The difficulty also starts to become a fighting factor with the game, because it does ramp up to Mega Man difficulty levels, but with lesser controls. I want to have precise controls in a platformer and ScaryGirl just does not have that sense of control. Maybe it was just the 360 controller in general, but not having a frame of reference for either the PS3 or PC versions, I can only go on what we have to review, and it is a bit troublesome. It might be something that can be patched, but if not, it could be a problem as it really starts to hurt the enjoyment that you are having about halfway through the main game.

ScaryGirl does have solid drop in/drop out local co-op for those that have a friend or family member that want to journey through this beautiful world on your couch. The second player plays as a Kung Fu fighting rabbit, which has some slick combat moves of its own. The co-op is fun, and it does help when you get to some difficult sections in the game.

Overall, ScaryGirl has a great look, and captures the visual style that has been found in the Nathan Jurevicius graphic novels, but the iffy controls detract from the fun that you will get in the game. It is a fun diversion that I want to like, and continue to go back to try different paths and to try and find all the gems, but it just falls from being a great platformer.

The Good:

• Colorful Art Style
• Unique Environments

The Bad:

• Floaty Controls
• Unbalanced difficulty in later levels

Family Focus
ScaryGirl never shows any real blood or subject matter that could be considered objectionable. Some might be bothered by an orphan girl raised by an octopus at the bottom of the ocean, but really, the game is safe for all ages.

After sitting through the download, and believe me, it is a rather large download, I was able to get up and running in the demo rather quickly. The game starts you off as Jill Valentine, in a location that appeared to be very similar to the mansion that you visit in the first Resident Evil and in the first DLC pack for Resident Evil 5. It may just have been my eyes playing tricks on me, but it looked very familiar to those locations.

Controls were easy enough to pick up with the Y button being used to interact with items, the left circle pad for movement and either the A or B button to move through dialog. I ended up putting the 3D slider up to near full, as I felt it was necessary to capture the full experience, and it never really had me getting sick at any point. I would note that getting the 3D up that high will throw you off a bit if you have to look away from the screen and come back to the game, but for those that get sick off of 3D, you can play the demo at least, in 2D with no issues.

Of course, without a right circle pad for aiming, a few concessions are made for when you need to actually shoot someone. You will need to hold the left shoulder button down, which puts you in aiming mode, and then you use the Y button to pull the trigger. You can also use the Gyro controls in the 3DS to aim at the enemies, and if you own the Circle Pad Pro (aka. The Frankenstick), you can use that as well, as Revelations will be the first game to support it out of the box. I liked the standard controls of holding down the left shoulder button, but there are several control options to find something to your liking.

Another thing that I have not seen in a Resident Evil game up to this point, but don’t quote me as being 100% correct is a new device that allows you to locate hidden items. With the device, you can scan around the room to find hidden items in the environment. It seemed to take away the idea of locating things on your own, but if I can have something to help me find ammo, I am all for it.

The demo is a bit short, but I do think it gives you a good enough grasp on the game mechanics and whether you are going to want to play this title for an extended period of time. Personally, I have played through it a couple of times now, and I found it to be surprisingly enjoyable, with a good mix of graphics and controls. It might not be for everyone, but I would at least take the time to download the demo and see if it is something that is up your alley.

Resident Evil Revelations is developed and published by Capcom and is exclusively available on the Nintendo 3DS system.

Pinball is one of those activities that tend to be more fun on a live table than on a console. However, Zen Studios has slowly been changing that perception, as they have been cranking out pinball titles for the last few years that feel like solid alternatives to the live pinball experience. The latest release from Zen Studios is Marvel Pinball: Vengeance and Virtue, a new set of tables for the Marvel Pinball package that was released over a year ago. While the package is a mixed bag when it comes to enjoyment of the tables, the overall feel is that Zen Studios has kept up the right feel of pinball with this new release.

Marvel Pinball Vengeance and Virtue adds four new tables to the Marvel Pinball or Pinball FX 2 franchise depending on your platform of choice. The new tables are themed around Moon Knight, X-Men, Thor and Ghost Rider. Of those four, I get three of the tables, and they are famous because of movie franchises or fan praise, but Moon Knight seems to be the odd man out, as he has always been sort of a cult Marvel hero.

As with the other tables, each of the Vengeance and Virtue tables includes themes, elements and statues from the hero title in question. Each of the tables strives to give you a feel of large scale, comic book combat, and for the most part it does. It also helps that each of the goals you need to accomplish to get large scores are marked as clear as they have ever been in one of these pinball titles. That has always been a knock on the franchise, with the tables being a bit chaotic, but each table in this pack seems well laid out with clearly marked goals for all of the missions.

It is also funny to note that of the four tables, the Moon Knight is the most interesting, both in its look and the way that it is laid out. It has some unique features and several well designed ramps that just made it a blast to play over long periods of time. Unfortunately, the Thor table is the lame duck this time around, which plays very similar to the Iron Man table that I did not enjoy from the first Marvel Pinball. It is full of ramps, but it always seems like you are hitting the same ramps over and over to the point of boredom.

All in all, you are getting four new tables, that completely integrate into both Marvel Pinball and Pinball FX 2. The scores will add to your Hero/Wizard score and the tables are a bit of fun. Sure, the Thor table is a bit of a dog, but the other three more than make up for it and its price tag makes it an easy recommendation for anyone that has enjoyed these titles over the last year. Marvel Pinball Vengeance and Virtue is well worth the price of admission for anyone that wants to build on their table collection.

The Good:

• Fun tables
• Solid pinball mechanics
• Integrates seemlessly into the Marvel Pinball/Pinball FX2 franchises

The Bad:

• Thor table is a bit dull

Family Focus
Marvel Pinball Vengeance and Virtue involve the relatively non-violent game of pinball, which lacks any major issues. Beyond a bit of combat between virtual avatars on the table, it is pretty harmless and safe for all ages.

Downloadable content is meant to expand on the player experience. Some studios might see this as an opportunity to introduce whole new worlds (a la Fallout 3‘s Point Lookout), or a simple expansion. “RAAM’s Shadow” falls into the latter category, and while some gamers might find that it falls short, it’s a must have for diehard Gears fan.

It packs a lot of multiplayer punch, giving players willing to shell out the MSP (or for free, if you own the Gears Season Pass) new multiplayer characters, and the “Chocolate” weapons set.

Of course, the main focus of RAAM’s Shadow is the single-player campaign. With over 3 additional hours of gameplay, you might wonder why exactly did Epic not include any collectibles in the campaign. A bit of a let-down for any collector junkie, but the campaign delivers nonetheless.

Harken back to the days of the first Gears of War. Back in 2006, when gamers first stepped into the world of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, we didn’t know what to expect. Who the hell are these grumbly guys? Why was Marcus locked up, and what the HELL are these Locust things? While Gears of War 3 delivered the epilogue of the entire series, “RAAM’s Shadow” takes us back, way back, to a time before the first game happened. It’s a prequel, and gives us a look at the events that led up to the Locust Invasion of Sera, and what exactly was “E-Day” and the Hammerstrikes.

It's like Bill. Except with COG armor.

Players assume the role of Barrick, a member of Zeta Squad, and a former Stranded who was plucked off the streets of Sera, had a Lancer shoved into his hand, and enlisted with the COG. Gamers who have taken the time to read all the extra Gears of War books written by Karen Traviss and the comics would know of him more than those who have not. For most of the campaign, players view the planet from Barrick and Zeta Squad’s point of view, as the Locust begin their assault on the human race.

However, a few parts of the campaign give players a chance to play as the terrifying General RAAM, and while some players may cringe at the thought of ripping apart COG soldiers, the rest of us enjoyed every last bloody second of it. It’s a great change of pace, and offers up a different perspective on the events. Remember that lovely Kryll cloak the nasty General toted around aboard the train with the Lightmass Bomb? Yeah, now’s your chance to point that finger and tear apart COG soldiers.

The campaign, as mentioned before, is only about 3 hours long. However, in those three hours, we’re given some great environments to shoot our way through. We move from an open space, to a parking garage, a school, and even to an orphanage at one point. And there’s none of those troublesome Lambent bastards either.

While the campaign achieves its goal of a much-needed fleshing out of certain plot points within the Gears universe, it still comes out feeling a little flat at times. No collectibles? Seriously? Searching the corners of each and every room yields little reward except for an ammo dump, which will be unnecessary to the seasoned Gears player. A few places within the campaign were also a little hard to navigate, but that could’ve just been me with directional issues.

RAAM sees shadow, six more weeks of Kryllstorm.

Of course, as a DLC pack, you can’t be expecting the longest of all campaign experiences. It’s a short, but powerful, rollercoaster ride through the fall of Ilima City as we watch the Locust begin their assault. Well, we also get to see how powerful one finger can be. And it’s not the finger you’re thinking of.

The Good

Story fleshes out the events before the first Gears of War.

Still as mechanically sound as main game experience.

Annihilate the COG as General RAAM with his Finger of Kryll Doom.

The Bad

No collectibles are hidden in those darkened corners.

Level design leaves something to be desired.

Campaign is dismally short.

“RAAM’s Shadow” is currently available for download from Xbox Live for a price of 1200 MSP, or free if you have a previously purchased Gears Season Pass.

Family Focus
With all the blood, gore, cussing, ESRB M and PEGI 18 ratings, it’s a self-explanatory no.

I thought we’d take a look back at an oldie but a goodie today, which you can pick up for very little online, or you can pop on Steam and pay a lot more.

World In Conflict applies modern day war techniques of securing and holding key positions with great simplicity in its controls setting it apart from the sometimes murkily complex field of real time strategy games. One problem with RTS games is that you find yourself having to study the user manual in order to know how to react fast enough to threats from the enemy. No such problem with WiC. It manages to add special attacking and defensive abilities for each unit type, incorporate artillery and air support elements, include a system for calling in reinforcements, all without complicating either the HUD or the mouse oriented controls.

Recently we’ve seen a re-vamp of the Cold War fear in Homefront, some would say a far-fetched storyline, so instead of trying to force those fears into the modern day, WiC sets itself in 1989 inventing the Russian invasion of the US. With the expansion package you get to fight on both sides of the war in one smooth campaign mode. This is truly a masterful stroke to incorporate the expansion into the game and take events chronologically, switching you from NATO to USSR command.

Unfortunately, the secondary missions eventually become a chore serving mainly to frustrate the player. As the scenarios become longer, failing these bonus tasks means starting from the beginning of the operation to retry them. But the game does well to introduce new units as you progress, meaning that secondary missions can only be achieved by certain unit types helping to spice up that part of the game. The time targets are also set realistically, providing a challenge without making the game an impossible race to win.

There are of course a few other aspects to the game which will disappoint certain gamers. There’s a relatively unnecessary sub-plot involving the soldiers in your company, but this serves well to replace loading screens, and of course, with WiC being five years old, its graphics aren’t exactly cutting edge.

Technically it counts as a real time tactics game, thereby setting it apart from the Total War series, and oddly putting it closer to a far more menacing competitor: Starcraft II. But thankfully the difficulty level of the AI in WiC is no match to the right spanking I’d get going up against real Starcraft II players. If you’re a fan of Total War games, minus the tax management, but you’d like a modern day version this is perfect for you. There’s even a multiplayer element if you want to test your skills against players with a more reasonable number of clicks per minute.

Good stuff

• Smooth difficulty curve
• Refreshing gameplay mechanic
• Intuitive controls

Bad stuff

• Repetitive middle section
• Slightly frustrating secondary objectives

Family Focus

PEGI 16+. Not suitable for children.

I’m not here to rail on casual gaming, but it does seem that the word “casual” becomes an excuse for some designers to forget the basics of game design. The Godfather: Five Families is one very guilty party. There are two simple reasons for this: gameplay mechanic and difficulty curve. You really need to have both of these things to have an enjoyable game, or really a game of any description. The problem is that the gameplay mechanic here is clicking on build, research, or train and then waiting. It’s as if the designers wanted to see if they could create a game that people could spend the most time on doing positively nothing. I honestly felt like I’d have more of an input in a visual novel.

You play (and I use that word generously) as a neighbourhood Mafia boss building and improving the area, training units, and researching more improvements. The end result: become powerful enough to take over someone else’s neighbourhood and start the whole process again. That’s right, this is an MMO, and you can screw over all the other people sitting around waiting for their buildings and units to reach the end of that slow progress bar.

The game’s rewards system seems to draw attention to its own failures. Your reward for taking over other neighbourhoods are diamonds you spend on speeding up those progress bars. It’s as if the game is conducting a social experiment on you. Entering the game is like entering the Matrix except it decides to point out to you that it’s not real to see if you’re smart enough to get out. It seems especially rich to ask for real money in return for more of those diamonds: a sort of “Pay us to make our game less boring for you.”

Then there’s the difficulty curve. Or rather, games are supposed to have a difficulty curve. Here there’s just a waiting curve. They start you off waiting for 15 seconds, then as you progress through the game they gradually increase until they’ve got you sitting there for 12 minutes. Such a colossal amount of time in gaming that I found myself looking for other casual games to play while I was waiting for this one to finish.

In defence of it there is fantastic music, as with all Godfather games, but the graphics are nothing to speak of so it’s not as if you’ve got something pretty to look at during all that waiting. I suppose the flood of achievements gives some sense of worth for all that waiting, but bearing in mind all I’ve done is click once and sit I don’t feel like I’ve really earned it.

There’s no weight of promise behind this to feel let down by Five Families, the Godfather games have never really been much to write home about, but I certainly feel resentful. It sucks you into the mindset that if you keep pressing that button you’ll keep getting that piece of cheese and all you have to put up with is immense dreariness and a lack of any tenuous benefit.

Good stuff

• Great music
• Clean layout
• Free to play

Bad stuff

• Little to no strategy
• Rather dull

Family Focus

Not intended for children, as there are references to Mafia activity, though nothing explicit occurs.

As of late, it is interesting to see the amount of production values that are going into the latest iPhone and Android OS games that are coming out. I for one was one of those snobbish gamers that felt mobile gaming was too crude and ugly to want to participate in, but the quality coming out of recent releases has been a mea culpa of sorts. One such game is Seal Force, a new title for both the iOS and Android platforms. While its premise is simple on the surface, and a tad bit repetitive, its high end production values give it a shine that is normally found on high profile console releases and extra rotation on your phone.

Seal Force focuses on a team of three seals – Fonzie, Sarge and Milo – as they defend the oceans of the world from fish that gather in packs of matching color and apparently have conspired to commit acts of no good. The quality animated cut scenes set you up for the missions at hand, which require you to draw lines from your seal to the targets on the other side of the map. At first, things are simple, with color groups coming slow enough to manage, but as you work your way through the included levels, the fish groups come at you fast, and you are frantically having to manage your seals as they take out groups of fish.

Of course, between missions you do have the luxury of visiting the in-game upgrade store to use your upgrade slots to buy powerups, armor and more. While you do earn shell currency in Seal Force, you can speed things up a bit with some currency purchases via real life money. But it is nice that you can earn all of the unlockables with determination and patience if you are willing to do so in game.

But the problem is that the game starts to wear out its welcome after short stints. Seal Force is all about the same color matching premise that we have seen in countless other titles. You are drawing lines from your seals to the groups of fish, but you can only use one seal at a time, making things a bit slow and frustrating more often than not. The occasional special fish are also not quite explained, and I was confused as to what I was supposed to do with them at first.

Of course, it is hard to knock a game that is giving you a lot of content and quality production values when it is free, and Seal Force can be played to completion without a player spending a dime on additional content. It is not easy, and might drive some insane as the difficulty pushes you past normal points of sanity, but it is a doable option for those that want a lot of game for nothing purchased.

I think that in the end Seal Force is one of those games that might be fun when played in five to ten minute bursts, but anything more than that, the game starts to wear out its welcome. Seal Force looks good, and is a free experience for dedicated players, but most might tire of it long before that point.

The Good:

• High production values
• Is completely free to play with determination

The Bad:

• Somewhat repetitive
• Annoyingly difficult at times

Family Focus
Seal Force is cartoonish and does not include any real violent or questionable content. It might be a bit frustrating during later levels for younger children, but looking strictly at content, all ages may apply for this team.