Category Jake Combs

In Frostpunk the world has essentially ended in a permanent winter that some believe is the end times foretold by the Vikings, but are they right?

11 Bit Studios released Frostpunk a while ago but not so long ago released the complete Console Edition which includes all available DLC and this will help bridge the story of the original game and the eventual release of the already announced sequel. The world has succumbed to what seems to be a permanent winter, some survivors believing this is Fimbulwinter- the winter before Ragnarok that brings about the end of the world. The game is split into different story arcs, each with their own pitfalls and goals.

At it’s heart the game is a city management sim where the focus is not to let your citizens perish to the cold. Where most city management games the focus is one powering all of your structures as you build the city of your dreams this is more of a rush to keep everyone warm and alive while trying to expand. The first time I played the game my “captain” was exiled because more than half of my people froze to death within ten minutes of starting. The second time as I learned the menus better was more successful and after 3 hours they were still alive. The game has great graphics but is not very stimulating for the eyes, however trying to manage everything efficiently will keep your brain going into overdrive. I found the game to be fun but not something I would find myself playing more than half an hour at a time due to the lack of overall excitement.

HandyGames brings us Skydrift Infinity, a racing game with striking similarities to Hydro Thunder Hurricane, but with jets and planes instead of boats.

Recently HandyGames shared a copy of Skydrift Infinity with us for the purpose of this review. As with all of situations we have agreed to share our thoughts on the game but have not agreed to any predefined opinions. Similar to most other racing games you start with a single course and as you place in that race you then unlock others. Experience earned goes towards unlocking skins and other planes/jets as do various challenges that need to be completed. Unlike most racing games this one is more similar to the Mario Kart games in that you pickup power ups as you fly and use them to either remove the others from your path or give you some sort of edge against them.

Visually the game is sleek and the terrain is full of features that will distract your attention from your flight path. The controls are fluid, allowing you to move about the course and around obstacles without too much effort. Of course if you fail to avoid an obstacle and crash you respawn seconds later pointed in the correct direction, allowing you to resume the race with minimal fuss. There really is no story to speak of but the gameplay overall is fast paced and quite a bit of fun, even better is when playing with your friends.

This game is a must for racing fans or fans of flight simulators, especially if you enjoy dogfighting because the powerups make attacking the other planes on your course more enjoyable than winning the race itself and with enough bullets you’ll be able to do both (most of the time)!

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me codes to some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. Part 5 was all about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam. Part 6 had discussed Mortal Kombat and Those Who Wish Me Dead. We have returned for Part 7 to discuss In the Heights, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20 Years of Movie Magic edition!

In the Heights

This film follows Usnavi as he tells a group of local kids the story of his dream and how everyone has their own dreams while living in Washington Heights. I went into this film having never seen the play or listened to the music. My family are huge fans of Hamilton though and I went into this hoping to hear more amazing music in a similar style, but only a couple songs reminded me of others from Hamilton and not the ones I loved. Visually the film was stunning and the acting was fantastic but the story was slow and felt more like a week in the life of Usnavi and was not as interesting as I hoped it would be.

The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It

This was the first of the Conjuring films I’ve seen with Conjuring actually in the name. The film begins with with the usual duo of, I guess you can call them demon hunters, as they work to exercise a demon from a young boy. I was expecting a campy horror film with too many jump scares but was surprised to find a well written film with the right mixture of tone and suspense.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League

This is essentially the director’s cut of Justice League as Snyder originally intended it. Like more director’s cut scenes were added to the original release but this time almost doubling the length of the film. This telling of the story was much more coherent and we ended with a much better telling of the story. It was a good film that was made better and overall a much more enjoyable experience.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20 Years of Movie Magic

This edition of the film include the Magical Movie Mode which gives viewers the ability to see deleted scenes (many of which have been released previously in other formats) and various commentary from director Chris Columbus. Seeing the deleted scenes was a treat but personally I have never been a fan of live commentary while watching a film, unless of course it is my family doing it similar to the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Overall this is STILL a fantastic film and the added features make the experience fresh but not enough to make it feel like a new film.

SO WHICH WARNER BROS FILMS DID YOU SEE? WHICH DID YOU ENJOY?

It is rare to find a game where you are blind and not from a lack of information. The Vale is the first I’ve played without any visuals.

Falling Squirrel Inc have not only envisioned a game where players must rely on senses other than sight but have delivered on their goal. The Vale: Shadow of the Crow is the finished product of that endeavor and we were given a copy to review. As with every game we either received or purchased we put in at least one hour of gameplay before sitting down to write our thoughts and in this instance we played for two.

When given the opportunity to review a game we rarely read many of the press releases and as such when it came time to play my expectations were that this would be some sort of RPG (Role Playing Game). I was shocked when I started the game to be greeted with a screen that was almost entirely black save for a handful of floating sprites. I went on to listen as the story was told and then expected to defend myself against wolves. I feel like the concept for this game was meant to give players a truly blind immersive experience. With the right sound setup you would get a three dimensional cue where threats are attacking from and be able to meet them in kind, however most people rely on television speakers and this advantage is lost. Players can find foes eventually by audio cues indicating when they are hit and then able to keep hitting them but without the immersive feel it falls flat. The audio work on this game is a much higher quality than most games, but it isn’t able to give players the true feel of the game. This game has a lot of potential but not in a two speaker world.

Puzzle games and platformers are both rife with frustration but this feeling is usually accompanied by enjoyment. What happens when you blend the two and throw in cute slime? You get Gelly Break Deluxe.

ByteRockers brings us an adorable platformer and puzzle hybrid called Gelly Break Deluxe. You control one or both of two gellies, an orange and a green one, and when stacked together the one on top becomes a turret. When playing solo the turret gelly is controlled by one of the sticks where movement is controlled by the other. When playing together each gelly is controlled by one play and whichever is on top is the turret and can only point and shoot. Most levels will have three hidden gellies to find and most will give an audio cue when you approach them, even if you can’t see them.

The puzzles can be quite challenging as the stages progress but with a little patience can be overcome with minimal effort. The only truly difficult part of this game is finding the secret passage needed for the related achievement. I have completed every level I’ve seen and found every hidden gelly and yet I still can’t find this passage. I will keep replaying until I do because it is very well hidden but despite having to replay levels the are enjoyable enough that it’s worth it. For the complexity of some of the puzzles they remind me of playing Splosion Man, and that’s a good thing. This is a family friendly title that will easily end relationships if playing together- I suggest playing solo if you want to save your friendships.

You can pick up your copy on Steam, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch. Our copy was given to us by Byterockers for the purpose of this review.

Nothing brings out the frustration and rage like a game of Overcooked 2 and the newer stages that come with the Season Pass are no exception!

The kinds folks over at Team17 shared the season pass to their game Overcooked 2 with us and honestly this article took way to long to be written and for that we do apologize. Nearly a year ago we reached out to the developers and requested the opportunity to review the downloadable content for an already great game and they agreed. Now fast forward through the year and I soon realized my play style was not going to cut it for this coverage. When playing this game, whether the core title or any add one, I always did so with my wife. Between yelling at ourselves for missing a goal or one of us pleading with the other for one more level, it has always been the two of us playing.

Out of a sense of obligation to Team17 I have decided to continue only far enough to share thoughts on each dlc without my wife as we have found it difficult to find time to play the game together.

Too Many Cooks

This DLC pack is a chef only pack which adds a Cat, a Pink alien, a Unicorn, a Walrus and a Monkey. The Unicorn is the family’s favorite.

Surf n Turf

The focus of the meals in this pack is one food you’d eat on the beach or during summer. This includes smoothies, burgers and kabobs. We had a ton of fun with this one, one of the easier worlds by far, and even got to 3 stars with my children. It was quite amusing to use squirt guns to clean the dishes.

Night of the Hangry Horde

Conceptually this was my favorite of the worlds as it brought zombies into the game. Now with this game the zombies are made of food, just like the king and instead of eating your brains you cook them a meal and send them on their way.

Campfire Cook Off

Following the Trail Mix trail the chefs focus on making meals that are centered around camping- hotdogs, smores, pancakes and oddly pizza is even on the list. Where in most other modes of the game ingredients are stored in cases, this time they are stored in backpacks.

Carnival of Chaos

As one would expect the them of this DLC was around the carnival. You will see things like donuts, hotdogs, pizza and even combo meals. It even features magic portals and canons to launch you from one part of the kitchen to another. As the name implies it can get quite hectic at times but that’s nothing outside the normal from the Overcooked franchise.

Final thoughts on Overcooked 2:

Each add-on brings a unique set of recipes and challenges. Some are downright maddening but in summary this game in all of it’s forms has been a hell of a lot of fun and worth grabbing a copy, just don’t expect to get the 3 stars on your first few tries.

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me codes to some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. Part 5 was all about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam. It is time for Part 6 and we are talking about Mortal Kombat and Those Who Wish Me Dead!

Mortal Kombat

The Mortal Kombat tournament summons champions from all over the planet and pits them against the champions from outworld. If the Earthly champions are defeated then armies from outworld will be able to invade and eventually conquer the planet. My expectations for this film were a little spread out on this. I expected to see some awesome fights and graphics but for the story I didn’t expect anything award worthy. Every expectation I had was met perfectly.

Those Who Wish Me Dead

This is a film adaptation of a novel and follows a young boy that tries to escape the men that killed his father for knowing too much. We never quite find out exactly what he knew but that isn’t integral to the story. The boy meets Angelina’s character, a fire jumper that is stationed at a lone tower, after her tower is struck by lightning and together they begin a trek through the forest to help him get in touch with news stations. This movie was filmed quite well and the cast were top of their game. Despite the great direction and cast the story I found this film to be lacking in anything that makes it really stand out. I want my films to entertain me or surprise me and this film did neither.

SO WHICH WARNER BROS FILMS DID YOU SEE? WHICH DID YOU ENJOY?

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO DISNEY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Disney Studios (their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. With Part 1 we were taking a look at the live action version of Mulan. Part 2 discussed Soul and Raya and the Last Dragon. Part 3 looked at the live action story of Cruella and we have returned for Part 4 to discuss Luca!

Luca

Luca is the name of a “Sea Monster” that is a better person than most of us. He meets a fellow monster named Alberto and he learns that the surface world is not nearly as frightening as his parents led him to believe. Challenging a small town’s ideas on what makes someone truly human or that being different is not always a bad thing, this film is a fantastic tale that can be enjoyed by the entire family. In the short time since we’ve received this film we have easily watched it a half dozen times but probably more and it is still fantastic. This is the classic Disney storytelling that have made them the powerhouse they are today.

Have you had a chance to see this film from Disney Studios?

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO DISNEY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Disney Studios (their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. With Part 1 we were taking a look at the live action version of Mulan. Part 2 discussed Soul and Raya and the Last Dragon. We have returned for Part 3 with Cruella!

Cruella

Disney has decided to have a third try at making their classic animated film into a live action retelling. The first two featured Glenn Close in the role of Cruella. In this version we start with a much younger version that later grows up to become Emma Stone in the role. This is a rags to riches tale that honestly should have been it’s own tale instead of a reimagining of this classic. Estella starts for a ritzy department store as a member of the cleaning staff and after a frustrating day and a drunken evening manages to revolutionize the store display and gains the attention of a designer known as the Countess. During this role she learns that this woman is the reason her mother is dead and creates the persona of Cruella, using it to exact her revenge. As I mentioned this film easily stands on it’s on without needing to be tied to the classic character itself and would have been just as fantastic. Now I will mention that this is technically a family film but for younger members of the family it can be quite slow at times and may be difficult to keep their attention. Overall this was a fantastic film and I will be shocked if it isn’t at least nominated for awards this coming season. Anyone interested in picking up a physical copy will be able to do so when it is released on Blu-Ray, DVD and 4K on September 21st.

Have you had a chance to see this film from Disney Studios?

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me codes to some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. We have returned with Part 5 and are talking about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam.

Wrath of Man

Guy Ritchie has been one of THE best directors and when my contact at Warner Bros offered this film to us to review I jumped at the chance. Wrath of Man follows H as he takes a job as a crewmen on an armored truck and as the story unfolds we learn that there is more to him than meets the eye when he stops an armed robbery without a scratch. The film was absolutely brilliant. Ritchie’s control of the story is phenomenal and Statham delivered one of his best performances, ever!

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

This is the original story starring Gene Wilder in 4k and is just as disturbing as it was when I was a child. In 4k it is more vivid than ever and watching it again I can appreciate the stellar performance by Wilder.

Space Jam

Space Jam is one of those films that you remember fondly and as an adult give it another chance and watch with your children. The problem with the film is not the story or the performances but the fact that these days staple characters like Bugs or Daffy are rarely seen and today’s children aren’t really interested in them at all. They have not invested hours upon hours in watching these characters. Some of their antics may not carry over as well in today’s culture but for the most part they were fun. It was great to see these characters return and share them with the family but I was the only one on the couch that seemed to enjoy the film.

SO WHICH WARNER BROS FILMS DID YOU SEE? WHICH DID YOU ENJOY?