Category video game

Sure other games have brought various hellscapes to the science fiction genre but Hellpoint does it a bit differently.

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. A corporation bent (might even say hell-bent) on evil shenanigans ruin the world by bringing a new form of hell to Earth. This time literally bringing hell to the Irid Novo space colony. Hellpoint aims to do just that. Before we jump in fully here are a few notable hellscape/scifi titles to consider playing as well- Dead Space 1-3 and Doom franchise. To begin with as far as similar titles go this is some amazing company to keep, but how did Cradle Games‘ Hellpoint fare?

To say this is on par with the previously mentioned franchises would be a gross overstatement but also an oversimplification. Doom revolutionized the First Person Shooter genre where Dead Space did the same for the Third Person Shooter. The world looks and feels very similar to that of Dead Space complete with stunning visuals and creepy ambiance. Instead of just managing your weapon and suit loadouts Hellpoint has you manage so much more. For starters I only ever encountered melee weapons where Dead Space focuses more on ranged weapons.

Players take control of their demon-like creature carving your way through Irid Novo. Along the way you pick up weapons, items and armor, all in the hopes of making your character strong enough to take on the gods themselves. Here are the main highlights and downsides to the game:

• The visuals are stunning and horrifying.

• Controls are solid and easy to master.

• Abilities come off dynamic and work well with the environment.

• The story is practically nonexistent after the into cinematic finishes for the first couple hours of the game.

In summary the game feels and looks like the unholy offspring of Dark Souls and Dead Space. The lack of story elements at the start of the game are a bit troubling and hard to engage with. If you’re looking for a straight up hack and slash title this game is for you but if story is your thing from start to finish this will be a hard pass.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to deliver packages in a world of ragdoll physics? In Totally Reliable Delivery Service from Epic Games and TinyBuild you can!

Totally Reliable Delivery Service was a title I was given to review courtesy of Epic Games and TinyBuild, but their generosity has in no way influenced my thoughts on this game. We were able to test it out on both the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. My son preferred the controls on the Switch and I thought they felt more natural on the Xbox.

The concept of the game is that you play a delivery person who must deliver an assortment of packages. The base idea is rather dull and I’m sure there are more than enough people that would not want to play a video game based on their day job. Epic Game and TinyBuild took a very different approach. Instead of the tedious driving door to door and dropping off of packages you drive, fly and carry packages across dozens of scenarios including up a steep hill to a ski lodge while avoiding falling trees or using a forklift to deliver an explosive through a second story residential building. There are ramps to jump your vehicles over, hidden castles and plenty of challenges to keep you having to replay missions to grind them all out.

My son found the game to be dull and gave up playing after his first time playing it. I spent probably about five total hours on the title, messing around more than trying to score well on challenges and agreed. It is a bit dull in terms of story and excitement but the game is cute, family friendly and easy to pick up and play for a few minutes at a time. Longer doses of this game leaves me prone to yawning after I explored all of the areas I felt there was no need to keep at it and removed the game from my system. One day I may revisit it but chances are slim on this title.

Ever since I was a kid I loved the Where’s Waldo books and Hidden Through Time is here to try to scratch that particular itch.

Who hasn’t “read” a Where’s Waldo book? They were huge in the 80’s and 90’s and even my own kids have seen them. If they haven’t then they have seen books like them. Hidden Through Time is essentially a moving, interactive version of one of those books. Crazy Monkey Studios are the brains behind this game and their passion for the genre shows. Players load maps in “single play mode” or essentially an offline mode where they begin to hunt for hidden images in the map. Some are quite obvious, while others can be maddeningly difficult to find. When this gets old or if you are simply looking for something new you can always load an online map.

The online maps are maps created by other players, these range from overly simplistic to insanely difficult. I even found one dedicated to the Indiana Jones movies and it did an amazing job at it! The creator of this map took time to recreate a dozen or so scenes from the film series including the iconic bag of sand switching with the idol from Raiders and the leap of faith from Last Crusade. There are easily hundreds of maps to choose from and for you achievement hunters if you type “Easy” into your search terms you can find over 40 (at least at the time of writing) maps that are a couple obvious clicks and then you are finished.

We found the game to be fun in small doses but more than ten maps and it feels quite repetitive, to the point of boring. Personally I would recommend waiting until this game was for sale for $10 or less to get a better value out of it.