Slaps and Beans 2 review

Slaps and Beans

Who remembers Bud Spencer or Terence Hill? The iconic duo have returned to voice their characters for Slaps and Beans 2 from Strictly Limited Games!

The iconic duo of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill have returned with their characters of Slaps and Beans for the second game of the same name. It is styled after arcade classics like Double Dragon or Streets of Rage while poking fun at themselves and the genre. You start the game adrift on a makeshift raft and arrive in Africa. Hilarity, slapping and chaos ensues as they embark on their next adventure from Strictly Limited Games.

I have always had a place in my heart for classic brawling arcade games, Streets of Rage especially. You have the ability to play solo or with a partner. Playing solo allows you to alternate between Slaps and Beans at will. I have never played a brawler that did that, closest I can remember would be one of the Lego games. This allows you to strategize based on the needs of the fight.

Graphically the game is on par with those same classics with a similar quality to Streets of Rage. What really sets this game apart is not that they use Bud and Terence’s likenesses but that they voiced it too. Controls are quite simple and intuitive, especially the ease of swapping characters. The writing for the dialogue is cheesy at best and is hilarious. Even with the sound off I was still laughing. There are even some minigames that add more character and hilarity to the gameplay. Overall I was surprised by how enjoyable I found the game considering I’ve never heard of Bud Spencer or Terence Hill. If you’re looking for a laugh and a fresh perspective on the arcade brawlers then you won’t want to miss this one.

Cyanide & Happiness’ Freakpocalypse

freakpocalypse

Cyanide & Happiness has brought the first installment in their new trilogy Freakpocalypse on Switch and Steam!

In Freakpocalypse you play as Coop, an orphan that must help save the school and more importantly survive in it. The problem is EVERYONE needs help and not a single one of them even likes you! The game starts with a battle between a heroic version of yourself against the sinister Dr Dropout and his army of Droogs. Of course to no-one’s surprise this turns out to be only Coop’s daydream amid doodles in his notebook.

Videos are skippable in the story but I advise not to as some of your tasks make little to no sense without them. Life like the story of this game can be an adventure but seem completely random and pointless at times. Visually it is the quality you’ve come to expect from the art and videos from C&H. The controls however leave much to be desired, it looks and feels like a traditional point and click adventure but on the Switch feels overly complicated. If you are a fan of C&H’s style of crude humor and storytelling you will enjoy this game, as long as you can tolerate the convoluted controls.

Check out the trailer from Cyanide & Happiness:

Kill it with Fire from TinyBuild

Kill it with Fire

TinyBuild’s Kill it with Fire allows players to kill their eight-legged foe fire but so many other options as well including C4.

We have a saying in our house when we see almost any bug, but spiders and scorpions especially- “Kill it with fire” and with this game you get to do exactly that and more, at least as far as spiders are concerned. The folks at TinyBuild saw fit to share the game with us, not once but twice. We got to test it out on both the Xbox One and the Switch. Personally I only played the Xbox version while my son played both. I will speak to the game as a whole and mechanics followed by his thoughts on which platform is the better experience.

Each stage you must locate weapons, upgrades and of course the spiders themselves. Some allow you to smash, explode, shoot and burn them. I’m certain there are other ways to kill the spiders as well but I just haven’t found them yet. As you find ways to kill the spiders you’ll find each death counts towards unlocking various doors. Some will reveal new rooms, others will reveal hidden documents, a secret chamber or even a storage for ammunition. Visually the game isn’t the most gorgeous but with a game like this it doesn’t need to be. It feels like the goal was focused more on user experience than on a stunning visual and for most of us that experience is much more important.

I thought a traditional controller would be ideal for gameplay but my son, having played both versions, believed that the Switch version was the far superior method for the game. We will have to agree to disagree.

My expectation of the game was it looked like it would be fun but would be forgettable. I make it a point to play each title for approximately one hour, a testament to the quality of the game is how much time I spent after that hour. I played this for three to four hours so far and wish I had more time to invest in it. I can say that this game is not to be overlooked. I look forward to finding each of the hidden weapons and upgrades to use to kill those eight-legged bastards.

Winter is coming so Save Your Nuts

Save Your Nuts

In Save Your Nuts players control various animals in search of hording all of the nuts. Will your animal come out as king?

Have you ever wondered which animal can horde the most nuts? Traditionally you would think the squirrels would be masters of their nuts but Save Your Nuts, from Triple Scale Games, puts players in command of various creatures to steal all of the nuts. Each animal has it’s own boosts like stronger hits, more durability or more speed.

Each game my son would insist on changing animal types to keep the game fresh along with new maps to enjoy the full experience. There are dogs, wolves, turtles, raccoons, squirrels and armadillos. Wolves are the quicker option that is more durable and because I’ve always had an affinity for wolves so they were my go to. Each map offered new obstacles and new ways to screw over the competition. The power ups can be quite entertaining as well- its hilarious to watch a 12 year old fall over laughing when dropping toxic poop piles all over the ground.

Overall I found the game to be great fun when playing as a family but against the AI it is more frustrating than enjoyable.