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Saturday Game

The Witcher on Netflix. And The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Switch

December 20, 2019 By Bobby Voicu

I loved playing Witcher 3 on the PS4. I played it in 2015 and what I remember is this: after about 3 days of playing 10-12 hours a day, my girlfriend asked me if I’m close to the end. And I said something along the lines of “it’s pretty close, maybe 2 more hours”. It took me 2 more days to finish the game. The story continued to keep me stuck in front of the TV.

This is why I didn’t play the game again since. I loved it, but starting to play again for 100 hours seemed too much. Until it appeared on Nintendo Switch, about 2 months ago. I bought it on Black Friday and now I play it in shorter bursts, whenever I want. And it’s as good as I remember. It’s amazing the developers (CD Project Red) managed to use the underpowered console that is the Switch to actually make the game work. And it works amazing, even if it’s not 4K resolution.

Today I also started to watch The Witcher, the Netflix TV series. And, after 2 episodes, I can say I’m in. Henry Cavill is as close to Geralt of Rivia (the titular character) as much as it can be and the cinematography is really good.

If you want to watch a fantasy series you need to see The Witcher on Netflix. If you heard about the Witcher games or books but you were not too interested in them, the tv series might change your mind.

PlayStation’s State of Play games I want to play

December 10, 2019 By Bobby Voicu

I’m writing/updating this as I’m watching the live transmission of State of Play:

Untitled Goose Game: This seems such a stupid game idea, I might actually enjoy playing it, especially during the upcoming Christmas holiday (Dec 17th, 2019)

dreams: more of a game creator, it might be the non-pro game developer’s tool that I can try to use to finally build a game on my own (Feb 2020)

Babylon’s Fall: this a Square Enix game that looks like I might actually enjoy. I don’t know too much about it, I just hope it has a really good story 😁

Ghost of Tsushima: This might actually be the game I’ll play. (2020)

Yeah, that’s it. Nothing truly interesting, unfortunately. For me, that is, YMMV. If you want to see the entire State of Play, you can see it below:

Apple Arcade, first week

October 11, 2019 By Bobby Voicu

Apple Arcade

It took me a little bit of time because of some traveling I needed to do, but I finally tried Apple Arcade during the last weekend.

If you don’t know what Apple Arcade is, read this article. The tldr; version is that it’s a new program by Apple where they finance new and high quality games to be launched on all Apple platforms: MacOS, iOS, iPadOS and tvOS. The twist is that you have no in-app purchases. You pay for the subscription and that’s it. The subscription is $5/month and you can try the games for free for the first month, without needing to pay anything.

I’ve been quite excited about it, because I want to have some cross platform games that I can play on TV and on my mobile phone/tablet as well. I use SteamLink, I use Remote Play for PS4, but having native games on all platforms I use is so much better.

Another reason I loved the idea is that, starting with the latest version of the operating systems you can use Playstation’s DS4 controller natively through bluetooth. There were some hacks previously, but now you just connect the controller you want and that’s it. It also works with some XBox controllers, I think, but I don’t have an XBox, so I didn’t test it.

The games I tried yet: “What the Golf“, ustwo’s “Assemble with care” and some OceanHorn 2. I played What the Golf mostly on the iPad, and Assemble with care and Oceanhorn 2 on Apple TV, with the controller.

What the Golf

This is a weird and funny game. I can’t really tell you too much without spoiling some things, so if you have the time, play it. It’s… a golf game. Sort of. It’s really great to play on your phone during travel, among other things.

Assemble with care

This one is more of a story rather than a game. Yes, it is a bit of a puzzle game, but it’s more in the vein of Firewatch, rather than Monument Valley, another game made by ustwo. You learn the history of some people in a small city through repairing their old stuff (watch, camera, statue aso).

I’ve finished the game in about 2 hours, I think. I played it on the Apple TV, with the remote. While the controller worked in the menus, it didn’t work in the game.

I think it’s a nice, reflective game, that you can play when you’re feeling nostalgic. The voice acting is good and the graphics, the colors, make it like a living painting. I liked it.

For a more complete review, read this article.

Oceanhorn 2

It’s a game similar, in looks, to Nintendo’s Breath of the Wild. I played for about 30 minutes, but I remembered I didn’t really like Breath of the Wild anyway, so I stopped there. The controller works really well on the Apple TV, but this is not the kind of game I enjoy playing.

I’m looking for other games to play, so stay tuned, I might actually write more about Apple Arcade. I actually looked for a reason to learn to stream for a long time, so this might be the moment.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

August 3, 2019 By Bobby Voicu

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - Chloe and Nadine

Several days ago, while being somehow forced to stay at home, I wanted to play a nice story-based game that wouldn’t take a lot of time. And I remembered I really enjoyed PlayStation’s Uncharted: The Lost Legacy when it launched in 2017.

I played it again and I found it as enjoyable. For people that know a little bit about Uncharted, this time you don’t play Nathan Drake, but Chloe Frazer, his partner in crime from the second Uncharted game, Among Thieves. She teams up with Nadine Ross, one of the villains in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.

An unlikely pair, but I promise you, it works. They are funny in a different way from Nate and Sully, but funny and interesting nevertheless. In some way, their banter is actually more entertaining. Maybe because we don’t know as much about them as we used to know about Nate and Sully, who knows.

In the end, I’ve had a fun 6-7 hours replaying the story. I saw that the price is now around $20 (or €20) and I think it’s worth it. If you didn’t play the game and you have some time free during August, I’d say give it a go.

Image source: PlayStation

[Sunday Game] GOG.com – Home of Great Classic Games

November 10, 2013 By Bobby Voicu

GOG.com

I started to play games when I was 6, in 1984. Of course, the games were played on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum of one of my best friends. It was his father’s computer, brought with difficulty from UK into communist Romania. We’ve broken it from playing Match Day and Fist, so I don’t think his father ever really liked me :D

Anyway, during those times I got addicted to story driven games and this addiction continued through the 90s and PCs and it is still in place today.

Recently (as in 2-3 years ago) I’ve discovered GOG.com or Good Old Games on its full name: the site where classic games go to have a second life.

Among the games I have bought and wait to play are: Planescape: Torment, Heroes of Might and Magic 3, Vampire: Masquerade Redemption, Alpha Centauri, Syndicate Plus, some great games that still have a lot of potential to replay over and over.

Since I have a Mac I thought that I couldn’t play the games, but there are some compatible Mac games. It doesn’t matter, though, since I play all the games in Parallels, on a Windows 7 install :D Because most of them are not graphics heavy, playing them in a virtual environment is actually possible without losing performance.

So, when you have a time and you feel melancholic towards the times you played games with your friends in the school’s lab, go to GOG.com. There are games for 2-3$ and most of them are up to $10.

P.S.: yes, it’s the second Sunday in a row when I don’t recommend a game. That’s because I am playing HOMM3 and I thought that it doesn’t need any presentation.

[Sunday Game] Masters of Doom (book)

November 3, 2013 By Bobby Voicu

masters-of-doom-covers

This weekend I didn’t play anything. Didn’t really want and wasn’t in the mood. But the main reason was that I got lost in a book that anybody involved in gaming should read: Masters of Doom.

It’s not, obviously, a horror book, it’s about about the two Johnes: John Romero and John Carmack, the creators of Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake. They invented the First Person Shooter style of gaming, they brought deathmatch to millions of players and made the world of gaming much more visceral.

The book goes over a period of about 20 years, since the two guys met, until the launch of Daikatana and Quake 3 Arena, the titles that weren’t as successful as any previous work they’ve done.

One quote I found interesting is about gamers’ behavior when it comes to paying:

Gamers, he realized, might be a different breed from those consumers who actually paid for utility shareware. They were more apt simply to take what they could get for free.

Go, have a read. It’s a good way to understand the things happening inside a small team once it grows.

Sunday Game: Grand Slam Tennis 2

October 27, 2013 By Bobby Voicu

Grand_Slam_Tennis_2

Recently the Romanian Simona Halep broke onto the tennis scene with a vengeance. She never won a WTA tournament until this year, but 2013 meant 5 finals and 5 tournaments won. This meant more interest in tennis in Romania.

Of course, this had nothing to do with the fact that, in the last 2 months or so, Grand Slam Tennis 2 is the game we at the office. The reason? 4 of us can play at the same time, a doubles game. And it’s so much fun! :))

Another fun thing is that you can play with 80s and 90s players (you have to see Bjorn Borg :D ). They look so out of place on the court, you have no idea. With their short (really short) pants or whatever they are called.

Most of the games, though, are something like Djokovici and Nadal playing against Roddick and Federer. I usually play Nadal since I play better with the player from the back of the court, but I would love to be able to play a more serve-volley kind of game.

We play the game on XBox, but it is also available on PS3 (and, I think, PC). So, if you want a game that you can play with your friends, Grand Slam Tennis 2 is great. Of course, you can do this in real life, but my back still hurts from such a try not long ago :))

Sunday Game: Strike Wing

October 20, 2013 By Bobby Voicu

Strike_Wing_iOS_Teaser_Trailer_-_YouTube

About two weeks ago I moderated a panel on indie games. Among the panelists, Dragos Inoan was telling us about his experience building a space combat simulator.

And the day has come when you can actually play the game (if you are in Romania, Canada and New Zealand, for the moment). It will be launched worldwide soon.

What can I tell you about the game? The graphics look really, really crisp. The game is easy to play (I was using the accelerometer), but you can also with it with touch and, hold on, using a new controller Apple is getting out on the market.

I played several sessions (lack of time). I am not the biggest fan of space combat games (I think I stopped playing them once I played Elite and Wing Commander, about 15 years ago), but it was really easy for me to pick up the games and shoot down the first 2-3 ships.

Oh, and the ships. I think they are some of the most beautiful designs I’ve seen in a game (admittedly, I didn’t play as many of this type). You can actually see some of the designs on the game’s site, here.

ctfighter

The game is a paid one ($0.99), and is available, as I said above, in the Romanian and Canadian store. I am really curious on seeing the big, US launch and how it works. Dragos is working with a distributor, trying to get as high as possible in the store (the game looks crisp and interesting, maybe he can get a Featured spot, also).

Good luck, Dragos!

Sunday Game: Gemini Rue (iPad/iPhone)

October 13, 2013 By Bobby Voicu

Gemini_Rue_Review_-_YouTube-2

Last week, searching for adventure (quest) games on the iPad, I’ve found Gemini Rue. I enjoy SF games more than fantasy, so it sounded great (especially since I am a big fan of Beneath a Steel Sky:

“A sci-fi noir adventure in the tradition of “Blade Runner” and “Beneath a Steel Sky.”

Azriel Odin, ex-assassin, arrives on the rain-drenched planet of Barracus. When things go horribly wrong, he can only seek help from the very criminals he used to work for.

Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a man called Delta-Six wakes up in a hospital with no memory. Without knowing where to turn or who to trust, he vows to escape before he loses his identity completely.

As fate brings these two closer together, we discover a world where life is cheap, identities are bought and sold, and a quest for redemption can change the fate of a whole galaxy.”

I have downloaded the game last week, played for about an hour, it’s pretty simple for the moment (the puzzles aren’t the most difficult), but I had no time to continue (still, it’s there, on the iPad, waiting for a better moment). The game is an 8bit graphic game, but the graphics is not even at the same level of Broken Sword, so don’t expect too much out of it. The story, though, seems intriguing and interesting, so it should compensate :)

So, if you are a fan of point and click adventures with cyberpunk subject, Gemini Rue might be exactly what you need. The game is $4.99, though, not free, so think about it before dropping the price of a coffee on it :P

The game is also available on steam, for PC, a little bit more expensive (€7,99).

You can see a video review below (not mine):

Saturday Game: Gravitarium for iOS

October 5, 2013 By Bobby Voicu

gravitarium2

Gravitarium is not, actually, a game: it’s a design challenge and a challenge to your sanity. I feel like a crazy person trying to put order into chaos.

So, how do you play it? You start with chaos. A lot of things, small things, wandering around the screen. And once you touch the screen, the little creatures (I know, I know, but you really feel they are alive) come to your touch. And if you add another finger to the screen, the start moving around from touch to touch. You can use up to 4 fingers (didn’t really make anything with 5, though you might be able to).

gravitarium

Now, start moving your fingers across the screen and you will create stunning graphics, stunning moving pictures. I remembered I once saw a documentary on the luminous little beings in the see and it’s the same feeling you have when you see people swimming through them (I don’t know the English name of the damn sea fireflies :D

Well, I downloaded the game without expecting to much from it, but since it’s made by a Romanian guy and it was recommended by my girlfriend I thought (read had to!!!) give it a try! And 30 minutes later I was still trying it :)

The game will set you back about $2, but it’s fun and it’s worth trying. I don’t know if it’s available for Android, I played it on iOS.

Later update: more details on the game here. Even better, there’s a video below showing the gameplay :)

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