Tag: gaming

The Precinct Xbox Review

The Precinct is a game I’ve been watching for a while, and Kwalee was kind enough to send me a copy to check out a little bit ago. As you all know I like to get that out of the way up front and share my appreciation before we go any further.

The story itself is straight out of any cop movie or show from the 1980s and 90s. A new rookie joins the force; his father used to belong to the same precinct and was a hero to many. Cut down by the lawless criminals of the city for daring to fight the corruption. The son returns to finish what his father started and find the ones responsible for his death. That being said, I am a bit older than many of you, and you might not have seen a lot of those movies.

The game itself is straightforward: choose a beat for the day, collect evidence while hunting down graffiti artists, writing parking tickets, or chasing down stolen vehicles, trying to outrun the law. Beat up or shoot the occasion drug dealer. You know what, this is getting out of hand, the city of Averno is kind of a hellhole. Just go clean it up and collect evidence.

Also, don’t really worry about collateral damage. While shooting Random people isn’t a good idea, I’ve run over many people during police chases and flipped plenty of civilians’ cars. Nobody seems overly concerned about it. Stop and frisking random people also isn’t such a big deal. It even grants experience when you happen to be right.

The game controls very well, and I never felt like I couldn’t control my car or aim my weapon the way I wanted. The option to just turn down random call-outs is nice as well. Sometimes I just wanted to relax and focus on writing parking tickets to advance what I was doing, so I let the guy steal a car. It wasn’t my car after all. Progress never really felt stunted or not rewarded, either. Unlocking new weapons and cars felt natural, and my character always felt like he was improving.

My only real complaint comes from the fact that charging people with crimes felt like it was too predetermined. A few times, someone would flee in their car, and despite seeing a few crimes, charging them with those crimes was deemed wrong. How can a guy run from me and hit 7 other cars and me, but I can’t charge him with a hit and run?

That being said, for $30, this game is fantastic. Easily an 8/10 experience that I will probably continue to play like I do GTA games just because they are fun to screw around with. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Bastide (early access) Steam Review

Bastide was sent to me by Medieval Nexus, and honestly, I probably should take that as a threat. I do appreciate it, though. The game is probably just the worst city-building strategy game I have ever played. My PC has well beyond the recommended specs, but even on the lowest settings, it runs like my computer is struggling to survive a Diddy party.

Moving beyond this, multiple buildings would just stop producing stuff. Not because I ran out of stuff it needed or I didn’t have workers, if I built a new one, they would go back to producing just fine. It was like the game suddenly stopped recognizing my buildings.

The game is also missing some basic functions, it seems. You can’t really control your people directly when you get attacked, and there also isn’t a way to rally them to fight, either, so producing weapons sometimes feels pointless. I’ve lost plenty of people to small attacks, people rather than fight, they would just stand there and get slaughtered by a force much smaller than my town.

Normally, I’d say the game is in early access, and there is plenty of time to turn it around. This is a screenshot I took today as I write this review.

For 5 years, this game has been in Early Access alpha. Your $13 is better spent supporting someone else. This game is barely playable, 3/10. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Augmented Empire Steam Review

Augmented Empire for Steam was sent to me by Coatsink and is a turn-based strategy RPG. The story is pretty straightforward: you live in Savannah in the year 2058. The world is a corrupt place, divided by class and who you know, more than by ability and what people deserve or have earned. Your choices will change all that, maybe.

The game plays great, as no time during my time did I experience any sort of stutters, slowdowns, or crashing. The hand-drawn maps and backgrounds are gorgeous as well.

The game is rather short, and the battles are pretty simplistic compared to other games in the genre. Only 26 battles, which can be beaten in about 10 hours. This isn’t bad, though the game only has a price tag of about $8.

Now you all know by now when I review games, I review them based on games around a similar price point. The problem I have here is that I really don’t have anything to compare this with. The story is good, but not great. It doesn’t do anything new, but what it does is solid and worth a playthrough. The graphics aren’t great but for the price they are damned good. The voice acting is comparable to games at twice the price, easily.

I find myself wanting to give this game a 9/10. The game isn’t the best, but it is one of the best games out there at this price point. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Monster-Taming Action-Adventure RPG “Creature Keeper” Out Now (PC)

Publisher Graffiti Games and developer Fervir Games are excited to announce that Creature Keeper, the monster-taming, action-adventure RPG where you tame, train and fight alongside wild Creatures in real-time combat, is available now on PC via Steam for $14.99! Build your party of charming companions to take on any challenge, then coordinate powerful attacks and combos on an action-packed, retro-inspired journey across a vast world full of dangers and secrets to discover.

Welcome to Thera, a magical and mysterious land filled with fifty fantastical Creatures to raise and fight alongside in epic combat. Embark on a great adventure to restore balance and stop a strange sickness from bringing calamity to the world.

Build and customize your party, level up and unlock new buffs and powers, and learn all about Creatures through your battles and experiences. Befriend a wide variety of Creatures like the adorable Amphibiole, the powerful Molectus, the gigantic Lutras, the jacked Swolfe, and the almighty Bep. Power up your team, fill out your Bestiary, grow a garden on the go, and embark on a fantastic journey to fulfill your destiny!

Key Features

  • Build Your Team & Fight: Assemble your dream team by befriending a variety of unique Creatures to battle alongside you in real time. Choose your Creatures wisely to handle any challenge that stands in your way!
  • Customize Your Creatures: Create powerful, diverse, and stylish playstyles through gameplay-altering skill gems, perks, weapons and more while looking fashionable with tons of hats to dress your Creatures up in.
  • Potent Plant Power: Use your Pocket Garden to grow food and create helpful Connection Bonuses for your Creatures in an engaging organization mini-game.
  • Knowledge Is Strength: Fill out your Bestiary of fifty unique Creatures to unlock powerful buffs and items for your party.
  • An Epic Journey Awaits: Explore the vast world of Thera and all its secrets as you take on your quest of destiny.

Creature Keeper is available today on Steam for $14.99 and is coming soon to the Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store. The game is also in development for Nintendo Switch. It will be featured in Steam’s Creature Collector Fest May 12-19 and will be debuting a developer diary at the OTK Games Expo on May 25 (where it previously won the expo’s $25,000 grant in 2023).

For more information, visit the Graffiti Games website, and follow the latest updates from the team on Twitter/X and Discord.

About Fervir Games

Fervir Games is a one-man studio founded in 2021 with a focus on pixel art and animation, currently working on the monster-taming RPG Creature Keeper.

About Graffiti Games

Graffiti Games is a video game publisher comprised of a strong team of games industry veterans. With a powerful, global distribution network encompassing both digital and physical retail partners, Graffiti achieves worldwide reach and maximizes sales potential for its games. Graffiti is known for a portfolio of high-quality games, including the recent best sellers Blue Fire and Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion. To find out more about Graffiti and our portfolio, please visit www.graffitigames.com.

Polterguys (Xbox Review)

Polterguys Possession Party is a party game sent to me by Amplified Games, which is always appreciated. The game itself is pretty simple to get into. You play as a ghost that possesses random items, and you must avoid a larger ghost. Last one standing wins.

This sounds like it would be easy, but there will, however, be other people trying to sabotage you. Fences that can be moved on you as you try to escape, power-ups that can be used against you (or by you), or even levers that can launch you out of hiding places just as the ghost shows up. These are all possibilities of what can be done to you. They can also be done by you.

There honestly isn’t a ton to be said about this game. For a game with a $10 price tag, it has a lot to it. You can practice with bots before going online with real people. The game also has plenty of things for you to unlock when it comes to toys and food to possess for your little ghost guy. Some in levels, some are hidden in your room, which acts as a sort of in-game hub for you and your friends. The game is also 2-4 players couch co-op, so if you want to play with your real-life friends as opposed to online with strangers, that is an option. Don’t get drunk and play with your girlfriend, tho, they don’t appreciate being tossed to the ghost. The game is a solid 8/10, even though it did have me on the couch for a night. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Hot Rod Mayhem (Xbox Review)

Hot Rod Mayhem is a kart racer sent to me by Casual Brothers, and of course, I always like to disclose that and thank them up front. There are probably a million kart racers out there, so it is always a dicey genre to enter. This one is available basically anywhere you play games.

The biggest selling point of this game for me is that they chose a very old-school feel for this one. There is no online mode; this is a couch co-op adventure. Each person (up to 4) just creates a character before the race, with plenty of options from perfectly normal to pretty outrageous. Then you pick a car to race with, each with its own good and bad points.

There are only two real options when it comes to racing: a single race or a full-blown championship series. I like this choice as well because they do a lot with a little. You can unlock 10 tracks, but each one of these tracks can be reversed, and there are multiple difficulty options. When you add in the power-ups, races can get kind of wild and hectic.

The game is far from perfect. It relies heavily on boosting as opposed to skill to win races at times, it seems, and bumping other racers can end your race faster than anything else. As far as I can tell, the computer racers don’t suffer from this issue the same way human players do.

The game cost $20, and for kart games I’ve played at that price, it is definitely solid. There are certainly better out there, especially if you are playing on the Switch. But for Xbox on PlayStation, the game is solid enough. It is a 7/10 game in a genre piled with quickly tossed-together junk. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Live War (Steam Preview)

Live War is a real-time strategy game that Mirage sent to me, and I have always appreciated it. I should also point out it is a preview version of the game, which means it is still being worked on, so I won’t be giving it a score as it seems unfair to grade unfinished work.

The game itself is easy to learn. You command your troops; each troop type has strengths and weaknesses. Don’t try sending a couple of foot soldiers after a tank, obviously. Also, maybe don’t send that tank after air support. This seems like common sense, but I tested it anyway. Do not do that.

It is also nice to see how easy it is to learn, but hard to master the game actually is. In the first couple of battles, you can kind of get away with just sending a ton of troops straight into the action. This is a quick way to lose the war, though. Also, the old school rope a dope doesn’t work. Sending a couple of troops forward to entice the enemy to chase you into an ambush rarely works.

Now, how does the game function? Well, I can play on my laptop just fine. I can’t imagine his will cause any real issues for anyone with a half-decent setup. I did have some mild slowdowns when there were a lot of explosions on screen, but this was very mild and very few and far between.

Real-time tactics fans are definitely going to want to keep an eye on this one, even the preview version I was sent is a ton of fun to play. Hell, I don’t even know what was missing from it.

Hook: Complete Edition (xbox review)

Hook Complete Edition is another game sent my way by Ultimate Games, and it is kind of an odd one for me. I don’t normally like Puzzle games. In fact, I am not exactly a fan of this one, yet I couldn’t really stop playing it. Even my 8-year-old daughter gave it a try. The concept is simple and very minimalistic. Each level has a few hooks. All you have to do is click on them to release them in order so that they all come loose without anything preventing it.

This is a level as well.

Pretty much every level you complete gives you that nice achievement sound. It starts off pretty simple. Do I mean this one first or this one first. It isn’t long, however, before you are following lines and trying to figure out if something needs to be twisted so only one half moves. It gets addictive fast.

Full disclosure, there are already multiple videos out there that will allow you to speed through this game and collect every achievement in a few hours. The game isn’t long if you want to do it that way, but there is plenty of fun to be had here if you like this sort of game. It won’t be the game that makes you fall in love with puzzle games, but if you like them or just want some quick achievement points, this is a great option. This is even more true when you see the price point is less than $5. 8/10 on this great low-price game. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Drug Dealer Simulator (Xbox Review)

Drug Dealer Simulator has been around for a while on PC, but it finally made its way to Xbox, and later this year will make its way to PS5. For now, however, Ultimate Games was kind enough to toss me a copy to check out on Xbox.

This game has a very simple premise. You are poor as hell, you want to not be poor, and you know a guy who can get you in touch with the right people to buy the drugs you need to keep the locals happy.

From the start, a typical day starts like this. Use your laptop to contact Eddie and tell him how much of each drug you want. Then go pick them up from the drop-off point and bring them home. Hopefully, you don’t get nailed by the cops and really screw yourself over. Don’t worry, early in the game, this is pretty easy to do. From here, you set up your deals again with the laptop. Use your table to split your drugs up into smaller quantities and make your deals.

This is the basic game loop, but if you want to truly succeed, you need to do more. Grab yourself some salt and mix some in with your meth to boost how far it goes, turning extra profit. Be careful, tho, while certain things make your drugs more addictive, they can also be toxic and kill your customers.

More money means you can expand your business into new areas and buy businesses that will make your income seem more legitimate. This will be important in keeping the cops and DEA from kicking your door in. Suspicious activity will bring up your risk meter, and so will depositing large amounts of money into your account. The account is needed for all your bills because in this world, Big Brother is watching.

Graphically, it is undeniable that Drug Dealer Simulator is lacking. The game doesn’t look bad, but it has been out a while on PC, and there is even a sequel (that will also be coming to consoles at some point), but the gameplay itself is top-notch. Ducking behind buildings and hopping fences to avoid police while you have a backpack filled with cash and weed is a lot of fun. I don’t suggest playing the home version, but the simulator? 8/10 must play. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Collectible Cars Shop Simulator (PS5 Review)

This is another shop game sent to me by the fine folks over at Nostra Games, and if you read my review of Collectible Card Shop Master (PS5 Review) you know exactly what to expect. This time, instead of game cards, however, you are selling toy cards.

I don’t really know how this works, but they seem happy

Also, instead of playing a card game, they somehow race them on a track, which I don’t understand how that works exactly, but they all seem happy to do it, and they pay me money, so have at it. My confusion aside on how a store would stay open or have so many clients selling exclusively toy cars and toy car paraphernalia, the game works.

The game functions well, I had no issues with shelves, customers glitching in or out, and my employees did what I wanted. Oddly, that is all I can say about the game. It isn’t a bad game. It functions well, it’s got some easy trophies to collect, and it is worth the price you pay to buy it. I just don’t understand why it exists. It seems so random to me. That being said, if it catches your interest, there’s no reason not to pick it up. 7/10, game functions, and is as much fun to play as any other shop simulator. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.