Recent reviews by DreaddJester

This is about the closest you can get to playing though an episode of Mystery Science Theater. Yes there's a few weird camera angles and glitches but overall, this game rocks and you'll be ROFLOL'ing the whole way though. Take a friend along for added fun. Yes it plays well using either keyboard and mouse or a controller. Personally I prefer keyboard and mouse but have used a controller too and found it to be just as good.

It's cheap, it's cool, it does what it says. It's still in Early Access so the minor issues will get worked out in time and new features will be added. So it's only gonna get better.

So what does it do exactly? Well it lets you display moving and sometimes interactive backgrounds on your desktop. Simple as that. With workshop you have access to possibly infinite backgrounds or you can make your own if you've got the talent. Downside here is that the workshop is currently flooded with anime and some pornographic images. Hoping that will change in time though or at least there will be a wider range of ones that don't deal with those subjects.

So why would you want it? Well besides the initial "WOW" factor from your friends and family when they see it on your desktop, (don't expect to get any wow's from Apple fans though since they've had this a while now,) there's just the customization factor of making your own computer unique from others. And that's about it. It's a purely visual thing, a "pimp my desktop" thing if you will.

And that's about it on this one. Not really gonna make or break your life, you're computer, or your wallet here either way you go. But it will make your desktop look damn sexy. Literally in some instances.....

Pay no attention to the nay-sayers of this game for they are like a child that wanders into the middle of a movie.... Seriously, these folks obviously have zero idea the history behind the Pixel Puzzles series. Just a few examples..

"Oh, the pieces are floating and always moving around and hard to get..." Really buddy?? Those pieces are a dream to grab out of the floating pond compared to the second and third pixel puzzles. Seriously, I've had no issues with grabbing pieces like we used to have. And personally, I like it. It simulates shaking the box of a real puzzle around.

"The pieces aren't in the correct direction.." My god why are we even seeing this.... First off the pieces will ROTATE with a right mouse button click. Secondly, I'm sure the last time you went down to the store and bought a puzzle all the pieces were facing the right direction as you pulled them out of the box...RIGHT... You want your pieces to all come out facing the same direction go play some of the older ones where they do. Or play the first Pixel Puzzles where you have to fight zombies while building the puzzle.... That ought to blow your brains...

"I can't put random pieces together in improper locations and have them lock together..." Cause to sooo hard to put a few pieces together somewhere then just pick them up and move them when you figure out where they go? Most times when I assemble pieces together in a random spot on a real life puzzle they wind up falling apart when I try to move them to the proper location anyhow.... Also, you're not really trying here because in digital form there's other tricks you can use that you can't in a real puzzle... like randomly guessing where they go and getting it right through trial and error. Let's see you try that on a real puzzle....

"The devs didn't look at successful puzzle games.." Uhhh, they have made several successful puzzle games in the past man. You obviously didn't look for them before making this comment...

"Please stop accepting crappy mobile games" Now right here is truly someone who doesn't have a clue. Probably never even played the game or he would have known that there's zero way of making this on a mobile device without everyone going blind trying to see those little pieces on their little screens.. Seriously, man, think before you comment.

"I love puzzles but this is just wrong..." No, no you don't or you would have liked this.

I think the problem is that all these people are like a Facebook joke I saw the other day. 2 blonds walk into a bar screaming "SIXTY TWO!!!" The bartender asks, "why are you screaming sixty two?" and the blonds replied, "Because we just finished a puzzle in sixty two days that said two to four years.." Sadly, I'm sure they probably won't get that joke either.

So is the game without flaw?? No, but as far as gameplay goes it is pretty much on par with more recent versions of Pixel Puzzle. Biggest flaw I've seen so far is that I don't care for the pay as you go model charging more money per puzzle than we got in previous editions of the game. Yet I do understand that it is probably the best way to go. I mean, pinball games have been widely successful with the same model. That being said though there are quite a few free puzzles to work though before you'll be paying for them so there's that. At the end of the day I'd say it's as good if not better than previous versions of Pixel Puzzles. It's a great game to chill out to and relax.

You want a challenging game this one is for you. I'm a big Monster Hunter fan so no stranger to difficult boss battles but good lord!! 4 hours in and I still can't beat even the crystal thing in the starting area.....

Come to relive the classics, stick around for 3D Tic Tac Toe and Video Pinball!

No course in the history of video games would be complete without this collection of games. As you play each game you'll recognize bits and pieces that helped shape the games we play today. Personally, as an old fart gamer, I remember each and every one of these. I played them all for hours on end. I know for you young pups it's hard to understand how anyone could spend hours playing most of these games but in their time they were the most awesome games ever!!

So what do you get for your hard earned money here. Well you get 100 classic Atari games. A handful of them are Arcade versions but the greater majority of them are Atari 2600 games. Controls are a bit funky but they were with that Atari joystick that we had to keep taking apart and fixing all the time too. There's certainly some standout games like Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Tempest, and Crystal Castles. There's some seriously retro ones for you game historians that want to say you've played the earliest of games like Pong, Breakout, Outlaw, and Combat. Then there's a host of ones that have been forgotten Yar's Revenge, Sword Quest, and Haunted House. I think there's literally something for everyone in this package, if you like seriously retro games.

Trouble is, most of them you'll end up playing long enough to remember the game or see what it was like, then never play it again because the new games have so much more shiny lights. There are however a handful of games on here that might keep you coming back. 3D Tic Tac Toe is an awesome game in concept. When I told my 20 year old son about it (he'd never even heard of it) and explained how to win he asked why nobody ever picked up that game again and remade it. For all you pinball fans out there you have to try Video Pinball. I think it was one of the very first video versions of pinball ever. I remember literally sitting for hours playing the same game. If memory serves me correctly I maxed out the score once. BTW pro-tip on that one, you can nudge the table and it's helps, a lot...... Checkers, Chess, and Combat might be fun to play online or locally with friends.

At the end of the day it really depends on who you are and what your gaming tastes are when determining if you should get this one or not. If modern graphics and depth of gameplay are super important to you then I'd say don't get this. If you hate grinding or repetitive gameplay then you probably shouldn't get this. However, if you love retro games, seeing where your modern games started from, or are an old fart like me that wants to relive a little of the old days of gaming this is a great gem and should be in your collection. Personally, I love it and recommend it. Your mileage may vary.

First off I have something to get off my chest about this game...... IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME WE GOT A GAME LIKE THIS ON PC!! I've always been a huge fan of this style of gameplay, farming time management, so it comes as no surprise that when I learned it was out in the universe I was all over it. So far I have not been let down. For fifteen bucks you can own a Harvest Moon clone with some nice additions. Those additions include bits from other similar games like combat from Rune Factory, and a few elements from Animal Crossing. So if you're a Harvest Moon fan stop reading right here and buy the game already. I assure you this is a game you will enjoy.

And now for you hard sells. The ones that have never played Harvest Moon or anything like it. Why should you give this game a try? I'm sure you're scratching your head and wondering why the hell anyone would want to sit around in a game planting seeds and watching them grow. Well you see that's just the tip of the iceberg for games like this. There is so much to do and so little time that you'll find yourself into day 30 before you even know it. People to meet and become friends with in town, a farm to build up, money to make, a house to build, fish to catch, food to cook, animals to tend to, contests to win, caves to explore, spouses to marry, acts of god to curse....... This game has plenty to make you feel like you need to rush though it but honestly it's better to slow down and take it easy. Relax, everything will happen in its own time. This is one type of game where nothing bad is gonna happen if you take it slow.

However I know at the end of the day this game is like wine. Some will guzzle it down as fast as they can looking to get all the fun they can out of it as fast as possible. Others of us will sit and sip it, enjoying all the wonderful things it has to offer in due time.

So where's my pros and cons? Well with a 99% positive review rate as of the time of me writing this I'm sure there are plenty of other reviews out there to list them. Just know that this is one awesome game and I thank the developers wholeheartedly for finally bringing us such an excellent version of this style of gameplay.

This game.... this damn game......is one of the first games that has actually made me jump in my seat. And what in the world is so scary in this game?? A ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ cardboard ghost that's what! And now your thinking, "really Dread Jester?? A cardboard ghost scares the crap out of you?? You gotta be the biggest weenie in the whole world." Well you know what?? Sure I am. Buy why don't you download this free game, run though the first 200 levels, and see if you don't just about wet your pants and join us weenies that have played it. Oh and don't give me that"oh it didn't scare me...." BS. I know for a fact that you screamed like a little girl at some of those cardboard cutouts.... You're just too macho to admit it.

In my opinion, this game proves that you don't need fancy graphics, or metric tons of blood and gore to make a great scary game. If you haven't already downloaded and tried this game out you're missing out on one of the best games of the year. It's free, it's a small download, seriously, why aren't you downloading this already?? You probably could have done it in the time it's taken you to read this. Oh, and don't turn around, don't look back. Just go........

Pro and Cons at the end for those of you who don't like reading

Ahh, another serving of Decaying Logic's Pixel Puzzles. This is my second review of a Pixel Puzzles game, my first one being Pixel Puzzles: Japan. I had to give that one a thumbs down due to some glaring issues within the game but with this version I was pleasantly surprised. So, if you love jigsaw puzzles then sit back and I'll tell you a story about how Decaying Logic isn't living up to their name but perhaps should learn what their publisher’s name, KISS Ltd, stands for......

First let me begin by saying perhaps I was a bit harder judging on this one. I went in looking for mistakes, expecting them, wanting to find some. To my surprise there are very few and this tells me that perhaps Decaying Logic is listening to their fans and that makes me take notice. When you find a developer that cares about what their fans think and makes honest attempts to make their games better you'd better keep an eye on them because they will be going somewhere soon.

The first thing you should know if you've never played any of their other puzzle games is that the pictures in this one are as good as you get with any jigsaw puzzles. There's actually quite a few more offering within this one than in Japan as well. All the pictures in this one fit the "bird" theme so if you’re not a fan of birds I suppose it could be off putting but I'm not going to knock the game for that. The pictures give you quite a bit of challenge in terms of matching up pieces by color but it's not entirely impossible. It gives you a good sense of working a physical jigsaw puzzle on the tabletop.

Again in this version the pieces are cut in ways you could never truly cut a physical jigsaw puzzle so that added challenge is left intact which I enjoy. Many of the cuts in this one match the bird theme as well with birds and fish around the edges of the pieces. These funky piece cuttings can raise the difficulty of solving the puzzle up to some frustrating levels but overall I feel it's a positive. Some of us enjoy great challenges.

The pieces still once again "swim" in a pond around the main puzzle. This is an innovative and interesting way to present the pieces and probably gives you the best representation of "shaking the puzzle box" as you will ever find.

So far the game sounds the same as the last, my review does as well. So where did they get things right?? I'm about to jump right into that lake of beauty.. For starters there is now an auto save feature!! It will save all pieces placed correctly on the puzzle if you turn the game off or even if you start another puzzle and come back to that one later. This feature alone is enough to bring this review to a YES but wait, there's more..

The puzzle pieces now float around the whole puzzle, giving them more room to spread out so you can hunt for that one piece you know you need easier. This plus a seemingly better piece selection tool has practically removed the old issue with needing to click through millions of pieces to get the one you want. The puzzle area is smaller now but to make up for this there is a zoom tool that will enlarge the puzzle to your full screen and still let you move around pieces you have deposited up there. They also added an option to open up a bottom "sorting area" that runs along the bottom of the screen where you can put pieces you find that you know go somewhere but haven't figured out yet. And finally you can now rotate the pieces. That's right, just because you pull em out of the water doesn't mean that's the direction they go. Just one more thing added that makes this feel like a real table top puzzle.

So far they've fixed many of the problems that the previous puzzle games had and even added a few fan requested features. This certainly makes the game much more playable and enjoyable and gives it a much deserved "yes" rating. However, as much as Decaying Logic went against their namesake and actually improved their game, there's still room for them to improve and learn that KISS (name of their publisher) stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid."

So where are the flaws?? First off the pieces now actually look like they are under water. It's a neat effect but it discolors the pieces and makes it harder to pick them based on color matching. It's not game breaking but I now find myself picking up a piece and having to hope that it's a match for the color I'm looking for. Might have just been easier to keep those pieces floating on the surface the way they were in the previous games.

Second flaw is that they've now got the controls floating around in the water with the pieces and they get a little annoying. First off they get in the way of piece selection and second off they are subject to being missed when I try to click them and I pick up a piece instead. Once again, not super game breaking since there's hot keys but perhaps just grouping them into the bottom or top corner, or better yet, having them slide out when the ESC key or another key is hit would have been better.

So at the end of the day is this version of Pixel Puzzles better than the last?? The answer is a resounding YES. This is the one I would recommend to my friends. This is the one that gives us features we needed in the other ones. This is the ones that prove Decaying Logic listens to their fans. I'm a fan now. Can't wait to see what the future has in store for us with this line...... Now if we could only convince them to do one that can have fan made workshop puzzles.......


Pros:
+Good picture selection gives good challenging puzzles
+Interesting piece cut-outs
+Improved piece floating and selection
+Rotating Pieces
+Mid-puzzle save feature
+Optional sorting area
+Innovative "hint" system that gives you options
+More puzzles than ever before

Cons:
-Nothing but bird pictures
-Colors on pieces are altered while "in" the water, making it harder to select pieces based on color
-In-Game Menu buttons float around with the pieces and are sometimes difficult to hit without picking up a piece

Remember all the great fun you had playing Karate, Swordfight at Midnight, Fighting Road, and Super Black Belt Karate??? Of course you don't. Why?? Because they all sucked a mile of chicken butt. There's actually a long list of fighting games that have been put out to the masses over the years but only a choice few actually stand out amongst all the others as great and memorable fighting games. Ultra Street Fighter IV along with the majority of the Street Fighter franchise is one of those few. Pop quiz time...... Name all the current Ultra Street Fighter IV characters that also appeared in the original 1987 release of Street Fighter. I'll give you the answer at the end.

If you've never played a Street Fighter games now is a great time to try your hand at it. Controls are smooth and easy to grasp with a little work. Gameplay is realitively easy to grasp but difficult to master, which in my opinion is a mark of a great game. Online play seems to be smooth and there's plenty to do solo too as no two fights, online or off, will ever be the same. With all the different characters in USFIV there's bound to be at least one character you side with, As a matter of fact, there's so many different characters that if there was a downside it's that it's hard to settle in on just one fighter if you'r new.

If you have played Street Fighter games before then what are you waiting for? There's a fairly good chance at least one of your favorite characters from a previous version is just waiting for you to use them in a fight. All your old memorized combos, supers, are still here and most likely use the same movements and button combos to execute. And if you're looking for something new there's plenty of new and new/old characters too as well as some new moves and ultras. This has certainly got to be one of the prettiest looking Street Fighters to date. Colors pop, backgrounds look amazing and have loads of funny/interesting characters in them, and every character has several different DLC costumes you can buy if you so choose. Other than the cosmetic character costumes though there's no game changing DLC within USFIV so yo don't need to worry about pay to win junk here.

Overall the game looks and plays amazing and is great fun. Since you can also play two player on the same screen/PC it also makes a great party game and looks amazing on a nice big screen TV or monitor. If there was one major downside it would be that the game doesn't play well with a keyboard/mouse or a standard Xbox controller. You can do it sure, but you'll most likely be at a disadvantage when playing against someone who has invested in and trained on a fightpad, fightstick, or one of the newer hitbox controllers. Owning one of those types of controllers though opens up a world of other interesting gaming on Steam though as all fighting games and many other arcade style games found on Steam just feel better when you use one with it.

So the answer to the question at the top: Ryu, Ken, Gen, Adon, and Sagat. There was also another character named Mike who greatly resembles the boxer Balrog so I guess he gets a half point... Another character from the original Street Fighter named Eagle also appeared in Capcom vs SNK but not in USFIV. There's your history lesson for today folks...

For starters let me say, THIS IS NOT A GAME!! There, now that we have that cleared up I'll explain what it is... What you've got here is an app in which you can support and get a few bonus things for the game Firefly Online, which is set to come out this spring. The app is great for two types of people, if you'd like to be a supporter of the Firefly Online game and get a few in game bennies while you do so, or if your a big Firefly fan. This app is being billed as free but there is a payed version which opens up a lot more for $5.00. So lets look at both and see what you get.

As a free player you will get to reserve your in game character name and set up your account for the game right now. You'll also get a news feed and a couple of in game items. It's not bad if you really plan on playing the game when it comes out but honestly it's something that could have just as easily been done online.

Now if your willing to drop down $5.00 in support of the game this app will really open up quite a bit. You'll get all the things a free player gets plus get your name in the game credits, get a few more in game items and titles, coolest of which is "Big Damn Hero," and you get a ship viewer to see ships that will be in game, a collectible virtual card collection with images from the TV show, and best of all, a map of the verse. Along with the map of the verse comes a mini game where you do "trade runs," finding one planet then another and another. There's practice, untimed ones, and a daily and weekly timed ones. These mini-games give you more BP (brownie points) which will get you more cards for your collection and more in game items and titles. The map of the verse can also be a great resource for those who do table top roleplaying in the Firefly universe as it gives you a zoomable view of the entire Firefly universe along with descriptions of each planet, some of them going into great detail.

There is also an option to support the game more by purchasing virtual card packs to help complete your collection. These range from $0.99 to $2.99 depending on how many cards you want and the chance of rare or super rare card drops. It's kind of a cool way to help support the game but not something that will make or break your app experience really if you decide to do it or not do it.

At the end of the day though it comes down to this... Do you like Firefly and want to support a future game featuring it's universe?? If you don't then just go ahead and pass this app up. But if you do enjoy Firefly and want more cool stuff about it you'll find a lot of enjoyment within the app, if your willing to give em your hard earned five bucks....


Edit: Apparently the game has died. Sucks as it could have been awesome.....