Dust: An Elysian Tail Review

I can still remember the first time Dust: An Elysian Tail popped up on my radar when it was one of the finalists at Dream.Build.Play 2009 and eventually won the grand prize; I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the game, but, like many, I would have to wait, and wait, and wait. At times it felt like the game would never come out, but after three or so years of waiting the game has finally made its way to the wonderful world of Xbox LIVE Arcade.

So now Dust has finally released and there’s one question more important than all the others: “Was it worth the wait?” The quick and simple answer is yes; however, it would probably be a good idea to go into why.

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A Personal Post for a Passed Away Pet Named Pokey

This is a personal post with a title full of words starting with the letter 'P' like my lovely cat's name, Pokey. Pokey would have turned twenty years old today, but nothing lasts forever and the best things always end too soon; I still think about him and miss him to this day. (He passed away April 3rd, 2011 in the morning. Twas one of the worst days of my life.) No matter what the future holds, he will always be one of the best friends I've ever had, even though he didn't speak English, never cleaned up his own vomit, and occasionally left a little piss and excrement on the floor. This is my humble bundle of love for a cat that was all that and a bag of chip covered in hair.

Love your pets and support organizations that help find homes for those without—like PAWS Chicago. (And show cats love! They're not loners, but they'll become loners if you assume it's what they want and show them little love and attention.) *All donations to the site from today through August 10th will go to PAWS Chicago.

Some TMNT Nonsense

This is probably the dumbest thing I could ever post, but I must because it's some ol' bullshit. Someone is just playing an elaborate trick on me and I don't like it. (This can't be true.)

Guybrush Threepwood Kills Han and Leia / Punts Ewoks

Tiny Wings 2 Announced in a Wonderful Teaser Trailer

I was a huge fan of Tiny Wings and was always a bit saddened by the lack of long support, especially the lack of an iPad port or an update to the original app. Well, a sequel has been announced and while little is known, the announcement trailer is too wonderful to miss, so enjoy the teaser for Tiny Wings 2—which will be hitting iOS in July 12th!

Smash The Block Crowdfunding Campaign

You may or may not remember a little game called Thomas Was Alone that used crowdfunding to get through the final stages of development; well, that game used the funds to finish a fantastic game now available to all who have a soul. Why am I talking about crowdfunding and a game now released? It's because a new game has landed on the block in need of your help to smash through those final months of development without the developers starving to death and/or losing their minds. The game is Smash The Block and the developer is Spilt Milk Studios.

Spilt Milk Studios should sound familiar as the developer behind one of my favorite iOS games of all time: Hard Lines. As Hard Lines was a twist on classic Snake, Smash The Block is a twist on classic Breakout. The game is looking good and as someone who's seen it progress over the course of many months, I can say it's only gotten better and better as time has passed. But I can only say so much and what I say is nowhere near as important as what's said on the actual crowdfunding campaign's page, so let me provide some links and here's to supporting the little guys and gals who keep this industry interesting. Be aware that all money raised will still go to the developers, even if the goal isn't met.

Spilt Milk Studios [Official Site]

Smash The Block Crowdfunding Campaign [Indiegogo]

Spider-Man is Amazing at Basketball

And I'm amazing at wordplay. Some call me the ultimate. At the very least, I'm spectacular.

Jeremy McGrath's Offroad Review

Jeremy McGrath's Offroad sounds like a title waiting to be finished—like "Offroad Racing" or "Offroad Anything"—but while the title sounds unfinished, the game is anything but unfinished and full of a hefty amount of content for only $10. Offroad is an off-road racer—not too surprising—and features vehicles ranging from buggies to rally cars and tracks in numerous locations—like California, Netherlands, and Ecuador. And when you're ready to race, you can take your vehicle and drive in a career mode, an arcade mode, or against friends and foes over Xbox Live or PSN.

There is a surprising amount of content in Offroad—career mode alone contains twenty-three different races—and every vehicle class controls well with the game's more arcade-y feel, but the problem is the game eventually becomes repetitive, leaving the gamer playing the same handful of courses over and over again with vehicles that look different but don't control particularly different. The game never gets overly difficult or frustrating, but simply becomes somewhat robotic in its "been there, done that" nature.

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Marvel Pinball 3D Review

Earlier this year Zen Studios released Zen Pinball 3D on the 3DS and I loved it, finding it to be one of the rare 3DS games I could play with 3D turned all the way up. After a decent wait, Zen Studios has finally added to their 3D pinball collection with Marvel Pinball 3D, a standalone collection of the four Marvel tables released previously on other platforms—featuring tables based off Captain America, Blade, Iron Man, and the Fantastic Four.

The first thing I did when I loaded up Marvel Pinball 3D was push the 3D slider all the way up and, like Zen Pinball 3D, I had no problems playing the game with 3D at full power. And playing the game in 3D is the only way to play because it brings an extra layer of literal and figurative depth. The 3D makes the game feel as if I have a tiny pinball table in my hands and it's always a little jarring at first, but soon I find myself hours in the future wondering what happened to all the time as I enjoyed one of the few games I love playing in 3D.

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The Amazing Spider-Man First Impressions

Before I say anything else, let me say the most important thing: do not play The Amazing Spider-Man if you do not want the film of the same name spoiled. You will get spoiled in the first hour and there's no way of avoiding it, so think about that before you even think of touching the game before the movie's release. With that warning out of the way, I can now say the game itself is, from my first few hours, rather boring with good/bad controls.

By "good/bad" controls I mean some aspects are good and some are bad. I enjoy the simplicity of web swinging because it's automatic as long as the right trigger is being held. It allows me to freely look around and watch as Spidey swings through the air in his well-animated form. I'm sure some people might dislike the over simplification, but I like it and don't care about what the web is sticking to and if it makes sense—it's a game about a guy who has spider powers...sense was lost a long time ago. I also enjoy the two-button combat—one button for action and one for dodging—but it's already becoming repetitive and I only see that increasing with every minute played.

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