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Pako - Car Chase Simulator

Pako - Car Chase Simulator

Written by Mike Holmes on the 24th of April 2015 at 10:50

The other day, ahead of a big road trip, I was loading the iPad up with games for my son to play, to keep him entertained during the journey. One of the games I bought (for a measly 79p) is Pako - Car Chase Simulator. It's a simple game, you touch left or right on the screen to direct your car, and you must avoid all collisions with scenery, other cars, and the police who are chasing you down in large numbers. The ultimate aim of the game is to survive as long as possible. It's high score chasing across several levels, and it's quite challenging. My son didn't really enjoy it that much, but I haven't been able to put it down. It's a cracking little title, and it's been out since last August (hence why I'm flagging it here rather than writing a really late review). It's cheap as chips and well worth a look.

http://www.treemengames.com/pako/

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4X Mass Effect

Written by Mike Holmes on the 19th of March 2015 at 13:17

What games would people like to see moved genre, a change of style for their favourite franchise? Like when Microsoft turned Halo into Halo: Wars and later Halo: Spartan Assault, or when Xcom turned into a third-person shooter. What games are ripe for a change of direction? I'd love to see a 4X Mass Effect game, I think that'd be a great way to use that IP.

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Kickstarted?

Kickstarted?

Written by Mike Holmes on the 17th of February 2015 at 18:22

I just did something that I don't normally do; I backed a game on Kickstarter.

It's called Strafe and reminds of the shooters I used to play avidly in my youth.

The only game I've backed thus far has been Wasteland 2, which turned out alright, but there have been cases where games seriously underwhelmed, or even worse, didn't even get made.

Peter Molyneux got in some bother recently (well, a while back actually, but it came to the fore recently) when he over-promised on a Kickstarter game, then neglected to deliver some of the incentives used to lure in high-tier backers.

Tim Schafer massively under-quoted on Broken Age, but at least he was able to get away with it because of the studio's own ability to attract funding, but players are still waiting for the second half of that game.

It's examples like this, and those even worse, when games get abandoned and never see the light of day, that make me hesitant to recommend backing games on the crowd-funding site any more; there's just too much risk.

However, my concern is eased somewhat in this case because the Kickstarter for Strafe actually offers a free playable build of the game, so you can try before you buy, so to speak. I'll suggest you give that a look, or at the very least click through the link below and take a look at the attached trailer.

http://www.gamereactor.eu/news/291314/Playable+build+of+Straf
e+available+as+Kickstarter+nears+end/

Remake or Nomake?

Written by Mike Holmes on the 3rd of February 2015 at 16:10

We're getting remake after remaster after HD upgrade at the moment. It's not a bad thing, as there's some fantastic games getting a lick of paint after years of neglect, but perhaps some of these games are best left as memories.

It was Kojima saying that he wanted to remake Metal Gear Solid that got me thinking, and this is just days after the announcement and re-release of Fahrenheit. What games would I love to see remade, but actually would probably be a bit of a disappointment if they were updated?

I worry that if it got made, MGS might be one such game. Goldeneye is probably another good shout. No remake will ever be able to capture the feeling of the time that I spent mastering that game.

Looking back even further, an old Forgotten Realms RPG that I still have fond memories of - Pools of Radiance - would probably be a disappointment if it ever got remade or remastered. Then there was an old Star Trek game - the full title evades me - but I spent dozens of hours aboard the bridge with Kirk and co blasting away at Birds of Prey. No remake is going to compare to my memories.

One game that has lingered in my affections is Day of the Tentacle, and with a remaster of that one on the way, I'll find out soon enough whether it was best left in the past (adventure games tend to age better than shooters and other such games, so I'm hopeful).

What other titles from yesteryear would people like to see remade? Or do you think devs should be looking forward and not back...?

Remake or Nomake?

The Indie Calendar

Written by Mike Holmes on the 13th of December 2014 at 12:16

This year, instead of doing giveaways or offering prizes, we thought we'd instead highlight some indie games that have, for one reason or another, caught our collective eye in recent weeks. We'll be running the event until just before Xmas, so keep checking back in to see which games are the latest to feature. We're aiming to make sure that all (or at least most) tastes are covered, so take a look and see if there's something here that tickles your fancy:

http://www.gamereactor.eu/news/275534/Gamereactor%27s+Indi
e+Calendar/