Christopher Thurman

Mushroom Wars is a simple and yet complex real-time strategy tower defense game from Creat Studios for PSN. An easy game to learn how to play, it remains fun as one goes through it over and over again.

The game looks decent, everything on the screen is small, so there may not be much detail, but what we have, including the different sets of environments (forest, desert, swamp), looks good. In fact, the same could be said for the entirety of the game — everything is basic, it is easy to understand what is what, but it all works.

To step back for a minute, the story in the game is minimal — the protagonist is one kingdom of mushrooms and the antagonist are three rival kingdoms that want to take over the land. In order to defeat them, one needs to develop and deploy an appropriate strategy of improving one’s troops and upgrading one’s towers.

Controls are very simple, with the left analog stick is for movement and the R1 button for action. Once R1 is pressed, it enables the direct movement of the soldiers to the towers. If it is an enemy’s tower then the two armies will they will begin to fight each other — the army with the most soldiers in the tower at the end of the battle takes the tower. One can’t be overly specific about the number of army members sent to a tower, they can only go in blocks of 25, 50, 75 or 100 percent of one’s army.

In order to protect towers, upgrading is crucial. Upgrading towers all increases the number of units that can be housed in said tower and the amount of soldiers that can be created as the tower will continue to create soldiers in the tower until the limit is reached.

After the fifth mission in campaign, the game introduces moral levels into gameplay. As more towers are taken over by soldiers that team’s moral increases. This is important because it causes soldiers to attack more strongly, defend better, and move faster.

 The campaigns are basically one of three types or sometimes combinations of them. These types are Conquest, Domination, and King of the Hill. Conquest is the elimination of all enemies and structures, Domination is the take over all of buildings with a star, and King of the Hill is holding buildings with a star until a certain number of points is reached. There are 28 different levels in the game and each level has three different difficulty settings. There is also the ability to play different skirmish levels while not playing in a campaign. There are also local multiplayer maps which allow for up to two players to play at once.

 The game is great. It handles well for an RTS on the PlayStation, and the controls are intuitive. It also is very easy to pick up and put down. It gives the ability to save after each level, so one needn’t worry about having to achieve too much in a sitting. The only down side is the amount of players that play this game on PSN is not that great, which does dampen the game’s multiplayer ability. Lastly, one of the things that really impresses is the game’s YouTube integration. Game videos are easily uploaded to YouTube’s site which is a nice little addition.

I will write this really fast since only the demo is out for the psp right now. I played a little bit of it, well maybe 5 minutes because it was really quick and I tried different ways of doing things.

First have you beaten a game in 30 seconds or less? Maybe if you have it has been doing a speed run. Well, this game is all about speed runs. You have 30 seconds to beat the level that you are on. I don’t know how many levels there will be, but for the demo you have two. You are in control of a hero that has to save the world because an evil mage casted a spell and you have to defeat him in that time or the world will be destroyed.

The game pays homage to those old 2d rpgs with the artwork that is in the game. It is also very humorous and clever with dialogue. There is everything that you would normally see in an rpg. There are towns, enemies (so that you can level up) and shops to buy armor. In the town the timer stops so that you can take your time to replenish your health and stamina, buy weapons, armor and talk to people. Battles are fast because you will need to be fast. There is only one attack and you keep on using it to strike down the enemy. You will have to be fast and just try to level up enough, buy what you need and go after the mage once you think you are strong enough.

This game looks to be very amusing and I look forward to adding it to my game collection. That is if the rest of the game is like the first two levels that I was able to play.

I took like a vacation. I guess you could call it a vacation. I have written anything in a long time. Since maybe the week of the wedding and there is alot of stuff I have to catch up on. I have been playing alot of games, well on the psp since I got it for my birthday. Lets see … Force Unleashed, God of War, Grand Theft, Dissidia and Need for Speed 510.  So, look for all those reviews coming soon. Along with Madballs in Babo for Steam and Disgea 2. Oh Im hoping to buy Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 hopefully this week, but that may not be in the cards. More coming soon.

I can’t help but talk about player communication especially when it comes to games that need it. I know PSN doesnt come with a mic, but games that it is a good idea to use it. It comes with the game. A couple come to mind Warhawk and SOCOM come to my mind right now. People there needs to be communication. I know for most games it is not neccessary. I even know that people have voices that are annoying and some even talk about some stupid stuff. But please use it if it is a good idea to. I am tired of losing because of lack of communication though team members.

I also want to give a special thank you for the people who don’t have a mic, but still listen. It helps it really does. That is all.

Every year Microsoft gives their Live subscribers a couple of major summer games. This summers weekly gaming has come to a ‘Sploison start with ‘Sploison Man. A must have puzzle game.

Before you start playing you must know that there is only one move that you can do it is sploide. Like I said people it is a puzzle game which you have to find your way around 50 levels blowing yourself up to reach ladders, platforms, dodging lasers,gun shots and fighting machines that come after you. The puzzles are really solid. They are well thought out and you have to use everything tht you have learned from the previous levels. Don’t worry though there is help for you. There are hint markers in the beginning of the level to tell you how to handle the different situations. If you still are stuck the game has a helpers. If you die a certain number of times in the level it lets you skip that level.

The character design in the game also has to be mentioned. The person does not say a word, but they gave him personality. He is even funny. The guy has about a hand full of idle animations that he will go though if you don’t touch the controller. However, why would you want to. You will be so busy trying to figure out the puzzles and once you figure it out there is a time trial mode seeing how fast you can go though each level and it will post your time on Xbox Live leaderboards.

Did I mention that this game has a co-op mode that is different then the single player? The co-op also has 50 levels for you and up to 4 players online or sitting right next to you. If you though that it would be easier with people then you thought wrong. The co-op is harder because not only will you have to use everything from the single player, but you can explode off of other players to reach ledges.

The game also has the other live features that lets live apart, leaderboards, custom soundtracks, multiplayer matches, custom downloades, and achivement. The best part is that it’s only 800 Microsoft Points($10).

I was able to find some time within the past couple of days to actual make something and I realized a couple of things.

They never teach you how to create land. When I first created my own mission from scratch it took me about 20 mintues to figure out the controls.  A way to get around it is just change the level layout of one of the tutorial missions.(I bet alot of people do this.)

Once you get the hang of it, everything is good. I am still creating a race track for my first level. Hopefully it is going to be amazing. However, I remeber from the interface conference the first thing that a person makes mod wise you should throw away because you are just learning and it will not be that good. Looking back on everything that I created I also believe this. So, I will show my second one once this one is finished.

I offically finished all of the Kudo tutorial levels. I found the program itself very easy to use and understand. It did remind me alot of Alice. Which is not a bad thing because Alice was also very easy to use, but it does not teach people how to program. Maybe sentax, but not how to program. One of the things in which I do not understand is that the first flash screen tells how it is made for children to be able to use it, however people under the age of 18 can not download it.

Speaking back to the program they give you a couple of 3d art assets with animations that you will be able to use for anything. There are also special effects that can be put into the game or level that you create. Programming is done by putting the commands on when blank happens do blank. Up to 6 pages can be added with 6 lines for every object.

There is some things that I think they should add when they update it for one I would like the ability to easily share things that people create. Now you can only share if they have your gamertag and I believe that the other people will have to have the program also. Then I found out that there is no easy way to set a respawn. Adding more 3d art would be a great addition in the future as well.

This is a very good next step for live. The first being XNA which is very popular. I hope that alot of people start using this because it is very easy to use and an amazing way to get starting making games.

The punisher is one of my favorate characters from a comic book. So, when I read that there was a Punisher psn game coming out I knew that I had to get it as soon as it came out, especially when it was going to be only $10. And let me tell you, the game is… well its a game. Nothing like what I pictured it to be. Nothing.

First, this game was made for online co-op. There is a single player story mode and it is only to unlock different characters, weapons and weapon upgrades so that you can use it in co-op. Single player is only 6 missions all which can be completed in about 2 hours. Only because some of them are timed. They even gave players a bit of story in the single player so that there is some connection between the different stages and boss at the end of some of the stages you have to fight.

The game is a FPS using the unreal engine. It is not that bad actually, it plays and feels like unreal. That is not really a bad thing because unreal was really great. When you think you are playing it. The whole time I was playing this game I was thinking to myself if they just changed the characters and the weapons it would be unreal 2004. There is no capture the flag mode, or destroy this or protect that. There is only kill 50 people or kill 150 in 20 minutes type of matches. That was alright I guess since the punisher whole mo is killing people who deserved it.

After I got over that I went over and played some of the multiplayer for a couple of matches. I learned that there is not alot of people who purchased this game. The few rounds that I played were basically empty for game that just came out on Thursday. I thought it should be way more populated then this. However, you can do story mode co-op. You will need a friend with the game because there is no co-op game finder for it. It is invite only, which kind of sadend me because I knew no one on my friends list had this game and since there is again no splitscreen I couldnt play with anyone at my house.

There are objects in the game and health packs because unreal… opps punisher will need it since you wll get shot from behind above and below. The obects help when your armor gets low or you need more ammo. There are no weapons on the battlefield. At the beginning of each match you can choose which weapons you carry. In the beginning of story mode you only have one and at the end you have all 3. Sound in the game is decent. The voice acting will get annoying becaue the characters talk to each other by taunting.

The level design is good for a deathmatch game. Like I said before there are objects such as health, armor an ammo. They are spread around the level against the edges. The multiplayer modes for deathmatches there are signs against the wall telling you which team you are on and going to. Spawn points for multiplayer are scattered around your area. For story mode you keep on respawning at the start of the level.

The game just really wasn’t what I thought it would be. Now that I know I don’t think I would have purchasd it because I have unreal 2004 and unreal 3. However, this game is just $10. It really is not that bad if you do not have unreal. It would be a whole alot better if more people purchased the game for co-op or multiplayer deathmatches.

Everyone knows that Michael Jackson passed away this past week. So, I decided to dust off my own Genesis and play the only game that he created. I had to do this since it is not available on the current gen system as a download and my Genesis was in the closet.

The game is a platformer, where you play as the King of Pop himself saving children. I know after everything that happened as I look back saving children right? You have to save these kids because they have been kidnapped. You basically get 3 moves; attack, jump and magic. When you press the magic button you see MJ doing some of those dance moves that made him so famous. Along with MJ dancing you can witness the enemies on screen dancing as well. If you just tap the magic button Michael will just toss his hat and fly. If he hits an enemy while flying they will be destroyed.

There are about 13 stages in all, which are very hard. I actually forgot how hard some of the classics are to play. The children are scatted around the level and you have to jump and attack all the people who kidnapped them. There are 5 main stages; the club, streets, woods, caves and then the hideout.

The music in the game is amazing if you love his music, but since you are playing his game wouldnt you love his music? They have all of his hit songs from back then. Each of the stages you will listen to different songs of his. The only bad thing about the sound is Michael when he screams that gets really annoying fast. If you can get past that you are golden.

I did enjoy playing this game. I was able to beat it this time and I actually has fun doing it. It made me remeber him in a different way. Most people will watch his special, listen to his music and look at the pictures. At least I can say I beat his game. MJ you will always be the King of Pop. RIP

I finally got a chance to play my girls favorite game, The Sims 3. She has been addicted to playing The Sims since the first one and I was able to to play the third iteration of the series. Granted I was little surprised about how much they put in there or did not put in there because they plan to release expansion packs. I also can see how the company continues to make money buy having people buy the expansion packs in order to get the full experience. There are alot of people angry on different forums because of this reason. They have to be use to the fact that they could see what is going on when their sim is dating, working, attending school, having a vacation and having different hobbies.

Talking about just the game, I thought I would like to mention that this is the first sim that I have ever played. My reason for saying is that I can not comment on the differences between this game and the other sim games. What I will say is that the character customization is very detailed. They give you several different options to choose from based on looks, clothes and personality. When it comes to the personality the choice is not as simple as choose one and that is what your character will act like. There are about five different personality traits that will define your characters actions and there is a list of about 30 to choose from. Even then Maxis gave people what choice out of 5 will be their main motivation. A ultimate dream  so to speak for that sim.

The UI is very easy and simple to understand. I was able to find everything except one thing. The family inventory, for some reason these set of items is not with the regular inventory it is only available in buy mode. Each category has a common picture for the items that it represents. The buttons are also large enough so that they can be easy read from a distance just in case you are playing it on a television screen and not your computer monitor in front of you. I did not even have to use the keyboard at all. I was able to do all that I needed with just the mouse.

The point of the game is not only just to live, but live the way that you want to live. There are so many different choices to make each day is different from the one before it in the sims world. I know that testing for this game must have been some type of nightmare with all this customization.

The game soundtrack is classical with some sim gibberish. The music of the game went along with it nicely. For the most part it was upbeat, however if something bad happened like a burglary, repo or fire the music would change to a sad tone.

The game was fun and I did enjoy playing it. I can’t wait until playing it with some of those expansion, because without them there is a  feeling as something is missing.