Urban Female Gamer

Monday, 16 January 2012

Hiya my lovelies and welcome to my first blog of 2012! :D

When I do write a blog, it is normally to review a game I've played. But I wanted to try something a little different. So to shake things up a bit, I'd like to expand my geek horizon and review the odd gadgets I've either purchased or seriously considering to buy.

To kick things off I'm reviewing my shiny new purchase, the iPhone 4S. I would like you to believe that I brought this phone purely based on research and comparing against other leading Smartphone’s. That I’m afraid is a lie. With many things I get, I literally seen it and thought let’s give this a shot!

I got the iPhone 4S about a month ago so I'm still trying to figure out all the nooks and crannies, but so far so good. If you a total noObe to the iPhone like me or just want some handy tips, I suggest you check out my mate newcode YouTube video. I previously had the HTC Desire for about 9 months and I really loved it. The only downside it that when it comes to phones, I get bored really quickly. So when looking for the next phone, I allowed myself to get caught up in the hype of the Apple whirlwind and brought the white 64gb.

Knowing very little about the mechanics of the phone I did try to research it so i knew the basics. With a Dual-Core A5 chip, 8 mega pixel camera and the very smart assistant Siri, I had a feeling in my bones I'd have loads of fun. I find the interface really straight forward and the ability to sync the iPhone with my emails, laptop and iTunes easy enough. I got to admit that I thought I would struggle using my iPhone as a phone and as my iPod simply because I preferred to keep the two separate. As with most things I've resisted against, I was finally won over and now I can’t live without it.

All I hope now is that I don’t get bored anytime soon with the 4S and I hang onto it for more the 9 months!

Sunday, 25 December 2011

Merry Christmas!

Howdy Ho my fellow U.F.G readers!

I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope you all were good enough to get your gifts from Santa! xXx

Monday, 23 May 2011

Joining the YouTube revolution!

Hi, howdy and yo!

As I mentioned many, many, MANY moons ago, I was contemplating the idea of doing a video and posting it onto YouTube. The idea was for it to compliment the UFG blog. Well I'm happy to say that I've taken the leap and posted my very first video onto YouTube (Yippee!). But before you click on the link and think something is wrong, I must advise you the video is to do with my hair care routine.

Now it may seem a little odd that the video is nothing to with gaming, but my new channel, Beauty With Bite, my plan is to make videos which indulge both of my passions. So if you have a spare moment, do check out my first video and tell me what ya'll think!

P.S. see if you can spot my sweaty armpit! LOL

Sunday, 20 March 2011

These few months I've mostly been doing...

To be honest...alot of not much! Woops! I'm sorry guys. Well actually, that is a tiny lie. I have been squeezing some gaming time into my schedule and have even managed to complete a few games too. With Vanquish and Heavy Rain to name I believe the only two I have finished, it then dawned on me that I actually don't play my Nintendo DS often enough.

So to remedy this insult I went out and brought myself Zelda Spirit Tracks, which I was meaning to get for a while. Now I'm currently stuck on the second boss (I know, the shame) but so far I am lovin' it. I am a Zelda fan and have always admire and tried to play as many of the games within the series. I would even go as far to say this is one of the few franchises which actually don't disappoint me with each new release.

Now onto the game itself. There is a legend that before time began the spirits had battled with the evil Demon King. As they were unable to defeat this demon, it was decided to lock the monster away in a tower with shackles to bind him. It is these very shackles that actually make up the spirit tracks themselves. Link lives in Outset Village where he is an apprentice train driver. On the day that Link has an audience with Princess Zelda to get his licence, the train tracks starts to disappear. So of course this spells total and utter disaster. To add to the drama, the Chancellor of Hyrule Cole has gone and attacked Link and Zelda, stealing Zelda’s body and leaving her spirit behind. With the land of Hyrule in jeopardy, it is up to Link and Princess Zelda, to try and save the day.

Although I am only a part way through the game, I am enjoying the game so far. With many of the titles within the series, Zelda Spirit Tracks don’t stray too much from the formula which has made this series so popular. The storyline appears to be solid and not too over complicated and wiffy as I seem to find in some games I play. During the game you get to travel the land on a mighty train which is pretty cool. You get to use the whistle to scare of potential attacks and as the game goes on you get upgrades such as a cannon. There are also interactive points where you get to use the mic on the DS in order to create whirlwinds and even play the panpipes.

With the combination of fights and puzzles, Zelda Spirit Tracks is like Professor Layton with bite. The only teeny tiny draw back I have is the control system. I am not 100% on the idea of using my stylus to control Link for I sometimes found it was slightly awkward and I would personally prefer to use the D-pad. Besides that, if you’re looking for a solid title which you can guarantee you’ll get your money’s worth I would suggest that this is a game for you.

Sunday, 21 November 2010

The gamer is back!

I am finally back to "finish" what I have started and am now going to be blogging again for you lovely people.

I now have my much needed Playstation 3 so I can now do blogs and reviews for all the major consoles which is pretty cool and its what I've always wanted! So keep your peepers open for my up coming review.

Now if ya'll can't wait to see my next blog, you can always find me on the awesome Ready Up.

Until then adios! :D

Thursday, 15 April 2010

Gears of War 3

Hidy Ho my fellow readers!

It has been a mighty LONG time since I've written a blog but I had to inform you all just in case you didn't get the fabulous news!

After a long day of grafting, I was MORE then ecstatic to get an email from Xbox 360 confirming the European release date for Gears of War 3.

Due to hit the shelves for April 8 2011, we finally get to have the final installment of the gears last stand against the horde.

Once I finished Gears of War 2, I had so many questions then answers. The main question would be where is Marcus dad and is he really still alive. (If you haven't finished Gears of War 2 and I spoiled it for you then I am so sorry!)

It seems that the main addition they added to the game is a 4 player co-op which I cannot wait to try out. Make sure to check out the link! http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/

Sunday, 17 January 2010

Lips

Hello again my fellow readers!

I have finally gotten round to finishing my review for the awesome karaoke game Lips. I blame the fact that I've been so immersed in playing Bayonetta, but I'll do a review that another time! :D

Now as you may of already of guessed, Lips is a karaoke game for the Xbox 360. This may sound cheesy and possibly something that may not be up your street, but I can assure you that once you grab your mic and your chosen your anthem, you will quickly change your mind.

The game is divided into four sections giving you a diverse selection of modes to chose from . The first being Sing! where you do exactly what it says on the tin and sing. Suitable for both single, co-op and quick play where you chose each song you wish to play. In Jukebox, it plays a random selection of songs or you can have a pre programmed set of songs.

This game is both fun as a co-op game with the various party modes that you can chose from. But it is also great to play solo. When playing, you have a choice of singing to most of the songs original music video. Alternatively you can have a custom video, which can go with the songs you have which don't have the video. Also there's the option of having a virtual video. This option comes with a computer generated video. Now when you have this background you need to make sure you shake your mic, because the more you move the more active the video becomes!

As a additional treat for those who are playing co-op, you can add another element to the game by choosing one of three interactive videos. The first is called Time Bomb. With this mode, you have to sing as well as you can in order to fill up your cup of water. Once you have enough water, you need to tip your mic and that will douse the fuse. In Vocal Fighters, you and your opponent must duel it out and see who will be the king or queen of Lips. You both sing the same song and who ever does better, wins. And last but not least is Kiss. For all our lovers and non fighters out there, the aim is to work as a team and to get the characters to kiss as many times as you can. When you sing well, your character moves towards each other in preparation for their embrace. As the characters get closer you both need to tip your mics back at the same time to get them to kiss. It sounds pretty straight forward but it is mighty tricky!

Another feature for Lips is the online mode. The way this works is that you chose a song and you send a invite to your friend to challenge them. You both sing the song twice in your own time and once you both have completer the challenge, your scores are then compared. Now I must admit that I was slightly disappointed that you couldn't just play against each other there and then but this alternative does work.

Lips comes with the chance to customise the colour of music bars that you sing too on the screen. And what I thought was even cool was that the colours on the bar sync with the colours you see on your mic! You can also add music from your MP3 player, so when your bored with the pre loaded songs, you can still keep the party going!

Now this game is fun with or without mass participation. There has been numerous times that I've sat with my mic and got my musical grove on. Of course it is a major blast when my family and friends come around and sing with me. You don't have to sing to join in for Lips allows you to use the buttons on your control pad to add various percussion and background sounds, making the song that little bit more special. For me Lips is a definite party game I would suggest you should add to your collection. Lips get a U.F.G score of 4 out of 5!

Wednesday, 6 January 2010

New year, new gear, who's here? ha ha ha

Happy new year my fellow followers!

I do hope you all had an awesome Christmas and a fantastic new year. This Christmas was extra special for I got to see my new baby niece who is GORGEOUS and also for being a good girl and scraping together my pennies, I managed to get my sticky mitts on a Blackberry Curve which I am totally LOVING! I get to pretend that I'm really important because it looks like such a serious phone but I manage to balance it out with the girliest background that you have ever seen!

Now with a new year in swing, that means I have another 365 days worth of showing appreciation and reviewing both new and retro games. Keep your eyes peeled my lovelies for the upcoming reviews, which include Midnight Club: Dub Edition, Lips and Scene It!

Monday, 7 December 2009

It's Xmas already?!

My dearest gaming followers!

Time has most certainly flew from the last time I put a post...it's soo odd that in just (counting on me fingers) 2 weeks and 4 days it will be Christmas! But I must admit...I aint feeling very chrismasy at the moment...now this could be down to me getting older and no longer believing in santa, but I'm not getting that magical feeling that I should have now. It would help if lovely Bayonetta was coming out now and not January 8th (sigh). But I guess it gives me something to look forward to though...right?! Hopefully I'll be able to get into the mood before the big day comes!

So tell me....what have you asked for santa to bring you this time?

Sunday, 1 November 2009

To the EuroGamer Expo and back

My dearest followers...

I return to you slightly tired but still buzzing from my trip to the EuroGamer Expo. This was my first ever trip to a gaming expo so I was really excited to see what was going to be in store.

With my large bag filled with food, my fave book, DS and camera, me and my gaming troops (which consist of my hun Nathan, Ashley and his cool friend 'Frosty') got the 8am coach down to London and then hopped onto the underground train to Monument which got us literally minutes away from the venue. The EuroGamer Expo was based at the Old Billingsgate, which is right outside on the Thames river and the perfect venue for the large crowd that it brought.

The que was MASSIVE...but I know how to look enthusiastic while waiting!

After a good wait we were finally in and allowed to run riot on all the games. We got inside the venue at about midday and it was completely rammed. But then what could you expect. With two floors of games like God of War 3, Heavy Rain and Dante's Inferno...what do you expect! Many of the games which were available to play are already out, such as Fifa 10, Metroid Trilogy and Need for Speed: Shift, but its always great to see them in all their glory.

So many gamers...so little time

Now after making a lap to see what was on offer, me and the gaming troops made our way to the basement. After confirming with the scary bouncer that I am very much over the age of 18 (but hey it was nice to no I still look young right?!) we proceeded to enter the over 18 section in the basement.

It was all dark and spook I tell ya!

Now in this section of the basement, we were able to catch a few glimpse of God of War 3 Dante's Inferno and Hard Rain. I haven't really played any of the other games in either the God of War or Devil May Cry series so I was interested to see what was to offer. God of War 3 did look amazing. It had a medieval feel to it and the game play did flow really well.

Dante's Inferno was also cool to see as well. But I must say that the look of Dante's Inferno did scream God of War 3. I believe, if I can get this the right way round, Dante's sword energy bar was basically the same as Kratos energy bar. Now I can only judge on the snippet that I managed to see, for there was a lot of people surrounding both demos of the game, but I must say they both looked very promising.

As we mooched around the over 18 section, we also spotted Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer, for the Playstation 3. Not available until 2010 this game like the above games, we thought it looked absolutely beautiful. The game is very dark with very unique control system. now I didn't get a complete rundown of each of the buttons but I did find out that the right trigger will allow the character to move forward instead of the analogue stick. There was little action during the game play and it seems that if there was any, it would be quick time events. Quick time events are like a mini cut scene where you have to push certain buttons in order to complete your characters action, such as defending themselves. The story follows four characters, with one being confirmed as detective Scott Shelby. Other information about the game seems really sparsed but I am impressed so far.

While shopping for snacks, Detective Scott Shelby just couldn't find what he was after.

After having a stroll, the gaming troops had split up. Myself and Nathan had a snoop around the Wii section to find ourselves watching a run of Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. We managed to watch a match, where the players were using the Wii's arcade stick. Now I am absolutely hopeless when it comes to arcade sticks so I have the up most respect for anyone who can pull off any form of moves using it. So after the match was over we then had a chance to face the winning player. Nathan went first. During this demo, you were able to choose two characters and use them as a tag team. Nathan chose Ryu and Veiwtiful Joe while the unnamed player went for Zero and Megaman Volnet. The atmosphere was tense as I cheered Nathan on. Now we had an idea as to how this guy was going to play but I must admit I was still surprised. This guy obviously knew what he was doing. Nathan gave it his all but unfortunately he lost.

Tatsunoko Vs.Capcom selection screen

...Poor thing was like a lamb to the

slaughter...but he did put up a

mighty fight!

Then the moment I had been dreading...it was my turn. Now I knew this was not going to pan out well in the slightest but I thought what the hey...I'll give it a shot. So I chose Ryu and a female character who's name I didn't make a note of, while my opponent chose the same two characters as before, Zero and Megaman Volnet. I did give it my all while I cursed the fact that I just cannot use a arcade stick but and before I knew it, it was over. Now I've always have a soft spot for beat-em ups so this game was ticking all the boxes for me.

As I tried to explain why I was doing so pants in order to distract the other player as I attempted to win...my plan failed!

Nathan managed to have a go on a game called Split Second. This driving game was like a cross between Burnout and Need for Speed. In the demo I got to see, it was basically a driving game where you had to make split second decision in order to dodge the various obstacles. These included falling buildings, boulders and aeroplanes. When you crashed it went into the classic Burnout mini cut scene where it shows you what your car looks like before you then can continue the race.

The graphics on this game is amazing.

And my beautiful assistant showing off Split Second

But the one game that I must say that EVERYONE was excited about had to of been Bayonetta. As I reached the demo I stood there in confusion because I know I've seen some pictures of the heroine before but for the life of me I couldn't remember as to where. Anywhooo the game was so exciting. We all had a go and we were all drawn into it. I tried to resist after watching the amazing demo but I couldn't deny myself. You get to play as this kick ass female who is a witch. She has various weapons which included her suit being able to morph into a giant monster and her heels have guns on them which are usable. Again this game is not out until next year (nooo) but if reports are correct, it should be out by January 8! (hazar :D )

Who ever played Bayonetta was just sucked into the heart-stopping game play.

After a very long day of walking which caused my feet to burn like hell, Ashley, from the gaming troop had the idea of going to get some ice-cream. So after a 25 minute train ride, we all managed to get to Leicester Square to get to the ice-cream shop. Now before we got there we all hoped that the journey was truly worth it...and believe me it was. It was a Haagen Dazs shop so you knew the ice-cream was going to be good. Normally I am a Ben & Jerrys girl but I must admit I was definitely shown the amazingness of Haagen Dazs.

Queing outside of heaven!

The gaming troop are all smiles. Mmmm...Yummy Ice-cream!

As this was my first gaming event I've EVER been to I have to say it totally ROCKED. I cannot wait to go back next year. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more pictures, more details of the games I've played and (fingers crossed) some videos of the day out!

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Dead Rising

My dearest readers.

It has been a mighty long time since I have done a blog and that I do apologise. As I am sure I have mentioned in my last post, I have been struck by the illness commonly know as lazy-itus. This has disabled my zest for blogging and for doing anything which would take more then five minutes to perform. Lucky for me I have now made a full recovery and I'm fighting fit to give you what you have been waiting for!

As promised, this next blog was for the game Dear Rising, available on the Xbox 360. Now, I have had this game since I first got my Xbox which according to my gamer stats, was two years ago. Back then I had a small t.v and dvd combo, which as you can guess, wasn't filled with any high tech magic, but it got me through my first steps of playing high def games. While playing Dead Rising, unfortunately I was unable to enjoy it to the max simply because I couldn't read the flaming text. As soon as something important came up on the screen and I spent goodness knows how long trying to decipher the very tiny writing, it would disappear. After consulting my friends about this, I was told that the text was made for a HD ready t.v. So finally this year, as a treat for my birthday I got myself a 23" HD ready piece of hotness and I must admit that it has taken my gaming to a whole new level. Graphics look sharper and more defined then I could imagine, allowing me to fall in love with my games again.

Now as I was going through the games that i own, I decided to give Dead Rising a spin and see if I could get the game play that I expected from my little dvd, t.v combo. As the disc span and I watched the cut scene I must admit that I did get excited. I wanted to give the game a proper chance so I decided to start from the beginning. Now I do try to be as impartial as possible when it comes to reviews. Yes I am going to be biased because the games that I review are games that i went out and spent money on, but I always try to give a balanced argument. Unfortunately, for Dead Rising, I am unable to give this game my all. The concept of the game is ok. You play as a reporter,Frank West, who goes to a small town to find out what has happened to its inhabitants. While making his way via helicopter he notices that nothing is what it seems, it appears that zombies have started to consume the town. The only way to get any answers, Frank heads to the last place where survivors have found refuge...the mall. As the daring reporter that you are, you have give yourself 72 hours to get the scoop and get back to the helicopter without being left behind.

During the game, you are able to pick up different items, which you can find in a mall, including a lawn mower and use it to take out any zombie that gets in your way. Now this I must say is a very fun part of the game. Its really interesting to see what different objects you can use to smack the walking dead. But I must say that there aint anything else I found remotely impressing with the rest of the game. I think the biggest bug bear that I found while playing would be that practically everything you did in the game, a load screen would follow. If you move to another part of the mall, a load screen appears, if you see a cut sequence, load screen. Now I do understand that you need a load screen, for it obviously allows the game to load and the examples I have give is quite pants but it really did get on my nerves. Unfortunately, I have given up completely on this game and have decided to ignore the fact that I once brought it.

I do hope my (barely) review doesn't put you off giving this game a whirl, for it may just push your buttons, but I'm afraid it was more 'Oh please' then 'Argh SCREAM!'. Dead Rising only gets a U.F.G score of 0.5 out of 5.

Sunday, 4 October 2009

Oh my giddy giddy gum drops!

Oh my goodness...it has been a mighty long time since I've written a review and my fellow readers I do apologise. I have been side tracked from my next gaming review after playing continuous hours of Guitar Hero: World Tour and Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, which I shall be doing reviews for the both shortly! :D

Make sure to look out for my next review of the only zombie game I have in my collection....Dead Rising

Saturday, 12 September 2009

Ask auntie U.F.G :)

Again another delayed post I was meant to of done yonks ago but only just remembered, as I sit here typing into the wee hours of the morning when I should be in bed sleeping...I'm such a rebel!

I thought I'd give all fellow readers, be it subscribers or just passers, the chance to drop me a question. If you have any questions about my previous posts, about games or you just wana send me a yo yo yo, you now can, just send it to urbanfemalgamer.com

To slim PS3 or not to slim PS3

Good evenin' gang...or morning (it is 2:30 am!)

I just thought I'd do a mini post about the slim PS3, which I would of done earlier today...but it was such a BEAUTIFUL day. The sun was out (which we all know is a rare occurrence in England) and the skies were clear and blue (which is even rarer) so I had to bask in it before the gloomy Autumn kicks in. Anyway....

As many of you already know, the slimline PS3 came out on the 1st of September to the price of £250. For 120g of scrummy storage space, which is great since the PS3 is rockin' the BBCiplayer function and of course theres the Play Tv which is also just great so to have that much space for that price and with having Bluray it's just nuts to not get it. The only set back was how the slim PS3 looked like. Now when my boyfriend seen this...lets just say he was not impressed and when I seen it I was repulsed by it and thought nope not for me. But I must say that I actually was wrong about it (now I rarely say I'm wrong so please take the time to bask in it!). I've managed to see it in the flesh per say and its actually pretty cute. Unfortunately its not the same shiny plastic like the bigger PS3, its like a brushed plastic, if that makes any sense. And the eject and power buttons are actually physical buttons and not like the biometric type buttons the larger counter part has, but beyond that it does look adorable! Just need to save up me pennies (and stop spending my money on takeaways!) and FINALLY get one!

Tuesday, 1 September 2009

Ready Up, up and away!

Just a quick sticky bickie for you all.

I recently was asked to become a contributor for a kick-ass website called Ready Up! who specialises on blogs and reviews on all things lovely and to do with games.

Its absolutely cool that I was asked and I finally got to add my very first post on there site two weeks ago which was awesome. It is very delayed for me to say this but then I got there in the end! Make sure you check out the site and get involved with the really cool forums.

Beautiful Katamari

Hello fellow readers!

I've just realised how long its been since I've done a review. I do apologise for the delay...I've simply been uber lazy recently but hey...I finally got my review done so please enjoy!

I thought with my next review I go all Japanorama on ya and do a review of Beautiful Katamari which is available for the Xbox 360. Now this game has come out for the Playstation 2 and the PSPa and has become as rare as rocking horse poo (yea I said it!). Now your probably all thinking why of all the games released would this be so darn popular? Well I'm hoping to explain all in the following review.

Beautiful Katamari, the sequel to Me & My Katamari, follows the story of the King's son the Prince as he tries to save the world. Unfortunately the King has created a black hole while playing a rigours game of tennis (yeah that's exactly what happened). The black hole has gotten bigger, it has sucked up all the planets and stars, so its your job to roll up various Katamari's in order to replace them.

There are in total thirteen levels with the option to buy more via Xbox Live. Each of them have different time constraints, different size katamari's to build and different types of items to collect to create a planet. With each level, your Katamari starts at different sizes and your placed into different locations. The initial size of your Katamari you start off with and the time your given can usually dictate as to how far you can progress. But here is a challenge to all my readers, can you make your Katamari bigger then the target?

Now here is a tip for you guys to get a higher score. After each roll, if you have just reached your target size, the King usually gives you a rubbish score and tells you to do better...which is pretty naff. The only way to avoid this, get a better score and to get a sparkling review from the King you need to completely smash, and I mean SMASH the target. If you can get the biggest size Katamari as you can, be it double, triple or even ten times the size needed. This may take you a couple of goes but believe me its all worth it! Now don't worry about only going over certain items for what has happened is that in each level the majority of stuff you need to get just so happens to be what you actually need. So get rolling everyone!

I got this game when it first came out and I recently thought to play it. Now I must say I did forget how fun this game is. I've even got non Katamari fans to give it a whirl and now there just as addicted to it as I am!(and yes my sweet that comment was about you!)

The game play is very simple so even the less experienced gamer can give it a shot. You control the Katamari using the two analogue sticks, which allows you to move forward, backward and even to flip over the Katamari when you get stuck (which can happen a lot)...and that's it. As your playing it, you do find yourself getting even more excited when your Katamari is big enough to pick up more weird and wonderful items...like people, spaceships and even continents! The Japanese pop sound track compliments the game to a 'T' and believe me you'll be trying to sing to each and every track before you even know it.

If I was to moan about the game...I guess the only thing I could think of is how mean the King can be when it comes to scoring your Katamari after you finished the level. At first it was mega annoying that after playing the same level at least 3 times and only collecting the items required you can't get a score over 40. But if you follow my top tip which is above, you'll see your score improve dramatically.

Now this game may sound extremely random, which it is, but it's definitely one of those gaming gems I'd recommend everyone to at least give the demo a try. The demo is still available from Xbox Live. With all that taken into consideration I give Beautiful Katamari a handy U.F.G score of...4.5 out of 5! Keep on rollin'!

Saturday, 29 August 2009

The results are in...What's your favorite console?

I've only just realised that I still haven't done a post to announce the winners of my recent poll.

Now you may have already seen the results at the size, but I do love doing a post about it...anyway. Many of you had taken the time out to vote and for that I'm uber grateful for. So here in ascending order, the results for What's your favorite console.

In joint 4th place is... Nintendo 64, Mega Drive, NES, and the GameCube

3rd is Dreamcast

Joint 2nd is Playstation 3, Wii and the Playstation 2

But in 1st with 6 votes is....Xbox 360!

Thanks to all of you who voted this time. Make sure to keep your gamer eye peeled for my up coming poll! :D

Tuesday, 11 August 2009

Get voting!

Hey gang,

Just a reminder to you all that you only have 11 days until the poll is closed.

Are you a PS3 nut, maybe your a Xbox 360 fan or you may even have a soft spot for anything retro and believe the Mastersystem or Megadrive was the awesome-ist console ever...if this is how you feel then make sure you get your vote in before the time runs out!

Tuesday, 4 August 2009

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Now as I’ve said before, this blog was something that I should have done AGES ago but it’s finally done! My long awaited review of Professor Layton and the Curious Village.
Set in the town of St. Mystere, you play as the Professor and his nifty (and yes he is nifty) assistant Luke. Called in by the late Baron’s family, your task is to find clues and to solve the mystery behind his will. The only clue they have to go on is that they need to find The Golden Apple. Not having a clue as to where to find it, it is up to the fearless duo to go and search for it. The best way to start any investigation is to always ask the residents. But St. Mystere is no ordinary town. In order to get any information, you have to answer the many riddles and brainteasers the villagers give to you. Also along your travels you can find additional puzzles so make sure you keep your eyes peeled. As with any other DS game, you get to interact with it by using the touch screen. During the game play it’s the stylus that you use to move around the village by tapping the arrows you see on the screen. You also use your stylus to interact with residents, who can give you a puzzle or even a hint to help you on your way. The game has over 130 puzzles within the game but you also can download additional puzzles, which are available weekly via the Nintendo Wi-fi. To set this up is very quick and simple to do. Instructions of how to set this up can be found in the instruction booklet. Now dearest readers you don’t need to worry if your not a boffin when it comes to figuring out puzzles for you have the chance to earn hint coins know as Picarats. These helpful coins can give you the chance to buy hints for puzzles helping you to solve them. These coins are available after completing puzzles . The fewer hints you use to solve them, the more Picarats you can get. Here’s a tip for you! It is highly advised that when you’re moving around the town and going from room to room, to tap different parts of each scene when you have a chance for you can find not only hidden Picarats but hidden puzzles.

Now its time for a mini story about how I brought the game. When the game was about to be released, I had a £5.00 voucher which I planned to use against the game. Now I had a great feeling about it and thought I should follow my gut feeling and get it as soon as possible. Upon reflection I am so glad I did for it sold like hot cakes! So many shops had sold out and those that had preowned copies were charging the full price, so you can imagine how chuffed I was that I got it without any problems.

Anyway this game lived up to my expectations. It allowed me to feed my need to solve puzzles and to realise that I’m not that good at it, while it had a great storyline which kept you guessing. The music and the many cut scenes which you get to see during game play, I thought were absolutely amazing and were more then I expected from this game. The game play is very easy to pick up and the touch screen I found was very responsive. This is very helpful since you do find yourself tapping the screen like crazy. As with any other game, you may believe that you have to be into puzzle solving to enjoy the game, which of course does help, but I think that if your willing to play something which can give you a challenge then this could be for you.

For younger or impatient gamers it may be frustrating for you to play this for there are some puzzles which just seem absolutely impossible to solve. This can obviously deter you from the game for it did sort of put me off at times, but if your willing to power through and if all else fails, ask someone else to help (which I will hold my hands up and say I had to) then you shouldn’t have too many problems. As you may already know, this is the first instalment out of three games which are due to be released in the Professor Layton series. Providing that the others can produce a game as highly enjoyable and challenging as this, I can see no reason as to why this wouldn’t be a hit…again!
Professor Layton gets a healthy U.F.G score of 4 out of 5!

Friday, 31 July 2009

100 Views!

Hey gang...

Just a random post but as I was checking out my blog I noticed that I managed to get 100 views! Now it may not sound a hell of a lot but believe me it means so much to me to know that your reading my blog.

I also cannot forget to mention those who are following my blog and have also made comments...you guys totally ROCK! I've been working really hard to get my blog out there for this truly is my passion so to see you guys making such an effort..it gives me the drive to not only keep blogging but to also think about how to expand and make this the best blog ever!

Well that's enough of me getting all emotional...look out for my new blog for Professor Layton and the Curious Village which will be up very soon!