Monster Legions Game Review & Walkthrough Guide

Monster Legions

Play Online: Monster Legions
Developer: Nerdook
Genre: Strategy, Defense, Multiplayer

Game Review
Nerdook is back again after a short hiatus due to a baby! This time round you're in a world where animals are the most powerful warriors. Well, all you lead your army against a wide range of enemy soldiers and monsters in collectible card game aka CCG style.

Your very goal in Monster Legions is to fight other armies and eventually after four consecutive wins, you will proceed to fight one of the four horsemen who each have a special setup and attributes. Defeating all the horsemen, you are ready to slay the biggest and the worst monster of them all... the Beast. Let's jump into the gameplay.

After hitting the start battle button, you will engage in a real-time strategic battle. Here, you task is to wipe out all of your opponent's reinforcement points and swarm their base before they do the same to you. Every 15 second, you get a chance to deploy a card with no cost. However keep this in mind that you only have 30 precious reinforcement points throughout. When a unit dies, it costs a few reinforcement points to bring your warrior back to the battle ground. Periodically, you will be placed with random spell cards. Use those spells to cripple the forces of darkness.

I'm a fan of Nerdook's games. Monster Legions managed to capture me once again, especially the options to design your own perfect army with different ranks and specialties in a card based summon system. It's kind of creative sort to speak however, he needs to do some slight balancing to the cards and the gold scaling need adjustment too. I can spend hundred of thousands looking for better cards but it is too time consuming to collect gold in every fight.

Overall the difficulty is just the right level throughout but the feeling of victory was soon destroyed by the game saying "good job" after beating the beast. It would be better if you got like a special card after bossing or being able to build a library of owned card to customize your deck.

Monster Legions Guide
List of bosses in Monster Legions
War - Commands a special army of elite troops. Most powerful Horsemen in single combat.
Death - Does not summon units of its own. Gains a copy of your defeated units.
Summons - Bone Golems and an endless army of skeletal warriors.
Pestilence - Poisons your entire army. Regains health over time from its own poison.
Beast - Ultimate Beast. Defeat all four horsemen at least once to fight the Beast!

List of Spells in Monster Legions
Death Pact - Both army instantly loses a single random unit.
Attack - Move 50% faster and deal 15% more melee damage for 5seconds.
Champion - Your General combat abilities are boosted for 5 seconds.
Healing - Your units on the battlefield revocer 15% of max health.
Reinforcements - Your army gains 1 Reinforcement Point.
Defend - Take 99% less damage for the next 5 seconds.
EarthQuake - All enemies lose 5% of max HP, 20% for buildings and machines.
Thunderstorm - Fire quenching rain and lightning bolts for 5 seconds.

List of Starting Cards in Monster Legions
Rabbit Rider - Cavalry. Equivalent to an Elite Knight, but heals itself over time.
Hose Lancer - Cavalry. Equivalent to an Elite Knight, but deals double damage versus mounted units.
Snake Cultists - Defensive Infantry. Equivalent to Elite Spearmen, but poisons enemies.
Monkey King - Infantry. Equivalent to an Elite Swordsman, but creates two weaker clones when killed.
Tiger Archers - Ranged Infantry. Equivalent to Elite bowman, but with additional damage.
Dragon Skirmishers - Defensive Infantry. Equivalent to Elite Spearmen, but sets enemies on fire and is immune to flames.
Chicken Archers - Ranged Infantry. Equivalent to Elite Archers, but teleports back when hit by melee.
Bull Axeman - Infantry. Equivalent to Elite Swordsmen, but with additional armor.
Rat Champions - Infantry. Equivalent to Elite Swordsmen, but with a small chance to dodge attacks.
Goat Bowmen - Ranged Infantry. Equivalent to Elite Archers, but heals allies for 1% of max HP.
Horse Lancer - Cavalry. Equivalent to an Elite Knight, but deals double damage versus mounted units.
Dog Raider - Cavalry. Equivalent to Elite Knight, but deals double damage to building and siege weapons.
Pig Warrior - Defensive Infantry. Equivalent to Elite Spearman, but deals double damage to monsters.

List of Collectible Cards in Monster Legions
Melee
Recruit Swordsmen - Infantry. Excellent damage, but can be picked off at a distance by archers.
Veteran Swordsmen - Infantry. Excellent damage, but can be picked off at a distance by archers.
Elite Swordsmen - Infantry. Excellent damage, but can be picked off at a distance by archers.
Blade Berserker - Infantry. Regains some health for each hit, and 25% of maximum health for every kill.
Recruit Spearmen - Defensive Infantry. Deal bonus damage to mounted units such as cavalry.
Veteran Spearmen - Defensive Infantry. Deal bonus damage to mounted units such as cavalry.
Elite Spearmen - Defensive Infantry. Deal bonus damage to mounted units such as cavalry.
Recruit Riders - Light cavalry. Can reach the front very quickly. Deals bonus damage to other cavalry units.
Armored Brute - Heavy Infantry. High health and armor, but moves and attacks slowly.
Veteren Knight - Heavy Cavalry. Can reach the front very quickly. High health and decent damage.
Elite Knight - Heavy Cavalry. Can reach the front very quickly. High health and decent damage.
Ultimate Knight - Heavy Cavalry. Can Reach the front very quickly. Very high health, armor and damage.
Recruit Ninjas - Assasin. Has chance of critical strikes and dodging. 50% arrow dodge. Immune to poison.
Veteren Ninjas - Assasin. Has chance of critical strikes and dodging. 50% arrow dodge. Immune to poison.
Elite Ninjas - Assasin. Has chance of critical strikes and dodging. 50% arrow dodge. Immune to poison.
Silent Assassin - Assassin. High chance of critical strikes and dodging. 75% arrow dodge. Immune to poison.
Bull Rider - Monster. Charges into battle. Weak versus spears.
Charging Minotaur - Monster. Very high health and movements speed, making it an excellent offensive tank.
Giant Spider - Monster. Attacks very rapidly, allowing it to decimate groups of weaker units.
Dragon Rider - Monster. Slow and powerful. Deals a lot of damage with each bite.
Venomous Scorpion - Monster. Poisons enemies when it strikes, dealing additional damage over time
Daemon Balrog - Monster. Regains HP from Flames. Spreads flames when it hits and when it is hit.
Ancient Treant - Monster. Attack Slowly, but deals a lot of damage per hit vulnerable to fire.
Shadow Vampire - Monster. Able to fly short distances. Regains some health from each attack.
Giant Sandworm - Monster. Able to hit every unit within range when it dives. Best versus large groups.
Bone Golem - Monster. Very high armor and health, but does not deal much damage.
Armored Dragon - Not as mach damage as normal Dragons, but has additional health and armor.
Stone Golem - Machine. Very high armor and health, but does not deal much damage.
Battle Puppet - Poisons anything it hits, and fires darts when struck. Spawns a puppeteer if killed.
Archangel Guardian - Archangel. Has a powerful Golden Sword that produces a shockwave when it strikes
Wolf Pack - Animal. Summons three Wolves, each costing only 1 Reinforcement to respawn when killed.
Polearm Slayer - Defensive Infantry. Deals triple damage to mounted units and Monsters.
Healer Monks - Monk. Periodically heals an ally for 5% max HP and cures poisons. Small chance to dodge.

Ranged
Recruit Archers - Ranged Infantry. Good damage at a distance, but easily killed at close range.
Veteran Archers - Ranged Infantry. Good damage at a distance, but easily killed at close range.
Elite Archers - Ranged Infantry. Good damage at a distance, but easily killed at close range.
Flame Archers - Ranged Infantry. Sets fire to anything it hits. Be careful: flames damage all units in range.
Longbow Archer - Ranged Infantry. Vastly improved firing rate and range. Teleports back when hit.
Seige Tower - Seige Machine. Slow moving but touch. Rains down arrows on nearby enemies.
Siege Ballista - Siege Machine. Moves very slowly. Fires a high damage projectile that punches through armor.
Fire Monk - Throws fireballs that explode into flames when it strikes. Immune to fire.
Spitting Spider - Monster. Spits spider goo at the enemy: low damage but high attack rate.
Death Monk - Turns defeated friendly unit into Skeletal Warriors to fight for you.

Recommended Build in Monster Legions
Starting Build: x2 Recruit Spearmen, Goat Bowmen, x2 Recruit Archers, x3 Recruit Swordsmen and x2 Recruit Riders

There's a reason why I chose goat bowman in my starting build because he regularly heals all your units for 1% of their health. A lot of healing is done over time as it accumulates bit by bit especially when you're starting to have 2 to 3 hundred HP units. He also deals out sizable 4 damage per second. He is sort of overpowered, particularly compared with other options you presented with to start out. If you don't, Rabbit Riders and Monkey King are good alternative too.

After winning first few rounds, you will get cards that are higher level or if you're lucky you get veteran spearmen or veteran swordsmen. Remember to replace recruit riders with these better cards. Then you may find yourself winning and losing occasionally... Don't worry! Losing is okay in Monster Legions. This is just part of the process/gameplay, meanwhile you will be collecting better cards.

If you win 4 battles consecutively, you are now qualify to try and defeat one of the four horsemen. I would recommend trying to fight Pestilence, however there is some random factor to win this boss; you only have a higher chance of winning this boss, only when you pull out your goat bowman early. Your goat bowman is good at healing you from the poison over time.

2nd Stage Build: x2 Venture Spearmen, Goat Bowmen, x2 Veteran or Flame Archers, x3 Veteran Swordsmen, Armored Brute and Venture Knight

Once you successfully defeat Pestilence, you can now replacing all your recruit to veteran respectively. You can retry the stage until you get the cards you need. To clear the stages here... Basically, I like to have archers that are on defense because they are highly overpowered even with their tiny damage. As the hero just keeps respawning as soon as it dies, you never get a chance to even hit an archer. Having 2 archers and hugging your castle is almost guaranteed a win. Armored Brute is a beefy tank which definitely will help you taking damage.

Now try fighting Death. When fighting this boss, remember to summon your weakest units like the lowest health first. When you hit the 1 minute 15 second mark, summon all your strongest monsters. Remember to select the spells without must hesitation, you will get around 5 to 7 spells in every round... The more spells you click, the better your chances of you winning.

3th & 4th Stage Build: Experiment your build.

Things get interesting and easy here. Basically after defeating death, you collect cards that are level 6 and higher. You can start experimenting your build from here; replace your cards with monsters, dragons or even machines in your deck. Afterwards, defeat the remaining bosses and lastly the beast. Congratulations!

Multiplayer Build: Giant Sandworm, Daemon Balrog, Healer Monks, x2 Longbow Archer, Polearm Slayer, Blade Berserker, Archangel Guardian, Ultimate Knight and Shadow Vampire

You are now more than ready to battle in multiplayer mode, however winning in multiplayer mode isn't as easy as you think it would be. These are the best army created by other players but clearing them will entitle you with good cards. My build above is certainly not the best build in Monster Legions but I won quite a decent number of people with it. Hey don't laugh, I am proud of it alright! ^^

Overpowered Build #1: x5 Wolf Pack, x3 Death Monk, x2 Longbow Archer

Units like the death monk and Longbow archers can kill advancing units quickly without being in any real danger because the general respawns with no reinforcement point loss immediately and wolf packs come in three with 1 point. The death monks especially are dangerous as they can spawn dozens of skeletons that serve as a protective wall. Currently there is no one unit that can get behind an enemy's front line, so I can safely say this build is very OP.

Overpowered Build: x4 Longbow Archer, x2 Fire Monk, x4 Stone Golem

This army comprised with mostly ranged units. I fought with a guy with this build twice with different build and to my surprise, the combination he designed actually worked well. Superbly well. Stone Golems have the highest armor among all the other units which make him a really good tanker. Longbow Archers and Fire Monks have the ability to take out units relatively quickly in any situation. I think its worth trying this build.

Fun Build #1: x10 Archangel Guardian
Fun Build #2: x10 Blade Berserker
Fun Build #3: x10 Polearm Slayer

I've spent hundreds of thousands now, trying to max out one of a kind deck. These fun builds are purely for my own curiosity only.

Do you wish to challenge me? Click here!

Qoosh Game Review

Qoosh

Play Online: Qoosh
Developer: Aethos Games
Genre: Puzzle, Platformer

Game Review
I guess I'll go ahead and review on another puzzle platformer where you play as a "test subject", being guided through a series of tests and trials by a scientist. All I know about the scientist is he is full of evil and candies.

It's a very interesting game. You play as a green blob-like character named Qoosh that has the ability to warp within a certain range. You will be entertained with a variety of different puzzles and basically you'll have to experiment your warping ability to its fullest to complete the game. For example, gaining some extra height by teleporting in mid-air or clicking on certain objects to swap places with them which prove very useful. Beware of purple zone and purple lasers, these areas disable your warp ability.

The voice acting aka the evil scientist well deserved a mention, I think. This scientist is full of evil and candy. The voice of the narrator was very well done, and it's clear the developers took the time to make sure they got just the right take for each line especially this line: "When you were born, your mother asked me if you will be a good test subject like her. I said yes... But I was only joking. You have no mother." Another epic one is this line, "Oh by the way, I can destroy you at any time for my own amusement. What. You didn't think that was funny? Oh, you probably don't have feelings." I don't know why but I just find it funny.

Awesome work, this is truly marvellous. I was expecting another portal rip off when I first discover the warping ability, to be honest, but this is quite original. The ending is kinda bit of an anti-climactic though as Qoosh got dematerialized at the end. And here I was hoping for a happy ending. Still loved it, would definitely play the sequel.

Vex Game Review

Vex

Play Online: Vex
Developer: Amazing Adam
Genre: Platform

Game Review
Let's check the dictionary on the word, Vex. The definitions of vex is made (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried. This is indeed what the flash game is trying to illustrate in their gameplay. Your only goal is to make it through various stages filled with traps that want nothing more than to see you dead and rage quit.

I would say Vex is quite a tough one by Amazing Adam. It is said to test your survivability skills in the ever-changing world of Vex. All you will need to be avoided many of the nasty obstacles that will come in your way, such as the deadly spikes, faster than light lasers, annoying bouncing Shurikens and more. It will kill you if any hit you which then send you back to the latest checkpoint flag you last checked.

Don't worry if you don't usually play platform games. Every stage has plentiful of checkpoints which is scattered throughout after every major obstacle. Typically to ensure that you won't have to restart the stage if you die however, the downside is dying costs you valuable time which adds on to your overall timing. Your timing determines what rank you get. Well, don’t be discouraged if your timing is an average of 5 mins in each stages. My timing is equally as bad as or worse than you. Speaking about platform flash games I'm the worst at it but I’m proud to admit. :)

To my surprise, the controls are pretty solid and precise. The Stickman is able to wall jump or grab ledges smoothly in every key in quick succession. All in all with a little patience and focus, I still manage to complete the game... have to do a perfect run, it will be too vexing for my fingers and brain! :O

Steppin' Stones Game Review & Walkthrough Guide

Steppin' Stones

Play Online: Steppin' Stones
Developer: Emiel De Graaf
Genre: Puzzle

Game Review
Steppin' Stones is a deceptively simple puzzle game at first glance. Basically the whole concept about you build pathways by stepping the stones over other stones to reach your goal. There are a number of the stone indicating how many stones can be placed along the path you choose. Click and hold the stone you want to use then drag it over the arrow. Upon release, the stones will connect in that direction.

The first three well designed levels are to help you understand what you're doing. Once you cross those tutorial levels, you will tackle the other levels in a pretty logical way. My approach of the game is to work backwards and figure out the solution for every level while listening to a smooth jazz track. The limited number of moves means you won't get swamped by a theoretically unlimited number of possibilities. Overall, this game is better suited to logically minded players.

The puzzles are hard enough to be challenging, but it's not overwhelming difficult until you get discouraged and quit the game or walk away and come back later! The puzzle requires a little thinking and sequences. With only 16 levels, I felt it just the right length but can be longer... If the developer is able to create a random generator for this type of puzzle, it could be potentially replace Sudoku. :)

Steppin' Stones Guide
Solution to Steppin' Stones
The solution are in sequences, just follow the number in bold and those that in Red are the ending point.

Level 1
1 Down > 2 Right

[_][_][1][_]
[_][_][1][_]
[_][_][1][_]
[2][2][1][2]

Level 2
1 Right > 2 Right

[2][1][2][1][1][1]

Level 3
1 Up > 2 Right > 3 Up > 4 Right

[_][_][4][3][4][4]
[2][1][2][2][_][_]
[_][1][_][3][_][_]

Level 4
1 Left > 2 Down > 3 Right > 4 Down > 5 Down

[_][2][_][_][4]
[_][1][1][_][4]
[_][2][_][_][4]
[3][2][3][3][3]
[_][_][_][_][4]
[_][_][_][_][5]
[_][_][_][_][4]
[_][_][_][_][5]

Level 5
1 Down > 2 Right > 3 Down > 4 Left > 5 Down

[_][_][1][3][_]
[_][2][1][2][_]
[5][_][_][3][_]
[4][4][4][3][4]
[5][_][_][_][_]

Level 6
1 Up > 2 Down > 3 Left > 4 Up > 5 Down > 6 Left

[_][_][_][2][5][_]
[6][4][1][2][5][6]
[_][3][1][2][3][_]
[_][4][1][_][_][_]

Level 7
1 Down > 2 Down > 3 Right > 4 Right > 5 Right > 6 Down

[_][2][1][6]
[3][2][1][3]
[4][4][1][4]
[5][5][5][5]
[_][_][_][6]
[_][_][_][6]
[_][_][_][6]

Level 8
1 Down > 2 Right > 3 Up > 4 Right > 5 Down > 6 Right

[_][1][_][_][5][_]
[4][1][3][4][4][_]
[2][1][2][_][5][_]
[_][1][3][_][5][_]
[_][1][_][_][5][_]
[6][1][6][6][5][6]

Level 9
1 Down > 2 Left > 3 Up > 4 Right > 5 Up > 6 Up > 7 Right

[_][_][7][5][6][7][7][_][_]
[4][3][4][4][4][_][_][_][_]
[_][3][_][5][6][_][_][_][_]
[_][3][_][_][6][_][_][1][_]
[_][2][2][2][2][2][2][1][2]
[_][3][_][_][6][_][_][_][_]

Level 10
1 Up > 2 Left > 3 Left > 4 Right > 5 Down > 6 Left > 7 Down

[_][_][5][_][_][_][_][_]
[_][_][2][2][2][2][1][2]
[_][_][5][_][_][_][1][_]
[_][_][3][3][_][_][_][_]
[_][_][5][_][7][_][_][_]
[4][4][4][4][4][_][_][_]
[6][6][5][6][6][_][_][_]
[_][_][_][_][7][_][_][_]

Level 11
1 Up > 2 Left > 3 Right > 4 Down > 5 Right > 6 Down > 7 Left > 8 Down

[_][4][_][_][_][_]
[_][2][2][1][2][2]
[_][4][_][1][6][_]
[3][3][3][3][3][_]
[_][4][8][_][6][_]
[_][4][7][7][6][7]
[5][4][5][_][_][_]
[_][_][8][_][_][_]
[_][_][8][_][_][_]

Level 12
1 Right > 2 Down > 3 Right > 4 Down > 5 Down > 6 Right

[_][_][_][4][_][5][_]
[_][1][2][1][1][1][_]
[3][3][2][3][_][5][_]
[_][_][_][4][_][5][_]
[_][_][6][4][6][5][6]

Level 13
1 Down > 2 Right > 3 Up > 4 Right > 5 Down > 6 Right > 7 Down

[_][_][_][5][_][_][_][_]
[_][4][3][4][_][_][_][_]
[_][_][3][5][_][1][_][7]
[2][2][2][2][2][1][2][2]
[6][6][3][5][6][6][6][6]
[_][_][3][_][_][_][_][7]

Level 14
1 Up > 2 Right > 3 Right > 4 Right > 5 Up > 6 Up > 7 Right

[_][_][7][5][6][7][7]
[_][_][_][5][6][_][_]
[_][4][1][4][4][_][_]
[2][2][1][2][2][_][_]
[_][_][1][5][6][_][_]
[3][3][1][3][3][_][_]
[_][_][1][_][6][_][_]

Level 15
1 Down > 2 Right > 3 Up > 4 Down > 5 Left > 6 Up > 7 Up > 8 Right

[8][6][8][3][7][8]
[_][6][_][3][7][_]
[_][6][_][3][7][_]
[_][6][_][1][4][_]
[2][2][2][1][2][_]
[_][5][5][3][4][5]
[_][6][_][3][7][_]

Level 16
1 Right > 2 Left > 3 Up > 4 Up > 5 Left > 6 Up

[7][7][3][6][4][7]
[_][_][3][6][4][_]
[_][_][3][5][4][5]
[_][_][2][2][2][2]
[_][1][3][1][1][_]
[_][_][_][6][4][_]

From The Black Game Review & Walkthrough Guide

From The Black

Play Online: From The Black
Developer: Arkeus
Genre: Action, Shooter

Game Review
From The Black is a typical space bullet hell shooter was made for the Ludum Dare competition. It is an epic space battle in an effort to defend your home colonies from an onslaught of starships... The concept of space bullet hell shooter is not particularly new but From The Black manage to impress me with a refreshing return. The game itself is very well constructed and well polished which resulted in decent replayability and the story is somehow captivating too. All these are done in 48 hours worth of work, what more can you ask?

The upgrade system in From the Black is very extensive as you have three types of weapons to upgrade from. I really like how you can beat the story mode with bare minimum upgrades but not in story+ and story++. Even with max upgrade the ship is relatively weak in my opinion. Or I might just suck this, although I did complete some of the old bullet hell back in the days.

The gameplay was smooth and I liked the twist in "secret mode" which actually I only knew about it after reading the comments. Maybe could add a hint after one has completed the game? To activate the secret mode, simply avoid attacking any enemies. After you've dodged the first few waves, it will most likely trigger automatically. You can start shooting now. What you will be shooting is warp cannon shots that transport them to another sector. I was hoping to upgrade the wormhole cannon once it is enabled in the secret mode. I think I asked too much. Haha! ^^

From The Black Guide
List of Powerups in From The Black
Energy shield (yellow outside, green inside)- Gives temporary invulnerability.
Time distortion (purple) - Temporarily slows time for enemies and their bullets, normal time for you and your shots.
Bullet nullification (Blue) - Stops all enemy shots which vanish shortly after.
Shrapnel burst (Red band around the outside, yellow inside) - A burst of many small shots dealing moderate damage.

List of Enemy in From The Black
Swarmer
Blue - Flies slowly toward you.
Red - Flies toward you and fires at a slow rate.
Green - Remains in place then "dashes" to your location before firing a burst.
Orange - It has the fastest movement speed, actively chases your ship.

Zoner
Purple - Flies either vertically or horizontally while occasionally firing a spread. Fires more often when close to your ship.
Yellow - Flies around, then fires in a spiral when it stops.
Sniper - Does not move, fires a dense two-shot spread from any range.

Other
Disc - Flies slowly around the map.

Lists of Upgrades in From The Black
Strike Gun
Damage: Increases the damage of your main gun. 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50
Speed: Increases the firing rate of your main gun. 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50
Spread: Increases the number of bullets fired by your main gun. 100 / 200 / 300

Spreader
Damage: Increases the damage of your spreader bullet. 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50
Speed: Increases the firing rate of your spreader bullet. 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50
Spread: Increases the number of bullets fired by your spreader bullet. 100 / 200

Missiles
Damage: Increases the damage of your missiles. 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50
Speed: Increases the firing rate of your missiles. 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50
Sharpnel: Increases the amount of sharpnel on missile contact. 100 / 200 / 300

Ship Upgrades
Health: Increases the amount of hits your ship can take. 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100
Speed: Increases the speed of your ship. 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100
Magnet: Attracts nearby metals to your ship. 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100

Solution to From The Black
For the upgrades, I would highly recommend you to max all spreader and ship upgrades first. Once you maxed those, you can safely max out missile and strike gun in any order. Why? Spreader is the only weapon with high attacking speed and decent damage. This is a must weapon in typical space bullet hell shooter. Then ship upgrades are for survivability... The longer you survive, the more metals you gather. Story+ & Story++ are quite difficult, the only way to beat the game is to avoid getting hit. Try to stay near a Energy Shield Powerup, it will protect you from any incoming damage. ^^

Enola: Prelude Game Review & Walkthrough Guide

Enola: Prelude

Play Online: Enola: Prelude
Developer: Grindhead
Genre: RPG

Game Review
Enola is an exciting spin on the turn based RPG genre sends players on an epic journey across the land of Enola. You set out on your 18th birthday to avenge the monster which you believe killed your dad. Battling a wild variety of enemies and bosses across 16 unique hand drawn levels. During your journey, you collect materials, build new weapons and learn a devastating array of magic attacks.

After completing the game, you enter prestige mode. You can keep all your weapons, items and spells but all the enemies become much harder and you will have to complete each level again. It was fun and it didn't feel too short however as much as I love RPG's this one is much too simple. The only enjoyable part is unlocking all the spells and limit breaks.

In my opinion, the game has minimal character building. There is little or no way of influencing the development of my character. There's no real reason to do anything which result in fighting the monsters mindlessly. Balancing still needs work, I ran through it 2 times and never died. I really would love to see more crafted items, like armor, not just weapons.

This is a game with so much potential... It's a good and entertaining game, considering this is only a prelude. I am really looking forward for bigger things to come. By the way, the art and the voice acting are a great touch to the game. Still a decent piece of RPG! ^^

Enola: Prelude Guide
List of Special Attack in Enola: Prelude
Dragon Attack - A basic magic attack that deals moderate damage to a single target.
Rage - A heavy pysical atack that deals good damage to a single target.
Hell Thorn - This magic attack causes thorny roots to entwine all enemies, dealing moderate damage to multiple targerts. 50% chance of poisoning.
Powerslice - A strong magic attack that deals good damage to a single target. 50% chance of shattering armor, effective when combined with other attacks.
Ice Storm - A strong magic attack that deals great damage to all enemies.
Ramei - A powerful magic attack that deals huge damage to a single target. 50% chance of causing slow.
Landslide - Deals great damage to multiple targets.
Pheonix Strike - A super effective magic atack that deals massice damage to all enemies. The most powerful attack and 50% chance of shattering armor.

List of White Magic in Enola: Prelude
Heal - Standard healing spell, restores 1000 HP.
Restore Mana - This regenerative maic spell will restore your Mana by 5000 MP.
Cure Poison - This soothing spell will cure you from poison.
Regen - Slowly heals you over time.
Large Heal - Strong healing spell, restores 5000 HP.
Frenzy - Sends you into a frenzy, boosting strength and allowing you to deal greater damage.
Fix equipmet - Fixes any shattered weapon or shattered armor ailments.
Esuana - This miracle spells cures poison, and fixes any shattered weapon or armor.

List of Ailments in Enola: Prelude
Poison - Poison slowly hurts you over time. Use cure poison to remove it.
Note: Some Weapons are resistant to poison. Equip to avoid getting poisoned.
Shattered Armor - Shattered armor reduces your defense against attacks. Use fix equipment to restore your armor.
Note: Some weapons are resistant to shattered armor.
Shattered Weapon - Shattered weapon reduces the damage you damage you deal with attacks. Use fix equipment to restore your weapon.
Note: Some weapons are resistant to shattered weapon.
Regen - Regen slowly heals you over time. Use it to plan ahead and get the upper hand.
Frenzy - Frenzy boosts your strength and allows you to deal higher damage with all attacks.
Slow - Slow reduces the speed of the victims timer, allowing them to attack less frequently.
Note: Some weapons are resistant to slow.

List of Weapons in Enola: Prelude
Heavy Steel Weapon - Damage: 1.2, Speed: 0.46
Dragon Slayer - Damage: 1.05, Speed: 0.6
Twister Steel - Damage: 1.3, Speed: 0.5
Light Copper Sword - Damage: 0.65, Speed: 1.05
Heavy Coppr Sword - Damage: 1.5, Speed: 0.5
Heavy Gold Sword - Damage: 1.6, Speed: 0.51
Goliath Sword - Damage: 1.6, Speed: 0.51
Tombstone - Damage: 2, Speed: 0.47
Crystal Mace - Damage: 1.58, Speed: 0.55
Epholux - Damage: 1.62, Speed: 0.55
Enchanted Blade - Damage: 1.7, Speed: 0.6
Grave Digger - Damage: 1.82, Speed: 0.55
Golden Scimitar - Damage: 1.8, Speed: 0.65
Dream Slayer - Damage: 2.1, Speed: 0.55
Cursed Blade - Damage: 2.4, Speed: 0.47
Pariah Wing - Damage: 2.5, Speed: 0.6
Nightmare Sword - Damage: 2.8, Speed: 0.55

Solution to Enola: Prelude
This game is extremely easy just by using the fastest sword, light copper sword. You can gather the materials easily in the beginning. Since it has nearly double the speed of everything else, allows you to spam spells and kill everything much faster than any amount of base damage could possibly accommodate. And you have the extra turns to use Mana Regen at will without remotely crimping your style.

Basically, go into defensive stance and use Hellthornuntil all your enemies are poisoned. Just use healing on yourself when your HP gets low and attack with Hellthornor any other magic attack. Use Mana Regen when your Mana is low. Once you hit the final boss, the best spell combination is Ramei and Hellthorn. Slow and poison is the easiest way against the final boss. Or, you can try using frenzy and rage. This two spells combined are killer spells to any single targeted enemy.

CubeCubeCube Game Review

CubeCubeCube

Play Online: CubeCubeCube
Developer: Danny Yaroslavski
Genre: Puzzle

Game Review
The immediate impression that struck me when I solved the first puzzle on CubeCubeCube was 3D Minesweeper. The rules are as follows, smash apart the level into sets of blocks connected by their faces. Each set must include the number of blocks shown in the numbered blocks. Each set must have exactly one numbered block. Different sets can touch along their edges but not along any faces. Good rules for a game that demolish bricks. ^^

If you hit three mistakes, you must restart. CubeCubeCube actually challenges your mind to understand the puzzle in a 3 dimensional way. I can understand how someone who doesn't do puzzle games could take a while on this but personally I beat it in about a half hour. I must say it's a little too short for people who love puzzles. I would suggest if the puzzle with a low amount of 1's (or even none), since they generally offer a good head start into each map which overall difficulty is reduced. Hidden cubes is also another way to spice up the puzzle.

It is very disappointing when this kind of the games already has good game mechanics but just lacking in content. Really wasted, I believe these puzzles could be made a lot harder and challenging ways with a randomize puzzle option. Just pick a size and number of protected spaces and it generates a challenging puzzle, like in minesweeper. I enjoyed CubeCubeCube very much and the Android app was a nice surprise. I’m looking forward to additional puzzles.

Band Of Heroes Game Review & Walkthrough Guide

Band Of Heroes

Play Online: Band Of Heroes
Developer: Iriysoft
Genre: RPG, Shooter

Game Review
Do you remember a side scrolling shooter flash game called They Took Our Candy Game? Don't worry if you can't, it's quite far back in 2012 during the Halloween. Band of heroes has a similar concept as it and more role playing.

Band of heroes is about a lucky rogue named Josh who always finds his way to the most wanted treasures and artifacts, to steal of course! This time he gets into troubles and will have to team up with a group of strange but skillful teammates during his quest. Sadly only three characters can be in your party, but each has their own style of attack and set of upgrades. These characters can be upgraded at the end of each stage.

I still managed to enjoy this game immensely. The gameplay is fairly easy in normal levels except dodging meteors and boss battles are relatively challenging. I notice the meteors are too powerful and damaging, there is little warning before they hit and you are too slow to dodge in time. I always lose a member for standing too long in the burning ash. By the way, I had played the game with my touch pad. This could be the factor why... :O

The game has good replay value with different team combos and upgrades however disappointing as it only has 10 stages to explore. An adjustable difficulty level or survival mode with higher enemy spawn rates would make the game even more awesome. All in all this is a well-designed game and I hope to see more like this in the future.

Band Of Heroes Guide
List of Characters in Band of Heroes
Josh (Rogue)
Ablities
Grand Slash - Josh performs a wide sword slash. Causes 300% damage to all enemies in front of him.
Lucky Strike - Every hero in the band gains 10% to cause 2x damage when hitting an enemy.
Upgrades
Sword Mastery - + 20 / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 % to Grand Slash area and damage.
Treasure Seeker - Enemies + 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 % gold when eliminated.
Throwing Mastery - Knives throwing rate is increased by + 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 %.
Gold Magnet - Gold Magnet area is increased by 40 / 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 %.
Lucky Star - + 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 % to Lucky Strike.
Dodge Mastery - Josh gain 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 /15 % chance to avoid any damage from any source.

Erica (Arbalester)
Ablities
Hail Of Arrows - Erica shoots arrows at enemy causing 200%. The arrow go right through the enemies.
Disciple - +300% to fire rate of every hero in the band.
Upgrades
Spilitting Arrows - Erica's arrow gains + 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 % chance to split into two arrows after hitting an enemy.
Elite Guard - Erica's Hp and damage increases by 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 %
First Aid - + 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 % chance that the enemy will drop the healing potion when eliminated.
Battle Fury - Erica fills up the super power meter by 0.5 / 1.0 / 1.5 / 2.0 / 2.5 % each time she gets damaged.
Piercing Arrows - Erica's arrows gain 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 % chance to go right through an enemy.
Drill - + 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 / 15 % to Discipline.

Selene (Dark Cleric)
Abilities
Healing Wave - Every hero in the band restores 15% of HP.
Brotherhood Of Pain - When any hero in the band gets damaged, every other hero in the band gets 25% damage instead of that hero.
Upgrades
Demon Skin - Selena's HP is increased by 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 %.
Bloodlust - Every enemy killed fills up 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 % of the super power bar.
Resurrection - If any hero in the band dies, he or she will revive with full HP after 100 / 80 / 60 / 40 / 20 seconds.
Anasthesia - The damage from any source is reduced by 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 10 %.
Regeneration - Every hero in the band restores 0.5 / 1.0 / 1.5 / 2.0 / 2.5 % of max HP every second.
Dark Side - When super power is activated, Selena's fire rate rises by 100% for 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 seconds.

Glenn (Air Wizard)
Abilities
Ice Vortex - Protecting vortex appears around the band for 5 seconds. It stops the hostile projectiles and damages the enemies in range.
Wind Armor - There is 25% chance to reduce any damage by 355%.
Upgrades
TailWind - Glenn's Razor Waves speed is increased by 20 / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 %.
Storm Armor - Wind Armor's chance to reduce the damage is increased by 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 %.
Haste - All the heroes in the band move 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 % faster.
Turbulence - Razor Waves slow down the enemies by 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 %.
Tornado - Ice Vortex time is increased by 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 seconds.
Air Mastery - Glenn's fire rate is increased bt 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 %.

Ray (Engineer)
Abilites
Flamethrower - Launches a wide beam of flame forward causing 400 damage to each enemy affected.
Too Young To Die - If any souce causes lethal damage to Ray, his Hp reduces to 1 instead and the rest of the damage is distributed among the rest of the band evenly.
Upgrades
Loot Magnet - Bonus and Gold Magnet area is increased by 40 / 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 %.
Loot Expert - The chance to get weapon bonus is improved by 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 10%.
Napalm Bomb - When the bomb hits an enemy, the enemy starts to burn. The fire burns for 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 seconds causing 50% damage each second.
Overdive - Flamethrower's beam thickness and damage is increased by 20 / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 %.
Healing Drone - Grants a healing drone who restores 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 % of max Ray's Hp for 5 seconds.
Attack Drone - Grants a battle drone who attacks nearest enemy each 0.5 seconds causing 25% damage.

Build Erica(Leader), Josh and Selene
Personally, I love this build. Putting Erica as team leader while Josh and Selene as teammates. Selene's Resurrection is very useful and Erica's abilities is imbalance. The synergy with Josh's Throwing Mastery is perfect. You can see Josh doing all the screen damage, especially with its wide attack style.

Build Ray(Leader), Glenn and Selene
This build is a beast. After maxing all Ray's upgrade, his abilities to take down boss is incredibly effective. It's crazy when you see how wide the width of the beam is. There's no monsters that can stands in his way.

Build Ray(Leader), Erica and Selene
As for Ray, he will be able to upgrade your party members shooting abilities with high rate of upgrade drops during battle. The flamethrower charges very quickly, and you can use it and Erica on the annoying necromancers and the boss. Selene keeps everyone alive as usual.

Icycle Game Review

Icycle

Play Online: Icycle
Developer: Dampgnat
Genre: Platform, Adventure

Game Review
Imagine the next ice age has arrived and the world as we know it has peacefully frozen in time but to one naked survivor it's cold and lonely as hell! You found a kids push bike and you ride over the icy terrain collecting bubbles while avoiding various hazards like icicles and spikes.

The special feature implemented is push bike can only advance, you cannot pedal back so remembering the best route is part of the challenge. I don't mind challenges and the trial and error through the game. Dying multiple times to figure out the way to go feels pretty accomplishing.

The controls are okay. Holding back seems to slow you down for the parts where you're going too fast. The first run was not smooth, I had lots of deaths which are avoidable. In my opinion, it's not really that bad afterwards. If you play multiple times, you will notice he gets clothing. From scarf to shirt to underwear to sweater and lastly traffic cone. The developer is being creative here, why wear a traffic cone on his head instead of getting him a pants?

The game has good sound effects especially when the guy's echo "hello?!". I like it! Overall, it's a humoristic game; a nudist man cycling an undersized bike in the snow and ice. Thoroughly enjoyed it all the way.

P.S. First post of 2013, I wish you happy new year! ^^