Anime Review: Kurogane Communication

Anime Review: Kurogane Communication

Submitted by: Bryan Khoo (VP)

Cast:

Yui Horie as Haruka
Rica Fukami as Angela
Hiromi Ishikawa as Spike
Houchu Ohtsuka as Cleric
Junko Shimakata as Trigger
Kenyuu Horiuchi as Reeves

Runtime: 24 eps at 15 min
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction, Mecha
Age Rating: Teenagers

Summary (courtesy of animenewsnetwork.com): The Earth is deserted. The human race has been wiped out. Robots now inhabit the world. However, only one human remains. A young girl named Haruka is the last human left on Earth. With the help of 5 robot friends, she will find out how the Earth became a place for robots, and her own past. The five consist of Spike, Reeves, Trigger, Cleric and Angela.

Main Character Haruka

Animation: Well, this series is about 10 years old so the animation is pretty dated. However, the robot designs are very varied which makes each individual on the show unique and easily identifiable. The backgrounds might seem a little bland but once the more mechanical backdrops are shown, the details look very good. Overall I think the series has some good animation.

Reeves: the strongest male robot ever with an apron

Spike, Trigger and Haruka

Sound: I liked both the opening and ending themes, and some of the BGMs like the suspense one really fit into the scene. However, many of them weren’t as inspired and kinda lacked any ‘ommph’. Maybe 3/5 for sound.

The whole gang

Storyline: The beginning episodes till about 10 are mostly for developing the characters and at times can be very slow and dull for those who want action or a good story. After those episodes though, the series does pick up. Issues such as the loneliness of Haruka can really be felt and the development of the robot Angela is very interesting. This series also has a very happy ending so those who hate sad endings will love this show.

Angela (or Major Motoko?)

Cleric: The smart one

My take: The series is quite short if you watch it and probably can take just 1-2 days to complete thanks to the roughly 10mins runtime of the show. The show is more interested in developing the characters and exploring certain themes so those looking for an all out action anime will be disappointed. The robots are quite ok in terms of characters with maybe only Angela really being interesting. But, she really looks like a mechanized version of Major Motoko from Ghost in the Shell. Spike becomes very irritating and I kept wishing he would die because he gets on my nerves. Reeves is excellent as the only gay robot I’ve seen to date. There is some nudity later on which is a little warning to those who are turned off by it. However, it is a great series that you can watch with a friend or if you’ve got some spare time.

3.5/5 stars

Game Review: Battleforge

System:PC

Submitted by: Brandon (VG. Dept Head)

Genre: MMORTSCCG (Massively Multiplayer Online Real Time Strategy Collectable Card Game)

Battleforge is a free to play game that attempts to blend the genres of Real Time Strategy (RTS), Collectable Card Games (CCG) with a little Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) thrown in. This combination of the strategic aspects found in RTS games with the flexibility and high-levels of customization allowed in CCGs blend together quite well, resulting in a game that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Overview

In Battleforge, you have the ability to summon and control an army of powerful creatures to do battle with. The twist is that these creatures are summoned not from buildings, like in most other RTS games, but from cards in your deck. As a result, you do not have a base to operate out of. Instead you can spawn your units anywhere on the field; this means that Battleforge is more about strategy and tactics rather than memorizing a particular sequence to build your base.

There are two forms of resources in Battleforge, Power and Monuments. These Power wells and Monuments are scattered at fixed positions on the map, and the main focus of the player should be capturing these locations to build up their armies quicker.

Power is needed to summon your creatures, cast spells and create defensive structures. To ensure a healthy supply of power, you need to journey around the map capturing and building Power Wells to keep your army up and crushing.

Monuments on the other hand, give you more Elemental Orbs, allowing you to build stronger units. You start the game with 1 Orb (meaning you can only build Level 1 creatures) and capturing your first Monument gives you another orb, allowing you to build level 2 creatures and so on up till a maximum of 4 Orbs.

Cards

There are a total of 200 cards you can choose from to fill out your 20 card deck. You can pick from 4 element types; Fire, Nature, Frost and Shadow. You are not limited to having only 1 element in your deck, you have the freedom to mix up and customize your deck with all 4 elements if you wish.

[Above] An example of a card with special abilities

Much like you’d expect from a real life CCG, each card in Battleforge has its own stats, special abilities and quirks to be considered, meaning that there is no one best card, but rather there are cards that are better suited for different play styles. For example, most Shadow creatures have the ability to do large amounts of damage at the cost of their health. A person with a focus on attacking power would be well suited to using a Shadow deck, where as Frost would be better suited for a more defensive play style.

[Above] Spell cards from each of the elements.

Aside from creature cards, there are also spell and building cards. Spells function much like you’d expect them to; they either deal direct damage to enemies or have healing/ power enhancing properties to your units. Building cards are also quite straight forward; Buildings are either defensive or supportive in nature. Buildings are especially useful to defend your captured Power wells and Monuments as well as providing your army a place to fall-back to when under heavy attack.

Economics

Like in real life, cards in Battleforge are obtained by buying booster packs. Unfortunately, just like in Real life, you need real money to buy these booster packs. Booster packs are bought using BattleForge Points (BFP). A single booster pack costs 250BFP and a Tome of 6 packs is 1250BFP. Currently, the rate for BFP is $20 for 1000BFP and $40 for 2250BFP (prices in Singapore Dollars… ouch).

[Above] A Screenshot of the Auction House. You can buy/ sell specific cards here.

Fear not! There is also an in-game Auction house where players can buy and sell cards for BFP, allowing for some flexibility in obtaining cards rather than buying pack after pack in hopes of getting a specific card. Furthermore, you can auction off your unwanted cards for more BFP to buy more booster packs :).

Aside from BFP, Gold is also used as a currency in-game. Gold can be obtained from doing missions and by finding chests in-game. Gold is used to pay for card upgrades, sending mail and for putting cards up for auction. The cost to put a card up for auction depends on the rarity of the card and the duration that you want to put it up for sale.

PVE and PVP

Games in Battleforge are divided into 2 categories, PVE (Player Vs Environment) and PVP (Player Vs Player). PVE games are held against computer opponents, where as PVP games are against other human opponents.

PVE games can be played against computer generated scenarios with anywhere from 1 -12 players, depending on which map is being played. The unique thing in Battleforge is that at the end of the game, aside from Gold and Experience points, players receive “Loot” in the form of card upgrades as well. These upgrades can then be used to boost the power of your existing cards and granting them new abilities. As the loot received is randomly distributed amongst all players, there is no guarantee that you’ll be getting the upgrade you’re after; this leads players to do repeated “runs” or plays of the same maps for these upgrades. The difficulty level of the map also affects the gold, Experience and upgrades players receive.

[Above] The Card Upgrade screen. The top row shows the effect the upgrade will have on the card and the bottom row increases the number of times the card can be used before recharging.

There are 2 types of PVP games, Collection deck and Tome deck games. As the name implies, a Collection deck game allows players to use any cards that they have in their collection. This allows them access to their most powerful cards and upgrades. While this sounds like fun, players who haven’t invested the time and money to get the best cards and upgrade them fully are at a disadvantage against players that have, making the games more about the cards rather than skill of the players.

In contrast to a Collection deck, a Tome deck is a sealed deck made up of 56 random cards which are kept separate from your main collection. While there is still an element of luck involved in what cards you get, the cards in tome decks are un-upgraded, meaning that matches are centered more on skill and tactics rather than card power. As playing with Tome decks requires more skill, the rewards received are correspondingly higher as well.

Complaints

Battleforge is a purely online experience, gamers with spotty internet connections beware. All missions, whether single player or otherwise, are played online. The obvious drawback to this system is that even though you are playing against AI (computer) opponents, you still can experience lag! There have also been times when I was disconnected from the game due to the server timing out. Additionally, as all missions take place online, you cannot pause the game!

[Above] A Screenshot of the website where you pay real money for BFP :(

Also, having to pay real money for virtual cards is a real kick in the pants. While I understand that the game is Free to play and these micro-transactions are the only way the developers make money, $20 for 1000BFP is too much! 1000BFP translates to 4 booster packs. At 8 cards a pack, that means you are paying 62.5 Cents per virtual card! Yes, Virtual. Virtual meaning that you can’t keep the cards in a nice album to show your kids 20 years down the road how stupid you were to spend so much money on cards. Heck, you can’t even enjoy the nice new card smell either. You know why? Because the cards aren’t real!

Closing Comments

Despite the complaints I have about the game, I feel that Battleforge is really quite a good game. It is innovative, well balanced and allows for a deep level of strategy and customization.

Overall, I’d recommend BattleForge to anyone with an interest in RTS games like Warcraft 3 or CCGs like Magic: The Gathering.

It is free to play and you do not have to buy additional cards to enjoy most of what the game has to offer. If you have tried the game and are considering buying some Battleforge points (BFP), I recommend picking up a physical copy from a game shop. The game retails for around $45 and comes with 3000BFP, which is a bargain considering that they charge $40 for 2250BFP online.

To Download the game head to the Official Battleforge Website here.

To read up more on the game, head over to the Battleforge Wiki here.

Anime Review: Afro Samurai

Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly Hu, Ron Pearlman
Runtime: 5 episodes at 25 min each
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Rating: Mature
Submitted by: Bryan (AMCC, VP)

Summary: The tale of Afro Samurai is one of bloody hardship and pain. Along his solitary path of revenge for his murdered father, he sheds no tears and knows no love. Forever chased by powerful enemies in a lawless technology-speckled dystopia, he evades bullets and blade to reach his final prey: a man who will not die. But Afro will reach his quarry - even if it means painting a road of blood and brains from here to the bitter inevitable end.

(courtesy of aniDB.com)

Animation: The studio doing the animation, Gonzo has done many great anime and the scenes in the show are very high quality. The fight scenes are sometimes fast and might be hard to catch but are very impressive. And this being a collaboration between the US and Japan, the style used in the series to mix aspects of both cultures does not seem so weird which is a great job by the design team.

Sound: Now for many who do not like English dubs in their anime, this may put them off from watching this series. However, with the famous names voicing the characters, they do a very good job and for me at least, it helped me get over my irritation of English voiced anime. As for the music, since it was made in collaboration with the US, the music is done by hip hop groups such as RZA which complements the style very well.

Storyline: The story is very straightforward and for some, leads to a very predictable plot. The infusion of hip-hop and feudal Japan ideas however, help keep the story interesting. The plot also calls for a few flashbacks which help flesh out the characters and even then, the violence is in full motion. The ending to me has a very nice twist but seems a tad out of place.

My take: Overall, the action is very fluid, gory and violent which is fine by me. The fights however at times can be very short by almost ‘Ghost Rider: The Movie’ standards. The ending was satisfying but somewhat puzzling yet helps set up the potential for more sequels. There are some bits of nudity so I wouldn’t recommend watching it with your siblings (although the violence should be the main reason they shouldn’t watch it). Still, it is a much watch anime with its positives far outweighing its negatives.

Overall: 4/5 stars

Anime Dept. Head's Comments: No Comments! Why? Cos We Don't have a Anime Dept Head! We'll get to filling that spot eventually... In the mean time, please offer your comments on this review in the "comments" section below.

Game Review: Team Fortress 2

*All pictures can be clicked to enlarge*

System: PC, Xbox 360 and PS3
Submitted by: Brandon (VG. Dept Head)
Genre: First Person Shooter (FPS)

Introduction
Before I start this review proper, I would just like to say that this review means a lot to me. This game means a lot to me. I was a big fan of the game’s predecessor, Team Fortress Classic (TFC), and I’ve been eagerly awaiting this game’s release ever since they first announced its development way back in 1999. Naturally, I bought the game the first day it was released (I’ve even still got the receipt to prove it) and have so far sunk almost 450 hours into the game.


Graphics and Style
The first thing you’d notice about Team Fortress 2 (TF2) is that it looks like a “cartoon come to life” with a visual style similar to the Pixar movie, the Incredibles. I find that this is extremely refreshing when compared with other First Person Shooters (FPS) such as the Call of Duty Series or Counter Strike. In fact, having such a cartoonish style allows players to suspend disbelief when characters do things like rocket jumping*.

* (Using the explosion from your own rocket to jump to incredible heights, while suffering only a small amount of damage to yourself in exchange. It is often used to get to more advantageous positions on the map.)

[Pictured] A Pyro taunting after he killed me. Notice the smooth textures, the reflections in the water and even the water dripping off the character model.

Team fortress 2 is a purely multiplayer experience. Those with no internet connection need not apply. The game has no Storyline, plot or twist at the end. It does however, have interesting and well developed characters. Unfortunately, those characters die all of the time, but don’t worry; they all come back to life soon after a short respawn time.

The game has a unique design style, voice and personality for each of the 9 playable classes. A far cry from the homogenous cookie cutter soldiers in most other FPS games. For example, the sniper is an Australian hunter, and uses phrases like “G’day”, or “mate”. The Demoman on the other hand, is Black, often drunk, has only one eye and is Scottish. Other characters to look out for include the Russian Heavy weapons guy, the German medic, the Texan Engineer and the French Spy.

Meet the...
To further add personality to the characters, Valve, the company that made the game, releases “meet the class” videos to accompany each update. In these increasingly elaborate videos, the featured class often addresses the audience and talks about themselves these monologues are quite humorous and often show that class in action as well.

These videos not only add personality to the classes, but also display the abilities of the class. One thing that I found to be very impressive is that the events in these videos are sometimes referenced by the characters in-game. For example, in one of the videos, the sniper receives a cut on his cheek. I was very surprised to find that the in-game model for the sniper was also altered to have a scar in as well.


[Above] The "Meet the Sniper" promotional video. The other videos can be found HERE.

Gameplay
As I mentioned earlier, TF2 is a class based shooter. Players can pick from 9 diverse classes, each with their own strengths, weaknesses and abilities. There is no one class that is the “best”, each class plays quite differently from the next, and you’ll need a different set of skills to use each one effectively.

The Sniper can kill any class with a well placed headshot, but is weak at close combat and has to charge up his weapon before he can fire. The Heavy Weapons Guy (Heavy) has very high health and wields a Minigun, making him excellent at close and mid-ranged combat, but is slow moving, and thus vulnerable to Snipers and Spies. The Spy can become invisible and disguise himself as members of the enemy team and has the ability to kill a foe with a single backstab. The downside of the spy is that he is quite weak, and cannot fight as well as the other class head-to-head, relying instead on stealth and cunning to get kills. Engineers are weak fighters as well, but can build a variety of useful structures to help the team. One of these structures is a powerful upgradable Sentry gun that guns down any enemies that come in range.

[Pictured] A Spy learns the hard way that he can't go Toe-to-Toe with the Heavy.

As you can see, the “Team” in Team Fortress 2 is not just for show. Working as a team and picking classes that suit the current situation are the keys to victory.

~ How TF2 stands out from the Pack ~

In a way, one FPS game is much like the other. You run around a map, sometimes alone and sometimes with a team, killing stuff. So I feel it is important to talk about some of the special mechanics built into the game to help it stand out from the crowd.

The Nemesis-Domination System
One of the most striking differences is the “Nemesis-Domination” system. If you kill or assist in killing someone 3 times in a row without them killing you back, you are considered to be dominating them and you will become their nemesis. A message will be shown to the whole server and you will have a special symbol floating above your head only visible to those who are being dominated by you. In the same way, you will be able to see the symbol above the head of the one dominating you. If a person succeeds in killing their Nemesis, they will get a revenge kill and receive extra points.

[Pictured] The "Nemesis" Icon floating above the head of the one Dominating you.

Scoring and Death
In terms of scoring points, you don’t only get points for killing enemy players, but instead you are also rewarded for doing your job in the team. Medics get points for healing people and when their heal target kills something; they get credit for the kill as well. Engineers get points for building stuff and receive additional points whenever people use their buildings. At the end of each round, the highest scoring 3 players of the winning team are displayed and are listed as MVP’s of the map.

[Pictured] A snapshot of my stats in-game. Note the although my kills were 32, my overall points were 42. This is because other things such as assisting team-mates and dominating opponents also add points to your score. Also note that there are 13 ways to get points besides killing others, such as healing or for capturing objectives.

One nice feature is that only your total points scored can be seen by others, they cannot see how many times you were killed in order to get that amount of points. I feel that this is a nice feature, as in games like counter strike, your skills are judged not only by the number of kills you have, but by the number of deaths you have as well. A person with a 20:2 kill-death ratio is judged to be more skillful than someone with say a 100:200 kill-death ratio. As opponents cannot see the number of deaths you have, you’ll be more inclined to try risky stuff without endangering your “image” in-game.

Deathcam
The Deathcam is a in-game feature where the camera zooms in and freezes on the person that killed you. That person's name and health are also displayed and if that person is your Nemesis, the Nemesis icon is also displayed. If the person happens to be using a special unlocked weapon, the stats of that weapon are shown as well. You then have the option of hitting F5 to take a screenshot of the deathcam image. While this feature is by no means unique to TF2, it does sometimes provide you with entertaining photos. Also, there are several achievements that involve you taunting after you kill someone, giving them a deathcam shot of your taunt. In fact, most of the images I used in this review were deathcam shots from my own gameplay time.

[Above] This is a screenshot of the RED Demoman who killed and Dominated me, as you can see from the "New Nemesis" sign. Also in the screenshot, is my team-mate, the Blue Heavy, who decided to take the matter of my death into his own Super-charged, Boxing-gloved hands.

[Above] This Heavy sure is happy he killed me.

[Above] A cool-looking screenshot of a Medic-Pyro combo. The glowing red appearence of the two mean that they are currently invincible, an ability of the Medic. Also notice that the Weapon that Pyro was using at the time was a special unlocked weapon, so it's stats are displayed as well.

Critical hits
One other thing that makes the game more enjoyable is the inclusion of random "critical hit" attacks. These Critical hits do 3 times as much damage as they normally would. Although the chance of getting a critical attack is small (2%) for standard weapons and around 15% for melee weapons, these Critical attacks make the game a whole lot more enjoyable.

[Pictured] When hit by a Critical attack, the words "Critical Hit!" are displayed for all to see. A special sound is played as well.

There are also several weapons that guarantee a Critical attack if used in a certain way. Examples of this are a Headshot from a Sniper Rifle or a Backstab from a Spy. Both of these attacks have a 100% Critical hit chance.

Stats Tracking
The game also keeps track of a variety of statistics obtained by each class every time you play. Things like your total time spent as each class and the highest score you obtained while playing that class are just some of the many stats tracked. I find this to be a rather nice feature, as a little message pops up every time you die, informing you of your progress, and how close you were to your previous best score/ time. In this way, you are competing with yourself as much as you are competing against others.

[Pictured] A Screenshot of my performance report from in-game.

Almost like Christmas...
A new game mechanic was also recently introduced that rewards the player with new weapons and sometimes even headwear for playing the game (Rewards of new weapons were previously earned by getting a certain amount of achievements). These rewards are completely random in nature and are awarded at unspecified intervals regardless of how well/ badly a player is performing. While I am a little put off by having sunk almost 30 hours of game time since the update and am so far only running into mostly repeats of weapons I already have, I find this new system extremely enjoyable! You could have a 4-hour gaming session and not receive anything, but when you do, it feels like Christmas morning.


[Above] A screen pops up every time you receive a new weapon. Weapons go into your backpack, where you can select the one that best suits the occasion.

[Above] A snapshot of my current backpack. As you can see, I have several repeat weapons. Once the Trade function opens up, you guys are welcome to them.

[Above] The Screen where you can pick which weapon to equip to best suit your style and the situation you are in.

Conclusion
Best of all, the game is updated quite frequently (at no cost), and I don’t mean just tweaking the existing gameplay. New content is added quite often, new weapons, new class specific achievements, new maps and new game modes are just some of the things that have been added since the game was first released. For perspective, the game launched with just 6 maps, 2 gameplay modes, 17 achievements and a total of about 25 weapons (3 for each class, counting repeats). At present, there are 21 maps, 5 gameplay modes, 245 achievements and 43 weapons available. With 3 classes yet to be updated and the promise of a 10th playable class to follow, how’s that for value for money?

Extra Stuff:
[Above] 2 Unlockable Weapons for the Spy class (circled in red) unveiled and displayed in the style of a mock magazine catalog order form.

[Below] A Unlockable Weapon for the Scout Class, displayed in a similar style to the ones in the Spy update. Note the clever way they explain what the weapon does and what disadvantages it has.


For more information on TF2, You can either visit the TF2 Wiki, or the Team Fortress 2 Official Blog.

VG Dept. Head's Comments: An Excellent review... at least that's what I would say If I wasn't the one who wrote the damn thing. Tell you guys what, You fellas can do me a favour and Leave your thoughts and comments below. Okay? Super.

Game Review: Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times

System: Nintendo DS
Submitted by: Yueying (member)
Genre: Virtual life

In Animal Crossing: Wild World, you get manipulated and exploited by a Bell-grabbing raccoon. Now, Konami let's you enjoy being exploited by principals of a magic school. Solve the 52 mysteries, because you are the chosen one! It is the same formula, in your own time and target, earn money, buy stuff, annoy all the people living in the town.

Gameplay: For those who have never experience the world of Animal crossing on DS, this may offer a refreshing gameplay, you either love or hate. Lacking a real ending or aim in this game, you set your own goals to achieve, be it collecting all the bugs available, solving all mystery quests or becoming a Master Wizard accolade. You get to buy clothes, furniture, instruments and music CDs to customize and enrich the life of your playable character. Since the game is in real time, events will also occur on special days. However, being designed to last at least 365 days, the waiting time for the next quest or new classes could be unbearable and gameplay could be reduced to repetitive fishing, bug catching and interactions with the NPCs. Magician Quest: Mysterious Times is also striking similar to "Wild World". With slight modifications and the addition of 'quests' to complete, you should reconsider buying the game unless you are excessively interested in the quests available in the game. The game allows Wifi and multiplayer options but I do not have the ability to test these features.

"Your evaluation depends on this, you better do as told."

Sounds and graphics: The background music is nothing impressive, mostly consisting of variations of classical pieces. The music you get from the CDs cover a wide range of musical genre but most of them causes headache for whatever mysterious reasons. The 3D graphics could be considered cute and pretty well done with the constraints of the DS, there are some glitches when using the stylus though.


The school is embarrassingly small.

Replay value/ Extra features: It isn't a question of replaying but whether you want to continue playing it since there are changes over time, such as residents moving in and out of the town and seasonal changes. To actually restart playing the game, serves very little purpose. A thing I fail to mention above is about the spells you cast, you can play pranks on other NPCs by making them fart or zapping them. Something you can do all day, imagining that those residents are people you don't like in real life.

Verdict: It is essentially fun in a mindless sort of way since you can do what you want. Plus, you never have to fret over getting Game Over unlike harvest moon. Thus, it deserves a 7! (Highly unrecommended for Action-seeking players)

Game Score: 7.0/10

Disclaimer: Pictures are video are shamelessly taken from other websites

VG Dept. Head's Comments: I Like this review. I'm really digging your humorous style of writing. I'm a fan of the Animal Crossing series, and I was surprised at how similar this game was to it. If the residents in this game are anything like the ones in Animal Crossing, the part about zapping them with spells sounds really appealing to me :). Keep up the good Work!

Game Review: Plants Vs Zombies

*All pictures can be clicked to enlarge*

System: PC
Review Submitted by: Kenneth Lee (AMCC Member)

What do you get when you throw a generous dash of humor, zombies that are adamant to eat your brains and plants that are loyal to you? Well, in Popcap’s latest game, Plants vs. Zombies, you get to find out for yourself just how wonderful the end product is!

Plants vs. Zombies (PvZ) is a tower defense game that breaks from tradition. In this game, zombies of different types move from the right of the screen to the left. In order to stop them from entering your house, you plant different types of defences which will either stall them or destroy them.


While most games of its genre are based on combat of the serious kind, the developers have gone on to change the mood of this game by introducing humor, aesthetically pleasing game design and elegant game mechanics into the mix. Added upon that is the fact that there is an almost endless amount of gameplay for the people who want to milk the game for all it is worth!

The humor in the game comes from every single element. Zombies come in all shapes and sizes from football-playing zombies to snorkel zombies and even a Michael Jackson zombie! They shuffle, stumble, dance and hop their way across the screen, reacting in comical ways when they meet their end at the hands of opposing plants.

The game also mixes in some fantastic game design choices. Instead of gloomy, characterless defense towers, the developers used plants with personalities to give players a sense of connectedness and understanding of their functions by looking at them. For example, “Wall-nut” is a walnut plant that does exactly what it is supposed to do: Be a wall! Brightly-coloured Sunflowers bop about happily and produce sun power for you to plant more defenses and green peashooters fire peas to take zombies down. The combination of rich, bright colours and pleasing animations make PvZ a sight to behold.

The gameplay holds up as one of the most interesting tower defense games not because of the sheer number of units it provides (it does provide a huge number of zombie and plant units) but because of the way it challenges you to constantly adapt your style of gameplay to push back the constant waves of zombies. The game starts on a very easy difficulty with an open backyard and simple zombie types, but as you progress into the game, it throws you a curve ball by having you defend you backyard with a pool at night and even forces you to play blind with only occasional lightning flashes to let you see in the dark. It eventually moves to the roof, where the game will throw a huge number and variety of zombies at you, making you think twice about where you set down your plants. Indeed, the gameplay is intriguing and varied enough because there is no one way to win. You can use different plant combinations to win (or lose) depending on your play style, but once the environment changes, you will have to figure out new ways to defeat the never ending zombie horde!

All in all, PvZ is a great game with good design choices, appealing aesthetics and solid gameplay. Its value lies not just in the adventure mode, but in its other minigames and endless survival mode which throws endless waves of zombies your way. In the end, if you are looking for some zombie killing fun, but don’t feel like playing through a dark campaign of Left 4 Dead, you can always turn to PvZ for some hilarious and exciting zombie killing action.


Here are some Screenshots from the game:

[Picture 1] Another "helpful" note from the Zombies.

[Picture 2] Two entries from the Suburban Almanac, one from the Plants side, the other from the Zombie section.

VG Dept. Head's Comments: An Excellent review! Very Well thought out and written. I hope this review will be the first of many from you. To anyone reading this, please be inspired by Kenneth's example and start writing! - Brandon

One head of the Hydra. The AMCC VideoGames Blog.

You might be thinking "AMCC already has a blog, Why on earth do they need another?" Good question. The main blog is for announcements and up-coming events. This blog is for you guys. The Videogames sub-blog is dedicated to member written videogame reviews and other user submitted content for the AMCC Videogames department.

How we intend to do this, is users who want to post something on the blog should email the content to us at amccsg@gmail.com. We will then edit the message (if necessary)and post it up on the blog. Don't worry, full credit for the post will be given to the sender. The important thing is that we want you to contribute to the blog and for your works be seen by a larger audience.

Aspiring writers, put on your writing caps, do some finger flexes (stretching is important) and start typing!

Remember kids, You can also add in pictures and videos to give your reviews more kick to them.

~ Brandon