Game Review: Pokémon GO

Game: Pokemon Go
Started Playing: August 2016
Current Level: 21

Synopsis:
Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Pikachu, and many other Pokémon have been discovered on planet Earth! 
Now’s your chance to discover and capture the Pokémon all around you—so get your shoes on, step outside, and explore the world. You’ll join one of three teams and battle for the prestige and ownership of Gyms with your Pokémon at your side.

Review: 
Haha... I had wondered if it was even necessary to put up a review on the game, cuz seriously, there are so many people playing this in Singapore, that it would seem like a redundant move on my end. 

But ah well, my work is done (for now) and it's still raining... and I don't need to be amy appointment till 7.. so... here we go!

It is a super smart game. Whoever thought of merging the idea of reality with these little pocket monsters really ought to win a Noble prize. Cuz seriously, considering that there are so many games out there, that you can think out of the box and come up with a game like this, that is pure genius. I firmly believe that this is just the first step. Moving forward, a lot of other game companies will be coming up with other games.. hopefully that are even more fun!

Anyhow, on to the game: 

The good: It is really an awesome tool for socalising. I am even considering becoming a matchmaker, pulling together different groups of friends to go hunting for pokemons. Haha... but alas, I have more female than male friends, so the gender mix of my social network doesn't seem to allow for me to be cupid!

Haha.. still it is really fun and it's good for me to go around catching pokemons while I am watiing for someone or just bored somewhere. The idea of walking to hatch eggs is also awesome, god knows the number of singaporeans who have bought fitbits, only to NOT WALK (yes, we need data to back up a fact that we already know, which is that we are a super sedentary bunch who don't walk, anything more than 5 minutes to a bus/mrt is a long walk)... where fitbit failed in the encouragement portion, pokemon go has succeeded. I have never seen such a record number of Singaporeans who are out walking!!

I for one, have always walked my dog hahaha (excuses I know), but now he/they (depends on whether Xena is bunking over), gets.. TWO walks a day. Actually, no, I am trying to toilet train them, but the pokemon gives me something else to play with while walking them. Haha. So they get two walks, and they have learned to sit on command, cuz I have to catch pokemons and their tugging at the leash keeps causing me to miss (and waste pokeballs).

Discussion topics which are fun, are about how to calculate CP, IV, and use of the different things. e.g. how to fully utlise your lucky egg? Ensure that you have at least 60-65 pokemons to evolve, it takes about 30 seconds each pokemon, then each evolution will give you 500 XP. So when you activate your lucky egg (which lasts 30 minutes) you will double your XP. So that gives you 1000XP. If you just keep evolving your pokemons, that would give you 60,000 XP. Errr.. my calculations are not the most trustwothy... but really... that would be best use of your Lucky Egg. 

So stuff like that makes lunch fun (and we start plotting different location for lunch), where the nesting grounds are supposed to be. 

The Not So Good: Well, there isn't many. If anything, it is the fact that there don't allow the use of IV calculators, so that you know which of your pokemons have higher potential, so you dump those that are not strong, and build on the strong ones, so you can go to the gyms and "hoot the shit" out of the others.

So for people like me, who can't calulate, it's very tiring le. Then I have to keep going online to check which are the powerful pokemons, and which of their attacks is better.. so many things... to the point where I hit Paralysis of Analysis. Analyse until I can't decide which of my pokemons to dump. But I need to dump, else I can't catch more. HAHAHAHA... 

So I am still upset that they are banning IV calculators that sync up with the app (yah, I get that the servers are struggling with all these 3rd party apps that are pulling/pushing data)... cuz that means I have to make decisions. And I have to think. And when I game, I don't want to think so much! Hahaha... so there... 

In Summary, still an awesome game. Definitely great as a time waster (although I shouldn't waste so much of my time!) ... go download it and play. Can't go wrong. At most you will get bored and delete it. But still, you can entertain kids to at least go walk around, instead of just huddling over their phones in a fixed location. :) 

Game Review: Twenty

Game: Twenty
Started Playing: July 2016
Current Level: TWENTY x 15

Synopsis:
Twenty is a colorful arcade/puzzle game that starts at 5, looks easy until 10, gets fiendish at 15 and challenges you to get to 20. Anyone can learn it, but you'll have to concentrate to make it all the way.

Review: 
Wahaha! for those who follow this blog, you must have been expecting me to write a game of Pokemon Go! right? And so... I have been addicted to this game, titled Twenty...WAHAHA... yes, it's another game...  (but yes, I am also playing pokemon Go).

So anyhow, this is a weirdly addictive game, where the aim is the match tiles of the same number, so e.g. if you match 4 & 4, the tile then becomes a 5. You then look for another 5, merge the two tiles, then it becomes 6. So this goes on till you have 19 and 19, which you merge to reach the end goal of 20.

As soon as you get to tiles where you hit 15, it gets a little more complicated in that tiles can now start being linked together. So you have to move them in the block. You can see the little black bar betwen the tiles in the photos, that's the link.

Then the next challenge is to see how many 20s you can get. It is the simplest, most brainless (and yet, not as brainless as you think) game that one can play. And yet, here I am.. playing it day in and out, whenever I have some free moments on my hand. My top score is 15!! any challengers? HAHAHA...

And the one up it has over candy crush.. there are no lives. yes!!! You can just keep playing, and if you die (as in the tiles have stacked up to the point where it reaches the top, sort of like tetris), you just start again. There are no hidden terms or conditions that requires you to fork out cash or irritate your friends.

Anyhow, after some fair amount of time spent on this, I have devised this strategy! Wahaha.. for once, I have a strategy... so this is what I do...

As you can see from this image above, tips are as follows: 

1. I have got three key columns. So what I do is to constantly stack and merge tiles based on these three columns. I have to say, I started with two columns, one on the extreme right and left, but that turned out a little far, and it just takes a bit more time to move the tile from right to left, so having the interim centre column works for me. 

2. Unless it is to free up tiles that are like totally linked together (and it requires a lot of manouvering so as to even reach and free up the tiles), always move a tile only to merge it with another tile. Don't make pointless moves as that wastes precious time and your tiles are just going to stack up more. 

3. And depending on which side you prefer, have the bigger numbers (e.g. 15 and above) stacked on the left or right side of the column. Then it's much easier to move things around to get your twenty when you are very close to it. 

4. Oh, and also, always break up the links first chance you get, or it will get into one big convulated link, where you move them as one big block! that makes it very difficult to free anything up. Which pretty much means you are reaching the end of the game. Haha..

5. And last but not least... it sounds a bit of a cheater bug, but sometimes, if you really need to blink, or just to rest your hands, cuz all that small movement can still result in a build up of lactic acid and also tears (haha, cuz if you are like me, you may tend to forget to blink frqeuently enough)... then hit the Pause button. As you can see... you are still able to see your tiles. Take some time to at least plot out the next 3-5 moves, so that when hit that continue play button, you know what to do to immediately continue the game and you don't lose the  momentum. Of course, this also works if you are stuck. You can use this time to strategise a little to see how you can move what and where. 

So there... waiting for challengers!!!

Game Review: Restaurant Story

Game: Restaurant Story
Platform: iPhone 4
Started Playing: December 2010
Current Level: 43

Synopsis:
The #1 FREE iPhone and iPad virtual world "Story" series returns with Restaurant Story! Design your own dream restaurant to show off to your friends. Don't forget to make sure your customers are happy and well-fed by choosing stunning decoration and tasty new dishes! New content will be released EVERY WEEK so the game continually gets even better!

Review:
This is essentially the same game as Bakery Story, with the exception that

1. The food you get to cook is different
2. The furniture you get to purchase is different
3. and lastly, the interface is slightly different (seriously, it is just that bit different)

So... not too sure how to review it, since I will feel like I am repeating myself. The aim, as usual, is to level up, decorate and have the most beautiful restaurant ever, which is why they insist that you must have neighbours (my Storm8 ID is leewaythegreat if you wanna add) is to increase this sense of competitiveness...

E.g. Oh.. I just visited one of my neighbours, or random restaurant, and their decor and restaurant is soo cool and soo nice, so I have to play more to earn more money and diamonds, so that I too can decorate better. (Note, do NOT ever use your diamonds to instantly cook your food, or to revive it if it's spoilt, that is the worst waste of diamonds ever. Save them, cuz seriously, there is no urgency. If it's spoilt, just cook a new pot, doesn't matter if your popularity ratings drop, cuz when you start serving again, it will just go back up. There is no backlash, and no virtually programmed customer is going to feel hurt that you didn't feed them for a day or two) So you play more and try to earn more, so that you can increase the size of your restaurant and improve the furniture you purchase, etc.

Fun game. Considering that I am still at it, although I cook really long term dishes (minimum 1-day dishes) these days, as I don't have time to keep checking in on the food when it's cook. Anyhow, still entertaining, graphics are pretty, and yes, I am into the brown/red theme for now. Wonder how long this theme will last. Hiakz...

Game Review: The Smurfs' Village

Game: The Smurfs' Village

Platform: iPhone 4

Started Playing: Februrary 2011

Current Level: 29

Synopsis:

Based on the original cartoon and comic art, players begin the game under the guidance of Papa Smurf, with only a single mushroom house and a lone plowed plot of land. From there, things quickly progress, allowing players to build specialized houses, elaborate gardens with colorful crops, bridges to span running rivers, trodden paths, and more.

Review:
Soo... upon special request, am writing a review for The Smurfs' Village. :) It is a pretty engaging game and it's a mixture of several types of possible game play on the iPhone.

(A) The standard farm and harvest format

• It has the standard harvest and earn XP (experience points) and $$.


• They limit the plot of lands you can have by the number of smurfs you have in the village to farm the land.


• No. of smurfs you can get is limited by the amount of housing you can get, which is limited by the level you are at.

(B) iPhone's motion sensor detector type of game

• There are additional mini game within this farm and harvest game which allows you to earn extra XP and $$.


• These games are really more meant for kids, but my take is that it is also somewhat limited by the type of play that you can get out of the iPhone - e.g. reaction, timing, shaking the iphone (to mix potions) and what not.

(C) Storyline Based

• The addition would be that they have tied a storyline to this, so it's not just a "farm, harvest and play mini games" game, instead, they have papa smurf sending you on selected missions, all of which of course, earn you extra XP.

Quite entertaining and the graphics are pretty good... I am just entertaining myself as I like games which I only need to check on once in a while, as opposed to the "Angry Birds" which requires me to staring at the screen and playing at the same time.

I play all types of games of course, including "Angry Birds" and "Bejeweled 2", but those are in a different category as they are what you would call puzzle games. :) Nvm... anyway, Smurfs' Village is not bad a game, just remember not to waste your berries, they're very precious and should be used to buy unique houses, that allows you to earn more XP and level up faster (instead of wasting it to build houses/for the plot of land to harvest at a faster pace). :)

Game Review: Bakery Story

Game: Bakery Story
Platform: iPhone 4
Started Playing: December 2010
Current Level: 57
Synopsis:
Design your own dream bakery to show off to your friends. Don't forget to make sure your customers are happy and well-fed by choosing stunning decoration and tasty new pastries! New content will be released EVERY WEEK so the game continually gets even better!

Review:

Funnest! And for some reason, this is just that little bit more popular than Restaurant Story... I wonder why? Am playing both, so am just reviewing the first one...

Well, hmm.... it's even stupider than Zombie Farm if that's possible. The purpose is even more meaningless, I have to keep cooking to satisfy my customers, and then I earn money, and experience points. As I move up the different Chef's level, I earn gems which I can use to purchase "nicer furniture" to beautify my bakery. Of course, the money I earn can also purchase furniture, just not the really nice ones. :P

So... stupid yes, addictive, also yes. :)

Post Edit: And for those who wanna add me: Storm8 ID: leewaythegreat

Game Review: Zombie Farm

Game: Zombie Farm

Platform: iPhone 4

Started Playing: December 2010

Current Level: 28 (as at 20Feb2011)

Synopsis:

Farm on the go! with Zombie Farm for iPhone.

Zombie farm is a unique farming game where you can relax while you plant seeds or plant zombies or both! Pick up your plow and enjoy the undead countryside!

Review:

Zombie Farm has been pretty entertaining thus far for me. Essentially, I farm both zombies, which are necessary when I attack enemies and crops that I can sell for money. The trick is not to use your "hearts" cheaply. Hearts are earned after you have attacked the various enemies. Enemies are virtual (aka, not some unknown player/friend you know) and you will earn certain items (e.g. instant harvest / instant plot / hearts / extra money)

So I am constantly on the rampage, attacking my enemies as soon as my zombies are hungry enough. The hungrier the zombies, the less prone they are to distraction, the smoother and faster the attacks, which leads to higher chances of success.

The important thing is also that you have to constantly invest in zombie mutations, so as to guarantee success for each invasion.

So, is it a very meaningful game? Nah... has it been entertaining thus far, quite. I started playing about late December, so I would imagine, it has been about a month or so... let's see how long this will last.

Post Edit (20Feb2011): My BootiFool Zombie Farm... added images (top two)... Bwahahaha... beat this! I wonder if there's a most beautiful Zombie Farm competition?