Author Archive for ChiffaN
A project manager in a major telecommunications supplier, an iPhone junkie and lately - a TMA editor. Love long walks on the beach and my wife, who is the most beautiful girl on the face of this planet. You can also follow me on twitter for all things iPhone and project management (and some personal stuff as well): http://twitter.com/ChiffaNe
Jurassic Park: The Game 2 HD in Review – Not exactly the family-friendly theme park
I think few franchises have ever captured the imagination of the public like the famous Jurassic Park trilogy by Steven Spielberg. Books, toys, even theme parks – the world has seen it all. And even a couple of video-games, though they weren’t really worth mentioning. Until now that is! Telltale has struck again, taking an age-old intellectual property and twisting it in new and interesting ways. As a serialized interactive movie adventure none-the-less.
Jules Verne’s Journey to the center of the moon in Review – The genius of Jules Verne in Space
Jules Verne is arguably one of the most prophetic tech visionaries of all time, second only to Leonardo DaVinci. His 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea predicted modern era submarines in amazing detail. From the Earth to the Moon, of course, looks a bit more naive these days describing the journey to the moon using a giant canon. On the other hand, modern-era rockets might be considered the same in spirit, if not in principal. Tetraedge and Microids however, decided to stay true to Verne’s classic vision in their superb Jules Verne’s Journey to the center of the moon – Part 1/Part 2/Part 3.
Straandlooper announces a gruesome slate of quirky new titles
As I was whiling away time on the beach on an unexpected vacation/team-building/business trip last week, a surprise piece of news dropped into the Mail app on my brand spanking new iPad 3. Straandlooper, the developers behind the hilarious and witty old-school adventure HECTOR: Badge of Carnage Ep1 (TMA Review) / Ep2 / Ep3, are hard at work on all new projects after the success of the trilogy (If you’ll recall, Badge of Carnage caused so much buzz in the adventure gaming scene that Telltale teamed up with Straandlooper to bring Hector to multiple platforms). Yes, projects as in plural – in fact, all 3 of them! For all you fans of the developer, check out the official details after the gap.
Monkey Island Tales 3 in Review – Look, a two-headed Pinocchio!
Ah, love… What men (and women) won’t do for love, at least if it’s true. And if your beloved is infected by a horrible evil zombie plague, who would think twice about embarking on a journey to find the mythical zombie-sucking Giant Sea Sponge. I know I wouldn’t and neither did Guybrush Threepwood. Though the chance that his own possessed hand might be cured as well could have something to do with it… nah… it’s just Monkey Island Tales 3.
Law & Order: Legacies in Review – TV show live and under control
Before I start, I would like to say that for better or for worse I’ve never seen a single episode of Law and Order. Ever. So as I laid my hands on the recent release from Telltale, I was completely unbiased, if a little surprised. It seemed to me that the TV show in question would not survive the transfer to videogaming well, let alone on an iOS device. Boy, was I wrong. But wait, the court’s in session and the jury have yet to reach a verdict on Law & Order: Legacies.
Blueprint 3D in Review – Now where did I leave that pencil?
Out of all my university courses, my least favourite was probably mechanical drawing. You know, where you have to meticulously prepare a technical image of an object to scale according to all the rules and regulations. I’ve had little problems understanding how it should look like, but doing it neatly – let’s just say that it didn’t always go according to plan. I’ve even had dreams about the sketches, though they were more like nightmares. And funnily enough, those drawings in my dreams looked almost exactly like Blueprint 3D.
Monkey Island Tales 2 in Review – A human LeChuck is dumber than he looks
Pirates and zombies – these two things are just destined to go together. No wonder when LucasArts designed Monkey Island all those years ago the villain was made one. Now more than 20 years have passed and Telltale has boldly set out to show what the evil pirate would be like if he was human. Meet the dreaded LeChuck turn into a lovable oaf in Monkey Island Tales 2 – the follow-up to Monkey Island Tales 1 (TMA Review) and tremble with… well, not fear.
EPOCH in Review – Go save the princess, you tin can!
At times it seems developers just miss that creative spark in terms of writing, leaving us stuck with stories full of cardboard characters and clichés. But every once in a while a streak of genius may turn such a seemingly boring tale into something new and original. And depending on the viewpoint EPOCH falls neatly into the latter category. Or not.
Dimensions. Adventures in the Multiverse in Review – Ambient noise app meets foursquare and Farmville
As we all know – life can be stressful. And one way to make it a little bit more bearable is using an ambient sounds app to block out the annoying noises of everyday fuss. Whether in the office or outside they allow to, at least temporarily, shift your mind to someplace peaceful. Not content with only providing a listening experience, the developers behind Inception – The App released Dimensions. Adventures in the Multiverse, a unique app that adds some original gameplay elements to make it even more part of your routine.
Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World (Full) in Review – An old style point-and-tap from the kings of Hidden Object
As I noted pretty recently, G5 Entertainment can safely be called the reigning kings of both Hidden Object and Time Management genres. You can imagine my surprise then when shortly before Christmas, I received an invitation from them to review Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World (Full) – a traditional point-and-tap adventure that feels like it’s plucked right out from the golden age of the genre. Still expecting that something’s amiss, I dove into the game.
