Gaming For Your Faceholes

Lumini Early Access Alpha - Review by JennyLeeP

Description

Lumini  - is a 2.5D sidescrolling action/adventure game created by Speelbaars , an Indie company from The Netherlands. 
The main character is a swarm or group of cute fish like creatures known as the Lumini.

Lumini are the inhabitants of an alien planet, that they share with all sorts of dangerous and hostile critters. It is your task to guide them through this beautiful, yet harsh, environment and bring them to safety.

During your travels you may painfully lose some of your swarm members, but do not despair. At several points in the game you can breed and possibly get more powerful Lumini, at the mysterious crystals, that seem to attract your sturdy friends.

The end goal is to help the Lumini safely migrate to a new safer world, where  they can thrive.

(Excerpts taken from Speelbaars Lumini description.)

Features:

Lumini is built on top of the Unity Game engine.

Can be run in many different resolutions in windowed or windowless modes.

Has partial controller support on PC and even recommends the use of a controller.

Thoughts:

The textures and environment are beautiful, well executed for this type of puzzle game.  The music and environmental sounds are again very beautiful adding to the feeling of serenity and peace.  That is until you encounter a red object / creature, where the music can change and become much more dramatic.

The splitting of the swarm for puzzles and challenges is very unique, forcing you to use 2 hands to control the different swarms.  Those that are ambidextrous will have an easier time with this, or a properly setup controller that allows you to use 1 analog stick per swarm.

Platforms and availability:

Lumini is currently in Alpha stages, uncertain yet what platforms this will be available on, but since it is built on top of Unity, that may give a few clues. 

Final thoughts: 

Keeping in mind that this game is very early on in development, it was still very enjoyable. Character movement is smooth and navigating through the environment was effortless.   In my opinion the challenges could be tougher and less obvious what needs to be avoided.  That or the target age demographic should be for a younger audience.   I do feel this game looks to be a very enjoyable one, and I will be keeping my eyes on it in the future.

Looking forward to what Speelbaars has to offer.

I am not going to give this game a rating yet, too early in its development.  Though based on looks and sounds, I would give it 9/10 Qubes

Game Dev Story - Review by Star-Fists

I am not one for mobile games. Mostly due to the fact I really don’t have a “smart” phone. I usually enjoy sitting in front of a computer for hours on end for my gaming experience. But while I eat or sit on the toilet is fair game for game developers. Currently that time has been occupied by a game called “Game Dev Story.” Available on iOS and android.

Description:

In Game Dev Story you take control of a small indie studio in hopes to one day make it big in the industry. You are the head of the company deciding what type of games you should make, level up your employees so that they can make better games, and give your employees drugs to keep them awake! You know normal boss behavior…

History:

Game Dev Story was released in Japan in 1997 on PC, and was developed by Kairosoft. They made such other games as The Sushi Spinnery and World Cruise Story. Game Dev Story was ported over in 2010 for both iOS and Android devices. The game was a smash hitting the top 10 list on the iOS store.

Features:

The game is a simulation based game where you take control of a small studio. You must manage funds, employees, and creating the best game you possibly can. You travel through the years creating games for consoles that come out such as the Game Kid, PlayStatus, and the Intrendo DM. The player chooses can choose the genre of game and what the game will be based off of.

Thoughts:

I can’t speak for how factual this game is to running an actual game dev studio. But Game Dev Story is very addicting none the less. It’s one of those games where you can just kick back and mindlessly lose hours of your life, until your butt gets sore from sitting on the toilet too long. The game’s graphics have a certain charm to them I find add to the whole feel of the game. As the sounds and music, they get annoying fast. Especially the constant tune that plays every time you hit a development cycle. Personally I just turned off the tunes and cracked up some of my own music. I found the game genuinely difficult at times. The game itself has a nice curve in difficulty.

Final Thoughts:

Game Dev Story is a great game besides the soundtrack and sound effects. But that’s easily fixed with the mute button. One thing I want to bring to your attention is the end game leaves something to be desired you can continue the game but it just ends after the last console comes out. Leaving much to be desired, like the PC counterpart Game Dev Tycoon you can create your own console.

I give Game Dev Story  7/10 Qubes.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.kairosoft.android.gamedev3en&hl=en

iOS:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/game-dev-story/id396085661

Official Site: http://kairopark.jp/

Indie Early Assessment: RimWorld

Early Assessment: Rimworld

Please note that this Early Assessment is only current as of Nov. 4, 2013

Warning to the Reader: This is an early assessment of Rimworld. This game will destroy your time. If you have loved ones, class, and/or a social life. Please take necessary precautions before you delve into Rimworld. Tell your loved ones goodbye for the next six months, drop out of class, and tell your friends you’re going to go hermit, they’ll understand.

Sincerely,

Star_Fists

    Rimworld was recently Kickstarted and received over $250,000, the original goal was only $20,000. Needless to say a lot of people are excited about the game. I also being one of those people. Having just downloaded the game today I started playing and before I knew it my ninth settlement was destroyed in a firefight with raiders. At this point I realized I hadn’t eaten lunch and went to get some food only to realize eight hours had passed. I had missed lunch and dinner. The last game that made me skip meals without noticing was Minecraft, and we all know how popular that was.

    The game is based around the expansion of humanity across the universe. You’ve been assigned to create and maintain a settlement on the rim of the universe hence the name Rimworld. But with the expansion of humanity means that space is the wild west. Anything goes so you’ll find yourself being attacked and raid by pirates seeking people or resources. But if you succeed fighting off the enemies you can capture some of them and persuade them into joining the settlement. Having it be easier to build things. But at the risk of being invaded by twice as many bloodthirsty pirates.

    Rimworld is one of those games where you whisper under your breath. “I only need…” and the chain continues. I only need this to get this so I can do this! There is so much you need to do in order to create a working settlement. Each world is randomly generated so each time you have a new story you’ll create.The game draws you nicely starting you off with just enough resources to create a basic camp. Speaking of camp, You can design your base how ever you want. The first few times I played I burrowed into the mountains only to find out that ceilings can collapse. Remember kids support structures like walls can save your life. I then tried to wall myself off in a canyon only to find myself cornered by pirates who had blown up my turrets. My last base was struck by lightning, by the way lightning HUGE problem you need to deal with ASAP. My base caught on fire and spread quickly, when I sent my settlers to deal with the fire one of them caught on fire and began running around like a lunatic. I eventually figured out I could put him out with one of the other settlers. But no one told me if I tried to put the fire out on that guy would the not on fire guy have a chance of catching on fire. Soon my whole base was a flame and my settlers burned to death. Guess stop drop and roll isn’t a thing.

    I don’t want to spoil anymore then that. Truly though the reason this is a short assessment is because I want to go back and play more. This game is going to be amazing. I would say next minecraft but this is a little bit more niche. If you have enjoyed dwarf fortress, prison architect, and FTL(Faster Than Light) you are going to have a blast. If I could rate an early assessment, I would rate this game 10/10 qubes and my double fist of approval. You really need to look into buying this game.

-STAR_FISTS

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