Game Review: Tearaway

Seb's decided to start playing Tearaway: Unfolded (PEGI-7) again on the PS4.  We have a total love affair with the Tearaway games. If you don't have Unfolded, buy it!  And if you have a Vita you should DEFINITELY own the original Tearaway (PEGI-3) game.  It may well be the best game made for the Vita.  (Metacritic ranks it 8th out of 257 games.)

Hmm, I don't know why the original game was rated PEGI-3 and the PS4 version is PEGI-7, since they are both essentially the same game.  (Though slightly different.)  Anyway...

It's a joy watching Seb play it now - last time we played he couldn't really read.  Now (apart from some tricky words) he's pretty much reading all the text himself. 

The game was made by Media Molecule, who were the geniuses behind Little Big Planet.  They're currently working on Dreams, which is hard to describe, though bound to be awesome.  :-)

The Vita version, which came out in 2013, is the only game I've come across that uses all the Vita's strange functions - the rear touchpad, the touch screen, camera, etc.  It doesn't use them in a stupid "oh this exists so we might as well add a slightly pointless thing to use it" way, but instead a way that gives them purpose for perhaps the only time in the history of the Vita.  (Especially that odd rear touchpad.) 

The game looks amazing - it looks like it's made out of paper!  What makes this even more exciting is that you can collect papercraft models in the game then go to the Tearaway website, print templates, and make the things in real life out of card.  The instructions are easy and we've made some great models that really replicate what's in the game.

 

Two of our creations!

Then there's the amazing music, such as 'The Orchards' (below) by Kenneth Young.  The game has a wonderful soundtrack that we've sat down and listened to on more than one occasion.  It totally goes with the folksy and eccentric feel of the game.

The game is telling a story - the story of a messenger (his head is an envelope!!) called Iota or Atoi, whose adventures lead him/her to the You (that's you, in case you were wondering).  There is a hole in the sky and the villainous 'scraps' are falling into their world.  There are so many fun adventures in the game - it's anything but a typical platformer.  The crows are super sinister.  Then there are times when you'll just want to stop and look at the world.  The level with the lighthouse was beautiful.  And I'll always fondly remember decorating the pig and riding it afterwards.  :-)

The PS4 game was released in 2015.  It's still a great game, but it loses something without the integrated Vita stuff like the rear touchpad (which you could use to rip through the paper of the world with your finger).  It does use the PS4 controller's abilities though, like the light, which you shine like a torch onto the screen to hypnotise scraps.  It also uses the touchpad to do things like cut out shapes in paper, though this is oddly fiddly.

Both games are atmospheric, quirky, original, brilliant fun, and you'll want to replay them.  If only to collect some of the papercraft plans you missed...

July 2018 PS Plus Goodies!

I can hardly believe another month has gone by!  Unfortunately, this month is (again) not a very exciting month for family friendly games.  On the PS4 we have Absolver (PEGI-12) and Heavy Rain (PEGI-18), on the PS4 and Vita Space Overlords (PEGI-7), on the PS3 Rayman 3 HD (PEGI-7), on the PS3 and PS4 Extreme Exorcism (PEGI-7) and on the Vita Zero Time Dilemma (PEGI-18).

Absolver is a fairly well regarded multiplayer (online) fighting game, rated PEGI-12 for its 'frequent scenes of mild violence'.  I have read that there are some technical issues with the online matchmaking, but I haven't experienced this myself.  You can play it co-op with friends.

I was put off Extreme Exorcism by the title, but it's not the terrible evil game you might think.  Though it may lead to some questions about exorcism.  And I've found people think your child is watching things they shouldn't when they start talking about games that have odd things in them.  Like exorcism.  (Hehe...)  But this is a platformer where you use various weapons to destroy ghosts in a non-threatening haunted house (think Scooby Doo here, people), with non-scary 8-bit retro graphics.  Most of the game can be played with friends through local co-op.  This might just be this month's family friendly pick!  I will let you know what we make of it when we've tested it further...

As for the other games, Rayman 3 HD is fun for younger kids, but having been gifted the excellent Rayman Legends in May it seems a bit rubbish to be given an older Rayman game.  I'm also disappointed that Heavy Rain is here, even if it is remastered.  I played it on the PS3, I don't think I can be bothered to play it again, even if it is prettier!  (But if you haven't played it, it is good, just don't play it with kids around!)  I'm also interested to try Zero Time Dilemma (again, not one for kids!) but I use my Vita so rarely these days it always needs charging when I do pick it up.  Poor Vita.

:-(

Ramble - Gaming Addiction... should you be worried?

Almost certainly the answer is no.  If you're a gamer and you're reading this, without doubt you've found a game so amazing that you've put your life on hold for a bit to play it.  You've played into the night.  Maybe you took the day off work on the day when a game came out.  But does that mean you're addicted to games?  No, it does not.

On 18th June it was widely reported that gaming had been classified as an addiction in the World Health Organisation's latest disease classification manual.  This in itself is controversial amongst those in the know.  An article by proper science type guys who know about this sort of  things has the following abstract:

Concerns about problematic gaming behaviors deserve our full attention. However, we claim that it is far from clear that these problems can or should be attributed to a new disorder. The empirical basis for a Gaming Disorder proposal, such as in the new ICD-11, suffers from fundamental issues. Our main concerns are the low quality of the research base, the fact that the current operationalization leans too heavily on substance use and gambling criteria, and the lack of consensus on symptomatology and assessment of problematic gaming. The act of formalizing this disorder, even as a proposal, has negative medical, scientific, public-health, societal and human rights fallout that should be considered. Of particular concern are moral panics around the harm of video gaming. They might result in premature application of diagnosis in the medical community and the treatment of abundant false-positive cases, especially for children and adolescents. Secondly, research will be locked into a confirmatory approach, rather than an exploration of the boundaries of normal versus pathological. Thirdly, the healthy majority of gamers will be affected negatively. We expect that the premature inclusion of Gaming Disorder as a diagnosis in ICD-11 will cause significant stigma to the millions of children who play video games as part of a normal, healthy life. At this point, suggesting formal diagnoses and categories is premature: the ICD-11 proposal for Gaming Disorder should be removed to avoid a waste of public health resources as well as to avoid causing harm to healthy video gamers around the world.
(PDF) Scholars' open debate paper on the World Health Organization ICD-11 Gaming Disorder proposal. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311981176_Scholars'_open_debate_paper_on_the_World_Health_Organization_ICD-11_Gaming_Disorder_proposal [accessed Jun 23 2018].

This is not to say that some people aren't addicted to gaming.  But whether it's actually gaming they're addicted to, or their problem with gaming is due to some other underlying cause, is far from clear.  Many games are designed to have rewards built in that make our brains happy.  As this article in the Guardian puts it:

Other games, particularly those played on smartphones and tablets, and which bill themselves as free, are designed to extract money and attention from players with countdown timers and “streak” mechanics that encourage you to come back several times a day, or spend money to speed up progress. 

We know that every time someone 'likes' one of our social media posts it makes our brains happy, causing us to do it more.  Just go for a walk and see how many people are glued to their phone screens.  Or sitting in a cafe looking at their phones rather than talking.  I honestly don't know what they're looking at.  (The problem here is that adults should make sure they don't spend too long on their phones.  Adults cannot take the high ground here.  Various surveys have been carried out where kids have said they've had to ask their parents to stop checking their phones.)

Then there are things like loot boxes, which have recently been declared illegal under Belgian gambling laws.  These things are a horrible addition to games and I, for one, will not be sorry to see them go.

So, there are things built into some games, particularly "free" games, that are bad.  And can cause you to spend more time playing that you mean to.  But your kid probably isn't addicted to gaming.  Following the initial scare stories, some more balanced articles about the WHO classification have been appearing saying it was "premature" and based on a "moral panic".  Playing games for a couple of hours a day isn't the end of the world.  How much time do you spend watching TV?  Or reading?  Games can be positive things.  They can be social.  We all have to watch our screen time - adults and kids.

There's been a major furore over Fortnite.  Some parents are very negative (probably because they don't know what all the fuss is about), but I was talking to someone this week who finds the videos her son makes in it really fun and loves his creativity.  I don't really get the game (it's not my sort of thing) but I have watched some hilarious videos of other people playing it.  Like Squid going to max height with the shopping trolley:

It seems that every time something becomes a popular thing amongst kids adults get worried.  Spend a little time googling - it's kind of fun.  For instance...
Fortnite
Fidget Spinners
Minecraft
POGs (remember them?)
Panini football stickers
Even Harry Potter books

The bottom line here is... understand what your kids are doing on their computers, join in with them (while they'll let you), and don't be a hypocrite..!

June 2018 PS Plus Goodies!

Bit late in blogging about this because, well, basically I'm not that excited about any of this month's games!  The games you get free this month are not the most child friendly in the world...  There's Trials Fusion (PEGI-12), XCOM 2 (PEGI-16) and a bonus of Call of Duty: Black Ops III (PEGI-18) on the PS4, as well as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier (PEGI-18) and Zombie Driver (PEGI-18) on the PS3 and Squares (PEGI-3) and Atomic Ninjas (PEGI-7) on the PS Vita.

What I'm probably more excited by is the 'Days of Play' offer for a 30% saving on a year's PS Plus subscription.  That makes it £34.99 instead of £49.99, which is a pretty decent saving.  The offer runs out on June 19th so you don't have long to take advantage of it.  And don't worry if you're already subscribed, it will extend your current subscription.

That's about all I have to say about June's games!  (Not a lot...)

Game Review: Pokemon Quest

Pokemon Quest (PEGI-3) - a free Pokemon game on the Nintendo Switch?  Sounds great, but things become clear when you realise it's a mobile game...  (The Switch version is out now, with the mobile version out later in June.) 

It's very different to your usual Pokemon game.  The art style is the first thing you'll notice, with very simple, cute, cubist graphics.  The story is different too: you are exploring Tumblecube Island, it's not the usual marching around levelling and beating Gym Leaders.  Then there's catching Pokemon.  You don't beat them down and throw Pokeballs at them, rather you cook food in your base camp (by combining five ingredients) and the food attracts different sorts of Pokemon.  And the combat itself is very different.  Your team of three Pokemon sets off for an expedition entirely by itself, searching out enemies.  You can set the combat to auto if you want, or set off the two moves your Pokemon have and hit 'scatter' sometimes.  (I have to admit I did set this to auto after my first few fights.)

The skill comes with managing 'Power Stones', which you put into the charm that each Pokemon carries.  These increase attack, hit points, or give other effects.  You can train your Pokemon to give them new moves.  One of the biggest things you can do to win or lose battles is to choose the right Pokemon.  A wheel shows what sorts of enemies are in the level, so if you choose Pokemon that do more damage against those enemies you should do well!  Before you start the level it does clearly state which sort of Pokemon is best, but there will be other enemies in there too, so it's all about balance.

As with most mobile games, there are a lot of cooldowns, so you can't keep battling endlessly.  You have to wait for your battery to recharge or pay to recharge it with PM tickets.  The game gives you 50 tickets every day, though if you pay for the DLCs you can earn up to 190 tickets a day.  You can't just buy tickets with money.  The DLCs also give you rare Pokemon and other benefits.  You'll also need to spend your PM tickets to increase your inventory space for both Pokemon and Power Stones.  There are other ways to earn tickets; completing Quests gives you tickets (in much the same way that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp earns you Leaf Tickets by catching certain numbers of fish, etc.).  I suspect that after initially earning lots in this way it will soon get harder.  (Possibly you will run out of Quests if you play it a lot, if it's anything like Pocket Camp.)

It's fun, though, and it's free ('free to start', is how Nintendo describe it).  It's not exciting when compared to other Pokemon games, but it seems like it will be a fun game to carry around on your phone, when the mobile version releases.  And its simplicity may well make it popular with younger kids. 

Certainly worth a look, especially since it doesn't cost anything to try it!

Though I have spent far too many hours playing Pocket Camp, so I may not be the best person to advise on games like this..!!!  :-D

Article - How to survive in Fortnite if you're old and slow

Just thought I'd mention another Keith Stuart article that popped up on my Twitter feed - "How to survive in Fortnite if you're old and slow".  Some invaluable tips for parents who want to play Fortnite and not look totally rubbish and embarrassing!  This amuses me.  :-D

Game Review: Knack

So, this was a PSPlus game in February.  Knack is rated PEGI-12 but seems fine for much younger children!  (I'm not sure why it's a 12.)  It's nothing but fun cartoon violence, bloodless, no bad language or dodgy themes.  We've all had a lot of fun playing it.

The premise is that you're Knack, a creature formed from an orb and various 'artefacts'.  You can collect more artefacts and grow larger, and can absorb different materials to have different characteristics (for instance shiny crystals to make 'stealth Knack').  You're trying to find out why the goblins have become so technologically advanced and are attacking humans, but also you're trying to stop Viktor, who despite saying he'll help at the beginning turns out to be a despicable villain.  On top of that there's a bunch of stuff about the strange technologies that form Knack, which humans are using to power their own machines even though they don't understand them properly.

I finally managed to sit down and finish it, so here are my thoughts!  It's great fun to play, though levels often seem harder at the beginning when you're tiny Knack.  As you progress and absorb more artefacts you get bigger and bigger, so by the end of levels you feel invincible.  If you die you get sent back to a point slightly earlier, and keep all your things.  So if you keep dying you can keep collecting sunstone energy, thus making it easier for you because you can use your special attacks to get past the hard point.

I'm honestly not sure why this game does so poorly on Metacritic.  The story isn't amazing, but it's certainly not the worst story, and it is for small kids!  It's not like the stories in 'PJ Masks' are amazing and kids seem to love that rubbish.  ;-)

It's a game that's fun to play, doesn't punish you overly for failure, and keeps you interested.  Certainly worth a look if you haven't tried it already.

Plus it has the best end credits of a game I've ever seen!!!

Retro Gaming - Amiga 500

Found this today.  The computer of my childhood!

£399.  Not  bad really.

Still watching - Sqaishey

We've been fans of Sqaishey in this house for ages  now (Dad is less of a fan, but what does he know?).  This week she uploaded this video about her mental health issues, because it's Mental Health Awareness week.  I'm so grateful to her for uploading this, since it's an really important issue.  Kids should know that a) it's common b) you shouldn't be ashamed and c) you should always be able to talk about it. 

Learning about mental health issues at a young age can only be a good thing - I know that I've suffered since I was a teenager but was only just diagnosed with severe atypical depression (I'm 38!).  I wonder if I had started to deal with things earlier whether I would have ended up where I did.  Thankfully, with support and medical help you (and those around you!) don't have to continue suffering.  Like Squaishey says, it's a long process, but you don't have to feel like you're alone and no-one can help.

In an age where everyone is posting only the best (sometimes faked) parts of their lives on Facebook and Instagram, it's refreshing to see such an honest video from someone a lot of kids look up to.  Thanks, Squaishey!

Nintendo Switch Online announced

Today I received an e-mail about Nintendo Switch Online.  This is Nintendo's take on PSPlus and Xbox Live Gold.  Like PSPlus, you'll need it to play online games, and you'll get the ability to cloud save.  At the moment they haven't said you'll get new games every month, but the service will give you access to a library of classic Nintendo titles.  It's launching with 20 NES games: Ice Climber, The Legend of Zelda, Balloon Fight, Soccer, Tennis, Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., Dr Mario, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Donkey Kong, plus 10 more titles.  There will also be exclusive offers for members, which presumably are reduced price games, and a iOS/Android app that offers different in-game features and voice chat whilst playing on your Switch.

The service will launch in September 2018.  Individual membership for a year will cost £17.99 and a Family membership will cost £31.49.  From May 15th there will be an account setting that allows you to group up to eight Nintendo Accounts (including Child Accounts) together as one Family Group.  With PSPlus, though I'm the member everyone else on the PlayStation can play the games I've downloaded/bought, and play online, but they don't get the cloud saving.  With Nintendo Switch Online it sounds like you'll all have to be part of the Family Group to play the games with your own account (though if you don't care about playing under your name, I suppose you can just use the member's account).

Xbox Live Gold is £39.99 a year, PSPlus is £49.99 a year, and this will be £31.49 a year (with the Family option).  So whatever the fine print, it does come in cheaper than the other consoles.  It very much depends what ends up in that game library.  I'm quite excited to play old games on the Switch, and Seb will definitely want to play the Mario games...

May 2018 PS Plus Goodies!

A couple of weeks ago Seb decided he REALLY REALLY wanted Rayman Legends (PEGI-7).  He was saving his pocket money and telling everyone he met that was what he was doing.  Imagine his excitement when it turned out that one of May's PS Plus games was Legends!  For a while he seemed convinced someone at PlayStation had heard and were giving it just to him.  I don't think he really understands the PSPlus subscription thing..!

Rayman Legends is certainly a classy game, though.  I bought Origins on the Vita ages ago since it's one of the better Vita games.  Legends is quite different but very, very fun.  It's a strange game in that it almost looks like it is built for micro-transactions, with different worlds and unlockables, but it doesn't have them.  (Thankfully!)  Basically there are various world settings where you have to save the Teensies (little creatures living in monarchical groups) and collect Lums (bug-like creatures).  The idea is to save all the Teensies in each level and by doing so unlock more worlds.  There are also some interesting mini-games.  And you can play it (locally) co-op with up to 4 players.

Rayman has a 'trademark lack of limbs', which apparently is because it was too hard to animate limbs when he first appeared on the scene in the 1990s!  Also, he is French.  Those are my two 'facts' about Rayman.  ;-)

One of the best things about the game are the music levels, which are nothing short of genius!  A truly polished game and well worth a download.

The other games this month are BEYOND: Two Souls (PEGI-16) (which I have wanted to play, so that's good), Risen 3: Titan Lords (PEGI-16), Eat Them (PEGI-16), King Oddball (PEGI-3) and Furmins (PEGI-3).  The two PS4 games do seem to be the ones you'd want to download - at the rate things are going it isn't a great loss there won't be many more PS3 and Vita games on PSPlus...  (I mean, Risen 3 has a Metascore of 36...)