iOS Review- Tactical Warrior

Hi everyone, quick update before I get to the meat of this post. Top 17 Pokemon Types has been scrapped, but I have began development on a new Pokemon countdown to satisfy, Top 10 underrated moves in Pokemon. Sorry about less frequent updates. I got a life, remember? I sort of have school too... Lol. Anyway, time to get into business...

I've hardly seen any good adventuring party games on the iPhone. Besides Battleheart, Heroes vs. Monsters, and few others. Tactical warrior is as good as it gets. It goes for normally $1.99 on the app store, but this game goes on sale for free a lot for some reason... Besides the price and being a creative fire emblem-esque RPG, it still stands alone on innovation. There's quite a few classes to train and an incredible amount of moves each character can learn to your pleasure; it's a very custom growth on each character. Classes you may control and level up range from badgers to bare-chested barbarians. I need to get to the analysis though to actually get past my editorializing.

Gameplay (8.7): Wow. Very reminding of Fire Emblem. The premise is you start out with a small party of warriors, trying to prove themselves in a world of war. On the way, warriors join you to increase your team's power and size. On the map, you fight battles to level up your warriors and to give you wealth of items. Although you cannot replay a battle after it is beaten, which bothers me, not allowing me to level up my dudes before a boss, leaving me to work with what I got. The combat is turn-based. Each warrior may move a certain number of spaces each turn, attack, and/or rest. It's a square grid battlefield so the amount of space each warrior takes up is the same. Very classic gameplay, engaging, and always leaving me wanting to make Beef the barbarian an overly leveled tank. If you like any strategy, war, or board game, you'll applaud this game. Only a few problems in this department, such as not being able to beat a boss and having no ability to get stronger before and not really many intuitive maps. There's no weather effects or any spaces comparable to lava. They could have added to this. Also, the two player doesn't allow you to use your campaign teams and there's no internet multiplayer. A let down that needs to be changed, and still is changeable. What is still being offered at the moment is no question good though.

Graphics (6): Errr... bad. It looks like something made in ms paint. Shading is  nice and the game has a unique art style, but the animations are stock and the sprites are static, giving a feeling of lifelessness. There needs to be changes in this section. But I do like the style, it's just done badly.

Music (7.3): Loops are not bad and give a sense of heroic inspiration. Kind of short loops though. Sounds with hits and bashes are stock, but as expected from a one man development team. Not bad, but not good.

Control (9.5): Nice solid controls. Nothing amazing about them, but definitely minimal things bad. Such as the shops on the map, they're very tiny and it's kind of hard to select them with all of the locations bunched up together on the map.

Fun (9.2): Much fun is to be had here on this app. Very enjoyable, and just as it gets repetitive, a new mechanic or battle type is introduced.

Overall...8.1(B-)
I love this game and am very into it. It's pretty addictive and it is very fun to be introduced with new classes of warriors that can be customized 1,000 different ways than the last. It's not for everyone though. If you're particularly intro realistic graphics, multiplayer, and if you hate turn-based battle, don't get this app. Although, if you're looking for nostalgia, if you want a nice combat RPG, this app is for you. This is Jeff for 1-UP Games, catchya on teh flepsied. :D

PS2 Review: Tony Hawk's Underground

Auuugghh maaan... It's been a long time. Mostly because I'm busy with my life and I'm gaming so I have new material to write 'bout. Updates are Farticus is still being worked on, I'm starting yet another game project and a long awaited Pokemon Countdown is sadly still in the works. But I'd like to thank you all for reading my opinions. It really makes me feel good that other people enjoy reading my reviews and other forms of media. So thanks to the fans that keep coming to cheer me on in development of my stuff. Nuff of that though. Starting on something I should have played long ago...

Tony Hawk's Underground for the PS2 is a can't miss and is a minor reason for why you should buy the system alone. On that note, you probably think this is going to be a fanboy review. Trust me; I hated the game at points and couldn't get enough of it at others. But more on topic, Tony Hawk's Underground was an installment of the Tony Hawk skating game series that made Mr. Hawk incredibly rich and inspired many to go sever many a limb on skateboards. The game itself is actually not just a promo disc, the game is very entertaining and has a open-world feel to it. Unlike the previous games of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, this game is centered around you: a custom skater going from ghetto in Jersey, to a pro in Vancouver. I picked up this gem at the old Gamestop the other day for only 3 bucks. More than worth it my friend, I felt as if I was going to zero to hero as I progressed. But now it's breakdown time.

Gameplay (8.9): THUG keeps the gameplay of THPS but provides a freer feel and has an actual story this time. The levels are decently sized, but the negative is anytime you're on a huge combo and you accidently go out of bounds... Bye bye big score. I felt as if the levels were not large enough, but maybe I'm just being a little too critical. Where there's space in any of the 9+ levels, expect for there to be more just waiting to be uncovered in a gigantic combo. It also seems the locations were designed to be skated on... I mean, who has a ramp going up the side of skyscraper? I'll shut up for now on that though. The whole way you progress through the game is doing somewhat tedious tasks in certain areas. The only way the set in stone tasks feel fresh is making you do them in different locations. For example on the tasks, there's only about a few key tasks which code is ran over and over; collecting letters, collecting objects, big combos, big scores, preforming tricks asked and beating the clock. Even in the Create-a-park mode (which needs work but is cool) they let you create tasks and give you the basic formula for each of these. I could go on and on but I'm going to stop because this is pretty long. You get the idea though that this game has tones of gameplay and tones of ways to play.

Graphics (7): They don't really look too good. They look a teeny bit blocky and deformed, even sometimes blurry, but they're below standard for '03.

Music (9.5): EERRRR MAAAH GEEERRRD. Soooo goood muusssiccc... There's quite a small soundtrack list though so it does get repetitive to hear Fu Manchu's California Crossing 3 times in 1 hour, but that doesn't keep it from being an amazing song to get the skating blood flowing. The menu sounds for buttons and collisions are used over and over in different areas, but no one really doesn't care if they're rocking out to the Dropkick Murphy's Time to Go.

Controls (9): The dualshock 2 controller exhibits the different categories of tricks perfectly. You will know by the end of your first day playing the game that Flip=Square. Though one finger will have to find its way onto more than one button at a time at times.

Fun (9.2): Indeed, but the reoccuring goals get to me, like the devs were just lazy in the development. But having the ability to create your own tricks, parks, boards, and skaters makes this game extremely fun for you artists out there.

Result: Overall... 8.7 (B+)

Your character's phony lips moving are painful to watch, as so are a few of the cutscenes. (The one about the tape, with the elbow to the face.) But that doesn't make this game unplayable what so ever. Graphics need some dusting off and the soundtrack needs a few MOAR hits, but this game is probably the greatest skate sim for an old console you'll find out there. And for only 3 bones, the cost should be the magnitude of a stocking stuffer on christmas, but something you'll find to have tones of fun and frustrations with.

A Quick One: Top 5 Characters That Can't Catch a Break

Hai gais. To hold you over for the next one (a top 17) here's a quick un'. Yes I'm still making content, where have you been Willis? Anyway... here ya go.

TOP 5 VG CHARACTERS THAT CAN'T CATCH BREAKS! *DUN DUN DUH DOW!*


Number 5: Steve
Steve is our beloved player avatar from Minecraft. When does he catch his breaks? Hardly. He mines all day, barely eats, and to top it off... his house is invaded by exploding zombies during the night. Steve sleeps in his bed in fear of the room above of him exploding, from our friend the creeper... SSSSSSSS.....

FUS... RO DAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's okay Steve, your house was only made of dirt.

Number 4: Mario
Aah Mario. A nice platform game star from all eras of gaming. He really doesn't catch any breaks.
1. A giant turtle is always stealing his girlfriend.
2. New games and adventures for Mario to embark on are made practically every other day.
3. This:

In the original, Super Mario Bros. Toad tells you, after you work your butt off in a dark room, turn away your girlfriend, and don't eat for 3 days, "OUR PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE!"

DA HECK?

Number 3: Wander
Wander, from Shadow of The Colossus, has a life full of desperation and no rest. First, Wander's Lady friend dies and he loves her so much to go to the length of making a deal with the devil to get her back. But...
SPOILER ALERT! He ends up getting killed in the process, as well becoming possessed by the devil and turning into a baby, which his now live girl friend doesn't know who that baby is. Oh, and to top it off, his best friend supposedly dies and after he turns into a baby, shows up alive again. So he didn't get to say goodbye :(

Number 2: Sora
Sora may live on a tropical island and not have any schooling, but that goes awry. He is chosen to wield a keyblade, go on an overly long journey to save us from the "darkness" and kill every single heartless creature in sight. On top of this unwanted crap this lazy kid gets, his girlfriend is captured, his best friend is as well, and he is split up into 2 halves. Oh and the still-beating-heart, on top of the whipped turd on the crap sundae that is Sora's life, he deals... with GOOBY and DOLAN...

Y'know... if he wants darkness to go away... why not just turn a light on?

Number 1: Samus Aran
I really don't know much about Samus, but what the little I know about her tells her tale of a crappy and non resting life. Samus' parents were killed by space pirates and she was raised by creepy looking aliens. She lives off the money that she gains from killing people, her rival is a giant space pterodactyl, and she has a black evil twin. Just think about that... if you make a living by killing 1 person a day... it would take Samus 7 billion days to kill the whole world if we were all on a wanted list. That's a pretty sad existence. For one, I sure wouldn't wanna kill people in my daily work :)

She's purdy tho.



Thanks for continuing to read 1-Up Games stuff! I'll continue to work on my stuff for you! Thanks!

Sorry for switching- Again! And other news :)

Hey... so umm remember how I said I'd be using flashdevelop to make games to put on the site? Well, I'm changing my flash engine again! I will now be using Stencyl to develop my flash games. Yeah, works the same as the other engines, just more game oriented. So in other news, the game for flash I'm working on now is called Farticus, Quest for the Throne. It's a 2D platformer that borrows gameplay from fantastic games of the SNES and mixes it with funny fart power mechanics that all will enjoy. There's no release date on this, but stay sharp, it'll be up soon. Finally, I'm working on a countdown for you all to enjoy. The Top 17 Pokemon Types!

Until next time, I'm Jeff. Cya!