Kakuro Quest puzzle game released

Lost Sock Games today released Kakuro Quest, its second game for the Mac platform. Kakuro Quest puzzles resemble crosswords or Cross Sums that use numbers, rather than words. Players must fill all the blank squares in the grid with only the digits 1-9, ensuring the numbers add up to the corresponding clues.

The Grid grows from 7 X 7 to 10 X 12, challenging players to fill the grid to complete the puzzle. The game features unlimited puzzles, a "Quest Mode" via map play with increasing difficulty, and the ability to print out puzzles to solve them on paper. Kakuro Quest is available for $20 via Macgamestore.com, and requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later.

http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/07/13/kakuro.quest.released/

AN OVERVIEW OF HOYLE PUZZLE GAMES 2004

What Hoyle Puzzle Games 2004 Is About:
Your search is finally over! Find the best combination of arcade excitement and puzzle fun in this entertaining collection of games...

Platform: PC Games

Genre: Puzzle

ESRB Rating:
"Hoyle Puzzle Games 2004" is rated Everyone

Hoyle Puzzle Games 2004 Special Features:
• New high score list tracks your top scores for proof that youre a pro
• New games word searches and rays
• The facemaker tool lets you create unique looking characters from hundreds of features
• Adjustable skill levels with beginner intermediate or expert modes
• Includes 1,000 crossword puzzles
• Save and print word searches and crossword puzzles
• Simple installation to being playing immediately
• Free hoyle rulebook and strategy guide for advanced insider information.

Credits:
• Developer: Sierra Online, Inc.
• Publisher: Sierra Online, Inc.

Other Info On Hoyle Puzzle Games 2004:
• Location: United States of America
• Control Elements: Keyboard, Mouse

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/g/pc_games/hoyle_puzzle_games_2004/overview.php

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz Review

When I first heard about the controller for the new Nintendo system, once called Revolution, I immediately thought “Hey that would work great for a Monkey Ball game.” Well, I guess Sega had the same idea because Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz was a launch title for the Wii. Would Banana Blitz fall into the dreaded black hole of mediocre launch titles as just a quick port of another game already released? Even with a few awkward steps Banana Blitz doesn’t disappoint fans of the series or owners of the Wii.

In case you didn’t know already Super Monkey Ball is a puzzle game that centers on a group of monkeys rolling around inside of a ball. You control the monkeys by rolling them from the start of the puzzle (think of them as a maze) in hopes of making it to the end without falling out of the maze. But the twist to this simple design is in the way you control the monkeys. Essentially you’re moving the monkey but the game almost makes it feel like the stage is moving along with the monkey. Besides the main puzzle/maze mode you always get a wild and crazy selection of party (mini) games that are always a blast to play.

Now with Banana Blitz we get to play Monkey Ball in a way that just seems natural by actually moving the controller around to control the monkeys. The main game can be played by using just the Wii Remote (Wiimote). By tilting the Wiimote either left or right you steer your monkey. By lowering the Wiimote your monkey will speed up and by titling the Wiimote back the monkey will slow down. Sounds easy, right? Well, it is but it does take some time to get adjusted to controlling the monkeys. Just be prepared to have your monkey bouncing all over the place and falling off of the stage.


Making slight moves with the Wiimote will give you a better feel of controlling the monkeys. After a few minutes the controls become intuitive but that’s around the time the difficulty starts to ramp up. The levels always have some type of obstacle to make you work for finishing the stage. I do wish the game allowed you to control the monkeys by holding the controller sideways (like the NES or Excite Truck layout). I think twisting the controller left or right would have worked just as good as tilting the Wiimote.

There are a few new additions to Banana Blitz, besides the Wiimote controls, that have not been in previous Monkey Ball games. One is the ability to make your monkey jump by either pressing the A button or by flicking the Wiimote up and holding the B button at the same time. Two new characters are also included; YanYan and Doctor. The biggest new feature has to be the boss battles. Yep, boss battles in a Monkey Ball game. What is the world coming too? The boss battles felt unnecessary and added more frustration than enjoyment to the game. My wife felt the same way and told me several times that the bosses cheat when you fight them. Usually because of the board layout the boss battles seem to be more luck than skill. One wrong move or hit from the boss and you’re falling off of the stage.

To me the best part of Monkey Ball has always been the Party Games. Banana Blitz offers gamers 50 different party games that could possibly cover almost every control scheme for the Wii. Some of the games only require the Wiimote while others require the Wiimote and nunchuk attachment. Sure the Wii Sports game includes several different sports games but so does Banana Blitz. For example, both Wii Sports and Banana Blitz come with a Baseball, Boxing and Golf game.

You probably wouldn’t even be able to guess all of the different types of Party games included. For example would you have even guessed that Fencing, a Jigsaw puzzle, Squash and Rock-Paper-Scissors are Party games? I sure wouldn’t have expected those games or even a total of 50 mini games to be included. In fact, I would say that 50 games might be too much since some of the games just aren’t that interesting. I mean, come on, a Jigsaw puzzle game, how many people want to stand around watching someone put together a puzzle? I found myself sticking with the classic Monkey Ball Party games such as Monkey Golf and Bowling. But I do have to give a big shout out to Sega for including Disk Golf as a mini game. I love Disc Golf and I’m proud to see it represented in Banana Blitz.

As much as I enjoy the variety of the mini games the controls can still be a challenge at first. All of the games offer an on screen guide to show you how to play each mini game but I found myself overcompensating on the controls. Since the mini games are usually only a few seconds to a couple of minutes long you will probably have to play the mini games a couple of times before you get use to the controls. This can be a problem with some gamers but this seems to be a similar issue with other Wii games. You just have to get into that comfy spot where you just “get” the controls and it’s no longer an issue.

Even with a few sore spots Banana Blitz is still an impressive title for the Wii. The single-player game offers the same intense puzzle experience found in previous Monkey Ball games. Sure, the boss battles could have been left out but sometimes you have to go through the crap to get to the good stuff. The Party games are where you could spend countless hours either by yourself or with your friends playing through all 50 party games. I just wouldn’t be surprised if we look back at Banana Blitz and rediscover that it included a large collection of control movements used future Wii titles. If you were lucky enough to get a Wii on launch day then make sure you check out Banana Blitz.

Review Scoring Details for Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz

Gameplay: 8.3

The single-player game is the easiest to pick up when compared to the huge number of mini games to learn.

Graphics: 8.3

This really doesn’t look much different than the previous Monkey Ball games that appeared on the GameCube. In fact, I would say this game could probably appear on the GameCube visually intact. If you’re looking for a graphical spectacle to show off the Wii you probably want to skip this one.

Sound: 8.0

The sound effect and music do a great job of fitting in with the game. The music reminded me of Japanese pop music with a mix of rock music.

Difficulty: Medium

As I’ve mentioned Banana Blitz does have a learning curve when getting use to the controls. As we move away from the classic controller setup towards the motion-sensing technology used in the Wii (and PS3) controller this learning curve could diminish. But for now getting use to the Wiimote’s motion sensing can add to the difficulty.

Multiplayer: 8.2

Almost all of the Party games support up to four players with a few supporting just two players. If the game offered Wi-Fi online multiplayer you could have added an extra point to the multiplayer score.

Concept: 7.0

I’m not going to include the ability to use the Wiimote in the game since you have to use the Wiimote to play the game in the Concept score. The score is based off of the newest updates compared to previous Monkey Ball game. The ability to jump is a welcomed feature and the two new characters are a nice addition for the hardcore Monkey Ball fan. The boss battles are the biggest problem with the game since the battles just don’t fit in the Monkey Ball universe. This is puzzle game not the atypical action game.

Overall: 8.0

Yes, the game has a few problems and one of those is a distraction (I’m looking at you boss battle) from the rest of the game. But the Party games are enough to give you a workout and keep you entertained at the same time. If you want a game to show off the number of different control options available with the Wiimote this is a good game for that chore. Play the single-player game up until the boss battles and then let out your frustrations in the mini game.

The Shield Review

The mean streets of Los Angeles can swallow a cop whole if said cop doesn’t watch his or her back, and worst yet the crime rate never seems to go down in this town … it’s enough to make a cop think that it’s almost not worth risking life for a measly paycheck. Then again, Detective Vic Mackey has gotten over it by keeping all the cash and contraband found in a crime scenes for his, well, retirement. Based on the hit show on the FX channel, The Shield: The Game is joining the ranks of Alias, The X-Files and 24: The Game on the PS2. Unfortunately, even with the show’s controversial subject matter and powerful characters, this game just isn’t entertaining at all.

You assume the role of Vic Mackey, a Detective and leader of the Strike Team police unit that cleans the streets their own way while collecting any money or other contraband that makes up their “retirement fund.” Taking place after the events seen in the third season (and before the beginning of the fourth), the Strike Team finds itself one man short and now Shane is threatening to leave. It’s also no surprise that Captain Aceveda is threatening to disband the Strike Force if nothing is done about the growing threat of two rival gangs, the Byz-Lat and the One-Niner gangs. So it’s up to Vic and his team to put an end to the gangs while making some money on the side.

This, of course, means that Vic and his team will do anything to get the job done and, for a team that’s never heard of the words “police brutality,” this means you’ll apply any force necessary to complete each segment. You’ll participating in planting drugs in a gangbanger’s house, interrogate another gangster by smacking him in the face with a phone book and then putting a bullet into a scum bag who was about to give them up in court. Ah, it’s just another day in the life of Mackey only the story isn’t deep or involving or filled with interesting twists. In fact, the weak story is but the start of the train wreck that is the game.

Part of the show’s focus is on the way Mackey and his team pick up contraband and here it is done in a search mini-game that’s uninventive and complex. A badge icon will appear and you’ll move the left analog stick until the L disappears. Yeah, it’s not my idea of a fun mini-game and the bad part is that this is the only way to find hidden goodies around the areas you’ll visit. Then the game adds some stealth moments that doesn’t really work. There are a few times I stumbled my way past a meat plant while bad guys were mere inches away and another time I was spotted while behind a wall.

There are also moments where you’ll need your gun and by the time you get into your first gunfight you’ll start wishing you went back to the awful stealth moments or the jerky fistfights (more on that in a second). You’ll have a limited amount of ammo in this game and that’s fine seeing that this is realistic but does it have to take a complete clip to bring a bad guy down. At one point I had to waste one clip, reload, and then pump three extra rounds to bring a dangerous gangster down. Sure you can bring them down faster with a headshot but the shooting controls are so clumsy that you’ll have to be really up close to put a bullet into some bad guy’s cranium. Worst yet are the fistfight controls that will have Vic punching a suspect for several minutes before the takedown option comes up. It’s even hard to put cuffs on a guy since it turns into a lame mini-game where you have to rotate the right analog stick various times before the suspect turns and slaps you in the face.

Lastly, there’s very little that has you feeling like you’re actually participating in an episode of the show. 24: The Game at least had breaks in the action and the familiar clock that’s counting down. Instead, the game places no emphasis on character development and no surprising twists. You go from scene to scene while stopping at The Barn to drop off contraband for the “retirement fund” while getting a tongue-lashing from the Captain. Sure you can push the police brutality envelope as far as you can but even this feels very limited thanks to the annoying Heat meter.

On the graphics front, The Shield manages to render the character models exactly like the real actors on the show so expect Vic to look exactly like Michael Chiklis during the cut scenes as well as during the game’s action. What doesn’t work, however, are the environments that - while filled with plenty of detail - look washed out for a PlayStation 2 game. And while the game uses the show’s intro in the beginning of the game, it loses the overall presentation that would have been great for fans of the show.

The sound is something of a disappointment especially when it comes to the voice acting. There are times when the acting is handled well during certain cutscenes but then again there are times when the delivery is wooden. Very little effort has also been placed on the sound effects. There are no barking dogs in these empty neighborhoods and The Barn sounds just as lifeless as it looks on the game so you won’t hear ringing telephones or catch other officers in conversation. Even the bullets sound lifeless in this game. At least the soundtrack is true to the show and gets dramatic at all the right moments.

As a game, The Shield for the PS2 lacks the intensity and the gritty drama that the show throws at its viewers since it was introduced to us. It also lacks any fun or a story that is able to captivate gamers and throw them into the role of a protagonist that is so bad he’s so good to watch. As a loyal viewer of the show, I cannot recommend this game to anyone. If you must, please rent this game but anyone looking for a fun game where you play a cool rogue cop will only find great disappointment.

Review Scoring Details for The Shield: The Game

Clunky controls make Vic Mackey a very clumsy dirty cop who easily gets a beating if it comes to fistfights, gets blown away during gunfights or gets caught while attempting to sneak into places. Forget the aiming reticule because he won’t hit his target unless the suspect is up close and grilling bad guys is a major chore. Add all these things together and we get a game that isn’t fun at all.

Dull backgrounds with washed out textures will greet you throughout the game but at least the character models slightly resemble the show’s actors during cutscenes and during the game’s action. The game attempts to bring the same flashy presentation seen on TV but it just doesn’t work out the way it should have from start to finish.

Sound: 4.0
The voice acting occasionally goes from pretty good to pretty wooden throughout the game and the sound effects are very limited. The show’s music is present and it does a great job of setting the mood just right.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard

The game isn’t hard to figure out so the real challenge comes in the gun battles and the stealth elements. What makes this game hard isn’t the AI or challenging stealth moments but rather the awful controls and the poor aiming. Also, why does it take a whole clip to bring down a bad guy?

Concept: 3.5
Vic Mackey is as tough as it gets and the game does manage to portray him in the same light as the show. The story and situations, on the other hand, just aren’t as interesting as the show. Sure you get to kick down doors and push a suspect’s head in a toilet but that’s as far as it goes. The search mini-game is also seriously lame.

Overall: 3.0
Sadly, The Shield: The Game plays like a bad episode of the show and there is hardly anything here that will entertain fans of the show or gamers who are looking for a gritty action game. How can a game that stars a dirty cop who is willing to do anything it takes be this boring? Sorry but this is one game everyone should just skip.

Razer DeathAdder Review

The world of competitive gaming is quite an intense one, people are always searching for the latest route to get an edge on their opponents, not only through just breakneck speeds and response but for response and comfort that meets their needs as well. In the gaming market there are only a handful of real hardware producers that can deliver technology that pushes the industry forward. Today we focus on one of them, Razer, possibly one of the most well regarded gaming hardware companies around.

The DeathAdder is the latest mouse by the company making many waves in the marketplace, for obvious reasons really, moving to an IR sensor, using a polling rate of 1000MHz as well as 1800dpi of precision. While many mice are touting 2000dpi out of laser counterparts we'll see how well things end up when it all comes down to a 200dpi barrier between the two technologies.

Packaging is quite simple in the DeathAdder:

1x DeathAdder Mouse
1x Driver Disc
Instructions / Manual
It's basically everything you need to get the product going and straight into massive frags.

For reference the test setup used:
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe
AMD Athlon X2 4200+
1.5GB Corsair XMS PC3200
ATI Radeon X1800XT 512MB
Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic
Windows XP SP2

Logitech G5
Razer DeathAdder

Logitech Driver:
Setpoint 3.10

Razer Driver:
DeathAdder 1.03

Battlefield 2 is an amazing test of tolerance and precision, many gamers I've known to be capped at USB 1.1 or just using inferior mice often find themselves at their limits trying to fight their battles be it a dogfight or attempting to play the role of sniper. In these cases high DPI mice with ultra precision are key to making things work. Personally I've been unable to live in BF2 without at least something around 1200 - 2000DPI.

With that said the challenge was set, man the toughest positions in the game and do it well with the DeathAdder mouse, from the jets to the sniper shots to the attack copter as pilot and co-pilot.

First up: Sniper (L96A1) - The initial settings on the DeathAdder seemed just right for the game, upping the sensitivity in game though sent the response levels flying off the charts, after returning those down things leveled, with a higher polling rate things did seem a bit more *fine tuned* in precision shots but it wasn't a consistent result. Across multiple maps the mouse retained a high level of precision aiming, allowing for many shots to take off without trouble. After the break in the G5 was hooked up and put to the test being an equally ergonomic based mouse unlike it's brother the G3.

In response testing the G5 seemed to carry some slightly higher levels of precision but the overall steady control of it seemed to be lacking even if caused by the feet on the mouse, generally noticed in the area of actual scope position to mouse jitter while clicking. The DeathAdder was able to defy the dpi gap and still perform at a level of precision needed and retain steady control of the mouse in more situations when compared to the G5. When playing with the DPI and Polling Rate things didn't change up much. Overall the DeathAdder came out on top though even if just by design choice, The mouse delivers 3 top buttons and two thumb buttons restoring what for me is a large feature missing from the G5 but found on it's little brother the MX518

J-10 Control - Being one of the fastest and most hated planes in the game at times the J-10 is certainly a candidate for testing, in the focus I played a controlled environment of Gulf of Oman using a dedicated host server on 64 man level settings for maximum space.

The difference here became a little bit of an interesting situation, generally when flying for maximum response I leave the sensitivity level at peak (10.0) as well as the other settings. As a result I've grown used to the general response from the G5 and G3 technologies in their performance, in the testing I think the most noticeable difference in the gaming was the DeathAdder response levels when performing quick changes in direction or just rolling the plane in general for a consistent response in performance. The G3 and G5 did perform well in this but it suffered some slight hiccups in the process. In jet performance it seemed the DeathAdder allowed for last minute changes in flight path giving a slight edge in any possible dogfight scenarios against other mouse players, against flight stick players, that might be another story and it's certainly a different technology.

Day of Defeat is a personal return for me, most maps and weapons are easily recognized and the hitbox system at times seems like total chaos at best, either way it's always interesting as a test of accuracy for mice, how close the cross-hair lines up and how well things are executed when it comes to making that critical shot.

Class Choice: Rocket, Sniper

DoD presents simple maps with fast action and lots of targets if you get on a heavy traffic server. In the case of testing we take on the classic roles of the Rocket support man and the sniper, personally I love the rocket way more and so this is going to focus on the art of the bazooka sniper.

The DeathAdder is first up on this test of might, using full settings in software and default ratings in Source we take off into the battle, the speed of the DeathAdder is just impressive, given all the time I've spent with 2000dpi G5's and G3's it feels like I haven't skipped a beat when stepping into the IR powered 1800dpi beast. dod_flash is the map of choice, taking up the rocket and hitting the center firefight is always a good marker for how things are going. Using the classic axis spot I went prone, dug back towards the hotel and then lined up my shots one after another into the exposed hole in the opposing allied room which generally plays home to an MG, even stretched shots hitting down the hallway connected were hitting with high precision. The DeathAdder was fluid and fast, the extra buttons on the DeathAdder were a must for me for reload and drop weapon, overall accuracy was high with minimal lag / jumping.

The G5 returned to the battlefield, a veteran when it comes to the game it still holds up well even after time, reflecting often what was seen in the past, the problem that came up into a head to head comparison was that the G5 just didn't do it when it came to button options, while the tilt is an interesting twist on a design, the extra thumb buttons are just a must have feature for many gamers. Overall I was still satisfied even when presented with the DeathAdder's options. They serve their designed goals through their own style. If I had to lean for a victor though, I would have to call the DeathAdder simply based on the layout of the mouse and options for the gamer to use without having to adapt themselves too far.

I have to say, given the leaps made in input technology over the past few years things have been quite impressive, this release of the DeathAdder marks yet another avenue to explore in technology, I have to say that Razer has brought a heavily refined product to the marketplace for a first generation attempt. The DeathAdder brings heavy precision and a comfortable design that brought me back to ergonomic styling after spending so much time on the Logitech G3 which I could say I pretty much held as the absolute standard for my gaming.

This isn't to say that the review went absolutely perfect though, as with all product reviews for gaming mice I prefer to test the compatible surfaces, just like with the G5 when it was reviewed it had some issues on surfaces that lacked diverse variation while other mice like the MX518 performed fine. The DeathAdder seems to have an interesting issue that we ran across, in use on high contrast surfaces using the color red, the mouse would stutter or skip completely until another color was brought into the mix, this happened across a Konami mouse pad for Enthusia as well as other surfaces making use of high amounts of red. In other color instances things stayed pretty fair but this was an interesting twist of response times, extra time was devoted to experiment with combinations of red papers, shades of red and so on but really it was only in pure hue levels that we picked up this item. Outside of that, things went smooth even using it on open glass surfaces which was quite a suprise to say the least.

Razer has done a lot with the DeathAdder and their products in general, raising the bar so that average gamers can get their hands on technology just like the professionals and higher end gamers even if they'll never actually take it to the full potential. The DeathAdder brings precision and killer looks to the PC gaming realm in a way that only Razer would be able to do it. For me personally, upgrading to the DeathAdder has been a treat, it's almost like Razer tapped into my mind and dug out the key features I would die to have in a single mouse and they physically manifested it into this piece of hardware, and if they did such a thing, I take my hat off to them.

Coming in at $59.99 at many retailers the DeathAdder is quite a deal, in the battlegrounds for future reviews the DeathAdder will be taking the throne that the G3 once held.

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/deathadder_r/5.html

The Development of Word Find Puzzles

Word Find puzzles have a unique place in our collective hearts. Many of us have worked a word find or two when we were waiting on the bus or simply having coffee. The word find is a great way to exercise the mind a little and remind us of a few neurons that we may have forgot existed.

The word find is used in just about every news publication and many magazines as filler and for entertainment. They learned early on in publication that people will buy more newspapers and do so consistently if there is something in the paper that they have to regularly look forward to. This ‘discovery’ led to the creation of many favored fillers, such cartoons, horoscopes, advice columns and the beloved word find.

From there word finds found their way into their very own books or puzzle books. Some people loved the word finds and other word games so much that there became a demand for puzzle books. These books are usually published on newsprint and are bound in paperback because they are intended to be cheap enough to toss out or recycle as you complete all of the puzzles. These books make nice gifts for older puzzle maniacs, and a themed kid's puzzle book makes a great addition to the yearly Easter basket if you feel guilty about all that candy.

From there the word find made the jump to the personal computer with many software companies creating word find and other puzzle making software. Later with the advent of the internet word find puzzles broadened their horizons into the world wide web and thus we have a range of sites that offer free word find puzzles, themed word finds and even a couple sites that allow one to create their own word find.

Printable Puzzles: Create Your Own Custom Puzzles!

Depending on the age of the party guests, the party theme, and type of party, it is easy to create printable puzzles to be used at any party. Whether you create a picture find puzzle, where Sesame Street characters are printed onto paper in an interesting Hollywood (Sesame Street) Squares pattern, and in a line below, for smaller children to draw a line connecting one to the other, or word find puzzles for an older Barbie party crowd, printable puzzles are a great activity.

Even at baby showers, printable puzzles can be such fun! Have each guest give you a baby photo. Scan and print sheets with baby pictures, and have a photo identification puzzle to match the baby to the adult.

Create an Acrostic puzzle where the answer to the question is revealed when you name that baby item. For example, you can create a puzzle where the question to solve is, “Who is most excited about the new arrival?” and the questions could be

What starts out white and ends up wet and smelly Diaper
What is used to clean little noses? Aspirator
What is Mommy’s Name? Denise
What is Grandma’s Name? Debbie
Who is taking this Quiz? You!


The answer to the quiz question: “Who is most excited about the new arrival?” is DADDY!!!

Send printable puzzle crosswords as cute invitations. Have questions like: Who sits in front of Bobby Smith in Mrs. Collin’s class? Which girl in my class has long blonde hair, wears glasses, and has a Spongebob backpack? Then, at the bottom, you can print: “The girl with long blonde hair, wearing glasses, who has a Spongebob backpack, wants YOU to come to her birthday party!” and include all the required information. Most teachers love to help with this type activity, and if you contact them ahead of time, they will allow children to complete the puzzles in class during activity time, so if they have any problem, she can help them figure out the answers.

Or make a collage of famous new parents, like Britney Spears, Brad Pitt, Brooke Shields, Catherine Zeta-Jones, or Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, just using photos of their eyes, have a list of the celeb parents’ names, print copies for each guest, and then see how many can guess which eyes belong to which famous, fab parents, for an interesting and fun printable puzzle game!