The game takes place in a spaceship at the bottom of an alien planet’s ocean. At some point in good old Earth’s timeline, humanity comes to the decision that existence here is not sustainable. Be it because of an environmental crisis, political upheaval, or whatever, Earth sends a representative gaggle of people to another planet to keep mankind alive.

Some 250 years later, the self-sustaining space vessel, Fedora 1, crash-lands on a water-covered world and sinks to its ocean floor. Problem is, they’re stuck. Oh, and they receive a message from back home that good old Earth is A-OK now. The folks that stayed behind worked the worrisome problems out. (Good luck, Fedora 1!)

Gamers play as Harold Halibut, a hapless handyman/lab assistant who trundles about the huge spaceship fulfilling simple tasks, working through mini-game challenges and talking to the ship’s inhabitants. Harold’s shipbound neighbors have reconciled themselves to life as it is, but Harold and the ship’s lead scientist, Jeanne Mareaux, strive for more.

Are they really just trapped in this ark-like ship, Harold wonders? Or is there a way to repair things and go to a drier place? And for that matter, are they all alone? Or is there more life down here than they suspect?

Ultimately, gamers move Harold through his story as he begins to ask existential (and sometimes surreal) questions about life and choice, and what constitutes happiness or success.

This is a single-player game that doesn’t require an online connection.

POSITIVE CONTENT

There’s a handcrafted beauty and detail about Harold Halibut that Claymation fans will definitely appreciate. The game can at times feel like you’re reaching into a wonderfully crafted doll house to play out Harold’s story. And that story can be very introspective and thoughtful.

This game also lets gamers move forward at their own laid-back pace. There’s no all-consuming or driving objective to the story that will suck away someone’s time. Play has a very casual feel about it.

CONTENT CONCERNS

That said, Harold Halibut sometimes feels so ploddingly casual that gamers may lose interest. Conversations can become diatribes at times. And the story’s humor is so dry that it can almost make you wonder if it’s actually humor at all (ala the above-mentioned Wes Anderson-like feel).

In that vein, characters can give off a very passive-aggressive attitude toward fix-it guy Harold. Language in those conversations includes the words “d–ned” and “d–mit.”

GAME SUMMARY

“Quirky” is a word that readily comes to mind while playing the Claymation-like Harold Halibut. That sense is so prominent that younger players may be left scratching their heads. But for the right sort of gamer, fix-it man Harold totes some charming tools in his character-driven toolbelt.

The post Harold Halibut appeared first on Plugged In.

Pepper has a grinder, and she knows how to use it.

And all of this young woman’s digging and grinding finesse is on display in a creative, swashbuckling, side-scrolling platformer appropriately called Pepper Grinder.

This inventive little 2-D pixel art game kicks off with a simple premise: Pepper’s ship has run aground on the coastline of a strange island. While she lays unconscious on the shore, a pink-haired pirate and her goblin-like minions steal her treasure of jewels. But upon waking and giving chase, Pepper falls and finds herself stranded in a seemingly inescapable rocky gorge.

Fortunately for the beleaguered captain, however, she finds an odd, gas-engine mechanical grinder/drill that’s about as big as she is. And when Pepper fires it up, it burrows into the gorge’s soft rock, dragging her along in its wake.

She’ll need to use this chugging, motorized device to navigate patches of dirt, volcanic magma, ice, water and poisonous marsh in the rocky terrain around her. And if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, she’ll fight foes, beat big bosses and work to find and reclaim her stolen treasure.

The core game mechanic here is, of course, steering Pepper’s conical grinder that she uses to dig through various substances and leap from level to level.

That device can also power up other gadgets Pepper finds along the way. She can, for instance, slip the grinder into a gun-like adapter to blast at obstacles and foes; she can use it to crank a bridge to a higher level; she can rocket herself forward with a grinder-powered cannon. The grinder can even power up an ice-skimming snowmobile or a building-ramming robot.

After mastering the basics, players have to figure out the sometimes very complicated platforming challenges and environmental puzzles set before them. Along the way, they also collect jewels embedded in the ground and dig up special coins. Those coins can be exchanged for cosmetic add-ons (hair color changes, capes and outfits) or used to unlock extra levels of play.

Pepper Grinder is a single-player-only game. And you don’t need an online connection to play it.

POSITIVE CONTENT

This game’s level design is clever and colorful. Gamers are guided forward by a glittering trail of gems imbedded in diggable areas. And its pixel art feels cartoonishly retro, making for an eye-catching experience.

Pepper Grinder is also very fluid and fun, demanding just the right combination of boosted speed, grapple-hook grabs and strategically timed jumps.

Since Pepper’s challenges are presented in a series of relatively short levels, play can be limited to five-to-ten-minute chunks if so desired.

CONTENT CONCERNS

All of the above said, however, some areas can be frustratingly difficult at times. Those head-scratching challenges can result in Pepper falling to her doom—sometimes into deadly lava. (There’s no mess or blood and the 2-D pixel character reappears for another attempt.)

And Pepper must deal with more than just challenging jumps and digs. Large insects and goblin critters come at Pepper, sometimes in a flooding rush. These creatures can come carrying guns and flamethrowers, and some wear protective armor. One large skeletal boss strikes with high-powered laser beams. And many times, the onrushing crowds or boss battles can feel intense and frenetic.

When Pepper strikes with her grinder or zaps a critter with a gun, the attacker instantly changes into a skull and bones that crumble away. Pepper also encounters explosive landmines and flamethrowing turrets that she must maneuver around if she hopes to survive.

(I played on the Nintendo Switch. But the game is also offered on PC. And if played with a keyboard and no thumbsticks, I can only imagine that the fast-paced game play would be very difficult.)

GAME SUMMARY

Pepper and her grinder offer gamers some tasty side-scrolling play that’s fun, fluid and never too spicy.

The post Pepper Grinder appeared first on Plugged In.

Over the years, Nintendo and its game-making partners have done yeoman’s work to keep each of the many, many Mario games from feeling like cookie-cutter copies of one another. And they’ve done a great job. Princess Peach: Showtime! is an exemplary example. This game’s protagonist princess hits her mark with bravado and charm.

Things start off when one of Princess Peach’s mushroom Toad pals shows her a poster for the upcoming Sparkle Theater productions. It looks so enchanting that the princess and Toad soon fly off in hopes of seeing a fun show together. But upon arriving at this Vegas-like, oversized playhouse, Peach discovers that something foul is afoot.

A villain named Madame Grape—and her crew the Sour Bunch—have made an unexpected entrance to steal the show, imprisoned the star performers and redirected everything in Grape’s own foul image.

It’s time for Peach to step out of her typical duties as loyal royal sidekick and take on the roles of heroic leading lady characters. Literally! With the help of Stella, the theater’s sparkle spirit guardian, Peach slips into a variety of different costumes, assumes that character’s abilities and then jumps into each performance with dramatic gusto. She’ll need to best all of the backstage baddies, free the captive actors, and make sure that the show will go on!

Gameplay wise, Princess Peach: Showtime! blends a variety of different gaming genres. When Peach performs as any of 10 different character parts, the style of gaming fits the role.

For example, Swordfighter Peach leaps into swordplay battles; Detective Peach uses her sleuthing skills to uncover clues; Cowgirl Peach jumps up on horseback and lassos baddies through a side-scrolling train set.

Princess Peach: Showtime! is a single-player-only game and it does not require an online connection. (Oh, and players never need to break a leg.)

POSITIVE CONTENT

In this reviewer’s humble opinion, Princess Peach is a much more approachable and endearing protagonist than a couple mustachioed plumbers I know. And her game is filled with appealing variety. The game doesn’t dive deeply into its different genres, but some of the performance stages feel like they could be expanded to become whole games of their own.  

On top of that, this game feels geared for younger players. There’s lots of color. And Peach’s leading lady heroics abound while always maintaining the sweet charm that the character is known for.

In short, Princess Peach: Showtime! spotlights gaming novelty and helpful niceness—elements that parents will appreciate.

CONTENT CONCERNS

There isn’t much to worry over. Players will direct Peach to deliver sword slashes, kung fu kicks and a few explosives on her puppet-like foes. But it never feels harsh or cruel. (Some of the villains blast at Peach with lasers and the like.)

Princess Peach: Showtime! may be a little disappointing for adult gamers who want a more challenging hill to climb, but it works well for younger Peach fans.

That said, I should note that the game sometimes requires timed jumps or attacks that could get a little difficult and/or frustrating for smaller players. They may require a little adult help to navigate.

GAME SUMMARY

Hollywood starlets step aside. Princess Peach is ready for her closeup, and her game is ready for its own spotlight. Cue the sweeping musical score.

The post Princess Peach: Showtime! appeared first on Plugged In.

The SteamWorld video game franchise has been around for 14 years. But the series isn’t so much a bunch of sequels as it is a collection of very superficially related games that explore different gaming genres (including a tower defense game, an XCOM-like turn-based shooter and a roleplaying card battler).

The one common denominator for them all is that the games center around steam-driven robots in a post-apocalyptic world.

The new SteamWorld Build corrals that steampunk collection into a Wild West realm of city building and management, with just a dash of rocket ship-construction and space travel on the side.

The game starts out by offering gamers five different maps to choose from, each sporting its own terrain advantages and disadvantages (and a special location-focused building). Giddyup Gorge, for instance, is the most beginner-friendly map—featuring fewer obstacles and abundant resources—while Fossil Park delivers a Jurassic Park influenced setting with fewer forest areas and more sharp-edged challenges.

Each of the five settings starts you out, however, with nothing but a broken-down train station, a disconnected, crumbling mine shaft, and a patch of tumbleweed-choked desert. And the first order of business is to build a town.

Determined builders must reap whatever resources they can through lumberyards and the like; build worker housing, warehouses, general stores and repair shops; manage their cash and establish trade; construct roads and farms; increase the worker bot population and keep them happy; and raise up a good old Wild West robo-boomtown.

Ah, but that’s not your only objective. The game’s light-but-charming robo-story also includes an apocalyptic threat: The big ol’ planet we’re living on is a dyin’! So the second half of SteamWorld Build’s challenge sets you off to dig beneath the surface of your blossoming city. There you explore, excavate, and reveal a couple more levels to work with.

Down in the mines, the bots upgrade to become miners, engineers,  mechanics and the like. They carve out tunnels, find hidden treasures and produce a wide variety of usable resources for the city growth above. But the real goal is to somehow find and dig up forgotten and lost technology that can be used to build a spaceship.

Ultimately then, SteamWorld Build becomes a multi-leveled, almost real-time-strategy game focused on the delicate balancing act of managing resources, maintaining populations, and expanding your borders and capabilities toward a final escape from your doomed planet.

SteamWorld Build is a single-player game and can be played without an internet connection.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Lots of fun can be had here for fans of building sims. As you take your first step onto the sunbaked dirt of your soon-to-be town, the tasks before you can feel complex, but unless you’ve chosen a hard difficulty level, the learning curve is quick and easy and welcoming to first-timers and younger players.

SteamWorld Build also offers a Move Tool, which allows you to pick up and relocate any building to another spot at no cost. This mechanic makes a world of difference for players who want to rearrange a cluttered or poorly planned town into a layout that’s more efficient.

The game is colorful and pleasant to look at from its bird’s-eye perspective. And you can swoop in to get a closer look at the scurrying steampunk robo-world, all of which is whimsically animated.

This game’s voice acting, though relatively brief, is fun and entertaining. Someone ultimately sacrifices themselves to protect the robot population.

CONTENT CONCERNS

As players dig beneath the city, they soon find that the abandoned mine isn’t as empty as they might first think. There are cartoony monsters, creatures and creepy crawly plants lurking there, ready to attack. Security forces can drive them back with guns, flamethrowers, traps and a variety of later-gained turrets.

There’s also a threat of falling rocks and a total collapse in the mines if the excavations are not properly supported with braces. All of the above can lead to robots and creatures being killed, but there’s no gore in the mix.

Some of the robot characters require moonshine to obtain their top level of happiness. The dialogue contains use of the word “darn.”

GAME SUMMARY

SteamWorld Build has a charming presentation and a lot of well-designed gaming to offer those who love a good build-and-manage sim. There’s fun in them thar SteamWorld hills.

The post SteamWorld Build appeared first on Plugged In.

Things begin when your character—which you construct from a variety of body shapes, sizes and skin tones—makes his or her way to a lovely tropical island to start a new life. And it just so happens that this lush place is in need of someone just like you.

The community has suffered from some natural and corporate disasters as of late. There are odd tentacled growths and dark corruptions here and there. And on top of that, a grasping oil corporation is attempting to turn Coral Island’s Starlet Town into an oil-drilling base—already causing an oil spill that devastated the local vacation-focused economy.

It’s your job to initially revitalize a dilapidated little farm. It’s littered with rocks, old trees and trash. The farm requires a lot of elbow grease and time to set it right. And while you start that digging and farming process, you’ll also begin reinforcing the local economy, start cleaning up the island, and revitalizing the tourist trade.

Of course, you’ll need to do more than just grow vegetables and sell them at the market. You also collect minerals and fight monsters in multi-level mines. You’ll clean the island and the surrounding waters of plastic and trash; go deep sea diving and exploring; build and upgrade your house; collect resources for crafting; and deal with the island’s mysterious (and not-so-mysterious) environmental corruptions. Along the way, you can also choose to make friends, or even romance, many of the very attractive island residents. 

Coral Island can be played in single player mode, with the option to play in one of two multiplayer modes: online multiplayer and local split-screen co-op. The game can support up to four players.

POSITIVE CONTENT

The island and character graphics are very pretty and appealing. And the game, while often grinding, is easy to slip into and enjoy as you build your farm, better your community and clean up the environment around you.

The optional relationship building side of the game isn’t necessarily deep or complicated, but the characters you meet all have their own backstories. And if given time, they can not only blossom into friendships, but into romance, marriage and raising a family.

CONTENT CONCERNS

Those potential romantic relationships can be male and female or same sex. We see the characters kissing. Since this is an island community, many of the male and female NPCs show up in swimsuits and bikinis that display their toned forms. There are muscular mermen and mermaids in the mix as well.

And as those mentioned mer-people would imply, the game also crosses over into mystical and fantastic realms.

Part of the island’s corruption stems from a foul spiritual influence in the land. To set things aright, players must locate sacred trees and mystic tablets and make offerings of crops and other items to a goddess at a local temple. This nature-focused goddess unlocks our “third eye” so that we can read the strange old language on those stone tablets and other signs.

Players also discover and interact with mystical giants, monsters and other mythical figures. Down in mines and caverns, players encounter and battle monsters that range from blobs and flying skulls to large green ogres. (There’s nothing overly violent or bloody.)

The local tavern offers adult beverages to its patrons, and they (and we) can take part in a new drink taste test (though there are no apparent inebriating effects). There also is what appears to be a chicken fight set up during a local animal festival. (We don’t see the chickens battle.)

GAME SUMMARY

Coral Island is a laidback, fun and lightly grinding diversion for those who enjoy immersing themselves in a tropical farming sim community. But parents of younger fans should note that it’s not all kids’ play.  

The post Coral Island appeared first on Plugged In.

This three-quarters-overhead-perspective, 2-D game drops players off in an expansive fantasy world where they can choose to play as either the Lunar Monk, Valere, or the Solar Blade Dancer, Zale. In the early stages of play, these two youngsters think of themselves as a fairly average girl and boy who long to someday become Solstice Warriors and give battle to evil. But little do they realize that they are actually legendary Children of the Solstice, delivered by a mystical eagle instead of traditional childbirth. And they can control the power of the moon and the sun.

With the help of their supportive warrior/cook friend Garl (and others later on), this adventuring duo must eventually utilize the lunar eclipse to defeat a group called the Dwellers, minions of the mighty Fleshmancer. Of course, all those labels and names mean nothing to you now, but those are baddies who use the power of dark magic to terrorize the world.

That quest amounts to some 25-to-30 hours of gameplay split among exploring exotic towns; making your way through forests and wilds packed with leap-from-the-shadows enemies; and working through puzzle-heavy dungeons. Oh, and of course, it includes lots and lots of turn-based RPG battles with monsters, magicians and various other powerful villains and god-like monstrosities.

Fans of old ‘90s RPGs, such as the very popular Chrono Trigger, will feel at home with Sea of Stars battling gameplay. It features time-based attacks and parries. And its combat scenarios encourage players to lean on gained special abilities and combos so that they’re not just doing the same attack every time.

One notable addition here is this game’s “lock system.” Essentially, that means that an enemy (most frequently one of the game’s bosses) “locks in,” or takes the time to charge up a devastating attack, over the course of several turns. And the only way to thwart that zap is to hit it with a specific combination of damage and break the lock before it gets its attack off. This battling style motivates players to be constantly thinking a few moves ahead with every conflict.

At this point, Sea of Stars is single-player-only game. But the gamemakers did announce that multiplayer and co-op functionality would be added at some time in the future.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Sea of Stars is colorful and inviting. If you enjoy role-play, turn-based battling as it used to be, you’ll likely enjoy this game. The story isn’t necessarily deep, but it’s creatively inviting. And if players take the time to gather artifacts and share them with a historian they meet, they’ll be told whimsical stories filled with magic and lore.

The combat is fun, and the dungeon puzzles and treasure chest bonuses add a nice dimension to play. And the game ultimately asks players to think about the burden of responsibility and the benefits of befriending others (in some cases, even those whom we oppose).

CONTENT CONCERNS

Fantasy magic and fantasy darkness are part of the gaming mix of Sea of Stars. The baddies, sometimes dressed in cloaks and masks and looking ominous in their 2-D pixelated ways, are definitely pursuing evil and destruction.

The battles with monstery ants, wizards, slug-like critters, dragons, the undead, plant beasts, dark magicians, huge god-like creatures and such are thumping and zapping. And those conflicts both drain away, and in some instances replace, your character’s health points and mana. Players must always manage their resources to avoid dying. (They use swords, shields, staffs, knives, fiery magic blasts and bouncing moon-boomerang attacks, among others.)

The E-10+ rated battles are not bloody, however. We hear sounds of battle and the explosions of bombs, as well as see flashes of light and color, and foes disintegrate upon defeat. Early on, a very young Garl is attacked and he loses an eye, sporting a scarred slash on his face from then on. (But again, the animated illustrations are pixel art characters with 32-bit styling.)

The dialogue is all typed out, not spoken. Which might present a challenge for some younger players. And the words “d–n” and “h—” show up on rare occasion.  

GAME SUMMARY

Playing Sea of Stars is kinda like watching an old movie. Its story direction and gaming challenges are fun and comfortable. And its colorful pixel art stylings feel oh-so much more family friendly than current RPG fare.

The post Sea of Stars appeared first on Plugged In.

Pikmin 4 is the fourth entry in a series of puzzle-solving, strategy-adventure games for the Nintendo Switch. The franchise has stayed popular because of its balanced play and its colorful, family-friendly storyline. The fourth entry sticks to that template and adds fresh tweaks to its adventure. 

One of those tweaks is the game’s newest location. While looking for planetary resources for his home world of Koppai, a certain Captain Olimar has crash-landed on an oversized planet that looks suspiciously like our very own Earth. And not long after that, a corps of rescuers rockets in to, well, crash and scatter across the landscape as well.

So, in a last-ditch effort, they all call on you, a rookie adventurer, to find your way to this alien world, to rescue the lost space men and women, to repair their spacecraft and to get everyone back home. But there are many obstacles to overcome, perils to endure, and enemies to battle in this strange world. So it’s going to be a tough task. Thankfully, there are happy little Pikmin on this planet, too.

What is a Pikmin? Well, it’s a little plant being that generally looks like a cross between a chewed wad of gum and branchy flower or leaf. These smiling, humanoid critters come in a variety of colors, have their own specific skills and are ready to help out when someone is in trouble.

Red Pikmin, for instance, are resistant to fire and, when gathered in a group, make great diggers and builders. Yellow Pikmin can deal with electrified barriers. The blue ones are great with water challenges. Black, rocky Pikmin can bash through crystal and glass-like barriers. And the list goes on.

The rarer variants of Pikmin, such as Purple and White, take some special skills just to find. But with the right Pikmin in your group of helpers, your adventurer can open secreted away areas, find usable treasures, face off with dangerous foes and overcome the challenges on hand.

There’s also a large dog-like helper this time, named Oatchi, that can carry your adventurer and his squad of Pikmin to hard-to-get-to areas and help out with battles.

Pikmin 4’s world is oversized and vast. So the explorable locales, such as an Earth-like living room or kitchen area, a backyard playground or underground tunnels and the like, are all seen from a Toy Soldier-ish, miniature, ground-level perspective. That adds a childlike and kid-appropriate smile to the puzzle-solving and battling tasks.

Found treasures in this world then, are objects such as a misplaced rubber duck or an old Game Boy console. They are carried away and converted into spacecraft fuel and repair-worthy materials. And the initial, easygoing puzzle challenges become pleasantly more ambitious as the game progresses.

Pikmin 4 also offers new Nighttime Expeditions. They’re essentially individual tower-defense events that are rewarded with a substance that heals fellow crewmates who have been turned into plant-like beings called Leaflings. Kids and parents can play Pikmin 4 together, with shared joy-con play. The game also has a competitive multiplayer mode.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Pikmin 4 is an easy and approachable game with a childlike feel and lots of colorful fun. And it steadily continues to ratchet up the puzzle and adventure challenges in ways that kids and adults can all enjoy.

In addition, there are new interactions, such as the above-mentioned Nighttime Expeditions and new, timed Dandori challenges that deepen play with battles and gathering events against AI foes.

CONTENT CONCERNS

There are really only two areas in this game that might spark a bit of concern from parents. One is the ongoing and sometimes frenetic battling with insect-like foes that bite at Pikmin or blow fire or poison in their direction. It’s not messy or bloody, but if you toss leafy friends in the wrong place or at the wrong time, they can be gobbled up, be drowned or be set on fire while squeaking in pain.

Pikmin are also sometimes called upon to bash and destroy machines and creatures with their leafy or flowery head stalks. The battles can result in screen-shaking explosions. The events of a day or “mission” are timed as well. And running out of time and leaving some gathered Pikmin friends out after sunset can expose them to more aggressive enemies.

The second possible point of concern is much lighter, but still worth mentioning. The characters and narrator in Pikmin 4 talk in a “non-language” gibberish that is captioned. So some young players could have a tougher time understanding the story and missions without a little parental help. The tutorials do, however, effectively ease kids into the action of the game with simple illustrations.

GAME SUMMARY

Your favorite little plant pals are back with new rescue quests and some freshly tweaked challenges. From sandcastle stomps to kitchen counter clomps, it’s a whole new colorful world.

The post Pikmin 4 appeared first on Plugged In.

Crime O’Clock presents itself as a criminal-thwarting detective game with a time-hopping twist. And yes, those elements are certainly blended into the gaming equation. But truthfully, it feels more like Where’s Waldo with some fun puzzles and cute story tweaks.

The game sets the player up as a special agent who, with the help of an AI program called E.V.E., is assigned the task of hunting out crimes that were never supposed to have happened in the “True Timeline” of history. That may sound like a pretty heavy lift for a rookie time agent, but it really requires little more than a keen eye and a dash of creative thinking.

With each new task, the game shows players a monochromatic snapshot, a scene that’s reminiscent of a modernized and intricate Richard Scarry-ish children’s book illustration. There are anthropomorphized characters frozen in action throughout a small-but-densely-packed cityscape. And somewhere in that busy image, a crime is being perpetrated—a crime forced into being by an unknown, time-twisting entity.

E.V.E. asks you to zoom and pan your way through the image, seeking out that specific event. But then you must search for clues and figure out who caused the theft, vandalism or murder, and determine how to keep it from happening.

To fulfill that task, E.V.E. has captured ten “ticks” of time in its black-and-white glimpse of the important event (each tick separated by several minutes). By moving forward and backward through those ticks, players hunt for suspects, stolen items and other objects in a given moment and try to prevent the crime without damaging the timeline further.

E.V.E. also gives players analytical tools that help with their clue gathering. Those tools are unlocked through minigame-focused challenges that might piece together a suspect’s image; line up a fingerprint; give musical map clues; align machine-controlling links and the like.

Once the evildoing is thwarted, it’s on to the next time and place and the next forced crime. Ultimately, you want to determine who or what is behind all of the malodourous malefactions through the ages and stop them in their tracks. The game includes some 40+ crimes in the past and future to solve.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Despite the fact that Crime O’Clock is composed of many frozen, monochrome snapshots, the gameplay still feels vibrant as it bounces from era to era chasing a bigger time-bending crime. The artwork is lively and fun. It’s character-driven and pleasing to the eye.

The game helps younger players by offering a bit of hand-holding from E.V.E. and other AI characters. There’s also a hint page that players can turn to when stumped. And the overall goal is to keep crimes from happening.

CONTENT CONCERNS

The above-mentioned hand-holding can, however, feel a little too controlling for some players. There’s no way to shut that guidance off. And some older players may actually find the puzzles and minigames to be a bit too simple.

Deaths can be depicted in the various crimes. But the scenes are always drawn with cartoon-style humor that features x-ed out eyes or a foot sticking out from under a pile of debris. There’s never any blood or messiness.

The game also bounces around through several different eras. When players leap to an ancient Egyptian-like timeframe, for instance, they’ll find stone statues of animal-headed deities, mentions of holy relics and references to the blessings of the Eye of Ra.

As the game unfolds, we encounter entities that initially seem to be spirit-like creatures, but they end up being rogue-AI programs.

GAME SUMMARY

Some players may long for more actual detective work in this time-hopping crime-stopper. But gamers who love searching for objects and people in stylishly creative art will have a great, uh, time. And there’s no crime in that.

The post Crime O’Clock appeared first on Plugged In.

Gamers start out by virtually donning the tailcoat or carriage dress of a male or female wannabe tycoon from the 1830s. Each character has his or her own strengths and weaknesses that will impact early industry and hopefully offer a leg up on the AI competition that is trying to lay tracks and control an area first.

The goal is to build railroad structures, establish economic strategies and construct your railway’s surrounding support buildings (restaurants, market halls, a post office, etc.). The ultimate hope is to create an empire that spans the continent, over expansive maps of either North America or Europe.

Of course, initially the game starts players out small and simple. There are little “cities” to connect, made up of a collection of buildings and a central factory or two. Gamers build stations and tracks between them to aid the communities’ growth and deliver needed resources.

But they also connect those cities to dairy farms, lumber yards, cattle ranches and other local industries that can’t transport their goods quickly on dirt roads or simple waterways. Each farm, township and growing metropolis has an industry it excels in, and this will be the export it offers to other towns and cities along the line.

As mentioned, AI competitors are also trying to build their own well-oiled industry. So, working against the clock, dealing with AI interference and fulfilling resource missions promptly is of vital importance.

The challenges feel daunting at first. You must: establish multiple tracks in and out of a station; choose the right train engine for a given job or jobs; maintain equipment; keep building expenses reasonable; deal with competitors; and link and ship all of those in-demand resources. But Railway Empire 2 has intuitive building and economic strategy tools in place that help players quickly stoke their gaming engines up to full steam.

Gamers can play co-op with up to three friends.

POSITIVE CONTENT

The idea of simply laying tracks and transporting people and resources from here to there may seem to be fairly mundane gameplay to some. But the game’s many missions and tasks are well-balanced and creatively consuming.

Along with Railway Empire 2’s building and strategy challenges, there’s also a very appealing look to the game. Gamers can swoop in from their birds-eye perspective to see the sights, and hear the surrounding sounds, from a train engineer’s point of view. And this rich tapestry of sight and sound is also accompanied by an authentic underscore of music that represents the time well.

CONTENT CONCERNS

Content concerns are fairly light here. The word “d–n” is used in the narration. Cities demand beer and tobacco—and fledging railroad barons must deliver them. And sabotage is part of the struggle between captains of railroad industry. Players not only work against thieves and saboteurs, but they can hire some of their own.

GAME SUMMARY

Strategy games such as Railway Empire 2 are, quite frankly, fun, creative gaming pursuits for the whole family. It’s simple to play, but with surprising challenges.

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Tears begins with the Kingdom of Hyrule’s power couple, Link and Zelda, exploring a newly found passageway beneath the castle of Hyrule. Queen Zelda is quite curious about its origins and the corrupting “gloom” that seems to be seeping up from some unknown depths and making people sick. And, of course, who would she choose to accompany her but her trusted, stalwart and ever-silent friend?

They find statues and hieroglyphs that call back to Hyrule’s founding days. Those relics depict a time when god-like beings called Zonai descended from the heavens and formed a union with hyrulians in the form of King Rauru (a Zonian) and Queen Sonia (of Hyrule). Link and Zelda also find a mummy swirling with dark, corrupting gloom. And unexpectedly that shriveled creature comes to life.

After a brief battle between Link and the power-imbued creature, Zelda is swept off to some unknown era and Link is left nearly mortally wounded: His powerful Master Sword is broken and his right arm has been obliterated. Given a new arm by the spiritual echo of Rauru himself, Link must set off on a vast journey to find his precious missing friend and save the land from death and destruction.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and its open-world main quest will take players some 50 to 70 hours to complete (depending on their pace). And if they take on all the quests and activities, they can expect to be playing north of 100 hours as they traverse Sky Islands, explore huge chunks of the Hyrulian kingdom and delve into a vast pitch-black underworld called The Depths.

One of the parts of play that drew gamers to Breath of the Wild was Link gaining special abilities during his travels. And that’s emphasized in new ways in Tears through Link’s transplanted arm. As he explores the lands and solves shrine puzzles, he gains a fistful of unique abilities.

Ultrahand, for instance, gives gamers the power to magically lift and attach different objects, constructing the means to overcome obstacles and gaps in their path. Fuse allows Link to combine things and concoct a creative array of quirky weapons, such as linking a boulder with a rusty sword or putting a powerful fan on the end of a stout tree branch. Ascend gives Link the ability to literally swim magically up through solid surfaces overhead. Etc.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Along with new abilities to try; massive maps to explore; new life-restoring recipes to experiment with; a plethora of puzzles to solve; and quests to fulfill, Tears also offers a creative story that twists its way through time and several Hyrulian eras. The gamemakers have separated Link and Zelda by eons while still keeping them connected as they both emotionally fight and sacrifice for the good of the other.

With the addition of Tears’ new construction system, this game opens new possibilities for gamers to take their play in unique directions with their own creative choices. Gamers young and old can create a variety of vehicles, planes and boats to get around in and find their own imaginative ways to best the obstacles before them.

Link has a strong, built-in desire to sacrifice for the good of others. That’s a core tenant of play here. But this game also repeatedly illustrates and emphasizes that we need to rely on others, too. Using the strengths and the help of friends around you is an important part of beating the bosses and making it to the game’s conclusion.

There is a very prevalent spirituality in Tears’ story mix. And while there is much that Christian parents might balk at (more on that in the next section) there are also broad parallels to faith that can be drawn.

For instance, blessings and light dispel and weaken the corrupting evil and gloom of the enemy. Link is something of a messenger of light as he uses his gifts to destroy evil. And Zelda makes a self-sacrificial choice that she full well knows could lead to losing everything she holds dear.

CONTENT CONCERNS

The above-mentioned spirituality is more broad fantasy than anything else, but it’s everywhere. The Zonai are described as a god-like race of people that “descended from the heavens.” And they have special, magical powers of light that they share with Link. Link gains these powers when he visits shrines on Sky Island. He also stops to “pray” at a stone goddess statue to gain a special boost.

Link can visit several Great Fairies in a series of quests. These huge female beings (with fleshy feminine physiques covered by slightly revealing layers of leaves) blow blessings upon Link. Some characters (including Zelda) carry “secret stones” that amplify the magical powers of their owner. (Those powers include the ability to manipulate time and light, and the power to spiritually leave your body.) And if a holder swallows the stone, it transforms them into an immortal dragon.

This spirituality has a dark and corrupting evil side. A discovered mummy creature turns out to be a demon that slowly regains his full, foul, magical strength. This creature is large and is surrounded by swirling waves of red and black power. That energy can wound and burn, and it eventually turns the demon into a gigantic fiery beast. This Demon King Ganondorf wants nothing more than to destroy and consume every form of sentient life in Hyrule.

Of course, there’s also quite a bit of battle amid the play. Link can wield many different types of weapons that bash and slash and burn fantastic goblin, beasty, skeletal and demon-like foes. Characters can be driven off high ledges, set aflame or engulfed in an explosion.

And though not bloody, some creatures splash open when defeated. Some characters can only be defeated by concentrating sword slashes or arrow shots at large weak areas, such as a fleshy collection of eyes. Link can be struck by weapons as well. And areas of extreme cold can sap away his life force until he crumples over and dies. (When Link dies, he’s placed back on the field for another try.)

GAME SUMMARY

The newest Link and Zelda adventure makes for a broad, fantastic, emotional and very balanced game. Even if you’re not a series fan there are fun things to find. But parents of young adventurers should note that spirituality abounds, and that a perilous battle with an evil demonic king is the inescapable core of Link’s very lengthy world-saving quest.

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