Troy Hepfner's Blog

Review: Supercow

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:03:48 -0700

Super what?

Okay, check this out: we sign up as affiliates for Reflexive Arcade and start browsing their list of games to find some family-friendly titles for our web site, and I come across a game called Supercow. "Oh, no! You've got to be kidding," I thought to myself, and moved on. But oddly enough, I kept thinking about this strange title, and I eventually decided to try it out of curiosity. I'm glad I did!

Supercow is a cute platform-style game that will feel very familiar to Dirk Dashing fans. The evil Professor Duriarti has escaped from prison. He has seized the farm, captured all of the animals, and locked them away in dark rooms. Supercow learns about it and sets out to save the farm animals.

The game play is fairly standard, and children should have no trouble learning the controls. You can play using your mouse or keyboard (directional keys and space bar to jump). Supercow can run left and right, jump over gaps, and land on the heads of hostile animals like dogs and moles. There are springy platforms to jump on that will shoot Supercow high into the air, and elevators she can ride. There are also a few hidden areas in each level, and some occasional goodies hidden behind the foreground scenery.

As the levels progress, the enemies become harder but not too hard to detract from your enjoyment of the game. Bigger enemies need to be jumped on multiple times to beat them. Some enemies throw things at you.

The bottom line: Supercow is a fun game that children will certainly enjoy, and probably some adults too. If you enjoyed Dirk Dashing, give Supercow a try!

Supercow is available for both Windows and Mac.

You can download the Windows trial from here:
http://www.gamecentersolution.com/downloadgame.aspx?AID=983&CID=24443

You can download the Mac trial from here:
http://www.gamecentersolution.com/downloadgame.aspx?AID=10019&CID=24443

Review: Astro Avenger 2

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 10:03:02 -0700

I remember when I was in high school, I used to love going to the video arcade and playing games like Asteroids, Centipede, Galaga, Pacman, Spy Hunter, and others. Games back then were simple and fun. Sometimes I miss those days, especially in today's culture where everything has to be bigger and prettier and more sophisticated - often at the expense of fun game play.

So imagine my delight when I discovered Astro Avenger 2. This game is a basic shooter in the tradition of Galaxian and Galaga, but with modern graphics and sound, the ability to customize your ship or purchase new ships, and so much more. The moment I started playing this game, I was hooked.

As you might guess from the title, this game is a sequel to Astro Avenger. The two games are similar, but I enjoyed the second one more, so that is the game I decided to review.

In Astro Avenger 2, a hostile alien fleet is destroying everything in its path, and you must stop it. To do so, you must find all the pieces of a secret weapon and assemble them in order to turn the tide in the war. At your disposal is an advanced star fighter with customizable weaponry and defenses.

Astro Avenger 2 is a lot of fun to play. The game is filled with surprises that catch you off guard and keep you on your toes. For example, as you are flying over the beautiful detailed backgrounds, ships will appear out of seemingly innocent holes in the background, or parts of the scenery will detach from the rest and start attacking you. During each level, you will earn credits that can be used to customize your ship.

As you can see from the screenshot above, the game offers a lot of different armaments and options to upgrade your ship. In between levels, you can stock up on missiles, purchase weapon or armor upgrades, and even acquire robot ships that will fly alongside you and perform various helpful functions.

Astro Avenger 2 is available for Windows only.

You can download the Windows trial from here:
http://www.gamecentersolution.com/downloadgame.aspx?CID=24443&AID=1107

I also found an online version on the developer's web site:
http://www.sahmon.com/astroavenger-2.html

Review: Airport Mania

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:26:34 -0700

In the process of reviewing family-friendly games made by other companies that we could offer on our web site, I found several games that I really enjoy myself that I would like to recommend to you.

One of the games that I enjoyed was Airport Mania. This game really surprised me at first, because when I originally saw the screen shots, I thought it would be a nice kids game but nothing I would enjoy myself. Boy, was I wrong! This is a charming game with unexpected depths, and is a lot of fun to play.

In Airport Mania, you play the role of an air traffic controller. Your job is to land the planes, guide them to the terminal, and help them take off again while minimizing delays. At the same time, there are planes that need repairs, planes carrying special cargo that have to be landed in a hurry, and numerous other challenges.

As you continue to play the game, you discover that there is a depth of strategy and planning in this game that makes it very interesting. For example, you can earn bonuses by landing and taxiing the colored planes to a terminal of the same color, and you can earn combo bonuses by having different planes of the same color take off in a row. You can also give orders to planes in advance to queue them up, but you then have to remember the order in which you gave directions to the planes so that you know how to deal with the new planes that arrive.

As you can see from the screen shots, the planes are very cute and their whimsical, cartoon expressions really cheer you up while you are playing. They also make amusing sounds that make me smile. I highly recommend this game for everyone in your family.

Airport Mania is available for both Windows and Mac.

You can download the Windows trial from here:
http://www.gamecentersolution.com/downloadgame.aspx?AID=1079&CID=24443

You can download the Mac trial from here:
http://www.gamecentersolution.com/downloadgame.aspx?AID=10100&CID=24443

5th Anniversary Approaching!

Mon, 8 Sep 2008 17:50:37 -0700

I just renewed our California business license, which was due to expire next month. This means we'll be around for at least another five years!

This also means that our 5th anniversary is approaching next month. Hard to believe we have been here for five years now! We have some special things planned for the next couple of months to celebrate, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, Victoria and I would like to thank you all for supporting us and our goal of providing family-friendly games for kids and adults alike! We couldn't keep this company going if you didn't buy our games and support what we do.

Review: Fairway Solitaire

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:01:52 -0700

When we signed up as a Reflexive affiliate to sell other family-friendly games produced by other game companies, we started playing a lot of different games to evaluate them. Victoria and I have each found several games that we really enjoy ourselves, so I'm going to review one each week on my blog.

First up is Fairway Solitaire, produced by Grey Alien Games published through Big Fish Games. This has become one of my favorite games. I bought a copy for myself, and I play it just about every day. Fairway Solitaire is a casual game that combines solitaire with a golf theme. If you think that sounds boring, think again. This game is both clever and entertaining.

The game is very easy to learn and play. Each game consists of 9 or 18 rounds or "holes". Each hole consists of several rows or sets of cards that are dealt face down, with some top cards facing up. There is also a deck of cards at the bottom with one key card. The goal is to eliminate cards by matching them with the key card, but you can only pick cards that are one more or less than the key card. Each card you pick goes on the pile and becomes the new key card. So if your key card is a ten, you can pick a nine or a jack of any suit. If you pick a nine, you must next pick an eight or a ten. Keep picking cards until you can't pick any more, then draw a new key card from the deck. The goal is to end up with as few cards as possible at the end of the hole. Your score for the hole is then based on the number of cards remaining.

Fortunately, there is much more to the game than that. And it's all the extra features that make the game so interesting and entertaining to play. There are golf-themed obstacles, like sand trap cards and water hazard cards that must be cleared before you can access certain rows of cards. In the screenshot above, for example, you can't access the rightmost row of cards until you clear all the water hazard cards.

The game also features a number of bonuses and powerups that are naturally golf-themed. For example, you can collect bonuses by building long drives, which are chains of cards picked consecutively without drawing a card from the deck. You can also collect cards representing golf clubs (irons numbered 2-9), which you can store in your golf bag until you need to play one to keep a long drive going or to clear a card that is blocking you.

Additionally, there are wild shot cards that, if you choose to play, can either help or hinder your progress. If you choose to play a wild shot card, it quickly shuffles through all the possible wild cards and you have to blindly pick one. You're then stuck with whatever card you happen to pick. There are a suprisingly large number of wild shot cards available, which spices up the game and keeps it interesting and unpredictable. For example, some wild cards cost you cash or remove cards from your deck, but other cards earn you cash or allow you to clear all the water hazard cards. One wild shot card shuffles all the remaining cards. There are so many other wild cards, and some of them are quite amusing.

The bottom line: while golf and solitaire by themselves can be a bit boring to some, Fairway Solitaire combines these two these two pastimes into a very satisfying game. The cartoon graphics are very well done, and the game features a wide variety of picturesque backgrounds. There is no background music, which is probably a good thing for this game, but there are plenty of ambient sounds like birds chirping and wind rustling through the leaves. The voiceovers for the game's announcer are humorous and plentiful. And with so many courses to unlock that I can't count them all, Fairway Solitaire has a lot of replay value for your money. I highly recommend this game.

Fairway Solitaire is available for both Windows and Mac.

You can download the Windows trial from here:
http://www.gamecentersolution.com/downloadgame.aspx?AID=1055&CID=24443

You can download the Mac trial from here:
http://www.gamecentersolution.com/downloadgame.aspx?AID=10088&CID=24443