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FORBIDDEN Siren 2 (PS2)

Developer:SCE Japan Studio - project SIREN|Release Date:2006|Systems:PlayStation 2

This week on Super Adventures I'm having a look at FORBIDDEN Siren 2, or maybe Forbidden Siren 2 depending on whether you're going to trust the box spine or the manual. In North America it's known as... well, nothing actually as it was never released there. The first game was though, under the name of Siren.

I was going to start the article by dropping the bombshell that in five years of the site I have never once played a horror game for Halloween, not even accidentally. But I just checked and it turns out that I have, twice: DecapAttack and Blood. My memory betrays me again.

But the point I was leading to was that I'm not really all that interested in Halloween and never have been. Horror isn't really my thing and I find that horror games often involve way too much creeping around in the filthy darkness with awkward controls, looking for the door/cupboard/bookcase/piano you haven't examined yet. I'll still give the game a fair chance to win me over (I wouldn't have much to write about otherwise) but I can't help being predisposed to despise it.
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Nubs' Adventure (PC)

Developer:IMakeGames|Release Date:2015|Systems:Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android

Last week on Super Adventures, I played a game with 'Super' in the title and this time fate has given me one with 'Adventure'. Haven't had one of these on my site since, hmm... Squirt's Adventure around this time last year. Fun fact: through absolutely no effort of my own, 'super' and 'adventure(s)' are actually the two most frequent words to show up in video game titles on my site (with 'final' and 'fantasy' right below them). 'Nubs' on the other hand is definitely down near the bottom.

Nubs' Adventure is the latest indie platformer by the guy who created Rico: A Tale of Two Brothers, which I apparently thought was very playable. I mean I can't actually remember playing it (I've gone through about 150 games in the meantime, my poor brain can only store so many platformers in it), but the article I wrote seems positive enough. This time around I'm playing with a Steam key sent to me from the developer so I'll be wearing my 'serious video game reviewer' hat. Well my 'serious quick look' hat anyway, as I'll only be showing off the first hour or two.

(You can click the screenshots to view them at their original resolution if you feel like, but you'll mostly just get chunkier pixels for your trouble.)
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Kong Recipes For Your Dog !

BY:  Laurie Brzostowski, President, Snaggle Foot Dog Walks and Pet Care-Round Lake, IL

My beloved Lab Sebastian passed away in April so in May I rescued and adopted a puppy named Bandit.  Now that we are back into the crate training aspect I decided to start using kongs in the crate to help keep him occupied.

Because he is such a small doggie I bought 5 puppy kongs and I stuff them and put them in the freezer so I can put one in his crate when I have to leave him alone.

That got me thinking about what kinds of things can I stuff into these little kongs.  So far, I have stuffed non fat plain yogurt, fresh fruit, organic no salt peanut butter, organic sweet potato and organic pumpkin.

But, here on this post I decided to add some recipes so everyone who does use the Kongs for their dogs can get some ideas on what to stuff the kongs with.  It is kind of fun to try each of these different recipes and it gives the doggies something different from time to time.

Below are some recipes I have found that we all can use.  I have also put a link here if you would like more recipes.  http://www.kongcompany.com/recipes/

Just make sure all the foods you purchase are non fat, no sugar, no sugar substitutes, organic and good for your pets.


Fido’s Fruit Salad
You’ll need:
  • Cottage cheese or yogurt (only use plain or naturally sweetened yogurt—not yogurt with artificial sweeteners, which can be toxic to dogs)
  • Apples, banana and melon (any kind)
  • One small marshmallow
Cut the fruit into chunks and put them into a KONG until the toy is about two-thirds of the way full. Holding the KONG upside down, spoon cottage cheese or yogurt into the remaining space. Finally, finish by putting a small marshmallow into the KONG. Serve at room temperature or frozen.

“Pupkin” Pie
You’ll need:
  • Canned or freshly cooked pureed pumpkin
  • Yogurt or cottage cheese (only use plain or naturally sweetened yogurt—not yogurt with artificial sweeteners, which can be toxic to dogs)
  • Cooked oatmeal
  • Low-fat graham cracker
Put a spoonful of cooked oatmeal at the bottom of the KONG to seal the small hole. Then put two spoonfuls of pumpkin into the KONG. Follow with a spoonful of yogurt or cottage cheese. Repeat, layering the pumpkin and yogurt or cottage cheese until the KONG is almost full. Then cram a few pieces of graham cracker into the end of the KONG. Serve warm or frozen.

The Nutty Monkey
You’ll need:
  • Half a banana, cut into slices
  • Peanut butter
  • Roasted peanuts
  • Plain, vanilla or strawberry yogurt (only use plain or naturally sweetened yogurt—not yogurt with artificial sweeteners, which can be toxic to dogs)
  • A spoonful of wheat germ
Put a blob of peanut butter into an empty KONG to seal the small hole at the bottom. Add a few roasted peanuts. Mix the banana slices with a few spoonfuls of yogurt and the wheat germ. Then spoon the mixture into the KONG. Seal the KONG at the top with another blob of peanut butter. Serve at room temperature or frozen.

Late-for-Work KONGs (As Easy As It Gets)
Running late? If you’re busy and don’t have time to create culinary works of art, you can simply take a few seconds to try the following ideas. This is KONG stuffing at its fastest!
  • Keep a stash of halved bananas in your freezer. When you’re on the run, just grab a banana half and slide it into a KONG. Or slice an apple into wedges and insert one or two of those into a KONG.
  • Cram a large dog biscuit or two into a KONG. If necessary, squeeze the KONG when inserting the biscuits to change the shape of the hole and fit them in.
  • If you feed your dog raw food, try purchasing frozen raw medallions, which easily pop into a KONG. Just turn the KONG upside down on a counter, large hole facing up, and push the medallion into the KONG using the heel of your palm.
  • Use a squirt of Cheez Whiz®. Just insert the nozzle into the small end of the KONG and squeeze in some cheese. You can also use a similar product made by the KONG Company, called KONG Stuff’N™ Paste, which comes in liver and peanut butter flavors.
  • Smear a spoonful of peanut butter or cream cheese (preferably low-fat) on the inside walls of a KONG. If you think that your dog might finish licking out the KONG too quickly, consider preparing a few peanut butter or cream cheese KONGs in advance and leaving them in your freezer for quick use when you’re in a hurry.
Have fun everyone !

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Super Back to the Future, Part II (SNES)

Super Back to the Future Part 2 title screen
Developer:Daft|Release Date:1993|Systems:Super Nintendo

This week on Super Adventures, I've got a 'Back to the Future' game loaded up and it's playing the actual theme from the movie! It's funny how few of them do that.

It's Back to the Future Day today! We've finally reached Wednesday October 21th 2015, the day that Doc Brown and Marty McFly visit in the second movie, and that makes this the perfect time for me to take a look at Super Back to the Future, Part II for the SNES. Other good dates would’ve been November 12th 1955 and October 27th 1985, but I’ve already missed them, so I'm basically on my last chance here.

Weirdly there was never a Super Back to the Future or Super Back to the Future, Part III, despite the fact that SBTTF,PII came out long after the movie trilogy concluded in 1990. There were plenty of other 'Back to the Future' games released for other systems, but this is all the Super Nintendo ever got, and it got it 3 years late. Sorry I mean the Super Famicom, as the game was only ever released in Japan (presumably because it's not very good).

Oh right, I should put a warning here that the game's based on the film, so I'll be spoiling part of the movie's storyline along with the game's. Assuming that the game even has a storyline.
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South Park: The Stick of Truth (PC)

South Park The Stick of Truth main menu screen
Developer:Obsidian|Release Date:2014|Systems:Windows, PS3, Xbox 360

This week on Super Adventures I'm playing another game based on a cartoon series! It'd be fair to say that South Park: The Stick of Truth is a little better regarded than Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse though, as it's got over twice the score on metacritic.

In fact Stick of Truth gave Obsidian their highest metacritic score since Knights of the Old Republic II back in 2004, beating games like Fallout: New Vegas and Alpha Protocol. Which goes to show how broken metacritic is/how rubbish reviewers are, as Alpha Protocol's totally a better game than KotOR 2! It has an ending and everything.

I still can't believe that Obsidian of all developers were working on a 'South Park' RPG, though in retrospect I suppose I should be more surprised that they finished it, seeing as they have the worst luck with their licensed games. The original publisher for Stick of Truth went bankrupt a year before release, Aliens: Crucible and their 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves' prequel were both cancelled during development, and in a parallel universe they would've made a 'Wheel of Time' and a 'Star Trek' game as well. We're never going to get a proper single player 'Star Trek' RPG at this rate.

Though we did get a 'South Park' RPG and it's right in front of me, so I guess I should play it already.

(Click the screenshots to examine at their original resolution. It's not a great resolution, but it's bigger.)
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Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse (PC)

Family Guy Back to the multiverse title screen
Developer:Heavy Iron|Release Date:2012|Systems:Xbox 360, PS3, Windows

This week on Super Adventures I'm playing Family Guy™: Back to the Multiverse! Because suffering builds character.

Actually I'm genuinely curious about the game. I remember that reviewers thought it was terrible, but I don’t remember why. Do the jokes just not land or is the gameplay itself rubbish? I’ve a feeling the answer’s going to be ‘both’ but I’ll keep an open mind.

By the way did you know that 'Family Guy’ has been on air for 14 years at this point? It would’ve actually been 15 but the series took 2004 off due to being cancelled. The PC version of the game has taken a year off too, as it suddenly vanished from Steam back in December 2014. It's not alone though, as publisher Activision have pulled a bunch of licensed games over the years, including Deadpool and 007 Legends (it's like they don't even care about my plans to play every Bond game ever). But Deadpool eventually came back, so there’s still hope for Back to the Multiverse!

(Click the screenshots to view them in their original resolution.)
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Why we need to pay attention to Farm Heroes (or any other game from King.com)

I’m a hardcore gamer. I love Bloodborne’s challenges. I’m very excited to complete Batman: Arkhan Knight with 100% of the missions. I really like to die and try again the experience of Dark Souls.

On the other hand, I’m a casual gamer too. I think – for a work in game design and gaming studies – it’s essential to explore both worlds (and the intersection between them).

I’ve played a lot of mobile games the last three years for two reasons: 1) they’re extremely fun; 2) most of the time I’m far from my videogames. So, I downloaded lots of games in my iPhone/iPad. There are many good ideas, interfaces and mechanics, but I want to focus on the games from King.com. Yeah, you certainly know one or two games from them; Candy Crush is an icon from this publisher.



However, I intend to talk about another game in this post: Farm Heroes Saga. Farm Heroes has some important points to think (and rethink) game design: 1) the core mechanics is simple (you need to join three pieces of a kind to eliminate them from the interface and earn points); 2) the simple mechanics evolves with new characters (you start with fruits and vegetables, but after some time there’re animals, fireworks and many other powers); 3) There’s a social model embedded in Farm Heroes that create a community inside the gaming universe, where players can share lives and special powers; 4) There’s a business model in the game and you can spend real money to buy powers, lives, gold bars and special features (very similar to all King.com games); 5) Finally: it’s free, fun, colorful and has a friendly interface.

The ideas from this game remind me the words of Juul (2010) in the book A casual revolution. Check the video with the gameplay:



The conclusion is: King.com creates a complete model of casual games with very integrated social, business and fun aspects. Every game replicates the same model with a new skin. With great number of games, their chances of profit increase a lot.

I celebrate King.com’s work in the casual gaming industry.



Reference:

JUUL, Jesper. A casual revolution. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2010.
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