#Sissa

Next year's Oscars ceremony has been pushed back by two months, the latest big celebrity event to have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The Academy Awards were due to take place on 28 February next year but have now been put back until 25 April. Organisers have also agreed to extend the eligibility window beyond 31 December 2020 to the end of February. The pandemic has already halted work on a number of films that were due to be released by the end of the year. It's not yet known if the ceremony will be virtual or in person as it is too early to say. The Oscars has only been delayed three times before - due to LA flooding in 1938; after the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr in 1968; and following the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981. David Rubin, president of the Academy - the body behind the Oscars- and its CEO Dawn Hudson said: "For over a century, movies have played an important role in comforting, inspiring, and entertaining us during the darkest of times. "They certainly have this year. Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalised for something beyond anyone's control. "This coming Oscars and the opening of our new museum will mark an historic moment, gathering movie fans around the world to unite through cinema." Nominations will be announced on March 15, 2021. Exceptional times see usual rules changed The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently changed its rules so films that debut on streaming or video on demand services are eligible for next year's awards. The current rules say films can only enter if they have been shown in a Los Angeles cinema for at least a week. But with cinemas shut during the coronavirus crisis, organisers said a "temporary" exception was necessary. Many film releases have been delayed, with others going straight to digital. The Oscars is not the only big entertainment event to have been affected by Covid-19. The prestigious Tony theatre awards were due to take place earlier this month but were postponed and a new date is yet to be announced. Some events have been cancelled, including last month's Eurovision Song Contest. Last week, The Academy pledged to ensure greater inclusivity in its future award ceremonies, to "level the playing field". It also said there would always be 10 films in the best film category rather than a fluctuating number between five and 10. This rule won't come into play until 2022, however.

Game Information Series: Bioshock RELEASE DATE:15 Sep, 2016 DEVELOPER:2K Boston, 2K Australia, Blind Squirrel, Feral Interactive (Mac) PUBLISHER:2K, Feral Interactive (Mac) Over 10 years in the making, the stunning shooter series BioShock has landed on the Switch – another highly successful game to appear on the handheld console. It was ported and put together seamlessly by Virtuous Games, and also released the same day as other 2K classics Borderlands and X-COM collections. If you’re completely fresh to BioShock then there’s no better time to jump in. For £39.99 you receive all three games in the series, BioShock, BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite, with all in-game content for each included as standard. When downloading the entire collection, you’ll see that they will all download as separate games, which if all bought separately would cost much more than this bundled price. As a long-time fan of the BioShock series I was mostly invested in seeing how its quality has been translated to the Switch – it’s safe to say it doesn’t disappoint. In the first game you assume the role of Jack who has just survived a plane crash in 1960. After navigating to a nearby bathysphere you enter the world of Rapture, a world effectively gone to ruin from the development of ADAM – an enhancement drug that grants you unique abilities and powers. With just a handful of people guiding you through your path you unfold the mysteries of Rapture and what you need to do to escape, encountering enemies known as Splicers in your path. You also get the opportunity to gain your own powers and use ADAM for your own personal gain throughout the game, obtained after taking down Big Daddies – an iconic but dangerous adversary. ADAM grants you the ability to gain plasmids, new powers such as electricity or fire damage, as well as other perks to assist you in different situations. The choices you make throughout the game will affect your ending. Big Daddies are often accompanied by Little Sisters, who are used to harvest ADAM. Whether you choose to harvest or save these Little Sisters will be up to you to decide. Even before it’s subsequent remaster BioShock was considered one of the greatest games of all time. It’s sold millions of copies prior to its Switch port and has a great success in being a game widely regarded as a must-play. While none of the plot has changed and you still receive the same content as you would in the console and PC versions, the Switch version has a reduction to run at 30fps when docked, but still retains the high quality of its predecessors. You’ll hardly notice the difference in quality. While the whole collection has been remastered once before in 2016, this is effectively the same version ported to the Switch. When docked its runs at 1080p and in portable mode at 720p, but you can hardly notice the difference in quality. It runs smoothly and effortlessly without it appearing glitched at any time even with the reduction in graphic quality compared to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or PC. Even in this version of the Switch the world looks as spooky and as eerie as it was when we were first transported there in 2007. Some games age better than others, and a lot of the Switch ports haven’t received as much of the attention as Virtuous Games has taken in delivering this Collection. Gameplay is also optimised and plays smoothly both in your hands and connected to the TV, though you may need to tweak a few controls depending on how you’d like to play. For example, I felt moving around in general to be quite slow, i.e. look sensitivity wasn’t sensitive enough, but it’s easy to adjust this in the settings. If you haven’t played the game since its 2007 release, there is still the added benefit of going through every nook and cranny all over again to find all the elements of the director’s commentary. It’s argued that the first BioShock gets the most improvements and changes but granted it would naturally feel like the one that would require the biggest upgrades. For its time BioShock was a game changer in FPS design and story, inviting you into a biopunk 60s dystopian world where you learn about the horrors of this underwater city. Its only drawback would be the amount of memory required for this game. With other ports like The Witcher 3 requiring almost 30 GB as a comparison, the first entry in the BioShock series will take up 12.5 GB. It’s not a huge sacrifice to your memory on the grand scheme of things, but if you only have a 32 GB memory card it adds up. So, whether you’ve visited Rapture before or you’ve been keen to try, don’t sleep on the BioShock Collection if you have the Switch. It plays beautifully without any issues, with no other changes found from the original release. You too can fall in love with one of gaming’s greatest entries. System Requirements MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 64-bit. Platform Update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Processor: Intel E6750 Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz / AMD Athlon X2 2.7 GHZ Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: 2GB AMD Radeon HD 7770 / 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 25 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Device Additional Notes: Other Requirements: Software installations required including DirectX and Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 & 2012 Redistributable Package. RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 64-bit. Platform Update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Processor: 3GHz Quad-Core Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: 2GB ATI Radeon HD 7970, 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 or better DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 25 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Device

Game Information Initial release date: September 27, 2018 Developer: HOF Studios Publisher: HOF Studios Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Macintosh operating systems I know of many people that can disregard a game just by its look; especially those that contain a pixel-art aesthetic. Admittedly, I used to do it myself, as I was primarily a Triple-A junkie when I played upon the PS4. However, since turning my gaming attentions to the Nintendo Switch, I’ve grown to appreciate such titles and now own a number of them which I find extremely playable; in some cases, even more so than some Triple-A’s. So, there’s a lesson to be learnt there: Playing games is all about gameplay and immersion, rather than flash-in-the-pan graphics. That’s not to say pixel-art games look trashy either, as I’ve been in awe more times than I’d like to admit with some of the Pixel vistas that have graced my screen. Anyway, the latest pixel-art title to have found a home on my Switch, comes in the form of Depth of Extinction: Definitive Edition as it sinks a release onto the Nintendo Switch. Developed and Published by HOF Studios, this 2D, pixel-art, turn-based role playing game sees you explore a future world; one that has been flooded and is under the threat of a robotic uprising, as an army of killer machines plot to eradicate mankind, all against the backdrop of a rising tide. As the sole defender of humanity’s last government, its your job to build together a squad, comprising of ten various character classes, and take the fight back and save the human race in a series of tactical skirmishes with roguelike elements. However, this isn’t just your average turn-based role-player, as much like the world around you, this is a game that holds a great deal of depth, through squad building, oufitting and some clever mechanics in the art of tactical combat. With the world’s po[CENSORED]tion now scattered on a series of small bases, you have the freedom to choose your destination as you sail through a variety of checkpoints in your trusty submarine. The world map is divided into five segments, each one housing a different faction, with each segment containing a series of ports to investigate. With the backdrop of an overall mission objective and an underlying narrative, you explore the region around you, from major locations to smaller, discreet bases, as you raid installations for loot, XP and armour, before moving onto the next location. However, there are many elements that continually guide in the right direction of story progression, should you veer from your course to embark on a path of your own choice. Your choices become an important element of the game, as should you need to accrue more supplies, such as money, medicines or weaponry, you can scout the area for these much needed items. In fact, the game does a great job of providing intel on your current situation; often guiding you on whether you should bypass a particular location, spy on them, or simply overrun the facility, kill all those within and take all of the loot that you can find. There’s a lot of fun to be had in exploring the areas, performing reconnaissance of your surroundings and taking the decision on whether to risk your squad for supplies. The real beauty of this game though, comes in the amount of options, depth and choices given to the player. At the start of embarking on your mission objectives, you get to outfit your party, pick a submarine and hire one extra member to join your squad. Each squad member contains their own set of unique perks and abilities through a series of classes, including for the first time on the Nintendo Switch, the Saboteur. As well as this, the game also hosts over one hundred variations of weaponry, armour and extra items. This can be built upon through looting, although progression also opens up a series of merchants that sell a number of goods; often holding more powerful elements that are useful for some of the in-game boss fights. Once you have docked at a particular location, the game presents a mini-map of the layout of the base you are currently in. Much like X-Com, the action is turn-based, but very reliant on providing cover for your team and taking full advantage of environmental cover. Selecting a character produces a movement range, as well as reads the environment to provide data on cover percentages, hit chances and environmental interactions, such as opening doors etc. It’s also here, where characters classes and weaponry plays an important part, with weapon firing ranges, such as keeping long-distance snipers at the back of your formation, whilst shotgun wielders do more damage up front. The game does a great job of producing a series of tactical styles, making it sublimely easy to set up your squad for stealthy approaches or hidden ambushes. The control scheme is easily accessible, as is the on-screen information that provides real-time changes of your positioning. A series of menus offer extensive information and at the beginning, can feel a little disorientating, but with continued play, you soon learn to read the layout and functions of each of these screens; making outfitting a breeze eventually. There’s a lot of fun to be had with experimenting with different classes and layouts, something that is important during the early game levels, as the further you progress, the more important your choices become. The more familiar you are with classes, characters and outfits, the more adept you become later on in the game. The many elements that comprise the game, from picking paths, squad building, outfitting and combat are nicely presented and highly entertaining. This is further bolstered by some nice immersion qualities, such as squad radio chatter as they acknowledge orders or describe the events around them. The pixel-art presentation is also nicely detailed, with a very effective, futuristic feel in its overall level of atmospheric presentations. It feels gritty and more suited to a mature player, especially with its wealth of tactical diversity and strategies needed to win. Unfortunately though, this release of the game contains some technical and performance hindering problems as you progress to a point deeper in the game. However, the developers have recognised the problem and a patch is incoming to address this issue. Overall though, Depth of Extinction: Definitive Edition is one of the most detailed and immersive turn-based strategy games I have come across; further proof that pixel-art games can hold a lot more than meets the eye. Its freedom of choice and tactical choices make it an enjoyable experience, although the further you progress, the more repetitive the game begins to feel. In that respect, it’s by no means perfect, but it is one hell of a blast; especially if you love retro-styled, old-school games, something that is further bolstered by a rather fun chip-tune 80’s synth-wave soundtrack. Despite some elements being a bit cumbersome or repetitive, the overall level of depth that this game holds does keep you coming back and the overall journey that you take, decisions that you make and character experimentations, makes this a game that is far from becoming extinct. System Requirements MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7 SP1+ Processor: Processor: 2.0 GHz or faster processor Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: Graphics: 3D graphics card with at least 256MB of addressable memory DirectX: Version 10 Storage: 600 MB available space

Game Information Initial release date: March 25, 2020 Developer: Action Squad Studios Designer: Jussi-Petteri Kemppainen Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Macintosh operating systems Publishers: Action Squad Studios, Daedalic Entertainment Iron Danger is a linear adventure game with one of the most unique combat systems that I’ve ever seen in a game like this. When I say that this is a linear game, I mean it in every sense of the word, there’s no open-world, no branching quests, no quest selection, no dialogue choices, nothing like that. In any case, Iron Danger delivers an extremely robust experience where the player’s only real engagement is through combat. Iron Danger’s story revolves around Kipuna, who finders herself wrapped in a mysterious adventure after her village was destroyed by an invading army of Northlanders. This adventure takes place in this gorgeous world where fantasy meets steampunk, and everything comes to life through vivid and bright colours and a great deal of detail. Still, I honestly don’t think that the story is the star of the show here, not only because it’s overshadowed by the game’s crowning achievement, the combat, but also because it doesn’t really set itself apart in any significant way from other fantasy worlds in any particular way. The most unique thing about Iron Danger is its combat system, which uses a time mani[CENSORED]tion mechanic. This is done through a system where you can essentially go back in time, heartbeat by heartbeat, which are synced across different characters. In practice, this is a more complex system than it might initially sound like, although it’s quite simple and easy to understand thanks to an intuitive UI. For instance, if an enemy lands a hit on you, you can go back in time, just before the enemy strikes and you can either order your unit to block the incoming attack, or you can attack before the enemy has the chance to (thus cancelling their attack). If for some reason you mess up and don’t time things properly, you can just keep on going back as many times you need. The game is extremely forgiving in that aspect. Thanks to a “time bar” that’s at the bottom of the screen pretty much at all times, this is how you get a sense of what is going on with all the time travelling. This bar is separated by heartbeats, and it shows you the exact point when you get hit, so it’s exceptionally easy to figure out the best moment to go back to and use an ability or attack to counter enemy actions. With that said, when there are multiple enemies on you at once, it can get tricky to avoid everything and come out untouched. In a way, while the combat flow can feel quite slow at times if you keep going back and forth, sometimes it can also feel like you’re solving a puzzle, as you time-travel and use different combat approaches to figure out which works best. While the UI does wonders in making sure that what happens is conveyed clearly to the player, the controls can be finicky for a while until you get used to how the game plays. Still, given the time-bending nature of the combat, the game isn’t really that difficult since you can pretty much cheat death all day. However, although Iron Danger might not provide the tough challenge that some people might be looking for, the combat is certainly fun. Although you’ll cross paths with various characters, you only get to control two per each mission and depending on who accompanies Kipuna, combat can play out a little bit different. For example, while Topi is a loyal blacksmith and warrior of the kingdom, Kipuna is a young girl that has found herself in possession of immense power. During combat, both of these character’s abilities provide players with multiple ways to deal with enemies directly or by using and mani[CENSORED]ting the environment to your advantage. There are oil barrels that you can ignite to cause explosions, traps waiting to be triggered, you can even grow vegetation to conceal yourself or set it ablaze to deal with a group of enemies, or you can use the power of winter to put down fires and freeze enemies. There are plenty of options for players to choose from, and given the strong use of the elements thanks to Kipuna’s newly acquired powers, the only limit is your imagination. Now, speaking of limits, aside from the open-ended approach to combat, Iron Danger is fairly limited in regards to everything else. For starters, there is no character customisation of any sorts, the only thing being remotely close to that is being able to choose new abilities or abilities upgrades at the end of each level. Furthermore, levels offer very little freedom (if any) as to how you can approach an objective. There might be different paths on some levels, and healing items or grenades scattered throughout the maps, but that is pretty much it. Levels can take somewhere between 15 to 30 minutes to complete, and the whole thing took me almost 10 hours to beat, which I guess might not sound that great given the game’s price. Furthermore, the game also ends in a cliffhanger, which did leave me craving for more, but as of right now there isn’t a sequel or expansion planned. I had already read quite a bit about the game before I had the chance to play it, and the feeling that I had when I first jumped into this was that people were thinking that Iron Danger was something that it clearly is not, an RPG. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t say that Iron Danger is one of those games that everyone should play at least once in their lifetime, but if you want to get your hands on a fresh take on turn-based combat, you should definitely give Iron Danger a shot. If, however, you’re hoping to find something else here, I’m afraid you’d be left disappointed. System Requirements MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: 64-bit Windows 10 Processor: Intel CPU Core i5 3.3GHz / AMD CPU FX-8320 Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 960 3GB / AMD R9 280 3GB DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 14 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible Additional Notes: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: 64-bit Windows 10 Processor: Intel CPU Core i7 4.00GHz / AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Memory: 12 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB / AMD RX 580 6GB DirectX: Version 12 Storage: 14 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible Additional Notes: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

Game Information Initial release date: October 10, 2019 Developer: TMG Studios B.V. Series: We Were Here Publisher: TMG Studios B.V. Platforms: Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems Who in their right mind would want to venture to the Antarctic to explore an old castle, and other random locations? Not many people I’m guessing, well how about doing this not just once, oh no, not twice, but three times! The game franchise We Were Here hit the scene in 2017, due to its po[CENSORED]rity a sequel was created, We Were Here Too in 2018, going on from that in 2020 we have the third part in the trilogy We Were Here Together (WWHTG). Developed and published by Total Mayhem Games, this First Person Puzzle title has you working cooperatively with another player online. Your aim is to solve all the problems in front of you by working together. The twist is that each person works in a separate area, you cannot see what the other is doing and through clear and concise communication, you must identify the solution in order to move on. For fans of this franchise, you will note some stand out differences to the 2 previous experiences. We Were Here Together is at least double the size of the others in this series, this handed the developers the opportunity to increase the variety and number of puzzles that you will have to face. Another addition is the ability to pick up and store items in your inventory. This ensured that a number of the challenges ahead were multi-layered and some planning and scavenging of the areas was required in order to have the right objects at hand. If you happen to be late to the party, and this is your first experience of the Total Mayhem Games series, then have no fear, no previous experience is required. Unlike in the first 2 games, the developers have allowed you to work together on the some of the problems on the same screen. This gives you the ability to iron out any creases in your communication skills and come to a clear understanding before going your separate ways. Now that we know where the franchise started, and what the main differences are between each, I’m going to start with a bit of a warning. We Were Here Together is only an online Co-op experience. Similar to the po[CENSORED]r and unique title A Way Out, the game will only load in with 2 players in the lobby. Unlike A Way Out, both players must purchase the game, and the only way to share the licence is using Microsoft’s Gameshare system. If you are thinking of purchasing this game make sure you have friends who are willing to play it, or you are open to work with unknown online gamers. If you have no friends, or you are adverse to playing with strangers, then this one won’t be for you. Right now we have got that out of the way, let’s look at this game. You explore a number of different areas with your fellow adventurer; The Base Camp, Ice Caves, and the Antarctic Wilderness. The only form of communications that you have is a pair of Walkie Talkies. With these you must discuss what you see in front of you, and somehow piece together what your partner sees. As the game progresses, this gets more intense and detailed. You must mix ingredients and combine items that you have found to complete recipes. You place your trust in your fellow gamer, and by working together you somehow muddle through With this being a puzzle game, you’d expect problem solving to be the main skill set, I found that though it was obviously important, communication was the king. The use of Walkie Talkies was very clever, if you both talk at the same time, the messages blocked one another out. Fail to press the button, and you are talking to yourself like some regular nut case. After a short period of time myself and my brother adjusted to the restrictive talking measures. We found that this game style really makes you bond as you start to unravel the many mysteries in front of you. The humorous comments made over the radios at the beginning soon faded to puzzle critical information only as we took our roles as each of the problem solving adventurers. Having played the previous 2 games, I fully expected the puzzles to increase to an almost impossible peak by the end of the game. With WWHTG being so much bigger than the others I was honestly dreading working out complex multi layered problems, while trying to clearly explain what I had seen, and what I was doing to my partner in crime. Fortunately, and strangely disappointingly this didn’t happen. The puzzles seemed to taper off to an almost school level challenge. It was a relief to a certain extent, but it felt like the developers maybe had over stretched themselves, and perhaps they had run out of time near the end of the process. This isn’t to say that the majority of the challenges that you will face won’t push you, trust me they will, it’s just a shame this level of quality didn’t run throughout the whole title. Played out in an exclusive First Person viewpoint, you must adjust to searching areas just through the eyes of your protagonist. I found this limited your field of view, and this meant that objects could be easily missed. A slow and methodical approach must be taken in order to succeed. The art style reminded me of The Long Dark, but it had a distinctive cartoon edge to it. I love how the developers used darker shades of the earthy colour palette that had been implemented. Walking around there was an air of foreboding, and I was constantly on edge waiting for something to go wrong. The animation of your playing partner was smooth, but it was a little strange that any items being carried would not be displayed, even if it was in their hands. Each area of the map that you visit, has a unique look and feel to it, as I explored for clues or items, I found I was never bored as I was discovering new areas as well as methods to move the story forward. In the Antarctic wilderness the silence is deafening. Standing still and isolated in this frozen world, you could hear a pin drop. All of a sudden crackle sound from your radio, your partner needs your help. The audio is absolutely spectacular, both sound effects and music work together in perfect harmony. Total Mayhem Games have created an atmospheric, and dark mysterious air to the world that you must explore. The tone and tempo of the music fits the theme perfectly, and the sound of the harsh weather reminds you of how alone you truly are. With so many contraptions to handle, and small confined spaces to venture through, you may be worried that the control setup is complicated, and you are left to work out how to control puzzles as well as solving them. Fortunately, it’s all pretty easy to master. The movement response is accurate, and not too sensitive. All actions are mapped to their own buttons, so once you know the basics, all you have to do is concentrate on talking to your partner, and solving the problems in front of you. When an item can be used a silhouette of it can be seen on the screen, this helps to reduce confusion, and makes it more obvious where objects can be used. With very little hand holding, this gave a welcome relief to what could sometimes be a challenging, yet fun gaming experience. With an awful lot of puzzles to work through, each with varying levels of difficulty, a gamble when it comes to gaming partner, if you are matching up with a random person that is, and a beautiful world to explore. This game has a lot to offer to make you want to keep playing, and to want to return to try again. In my first session I managed 3 hours, and I hardly scratched the surface, this is probably due to my puzzle solving inefficiency, than the length of the game. I would say that a veteran of the genre, who has a good partner should complete this in under 10 hours. Everyone else will be looking at between 10 and 12 hours. If you want all of the achievements you’ll be lucky to unlock them in one playthrough, as most hide behind the secret achievement screen. Once you overcome the restriction of a playing partner, and getting to grips with the communication mechanics, you’ll find that you will become absorbed in the gaming world. The approach that the developers have taken to solving problems is both unique and fun. The amazing audio, and crisp graphics transport you to the Antarctic, where the loneliness and eerie silence will play tricks on your mind. Would I recommend this title? I absolutely would, with so many positives the few negatives are far outweighed, if you do buy this, I believe you will have hours of brain punishing challenges ahead of you. Grab a friend, and your best winter jacket, you’re about to start an adventure that is as beautiful as it is dangerous. MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7/8/8.1/10 64 bit Processor: Intel Core i3 4000 series or equivalent Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia GTX 750 or equivalent, integrated graphics not supported DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 20 GB available space Additional Notes: A working PC-compatible microphone RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7/8/8.1/10 64 bit Processor: Intel Core i5 4000 series or equivalent Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia GTX 970 or equivalent, integrated graphics not supported DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 20 GB available space Additional Notes: A working PC-compatible microphone

Game Information Initial release date: May 17, 2020 Developer: Blue Brain Games Series: The House of Da Vinci Publisher: Blue Brain Games Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems Blue Brain Games’ The House of Da Vinci 2 is my kind of game. The 3D mechanical puzzler, the second in the series, follows in its predecessors footsteps by making the move from mobile to Switch. I’ve sunk hours into the previous game, and plenty similar, on mobile – but the switch to the Switch exacerbates the titles difficulties. As you’d have thought, it’s a game where Renaissance puzzle master Leonardo da Vinci takes centre stage. After testing your puzzle solving abilities, whilst helping you escape from prison, Giacomo becomes his prodigy and must solve a serious of increasingly difficult challenges to help unearth the greatest discovery in human history. Each puzzle starts when you’re dropped in front of an object, device or contraption with little to no clue on what to do and how to solve it. You must use your intuition to navigate each one, using tools you uncover on your way. The game really shines in these puzzle segments. From early on you can tell that it’s not going to be a walk in a park and, after learning the basic controls and concepts of the game, the difficulty curve really ramps up. The 3D mechanical puzzles on display are complicated further by the ability to travel backwards in time to alter your environment in the future, freeing up pathways not visible to you before. Notably, therefore, there’s an awful lot of experimentation involved in solving each puzzle – whilst the solution is the same each time, limiting the games replayability – you could spend hours immersed in a single puzzle. This might seem too complex and off-putting, but you’re given a thorough explanation of what to do and how to do it at the very start, plus a hint system is available if you need it. If the game senses you’ve spent too long on a certain aspect of the puzzle, it’ll allow you to view a hint to guide you on your way, with a maximum of three increasingly clarifying hints per section. Sounds great doesn’t it? But things take a turn for the worse when it comes to the needlessly long and intrusive cutscenes. The graphics are weak, with faces poorly animated and terrible voice acting that destroys the mood and tone of the game. They’re irritatingly long and, whilst skippable, are the only way of understanding the story behind the game. They’re clearly expendable. Fireproof Games’ The Room series, for example, is remarkably similar but forgoes these segments for the sake of the game as a whole, instead opting to tell the narrative through letters and notes hidden in each level. Even having a narration slowly teasing more of the story in-game would be a vast improvement. It weakens the game as a whole, and is really difficult to look past, especially given the prominence they’re given between levels. It’s not helped on the Switch by the control scheme, which is far from intuitive, and the glitches that, at times, prevent you from accurately selecting which part of the device you want to move. It’s really not helpful with the more intricate puzzles. But, despite the difficulties, the gameplay is what matters. As poorly told as the story is, and as crass and dated the cutscenes look, it can’t get in the way of the stimulating variety of puzzles on show. They really make you think. However, as a package, it’s clear there’s something missing. The flaws are off-putting and are right at the forefront. It’s so easy to compare this to the far superior and well rounded The Room. For someone who has played both, The House of Da Vinci 2 is nothing other than a disappointment, from a game that promises so much. System Requirements MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 or higher Processor: 2.0 GHz Dual Core Processor Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: Video card with 1024MB of VRAM DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage: 7 GB available space RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel Core i5 Memory: 3 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 DirectX: Version 10 Storage: 7 GB available space

Game Information Initial release date: May 2020 Developer: JanduSoft S.L Publisher: JanduSoft S.L Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems I bet you think that life as a game developer is all fizzy pop, playing on computers, and dating the hottest Cosplay players from around the globe. This may be the case for the top end devs, but for the lowly Indie game creator, it’s more about living within the confines of the bedroom in their parents basement, where pizza and energy drinks are consumed in unhealthy quantities. Jandusoft S.L., the publishers and developers of Indiecalypse, have attempted to show the world what life is like as a struggling game developer in this dark humour-laced, mini game adventure. You take on the role of 3 characters who are desperate to use their individual skills to create the best game in the world. Jack is a self proclaimed computing genius, but his life takes a turn for the worse. A school mate copies his exam paper, causing him to get expelled. Murder, a job in a fast food restaurant, and lodging with a rather creepy and inappropriate old man becomes the new norm on his way to fulfilling his dreams. Ethan is the audio man of this trio, he meets Jack at the fast food restaurant, he tells his woeful tale of leaving his last job due to a mix up with drugs and an explosion. Finally, you have Violet, she has a rather nasty twitch due to an overdose on coffee. A former member of a fine arts college, she tells her story of how it all went wrong and how making it in the gaming world as an artist is her calling. Violet lives with her rather adventurous gay flatmate, whose date goes from kinky to death in a matter of seconds. The flat is ransacked and her final art piece is stolen, all that is left is the corpse of her former flatmate, and some miscellaneous items. With the examiner on her way, what is Violet to do? Improvise, that’s what! Unfortunately for Violet, the rather interesting piece of work is a copy of a Dutch artists’ creation, and she is expelled for plagiarism. Here we have the backgrounds of all the characters, and trust me this only goes on to get weirder and weirder. Indiecalypse is an adventure title told through text narrative. Quests are given to each of the characters, where you have the option to select from a variety of witty, rude, or direct responses. None of these really make any difference to the flow of the game, they just add humour, and allow you to express how you think the situation should be handled. Once you have arrived at the aim of your quest, be it to speak to someone, or collect/deliver an item, you’ll be thrown into a mini game. These are short snippets of a variety of genres. Influences from other big games, and films are clear to see, and practically every element is treading a fine line between dark humour and being inappropriate. Let me give you some examples: Bloodhead, you suddenly come on your period without any sanitary products, you have to destroy the red lady in order to progress. Shower with your Grandpa,you must identify your creepy house mate grandpa among the others and touch him in the shower. You gain bonus points if you pick up the soap first, the aim is to accumulate enough points by touching the correct old man, place a hand on the wrong one, and the game is over. Like I said, treading a very fine line, however, I laughed pretty much the whole way through. The comedy runs along the lines of something that you’ll find in an episode of South Park, so if you are a fan, then you will love every minute of this. Everything flows nicely from start to finish and you can easily play this as a casual game, though I simply loved it, so I binge played it over 2 sessions. If you decide to play this on a casual basis, then leave enough time to complete a chapter, I’d say around 40 minutes should be enough, but, that depends on how well you get on with each different quest. If you quit the game before finishing the chapter none of your progress will be saved and you will have to replay all of it. The developers have offered no chapter select, so, if you fancy experiencing a particular part again, you’ll have to start from the beginning, and experience the whole twisted plot again. The gameplay is split up into 7 chapters, the majority of the action follows Jack’s life as he is the main protagonist, 1 chapter is reserved for each of the other characters. You are kept interested by the pace at which the action takes place, and the variety in styles of the mini games mean that there is something for everyone. The dark humour will not be to everyone’s taste, as I’ve already mentioned, it’s flirting with what is inappropriate and will upset some with delicate dispositions. I admit at times I laughed with disbelief at what I was watching and taking part in. Every single quest is achievable and though the majority of the explanations of how to complete each challenge are woefully poor, trial and error soon helps you work out what needs to be done in order to move on. If you happen to fail, don’t worry as the game restarts quickly and you just pick up where you left off. As most of the game is influenced by different genres, it was fair to expect that the graphic style would be a little unusual. The majority of the action looks like a kids cartoon with crisp lines, clean colours and bright and vivid imagery. As you delve into 1 of the 20 mini games available you start seeing influences from Angry Birds, Minecraft, Dungeon Master, Disney and many more. This eclectic mix shouldn’t work together, but it does. As each follows on from the last, I found myself pushing forward just to see what type of game I would be playing, and what art style had been used. Jandusoft S.L really have excelled themselves in how they put together such a random collection and made it work exceptionally well. As with the graphics, Indiecalypse has a bizarre audio. The music is like nothing I’ve heard before, and quite frankly outside of playing this title, I never want to hear it again. This doesn’t mean it’s bad, quite the opposite, it’s really very good. There was no repetition of either sound effects, or musical tracks. With so many little sections, it must have been tempting for the developers just to make things easy on themselves, fortunately, they didn’t take this approach. One of the songs that really sticks in my mind for its cringe worthy creepy nature, is The Shower With Grandpa game. It is inappropriate enough in concept, without adding the sound of groaning people in the background, it was so wrong that it was right. It successfully blurred the line between amusing and just plain sick. As this title is made up of lots of little elements, you won’t be surprised to hear that the control system is varied. Moving around the map is pretty straight forward, with the only issue being that selecting objects had to be done in one exact point, miss it and you have to move back and forth until you find the right place again. Hardly game breaking, but annoying nonetheless. I’ve previously mentioned about the tutorial for each of the 20 quests, these certainly weren’t clear on what buttons you needed to press, but in all honesty I just jumped in and tried my luck. Sometimes I failed, sometimes I was successful, it was all part of the game’s unusual charms. You are given the option to play any of the games that you have found while playing the main adventure. Any that you have yet to experience are greyed out and annoyingly you are given no clue as to where they are located. This freedom to play any of your favourite bits really does add longevity, however, this is counteracted with the lack of a chapter select. On my first run through I missed three sections, I have no idea where they are, or if I will find them if I play it again. What I would have liked was the opportunity to select one chapter at a time, and be able to play it at my own leisure. I fear that if I miss another portion during a second run through, then I will be forced to play it all over again, just to experience everything that is on offer. I ploughed approximately 4 hours into my first attempt, and if I was to obtain all the achievements I think the total time would be 5 to 6 hours. As I found out, achievements can be missed, so keep your eyes peeled, and search every inch of each stage. A bizarre, humorous, unusual and eclectic title awaits you if you take on the challenge of becoming a game developer in Indiecalypse. Jandusoft S.L has done an incredible job of pushing the boundaries, while just about keeping on the right side of the “appropriate” line. With a fine mix of graphic and audio styles, you will laugh and be appalled all at the same time. I absolutely recommend that you purchase this title, it’s funny, rude, and downright wrong. In short, it’s brilliant. So sit back and relax, becoming an Indie game developer is a tough, dirty, and sick job, but someone’s got to do it, right? System Requirements MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7/8/8.1/10 Processor: 2 GHz Memory: 1 GB RAM Graphics: 256mb Video Memory, capable of Shader Model 2.0+ Storage: 4 GB available space RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 7/8/8.1/10 Processor: 3.00 GHz Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: 512mb Video Memory, capable of Shader Model 2.0+ Storage: 4 GB available space