With Christmas not that far away, we take a look at the myFirst Headphones BC Wireless.
Unlike traditional headphones, BCW uses bone conduction technology to transmit sound via the cheekbones. This technology leaves ears open to the surrounding sounds. Audio is set to an appropriate volume, ensuring safe levels of listening to the child.
Bone conduction technology allows for music to be transmitted via the cheekbones. Kids can listen to music while remaining alert outside.
Soft rubber contact points on myFirst Headphones BC Wireless provides comfort, even on long usage periods. Perfect for long flights and rides!
What’s in the box?
The box contains the headphones, manual, charging cable and stickers.
A Closer Look
Final Thoughts
The headphones are very lightweight, weighing it at only 26g. They are easy to carry around and when worn they are comfortable (according to my trusty 5 year old assistant).
To charge the headphones, you place one end of the charger into a USB port and the other end allows the headphones to sit on the charging point. Fully charged, which takes around 2 hours, the headphones will last for around 5 hours of playback.
Pairing the headphones with a device was simple and in no time at all they were ready to use. Place on them comfortably on your child (or have them do it themselves) and that’s it.
Sound quality was really good, and there is also a built-in microphone if they want to use it for FaceTime or something else too.
The great thing about these headphones is that they don’t cover your child’s ears so they can still hear any important sounds around them yet still listen to whatever they want to.
The myFirst Headphones BC Wireless is available now priced around £75.00 and comes in either grey or green.
With Christmas not that far away, we take a look at the myFirst Sketch Book.
Draw, take notes, doodle, erase, and just a simple click to save your child’s memorable work.
With built-in memory, it can now save your child’s every single masterpiece. Be the first parents to witness their growth with myFirst Sketch Book and together cherish the moments in your child’s drawing world.
Pair with our Sketch Book app, let your child draw with wholehearted by adjusting the font thickness, pens, tip size, and colour that creates a different feel of writing and drawing on this kid’s digital sketch pad. Children can spread their wings and sore up by expanding their knowledge and creativity.
myFirst Sketch Book delivers a seamless experience to transfer your child’s work to your preferred devices by pairing with myFirst Sketch Book app. It will be amazing as your child hand-drawn sketches on this drawing pad with pen will take on a new life via the digital app. Feel proud and share your child’s work to the world!
What’s in the box?
The box contains the Sketch Book, instructions, stylus, charging cable, case and some stickers.
A Closer Look
Final Thoughts
Most children love to draw, whether it’s a detailed picture or just scribbles and writing, and having a tablet that lets them do this simply and easily is a lot of fun.
Using the Sketch Book was simple – just press the power on button and within 2 seconds your child can be using it and drawing.
They can simply press a button when they have finished to either save the image so that it can be transferred to the app or they can press the clear button twice to start again.
Battery life is amazing – when fully charged the tablet lasts around 50 hours and the stylus last around 200 hours. Both are easily charged using the supplied USB charging cable.
The Sketch Book only weighs 335g and is 10″ tall so it’s really easy for small hands to use.
There is even a leather case included in the box to keep the Sketch Book protected when not in use – that was a good idea!
The myFirst Sketch Book is available now priced around £89.99 and comes in either white or black and would make a great Christmas present for the budding artist in your family.
If you cannot recall your dreams, you are missing out on a weird and wonderful part of your mind. Your brain pieces together your thoughts in a way that you never thought possible and you experience some bizarre and nonsensical sequences. These journeys are harmless, mostly, as it’s simply your way of understanding the day’s events. Lucid Cycle recreates this dream state but in a more sinister and deeper way.
Developed by Tonguc Bodur and Eastasiasoft Limited and published by the latter, this is a surreal walking simulator. It is based around a day/night cycle and an odd computerised psychiatrist. Therefore, this abstract title will leave you confused, dazed, and feeling that you have little control over the unfolding events.
Complete the picture to understand every vision.
Lucid Cycle captures the dream state perfectly.
Dreams are as unique as each individual, yet they all have a familiar feeling. There is a sense of weightlessness, a lack of control, and the daunting feeling of falling. Lucid Cycle has captured this perfectly within its episodic gameplay. Though I was confused throughout, I enjoyed the weird journey I was taken on.
No matter the dream or nightmare you experience, the gameplay always returns to a small apartment. Here you may relax, enjoy playing some games, or speak to a robotic ‘shrink’. This cold and callous object demands you answer its questions while offering a heartless insight into your visions. This was the strangest part of Lucid Cycle as the lack of empathy and warmth gave a calculated and subjective impression of your visions.
Take the portal to your next dream.
Eleven dreams, multiple mechanics, but no idea what was happening.
The beauty of Lucid Cycle is its reliance on its walking simulator elements. The slow-paced gameplay allows you to enjoy each of the eleven bizarre chapters. You’ll hunt boar, shoot neon cubes, search through fog, avoid balls, and more. How long you wish to spend in each zone is your choice and once a portal opens, you may leave to experience another vision.
What I loved, however, was the incorporation of other mechanics. The developers have used first-person shooter ideas, there are puzzles to solve, mazes to defeat, and more. The standard walking sim idea is beautifully complemented by these additional elements. This helped to overcome the overwhelming notion that the gameplay was intentionally confusing.
Lucid Cycle is a wonderfully dreamy experience.
Undoubtedly, Lucid Cycle has captured the brilliance and uneasy essence of the dream state. The blend of obscure locations, bizarre imagery, and helplessness transports you to that dreamy world. The combination of cool and vivid colours with expansive spaces leaves you both uneasy and in awe of your surroundings. I loved exploring the different landscapes, and I enjoyed how the game returned to the apartment between chapters. This clever idea gave closure to each section while allowing you to absorb what you had observed. The familiar environment broke up the surreal nature of the gameplay while giving you a much-needed break from the madness.
The audio is brilliantly composed and enhances each chapter. The combination of dramatic tunes and airy songs creates a varied atmosphere. You’ll experience serene moments that are juxtaposed with aggressive moments of danger. The uncertain nature of each part of the soundtrack adds drama and kept me interested throughout.
Neon blocks fill the night sky.
A walking sim with no complications.
Walking sims aren’t renowned for their difficult gameplay and Lucid Cycle is no different. With its simple button layout and minimalistic action, you’ll enjoy each chapter with no fuss. Fortunately, though, when the gameplay demands you shoot your enemy or jump chasms, the instructions are clear and the controls are responsive.
There are plenty of positives to take away from Lucid Cycle, but the replay value isn’t one of them. Yes, you are free to explore each chapter freely, and you can play the mini-games as much as you wish. Sadly, though, this adds little longevity. Unfortunately, the achievement list is completed in one playthrough, so this offers no further incentive. Subsequently, though, the ease at which this is finished does make it a completionist’s dream.
Lucid Cycle is brilliant but it will mess with your mind!
Walking simulators are pretty hit and miss and when you get a poor one, they tarnish the genre. Fortunately, though, Lucid Cycle is fantastic if not a little strange. Its obscure scenarios and a blend of mechanics will leave you confused as it plays with your mind. Its short game time will leave you wanting more and its lack of longevity will leave you frustrated. However, don’t let this put you off! I enjoyed it and I recommend you to buy it here! Dreams are a beautiful but strange place to be. Can you solve the meaning behind your visions or will your journey leave you with more questions?
There are only so many ways to scare an audience, and as such one could argue that the horror genre is a wheel that cannot be reinvented – that is, until the ‘reverse horror’ came along. Introducing aspects not possible with a traditional horror, this subgenre and also any game where you are the enemy inspires a fantasy-violence that when given the right context, can be both amusing and awful at the same time. Indie title Carrion provides this in spades and is one you won’t want to miss.
Moving around dark 2D Metroidvania-like levels in a reverse horror conceit, you, a Carnage/Venom alien type monster, aim to escape your prison and gorily devour any unfortunate humans who happen to be in your path. Set-up like a horror movie with tense music and screaming women, you are the monster with an insatiable appetite, and it’s glorious.
Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you want to look at it – the underground base you find yourself in is quite intent on keeping you there, with plenty of barriers and doors preventing your exit, so you, as a malleable and disgusting beast, must use your 3 forms (all with their own offensive and defensive abilities) to break through and reach your freedom. The environment requires that you change your form to use a specific ability to destroy or bypass certain barriers, which in turn requires that you either gain health, by consuming the unsuspecting populace, or by shedding some of your biomass. It’s a great way to integrate the environment with all the amusing bloodshed, giving it meaning and decent pacing.
Upgrades are unlocked progressively throughout the game and by the end, you’ll have some very satisfying attacks that can take out entire rooms of people that take to the air with ragdoll physics.
Our little monster looks kinda cute here…..
The joy of using your prehensile limbs though, outstrips all the attacks, allowing you to flip, grab or throw almost everything in sight, whether that’s switches, vending machines, or the resident homo sapiens. It’s even sensitive enough to move the enemies elsewhere in the room if you don’t wish to slam them from floor to ceiling – or to just hold them upside down just for laughs. Another great ability is a limb that connects to a living or dead enemy’s brain and controls them, allowing you to take out enemies with guns, flame throwers and to pilot robots with miniguns – a surprising, but awesome inclusion.
It’s a shame that no importance is placed in sparing the sacks of flesh though, and a mercy rating/kill rating that measured your activities would have been brilliant, but as the gameplay requires that you replenish your health in order to use certain abilities, it perhaps would have been difficult to implement.
Once you get past the barriers and motion-detecting defenses halting your progress, you disappear through manholes in the labyrinth of labs and propagate, slowly taking over the compound and bursting through re-enforced doors. The art and color design does a great job combining with the epic horror movie soundtrack to create an appropriately horrific atmosphere and provides a gleefully tense stage for all the glory about to commence.
Not so cute here though…..
While minor in the larger scheme of things, Carrion is not the most varied of experiences, with levels that share a very similar structure and enemy types relatively few in number. Armed humans and drones make up the majority, and while they do combine at the end to provide a decent enough challenge, a main boss or two would have been nice to truly put the monster’s abilities to test. There is also a separate human-controlled section of gameplay, but it feels unnecessary and adds very little of anything to the proceedings.
“Why can’t weeeee be friends? Why can’t weee be friends?”
Latching onto these issues and drawing them into a gaping oblivion of ragged teeth is its refined core gameplay, as Carrion never gets old, with abilities that provide a great number of ways to finish off the enemy. What pushes it over the edge for me though, is its incredible attention to detail that adds to the overall experience. Whether it’s the small hanging lights that can be ripped off the ceiling or the effortlessly smooth and liquid-like movement as your monster moves and grabs onto the environment with its tentacles, it’s a masterclass of interaction and 2D animation and is highly impressive for a development team that largely consisted of two people.
Unfortunately, for those playing the recently released PlayStation version, your experience is likely to be hampered by a final area that crashes every 15 mins. There are save points dotted around each area, but it’s frustrating enough to make you want to put the game down for a few months in order for the developer to fix it. Until then, your desire to purchase this short, but gloriously bloody experience should probably be put on ice, but know that something great is waiting for you once it is fixed.
With Christmas not too far away now, we are going to be looking at various things you might want to consider – here we look at the Jurassic World Pteranodon Dinosaur Flyer from WOW! Stuff.
Bring the movies to life with this official Jurassic World Pterandon Flyer! Let your child re-enact epic movie scenes as they switch it on and watch it fly. This officially licensed Jurassic Dinosaur Flyer is perfectly detailed and designed for indoor flying. It features built-in proximity sensors that detect movement beneath from your hands or feet and this causes the Flyer to accelerate upwards! Designed for indoor use only, the Flyer will only work well outdoors if it is flying in total shade or under heavy cloud. This is due to the Infra Red sensors that can get confused in daylight or sunshine. Challenge family or friends to see who can keep the Flyer in the air the longest (note: Battery charge approx. 20 minutes for 5 minute flight time). The Jurassic World Pteranadon Dinosaur Flyer can be adjusted in seconds for flying in small or large rooms! Once activated and airborne the wings flap rapidly producing a spectacular special effect. Holding the body of the Flyer simply press the fob button, wave your hand below it and let go. Lightweight and easy to fly, this Flyer is ideal for beginners and experienced flyers alike.
FLYS INDOORS – The official Jurassic World Pteranodon Flyer lets your child re-enact epic movie scenes! This officially licensed Jurassic Dinosaur Flyer is perfectly detailed and designed for indoor flying!
HAND CONTROLLED – Built-in proximity sensors detect movement beneath from your hands or feet! Wave your hands below it to send your Dinosaur Flyer upwards. Challenge family or friends to see who can keep the Flyer in the air the longest.
FLAPPING WINGS – The Jurassic World Pteranadon Dinosaur Flyer can be adjusted in seconds for flying in small or large rooms! Once activated and airborne the wings flap rapidly producing a spectacular special effect.
EASY TO FLY – Holding the body of the Flyer simply press the on/off fob, wave your hand below and let go. Lightweight and easy to fly. Ideal for beginners and experienced flyers alike. Includes recharging USB and button cell battery in fob.
The Jurassic World Pteranodon Dinosaur Flyer is available now from Amazon priced around £27.99 and is aimed at children 5 years old and up.
Disclaimer: The Jurassic World Pteranodon Dinosaur Flyer was sent to us for the purposes of an honest review. All opinions are the opinions of our reviewer.
No matter how confident you are, proving yourself worthy in the eyes of your in-laws is a daunting task. Now imagine if your father-in-law to be is the ruler of your country! Suddenly, its mission impossible and you have an immense hill to climb. However, even you couldn’t imagine how badly your proposition would end. An attempted beheading, an Evil Mage, and a King who is kidnapped! This is the crazy plot of Princess.Loot.Pixel.Again, and a story that you’ll relive a thousand times.
Developed by EfimovMax and published by Big Way Games, this is a rogue-lite dynamic platformer. Set in an ever-changing Evil Tower, Princess.Loot.Pixel.Again is a tough action-adventure title. Subsequently, its retro charms will infuriate you from the start as you’ll die repeatedly and lose all your progress.
Extinguish the fiery skulls.
Princess.Loot.Pixel.Again is deceptively simple.
I’ve played enough of these games to know that I shouldn’t fall for the basic mechanics. However, I always do, and these deceptively simple ideas make it moreish but oh so frustrating. You’ll die more times than you care to think about, but this matters not. You’ll take a deep breath and start the madness over again.
Princess.Loot.Pixel.Again is jam-packed with content and there is an array of characters to pick from, and a plethora of items to find and artefacts to collect. Each playable hero has strengths and weaknesses that support certain play styles. There is a warrior, rogue, mage, archer, and more. You’ll experience magic, speed, close or ranged combat, and so on as you annihilate every enemy. The equipment you find adds to your base attributes and these can make huge differences to your chances of survival. Yet, the artefacts are the key objects to collect. These magic-infused tablets give you a helping hand during each playthrough.
Death surrounds you.
Simply not being good enough for the King’s daughter shouldn’t be a reason to lose your head. Sadly, though, this is where it all begins. You may think it karma when an Evil Mage swoops in and kidnaps the murder-happy ruler. However, you want to prove you are worthy of the Princess’s love, so you enter the Evil Tower to slay the Evil Mage. Unsurprisingly, this is instantly regrettable as death is guaranteed.
If you make it past the many twists and turns and overcome the horrific bosses in your path, you’ll witness multiple endings. Depending on the choices you’ve made and how many times you’ve played it, you’ll see many unique finales. This was surprisingly rewarding and made the hard work worthwhile.
Pick up your artefacts.
Damn you, rogue-lite mechanics.
Because of its rogue-lite qualities and tough platforming elements, your progress is wiped repeatedly. This horrendous mechanic will make you wince as you start again for the nth time. Yet, it allows you to experiment with each character and different setups. I loved how minor changes had a big impact on how you tried each playthrough. Would you try to rush each level with the rogue, or will you pick off your foes with a bow or magic? Tactically, it’s very clever and you’ll have to think on your feet to be victorious.
Strangely, though, the real kicker surrounding the simplicity of Princess.Loot.Pixel.Again is how easy the monsters are to defeat. Each creature moves in a set way, so planning to kill them is easy, in theory. Sadly, though, it’s never that straightforward, as traps and obstacles always stand in your way. You learn that new items will only get you so far, and victory is determined by studying your foes’ strengths and manipulating their weaknesses.
Princess.Loot.Pixel.Again is dated, but pleasant to look at.
The side-scrolling perspective and Metroidvania style dungeon crawling were combined brilliantly. This tried and tested approach works spectacularly in this setting and was easy to pick up and play. The dated but smooth imagery doesn’t harness the power of modern machines, but it was nice, nonetheless. Thanks to its mainly dull colour palette, the surrounding world feels oppressive and claustrophobic. Thankfully, there are moments of vivid colour that break up the monotony and keep things interesting.
Death is just around the corner, so it could have been easy to get frustrated. Fortunately, however, the high-adrenaline electronic soundtrack is full of energy. Its fun tunes distract you from the repetitive nature of the gameplay and the basic sound effects are effective throughout. You won’t be wowed by the audio, but its lighthearted energetic style is on par with many of its peers.
Better than a poke in the eye.
A gentle reminder as you begin again.
The developers have done a great job of making the action extremely accessible. A gentle reminder at the start of each playthrough highlights the controls, and the simple but effective UI makes it easy to use your abilities and inventory. You’ll have the controls mastered in no time, and this allows you to focus on the finer details.
Its core rogue-lite elements make this extremely addictive and frustrating. Players will lose hours of their lives while trying to overcome each obstacle and every enemy they encounter. I never tired of trying to get to the end boss, and every new ending is worthy of your time. Subsequently, Princess.Loot.Pixel.Again is loaded with replay value and is exceptional value for money.
Princess.Loot.Pixel.Again is annoying, but brilliant at the same time.
My hatred for rogue-lite/like games has waned, yet I still find them equally annoying and brilliant. Princess.Loot.Pixel.Again will punish you and test your ability to focus on fine details. If you learn your enemy’s traits, you will progress at a nice pace. However, simply relying on upgrades is not enough and will ensure you fail repeatedly. I loved it and hated it and recommend you to buy it here! You’ll scream, quit, and try again as you make your way through the Evil Tower to destroy the Evil Mage.
Sometimes you get a feeling that you are about to play something special. No Straight Roads: Encore edition is available on Windows PC. It is an action-adventure with plenty of variety. Metronomik developed NSR. Which comprises two developers of Final Fantasy XV. Considering how great that game was, NSR has a lot to live up to. And it does it well.
NSR Plot
The NSR rule over Vinyl City, they are in control of power. It’s a bit like Monsters Inc, where the music, not screams, power the city. This sounds great until you learn that only one genre of music is welcome: EDM. You play as Bunk Bed Junction, a band composed of Mayday, a female guitarist, and Duke a male drummer. Their goal is to save Vinyl city from the grip of NSR and EDM. By reintroducing the city to Rock, which was present many years before.
NSR Gameplay
Each area has a boss DJ, which you must beat using the game’s unique battle system. They telegraph their attack moves via the music that is playing. As well as graphical indicators. You can also counter specific attacks if they are pink. Because of this, it makes each encounter exciting and not a drag. In fact most of the time you’re looking forward to the next one.
Between boss battles, you will explore the districts. While exploring, you can find stickers. Stickers are then added to the instruments. These stickers improve various stats. There is graffiti on the walls of the districts made by fans. The fan art can decorate your guitar case. There are over 200 designs, and I set my case to random so that it is different every time. It’s a cool collectible and each design is very unique. The only downside is there is no indicator on whether you have collected one before so it is easy to miss one or two.
Between the district and the boss battle, you fight the boss’s minions. Unfortunately, this is where the game falls down. It’s quite a boring part of the game as the enemies telegraph their attacks and you can beat them. The blessing is that these areas are short.
NSR Presentation
NSR: Encore edition has a beautiful design. The environments are vibrant and different for every district. The characters are cartoony and have no jagged edges. Due to this style, I don’t see it ever aging. Each character has a crazy design and does reflect their personalities. Even the side characters have unique designs.
NSR’s main focus is music. The music is great and varied. Though the main style is EDM it feels great to listen to. I can see myself listening to the soundtrack for many hours and have added it to my goto playlist. I hope that there will be a sequel soon where there will be more variety of genres. rock vs another genre? The possibilities are endless.
Replayability
Each boss battle ends with a grade. The higher the grade the more fans you receive. Fans are then used to level up your abilities. This makes it worth backtracking to previous bosses and trying to improve your grade. Once you’ve beaten a boss once, it becomes easier to figure out a strategy to get better grades.
There is also a co-op mode, where you can each play as either Duke or Mayday. I didn’t have much experience playing as a co-op. But I can imagine it would be a blast getting to the end and experiencing the story with another player. This would be a title I would be playing with my son in the future.
Final Verdict
NSR was a blast to play. I couldn’t stop playing and it was very upbeat. It’s a great title to play when you’re having a bad day. The enemies never feel overbearing. The light-hearted music adds to the joyful game. For that and many other reasons, No Straight Roads: Encore Edition gets a well-deserving 9 out of 10. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to play some more.
With Christmas not that far away, we take a look at some of the Eldrador Creatures from Schleich.
There are different creatures and robots to collect and play with. Here are a few we got to look at.
Eldrador Mini Creatures Jungle Robot
The Eldrador Mini Creatures Jungle Robot from Schleich Eldrador Creatures, with his movable arms and exchangeable jungle chainsaw doesn’t do things by halves – he aims for maximum destruction!
But it’s the Jungle Lord, as the leader of the Mini Creatures in the jungle world, who’s really in control. He is made up of crystal and can sit in the robot.
The Eldrador Mini Creatures Jungle Robot is available now priced around £13.99.
Eldrador Mini Creatures Ice Robot
The Eldrador Mini Creatures Ice Robot from Schleich Eldrador Creatures destroys his foes using his movable arms and his exchangeable ice pick – it turns anything and anyone into an icicle.
The robot is controlled by the Ice Lord, leader of the Mini Creatures from the ice world.
He is made of powerful crystal and can be placed in the robot.
The Eldrador Mini Creatures Ice Robot is available now priced around £13.99.
Eldrador Mini Creatures Series 1
Collect the 17 Eldrador Mini Creatures from Schleich Eldrador Creatures!
Each blind bag contains one figurine from the Lava, Ice, Stone or Jungle world.
Stack them into a mighty pyramid or put them in one of the four super strong robots.
If you’re lucky you might receive the golden Mini Hero, the legendary hero of the Mini Creatures!
With Christmas not too far away now, we are going to be looking at various things you might want to consider – here we look at the Love Diana – Light Painting Wand from WOW! Stuff.
Wow! Stuff brings new innovation to the much loved You Tube sensation Love Diana.
Now children have the chance to finally become just like Diana the princess of play with some of the hottest role play and dress up toys arriving on the market.
You can be anyone you want! Look as adorable and glamourous as Diana with the Dance N’ Flash hairbows that light up and flash as you move to the music.
Add a magical touch to playtime as you create beautiful light art pictures on your tablet or phone using the replica toy of Love Diana’s Wand that lights up and works with the app available to download when you purchase the item.
MAGICAL LIGHT PAINTING WAND – Become just like the Princess of playtime Diana with the magical light up, light painting wand. Simply wave the wand and create enchanted pictures on your phone or tablet.
IMAGINATION AT PLAY – Draw in the air or brush your hair using the magical wand just like Diana. With 2 modes of play either use the pretty light up function and listen to the magical sounds or amaze your friends and family with beautiful light pictures drawn using the APP available to download with the Wand.
SAVE & SHARE – Save your amazing light art pictures onto your phone or tablet to share with family and friends.
The Love Diana – Light Painting Wand is available now from Amazon priced around £27.99 and is aimed at children aged 3 years and up.
With Christmas not too far away now, we are going to be looking at various things you might want to consider – here we look at the Jurassic World – Blue – Trigger Chomper from WOW! Stuff.
Wow! Stuff launches the awesome battle ready Dino Trigger Chomper Velociraptor character Blue. The Wow! Stuff range of character dinosaurs are officially licensed Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic Dominion Merchandise. Bring the iconic Jurassic Park movie franchise to life with a realistic light and sound Dinosaur measuring 20cm in height and built strong and tough just like a real dinosaur! Clever technology allows you to pull down on the dinosaurs arms and claws and hear 6 different roars whilst watching the Velociraptor’s eyes light up. Have fun creating battle scenes limited only by your imagination and play with your friends various role play of your favourite movie or animation scenes and themes. Blue appears in Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and Jurassic World Dominion. Blue is the oldest of the four raptors in her pack consisting of her, Delta, Echo, and Charlie. Part of the Wow! Stuff Jurassic Collection of officially licensed dinosaur gifts and toys from Universal Studios.
20cm ROARING DINOSAUR TOY – Pull down on the claws and watch fan favourite Blue the Velociraptor roar and eyes light up. Official Dinosaur toys for kids from the Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, Jurassic World and Jurassic Park films and animated Series!
ACTIVATE THE SOUNDS – Play out some of the iconic movie scenes from Jurassic Park, Camp Cretaceous or Jurassic World by hearing 6 different roars from your dinosaur. Press down the Trigger Claws to activate!
LIGHTS UP – Amaze your friends as you carry your dinosaur figure around with you and pull the Blue’s arms to see his cool yellow and black Dinosaur eyes light up! Watch in awe as the mouth opens to produce a fearsome roar
FUN ON THE GO – Compact and portable designed especially for use by children with no sharp edges and built to be very robust. Child-friendly design that is true to the animated film. Sold with 2 x AA batteries to ensure you can start to play straight away
The Jurassic World – Blue – Trigger Chomper is available now from Amazon priced around £14.99 and is aimed at children 5 years old and up.
Disclaimer: Jurassic World – Blue – Trigger Chomper was sent to us for the purposes of an honest review. All opinions are the opinions of our reviewer.
With Christmas not too far away now, we are going to be looking at various things you might want to consider – here we look at the CoComelon – Musical Sleep Soother from WOW! Stuff.
Let your child be soothed gently to sleep by the beautiful and endearing Nursery Rhymes featured on CoComelon. As with all WOW! STUFF offical liecnsed Cocomelon products, the CoComelon Musical Sleep Soother has been designed in colaboration with Child Developmental Scientists. This ensures the Sleep Soother encourages comfortable sleep, teaches song recognition and word learning.
The Sleep Soother features 6 of the most popular Nursery Ryhmes that are perfect for night time lullabys. These include; ‘Nap Time Song’, ‘Yes, Yes Bedtime Twinkle’, ‘Twinkle Little Star’, ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’, ‘This is the way (bedtime edition)’ and ‘Rain Rain go away’. Super soft and cuddly plush houses a nioght light which turns off automatically with the music at the end of the 6th song.
Simple to use, just add 3 x AAA batteries. In CoComelon, the number 1 pre-school brand on YouTube and Netflix, JJ and his siblings go on fun relatable adventures. They go to nursery to play, explore and learn. In addition to helping pre-schoolers learn letters, numbers, animal sounds, colors and more, the videos impart prosocial life lessons, providing parents with an opportunity to teach and play with their children as they watch and enjoy the shows together.
The CoComelon – Musical Sleep Soother is available now from Amazon priced around £27.99 and is aimed at children 2 years old and up.
Gloomhaven is the digital version of a beloved board game. In fact, the tabletop edition is ranked as the best board game on boardgamegeek.com. Being such a successful game on the tabletop, the pressure is huge for developer Flaming Foul Studios to create a fitting recreation in the digital world. Thankfully, they did so perfectly. Gloomhaven digital is perhaps the best conversion from board to video game I’ve ever seen.
Gameplay
Here’s a brief rundown on how the game works. Being a recreation of a board game, the gameplay takes center stage.
The game itself is a complex card based tactical game, taking place in hexed based scenarios, where you control a group of 1-4 mercenaries through various missions. At the start of the round each friendly characters select two cards to use. However, each card has two uses, one is written on top, the other on the bottom of the card. You can only use one top effect and one bottom per round. Once a card is played, it is discarded and can be reclaimed after taking a short or long rest. Some more powerful cards get ‘burned,’ meaning you can only play it once per scenario unless you have a special way to retrieve it, such as via the spellweavers ‘reviving ether’ card.
As the scenario progresses, you have less and less cards, and if you run out of cards that character is exhausted. To further shake things up, every character (and enemy) has a modifier deck. A modifier is drawn each time an attack is made. These can be useful things such as +1 or x2, or detrimental such as -1 or x0. This adds an element of chance in an otherwise fairly deterministic game.
All of this may sound fairly complicated to a new player, and it is! But don’t worry, the mechanics don’t take very long to learn, and there is a good tutorial to help out. I usually dislike tutorials as they’re too restrictive, but in this game they tell you what to do, and then let you figure out how to do it, which I appreciated. Once you’ve learnt the mechanics, the real complexity then comes from learning the synergies between your cards, the synergies between classes, manipulating the initiative order, planning based on what your enemy will do etc. It is easy to get into but there is a lot of depth to the gameplay which kept me invested.
Campaign & Difficulty
Outside of the tactical battles, there is a large campaign map. You’ll make frequent trips to the city of Gloomhaven where you can buy items, get boons and do city encounters. Encounters are like little choose your own adventure moments, where your choice can reward or punish you. You also have road encounters when you are travelling to a scenario. The main campaign features 95 scenarios, though you won’t play all of them in one campaign, as there are branching story elements.
Lastly, the game is hard. If this is your first experience with Gloomhaven, you may find it particularly challenging. Figuring out how to manage your hand to defeat the encounters without running out of cards can be tough. Thankfully there is an easy mode, which you may want to consider starting on.
Your power increases as your mercenaries level up and you unlock new cards and classes. Though the games difficulty automatically scales based on the amount of characters in your party, and their level.
Design & Audio
The menus, UI and controls all work fluidly and well. The narration of the scenarios is very immersive and emulates the feeling of a listening to a dungeon master. The audio is great, the card effects feel impactful when they hit. All of this topped with a wonderful soundtrack makes for a great experience. The only issue I ran into was occasional spouts of lag which lasted for minutes at a time.
When compared to the board game, there are even some elements that this digital version has done better. For one, the price. With the board game being over 100 USD, this much cheaper version makes for an ideal entry point for those unable or unwilling to fork over the hefty amount for the physical version. Also, the board game is a legacy game, which means your progression carries over until you finish the campaign. This makes the game a pain to reset and start a new campaign. So there are some advantages to getting this edition, if you don’t mind not playing over the board.
All of these elements come together to form a really compelling strategy game that is immensely satisfying. The feeling of overcoming a scenario you’ve been struggling with is fantastic. Plus, with a full campaign of 95 scenarios, plus the guildmaster mode which adds even more, there is a ton of content here. Boasting 6 starting classes, with 11 more which are unlocked once your characters ‘retire,’ the replayability here is high. All in all, a near perfect recreation of the original title. Gloomhaven is fantastic.
JARS is a wonderfully addictive strategy game with a unique aesthetic.
Victor, the game’s equally befuddled and spooky looking protagonist, ventures into his family’s basement, only to find a plethora of nasty critters. Naturally, Victor is far braver than I am and sets out to deal with these bugs, in some sort of unlicensed bushtucker trial.
This premise sets out what you will be doing throughout the majority of the game: smashing jars. Sounds simple? It is – but how the developers manage to build on this rather simple mechanic is actually quite impressive.
Fast-paced, engaging gameplay:
JARS is very much a tower defense game. Each level involves you having to protect a sarcophagus, whilst trying to eliminate the nasties housed within the jars you break. You defeat the monsters by utilising items that you can find in jars, such as darts (which I found very satisfying to use) or through the use of ‘minions’ – monsters that will fight for you.
Certain jars will guarantee an item or an enemy, but each level also has random jars that add a much needed sense of variety to proceedings. If you fail a mission, by failing to protect the sarcophagus(s), you can jump straight back in. Level structure does change ever-so slightly when you fail, which maintains the challenge but at the same time allows the player to identify certain patterns.
Some missions also have additional objectives, such as protecting a set of magnets which will offer a big exp boost when you complete the mission.
As you complete more missions, you can also unlock new minions (who all have different stats), new perks (which you can equip to modify minion stats) and other items. You use in-game currency to do this, from the suitably named ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.
Unlocking new minions feels purposeful, as certain levels will only allow you to utilise certain types of minions, and their different stats will be better equipped at dealing with certain map layouts and enemy types.
There is also Hero mode which you can unlock as you progress through the game. This mode switches the gameplay up by allowing you to directly control one of the ‘minions’ and navigate the stage.
Overall, the bite-sized missions and different mechanics contribute to creating a gameplay loop that is addictive and simple but with enough permutations to keep the player interested.
Tim Burton esque:
Complementing the delightfully engaging gameplay is JAR’S ‘creepy’ visual design that is clearly a homage to Tim Burton’s work.
The drab-grey colour palette adds a spooky tone, whilst the overall art direction strikes a careful balance between creepy and childlike (for your minions). Tonally, JARS feels relatively light-hearted, and I especially liked the hand-drawn designs for all the ‘minions’ which are full of personality.
The cutscenes that you get when you complete levels are also a nice reward for making progress, and whilst they don’t tell too much from a narrative standpoint, they are well directed and contribute to the spooky tone. I also appreciated how humorous some of the scenes were.
A couple nitpicks:
Pun absolutely – shamelessly – intended.
JARS is definitely a game that surprised me. I didn’t expect to get so hooked to the gameplay loop. That being said, there are a couple gripes I had.
Firstly, navigating the selection menu between missions (where you select your minions and their perks) is incredibly awkward. This made carefully considering my selection of monsters and perks in later levels much more of a chore than it needed to be. I ended up rushing through this process to save myself from getting frustrated.
Also, whilst I love the overall visual design, the backgrounds for each stage did start to feel a bit repetitive and could have been a bit more creative (or as creative as basement shelves can be, I guess).
The former issue is one that I genuinely found quite bothersome. I just wish that the UI for the menu section had been revised a bit better as the game genuinely has potential for some interesting tactical considerations.
Nevertheless, JARS’s excellent visual design and substantial, addictive gameplay offering are major positives that make this title one well worth checking out.
… Also the game has a really fun encyclopedia, with great little descriptions for each of the monsters. I rate that.
Computer viruses are a pain in the arse. They ruin your computer and infect thousands of machines, bringing businesses to a standstill while ruining global economies. Mainframe Defenders goes one step further as it predicts electronic Armageddon.
Developed by Synthetic Domain and published by Big Way Games, this is a retrofuturistic strategy title. It has a basic approach and will remind players of MS-Dos titles. Veteran gamers will love its old-school look and the trip down memory lane.
Mainframe Defenders is wonderfully simple but its UI is woeful.
I love it when a strategy game focuses on simple mechanics that allows you to jump straight into the action. Fortunately, Mainframe Defenders does just that! Its core concept of rogue-lite mechanics, combined with easy-to-understand strategy elements, was a pleasure to experience. You control a team of four robots who must complete an array of objectives while saving the world.
However, for all its straightforward ideas and enjoyable elements, its woeful UI isn’t one of them. A thorough tutorial explains the fundamentals, yet; the developers fail to explain how the UI works. I, fortunately, stumbled through its messy layout and sadly, its lack of an explanation had me on the verge of quitting before I had even begun. Nowhere does it explain that the d-pad is the key navigation tool between the menus. If you plan to play this, take note, the d-pad is essential!
The future is a beautiful shade of green.
Choose your force and tactics on the fly.
Technology is failing and the world is ending, so what are you going to do? You’re going to hire a reliable team of robots to combat it, that’s what! Luckily, a small band of mechs are available, and they are happy to help. Each of these robots offers different weaponry and strengths and weaknesses. You must pick the best squad that matches your play style and then upgrade them to tackle the latter missions.
The quests are split into difficulty categories and then further divided by goals and objectives. You are given full visibility of what is expected to be victorious, and this allows you to plan in advance. Before starting a mission, you may upgrade weaponry, armour, heat capabilities, repair your robot, and more. You must strengthen your team with a currency known as ‘matter’. This is earned by completing goals or finding it during each expedition. It’s a tough commodity to collect, so wasting it is not advised.
You may plan your approach thoroughly, but frustratingly, your enemy doesn’t care about your desire to be victorious. Reinforcements will spawn randomly and this undermines any plans you have in place. You soon discover that you must think on the fly to react to any new threats. This approach made MainframeDefenders feel more like a Real-Time Strategy title than a turn-based strategy game.
Manage your team and upgrade their equipment.
Mainframe Defenders looks odd on a large screen.
I love retro games and I don’t mind dated graphics, yet I think Mainframe Defenders looks strange on a larger screen. If this was played on a smaller monitor or TV, it would work particularly well. However, its ultra-pixelated graphics look out of place on larger modern screens. If you can get over the oddities of the presentation, you’ll witness a great but dated representation of a future world. The retrofuturistic style is enhanced by the colour palette. The environment is industrial, cold, and sterile, and the classic futuristic look is brilliantly captured.
The futuristic tone continues with the electronic music and shrill 8-Bit sound. Veteran gamers will adore the old-school audio. The nod to classic titles and the throwback to the golden era of strategy titles was appreciated and worked perfectly with the MS-Dos aesthetics.
The dated aesthetic won’t be to everyone’s tastes.
Once you master the UI, the rest is a piece of cake.
Mainframe Defenders is remarkably easy to play once you understand the horrific UI. The missions focus on Action Points or Ap for the combat elements and a grid-based approach for movement. The environment plays a key role in your strategy and you must destroy or avoid the obstacles in your way. Luckily, it’s easy to understand as many commands are completed by the press of one button. However, this doesn’t make it perfect. My gripe surrounds the lack of an ‘undo’ facility. Mistakes happen, yet there is no way to rectify this. Your plans will be ruined and missions lost and this was frustrating. This was a shame as it was an unnecessary oversight from the developer.
Because of its array of upgrades, vehicles to unlock, and the combination of robots to select, no playthrough is the same. If you then consider the rogue-lite elements that influence the gameplay, you experience a tough but addictive title. Moreover, its challenging achievement list demands you return if you wish to finish it.
Mainframe Defenders is a wonderfully retro strategy title.
I love how much the genre has evolved, but I also enjoy stepping back to a simpler time. Mainframe Defenders does just that with its wonderful blend of strategy mechanics, simplistic gameplay, and dated aesthetics. It won’t be for everyone, but I enjoyed it and recommend you to buy it here! Can you destroy the virus that plagues the future? Grab your squad of robots and take the fight to them!
