Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror Review and Tips

Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror is a point-and-click adventure game by Revolution Software Limited that has been flawlessly ported to iOS devices.

In this sequel to Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars, you start off as George Stobbart, whose girlfriend, Nico, was kidnapped. He himself is now trapped in a burning house, tied to a chair. You need to get him out of the house and begin a lengthy and dangerous journey to rescue Nico.

Once George rescues Nico, you'll get to play as her at several different points throughout the game. The two occasionally split up, sometimes by choice and other times by force, and have to use their own inventory and wits to solve the puzzles ahead of them.

Besides offering plenty of exploration and puzzles for adventure gamers, the Broken Sword series is full of humor and sarcasm that sets it apart from other games in the genre. For instance, you pick up a tequila worm in the first room, and can show it to just about everyone you meet in your travels to see what their reactions are to it. You don't need to talk to every non-playable character or exhaust all your discussion topics, but you'll miss out on some real gems if you don't. Broken Sword 2 is a game you should take your time with and really savor it.

The 2D graphics are charming and look great even on a small iPhone screen. The soundtrack is also perfect for the game, always changing for the location and plot line to immerse you in the game. It's a real work of art.

If you're a point-and-click adventure fan, you won't want to miss out on this game. It's available on PC, iPod, iPhone and iPad, so you have plenty of ways to get ahold of it.

If you need some help, here are a few tips and cheats:

1. For touch screens, swipe your finger around the screen to see which items you can interact with. That way you won't miss anything important.

2. Try mixing items by dragging one to the other if none of your items are doing the job on their own.

3. Some portions of the game require precise timing or you could die! Make sure to save frequently and in different save slots so you won't have to play too much of the game over if you lose.

That should help you get started on your Broken Sword 2 adventure. Enjoy!

If you need more help with the game, see my Broken Sword 2 walkthrough: http://www.appunwrapper.com/2011/12/24/broken-sword-2-the-smoking-mirror-remastered-walkthrough/

-AppUnwrapper
In-Depth iPhone Game Reviews, Walkthroughs and Giveaways
http://www.appunwrapper.com/escape-games/
Twitter: AppUnwrapper

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The Nintendo Famicom Game Review: Balloon Fight!

Balloon Fight for the Nintendo Famicom was released in 1985. This game is fun to play and has a simple premise: go pop the bad guys' balloons! This simple idea is a great start to the game. The player doesn't have to read a manual, or worry about which buttons to press. This is 8-bit retro gaming at its best.

You can press the A or B buttons to make your character fly up and down. Press left and right on the arrow pad to go, well, left and right. Balloon fight is similar to Joust, but in Joust you are trying to kill your enemies, here you just want to pop your enemies' balloons. Don't be turned off by the simple premise of this game. That's part of the magic! It's easy to understand at first glance, but hard to master.

There are three modes of play: single, 2 player, and Balloon Trip. The main goal for the first two modes is to pop all of the balloons while keeping your own player aloft. In Balloon Trip, you must traverse through an obstacle course and test your flying skills. Be careful of the lightning and other baddies waiting to knock you out of the sky.

The controls in Balloon Fight take a little practice to gain proficiency. If you flap to hard going up, it's difficult to slow your momentum down and you may crash into an enemy and lose a balloon. The same goes for going right and left. If you go to fast in any direction, slowing down becomes a problem and you may find yourself heading into trouble.

The graphics in Balloon Fight are great. Very vibrant and colorful. Even in 8-bit, it looks good, and the sprite animations are well done so Mario's movements are believable and the enemies and balloons are recognizable as such.

If you've just purchased a used Balloon Fight cartridge, make sure to clean the contacts with ammonia using a q-tip. If it hasn't been cleaned, it will certainly need to be. Always make sure your game carts are not dirty before sticking them into your Famicom. Inserting a dirty cart into your working FC is a retro-gaming foul. Don't do it!

All in all, Balloon Fight is one of those games in the vast Family Computer game library that should definitely be in your collection. It's got the retro, 8-bit game mix down just right: a simple premise, which is easily understood at a glance, followed by excellent gameplay.

Click the link to view and buy Famicom games. Retrogamerjapan.com has a great selection of Family Computer games and consoles, as well as Super Famicom games and consoles as well. All RetroGamerJapan games and consoles are guaranteed to work and come clean and ready to go!

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Experience The Thrill Of Rise Of Flight

A major part of the allure of video games is the ability to do things we ordinarily couldn't do, or to be taken to another place and time. It's no real surprise then that sports games and shooters tend to dominate the game shelves, as we have all dreamed of being a sports superstar, or of playing the lead in a big action movie where we get to fire of huge amounts of hot lead in order to save the day.

Another genre of game that falls into the action category is war games, where players can re-live actual missions from wars of the past. While some love to get their hands dirty on the ground, other player's dream of taking to the skies to fight the battle above the clouds.

Rise of Flight is one such game that let's gamers experience the thrill of flight, whilst also taking part in dogfights, all set against the landscape of World War I. The modern day video games have become so realistic that we tend to become engrossed in the action without really paying any heed to the work that went into making them so good in the first place.

It could be argued that a simulator the likes of Rise of Flight is a much more difficult game to design, especially when you consider that the laws of aerodynamics and physics must be obeyed to make controlling the plane seem realistic.

It's not just science that the makers of Rise of Flight were up against, and they also had to take into account the cockpits of the planes, as well as the landscape that the players are flying across. It's safe to say that a lot has changed since 1914-1918, which are the years in which the game takes place. There are those who take great joy in pointing out historical inaccuracies, which means that the guys behind Rise of Flight probably had to spend some time in a history classroom; that is, when they were done with science classes.

The fact that Rise of Flight is one of the most popular flight simulators is a credit to the work done by the game developers, which actually stretches all the way back to 2004. It's the attention to detail that can make or break a games, especially among hardcore followers of the genre, so taking the time to get it all just right is actually very important.

There will always be those who find some fault with the design of any game, but spare a thought for the designers of Rise of Flight, who not only had to carefully render the planes of that era, but also re-created over 125,000 square kilometers of land across the Western Front. That may well have been a mission bigger than any you will undertake within the game itself.

You can watch some videos of this great World War 1 flight simulator in action, and find out more the game at the Rise of Flight website. If more modern flying is where your interests lie, check out the aircraft at the Flight Simulator Online Game site.

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2012 Is Going to Be the Best Year Ever for the Resident Evil Franchise

On March 20th 2012 Resident evil Operation Raccoon City is being released, just 1 of the 2 games scheduled for release this year. Capcom is taking a different approach in this game by changing things up a bit.

In all the resident evil games in the past except for Resident Evil Survivor, you took on the role of the S.T.A.R.S members. In this game you play the role of the Umbrella Security Service, the ones responsible for the T-Virus outbreak. Or you can take on the role of the United States Special Operations Force, which is really awesome. Depending on which side you choose, your mission will be totally different.

If you choose to take on the role of the Umbrella Team, your mission will be to destroy any evidence of Umbrella's illegal activity, along with killing any and all survivors. On the other hand the Special Operations Team has to expose the actions of the Umbrella company.

You will also be faced with some major decisions in the game such as, killing Leon S. Kennedy. One of the major characters in Resident evil 2 and Resident evil 4. The game features an amazing storyline and takes place during the events of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 Nemesis.

Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City also has a co-op story mode where up to 4 players can join in the action. Switching over to the multi player side, there is a bunch of different modes you can chose from such as Hero mode.

In Hero mode you can play as Leon S Kennedy, Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, Carlos Oliviera, Plus Ada Wong, HUNK, Nicholai Ginovaef and a new character Lone Wolf. There is also Nemesis Mode an Xbox 360 Exclusive that allows you to control Nemesis and use him to kill the other team.

So as you can see this game is going to be absolutely awesome. On November 20th 2012 Resident Evil 6 is scheduled to be released and this game has a completely different storyline.

The year is 2013 and U.S. President Adam Benford has decided to reveal the truth behind what took place in the 1998 Raccoon City Destruction Incident in the belief that it will curb the current resurgence in bio-terrorist activity.

Due to be by the President's side is his personal friend and Raccoon City survivor, Leon S. Kennedy, but when the venue suffers a bio-terrorist attack, Leon is forced to face a President transformed beyond recognition and make his hardest decision ever.

At the same time, Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance member Chris Red field arrives in the fictional city of Lanshiangi facing the same problem that Leon is dealing with.

These games sound really good and i am looking forward to both of them not to mention the movie that is coming out this fall. If you are a true hardcore Resident Evil fan like me, i am sure you are looking forward to all 3 of these titles. I would love to hear any comments you have to share, and if your not a fan than this year would be the best time to get into this awesome series.

For the latest breaking news, reviews, or to purchase games and so much more for the resident evil franchise please go to http://buyelectronicsstore.com/. Feel free to leave me a comment i am open to hear anything you have to share. Scott Newkirk Author at EzineArticles.com

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Club Penguin - Kids Virtual Worlds

Club Penguin is massively multi-player online role playing game (MMORPG) that was launched in October 2005. It was developed by Club Penguin Entertainment and purchased by The Walt Disney Company in 2007. The website consists of online games and activities for children from age 6 to 14. The site has a typical Disney-looking feel to it with cartoon penguin avatars that children customize to use as their online personality. The game has also spawned physical video games for Nintendo and books.

Children can try the website for free; however, this limits the activity they can have in the virtual world. Paid memberships begin at $7.95 US per month. 6 months is $39.95 US and 12 months is $59.95 US. A paid membership allows players unlimited access to all games, themed parties, priority server access and new activities. A unique part of the website is the Coins for Change program. This program is an online charity where players donate their 'coins' for various real-world charitable causes. The website is available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German.

Features

Club Penguin exists in a winter virtual world where children choose an avatar in the form of a cartoon penguin to be their online personality. They choose a home for their penguin which is an igloo. Both the igloo and the penguin can be customized with accessories to fit the player's personality. Igloos are on the world's map so other players can find them. Players can also own pets called Puffles. If not taken care of, they run away and must be replaced. The Club Penguin Times is a virtual newspaper where players can submit writing, art and jokes.

When players log into the game, they first arrive in 'The Town' which hosts typical stores found in any town. Themed parties such as Christmas or Halloween happen once a month and are available to members only. The main focus of this virtual world is for players to earn 'coins' by playing games. These 'coins' allow players buy their avatars food, clothing, shelter and household items. The chat feature was originally only a small part of Club Penguin, but has recently been expanded. Members can chat about their penguins with other members in a chat room and make friends with other players. The use of emoticons is a large part of the chat feature.

What's Good

Club Penguin is a fairly innocent website that will appeal mainly to children well below age 10 who are interested in friendship with other children and simple games. The penguins are designed to appeal to small children. The facial expressions are kind and pleasant - those that would be found on a children's cartoon show. Disney and the developers were successful in designing an innocent-looking atmosphere for children. There are no adult themes in the virtual world or on the website. There is no overt violence, drinking, smoking, drug use, sex or offensive language. The games use math and reading to enhance a child's basic skills.

Disney must be commended for spending a lot of time and effort to keep the chat system safe. Ultimate Safe Chat allows only pre-scripted phrases. Standard Safe Chat blocks all profanity and inappropriate behavior even if users try to get around the filters. Words not previously approved go into a queue for review before they are posted. Moderators are plentiful. Having a chat system on a children's virtual world can be socially meaningful and Disney has done a good job in keeping it safe.

What's Bad

The age range that Club Penguin is going for seems to be a bit out of touch with the graphics. The design of the characters may be fine for post-kindergarten children, but children over the age of 10 will find them juvenile. Parents may find an increased level of consumerism as players that move through the game will learn how to acquire things for their avatar and their home. These are small quibbles for a generally good virtual world for children.

Online Safety

The website has gone above and beyond to provide a safe atmosphere for children. No personal information is ever displayed in chat - even if a player is a boy or a girl. Even the open chat (which is usually a candidate for inappropriate behavior) is strictly moderated. The section for parents is very thorough. Parents are encouraged to be highly involved in their child's online life. All personal and credit information that is collected follows the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

This review was written by a responsible parent and media professional who runs a kids virtual worlds review website. Click on the links for more useful reviews on cool kids games.

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