Nelson Tethers; Puzzle Agent... THE REVIEW!

Here's a riddle for you. What do you get when you cross a ton of brain perplexing puzzles, a pack of mischievous garden gnomes, a new heap of characters to love, and the joy of a Telltale game? Why, you get Nelson Tethers; Puzzle Agent o'course!

That's right! Telltale Games is expanding it's titles. With the announcement of Tales of Monkey Island we all got excited about a new Telltale game. (Well, I did anyway. And Monkey Island no less.) But they have never made a totally original game, excluding Telltale Texas Hold'em as I think we all believe that doesn't count. But when I heard Graham Annable and Telltale Games were teaming up to make a new, totally one-of-a-kind, game featuring Annable's "Hidden People," I knew we were on the road for amazing. But enough with the boring talk. I know what you've all been waiting for. My opinion! So without further delay, let's begin.

I have to split Puzzle Agents into three different scoring categories; graphics, characters, and puzzles. I have included graphics in this list because even though they're not really that important to me, I just love Graham Annable's style, and how this game looks. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, and I believe that this one really shows what I love about this games looks, I'll let you take a look.

The text-boxes, the characters, the pure sketchiness of it... I just adore it. The characters are all drawn so simply, but with a hidden complexity and emotion. For you who don't know Graham Annable, you must visit his YouTube channel. (My personal favourite is "Sasquatch." I have always been a sucker for a games that don't go for the "real world" look, but also don't just look like crap. Nelson Tethers hits the nail square on the head. So I proudly give this games graphics a... (drum roll) 9.5/10!

Next, the characters. Right off the bat you meet Nelson Tethers, an agent for the Puzzle department of the FBI. And then you meet the astronaut. Why? Because every good game deserves an astronaut, that's why!

I like to feel for the characters, another reason why I love Telltale Games and Pixar movies. I like to be connected with them, share their emotions, be a little freaked out when the man on the phone says we're going to...

Then we meet the other characters. With Bjorn and Bo, and Glori and Sheriff Bahg, it won't take long for these people to start screwing with your mind. Who's guilty, who's crazy, who knows anything... Just when you think this mystery can't get any, well, mysterious, enter the Hidden People.

Yes, the Hidden People. The true secret of Scoggins. Another character you can't help but connect with. Are they evil or are the good? The world may never know. But one thing is for certain... They can be so gosh-darned adorable. So in the world of Scoggins, the characters earn themselves a nice 8/10.

And lastly, the reason you should buy the game, the puzzles. Before you can even move in the game, you are hit with a puzzle. Nelson, startled by the previously mentioned astronaut, tears apart his crossword. But did the astronaut write something on it? Piece it together to find out. This puzzle is fairly easy, as are the next few following ones, as the beginning of any game should be. But they quickly grow harder. Every puzzle has four parts.

The challenge...

The actual puzzle...

The verdict...

And the evaluation...

Now at the beginning, you may laugh at the notion of hints, as the puzzles start out very easy, but soon you may find yourself needing them. The puzzles are brilliant and many of them will keep you guessing. The only problem I had with them were that they were either really easy, or pretty hard, making my evaluations either "Top Agent" or "Borderline." For this reason, and this reason only, I give the puzzles a 8/10.

The Final Score*:

Graphics: 9.5/10

Characters: 8/10

Puzzles: 8/10

Overall**: 9/10

Buy- ✓

Borrow-

Ignore-

*The Final Score is based of the ratings chosen at the beginning of the review

** The Overall score is not an average of the three previous scores. It brings into effect the average of these scores, plus other features of the game not mentioned.

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with Telltale Games, Graham Annable, nor Pixar Studios in any way, shape, or form.

Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse: The Stole Max's Brain!: Review - Ribs' Take

Sam and Max have had their Highs and Lows throughout the years. With instant classics, such as 'Chariots of The Dogs' in Season Two, or 'Abe Lincoln Must Die' during the initial season that Telltale developed. However, not one episode have been able to achieve complete perfection. However, things have changed. To reflect this, I'm going to do something I will most likely never do again; Give you a score at the begining of a review. But it's the best way to convey my emotions. Without further ado;

20/20 Piñatas

What's that, narrarator? A death stare in regards to a perfect score? No game can ever be perfect, you say? I never said the game was perfect. The game is the best the game can be, and I'm 100% sure of it.

Sam stumbles upon the not-breathing corpse of his best friend, and turns rabid in a quest for his friend. He takes off his Jacket, and instantly becomes 'Tough As Nails, Won't Take No For An Answer, No I Asked for a Coke Pepsi Would Not Be Fine' Sam, or as fans have dubbed him, Noir Sam. Interrogation is a key part of this episode, and Sam does it with style; the noir narraration he does is top notch. On the way, he runs into various funny characters, as we're used to, which is one reason why this episode is so great overall.

Firstly, we have a Foreign Tourist, played by Marius Fietzik, who was one of the masterminds behind the genius 'I Wonder What Happens in Tales of Monkey Island' series. It's a small part, but for the few minutes he's on screen, I was bursting out in laughter repeatedly. This character was unnescesary as a whole, but still was an excellent addition making this more of an excellent game.

And then there's Sal. I call him 'Puddy', as his voice actor plays the bit sounding like Patrick Warburton, who guest starred as Puddy on Seinfeld. This character is a security guard who is loyal, and any more information then that would be giving out too much information in regards to the plot. All I can say, is he has three particular moments that come to mind as making me burst into laughter. Sal also fits into the ever-expanding criteria of Sam and Max characters who are an obscure type of creature for no particular reason, which I always find funny.

Of course, the Noir bit can only last so long, but for how long it lasts, you'll be smiling throughout the whole thing. The episode makes a turn to a completely different scenario around halfway through, where even Sam has no idea what to do. This bit gives us a slivir more info about some of our newer characters introduced this episode or making surprise reappearances.

The episode all ends in a clever homage to a classic science fiction television series, which is hilarious and really rounds out the episode. The puzzle design, top notch as always, had me guessing for every single puzzle at least once. Only one puzzle really kept me stuck, but I eventually figured it out. Sound design, as always, is top-notch, with Jared Emerson Johnson's fitting music to each locale, and great Voice Acting from Andrew Chaikan, Nikki Rapp, and many others.

Unless you are incredibly daft, I adored this episode. The subtle background jokes, the storyline progression, the bit parts by voice actors, everything in this episode is pure gold. With our twist ending, I can't wait until next month and the penultimate episode of The Devil's Playhouse. Looking forward to 'Beyond The Alley of The Dolls', all our questions seem to have a very good chance of being answered. Until then, rest, and enjoy this, the single greatest episode of Sam and Max yet.

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with Telltale Games in any way, shape, or form. For more information regarding Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse and related products, visit http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/thedevilsplayhouse.

The Good, The Bad, and The Rockstar!

Alrighty, partners, here we go with another review for a sequel over six years in the making, called Red Dead Redemption.

Now I know that all of you are asking, why are writing a review about a game that's just Grand Theft Auto in the Wild West? Well, the answer is that it's so much more than GTA IV. To me, it's like a mixture of those old spaghetti Westerns, and my favorite thing in the world, causing as much pandemonium, as I can muster with a revolver.

But, I must tell you about my three favorite things about the game. What are they, you ask? Well I will tell you, and rate this game on my usual scale, judging Story, Controls, and Graphics.

Alright, so here goes the story. You play as John Marston, an ex-convict, who is tied up with a government deal to get his family back. The story takes place at the end of the generic Wild West time period, approx. 1911, and focuses primarily on the changing government trying to bring some civilization to the west. It also focuses on the Spanish Civil War, and a few other historical events at the time. You, as John Marston, must hunt down outlaws to rescue you and your family from the government, and through this you are journeying to different locations around the West, and even going into Mexico at a time of war!

I honestly loved the story, and I think it's an awesome contribution to the Rockstar Collection, and if you are still reading this, Pilgrim, we are going into the control scheme.

The controls for the game are pretty tight, and it won't take long to get used to them at all. The one thing that is really annoying is if you beat a mission or die during a mission and you have a weapon selected it will stay that weapon until you go and change it in the menu.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. As I was riding I noticed this woman calling for help and about ten minutes before, I had lassoed me a Black Stallion. Well, five guards came out and started shooting me, so I pulled the trigger button, roped one thug, and died. With this said, it's kind of mandatory to make sure you have a good gun selected.

Horse riding was an amazing addition, obviously. You've got to ride a horse, or how else are you going to navigate through the Ol' West? On an automobile? Well, There is one in the game, but only the- You know what? I don't care! I rode a horse and you all will learn how to ride one too.

I find horse riding one of the easiest, but trickiest things to master. You have to constantly tap the X or A buttons on the Xbox version (X and Square on PS3) to gain speed, and then you have to hold the A (or X) button again to maintain it. Easy, right? Well, yes, and no, because sometimes if you hold the A button, it doesn't maintain a constant speed and you have to re-tap the A button to gain that speed back up. So usually it's just better to, you know, Tap-wait-re-tap, or at least that's what I found to be the most effective way. Now, with most of the controls covered, let me chime in about the graphics.

I honestly think Rockstar has pushed the envelope, everything in Red Dead Redemption looks beautiful, and I mean beautiful. Here, take a look... SCREENSHOT! See? Beautiful right? And, well, here's another one for good measure, because I love the look of the Old West. SCREENSHOT!. The only problems I have with the graphics is the same thing with anything else that is beautiful graphic wise, the frame rate drop. With this game, it's not so often, but it does happen, and sometimes no textures show up for 15-20 seconds. With that said, this game is truly beautiful and wonderful experience.

Rockstar is truly a company that knows how to put a game together, story wise and graphically. I thoroughly enjoyed this game, and I suggest everyone should try to play it. This game not only captures the spirit of the Old West, but also the beauty of it. This about cuts it for my review!

I'll be back in the next few weeks, after Ribs posts some more awesome reviews.

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with Rockstar Games in any way, shape, or form. For more information regarding Red Dead Redemption and related products, visit

http://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption

Legend of Rock Gaming

What is this? Do my eyes deceive me? Could this be? Did Tom actually score an interview with a gaming legend? Wow... And to think Ribs just wanted to burn Tom's stuff... I present to you readers, in all it's it's glory, an interview with Alan Alcorn, inventor of one of the greatest games known to our kind (and by our kind I mean gamers.) Well here we are ladies and gentlemen; Tom's interview, now if you'll excuse me...I have to go get my stapler back from Ribs

~IcedHope

Tom: What inspired you to make Pong?

Alan: Money, and the excitement of starting a company. Pong was a lucky accident.

Tom: In my opinion, there are four games that outlive the ages; Pacman, Tetris, Space Invaders and Pong. How do you feel about the other three?

Alan: Your's sounds good to me.

Tom: What are your favorite classic games?

Alan: I like the Bally pinball "Fireball".

Tom: And your favorite "modern game?"

Alan: I like World of Warcraft.

Tom: There was a time when all video games fit under the genre "video game," but now there are so many sub-genres, it is difficult to keep your head from spinning. With FPS, MMORPG, TD, and billions of other initialisms, what is your favourite of these genres?

Alcorn: Actually I am an electrical engineer and not a big fan of video games. I enjoy the process of creating something new.

Tom: Many games have been re-created, or have new versions, such as Tetris, Space Invaders, and Brick Breaker, but Pong has withstood the test of time relatively untouched. How do you feel about this?

Alcorn: Pong is so simple that it doesn't need embellishment. I am honored that it is still alive in the popular culture of the world.

Tom: What is your proudest moment as a game designer?

Alan: Seeing the success of the consumer Pong.

Tom: Can we expect anything from the amazing Alan Alcorn anytime soon?

Alan: I am enjoying life. Who knows?

Tom: Thank you so much for your time. I had never expected to get an interview with someone so great. Thank you again.

... And there you have it folks. Fresh from the creator of one of the best games of all time, PacMa... No? Space Inva.... What? Really? Tetri...? C'mon! I always forget! Lines please! ... Pong? You sure? Okay.... That's right! The creator of Pong, Alexey Pajitnov! What?! You've gotta be kidding me! Holy [The rest of this end note has been removed due to inappropriate language. We apologize for any inconvenience. This footnote has been terminated.]

Games, Gold, and Glory is not affiliated with PacMan, Pong, Space Invaders, nor Tetris.