Guacamelee! Gold Edition PC review

         Guacamelee released by Drinkbox Studios is an action platformer.  You play has Juan an agave plant farmer (the plants that are used to make tequila).  Juan tries to save the world from an villain name Carlos Calaca, a walking skeleton hell bend on merging the living and the dead world.  Juan must use the powers of the masked luchador to save both the world and the mayor's daughter from being sacrificed.

        Guacamelee is set in an old Mexico starting out in the small town of Pueblucho where Calaca and his band of villains find a fitting sacrifice in the mayor's daughter. Juan tries to step in and save her when he is killed and is sent the the world of the dead. He's brought back with the help of a luchador mask that grants him the powers he will need to take on Calaca and save the world.  

        Guacamelee is a side-scrolling beat em' up platformer.  In the progression of the the game special moves are unlocked like wall jump, double jump, rooster upper-up, head-butt and and so on.  The music is the traditional Mexican festive.  The art style has a some decorative backgrounds which helps the colorful enemies really pop in the heat of combat.  Each enemy has unique skills and strategies needed to combat it.  Some fights to seem to get overwhelming at times, but it just takes some patience and quick reflexes.  The platformer element does get a bit frustrating with some areas taking multiple tries the figure out what pattern is needed to progress.

    Guacamelee is available on just about every platform from living room consoles to PC, Mac, and Linux.  This is a good game for those who enjoy a good action platformer.

Source:  Drinkbox Studios  Steam

First Impression of the Chromecast

         I bought Google’s HDMI streaming dongle the Chromecast and i was expecting a quick install and painless setup, what I got was about two hours of restarts and jumping WiFi signals. I was able to get content streaming from my phone as well as my desktop. This is my first experience with the Chromecast.  

The Setup       

           Here is my home setup I have a desktop that is connected straight to my modem and my Galaxy S 3 phone running 4.3.  Plugging the Chromecast is simple it comes with a 4.5' foot USB cable to connect to the TV for power or to the included USB power outlet adapter.  I was able to see the Chromecast on the downloaded app, but it is unable to connect to start network setup.  I restarted the phone, the Chromecast and the wireless modem still nothing, at this time I notice that my WiFi on my phone kept jump between the Chromecast name and mine.  I had to go into my phone’s WiFi setting and turn off Auto network switch to stay connected to the device then I was finally able to connected and start the connecting to my local WiFi.  Unfortunately, I got an error when trying to connect to my WiFi signal.  So I try the setup one more time and when I get to the part where I need to wait for it to connect to my WiFi I go into my phone and disconnect from the device and reconnect to my local WiFi at that point finally connected and started updates.  The updates took about 40 minutes to download I restarted the device and applied updates and started to stream just fine.  

Streaming         

        After the setup, streaming content is simple.  In supported apps there is a cast button to start casting.  I have used Pandora, Netflix, YouTube, Google Music, and Cast my tab from my desktop.  The phone interface is simple and clean for the there is a slight delay to it, but only for about half a second.  In my first few days with the Chromecast I really enjoy streaming to my T.V  with the Chromecast for only $35.  

Source: Chromecast, Google Play Store

To the Moon PC Review

By Raul Garza

       To the Moon is a point and click adventure game, with a story that will keep you entwine until the final precious moments.  Created by indie developer Freebird Games.  The best way I can describe this game is as a story book in game format that is moved along by the player.

   To the Moon is about old man who in his final moments decides to under go a procedure that will replace his current life memories with ones that have him achieving his final wish of having gone to the Moon.  You play as Dr. Eva Rosalene and Dr. Neil Watts, who are preforming the task for the dying Johnny Wyles.  The two doctors use a memory device which allows them to enter Johnny's memories to find the best moment to insert the desire to travel to the Moon.  The player guides the two doctors to mementos that tie Johnny's recent memories with his older ones and must solve flip puzzles to unlock.  The game came be played by either using just the mouse for movement and to interact with objects, or with the keyboard's space bar for action and the arrow keys for movement.  The soul of To the Moon is found in beautiful soundtrack that compliments the game perfectly.     

       To the Moon is a game that will keep you glued to computer until the very end.  It is not a very long game with a completion time of about four hours.  At the time of this review To the Moon and its soundtrack are part of the pay what you want Humble Indie Bundle going on for the next few days.  Also available on Steam and GOG.  If you are looking for a great story amazing music To the Moon is a must buy.

Source:  Freebird Games