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

Psychonauts (PC & Xbox)

  Psychonauts is an action adventure third person plat-former. Created by Double Fine, it was released in April of 2005 for Xbox, playstation, and Windows.  It received very high reviews; unfortunately the sales did not reflect the greatness of this entertaining, unique, and fun game. Psychonauts is about a summer camp for kids’ psychic powers, which is used to train them on how to use their psychic powers. The game is centered on a boy named Razputin (Raz for short) who runs away from his acrobatic circus family to begin his training to be a psychic secret agent. 

  Raz joins other kids whom also share in having special psychic powers, at whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp.  Raz is tasked with completing all the summer camps’ psychic training and earn merit badges which allow him to use his psychic powers.  So how do you train at a summer camp for psychics?  You astral project yourself into the camp counselors’ minds and enter a completely unique zone.  The first part of the game is getting your basic psychic powers which are used to find clues to an unraveling mystery of strange dreams and missing kids.  Psychic powers include psi blast, levitation, invisibility, and many others which are either unlocked by completing training levels, found merit badges, or by increasing your psi level.  Psychonauts is a one of the most unique games I have ever played.  Each mind you enter is completely different from each other (no two are the same).

  The minds you enter range between a war zone, to a groovy dance party, to being a giant rampaging Godzilla style monster. Combat can be customized by setting the psi power to one of three hot keys.  Set an enemy on fire from a distance, or get up close and hit them with a psychic punch.  Every npc in this game is fully voiced and has their own personality to interact with.  The music sets the tone of each zone perfectly.

  If you want a game that offers something different in a sea of sequels, or a just want to have some fun with a retro game, pick up Psychonauts on Steam for Windows and Macs at the low cost of only $10, and at the Xbox 360 marketplace for just 800 msp. This game is also available on the Playstation 2, so check your local bargain bins.