Game Review

Game Title: Ookujira – Giant Whale Rampage

Platforms: IOS, Android

Price: FREE

App Version: 2.31

It’s easy to be overwhelmed when perusing the games in your app store. There are at least a gagillion choices… that’s right, we ran the numbers and there are a gagillion games to choose from (don’t fact check that, just believe us). So, how do you decide which of these colorful games becomes your next gaming addiction/reality escape while you’re waiting in line at the DMV or sitting next to your crazy sister-in-law at a forced family gathering? Well, that’s where TrunkGaming comes in. We’ve spent countless caffeine-fueled hours looking for the perfect time consumer of a game, and our pick this week is “Ookujira – Giant Whale Rampage” by Rieha Creative. Grab your snorkel and mobile device and hide your wooden boy doll, cause this ain’t your Geppetto’s whale!

What do you do when the world is invaded by evil alien robots and human technology proves to be no match for this alien tech? Isn’t it obvious? You turn to a giant whale to save all of humanity! This is a highly addictive side scrolling tap-and-go sort of game. The mechanics are simple enough and it’s easy to catch on to quickly and start enjoying the gameplay. You are tasked at saving the world as a giant whale out of water. You tap once to make your whale leap out of the ocean and into action. You need to keep the whale on top of the buildings, so there are mid-air jump options that help you achieve this. Once you’ve mastered the air jumps and landed on rooftops like you’re Spider-Whale, you are hit with the task of diving on buildings. You tap the dive button, and your whale dives down quickly crushing a building or anything else in your path. This is especially useful for crushing those pesky robot ships. Just when you’re thinking that is more than enough to handle, you start collecting holographic-looking diamonds. We’re not sure what they are to be honest, but they’re basically like Mario’s golden coins. Once you accumulate enough of these holographic diamonds, you can utilize them to cash in on in-game purchases without using that precious real human money. The purchases include power-ups for your whale that will aid you in your fight against the robots. You could go through and play this game entirely for free, which is a plus. However, if you really, really want a cool-looking robot whale, you could fork over the 99 cents to get a new whale skin to play as.

There are two different “modes” you can play in “Ookujira.” One is the classic arcade mode, which has you playing through different countries and fighting robot alien tech with nothing but your fins and flippers. Arcade mode is probably best to start out with until you get the hang of the game mechanics. The other mode is called slalom. The objective of slalom is to maneuver your whale through the laser gates being held by floating robots. You can also crush buildings along the way to gain extra points and ultimately more of those collectible holograph diamonds. We found both modes were enjoyable and easy to navigate.

Visually, the game is quite beautiful as well with pastel-like colors. If you appreciate a great color scheme that is pleasing to the eye, then you will appreciate the time and care they spent crafting the environments and characters in this game. We found the colors were also not so harsh and bright on your eyes, which is great, because you can play longer before starting to resemble Droopy the cartoon dog.

“Ookujira” is rated 9+ for cartoon-like violence, but we think this is a bit harsh, unless you consider a whale crushing a building violent. We think kiddos of all ages would get a good laugh out of this and adults will find it absurdly entertaining. The premise alone is ridonculous and worth a download. So, what are you waiting for? Dive in and take the plunge with “Ookujira – Giant Whale Rampage” and make those robot aliens pay!

Initial Release Date: October 13, 2017

Developer: Tango Gameworks

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Genre: Survival Horror

Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Every October we look for something truly horrifying and entertaining to watch, read or play to help get us in that very special Halloween spirit that would make even the Great Pumpkin proud to grace our pumpkin patch. This year that special something turned out to be “Evil Within 2,” the sequel to Shinji Mikami’s original “Evil Within.” Shinji is to the survival horror genre what George A. Romero was to zombie horror films. You may have heard of his past work on a little franchise called “Resident Evil,” the first video game that any of us can recall having a reaction to similar to a scary movie. (Don’t tell us you didn’t jump when that first zombie dog jumps through the window, or the first time one of the zombies grappled you and sunk their teeth in you like a deep fried Twinkie at a fair.) This time Shinji let John Johanas and the Tango Gameworks team take the directorial reins, but he oversaw the project along the way. The transition is seamless and something very special to play. So, grab a mason jar of that green goo and see what we had to say (or scream!) about this gaming experience.

“Evil Within 2” brings back protagonist Sebastian Castellanos, as if the poor guy didn’t go through enough in the first game. The MOBIUS corporation has returned along with his partner, Juli Kidman, whom double crossed him in the previous installment. MOBIUS is seeking out Sebastian to help them. You’re asking, “Why in the hell would he ever help them after what they put him through last time?!” Well, they have what would be any father’s weakness… his daughter that he thought was dead for the past three years is alive and at the core of the STEM system MOBIUS is using. The catch? She is missing and Sebastian must reenter the nightmarish world that he barely survived before to find his daughter. It sounds simple-ish, right? TOTALLY WRONG! Once you’re put under and enter STEM, things begin to unravel quicker than Freddy Krueger’s sweater.

One of the things that really impressed us about “Evil Within 2” was how immersive it was. The first two chapters of the game you don’t actually fight anything – you are quite simply taking in the story and watching the setup of a cinematic horror movie, but you’re in control. The credits even scroll as you control Sebastian on screen. In a way, you are the director of this scary movie. You choose your actions and how to handle situations. Sure, there are confines of the game, but you really don’t notice them all that much. You might walk into a relatively small house or simple room, but when you open one door it may lead to a mental hospital overrun by creatures or you may find yourself on the receiving end of a madman’s Polaroid. Without giving too much away, we will say that you not only have to worry about the zombie-like creatures and freakishly-demented boss battles, but also a crazed killer snapping photos and creating “art” of the victims he kills. It freezes the moment in time and suddenly you’re watching an Instagram-style Boomerang video of someone’s brains being scattered across the room. Even more chilling is when you see portions of his art gallery that contain multiple heads attached to one another, bodies held together with barbed wire and things done with saws that would make even Jigsaw cringe with terror.

The actual act of fighting in the game can be a bit tedious and difficult to navigate at times. You want your character to move like Batman from the Rocksteady Studios games, but instead he is a little stiff. At first it was frustrating, but we soon adapted and really enjoyed a different take on the fight scenes. You see, instead of going into a room full of zombies, guns blazing, you should look around first. There may be an oil barrel you can kick over and shoot to ignite them all in an inferno. Or maybe they are standing in water, bust out that electrified crossbow and zap them all together. Another fun and nail-biting way to play is to sneak up on the zombie creatures and try to get the drop with a stealth kill. They are very unpredictable and never act the same way twice, so you don’t know if you will be caught or not, but it’s a riot to try. It’s really a survival horror game that makes you think and problem solve. We also liked breaking out car windows and honking at zombies, then running away. What can we say, we’re easily amused at times by teasing the undead!

There is an upgrade system similar to “The Last of Us,” where you collect parts, tools, etc… then, at various points you can upgrade your weapons, fabricate bullets or health items. We preferred drinking that magical coffee at the safe houses that somehow restores your full health. Make ours a double! You also collect red and green goo along the way and hidden keys. These can all be used in STEM to upgrade your abilities in a Matrix-like fashion. You collect the stuff, then cash them in to be injected with abilities. A word of advice… the FIRST chance you get, you’re going to want to use the “bottle upgrade” that allows you to smash bottles on undead that grab a hold of you. This happens a lot, and it’s better to smash a bottle on their head than to take damage. While there are ways to get your health back, such items are pretty scarce along with limited ammo.

One last thing we have to mention, because it’s done so well, is the environment. The detailing and textures in the game are really gorgeous. Nothing was left unfinished. It’s such a cool sight to see the fractured portions of a small town floating in the background or when you near an edge of an area. Because you are in this dream world, reality becomes blurred in odd ways. It feels very authentic, because the environments are so realistic. One minute you’re running down the street from a zombie, and you dart into a house, only now it’s not a house. It’s a mental ward or demented art gallery. It’s an effect seen in horror movies, but when you are actually playing and experiencing it, the sensation is goosebumps-inducing!

 “Evil Within 2” is like “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “The Walking Dead” and “Silent Hill” put in a blender and then poured out in video game form for the most bizarre and enjoyable horror survival experience ever to splatter across your screen. Our advice is to wait until dark, flip off the lights and give yourself as much time for the first portion of the game as you would to watch a movie. After Halloween is over, and you’re missing those haunted houses, just fire this game up and you’ll definitely get your fright fix!

Game Title: Cuphead

Initial Release Date: September 29, 2017

Developer: Studio MDHR

Publisher: Studio MDHR

Designer: Jared Moldenhauer

Engine: Unity

Platforms: Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

Every now and then a game comes along that is so eye-popping, stylistically gorgeous, that you just can’t put it down no matter how hard you try. In years past we would say that list of games would include “Mark of Kri,” “Comix Zone” (Google it kiddos), “Zelda: Wind Waker,” “Bioshock,” the list goes on. And now the list has another groundbreaking and original visual treat – we’re talking about “Cuphead!” The 1930s style animation is so captivating to play and interact with and the watercolor backgrounds are as immersive as they are beautiful. Seriously, the visuals in this game are such a sweet treat, our eyeballs have contracted contact diabetes. Pull up a gaming chair and get ready to drink up this review of Cuphead with our Trunk Gaming crew!

A word of warning for those gamers who are controller throwers, and you know who you are! You might want to duct tape the controller to your hands, because this game is toon-crushingly relentless. There are no checkpoints and no way to regain health. The design of this game is such that everything is random. You have no control over where something like a platform may be in the exact same point of the game you were previously playing. In other words, you might just get killed by sheer chance that things did not line up just right for you. Though this can be frustrating, it’s still a blast to play and the swanky style of this game kept us coming back for more.

There are three basic types of gameplay you experience in “Cuphead.” You have left and right platform gaming similar to “Super Mario Bros.,” if Mario was packing heat. The second style is like a throwback to classic arcade side scrolling spaceship shoot ‘em ups. The third and most exciting style of gameplay are the platform battles that feel almost like a fighting game at times, blurring the lines of what you would expect to see and play. You can unlock special abilities that you will need to play around with to accomplish different tasks. This can prove vital to moving along your gaming journey instead of the try, try again routine.

All in all, “Cuphead” is not only a visual treat, it’s also a gaming delight. We showed up for the visuals of this game, but we stayed for the gameplay and enjoyed every minute of it. This game will have you oohing and awing, laughing and cursing (more than once), but after all the animated smoke settles, you’ll find yourself wanting to go back again and again. We finished our “Cuphead” and can’t wait for a refill!

Game Title: Stranger Things: The Game

Platforms: IOS, Android

Price: FREE

App Version: 1.0.223

The worst thing about falling in love with a TV show like “Stranger Things” is having to wait for the show to come back for the next season. So, what do we do in the meantime to help sooth our need for media consumption with our favorite shows? We gobble up any new trailers, footage, interviews, etc., related to our beloved show. “Stranger Things” has given its fans a real gift with this FREE app. Sure, we know they’re trying to promote “Stranger Things” season 2, which drops October 27 on Netflix, but they put a lot of work into this game. It doesn’t feel like it should be a free app. In fact, we would pay to play this. Grab your Eggos and multi-sided dice and follow us into the Upside Down of the gaming app world with this Trunk Gaming review! (Don’t worry, no plot line spoilers ahead, but read on to see how to get an exclusive trailer from the game!)

“Stranger Things” is masterful at capturing the time and era they are in, and they carried that over into this game. With the SNES Classic recently launching, we can’t help but notice the great stylization they packed into this app to make it look like a classic Nintendo-esque game. The kids from the show would have definitely played this game. It has an RPG element to it, very similar to “The Legend of Zelda,” but with a little “Final Fantasy III” mixed in. You start off playing as Jim Hopper. Those rag-tag kids we love from the show have gone missing, and it’s up to Jim to find them. As Jim tracks the kids down, they join your party, and you can switch back and forth between playing as each character. Each character has a different skill. For example, Hopper has a mean right hook to pummel enemies, but Lucas has a slingshot you can use to shoot switches out of reach.

The game has very simple and easy-to-use controls. You just tap where you want your character to go on the screen. If you want to punch a bad guy or smash something, just tap the item or bad guy and your character gets to work. At first this seems super easy, but rest assured, once you get a page of opponents mixed with some lasers and other obstacles, the difficulty increases. Some enemies cannot be dispatched by simply clicking them. You may have to trick them into walking through a laser or trap. There are also definite RPG elements to the game. You can investigate everything in the room from books to phones. Problem solving and puzzles are a big part of the game as well. The diversity of game play helps keep things fresh as you explore the digital world. We also love the soundtrack, which plays into the “Stranger Things” universe nicely. When you unlock a door or find a new key/item, you get a familiar “Stranger Things” tune that has been filtered through the 8-bit sound machine for something that fills your heart with gaming joy.

There is a side quest that involves tracking down video tapes. If you manage to get all of the video tapes collected, you’re treated to an exclusive trailer with never-before-seen footage of “Stranger Things” season 2. We found this to be a really innovative way to promote fandom and the show itself. The app is totally FREE, so no reason to not download it. For a free app, we were pleasantly surprised to not be bombarded with ads while you play. It’s just you, your IOS or Android, and the “Stranger Things” world. We had a blast with this app and recommend it to keep your brain occupied until the show returns on Netflix. Go forth, download, enjoy!

Game Title: PREY

Platforms: PS4, PC, XBOX ONE

Release Date: May 5, 2017

This was, for these reviewers, an odd gaming experience.

“What do we mean?”

Well, the marketing for PREY seemed to portray the game as an action packed, first person shoot ‘em up… yet folks online were touting the RPG perspective of the game. So what the heck is it? A first person shooter or an RPG?

The answer is, the game is not a single form of any inside the box gaming. Arkane Studios really thought outside the bun here, just like one of our favorite pregaming fuel up spots. As you start playing, you’re immediately dropped into a totally immersive environment. It appears you’re getting in a helicopter on a high-rise building to be whisked off, but don’t believe your eyes… or your ears for that matter. Nothing is what it seems in this game, and that is really what captured our interest.

Admittedly, it was frustrating at first. There isn’t really a built-in tutorial feel to give you the bearings you need to get going quick. There are “tutorials” available in the options menu, but nobody really wants to do that, right? You want to just seamlessly and naturally figure out how the controls work and be given a clear direction on what you should do. PREY does the opposite, and at first we were ready to turn the game off and take it back, but we forged on and before long, we could NOT put the game down. The lack of direction that frustrated us at first soon became what we loved most about the game. It’s as if you are truly the lead character of the game, MORGAN YU (male or female, they give you the option). You have no clue what’s going on at first, but it’s okay, because neither does your character. YOU decide what to believe and who to trust. Should you listen to your brother who tries to convince you of what your thoughts are, or should you listen to the robot that has your voice and supposedly YOUR directions on what to do and where to go?

One very exciting element of PREY is that there is not just one way to complete an objective. Say there is a locked door you need to get in, and you don’t have the access code. Look around your environment. Maybe there is an air vent up high or some duct underneath your feet. Is there a button on the other side of the door you can use a foam dart gun to activate? Maybe you can find a passcode via the computers in the space station, because guess what… there are actual emails on each terminal, maps, well acted audio logs, etc. Arkane does a wonderful job of painting this haunting space station environment. So these are really the RPG elements of the game. You can decide to help the people you meet, or if you don’t believe them… well, let’s just say you can launch them out into space, whack ‘em with a wrench, or let the aliens rip them apart.

Though there are a few guns in the game, you’ll soon find they are not necessarily the best way to deal with your opponents whether they are the aliens (Typhon), rogue turrets, or corrupted engineer robots. As you go through the game, you study the different aliens you have to fight. As you gain knowledge, you can use “nueromods” to inject this knowledge and abilities into your system. You’ll discover that using a lightning blast or increasing your health is far more beneficial than loading up that shotgun. You’ll also need to gather materials to recycle and fabricate your bullets, guns, EMPs, etc… there isn’t much of just finding random boxes of ammo lying around like a regular shooter game.

PREY is a wonderfully bizarre game that will grab you, pull you in, and before you know it, hours will have passed. That’s why despite our initial knee jerk reaction and a few glitches in the gameplay, we are certifying this game as a quarter muncher! Because if this game was in an old school arcade, we would be pumping in those hard-earned silver coins to find out what happens next. Our advice is play through the game once quickly (around 16-20 hours), then go back and really delve into the game and do all of the smaller tasks and enjoy the details (40 hours-ish).

Until next time, keep on pressing start!