Friday, September 1, 2017

World 3-67, The Unfinished Boss: Epic Combo!

This is the last game I completed in my yearlong time-span. Unfortunately, I did not meet my goal this year; life got a little too hectic this time around. Better luck next year!

Epic Combo
http://www.kongregate.com/games/ArmorGames/epic-combo

Epic Combo! starts off with two modes (and a super groovy tune!). Your main goal is to score a 10,000 hit combo, achieved by taking a swing with your giant hammer at a whole nest of turtles and hoping for them to smash into as many fellow shelled friends as possible. You start off small, by taking a swing here and there, earning a few quick bucks as you go. Once you've stockpiled a little bit of cash, you head off to the store where you can purchase upgrades to help you in your ever-so-important turtle smashing quest. The upgrades you get are actually quite useful: a turret to target flying turtles after you smash them, some fancy lasers, proxy mines, buzzsaws - you name it! You can also open up to three extra valves to increase the amount of places the turtles spawn from, which subsequently unlocks an upgrade for each valve to increase the flow of turtles, which in turn allows for your combo to tally up that much faster.

Now, 10,000 turtles hit might seem like a lofty goal until you factor in the fact that the combo chain timer resets every time a turtle hits another turtle, allowing ample time to bring that combo up to epic proportions. After a couple of of the bigger upgrades, you are well on your way to a full Epic Combo, and thus victory over the game.

Overall, with the basic graphics and layout, this game is obviously meant to be simple and addictive. The previously mentioned music and the way the items interact with each other to create interesting combos brings the game up a little, but doesn't save it from the simple life it was destined to carry out (unlike the poor turtlekind).
3/10

World 3-66: Space is Key 2


http://www.kongregate.com/games/ChrisJeff/space-is-key-2

World 3-65: Space is Key


http://www.kongregate.com/games/ChrisJeff/space-is-key

World 3-64: Bloons Tower Defense


http://www.kongregate.com/games/Ninjakiwi/bloons-tower-defense

World 3-63: Another Cave Runner


http://www.kongregate.com/games/Arkuni/another-cave-runner

World 3-62: Icy Gifts 2


http://www.kongregate.com/games/SilenGames/icy-gifts-2

World 3-61: Red Ball 4 (Vol. 1)


http://www.kongregate.com/games/maklaus/red-ball-4-vol-1

World 3-60: Effing Worms - Xmas


http://www.kongregate.com/games/EffingGames/effing-worms-xmas

World 3-59: Snail Bob 3


http://www.kongregate.com/games/PITon_/snail-bob-3

World 3-58: Wonderputt


http://www.kongregate.com/games/dampgnat/wonderputt

World 3-57: Tesla Defense


http://www.kongregate.com/games/NSBrotherhood/tesla-defense

World 3-56: Rocket Santa


http://www.kongregate.com/games/BerzerkStudio/rocket-santa

World 3-55: Earn to Die 2012


http://www.kongregate.com/games/ToffeeGames/earn-to-die-2012

World 3-54: Pokémon (Pokemon) White 2



World 3-53: Neverending Light


http://www.kongregate.com/games/Jiggmin/neverending-light

World 3-52: They Took Our Candy


http://www.kongregate.com/games/Rachid1984/they-took-our-candy

World 3-51: Color Link-a-Pix Light Vol1


http://www.kongregate.com/games/Conceptis/color-link-a-pix-light-vol-1

World 3-50: Into Space 2


http://www.kongregate.com/games/BarbarianGames/into-space-2

World 3-49: Infectonator 2


http://www.kongregate.com/games/TogeProductions/infectonator-2

World 3-48: Lightfish


World 3-47: Bloons TD 5


http://www.kongregate.com/games/Ninjakiwi/bloons-td-5

World 3-46: 4 Differences


http://www.kongregate.com/games/Ivory/4-differences

World 3-45: Portal


World 3-44: Sonic Generations


World 3-43: Portal 2


World 3-42: Commander Keen

Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons
~PC

After 3 hours total playtime, I finally managed to beat the first episode of Commander Keen! I love this game; it brings back so many memories. Everything from the lollipops (or, debatably, balloons) and suspiciously familiar pop cans to his trademark pogo stick and ray gun, everything about this game is iconic and amazing to me. Without being clouded by the mist of nostalgia, I can step back and say that the sound effects were terrible (minus item grabbing), and note that the music was entirely nonexistent, but that much is given based on the game's ripe old age of 22. However, with today's technology, it is easy enough to throw on some background noise and get your game on with the atmosphere of your choice.

I actually found this game a slight easier than when I was a kid, which is somewhat backwards from my take on a lot of old games. In fact, I don't remember ever finishing it back then, and even though the controls took some reacquainting, I was able to pick it up like I had never stopped playing. I spent a good amount of time familiarizing myself with each level, exploring areas that I had never made it to back in the 90's and collecting more items than ever. Sometimes when confronted with a fast monster I would run, terrified, defying the personality of 8-year-old boy genius, and star of the game, Billy Blaze.
7/10

World 3-41: Stardrops


http://www.kongregate.com/games/Seirie/stardrops

World 3-40: Strike Force Heroes


http://www.kongregate.com/games/JuiceTin/strike-force-heroes

World 3-39: Icy Fishes


http://www.kongregate.com/games/SilenGames/icy-fishes

World 3-38: Effing Worms 2


http://www.kongregate.com/games/EffingGames/effing-worms-2

World 3-37: Notebook Wars 3


http://www.kongregate.com/games/matakukos/notebook-wars-3

World 3-36: Meteor Launch


http://www.kongregate.com/games/KingDotCom/meteor-launch

World 3-35: Achievement Unlocked 2


http://www.kongregate.com/games/ArmorGames/achievement-unlocked-2

World 3-34: Sonic CD


World 3-33: Boom Town


http://www.kongregate.com/games/thepodge/boom-town

World 3-32: Diablo III


Beat this on Hell difficulty but have since beat it many times on much harder difficulties (with multiple characters as well).

World 3-31: Robot Legions


http://www.kongregate.com/games/playvortex/robot-legions

World 3-30: Billy the Pilot


http://www.kongregate.com/games/ErikSombroek/billy-the-pilot

World 3-29: Hedgehog Launch


http://www.kongregate.com/games/ArmorGames/hedgehog-launch

World 3-28: A Small Favor


http://www.kongregate.com/games/zeebarf/a-small-favor

World 3-27: Pretentious Game


http://www.kongregate.com/games/keybol/pretentious-game

World 3-26: Bloons TD 5


http://www.kongregate.com/games/Ninjakiwi/bloons-td-5

World 3-25: Learn to Fly


http://www.kongregate.com/games/light_bringer777/learn-to-fly

World 3-24: Theme Hotel


http://www.kongregate.com/games/ToffeeGames/theme-hotel

World 3-23: Mushroom Madness 2


http://www.kongregate.com/games/KingDotCom/mushroom-madness-2

World 3-22: Innkeeper


http://www.kongregate.com/games/mapacible/innkeeper

World 3-21: Mushroom Madness 3


http://www.kongregate.com/games/SilenGames/mushroom-madness-3