Complete the three tasks and its boss battle time – which is basically a sub standard 2D Street Fighter beat–em'up style experience that is hardly something to look forward to. Then before you know it it's back to stupidly mundane tasks that can only surpass tediousness with repetition – before once again you're back in 'rubbish Street Fighter ' mode. The book should have stayed as a book – it just doesn't cut it as a videogame.
Icrontic's amicable CB Droege brings us this week's interesting new releases in gaming. We get a look at Escapee GO!, MAG, Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans, and Mass Effect 2.
NL writes; "If you live in the UK you're probably familiar with the Horrible History series of books from author Terry Deary; featuring illustrations by Martin Brown. They're books aimed at children (mainly boys) between the ages of 8-12 which try to make history fun by discussing the nastier bits of it; using humourous illustrations and a light-hearted style to increase appeal. They lack citations which would prevent them from qualifying as "real" history books, but they're good fun and if they spark interest in further reading by the target audience then they'll have achieved their mission. After more than 20 years in publication it's probably safe to say they're doing a good job of it!"
Boomtown: "Now I know this game is aimed at a young market, but I think things are too dumbed down here and that they are underestimating the youth of today. The game certainly does have some educational value, but if the game won't hold the kids' attention then they aren't going to learn very much, are they? With a little bit of tweaking this could have been a very good educational game, but as it is it's more education than game, and the key to a successful edutainment title is balancing the two components."
