Gaming

The Adventure Pals review: A peculiar platformer to play and troll your friends with!

Quirky, cute, and buggy

Published

April 16, 2018

Leez

If you haven’t heard of The Adventure Pals, it’s totally fine. It’s a fun platformer where you travel around with a pet rock and a giraffe in your backpack. Of course, there’s more to the game than just traveling with your pet rock and giraffe, but that alone is pretty interesting in itself. You have my attention, developers. I quickly installed it, played it, and wrote this.

Breaking news: I rode a unicorn giraffe

Before we get into the review though, I played this game in cooperative mode because who doesn’t like playing along with someone else. Also, did I mention Player 2 rides a unicorn giraffe? I’m pretty sure I mentioned it being far superior somewhere.

So, to truly test out this platformer in cooperative mode, I brought reinforcements: Richard, my boyfriend. He’d been the pushy one who wanted to play the game with me after a week of both of us just hopping from Night in the Woods to Overcooked. To his everlasting credit, he’d quickly convinced me to play it after he’d shown the trailer.

Downright silly

The game was inspired by a lot of charmingly quirky works — from surreal cartoon series like Adventure Time to notable platformers like Castle Crashers. When you first encounter the trailer, you will undoubtedly notice the resemblance to those inspirations. The Adventure Pals pulls a lot of its appeal from it’s adorably designed characters. You’ll see, even without having played the game, how they’re quite intriguing on their own. They really reel you in with interesting character design and a bizarre premise — which is very reflective of what the game was inspired by.

Yes, that is your dad…

That’s prevalent with the beginning of the game. The whole setting takes place on your birthday, starting with your gift from your dad: a pet giraffe. This is Sparkles, your new loyal friend who is both rideable and able to fit inside your backpack, where he’ll be able to use his tongue to fly like a helicopter or assist with swimming. As soon as you’re introduced to your new pal, your father is kidnapped by a robotic bee riding Mr. B, an arch-nemesis with a goldfish bowl for a hat. His evil plan? Beginning with your father, he’s here to turn people into… human-sized hot dogs. Now it’s time for you, Sparkles the giraffe, and your best friend Mr. Rock to hunt him down and save the day.

Okay, here’s how this works

The gameplay for The Adventure Pals combines two portions, exploring the world on the back of your giraffe and completing stages to get hold of rubies to advance the plot. Beginning in your hometown of Treevale, each region has a town where the locals will hand out quests in return for a prize. This will reveal locations on the map to find, which is where the platforming begins.

You’ll find yourself battling against zombie pirate cats, post-apocalyptic dinosaurs, and hot dogs that poop explosive mines. Each quest has five stages to complete, each with monsters to defeat, puzzles to solve, and spikes to avoid. You’ll use your sword to cut through your enemies and use Sparkles to get around. Heavily influenced by Banjo-Kazooie, your pet giraffe will help you glide over dangers and maneuver you to safety. After completing five stages, you’ll leave with a ruby and whatever items required to complete the quest.

You’ll gain experience with each monster you defeat, allowing you to choose between a series of rewards, allowing Mr. Rock to be able to join you in combat and bring you supplies. You’ll also be able to enhance a lot of your abilities as you progress through the game.

Each area has a boss battle, usually oversized monsters your nemesis will put you against to try to halt you thwarting his plan. Imagine fighting giant tree monsters, escape approaching vegetable monsters, or battling against an aggressive breakfast combination. Yes, this game gets weird.

We helped a whale along the way!

They bring in the peculiar to little cute details in the game — from customizable costumes you obtain by feeding cupcakes to the Cupcake God, to collectible stickers hidden in some of the most horrendous hidden areas in the game. The Adventure Pals will smack you in the face with oddity and ambiguity with no clear grips to a particular plot. It’s fine and all but sometimes, you’ll feel a bit lost playing the game. You start questioning the relevance of each element and ask why things are so. It gets to a point where there aren’t many answers to those questions.

Leez, Richard, two giraffes, two rocks

Not what either of us expected could fly as a section of its own, but now that we’ve got our hands dirty explaining this quirky game, it’s time to bring out our personal experiences and takes on the game. This section is in no way a euphemism — don’t your minds dare go there. Don’t you guys dare!

Anyways, Richard was Player 1 and I was Player 2. As much as platformers enjoy integrating cooperative mode, The Adventure Pals slaps it on without dabbling into altering the game in any way. Despite playing with a fabulous unicorn giraffe, playing Player 2 was a pain because not only could I not converse with anyone in the game, but also, my character had zero relevance to the story. Player 2 doesn’t get to level up and the stages don’t show any need for any sort of cooperation.

Here, Richard is laughing as I am about to fall into spikes

The mode really feels like an afterthought, especially with how clunky it feels sharing a screen with the other player. If either of us got left behind or decided to go the other way, the game would decide who would be teleported to the other player. More often than not, it would choose the wrong person. This was a nightmare for finding secrets. And if you’ve jumped through a challenging section full of spikes and spinning axes, there’s a chance you’ll be teleported back to the other person after completing it.

Some pitfalls along the way

While there are interesting personalities and creative characters in the towns to talk to, the enemies you fight through while on a quest tend to be repetitive. The further you progress through the game, the more familiar enemies you’ll find. With the setting and color scheme of each region blending together, completing each stage started feeling like a chore for us. The game would throw new things at you as you progress, but the experience lingered into the monotonous.

You can collect stickers!

On release, this game has proven to be pretty buggy. We often found ourselves forced to restart a stage after locks wouldn’t open pathways as intended and sometimes I would find myself surviving a fall into a pit of spikes far too often by landing on the edge. If Richard fell to his death, we would both be trapped in the pit without a way to progress.

What was fun for a short period of time…

We were trapped here for a while…

What was fun was seeing me die — a lot. Richard swears at the hilarious ridiculousness of how often I’d die. And strangely, that’s not all. Yes, boys and girls, I am a certified idiot because there have been many cases where I’d mistake my character for Richard’s. Exhibit A: We had been exploring one of the maps and had been strolling around looking for cupcakes. I then see Richard come across one without picking it up and instantly complain. He pauses the game and tells me that I’d been the one who did so. Unpause. Identity crisis, everyone. I am stupid. Hand me a cookie.

Is this your game match?

If you’re into challenging platformers, this one might bore you. The stages aren’t incredibly difficult but the game does grade you with the number of monsters you manage to kill, how many times you die in a stage, and how long you get from point A to point B. If you’re looking for a perfectly casual platformer that has adorable elements, you should give this one a try. Much of the charm of The Adventure Pals comes from its quirks. The entire design of the game is visually appealing and that’s essentially what caught both our attention when it was released.

The Adventure Pals is a good platformer to pass the time, collect the achievements in your own time, and play with your friends just to troll them with the glitches (we both did that too). The title has its loose ends, but you can have fun when playing in cooperative mode.

The Adventure Pals is available on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4. It’s also available now on Steam for US$ 14.

Features

LOQ and LOAD: The Lenovo LOQ 2024 is for gaming and more

Your entry to PC Gaming

Published

April 23, 2024

GadgetMatch

Get your game on with the Lenovo LOQ 2024. This capable laptop is your entry point to PC Gaming and a lot more.

It comes an absolutely affordable price point: PhP 48,995.

You get capable hardware and the hood to support gaming and more. The Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9I runs on the 12th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and Intel Arc Graphics.

Those are key to bringing unreal graphics to this segment. Supporting latest tech like DirectX 12 Ultimate, players are able to enjoy high frame rates on the Lenovo LOQ.

Creating content? It comes with AI Advantage to help boost performance. Engines and accelerators boost the media processing workloads especially for creatives. It also works with Intel’s X Super Machine Learning, Leading to images that are as close to reality.

The laptop supports a configuration of up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD Storage.

As for its display, the device has a large 15.6-inch, Full HD panel that is more than enough for gaming, video editing, content consumption, and whatever else you do on a laptop. This display has 144Hz refresh rate, 300 nits brightness, and anti-glare.

Videos come out clear, crisp, and realistic. Audio is punchy and as loud as it gets. Windows Sonic elevates it more when you use headphones. And it just takes a few minutes to render HD videos on editing software.

As it runs on Windows 11, if you are going to use it for work, you can take advantage of various features. The Lenovo Vantage Widget is there for constant reminders, Copilot will help you organize your tasks, and Microsoft Edge is there for casual browsing.

There is an assortment of ports at the back for easy connectivity. And as this is meant for gaming, we put it to the test. Racing that looks better with high frame rate? Check. Shooting titles that require heavy work? Not a problem. You can play all your favorites and not worry about performance.

Best of all, it takes less than an our to juice up this laptop all the way to 100%.

So, whether you’re looking to get started with PC Gaming, or an upgrade for work and entertainment needs, the Lenovo LOQ has you covered.

This feature is a collaboration between GadgetMatch and Lenovo Philippines.

Gaming

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes out now

Forge your destiny

Published

April 23, 2024

GadgetMatch

Rabbit and Bear Studios and 505 Games’ Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is now available across multiple platforms. One of the most anticipated JRPGs in recent memory may now be played on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Moreover, it may be accessed on PC via Steam, the Epic Games store, and GOG.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is crafted by game developers Junko Kawano (Suikoden I, IV) and the late Yoshitaka Murayama (Suikoden I, II). The title features a modern take on classic 2D side-scrolling games. It has a six-character battle system, meticulous 2D sprites and 3D backgrounds, and a riveting story. As the name suggests, you can play over 100 characters.

GadgetMatch had the privilege of playing the game’s early preview here: Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes First Impressions

The refreshed environment immediately stands out. There is more detail, depth, and movement compared to how side-scrolling games of the past used to be played. The game lets players choose their party mates. Meanwhile, the actual combat is turn-based, giving players room to strategize what sequences or gimmicks to select.

With more than 100 characters to choose from, the game also allows players to appropriately select heroes fit for certain regions and dungeons throughout the story. Moreover, some are designated catalysts that can give you access to more of the world’s treasures. In between, users may enjoy mini-games, like the fishing side quest in the preview. The collected fish can be part of another mini-game — cooking — as ingredients for recipes you can cook with.

Features

Why choose the MSI Claw?

Is it the gaming handheld for you?

Published

April 18, 2024

GadgetMatch

The MSI Claw is the latest gaming handheld from a major PC and laptop brand. The competition in this emerging gadget segment is tighter than ever. So, what is it about the MSI Claw that can scratch your gaming itch? Here’s a quick list.

Best grip in the game

One quick glance and it’s hard not to compare the claw with another popular gaming handheld. But a closer look and actually holding the thing will reveal that its grip easily feels better.

It has a slightly deeper groove that makes it easier to hold. So, MSI’s “Grip and Game” tagline isn’t all talk. Its design truly does provide one of the better feeling handles among its competition.

The overall design makes sure it’s made for extended gameplay sessions. The buttons are where you expect them to be. That includes the four mini buttons on the upper edges of the screen. These are the View, MSI Center M, Menu, and Quick Settings buttons.

In addition, the face buttons and d-pad all feel great. The face buttons, in particular, feel comparable to those of regular console controllers.

The rest of the buttons and triggers have a very satisfying tactile feel. It also uses Hall Effect technology to get rid of any stick drift issues.

Up top, you’ll find the power button, MicroSD Card slot, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, audio jack, and the volume buttons. These are intuitively placed and just makes sense given the overall design approach.

As cliché as it sounds, you’ll really think you got your money’s worth once you hold, touch, press, and grip the MSI Claw.

Dragon Vision

Now, MSI isn’t really calling it that but I thought it sounds pretty cool. A big part of the whole gaming experience is the display. Balancing resolution and frame rates is always tricky but the MSI Claw does it convincingly.

With this gaming handheld, you get a 7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Looks great on paper and it’s even better in real life. It’s the sweet spot in terms of both size and performance. There’s enough here to immerse you all while delivering a satisfying level of crisp and smoothness.

It’s comfortable to view whether you’re on the couch, on a desk table, or lying down getting a quick game in before you get some shut-eye.

Battery Life

At 53Whr, the MSI Claw has a 36% larger battery capacity than its contemporaries and promises 50% more play time.

MSI claims “elevated performance with extended endurance” using the Claw with faster charging capabilities.

These percentages are hard to measure in real life usage. What we can say for certain is that you get the expected performance and playtime typical of a handheld. That’s a little under two hours for graphically demanding titles, and close to four hours on less demanding ones.

The charging claim is legitimate. The MSI Claw juices up faster than most other handhelds, going from 20% to 100% in about a little over a K-Drama episode (roughly a little over an hour).

MSI Center M

Any self-respecting gaming handheld has its own software to make navigating the thing more manageable. While its direct competitors have an armoury crate and a space, MSI went with Center M.

The best part about MSI Center M is it puts your installed games front and center. Right when it launches, you get immediate access to the titles you have available on your machine.

MSI Afterburner is already the most commonly used app for taking a look at how your machine is performing while you play. That functionality is built-in to the MSI Claw. You can access it view the Quick Settings buttons.

Layout and functionality-wise, the MSI Center M is certainly one of the better Gaming Handheld softwares available right now.

Competitive Performance

A defining trait of the MSI Claw is that It’s the first gaming handheld to be powered by Intel Core Ultra. With it comes Intel XeSS tech. What it does is leverage AI upscaling to boost the fps of select titles.

As of launch, 50 notable games are supported. That number will certainly grow throughout the device’s lifespan. Some of the titles include Hi-Fi Rush, Dying Light 2, Forza Horizon 5, Call of Duty Warzone 2.0, Returnal, and many, many more.

Naturally, results will vary depending on the game mode you’re using. But in general, AAA games get anywhere between 10% to 45% better frame rate performance with Intel XeSS.

For our part we played TEKKEN 8 and the recently launched Horizon Forbidden West. Both graphically demanding games played relatively well on the MSI Claw. Frame rate performance on TEKKEN 8 is crucial and we got a relatively consistent fps, never dropping below 40.

Horizon Forbidden West is a much more graphically demanding game. We were able to run it in Medium Settings and while it doesn’t look as incredible, it still played relatively well with a frame rate surprising for a gaming handheld.

Extras

MSI made sure that if you wanted to, you could get some extra stuff with the MSI Claw. Its separately sold accessory set includes the Claw Travel Case, Nest Docking Station, Claw Lanyard, and Claw Keychain.

On paper, the MSI Claw lists its ergonomic design, AI Engine, and App Player as distinct advantages over its competition.

Whether it’s the Gaming Handheld that matches your needs is still ultimately up to you. If you have the opportunity to test drive the device, we suggest you do so. That might just solidify your purchase decision.