We Play Stuff: Star Gazer and Sea Scape

Star Gazer

Star Gazer is a bit of a different take on a familiar type of puzzle game. Basically, you shoot stars up at a growing number of them in the sky. Like real life, the stars vary in color. Unlike in real life, the stars have ridiculous little faces on them. Or is that realistic? I dunno, I'm pretty sure I've seen that guy in the Moon at least a few times. Anyway, Star Gazer follows the rule of many other games, puzzle or not: 3 of the same color, and POOF! You've made yourself a match. One plays the game by shooting stars out of a telescope manned by a mysterious wizard. You're shown the color of the next two stars you can shoot, which is helpful and allows you to play the game much faster, which is necessary as you move up in level. What sets Star Gazer apart from the rest of the games like this is the power-ups. With features like a light that extends as far as the top of screen for increased accuracy, a ball that explodes everything in a given radius, and a bouncing ball of death that smashes any stars it hits, the power-ups certainly help when you get into the harder levels, and make the game more fun and interesting.

3/5


Sea Scape

Sea Scape touches upon a concept rarely used for games: Deep-sea treasure hunting! If you're anything like my mom, which you probably are not in any way, you'll love this game. The gameplay resembles 'escape the room' gameplay, where you just click things in order to pick them up/use them. Click the arrows on the sides to adjust your position underwater, click the large 'i' on the right to access your inventory, etc. I actually had a good time playing this game. Whether it was the multiple, good looking underwater environments, or the unusual style of game, the game actually kept me entertained until the end. The game itself is easy and took me about 18 minutes to beat. One starts out with a piece of a treasure map, and it's your job from there to find the other three, and gain the quite valuable artifacts from the ocean floor beneath. Equipped with typical diving tools -- knife, camera, plasma cutter and LED torch -- which play a large part in your success in this money-grubbing quest, you have to bust open boxes, cut stuff, burn stuff...alright. So it's not the most complex and detailed of games. It's too easy and short, but it kept me busy for a short time, perhaps it'll do the same for you.

4/5