I'm in a Judy Garland mood today so I'm giving you my favorite Judy song ^_^
Game review: Jane's Zoo
It's a little weird to see our hotel hero taking over caring for animals at a zoo, but people do make life changes every day. Maybe Jane got tired of the hotel/realty biz. Despite the weird setting, the gameplay is actually quite a lot of fun. The first level starts out really easy, which is as it should be. There are two animals that you need to feed and care for. Once you get the hang of things though, you get more animals and more things to do with the animals. By the end of the first level, you'll have four animals that will need feeding, bathing, exercise, and wellness visits. Not to mention that your handy helper has to water the grass in the enclosures, clean up the trash, and fix the animals' houses. While it sounds like a ton of stuff to do, you don't really get overwhelmed with the amount of work. The workload is nicely balance so the frustration level stays low.
In addition, there are mini-games where you are finding trash in forest locations. After you complete the mini-game, you have the option to upgrade your workers. Yes, the worker upgrades (how fast they can work, etc.) are completely separate from the zoo upgrades. You buy upgrades for the zoo with the money you win after completing each section of the main level. The worker upgrades come from the mini-games. And since the mini-games only come a couple of times each level, you aren't ending up with overpowered workers. They are gaining new skills at a decent pace.
I really enjoyed playing Jane's Zoo. Even more, I'm happy that the series has finally managed to find a good theme that is balanced and fun. I hope that Realore is able to keep it up!
Kago Ai - no hesitAtIon
On June 24, 2009, the infamous Kago Ai released her first solo single after the big scandals. (For those that don't know, she was caught smoking in 2006, when she was only 18. Then she was caught dating an older man AND smoking, which prompted her release from Hello!Project.) The title track, "no hesitAtIon," is a cute little ditty with lyrics that were written by Aibon herself. At first listen, the song seems like a fairly typical pop tune. However, after a few rotations, you can hear the "Kago-ness" come out. Lately, Aibon has kind of dubbed herself a spokesperson for teaching young people how to behave properly. (Meaning not smoking or having risky sex...things like that.) As such, this song has an uplifting message about starting over and being yourself. Granted, it's not quite as good as the B-side, "Children of the Night," but it is still a really great song. I hope she keeps going long enough to release a full album on her own.
JDorama review: Binbo Danshi
Favorite Friday
TV review: Torchwood: Children of Earth
The show is a lot grittier than what we are used to. Gwen loses hope. One of the team members dies. Jack is forced to do something pretty evil. Meanwhile, society around them is falling into ruin. I really did love the show, even though every episode feels like "how else can we screw over Jack..." and Jack doesn't come out of the ordeal unscathed. He comes out very broken. I would love to see another season of Torchwood, especially in light of everything they've gone through. However, it doesn't seem like it would be possible. Most of the team is dead and those that are left are scattered. Where can they go from here?
TV review: Being Human
The show itself is a little weird. Basically, a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost end up as roommates. The werewolf (George) and the vampire (Mitchell) had an established friendship before the show begins. Anna the ghost, however, already occupies the house they are going to rent. It is where she died. George and Mitchell also work together at the local hospital. The hospital had an isolation room where George could spend his "time of the month" and, well, we all know why vampires like hospitals. Though Mitchell is more of the 'I don't drink human blood' type of vampire so he tries to keep the blood-sucking type away from the patients.
While I think the show has a good premise and has potential, the first episode had a bit too much information shoved into it. Instead of taking the time to introduce our main characters and their quirks, they felt the need to introduce all of the side characters up-front. For example, Lauren (another vampire) could have waited an episode or two before coming into the fold. I understand why the writers wanted to shove as much information at us as possible. After all, you never really know how long your show will last. But too much information at once isn't good either. Let the story unfold on its own. If the show gets canceled before everything is revealed, then perhaps it wasn't a very good story to begin with. However, I think this IS a good story and could use the sprinkling of information well.
Favorite Friday
1 vs 100 on Xbox Live
My husband and I have been playing 1 vs 100 on the Xbox 360. Despite a lot of people saying it was awesome, I was skeptical. I expected the typical online gamers to ruin it. Luckily, I was completely wrong. The game is awesome. For those of you that don't know what 1 vs 100 is, it's basically a trivia game. On certain "live primetime" days, you can win prizes. From what I understand, the prizes are mostly Xbox Live credits, but the last time we played, they were giving away copies of Braid. Anyway, on the live days, you have the opportunity to either be "The One" or in "The Mob." The One tries to outlive The Mob, If you answer a question wrong, you're out. Whoever is left (The One or however many Mob members) wins.
During non-live days, you can still play. There just aren't any prizes. But you do rack up points that the game uses to determine who will be The One and who will be in The Mob. So playing on non-live days is really beneficial. We're not playing much this week due to the Torchwood mini-series, but we'll be back next week!
Game review: Diner Town Tycoon
I really wanted to get the memory of Mr. Biscuits out of my head. So I downloaded Diner Town Tycoon. Diner Dash has rarely let me down. And this is no different. Well, I lie. The gameplay is completely different, but it's much more enjoyable! Instead of waiting on tables, you are trying to stop the evil Grub Burger from taking over your town. You start off with one restaurant, where you control what dishes are being served and how much they cost. It is your job to make sure you have enough ingredients for each dish so you can feed the hungry hoards that populate your town. As you try to keep your restaurant afloat, there are daily goals for you to accomplish. With each goal reached, Grub Burger loses their hold on the people.
I found myself completely mesmerized by Diner Dash Tycoon. I expected the traditional 'run around serving tables' game, but was surprised by how different and innovative this version was. There was a little bit of Diner Dash (each customer has specific tastes) mixed with a little bit of the 'Tycoon' games (the game view looks over the town as a whole instead of focusing on one business). If only I had more thumbs to put up for it!