The Bug Butcher Review

07:00:00 Unknown 0 Comments



The game revolves around Harry an interplanetary exterminator.



Humanity has gone to the stars to look for new life and new civilisations but instead found hordes of uncompromising alien bugs who want to chew, burn and digest they way through the human race.
Harry is called out to a scientific outpost where they have been conducting experiments on these enigmatic entomological entities. As with the age-old Icarus cliche something has gone wrong, and the bugs are running amok in the labs, and parking garages, and lifts.
So break out 'Ol Faithful and prepare to do some extermination Dalek style!



The game-play is a 2D shooter, but with a difference. You're locked into firing upwards. So unlike Contra and Metal slug where it is key to firing along the horizontal plain, this locks you into a vertical plain. This gives it a kind of Space Invaders vibe but with much more depth in game-play. You match this with the way enemies behave, gun juggling and the environment they behave in, giving the game some depth.

The enemies love to bounce and break off into tiny little guys which you have to exterminate. We've got pink aliens, blue aliens, weird flying electro bugs and enemies that can kill you in a single bite, but I have to say the spider based bugs are the most annoying, as they snatch up and try to devour the scientists that are on your side.

Now to help you combat the waves of colourful bouncy alien bugs you have a small but effective arsenal of weapons. Starting with the basic laser blaster lovingly referred to as 'Ol faithful you get power-ups, laser beams, rocket barrages and the ever useful and effective freeze bombs.



Graphics are a fun cartoony style. You've got your main guy with disproportionate features, scientists who I swear are original Gameboys with arms and the Aliens who look fun and almost non-threatening. The game has a colourful and appealing look that isn't harsh to the eye.

The music sits somewhere between 80's synth and modern-day electro. It doesn't wear thin on you and seems to match the whole overall style of the game. Daft punk-esk.

Admittedly it took awhile to get into the game as I experienced a few technical issues, but after awhile I was pulled directly into the game and found myself completely engrossed. I know this as I started to lose track of time, which is the sign of a good game.

As I stated above I had some technical issues, as I was playing on a mac. The game didn't seem to recognise certain keys on my keyboard and wasn't adapted properly. I overcame this by using a Xbox 360 controller. But having to resolve technical issues is slightly off putting

I loved this and thoroughly enjoyed it, the input issue did grate on me and the fact I started by playing it in the wrong mode and I couldn't play two players didn't put me off. My advice, stick to the arcade mode.

This game is for those who love 2D shooters such as Contra and Metal Slug or if you just want a break from the norm. It's well made and well rounded and should provide between 4 to 8 hours of gameplay if you don't get stuck in the loop of getting all the trophies high scores, achievements etc. 



When it comes to value for money it's a bit hard as I was given it for review. So I'll have to leave that up to you guys.

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Plug and Play Review (or Seriously What the Fuck?)

07:00:00 Unknown 0 Comments



Seriously what is this game? What is it trying to say? Where is the game?
Okay, I first saw this when it was doing the rounds on Youtube and kind of skipped over it. Then when it appeared on a Humble Bundle, and being a bit of a Humble Bundle addict I bought it without thinking. Hey, these YouTubers were playing it so there must be something about it?
Alright, at the time of writing this Plug and Play is going for £1.99 on Steam remember this as it's important for later.


The game consists of some very simple black and white graphics and some even more simple game mechanics. The imagery, Jesus Christ what's with the imagery? It starts off nice and simple with you popping a plug into a socket, followed by some mad Da Vinci God and Adam finger touching with some massively long fingers. Which is funny don't get me wrong. Then convert to a surreal image of a person with a plug for a head running back and fourth. With quiet a predominant arse. This surreal character at a third through the game stops swats and shits out one of his plug pins, straining.


Now this is where I start looking at this game as a weird Salvador Dali painting with something deep and meaningful to it, or as the work of some kind of pothead who managed to keep it together long enough to either make the game, or explain it to someone so they could make the game. Is the whole drop and squat something about gender dynamics. Saying the people can change their genders or sexual preferences at the drop of a hat?

Along with a section reminiscent of a cartoon I saw in the 80's about communism and individuality. In this cartoon, a long line if grey dull characters were shoving in a queue until someone fell off a cliff and then they'd shuffle up and repeat the process, but in the middle of all of this I a bright colourful character who seems stupid and non-conformist would go against the grain and push back in the other direction.


The game seems to have had two clear plug head types, male and female. In the game, you have to converse with the female plug heads. Declaring your love or not. Trying to form some kind of connection with the other one. Which gave me the feeling it was emphasising the human condition and the need for love and understanding.
And at the point I thought the game was trying to be deep and meaningful, along came the human centipede. A ring of plug head characters, with their heads buried firmly up one another’s arses.
This game is so strange, as I stated above it's either deep and meaningful or just mental. Now the whole experience lasted about 15 minutes, and had no real deep or fun gameplay, but saying that they may be a deeper meaning to it. Then again I could just be over analysing this whole thing.

It retails at £1.99 on steam and is pretty much the same as a flash game you can find of Game-jolt or IndieDB. I don't believe it's worth it. My best advice is to find a play-through on Youtube and give it a watch. I give this a Gaming Face Punch 1 out of 5
Tagged: Plug and Play, Review, Weird

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