Grog (PC) Review

 

Grog is a Minigame based Partygame for up to 4 players. The game is based on cliche Australia freetime activities and features 5 stages in total.

In Surfing players have to walk across a blue texture (supposed to be the ocean) and dodge grey texture blocks (supposed to be waves). In Grog Shopping players have to collect beer bottles in a supermarket and battle the bad collision detection to get the most points. Lawnmowing and BBQ are exactly what you would expect and in Camping players have to collect stones, trees, water and mushrooms to improve their tents. None of these mundane activities are very exciting. The gameplay is very basic and after the second playthrough you will start to get bored.

To the game's credit, there are some hidden beer bottles as collectibles and unlockable achievements, which can give the game a bit more replay value. Nonetheless, it is obvious, that this is either a first game project, or more of a casual fun project with little development time, than a more serious game.

You can have fun with friends while playing this game, but it's not going to be because of this game. Even just sitting at a table and chatting with friends is already fun. This game doesn't add much to it. For a few minutes it might give you a light smile or perhaps even a giggle, but the gameplay isn't anything worth talking about. Everything is very basic, simple and honestly forgettable. The various collision errors, technical problems while trying to find a lobby and horrible visuals are not doing the game any favours either.

 

3.5/10

Happy Hoops (Cornflakes) Review

 

In a previous article I have been discussing the various Knock-Off versions of the popular Kelloggs Froot Loops Cornflakes. Most of them were called Fruit Rings and got differently distributed and marketed in different parts across the globe. I only experienced the German Fruit Rings version from REWE and was left quite disappointed. If you are interested in those, I will put a link in the article (https://gamereviewnation.blogspot.com/2023/05/fruit-rings-cornflakescereals-review.html).

By pure accident I have now been trying out a completely different Knock-Off version of Froot Loops, named Happy Hoops by EDEKA. The name does remind me of Fruit Hoops from Crownfield. The Kelloggs company is currently having a huge conflict with most of the bigger German supermarket companies, which lead to Kelloggs products becoming very scare in my country. I thought this would be the right moment to check out Happy Hoops. 

Happy Hoops are being represented by an animated unicorn, which does look quite similar to the mascot of Unicorn Froot Loops. Unicorn Froot Loops seem to be a different branding of Froot Loops, just with a Unicorn instead of the classic Toucan Sam. Otherwise, classic and Unicorn Froot Loops look and taste the same. The unicorn of Happy Hoops looks a bit lower effort, but it has more of a Comics look. I like the fact that it wears a necklace made of cereals. The eyes of the unicorn however do look weird, like it would be confused or slightly retarded. Overall however it is a decent design.

As with Fruit Rings, there are similar Knock-Off versions in a variety of countries. I for example discovered that Fruit Hoops from Crownfield are also being sold as Fruit Rings in some countries, while using an identical front cover. It looks like Crownfield wants to play both sides and get both Rings and Hoops fans alike. There are aside from Fruit Hoops/Fruit Rings for example also Fruity Hoops by Clover Valley, which have a bear with a classic tourist outfit on its box. Fruity Hoops by Chestnut Hill instead have a Monkey as a mascot. The Swedish Happy Hoops from Eldorado are so confident in the quality of their cereals they refuse to use a mascot, or maybe they just wanted to cut cost. Who knows. The most audacious copy whoever got to be Rainbow Hoops by ASDA, who look so dangerously close to Unicorn Froot Loops, Kelloggs could have probably considered a lawsuit. 

The first thing you are going to notice with Happy Hoops is the fact, that the cereals surprisingly look noticeably smaller than regular Froot Loops or the Fruit Rings versions. They are certainly not tiny, yet the difference in size is quite surprising. Otherwise, the Happy Hoops look pretty much identical to Froot Loops and Fruit Rings and apart from the size you would have a hard time to differentiate them just based on looks alone.

Thankfully Happy Hoops, in contrast to the Fruit Rings version I tasted, did a much better job at the most important part of any cereals: The taste. The flavour of Fruit Rings was so impactless, that they were nearly tasteless without Milk. With Milk, it got a little bit better, but the discrepancy to Froot Loops was massive. Happy Hoops thankfully have a much stronger flavour, that comes a lot closer to the original and especially with Milk the difference in quality is rather small. Nonetheless, there is still a little difference in quality experienceable, but that seems acceptable for Knock-Off cereals.

 

Result:

Happy Hoops are a nice surprise. After the Fruit Rings experiment I expected another disappointment. Happy Hoops however do taste quite well. The original admittedly does taste superior, but the difference is rather marginal. While the difference in price didn't come close to outweighing the difference in quality between Fruit Rings and Froot Loops, Happy Hoops are a very respectable alternative. I wouldn't call this must have cereals, but the cheaper price makes them a decent choice for breakfast. You should however also not expect anything more than a slightly inferior Froot Loops version.

 

6/10

Monopoly Poker (PC) Review

 

Monopoly Poker is another Poker Game from Playtika, the developers of the Governor of Poker Games. This time however they are using the popular Monopoly franchise to attract players.

To be honest I expected this to be a mix of actual Monopoly and a Poker game, which turned out to be a false expectation. The game is to 90% just your regular Online Poker Game, but there are two Monopoly connections. Most other Poker Games have generic card dealers, but in Monopoly Poker the Monopoly Man is the card dealer. That is actually really cool. I believe that the quality of the presentation is one of the most important elements to a Poker Game, since the gameplay is so similar between them. Even though the players have no character models and are only symbolized by their profile pictures, is having an iconic character, like the Monopoly Man, as a card dealer, a big benefit for this game. In comparison to the many Poker games with static 2D card dealers, like in Pokerist, or ugly animated dealers, like in the Governor of Poker games, is the Monopoly Man much more atmospheric. Seeing him giggle or smoothly deal some cards is a big plus.

The only other Monopoly connection is the Monopoly Board, where players can once a day throw some dices to move on a virtual Monopoly Playing Board. Depending on the field they land on, players will get more or less money. The street fields can also be upgraded with a gold currency, which can be bought with real money. The bigger the upgrades the more money players get, if they land on the field.

Even though these elements are somewhat cool, it is a bit disappointing to see that there are not more connections to Monopoly in the game. Because otherwise Monopoly Poker is actually pretty similar to the Governor of Poker games, which is not so surprising, since they share the same developer. This also means, that many of the bad mobile features, like the UI and monetization practices, are present here.

That being said, everything seems to have been turned to down a little in comparison to the previously released Governor of Poker 3. There is no longer a world map to progress on. You can choose directly from the main menu between different unlockable 'Sit and Go', 'Cash Game' and 'Spin and Play' tables. The only side modes are 'Black Jack' and 'Lucky Dice', a dice roll mode. That being said I do like, how Monopoly Poker rewards you for winning multiple Sit and Go Tournaments with rare Rings, that can be displayed next to your profile pictures. This definitely felt more rewarding than the badges in Governor of Poker 3, which nobody could see outside your profile. There is also a Skill ranking aside from the account level, that values skill over pure gameplay time. Whether the lack of character models is worse than the ugly Governor models is obviously a matter of personal preference, but both games can't compete with the likes of Prominence Poker or Poker Night at the Inventory.

A reduction that I undoubtedly welcomed was the removal of paying incentives (the prices are also often lower) and UI symbols. Nevertheless, there are still more than enough mobile UI elements and purchase "opportunities" to annoy players.

 

Result:

Monopoly Poker is at the core not too different from the Governor of Poker games. The removal of the world map is a bit of a letdown, especially since you could have used the monopoly board for that. Nonetheless, I preferred having the Monopoly Man as a Card Dealer and less mobile features and paying incentives are always at least a small plus in my book. That beings said, Monopoly Poker might be worth a look, especially if you like Monopoly, but it still lacks noticeably in the presentation department in comparison to the best Poker Games.

 

5.5/10

Scuffed Fall Guys Clones (PC) Review Part 2

A few weeks ago, we have been taking a look at some scuffed Fall Guys Clone Game attempts (https://gamereviewnation.blogspot.com/2023/12/scuffed-fall-guys-clones-pc-review.html). I reviewed 'Royale King', 'Yappie Knockout' and 'Fall Girls'. Furthermore I have given some additional thoughts in this context to two games I had already previously reviewed on this Blog. This was for one the chaotic and humorous 'Let it Flow' (https://gamereviewnation.blogspot.com/2021/06/let-it-flow-pc-review.html) and also the Hexagon inspired 'Block Arena' (https://gamereviewnation.blogspot.com/2021/05/block-arena-pc-review.html).In the last weeks i have discovered two other really scuffed Fall Guys Clone Games, for which I just had to write a short follow-up article.

The first game is called LOLBeans and can even be played via a Browser-Version. This game has no Background music and sound effects are pretty metallic and off. The controls are simple. You walk, jump and obviously fall and slide all over the place. I have to admit, that LoLBeans is not as atrociously stealing levels, like for example Yappie Knockout does. That being said, it is probably the most scuffed looking of all the Fall Guys Clone Games I checked out. I would say this game looks and plays like a mobile game, but that's probably because it is one. The levels are clearly inspired by Fall Guys, but still have a unique design. This however isn't necessarily a praise, since the map designs are very basic and the controls are quite simple. Walking straight and occasional jumps will bring you through pretty much every level in the game. I am not really sure what to make of this game. It is not as audaciously copying, like Yappie, but it is also soooo scuffed and the gameplay too simple to really be enjoyed. I think I am going to settle for a slightly below average 4.5/10 for this one.

I also discovered another wannabe Fall Guys attempt in the form of Sugar Rush, which should not be confused with 'Candy Crush'. I am sure the name similarity is just a coincidence. This game has only one stage and the first player is automatically also the winner of the match. You have to collect coloured tiles, with which you can build bridges. The target is to place down the most tiles and reach the finish first. The idea is kind of funny for the first round or two, than you realize that there is nothing else to it. The game even tried to push an ad on me in the middle of a match. That is of course the optimal time to watch one. Oh and btw, Sugar Rush just stole the Fall Guys background music and plays it for the entire time. I am 100% sure, they do not have the rights to do so. If Sugar Rush had many more and different stages, it could perhaps have become mediocre. With the very limited content however it only gets a 2.5/10 from me.

Governor of Poker 3 (PC) Review

 

Governor of Poker 3 is currently by far the most popular Poker Game on Steam. It recently hit an all-time peak of over 25.000 Steam players and seems to still be climbing upwards. 7 years after release that is pretty surprising. Is the game however worth its hype? We are about to find out.

As the name suggests, Governor of Poker 3 is the third game in its franchise. Governor of Poker 1 and 2 were primarily singleplayer games against Bots. The first game is apparently no longer available and Governor of Poker 2 is a buy-to-play game on Steam. Governor of Poker 3 on the other hand is an online Poker Game. The developers of these games Playtika have also published many other Poker and gambling game spinoffs.

A unique feature of Governor of Poker 3 and probably the element, that stood out to me the most, is the World Map in the game. The map is split into different areas, which feature a couple of locations each. Every location has its own rules and money limits. Leveling up your account unlocks new locations to play at. This is a great motivation to keep playing the game.

The most featured Poker variant at the locations are classic 'Cash Games', where players can come and go as they please, rebuy their way into matches, once they run out of money and where matches can theoretically go on indefinitely. 'Sit and Go' matches on the other hand are small tournaments, where players have to pay an entrance fee to participate at a table and only one player can win a noticeable price money. 'Push or Fold' matches are closer to Cash Games, just with higher blinds and having to either raise or fold every round. The last variant 'Spin and Play' is a quicker version of Sit and Go, just with 3 players and faster raising Blinds.

Apart from the world map locations, there are also some side modes. There are for example Black Jack matches, Tournaments, Party Games and limited time events. Black Jack explains itself. Tournaments consist of short 1v1 matches. If you win 12 duels, you can get a big prize. You do not need to win 12 in a row, but can only afford to strike out 3 times. Party games are essentially just private lobbies for Cash Games. LTMs can consist of different modes, like 'All-In or Fold'. So Governor of Poker definitely has a lot of variety in their Poker modes.

Let's now talk a bit about the negative aspects of Governor of Poker 3. Most of them can probably be attributed to the mobile origins of the game. Governor of Poker 3 was simply ported to the PC. This is not a remaster or a real PC version. You can for example see this very clearly at the Mobile UI. There are around more than a dozen different blinking icons present at all times. If you are not unlocking something, which happens a lot, than most of them are supposed to lure you into purchasing some stuff. Players can purchase ingame money with real money, but there are also ridiculously expensive scratchcards, breakable piggy banks and spinning wheels, which are supposed to push addicts into investing more money into the game with the promise of potential astronomical wins. Every person can spend their money how they see fit, but giving people the option to gamble real money to potentially win virtual money, sounds pretty disgusting to me. This game is clearly targeting people with gambling addictions. Admittedly, that's probably what all F2P Poker games are doing, but its still worth pointing out.

Oh, and we haven't even talked about the various subscription models of the game. There are 5 (!) different tiers of subscription. They vary in length and benefits. The most expensive one costs 100 Euro and lasts only 3 months. This means a full year subscription with the highest benefits would cost around 400 Euro. This is beyond madness and simply deplorable. Governor of Poker is without a doubt heavily over-monetized.

Another mobile aspect are the visuals of the game. I criticized Texas Hold'em Pokerist in my review a couple of months ago for not having anything else than static profile pictures. Governor of Poker admittedly does have real character models, but unfortunately they are god awful. Some mobile gamers might be used to this graphics, but for a PC game it's insulting. Even the world map actually just looks like some Windows 95 construction simulation game. I was also personally not a fan of the obscurity of some of the skins in the game. One guy I played against for example had a giant moving squirrel as a hat. Stuff like this can be a bit distracting, if you are looking for an authentic poker experience. That being said, I guess stuff, like crazy skins, have for better or worse just become a part of modern gaming.

Two other complaints, I have heard people criticize about pretty much every free Poker Game in existence, are some players going all-in every time and bad RNG. I can't really say anything about whether the game is rigged or not. Every Poker Game I know is getting accused of it and despite a supposed RNG-Certificate non of us know which algorithms are really being used ingame. I can only advice people to not take virtual Poker games to seriously and just play casually. I am certainly not a gambling person in real life, but even if I wore, I would certainly not trust any videogame with my money.

Something annoying is also the fact, that there are no limits for beginners tables and tournaments. Everybody can participate at every location. Experienced players can therefore afford to pretty much always go all-in and taking high risks all the time, since a loss doesn't really mean anything to them. Particularly popular is the All-In strategy at the beginning of Sit and Go Tournaments, where the winning player immediately gets a huge advantage by collecting all the coins of 2-3 other players at the table. The losing players just immediately requeue till they win a first round, since the entrance fees mean much less to them than to new players. You can definitely still win those matches, but it is certainly annoying.

 

Result:

Governor of Poker 3 is a significantly better game than the disappointing Texas Hold'em Poker Pokerist. I like the world map with its different locations and Poker modes. The game pace is very fast and quicker than most of the Poker Games with a better presentation. That being said, the mobile UI and underwhelming player models however are pretty off-putting and I can't blame anybody for rage quitting the game after taking a look at them. The heavy over-monetization of the game is what really annoyed and in some ways even shocked me. You can certainly play Governor of Poker 3 in a casual way and have some fun, but I would urge approaching with caution.

 

5/10