=== Mobile Game Review -- I Monster - RPG Adventure - 6/10 ===

What Are We Reviewing?
Today we have I Monster by DreamSky.

Last Updated: December 20, 2019
Price: FREE
Genre: RPG / Adventure
Rating: Teen

I Monster is available on Google Play and currently has over 100,000 downloads. I'm having a bit of a hard time with this one because I both love it and hate it at the same time. There are good things about it, and there are bad things bad things about it the rest is rather... meh. I do enjoy RPG-type games because it's fun to progress into a powerful super-being and this definitely is one of those games... though I think maybe the balance is off somehow because something just doesn't feel right about it. Let me explain...

Gameplay:
Beginning from what I would call the hub we can see an ominous tower in the distance which is where we will be doing our adventuring. Nearby is a large rock upon which sits a bird with a diamond. This rock seems to deliver quests to complete with each adventure while the bird gives advertisements and pays for your time with diamonds.

Before heading off on our adventure we'll check out the Equipment Store for possible new equipment and of course be sure to keep anything of importance in the Warehouse... which I suppose is just a different way of describing a chest. There's also a village area nearby where more services can be given, though at this early point in the game we have only unlocked the blacksmith who is able to upgrade equipment to be stronger.

We begin what is for us yet another adventure into the tower starting from the first level. At this point it is quite easy to complete these early levels of the tower thanks to some equipment which is quite strong for the early spaces as well as having at this point reached level 7 in experience.

Each battle is rather simply done by tapping on a target which causes our character to approach and fight said target. Longer fights are somewhat more interesting by being more back and forth trading blows as well as giving opportunities to use abilities. In our case we've chosen a lightning strike ability which of course uses some mana to do so.

That... is really it. I'm not sure if this game is supposed to get more interesting as the game goes on, but it seems to just be a simple kind of RPG game. Movement is done on a grid and not everything must be fought, only what is in the way or what is required due to being a boss. So I mean, the thing about this game is that I wouldn't say there's anything wrong with the gameplay... it's just... not all that interesting.

I Monster works as a game in that there seems to be a goal and a progression into a more powerful state as there should be in an RPG, but I just don't feel like what's happening in this game is good enough to keep my attention. I'm not driven to want to explore more into this game than I have at this point. Watching advertisements gives Diamonds which can be used to reset the equipment shop as well as unlock more backpack pages. But really it feels more to me like it only wastes time and interrupts gameplay.

Graphics / Sound:

Sort of a cartoony type of style. I really like the hub screen and the menus are nice to look at, but maybe it's because of the combat being so fast... or maybe it's because of the advertisements interrupting gameplay (because we all know getting as much of that special currency is highly important in any free game)... but in any case, there just isn't anything all that special to note. The graphics are nice, no glitches, nothing to complain about; just really nothing special.

The sound is a similar situation where there isn't truly anything special about it, but I have noticed that there is a sound or two "borrowed" from Diablo II when using a health or mana shrine.

Replayability:

Well, I suppose as long as you enjoy exploring the same sort of thing with different layouts over and over again... this can be replayed forever and ever and ever. So far as I've been able to experience, the only thing stopping a player from continuing to continue forever would be the boredom of experiencing the same thing with little to no difference.

SUMMARY:

I don't know, maybe I'm being a little harsh on this game. It seriously isn't a bad game, I just find it doesn't have much special going for it and that really is a bit of a drawback these days. I suppose I'll give it a bit more go and see how I feel about it from there. But at this point my feeling is that the score I'm giving will be 6/10.

Points would be lost for sound being taken from another WELL KNOWN game as well as gameplay not being all too interesting. All in all, I would still recommend this game to try out if you're looking for something ENGAGING; bonus points for not having the entire game be played by turning off the game as many other free games tend to do. I suppose I would say I Monster is average with a recommendation to at least give it a try, which is why I've decided upon this score.

~ DaemonVirus

Sidewalk Days 2018 =18=

Sidewalk Days is finally here! This is an event in Moose Jaw that's a little bit like a giant farmer's market for a few days. A large section of Main Street gets closed off and a bunch of companies and product sellers from within and from outside of Moose Jaw all set up tents and show off their stuff. You can get quite a few free things and can enter free draws and things just from walking up and down the street. It's a fantastic way to get some free entertainment and a lot of exercise from doing so much walking.

It was at Sidewalk Days two years ago that I got a couple turtle necklaces for Carley to wear and only a couple weeks ago that the first one finally broke. We also got her first purse at that same Sidewalk Days which unfortunately didn't last as long due to the zipper breaking and then the dog chewing on it. That was our first experience with the event and now we totally love going to it. I'd even take the dogs with us, but this year it's so very hot out and we still haven't mastered having two dogs and a baby on a single walk, so perhaps we'll give that a try next year.

So far this year we've gotten two balloons (one came off the string and floated away), some cool hot pack things which are normally quite expensive but we got for something silly like 75% off, we've entered a few free draws, bought tickets for a 50/50 draw, got information for a new place which does a doggie daycare during the day and grooming as well. It's been pretty fantastic and we still have to go back to see a couple more booths later today including one which is filled with tons of lego characters made to represent many different celebrities, mascots, and characters.

If you've never been to this event, you should make plans to come to Moose Jaw next year around this time. You can find some pretty cool things going on with some cool stuff to buy or you can just walk up and down the street and learn about the stuff going on around the city.

~ Kyle Welykholowa

=== PC Game Review -- Crown and Council - Turn-Based Strategy - 6/10

     Crown and Council is a really simple game made by the maker of Minecraft. The goal of the game is to conquer your enemies by attacking them in a risk-like fashion where a random roll done behind the scenes decides whether or not the money you have spent on attacking is successful.

     Unfortunately there isn't much to say about this game. The levels are randomly generated and range from large maps with lots of land to conquer, to small maps with only a few islands.

     I would say the game is fun to play for a short time, but gets boring quite quickly. The best way I can describe the experience would be to say... imagine playing Risk many times again and again and again in a short time. Sure, Risk is fun, but there isn't much to it. After a while it gets a little stale.

     So I'm giving this game 6/10. It's not really anything new, but it is cute and it's also free, which means if you're looking for something to kill time that doesn't cost anything, I see nothing wrong with recommending this game to you.

~ Kyle