Charming yet dark, German developer Headup Games’ Typoman blends the puzzle and platforming genres into a polished pulp of passion, forging the type of title that could work on any console, but thanks to the Wii U GamePad is a perfect fit on Nintendo’s fledgling console.
Easy to describe, Typoman uses letters to forge its “Hero.†Literally, the character’s design is an H, E, R and O. Even the enemies and obstacles are made up on consonants and vowels. In order to advance through each level, gamers have to create words to activate and traverse the terrain, creating words like “on†and “off†in easy situations and much complex verbiage in later levels. The end result is a platformer that works, it’s got a bit of “Mario†and “Pitfall†in it, but thanks to the puzzle elements has that something “extra†to make it stand out of the crowd.
Much of the speciality has to do with the games’ look. Right from the start, Typoman creates a sense of wonder and fun that you’ll enjoy. Dark and gritty with an endearing air, Typoman will instantly draw connections to another fantastic platformer, “Braid.†It’s here where much of the intrigue is created, jumping around, climbing and swinging. But at the same time, the dangers that wait may be too much for the average gamer. Simply put, you will die quite a bit in Typoman. At times, you’ll have no idea how to remedy your situation. While there’s a much-needed hint system via the GamePad, you’ll have to think a lot more than you would in the average platformer. Then, just wait until the boss battles, where you’re platforming skills won’t be enough, you’ll have to spell the proper words at a pace that may take your brain some time to get used to.
Continue Reading This Article From Review Fix Editor-In-Chief Patrick Hickey Jr. at Examiner.com
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
Using the tried-and-true gameplay mechanics and bringing the one-of-a-kind “Jurassic Park†and “Jurassic World†stories to life with the Lego...
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