Geek Citadel Mini-Reviews: Nancy the Happy Whore and Anomaly 2

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1998

Nancy and her friend Susie are taking a trip to Birmingham. Nancy falls asleep at the wheel and has a weird dream about a Prophet. She is skeptical about his ability to prophesize anything, but he shows off his skill by letting her know that her car will run out of gas. She wakes up to the screams of her best friend and discovers that they have parked at a Petrol Station. This would be a lucky break if any of the gas pumps actually worked. It’s up to Nancy to move through the petrol station and find a way to fill up her tank and get to Birmingham.

Nancy the Happy Whore is a traditional adventure game. It’s filled with adult humor about drugs and sex without stooping to a crude level. It takes a lot from old school point-and-click titles like Discworld, Sam and Max, and many more. It even shares the look of many titles of yesteryear, but that credit goes to the Adventure Game Studios engine.You will guide our happy prostitute to different parts of the gas station and discover wacky characters who only seek to hinder you. The encounters are not as madcap as one would hope from the title, but it is engaging enough to push through the three hours of game play.

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It features a fully voiced cast of characters, but there are only a few standouts among the bunch. Nancy and Susie are fantastic, and they nail their quips with the grace deserved of an adventure title. A few of the villains like the Cultists, Mr. Green, Mr. Blue, and the Clerk sell their characters very well. It’s the sound design that brings down the quality of the dialogue. Some of the actors recorded their material without pop-filters, and a few voices are incredibly low and barely understandable. It can really detract from the jokes told on the screen when the music blares over the character talking. The worst of the offenders is the “Geek”, who sounds like he’s in a room with a ton of echo and he’s speaking his lines with his regular voice. It’s horrible since he’s a major part of the story-line, and that’s a damn shame since a lot of the other villain voices would have been a better choice.

All in all, this is an charming title with a fair grasp on the adventure genre. It’s not rip-roaringly funny or anything, but it does have its fair share of laughs. In a way, the ludicrous nature of the game isn’t as fleshed out as one would hope. It’s a three-hour ride that doesn’t stretch its legs until the hour and a half mark. It’s a shame that there are so many sound design issues in the title, and that’s a no-no in a dialogue heavy adventure game. Nancy the Happy Whore receives a C from Geek Citadel. If you can overcome the apparent sound flaws, a humorous five-dollar adventure awaits.

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Death is in the air and the war with a race of technologically advanced aliens has taken its toll on the Earth. The Human forces are barely able to push back the overwhelming forces of the violent invaders. Their last hope lies in the destructive capabilities of the weapon aptly named “Shockwave”. First Lieutenant Simon Lynx takes on the task of finding the only man who can operate the device, Doctor Zander. If Lynx cannot retrieve this scientist, the planet will be at the whim of the extraterrestrial terror.

Anomaly 2 names itself as a “reverse” Tower Defense, but it’s more of an on-rails RTS with a single unit under your control. Players take on the role of the Commander and can move freely about the map as they wish. The Commander can procure and upgrade various units, but they move and fire autonomously down a straight path. The tactical map halts the action and shows the available routes that the squad can pass through. Players can view upcoming enemies and mission objectives on the map. The strategy lies in creating an optimal fight or flight path that would do the least damage to the passing vehicles.

On the battlefield, Lieutenant Lynx can utilize his own skills to provide support to the bigger vehicles. He can repair damaged vehicles, disable enemies with EMP’s, and set a decoy to draw enemy fire. Each of the skills has a limited use, but Lynx can pick up extra stacks from the wreckage of his foes. The available machines available for combat come in the form of two different flavors. Double tapping on squad members will cause them to morph like Transformers and swap to an alternate firing mode. Some vehicles expand a shield across the squad, while others get up close and personal and spew flame.

You will need to pay close attention to everything on the field. The aliens have special units that will not suffer defeat against certain vehicles, so selling a vehicle and replacing it is usually the best option at hand. Drawing out the perfect path and knowing when to upgrade your vehicles crucial to victory. However, planning a route that leads into dense territory, or overusing the Commander skills will lead to some frustrating restarts. If you aren’t up for restarting missions to secure a better path for your squad… you may wish to steer clear of Anomaly 2.

Multiplayer pits friends against each other as the attacker and the defender. The Defender takes on the role of a traditional Tower Defense commander. Prepare to stack up a good squad of towers, and harvest resources for new and improved weapons. Players can click on certain deployed towers to emit damage bursts, or speed up the construction of unfinished towers nearby. The multiplayer only features four levels and one mode, but it’s a good change of pace from the single-player.
The broken down city-scape and the intricate character models make this one of the best-looking Tower Defense titles ever. It even has some appealing voice acting that pushes the presentation to an even higher level. The story leans on the generic side, but the strategic game play more than makes up for it. Anomaly 2 receives a B from Geek Citadel. It’s a great take on the Tower Defense genre, but unless you can stomach restarting missions that span over 15 to 30 minutes, it may be wise to give this one a pass.