Gaming Reviews

Scratch As a Fun and Educational Programming Tool

Have you ever wanted to make your own video games? Maybe you’ve watched videos of other people making games and thought you’d like to try it too. Scratch is probably the place to start your journey. Scratch is an amazing software development and educational platform that enables children to learn the fundamentals of computer programming. It is a fun and creative web-based portal that allows anyone to become a member and learn to create online.

The Scratch Interface

A view of the scratch Graphical User Interface
The Scratch User Interface

As a parent and computer enthusiast myself I would highly recommend getting your children to begin playing engaging and learning with scratch. The Scratch user interface gives them access to a no-code, low code environment to learn in. There are projects that they can learn from and duplicate.  This work can be shared with other children and portfolio pages can be made as well.

Working with Sprites

This is an example of a Sprite or character in Scratch.
An example of a Sprite

Scratch is the world’s largest computer coding community for children. It has a coding language with a simple visual interface. The interface allows young people (and old) to create digital stories, animations and games. Scratch was developed by the Scratch Foundation and is a non-profit organisation.

Audio Files

An example of an audio file in Scratch
An example of an audio file in Scratch

When it comes to education scratch promotes creative thinking, systematic reasoning, problem solving skills and learning. Self-expression, collaboration and equity in computing are also some of the benefits. The great thing about scratch is that it is a safe and playful learning environment that engages children to learn in a creative way.

Sprite Options

Examples from  the Scratch Sprite Library
Examples from the Scratch Sprite Library

With Scratch it’s easy to make an account and begin creating right away. When you have an account you can explore other projects that have been created by other scratch developers or you can get ideas from the portal and follow video tutorials right away.  My kids and I found out about scratch when we joined CoderDojo an amazing club that helps kids learn about basic computing, learning about code and creating games. The beginning levels are all shown in scratch.

Tutorials

Tutorials are available for everyone
Tutorials are available for everyone

Here are a few examples of the work created by our resident gamer and animator AJToonz.

Lego Crud & Cut the Cheese

We hope you enjoyed this post and as they say in the programming world!

Happy Coding!

Battle Cats Gaming Review

Battle Cats Gaming Review

Welcome to the Battle Cats Gaming Review. The Battle Cats is a game developed by PONOS Corporation for iOS and Android mobile devices

A Brief Overview

Our resident Gamer LeoStarJump from JumpStarGaming has worked out that you can play this game on a bigger screen with a normal PC using MEMU Play the Android Emulator Software which works really well. 

This game is fun to play and can be enjoyed by both kids and adults. The Game opens with some a nice Star Wars like text written by the developer. Be sure to read it all for some interesting philosophy and a good laugh. 

As you open up the console you have four options to begin with, they are square buttons that you can choose by sliding left or right. They are Empire of Cats, Into the Future, Legend stages and Catclaw Dojo. 

By Choosing Empire of Cats you start normal play which we will explain in detail. Into the Future is available from the start. Legend stages are stages of the game that are in the game for a limited time only and allow certain rewards when you have achieved a major role. Catclaw Dojo is extremely difficult and not recommended for beginners. 

Empire of Cats

Empire of cats has three levels. LeoStarJump our resident gamer has conquered two of the 3 levels. The names of the Levels are 

Battle Cats Rising

The Emperor of Darkness

Revival of Behamut-Cat

Basic Cat
Cat Soldiers

The Basic Cat and Macho Cat who has muscle definition but is still a basic Cat. Next up we have Tank Cat who has high health and is strong enough to move a pebble. In the same category we have Wall Cat who offers rigid defence with corners. This cat is strong enough to move a small rock. Next we have Axe Cat. A combat maniac who is strong against Red enemies. Following Axe Cat we have Brave Cat a wannabe hero this cat is strong against enemies. Gross Cat is next on our list, who is able to do a very powerful long range attack with exceptional power and range. Next up in the same tall cat category we have Sexy Legs Cat. He has exceptional pride in his beautiful legs and also has exceptional power and range on his attack. Next up we have Cow Cat, he thinks fast and runs quickly. He also uses his head in battle and runs like the wind! In the same category we have Giraffe Cat who thinks and acts quickly. This cat is a rocker who uses hi head to head bang on attack but only to Rock’n’roll Music! Next up we have Bird Cat who has the health of a pea but has exceptional attack power over area attack. In the same category we have UFO Cat. He has managed to overcome gravity and is good against multiple enemies. Next up we have Fish Cat he has exceptional melee capability and is strong against Red Enemies. Next up we have Whale Cat who managed to become a carnivorous whale. He is strong against Red enemies. Next up we have Lizard Cat who has the ability to attack enemies from a distance. He has a powerful single shot long range attack! 

After Lizard Cat we have Titan Cat who is blessed with extreme attack power and ridiculous amounts of health. In the same category we have Mythical Titan Cat also called the Lord of Destruction. He has extreme attack power and health. 

Titan Cat
Playing the Game

Now it’s time to Play. When playing I would start off with this simple strategy. First stay away from the Zombie outbreak zones. This is very important if you want to succeed.

When you start playing the game you are awarded a certain amount of credits. The Game gives you a starting amount to play with. You are awarded these each round you play. As a result, if you use this wisely you can progress. Some good advice is to release some smaller basic battle cats and let your balance build up. Also keep this fairly constant release 5 or 10 of them. Then you are able to send out the stronger and more powerful battle cats as your balance gets higher and higher you can release the stronger Battle Cats by clicking on them. We hope you enjoyed this Battle Cats Gaming Review. There are more reviews coming soon!

Friday Night Funkin Gaming Review with AJ Playz

Friday Night Funkin Review by AJ Playz and Brendan Cooney

Game Overview

Hey there fellow gamers this is the Friday Night Funkin report by Jumpstar Gaming. Friday Night Funkin or “FNF” has taken the gaming world by storm. We are speaking with our resident gamer Adrian AKA AJ Playz and asked him to tell us a little about the game.

Adrian says “So basically it’s a rhythm game where it puts you, a game character called Boyfriend in a battle with multiple famous and not-so-famous Newgrounds characters. It’s a really fun game. If you want to play it, I do recommend it.”

The goal of the game is to impress another character called Girlfriend who is actually your girlfriend in the game. You do this by taking her through different levels or “weeks” with different characters. You compete with these characters in singing and rapping contests in order to date Girlfriend.

When playing the game your opponent will sing a pattern of notes that are represented by falling arrows. You must then mimic this pattern of notes by using the W,A,S and D keys.

You get points in the game whenever you hit notes that fall from the top of the screen. You have to press the W key to hit a note.

If you don’t keep up with the song by pressing the notes and keeping your health you end up seeing the game over screen below.  You have a health bar at the bottom of the screen with hearts in it. When the hearts run out you get blue buried or drop the Microphone

Friday Night Funkin has two different play modes with levels Easy, Normal and Hard. The first mode is a story type campaign the second is a free play mode allowing you to choose any of the games music tacks.

The original game was developed by Newgrounds users lead by Ninjamuffin99.  For more information on popular games check out our gaming reviews.

Some Popular Opponents

Tankman:

Tankman is the Newgrounds mascot first making his appearance in the Tankman series in 2011. Tankman is fairly hard to beat and is found in week 7.

Pico:

Pico is from an old Newrounds Flash Game called Pico School. He is known for having a machine gun in his pocket at all times and is certainly one to look out for.

Mummy Mearest:

Mummy Mearest is Girlfriend’s Mom, who made her first appearance in Friday night Funkin, she is the main antagonist in week 4. 

Skid & Pump: 

Skid and Pump are the primary opponents or antagonists in week 2 of the game. Their main tracks are Spookeez and South. Skid and Pump are the first guest characters and are followed by Pico and Tankman. 

Summary

Well we hope you enjoyed our review fellow gamers. In summary this is a great game, the colourful graphics and creative music along with the mimicking actions required keep the player constantly thinking and working on the next moves. We will be back soon with more news and reviews on another popular game. Enoy your gaming and stay safe.

By Brendan Cooney and AJ Playz.

References: AJ Playz; Wikipedia; Newgrounds; Friday Night Funkipedia