I dabbled in this game’s Beta for a little while and enjoyed my experience, even if I wasn’t fully sure as to what I was doing. Essentially, you’re a leader who’s in charge of building up a small settlement from scratch. You’ll be collecting resources, completing quests, and participating in siege battles to “level up” so to speak. It’s an RTS in the sense that you’ll be constructing various buildings to improve your settlement, but it’s drawn out to the point where it takes longer to do so. You’ll have the option to play online with others, hence where the MMO part comes into play. This game draws some similarities to “Age of Empires Online”, but is more adult in nature and does some things pretty unique to the genre. Before I get into all of that, I’d like to thank the folks at Reverie World Studios, Inc. for providing me with a free review copy.
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Most of you, at one point in your life, have allowed yourself to stay up well past your normal sleeping hours in pursuit of some sort of hobby. My first experience doing so was in high school, after playing “Birth of the Federation” for the very first time…the first 4x game I ever played. From that point on I was hooked, spending more time on the “Civilization” and “Galactic Civilizations” series than I probably should. “Endless Space” left a very good taste in my mouth, so much that I yearned for something to “one up” it. Will “StarDrive” fit the bill and will it stand up to the other 4X space sims I’ve had the pleasure of playing throughout time? Before I answer that, I’d like to thank Daniel DiCicco from zer0sumGames for providing me with a free review copy. It’s important to note that the copy I was given was of the late Beta stage, but was close enough to the final copy in that I could do a full review. Still, some of the pictures & features may be slightly out of date.
So…the saga begins. Like almost everything else I do, I’ve decided to jump head first into photography, having no prior experience beyond the point-and-shoot cameras I’ve owned over the years. I’ve always wanted to take my board game reviews to the next level by taking nicer pictures, but I’ve also been dabbling with the idea of doing portraits & landscapes. Who would have thought that all-knowing logical me would have an artsy side?
Being the Grand Prize Winner for Excellence and Design in the Independent Games Festival (in this case, 2010) is kind of a big deal. I’ve been following “Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine” ever since and was really intrigued by the idea behind the game. Essentially, you’re a thief who has to find an object of interest inside a building and escape. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. Completing a heist requires a lot of patience and skill, with emphasis on the former. Before we get started with the review, I’d like to thank Andy Schatz from Pocketwatch Games for providing me with a free review copy.
“Star Trek” as a whole has always been a positive influence in my life. The idea that man will one day be able to rise above poverty, disease, war, and bigotry provides a sense of hope in regards to my son’s future. When I look at television shows today and attempt to count how many actually convey a positive message the way “Star Trek” did, I shake my head and put on my sad panda face. Not only did “Star Trek” succeed in conveying hope to millions of people, it created unique characters that are still iconic in today’s society. I still enjoy watching Spock and McCoy go at it, even if I’ve seen it done a hundred times already.
When I first loaded up “O’Cells”, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The description on its Greenlight page (link below) mentioned that it was a real-time strategy game that allowed you to manage your own anthill. Having fond memories of “SimAnt” for the SNES, I was anxious to give this game a field test. Before we get started with the preview, I’d like to thank Alexis Jouanneaux for including me in the Beta. As such, the game isn’t finished yet making the below content subject to change.
Match 3 games seem to be swarming Steam’s Greenlight page as of late, though I have yet to find a Match 3 series more in-depth than “Puzzle Quest”. “Bret Airborne” draws a lot of similarities to “Puzzle Quest”, but instead of casting spells and fighting goblins, you’ll be taking the battle to the skies in a hot air balloon. In this particular Match 3 puzzle game, you’ll be taking on the role of Bret Airborne who must help Doctor Atlus to thwart his evil brother and his band of merry minions. Before we get started with the specifics, I’d like to thank Dave Toulouse from Machine 22 for seeking me out and providing me with a review copy.
I can’t resist a good horror game and when I came across “Eyes”, I knew I’d have to try it. The objective of this horror game is to collect a set number of money bags and make your way to the exit without getting caught by this floating head that’s patrolling the house. The graphics and controls are fairly simplistic, making the game easy to get into. You run into doors to open them, which was nerve-wracking at times…who knew what was on the other side waiting to pounce on you? The game gives you a heads up at least when you need to run and provides “eyes” that you can pick up, allowing you to see through the eyes of the floating head in order to pinpoint its whereabouts.
Paramount surprised me with a new video this morning, this time focusing on the storyline and some of the new characters that will appear in the game. Have a look:
“Altitude” has been out since 2009, but was unfortunately one of those games that slipped through the cracks in regards to games I’ve been meaning to try. The game’s primary focus is multiplayer, tasking players with flying an aircraft with or against others on a two-dimensional plane. It has an action-arcade feel to it with multiple game modes…think Unreal Tournament but with planes. Before we get into specifics, I’d like to thank the folks at Nimbly Games for providing me with a free review copy.
The highly anticipated “Star Trek: The Video Game” is right around the corner, reaching Trekkers everywhere early next week. Paramount Pictures released the third video in their installment, this time focusing on “the making of”. I particularly enjoyed the new game footage, though watching the cast record their dialogue was neat to see.
“Company of Heroes” was a beast to play. I found it incredibly difficult, and I consider myself an experienced RTS vet. The AI is ruthless even on the easier difficulty settings and the amount of micromanagement required will test your reflexes beyond their limits. Still, I can’t help but be psyched for the upcoming sequel, scheduled to be released on June 25, 2013.
J.J. Abrams is keeping a tight lid on the identity of the villain in the upcoming “Star Trek” movie, which is due to be released on May 17th, 2013. A couple of trailers have surfaced over these past few months giving us some clues, but the overall plot remains a mystery. I should probably say right off the bat that the below may border spoiler territory, so continue at your own risk.
I give a lot of credit to those who have the patience to sit down with a large jigsaw puzzle and attempt to piece it together, is hard thinking piece a puzzle, choosing This or That is not easy . In my house, a jigsaw puzzle would have a shelf life of about two hours before something “accidentally” happened to it. “Puzzle Me!”, while having a jigsaw puzzle theme, isn’t about spending hours/days to assemble a picture. Rather, players will be trying to build their own crossword as large as they can while trying to stop their opponents from doing the same. Before we take a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Richard Reyes from Brainstormers for sending me a free review copy.
Galactic domination has always been high on my to-do list, and for the most part, I manage to accomplish it seven or eight times a month. “Starlink” lets me do it all over again, taking bits and pieces from other real-time strategy games and rolling them up into one interesting package. If you’ve ever played “Eufloria”, “Auralux”, “Oil Rush”, “Planets Under Attack”, or “Mayhem Intergalactic”, you’ll be instantly familiar with the mechanics of “Starlink.” There are a few things about “Starlink” however that drew me to it. Before I get into specifics, I’d like to thank Michael Lyashenko from Tasharen Entertainment for providing me with a free copy of the game.
When I first laid eyes on “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II”, I was skeptical. Not because it looked like a bad game (which it isn’t), but because I’m generally not a fan of squad management games. I was a bit more close-minded and picky in the games I played back then, but I’m glad I broke through that barrier so that I could experience this “little” gem.