As a retro gamer, I’m always fascinated by the advances made in the gaming industry. When I was a kid, for example, I remember holding my Game Boy up over my head in the back seat of the car so that the headlights from the car behind us could illuminate my grayscale screen. Come to think of it, that’s probably why I’m wearing glasses now and couldn’t shoot the broadside of a barn with them off…horray for technology. “Tetris” was one of those games (that apparently contributed to my bad eyesight) and to that end, I’m always on the lookout for that new variant. Before we take a look at “OverLight”, I’d like to thank Tomáš “Frooxius” Mariančík for sending me a free preview copy. It’s important to note that this game is currently in the early Alpha stages and like with all previews, the content that you see in this article may be subject to change.
Archives
All posts by Vincent
We know very little about Earth in the grand scheme of things. In fact, it’s been estimated that ninety-five percent of our planet’s waters remain unexplored. When I came across this game, I started thinking about all of the other games I’ve owned or played in my lifetime that had a marine-like setting…I’ll be honest, I didn’t come up with very many. This didn’t surprise me much, considering that there’s still so much to learn about those majestic masses of blue we call oceans. “Depth Hunter” takes us under the sea and puts the player into the role of a diver that will be tasked with hunting various species of fish. Before we don our diving suits, I’d like to thank Serge from Biart Company LLC for sending me a free review copy.
Let’s get one thing clear before I go on about my career as a simulated truck driver…I’m an accountant by trade. I drive a Honda Civic, and I have never touched a manual transmission in my life. I’m not a fan of driving in unfamiliar places and I prefer to stay within my zip code, if at all possible. Needless to say, I’m the perfect candidate to try out a truck driving simulator. No, I’m serious…if someone like me can enjoy a game that involves driving a large, bulky truck over far distances, then you might as well put that on the box. While FedEx may not be hiring me anytime soon, I do expect to be playing this game for a good, long while. Before I get into why, I’d like to thank Pavel Sebor, the CEO of SCS Software, for providing me with a free review copy.
“Terrorhedron.” I love the name. It’s like something out of Godzilla, or maybe a bad Power Rangers episode. It may even be named after a Pokémon that was banned for being too destructive after missing its daily dose of Xanax. At any rate, it’s the next tower defense game I’m going to be touching on today. I know, I know…I’ve done plenty of those as of late, but this one has some unique qualities that deserves our attention. Before we take a closer look at this particular tower defense game, I’d like to thank Dan Walters for sending me a free review copy.
“Oil Rush” is a game I come back to every now and again when Eufloria just doesn’t have the “oomph” I need. In a review I wrote here, I was taken away by the graphics and how fun it was to send boats and airplanes out to sea with the intent on blowing stuff up. Recently, the game’s first DLC was released adding tower defense maps to the mix. Before we take a look at the specifics of this DLC, I’d like to thank Anton Ravin from UNIGINE Corp. for sending me a free review copy.
I’ve determined that my primary function in multiplayer arenas is to be a meat shield, but gosh darnit, I’m a good one. I’ll spend minutes sneaking up on someone, stealthily moving from cover to cover, only to be sniped by someone all the way across the map. To add insult to injury, the killcam tells me that they did it with a pistol, blindfolded, whilst updating their Facebook page and making a soufflé. “Chivalry: Medieval Warfare” puts me back into the ring, though this time, I’ll be wielding medieval weapons instead of an AK-47. Before I start looking into whether or not my health insurance policy covers dismemberment and arrows to the knee, I’d like to thank Steve Piggott from Torn Banner Studios for sending me a free review copy.
In a lot of the zombie games I’ve played, I usually find myself without ammo, medical supplies, and anything else I might need to stave off the undead. You’d think that putting countless hours into the early Resident Evil games would teach me everything I needed to know, but I guess herbs and ink ribbons just don’t hold up in the grand scheme of things. Luckily, I came across a game that doesn’t require me to fight off the undead…quite the opposite.
“Alan Wake” is a psychological thriller / horror that reminds me a bit of the old “Silent Hill” games for the Playstation. As you may have guessed, you take control of a successful thriller writer named Alan Wake who is on vacation with his wife Alice. Like most games of this genre, things appear fairly normal from the start, save for a nightmare Alan has that educates the player on the gameplay mechanics. Unlike “Silent Hill” and “Resident Evil”, the game makes use of an ingenious lighting mechanic that ties in with the main story of the game. Oh, and thermoses…lots and lots of thermoses. I don’t know why there are so many thermoses lying around, but my eBay account is going to be busy tonight.
I got a lot of mileage out of “Left 4 Dead” and its sequel, and I especially liked the melee component in the latter. You were able to use katanas, chainsaws, baseball bats, and other melee weapons to bring the hurt (if that were possible) to the undead. “Dead Island” puts this mechanic out on the front lines, forcing you to wade through zombies at close range for the majority of the game. There are ranged weapons and you can throw melee weapons, but the majority of combat will take place all up in your face.
Psychological horror games are a lot of fun to play, even if they have a habit of increasing the frequency of how often you need to wash your delicates. The adrenaline gets pumping and your imagination becomes your own worst enemy, sometimes to the point where you are afraid to pick it up and play it again. “Miasmata” draws some similarities to the way psychological horror games are structured, but sets itself apart with some pretty unique gameplay mechanics. Before the paranoia starts to set in, I’d like to quickly thank Bob Johnson for providing me with a free review copy.
Puzzle games come in many different forms. Some, like “Lemmings”, task you with guiding a set number of creatures to the goal area by assigning them tasks…tasks that serve to both navigate them around the environment and prevent them from committing suicide. “Hairy Tales” is similar in that regard but has a personality all its own, making it one of the oddest puzzle games I’ve played recently. Before we take a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Ricardo J. Méndez for sending me a free review copy.
There’s a lot I know about Star Trek, but this particular tidbit took me by surprise. First, it’s important to know that Alexander Courage created the original theme song to Star Trek. Unknownst to Courage, Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the original theme with the sole purpose of receiving royalties from the profits of that theme song. The theme was obviously never released that way (as was intended), and after listening to the theme with the lyrics included, I’m glad it didn’t.
I wasn’t looking forward to writing this review. It’s not because I found “Borderlands 2” to be unplayable, but because that meant I’d have to put it down (not literally) and don my writing fingers. While it is true that “Borderlands 2” has been out for a while now, Steam’s recent Autumn sale made it a bit more affordable at fifty percent off, down from an original price of sixty bucks. Having spent hours upon days upon months on the original “Borderlands”, I felt that this would be a good thirty USD well spent. So…was it?
They’re awesome. It’s unclear if it’s because they’re the best of the best or if it’s because a random name generator said so, but they’re awesome. “Awesomenauts” is a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game that pits two sides (red and blue) against each other. Like most MOBA’s, teams are equal in that they’ll have the same number of contenders on the battlefield and the same number of defenses guarding one very important structure. The victor is the team that manages to destroy that one, very important building…in this case, a drillcore.
Games like “Harvest Moon” and “Farmville” have done very well for themselves. They appeal to a wide range of people and are fairly easy to play. “Harvest Moon” is a moderately deep farming sim while “Farmville” is more about mindlessly clicking on fields and livestock in order to gain experience and increase in level. “Goodfolks” is a good mix of the two, tasking the player with building a successful farm by managing resources and completing quests. Before we take a closer look at the game itself, I’d like to thank Martin Procházka for sending me a review copy. While the game is about a week away from officially being released, everything you’ll see in this article represents the final product save for any last minute patches.
“Monopoly” has been around for quite some time. While many variations of the board game exist that keep with the main theme, “Monopoly: Electronic Banking Edition” was one of the first editions to drastically change how the game was played. Let’s take a quick look at how this game is different from the base game and whether or not it’s worth picking up.