I’ve played many word games over the past year: “Boggle”, “Scrabble Blast”, “WayWord”, “Upwords”, “Word on the Street”, “Jumbalaya”…you get the idea. You’d think that if you played one, you played them all, but any parent worth their two cents knows that this just isn’t the case. Needless to say, I was happy to receive yet another one to try out and review with the kids. Before we take a look at the game and reveal why games like this are beneficial, I’d like to thank Sue Jefferson from SimplyFun for sending me a free review copy.
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Slender Man. You may have heard the name dropped over these past few months, but may have had no idea as to what it actually meant. Today, we’re going to set the record straight with a quick look at “Slender: The Eight Pages”, which is a free downloadable game that will scare your socks off.
Have you dropped hundreds of hours into the “Harvest Moon” series like I have? I’m not sure why, but running a simulated farm has always been appealing…perhaps it’s because I know that my poor crops wouldn’t stand a chance with me at the helm in the real world. Then there is “Plants vs Zombies”, a tower defense game that tasks you with stopping zombies that are making their way across your lawn…with plants. Finally, we have “Diner Dash”, a game that challenges you to serve plates of food to customers while under the pressure of time. Now, what would happen if you put all three games into separate cars and sent them careening toward each other at high speeds? Before we answer that question in detail, I’d like to thank Andreas Bendt for sending me a free copy of the Beta. It’s important to note that like with all preview and Beta copies, this article may not cover everything that you’d see in the final product.
There are plenty of zombie games out there and they all come in different forms. “Left 4 Dead” put you behind a gun and allowed you to mow down zombies while making your way from checkpoint to checkpoint. “The Walking Dead” takes a different approach and focuses on telling a story, character interaction, and quick time events. Both approaches are good in their own right, but one came along that not only tells a horror story, but allows you to manage your party while they build relationships (for better or for worse) and fend off the undead. Before we start going head to head with the zombie apocalypse, I’d like to thank David Kidd for setting me up with a free review copy.
Hello, friends. I’ve recently had the pleasure of previewing a game called “NEO Scavenger”, which tasks the player with staying alive in a rouge-like, post apocalyptic world. You can find that preview here:
http://www.dadsgamingaddiction.com/neo-scavenger-preview/
I enjoyed the game so much that I wanted to do a follow-up article…only this time, I’ll be documenting my progress as I go. I’ve played the game about ten times so far and each time, I learned something new about how to navigate the world and its mechanics. The following will be session number eleven in what I’m calling “The Vince Chronicles” and should serve to give you an idea of what features you can expect to see if you play the game yourself in its current state. Enjoy!
I recently wrote a review for “A Game of Dwarves”, located here:
What I didn’t mention in that review was that I also received a copy of the “Ale DLC”, which I’m told should be available some time down the line through the in-game store. Some folks may already have it if they pre-ordered the main game through Steam. Special thanks go to Jorgen Bjorklund and Veronica Gunlycke for setting me set up with the DLC.
Do you remember those “choose your own adventure” books from school? Okay, maybe if you were a child of the 80’s like me, you would. They tell a story, but give the reader a few different options during certain points, advising them to turn to a particular page depending on what they want to do. NEO Scavenger reminds me of these books and I have to say, it’s a refreshing change of pace.
“Civilization V”…my laptop is no doubt upset that I’ve spent more time worrying about what technology to research next as opposed to finding a better cooling station to quell an angry onboard fan. I’ve mentioned in past articles that I love being able to control an empire and shape it to be a well-oiled machine, though I tend to ignore minor needs when I do…food, sleep, sanity…you know, minor needs. “Warlock: Master of the Arcane” turned out to be my new, favorite addiction in that regard and I can’t seem to stop clicking that “End Turn” button no matter how hard I try. Before we take a look at the game in further detail, I’d like to thank Veronica Gunlycke from Paradox Interactive for providing me with a free review copy.
Music has always been an important part of my life. I’ve used it on several occasions to get through some pretty difficult times, though lately I’ve used it as a motivator to get me focused on the task at hand. “Symphony” is a rare gem them I’ve recently come across that combines the music I love, scores that have received multiple positive recognition from Music Critic experts, with an arcade shooter. Before we begin shooting treble clefs into the wind, I’d like to thank Francois Bertrand for setting me up with a free review copy.
As many of you may have seen, I recently reviewed “A Game of Dwarves” and loved it! In case you missed it, the review is located here:
Now that I’ve thrown close to fifty hours at this game, I wanted to put some general tips and strategies out there for those new to it. It won’t be a long list, but these tips should help you get started. It should be noted that these tips worked well for me, but that’s not to say that they will all work for you.
Back in the day (when the wheel was just being invented), I came across a PC game by the name of Roller Coaster Tycoon that had me so hooked that I was designing new coasters in my sleep. Tycoon games can be an excellent way to flex your creative muscles a bit, allowing you to run things how you’d like to see what happens. Ski Park Tycoon (not to be confused with Ski Resort Tycoon) recently made its way onto Steam’s Greenlight and I was excited at the prospect of giving it a go. To that end, I’d like to thank Jan Zizka (the game’s creator) for sending me a free review copy.
Ruse is labeled as a murder mystery card game, but there’s a little bit more to it than that. It’s like taking a “whodunit”, simplifying it with a deck of cards, and adding a storytelling element with a Victorian Steampunk setting. A little bit of Clue, a touch of Gloom, a dash of Once Upon A Time…you get the idea. In Ruse, players will be attempting to pin the murder on someone else by using the cards in their hands. Once a player is found to be the murderer, the game is over and the losing player tells his or her sad story.
Welcome back to the third review of the series. As I explained in the review of episode one, all future reviews (including this one) will be a plot summary with my thoughts added in as I go. There will be spoilers, so do not read any further if you want to experience this episode for yourself.
If retail stores are any indication, it’s never too early to start celebrating Christmas. My local Kmart store already has rows of pre-decorated, fake trees available that are ready to bring joy to kids everywhere come Christmas morning…nevermind that we haven’t even gotten to Halloween or Thanksgiving yet. Today, we’re going to take a look at a game that might very well be the ultimate stocking stuffer for gamer families everywhere.
As many of you have probably figured out by now, I love me some sci-fi. I’ve been following “Sword of the Stars II” for a while now and watched it develop over the past year. A rocky release in 2011 resulted in some fairly low to mediocre scores, though Kerberos Productions’ CEO Martin E. Cirulis recently posted an “ALL CLEAR” (10/19/12) that indicated that they were able to bring their game up to where they wanted it to be.
Ah, once again we are thrust into the realm of dwarves. Having recently played and reviewed “Dwarfs!?”, I was eager to get my hands on the latest release from Zeal game Studio (Developer) and Paradox Interactive (Publisher). “A Game of Dwarves” plays a lot like “Dungeons”, “Dungeon Keeper”, “Dwarf Fortress”, and “Evil Genius” in that you’ll be mining / digging out areas to create rooms, though this game manages to set itself apart with some pretty unique gameplay mechanics. Before we start digging deeper into this game (no pun intended), I’d like to thank Petra Tell and Veronica Gunlycke for setting me up with a free review copy.