Alien Frontiers really took me by surprise as I tend to shy away from dice games because of their luck factor. That game turned out to be a joy to play and remains to be one of my favorite games to bring out on family game night. I’m going to deviate a little bit from my usual review format so that I can cover all three of these expansions in one sitting.
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The first horror adventure game that I remember playing as a kid was “7th Guest.” My memory is fuzzy on the subject, but I do remember wondering around a mansion, going from room to room, and attempting to solve these ridiculously hard puzzles. There was a spooky element to it all, but it didn’t make me scream like a little girl…something that Amnesia: The Dark Descent is want to do. I enjoy a good scare in the form of an interactive, horror adventure game, so I was happy to sit down with Baron Wittard: Nemesis of Ragnarok and give it a go. Before I get started taking a look at the game in detail, I’d like to thank Alan Thorn for sending me a free review copy.
There’s no shortage of tower defense games on the web…though if you’re like me, you’re not complaining. Whether you play them for the challenge they bring or because you have a crippling micromanagement addiction, they can cause the entire day to slip by without you even noticing. Sol Survivor turned out to be no different.
If there’s one thing that I learned from Lord of the Rings, it’s that you never toss a Dwarf…especially if his name his Gimli. While there isn’t any Dwarf tossing in “Dwarfs!?”, you’ll be constantly looking after them as they dig, dig, dig. Before we take a look at the game in further detail, I wanted to quickly thank Robin Flodin from PO2 Games (Power of Two) for sending me free review copies.
The turnout was good this year…even if the weather didn’t exactly agree with us. It was cloudy, cold, and drizzling when we arrived on the scene, bright and early at 8:30 AM. We signed up for the Memory Walk, donned our bracelets, and met up with my brother David, his girlfriend Jen, our mom, and Karl. I was afraid it would be too rainy and cold to enjoy ourselves, but surprisingly the weather gave us a break and began to get nicer as the morning progressed.
It’s been a few months since I’ve last played Torchlight, though that isn’t to say that I didn’t have fond memories of doing so. In fact, I gave it high praise in the review I wrote for it, here:
http://www.dadsgamingaddiction.com/torchlight/
Torchlight II, like it’s predecessor, is an action RPG that allows the player to slay monster after monster all the while completing quests, earning fame, and picking through mounds of loot. The top-down view and the various character information screens have that familiar feel to them, though the game has added some interesting features that noticeably sets it apart. Before I go into specifics, I’d like to thank Wonder Russel from Runic Games for sending me a free copy to review.
I’ve recently had the pleasure of reviewing a couple of strategy games set in space as of late and I’m pleased to add another one to that list. Mayhem Intergalactic is a 4x, turn based strategy game that tasks the player(s) with eliminating everyone else on the map. Before we take a look at the game in further detail, I’d like to thank Chris Pelling from Inventive Dingo for sending me a free review copy.
Ah, Chess. There’s nothing like reviewing a game that is right up my alley, having logged countless hours at Chess tournaments and at libraries tutoring others. As a former member of the United States Chess Federation, I feel it my solemn duty to touch on this game a bit and give my two cents about how it plays.
What do you get when you throw a bunch of competitive gardeners onto the same patch of land and tell them to be the last gardener standing? I’m sure there’s some asinine reality show in the works for that kind of thing, but in the meantime, there’s something much better…Garden Dice.
Mankind is in danger once again (nothing new there), but this time, it’s not because an evil supervillain woke up on the wrong side of the bed and decided to blow up the San Andreas Fault for some quick cash. No, the aliens aren’t invading either…Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Pullman saw to that. This time, the enemy is much, much smaller and only Nano Probes can save the day.
Space…somehow I always end up back there, but I’m not complaining. My regular readers should know by now that I’m an avid Star Trek / Star Wars / Stargate / etc. fan and love strategy games that throw me from space battle to space battle. Endless Space, FTL, Sins of a Solar Empire, Galactic Civilizations…needless say, I was thrilled to give Planets Under Attack a whirl. Before we dive in, I’d like to thank Bernd Wolffgramm from TopWare Interactive for sending me a free review copy.
Ah, dragons. It’s hard to say no to a game that allows you to be in control of these majestic beasts…perhaps it has something to do with having the ability to breathe fire?
Sunday, September 30th, 2012…the Pirate game was going on, the Great Race had just ended, and part of Route 28 was closed due to construction. All in all, this was THE best day to go out and do something. All that was missing from our journey was a sticker on the side of my car that read, “S. S. Minnow.” (Watch your Gilligan’s Island, kids)
My regular readers know by now that I include the kids in my board game reviews whenever I can. While it is true that they help me to see the games I review in a different light, they also provide you parents out there with ideas for that next birthday gift (or what have you). Most important of all, I include them because we enjoy the process of playing and reviewing games together.
Did you know that Kenakalan means “mischief” in Indonesian? Neither did I, that is, until I had played the latest creation from SchilMil Games.
Aztec priests were pretty revered back in their day, as they were often seen as a conduit between man and their gods. They were also known for their combat experience and even led armies of warriors by way of ritual combat. The Aztecs also believed in human sacrifice, utilizing their warrior houses to capture people from whoever they happened to be warring with at the time.