I can count on my hand the number of games that have literally brought me to tears, but this series as a whole is one of them. Ten minutes ago I watched the credits roll, signaling the end to yet another tear-jerking episode of “The Walking Dead”. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m still in shock and trying to process the events that took place. Episode Five, “No Going Back”, doesn’t play around. People get bit, people get shot, people die…few make it out. If you’re curious as to the who’s…no worries, you won’t find that information here…you’ll have to buy the series and play it for yourself to find out. If you plan to do so, stop reading here as there ARE some spoilers that relate to the previous episodes ahead.
Video Games
Holy Early Access Batman…they just seem to keep coming! This time on “DGA’s Early Access Corner”, we’ll be featuring a few more promising up-and-comers that I’ve been gifted via their respective developers. It’s important to note that these are NOT reviews…rather, an overview as to what they currently offer.
Greetings, fellow gamers! As you may have probably guessed, it’s time for another edition of “DGA’s Early Access Corner”. Like the previous article in this series, I’ll be taking a brief look at some of the Early Access games that I’ve been gifted by their respective developers. It’s important to stress that these are NOT reviews…rather, an overview as to what they currently offer.
The last episode left us in a rather dicey spot, though this seems to be the running theme with Telltale. My experiences with “Back to the Future: The Game” and “The Walking Dead: Season One” ended up much the same way…that is, I was chewing on my fingernails vigorously in between episodes because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. It’s worth noting that this article will contain spoilers, so do NOT read further if you plan to play the game in the near future. If you haven’t played Season One by now, then may whatever gods you believe in have mercy on your soul…you don’t know what you’re missing!
Wow, another DGA Early Access Corner article…these games just keep coming! Like the previous articles in this series, this is a quick look at the games I’ve been gifted via their respective developers. All of them are currently in an Alpha or Beta state (as of today’s posting), so this is less of an official review and more of a quick look at what they currently have to offer in their present state. Enjoy!
Steam’s Summer Sale has been both a boon and a curse in that my Steam library is practically exploding at the seams while my wallet is crying for me to fill it back up again. Normally I’d hold off on reviewing games I’ve personally bought in favor of those games I received for free from their respective developers, but this one was too different to pass up. This game, as best as I can describe it, is a twenty-minute murder mystery that you’ll be trying hard to solve. As the detective, it’ll be your job to visit locations, gather clues, and arrest the culprit before the time limit expires. If you made “Clue” into a single player video game (which has been done before) and added pixel art and a noir setting, you’d get “Noir Syndrome”.
Hi there and welcome to another edition of DGA’s Early Access Corner, a place where I take a quick look at what I’ve been playing as of late. Like my previous article, all of the games featured here were both gifted to me by their respective developers and are currently in an Alpha or Beta state. As such, the below content does not serve as any sort of review…though I do provide my personal thoughts as to whether or not they are worth buying into in their present state. Happy gaming!
The “Roller Coaster Tycoon” and “Zoo Tycoon” series always have a special place on my hard drive, but let’s face it, they are showing their age. For the last five years, I’ve been itching for a modern-day game of either caliber…though most games that have tried to be as in-depth and expansive fell short. That leads me to “Zoo Park”, a game that recently released on Steam (as of 6/13/14). It advertises that the user will have the ability to “care for over 40 different animals from all four corners of the Earth whilst running a professional programme of rescue, rehabilitation, research and conservation”, but is it any fun and does it live up to standards that “RCT” and “ZT” have created from years past? Before we get started, I’d like to thank Richard Barclay from Excalibur Publishing, LLC. for providing me with a free press copy.
I’d like to preface this article with a tidbit about myself: I’m a perfectionist. As a kid, I’d often reload saves constantly when I didn’t complete a level just so, perhaps some of you can relate? Anyway, I had to really fight the urge to do so again when I played “Xenonauts” for the first time. This game is punishingly difficult, but there’s a reason for that . “Xenonauts”, just to give you a little back story, started development back in 2009 and later sought funding through Kickstarter in 2012. Promising to recapture the thrills of the original “UFO: Enemy Unknown” (a.k.a. “X-COM: UFO Defense” and “X-COM: Enemy Unknown”) from 1994, “Xenonauts” tripled its funding goals and officially released in June, 2014. The question remains, is “Xenonauts” worth your time and money? Before I answer that, I’d like to thank Chris England from Goldhawk Interactive for providing me with a free press copy.
Now I know why games journalists sometimes hate their jobs. The sheer number of games out on the market always seem to be increasing, what with the recent rise of Indie developers over the past couple of years and Steam’s Early Access program. I used to be able to write reviews and previews for every game I featured on my YouTube channel, but no longer. Either I’m getting older and slower, or DGA is growing beyond the scope for one man to handle. Perhaps a little of both? At any rate, I wanted to quickly hi-lite some of the games I’ve been playing that have not yet reached final production quality…meaning Alphas & Betas. The following are games that I’ve been gifted by their respective developers and I’ve already covered on my YouTube channel, but haven’t here. It’s worth stressing that all of these games, as of 6/17/14, are not finished. Therefore, I’ll simply be reporting on whether or not I think they are worth playing at the present time.
After recently publishing my controversial review of “Age of Mythology: Extended Edition“, I was somewhat surprised to see Skybox Labs and Microsoft Studios at it again…by “it” I mean the revitalization of another RTS classic, “Rise of Nations” (originally released in 2003). Just to give you a bit of back story, I played “Rise of Nations” and its expansion “Thrones and Patriots” religiously back in the day…moreso than “Age of Mythology”, if you can believe it. My brother and I would spend hours playing co-op against the AI, simultaneously bringing our forces out of the stone age whilst creating a sizable force to take out the enemy. Oh, those were the good old days. Before I get into the beast that is “Rise of Nations: Extended Edition”, I’d like to thank Ashton Williams, a Marketing Coordinator at Microsoft Studios, for providing me with a free press copy.
I’ve played a few “run your own movie theater” simulators in my day, but I have admittedly not touched a “run your own movie studio” simulator before. I was tempted to pick up “The Movies” (released in 2005), but I was afraid of how incompatible it may be with my current system. “Showtime!” popped up on Steam the other day (today being 5/31/2014) and my curiosity got the better of me. What can I say, I love being able to go on a power trip without offending anyone in real life…business sims often allow me to do just that. Along those lines, I’d like to quickly thank Damien from Myrtilus Entertainment for providing me with a free press copy.
A while back I reviewed “Camping Manager 2012” and had a decent time with it. You were tasked with building a successful camping area for visitors and would-be vacationers. It was a bit limiting however and didn’t offer a lot in terms of content. It also frustrated me from time to time, but gave just as much as it took. “Water Park Tycoon”, also published by Excalibur Publishing, feels almost exactly it. In this case however, you’ll be in charge of turning a profit by constructing a water park. Think “Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!” but a bit more simplified. Before I go any further, I’d like to quickly thank Richard Barclay from Excalibur Publishing Limited for providing me with a free press copy.
Most first-person horror games I play revolve around some sort of no-named protagonist whose storyline is questionable at best. Who cares, right? I mean, you’re not there to learn about the hemorrhoids surgery they had in the fifth grade…you’re there because you WANT to be scared. While there isn’t much of a story in “Among the Sleep”, the setting is what really makes the game unique…you get to play as a toddler. A helpless, pint-sized toddler who, for obvious reasons, can’t make use of weaponry to fight off any evil things that come his way. It’s similar to playing “Amnesia”, but as a child protagonist. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank the folks at Krillbite Studio for providing me with a free press copy.
Foul-mouthed toads? A modern-day Snow White? Pigs smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol? Glamour? What in blazes did I just get myself into!? These were just a few of thoughts running through my head as I played the first episode in “The Wolf Among Us”, a game developed and published by Telltale. This is the same company that brought “Back to the Future: The Game” and “The Walking Dead” series to my virtual doorstep, so I can’t complain much. “The Wolf Among Us”, like the aforementioned games, is an interactive narrative with the occasional quick time event. Despite my reservations about the storyline (which chronologically takes place before the comic series), Telltale hasn’t steered me wrong yet. Before I get started, I’d like to thank Pat Doyle from Sandbox Strategies (a PR firm) for providing me with a free press copy.
“Match-3” games and I generally don’t get along. It’s not that I don’t appreciate what they offer, but I’m often left feeling empty by the end of a play session. In short, I get bored quickly with “Match-3” games. “Puzzle Quest” was a nice exception to that rule, offering RPG elements and a deeper “Match-3” experience. Along those lines, “ReignMaker” dares to be just as different, if not moreso. While the RPG aspect is somewhat lacking, there’s both tower defense and town management mechanics mixed in to keep things interesting. Before I go any further with that, I’d like to thank Michael A. Hartman, the President & CEO of Frogdice, for providing me with a free press copy.