I admit that strategy games and simulators are more my thing, but on occasion I will dabble in first-person shooters. “ShootMania Storm”, while being primarily an arena-esque multiplayer first-person shooter, is a little more than the sum of its parts. Some of you may recognize the name from the developer’s “TrackMania” games, which feature intense racing and community created content. Before we take a look at this particular first-person shooter, I’d like to thank Edouard Beauchemin from Nadeo for providing me with a free review copy.
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I’ve lost count of how many tower defense games I have in my collection. Interestingly enough, I came across a game that does something totally new to me: allow the user to move the towers they build. Both “Cubemen” games revolve around the same general idea in that you’ll be building cubemen and moving them around in an RTS-like fashion. Cubemen come in various types and are upgradable, much like the towers you’d see in a typical tower defense game. The end result is a RTS meets tower defense game, but just how well do they play together? Before we answer that and take a look at the latest game in the series, I’d like to thank Seon Rozenblum from 3 Sprockets for providing me with a free review copy.
As I explained in my preview, “Sang-Froid – Tales of Werewolves” is a clash of tower defense, action, and RPG elements that tasks the player with defending lumberjacks and their families from the forces of evil. The setting? Canada, circa 1858. This means that you won’t have hi-tech laser pistols and the like to fend off the beasts that you’ll be taking on…rather, you’ll be armed with a rifle, an axe, and a wide variety of traps. Before we get started, I’d like to thank Vincent Blanchard from Artifice Studio for providing me with a free review copy.
Most, if not all of us, hate traffic. Needless to say, when “Cities in Motion” came out in 2011, I was all for showing…well, someone…how to handle traffic patterns and mass transit once and for all. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to take screenshots of my “successes” and email them to my local city representative. Perhaps it had something to so with the fact that I failed in my attempts miserably. I enjoyed my time with “Cities in Motion”, but the difficulty curve was too darned high for my liking. A capacity mod to double the size of the busses and etc. made the game a hundred percent better in my opinion, but it was clear to me that some improvements could have been made to make the game a bit more user-friendly for the casual folks. For those of you new to the series, “Cities in Motion” tasks the player with creating a transportation network successfully around a pre-built city. It’s important to stress that “Cities in Motion” is not a full-blown city-builder like “SimCity”. Today, we’re going to take a look at “Cities in Motion 2” and determine whether or not it does things better than it predecessor. Before the citizens of this game revolt and vote me out of office (again), I’d like to thank Veronica Gunlycke from Paradox Interactive for providing me with a free review copy.
The “Fatal Frame” series set the bar for me back in the day when it came to horror games. Sure, there are plenty of games out there now that will scare the pants off of you, but “Fatal Frame” was one of the first to do so. “DreadOut” is similar to the “Fatal Frame” series in that you’ll have to deal with supernatural events and utilize a camera. The game is still a ways off from being finished, but you can try the demo out yourself via the links below. I also added a gameplay video, for those of you who just want to see the game in action without having to do the work themselves.
MMORPGs are fun to play, but they’ll suck the life right out of you if you let them. I played World of Warcraft more for the PvE aspect as I hated having to memorize complex boss fights and being yelled at by nerd-raging guild leaders who don’t have a life outside of their own bedroom. I’m now WoW-free, but was excited to see “It’s A Wipe” hit Steam’s Greenlight page. A game that allows you to manage your own guild, bark orders during raids, and level up your characters? Yes, please! Before we get started, I’d like to thank Harry Durnan for providing me with an early copy. It’s important to note that the game is still being worked on, so everything you see below is subject to change.
Arrrrr Matey! It’s not often that I get to play the role of a pirate, but when I do, I’m usually having a grand time. “Pirates!” for the NES comes to mind, later to be modernized via “Sid Meier’s Pirates!” “Pirate Hell”, while keeping the player in the shoes of a pirate, does things a bit differently than the aforementioned games. It’s less of a simulation and more arcade-like, focusing more on shooting up ships as opposed to dancing with the governor’s daughter. Before we get started with the review, I’d like to thank the developer for providing me with a free review copy.
Hunting is a practice that’s been around for quite some time. Some might do it because they seek the thrill of the hunt itself while others simply might enjoy the crisp, morning air and the quiet serenity that the forest has to offer. “Hunter’s Trophy 2” promises both of these things, allowing the player to hunt various game with a variety of weapons and tools at their disposal while navigating breathtaking environments. “Hunter’s Trophy”, an exclusive PS3 game, was received with mixed results and so I was interested to see how the sequel fared in the grand scheme of things. Before we get started, I’d like to thank Katleen from Bigben Interactive and Francis Ingrand from Plug In Digital for providing me with a free review copy.
I’m terrible at concentration. I’m the type of person that is lucky to remember what he had for breakfast that morning. I write everything down in a handy pocket tablet so that I don’t forget important things…like getting dressed. It’s for this reason that I groaned in protest when I saw this game appear on Desura…not because I thought it might be a bad game, but because my ego was bound to take hit. “Stack Overflow” is electronic concentration with buffs and power-ups, much like “Mario Kart” is to regular racing games.
A new trailer surfaced, featuring William Shatner and the original Gorn he fought in “Arena”. In this grand re-uniting, they settle who actually won that battle so many “years ago.”
North Star Games has always come through for us one way or another, especially when the kids feel the need to get silly (which happens often). “Say Anything” and “Crappy Birthday” are regular hits, with the occasional “Wits & Wagers” thrown in for good measure. Needless to say that I was surprised by “Clubs” as it wasn’t the kind of game I’d have expected from North Star Games considering the pattern. While hundreds upon thousands of card game variants exist (officially or unofficially), I hadn’t seen one yet that focused on the suit of clubs…until today. “Clubs” tasks players with getting rid of all of their cards quickly while trying to collect the only suit that will score them points…you guessed it, clubs. Before we take a look at this particular card game, I’d like to thank Matt Mariani from North Star Games for providing me with a free review copy.
“My Shuno!” fellow readers. Despite “SimCity’s” rocky launch, I’ve invested well over fifty hours into the game with no signs of slowing down. I wanted to take this opportunity to pass on what I know and what worked for me. Should you take the below to heart over anything else you may have learned? Absolutely not. I’m sure I could stand to do things better, but I’ve managed to keep every city in the green and then some. Below are some basic tips that might serve a newcomer to the game well…enjoy!
If there is one gaming genre that has persisted over the stretch of time, it’s been the arcade/shooter genre. “Galaga”, “Space Invaders”, “Spy Hunter”, “Life Force”, “Gradius”…the list goes on. “Pressure” is one such game and puts the player (and a friend if they so choose) in a customizable steam buggy set in a Steampunk world. Your mission? Stop the Dark Lord from taking control of all of the water sources throughout the kingdom. Before we begin taking a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Jörn Karl Fahrbach from TopWare Interactive for providing me with a free review copy.
“Drip Drip” has done well for itself in that has received high scores from various press websites. Today, I’m here to drop a quick line to let you know that the game is currently half off and will remain that way until March 31, 2013. More specifically:
How many of you folks remember “River City Ransom” from back in the NES days? Well, take said game, add zombies and guns, and you’ve got “Dead Pixels.” By no means is the latter a clone of the former, but they are similar in that you can fight, buy/sell items, and upgrade your character. In “Dead Pixels”, a toxic spill has caused the dead to reanimate. The army was unable to contain the situation, so that leaves you to reach the evac point on your own before becoming part of the undead yourself. Before we begin taking a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank John Common from CSR-Studios for providing me with a free review copy.
To sum up “Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space”, you’re the Captain Kirk of the Purple Void galaxy. You’ve been tasked with going out and exploring this galaxy, though unlike “Star Trek”, you’ll be scored by how profitable and successful your mission is. It’s a mix of space exploration and combat…will you have what it takes to complete your mission and make a couple of credits in the process? Before we take a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Iikka Keranen from Infinite Space Games for providing me with a free review copy.