2007-2008 marks the beginning of the “Crazy Machines 2” era, and I say beginning because of the numerous DLC packs that followed in its wake. Never fear, I’ll briefly touch on those too to give you an idea of what they are like so you can decide whether or not you’d like to purchase them. Before we take a look at “Crazy Machines 2”, I’d like to thank Andrew Emond from Viva Media for sending me the “Crazy Machines Complete Pack” to review. To that end, I’ll be taking a look at each of the games in that pack, in turn. You can find the other reviews (assuming they are finished) by clicking on the “Video Games” tab above.
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Having recently played and reviewed “Crazy Machines”, I was curious to see what this particular game would bring. To my surprise, it unlocked two separate entities on Steam, one being the “Inventors Training Camp” and the other being “New from the Lab.” They look and feel the same, so I’ll opt to cover both in one sitting. Before we get started with “Crazy Machines 1.5”, I’d like to thank Andrew Emond from Viva Media for sending me the “Crazy Machines Complete Pack” to review. To that end, I’ll be taking a look at each of the games in that pack, in turn. You can find the other reviews (assuming they are finished) by clicking on the “Video Games” tab above.
How many of you remember “Mouse Trap”, a board game that featured a Rube Goldberg device designed to capture a player’s mouse piece upon landing on a particular space? “Crazy Machines” does something similar, though it forces the user to actually design the contraption to complete the task at hand. Before we get started with “Crazy Machines”, I’d like to thank Andrew Emond from Viva Media for sending me the “Crazy Machines Complete Pack” to review. To that end, I’ll be taking a look at each of the games in that pack, in turn. You can find the other reviews (assuming they are finished) by clicking on the “Video Games” tab above.
As I indicated in a previous article, I’ve been playing “Minecraft” for quite some time. It didn’t take long for games with variations on the theme to emerge and it wouldn’t be right to call them clones, especially if they offer unique gameplay mechanics that the original game doesn’t. “Block Story” combines both block building and RPG elements to make something pretty unique, though the question remains, does it hold up on its own? Before I answer that question, I’d like to thank Paul Pacheco for sending me a free copy to review. It’s important to note that this particular version is a single player experience only, though a separate MMO version is in the works for those of you who enjoy multiplayer.
Editor’s Note: From time to time, I may reference “Minecraft” in order to compare the two games. When I do, I’m referring to the “vanilla” or unmodded version of “Minecraft” as a standalone product. The same goes for “Block Story.” Also, this review was written 12/27/12…keep that in the back of your mind while reading it. The game has been updated significantly since then. My video series is more up to date, so go check that out after you’re done here.
This review has been a long time coming. I’ve been playing “Minecraft” ever since I bought my way into the Alpha sometime in 2010 and I’ve had the pleasure of watching it grow ever since. I’m sure there’s still some growing to be done, if the mods that the community have developed is any indication. Still, I felt it to be the right time to take a moment and revisit Minecraft to review it as a standalone product…that is, without mod support. For review purposes, I’m currently sitting at version 1.4.6. I won’t spend a lot of time on this article, mainly because “Minecraft” is best experienced as a story that one starts writing from day one. However, it should help to give you an idea of what you’d be in for, should you decide to take the plunge.
Hey folks, I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Please be safe this holiday season, and if you must drink, do so responsibly. For the record, that includes hitting the donate button on the right side of the page and dipping into your life savings…just kidding!
May your games be joyous and your cookies extra chocolatey! Most importantly, remember to take a moment to look around enjoy the company of those who may have made a difference in your life. I’m not sure where I’d be today without those who have entered mine.
And for the record, I had help with the below picture…
I’m not too big on PvP, but I have dabbled in it from time to time. I’ve played “World of Warcraft” for years and enjoyed (I use that term loosely) being stomped repeatedly by those who knew their classes in and out and have keybinds for everything,including the dance emote, which they often exercise over my rotting corpse. So what brought me to the world of “Forge”, a game that advertises itself as a “class based multiplayer shooter”? Before I answer that, I’d like to thank David Domm, the Co-Founder and CEO of Dark Vale Games, for sending me a free review copy.
How many of you have played “Asteroids” for the Atari 2600? Okay, how many of you know what an Atari 2600 is? *Sigh* I must be getting old…anyway, “Asteroids” put you in the role of a small ship (a triangle) that was tasked with shooting asteroids while staying alive in the process. “The Galactic Asteroids Patrol” takes that idea and modernizes it with colorful graphics and new gameplay mechanics. Before we start blowing asteroids to kingdom come, I’d like to thank Amir Abiri from Invigo Studios for setting me up with a free review copy.
Hey folks, we’re back with another game that features a video camera as the main point of view for your character. Having recently reviewed “Paranormal”, I was interested to see what “[REC] Shutter” had to offer. It’s important to mention right off the bat that this game is free. I tend to look at free games less critically, mainly because well, I didn’t actually pay money for them. Either I’m going to like it or I’m not, and any suggestions I have for making it better should be taken with a grain of salt. If the developer is accepting ideas, great…but being that the game is free, I generally don’t push the issue.
“Unstoppable Gorg” is an interesting tower defense game, mainly because it does something different than most. While there are turrets involved, which is nothing new, you’ll be able to change their orbit so that you can position them as you see fit. You’ll be fending off waves of alien ships that change their orbital path to the celestial body that you are defending, so you will need to move those turrets around quite a bit.
More and more games like “Dungeon Keeper” seem to be cropping up as of late, but I’m not going to complain. There’s an obvious demand for the genre on today’s market, and I’m glad to see that more and more developers are taking notice. With that said, I wanted to bring to your attention a current Kickstarter project by the name of “War for the Overworld.” I’d like to thank both Jack Wong and Alistair from Subterranean Games for reaching out to me and allowing me to try out the demo. Since the game is still being developed, it should be noted that the content you see in this article is subject to change. It should also be noted that the demo is extremely pre-Alpha at this point.
I haven’t seen a lot of games that focus on town management, and that’s a real shame. Having played both “Hinterland” and “Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale”, I found myself wanting more games with a town management RPG theme about them. “Pioneerz” is the sequel to the XBox 360 game “Pioneer”, which was released back in 2009. “Pioneerz” was released for the XBox 360 back in March, 2010, with the PC port being developed this year (2012). Those who have played the original game will find a lot of similarities between the two, though I must admit that this will be my first time playing this particular series. Before we take a look at what makes “Pioneerz” tick, I’d like to thank LaurenT from Andreil Game for setting me up with a free review copy of the PC port.
While biology and life sciences weren’t all that interesting to me in high school, physics most certainly was. My favorite project was designing a bridge made of glued popsicle sticks, with the ultimate goal of supporting as much weight as it could while it rested between two tables. In “Bridge It”, you’ll be tasked with designing bridges that will span the test of time. It should be noted that I’ve never played a bridge simulator before and thus can’t compare it with anything else on the market. The good news is that you’ll be receiving an unbiased review, free of expectations and hype. What “I” see is what “you” get. Before we get started with that, I’d like to thank Josiah at Chronic Logic LLC for providing me with a free review copy.
As a fan of the board game, “Settlers of Catan” and the more recent “Star Trek Catan”, I was excited to get my hands on this particular strategy game. “Little Kingdom” is an RTS that focuses on resource gathering and fighting over land, via a top down view of a hexagonal battlefield. Before we begin taking a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank the folks at Andreil Game for sending me a free review copy.
I’ll be honest for a moment…the last combat racing game I remember playing religiously was “Twisted Metal 2” and before that, “Mega Race”, which was released back in the early nineties. There’s also the “Mario Kart” series, which would have ranked to be among my personal favorites had it not been for that darned blue shell. Needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do. I came across this particular game on Desura and was immediately attracted by the visuals, prompting me to explore it more. “Gas Guzzlers: Combat Carnage” promises a fast-paced atmosphere with plenty of features to keep the player busy. The question remains, does it? Before I start looking into what auto insurance policy covers rocket damage, I’d like to thank Andrej Levenski from Gamepires for sending me a free review copy.
I recently did a review on “Depth Hunter”, which inspired me to look around and see what other “under the sea” games were out on the market. This time, I’ll be putting away my spear gun in favor of a camera for the game, “Reef Shot.” Before I don my diving suit for the second time, I’d like to thank Agnieszka Litworowska from Nano Games for sending me a free review copy.