“Infested Planet” has come a long way since July of 2013, the day that I first laid my hands on this incredible masterpiece. I was impressed with the Beta then and I’m pleased to say that the game only got better from there. For those of you who aren’t familiar with “Infested Planet” or haven’t checked out my preview, it’s a top-down RTS that features aliens…lots and lots of aliens. You control a small squad of soldiers and must complete certain objectives in order to pass from level to level (this usually involves a kill or be killed mentality). Before I get into that however, I’d like to thank Alex Vostrov (the game’s creator) for providing me with a free press copy.
The title says it all in this latest addition to the second season of “The Walking Dead”. Clementine, our delicate but intelligent protagonist from Episode One, has a lot of hard choices to make. Having met a group of survivors that are much more weary of strangers as opposed to those she met in Season One, this stands to reason. On top of that, she doesn’t have Lee to protect her anymore…it’s just her and her will to live. When Episode Two appeared on Steam on March 4, 2014, I was all over it like a kid in a candy store…I just had to know what would become of Clementine and possibly find out what had really happened to Christa. Seeing that the series as a whole is a rather unforgiving and unexpected one, it’s relatively easy to say that anything goes at this point.
The television show, “Deadliest Warrior”, attracted my attention in a way that I didn’t expect. The idea of pitting two dissimilar forces against one another to see who would win was (and still is) and intriguing prospect. “Duelga”, a Kickstarter project currently in the funding process (as of 3/1/14), reminded me of “Deadliest Warrior” almost immediately. To sum this card game up, players will choose a duelist and equip them with weapons, styles, traits, and action cards with the intent on beating the crap out of their opponent. Before we touch on the specifics though, I’d like to thank J. Sam Watson, the President of Black Mountain Gamesmiths, LLC., for providing me with a prototype copy.
It’s a bit hard to describe “The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot“, but I’d have to say that it’s a cross between an action RPG and dungeon builder. When you’re not upgrading your castle and populating it with monsters, you’re out looting other people’s castles in an attempt to level up your character and earn yourself some loot in the process. So far I’m having a great time with it, though I’m not too crazy about the in-game store which does offer objects of interest for real money. For the record, I’ve been able to ignore it thus far and progress without even looking at it.
The latest edition of “SimCity” for the PC was a bit of a letdown. It had a lot of great ideas, but the always online connection really rubbed me the wrong way (especially when the majority of players couldn’t even log in during launch week). I eventually resigned myself to the fact that I’d be playing “Sunrise City” for all eternity…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Along those lines, there’s quite the shortage of “SimCity-esque” board games out on the market, much to my surprise. It’s not like there isn’t a demand for city builders, after all. I can’t tell you how many hours I’d spend as a kid sitting in front of my SNES trying to perfect my megalopolis…I imagine that some of you can relate. Enter “Suburbia”, a tile-laying game released in 2012 that promotes a “SimCity” theme. How does it compare to “Sunrise City” and “SimCity”, you ask? Keep reading…the answers may (or may not) surprise you.
I’d hate to use the word “clone” here, but “Planetary Annihilation” certainly takes a lot of ques from the “Supreme Commander” series. That’s not necessarily a bad thing…I’ve put hundreds of hours into “Supreme Commander 2” alone. For one, it’s an RTS that gives both sides a mission critical and destructable commander unit. Secondly, there are two resources…metal and energy (“Supreme Commander” had mass and energy). Furthering that fact, metal can only be harvested on particular spaces on the map, similar to how mass was collected in “Supreme Commander”. The structure types are similar, with the ideas revolving around regular and advanced constructor units being nearly identical…bottom line, if you’ve played “Supreme Commander” before, you’ll be able to jump into this without a problem. To be fair, “Planetary Annihilation” does take things to a whole new level: space and the ability to colonize other planets.
Have you ever tried some of Kashi’s products like “GOLEAN Crunch!” cereal? I have. It tastes great going down but holy hell, it gives me gas like you wouldn’t believe. I’m apparently not the only one…there are forum threads out on the web devoted to people who have the strongest sphincter muscles in the world because of this smelly problem. I know what you regular readers are thinking…WTF is he smoking and where are “my” game reviews? No worries…I occassionally go off on tangents like this. Why? Because I can, and it’s fun.
As soon as I saw the title of this particular game, I began to unconsciously hum the theme to “Star Trek: Deep Space 9”. Little did I know that I was, in a sense, pinning down exactly what this game was all about. “Spacebase DF-9“, a game currently on Steam’s Early Access program for $24.99, will task you with constructing your very own space station. Like other similar sims currently out on the market, you’ll need to provide for the inhabitants, assign them jobs, mine for raw material, and more. Think “Dwarf Fortress” or “Dungeon Keeper”, but in space.
In case you weren’t aware, “Dead State” is currently on Steam’s Early Access program…though not in the way most of us would expect. Instead of giving us access to the entire Alpha, the developers have shared a build that will give us a seven-day taste as to what “Dead State” is all about. In a sense, it’s an Alpha demo…something that folks should know before dropping the $24.99 necessary to try it out. The good news is that those who do drop the dough will have access to the full game once it’s released, which (according to their website) should be around Summer of 2014. Those who wait will have to pay the game’s full price, listed at $30.00.
It’s that time again! With all of the reviews and previews I do, I sometimes forget that there are a TON of free games on Desura that demand my attention. I quickly rectified this, browsing Desura’s free games section until I came across “Walk”. It looked aesthetically pleasing and simple to play, so I gave it a go. Your goal? Find the dark-colored sphere…yes, that’s it. It turns out that I’m not even good at THAT. Watch the below video to find out what I mean…
I spent a good amount of time playing “Talisman Prologue” ever since I was gifted a copy back in December of 2012. I had never played “Talisman” the board game before then, so I found “Talisman Prologue” to be a nice primer in terms of learning the game’s ins and outs. Unfortunately, it was only designed as a single player experience, meaning that I couldn’t take the fight to others online. “Talisman: Digital Edition”, which has been on Steam’s Early Access program for a while, rectifies that problem by introducing multiplayer among a few other things. While this review predates that game’s official launch date (February 25th, 2013) by a few hours, I’m told that my current build is representative of the final product, with no major gameplay patches planned between now and then. With that said, I’d like to once again thank Don Whiteford, the Co-Founder of Nomad Games Limited, for sending me a free press copy.
I’ve been playing a lot of games lately that feature a turn-based combat mechanic. “Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game & Expansions“, X”COM: Enemy Unknown“, “GhostControl Inc.“, “Dungeon of the Endless (Preview)“…just to name a few. “Antisquad”, a game that appeared on Steam’s Early Access program in late February of 2014, follows suit with similar themes. In addition to turn-based combat, you’ll be allowed to upgrade your characters with new equipment as well as customize them with various skins. The asking price is only four bucks and it will stay that way before and after the game’s official release (source)…not too shabby.
I was doing incredibly well, or so I thought. I booted this sucker up for the first time at 7 PM and before I knew it, I had a fairly happy and successful little village going. Not bad for having no knowledge of the game prior to playing it…I guess I really am a true games “journalologist” (HA!). Around 9:30, all of that went downhill when my population starting dying off one by one due to old age. To my dismay, I discovered that my villagers hadn’t produced enough children to replace those dropping like flies. Apparently, couples are hesitant to conceive children when being crammed into a house already occupied by three complete strangers…who knew? Essential buildings were now vacant, resources were starting to dwindle as a result…needless to say, I was a sad little panda when I realized that I had a serious problem. Such is the way of “Banished”.
My first experience with “DayZ” lasted all of five minutes. Shortly after figuring out how to equip my flashlight, I got attacked and killed by a group of zombies. That’s not to say that I didn’t go out swinging…I am fairly certain I put “Rocky Balboa” to shame. A review is obviously a long ways off, with the game being Alpha and all, but I also have a long ways to go in learning how to play the game.
Not only was I immediately impressed by the artwork featured in the prototype, I was blown away by the idea of a tabletop game that featured martial arts. Players in “LINEAGE” will be in control of both a master and a student piece. The general idea is for players to pass off knowledge from the master to the student in order to win the game. One player, however, will assume the role of an emperor who will be trying to stop the other players by making use of his armies. It’s an interesting concept that I feel deserves further attention.
I’ve played a TON of tycoon-esque games in my day. “Roller Coaster Tycoon”, “Hotel Giant”, “High School Tycoon”, “Prison Architect”, “Prison Tycoon”, “Hot Dog King”…the list goes on. Never before have I managed my very own mail distribution business, however. “Post Master”, the latest of simulators published by Excalibur Publishing LTD, promises exactly that and is due to hit virtual shelves on March 7, 2014. While this review predates the launch date by a few weeks, I’m told that my press copy is representative of the final version. To that end, I’d like to thank Richard Barclay from Excalibur Publishing LTD for providing me with an early review copy.