Alright, here’s the deal. I’m going throw a bunch of words at you, and I want you to attempt to make sense of it. Artillery. Vikings. Tower Defense. Spells. Bombs. Real-Time Strategy. Knights. Tower Destruction. Heroes. Flags. Tower Offense. Javelins. Cartoony. Tower Construction. Exploding Sheep. 2.5D Physics. Got all that? Good. Now, throw all of those words into one giant blender of fun and let the blades spin for about thirty seconds. At the end of it all, you should have a nice, rich glass of “CastleStorm”. The closest I could come to a game that compares to this one was “Angry Birds”, but that wouldn’t do “CastleStorm” justice. Sure, it’s got tower destruction, but it offers so much more than that. Before we take a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Mel Kirk from Zen Studios for providing me with a free review copy.
My time with “Strike Suit Zero” was an overall positive one, even if game’s problems prevented it from reaching its full potential. Enter “Strike Suit Infinity”, a separate sister game in the series that does not require “Strike Suit Zero” to play. Where “Strike Suit Zero” put you through a single player campaign, “Strike Suit Infinity” is all about high scores. Yes, that’s it. No campaign, no multiplayer, no kidding. Just you, endless waves of enemies, and your wits. Think of it as an “endless mode” of sorts…why they couldn’t have included it in the core game is beyond me. At any rate, you’re probably wondering to yourself, is it any good?
I’ve seen some games journalists compare “Strike Suit Zero” with “X-Wing”, the latter of which I’ve spent years playing in my youth. We had a love/hate relationship in that I would curse it for not having the ability to save in-mission, as well as the insane difficulty spikes that would sometimes surface out of the blue. Yet, I kept playing it as if my life had depended on it. While I can see why some might consider “Strike Suit Zero” to be the closest thing to “X-Wing” since “those days”, I’d have to say that it’s more comparable to “Freelancer”, minus the open-world & trade mechanics. Speaking of which, if you haven’t played “Freelancer” yet, you’re missing out.
When I first laid eyes on this particular game, I had trouble envisioning just what was inside the box. Did modern-day technology advance to the point where they can shrink herds of buffalo and put them inside a small box? Is this some odd variant of “Pass The Pigs”? Thankfully, it turned out to be neither, despite how badly I wanted miniature buffalo to go stampeding through my living room. “Buffalo”, in this case, takes on the role of a verb meaning, “to outwit, puzzle, or baffle”. It’s a card game designed for two to eight players, meant to be played by older children and adults. Before we get started checking out this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Amanda Young from Tiltfactor for providing me with a free review copy.
“Apples to Apples” and “Crappy Birthday” are big hits in my house, as both (we feel) are casual games and a lot of fun to play. “Awkward Moment” is similar to the aforementioned games, moreso to the former. For those of you who haven’t played games of this genre, you are essentially choosing someone to be a judge. Players then submit a card or cards to the judge anonymously and whoever’s card gets chosen scores points. Of course, the rules vary depending on the game, but that’s the basic idea. Before we take a look at the rules and gameplay elements of this particular one, I’d like to thank Amanda Young from Tiltfactor for providing me with a free review copy.
I’m a sucker for zombie games, whether they be open-world post-apocolyptic survival games or themes that involve players being the zombies themselves. “ZOMBIEPOX” is neither, focusing more on zombie control and outbreak prevention. Players will be teaming up to prevent the spread of the disease (ZOMBIEPOX, hence the name) all the while vaccinating and curing as many as they can. Before we get started fighting off the undead, I’d like to thank Amanda Young from Tiltfactor for providing me with a free review copy.
This particular ditty was released back in 2006 and at the time, I couldn’t have been more excited. A game like this was a long time coming, as the last title to have a similar theme (“Star Wars: Rebellion”) was released back in 1998. I won’t bother reviewing a game that is well over five years old, but I will say that it was an incredible feat and achievement.
For once, I’m drawing a blank…though I have a good reason for doing so. Feel free to try the game yourself (free download) or watch it in action via the links below. If you figure out what the goal of this game is (besides slaughtering deer by the thousands), feel free to let me know.
As an avid board gamer, I was intrigued by the ideas surrounding this particular title. At first glance, it looks like a simple digital board game in which the player will be moving pawns around a giant wheel to simulate the lineage of families and generations. People who assume this to be the case would be half correct, as the game is much more complex than I originally gave it credit for. It draws gameplay mechanics from games like “Civilization” and “The Sims”, the former for the ever-progressing tech tree and the latter for the way your families evolve over a period of time. While all of this is going on, the game is telling you a story, one that you are helping to create. The question remains however, does it stand the tests of time and the “almighty” gamer-dad who will be reviewing it? Before I answer that, I’d like to thank Keith Nemitz from Mousechief Co. for providing me with a free review copy.
While no video game could possibly reflect the courage and dedication that our servicemen provide, it’s nice to sometimes pretend to be a hero, even if it is in the virtual world. What’s more, virtual games like “Rescue 2013 – Everyday Heroes” remind us of the dangers that these real-life “everyday heroes” face, something I wholeheartedly support. In this particular game, the player will take on the role of a fire department head who must manage a team and respond to emergencies as they occur. Before we get started taking a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Katleen from Plug In Digital for providing me with a free review copy.
War. Some might ask what it’s good for. If General William P. “Fatty” McGutterpants in “Risk: Factions” had his way, he’d claim that it was absolutely everything. (Ba-Bump Chhh!) While there are hundreds of free “Risk” clones on the market, I must admit that I’ve had my eye on this particular one, even though it retailed at ten bucks. The game’s free demo had me hooked, but I felt that ten bucks was a little too much when you take into consideration all of the competition out there offering up the game for free. Steam’s summer sale allowed me the chance to grab it for half that price and we’re here today to determine whether or not it’s truly worth our time.
My recent trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo was a success overall, but I felt that I could have done better. Out of the four hundred pictures I took, only seventy-five of them didn’t have that grainy look about them. This was partly my fault, as I was trying something new this time around…Auto-ISO and Manual mode.
We’ve all seen our share of horror movies and more often than not, they involve one person chasing the other with some sort of sharp object. “Silhouette”, a free indie game I recently discovered for the PC and Mac, follows that very theme. One person will take on the role of the victim, who must find the key and escape the house while the other controls the killer. Sounds simple, right? Not really. It’s turn based and to top that off, the length in between turns changes depending on the proximity of the two. The closer the two characters are, the faster turns fly by. The game supports two player local play, with both using the keyboard. While there is no online multiplayer option, there are plenty of maps to choose from. You can also have the system randomly generate your own map after choosing the size. It’s a fairly suspenseful game, one that I recommend that you check out if you happen to have another gamer in the house.
I could spend months writing about “Civilization V”…yes, it’s that big of a game. I gave the base game a 9/10 in the review I published last year, but held off on buying any of the expansions due to financial reasons. Low and behold, Steam came through with a summer sale that allowed me to upgrade to the “Gold Edition” for a measly five bucks and catch the “Brave New World” for twenty. For those of you confused by all of the DLC the game contains, the “Gold Edition” includes all of the smaller DLC packs and the first major expansion “Gods & Kings”. Basically, everything up to “Brave New World”, which is the second major expansion in the series. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll be briefly touching on each of these two major expansions and providing my thoughts on each. I probably could have separated them both into two separate articles, but hey, it’s my blog and I’ll cheat be efficient if I want to.
Two years ago I made a vow to have this game reviewed soon after its release. Needless to say, my best laid plans didn’t work out as I had intended. With the recent addition of an “easy mode” to the main campaign, my interest peaked quite a bit. While I consider myself a tower defense vet, I prefer easier, more casual games as they help to accommodate my busy lifestyle as a full-time accountant and parent. “Revenge of the Titans”, in case you haven’t figured it out already, is a tower defense game that tasks the player in defending important structures from waves of aliens. When the game first released, I found the difficulty to be rather unforgiving and thus, unattractive. With the new game modes in play, I figured now would be a good time as any to see just how far the game has come ever since its release back in 2010/2011.
The word “camping” and I just don’t get along too well. I dislike the bugs, the lack of air conditioning, and the fact that the closest bathrooms are usually four thousand miles away. What can I say, civilization and modern-day technology have spoiled me. “Camping Manager 2012” promises to allow the player to “design their own paradise”, so needless to say I was curious as to just how far this simulation would take me. The player will be tasked with building a camp site that is both profitable and pleasing to those who choose to bunk there. Before we get into specifics, I’d like to thank the folks at Merge Games LTD for providing me with a free review copy.