I was one of the fortunate souls to discover the demo to this game a number of odd months ago. I quickly realized however that my lifelong experience as a gamer didn’t prepare me for “Surgeon Simulator 2013”. Bounding over pitfalls while jumping on Bullet Bills? No problem. Taking high-speed turns while launching missiles at the cars ahead of me? Easy. Building a space shuttle from the ground up and launching it into space? After some trial and error…cakewalk. Guiding a single hand to perform rudimentary open heart surgery in “Surgeon Simulator 2013”? Well, some things are better left unsaid. In this particular game, players will take on the role of a quote unquote doctor (Nigel Burke) that will be performing a series of medical procedures. Before we get started with the review, I’d like to thank the folks at Bossa Studios for providing me with a free copy.
Building your own spaceship from the ground up and sending her off on missions is an idea I can definitely get behind. In “Starship Corporation”, you’ll be able to do exactly that. The game is still in an Alpha state, so I wasn’t able to play with all of the game’s features. However, I was able to try out the ship building portion of the game to see how the design function worked. Before I reel off my first impressions of the Alpha, I’d like to quickly thank David Murent from Coronado Games for hooking me up with a free preview copy.
It’s always been a lifelong dream of mine to go into space, though if NASA were smart, they wouldn’t let me anywhere near a lunar module. In “Lunar Flight”, I’ve gone through more lunar modules than Paris Hilton has shoes. In this particular spaceflight sim, you’ll be navigating a lunar module around the moon performing various missions in an effort to earn a little money and experience. Before we get into the specifics, I’d like to thank Sean Edwards from Shovsoft for providing me with a free review copy.
Whereas “Age of Empires II” was set during the times between the Dark Ages and the Renaissance, “Age of Empires III” focuses on the times during the European colonization of America. Oh, don’t worry, there are still archers and siege weaponry ready to do your bidding, but you’ll also encounter units like musketeers and rockets that are completely new to the series. As such, the third game in the series does keep with the standard RTS formula, but it introduces some new concepts that give the game a lot more depth.
It’s been a while since I’ve browsed Desura for free games to try out and as expected, I wasn’t disappointed. “Minimal Theory” puts the player in the role of a test subject that must get through a series of experiments. It’s similar to “Insert Title Here”, but it is much shorter and often goes off on tangents that are unique in style. You can check out my experiences with the game or try it out yourself via the links below.
When I first loaded up “C&C” back in the mid 1990’s, I was blown away. After all, there was a MAN talking to me on my screen and not some pixelated gibberish. “Rebel Assault 2” topped the cake in regards to full motion video at the time, but I was still impressed that my mission briefings in “C&C” were recorded by an actual actor. No, really kids, that’s how it WAS back in my day. At any rate, “Command & Conquer: Generals” became my favorite entry in the series, especially once I got my hands on the “Zero Hour” expansion. Why? So glad you asked.
“Caesar IV”, through and through, is a city-builder / resource management game (and a difficult one at that). As the governor of a province, you’ll be tasked with building your cities and ensuring that they prosper. To do that, you’ll need to carefully manage the resources scattered around the map, as well as ensure that you have the appropriate workers and buildings to acquire them.
Van Helsing, also known as Doctor Abraham Van Helsing, is best known for his role as a vampire/monster hunter in the 1897 publication of “Dracula”. In “The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing”, players will take on the role of the legendary doctor himself and embark on a journey through the gothic world of Borgovia. This particular game draws some similarities to the “Torchlight” and “Diablo” series in that it is an action-RPG, but it does some pretty unique things that make me want to keep playing. Before we get started, I’d like to thank Orsolya Toth from NeocoreGames for providing me with a free review copy.
Fasten your seatbelts and place your tray tables into their upright positions…we’re about to take a look at “Airlines Europe”, a board game that deals with airline companies, stocks, and quite a bit of strategy. In “Airlines Europe”, you’ll be attempting to earn the most victory points by having the most shares in the most successful airlines on the playing board. Let’s take a quick look at the components and how the game is played before heading into the review.
“Do Your Job”, a unique card game that features two different ways to play, will be hitting Kickstarter soon. It’s designed to be a quick filler in between longer games, or simply for when you and your family only have ten minutes to spare on game night. Before we sneak a peak at what makes it tick, I’d like to thank Billy Mearns from Wicked Manatee Games for reaching out to me and providing me with a prototype copy. It’s important to note that the artwork on the prototype copy is not final.
How many of you remember the game, “Populous”? If you’ve ever played it at one point in your life, you certainly would have remembered it. The game featured two warring human factions, each with a god to watch over them. You got to control one of the gods, but not the faction they reigned over. Instead, you’d have to manipulate the environment and cast godly powers to see your way to victory. “Skyward Collapse” is somewhat similar, putting you in the role of a deity that must oversee the prosperity of two different factions. It turns out that preventing them from beating the tar out of each other is tougher than it looks. Before I start overusing the word “smite”, I’d like thank Erik Johnson from Arcen Games for providing me with a free review copy. Arcen Games, for those of you who may not recognize the name, are the same folks who did “AI War” and the “A Valley Without Wind” series.
“Sanctum” was one-of-a-kind back in its day. It not only helped to define a genre, but opened my eyes in regards to what tower defense games were capable of doing. I probably would have passed up “Dungeon Defenders” (one of my favorite games) had I not taken the plunge and participated in “Sanctum’s” Beta. Needless to say, I was excited to see “Sanctum 2”, the long-awaited sequel, hit the virtual shelves. The main menu allows the player to participate in single or multiplayer games, view leaderboards & achievements, check out the in-game gallery, and adjust game options. The options touch on all of your common settings like screen resolution, audio volumes, fullscreen toggle, keybinds, and etc. The game is broken up into a campaign of about fifteen levels that feature multiplayer capability.
“Heartland” is a three-dimensional tile-laying game that tasks players with earning the most victory points. In this particular instance, each player represents a settler that is trying to develop the best plot of land in Middle America during the early 1800’s (America’s “Heartland”). It’s worth noting that the box art of my copy is in German, but the rules include an English translation. The components themselves have no text on them, meaning that those who are thinking about buying this version will find it to be fully functional (even if you don’t speak German).
“Say Anything” and “Say Anything Family” were among the first board games to enter my “new” collection, my old one having been lost in a series of floods several years earlier (que sad Panda face). Both games revolve around the same theme, much like “Wits & Wagers” and “Wits & Wagers Family” do. They aren’t that different from one another, so I’ll be covering both here to save on time. “Say Anything” and “Say Anything Family” can be described as light party games, designed for either adults (the former) or family game night (the latter). Let’s take a quick look at what comes in each game and how they are played before heading into the review.
With everything being an electronic download nowadays, rarely do I ever need to keep CDs at my desk. “Roller Coaster Tycoon 3” is the exception to the rule, as even after being out for a little under ten years, I still find myself spending hours at a time with it. “Roller Coaster Tycoon” was the first simulator I had ever played, and I’ll even go as far as to say that it introduced me to the entire genre. As a kid, I couldn’t get enough of it. As an adult, I still can’t. As you may have already guessed, “Roller Coaster Tycoon 3” tasks you with creating a theme park. You’ll have to manage rides, staff, customers, the works. It’s worth noting that I have the core game and the two expansions, so I’ll be touching on all three here.
I was one of the unfortunate souls that never had a chance to try “Black & White”, a god-game developed for the PC and Mac platforms soon after the turn of the century. The idea of being a god or controlling a set of gods to reign prosperity and/or terror among my subjects has always been sadistically appealing. I spent a ton of time with “Populous” back in the day doing exactly that, though I’m glad to see that more games are popping up as of late that focus on this particular genre. “Reus” will task the player with creating a set of giants, each with unique abilities, with the goal of seeing to the well-being of the humans that rise up and settle on your planet. Before we get started taking a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Manuel Kerssemakers from Abbey Games for providing me with a free review copy.