“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.
Erica Reed is back and she’s better than ever, figuratively speaking. If you’ve been following along, you’d know that things aren’t exactly going well for her. Both of the prior episodes left a lot of questions unanswered, prompting me to download this game as soon I received the email in my inbox. I couldn’t wait to find out who the Cain Killer was and how some of the other characters tied into the story. Before we take a look at this particular episode in further detail, I’d like to thank Katie Hallahan from Phoenix Online Studios and Emily Morganti, a PR consultant on behalf of Phoenix Online Studios, for providing me with a free review copy. For the purposes of this review, I’m going to assume that you’ve played episodes one and two so there WILL be spoilers in that regard. However, I’ll keep things vague in regards to this episode so as not to spoil the plot.
Having played and enjoyed “Baby Blues”, I was excited to see how this particular Kickstarter success was taking shape. It succeeded in raising over $200,000 to help meet its Kickstarter goal, which is a fairly impressive feat. In “Among the Sleep”, you’ll be seeing things through the eyes of a two year-old child…things that you probably shouldn’t see. This game is a horror-adventure game that left me feeling helpless and afraid to venture forth, much like “Amnesia” and other similar games did. Not having a weapon in which to defend yourself more than likely had something to do with it, though being a helpless two year-old certainly doesn’t help matters.
Before you ask, “UFHO” stands for “Unidentified Flying Hexagonal Object”. No, it’s okay…no need to thank me, it’s all part of the service. Though, I won’t stop you from hitting that “donate” button off to the right a couple hundred times. At any rate, I was intrigued by the idea behind this particular game, seeing as how it incorporates a board game theme into a video game. In “UFHO2”, players will be choosing a character and moving it around a hexagonal playing field in an attempt to capture a set number of gems before their opponents do. It’s worth noting that the game is still in the Alpha state, meaning that all of the content you see here is subject to change. Also, a quick thank you to Ciro Continisio from Tiny Colossus for providing me with a free copy.
I dabbled in Makivision’s “Sacraboar”, an RTS with a capture-the-flag theme, for a bit. Imagine my surprise when I heard that they had gone in a completely different direction and developed “Way to Go!”, a game featuring challenging puzzles. In “Way to Go!”, players will be guiding Rob, Egg, and Liz through a series of levels in an attempt to find gems stolen from the Temple of Peace. Not to worry, it’s not as complicated as it sounds…or is it? Before I go any further, I’d like to quickly thank Oliver Silski from Makivision Games for reaching out to me and providing me with a free review copy.
Game Salute announced earlier this year that “The Princess Bride” board game was in the works. I know, I know…”Inconceivable!” Not much is presently known about this party-themed game, but I did receive a preview pack in the mail, courtesy of Game Salute.
Rougelikes seem to be the trend as of late, this particular one being a top-down sandbox survival horror game. This recent project from Acid Wizard Studio draws some similarities to “Teleglitch” in that it features an eerie atmosphere, a crafting system, and the ability to send your adrenaline levels to all new heights.
I’m a big fan of games like “Civilization” and “Risk”, but they often require the user to invest over the long haul…time, effort, a kidney, that sort of thing. “Eight-Minute Empire” solves that problem by simplifying the overall theme to the point where games can be played in under a half-hour’s time. That’s pretty impressive, if I dare say. It’s an area control game at heart that tasks players with conquering lands and owning goods in an effort to score the most victory points. Before we get started taking a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Ryan Laukat from Red Raven Games for providing me with a free review copy.
Oh you poor, poor Kerbals. You happily build me rockets and spacecraft completely oblivious to the fact that I’m an accountant by trade who dabbles in games journalism from time to time. Perhaps they should screen their mission control supervisors a bit better? Nah. As you may have guessed from the name, “Kerbal Space Program” is a spacecraft/rocket simulator that allows players to manage their very own space program. Before the Kerbals catch on to the fact that I have no idea what I’m doing, I’d like to thank Adrián Goya and Alejandro Mora from Squad for setting me up with an early access copy. Like all games still in development, it’s important to remember that the content featured below may be subject to change.
I’ve been pretty lacking this past week in terms of game reviews, but I’ve had a good reason. I put down the controller (temporarily) and replaced it with my very first digital SLR camera. I’ve always loved taking pictures, even as a kid. Well, it was finally time to splurge and bring one of the hobbies I’ve been neglecting all these years to the front burner. When I first opened the package and began playing with its features, I admit that I was overwhelmed. In fact, you can read about all of that in my first impressions article (click on the hyperlink to the left).