Judging from the “mostly negative” reviews on Steam’s “Cities XXL” page (24% positive as of today’s writing), I suppose I can say that the market was really looking forward to a next-gen city-builder that they could sink their teeth into. The same could be said for “SimCity” when it launched in 2013, though the always-online connection (later patched) and the small map sizes dashed hopes almost as much. Sure, there are games like “Banished” and “Tropico 5” to help us pass the time, but a lot of us are craving for days when we could make huge megalopolises without the limitations that come with today’s technology. Heck, I spent years playing “SimCity” on the SNES and wouldn’t you know it…it didn’t freeze when cities got large and I didn’t have to contend with online DRM. Those were the days.
Video Games
All posts tagged Video Games
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
I have a hard time saying no to 4X strategy games, especially if they’re set in space…I’m sure some of you can relate. Perhaps it stems from the fact that I used to watch “Star Trek” religiously as a kid and often dreamt of running my very own galactic empire. “Falling Stars: War of Empires”, a turn-based strategy game seeking your help on Kickstarter, looks rather promising in that regard. What’s more, it’ll be available for PC, Mac, and Linux which is more than some 4X games can say for themselves.
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
I spent a lot of time harvesting tiberium and building tanks back in the late 90’s, but when it came to real-time strategy games, “Command and Conquer” was one of the best around (along with “Warcraft II” and “StarCraft”). “Command and Conquer: Generals” (released in 2003) still remains to be my favorite RTS of all time, it’s just a shame that my Windows 8 machine won’t run the blasted thing. It’s admittedly been a while since I’ve played anything as good since then (“Supreme Commander” is a close contender) and when I saw “Grey Goo” appear on the Steam store, I knew I had to request myself a copy. It took a couple of weeks, but the folks at Petroglyph (developer)/Grey Box (publisher) and their PR team at Sandbox Strategies West came through and managed to send me a key. They didn’t have to, so while I’m slightly annoyed by the delay, I’m still very much appreciative considering that the price tag is $49.99 (as of 2/10/15)…I’ll get to that a bit later.
“Sunless Sea” is a very, very strange game (but in a good way). It struck me as a cross between Sid Meier’s Pirates and Elder Sign…it’s like the former in the sense that you can explore/visit ports and engage in activities while it’s like the latter in the sense that it features “terror” and Lovecraft-style monsters. Sound like fun? That’s because it is, though it has a bit of a learning curve. Before I get ahead of myself here, I’d like to quickly thank the folks at Failbetter Games for providing me with a free press copy.
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
At this day and age, I’m admittedly pretty bad at games that require quick reflexes. I used to be able to complete the first stage of Sonic’s “Green Hill Zone” in thirty seconds flat…now I just scramble to collect rings after “purposely” running into mechanical flying thingys that could only have been invented my M Night Shyamalan. Luckily, there’s no shortage of gamers eager to show of their mad skills for the benefit and entertainment of others. Some are even doing it to help raise money for charity, as is the case with “Games Done Quick”.
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
I’ll say it now and get it out of the way…the dragon is a jerkface. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Regardless, I find myself coming back for more punishment…a testiment to this game’s addictive qualities. “Fight The Dragon” has been on Steam’s Early Access for a while and will be officially launching today (as of 12/4/14). As best as I can describe it, “Fight The Dragon” is a hack and slash action-RPG, but with both premade and user-generated levels. Your ultimate goal will be to slay the dragon, but it’ll be a while before you become strong enough to do so. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank Seon Rozenblum from 3 Sprockets (the same folks who developed the recent “Cubemen 2“) for providing me with a free review copy.
DISCLAIMER: The title “Early Access” means that the product/game is still under development. As such, the content featured below is subject to change. This includes any opinions I may have at the time of writing, as Alpha and Beta builds sometimes change their core mechanics on a whim. It’s important to stress the word opinions, as I find it unethical to review something not yet released in its final form. In other words, don’t take anything you see here too seriously. You can view all of the articles of this series by clicking the “Video Games” tab, located on the top of this page.
“Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)” could be described as a puzzle platformer, but that would be doing the game a huge injustice. It is “the first game developed in collaboration with the Iñupiat, an Alaska Native people” and “nearly 40 Alaska Native elders, storytellers and community members contributed to the development of the game.” Going to such lengths to preserve the culture and get the details right in a video game is pretty impressive, if you ask me. In this little gem, you’ll take on the role of a young Iñupiat girl named Nuna and her trustworthy companion (an arctic fox) with the intent on finding the source of the “eternal blizzard” that threatens everything she’s ever known. Before I go any further, I’d like to quickly thank Laurie Thornton, the co-founder of Radiate (a PR firm), for providing me with a free press copy.
There’s nothing like a good word game to get the ol’ synapses going. “Letter Quest: Grimm’s Journey” is like “Scrabble” mixed with an RPG in the sense that your profile can “level up”, allowing you to equip new items and improve your character’s base stats in order to survive tougher fights. Now I know what you’re thinking…”didn’t PopCap Games already do something similar with ‘Bookworm Adventures’?” Honestly, yes…though not to this extent. The RPG elements are a bit more detailed and involved, but not so much as to bog down the casual player to the point where they’d resent playing it. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank Mark Smith, the CTO & Co-founder of Bacon Bandit Games, for providing me with a free press copy.
“Khet” (released in 2005) is a bit special to me in the sense that it was one of the first board games I purchased while DGA was still in its infancy. I can’t be sure, but I’m fairly certain that it had something to do with the fact that you could reflect lasers off your own pieces to figuratively blow up your opponent’s pieces…after all, you can’t do THAT in “Chess”. “Khet 2.0” (released in 2011), is for all intents and purposes the same game with a few distinct differences. We’re here today to quickly take a look at the video game adaptation of “Khet 2.0”, which released October 2014. Before we do, I’d like to quickly thank the folks at BlueLine Game Studios for providing me with a free press copy. If their name sounds familiar, it’s because they are the same developers who created and released the video game adaptation of the ever-popular, “Hive“.