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.
Video Games
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.
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.
“Imagine Earth” is sort of like a cross between “SimCity” and “SimEarth”, but has more of a puzzle theme to it. Essentially, you’ll be plopping buildings down in an attempt to make money and provide for your citizens. It was a challenge to figure out how to place all of the buildings I gained access to in the most efficient way possible. Of course, you’ll have mother nature to contend with, among other things. It’s a great idea and I’m hoping to see more of it in the upcoming months.
I’ll say this…the trailers for this game (here and here) are probably the most unusual creations ever to have surfaced in the world of naval warfare games. “Leviathan: Warships” is a naval warfare simulator that tasks the player with blowing up ships while safeguarding their own. After playing it for a while, I dubbed it as a cross between “Gratuitous Space Battles” and “Frozen Synapse”. If you haven’t played or heard of either of those games, that’s OK. To sum up the overall theme, you’ll be customizing your ships, assigning those ships to a fleet, and commanding them on the open waters to take out enemy ships in a tactical turn-based environment. Before I get into the specifics, I’d like to thank Veronica Gunlycke and David Martinez from Paradox Interactive for providing me with a free review copy.
Let me start this off by relaying a piece of news I found to be hilarious. The developer of this game released their own cracked / pirated version of the game the same day as its release. Wait…what!? These guys certainly have a sense of humor, having built code into the pirated version that dwindles funds away from the player as the result of in-game piracy. Needless to say, those who pirated “Game Dev Tycoon” did not react well to the in-game piracy issues they had to deal with…how’s that for irony? At any rate, “Game Dev Tycoon” will put you in the role of a developer trying to start their own game development company (and if you didn’t pirate the game itself, you might actually succeed). Before we get started getting into the nitty-gritty details, I’d like to thank Patrick Klug from Greenheart Games for providing me with a free review copy.
I’ve always enjoyed “survival” games, as they give me a chance to explore a side of me I rarely get to see. Sure, games like “Don’t Starve” can’t take the place of white water rafting, but they allow us to experiment without breaking bones and braving the elements. “Don’t Starve” tasks the player with doing exactly that. You’ll pick a character and dive head first into a world with nothing but the clothes on your back.
I dabbled in this game’s Beta for a little while and enjoyed my experience, even if I wasn’t fully sure as to what I was doing. Essentially, you’re a leader who’s in charge of building up a small settlement from scratch. You’ll be collecting resources, completing quests, and participating in siege battles to “level up” so to speak. It’s an RTS in the sense that you’ll be constructing various buildings to improve your settlement, but it’s drawn out to the point where it takes longer to do so. You’ll have the option to play online with others, hence where the MMO part comes into play. This game draws some similarities to “Age of Empires Online”, but is more adult in nature and does some things pretty unique to the genre. Before I get into all of that, I’d like to thank the folks at Reverie World Studios, Inc. for providing me with a free review copy.
Most of you, at one point in your life, have allowed yourself to stay up well past your normal sleeping hours in pursuit of some sort of hobby. My first experience doing so was in high school, after playing “Birth of the Federation” for the very first time…the first 4x game I ever played. From that point on I was hooked, spending more time on the “Civilization” and “Galactic Civilizations” series than I probably should. “Endless Space” left a very good taste in my mouth, so much that I yearned for something to “one up” it. Will “StarDrive” fit the bill and will it stand up to the other 4X space sims I’ve had the pleasure of playing throughout time? Before I answer that, I’d like to thank Daniel DiCicco from zer0sumGames for providing me with a free review copy. It’s important to note that the copy I was given was of the late Beta stage, but was close enough to the final copy in that I could do a full review. Still, some of the pictures & features may be slightly out of date.
Being the Grand Prize Winner for Excellence and Design in the Independent Games Festival (in this case, 2010) is kind of a big deal. I’ve been following “Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine” ever since and was really intrigued by the idea behind the game. Essentially, you’re a thief who has to find an object of interest inside a building and escape. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. Completing a heist requires a lot of patience and skill, with emphasis on the former. Before we get started with the review, I’d like to thank Andy Schatz from Pocketwatch Games for providing me with a free review copy.
“Star Trek” as a whole has always been a positive influence in my life. The idea that man will one day be able to rise above poverty, disease, war, and bigotry provides a sense of hope in regards to my son’s future. When I look at television shows today and attempt to count how many actually convey a positive message the way “Star Trek” did, I shake my head and put on my sad panda face. Not only did “Star Trek” succeed in conveying hope to millions of people, it created unique characters that are still iconic in today’s society. I still enjoy watching Spock and McCoy go at it, even if I’ve seen it done a hundred times already.
When I first loaded up “O’Cells”, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The description on its Greenlight page (link below) mentioned that it was a real-time strategy game that allowed you to manage your own anthill. Having fond memories of “SimAnt” for the SNES, I was anxious to give this game a field test. Before we get started with the preview, I’d like to thank Alexis Jouanneaux for including me in the Beta. As such, the game isn’t finished yet making the below content subject to change.
Match 3 games seem to be swarming Steam’s Greenlight page as of late, though I have yet to find a Match 3 series more in-depth than “Puzzle Quest”. “Bret Airborne” draws a lot of similarities to “Puzzle Quest”, but instead of casting spells and fighting goblins, you’ll be taking the battle to the skies in a hot air balloon. In this particular Match 3 puzzle game, you’ll be taking on the role of Bret Airborne who must help Doctor Atlus to thwart his evil brother and his band of merry minions. Before we get started with the specifics, I’d like to thank Dave Toulouse from Machine 22 for seeking me out and providing me with a review copy.
I can’t resist a good horror game and when I came across “Eyes”, I knew I’d have to try it. The objective of this horror game is to collect a set number of money bags and make your way to the exit without getting caught by this floating head that’s patrolling the house. The graphics and controls are fairly simplistic, making the game easy to get into. You run into doors to open them, which was nerve-wracking at times…who knew what was on the other side waiting to pounce on you? The game gives you a heads up at least when you need to run and provides “eyes” that you can pick up, allowing you to see through the eyes of the floating head in order to pinpoint its whereabouts.
Paramount surprised me with a new video this morning, this time focusing on the storyline and some of the new characters that will appear in the game. Have a look:
“Altitude” has been out since 2009, but was unfortunately one of those games that slipped through the cracks in regards to games I’ve been meaning to try. The game’s primary focus is multiplayer, tasking players with flying an aircraft with or against others on a two-dimensional plane. It has an action-arcade feel to it with multiple game modes…think Unreal Tournament but with planes. Before we get into specifics, I’d like to thank the folks at Nimbly Games for providing me with a free review copy.