As a loyal “Left 4 Dead” fan, I was immediately intrigued by the premise behind “PAYDAY: The Heist” and its successor upon their release, even though I hate clowns with a passion. They offered a four player cooperative experience…though instead of fighting off zombies and wiping off boomer bile, you were robbing banks and the like. With that being said, I was a bit turned off by the rumors regarding their single player modes…enough so that I convinced myself to wait until a price drop before picking them up. With the recent Steam holiday sale slashing “PAYDAY: The Heist” by ninety percent and “PAYDAY 2” by fifty-five percent, I managed to grab both for just under fifteen bucks…not a bad haul (pardon the pun) if I may say so. It’s important to note that I started playing “PAYDAY 2” first and thus will be reviewing it first (because I can)…though time permitting, I’ll cook a review up for “PAYDAY: The Heist” as well.
Video Games
I’ve been playing “Cities XL 2011” off and on for the past few years, having first acquired it through “Impulse” (which now sports the “GameStop App”). I wasn’t sure what to make of “Cities XL 2011” at first, though my first impressions of it at the time was that it bore an uncanny resemblance to “City Life” released back in 2006. Having done a little research for this article, I wasn’t surprised to learn that Monte Cristo was the publisher behind both games. At any rate, I decided to dive back into this title, namely due to the unsatisfied taste that the most recent “SimCity” left in my mouth. The question remains: “Is ‘Cities XL 2011’ better than EA’s most recent and controversial “SimCity” release?”
With Christmas being right around the corner, I admittedly don’t have the time to write a full-blown review of “Zoo Tycoon 2”. To be fair, this game was released in 2004 and chances are if you haven’t played it by now, you’re not going to. Still, I do want to give some credit where it’s due, as I’ve spent countless hours constructing and tearing down zoo parks like the Tasmanian Devil. In its day, it was indeed a fantastic game and holds up surprisingly well despite its age. It doesn’t have a widescreen option, for example, but what it lacks in functionality it makes up for in content. For the record, I own both the core game and two of the four expansions (Marina Mania and African Adventures).
I had two strikes going against me when I purchased this video game adaptation…one for never having played the board game and two for not being familiar (at all) with any of H.P. Lovecraft’s work. I know, I know…shame on me, I guess. Still, there was a certain charm about the board game, even if a lot of the gameplay mechanics seemed a bit complex. I bought the video game adaptation ($14.99 as of 12/22/13) mainly to see if I should drop twenty-five bucks plus on the board game. Worse case scenario is that if I don’t like it, I’d only be out fifteen bucks…seemed like a reasonable deal. After playing a few games, I’ve discovered that I have a love/hate relationship with “Elder Sign: Omens”. Why? So glad you asked…
“Dungeon of the Endless”, in its current state (as of 12/21/13), isn’t so endless. The game is currently in an Alpha state and available via Steam’s Early Access page, featuring a total of three levels in which to get your feet wet. Crossing a tower defense and a dungeon exploration game, I must admit, is a pretty neat idea. You’ll start with two heroes and your crystal, which you must protect at all costs. While you can move your heroes from room to room, time actually doesn’t progress until you explore a brand new room. In effect, you have both a real-time strategy and turn based mechanic working at the same time.
So, I finally buckled down and purchased “Starbound”, a game more like “Terraria” than I originally thought. My son even mistook the game for “Terraria” as he was walking by and didn’t believe me when I told him that no, I wasn’t playing “Terraria”. While “Starbound” looks and feels like “Terraria”, there’s a bit of “Darkout” in there too in the form of an in-game crafting menu. To sum up “Starbound”, you’ll find yourself on a ship without fuel and must beam down to an alien planet to find more. Like “Terraria”, you’ll discover trees, ore, aliens, and other things on a two-dimensional plane. Unlike “Terraria”, you’ll be able to travel to different worlds and decorate your starship & your home planet to your liking, and more.
One would think that being both a board game journalist and video game journalist would be a bit cumbersome…and they’d be right. I’m stretched pretty darned thin as it is these days and both of these gaming genres require a lot of time and energy to keep up with. With that being said, there are a few benefits I get to enjoy…one being that I get to see (and try) video game adaptations created and based off of popular board games. In this case, “Small World 2” is the video game adaptation of “Small World” by Days of Wonder. For those of you who wish to learn more about the board game, you can check out my review and related video HERE. Before we take a look at “Small World 2”, I’d like to quickly thank the folks at Days of Wonder for graciously providing me with a press copy.
It’s been a little over a year since season one came to a tear-jerking end. Seeing as how the first season has been out for a quite a while now, I think the statute of limitations has been reached in regards to spoilers. I will, however, attempt to keep things as spoiler-free as possible for the benefit of those new to the series. Season two, for those of you curious about the time frame, takes place about sixteen months after season one. This time around, you’ll be assuming the role of Clementine (who’s roughly eleven years old at this point) throughout the story. Without Lee (the protagonist you controlled in season one) by her side, she’ll be forced to make a lot of tough decisions on her own. Will you remain true to yourself and others, or will you take a grittier approach to the people you meet? Before we take a quick look at the first episode of this season, I’d like to thank the folks at Telltale Games for providing me with a free press copy.
“The Dead Linger”, “State of Decay”, “Project Zomboid”…it’s almost as if these developers are reading my mind! When I said that I liked open world zombie games, they must have been listening. “7 Days to Die” is still in an Alpha state, but isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It’s not what I’d call done by any means, but so far I’m having a blast with it. It features both single and multiplayer across multiple game modes. Take part in the “campaign” via the survival mode or team up with others in horde mode and see how long you last. Of course, there’s a deathmatch mode too, for those who just want to ruin someone’s day. These modes are already fairly customizable, which is a bonus.
“Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages” has been in development for over five years, if you can believe it. After spending a few hours in the campaign and assessing the options I had available to me, it clearly showed. “Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages”, for those of you unfortunate enough to have never heard of this quote unquote “little” gem, is a top-down action-RPG set in the vastness of space. It has a twin-stick shooter feel, but it’s got more story than I had expected. Before we take a look at a game that more than doubled its Kickstarter goal (late 2012) in further detail, I’d like to quickly thank Enrique Dryere from Triple-B-Titles for providing me with a free press copy.
What happens when you take the look and feel of the interface in “Tropico 4”, add 1920’s scenery, and adopt a combat system similar to that of “XCOM: Enemy Unknown”? Why, you end up with “Omerta – City of Gangsters”, of course! The former comparison to “Tropico 4” doesn’t surprise me much, considering that “Omerta – City of Gangsters” was published by the same folks who brought you the most recent games in the “Tropico” series. I was half expecting Penultimo to pop up at one point and start spouting loyalist propaganda all the while wearing a cheesy gangster hat. If you don’t know who that is kids, then play your “Tropico” and be a better man/woman for it.
I promised myself that I wouldn’t get involved with yet another sandbox game, namely because I spend more time on them than I probably should. “Minecraft” nearly filed for a divorce when it heard that I had begun playing “Terraria” and later, “Block Story”. “Darkout” is more like “Terraria” than any of the aforementioned games in that the playing field is two-dimensional, but I have to admit that it’s quite different than what I had expected. It’s almost like a cross between “Terraria”, “Alan Wake”, and “A Valley Without Wind”, if you can wrap your head around that. Before we get started with the review, I’d like to thank Derek Reeve from Plan of Attack for providing me with a free press copy.
Artillery-based strategy games almost come a dime a dozen nowadays, but I have to admit that “Interplanetary” pushes the boundaries far beyond this planet (pardon the pun). For those of you not familiar with the genre, these turn-based games task players with launching their projectiles at the other players in an attempt to wipe them out. If you’ve played any of the games in the “Worms” series, you’ll know what I’m talking about. In this case, you and your opponent(s) each control a planet in the same solar system. By earning and spending resources, you can build various weapons and send their projectiles flying through space. Will your resources be plentiful and your aim be true? Before I briefly touch on this project, I’d like to thank Sasu Kemppainen from Team Jolly Roger for reaching out and providing me with access to the Alpha. As with all prototypes and games in development, it’s important to stress that they aren’t usually representative of the final product.
Oh level seven, thou art a heartless witch! The developers weren’t kidding when they said that the levels would get harder as you progressed from map to map…though I was expecting a gradual climb. Level one through three? Pfft…cakewalk. Level four and five? Eh…didn’t break a sweat, really. Level six? Okay, it’s sort of ramping up, but nothing I can’t handle. Level seven? HOLY MOTHER OF…AGGGHHHHH!!!!!
Just to give you a bit of perspective, I’ve already clocked about forty plus hours into “State of Decay”. I gave the game a 9/10 and for good reason…it’s one of the best open world zombie survival games I’ve ever played. Picking up the DLC (which released 11/29/13) was really a no-brainer, considering the amount of playtime I’ve already invested into the core game. The “Breakdown” DLC, for those of you who haven’t heard of it up to this point, introduces a new “sandbox” mode that tasks you with staying alive as long as possible. Want to know more? Of course you do.
Sadly, it’s been a few years since I’ve managed to play the original “Creeper World” released back in 2009. I do have fond memories of playing it, not to mention that it was addictive beyond belief. The original “Creeper World” was a mix of real-time strategy and tower defense. Every map featured multiple levels of terrain, starting points for the “creeper” to spawn, and a base that you had to protect at all costs. Unlike other tower defense games, you only had to face one enemy…though it oozed throughout the map like a cascading waterfall and your towers were the only thing holding it back. Your goal? Extend your power network to the energy totems scattered around the map so that you could advance to the next level. I missed out on “Creeper World’s” sequel, though I’ll be rectifying that by reviewing the third game in the series titled “Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal”. Before we roll up our sleeves and get to work, I’d like to thank Virgil Wall from Knuckle Cracker, LLC for providing me with a free press copy.