The last time I seriously invested in a space combat sim was during the “X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter” era in the late nineties. I was part of a guild and everything, participating in tournaments via the MSN Gaming Zone…kudos if any of you still remember what THAT is. I also dabbled a bit in “Freelancer” and “X-Wing Alliance”, though not as heavily. I found that I missed those good old days and was therefore excited to get my hands on this particular game. “Ensign-1” puts the player in the role of a fighter pilot returning home from a deep space mission. Upon arriving at Earth, you and your mothership discover hostile aliens on Earth’s doorstep and naturally, there’s only one thing left to be done. Before we lock and load, I’d like to thank Brandon Smith from Only Human Studios for providing me with a free review copy.
Video Games
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“OreSome” is all about, you guessed it, ore. The player will be given a ship and the freedom to wander around the cosmos, trying to improve their overall might and footprint by collecting ore, researching tech, and building various objects. Before we get started, I’d like to thank Jamie Smith from WorldSmith for providing me with a free review copy. It should be noted that the game is still in the early Alpha stage (Alpha v0.16), meaning that the game is not finished yet. Any bugs or problems I mention shouldn’t be held against it, seeing as how the game is still a work in progress.
Video games based around survival have always been appealing to me, mainly because it provides a semi-realistic sense of suspense and forces me to think about my choices. “Frozen Nightmare” is a game I discovered on Desura that tasks the player with finding the necessities to stay alive while avoiding those who have been turned into monstrosities as the result of a nasty virus. Before we take a look at this particular survival game in detail, I’d like to thank Claudio Norori for providing me with a free review copy. It should be noted that the game is currently in the Alpha stage, meaning that it isn’t finished yet. All of the content that I mention in this article is therefore subject to change.
“Fieldrunners” was originally an iOS game that was released back in 2008, having been pushed to other platforms in the years following. Like the “Great Little/Big War Game” series, it featured strategic play while keeping with a cartoonish theme. “Fieldrunners 2”, which also started out as an iOS product, recently released for the PC and I’m here today to see if it lives up to the successes of its predecessor. Before we get started, I’d like to thank Alec Shobin from Subatomic Studios for sending me a free review copy.
A lot of things were going through my mind when I came across, “Super Tower Rush”. Is it a tower defense game? Does it involve constructing towers quickly to meet some unknown goal? I was surprised to learn that it was something far different, as it introduced mechanics that I don’t normally see in the world of reviewing games. Before we begin looking at what this game is all about, I’d like to thank Lorena Casanova for sending me a free preview copy. It’s important to note that this game is currently in the Alpha stage of development, which means that the game isn’t finished yet. It also means that the features and content that I describe in this article are subject to change.
I stumbled upon this game during a sale about a year ago, picking it up for a whopping $2.49, down from $9.99. To sum this game up, you’ll be building a base with power plants and defenses in an attempt to ward off waves of enemy aliens. While I do appreciate the game’s many modes, they all revolve around the same general premise. I would have liked a mechanic that rewards the player for sticking with it from game to game, possibly something like a tech tree of sorts. As it stands, you’ll either try to survive and/or score as many points as you can. There is a creative mode that lets you build to your heart’s content, but I mainly used this to perfect my defense strategies. Final verdict? “Harvest: Massive Encounter” is a fun game that is worth buying, but it could use a little more depth. I recommend picking it up during a sale, if at all possible.
Queue zombie game number seven million, three hundred and sixty-five thousand, nine hundred and twenty-two. Usually, the zombie games I review include some sort of special feature or tactic that draws the player in. “Nation Red” however, is just a straight up slaughter fest. A player will be controlling a character with the sole intent on staying alive and mowing down zombies in an arena-like setting. It may appeal to some, but even with the perk mechanic (which resets with every new game), I found it to be repetitive after about five minutes of play time. Then again, I picked up this game for about a dollar during a Steam sale. Overall, I think it’s great for some fast and mindless zombie killing (especially when playing with friends), but it ceases to be anything more than that.
I recently published a review on “Gratuitous Space Battles” (hereby dubbed GSB), a game that involved creating a fleet of ships to combat an enemy task force. You were able to outfit various ship hulls with weapons, defenses, and other tools to help them succeed in their mission. “Gratuitous Tank Battles” (hereby dubbed GTB), despite the title, plays a bit differently than its predecessor. This time around, you’ll be able to take control of both offense and defense, offering players the chance to come at their strategies from both sides. Before we begin seeing to the safety (or in some cases, destruction) of tanks en masse, I’d like to thank Cliff Harris for providing me with a free review copy.
I’ve lost count as to how many games I’ve played that involve both space and “pew pew”, though rarely do I come across a game that allows me to customize my own fleet and send them headlong into battle, without having to wade through the process of building a successful economy first. In “Gratuitous Space Battles”, you pick loadouts for your ships, assign formations, and watch the fireworks. It’s a very simplistic process, but I found it to be engaging nonetheless.
“Oregon Trail” was one of the first games I ever played on a computer, so writing this particular article was not only a joy but nostalgic. “Organ Trail: Director’s Cut” takes gameplay elements from “Oregon Trail” and adds its own unique spin, which happens to include zombies. Yes, “Oregon Trail” and zombies…I’m not going to complain. Before the dysentery jokes begin, I’d like to thank Ryan Wiemeyer for providing me with a free review copy.
“Crazy Machines Elements” is the final game of this review series, having been released late 2011-early 2012 on various systems. Shortly after its release, two DLC packs were made available to the masses, adding even more to the base game. Before we take a look at “Crazy Machines Elements”, I’d like to thank Andrew Emond from Viva Media for sending me the “Crazy Machines Complete Pack” to review. To that end, I’ll be taking a look at each of the games in that pack, in turn. You can find the other reviews (assuming they are finished) by clicking on the “Video Games” tab above.
Having recently played and reviewed “Crazy Machines”, I was curious to see what this particular game would bring. To my surprise, it unlocked two separate entities on Steam, one being the “Inventors Training Camp” and the other being “New from the Lab.” They look and feel the same, so I’ll opt to cover both in one sitting. Before we get started with “Crazy Machines 1.5”, I’d like to thank Andrew Emond from Viva Media for sending me the “Crazy Machines Complete Pack” to review. To that end, I’ll be taking a look at each of the games in that pack, in turn. You can find the other reviews (assuming they are finished) by clicking on the “Video Games” tab above.
How many of you remember “Mouse Trap”, a board game that featured a Rube Goldberg device designed to capture a player’s mouse piece upon landing on a particular space? “Crazy Machines” does something similar, though it forces the user to actually design the contraption to complete the task at hand. Before we get started with “Crazy Machines”, I’d like to thank Andrew Emond from Viva Media for sending me the “Crazy Machines Complete Pack” to review. To that end, I’ll be taking a look at each of the games in that pack, in turn. You can find the other reviews (assuming they are finished) by clicking on the “Video Games” tab above.
As I indicated in a previous article, I’ve been playing “Minecraft” for quite some time. It didn’t take long for games with variations on the theme to emerge and it wouldn’t be right to call them clones, especially if they offer unique gameplay mechanics that the original game doesn’t. “Block Story” combines both block building and RPG elements to make something pretty unique, though the question remains, does it hold up on its own? Before I answer that question, I’d like to thank Paul Pacheco for sending me a free copy to review. It’s important to note that this particular version is a single player experience only, though a separate MMO version is in the works for those of you who enjoy multiplayer.
Editor’s Note: From time to time, I may reference “Minecraft” in order to compare the two games. When I do, I’m referring to the “vanilla” or unmodded version of “Minecraft” as a standalone product. The same goes for “Block Story.” Also, this review was written 12/27/12…keep that in the back of your mind while reading it. The game has been updated significantly since then. My video series is more up to date, so go check that out after you’re done here.
This review has been a long time coming. I’ve been playing “Minecraft” ever since I bought my way into the Alpha sometime in 2010 and I’ve had the pleasure of watching it grow ever since. I’m sure there’s still some growing to be done, if the mods that the community have developed is any indication. Still, I felt it to be the right time to take a moment and revisit Minecraft to review it as a standalone product…that is, without mod support. For review purposes, I’m currently sitting at version 1.4.6. I won’t spend a lot of time on this article, mainly because “Minecraft” is best experienced as a story that one starts writing from day one. However, it should help to give you an idea of what you’d be in for, should you decide to take the plunge.
I’m not too big on PvP, but I have dabbled in it from time to time. I’ve played “World of Warcraft” for years and enjoyed (I use that term loosely) being stomped repeatedly by those who knew their classes in and out and have keybinds for everything,including the dance emote, which they often exercise over my rotting corpse. So what brought me to the world of “Forge”, a game that advertises itself as a “class based multiplayer shooter”? Before I answer that, I’d like to thank David Domm, the Co-Founder and CEO of Dark Vale Games, for sending me a free review copy.