Music has always been an important part of my life. I’ve used it on several occasions to get through some pretty difficult times, though lately I’ve used it as a motivator to get me focused on the task at hand. “Symphony” is a rare gem them I’ve recently come across that combines the music I love, scores that have received multiple positive recognition from Music Critic experts, with an arcade shooter. Before we begin shooting treble clefs into the wind, I’d like to thank Francois Bertrand for setting me up with a free review copy.
Video Games
All posts tagged Video Games
As many of you may have seen, I recently reviewed “A Game of Dwarves” and loved it! In case you missed it, the review is located here:
Now that I’ve thrown close to fifty hours at this game, I wanted to put some general tips and strategies out there for those new to it. It won’t be a long list, but these tips should help you get started. It should be noted that these tips worked well for me, but that’s not to say that they will all work for you.
Back in the day (when the wheel was just being invented), I came across a PC game by the name of Roller Coaster Tycoon that had me so hooked that I was designing new coasters in my sleep. Tycoon games can be an excellent way to flex your creative muscles a bit, allowing you to run things how you’d like to see what happens. Ski Park Tycoon (not to be confused with Ski Resort Tycoon) recently made its way onto Steam’s Greenlight and I was excited at the prospect of giving it a go. To that end, I’d like to thank Jan Zizka (the game’s creator) for sending me a free review copy.
Welcome back to the third review of the series. As I explained in the review of episode one, all future reviews (including this one) will be a plot summary with my thoughts added in as I go. There will be spoilers, so do not read any further if you want to experience this episode for yourself.
As many of you have probably figured out by now, I love me some sci-fi. I’ve been following “Sword of the Stars II” for a while now and watched it develop over the past year. A rocky release in 2011 resulted in some fairly low to mediocre scores, though Kerberos Productions’ CEO Martin E. Cirulis recently posted an “ALL CLEAR” (10/19/12) that indicated that they were able to bring their game up to where they wanted it to be.
Ah, once again we are thrust into the realm of dwarves. Having recently played and reviewed “Dwarfs!?”, I was eager to get my hands on the latest release from Zeal game Studio (Developer) and Paradox Interactive (Publisher). “A Game of Dwarves” plays a lot like “Dungeons”, “Dungeon Keeper”, “Dwarf Fortress”, and “Evil Genius” in that you’ll be mining / digging out areas to create rooms, though this game manages to set itself apart with some pretty unique gameplay mechanics. Before we start digging deeper into this game (no pun intended), I’d like to thank Petra Tell and Veronica Gunlycke for setting me up with a free review copy.
There are days where you just want to hang up your Batsuit, holster your Portal Gun, and take a break from fighting off never-ending waves of zombies, robots, or whatever antagonist you happen to be currently transfixed on at the time. Sometimes you just want to put your feet up and enjoy a game that delivers relaxing ambience while providing enough of a challenge to keep you playing for long stretches. In times like that, Osmos is just what the doctor ordered. Osmos is a game that tasks you with controlling a mote (a single-celled organism) whose goal is to grow by absorbing other motes. Before we taking a look at the game in further detail, I’d like to thank Eddy Boxerman from Hemisphere Games for sending me a free review copy.
Some of you may remember a certain “little” turn based strategy game from 2011 by the name of “Great Little War Game.” It featured a 3D environment that was cartoonish in nature, sweeping many of its players off of their feet with its fun gameplay mechanics and high replayability. “Great Big War Game” is the sequel to the above mentioned game and manages to root the player to their chair just like its predecessor did. Before we take a look at the game in detail, I’d like to quickly thank Rich Jones from TriplePoint for sending me a free review copy.
There’s something to be said for retro platformers, especially those released in the days of the NES. Castlevania, River City Ransom, Double Dragon, Metroid, Mega Man, Super Mario Bros…you get the idea. Nowadays we have first person and over the shoulder shooters that have spoiled us with mechanics like regenerating health and infinite continues, just to name a few. In terms of difficulty, Mickey Mousecapades will laugh in the face Call of Duty any day of the week. Writing today’s review brought me back to my childhood a bit and reminded me of just how awesome those times really were.
Games that task you with running a business are probably my favorite games of the simulation genre, mainly because I enjoy the challenge of starting from the ground up and coming out on top in the end. What’s more, I enjoy them because most of the time, I get to design my products / business how I like.
The first horror adventure game that I remember playing as a kid was “7th Guest.” My memory is fuzzy on the subject, but I do remember wondering around a mansion, going from room to room, and attempting to solve these ridiculously hard puzzles. There was a spooky element to it all, but it didn’t make me scream like a little girl…something that Amnesia: The Dark Descent is want to do. I enjoy a good scare in the form of an interactive, horror adventure game, so I was happy to sit down with Baron Wittard: Nemesis of Ragnarok and give it a go. Before I get started taking a look at the game in detail, I’d like to thank Alan Thorn for sending me a free review copy.
There’s no shortage of tower defense games on the web…though if you’re like me, you’re not complaining. Whether you play them for the challenge they bring or because you have a crippling micromanagement addiction, they can cause the entire day to slip by without you even noticing. Sol Survivor turned out to be no different.
If there’s one thing that I learned from Lord of the Rings, it’s that you never toss a Dwarf…especially if his name his Gimli. While there isn’t any Dwarf tossing in “Dwarfs!?”, you’ll be constantly looking after them as they dig, dig, dig. Before we take a look at the game in further detail, I wanted to quickly thank Robin Flodin from PO2 Games (Power of Two) for sending me free review copies.
It’s been a few months since I’ve last played Torchlight, though that isn’t to say that I didn’t have fond memories of doing so. In fact, I gave it high praise in the review I wrote for it, here:
http://www.dadsgamingaddiction.com/torchlight/
Torchlight II, like it’s predecessor, is an action RPG that allows the player to slay monster after monster all the while completing quests, earning fame, and picking through mounds of loot. The top-down view and the various character information screens have that familiar feel to them, though the game has added some interesting features that noticeably sets it apart. Before I go into specifics, I’d like to thank Wonder Russel from Runic Games for sending me a free copy to review.
I’ve recently had the pleasure of reviewing a couple of strategy games set in space as of late and I’m pleased to add another one to that list. Mayhem Intergalactic is a 4x, turn based strategy game that tasks the player(s) with eliminating everyone else on the map. Before we take a look at the game in further detail, I’d like to thank Chris Pelling from Inventive Dingo for sending me a free review copy.
Ah, Chess. There’s nothing like reviewing a game that is right up my alley, having logged countless hours at Chess tournaments and at libraries tutoring others. As a former member of the United States Chess Federation, I feel it my solemn duty to touch on this game a bit and give my two cents about how it plays.