The “Age of Empires” series always brings back fond memories, whether it be the epic battles I used to wage or the hours I’d spend creating the perfect skirmish map. Then there was “Age of Mythology”, a very similar RTS created by the same company (Microsoft) back in 2002. While I didn’t spend as much time on the latter as I did the former, I still played through the game at least three times. The idea of sending minotaurs into a wave of enemy infantry was oddly appealing for some reason. Before we take a quick look at what “Age of Mythology: Extended Edition” has to offer, I’d like to thank Ashton Williams at Microsoft for providing me with a press copy.
Video Games
All posts tagged Video Games
Arcen Games has a habit of coming up with off-the-wall ideas that make me consider video games in a different light, “The Last Federation” being no exception. It’s somewhat like a 4x game, but you won’t have your own race and your own planets to maintain. Instead, you are the last remnants of a race gone nearly extinct. You’ll be jumping from planet to planet interacting with the other races in the universe, trying to curry their favor in order to make them part of a “Federation”. Uniting the races under this Federation, being the primary goal, is a lot harder than it sounds. Before I go any further, I’d like to quickly thank Erik Johnson from Arcen Games for providing me with a free press copy.
You know those game trailers that leave you in a state of shock, as if you just watched something so outrageous that you couldn’t be that it was true? Well, I’m pleased to report that this very thing happened to me after watching the trailer for “FootLOL: Epic Fail League”, a cutesy but not so cutesy soccer (European football) game. Meteor strikes, airplanes bombing the field…it was “Mutant League Football” all over again and I just had to have more. Along those lines, I’d like to thank Anastasia Skachko from HeroCraft, Ltd. for providing me with a free press copy.
Okay, so I’m a bit behind in my reviews…what do you expect from an “army of one”? Now I see why IGN and PC Gamer have a staff…too many games and not enough hands to play them. Normally I don’t review games nowadays unless I’ve received a review copy (due to time constraints, etc.), but in this case I figured I’d make an exception. My Diablo III review is a bit outdated and a lot has changed with the game as a whole since its posting. We’re here today to take a quick look at what the first expansion (“Reaper of Souls”) has to offer and why you should seriously consider digging this game out of mothballs to give it another chance.
I’ve gone on record a number of times praising this lovely “little” gem and it still remains to be one of my favorite games of all time. As if it were some sort of holiday where the gifts just keep on coming, the developers have released a free expansion that will take you for a wild ride. The Advanced Edition makes things a bit harder, even on the easy difficulty level, but adds a number of new (and welcome) features. Luckily, you can choose to toggle these features on or off before starting a new game.
There’s nothing like a good dungeon crawler to get the adrenaline pumping and in this case, “Quest of Dungeons” doesn’t disappoint. Similar to games like “Dungeons of Dredmor”, you’ll be tasked with clearing out enemies and leveling up your character in a turn-based creepy-esque environment. Your ultimate goal will be to find and defeat the evil lord who has (somehow) stolen all the light and trapped it inside a magical lantern…we can’t allow that, now can we? Before we get started with the review, I’d like to thank David Amador, the game’s sole creator, for providing me with a press copy.
My time with “Imagine Earth’s” demo has been a joy…though it’s admittedly been a year since I’ve last touched it. With this game’s recent addition to Steam’s Early Access library (available May, 2014) and launch on Indiegogo, I figured now would be a good time to dive back in and see what’s new. As I expected, “Imagine Earth” doesn’t disappoint. It’s still the same game (part puzzle, part city/world sim), but I can’t help but be entranced by its depth and new features.
It’s been a while since I’ve loaded this little baby up and I can’t believe I had almost forgotten how much fun it could be. Released in late 2006, “Sid Meier’s Railroads” puts you in charge of your very own railway company. I’m not going to bother reviewing it due to its age and time constraints, but I will say that it’s still worth playing today if you enjoy business sims. It also helps if you’ve religiously watched “Thomas the Tank Engine” as a child.
It’s been well over ten years since I’ve last played this little gem. It’s not because I didn’t want to, mind you, but because my newer PCs tended to not be compatible with the game. I finally discovered a process via the wonderful world of Internets that allowed me to run “Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance” on a 64-bit machine. I’m not going to bother reviewing the game at this point…chances are that if you haven’t played it by now, you never will. As such, this article will serve as a house for all of the gameplay videos I intend to publish in the near future. Follow me won’t you, and revel in this wonderful nostalgia!
Well…this certainly takes me back. I can’t tell you the last time I was actually inside an arcade, save for our visit to “Dave & Busters” last month. “Arcradecraft”, a game currently seeking your help on Steam’s Greenlight program, puts you in the role of an owner of an arcade joint circa 1980. It’ll be your job to purchase arcade machines and keep the numbers in the green, as it were. “Arcradecraft” first appeared on XBox Live back in January of 2013, having received positive reviews. It only made sense (at least to me) to bring this type of simulator to the PC…I’m glad the developers agree. Speaking of which, I’d like to quickly thank Matthew Leigh, the Founder of Firebase Industries Ltd., for providing me with an early Beta build of the game.
In the mood for some intense, arcade-shooter action? “Meltdown”, a game currently on Steam’s Early Access program, just might be the ticket. It features both single and online cross-platform co-op (up to four players), three character classes (specialist, medic, soldier), thirty randomly generated levels, three boss battles, and wave-attack arena challenges. Players will also be able to collect loot and level up their character, giving them more of a chance for when they reach the later levels. The game is also available for Android, for those of you not able to game regularly on a Windows or Mac-based system.
Desura is chalk full of free games lately, “Edge of Dawn” being one of them. I tried to like it, but I had a hard time seeing just where it was I was supposed to go. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it has plenty of potential. It’s very eerie and the parts that were visible had a wonderful ambience. All of that is mute though if the developer fails to direct the player in the right direction via subtle gameplay cues. Perhaps you might have better luck figuring out where to go and how to avoid being killed?
A few more free games popped up on Desura, so I figured I’d check at least one of them out before I head off to do “Dad” things. “An Apparently Normal Room” was made by the same folks who created “Insert Title Here” and other similar games also free on Desura. How did it hold up? Watch the below gameplay videos to find out!
“Rogue Legacy” isn’t for the faint of heart. Five minutes after I began my first session, I was immediately chosing an heir for my character met a rather untimely death. Normally, death in video games is a bad thing. In, “Rogue Legacy”, it’s a standard that occurs quite frequently. It’s not a matter of whether or not you survive, it’s a matter of how long it’ll take for your character to kick the proverbial bucket. “Rogue Legacy” is an action side-scrolling rogue-like that I didn’t think I’d enjoy due to its difficulty, but I’m happy to have been proven wrong.
I played the crap out of “Freelancer” back in the day, mainly because I was always looking to acquire bigger and badder ships. “Drifter” is the latest of Steam’s Early Access games that follows similar themes in that you’ll be piloting a spacecraft in an open-world setting. You’ll be able to trade, fight other ships, attempt to satisfy contracts, collect bounties…you know, the typical stuff you’d expect from a space simulator. What makes “Drifter” unique is it’s simplicity…some space simulators require the use of the entire keyboard, which can get overwhelming at times. In this case, you’re limited to a 2D plane AND there are only about ten keys to worry about, making it friendly to casual gamers like myself.
“Race to Mars” made it through Steam’s Greenlight process for a few good reasons…the main one being that it’s a turn-based simulator that tasks the player with managing their very own space company. This isn’t something I see very often, at least, not to this degree. For those of you who know me, space exploration and science fiction are two topics from which I can’t seem to pull myself away. It goes without saying that I was (and still am) excited to see this idea get the recognition that it deserved. “Race to Mars” will unlock on Steam on March 7, 2014 as an Early Access game, meaning that it is still under development. While a review is obviously not possible at this point, I at least wanted to share my first impressions and some gameplay video of the early builds. Special thanks to CEO Szymon Janus from Intermarum for providing me with a free press copy.