“Civilization V”…my laptop is no doubt upset that I’ve spent more time worrying about what technology to research next as opposed to finding a better cooling station to quell an angry onboard fan. I’ve mentioned in past articles that I love being able to control an empire and shape it to be a well-oiled machine, though I tend to ignore minor needs when I do…food, sleep, sanity…you know, minor needs. “Warlock: Master of the Arcane” turned out to be my new, favorite addiction in that regard and I can’t seem to stop clicking that “End Turn” button no matter how hard I try. Before we take a look at the game in further detail, I’d like to thank Veronica Gunlycke from Paradox Interactive for providing me with a free review copy.
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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.
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.
Ruse is labeled as a murder mystery card game, but there’s a little bit more to it than that. It’s like taking a “whodunit”, simplifying it with a deck of cards, and adding a storytelling element with a Victorian Steampunk setting. A little bit of Clue, a touch of Gloom, a dash of Once Upon A Time…you get the idea. In Ruse, players will be attempting to pin the murder on someone else by using the cards in their hands. Once a player is found to be the murderer, the game is over and the losing player tells his or her sad story.
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.
If retail stores are any indication, it’s never too early to start celebrating Christmas. My local Kmart store already has rows of pre-decorated, fake trees available that are ready to bring joy to kids everywhere come Christmas morning…nevermind that we haven’t even gotten to Halloween or Thanksgiving yet. Today, we’re going to take a look at a game that might very well be the ultimate stocking stuffer for gamer families everywhere.
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.
Alien Frontiers really took me by surprise as I tend to shy away from dice games because of their luck factor. That game turned out to be a joy to play and remains to be one of my favorite games to bring out on family game night. I’m going to deviate a little bit from my usual review format so that I can cover all three of these expansions in one sitting.
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.