ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game

If I give this game 5 Stars, it is not because it is perfect, but because it is perfectly enjoyable. It certainly has it's flaws, but none of them make You really curse the day You bought it. No, most time, You'll have your joy, plenty of it and that's what matters. However one should become aware of what kind of game one is playing here. Otherwise one might judge it, by what it's not. It is not another Fallout, although there are as many similarities, that one can say, if You like the one game, You will most certainly like the other. However expectation might ruin your day. What I love and value about this game is ... - The multiple different stories and the choices You have. Sometimes the dialog logic might be questionable, but most times they have some good wit. - The fallout 1+2 like Fights with a good range of weapons. - It works on Linux like a charm. - It works on a not to modern Laptop without a noticable Graphics card like a charm. - Lot's of content to play. - The 3D modeled world, which looks nice, but does not try to boast. - At the time of me playing the game, I didn't encounter any bugs! This is remarkable! - The devs still care for the game and it's community. There are some things I don't like so much. They don't hinder me to value this game, but they may take some joy. Most noticable is, that ammo is a rare thing. Whilst this may spice the survival at the start and the early midst of the game, it becomes ridiculus later, when You become a rich brat, but must still change weapons according to the threat level of your enemy, just to save ammunition and are constantly running to every seller you know, just to by a few rounds of ammo. Also I miss the sense of loneliness and loss I felt in Fallout 1+2 and the graphics design is a bit less emotion stirring. (But again, don't compare those titles to much.) The AI of compagnions and enemies is also quite limited, not to say bad - the fights are still fun anyways. I enjoyed the game till the very end!

As a massive Fallout fan (and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan), I gave this game a shot while it was on sale and never regreted. Even at full price, imho, it is worth to buy it as you really have something to do quests wise. This game is not easy, for example: - pickpocketing is hard as it includes you to have high stealth and pickpocket - combat: man, oh man. I died hundreds of times, For first 10h of playing, I really saved all money to buy a better handgun to give myself SOME chance (this can be annoying for someone, but for me it really was a feeling of ruined world where in Fallout, you really can get your hands rather quickly on powerful guns) - enemies: they can and will hurt you! - encounters: this can be sometimes really annoying as you always find yourself surrounded if you try to avoid but hey, that is life, you can always choose option to attack to get some leverage in a fight - buying stuff can be really difficult as often there is no ammo for your gun so always have 2 different kind of guns - yes, I will play this game few more times for sure with different char setups Dialogs are nice, music is nice but of course, this game have some flaws but give it a shot! If you like Fallout with a touch of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. consider buying this game especially if it is on sale :)

This game draws you in. Choices matter. I loved Fallout 2 back in the day. This game adds better camera controls, interface and graphics. This game also goes back to a time when character progression was a priority. If you improve the wrong skills you will have a hard time beating the game. The perk system on this game is also neat. I found the crafting system to be a little clunky and I wish they had developed factions more. The value of this game relating to the price is amazing. I would have paid $40 and been happy. I cannot wait for a sequel.

Background–I love RPGs. From Wizardry, Ultima, Bards Tale, Wasteland to Diablo and World of Warcraft. While not every RPG interests me, I do enjoy a few. I saw ATOM RPG a couple of months ago and thought, I have enough games, maybe I’ll wait for a sale”. It went on sale and I bought it. I’ve probably played for about 10 hours now. I have to say the backdrop story is a little light, but not bad. The mechanics of global map movement, in town/area movement, and combat are perfect. The graphics are good. I like the intro tutorial which gives you a chance to figure out how the game works (picking locks, moving around, opening things, combat, shooting, etc). The suspense, adventure, exploration, and survival keep you involved. I wouldn’t say it’s totally open world because you have boundaries, but they are far out. Plenty of quests to keep you busy in most of the areas you visit. This really feels like a Wasteland type game, but for the 2000s. I have not found any fault with the game yet and would recommend this to others. I like the realism of dealing with poison, radiation, hunger/food forcing you to weigh decisions you make on resources available. I like that your weapon's ammo is not infinite. You really need to think about which enemies deserve a bullet and which ones get shanked or axed to death. I like crafting so far, but hope that it opens up more options for my character (in terms of recipes) later on. Not much I can make now worth anything. To craft, you need to scavenge, check out everything, and take everything you can. Advice/opinion: 1)Save the game! It will auto-save usually leaving/entering an area, but save as you go in an area. 2)melee or martial arts to start off with seem pretty important. I put points in big firearms - wished I had waited until I leveled up more to do that. Melee OR martial arts 3)found the gambling was helpful, made money when I gambled 4)some areas looting is stealing, others it's ok-save the game just in case before you try

I love the premise of this game, but feel it really needs more time in development. **Overall I think it's fairly priced for it's level of polish**, but it's at an earlier stage than I prefer to play my games at. Here are the rough edges that bothered me: Key ares: UI is serviceable, but typically only "1 path" meaning [esc] out of a window, or clicking main screen doesn't do it. You have to hit the close button. It's fine, but with more time and development the UI will become more intuitive. The net result is the game feels a little cumbersome because of this. GURPS system: I'm not a personal fan, but similar to some other open stat systems, you can end up making a character that cannot meet the basic requirements of the game. IMHO you should generally be lead to a place in character development where your character has some minimum effectiveness. Journal/ Tutorial Tips: The things you learn in the game don't archive well. Takes me back to the early Ultima era of games where you need to keep a notebook by your computer. I'm sure this will be improved over time as well, but for now if you miss something you've got to hunt it down online. Hope this helps people make an informed decision. I think the game has promise, and I look forward to playing again (and updating my review) after a couple of patches. Mike