SteamWorld Heist(SWH) is a side view turn-based strategy RPG. The core gameplay mechanics are about shooting, ricocheting and using obstacles. Plan your strategy by taking cover behind obstacles and lure enemies near explosive barrels. The ricochet gameplay is really fun and feels like pool when you hit that crackshot. Headshots may give you criticals. Go on missions to loot different guns, armor, items and water(money). You can redo levels in order to pick up rare guns, items and more water. Losing will cost you half of your water which is needed to buy guns/items/equipment or crew members. Winning will increase your reputation, so you can advance, buy items at the store and recruit bots. The best thing about the SWH are the smooth controls. It's very easy to aim, move your character and select things. Navigating around the map/area is also easy. The graphics and music are great. Clean looking graphics with a distinctive color palette. The music by Steam Powered Giraffe is catchy and fits into the game. The BGM for the game is also catchy. The story is interesting, but not the greatest. I only had a few complaints; there was no panning out on the levels and some cheap difficulty. If you have a gun with no scope, you'll have to judge with your eye. This is difficult when you're trying to shoot something on a large level across the screen and can't see either yourself or the enemy. Panning out the camera view would have helped. Sometimes I thought the reappearing enemies was a bit cheap. On some boards, enemies will continue to come at you non-stop. You'll be able to get through it in about 20 hours. But, I took my time to level up my characters to unlock abilities and loot levels for rare guns. Also you can hunt and collect hats if you want. Doing this will probably make you accumulate about 40 hours like I did. Overall, it was a near perfect game for me and really entertaining. Try New Game+ to go through the game with all of your crew members from the start.
I'm not a big fan of Point-n-Click games, but I enjoy a good one sometimes. Broken Sword DC really hooked me in and kept me playing until the end. I really like the Don Bluth-like animation and characters. The controls work well with no problems. The music is subtle and lets you focus on the game and doesn't distract you. The best part of the game is the story and puzzles. The base story of the Knights Templar is mysterious in its self and pulls you into the main story. The characters are very distinct from each other and likeable. It has great voice acting and character building. I also like the puzzles compared to many other point-n-click games. They are logical, so you'll be rewarded for actually figuring something out. I really felt like a detective when solving the interesting puzzles for example, the deciphering codes and combination lock. There were some minor complaints though. I didn't like the compressed grainy graphics on some parts. Some of the animations when you do an action becomes pixelated or jagged. It really breaks the flow of the atmosphere, quality and polish. The animations of the FMV were also jagged quality. For a Director's Cut, I think it should have had better quality animation or replaced with new polygon cut scenes. And that takes me to my next con. The mixing of new 2D animations/images and polygon cut scenes with the jagged FMV really makes the overall polish seem sloppy. I wish all of the cut scenes and animations were consistent quality and style. Overall, the game may not feel like a real director's cut, but is a great experience for its intresting story, characters, humor and puzzles.
The Last Door(TLD) , because of it's graphics, made me hesitate buying it. But, I read the reviews and it went on sale at a very low price, so I decided to buy it. It was a good decision that I made. The pixelated, Atari 2600 graphics(with a wider color palette) may turn some off, but the game grabs and immerses you. The suspenseful story is interesting enough to make you progress through the story. The music, to me the best part, really creates a spooky atmosphere and tone of the game. I can understand the decision of the pixelated graphics as any fan of Lovecraft, Poe or even a Hawthorne fan like me would know. The story is obscure and ambiguous with many metaphors in the story and graphics. The pixelated graphics, while not clear, allows the player to create a clearer world within their own mind, just like the Lovecraft, Poe and Hawthorne literatures. It allows room for your own imagination and the game achieves this type of atmosphere. It's archaic graphics for an archaic story setting. The puzzles are logical and remind of Resident Evil's item puzzles. Not hard, but not really easy. But, what is good, may not be for others. The pixelated graphics may not sit well with some players and turn them away. At times, it is hard to understand what something is because of the pixelation and you rely on your magnifying glass most of the time. This may interfere with the immersion. Maybe upgrading at least to the 8-bit or 16-bit level would be better. The puzzles may be too easy for the experienced player. They are very logical and not difficult, but casual point-and-click gamers will welcome that. Overall, it is one of the best point-and-click games I have played. Great story, music, suspense and atmosphere that draws you in. Don't mind the graphics if you can, think of it as a little boost to your imagination while you read though the game like a piece of literature.
As soon as I started Shovel Knight(SK) I was brought back to the old NES days of music and aesthetics. Fans of old NES classics will compare SK to Megaman and other old 8-bit platformers. The controls are tight just like the good old days, nice level design with a slighty enhanced 8-bit color scheme and music created by former Megaman musicians. Casual gamers may have a tough time getting through the game, but veteran gamers who grew up playing Mario Bros., Castlevania and Hudson's Adventure Island will have no problems and may be a bit easy for them. You'll have to think your way through the game trying to acquire gems and items. Also reflexes and timing are key to get past on some levels. Top it all off with pattern-attack bosses and cut scenes. I have two nit-pick complaints with Shovel Knight. First, it was a bit short for me. After completing it I felt I should of had a surprise that would open up a new world. Nope. Instead you get to go through the game again with Plague Knight with a different control type and story. It's OK, but I wanted more with Shovel Knight! Also I wish there were some more power-ups than was offered. It took me about 9 hrs to complete, but I was taking my time. You could finish it quicker if you rush through it. Overall, it is a well balanced game and players of all levels will enjoy it, especially ones born with an NES controller in their mouth. If you haven't bought this by now, you really should ASAP. It's worth your money.
Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition (TQ:AE) is a very polished ARPG that doesn't really offer anything new, but it's a revamped version of its time with many updates and still going. That's awesome! I've never played it when it was originally released, so I can't compare it to that version. But, according to the upgrade history it is massive, so it gets lots of points for that. Managing the loot and building the ultimate armor and weapons, or finding sets is done right. Collect and piece together relics to improve armor and weapons(but not uniques/sets & legendary items, too bad) is the goal of these games. Building up armor is addicting and there is lots and lots of loot for you to choose from. You can also import items to a another character. It's also the first time I played an ARPG that gives a character two disiplines to develop. Use awarded points to expand the experience tree to create the character you want. New environments and enemies to come across all the time. Boss and sub-boss characters are included with side-quests to take part of for rewards. The controls are great and the graphics are smooth. Set-up is easy with lots of options for audio and especially video. It's not that perfect yet. Sometimes I get a 2-second lag in the game, but it's occasional. I like the wide-screen option, but it stretches the screen, so I use a 4:3 display. Sometimes there is a bit of slow-down when there are many enemies on the screen, but I could probably fix that by adjusting the video options. The music is OK, but never memorable or awe inspiring. There are also no secrets like breaking walls or cutting weeds to find items/treasure and new areas. Lastly, the story isn't anything special, but at least it's there. What can I say? I'm hooked, so I won't stop playing; especially when there are a bunch of mods to use or make one yourself. Overall, it's something that will satisfy many fans because of the years of polish and it's just really fun to play and will keep you busy.
If you are a fan of Zombie games, Robotron and Smash TV, then this is for you. It'a 3/4 perspective run-and-shoot-in-360 degrees game with some secret items hidden around the environment. Along the way you will pick up different weapons and upgrade your abilities. You'll have to plow your way through hordes of zombies with your weapons, but not necessarily mindlessly, but with a little strategy. Sometimes you can ride in a vehicle. That's it. Not really complicated, but if you like shooting games like this, you'll be satisfied. The story is OK and nothing to get excited about, but at least it has one. It has some negative points: not a deep game, repetitive music and average length. The game isn't really original, but what is there, works. There aren't that many music tracks in the game, so you may get tired of hearing some of the same tracks throughout. Depending on the person the game could be completed within 1-3 days. The worse thing in the game are disappearing items. Occasionally an item, usually a weapon, will disappear from your inventory. This is a bug that the developers have never fixed. Even though this game isn't ground-breaking it doesn't need to. It has that same addictive gameplay like Smash TV, Robotron and Zombies Ate My Neighbors that I enjoyed many years ago and I think that is the important point. I recommend it to all who enjoy shooters, but cannot play FPS games. Also try their Alien Shooter series which is basically the same game with aliens.
Same gameplay and content as TOME, but this DLC's unique story from a demon's point of view is really interesting. If you like the base game of TOME and want more or tired of the same old class-types then this is recommended to experience different characters, NPCs and areas.
Tales of Maj'Eyal: Embers of Rage(TOME:ROG) has the same gameplay mechanics and rich content as the base game, but adds more to the already packed base game. You start out with a few races and unlock others. New characters and enemies, stories, items and areas will suck up your time like the original game. The new unique class-types add another fresh experience with a non-cliche setting and story. Recommended to fans, but new players should try the base game first.
When I first saw Tales of Maj'Eyal(TOME), I thought WTF!? It looked like an amateur game project. But, I read the many positive reviews, watched some video reviews and it was inexpensive, so I decided to buy and try it. The best way I can describe TOME is that it's a fast paced, turn-based RPG, rogue-like game. The speed-up mechanics take all of the annoying wait time away. The turns happen simultaneous between your character and the enemies. You don't have to wait for each character's turn to load. Also, you can skip through explored areas instantly. Click on an area on the map, the game will calculate how many turns it would take and you are instantly there. The action on screen can look like an action RPG, but it should still be played like a turn-based one; take time to think about your moves. The best part of TOME is the content. It's a complex RPG with lots of stats for each character, items and equipment. No consumables, but use reusable items to heal and cure or just speed up the waiting time for your character to recover. There are many class-types to unlock and has two expansions which adds lots of replay value. It has been in development for over 6-years, maybe more, and is still supported by the developer. Visit the website for add-ons and mods by fans. You can create your own add-ons and mods, too. Also you can choose from 3 modes; unlimited, limited and no continues. The weakest part of TOME is the art style, animation and NPCs. The art style may not be for everyone and doesn't have that professional look. Characters don't animate and look like paper figures. You have brief encounters with NPCs during quests and don't really care about them except to protect them to get stat points and abilities. So, the story unfolds through narrations and poems found in the game. For the content, gameplay, replay value and lack of bugs and glitches, it is well worth the price that will give you satisfying, addictive game play.
I finished the Ancaria campaign and started the Underworld campaign. I couldn't finish it because I encountered a game-breaking bug. At the Dryad treetop village, just before entering a cave to the east of it, my gladiator character suddenly could not pick up loot or do any combat arts and combos. I entered another cave and fought a demon-boss. After defeating it, it dropped a lot of loot. I tried to pick up all the loot and my character just started to run in one place where the loot was...end of my game. I put in a lot of hours in (190 hours), so it that was a little disappointing. The game can be finished, many have done it, so play at your own risk. There are other bugs such as broken quests and weird animations. Sometimes I couldn't do my combo for no reason. Besides the bugs I really enjoyed the game and I had just as much fun as Diablo or Baldur's Gate. If you're looking for an ARPG to fill some time, this is a good one to try. It's over 10 years old, but the graphics are still good and good music to support it. I recommend it to any ARPG fan, but you must bear the bugs in this game to enjoy it. Now on to Sacred 2!
