I'm not interested in this... I just wanna play!
... and then they messed it up. (Yeah, this is not in my GOG library, because I bought it at a reduced price on Steam a while ago) The game is not very consistent, and it crashes a lot. Especially bad quality or broken components in the navigation screen device will often result in one crash after the other. Navigation is clunky at best; the auto-pilot frequently fails to dock you with your destination port. It will often just burn the engines indefinitly, making you overshoot the target, or it will cut the engines a moment too soon, causing you to drift past uncontrollably. Manual docking is best avoided, unless the target is supposed to not support auto-docking, in which case the devil be with you. The full color navigation system is supposed to be the best system around, and in most respects it actually IS. But when it comes to showing asteroid fields, they suck dung! The markets are badly implemented. Once you buy components or goods from any terminal at any station, the inventory at that terminal is fixed. It will NEVER replenish components or goods, so each station becomes completely useless after a few visits. This goes for missions as well. When you dock with a station, the state of the star system you're in is completely abandoned, and when you undock, a completely new state is generated, so all continuity is lost. There is a limited number of ships active at all times, and a limited number of names available for them. So after undocking, you may find that a pirate ship is now using the name that was used for a military ship 5 minutes ago, while a merchant vessel now carries the old pirate ship's name... So messy. The idea was so good, but it was poorly executed, and then suddenly abandoned. That one is still supposed to pay €21,- for this, is an affront!
I originally bought this game in a store, a DVD and documentation on paper in a real box! Cost an arm and a leg to buy, but it seemed such a good game. Stage 1 - the 2D fase in which you're a simple cell organism eating the smaller ones to gain DNA points, while avoiding being eaten by the larger ones. This stage was enjoyable, but too short. Stage 2 - creature stage. Essentially a 3D version of stage one where you left the primordial soup, and now roam the land with similar goals. This stage was the most fun, but much too short! Stage 3 - Sentience. Getting killed by Legendary monsters that other players' creatures worship. These monsters are 20 times the normally attainable height, and kill you by simply stepping on you, even accidentally. The worst is it, when your creatures get killed over and over by the same Legendary, which was based on one of your OWN creations. I've never seen stage 4 and 5, because after seeing six or seven of my own worlds fall victim to the same Legendary monster every time, I gave up, uninstalled the game, and gave the box to a friend of mine, who never even tried it. Had there not been Legendaries, or had there been an option to disable them, or even to play completely WITHOUT the need to be online, things might have been different. Now I'll just consider it a loss. I'm not wasting money on it ever again.
I've always, from day one, loved the entire Myst saga: an adventure style game, full of puzzles and riddles that all have logical solutions, presented in a wonderful 3D fantasy environment. I know for certain that I own Myst, Riven, Exile and URU on CD/DVD/whichever. But I can't be certain about Revelation, and I *know* that I didn't have End of Ages prior to buying it here on GoG. And yet, after having played for only a few hours, some of the puzzles seem familiar. Anyway, I love the atmosphere of all the Myst titles, and I would be crushed to ever find out that the saga ended before my life did. I find the 'interface/menu' that appears BEFORE actually starting the game somewhat disturbing and unprofessional/un-GoG-like. And it doesn't look at all like what one would expect from Sierra OR Ubisoft. But let's just overlook that. I just hope I don't need to see that too often. The good thing is that the entire saga is available here now. Great stuff, GoG. Thank you!
I tend to have a somewhat dark sense of humor. So when this game first appeared 15 years ago, it was right up my alley. I bought it, installed it, and had lots of fun with it. Funny references to all kinds of horror titles, silly spooky ghosts, interesting puzzles, and a bit of strategy - it's all there, combined with cute graphics. Even if I wasn't very good at it, all the levels were a lot of fun to (re-)play. Lately, though, the old CD version - like many games of those days - is getting harder and harder to install, so I'm thrilled to see a GOG version. I'm gonna spook the hell out of a few more hapless mortals :)
This is an interesting Space Shooter, which reminds a bit of the 30 year old 8-bit game "ELITE". It has the same starting parameters: the player is entrusted with a little second-hand raft from a lost relative, told some background story, and sent on his way. One can then choose whatever path one wishes to follow: piracy, bounty hunting, trade, smuggling, mining, the same options as in ELITE. And as one makes money, one can of course upgrade the ship's systems, or even replace the ship with a different model altogether. And that's where the similarities end. Unlike in ELITE, there is more story, even while you're already playing. You're sent on a mission to find your lost relative, and meet all kinds of shady characters on the way. Also, unlike in ELITE, ships in Rebel Galaxy are not represented by wire mesh models. And there is so much more than just ships: all kinds of space stations, debris fields, asteroid fields, planets, gas clouds, plasma storms... you name it, the game provides. And beautifully crafted at that. One thing I miss, though: space is just a flat disc. No up or down, but just left, right, forward and back. And sometimes, that makes it hard to target ships that pass over or under you, even though they don't seem to have any problems targeting you! Another thing I miss: sometimes, I would like to be able to selectively dump certain items in space. Like sometimes the tractor beam might accidentally pick up some unwanted contrabande. Then I want to be able to dump it, to avoid getting into trouble with authorities. Or if my hold is packed with Nuts and Bolts, and I want to make room for some crates of Gold floating around... Anyway, one cannot have everything. In this day and age, for those who fondly remember ELITE from all those many years ago, Rebel Galaxy is the good stuff!
I recently bought this game, and now it will not run. I press the "PLAY" button which goes grey. Iwait a few seconds, and the button goes green again. No error reports, notifications, Just nothing. Then I tried to verify/update, which it did (after a waaaayyyy to long period of downloading the file list), and it still won't run. Same problem... This hurts.
Really, that's no joke. Where do I start? If there is one thing that I hate more than anything else, it's when a game appears to be sporting a tutorial mode, but doesn't really. I select the Tutorial, and the game starts, but there is not even a single window that tells me anything about what I need to do and/or how anything works. I have no idea how to play this game. And if this tutorial is any indication, I never will. So if this game deserves more credit than a single star, someone needs to look into fixing that Tutorial mode first.
Papers, Please is a deceptive game in more than one way: it seems dated - especially the graphics -, but being set in the early eighties, the simple graphics really fit! Also, it seems extremely simple... And it is, VERY simple to screw up! I can recommend this game to people who like to test and/or train their perception and attention for detail. The only thing that hardly seems to make sense, is the fact that endless play (the perfect mode to train oneself in) is locked until you've completed the story mode. Fortunately, it's not hard to find the code that unlocks it. Anyway: I'm glad that I spent a few euros to get this marvelous game.
The description tells us there are: * 16 levels in 4 worlds. * over 30 types of enemies in three worlds. Now either I didn't understand my basic math education, or this description was just made up by someone who doesn't have a clue about the game. Anyway, I am confused: how many worlds does this game contain? Three or four? Or is it maybe Seven of Nine?
