Though it has some strategic elements (like resource gathering and using strategic map for issuing commands) it's more of a tactical game. With sufficient energy, units are built in a second (no production queue). Still, you can forget about tank rush or even building large armies, due to limited number of vehicle pilots. You have to either coordinate your few units in a carefully planned attack or grab a vehicle's controls yourself and go full commando: hit 'em quick and hard where it hurts, then disappear. Or anything in between. Crossing tactical game with TPS sounds like a recipe for a disaster, but actually works superbly in this title. Your units are capable, though you have to watch that they don't get overwhelmed - which can happen quite quickly, as enemies heavily outnumber your units most of the time. Yet controlling a vehicle yourself makes it possible to use advanced manoeuvres that completely befuddles the opposition - like flying backwards, sniping pursuers one by one, while evading incoming grenades by sideways strafing. Or worming up a steep slope behind their lines, uncloaking, shooting a full burst of rockets into their crucial building/unit, cloaking again 'till weapons recharge... Stealth, speed or massive firepower - use whichever and however you want - that's the beauty of this game. And it really WORKS. Wonderfully so! On the down side: Your unit's one-liners quickly get overly repetitive. Graphics are dated (esp. cut-scenes are downright ugly), but in the heat of the battle you won't even notice it. There are some nasty bugs too: Dislikes my joystick. Loading a save once brought my hovercraft into mad tumble, drifting all over the map. Scripting events at times fired in wrong sequence, making it impossible to finish a mission. This, together with very limited number of save slots can be a real bummer. Still, not too many glitches to spoil the experience. All in all not perfect, but lotsa fun and really worth playing! I give it 4.5/5
Like others said, it borrows *a lot* from Portal(s), thus the comparison is inevitable. Yet the mechanics are different enough, so it didn't feel such a total rip-off to me. Yes, the puzzles are hard, and some are rather frustrating - but not that much more than Portal's. I could solve them all. Well, those based on logic anyway. Even The Damned (yup, that's the level 40's name) seven parallel platforms. What got me stumped though, was when authors didn't stop at Damn Hard puzzles, but crossed the threshold into unfair. Level 38 is unsolvable until you step to a specific point (not hinted at in any way) and look at just the right angle at a well-hidden switch!?! I mean, *why* would they do *that*? >:# The story is also quite different: In Portal, the excuse for test labs' deterioration was current manager (GlaDOS/Johnson/Wheatley) slipping to insanity. Here, it's an invasion of Lovecraftesque Old Ones - a very questionable choice for a platform puzzler IMO. And to make a monster kill you tens of times before you realise there *is* a way to outrun it - by using reflexes instead of brains? It's just WRONG for this sort of game! In Portal 2, I couldn't wait to finish a level just to see what silly thing happens next. Wheatley's quirky comments or Johnson's rants really made me LOL - right up to the hilarious Singin' Turrets end. Here, I rushed forward to get away from the increasingly morbid surroundings and forgettable characters. Until the weird end - which is neither here nor there. Quite literally. Replayability is also rather low even though it is possible to solve (some) puzzles (a bit) differently than the first time. Why **** then? Well, the puzzles are quite good, physics is really excellent (apart from the same magnetic poles attracting each other - WTF?) and Newton, the magnetic dog, is adorable. :) Bottom line: you do get quite a lot of gameplay for €8 and, all the bad things aside, solving the problems does give you a good sense of accomplishment.
EoC is to Independence Wars what Privateer is to Wingman series - almost. You are a space pirate that turns into something much more... Good: Way better than original I-wars. * Huge, living star system. * Diverse missions: from sneaking into a base to steal enemy's equipment, to massive space battles. * Physics and flying mechanics are really good. * Zooming with a remote fighter like an angry wasp among befuddled enemies is pure joy. * Graphics (esp. cut-scenes) are great and haven't aged much at all. No need for ninja PC to enjoy them either. * Force feedback support. * Mostly bug-free. Bad: Trading is very rudimentary. There's no money, just bartering. And generally you can't sell any ship's equipment, nor buy other bartering goods. So the only way is to go out and `liberate' stuff off some transport ship, then trade it for new gear. * Other than that, pirating has very little sense, as hoarding stuff gets you nowhere. * Can't buy ships. You only get a new ship by completing a specific mission. And the third ship you get about 1/3rd into the game (patcom) is the best in any case. * Missions' difficulty varies insanely: some require flying to the target and 10-15 mins of yawning while holding fire button. Then enemy armada will suddenly jump in and kill you off in a few seconds. * At times I had NO IDEA how to finish a mission or get a new one. Had to google it. * Much talk about ship's stealth, but it doesn't seem to make any difference. In stealth missions you'll get discovered if you get within 5km of an enemy ship in any case - whichever gear you use. Outside of missions, there's no point in stealth at all - most NPCs will ignore you until you attack them, and after that it doesn't matter anyway. Ugly: Sometimes skipping a cut-scene might skip half a mission as well. * Joystick is a must. Seems it should be possible to fly with mouse, but I couldn't make it work. * Win7's DEP must be turned off or it won't run. O_o Four stars 'coz it still is lots of fun!
I haven't played the new (rebooted) Thief yet, so I can't compare T3 to that one, but as far as the original three parts are concerned I, unlikely other reviewers, enjoyed T3 the most - in spite its downsides. Plus I got it at a GOG sale for such ridiculous bargain price, that my satisfaction was pushed from what would be a 4.5 stars right up to 5. Well, I admit, I didn't love T1&2 that much in the first place. Yes, they were great games, and I wish there were many more Thief-like games, but the surroundings felt somehow too depressive to me. Besides I just hated those damn robots in T2. The Good: * T3 feels more open and free to roam around, thanks to the central hub (city), offering secret places and shortcuts, and you can (repeatedly) rob the houses and passers-by. * Level design with many ways to accomplish the goal. * Diverse levels (The Cradle is REALLY something ELSE.) * You can scale many walls with climbing gloves (though there is NO rope arrow). * Lighting and cast shadows implemented MUCH better. (Alas, your own shadow won't give you away, though the tutorial claims so - wikia.com confirms this.) * Dialogs between guards add much to the feeling. Are informative and at times really hilarious. * Switching first/third person as you wish. * Story. The Bad: * Loading times: saving is fast, loading anything but (!?) * Too easy, even at highest difficulty. Guards pretty stupid. At times you can just run past and they won't notice you. Or will complain, but won't chase you. And when they give a chase, it's quite easy to shake them off. * Noise arrows pretty useless. You can use ANYTHING instead. * Oil flasks even moreso. The Ugly: * The city is broken in small chunks, which makes slow loading even worse. * Alt-Tab doesn't work (!?!) * Glitches: Statues can't hit you when you crouch. At times you suddenly can't jump any more and start gliding around like on rails. You can get stuck in the environment or even wander off the map and must reload... Save often!
