+ nice graphics that holds up even today + decent squad-based gameplay + good mission design + good improvements over S.W.I.N.E. - sometimes wonky controls - some sound and gameplay bugs - some units are wastly superior (sniper, mobile artillery) Stormregion shifted toward a more serious WW2 RTS with a combined-arms approach with artillery (towed and self-propelled), numerous support powers and most importantly, infantry. This all comes together in a rock-paper-scissor formulae. You must have a mixture of all three to work your way through maps. C:PPO is a squad-based game without base building, the units gather XP and the surviving ones advance through missions. You also get a certain amount of Prestige that you may spend on new units or wargears. Unlike S.W.I.N.E you cannot buy units mid-mission, making your starting force a very finite and valuable resource. Fortunately there's repair/heal for your units but they'll die in no-time if you're careless. Tanks and artillery can also run out of ammo. Beside the normal mission objectives sometimes there are hidden objectives too, rewarding you with additional prestige. The mission design is overall great and the game does not give victory easily. Props for including historically accurate ones too like Operation: Mercury, Market Garden or the Battle of Arres. There are some flaws of course. Some bugs (e.g. you can break the tutorial mission) but nothing that would seriously damage the enjoyment of the game. The enemy AI is pretty dumb most of the time, every general in the campaign speaks with English unit quotes and the cutscenes are sometimes downright ridiculous. Window border for double clicking units seems to be a bit off: even if you'd think that all of your units are in the frame, some don't get assigned. Also, some units are just way better than other choices. Apart of that this game is a great choice for WW2 RTS lovers and is wholeheartedly recommended.
With its charming visual, CLARC is an excellent brain teaser, if you like Sokoban. Here you can push, pull and turn boxes around, and the chance you get totally stuck is non-existent. There's about 60-40% divide between pure puzzles (like take box A, B and C to their places, or direct lasers to mirrors) and action-puzzles (snatch boxes from moving laser fences, evade robots, etc.). The game has a really forgiving saving method, so failing a puzzle won't throw you back to the levels' beginning. Beside box pulling, later the levels introduce new dangers and solutions, like reflective boxes, empty boxes, fixed and moving lasers, armed robots, etc. The problem is that new elements appear very scarcely. Sometimes the design is genuine and genius, like the robo-racing, or the portable beam projector. More often than not however, they repeat the same old trick over and over again. I also miss boss fights - a huge, missed opportunity IMO. Sound can also be annoying, I often turned it down completely. A zooming feature would also have been nice, especially where you have to dodge multiple laser beams at once. Action parts can also be frustrating for people who expect a pure logic game - sometimes you have to make pinpoint side-steps and turns, lest you get vaporized by enemy robot tanks or laser beams. Also, the story starts as a cute one, but it will unlikely to provide everyone with enough drive to try a failed puzzle for the 30th time. Despite the above mentioned issues I spent more than 20 with this game so far, hell bent on saving Clara. If you don't mind action in a logic-platforming game, give a shot for CLARC.
This game is actually an AoE2: Star Wars Total Conversion. If you would play and pay for it, do not miss this title. It delivers everything AoE2 (and the Conquerors expansion) did: - various species - a nice balance between resource management, R&D and fight - good campaigns - war on ground, sea and air My only beef is that due to the limitations of the graphic engine some scaling were needed with the bigger units, which makes them look strange. Apart of that, great game. If you expect ground-breaking solutions, clever AI and stunning details, look elsewhere; there are plenty of great RTSs here on GOG.
If you ever liked - the Starcraft missions where you had to wrestle against endless Zerg hordes with a handful of marines - sending mighty Space Marines of the Emperor against the Tyranid onslaught - to do YOUR part (and wanna learn more) ...then this game is DEFINITELY for you. Don't let the seemingly minimal graphics fool you. This is a fast paced tower defence/shoot'em up/RTS mixture, with very clever resource management. You've seen the elements in other games, but never before in such a masterful combination of tactics and action. The only problem, as others wrote, is the (lack of) internal balance. Some choices are way superior to the others (chaingun, grenade, medipack), while some others are inferior at best (scout, sniper). Still one helluva game, which well worth the buy.
Elaborate graphics? Nope. Gripping story? Wrong place, bro. Stunning gameplay? Bwahaha. No. This one is plain simple, gory fun. And I mean, FUN, with all caps. It is the perfect cruise control for your mind: just sit back, shut your cognitive functions off, and disperse sweet, mindless vengeance upon - literally - thousands of enemies with crazy weapons. Levels are linear. AI is non-existent. You'll likely to shut off your speakers after level 3. But it is like a pizza with salami, or a Big Mac. There's nothing subtle about it, there are better stuffs for your health, but sometimes it is all you need, and then, it feels damn nice to have it around.
I know it's hard to convince someone who is completey unfamiliar with this game to buy it, but you DEFINITELY should. This one... - is a perfect blend of genres, action, tps, rts, and sometimes arcade racing - has great characters and excellent, well placed humour around the whole game (fake-credits list for anyone?) - downright idiot storyline and weapons (in the most possible good meaning), plus excellent gameplay ideas that is rare to see even today (slow-time bubble and so on) - all of that coupled with excellent music and sound effects It is a game that means pure entertainment for me. It's still a great buy on its rack rate, but on sale it is a must.
If you ask the same question, here are some hints. Graphics: HOMM4 follows a very different visual style. It fares poorly against such names as HOMM3, os Disciples 2, less characterful, and sometimes downright confusing. But you know what? After 2 hours of gameplay it didn't bother me the slightest. Heroes: They're no more bystanders, but ACTUAL heroes. If you liked the approach of Disciples 2, you'll like that one too. They can be goddamn powerful; properly upgraded they can wrestle with a dozen of black dragons, and emerge victorious. Sadly, combat-skills are almost mandratory, so it somehow limits your skill choices (try to go without that, and you'll be torn to pieces on level 2). Combat: the somewhat random and way too powerful combat bonuses were tamed in HOMM4, and sublte changes in fight will make you to plan every clash. Also, the mutally exclusive unit tree will prevent you from getting all the units from a single town, but there's a solution: conquer other cities, and you can build other structures there. Story: gripping - at least in the original campaign. Many has some sad twists in the end, so it worhts reading all those texts the game drops at you. Sometimes I willingly failed a mission to learn what happend in that scenario. I definitely suggest you to buy that one. Apart of the graphic I liked all the changes it brought after HOMM3, and I cannos say bigger praise than that.
Digital Reality's previous game, Imperium Galactica 2 was a very complex space opera: R&D, spying, space&surface battle, diplomacy, colony management, commerce - all in one game. I was a huge fan of that, but apparently, the guys got some backlash about the complexity, so they decided to simplify things. No problem, Homeworld, and Homeworld: Cataclysm were both great games without the base/planet building things, right? So, first it seems like the designers took both IG2, HW+HW:C, and mixed it to get Haegemonia. Unfortunately, they fell to the floor between the two chairs. Space battles lack any tactic, or strategy it was present in either IG2, HW, or HW:C. The tight unit cap also prevents you to plan battles on fleet levels, as other reviews pointed it out. The use of spying is also marginal, save for some occasions when your ships were blown up. The planet management is also overly simplified, just like the assaults. You bomb the planet, and either triumph (converting the population immediately to your colour), or retreat, before the retaliation-fleet arrives. No need for subtle skirmishes, planning with planetary defence, or so. However, the game also has positive sides, namely, the music and the graphic. The campaign also worth a try. All in all, it is not a bad game, just don't expect that much as from its predecessors. And GoG, please, enlist Imperium Galactica 2 and the Homeworld series to your range!
You'll encounter a lot of review stating that this game is overly brutal, unnecessarily darker and lost its charm it had in Sands of Time. Consider this: the Prince is bound to fight for his very life, after his "sacrifice" in the previous game (I'm not gonna' spoil things, buy SoT too!). The reward? Having your entire ship crew slaughtered, and a huge, invincible beast chasing you. It is quite understandable that it pushed him to the "dark side". All in all: apart of the bugs, the steep learning curve (you can easily die on the very first level's 1st boss-fight), and some camera problem it is an excellent game with adrenaline pumping combat and a good amount of puzzles to be solved.
If that game would've been made by Westwood or Blizzard back then in the 2000's it surely had been a blast. As it didn't happen so, it went quite unnoticed. If you're unsure to buy it, consider, that many big-time RTS borrowed (or downright stole) ideas from that game. Burrowing tunnels, exchanging your units' weapons, arming production structures, electronical warfare and changing enviromental conditions - all were available in E2150, even before C&C generals and the like. Though the pace is slower, you won't be disappointed with this bundle.
