You finish "Kingdom Rush : Origins" and you think "OK, that was sweet, I wish there could be more... but what else could there really be?" Well the guys at Ironhide really wrapped their heads around how to re-fresh the series. This is classic old Kingdom Rush, make no mistake, but there is so much freshness into so many aspects of the game. Yes there are heroes, upgrades, 15 waves in each stage and points to spend like before... but instead of just 4 fixed types of towers you now have a "pallette" of five towers for each stage which you can fill from a wider selection that grows more and more as you get into the game. And then you have towers with entirely new concepts like "damage zones" or mixed block & ranged attack which have never been made before. Also you have upgrade trees in which for the first time certain choices exclude others. But above all there is fresnhess of being on the evil side of things, an opportunity that has fully been taken advantage of in order to instill huge doses of humour, classic pop-culture references (that always make me smile) and intellectual amusement in general. In short - this is as good as any of the previous Kingdom Rush games. Innovative yet familiar. The balance is right (if a tad slightly easier than before), the amusing enjoyment is here and the nailbitingl moments of fury are present from mid-game and onwards.
Well... What a let down this was. Graphics, guns, animation, skill system... everything nice and polished, plenty of action involved, lots of exploration to do... yet it became processional very early on. It just lacks the soul of its predecessors. The quests and the world in general moved away from the subversive and insightful study into human vices and became another formulaic "good guys vs bad guys" story, such that we've seen a thousand times before. The choices sometimes are there but even then they don't allow you to stray too much from an enclosed and conventional system of ideas. The attempts at humor are "meh" like they were forced afterthought. It didn't stand the test of time too - I've finished fallout 1 twice and fallout 2 three times (and get goosebumps whenever I remember it) but I cringe at the thought of even re-installing this one. "Face without a soul" is what this game is.
I have been a fan of squad & turn-based t tactical sci-fi games ever since I remember myself gaming, 30 years ago. This game initially appears to be simplistic and basic but as I delved deeper I realised that there is a careful mindset behind the design choices of the game, design choices that have to do with budget and development time constraint. It seems to me that the developers tried to come up with the best game they could with the resources they had at hand: instead of investing in flashy graphics and boisterous "innovative" mechanisms, it became obvious after a few hours of playing that most care in this game was placed in getting the underlying balances correct. Firstly it's the difficulty: it is exactly what you need in order to have a good time. Not too easy, not too hard, just right so that it is engaging without being either frustrating or boring. Secondly it is the simplicity: if you want to relax and you want most of your choices to be tactical rather than stats/combinational then the game will deliver. It offers attribute-cooking gameplay too but it's simple, practical and gives you choices without too much hassle about it. Having played halfway through the game, the story is nothing really original but it does manage to carry things along. Music is above average. It's a nice synth-based soundtrack that at times reminisces of Vangelis' Blade Runner masterpiece. In all, it invests the game with a very pleasant ambience. My only gripe is that the interface is a bit "chunky" especially the way the mouse cursor behaves. Also, the pacing between actions could be better - the small 0.5sec delays between shooting, camera movement and then choosing another character sometimes can be annoying - the pace of combat could be better if those delays weren't there. In all it's an enjoyable little game and if you can imagine yourself basking in a classic sci-fi tactical setting shooting around at zombified baddies then you can't go very wrong trying this.
It's rare that such creations emerge into the world of gaming. A testament to human creativity, Inside proves that Art, emotional & intellectual expression know no boundaries as to their medium. Inside is a multi-faceted creation. From a technical standpoint it is a puzzle-platformer. From this perspective it gets five stars. The accurate controls, the smooth and streamlined way the little character interacts with the environment, all the details that separate the excellent from the average are there to ensure a top-notch gaming experience. The puzzles are very well thought-out too, with just the right amount of difficulty & style so as to engage but not frustrate or alienate. But... Inside goes beyond this. There is kind of a poetry instilled into this game. What I saw in it created emotions. Emotions, thoughts and feelings. It moved me, in ways that I believe I'm only partially conscious to. I won't say anything else, or I am in danger of veering into extremely subjective places. From this perspective it cannot be evaluated with "stars". This artistry just takes the game beyond the normal framework of game evaluation and helps it transcend the limits of what a game can normally offer. The most accurate thing to say would be that it is an "Experience". Bottom line: I'm so happy I got this game. It made me feel things.
This game is maybe a testament to what happens when a laser-tight focused design intent and genuine inspiration get buried under rushed release schedule. This game is an unsurpassable visual treat. Never before have I explored such a nightmarish dystopic world, where the occult blends in with technology, creating an environment that at most times has me explore it with an open mouth. Language and vocabulary do not help - some of the places produce imagery that can only be conceived while sweating in REM sleep, tormented by the deepest of stresses and fears and which express themselves as visions of eternal doom. If Ridley Scott were a game maker and wanted to blend the visual style of Alien with some Cthulhu, some Quake I and some steampunk overtones, then this is what he would have produced. The attention to detail is staggering, and the obvious effort to never let the player get bored with the same style over and over really pays off - the sense of exploration and deep impression never ceases. The game would justify its time and price tag with its visuals alone but -surprisingly for a small studio production- the gameplay is balanced as well. There is only one difficulty setting but it is so well thought-out and balanced that the challenge forces the player to be careful and thoughtful, but without frustrating or forcing numerous attempts to pass the more difficult points. Just a sweet mid-level challenge that keeps the player engaged. Returning to where I began, it's a very unfortunate fact that when the game was released it was so bug-ridden. The 2.5 score it currently has is by NO MEANS indicative of its quality. The game is now bug-free and my objective score would be 4.5 stars - I gave it 5 so as to slightly compensate for its now VERY unfair score. If you want to explore a place very close to hell, then this game won't disappoint, you'll have a wonderful time forgetting the mundane paradise you are now living in.
Once the game begins and the players starts delving in its world, what strikes first is the world's originality. No Orcs, Elves, good guys vs bad guys - the game steers clear from Tolkien and his overtaxed legacy. The player will wade their way through an ancient land ravaged by brutal war and magic of terrifying power being himself a harbinger of even more of this carnage and magic. The brutality of war and the carnage, past and present, is the constant backdrop of its world as the player gradually becomes a central part of it. Compared to more usual fantasy settings this one is darker and more mature. If you expect NPCs (either your own or others) to be humorous or even courteous to each other you'll be disappointed. The game conveys a seriousness and maturity all along the way and through all of its aspects: The story, the writing, the choices. This is a dark, enthralling world where everyone is for themselves and whatever order there is, it is established and maintained through power and violence. Apart from the world, what sets Tyranny apart from other CRPGs is its hostility towards frivolity. There no frivolous "fetch" or "steal" side-quests. In fact there are very few side-quests overall and those which exist are somehow intertwined with the main story. I really loved this tight and focused quest structure as I've grown tired of going around doing errands just to level-up my characters. Also, there's no awkward inventory system, no weight limits, nothing that adds dead game. Where the game adds lots of weight is the combat system. Combat in Tyranny is fluid and dynamic and its amount overall is well balanced but the maze of offences/defences/damage/armor/weapon types and the numerous bonuses/afflictions require thoughtful approach which sometimes becomes a headache. That said, a very creative and open spell system and an amazing emphasis on unique weapons adds both lustre and substance and saves the day. Overall a very enjoyable game, highly recommended.
This game has been carefully made and its high production values are obvious. Good graphics, flowing animation, impressive physics engine. Yet I didn't like it. The reason is that its philosophy is an console-oriented 3rd person shoot-em-up with some strategy and scarce RPG elements. The elements that point towards this are manifold: - The graphics have high saturation. Colours are almost too "vibrant" as if trying to constantly remind the player that they are on Mars. - Distances between various locations and the "safehouse" are ridiculously small. In the first location, the player's safehouse and some of the targets would be something like 500m in real-life distance. I mean the "baddies" are supposedly patrolling and searching for you and you have a base of operations without any concealment right there. Not very immersive or realistic. - You are expected to bring down various enemy structures. And in this game a sledgehammer is adequate to bring down multi-storey towers within seconds. Everything is destructibe, yes, bravo but this is ridiculous. - Firefights although carefully thought-out suffer from an unmistakable arcade-ism. 3rd person does have an inherent arcade-ism by itself of course but this game takes it to the next level. Forget about 1st person shooter style - here the pace is x2 and you are expected to kill hordes of oncoming enemies by jumping around cover spots or assaulting them directly, spraying bullets everywhere all along. - Strategy is there but feels superficial. I've put about 4 hours in the game and I don't intend to put any more. It's simply too much console-ish for me.
This game turns 180 degrees on what has been the trend on cRPGs in recent years: Instead of boasting about sandboxes and freedom it prefers to offer an intricately interwoven and compelling storyline told in a carefully engineered pace. On the surface this game does not offer the super-great choices at every step and it's gameplay consists mostly of fighting yet... it's been years that I have been so immersed and so addicted to playing a game, and this includes the vastly more ambitious Wasteland 2. The elements that add-up to this immersion and addiction are "manyfold": - The quality of the writing: Excellent, top-notch quality. It's immersive, no-nonsense, to the point, and never boring. Interesting team characters with personal agendas, colourful and diverse outside characters are at the core of a story that unfolds at an excellent pace that keeps you glued on your monitor. - The soundtrack: It's excellent, so much as to deserve special mention. It doesn't simply add to the game quality, it manages to actually act as a multiplying factor. In conjunction with the graphics really creates an immersive cyberpunk world full of dark secrets, plots interwoven into sub-plots, and all of which sprawled onto a humanity still under shock in front of the brutal advent of both super technology and magic. - The fighting: I played it at Hard difficulty which is perfect for a serious yet not frustrating challenge. Many tactical choices, lot's of different ways to approach the tactical challenges and some missions add a time constraint which really makes for memorable races against time. - The general atmosphere: The writers of the game have really done their studying. Despite having Orcs, Elves and the like, the world is really Cyberpunk, keeping true to all relevant elements as the great writers like William Gibson envisioned so many decades ago. In all a refreshingly and genuinly enjoyable experience, I recommend it to anyone.
This game was a pleasant surprise. What captivated me initially (and hence its purchase) was the hand-drawn, exquisitely detailed graphics. Fortunately I found a very well thought-out platmofrmer that had a fair share of thinking behind each and every of its elements. The gameplay has very carefully balanced difficulty which is challenging but not frustrating. it also manages to avoid being repetitive, given the different nature of its levels and mission objectives. You'll be cavern-crawling in a level searching for a way out and then you'll be gravity-jumping around floating pieces of earth trying to find various pieces of your broken spacecraft. Weapons are also varied and allow for different styles of play which adds a further element of freedom. The soundtrack deserves special mention as it is head and shoulders above any usual game soundtrack: It is an electronic ambient score full of texture and clearly made by someone of very high talent. I thoroughly enjoyed this game, recommended to all who like adventurous journeys to alien planets :)
