Surviving Mars is somewhat unique to other RTS type games that I have played in the past. It has some elements rom greats like Civilization and elements from Colonization and others where you are able to get supplies and people from Earth. It blends all of these elements together quite well as you research and build your way to a successful colony on Mars. What sets this apart is that you also have to manage the different elements from bots to that of domes and the various breakdowns that can happen to them along the way. I will be honest, I had to restart the training map a few times as I got used to how the game mechanics work. The single player portion of this game is fascinating to play and when you look at the clock you will see more time has passed then you might have wanted to. It really grabs your attention in many ways. Not only do you have to research and build but you have to explore the surface around you for resources and anomalies that will help you ro research even more for your colony. As to the colonists themselves you have a wide range that you are able to choose from. You can even get v very specific as the the sex, gender, age and other factors that you want to have with you on Mars. Be warned though, the more restriction you put on the colonists, the fewer there will be to choose from. Keep this in mind as you will need to have certain professionals needed to be able to manage and service the furious buildings that you have built on mars. This is not a set and forget type of game to play. You will be managing it all, from charging vehicles and droids to making sure that you have enough food, water and air for your colonists. You also want to make sure to keep them happy with enough distractions to make them want to keep working. Your bots will also need to be charged and survived so that you can keep collection items that you will need to build with as well as send back to earth to be sold. This is a game that is worth playing.
This game has great visuals and will run well on even the lower end of the requirements. I have an AMD Phenom II X4 3.4ghz with 16 gigs of ram and an NVidia 750ti and I do not get much lag at all and 95% of the settings are on High. The only change I mad was to make sure vsinc was on. Physics and collision is rather well done. I did not expect this with my lower end gear, well at least lower end for this game. You wind up spending time just looking at everything, the shadows, the people, the plants, they are all a sight to see. I am only 5 hours in and even though the game is very challenging you find yourself having a great time with the game. The only reason I didn't give it more stars have a lot to do with combat controls. I am using an XBox controller and combat commands are at times slow and clunky, you can't just button mash your way through combat. You have to wait till your action is almost done to do the next action. If you don't you will find that it will keep going through a buffer of all the keys that you pushed. So make sure that you take your time and don't just go pushing buttons. A the begining of the game, after you get to the berserker town, stealth and slowness are your friends. You can kill high level critters but you have to be smart about it. You have to make sure you have room to maneuver and to retreat if you have to. You jet back will become your best friend. With open world, and it really is wide open, you will find your jet pack will come in handy, even to get back to where you started, if you want. Pros: Open World Jet Pack Lots to explore Stunning views Logical NPC interaction (if a npc says they are going someplace to do something, follow them and you will see them do it. You don't see that a lot in games. Addictive, even when you die Cons: Brutal Unforgiving (can get very tight at times in combat) Combat not always responsive Save often as you die a lot It is a fun and sometimes confusing game but fun!
When you first state the game you are stuck in your pod and stranded on a planet. At first I was "Wow this is so cool" until it took me 10 minutes to figure out how to open the pod. Right now the game is complicated as far as trying to build things. Even though this is a bit of a downer the fact that you can explore just about anything is a definite plus to the game. I am looking forward to the finished game as I see it easily become a fav among those that love exploration and survival games. There is a learning curve to this game, one that I am still learning and will continue to do so because of the time and effort going into the game. As to resources, you can get them just about anywhere. If you did enough you will even have a water supply that easy for you to get to. This is not a quick game and takes time to be able to get tasks done but they can get done, just be patient and don't give up.
This is one of those games that when you think something is going to happen in a certain way it then flips it over on you and twists it till you are not sure who the enemy really is. The plots in this game are deep as in fathom deep and it draws you right in till you just don't want to quit till your eyes won't stay open any more. It is steeped in rich historical settings and shows you insight into how the myths, legends as well as various gods shaped the people of the time. The reason I didn't give it a 5 is that the load times from one area to the next can be long, so long you may think the game has frozen up. So far no crashes or any problem except for the load times. The story and strategy of the game do make up for that shortcoming. This game makes you think and take a hard look at things as you wind your way through your struggles to keep your clan and your lands safe from other Thegns in your home land.
I played the heck out of these two games till the floppies actually fell apart. As other reviewers have said, it is deceptively simple and yet you find you will have to try and try again to be able to make sure that you get your castle built before some barbarian horde or greedy lord is after you. The games have hours upon hours of gameplay and no two playthroughs are ever the same. Each decision and each thing that you build will affect everything that is done afterward. These are the games that started all other castle games, IMHO.
