A surprisingly clever gameplay. The adventure is pleasant, the graphisms nice (if simple), I finished the game in a (big) day of playing (like, maybe 10 or 12hours), I recommend it.
Well, the title says it. I'm not that fond of that game, because, well, it's real-time. Real-time, and all missions are time-limited, without any means to pause the game to think - except at mission startup, in "planning mode". Except that you need to build in advance, you cannot "plan" blueprints and only build them later on. So you're kinda limited during the startup phase, and you might need that time later on. Especially if you play using "collisions on" (no "ghost" mode for trains needing the same track at the same time). If you miscalculate something, you'll lose a lot of precious time - at least, if you're aiming for the best ranks in a given level. So, the industry chains are not bad, the graphics are fine, the music is OK, what made me lower the rating is that damn, unpausable real-time gameplay. Not fond of that forced rythm, even when you reconfigure a train, no pause at all. It's frustrating, at least for me. So, not a bad game, but... probably not the best choice for people who liked TTD (or OpenTTD), or Simutrans... It's not the same kind of gameplay at all.
So, you only have your king, versus the White Army. Like in chess, you and your opponent take turns. Like in chess, you win by killing the enemy king. Like in chess, your king moves on one nearby square, and enemy pieces use their chess movement rules... Unlike in chess, you have a shotgun. Pieces have health points, you cannot capture them by moving, but who cares ? It's a nice strategic turn-by-turn game, first created during Ludum Dare, where it won a whole lot of (well deserved) accolades. The game is organized as a rogue-like, as a number of "rounds", where you each time must kill the king (or its replacement). After each round, you choose one "reward" package, out of two available. Each package contains both a BLACK card, which improves you (better damage, more ammo, ability to hit in melee, grenades, better movement, a moat to help you defend, etc...), and a WHITE card, which improves the enemy army (+3 pawns, +1 queen, or "Theocracy", which removes the enemy king, adds bishops, and changes the win objective to "Kill all the bishops", for instance...) If you manage to win enough rounds (like, 11 ?), you get a final round where the TRUE white king comes down, boss-style, to personally lead its army and try to kick your ass. The game is surprisingly easy to learn, but hard to master, and is quite addictive. A game can be quite fast (especially if you goof up early), and even if you go "far", you can win a full game in around one hour. There are different shotguns to choose from at game start (which must be unlocked first by reaching some in-game objectives), which add to the replayability. There are also two other game modes (different from the Throne mode, which I discussed), which I haven't tried yet ("Endless", and "Chase", which is unlocked by reaching level 15 in Endless) Graphics are like CGA, and the sounds are ultra-basic. But who cares ? The gameplay is very good, and that's what we need ! All in all, a very good little game.
I got this game at a discount ($19.87), and I don't regret a single cent. This is, mainly, a tactical RPG. It features a lot of battles where your characters, each with its own fighting style, will have to complete an objective (kill all enemies, kill some enemies then flee, survive a number of rounds, etc.), with each time two other, optional "challenge" objectives (win in less than 5 turns, only use the 'signature' moves (an action without cooldown, on each character), do NOT use any signature moves, have all deployed characters survive, deploy less than the allowed number of companions, etc.) While these objectives seem a bit random (it seemed to me they could change when "giving up" on a battle, then trying it again, they add more fun and challenge to the game. Plus, completing them increases the likelyhood to find some loot. But the game is not ONLY a tactical RPG. It is also a time-management exercise, in that you'll have to complete a few "chapters", having, each time, a set deadline, in days, in which to complete all the objectives. Most of the time, this will be to complete a set number of "kingdom quests" (that is, either explore dungeons, or raise your relations with people, or improve the town by building, or craft items, etc.), but some special, story-related objectives will also pop-up, sometimes, and will have to be solved before the deadline, too. Upgrading relations with characters has been compared to a dating sim - I see it mostly as a time investment to unlock their potential. It's a solid mechanism where you spend some precious days to invest in something, or someone, and later on get better returns (better crafts, better skills, etc.) All in all, my first (and only) playthrough ended without having needed to explore everything on the world map, which means that you may CHOOSE where to go, where to explore, what to do, instead of being forced everywhere. All in all, a solid game, very enjoyable and addictive, and with fun dialogs. Go get it!
I've tried the game. I liked the way the ships were given orders too, I thought the universe of the series was really respected, and I enjoyed playing commander. For a short time. The game is quite repetitive, spawning a lot of cylon fleets, where you have to apply the same strategy, with your superior fleet, to demolish them without losses. It MIGHT have been because I delayed the next mission for a bit, however - I didn't want to leave the Alpha sector while there were still Cylon fleets in it. So, I built a second fleet, and passed a few days, fighting with one or the other, until the sector was clear. Big disappointment: It didn't seem to make the story, or my abilities, progress. While I had disabled the tutorial (after I needed to restart, because I had lost ships to collisions, on my first game, before I knew to be careful with trajectories), I still needed to unlock, painfully slowly, the next ship, or the officers, or whatever. Yep, didn't reach the point where I would be able to get officers. I WANTED to do the mission between sectors Alpha and sector Gamma, but couldn't. The game bugged, as it had done a number of times before. However, the previous times, quitting and reloading would do the trick. Here, I've been deadlocked while loading the mission between these sectors. I get to place ships on the grid, and then the game gives me the jump countdown, with the mission name, and then... nothing. The screen keeps still, and no ship arrives. So, after a few minutes of boring wait (and considering that, usually, the ships DO appear right at the end of the countdown - not a "slow PC" problem, here), and quitting the game 3 times at the same spot, I decided to uninstall it instead of retrying a fourth time. So, yeah, it's a strategy game, and it MIGHT get better, less repetitive, less boring, after some missions are cleared, IF you get them to load properly. But I think it's a half-finished game, deserving a half-mark. A Disappointed BSG fan.
I loved this game. The controls are purposefully awkward, as you move the mouse to move your arm, rotate it, move the wrist, etc, and you press five keys on the keyboard to "curl" the corresponding fingers. Key unpressed, the finger is "straight", key pressed, the finger is "closing" on something, like to hold it. With those awkward controls, you'll have to perform the "surgical procedures", that is, opening the patient, removing the faulty organ (and everything in the way), then putting back in the replacement organ, and Voilà !, the procedure is a success ! You had to change the heart, and you trashed the lungs, destroyed the ribcage, removed the trachea ? No problem, the patient will probably be fine, you're the doctor, after all ! Brain-change surgery ? No problem: Open the head, dump the old, useless brain, then put in the shiny new brain (you may even try and dunk it in, basketball-style), and ta-daa !, your patient is saved ! You might have gathered that it is not an "educational" game, despite the tag saying so. It is a hilariously humorous "simulation", if simulating butchery from a clumsy surgeon can be called that. But it IS hilarious to play, especially if you watched people play, and thought they sucked at it, and how you'd be SO much better. Yeah, wait for it :) What are the tools of the trade ? Well, they go from the little scalpel to the "surgical axe", with everything in between - hammer, pincers, bolt-cutter, laser, circular saw, and so on. Just try your hand with one, or another, find out which tools work best for you, for a given task, and get to "saving lives" ! Oh, and, by the way, there is an achievement if you patient "unfortunately expires" in less than ten seconds... but no problem here, it's all virtual, no real patients were harmed during the making of this game... I think. So, well, if you fail, just shout "Next !" from the top of your lungs (you didn't remove YOURS, did you ?), and just try again !
Saw the game on winter sale, half-price. $15, which seemed pretty reasonable. I nearly clicked "add to cart" immediately. Then I saw the reviews. Sure, the game seems to be rather faithful to the originals, with a few tweaks. Less customization for ships, more spy options ? Ok, I can try and see if it works. Space combat no longer turn by turn ?! Outrageous ! Oh, wait, I can pause it ? Ok, might be acceptable... Ah, and then, I read about the multiplayer DRM, linked to Wargaming.net So, it appears that, when playing single player, the game has a lot of network activity (at least, that's what some buyers say - I didn't install the game myself, nor did I buy it, remember), and the license terms allow Wargaming.net to track and record a whole shitload of things, including where you click, or whole conversations, etc. I understand that there might be legitimate reasons to try and do this (probably banning people insulting other players, or cheaters), but I think there are other ways to deal with those. For instance, no longer playing against them, or having a "user rating" system, where people can say what they thought about them, etc. So, I'm sorry, but this stands against the very reasons I had to come buy here, on GOG. Maybe they'll patch the game, and allow a "normal" multiplayer, without DRM, in the future ? If so, I'll be sure to pick it up, but, for now, I'll pass.
I played that game a long, long time ago, on my first computer, a 8086, in its French version "The adventures of Moktar" (a character from a French humorist, "Lagaf' "). The game is the same, only the main character, and his beloved, change graphics, I think. So, this game IS hard, but there are no insta-deaths unless you hit a killing floor/ceiling. You have bonuses (the diamond-in-a-square things you can see in some screenshots) which give you hit points back, and, when you get 10 or 20 you didn't need (can't remember exactly how many - those are called EXTRA BONUSES), you convert them to an extra life. There are a lot of hidden secret passages, which you take the same way you'd use a door ("lie down" for a few seconds in front of it), so be prepare to try a lot of windows, chimneys, or whatever, because they can let you avoid whole parts of levels (there's one in level 1, if memory serves, allowing you to bounce from platform to platform in the sky, and reach the exit without having to fight) Also, you need to hit enemies to kill them, but not necessarily by "flinging" things to their heads: You may also fling things UP, and, if they come back on the enemy's head, he'll die WITHOUT the object being destroyed. And some enemies (like the big, muscular guys of the first levels, or the bees/flys of those same levels), can ALSO be picked up, either when walking (you gotta go REAL close, get down, and use action, like you would for a normal object. If you're not close enough, you won't catch the enemy; too close, and you'll be hit - yes, that's HARD to do), or after you killed it, when he's doing his death animation (jump up, and fall down offscreen). The second way is MUCH easier, but I can't recall if you have to look at the enemy's back, in that case. What is certain is that you gotta be under the enemy, and press action at the right moment. The MOST DIFFICULT level, I think, is level 9 (egyptian). Deadly jumps just before level end. Good luck !
Good graphics, good story, great voice acting. However, the choices do not seem to affect much of the game (at least for now). Also, a very big drawback is that the controls are stuck to WASD, and cannot be redefined, which, for a modern PC game, is really, really unsettling. It makes it very annoying to play on an AZERTY keyboard (or anything that's not plain QWERTY, really). It's a real shame, seeing how much resources must have been put in this game, to not have taken one or two more days of programming to implement such a vital feature. So, I'd give it 4 stars for the story and game interest, but only 2 stars for playability, which I balance out to a total of 3. Not bad enough to have me clamoring for a cashback (especially since I got the game at a discount, for less than $8), not good enough to have me wanting to buy the next episodes, unless, maybe, if they're at a high discount themselves.
