Yesterday I managed to finally finish my week long stint of playing Overlord 2. It feels like quite a long game that, perhaps it's just me?
I was recommended to play this by my brother who is a huge fan of the first game. So did it live up to the high expectations I had? Well you'll have to read to find out as usual!
Click here to read the Overlord 2 review!
Also a quick note about the articles section on the site. I'll be holding off on these for now in favour of spending more time on the blog. Right now I've got a load of things I've got to tell you all but they're not "article suitable" in my opinion.
So! Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already!
Friday, 31 July 2009
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Anno 1404 tips and tactics guide
Recently I was compelled to write up my own tips and tactics guide for Anno 1404. This was mainly because of the great response the review has received, having had hundreds of views this month so far.
Click here to read the guide!
It's nothing ground breaking in my opinion, but it does help explain a few of the things not obvious from the tutorial and shares some of the ways I managed to keep my in-game economy running smoothly.
I've considered writing guides for games I review but I don't normally get the time I really need to do this. The guide has already had over 100 views in the last 3/4 days so perhaps it's worth me doing this more often.
Click here to read the guide!
It's nothing ground breaking in my opinion, but it does help explain a few of the things not obvious from the tutorial and shares some of the ways I managed to keep my in-game economy running smoothly.
I've considered writing guides for games I review but I don't normally get the time I really need to do this. The guide has already had over 100 views in the last 3/4 days so perhaps it's worth me doing this more often.
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
The Borderlands Media Blowout!
Well, they have been busy haven't they? Those scamps at Gearbox invited loads of people from the gaming news sector to come and play 2 specific sections of Borderlands to get a good feel for the game. They showed them the different weapons and character class trees. They showed them the early traditional "pistol-only" stages of the game, not surprised that's in there. They showed in great detail the new controversial graphical style. However they forgot one thing...
They forgot to invite me!
Obviously I'm terribly insulted, after all, don't they know who I am? Oh, right, they probably do.
Anyhoo, in all seriousness the game still looks great but I don't think the trailers are doing it justice from what I can tell. Here's the latest trailer that was released at comic-con.
It does look kind of cool, and I can't wait to try it out. It'll probably be the first big "seasonal game" - gah hate the idea of games being seasonal - so it's got a lot to beat such as Left4Dead2 that'll do despite the "boycott".
Most of the news site giving info about Borderlands aren't saying much that's new. There's a load of complaints about the item system but I think they forget this is part-rpg. Some are being needlessly critical about an unreleased game in the usual attempt to sound vaguely intelligent (no names mentioned, I'm not here to make enemies!)
Yahtzee, the famous "Zero Punctuation" review chap should be pleased however, as there's supposedly a gun that shoots "SHURIKENS AND LIGHTNING!"
Marvellous.
They forgot to invite me!
Obviously I'm terribly insulted, after all, don't they know who I am? Oh, right, they probably do.
Anyhoo, in all seriousness the game still looks great but I don't think the trailers are doing it justice from what I can tell. Here's the latest trailer that was released at comic-con.
It does look kind of cool, and I can't wait to try it out. It'll probably be the first big "seasonal game" - gah hate the idea of games being seasonal - so it's got a lot to beat such as Left4Dead2 that'll do despite the "boycott".
Most of the news site giving info about Borderlands aren't saying much that's new. There's a load of complaints about the item system but I think they forget this is part-rpg. Some are being needlessly critical about an unreleased game in the usual attempt to sound vaguely intelligent (no names mentioned, I'm not here to make enemies!)
Yahtzee, the famous "Zero Punctuation" review chap should be pleased however, as there's supposedly a gun that shoots "SHURIKENS AND LIGHTNING!"
Marvellous.
The Interactive Novel - game or not?
I was recently pointed in the direction of this fully voiced "Interactive Novel" called Bionic Heart. It's kind of like the dialogue trees you find in rpg games but that's pretty much all you have control over.
I was considering asking for a review copy, but I'm not sure I'd be very fair. If I didn't like or get the story I'd probably want to score it quite low! On the other hand I can't help thinking this may be a bit like the "girlfriend simulators" that are so popular in Japan where the idea is to become friendly enough with the characters that you can...well, I'll leave that to your imagination.
Since this game is for 14 yr olds or over I'm guessing it might ebb towards that style of "game-play".
But I do question if these applications are actually games? I guess you probably have to make decisions on what to say to each character to get anywhere and Bionic Heart boasts it has 24 possible outcomes!
I'll be giving the demo a go over the next few days so I'll give my further views once I've given it a chance!
Monday, 27 July 2009
Review of My Kingdom For The Princess!
What a mouthfull - they really should have kept with the original title.
So here it is as promised earlier. It's not going to be everyone's taste this one, but some might really enjoy the time-management aspect of it. Personally I thought...Well you'll have to read the review to find out!
Click here to read the 'My Kingdom For The Princess' Review
So here it is as promised earlier. It's not going to be everyone's taste this one, but some might really enjoy the time-management aspect of it. Personally I thought...Well you'll have to read the review to find out!
Click here to read the 'My Kingdom For The Princess' Review
I am now a twit!
Yes I've given in and joined twitter, mainly to find out what all the fuss is about!I'll basically be using it for a couple of weeks to see if I get it and will be "twitting" about what games I'm playing and looking at or what I find interesting from other gaming news sites I visit.
There's going to be a new review up tonight of "My Kingdom for the Princess" which is a gentle casual game title exclusive to bigfishgames. I like to review these occaisionally to give myself a good overview of the cross section of the PC gaming world. And not at all because Overlord 2 is taking too long to play through - no, it has nothing to do with that at all!
Back to twitter, I'll add a following link thing on the site at some point over the next few days, so depending on how many followers I aquire or if I find anyone I think is worth following, it might stay there for good! It will look like this:
(removed because it mucks up the side bar version)
Recently I also added an Anno 1404 tips and tactics section for the site as I was getting quite a few visitors for that kind of information and I wasn't supplying it! So I wrote some up based on my own experiences playing the game, hopefully it is of some help to people!
Friday, 24 July 2009
Super Laser Racer Review!
Yesterday (!) I put up a review of New Star Games' new racing game: Super Laser Racer. It's glowing-line-racing fun!
I just had to try this one after playing New Star GP a couple of months ago. So what did I think of this new offering? The review awaits!
Click here to read the Super Laser Racer review!
I just had to try this one after playing New Star GP a couple of months ago. So what did I think of this new offering? The review awaits!
Click here to read the Super Laser Racer review!
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Do you want to buy shares in my game?
No, I'm not writing a game, nor am I offering "shares" in it - neither would anyone probably be interested!
But what if, say, Valve Software asked you if you'd like to pay a few pounds for a game they were creating and that you'd get a copy of the game (and possibly a profit?) once it was done?
Many people might actually be fishing out their credit cards right now, but they've not offered this exactly. Gabe Newell, the big boss at Valve, has thrown the idea "out there" to see what the overall response is. The main aim appears to be cutting out the publisher and allowing the developer company to get on with what they do better without some clueless corporation standing behind them - developing.
There are obvious down sides to this if someone with a lesser track record offers this. No one wants to risk loosing money on a game that "might" get created. Most of the schemes I've heard of that rely on payment before the final project is completed (donation ware type things) either do quite badly or only just scrape by.
Otherwise I quite like the idea of funding future game development, I know of several indie developers that deserve this kind of attention!
Nothing appears to be decided about all of this yet - it's all just a wonderful idea. Lets wait to see what Valve do as usual...
But what if, say, Valve Software asked you if you'd like to pay a few pounds for a game they were creating and that you'd get a copy of the game (and possibly a profit?) once it was done?
Many people might actually be fishing out their credit cards right now, but they've not offered this exactly. Gabe Newell, the big boss at Valve, has thrown the idea "out there" to see what the overall response is. The main aim appears to be cutting out the publisher and allowing the developer company to get on with what they do better without some clueless corporation standing behind them - developing.
There are obvious down sides to this if someone with a lesser track record offers this. No one wants to risk loosing money on a game that "might" get created. Most of the schemes I've heard of that rely on payment before the final project is completed (donation ware type things) either do quite badly or only just scrape by.
Otherwise I quite like the idea of funding future game development, I know of several indie developers that deserve this kind of attention!
Nothing appears to be decided about all of this yet - it's all just a wonderful idea. Lets wait to see what Valve do as usual...
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Time Gentlemen Please! Review
Did you ever wonder, with all the great point and click adventure games that were released in the 90's, why it didn't spawn a hundred clones and why it's taken so long for these games to make a real revival?Lately I've played so many (mostly lucasarts remakes or derivatives) but Time Gentlemen Please! has actually stood out from them in many ways. I played through the entire game on Saturday, which was no small feat, so the review is now up!
Click here to read the Time Gentlemen Please review!
Friday, 17 July 2009
Deals that are not to be missed!
Direct2Drive has some astounding deals on at the moment.
Firstly there's Mirror's Edge which is a staggering £7.50, for a game which is unique and totally underrated by most of the gaming press. One of my favourite games of the year so far, it's almost as important to the future of FPS gaming as Portal was!
Secondly they also have Dead Space for £7.50, which is something I've not played myself but will be soon because of this! I've been reliably informed that this was badly overlooked due to other games released at the same time.
Finally, Mass Effect is £15, also on direct2drive (I should be getting paid for this!) - another one I've not played but will be soon!
They really are good deals I think. I recommend you get Mirror's edge at least, if you don't already have it of course!
Firstly there's Mirror's Edge which is a staggering £7.50, for a game which is unique and totally underrated by most of the gaming press. One of my favourite games of the year so far, it's almost as important to the future of FPS gaming as Portal was!
Secondly they also have Dead Space for £7.50, which is something I've not played myself but will be soon because of this! I've been reliably informed that this was badly overlooked due to other games released at the same time.
Finally, Mass Effect is £15, also on direct2drive (I should be getting paid for this!) - another one I've not played but will be soon!
They really are good deals I think. I recommend you get Mirror's edge at least, if you don't already have it of course!
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Battlefield Heroes Review!
Oh we all love DLC and micropayments don't we.
Don't we?
Either way, it's a game that can't be ignored because of that, and of course it's similarities to another famous online team based FPS game...
Click here to read the Battlefield Heroes review!
I can see from my wonderful webstats (I live off these) that there are many more visitors to the site recently! Hello there! Thanks for visiting! Glad to have you around, if you see anything that might be good for me to review here, please give me a shout via the Contact Form!
The next video is in pre-production. By that I mean I'm thinking what it's going to be! I don't think it'll be another TF2 specific one and might actually end up being live action. The script I'm working on is shaping up to be pretty funny, but it'll take some doing. Should be some more news on that in the next few days!
Don't we?
Either way, it's a game that can't be ignored because of that, and of course it's similarities to another famous online team based FPS game...
Click here to read the Battlefield Heroes review!
I can see from my wonderful webstats (I live off these) that there are many more visitors to the site recently! Hello there! Thanks for visiting! Glad to have you around, if you see anything that might be good for me to review here, please give me a shout via the Contact Form!
The next video is in pre-production. By that I mean I'm thinking what it's going to be! I don't think it'll be another TF2 specific one and might actually end up being live action. The script I'm working on is shaping up to be pretty funny, but it'll take some doing. Should be some more news on that in the next few days!
Monday, 13 July 2009
Tales Of Monkey Island - The Screaming Narwhal Reviewed!
Just posted my review of The Screaming Narwhal on the site. I was playing this on Saturday whilst eagerly watching the youtube view counter on the "Be A Sniper" video. But hopefully even in my good spirits I was skeptical enough to see if this attempt at a revival of this series was worth it.
Or maybe I wasn't!
Click here to read the Screaming Narwhal review and find out!
In other news I started work on the script for the next video. Unfortunately it won't be another TF2 video, I want to keep on my toes with these and not settle into anything in particular for a while.
More on this next week.
Hopefully!
Or maybe I wasn't!
Click here to read the Screaming Narwhal review and find out!
In other news I started work on the script for the next video. Unfortunately it won't be another TF2 video, I want to keep on my toes with these and not settle into anything in particular for a while.
More on this next week.
Hopefully!
Be A Sniper now at 3500 views!
After only releasing the video on Thursday afternoon last week, it's now Monday and the video has had almost 3500 views!
This has slowed down a bit since yesterday when it reached over 3000, but there are still quite a few coming in and it looks like it might stay quite popular for the next week or so.
I'd like to thank everyone who spread the word about it and for all the fantastic comments I've received both publicly and privately about it, as well as the encouragement to do more (of which there will be in one form or another!)
Watch this space for more in the future!
This has slowed down a bit since yesterday when it reached over 3000, but there are still quite a few coming in and it looks like it might stay quite popular for the next week or so.
I'd like to thank everyone who spread the word about it and for all the fantastic comments I've received both publicly and privately about it, as well as the encouragement to do more (of which there will be in one form or another!)
Watch this space for more in the future!
Friday, 10 July 2009
I was told Porkies about Daggerfall!
After being told in no uncertain terms by Bethesda only months ago that there would never be a freeware version of Daggerfall released - what do they do?
Well, yes it's obvious they've released it for free. Didn't even drop me a line did they? Pfft
So to everyone who was after it, here's the link:
http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/downloads_games.htm
If you've never heard of it, why not give the game that inspired Morrowind and Oblivion a quick go. It's very (very) old, so much so that it'll only run if you use DosBox to run it!
Well, yes it's obvious they've released it for free. Didn't even drop me a line did they? Pfft
So to everyone who was after it, here's the link:
http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/downloads_games.htm
If you've never heard of it, why not give the game that inspired Morrowind and Oblivion a quick go. It's very (very) old, so much so that it'll only run if you use DosBox to run it!
Thursday, 9 July 2009
The Video: Be A Sniper Today!
Yes finally the incredibly long and overdue (only by my timetable I guess) project has come to a kind of end.
And here we have it: The "Be A Sniper Today!" video. I hope everyone enjoys it!
If you really like it, it wouldn't hurt to mention it to someone who won't have seen it yet right? These things only become popular from word of mouth after all!
And here we have it: The "Be A Sniper Today!" video. I hope everyone enjoys it!
If you really like it, it wouldn't hurt to mention it to someone who won't have seen it yet right? These things only become popular from word of mouth after all!
50th Game Review! "Trine"
Yes I've finally reached 50 game reviews after 5 months of running the site - that's about 10 reviews per month on average I suppose.
So I decided to review this because I didn't think that much of the screenshots, but having played an earlier game from Frozen Byte hoped it would surprise me.
Well, surprise me it did! But how?
Click here to read the review and find out!
Thanks for visiting, here's to 100 reviews.
The new video will be released this weekend by the way!
So I decided to review this because I didn't think that much of the screenshots, but having played an earlier game from Frozen Byte hoped it would surprise me.
Well, surprise me it did! But how?
Click here to read the review and find out!
Thanks for visiting, here's to 100 reviews.
The new video will be released this weekend by the way!
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Feeling Better! And site news!
Yup, not been feeling well over the last few days. Yesterdays post was a scheduled one from Sunday morning but now I'm back! Feeling far better this morning (one heck of a headache though)
So now I can talk about the new layout I implemented over the weekend! You've probably noticed the extra column with the latest updates on the right hand side. This is something I've wanted in there for so long as most new visitors to the site didn't usually check the root page to see these.
Also you'll notice that google ads have made a big appearance on more pages now. These are neatly arranged in their own frame (not a web frame!) on the left of these pages. I did try using a service called adbrite which I disabled in the little time I was awake yesterday. You may have been unlucky enough to experience a horribly "all-page" ad or even worse, the in-line word ads where specific words are highlighted.
There were adverts for casinos and all sorts, which I don't agree with. So if you visited the site before 2pm and got those, my apologies!
Anyway, I hope everyone agrees the new site design is better - some pages have yet to be updated but it will get there! Let me know what you think!
So now I can talk about the new layout I implemented over the weekend! You've probably noticed the extra column with the latest updates on the right hand side. This is something I've wanted in there for so long as most new visitors to the site didn't usually check the root page to see these.
Also you'll notice that google ads have made a big appearance on more pages now. These are neatly arranged in their own frame (not a web frame!) on the left of these pages. I did try using a service called adbrite which I disabled in the little time I was awake yesterday. You may have been unlucky enough to experience a horribly "all-page" ad or even worse, the in-line word ads where specific words are highlighted.
There were adverts for casinos and all sorts, which I don't agree with. So if you visited the site before 2pm and got those, my apologies!
Anyway, I hope everyone agrees the new site design is better - some pages have yet to be updated but it will get there! Let me know what you think!
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Conquest: Medieval Realms Review
Conquest: Medieval Realms is a traditional war-based board game. It's the first Hex based tactical game I've played in years and brought back memories of games like Battle Isle 2, which my brother and I used to play for hours. This is obviously a bit different from that due to the combat system. But I thought...well, why not read the review to find that out?
Click here to read the Conquest: Medieval Realms Review
Click here to read the Conquest: Medieval Realms Review
Saturday, 4 July 2009
GSB - still excited, new video!
A new video has emerged for Gratuitous Space Battles, that I recently blogged about.
The ship building looks suitably involved and the end result is, quite obviously, spectacular, let alone "gratuitous".
I still worry about the lack of empire building though - from the look of things surely it lends itself to that kind of game play where you can design and refit and upgrade ships in defined fleets that require resources that you must develop and expand on using these ships.
Perhaps I'm stuck in my old way of thinking about space strategy games. I always like to build up fleets so I have a points advantage at all times, which if I was better at the tactics, should ensure victory. However with this both sides are equal and it's all about the ship hull choices and designs.
No point in speculating too much at this point, although it's looking close to completion from the video so hopefully a more detailed preview soon!
The ship building looks suitably involved and the end result is, quite obviously, spectacular, let alone "gratuitous".
I still worry about the lack of empire building though - from the look of things surely it lends itself to that kind of game play where you can design and refit and upgrade ships in defined fleets that require resources that you must develop and expand on using these ships.
Perhaps I'm stuck in my old way of thinking about space strategy games. I always like to build up fleets so I have a points advantage at all times, which if I was better at the tactics, should ensure victory. However with this both sides are equal and it's all about the ship hull choices and designs.
No point in speculating too much at this point, although it's looking close to completion from the video so hopefully a more detailed preview soon!
New Review and Video Progress News!
Review of Castle Corp
A new review of yet another fine Nitrome game has appeared. I guess they're just so easy to pick up and enjoy without having to think about, and I find them easy to write about because I only seem to have nice things to say...generally.
Castle Corp is just as innovative as we've come to expect from Nitrome and I thought it was...well, you should read the review to find out!
Click here to read the Castle Corp review!
Video Progress News
I have a new wip version I've been showing off but there are several scenes still missing, I'm hoping for some lucky funny shots from the team over the next few days.
But the big news is that the song is finished! I might update it a bit but it would suffice if it went out as it is. I'm still hopefull to get others singing on it this time but we'll see...
I think I'll pencil in a release date of next Saturday - I don't want to be working on this forever after all!
A new review of yet another fine Nitrome game has appeared. I guess they're just so easy to pick up and enjoy without having to think about, and I find them easy to write about because I only seem to have nice things to say...generally.
Castle Corp is just as innovative as we've come to expect from Nitrome and I thought it was...well, you should read the review to find out!
Click here to read the Castle Corp review!
Video Progress News
I have a new wip version I've been showing off but there are several scenes still missing, I'm hoping for some lucky funny shots from the team over the next few days.
But the big news is that the song is finished! I might update it a bit but it would suffice if it went out as it is. I'm still hopefull to get others singing on it this time but we'll see...
I think I'll pencil in a release date of next Saturday - I don't want to be working on this forever after all!
Friday, 3 July 2009
Wot I am workin' on...
Oh yes, I've been hard at work even though the site is looking a bit quiet recently. This is all down to the latest video project which will soon be into it's 3rd week.
It seems like something simple to put together but it really isn't! I won't go into that much detail here since I'm writing an article about it for those that might actually care!
Suffice to say that between writing the music, sorting the video and the actual recording of the video, it's been like writing an extra 2 reviews per week!
That's why there's been no review this Friday...so far anyway. Perhaps I'll have one for tomorrow, I have been playing a cool nitrome game but I don't want to become their biggest obvious fan just yet.
Anyway, here's a preview of the latest project!
Note: Subtitles yay!
It seems like something simple to put together but it really isn't! I won't go into that much detail here since I'm writing an article about it for those that might actually care!
Suffice to say that between writing the music, sorting the video and the actual recording of the video, it's been like writing an extra 2 reviews per week!
That's why there's been no review this Friday...so far anyway. Perhaps I'll have one for tomorrow, I have been playing a cool nitrome game but I don't want to become their biggest obvious fan just yet.
Anyway, here's a preview of the latest project!
Note: Subtitles yay!
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