I'm going to write about this game until everyone I know has played it. I know I've posted about it before but seriously (that's right, it's serious) this is a must-play for anyone.
Yes it's retro, yes it's a platformer, yes the screen-res is low (unless you've bought the wii-ware version) and yes you do get a gun.
So yeah it's like mario (it's not like mario) and you have a gun (as previously stated) and there's a plot (rather than just a "story") with interesting characters (rather than a bunch of evil dinosaurs) and, well there's hours of gameplay here as demonstrated by this fan trailer:
Everything else you need to know, including download links, can be found at this site here.
Thus ends my "week" of concentrating on free games. I think I'll have another theme week soon though...
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Monday, 30 August 2010
Mass Production: Tile Factory!
Highly respectable casual games site JayIsGames recently held their 8th open competition for indie game developers. This time it was to write a sandbox game, which for those that don't know is the descriptive word for games like Sim City and Theme Park type games where you're given a certain amount of freedom to do what you want.
The creator of the no.2 placed game: Tile Factory kindly wrote to me about his game (even though I kind of knew about it already) as I was doing a week of free games. So here we go!
TF puts you in charge of a tile creation and painting factory. Tile generators create blank tiles which must be painted different colours and patterns and then moved to their dispatch area. Your job is to arrange the conveyor belts and sprayers to produce the correct results. There's also the more complicated side of creating sensor pads and wiring to ensure things happen at the correct time.
There's a fair bit of tutorial to go through as it walks you through each component and the different labs that help determine what steps you need to take to create the correct tile patterns or the correct colours. Although I can't say I used the labs too much as most of the goals were quite obvious it was a nice addition, especially the colour lab.
For a free game there's quite a few levels to get your teeth into and although a level only takes a few minutes to complete they're a worthy challenge for your morning cup of coffee time!
It's not absolutely perfect, I have a few little niggles such as it not retaining rotational information (it doesn't remember what rotation you had last time and use it for the next new object) and the graphics left uneven with some nice sprites such as the paint pots and then some less pretty ones like the conveyor belts. I did like the music though!
As described the Tile Factory is completely free and you can play it from the CGDC8 page here.
The creator of the no.2 placed game: Tile Factory kindly wrote to me about his game (even though I kind of knew about it already) as I was doing a week of free games. So here we go!
TF puts you in charge of a tile creation and painting factory. Tile generators create blank tiles which must be painted different colours and patterns and then moved to their dispatch area. Your job is to arrange the conveyor belts and sprayers to produce the correct results. There's also the more complicated side of creating sensor pads and wiring to ensure things happen at the correct time.
There's a fair bit of tutorial to go through as it walks you through each component and the different labs that help determine what steps you need to take to create the correct tile patterns or the correct colours. Although I can't say I used the labs too much as most of the goals were quite obvious it was a nice addition, especially the colour lab.
For a free game there's quite a few levels to get your teeth into and although a level only takes a few minutes to complete they're a worthy challenge for your morning cup of coffee time!
It's not absolutely perfect, I have a few little niggles such as it not retaining rotational information (it doesn't remember what rotation you had last time and use it for the next new object) and the graphics left uneven with some nice sprites such as the paint pots and then some less pretty ones like the conveyor belts. I did like the music though!
As described the Tile Factory is completely free and you can play it from the CGDC8 page here.
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Monsters in your backyard? Backyard Monsters!
There is a lie approaching. See if you can spot it.
Like I said however, these are the guys who wrote TSG so I don't feel too bad! And it is part tower-defense too so that makes me feel better about it.
Plus my wife has also started playing this and unknown to her I'm amassing a huge army of monsters to strike at her backyard the moment the "player protection" timer wears off...muhahahaha!
Anyway, as before this is a great free game which is played in total real-time eg; you'll be leaving it for hours while your resources build up. When you return you'll have plenty of pebbles and twigs to bank (banking is one of my favourite aspects of the game for some reason!)
Let's be clear though, there's a sense that this is one of those "free" free games, the kind that keeps reminding you that it would be better if you spent a bit of cash in the form of their in-game currency "shiny". Shiny can be bought for...well quite a lot of real money and there's an unwritten promise hanging there that you could have you backyard finished in minutes rather than days if you buy loads of this.
It's quite a common tactic in "free" games these days and something that the big MMORPG titles are starting to do. Unfortunately it makes me feel paranoid that I might click on something by accident that starts spending my hard earned spondoolies without me being aware of it.
So it's a fun enough game, but I'll only ever be playing for free!
Backyard monsters is a Casual Collective game, so click here to find it at the Casual Collective page.
*** Don't forget to check out my subsequent post on Backyard Monsters where I talk about how I defended my backyard from various attackers and prepared for my own attacks! ***
- Backyard monsters is a facebook game by the creators of The Space Game.
- In Backyard Monsters you harvest resources and build towers to defend your backyard.
- You can also breed monsters to attack other's backyards.
- I am not addicted to Backyard Monsters.
Like I said however, these are the guys who wrote TSG so I don't feel too bad! And it is part tower-defense too so that makes me feel better about it.
Plus my wife has also started playing this and unknown to her I'm amassing a huge army of monsters to strike at her backyard the moment the "player protection" timer wears off...muhahahaha!
Anyway, as before this is a great free game which is played in total real-time eg; you'll be leaving it for hours while your resources build up. When you return you'll have plenty of pebbles and twigs to bank (banking is one of my favourite aspects of the game for some reason!)
Let's be clear though, there's a sense that this is one of those "free" free games, the kind that keeps reminding you that it would be better if you spent a bit of cash in the form of their in-game currency "shiny". Shiny can be bought for...well quite a lot of real money and there's an unwritten promise hanging there that you could have you backyard finished in minutes rather than days if you buy loads of this.
It's quite a common tactic in "free" games these days and something that the big MMORPG titles are starting to do. Unfortunately it makes me feel paranoid that I might click on something by accident that starts spending my hard earned spondoolies without me being aware of it.
So it's a fun enough game, but I'll only ever be playing for free!
Backyard monsters is a Casual Collective game, so click here to find it at the Casual Collective page.
*** Don't forget to check out my subsequent post on Backyard Monsters where I talk about how I defended my backyard from various attackers and prepared for my own attacks! ***
Friday, 27 August 2010
Review time: Puzzle Dimension!
Oh yeah I should mention this. I wrote a review (oh yes I did) and posted it yesterday on the site and some people have already noticed. Phew.
PD is a lookin'-good puzzle game where you control an ornate sphere and guide it around picking up flowers. I even made up a little storyline in the review which is totaly worth reading.
It plays well, sounds good and looks pretty which are all good reasons to play the free demo at least.
Plus it's cheaper than usual on steam right now!
Plus you can also have it for your mac (mac not included)!
And if that's not enough, try these moving pictures:
PD is a lookin'-good puzzle game where you control an ornate sphere and guide it around picking up flowers. I even made up a little storyline in the review which is totaly worth reading.
It plays well, sounds good and looks pretty which are all good reasons to play the free demo at least.
Plus it's cheaper than usual on steam right now!
Plus you can also have it for your mac (mac not included)!
And if that's not enough, try these moving pictures:
Be Ripley for free! Alien Swarm
Well no it's not an official Aliens game or anything but it does have all the elements of what I'd expect my perfect game based in that universe to have. Let me paint you a word picture.
That's pretty much the gist of the game for me and pretty much sums up my experiences with Alien Swarm. More specifically it's a top down shooter, in the style of Alien Breed or, going back further, Gauntlet and is a 4 play co-operative game from no less than Valve Software.
It's been out for a few weeks now and they've already updated it quite substantially, including new features such as higher level difficulty and the AI Director from Left4Dead! Although I think the community would love some additional official maps, I would speculate that the release of this for free has done wonders for Valve's reputation after the damage that the release of L4D2 may have done.
So here's a video to watch:
You'll need to register with steam if you've not already, otherwise like I said this is completely 100% free. The official steam page for Alien Swarm is here!
Imagine standing around with your mates as one of them is hacking into a computer. You know they'll be coming for you soon, it's more a question of when and more importantly from where! You'll all cover different angles while you special weapons expert sets up a hefty automated sentry turret, it's reassuring sounds bringing only small comfort to the onslaught that's about to occur.
And then you hear the sound, the quiet but unmistakable double beep as a dot flashes suddenly on your movement sensor and without any further warning one is upon you! A stinking alien with it's jaws wide, poised to strike and it's only by luck that the sentry gun is pointed your way as it instantly piles a small but powerful salvo of hot-lead-death directly into the xeno's mouth while you stand, dumbstruck and panicked.
After that moment however you've remember where your trigger finger is as the wave approaches, a moving carpet of unreal bio matter spreads towards you. You and your team don't let up, as the wave starts to encapsulate your team desperation hits and you notice that the sentry gun, the only thing keeping the sides even and in balance is running out of ammunition. And finally, it's only when sarge decides that a few well placed grenades are in order that the wave subsides, relief hits you and you hear the audible sighs over the com system.
That's pretty much the gist of the game for me and pretty much sums up my experiences with Alien Swarm. More specifically it's a top down shooter, in the style of Alien Breed or, going back further, Gauntlet and is a 4 play co-operative game from no less than Valve Software.
It's been out for a few weeks now and they've already updated it quite substantially, including new features such as higher level difficulty and the AI Director from Left4Dead! Although I think the community would love some additional official maps, I would speculate that the release of this for free has done wonders for Valve's reputation after the damage that the release of L4D2 may have done.
So here's a video to watch:
You'll need to register with steam if you've not already, otherwise like I said this is completely 100% free. The official steam page for Alien Swarm is here!
Thursday, 26 August 2010
This Is Not Stealing! Trilby: The Art Of Theft
It's about time I covered something that wasn't a flash game for this mini-series of free games I'm covering. So it's time to move onto a favourite of mine: Trilby, the art of theft by quick-talking Yahtzee of The Escapist Magazine website.
This is a wonderful retro-style platform game featuring a master criminal in his attempts to, well, rob everyone blind mostly but also to uncover a sinister plot and protect his identity! Although you may have thought that someone in this position would be the one creating the sinister plots...
It's kind of like a platform-game version of the Thief games, the idea being that you should stick to the shadows to avoid being detected and try to take out as many security systems as possible to make your job easier. You get higher scores if you don't take out any guards and if you manage to steal all the loot, as well as completing the level in the shortest time possible.
As well as all that you may notice, if you're a follower of Yahtzee's work, his voice work for when the guards spot you!
I have fond memories of playing this while feeling rubbish a couple of years ago and it really lifted my spirits at the time, so I can highly suggest this as a great game to get if you're asking yourself: "what shall I play today?"
Download the Art Of Theft here!
This is a wonderful retro-style platform game featuring a master criminal in his attempts to, well, rob everyone blind mostly but also to uncover a sinister plot and protect his identity! Although you may have thought that someone in this position would be the one creating the sinister plots...
It's kind of like a platform-game version of the Thief games, the idea being that you should stick to the shadows to avoid being detected and try to take out as many security systems as possible to make your job easier. You get higher scores if you don't take out any guards and if you manage to steal all the loot, as well as completing the level in the shortest time possible.
As well as all that you may notice, if you're a follower of Yahtzee's work, his voice work for when the guards spot you!
I have fond memories of playing this while feeling rubbish a couple of years ago and it really lifted my spirits at the time, so I can highly suggest this as a great game to get if you're asking yourself: "what shall I play today?"
Download the Art Of Theft here!
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Are you working the Graveyard Shift?
On my search for some great free games for this week's "theme" there's absolutely no avoiding one of the world's best flash game developers: Nitrome.
I've covered several of their games before here like droplets, flashcat, powerup amongst others (just check the tags.) Now this graveyard shift is nothing like the one I reviewed a few months ago (which was a sim type game thing about building a cemetery) but it actually a side scrolling duck-shoot game, but they've added that magic ingredient that makes any game great: Zombies!
Not only do you shoot them however, they'll shoot back! And you'll need to make use of your shield to defend yourself against their attacks by pressing space. It all gets a bit frantic by then!
Then they start throwing other stuff in the mix, like making sure that "maidens" safely get to their towers by killing any zombies that are nearby. Then they start giving you alternative weapons like a sword that lasts for several swipes and, my favourite so far, grenades!
Everyone loves zombies...uhm, sort of...and Nitrome have created yet another great online game that, as with all their others, has that little bit extra that shows why they're masters of their craft.
Enjoy Graveyard shift here!
I've covered several of their games before here like droplets, flashcat, powerup amongst others (just check the tags.) Now this graveyard shift is nothing like the one I reviewed a few months ago (which was a sim type game thing about building a cemetery) but it actually a side scrolling duck-shoot game, but they've added that magic ingredient that makes any game great: Zombies!
Not only do you shoot them however, they'll shoot back! And you'll need to make use of your shield to defend yourself against their attacks by pressing space. It all gets a bit frantic by then!
Then they start throwing other stuff in the mix, like making sure that "maidens" safely get to their towers by killing any zombies that are nearby. Then they start giving you alternative weapons like a sword that lasts for several swipes and, my favourite so far, grenades!
Everyone loves zombies...uhm, sort of...and Nitrome have created yet another great online game that, as with all their others, has that little bit extra that shows why they're masters of their craft.
Enjoy Graveyard shift here!
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Can you point and click, Julia?
J.U.L.I.A is a point and click (I believe?) adventure game being developed by Cardboard Box Entertainment.
Well, I don't think there's much point in saying too much on the subject because there isn't that much we know besides the story overview. It revolves around a astrobiologist called Rachel Manners who gets woken up from cryogenic sleep to find that she's the only remaining crew member on her ship.
What really made me sit up though was the video, and keep in mind that (again as far as I know) this is the work of two individuals from the Czech Republic.
Ooh, it's nice now that I can fit wider videos here. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about this as it's great to see a serious point and clicky adventure as we've mostly had comedy ones for...well a long time!
Definitely check out their site paying special attention to the fantastic but puzzling screenshots! (Click on the panel under the window on the right to see them)
Well, I don't think there's much point in saying too much on the subject because there isn't that much we know besides the story overview. It revolves around a astrobiologist called Rachel Manners who gets woken up from cryogenic sleep to find that she's the only remaining crew member on her ship.
What really made me sit up though was the video, and keep in mind that (again as far as I know) this is the work of two individuals from the Czech Republic.
Ooh, it's nice now that I can fit wider videos here. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about this as it's great to see a serious point and clicky adventure as we've mostly had comedy ones for...well a long time!
Definitely check out their site paying special attention to the fantastic but puzzling screenshots! (Click on the panel under the window on the right to see them)
The Space Game! Again!
I know I'm incredible slow at reporting this, probably a year late or more! But for those that enjoyed "The Space Game" which was, I believe my second review ever, you would probably want to know that the Casual Collective have put together a new set of levels which is, as before, completely free!
For those that haven't played this yet, it's basically a free form tower defense game. What do I mean by free-form? Well the enemies do not follow a set path but rather attack from all angles. Likewise you can place your towers pretty much anywhere!
In the case of TSG you need to link everything up via power nodes and make sure you're generating enough power and mining enough minerals to keep your towers upgraded and operational.
It's just as good fun as I remember, if a little uncharacteristic in the actual towers/items. But worth a go because, well it's free again!
Here are some tips: Build loops of energy relays (as shown) as if one of them breaks you still get power to the remainder of the loop. Don't go for missiles straight away (apart from the defensive missions where you have resources to start with. Build tons of miners as they you're unlikely to completely harvest any rock in a level, go nuts! But keep them protected...
Check it out via this link!
And the page on pc-games-and-reviews!
For those that haven't played this yet, it's basically a free form tower defense game. What do I mean by free-form? Well the enemies do not follow a set path but rather attack from all angles. Likewise you can place your towers pretty much anywhere!
In the case of TSG you need to link everything up via power nodes and make sure you're generating enough power and mining enough minerals to keep your towers upgraded and operational.
It's just as good fun as I remember, if a little uncharacteristic in the actual towers/items. But worth a go because, well it's free again!
Here are some tips: Build loops of energy relays (as shown) as if one of them breaks you still get power to the remainder of the loop. Don't go for missiles straight away (apart from the defensive missions where you have resources to start with. Build tons of miners as they you're unlikely to completely harvest any rock in a level, go nuts! But keep them protected...
Check it out via this link!
And the page on pc-games-and-reviews!
Monday, 23 August 2010
A change and a week of free games!
I decided to change the blog layout, as it had my old banner on there and I was getting really fed up of that, and the old template never quite worked (gaps in the outlines and stuff)
So I've gone for one of the basic google themes for now and one of their preset backgrounds, but when I get my act together I'll have a background that will be common between the site and the blog to connect them as a single entity, powered to take over the PC Gaming World! Muhahaha...
I wonder if I'm the only person who involuntarily laughs maniacally more often as they get older?...
Anyway, apart from that I now declare this week to be "Aren't free games great?" week on the blog where I shall be telling you about at least one great and of course, free game every day. Honestly there are some great ones that you may not have played but should have! And absolutely no "trial" or "demo" versions, I'm not going to cheat!
Prepare youselves...
So I've gone for one of the basic google themes for now and one of their preset backgrounds, but when I get my act together I'll have a background that will be common between the site and the blog to connect them as a single entity, powered to take over the PC Gaming World! Muhahaha...
I wonder if I'm the only person who involuntarily laughs maniacally more often as they get older?...
Anyway, apart from that I now declare this week to be "Aren't free games great?" week on the blog where I shall be telling you about at least one great and of course, free game every day. Honestly there are some great ones that you may not have played but should have! And absolutely no "trial" or "demo" versions, I'm not going to cheat!
Prepare youselves...
Finally, a game my dad will be interested in! Ship Simulator Extremes
Well I've spoken a bit about this before, but now we have a bit more to go on - specifically a gameplay trailer which actually tells us a bit about what this will play like.
But not only that, have you seen the flippin water there? I'm mostly impressed with the way in which boats break the water and the reflections of the sunlight and the...well all of it I guess!
The insides of the ships don't look quite as impressive as the outsides for me which I suppose is the right way round, but a bit more texture detail wouldn't have gone amiss. Maybe this still isn't final?
Otherwise I'm surprised how many times I watched the trailer, for a ship simulator!
I don't usually go in for this kind of game, but I'm certainly tempted to drive one of them big tankers. I wonder if it'll let me drive it into the harbour wall for fun? Oh no wait, that's my destructive side coming out again - perhaps it's time for some FPS games for a change.
Anyway, check this out:
You can check out the official Ship Simulator Extremes 2010 page here
But not only that, have you seen the flippin water there? I'm mostly impressed with the way in which boats break the water and the reflections of the sunlight and the...well all of it I guess!
The insides of the ships don't look quite as impressive as the outsides for me which I suppose is the right way round, but a bit more texture detail wouldn't have gone amiss. Maybe this still isn't final?
Otherwise I'm surprised how many times I watched the trailer, for a ship simulator!
I don't usually go in for this kind of game, but I'm certainly tempted to drive one of them big tankers. I wonder if it'll let me drive it into the harbour wall for fun? Oh no wait, that's my destructive side coming out again - perhaps it's time for some FPS games for a change.
Anyway, check this out:
You can check out the official Ship Simulator Extremes 2010 page here
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Hold on to your Privates!
Sometimes these blog post titles are just inspried eh? In this case I'm writing about the new Zombie Cow game that I've actually had the chance to play through now and it's all about...Sex.
You take control of Sarge and his squaddies and travel to the deepest darkest depths of someone's...well, their arse basically amongst other places.
A really great point about Privates however is that it's aboslutely 100% free, no adverts or nuffin' and I believe that's probably thanks to it being hosted on the E4 website (for non-UK visitors that's an offshoot of our 4th TV station) so well done Zombie Cow on a big partnership there as well as an awesome game.
As always, here's a trailer to tell you more (forget that it says "coming soon" because it's already available!)
Awesome. check out the official Privates Site, and here's the PCGAR page with extra screenies and info.
You take control of Sarge and his squaddies and travel to the deepest darkest depths of someone's...well, their arse basically amongst other places.
A really great point about Privates however is that it's aboslutely 100% free, no adverts or nuffin' and I believe that's probably thanks to it being hosted on the E4 website (for non-UK visitors that's an offshoot of our 4th TV station) so well done Zombie Cow on a big partnership there as well as an awesome game.
As always, here's a trailer to tell you more (forget that it says "coming soon" because it's already available!)
Awesome. check out the official Privates Site, and here's the PCGAR page with extra screenies and info.
Saturday, 21 August 2010
Beat the commute! Cities In Motion
As I pick through some of the press releases for Gamescon I came upon one for Paradox Interactive's "Cities In Motion" transport simulation game.
I'm an absolutely huge fan of transport sim games (that are actually fun naturally) so this kind of game really appeals to me, especially when the words "Campaign Mode" flash before my eyes.
Not too clear on all the gameplay points yet but the aim appears to be arranging the most effective public transport system possible. From the screenshots I'm not sure there's any road or track building but I'd be surprised if there wasn't. I really appreciate the visual style however, that impossibly clean-cut look but kind-of-realistic (I need a thesaurus) style.
I used to love Transport Tycoon and Railroads and even the bit of A-Train that I played years ago so this feels right up my street.
Check out this promo video:
Unfortunately there's no specific release date yet, just "early 2011" - but I'll be keeping my eye on this one for sure. You can keep upto date with their twitter feed: www.twitter.com/pdxinteractive
I'm an absolutely huge fan of transport sim games (that are actually fun naturally) so this kind of game really appeals to me, especially when the words "Campaign Mode" flash before my eyes.
Not too clear on all the gameplay points yet but the aim appears to be arranging the most effective public transport system possible. From the screenshots I'm not sure there's any road or track building but I'd be surprised if there wasn't. I really appreciate the visual style however, that impossibly clean-cut look but kind-of-realistic (I need a thesaurus) style.
I used to love Transport Tycoon and Railroads and even the bit of A-Train that I played years ago so this feels right up my street.
Check out this promo video:
Unfortunately there's no specific release date yet, just "early 2011" - but I'll be keeping my eye on this one for sure. You can keep upto date with their twitter feed: www.twitter.com/pdxinteractive
Friday, 20 August 2010
Black Blobs for sale at any price: Gish!
Gish has been around for a while now, it's probably one of the most unusual platform games I've ever seen. You take control of a blob that can climb walls and stick to the ceiling, avoiding enemies and overcoming obstacles to reach the end of each stage.
I've not played it much to be honest but I'm mentioning it now because they've got a "Pay wot you want!" Offer on, which is certainly a big trend out there right now for independent titles (at least it's good for us though right?)
Anyway, what you all want is a trailer and a link, am I right? Well first off here's a link to the pay what you want page for Gish, and immediately below are moving pictures for your viewing:
I've not played it much to be honest but I'm mentioning it now because they've got a "Pay wot you want!" Offer on, which is certainly a big trend out there right now for independent titles (at least it's good for us though right?)
Anyway, what you all want is a trailer and a link, am I right? Well first off here's a link to the pay what you want page for Gish, and immediately below are moving pictures for your viewing:
Thursday, 19 August 2010
Puzzle Games: The Backbone of PC Gaming?
During my "illustrious"career as a part time game reviewer I've always tried to maintain a balance of game genres on the site.
Ok that's not convincing, basically I've reviewed whatever has been thrown my way by generous developers and portal sites as well as a few titles I've just had to get myself. But I was surprised while looking at the new genre page for the site that I've reviewed more puzzle games than any other genre, and I even have two puzzle games that I'm reviewing right now!
I enjoy puzzle games, even ones without much of a point as long as the puzzles are interesting. I'm not so much of a fan of hidden object games however, even though I can kind of understand why people play them.Time Management however is a different matter.I love em because there's usually a goal that you have to plan ahead for and having a time limit adds to the pressure and satisfaction when you complete a stage.
Most games include some kind of problem solving as it is, either through picking up an object and using it somewhere, or some kind of switch/key problem before being able to continue, or even some elaborate hacking game (eg, Bioshock/AlienSwarm.)
Essentially tower defense games are time management games with guns (or plants, bows and arrows, generally something that fires projectiles) so does that make these puzzle games too?
I recently opened the question up to the guys on the 4twin forum, which you can check out here. Currently everyone disagrees with me!
So I ask you, as a thoughtful reader, are puzzle games important to PC Gaming? Or, as my gaming colleague Pikey said do you want to "melt your mind, not improve it" ?
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
I've been playing: Interstellar Marines (Running Man)
Just over a month ago Zero Point Software released the next playable version of their planned game, Interstellar Marines. This part is called "Running Man" and is similar to their previous release (Bullseye) as you are still in the training facility however this time you've got plenty more freedom than before.
The game takes you through a series of areas that you must defend from robot attackers. They don't shoot but you don't want to let them get too close! It's quite a claustrophobic game in that sense and I'm not sure I've enjoyed it as much as I did Bullseye. There's a bit more story than before which is a good thing, I enjoyed some of the in-between section talky bits and the voice acting is good. I guess it's not that much of a surprise after hearing they acquired the voice actress of Shodan (from System Shock 2).
The environments are clean-cut and easy to navigate, if a little samey. But I guess it is supposed to be a training exercise after all. The weapon you're given is the same as before but without all the upgrades you may have earned from before (eg, accuracy, clip-size, etc...)
What Running Man does show though is that Zero Point are still relentlessly headed towards their target of a full blown game...after a few more of these kind of releases first though.
It's definitely worth a blast (as you can play for free anyway) so go take a peek here!
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
New Review: Tidalis!
Yay for new reviews, and this is a monster of a puzzle game. No wait, a puzzle game with monsters, that's more accurate. In fact this is one of the most relaxing puzzle games I've come accross - well mostly relaxing anyway. I guess it wouldn't be a great puzzle game without a bit of urgency thrown in there.
But it does have a monster called Pickles in it. Yay for Pickles!
Ok before I say "Yay" again, perhaps you'd all better go read my review of Tidalis. And before that maybe check out the video of it below:
But it does have a monster called Pickles in it. Yay for Pickles!
Ok before I say "Yay" again, perhaps you'd all better go read my review of Tidalis. And before that maybe check out the video of it below:
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Feeling Peckish? Tasty Planet!
I've been kindly told about the imminent release of Dingo Games' Eat-em-up title: Tasty Planet.
If you've played something like "The Wonderful End of The World" then the concept should be well known to you already. Otherwise, imagine a very tiny organism eating smaller organisms, then growing a little so they can eat bigger organisms, then a bit more so they can eat tiny insects and so on and so on until they can eat cars and people and small buildings...
The challenge in these games is avoiding harmful and larger objects than yourself and in the case of Tasty Planet also appears to be avoiding bad guys with laser cannons!
Personally I think anything is vastly improved with the introduction of laser cannons.
If you've played something like "The Wonderful End of The World" then the concept should be well known to you already. Otherwise, imagine a very tiny organism eating smaller organisms, then growing a little so they can eat bigger organisms, then a bit more so they can eat tiny insects and so on and so on until they can eat cars and people and small buildings...
The challenge in these games is avoiding harmful and larger objects than yourself and in the case of Tasty Planet also appears to be avoiding bad guys with laser cannons!
Personally I think anything is vastly improved with the introduction of laser cannons.
Dingo Games had this to say about their game in the press release sent out:So yeah sounds good and looks good too from the screenshots. Perhaps I'll be given a copy to review? *hint hint* Anyway, you can Visit Their Site and then watch this video, or watch the video first, I don't mind!
Comic strips throughout the game tell the story of the two scientists who
accidentally create the grey goo. Made out of nanotechnology, the grey goo has the
ability to consume anything smaller than itself. The goo starts traveling through
time after it eats the scientists' newly created time machine.
Saturday, 14 August 2010
New Borderlands DLC: Claptrap's New Robot Revolution!
Of all the kinds of revolution you can have, Robot Revolutions have to be the best. So obviously this is going to be the best DLC for borderlands yet right?...right?
That is if you've not already had enough of the game, the DLC while being fun has simply made the game bigger rather than better. Not that I'm complaining, I certainly enjoyed my romp with it last year! And Claptrap was both annoying and entertaining at the same time.
So I'm a bit short on official details, some chap over at the Gearbox Forums has posted this huge list of new features from the dlc - not sure how he got those! (aparently from a patch that came through?) But there's the return of many of the big bad guys from the previous DLCs and also the intro dialogue?! Blimey.
No pics or vids yet that I've seen but as soon as I see them they'll appear here!
That is if you've not already had enough of the game, the DLC while being fun has simply made the game bigger rather than better. Not that I'm complaining, I certainly enjoyed my romp with it last year! And Claptrap was both annoying and entertaining at the same time.
So I'm a bit short on official details, some chap over at the Gearbox Forums has posted this huge list of new features from the dlc - not sure how he got those! (aparently from a patch that came through?) But there's the return of many of the big bad guys from the previous DLCs and also the intro dialogue?! Blimey.
No pics or vids yet that I've seen but as soon as I see them they'll appear here!
Friday, 13 August 2010
Shocked for the 3rd time: Bioshock Infinite
So the 3rd Bioshock game has been announced! This time it won't take place many fathoms under the sea, but rather...
well check out this trailer below from irrational themselves:
How awesome is that? During my short break from the site I had the fortune to play Bioshock 2 and while that wasn't created by Irrational it still gave me high hopes for the future of the series.
IGN, the lucky wotsits, were at the unveiling and had this to say:
You can read their full article here
well check out this trailer below from irrational themselves:
How awesome is that? During my short break from the site I had the fortune to play Bioshock 2 and while that wasn't created by Irrational it still gave me high hopes for the future of the series.
IGN, the lucky wotsits, were at the unveiling and had this to say:
"The demo showed off quite a lot for a game's debut. It gave us a look at a completely new setting among the clouds and a BioShock game with two compelling characters. Levine promises that by introducing two well-defined main characters, BioShock Infinite will make a huge leap in storytelling when compared to its predecessors. Though there was nothing revealed about the economic elements of Infinite or any hacking puzzles, this was just a first look. There's a lot more still to be revealed."Very exciting, although we won't be playing it for a couple of years yet...
You can read their full article here
Feeling Tactical? Victoria 2 is released today!
Victoria 2 takes us on a well thought out trip back to the 1800's where war was still very much in fashion around europe.
But beware! This is not a game for those of us with small attention spans, myself included. I found it pretty tough going to get into this as I do with any game of this nature.
First of all I was a bit stumped as to the whole purpose of the game. After all on starting a new game each player had their provinces setup and a whole country to manage and worry about, so as a born pacafist I was thinking "And?..." I'm still not convinced I understand the attraction but I think it's along the lines of "What would I have done back then?"
It doesn't do itself many favours in making itself inaccessible to gamers who are new to this specific genre of strategy titles. The tutorials are incredibly wordy and it's quite small text but after what felt like hours reading through this I got the idea. Basically it's a micromanager's dream game, in that nearly everything is controllable and configurable. It very much reminded me of Civilsation, but on a much more detailed scale and with a preset world.
With that said, like Rise Of Prussia that I looked at a while ago, I can understand there's a market for such a game and for strategy fans who want a (very) high level of control over their virtual peeps then this is going to be fantastic.
Also it looks pretty damn good as far as the map and units go and if it had been a bit more simple and accessible I could have seen myself getting into it.
Anyway, Victoria 2 is released today! And there's a free demo too (in the Gamersgate info page...)
Get Victoria 2 from GamersGate
The Victoria 2 page on PC Games And Reviews
But beware! This is not a game for those of us with small attention spans, myself included. I found it pretty tough going to get into this as I do with any game of this nature.
First of all I was a bit stumped as to the whole purpose of the game. After all on starting a new game each player had their provinces setup and a whole country to manage and worry about, so as a born pacafist I was thinking "And?..." I'm still not convinced I understand the attraction but I think it's along the lines of "What would I have done back then?"
It doesn't do itself many favours in making itself inaccessible to gamers who are new to this specific genre of strategy titles. The tutorials are incredibly wordy and it's quite small text but after what felt like hours reading through this I got the idea. Basically it's a micromanager's dream game, in that nearly everything is controllable and configurable. It very much reminded me of Civilsation, but on a much more detailed scale and with a preset world.
With that said, like Rise Of Prussia that I looked at a while ago, I can understand there's a market for such a game and for strategy fans who want a (very) high level of control over their virtual peeps then this is going to be fantastic.
Also it looks pretty damn good as far as the map and units go and if it had been a bit more simple and accessible I could have seen myself getting into it.
Anyway, Victoria 2 is released today! And there's a free demo too (in the Gamersgate info page...)
Get Victoria 2 from GamersGate
The Victoria 2 page on PC Games And Reviews
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Good Form Old Boy! - Astroslugs
I recently received a rather charming email from Alex over at Muich based studio: Bitbarons, telling me about their upcoming title: Astroslugs.
In it he compares playing Astroslugs to buying furniture from Ikea, which was a novel concept, and promised that playing Astroslugs would be much more fun that putting a swedish kitchen unit together. I have to admit that I think he's right!
Astroslugs is a spacial awareness kind of puzzler where you have to fit in "forms" into a grid of shapes without any overlap or....Oh blimey, I didn't initially understand the game from his email. especially when he started talking about Polyominos, and I'm doing even worse at explaining the concept. If I were you I'd watch the video below as it explains it far better:
Looks pretty interesting to me anyway, I'll certainly be giving it a go when it's released and speaking my mind as usual. In the meantime you can always visit their site, which still needs some work but I'm sure will be opperational soon!
In it he compares playing Astroslugs to buying furniture from Ikea, which was a novel concept, and promised that playing Astroslugs would be much more fun that putting a swedish kitchen unit together. I have to admit that I think he's right!
Astroslugs is a spacial awareness kind of puzzler where you have to fit in "forms" into a grid of shapes without any overlap or....Oh blimey, I didn't initially understand the game from his email. especially when he started talking about Polyominos, and I'm doing even worse at explaining the concept. If I were you I'd watch the video below as it explains it far better:
Looks pretty interesting to me anyway, I'll certainly be giving it a go when it's released and speaking my mind as usual. In the meantime you can always visit their site, which still needs some work but I'm sure will be opperational soon!
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
New Review! Starcraft 2
Yes finally it's happened, I've written a new review.
Starcraft 2 is a pretty big title so it seemed fitting to kickstart the site off with again.
If you had no idea this game existed, and I'd be extremely surprised if you didn't, try checking out the trailer below, then you should definitely read my fantastical review!
Starcraft 2 is a pretty big title so it seemed fitting to kickstart the site off with again.
If you had no idea this game existed, and I'd be extremely surprised if you didn't, try checking out the trailer below, then you should definitely read my fantastical review!
Immortal Defense currently on "pay wot you want"
Yes those generous types over at Studio Eres are currently allowing people to pay whatever the heck they like for Immortal Defense, their glowy tower defense masterpiece.
They're currently trying the pricing model out so there's no specific time limit or such but they also reserve the right to stop doing this at any point - so go check it out now while you have the chance!
For more info on the game, well you could check out my review (which I seem to remember was dubbed as fairly dull by the creator of the game...But he did offer some invaluable suggestions afterwards!) over here.
And of course there's this YouTube vid:
Don't forget there's a free demo, just incase you were still unsure about paying $1.75 (minimum amount you can pay) for an awesome tower defense game(!)
They're currently trying the pricing model out so there's no specific time limit or such but they also reserve the right to stop doing this at any point - so go check it out now while you have the chance!
For more info on the game, well you could check out my review (which I seem to remember was dubbed as fairly dull by the creator of the game...But he did offer some invaluable suggestions afterwards!) over here.
And of course there's this YouTube vid:
Don't forget there's a free demo, just incase you were still unsure about paying $1.75 (minimum amount you can pay) for an awesome tower defense game(!)
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Struck by Toons...or...ToonStruck!
My dear brother and I both remember the good old days of PC Gaming - of course the good old days for us were 1994-2001 which was our peak of non-work/Gaming addiction.
There are plenty of great titles from back then that haven't really surfaced since so when I read of the possible, even slight chance of a sequel to the cartoon mayhem point and click adventure: Toonstruck my brain almost imploded in disbelief.
As reported by RockPaperShotgun the musician, no less, of the original game has revealed that he has everything required to make a sequel. Yes that's right, he has it all in terms of video footage of the comedy genius that is Christoper Lloyd, all ready to plonk into some game engine and release.
Of course they don't want to do that for free (and why not I suppose) so they're seeing how much interest there would be in such a game before going to any trouble. There's a petition online somewhere...ah here it is which should be signed by anyone who liked the original...or point-and-clicky adventures in general!
Here's a video of the original in action...if you can cope with it!
There are plenty of great titles from back then that haven't really surfaced since so when I read of the possible, even slight chance of a sequel to the cartoon mayhem point and click adventure: Toonstruck my brain almost imploded in disbelief.
As reported by RockPaperShotgun the musician, no less, of the original game has revealed that he has everything required to make a sequel. Yes that's right, he has it all in terms of video footage of the comedy genius that is Christoper Lloyd, all ready to plonk into some game engine and release.
Of course they don't want to do that for free (and why not I suppose) so they're seeing how much interest there would be in such a game before going to any trouble. There's a petition online somewhere...ah here it is which should be signed by anyone who liked the original...or point-and-clicky adventures in general!
Here's a video of the original in action...if you can cope with it!
Monday, 9 August 2010
Melolune
During my brief two month (eep) absence I still managed to find some time to discover new titles in the works and this one I came upon by accident. I was looking for some musical inspiration and thought I would re-listen to some of Laura Shigihara's works.
For those who don't know, Larua Shigihara wrote the quite iconic music to last years tower defense classic, Plants Vs Zombies, and hearing her play those pieces "live" on her piano is great fun.
However also in her youtube channel was a video for a game called "Melolune", a J-RPG styled game that she had designed and written music for last years Independent Game Foundation competition. Music is often the highlight of top down RPGs for me and after the intro video I was definitely up for having a go and it's pretty good!
I was intrigued to find out how music was used, as the title seems to indicate that melody is of high importance. There are nice sections of the game where placing a "melolune" on a pedestal will start off a part of a song (when I say part I mean, like drums or piano.) Placing further melolunes add more parts until you have a larger timbre (ooh fancy words) to the piece that is currently playing. Nice touch.
However I believe it's not yet finished and therefore I decided not to play too much just in case I wouldn't be able to transfer any saved games across to the final version. However it's worth having a go just for the first few levels.
You can get the demo by clicking this link...
And here's the intro video:
(Also you can read from Laura's blog that the 2nd of August save the date was in fact for the XBLA release of PvZ...hmmm....)
For those who don't know, Larua Shigihara wrote the quite iconic music to last years tower defense classic, Plants Vs Zombies, and hearing her play those pieces "live" on her piano is great fun.
However also in her youtube channel was a video for a game called "Melolune", a J-RPG styled game that she had designed and written music for last years Independent Game Foundation competition. Music is often the highlight of top down RPGs for me and after the intro video I was definitely up for having a go and it's pretty good!
I was intrigued to find out how music was used, as the title seems to indicate that melody is of high importance. There are nice sections of the game where placing a "melolune" on a pedestal will start off a part of a song (when I say part I mean, like drums or piano.) Placing further melolunes add more parts until you have a larger timbre (ooh fancy words) to the piece that is currently playing. Nice touch.
However I believe it's not yet finished and therefore I decided not to play too much just in case I wouldn't be able to transfer any saved games across to the final version. However it's worth having a go just for the first few levels.
You can get the demo by clicking this link...
And here's the intro video:
(Also you can read from Laura's blog that the 2nd of August save the date was in fact for the XBLA release of PvZ...hmmm....)
Saturday, 7 August 2010
New AI War Updates coming: Children of Neinzul
"The Neinzul aliens are an insectoid race of perpetual "younglings," who live for an extremely short span before dying and being superseded by fully-aware and vicious replacements. The Neinzul are organized into localized "Enclaves" that form mini-collectives with their own personalities, goals, and desires. In this second expansion to AI War, players face off against the Neinzul minor factions, against new AI types in general, and enlist the help of the friendlier members of this new alien presence."
In their usual style this isn't just a standard update, there's a load of new stuff in there such as Mobile Space docks (Quite excited about those) and a bunch of other new ships.
However here's another interesting bit of info, they're giving away their proceeds to Child's Play (the charity for Hospitalised Children) which is a world wide cause and an extremely worthy one in my opinion.
I won't try to cover absolutely all the details here of the new expansion, only that it looks awesome and costs $3.99 (pretty cheap for anyone who is a fan of the series)
If you've not yet played AI War you should check out my reviews of the Original AI War and Zenith Remnant (the first expansion) as it gives a fairly good overview of the games.
You can view all the information and order the expansion here!
Friday, 6 August 2010
Best Racing Game Ever...
Okay this isn't a PC Game but after being sent this by Wakey I feel I just have to share.
Check this out...
Check this out...
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Plants Vs Zombies...special edition?
A few weeks ago we were all told "Hey guys, look forward to the 2nd of August!" in some kind of announcement that featured a severed zombie hand.
Actually, I say this but I can't even remember the different sites I read this on now, and I might even have the date wrong and something else may be announced any second now but...
What was announced on the 30th of July was the Plants Vs Zombies Special Edition - well very nice yes it comes with extra achievements (um) and a zombie creation tool (not tried this so I'm not sure if these zombies can appear in-game but I'm guessing they can) - but it's a far cry from a sequel.
The other obvious change is the "Michael Jackson" disco-zombie that has been recently changed, apparently because the MJ estate complained about it's likeness. I wonder if this may have more to do with the release of a special edition than anything else.
Even worse though is that XBOX users soon get Plants Vs Zombies! Well that's not bad in itself but they also get some kind of multi player (or so I've read in various places) and this certainly isn't advertised in the "Special Edition" features.
Perhaps there will still be an announcement soon for PVZ2 but after this I feel that's unlikely. On the other hand if you've still somehow not played this excellent game you should really at least try the free online version at the popcap site!
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Have you tried turning it off and on again?
[EDIT: New version is in the works here: http://www.pc-games-and-reviews.com/index.php although clicking on the Home button will take you back to the old site]
After many weeks of inactivity I've started to wind back up!
I got married just over a week ago (w00p) and now find I haveroom in my head time to do other things! Specifically blogging and reviewing once more, whey!
If you've emailed me and I've not replied (I've tried to reply to everyone!) Sorry 'bout that, I didn't mean not to get back to you but things have just been hectic. I'm now ready to get back into the swing of things!
However I now need to change how I do things. I don't mind spending several hours playing and writing reviews, after all that's what I loved about this project. However I do oppose having to spend over two hours releasing each review (putting the HTML together, preparing different screenshot sizes, updating all my databases and all the final checks) which could be better spent playing more games!
So I'm going to be moving to a completely new site layout within the next few days. I was going to wait until the back end/template I plan to use were developed a little more but I'm getting itchy to get back into this and any further delay will probably mean I give up completely!
Therefore if the site looks really odd over the next few days, that will be why!
Finally thanks to everyone who kept asking about the site and why I wasn't updating. I'm not sure if you were pestering me for fun or if you were genuinely concerned, but it's spurred me on to have another go at it!
After many weeks of inactivity I've started to wind back up!
I got married just over a week ago (w00p) and now find I have
If you've emailed me and I've not replied (I've tried to reply to everyone!) Sorry 'bout that, I didn't mean not to get back to you but things have just been hectic. I'm now ready to get back into the swing of things!
However I now need to change how I do things. I don't mind spending several hours playing and writing reviews, after all that's what I loved about this project. However I do oppose having to spend over two hours releasing each review (putting the HTML together, preparing different screenshot sizes, updating all my databases and all the final checks) which could be better spent playing more games!
So I'm going to be moving to a completely new site layout within the next few days. I was going to wait until the back end/template I plan to use were developed a little more but I'm getting itchy to get back into this and any further delay will probably mean I give up completely!
Therefore if the site looks really odd over the next few days, that will be why!
Finally thanks to everyone who kept asking about the site and why I wasn't updating. I'm not sure if you were pestering me for fun or if you were genuinely concerned, but it's spurred me on to have another go at it!
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