Total War: Attila is the latest iteration on the series with turn-based strategy and real-time tactical combat set in the time period during the fall of the Roman empire.
What is Great about this game:
- Mechanically, the most sophisticated and playable Total War game to date
- Family trees and factional politics are implemented smartly and with real consequences
- Improved faction options such as creating hordes and relocating improve strategic depth
What is Good about this game:
- Good use of Steam features such as cloud saves, trading cards, etc
What is Bad about this game:
- The game is centered around the fall of the Roman empire and as such is set in a relatively bleak period
- The difficulty of the game seems tuned for players that want a constant struggle (perhaps related to the setting as well)
- Due to its setting, the campaign of the Romans is centered largely around "maintenance and defense" of the existing empire rather than on the generally more enjoyable "expansion through conquest" of Total War: Rome 2
Conclusion:
Take Total War: Rome 2 and put in significantly better strategy mechanics but place it in a less appealing, more bleak, and more difficult setting and you have an excellent Total War game if perhaps not quite pinnacle of the series.
9.0 / 10.0
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Star Ruler 2 Review
Star Ruler 2 is a hybrid space 4X/RTS set in an unknown galaxy.
What is Great about this game:
- Intuitive and enjoyable fleet design, mechanics, and combat
- Nicely paced 4X/RTS that does not require twitch reflexes or ADHD to have fun
- High level of easy modification available and Steam Workshop support
What is Good about this game:
- Detailed ship builder allows for different ship designs as the game progresses
- Significant options such as diplomacy and trade to play the game as you would want to
- Good use of Steam features such as Workshop, trading cards, etc
What is Bad about this game:
- Frustrating initial difficulty that requires mods to become more reasonable
- Some systems such as the economy, resource dependency, and planetary development are too obtuse even after hours of play
Conclusion:
If you can modify the game to relax its difficulty to a more manageable degree, Star Ruler 2 has a lot of good ideas to bring to the space 4X/RTS genre.
8.0 / 10.0
What is Great about this game:
- Intuitive and enjoyable fleet design, mechanics, and combat
- Nicely paced 4X/RTS that does not require twitch reflexes or ADHD to have fun
- High level of easy modification available and Steam Workshop support
What is Good about this game:
- Detailed ship builder allows for different ship designs as the game progresses
- Significant options such as diplomacy and trade to play the game as you would want to
- Good use of Steam features such as Workshop, trading cards, etc
What is Bad about this game:
- Frustrating initial difficulty that requires mods to become more reasonable
- Some systems such as the economy, resource dependency, and planetary development are too obtuse even after hours of play
Conclusion:
If you can modify the game to relax its difficulty to a more manageable degree, Star Ruler 2 has a lot of good ideas to bring to the space 4X/RTS genre.
8.0 / 10.0
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Review
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a third-person action role-playing game set in a dark fantasy open world.
What is Great about this game:
- Fully fleshed out and realized world that feels lived in and realistic while maintaining its fantasy world character
- The core Witcher game mechanic of investigating, hunting and killing monsters is exceptionally executed and fits perfectly in this type of open world game
- A huge world with an enormous amount of content where each piece of content feels hand-crafted with the intent to be meaningful
- Large, absolutely gorgeous and detailed environments that reward you for exploring
- The story-telling, even (and sometimes especially) in the side quests, is exceptional
- The game provides real choices with real impacts to how you progress through the story and side-quests
- The voice-acting is pervasive and almost entirely excellent
- Character creation is nuanced and allows for many different playstyles
- The combat is tactical and deep allowing for the player to improve their own skill as they progress through the game
What is Good about this game:
- Good use of Steam features such as trading cards, achievements, and cloud saves
- The crafting system, including the Witcher equipment quests, is enjoyable to master
What is Bad about this game:
- At times, the character movement on foot, on horse, and swimming can be slightly finicky and excessively difficult
Conclusion:
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is easily among the finest role-playing games ever made and likely among the finest games of any genre ever made. It is simply a delight to be in the world it creates and should be played by everyone.
10.0 / 10.0
What is Great about this game:
- Fully fleshed out and realized world that feels lived in and realistic while maintaining its fantasy world character
- The core Witcher game mechanic of investigating, hunting and killing monsters is exceptionally executed and fits perfectly in this type of open world game
- A huge world with an enormous amount of content where each piece of content feels hand-crafted with the intent to be meaningful
- Large, absolutely gorgeous and detailed environments that reward you for exploring
- The story-telling, even (and sometimes especially) in the side quests, is exceptional
- The game provides real choices with real impacts to how you progress through the story and side-quests
- The voice-acting is pervasive and almost entirely excellent
- Character creation is nuanced and allows for many different playstyles
- The combat is tactical and deep allowing for the player to improve their own skill as they progress through the game
What is Good about this game:
- Good use of Steam features such as trading cards, achievements, and cloud saves
- The crafting system, including the Witcher equipment quests, is enjoyable to master
What is Bad about this game:
- At times, the character movement on foot, on horse, and swimming can be slightly finicky and excessively difficult
Conclusion:
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is easily among the finest role-playing games ever made and likely among the finest games of any genre ever made. It is simply a delight to be in the world it creates and should be played by everyone.
10.0 / 10.0
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Pillars of Eternity Review
Pillars of Eternity is an isometric party-based computer RPG using real-time-with-pause combat.
What is Great about this game:
- Complex and deep story that moves the game along incredibly well
- Deep character creation and multiple classes each with multiple viable playstyles bringing significant variety to your own playthrough
- Rich and appropriate back story, lore, and flavor text added throughout the game that is worth reading
- Enjoyable tactical combat with numerous options for pausing and other options to make the game more enjoyable
- Unique and sometimes fascinating quest lines with multiple alternative methods for success (e.g. talk yourself out of a combat encounter)
- An ending storyline that was possibly the most thought-provoking and intelligently written as any I have experienced
What is Good about this game:
- The game looks quite nice but could have used more art/animantions to improve it further
- The voice acting is quite good where it exists
- Good use of Steam features (cloud saves, trading cards, achievements, etc)
What is Bad about this game:
- The combat could have been significantly improved (although still very good) by including methods to automate companions similar to the systems in FFXII or Dragon Age: Origins
- Given how story heavy this game is, it would have been much improved by including more voice-over work. The voice acting is very good, but is only available sparsely. The writing is more than worth reading, but having it spoken would have been that much more engrossing.
Conclusion:
Pillars of Eternity is the current pinnacle of story-telling in RPGs with a great combat system and a classic style.
9.5 / 10.0
What is Great about this game:
- Complex and deep story that moves the game along incredibly well
- Deep character creation and multiple classes each with multiple viable playstyles bringing significant variety to your own playthrough
- Rich and appropriate back story, lore, and flavor text added throughout the game that is worth reading
- Enjoyable tactical combat with numerous options for pausing and other options to make the game more enjoyable
- Unique and sometimes fascinating quest lines with multiple alternative methods for success (e.g. talk yourself out of a combat encounter)
- An ending storyline that was possibly the most thought-provoking and intelligently written as any I have experienced
What is Good about this game:
- The game looks quite nice but could have used more art/animantions to improve it further
- The voice acting is quite good where it exists
- Good use of Steam features (cloud saves, trading cards, achievements, etc)
What is Bad about this game:
- The combat could have been significantly improved (although still very good) by including methods to automate companions similar to the systems in FFXII or Dragon Age: Origins
- Given how story heavy this game is, it would have been much improved by including more voice-over work. The voice acting is very good, but is only available sparsely. The writing is more than worth reading, but having it spoken would have been that much more engrossing.
Conclusion:
Pillars of Eternity is the current pinnacle of story-telling in RPGs with a great combat system and a classic style.
9.5 / 10.0
Cities: Skylines Review
Cities: Skylines is a brand new city-building game in the vein of Simcity but built with modern sensibilities.
What is Great about this game:
- The city-building simulation is deep, complex, and incredibly satisfying to master
- The agent and traffic simulation is particularly deep and compelling to manage
- A variety of tools are available to manage almost any problem that arises in your city
- The game looks and runs beautifully
- Available areas for expansion are massive (and truly huge with easy to acquire mods)
- Modding and Steam Workshop support is pervasive in the game, and the modding community is prolific
What is Good about this game:
- Good use of Steam features (cloud saves, trading cards, achievements, etc)
What is Bad about this game:
- Some of the mechanics of the simulation (e.g. freight train depots, RCI) are not well surfaced so it can be a challenge to know how to answer certain problems
Conclusion:
Cities: Skylines is the new benchmark in city building and city simulation games. This is the game to get if you are at all interested in the genre, and everyone should at least try it once.
10.0 / 10.0
What is Great about this game:
- The city-building simulation is deep, complex, and incredibly satisfying to master
- The agent and traffic simulation is particularly deep and compelling to manage
- A variety of tools are available to manage almost any problem that arises in your city
- The game looks and runs beautifully
- Available areas for expansion are massive (and truly huge with easy to acquire mods)
- Modding and Steam Workshop support is pervasive in the game, and the modding community is prolific
What is Good about this game:
- Good use of Steam features (cloud saves, trading cards, achievements, etc)
What is Bad about this game:
- Some of the mechanics of the simulation (e.g. freight train depots, RCI) are not well surfaced so it can be a challenge to know how to answer certain problems
Conclusion:
Cities: Skylines is the new benchmark in city building and city simulation games. This is the game to get if you are at all interested in the genre, and everyone should at least try it once.
10.0 / 10.0
Wasteland 2 Review
Wasteland 2 is an isometric party-based role-playing game set in a post-apocalyptic southeastern United States.
The Great:
- Deep and expansive story that starts quickly and expands out in numerous branching paths
- Real player choices that change both the progression of the story and how gameplay mechanics play out (can avoid combat using conversation)
- Incredible amount of quality content as the story expands to tremendous length and allows for deep exploration
The Good:
- The combat system is of good quality and gives much variety and satisfactory tactical options
The Bad:
- RPG progression skills and traits are locked once selected which can cause significant potential problems for new/inexperienced players
- Some of the areas are notably barren or seemingly unfinished (e.g. all the random encounters that are nearly exact repeats of each other)
Conclusion:
Wasteland 2 should be on everyone's short list for engrossing stories in RPGs.
9.0 / 10.0
The Great:
- Deep and expansive story that starts quickly and expands out in numerous branching paths
- Real player choices that change both the progression of the story and how gameplay mechanics play out (can avoid combat using conversation)
- Incredible amount of quality content as the story expands to tremendous length and allows for deep exploration
The Good:
- The combat system is of good quality and gives much variety and satisfactory tactical options
The Bad:
- RPG progression skills and traits are locked once selected which can cause significant potential problems for new/inexperienced players
- Some of the areas are notably barren or seemingly unfinished (e.g. all the random encounters that are nearly exact repeats of each other)
Conclusion:
Wasteland 2 should be on everyone's short list for engrossing stories in RPGs.
9.0 / 10.0
Friday, February 6, 2015
Deathtrap Review
Deathtrap is a hybrid tower defense game crossed with an isometric action role-playing game by Neocore, the developers of the Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing series.
The Great:
- Very satisfying trap and level desing makes for top notch tower defense aspects
- High production values makes the game feel adn play very well
- Great RPG mechanics make the playing of the level as fun as the strategy (better than just watching your towers do their work)
- Significant layers of interlocking strategies (leveling up traps and player character at the same time) allowing impressive variety in playstyles
- Provides the same compulsive gameplay of other tower defense games with the added benefit of being able to play the levels yourself
- Levels are well designed and rarely if ever rely on cheap tower defense tricks (e.g. sending all the bosses up the previously least used path)
- Steam workshop support will give this game hours of additional playtime possibilities
The Good:
- Optional side objectives make for more interesting moment to moment gameplay
- Difficulty ramping is well-balanced and appropriate
- Good Steam support for achievements, cloud saving, and trading cards
The Bad:
- The campaign is slightly short with it able to be completed in about 5-6 hours which is offset by heavy modding support which should give this game hundreds of new maps to play
- Does not tie itself very much into its sister games (The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing series) which is a missed opportunity for expanding both series
Conclusion:
This is a slightly odd complaint, but I think Neocore could have done better than they did with this. After two exceptional games in the The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing I and II, I was expecting more of that to come over into this game. The story, the characters, the world are all too shallow compared to their earlier works. I beat this game in a day's time which is almost impossible for my schedule, and I got a great game, but I was expecting more.
Still, this is one of the best tower defense games around complimented by incredibly engaging RPG elements for the both the player character and the tower defense aspects at a bargain price. It would be nearly impossible for me not to recommend.
9.0 / 10
The Great:
- Very satisfying trap and level desing makes for top notch tower defense aspects
- High production values makes the game feel adn play very well
- Great RPG mechanics make the playing of the level as fun as the strategy (better than just watching your towers do their work)
- Significant layers of interlocking strategies (leveling up traps and player character at the same time) allowing impressive variety in playstyles
- Provides the same compulsive gameplay of other tower defense games with the added benefit of being able to play the levels yourself
- Levels are well designed and rarely if ever rely on cheap tower defense tricks (e.g. sending all the bosses up the previously least used path)
- Steam workshop support will give this game hours of additional playtime possibilities
The Good:
- Optional side objectives make for more interesting moment to moment gameplay
- Difficulty ramping is well-balanced and appropriate
- Good Steam support for achievements, cloud saving, and trading cards
The Bad:
- The campaign is slightly short with it able to be completed in about 5-6 hours which is offset by heavy modding support which should give this game hundreds of new maps to play
- Does not tie itself very much into its sister games (The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing series) which is a missed opportunity for expanding both series
Conclusion:
This is a slightly odd complaint, but I think Neocore could have done better than they did with this. After two exceptional games in the The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing I and II, I was expecting more of that to come over into this game. The story, the characters, the world are all too shallow compared to their earlier works. I beat this game in a day's time which is almost impossible for my schedule, and I got a great game, but I was expecting more.
Still, this is one of the best tower defense games around complimented by incredibly engaging RPG elements for the both the player character and the tower defense aspects at a bargain price. It would be nearly impossible for me not to recommend.
9.0 / 10
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Lords of the Fallen Review
Lords of the Fallen is a third person action-role-playing game with heavy emphasis on melee combat mechanics and tactics.
The Great:
- Melee combat is exceptional and some of the best in the industry
- Significant weapon variety that leads to numerous differing yet satisfying playstyles
- Each weapon's unique playstyle feels great and is fun to experiment with
- Combat is timing and pattern based making each encounter important and fulfilling to complete
- Game is gorgeous to look at even with details turned down
The Good:
- Environments are beautiful and intricately crafted (if a little small)
- Enemy and boss designs are interesting and show creativity
The Bad:
- The story is forgettable, confusing at times and makes little sense given the scope of the game
- The side characters feel tacked on, tropish, and overall of little value or consequence
- The main character is meant to be a jerk, and there are few options to choose not to be a jerk
- I experienced several game-crashing bugs over 25+ hours
Conclusion:
The game is buggy, and the writing of the characters and story leaves much to be desired, but the combat in both its precision and variety is able to save this game from the trash pile and ultimately make it one of the best RPGs of the year.
9.0 / 10.0
The Great:
- Melee combat is exceptional and some of the best in the industry
- Significant weapon variety that leads to numerous differing yet satisfying playstyles
- Each weapon's unique playstyle feels great and is fun to experiment with
- Combat is timing and pattern based making each encounter important and fulfilling to complete
- Game is gorgeous to look at even with details turned down
The Good:
- Environments are beautiful and intricately crafted (if a little small)
- Enemy and boss designs are interesting and show creativity
The Bad:
- The story is forgettable, confusing at times and makes little sense given the scope of the game
- The side characters feel tacked on, tropish, and overall of little value or consequence
- The main character is meant to be a jerk, and there are few options to choose not to be a jerk
- I experienced several game-crashing bugs over 25+ hours
Conclusion:
The game is buggy, and the writing of the characters and story leaves much to be desired, but the combat in both its precision and variety is able to save this game from the trash pile and ultimately make it one of the best RPGs of the year.
9.0 / 10.0
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