Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters is a pro golf simulation game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports in April 2011.
When I purchased Tiger Woods 12 Masters edition my anticipation for the game was amazingly high as were my expectations. For years now golf fans have been pleading and begging EA to put the most beloved and adored golf course of any golf fan into their yearly installment of the Tiger franchise and this year they finally did that. To start off the menu and load up screens have a surprisingly classy finish to them both musically and visually obviously pertaining to the tradition that is the Masters. This addition has made the game a lot more enjoyable as opposed to years prior when rap and hip hop music were a mainstay with the franchise and just seemed completely out of place. Tiger 12’s player creation zone is still as in depth and immersive as ever and the photo gameface option still exists allowing you to create a player as close to or far away from your actual appearance as possible. There are literally endless possibilities when creating your golfer.
After you have figured out the way you want to look when you enter your golf career you find yourself moving into uncharted territory and preparing for the Road to the Masters. For the very first time you will have to climb through the ranks of the Amateur circuit as well as the Nationwide Tour before putting your skills to the test in Q School where you have to earn your PGA Tour card to be able to compete in the PGA tour events. An experienced TW gamer will find themselves burning through these scenarios rather quickly even at a higher difficulty setting and while these are a welcomed addition to this golf game they do need to be fleshed out quite a bit more as they are over in pretty much the first couple hours of gameplay.
Once on the PGA tour you will be challenged to perform well in the tournaments leading up to the Masters and try to crack the top 100 golfers in the world in order to obtain an invite to the Masters or you can choose to pass all nine Master Moments to earn an invite as well. Most I would assume would like to work their way through nine of the most historic moments in Masters history to obtain that invite, reliving such moments like Phil Mickelson’s amazing shot from the pine needles on hole 13 in 2010
or Jack Nicklaus’s remarkable -6 run on the back nine to become the oldest man to ever capture a Green Jacket back in 1986.
Playing through these moments is beyond enjoyable and while I wish there had been even more moments to play through you can’t help but appreciate this addition to the game. When you have mastered each moment you also get commentary from Jim Nantz on some of the history at the Masters including Magnolia Drive and Nelson Bridge as well as one of many pins which are awards gamers earn for completing such tasks like 250 career birdies, 5 tournament wins in a row and of course mastering all 9 Master moments.
When you get down to the core gameplay it is still far too easy even if you take away some of the arcade-esque features of the game like power boost and spin control. To shoot a -18 at the Masters is almost unheard of though Tiger did manage such a feat many years ago but to shoot -40 and upwards at other major golf tournaments is just down right impossible. While such low scores affect the value of the game it is easy to look past it when considering the amount of fun that can be had. The new addition of the Caddie helps the more and more realistic look of the game but detracts from the games mechanics and will probably be disregarded by most of the experienced TW’s gamers who will most times opt for the custom shot.
The new grip and choke mechanics help open up a vast majority of shot selections and help keep the game fresh and interesting while goading you into taking some high risk high reward shots. For gamers in a rush the all new Fast Golf feature allows you to quickly make your way through a round and if you just don’t have enough time to finish the round you started your able to save mid-round games in the single player mode which is another welcomed addition.
The actual courses look stunning with a lot of attention paid to the detail of each hole like bunker, tree and water hazard placements the breaks on the greens and the overall look of each hole. Additions like dynamic time of day, which sees daylight and the position of the sun change dramatically through out the course of your round, as well as 3D grass further help the realism of the game and I found myself constantly saying how much each hole looked so close to the real-life version with none being as great as Augusta National. Nothing is more thrilling than getting through Amen’s corner with an unscathed scorecard and while the core gameplay is easy as stated earlier, any kind of lack of concentration can make you pay in this game.
It takes awhile to build your player up to the level that some of the pros are at but it shouldn’t take too long before your able to drive certain par 4’s in one and to start dominating golf courses. The EXP system is different than in years past allowing the player to only spend experience points on player growth rather then spending them on new clubs or clothes and other such accessories, all of which just have to be unlocked through certain game achievements to be obtained.
The single player mode can be enjoyed for quite some time and makes you want to complete many of the seemingly impossible tasks but if you want to enjoy the game through the eyes of a pro then there are 20 professional golfers to choose from including new faces Zach Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson, the Molinari brothers and Rhys Davies as well as mainstays Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Palua Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Chris DiMarco and others. Also swing your way through 16 courses including 5 new courses – TPC San Antonio, Atlanta Athletic Club, The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, The Dunes Course Costa Navarino and of course Augusta National.
Add to the solid single player campaign a myriad of online and offline multiplayer options as well as the Presidents Cup and the replay value of Tiger Wood’s this year is as endless as ever.
Most Frustrating: The fact that you still have to pay for courses that are only included in packs and not with the original game. I had to skip out on a few courses in career mode that force you to buy them if you want to play them. Considering that I had already purchased these course packs for last years installment I did not feel the need to purchase them yet again and I think that the franchise is milking their audience a little bit too much. Once you have bought these courses on a previous edition you shouldn’t have to pay for them again and again.
Most Satisfying: The fact that gamers can finally enjoy arguably the greatest golf course in the history of the game.
8.5/10
Wolfenstein RPG is a port of a mobile phone game developed by iD software and published by EA Mobile. It is a first person turn based roleplaying game that has more in common with classic first person RPGs like Dungeon Master or the Wizardy Series.
It is based on the storyline of the Wolfenstein series but takes itself less serious than its source material. You play as Sergeant B.J. Blazkowicz who has been captured by the Axis military and is thrown in a prison cell to await experimentation and torture. In classic Wolf3d style Blazkowicz takes out the first guard he encounters in his cell and makes a daring escape. The storyline follows into Paranormal Nazi experimentation and is one of the more entertaining aspects of the title.
As you progress through the game it is hard to not notice that the developers designed the game with a style that is more consistent with cartoons than with Wolfenstein 3d. The game benefits from this style as it never feels monotonous or maze-like and differentiates itself from other games in the series. The environments are designed in 3d – and give the world a larger varied appearance especially when compared to the original Wolfenstein 3d game.
Combat is turn based meaning that you get to take a shot and then your enemies get to take a shot. This brings a more strategic balance to the action and certain situations like getting surrounded by enemies force you to carefully choose which weapons to use and where to run to if need be.
There is more to this game than just shooting at enemies though as you will meet friendly NPCs, find books to read, mix injectable super drugs that boost character stats, level up your character, and encounter mini-games through out the adventure.
All of this is very well designed and remains fresh throughout the ten level campaign. The only criticism I have is that there is no in-game music – and even though you can use your ipod library while playing the game I can’t help but feel the developers missed the mark by not including some of the classic music from the series.
Overall Wolfenstein RPG is a very entertaining turn based RPG with a good 10-12 hours of gameplay for a reasonable price – it is even on sale right now for a dollar. 8/10
Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 is a port of the PSP release from Warner Bros. Interactive. It is based on the Lego series of games popular on home consoles with titles like Lego Star Wars, and Lego Indiana Jones. Lego Harry Potter has been simplified from the console version so as to perform better as a portable title. Though it is still a large title with over 20 hours of entertaining gameplay.
Knowing or even liking the source material in not important when playing this game as the Lego gameplay is enjoyable no matter the setting. However Lego Harry Potter does follow the storyline with reasonable accuracy given that there is no voice acting and instead a reliance on animated expression to get the point across.
The gameplay consists of making your way through various famous set pieces from the series as you collect coins, carry out tasks for NPCs, fight off enemies, and learn spells that help solve puzzles. Each episode consists of a number of levels based on scenarios from the first four books. Each level is presented from a birds-eye view and leaves you free to roam around using a virtual analog stick – the controls work very well. There are a few arcade sequences that have you running away from a chasing enemy (like a troll or a dragon) – these sequences are very fun though there are only a few of them.
Using spells amounts to tapping a highlighted interactive spot on the map and then finger tracing the spell that comes up. Tracing spells can range from being easy to frustrating – but never to the point of exhaustion.
Beating a level in story mode unlocks it for free-play where you can choose what characters you want to play the level with and unlock areas, puzzles, and bonuses that you don’t have access to during story mode.
Graphically the game looks excellent on the iDevice – each level is full of details including high detail texture mapping and great animated characters. There is plenty of destructible pieces in the environment and blowing things up to collect coins never really gets old.
Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 is a great port of an excellent PSP game at a fraction of the cost and is very easy to recommend even if you aren’t a fan of JK Rowling’s series. Hopefully Years 5-7 makes its way on to the iOS platform when it is released in the next year or so.
8.5/10
I will have more reviews posted soon but I'll let you guys get through these ones first!
Deus Ex is a great game – a game that to this day has been unsurpassed in terms of narrative, cross-genre gameplay, and non-linear exploration. All it takes is the mere mention and somewhere someone will start dusting off their old disk and begin installing it. Unfortunately, there are very few games that have come since DX that pack as much punch – even the sequel was a pale imitation (at best) of the first game. Which is why 10 years after its release I am glad to have what I consider to be the unofficial “official” expansion pack to DX sitting on my hard-drive.
The Nameless Mod is a meta-fictional game set in the cyber-punk influenced Forum City where all the inhabitants are avatars of real people sitting in front of a computer screen glazed look in their eyes and drool slowly dripping down their chin, mindlessly chomping down Doritos and slugging back Cola as they immerse themselves into the rich world that is Forum City.
Upon hearing about this mod years back – I was unsure if Off-Topic Productions would be up to the task of making the complicated scenario resonate with the target audience. As the years rolled by and a few trailers were released I became less sure and ultimately forgot about this mod as games like Morrowind, and Knights of the Old Republic began to take my time. Fortunately though I may have let it slide to the very back recesses of my mind – Off-Topic Productions kept chipping away at TNM and ultimately when I remembered its existence it was only a short matter of days before its release.
What stands out most with this fan-project is the sheer amount of voice overs recorded for it that sound polished and professional for the most part. Some voice overs do sound undeniably like they were recorded on a cheap computer mic, however this works to the advantage of the setting adding further credibility that these are just people sitting in front of their PC (some with better equipment than others). The acting itself is very engaging and I found I listened to most performances as opposed to just mindlessly clicking through it as I read.
Most of the sound used in DX remains the same – though some additional sound files have been recorded which blend seamlessly into the game. One area where the sound system received a significant upgrade is the in-game music which has been upgraded to use Ogg format which allowed OTP to use recorded music over the original DX sequenced music. The all original score that has been recorded for TNM is reminiscent of the original Deus Ex soundtrack while sounding more dynamic due to the inclusion of more natural instrumentation throughout.
The team went nuts with additional art assets for this game – so expect to see tons of new models, textures, weapons, particle effects like rain, etc. – most of the art designed for this game fits other than an odd model here or there that seems out of place. Visually this game looks slightly better than Deus Ex using the default settings – however there are a few things out there that can help you get better milage out of your graphics. I use New Vision, Enbseries, and H.D.T.P. to help enhance TNM. Deus Ex was never really pretty but thanks to the improved texture size and updated render engine it is still very engaging.
You play as Trestkon who is back after a few years away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The setting is often bizarre, surreal, and legitimately funny — reminding me equally at times of Blade Runner, Anachronox, Southland Tales, and a few other post-modern oddities blended with the traditions of the Deus Ex universe. It pokes fun at recent pop-culture and world events, and even though much of the commentary plays second fiddle to the main story arch, character development, and gameplay it is a welcome addition for the game universe often lending to the many hilarious moments in the game.
The level design focuses on being detailed to the point of obscurity in all of the key mission locations (much more so than the original DX campaign). The city levels are also very detailed (with consideration to the size of them) though they feel a bit empty once you get to know the streets. The game world is suitably dark & foreboding while incorporating nice use of light and shade throughout its many locales – don’t expect to be lurking in the shadows all the time. My favourite moment came about half-way through when you get to see the daylight.
There are several new upgrades to the gameplay interface. The simplest yet most effective is the flashlight upgrade, which came in handy quite a bit throughout the campaign. The computers have gone through massive upgrades as well including a working chat client, classic arcade games, and an in-game print function – which is genius for anyone who knows what it is like to read emails while hacking DX. Although the actual hacking procedure remains the same there are a couple new hacking puzzles during the course of the campaign.
From beginning to end each campaign took me about 20 hours complete. It starts off very quick and by the half-way mark you might think you are close to finishing the game. However I found that it continues to build from this point up to the conclusion with a surprising amount of closure for a game. Like Deus Ex this game also features several different paths through each objective – so there is tons of re-playability even if you have beat both campaigns. Each campaign is led by the alliance you choose and the developers are pretty grey on who is good and who is bad – leaving the player to make the big decisions.
While initially The Nameless Mod was released with a handful of bugs – most of these have been fixed with the latest patch. I am extremely pleased to have something that will keep Deus Ex on my hard-drive for at least another decade or so. If you are looking for a great game to play over this summer — do yourself a favor and download The Nameless Mod.
9.5/10
Alpha Protocol is an espionage action roleplaying game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Sega. Obsidian cut there teeth developing sequels to the hit RPGs Never Winter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Alpha Protocol – their first original endeavor – was released in 2010 to mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. Unfortunately this means that the IP was never renewed for a sequel – on the flip side it means that it can be found for cheap in the value bin.
Critics universally claimed the game was buggy, featured lack-luster graphics, and slow gameplay. I have now played once through the game and I believe that critics missed the mark on this title. There are a few animation glitches (mostly fixable on the PC if you know how to edit an INI file) and a bit of texture pop-in – but this game generally looks like any other third-person action game from 2010. It uses the Unreal3 engine with generous amounts of shaders applied – giving a cohesive cinematic style in both the gameplay and cutscenes. The texture work is generally good and the levels are modelled to scale with accuracy – the texture pop-in and some wonky animations/physics can distract from this, but if this game had been released two or three years earlier it wouldn’t have been an issue. In the 30 hours it took me to finish the campaign I never encountered one game-stopping bug or any crashes.
The environments are varied taking you from the middle east to Taiwan, Moscow, and Rome as the game progresses. Each mission area is based on real life locations including military bases, museums, subway stations, warehouses, etc.
You play as Michael Thorton and at the beginning of the game you get to decide his past before you join Alpha Protocol. The game introduces some of the main characters and plot lines right away but leaves some guess work as to the motives of each character and the objective of the mission. As the plot progresses surprise twists will crop up all the way through until the final scene. The story is interesting to follow as it changes depending on which choices are made – giving the game plenty of re-playability. The actual presentation for the storyline is reminiscent of television dramas like 24 and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Missions are broken up into two types. One mission type is an interactive cutscene which will have you visiting and engaging in conversations with various characters. You participate by choosing one of three-to-four dialog options such as Sarcastic or Professional as you talk with whomever. A conversation can take you down several different paths dependent on the choices you make. Being aggressive, diplomatic, apathetic, greedy, etc. – choices that may seem irrelevant at the time can come to play a bigger focus down the line.
The core missions have you infiltrating areas, taking down guards, and completing mission objectives such as disabling bombs, hacking computers, gathering intel, etc. The action in Alpha Protocol is excellent once you step back and realize you are playing an RPG and not Splinter Cell. Alpha Protocol is a skill based RPG – as you play you earn experience points and spend them on the skills you want to level up. During my play through I focused on stealth, pistols, and martial arts though there are plenty of other skills for more action-orientated gameplay. I played utilizing silent non-lethal take downs with tranquilizer darts and knock outs. This made the game somewhat more difficult during a few of the more action-packed boss sequences.
Time in between missions are spent at a safe house with access to email, an online black market storefront, and the ability to change appearances as well as upgrade your arsenal. Each core mission ends with an earned income which can be used to buy upgrades or extra mission intel.
Alpha Protocol is a little rough around the edges by todays standards but there are no glaring negative aspects making it not worth the money. I had so much fun during my first play through that I am definitely going to give it a few more tries to see how different choices affect the outcome. If this were 2001-2005 this game would be getting a near perfect score in spite of the few technical issues. In 2011 it is at least worth a high eight.
GTA: China Town Wars is a portable outing that combines some of the best features of the console series with the top-down perspective of the original two Grand Theft Auto games. Originally released for Nintendo DS and later the PSP, the iPhone port combines the touch related mini-games available on the DS with the polished graphics of the PSP port. The result being one of the most in depth fully featured games available on the platform.
On the surface there is not much more to China Town Wars than other games in the series as it features many of the same mission types and arcade action present in the original GTA3 trilogy. The story is a similar tale of greed and betrayal that takes place in the criminal underworld albeit this time you’re dealing with Asian Triads instead of the Italian Mafia, or Miami Drug Cartels. You’ll be carrying out tasks for numerous thugs and higher ups in the business – tasks that range from following people to their hide outs, blowing up store fronts, dealing with rival gangs, and other GTA standards. The main plot is generous with content and if you only play the missions you can expect at least 20-25 hours of solid gameplay.
The graphics are well drawn with very polished textures and a good variety of vehicles. There are plenty of little details in the world and no part of the world map feels unused or empty which helps to encourage exploration. The game features a good set of radio stations – unfortunately there are no radio-advertisements and the music is all instrumental, however you can import a playlist of songs from your iPod library – if I may, I suggest HEAVY JACK ~ Multiply.
Where this game shines is with mini games, side quests, and other fun activities not pertinent to the storyline. The game takes full advantage of the touch screen making things like stealing cars, reading email, making molotov cocktails, buying scratch&win tickets, etc. seem more realistic than just pushing a button. Like the console series you can also steal police cars, ambulances, taxis, and fire trucks and take on their respective side missions as well. There is also a new side mission that can only be found in this game – Dealing. This game features a robust drug dealing system that takes into account territory, six types of drugs, the DEA and Supply&Demand – all of which make playing this mini game almost more fun than the main storyline. As you work your way up through the ranks you can expect to get notifications from friends and enemies about good and too-good-to-be-true deals that will take you all around the massive map, and allow you to make cash very quick if you are strategic about who you buy from and where you sell.
The enormous amount of content available in this game would not mean anything if the controls were not designed well. So how does gameplay in GTA: CTW feel? Pretty good – although it does take time to get use to the car handling which can feel slightly sluggish at times due to the touch controls. Fortunately the gameplay never feels extremely difficult and for the most part the controls don’t get in the way.
At $9.99 is GTA: China Town Wars worth the price of admission – absolutely without a doubt it most certainly is. No where else in the app-store are you going to find an open-world action game with as much attention to detail as this one.
9/10
Prisoner 84 is a psychological thriller and survival horror game available exclusively on the iPhone.
The game takes place in a maximum security offshore prison where something has gone wrong. You play as a prisoner with psychological trauma that is trying to escape and make sense of the situation he finds himself in. Along the way you’ll encounter lots of zombies, spiders, and other weird enemies in an environment that is full of terrifying surprises.
Although the concept is not unique to this game – this is one of the more creepy experiences you are likely to find on the iPhone. Unlike Zombie Infection or Resident Evil 4 Platinum this game is more of a survival horror game than an action shooter. While there still is plenty of action – it is not the focus of the game.
Where Prisoner 84 shines the most is with its stunning retro-stylized graphics that are very detailed without using tons of polygons. The level design in particular feels realistic with well designed textures and effects that recall games like Half Life, System Shock 2 or Deus Ex. While the NPC animation feels stiff – the characters are well designed and don’t feel out of place in the game world.
Combat takes place in real time and it is clumsy by design without any sense of aim to help the player. This keeps the enemies tough despite the lack of smart AI. Which is good as the AI is very easy to fool and at times you can be standing directly in front of it and it won’t attack until you get close.
There are many item based puzzles that are reminiscent of early Resident Evil games and the developers put the touch screen to good use with mini games such as sliding access cards or turning keys before accessing computers or pathways. There is a good amount of gameplay available and it takes a few long play sessions before the ending.
Prisoner 84 despite some design issues is a well-made effort that is fun to play. Fans of early Resident Evil games will feel right at home with this game.
The Quest is a retro styled RPG available for multiple systems including the iPhone. It features a large free-roam world with many side quests and a focus on exploration – at least 100 hours of gameplay are available in the original campaign. The Quest Gold also comes preinstalled with a few of the available expansion packs.
The biggest gripe one might find with The Quest is that the game is very difficult and requires patience and some grinding. However because of this the game feels rewarding and fresh among newer roleplaying games – which usually favor easier learning curves to keep the player interested.
The bulk of the gameplay comes down to the quests you accept to build your character up and progress through the game. There are a few easier quests at the beginning to help you get accustomed to the gameplay – however they quickly become difficult with multiple pathways and outcomes. For instance one of the quests has you searching for the chest of a murdered nobleman who had been selling fake jewels to unsuspecting buyers. There are three characters who want the chest and each offers a different reward and outcome – the choice entirely up to you. The moralistic reasons presented leave lots of gray room which help make the game feel substantially more mature than other RPGs available on the iOS platform.
The graphics are retro based and this game would not have been out of place in the late 80s or early 90s. This means that the combat leaves much to the imagination and people looking for a more modern 3d RPG will likely not have much fun with The Quest. However the sprite based graphics are well drawn and very detailed – giving each area in the massive open world a unique style which helps keep the game from getting stale as you level up and make your way through.
The combat itself, though turn-based, blends well into the real-time tile-based movement system that the game is designed around. It requires strategy and planning to get through the combat situations. The economy system a required part of the gameplay as you will be stocking up on armor, weapons, potions and spells before venturing out into the wilderness otherwise you will find yourself in situations where you get stuck and can’t progress forward or return to a safe spot. If you play the game keeping all this in mind it is well balanced and you will be able to proceed without too much difficulty.
The Quest definitely gets my recommendation to anyone who is looking for a well drawn deep and rewarding gaming experience on a mobile platform.
9/10
My Classic Game review of Cybermage Darklight Awakening:
Cybermage: Darklight Awakening is a little known release designed by D.W. Bradley (of Wizardry fame) and published by Origin Systems (which was later bought out by EA).
Nostalgia is a funny thing especially when it comes to entertainment value. The first game I ever bought was Cybermage: Darklight Awakening – I remember seeing it advertised on the back of one of those Marvel/DC Amalgam comic books that came about in 1995/96. I remember reading the ad with its promises of a game that was more like a First Person Comic Book where you could interact with the world and inhabitants instead of just shooting at them like in Doom and I was hooked – I needed to play this game.
I eventually bought it in 1997 from a Wal-Mart with some birthday money and when I brought it home to install and play – it took forever to get it working in Dos. But eventually it ran and the opening cutscene filled the screen as I was pulled into the Cyberpunk world. I can remember thinking how awesome the graphics were and was amazed at the size of the levels and the tasks which needed to be carried out to beat them. Unfortunately about half-way through the game my computer crashed and the new computer wouldn’t run Cybermage no matter how hard I tried to get it working.
Fast forward almost 15 years and I am digging through my old game collection and find the Cybermage disc – a quick search online and I find out it is completely stable and running using the Dos emulator DosBox.
After the cutscene loads up and I am into the gameplay a number of things cross my mind. First off – graphically this game hasn’t aged well – at all. At the time it was released it could bring many modern systems to their knees – but now it was hard not to notice the weak character animation (particularly funny when an NPC is talking to you and kind of just walks in place), pixilated textures, and terrible control design.
When viewed taking in all the advancements that have developed for video game entertainment in the years since it’s release it is hard to even consider spending time on this title. However I was determined to beat this game and plowed on through all 11 missions.
The steep learning curve for the control design is second only to the original System Shock. However this game was released before mouse-look became the standard for PC FPS games. This means that the keyboard is used for most everything and there are a lot of keys to remember. However after the first level I was reorientated and having fun with this game again.
Because despite the ugly graphics, tile-based level design, 2.5d sprites, and ancient sound design – Cybermage is still fun to play. It predates ideas that were praised in Goldeneye, and Half-Life a few years later. Ideas like mission objectives, interactive NPCs, and integrated plot lines. It may have been forgotten as games like Quake and Duke Nukem 3d took the spotlight in the mid nineties – but there is something to be said for a FPS game that had you infiltrating corporate buildings, flying cars, and taking part in large scale battles with hundreds of friendly and enemy NPCs that came out in 1995.
As far as the storyline goes – the setting is classic 80s/90s cyberpunk with all the inherent trappings regarding predicting future technology that turned out to look more dated than the real technology that is out at present. You play as the reanimated corpse of somebody who stopped an assassination on a mutant cat person in the year 2044. When you awaken out of your regeneration chamber you find yourself in a hidden base that is under attack and are given very little time to reorientate to your surroundings as you escape. As you move through the storyline you’ll encounter many different characters who help you on your quest to destroy the evil overlord Necrom. At times I couldn’t help but laugh at the cheesy writing and dialog but for the most part the setting works and it is fun to watch the story unfold as you play. Something interesting to note is that at one point in the game you can hear a NewsCast in the city about how SarCorp and Trioptimum are fighting over some issue on Titan – connecting the game very lightly to the System Shock universe.
Cybermage is a very difficult game that gets progressively more difficult as you move towards the conclusion. It tosses more larger scale battles at you and the levels get big to the point where it is not only easy to get lost – it is inevitable. Especially the second last level which took me nearly 2 days to beat.
Fortunately the cheesy setting, decent shooting mechanics, and surprisingly good level design (especially during the middle of the game which has you taking missions in a rather large city) make this game worth tracking down if you are a retro gamer. However this is one of those games that unlike DooM will most likely scare away any new gamers with in seconds of the opening cutscene.
1995 Rating – 8/10
2011 Rating – 5.5/10
Average – 6.3/10
I will have more reviews up in a while but that's it for now!!
You can post what ever kind of review you want Ashasx, doesn't have to be long a sentence or two on what you thought of it and a score and that's great.
Civilization V - grabbed it on a steam sale a couple weeks ago. Damn you Sid Meyer for making time-sink-addicting games. Haven't played a game for so long in one sitting since Alpha Centauri (basically the same game in space).
Since it's hard to point out the good things / what's done well in 5 vs older versions... since alot of it to be fair is unchanged (and that's a good thing), I'll point out some of the flaws...
... few bugs here & there with unit pathing (though it's usually due to the restriction of one military unit per tile in Civ V vs older entries), "production" is a really abstract part of the game & not explained all that well, same with which tiles your city uses, etc... but I'm sure most of it is geared more towards the micromanager playstyle, with the idea that if you don't want to worry about it you don't have to.
The diplomacy options are a little restricted, but that's again part of the design. It seems the AI has more options for what they can say/propose to you than v.v. And reasoning for some of their actions, including why they'll accept some trade deals and not others can be wonky.
The "middle" of the game also seems rushed. Probably due to trying to keep with reality and how quickly (relatively) we went from bow & arrows to guns to tanks. Haven't played around with the settings on new games enough to know if there are ways to tweak that - if there's a way to cap progress at a certain era or something that could be fun too.
Overall, it's got my full gaming attention at the moment - 8.5/10.
Last edited by Icon; 08-11-2011 at 09:22 AM.
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