Where WE review our games

Star Wars: The Old Republic (MMORPG)

Fairly enjoyable game, but suffers flaws all MMO's have. Too much combat, not enough roleplay. It's very addicting, and I had to quit because of hand pain. I made it to level 40 with my Jedi Guardian, and level 19 with my Commando. I also have a level 10 Consular.

Graphics: The graphics are pretty nice, but still don't seem to be much an improvement over KOTOR. Nar Shadaa is particularly nice, although sometimes there is too much clutter. Graphics have never been Bioware's strongpoint. I think they really need to develop a more efficient engine to run their games. 100 million for this seems a bit much. Grade: B-

Sound: Pretty good, but I'll be honest, I'm kind of sick of Star Wars sounds. It was never a strong part of the movies. I feel all MMO's are really lacking in exploring true surround sound and environmental effects. It's not a priority for them I guess. The game is missing ambient sounds like crickets chirping and whatnot (yes I realize the animals will make noises as you pass by, but they missed an opportunity to create a sound rich environment). Grade: B-

Gameplay: Gameplay is pretty good, and very addicting as I said. I'd say there are too many abilities to use and not enough action bar spots (except taking over your screen with the side bars). Other than a little sluggishness, gameplay is pretty good. Grade: A-

Story: Pretty good plot, not the best Bioware has to offer, but enough to keep me going. Guardian storyline was pretty good, Commando wasn't nearly as good (probably because they aren't a jedi ) I like the class story lines in an MMO. I'd like to see other MMO's take note of this. WOW eliminated class quests (most of those involved getting skills/spells like totems), and they should have expanded those, not gotten rid of them. Grade: A-

Music: similar to sound, but I like to grade these separately. Good dramatic Star Wars-esque like music. Pretty good stuff. I enjoyed most of the music. Grade: A

NPC's, I enjoy the NPC's, but they could have done more with them I think. I know it's difficult with an MMO vs a single player game, but not enough dialogues with your crew. Grade: C+

Bugs: Nothing major, but still several minor ones. One bad example is my companion getting dismissed every time I took a shuttle on Balmorra. A couple of times I waded into battle with no companion. Missing emotes (not really a bug, just missing content) are also present, but hardly game breaking. Grade: B-

Roleplay: I enjoy the affection system with your party, and the light side/dark side options are alright (kind of simplistic, but this is a limitation of Star Wars). Probably can't get much better in a MMO environment. Grade: B+

setting/immersion: Graphics aren't bad, but I still don't feel like the world is alive. I'm not sure if this is correctable, however, with today's technology. Grade: B

Interface: Needs work. Probably the weakest part of the game. A decent number of preferences you can change (which annoyingly get reset sometimes with a patch), but not enough flexibility. I want to move my windows around. I want to be able to open my character window (so I can see what I have equipped so I can see what mods I have and compare them to what I'm viewing on a vendor or Trade Network). Trade Network interface is workable at best. Not being able to easily compare mods is the most annoying feature since most of my gear is orange level. No good way to look for a group for a specific flash point or heroic area. It's very difficult to get heroic areas done in later areas. Which turns the game too much into a single player game. Grade: C-

Multiplayer: See my above gripe in interface. The groups don't seem as entertaining as in World of Warcraft. Maybe because it is 4 instead of 5 people. Grade: C

Final Score: B fun MMO', but still doesn't have the features World of Warcraft does. In their defense, WOW has many years of development over Bioware. Not enough group interaction, bad lfg system. These are my opinions, and many will disagree. I know people say MMO's shouldn't have a lfg system like World of Warcraft, but that's a discussion for elsewhere, not here.

All Points Bulletin:

Overall rating: A-

What is it? A MMO PvP limited-sandbox game managed by GamersFirst (group that manages a bunch of independent MMO games of different categories and flavors). It is a free-2-play game so naturally you are limited at the start, such that an experienced player can be competitive, especially when playing on VOIP with a clan, but an average newbie will be eaten alive by advanced/paying players. The game play is distinctly cops and robbers with a feel that this game started as a multiplayer Grand Theft Auto: San Andrea PvP mod; you drive around, take out rogue players, commit acts of robbery, and otherwise engage in spontaneous missions that are generally opposed by another team.

The gameplay is mostly centered on driving, teaming up with other players, performing random missions, and getting into some gun-play. The missions are varied, spontaneous events with the flavor of crooks trying to make illegal gains, and vigilante cops trying to foil the crooks by any means while protecting public order.

A leveling system is present including some unlocks that are at least titular (not sure if they do anything for in-game performance). Most of the leveling is to unlock weapons, gear, cars, and cosmetic enhancements. The cosmetic customization of the game is very high. There is virtually no RPG customization (no stats, traits, etc...).

Pros:
There is a degree of realism in the driving that a GTA fan will enjoy racing around the map in this game, especially as the game worlds are highly detailed with destructible items, and 3D environments that are generally climbable. Trick driving is not rewarded in this game unlike GTA, but it can give you the tactical advantage, or some dumb fun.

There are a total of four PvP game maps, and 1 "social world" which is nothing but a dressing room for modifying your character. Two of the maps are PvE/PvP sandbox areas and reasonably large so that it is easy to get lost in them, approximately as large as a GTA:SA city. The other two maps are largish PvP zones for team deathmatches only. Players can jump between maps at will. All of the maps have a strong sense of vertical height so they aren't just running around on a 2D map, but one can climb on ladders and jump from heights (taking damage).

The character gen system is very robust. There's not really any RPG elements other than your faction's place in the game world (e.g. cops are penalized for being destructive, can spawn cop cars all over the city; while crooks can rob cars, mug people, steal and fence from store-fronts). Characters can be modeled in detail, and clothing changes are built into the game system (supposedly the more fashionable, the more hitpoints).

The gun-play and physics are semi-realistic, but not quite to the same level as the driving sim. Not quite up to Counter Strike and Rainbow Six standards, but cover and destructible items play a role. There's a large number of weapons types, varieties, and weapon mods; enough to vary the gun-play.

The heart of the game is PvP missions that spontaneously occur. The missions are varied enough to not be repetitive in an hour of gaming. Most of them feel like GTA type missions---and some are little more than "go there, hit F key", but with PvP opposition, they can be quite fun, especially when turning into 8 vs 8 matches. The best missions are multi-node capture the node, or capture a mobile flag and transport it to your team's goal while the enemy is trying to do the same thing you are. There's also "VIP" missions where one player of one team becomes a slow-moving VIP that the other team tries to assassinate X number of times before the mission clock expires; the catch is that VIP is not only slow, but also slows the top speed of any vehicles that they ride/drive, so simply running away isn't enough to win.

Cons
There is no melee in this game, which is a shame.

The leveling system is kind of hard to comprehend as the game presents it. Missions cause you to level, but not through interactions with "vendor"/"quest-giver" characters. You basically do missions, earn experience (rank) and money, and then go to the vendor characters to buy what your experience unlocked.

There's a bit of an RPG storyline in-game told through email, but it mostly is incoherent, and doesn't add much to game.

The damage model is simplistic. There's no Fallout 3 like depth of critical hits and critical damage. Being decked out in rich clothes and modification supposedly gives you uber hitpoints such that multiple shotgun blasts to the head don't have much of an effect. Also the game uses health regeneration rather than a medkit/buddy aid system.

The starting guns are very weak, and making progress early in the game without a clan is very challenging and off-putting. Spending $10 to get into this game, if you don't have a clan, is kind of a necessity, since lone-wolfers are at a disadvantage from the start. High level characters can bunny hop and be basically immune in high level gear, seeming to have guided SMGs---inducing rage quit.

I played a little bit of APB over my brother's house. Not my genre of games, but for the genre, it seemed like a decent game for the price (free). IIRC they had a system where they would only pit you on missions with people of your skill level. I forget how they determined your skill level, but I think it went up with the more successful missions you had. I pretty much sucked, so it was nice when I was grouped with people who also sucked.

The problem is I suck at shooters, and I suck at driving games. It's a double whammy for me. Why are driving games on computers so difficult for me? In real life I'm an excellent driver, but on computer games I can't "feel" the road, so I have no feedback from my actions of turning the wheel, etc.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/arts/video-games/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-from-38-studios.html?_r=2

I was pretty sure it was going to fit squarely into the hallowed category known as drivelware. I was pretty sure that after just a few hours in Amalur I would be shaking my head in frustration, yearning to return to established role-playing heavyweights like Skyrim and The Witcher 2.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been so happy to be so wrong. Fabulously wrong. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning isn’t just good. It sings with infectious, engaging excellence. This is a game that knows exactly what it wants to be, what it wants to provide and what its players will enjoy. Then it delivers with confidence, style and, not least, fun in abundance. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is one of the finest action role-playing games yet made.

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Anyone have a review for this game?

No, but i'm seeing good reviews everywhere ... I hope to try it someday

Least impressive game I've played a demo of (and it was a good sized demo) for a while. The NPCs were forgettable, the combat is all flash and little substance (sure you can string some big combos together as you level up, but button mashing works just as well). The archery is not only incredibly bad but embarrassingly so and the combat is felt like it was entirerly developed for a controller and aim-assist with no real skill required (yet apparently the camera is also really bad on the consoles). The graphics are a little better than WoW's, but it still feels like you are playing an MMORPG (this is not a good thing). The menus are badly designed for the PC. Overall from the demo and the videos I've seen it really doesn't look like that great of a game.

Total Biscuit did a live stream of the first several hours and was ultimately disappointed. Even on the hardest difficulty he found the combat rather easy most of the time (and he isn't an amazing player), the NPCs are dull and uninspired and rather MMORPG like, the camera was bad, crafting system was good, story was okay. In the end he wasn't terrible impressed and said if he was going to give it a rating it would be a 6/10 (iirc).

If you still want to buy it wait for a sale or get it used.

Yeah, some people talked about it in some other thread. I was gonna ask for reviews or comments too. Seems like my kind of game, but 60$ is kind of steep. For now, it's not getting the glowing reviews required to make me buy it before it goes on sale. I can still keep myself busy with a bunch of other games.

It isn't like any other games I know you play and like. The action combat is more like God of War (but not as good) rather than Diablo.

It's funny 'cause I was thinking I shouldn't take advice from Maniacal 'cause I had the preposterous assumption that I know what kind of games he likes and I know he'd have zero interest in a game like Kingdoms of Amalur. Also, I know about the combat, I've seen a bunch of videos about the game.

Rub'Rum said:

It's funny 'cause I was thinking I shouldn't take advice from Maniacal 'cause I had the preposterous assumption that I know what kind of games he likes and I know he'd have zero interest in a game like Kingdoms of Amalur. Also, I know about the combat, I've seen a bunch of videos about the game.

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Regardless of what Maniacal thought, I'd be wary of professional reviews of games, at least if they were glowing when my experience with the demo was the game was bland.

Aurora

Synopsis: A freeware spreadsheet/database-driven space 4x game by Steve Walmsley. Sometimes referred-to as "Excel in space".

Good points: Insanely detailed. A huge tech-tree which includes user-defined techs. Design and build your own ships, from the ground up... first researching new technologies, then designing individual components (such as search sensors or new engines) based on the new techs, then designing and building ships based on these components. The game includes Exploration, Colonization, Terraforming, Resource gathering, Diplomacy, Warfare, Research and Construction. Customizable game-starts, from Modern Day to Trans-Newtonian Physics. A randomly-generated galaxy for you to explore and conquer.

Bad points: No graphics. Runs a little slow once the non-Player races start expanding. Still in alpha, but works very well.

Score: 8.5/10

I think I'll wait until they can get some artists together and work on that segment of the game... I've tried MUDs and the like before, no thanks.

Just played through Human Revolution. Keep your eyes open, I definitely have some things to say about it.

Blue Emu said:

Aurora


Score: 8.5/10

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I tried this Aurora: http://www.playaurora.com/index.html

It was alright for a flash-type game. I'll give it an A for being a science-y Web-browser game.

This is the Aurora that I was referring to:

http://aurorawiki.pentarch.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

Machinarium

When I was younger, I thought the best picture books were the ones that were lavishly illustrated and detailed. The rich art of books like "Dinotopia", "The Snowman", "Hey, Al", and Chris Van Allsburg's books created their own little worlds that commanded revisits.

If "Machinarium" were released in 1992, it would have been one of those books. Today it's a game that achieves the same highs as those books precisely because it knows where to stop. There is no hidden McGuffin that complicates everything with a ten-hour metapuzzle. There are no tacked on cliffhangers that threaten to cheapen everything that came before as a prequel. Instead there are simple puzzles effortlessly drawn into the game's visual aesthetic and a minimal amount of fetch-quests that don't take up more than two screens.

Without a heavy amount of puzzling, that leaves the player plenty of mental space to appreciate what the artists have done here. Machinarium unfolds and ends with wispy pencil drawings and watercolors so crisp you can almost see the white endpages and dedication page ("To my daughter Joan."). Because it doesn't overstay its welcome, it's a game that also invites us to play through again sometime. A perfect children's romp. A

Right. I'm going to do this, even if it brands me as the ultimate wimp amongst gamers.
*breathes deeply*
Zoo Tycoon 2 (Done with all expansions)*
* indicates expansion 1, indicates expansion 2, indicates expansion 3, indicates expansion 4
Like I said, it's a bit of a wimpy game, but someone needs to review it. Because it is pretty good.
DISCLAIMER: this (and CivIII) used to be all I played on the PC. I'll try to be as neutral as possible.
After the initial success of the first Zoo Tycoon (which was good, and enhanced by it's DLC (which was free) and expansions), Microsoft and Blue Fang worked on a successor.
So, let's start with the all-important factor in games - GRAPHICS.
So the graphics are seriously kid's-cartoon, which isn't so much of a problem, because the other main change is that the game is in glorious 3D. the Graphics did get better over the expansions - so for example, a manta ray (released in expansion 3) is less random-cartoon-style than an African Elephant.
this gets a 6/10 from me. Could look more like some of the competition. But 3D was in its infancy back in 2004.
next in importance - GAMEPLAY.
What can I say? It's simple - Build a zoo. Make everyone happy. Make tons of cash. Get 5 stars of fame. Keep the dinosaurs in the pen.
Actually, it's not as simple as that.
There are three modes - Campaign, Challenge, and Freeform.
Campaign is your bog-standard pre-made set line of scenarios with their own missions. and some optional ones.
The game comes shipped with various campaigns, and more are added as you go through the expansions. The "final" campaign has one scenario in it. Each fully completed campaign gives a reward - anything from flower posts to a center to breed endangered animals.
Challenge is halfway. It's basically freeform, but with restrictions in the form of cash and the animals you can keep (fame plays an important role here.) Missions come from time to time.
Freeform - do whatever you like. Doesn't matter.
new to this game is the glorious option to walk around in first person, take pictures (which the game can convert to HTML), and do the stuff Staff does - while this saves you lots of money, it might become a bit of a strain in the end.
In the third expansion pack come tank exhibits and shows, with additional training the animals.
In the fourth expansion pack (Extinct Animals), you can find fossils (endless walking around with some strange detector which will always find animal enrichment items), puzzle them together (easy? there are 5 degrees of difficulty) and then use strange cloning devices to get them back from the dead (same as with the puzzles) - saves money but if you fail utterly be in for a suprise. Also allows you to cure diseases.
Oh yes.
Stopping Rampages.
But now you're obviously wondering, "so how is the gameplay?"
Fun. really. I don't know, but for me, it gives a sense of calm to everything. You get the animals, replace them, etc.
However, sometimes, you can place an exhibit full with meat and the lion doesn't even notice it and starves.
Oh. Right. Fame.
Fame is a way of showing how awesome your zoo is and unlocks stuff (like animals in Challenge/Campaign)
so 8/10. Wish the companies didn't split.
Now you might have noticed - "what about the sound?"
There is no sound apart from the menu music (awesome) and the creepy sounds the children guests make.
5/10. Needs more music.
So.
There you go.
In my "I NEVER SAW THIS GAME" pose, this gets 63%.
In my "I LOVE THIS GAME" pose, it's an 80%.
It's a really nice game. Even if sound is not available.
So. Go ahead. Call me a wimp.
I've got some irritating guests to feed to mah t-rex.

Review of Tribes Ascend coming soon.

Right, give Zoo tycoon 2 a 70% from me.
In the meanwhile...
The Elder Scrolls Chapter II: Daggerfall
Firstly, I didn't make any mistakes in the title: it's actually called that way.
Released back in 1996, it's a classic RPG.
First of all, I'll start with the graphics, because these graphics are old.
Seriously old. Clearly visible Pixels and 2D people and trees old. This is mainly because it's a 16-year old game. Which doesn't matter. Cities actually feel like cities (there are tons of buildings in each city, instead of Skyrim's few buildings.
So the sounds.
The sounds make it feel really RPG-ish, which is good. Music in cities differs with the time of day as well, which means that a city at night is slightly more menacing than at day.
Gameplay is very good. In my personal opinion, it's better than Oblivion in some ways and worse than Oblivion in others. (I just picked oblivion as an example)
First of all, there are faction relations, as in a lot of citystates, various guilds (no assassins), various temples and Daedra to boot.
The plot is awesome. The King of Daggerfall was killed a year ago, and now haunts Daggerfall. You have to lay his spirit to rest and also make sure the Empire manages to keep control in the Iliac Bay - this means the map is never a whole province, rather half of High Rock and half of Hammerfell. Fast travel is possible right off the bat, and luckily - The Elder Scrolls website gives the area of the game as 487,000 square kilometers, or all of Great Britain - Travelling from, say Sentinel to Daggerfall without ship takes about 56 days. Fun.
The only problem is that for lore reasons, Daggerfall city at night is just as dangerous as minecraft with endermen, creepers and whatnot without you having any armor, because of the ghostly army.
Also, Dual wielding is possible. The first dungeon is "short", and can leave quite the impression on someone - I've not set foot in another dungeon since.
The game is free, but requires DOS emulators to play. the way around this is that someone made a program called Daggerfallsetup (google it) which makes installation much more simple.
I'll go and give the game a 99%. Truly a classic, and a good game as well.

^
You should've added these pics to that post:
Spoilered because it's huge!

And the map with daggerfall

So people can see just how big it is.