Recent reviews by Rod Surly

I have loved giant mech combat since the inception of the Battletech PNP. Over the decades, my affinity for the games in this genre - video or otherwise - have generally followed a set pattern of excitement, purchase, disappointment. I feared that no matter how many of the games I played, I would be forever disappointed.

Jordan and HBS have proven me wrong and rekindled my love of mech combat in a most glosiour way.

The game is easy to learn, with a comprehensive, intelligent, story driven tutorial that blends seemlessly into the overall narrative. The game is nuanced, and engaging. Filled with detailed elements of the characters, the ships, and massive amounts of customization of your mechs. Once you finish the main storyline, the game isn't over - it's open ended. There are many worlds looking for someone with the skills to solve their problems, or you could become a gladiator on Solas VII. The choices are yours to make as you see fit.

The Beta was a blast to play, but it does not do the finished projuct any justice. That is to say, judging the game by the Beta would be like judging Star Trek by 3d Chess. I cannot be happier about this game than I am right now. This was one of he best backer decisions I have made. I love this game and I hope you get as much enjoyment from it as I do.

kill
Kill
Kill
KILL
KILL!KILL!KILL!KILl!
KILLTHEMAAAAAAAALLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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ahem
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I mean.... you see ... this is ,,,, welll uh ...


aw ♥♥♥♥ it



KILTHEMALL!!!!
KILLEVERYONE!!SOOTHTMEKILLTHEM!!!


More to the point, it is a game harkening back to the hardcore days of QUAKE when it was only skill and players vs skill and players. if you loved the old days of no mods, classes, or BS and just shooting other persons in the FREAKING FACE!!!! this is the game for you. 100%free. the only stuff that you can buy is cosmetic. If youwant, you can grinf it out.

KILL THEM ALL!!!!!!
^__^

The Talos Principle is a puzzle game that looks like Myst and Borderlands 2 had a baby. Intelligent puzzles that sometimes require precision timing, thinking 4 dimensionally, and can result in death. :)

The visuals can, with the right video card, can be absurdly beautiful. The story is pretty deep and the worlds diverse.

In short, I am loving this game. :D

After just a few days (about 6 hours of play), I have some callouses, bad hand cramps, knowledge of a few chords, and a big smile on my face. I know it will not be easy, but I am already seeing improvement.

I learned to play drums from Rock Band (1-3), so why not become a video game trained Dave Grohl? :D

UPDATE:

After 6 weeks, I have only gotten the game to run stable for 20 hours. Almost every time I start it, it gives an error message. Either it can't detect the input from the cable (which has been in the same place the entire time), no audio output (which also never changes), it gives no error, but also outputs no sound, or it flat out crashes. I have made no changes to my computer and was actually enjoying this game and learning guitar. I guess I should not have bothered with the expensive cable.

This is a terrific game. Especially for the price. :)

Be warned: if you like this kind of game play, you *WILL* lose hours to it without noticing.

It is a little slow starting out, but it falls into a fairly comfotable (not too boring) pattern that gradually becomes more complex - although not too much so - as the game continues. There is no permadeath and enemies can be dodged by landing at the nearest available.

The lack of a soundtrack is the only major flaw I have found with this game, and honestly, I can play my own music on board, or streaming so I am really not bothered by this.

All in all the best free game I have gotten in a long time and one of the more fun games I acquired this year. :)

I can't say enough good things about this game. It has a minor flaw or two in my opinion, but they are really minor and do not detract from the gameplay, the story, or the fact that I am finally learning Hiragana in an enjoyable way. This game, combined with progressive repeptition of writing in my notebook, and saying each character aloud when writing it, has let me memorize all the basic Hiragana in less than 20 hours of effort. The game still has more to teach me, and I am looking forward to it and the Katakana Wars sequel.

Want to blow things up?
Want to blow things up for profit?
Want to blow things up for profit and mission completion?
Want to blow things up for profit, mission completion, and loot?
Want to blow things up for profit, mission completion, and loot IN SPACE!?

I LOVE BLOWING THINGS UP IN SPACE FOR LOOT AND PROFIT!

Alex Ayers and the crew over at Entheogen have made a great flight sim that works with both mouse and keyboard (personally I use a Nostromo N52, Mouse, and Voice Attack software), and uses slightly modified WASD controls. With the way loot drops, the variety of loot, and the humor in the references (albeit sans speech), it is a lot like Borderlands 2 in space. If you know me - or even if you don't - you will know that I love Borderlands 2 (as evidenced by my 1000+ hours gameplay), and I love this game almost as much in just a few short hours. :D

Does it have problems? Yes, but generally they are minor and do not effect gameplay. Such as accidentally moving a toolbar icon and not knowing where it is stored (there is no ability to lock the toolbar), the huge but unsortable inventory, or flying through another ship. These minor problems are overshadowed by:

- the sheer joy of blowing enemies to bits using one of the hundreds of weapons,
- watching enemies explode - as the game description says - like loot piñatas,
- a not uninteresting story mode,
- very cool original music
- an RPG element including crafting and gathering (skill trees are coming in a future update),
- a large and easy to use DB on the Zigfrak.com site that lists ALL THE THINGS,
- and an awesome price (IT'S ONLY $5 USD!).

Any major problems are often quickly and directly addressed by the developers (as evidenced on their forums), and the forums - both here and on the Zigfrak site - are full of people that are knowledgeable, and information that is helpful.

My only hope is that one day we get co-op. ;)

In short, if you like flight sims or space, and FPS, then this is going to be a fun investment for you. It will provide several hours of fun and explosions, and that is just in the FREE DEMO. ;)

One Finger Death Punch is an addictive, fast paced, somewhat silly, smile-inducing homage to kung fu movies. This is what happens if Bruce Lee & Jackie Chan made a Stick Fighter video game. 2D and side scrolling it may be, but this is no a hinderance at all. The gameplay is akin to rhythm matching with one hand, but the action is so much more fun to watch. As I play, I find my smile getting cramped and tired from being there so long. The memories of my misspent youth watching Kung Fu movies on Saturday afternoons comes flooding back with every bone cracking, eye-popping, heart-bursting hit. :D

In short, this is the most fun you can have with one hand and tell your mom about it.

Shoot. Loot. Repeat. This game is filled with bizarre, dark, hilarious, and insane characters, dialogue, and weapons. I can't get enough. :D