I read a fascinating article the other day about the history and evolution of the engine created and used by the legendary developers Piranha Bytes, and well, I thought I would share. It’s called: Ore to Elex – A short history of the engine in Piranha Bytes’ games, and is written for the fan site World of Elex by Ravenhearth.
Continue reading “The Evolution of Piranha Bytes’ Game Engine”
Before I start my speculative rant, I just want to say that I’m no expert in any of this—this is just what I gather from reading news, and taking the temperature on the current console market (with PC hardware included) for the last couple of months. I try not to be all doom and gloom, but man, it’s hard not to! I think gaming, on both PC and consoles, the classical way, is coming to a brutal end, with a lot of suffering included.
It might not happen, with everything turning out just fine, like in the fairy tales of old. But if there is one thing life has taught me: happy endings are rare!
Continue reading “Is gaming as we know it coming to an end?”
Sometimes you just want to play something truly nostalgic, and what better way to scratch that itch, than firing up the old Super Nintendo emulator for some platforming in Aladdin. I know I’m waltzing into dangerous territory here, since I’ve heard that Nintendo fans can be very passionate. For those, I just want to say: show mercy. I’m no expert in retro-gaming intricacies, but from playing Aladdin, I learned that it’s a damn fine title. And it felt like a perfect platformer for someone not used to these old-school games—not too hard, yet, still challenging without being frustrating.
Continue reading “Aladdin – Arabian Nights [Review]”
Finally, the Menace demo has arrived for us to download and play like the tactics starved maniacs that we are! So, how is it? I would say it’s okay, showing potential for the future. However, the high boardgame feel of it really surprised me. It’s a game that is a lot more abstracted in combat simulation, LOS (line of sight), and damage than I was expecting—especially compared to their last title; Battle Brothers.
For example, “overwatch” has been dumped in favor of faster gameplay, forcing you to move forward instead of turtling behind defenses to ambush the enemy. Fair, I guess, but it also means that the defensive safe playstyle that I like is out the window. And it feels a tad ridiculous that my special forces unit when having action-points left after a move, say up to a building, can’t defend themselves.
Continue reading “Menace – Demo Impressions”
Ah, Mars Tactics, one of those high-potential games I played at random during one of Steam’s Next Fest demo parties. Yeah, let’s see—yes, all the way back in 2023. Well, I’m happy to announce progress has been made since. Lots of work has gone into the strategic map, and the turn-based combat itself, as you can see in the trailer provided down below.
What’s most interesting here, beyond the new tidbits of gameplay shown (that robot!), is that a release date has been set. This comes with both good and bad news. The good: release is in May 2026. So, a while out, but not overwhelmingly so. The bad: it’s an Early Access title. And with that, I can only suspect that the complete package won’t arrive until 2027 or something like that. But hey, at least we are getting a taste, because the turn-based combat was fun in the demo, and the setting is very cool—which reminds me of the faction wars in Total Recall. Kuato lives! Check the trailer after the jump, as usual.
Continue reading “Mars Tactics – New trailer and Release Date!”
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