Splinter Cell: Conviction – Sam Going Loco [Review]

The one Splinter Cell game that, in my opinion, got the most flak. Not totally undeserved, but perhaps the critique was a tad harsh back when it was released. People wanted more of the slow, duct-crawling stealth kind. Instead, we got commando Sam Fisher, who has no problem with murdering people to the left and right for the slightest of reasons. This felt off with a lot of people. However, I think Splinter Cell: Conviction fits perfectly in the Splinter Cell lore. Sam is a loose cannon, and without anyone guiding his actions—he is just a brutal killer, especially when fueled by vengeful revenge. Having Sam go crazy with bloodlust, makes narrative sense in the grand story of Splinter Cell.

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Dverghold – Dwarf Digging [Early Access Impressions]

If I got a coin every time the dwarves dug too greedily, I would have zero coins, since they would nick them too. This will not be a full review of Dverghold, since this Early Access release is far from finished. And I don’t mean buggy, as it’s actually very polished and stable, but there are camp followers that should serve a role but offer nothing at the moment. This means that I’d rather stop now and wait for the complete experience instead of spoiling the game piecemeal. Even so, let’s go over my impression of this EA release!

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Critical Shift – Playtest Impressions

One thing that’s common now is to base your game on SCP, especially if you want mystery, and instantly want to set the tone of what’s to come. Critical Shift leans into SCP something fierce, being the game that feels the most similar—without actually being set in that universe. At least, that’s the impression I’m getting from the three missions in the playtest.

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Dverghold – Early Access Out Now!

As most of us know, the dwarves in their greed can’t help but dig a little too deep—usually unearthing something foul that soon thereafter becomes a plague for everyone. Dverghold is no different, with you answering the call for massive underground cleanup. In other words, Dverghold is out in Early Access, with its first four dungeon levels to be explored. It’s a turn-based blobber, and when I tried the demo, I came to enjoy it a lot.

I’m hesitant about Early Access games nowadays, but Dverghold feels like a sure bet if you like these types of (rare) games. It’s incredibly cheap too, coming out to 13.16 euros for me, with a current 15% discount. So, go get it! Release trailer after the jump.

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The Alters – Are You Me? [Field Report]

This will not be a review, since I haven’t finished the game yet. Yet, I find myself compelled to talk about The Alters. I’m not going to go into too many mechanics, as I mostly want to talk about the impressive narrative structure. I’m not sure if I have actually experienced anything similar. Not in this genre at least, which is some kind of base-building/management game.

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Urban Strife – 1.0 Release is Imminent!

After ten years of development and a few years in Early Access, it’s finally time for Urban Strife to hit the 1.0 release on the 14th. Now, while I was pretty harsh toward the game in my Early Access Impressions article, I saw great potential in the title. So it’s with some excitement I await the release tomorrow. Have things been improved?

One of the big reasons for my scathing review was the weak writing, but I might be in luck, as it seems they hired an English-speaking veteran narrative designer to go over the dialogue. Check the release video after the jump, and a quote from one of the devs I picked up on RPG Codex. It comes with curious insight about the development and somewhat somber expectations.

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