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.
Continue reading “The Alters – Are You Me? [Field Report]”
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.
Continue reading “Urban Strife – 1.0 Release is Imminent!”
Put on your troll-skin boots—it’s time to return to Azeroth, where the orcs are once again restless and in need of a lesson in etiquette. While Warcraft II: Remastered has seen a little more effort put into it than Warcraft I: Remastered, it still suffers from the same issue: cheap AI slop, masquerading as improvements. Now, to be fair, it runs better and much smoother than the original (I tried), but the new visuals and the upscaled CGI cutscenes are of poor quality. This means that the only part you pay for is the increased performance, as everything besides that is worse, or on the same level as the original.
Continue reading “Warcraft II: Remastered – Orc Fest [Review]”
I decided that I wanted to experience the canonical storyline of Warcraft up until World of Warcraft. Where else to start than the beginning with the first RTS game in this legendary franchise. Now, I’m not playing the original release, but a remaster simply called Warcraft I: Remastered—made by Blizzard themselves. While it left me with a disjointed feeling towards its presentation, it’s probably the best way to play the original campaign. Many mechanics have been made modern in terms of gameplay, like being able to select larger groups, and hot-key support.
However, as mentioned, the presentation is questionable at best, with the “improved” graphics seemingly only getting a cheap AI upscaling instead of genuine care to keep the aesthetics and feel of the original game. So, is the remaster worth the trouble, or does it undermine its own legacy?
Continue reading “Warcraft I: Remastered – My liege? [Review]”
Finally, Xenonauts 2 has a set release date and will be this year: 2nd of April, to be exact. So, not far off at all—less than a month, actually. I hope it’s a great financial success, since if it is, expansions will be worked on. Don’t quote me on that, though, as it’s anecdotal at best. But I can swear I read Chris (main dev) mentioning it in a forum post about the future of the game. I’m really curious what an expansion would look like, so please: buy the game in droves, people! The 1.0 trailer is also out, watch it after the click.
Continue reading “Xenonauts 2 – Release date set!”
The Viking saga NORSE: Oath of Blood is here, and it’s primarily a bitter tale of revenge—fitting for the historical theme of the game. When I tried the demo, I came to like it, but it was clear to me that it needed a lot of polish and optimization. Did they succeed? Not quite, in any real sense to be totally honest. I was expecting a Viking X-com, but instead got a very linear experience with a heavy focus on narrative and cutscenes.
Continue reading “NORSE: Oath of Blood – Viking Retribution [Review]”