Category Archives: Games
Rage of Mages / Аллоды: Печать Тайны
The strategy/RPG mixture Rage of Mages is one of the most popular games of 1998 that has played a big role in changing the course of the entire video game industry…
… In Russian-speaking countries.
And while it was also popular in some neighboring lands like Poland, internationally Rage of Mages didn’t even win Gamespot’s ‘Best Game No One Played’ award. At least it WAS nominated.
To be fair the Gamespot review in particular was actually pretty positive, which makes sense given the nomination, but overall the game’s international reception both among the press and players was pretty mixed at best.
One of the reasons why Rage of Mages was much better received locally is that after Tetris it was, if not the first, then at least one of the first video games developed in the region to get a widespread global release. Not to mention it was made in just 15 months and released literally against all odds.
Read the rest of this entryGame Opinion – TorqueL
TorqueL feels like a prototype of a very interesting mechanic that has never really left the stage of being a prototype and sort of became a full game. The point of the game is that you roll around in a box, and instead of jumping, you extend one or more of the box’s sides to do the platforming.
I really like the concept and find it interesting. And as a prototype, TorqueL is a great proof of concept. It is not, however, a great game in my opinion.
Game Opinion – Titan Souls
Titan Souls is a game that makes me excited about victories but also keeps me absolutely infuriated all the time.
On one hand, that’s the whole point. After all, the name is purposefully similar to Dark Souls, and all the mechanics in the game are based on one hit death – both for you and the bosses that have one particular weak spot that you need to get to.
The thing is, what makes me infuriated is not the one-hit death part. It’s the way you target your arrows with the stick. You don’t see the trajectory of where you’ll fire, and while one may argue that it’s part of the skill to learn how to target and I’ll certainly agree with that, I’ll also provide a counter-point that missing the mark by a couple pixels is very frustrating. And it happens very often, usually leading to death after, because as bosses start getting trickier there’s pretty much just one chance to shoot.
Game Opinion – Titan Attacks
I think Titan Attacks is a great example of reimagining a classic game, that being Space Invaders, to a more modern gaming era (while still keeping a retro style of the game). And I think the most important part of that is how it handles progression.
Game Opinion – Luftrausers
Luftrausers is the kind of game that globally speaking does just one thing, in this case side-scrolling flying and shooting, but it does it oh so well. Controls are incredibly tight, there is lots of variety due to different customization options all affecting gameplay and how you control and shoot (and there’s a little mission tree for each customization item), and what kind of tactics and strategies to utilize depending on the loadout.
And what I really like is that each customization has a layer of music dedicated to it. So depending on how you equip your rauser, you’ll hear a different remix of the main theme. I think that’s very smart. This opinion piece is gonna be short, if you like pure fast-paced action games, then I would certainly recommend it.
Thank you all for reading. Feel free to leave any comments below. If you’d like to keep an eye on my future blog posts, feel free to follow me on Twitter
@farlander1991 🙂
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Game Opinion – Shank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0BmQ1i9Kgo
Shank is a game of good concepts but some flawed executions. The core of the game is the combat system, where you enter the state of flow by combining together all the possible moves while avoiding attacks to deal with the enemies in the quickest, and visually stunning, way (the 2D graphic style really helps the ‘visually stunning’ part).
I don’t understand Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
When it comes to critically acclaimed and/or very popular games that I happen to not like, they’re usually divided into one of two categories. One is the category of critically acclaimed and/or very popular games that I don’t like, but fully understand why so many would find great enjoyment in them. It’s a matter of taste, after all. But then there’s games that are critically acclaimed and/or very popular, but I’m just baffled by the situation and can’t understand what people find in them, and how come they say what they say (it’s still a matter of taste, but it doesn’t make me any less confused). Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is that kind of game.
Game Opinion – The Deadly Tower of Monsters
The Deadly Tower of Monsters is absolutely oozing with style and atmosphere. The whole game is framed as a DVD re-release of an old sci-fi B-movie, with the director recording commentary for it. And I gotta say, from the very first loading screen when director starts talking for the commentary track before being corrected that nothing began yet, the whole style just clicks with you. It’s pretty awesome.
Game Opinion – Dead Star
I want to start by saying that I wrote this post about half a year ago, back when Dead Star was released and the possibility of a shutdown didn’t seem likely at all. Somehow, it didn’t get posted, so I am gonna do so now. Beyond the addition of this paragraph, I didn’t change anything to reflect the current situation, but now that the game is off the shelves and soon you won’t be able to play multiplayer matches, it feels sad and weird to read a recommendation to check out the game, even if I personally didn’t enjoy it greatly. Always a pity to see a game gone.
Game Opinion – Tricky Towers
When I first launched Tricky Towers, I thought to myself, ‘Oh, is this just Tetris?’ But no, it’s not just Tetris. It’s a Jenga Tetris with Physics! And it is as cool as it sounds. Basically, you need to build a tower out of Tetris blocks (preferably without it falling). There are light and dark spells to help you or hinder your opponent(s), and several modes/goals available.
It should be noted that while single-player portion of a game is pretty engaging in short bursts from time to time, Tricky Towers should be looked at as a primarily multiplayer game, because this is where it shines and is the most fun.
And… yeah. This is the whole post. There’s nothing much to say other than this game is good fun in company or online, so if you’re interested in that, be sure to get it.
What a long blog post. Anyway. Thank you all for reading. Feel free to leave any comments below. If you’d like to keep an eye on my future blog posts, feel free to follow me on Twitter
@farlander1991 🙂
Stanislav Costiuc 