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Rabu, 30 Mei 2012

Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning Review

Hi my name is Nik and today i am taking a look at a nice action RPG:


In Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning you start the best way possible - dead, on your way to a mass grave. And then something impossible happens - you wake up in a pile of bodies, and start searching for answers. It turns out that your body was part of some gnome's crazy experiments. The goal was to bring dead people, back to life and you where the first success. 

Shortly after that the crazy gnome is killed and you are left with the question of what is your purpose in life. In order to find that you go to a Fateweaver, people that can read the will of the gods and predict the future of any man. But what you find is very surprising - you have no fate, witch means you can do whatever you want and more importantly - change the fate of other around you.




The combat in  Kingdoms of Amalur is normal for an action RPG, so if you liked Fable 1, you will love this.
The fighting is polished to perfection - very dynamic, very satisfying and very solid in general. Just one problem i have with it, if you are not leveling as a warrior, your block is very slow.So if something is attacking you, good luck blocking at all.

You have three talent trees -  Might, Finesse and Sorcery. If you level on Sorcery you become a mage, who can be either range or melee focused and melee mage is one of the best things ever. Is you want to be a warrior, the Might three is for you. And Finesse is the sneaky, rogue tree.

But its not just that, you can get different bonuses, by leveling on two or even three trees at a time. So you can have a mage - warrior, or a warrior - rogue, witch is kind of unique and no other RPG i have seen does anything similar to this.


The creatures you encounter are also very unique and most of them are like nothing i have ever seen. You can find little tribal things, that will try to hit you with sticks. You can find fairy like stuff, that cast spells at you. And many more unique and interesting creatures that you have never seen before.

The crafting system is traditional, but again with a few twists. There are three professions in the game - Alchemy, Sagecraft and Blacksmithing. Sagecraft is similar to jewelcrafting in WOW, you basically make gems for sockets in your armor.  Alchemy is self-explanatory, you make potions and elixirs, using herbs.

Now blacksmithing is where most of the twists are. To get your materials, you must disassemble old weapons and armors, then you use the parts to make a new item. For example, you find two swords, one with really good blade, the other with a really good handle. You can destroy them and make a sword with  good blade and good handle.


Now for the problems. As a RPG this game should have interesting story, memorable characters and fun side quests. And Amalur unfortunately fails on all three the characters are forgettable, the main story is boring and the side quests feel like MMO quests - go collect 10 of this, go and kill 15 of that. So the driving force is not the story, like in most RPG's, but the combat, that isn't necessarily a bad thing,  its just different. Another problem is that dying is impossible. The enemies hit like little girls and die just as fast.


So to top it all of  Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning is a game with a very well polished combat, unique creatures and beautiful landscapes. The problem is that the story is not as good as it should be and the side quests are very boring.

Btw today is the first month birthday of this blod, so i thank to all of the people that read it. All five of you. :)

Gameplay video - coming soon.

I hope you liked my review of Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning .
If you did please comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
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Senin, 28 Mei 2012

Mass Effect 3 Review

Hi my name is Nik and i am look at my favorite game, so far, of 2012:



The story of Mass Effect 3 starts with the Reapers invading Earth. Capitan Shepard escapes with one thing on his mind - finding help from any alien races, willing to fight against the Reapers. So your goal is to make, as many alliances as you can, in order to save the universe from the invaders.
The problem is that many races hate each other, the Krogan hate the Salarians and Turians for the genophage, the Quarians hate the Geth, the Batarians hate the Humans and the list goes on. And in the middle of all that, you have to forge alliances to help you win this war. Not an easy task, but very satisfying, if completed.




The gameplay has being improved from Mass Effect 2. For example you can do a combat roll, by holding any of the direction keys and double-clicking the use button. This makes the combat much more dynamic and engaging, compared to the previous games in the series. 
You have a bigger selection of weapons then before and the best part, is that the weapons are unique in there role and feel. Every assault rifle has different accuracy, fire rate and damage, so you can pick the one that suits your play style. Same goes for every other weapon type in the game.


Now for the problems - the ending is one big shit storm. In it BioWere include a new character in the last five minutes. The choices you have, make no sense and they have no impact on the ending. All of the 16 endings are the same, with very little difference from one another. But hopefully all of that will be fixed in the free DLC, that is coming out this summer.
Another major problem is the "From Ashes" DLC, witch for $10, adds a Prothean recruitment mission and a Prothean as a crew member.  And if you think this DLC is not very important, you are wrong, the Prothean tells you a lot of interesting things about the last Reaper invasion.  That is the most obvious cash milking i have ever seen and is the reason for people, like TotalBiscuit to boycott the game.  


So to top it all of Mass Effect 3 is a good game, with beautiful graphics, grate soundtrack, solid gameplay and a well written, engaging story. But with very bad, poorly taught ending and the DLC business its hard to give you a positive recommendation for this. If you haven't gotten the game yet, wait until the release of the free ending DLC, this summer. I hope it will make the game it better - not worst.  

Gameplay video - coming soon.

  I hope you liked my review of Mass Effect 3.
If you did please comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
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Sabtu, 26 Mei 2012

Amnesia - The Dark Descent Review

Hi my name is Nik and today i am taking a look and the scariest thing ever created:

The story of this horror-survival game is developing in the start of the nineteen century, in the creepy Brennenburg Castle. You play as Daniel, who remembers nothing more then his own name. His adventure starts at the first flour of the castle and there is only one way - down! 
Daniel has many question. How he got here? What is he supposed to do? What are all those monstrosities, stalking him, and where are they coming from? 
You find answers to all of them, but some of the answers are even more frightening, then the horrors lurking in the darkness...




One of the main mechanics is that you can go mad, if you stay in the darkness for too long. But if you stay in the light - the monsters see you. If you want to live, you must balance the time spend in the shadows or light.
Most of the monsters you encounter are the Gatherers, If they spot you - run fast, because those things run even faster. You can try to close doors or build barricades, but this will just slow them down - the freaks can brake them. If you want to stop the chase for good - hide ,or your body will forever stay in this freaky castle.


The atmosphere game achieves is amazing, even before you see the first monster. Amnesia has all the scary things you expect, but they are done better then ever before. Doors closing for no reason, pianos playing themselves, dark corridors and sounds, from the lower parts of the castle,  that can chill your blood.
Problems - the graphics are not the best i have ever seen, but that is all.


To top it all off Amnesia is the scariest, most intense horror game i have ever seen. So you like that sort of thing you will love Amnesia. If you don't consider this a challenge to complete it.
You can get it for Windows, Linux and Mac for about $10.

  I hope you liked my review of Amnesia - The Dark Descent.
If you did please comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
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Rabu, 23 Mei 2012

Proun Review

Hi my name is Nik and today is all about speed:


Proun - a abstract, racing game made by Joost van Dongen (music and sounds by Arno Landsbergen). This is not your typical racing game, as you probably figured out. In Proun you are not a car, but a ball. The track is not a road, its a tube. And the obstacles are not buildings, they are geometric shapes. So how does it work? Well you are a little white ball, stuck to the outside of a tube with other balls as your opponents. You can turn around the outer part of the tube, go forward and back, but you cant fall from it. Its like you are attracted to the tube by some invisible force. Your goals are simple - dodge obstacles, go fast and win.




Sounds simple, but its not, because going fast and avoiding obstacles are two things that, don't go well together. And when i say fast i mean fast, in fact "fast" is the slowest speed in the game. The other three are sonic , supersonic and speed of light. Very fitting names.
And if that was not fast enough you also have boost, witch you acquire, if you don't hit stuff or slow down for several seconds.
To top of that on almost every map has one speed ring, witch increases your speed by a lot. So if you are looking for something fast and skill based, this is a game for you.


This title has three championship mode maps, in witch you unlock the various speeds, tow more bonus tracks and most importantly - online highscores. And this is the addicting part of the game, you always try to get the perfect map run and get in the Top 10. And when you finally get there it's so satisfying as hell, and i know i am there. 
One of the nice features of Proun is that you can use 3D Studio MAX to make your own tracks. Also you can import tracks that other people made, and there are quite a few on the official website and in the forums. 


So problems. The only major i found is that my gamepad, a Genius Maxfire G-12U, makes the game crash to desktop. It works just fine with Xbox controller, witch most people use. The graphics are very basic, very abstract and kind of interesting. The music is jazz, witch is good for what it is, bit its just not my thing. And if you are like me you can always turn of  the music  and use winamp.   
To top it all off Proun is a very fun, addicting and unique game, with "pay what you want" system. Witch basically means that you can pay any price above € 1. If you are interested click here.

Gameplay video


  I hope you liked my review of Proun.
If you did please comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
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Senin, 21 Mei 2012

Alan Wake Review

Hi my name is Nik and today i am taking a look at one of my favorite horrors:


In this horror you play a writer named Alan Wake, who has to battle dangerous enemies and overcome his fears in search of answers to simple questions. What happened to him  and where is his wife? 
The story starts with a nightmare, where Alan is being chased by some lunatic with an axe. Short after that you wake up on a barge, that is on its way to Bright Falls - a peaceful, little town, or so it seams. You get the key to some cabin, go inside and then the nightmare becomes reality! After that you wake in some wrecked car, all covered in bruises and blood. You see the date in a gas station - a weak after your arrival in Bright Falls. And so the simple questions are born. What happened to you and where is your wife?  




The enemies in this game are called Taken. People or objects that are under the influence of the Dark Presence - force witch wants you back in your cabin or dead. In order to kill a Taken you first must use some light source, usually a flashlight, to get the Dark Presence of him, witch is acting like a shield,  and then you shoot him till he "dies" and vanishes in to thin air. In order to do that you have a large selection of weapons and all of them feel unique, for example the shotgun has nothing in common with the hunting rifle. They have big kick to them, the firepower is there, and you can feel it every time you shoot.
One of the interesting mechanics of the game is that in order to reload faster you have to pump the "R" key. So this gives it a little "god of war" vibe - its not just a standard "R" to reload for two seconds or something like in normal shooters.  


Now for the problems - this game has very few. The only one that i can think of, is that in episode 5 the game becomes more shooting then story and that is the driving force. Don't get me wrong the shooting is good, but the story is better.  
Graphically the game is beautiful - grate fog effects, excellent motion blur (the first i ever liked in a shooter), detailed textures and top of the line lighting, make this game one of the best games looking games i have seen. The PC port is so good i can't think of any complaints, witch is close to impossible. It is so good it has a FOV slider in third person game and that is rear.


So to top it all Alan Wake is a gorgeous looking, story driven, third person horror, with a excellent PC port. As horror its not very scary, even from me and i hate horror game and movies, If you are looking for that i suggest "Amnesia - The Dark Descent".

 I hope you liked my review of Alan Wake.
If you did please comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
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Sabtu, 19 Mei 2012

Freelancer Review

Hi my name is Nik and today i am taking a look at my favorite game of all time:


Freelancer is the best space-combat game i have played. The story starts with the very mysterious destruction of the space station Freeport 7. You play as one of the few survivors, Trent, who has lost everything, his ship, his home, his money. The resque ship leaves you at the planet Manhattan (New York system) and you start looking for work. Not long after, all of the survivors start disappearing in very strange circumstances and you for some reason end up in New York's most wanted list, so you flee the system is search for much needed answers.




But the gameplay is the really impressive part - fast , fluid and divers. You have a large selections of guns that you can use - laser, particle, neutron and all sorts of energy weapons. Also at your disposal you have mines, torpedoes, missiles and more, for some extra damage. 
The systems and the things in them are also divers and unique. You have planets, space stations, asteroids, space debree, particle cloud and much more stuff witch make every system feel unique and interesting.


Graphically the game is nothing special from todays point of view, but its not terrible as many people think. Sure the faces are not as detailed as i would have liked and the lips syncing could be a little better. But non of that is too important, because the ships, the gun effects and the space bits in general look much better then the ground sections.


The problems i have with the game is that the enemy AI is kind of strange.When you are chasing them, they make no effort to shake you off, so they are too easy to kill. Sometimes they do some impossible maneuver and get behind you, without any effort. And sometimes, this is the most annoying of the three, even when you are in a party with four - five people, all of the enemies will attack just you for several seconds, witch is enough to take your shield down or even kill you, if you don't use repair bot or shield battery.

So to top it all off freelance is a game with very good story line, memorable characters and grate gameplay. The game has some miner problems with the AI, but they are not too big.

Gameplay video

 

 I hope you liked my review of Freelancer.
If you did please comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
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Kamis, 17 Mei 2012

Hitman Blood Money Review


Hi my name is Nik and today is time to review a game i love: 

In Hitman Blood Money you play the elite assassin  known as agent 47. As 47 you have many ways to complete the mission. You can be a sneakyassassin getting in, taking out your target and getting out before anybody, even notices you. Or you can be a mass murdered - getting in, killing everyone and leaving no living man, when you are gone. You have a large selection of weapons at your disposal -  fiber wires, pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, machine guns and several other sneaky gadgets. You can also use anything else you find in the level like knifes, hammers, shovels and much more.




The story is told by flashback cinematics before and after every mission, witch is quite interesting, just like the story is quite good(i will not talk more about it, because i dont want to spoil it). The gameplay is fun as hell when you are sneaking slowly towards someone, in order to strangle him or when you are shooting every enemy in sight. Every weapon feels like you are downing damage with it, if feels like it has some weight to it. There is non of the COD style when you feel like you are shooting plastic balls at people. 


The levels are large, nonlinear, so you have multiple ways to get to your target and multiple places to hide the body. The game also looks and sounds astonishing, several graphic bugs and texture clipping here and there, but nothing too big.
The only problem i have with the game is that the PC port could you a bit more work. For example the inventory screen is a big ring, that is obviously designed for consoles. Also more gamepley option, like toggle sneak, would be nice. And also some of the AI is really acting unnatural like they can see things, even if you hold them behind your back, or they repeat the same line for two, three times in a roll. But its not really a game braking problem, more like annoying.
To top it all of Hitman Blood Money is exiting, nonlinear third person shooter and if you love games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution you should give Hitman a try.

I hope you liked my review of  Hitman Blood Money.
If you did please comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
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Rabu, 16 Mei 2012

Torchlight Review

Hi my name is Nik and today i am looking at a Diablo clone:


Torchlight a action RPG, set in the town of Torchlight - what a shocker. The basic story is that the town has problems in the Ember mines - you are an adventurer who takes care of the problem. This gives is a grate Diablo I feeling - one town, one dungeon, one goal.  There is ,of course, more to it then that, but i dont want to spoil it.




There are three classes for you to chose from - the Destroyer - a melee oriented warrior like class, the Vanquisher - a range combat and trap using hunter, and my favorite the Alchemist - a mage with range attacks, who can also summon minions. Every character has three talent threes and each is very different  from the other two. 
One of the interesting things is the pet system, much like Fate's pet system, in the start of the game you pick a pet, cat or dog, you the main thing they are used is going to town and selling items - that way you dont waist your time with that. The pet can also eat different kinds of fish witch make it faster, bigger and stronger for several minutes.


Graphically the game is nice, colourful and bright. The graphic quality isent the best, but its very good for a 15 dollar game. The music is very much a copy from Diablo I, witch is a good thing for people that liked Diablo I more then Diablo II, like me.
The only two problems i have with the game, is that the dungeons at the start are too linear and too small, but after 3-4 flour that is not really a problem anymore and that after 1-2 hours it gets too repetitive and boring, so no long 10 hour sessions on this title.
To top it all of Torchlight is a very good hack and slash RPG, with very nice gameplay and good graphics. The game has a lot of modes and if you preorder Torchlight 2 on steam, you get the first on for free.  

 I hope you liked my review of  Torchlight .
If you did please comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
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Wooden Platforms - putting the wood into action

It's been a while and I decided to get back into the tutorials with a request for wooden platforms as used in the wood material tutorial:



http://netbook-game.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/making-materials-wood.html

A lot of this tutorial is repeated here in a slightly less detailed way - you might want to reread the older tutorials if you run into problems.

Note:
If you work with bitmap output in mind I would suggest creating the platform as a bitmap first. This way you have the proper dimensions to work with. Import the bitmap and create the starting rectangle to match. 



One platform for everything might work - but adding variations to your games art greatly enriches the look and feel. 

I hope this was helpful and you enjoyed it as much as I did writing again.

Get the source art (svg file) of this tutorial for
USD 5.00

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Senin, 14 Mei 2012

Orcs Must Die Review

Hi my name is Nik and today i am taking a look in to one of the most addicting games of last year:

So Orcs Must Die is a game about killing orcs - simple as that. There is some basic story - you are a warmage that defends the portals to the human world, called rifts, from orcs. The really good part of the game however is the killing of the orcs part and that is so satisfying and so addicting everyone that like killing things in games will love it (i know i do).




The game is a very interesting mix of tower defense and a third person action game - you lay traps on the orcs path, but they are not enough to kill them all, so you have to help them, with some of your weapons, like the crossbow, blade staff, fire bracers and several other weapon. But there is a much grater list of traps then weapons - spike trap, tar pits, arrow walls, floor scorcher and much more will give you a very good selection of ways to kill orcs. When you complete a level you get skulls, up to five depending on how well you did, and with this sculls you can buy upgrades for your favorite traps.


Graphically the game has this nice cartoonie stile witch suets it very well- its not crysis but the textures are good quality and you get good frame rate on the PC version. The game sounds nice and goofy witch compliments the humor and graphics stile. The only problem i have with the game is that it doesn't have Co-Op multiplayer, but they are fixing that with   Orcs Must Die 2 witch should come out this summer.
One last answer i should probably answer is Orcs Must Die vs. Dungeon Defender and the simple answer witch i think is right is that Orcs Must Die is a better singleplayer then Dungeon Defender, so if you like Co-Op get Dungeon Defender, for single player get  Orcs Must Die.
So to top it all of  Orcs Must Die is one of the best orcs killing simulator with a nice and unique graphic stile, nice sense of humor and grate gameplay.
You can get Orcs Must Die for PC and Xbox 360. 

If you want to check out my other Game Review Click Here.

Gameplay video 


  I hope you liked my review of  Orcs Must Die.
If you did please comment and share with your friends.
Have a nice day.
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