Jumat, 20 Juli 2012

Dark Horizon Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:



From the moment i played Freelancer, i started looking for good space combat simulator. And recently i found Dark Horizon. So the question is, will it be as good as i hope, or will it flop like so many before it?
The basic story outline is fairly simple and predictable. An unstoppable force, called The Mirk, is destroying the galaxy, one star system at a time. You are a soldier tasked to defend The Light Core - the only thing powerful enough to stop The Mirk. 



The gameplay is pretty standard, but it has some interesting mechanics. 
One is the heat system. If you use the cooling system and the temperature drops, your weapons are less powerful, you move slower, but the ship is invisible and no one can target it. If you use the heating system, you temperature starts rising, your ship's weapons become more powerful, but your shield is being drained. You must find the balance between power and survivability. 


One of the better things the game has is the level of customization. You can select the ships hull type, armor, shields and much more. But the best thing is the weapon building. You can select the projectile type, the caliber and the modifications for the weapon. Half of the fun is building your ships and weapons depending on the mission parameters.



Unfortunately the game  is plagued by problems. The first and biggest is the fact that the weapons feel very weak, especially in third person. They sound more like toys then guns and that doesn't give you the "i'm powerful as god" feel, you want from a game like this. So i strongly recommend using the first person camera - the weapons sound and feel a lot better.  
Other problems include terrible voice acting, badly written lines, boring story and some audio bugs. 



To top it all of Dark Horizon is a fairly good space combat simulator, with an amazing amount of  customization, nice enemy variety, varied environments. Unfortunately the story, voice acting and the shooting in third person let it down.

I hope you liked my review of Dark Horizon.
 If you did, please, comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
Rabu, 18 Juli 2012

Limbo Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:



Limbo is a very simple and very enjoyable, puzzle-platformer.
The story line is basic, to say the least. You are a boy with no name, who went down in Limbo, in search of his missing sister.
You soon realize that there is only one rule in Limbo - everything kills you. So you must avoid traps, tribesman, spiders and much more, in order to save your sister.



The most interesting thing about Limbo is the monochromatic, black and white graphic stile. It gives the game somewhat creepy feeling. That feeling is strongly reinforced, by the sounds and music. 


The gameplay is one of the simplest i have seen. Most of the puzzles are physics based where you have to drag an item, use a switch, time a jump, or something similar. The puzzles become fairly challenging by end of the game, and you can get a lot of enjoyment, by solving them. 


To top it all of, Limbo is a fun, creepy, puzzle-platformer, with characteristic graphic style.

I hope you liked my review of Limbo.
 If you did, please, comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
Minggu, 15 Juli 2012

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:



Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a first person, RPG set in 2027.
In the near future a very controversial peace of technology was created - augmentations. This technology can be used to enhance any human to become faster, stronger and smarter.
You play as Adam Jensen, the security director in Sarif Industries - the leading manufacturer of augments. After a terrorist attack on the company, Jensen is critically injured and if forced to get augmented. 
After a short recovery period, you go after the people responsible for the attack. 





The game gives you a lot of ways to complete your objective. The levels are nonlinear, with a lot of alternative paths and hidden treasures. But the biggest choice, by far, is the way you approach the objective. Do you play as mass murderer, or someone that never kills? Do you sneak threw the air ducts, or smash the front door with a machine gun in hand, screaming "Hasta la vista, baby "? These are  just some of the questions you will have to answer, when you play the game. 


The DLC "The Missing Link" is the only major problem i have with Deus Ex. Its a fairly good DLC with about four hours of gameplay, but in raises more questions, than it answers
Some minor problems include graphic bugs and very rarely - crashes. The PC version is solid, but i believe that the Xbox one very slow, if played from the disk. So its better to install in on the HDD, if you are using a console.


To top it all of Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a filled with intrigue, betrayal, mystery and a lot of choices.

I hope you liked my review of Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
 If you did, please, comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.

Jumat, 13 Juli 2012

Darksiders Review


Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:



Darksiders is a action-adventure similar to God of War and Devil May Cry. 
You play as War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. War was tricked in to braking the law, of the Charred Council and for that his powers are taken away. So now he is seeking revenge.
But the Council don't let you go free, they send The Watcher with you. He is to help you, if need be and to insure your loyalty to the Council.



When i first started playing Darksiders, i was not impressed. The enemies where weak, the combos where really easy to do and it was generally boring. But after the first hour, or so, when i got new combos, new weapons, when the enemies got stronger, i really started to enjoy it. 
No matter what you do the gameplay is very fluid, your combos link nicely together, with no lag, or any other problems. 


Graphicly the game is beautiful, with interesting enemy models and good environment design.
The PC port is fairly good and the game is equally enjoyable on keyboard + mouse and a controller. 
But the game has some big problems. First too many puzzles and they are not good, it feels like they put them, just to make the game longer, but it gets very frustrating at times. And even worst are the water puzzles, because swimming is very, very boring.


To top it all of Darksiders is a very enjoyable action-adventure, with solid combat and a interesting story. But it doesn't know its strengths, so there are too many bad puzzles.

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

Selasa, 10 Juli 2012

The Walking Dead Episode 2 Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:



The Walking Dead is a game based on non critical characters from the graphic novel. 
Episode 2 starts three mounts after the first one. The survivors have made themselves comfortable in the old motel. They have build a wall and feel relatively safe. But there is a big problem - food shortage and hunger has made everyone very nervous. You, as Lee, are in the middle of this and you have to make the difficult choices, that will keep the group alive. 


The gameplay is mostly the same as the first one. In conversations you have limited time to decide what to say, to pick a side, or you can just stay silent. When the characters is doing some physical action, you have a very simple quick time event. The its very similar to games like Heavy Rain and Fahrenheit. 
The impressive thing about The Walking Dead is the story. The game gives you a false sense of security and you can never see what will come next. 


The best thing is that you make your own story, by picking sides and deciding what to do. But its not black and white, like Mass Effect. All choices are shades of gray and there is not a clear divide between "good" and "bad". This gives the series very good replay value.
I really don't want to talk about problems, but there is a big one that worries me. Since English is not my native language, sometimes i don't have enough time to read all of the choices. So consider this, if you cant read fast, or take it as a challenge and improve your reading. 


So to top it all of, The Walking Dead Episode 2 is a very good continuation of the serious and i strongly recommend it to fans of RPG's or the TV show. 

I hope you liked my review of The Walking Dead Episode 2.
 If you did, please, comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
Jumat, 06 Juli 2012

Dead Space 2 Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:



Dead Space 2 is a third - person, survival horror made by Visceral Games.
The game starts in the insane asylum, on some space station. The main character - Isaac  Clarke has no memory memory of the past three years. All he knows is, that there is a new outbreak of Necromorph - a kind of mutant that can only be killed, if you cut its limbs. The only thing you have to go by, is the questionable advice of Daina. And so the horror of Dead Space begins again. 


The gameplay provides a wide selection of ways to kill your enemies. First of, you have weapons, of course. They usually cut your target in some way and remember you are aiming for the limbs. Also you have the kinesis module, that is used to throw sharp objects and impale Necromorphs on walls. And finally you have melee attacks and the stasis module, which is used to slow down enemies.  




One interesting thing about the game, is that it doesn't have a clearly defined interface. All of the UI functions are holograms, made by your suit. This gives the game an interesting style and also better immersion.
The biggest improvement is the PC port. I never sensed any mouse exercises, or lag, or any of    the porting problems, that where in the first one.


To top it all of Dead Space 2 is a very atmospheric horror game, that doesn't inspire fear, like Amnesia, but in still managed  to get a few scares out of me. 

I hope you liked my review of Dead Space 2.
 If you did, please, comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.

Selasa, 03 Juli 2012

Trine 2 Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:



Trine 2 is a colorful, puzzle platformer, with various obstacles, that you have to overcome.
The story starts with the mysterious Trine - a magical artifact, that has the power to bind the souls, and destinies, of people to. The Trine seeks out the heroes from the first game - Amadeus , Pontius and Zoya. After the artifact "recruits" them - the adventure begins.





The Trine basically provides character switching, between the three heroes. As you probably guessed each hero is good and some task and bad at others. 
Zoya is a fast thief, she can jump the highest, out of the three characters. She also has a grappling hook and uses a bow for a weapon. Amadeus is a not so powerful Wizard. He can case boxes, planks and he can levitate things. And finally we have the brave knight Pontius. He uses melee weapons and is best at killing enemies and smashing walls down. 


To solve the physics puzzles, in single player, you have to use the best characters for the task, or combination of all three. There are no restrictions on how to solve the puzzles, as long as you can do it. 
In the three player multiplayer its a bit different, because each player controls one of the heroes and you must find a way, to get all of the characters to the end of the level.


One of the most impressive things about the game is the lighting engine. Doesn't matter, if the light is coming from the sun, the moon, or a torch, it looks beautiful. And that is the theme that is maintained threw the entire game - just beautiful. 
The only problem i found, is that sometimes you don't know what you have to do to solve a puzzle. But these cases are rear and you find the answer, after some trial and error.


To top it all of, Trine 2 is a beautiful game, with good puzzles, nice story and solid gameplay. 

I hope you liked my review of Trine 2.
 If you did, please, comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day.
Minggu, 01 Juli 2012

Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes Review

Hi, my name is Nik and today i am reviewing:


Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes is the newest and funniest Lego game, to date.
The story starts with Joker escaping from Arkham, aided by Lex Luthor. So you must stop them by using different heroes from the DC universe.
There is a big change from previous Lego games. All of the characters talk. This makes for better jokes and ultimately a funnier game.




The game is mostly focused on solving puzzles, by using different suits for your super heroes. These puzzles are fun, varied and sometimes challenging. The combat is easy, like in previous Lego games, you just mash the attack key, until you kill all of the enemies. 
Boss battles on the other hand, are harder, because they are puzzles. In order to defeat a boss, you usually have to think outside the box, for every phase of the fight.
As always every levels has a lot of collectibles. In order to get all of them, you must complete every level multiple times, with different characters. 


But the game suffers from the usual Lego problems. Your AI partner is terrible, he mostly runs in to walls, fire, or just says in one place, like a idiot. That makes the game best, when played with a friend on local Co-Op, no online Co-Op unfortunately. The PC controls are even worst, then the AI. So even on PC its best to use a xbox controller.


To top it all of, Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes is very funny and fun game, best played in Co-Op.

I hope you liked my review of Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes.
 If you did, please, comment and share with your friends.
  Have a nice day. 
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Kamis, 28 Juni 2012

And here it is...

Next to summer, soccer and relocation pains and aches here is one of the main reason for the lack of new tutorials lately:
Wild Surf - a mobile devices game that started as a 'quick one day job' and turned into a full blown game development and a lot of fun creating the art.

"You are a few taps away from your next dream vacation. It's an endless summer here in Paradise Island with year-round sun and great surf everyday. Grab your favorite surfboard and catch some waves. Just be sure to avoid the hungry sharks on your ride into surfing heaven.

It's the best fun you had on the beach without getting sand on your device. Collect shells as you surf to spend in Joe's shop on new surfers, boards and power ups. If you don't like shopping, why not try your luck in the Surf Arcade and try to win power up and bonuses? Just watch out for these nasty seagulls, they are always after your shells."



We hope you will enjoy the game, join us on Facebook for in game giveaways, secret codes and tips.

Game is available on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/wild-surf/id521631290?mt=8
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eatingmyhat.wildsur.

Coming Soon to Amazon.

I hope you enjoy the game as much as I did doing the art for it.
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Artist Monolog IV

Day 34
Five weeks and he is still around… I figured that the only way out of it was to have a look at what he wanted me to do. I even tried to convince myself that for sure it wasn’t that bad and I could get away with some basic art suggestions (“use red”). Again, I was wrong, what I saw was something like that…

image

image 
 
Day 35
I couldn’t sleep that night (he was under my windows all night asking “so how was it?”, “did you like it?”, “cool ha?”, “told you it is cool”, “call me?”, “I’m sure he liked it”).

Terrible as it was, something did click. I don’t know if it was the challenge, a mental breakdown or compassion for a lost soul (and hair) – but I decided to make a couple of images… and than a couple more, with a one or two additions; and a few hundred images later we finally had Wild Surf.

image


 
In order to satisfy the most likely request 'more babes on the beach' here's one of the ingame comics:

image
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