gameZopinion

Avancast : Rise of the mage (2007, Roleplaying)

2010-07-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

A game worthy of gods....... not quite

Graphics - 7
Sound - 7
Gameplay - 6
Difficulty - 7
Overall - 6.5

Avancast : Rise of the mage, is a action based roleplaying game developed by lighthouse interactive. One of the first things that you notice about it is the fact that it seems very unfinished. You also get the a very familiar feeling as you play the game for in certain ways it resembles the Never Winter Nights games. However it is a far cry from the supreme quality that Never Winter ever was.

It looks like NWN.... But it aint NWN

The game is about a young wizard studying in .... well you guessed it... magic!. And of course the game deals with how that young wizard is able to utilize his training and face the dangers of the world while at the same time trying his very best to realize his destiny.

While the graphics and sounds are pretty decent they arn't mind blowing. The story it self is somewhat interesting but again fail to deliver that finishing touch that would have made it a lot better. The gameplay is all about spells... lots and lots of spells. And due to this the game can be feel a little awkward as it tries to mix the action elements of a traditional D & D game with spell casting.

The Bottom line
Avancast, does have the potential but it falls short of being a truly great game.

Demigod (2009, Statergy)

2009-09-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

A game worthy of gods....... not quite

Graphics - 8
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 8
Difficulty - 8
Overall - 7
Demigod is a very interesting new game, produced by "Gas powered games". The people who brought you games like "Space Siege" , "Supreme Commander" and "Dungeon Siege".

Demigod has a variety of new concepts and ideas that you cannot find in a lot of games. You choose from one of eight hero characters called demigods, And through a tournament you and your fellow worshipers must battle the other gods to become the One true god.

The tournament is fast and furious.

The tournament consists of 8 rounds, Each having 2 sides. The dark side and the light side. After each round the gods change teams such that it is likely that your teammates in the current round would be your opponents in the next round.

The tournament it self is fast, fun and requires a lot of quick thinking. After each round each god gets points allocated to them. The number of points earned depends on the achievements made during that round. From capturing critical points to buffing up your god with items each round in the tournament can be a lot of fun. But alas this fun doesn't last long, with each round ending up in about 20 minutes and the entire tournament only having 8 rounds you can play through the entire game within a matter of hours. Having said that Demigod offers decent reply value as all the gods have different abilities and attributes.

The Bottom line
Although its more or less classified as a RTS game, Demigod dishes out a more of a arcade gaming experience and is likely to appeal fans of both arcade style gaming and RTS based gaming.

Red Alert 3 (Statergy, 2009)

2009-08-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

Red Alert is back with a bang.

Graphics - 8
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 8
Difficulty - 8
Overall - 8.5
Command & Conquer RA 3 was a disappointment for me, Cartoon characters, Childish jokes and a less than appropriate story line made me wonder if its expansion would be just the same. But to give credit to the developers the second edition of RA3 is a hell of a lot better.

The first thing to note here is the significant improvement in the AI. Even in the medium difficulty level the AI will challenge you to the fullest. The graphics and soundtrack also have been improved. Apart from the minor glitch such as "On screen tearing" and the occasional solder walking under water during a cut scene everything else seems to be in good shape. The Story board also has some significant changes to it and you feel as if the game has a much more sense of seriousness to it than its previous installment. And while the campaign it self is very short the game makes up by having missions that are fairly long. Each faction also has a new set of units. However some of these units provide to sense of imbalance to the game.

Red Alert is back with a bang

The expansion also has the Co - commander mode removed from it. And it also has 2 additional game types within it. The "Challange" campaign and "Yorikos" campaign. Both these campaigns have no effect on the games main story line, and although the "Challange" campaign seems a little out of sort "Yurikos" campaign feels more like a game within a game and is much more entertaining.

The Bottom line

RA3 Uprising is a must for all fans of the series. The game may have its shortcomings, but compared with the pleasure that it provides these shortcomings are negligible.

Drakensang: The Dark Eye (2009, Role Playing)

2009-06-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

An Epic Adventure game that could have been so much more

Graphics - 8
Sound - 7
Gameplay - 7
Difficulty - 7
Overall - 7.5

First Impressions are one of the most important things in any game. And as far as Drakensang goes the first impression that i got from it was very very poor. For starters the story and the opening movie isn't the greatest you'll ever see. The graphics are pretty decent and the sounds are not that bad. However the awkward camera and the confusing interface really leaves a poor impression.

The world of Drakensang is a wast and beautiful one

Another thing that you come to realize very early is that unlike most adventure games that you have played Drakensang is different in almost every way. The spells, The traits and even the Combat is completely unique in Drakensang. Although most players will enjoy this uniqueness that the game provides, the lack of a proper tutorial will leave you confused about the many things in the game even after playing it for a long long time.

Character creation and progression is something that is out of this world. With so many things to control this aspect of the game is certainly more complex that it should have been. But having said that the amount of character customization allows you to create a bunch of characters that are tailor made to combat any situation.

Character creation can be very complex.

The gameplay in Drakensang is pretty decent. With a fair arrangement of combat moves and spells Drakensang's game play is certainly one of its strong points. However it could have been a lot better if there were more spells and combat moves to choose from. The Quests are pretty decent and completing side quests dish out a fair reqward. However the main quest could have done with a bit more attention to it as it seems linear most of the time.

One more thing that is likely to grab your attention is that you can almost never shake off that feeling of "This game could have been so much better if only they had done this.. or that". For example the world of Drakensang is vast and requires a lot of traveling however this takes a lot of time since the traverl speed is extremely slow.

Another nice feature of the game is the ability to create potions, weapons and Armour. Some of the most powerful items in the game can only be obtained only by creating them. But again even this aspect of the game could have been a lot better by allowing players to tweak with recipes rather than have them unchangeable.

The Bottom line

Although it is flawed in many ways, Drakensang is a rare gem of a game that should be enjoyed by all RPG lovers. But for anyone to really enjoy this game they must be patient.

Battle Stations : Pasific (20009, Stratergy/Action)

2009-06-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

A merge of Strategy and Action

Graphics - 8
Sound - 7
Gameplay - 6
Difficulty - 6
Overall - 7

Battle Stations : Pacific takes off from where the previous Battle Station games left over. The game depicts the maritime operations of both the Americans and the Japanese over the Pacific Theater. The game is true to its roots that it seems to be a nice mix of both Strategy and Action. It requires the player to make calculative strategic decisions while at the same time allowing the player to experience some thrilling action first hand.

All hands to deck.. Prepare for battle

One of the good things about this game is the fact that there are two playable campaigns. You can play as the Japanese and try to write history a little differently or you can play as the Americans to keep the history books as they are. The game graphics look great but you need a reasonably high end machine to play the game smoothly. The models are very well detailed and extremely realistic and the visual effects are a thing to cherish. Theres nothing better to watch than to see a enemy battleship blown in half by your torpedoes. The sound also are pretty good and the WWII style cinematics are a treat to watch.

The Strategic element adds value to the game

One more things that adds value to this game is the number of unique unit types that are at your disposal. From Areal Dive bombers to Torpedo boats you get to command a wide array of ships. However some of the controls are also not that great. Asking the players to fly aircraft using the mouse was not a good decision by the games developers.

The game play is the thing that disappointed me the most. The lack of atmosphere and intensity leads to boring missions that seem repetitive. And with the sheer number of units on the battle field at any given time the game can get choppy and a bit confusing.

The Bottom line

Battle Stations : Pasific is a game that does right to its predecessors. Being true to its roots it will appeal to both Statergy game lovers and Action game lovers alike.

ENDWAR (Statergy, 2009)

2009-06-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

The war to end all wars.

Graphics - 8
Sound - 7
Gameplay - 5
Difficulty - 4
Overall - 6.5

When a game is marked by names such as Tom Clancy, You are more than likely to have high expectations for it. And considering the hype that surrounded this game its not surprising that many gamers (Including my self) had high hopes for this game. However I am disappointed to say that End war has failed to reach even the more basic of my expectations.

The game sets off in the near future with the three playable factions "US", "Europe" and "Russia" fighting each other out for total dominance of the world. And yes.. This time also the Russians are the bad guys. The story surrounding the game is extremely poor and provides little motivation towards forcing the player to archive the goals set to them within each mission.

Game play focuses on a set of squads which range from Infantry to Tanks trying to achieve some sort of goal in each mission. The goals however depend on the mission type such as "Assault" which requires the player to destroy all enemies or "Conquest" which requires the player to capture and hold key locations. This lack of variety in mission objectives leads to linear missions. And you cant shake off that "Been their done that" feeling as you keep playing the more and more missions.

Welcome to ENDWAR... no prices for guessing who the bad guys are

The units follow the basic Rock, Paper ,Scissor format. With each unit type having specific strengths and weakness against each other unit type. For example while Tanks do well against APC's they fail horribly against Helecopters. While on the other hand APCs fair well against helecopters. And when you concider the fact that all three factions have the same unit types, Its quite obvious that this strenghts vs weaknesses thing is somthing that reduces the games overall approach.

The graphics just look great

ENDWAR however does have some uniqe features. Mainly of cource is its innovate speech command system that allows you to issue commands via voice. However to truly appriciate this you need a state of the art Headset and the ablity to pronounce words very clearly. The graphics are certainly one of the best with unit animations and visual effects being very good. But the game has such a poor camera that its virtually impossible to have a good look at the battles that take palce.

The Bottom line

End war may provide you with a few new innovative features. But it fails to satisfy the basic requirements that are needed to make this game a truly great game to play.

Sword of the Stars : A murder of crows (Turn Based Statergy, 2008 )

2009-06-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

The sword of the stars return.

Graphics - 8.5
Sound - 8.5
Gameplay - 8
Difficulty - 8
Overall - 8
When sword of the stars first came out it provided gamers with a unique and innovative glimpse into the world of Space based Turn Based Statergy . Something that many game companies were reluctant to do.

Two expansions and two added races later we pretty much still wind up with the original game that was addictive in every sense of the word. But Alas the newest expansion falls short of providing many features that were lacking in the original game.

The objective of the game is to manage your empire. While this takes place in a turn based system the player can also choose the fight out the Fleet battles on real time. The game still plays pretty well on low end systems even when the scale of the game is pretty large. The AI however in many ways fails to provide a challenge that is worthy of this game. For example even with the hardest settings many AI factions will still attack you with hundreds of Destroyers (the smallest ships) even if you have the tech to build up Dreadnoughts (the biggest). This often leads to pointless battles where the enemy gets slaughtered. Graphics and game play however have improved very little.

The Battles in SOTS look majestic as always

The game has a unique tech tree that is different each time you play it. This forces the player to change their statergy for each new game. However the tech tree is such that you will likely get lost trying to find a tech that you are targeting. For me this was a headache since i had to research several techs till finally the path to building Dreadnoughts were revealed. The game also lacks a good story line and the fact that like its predecessors there is no playable campaign was a big disappointment to me.

The difference between this and the original is the introduction of the new factions and some new types of technologies that will allow you create new custom ships.

The Bottom line

The game still is a fascinating one that will urge you to play it for endless hours at a time.

Mass Effect (2008, RPG)

2009-05-29T02:21:00.000-07:00

A 3D Shooter made RPG

Graphics - 8.5
Sound - 8.5
Gameplay - 8
Difficulty - 8
Overall - 8.5

I know that Mass effect is classified as a Role Playing adventure game. But having played it and finished it i got the feeling that it was more a Third Person Shooter (TPS) game with Role Playing elements rather than other way around.

The story in Mass effect is undoubtedly one of the better ones. But it could have had a bit more twist and turn to it to sweeten it up. Gameplay is mostly based on TPS combat and rely very little on RPG elements. And although there are many side quests most of them feel like running errands than actual quests. Its likely that you'll fail a quest because you are unable to find a location rather than being unable to understand what to do next.

There will be plenty of fighting in ME.

The downside for me was the inventory which definitely gave you the feeling that this game was a port. In most PC RPG games you get a more complex inventory that mergers it self with different aspects of the game and even allows you to use items in quests. But this is not the case in Mass Effect . In fact you don't even have to bend down and gather up things since all items automatically go into your inventory as soon as you make a kill. Another annoying fact was that if the inventory was full there was no way to make room for new items unless you destroyed existing ones.

The Graphics , Voice Acting and Fighting is very good and is enjoyable most of the time. But there seem to be a few AI issues with enemy combatants relating to side quests. And then theres the driving. Occasionally on certain missions you'll have the pleasure( Or Displeasure in my case) of driving the "Mako". Although driving around in this thing should be a lot of fun, its definitely not. Fortunately you'll spend more time walking about than driving.

Meet the "Mako". Thankfully you dont spend too much time driving it.

The Bottom line

All in all if you're looking for more adventure and Role playing rather than Fighting then this game is not for you. But if you enjoy a lot of fighting and a little bit of Role playing mixed up with it then you should try this game out.

Imperium Romanum (Statergy - City Builder, 2008)

2009-05-27T03:22:00.000-07:00

A game that could have been so much more

Graphics - 8
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 5
Difficulty - 6
Overall - 7.5

Rome has always been a imagination point for many city building games. Imperium Romanum can be classified as another attempt to give life to an ancient city that has fascinated us for many a year.

The game is your typical city builder. Build your city, keep your citizens happy and fight off the occasional barbarian horde are the basic goals. My first impression of the game led me to believe that this one, unlike previous games such as the Ceacer series, would have more emphasis on warfare. But i was disappointed to find out that it was not.

One of the more interesting aspects of the game is the use of Tablets. Each Tablet represents an Event such as a Good harvest a Plague or even a hostile invasion. You would expect that these events occur based real time such as the mission time. But its not. In fact you, are in control of the events that occur in the game. This is done by clicking on the Tablets that are available on each mission. For example a barbarian tribe would not attack your settlement when a a given time has expired. Instead it will attack you when you choose the relevant Tablet.

The game looks great and does give out a very polished up feeling. But it lacks innovation that would shake off that "been there done that" feeling. The lack of a proper campaign and the use of Tablets to give out missions take you away from the real time feeling that all city builders should have.

The Bottom line

Keeping the bad points aside Imperium Romanum would be a good game for all newcomers to this genre and would provide a decent level of satisfaction for those who are more experienced.

Sins of a solar Empire (Statergy, 2008)

2009-05-24T06:04:00.000-07:00

An amazing game that enriches you

Graphics - 8.5
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 8.5
Difficulty - 7
Overall - 8.5

The thought of a Real time statergy game of massive scale has always been a exiting one. Especially when the background to the game is space. Over time there have been games such as "Conquest frontier wars" and "Sword of the stars" that have given us a glimpse of the potential of space RTS and TBS games.

SOASE can be classified as a combination of games such as "Sword of the stars" and "Conquest Frontier wars". The game takes place across multiple star systems where the obvious goal is to expand your own empire while at the same time ensuring the distruction of your enemies empire. Playing a game across such a huge battle feild can be a daunting task, however the games interface is designed well enough that managing your empire is as easy as a walk in the park.

May be the best choice here is a tactical withdrawal.

The game graphics look sharp and are able to cater even low end systems. Game play is smooth and battles look majestic. The units them selves have a fair amount of variety but i got the feeling that the game was missing level 3 ships. After frigates and cruisers the game only allows you to build capital ships which not only take up a lot of resources but are only available towards the end of the game.

Another interesting feature of this game is the leveling up of capital ships. Capital ships become more powerful and have more abilities as they level up. The game also features a well designed tech tree, Allowing you to boost your empire and explore new statergies. And for those hard core gamers Achivement points are up for grabs.

The AI however is something that needs a lot more polishing up. Most enemies will either fight or flee depending on who has the bigger fleet. The game also lacks a compelling storyline that would have been great but make no mistake, this game is so good that you will spend endless hours plotting, calculating and controlling your empire as you try to become the supreme ruler of the galaxy.

The Bottom line

Sins Of a Solar Empire is a game that is worth every penny.

Universe At War : Earth Assault (Statergy, 2007)

2009-05-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

A game that promises much

Graphics - 7.5
Sound - 7
Gameplay - 7
Difficulty - 7
Overall - 7.5

From the beginning of its announcement UAW:EA has received a lot of attention. And I for one was looking forward to playing this game for a long time. But after having playing this game, i just cant shake off the feeling that this game did not deliver on its promise.

The story line is not great but its not bad either. In UAW:EA three alien races battle for control of earth. And each of them have their own agenda. You'll start off by playing a tutorial campaign as the humans. In which you understand very fast that fate of the human race depends on the three alien races battling out each other.

The fate of Earth will not be determined by Humans

For a statergy game UAW falls behind by allowing a very limited number of units to be present at a given time. A total pop cap of 90 is just not enough. As far as graphics are concerned the game looks pretty good. But you really cant enjoy the view because the camera cant be pulled back enough. The disadvantage of the camera is evident as you constantly have to use the mini map in order to manage your base properly.

The unique game play of each faction is definitely a good point. Each faction collects resources and manages its base in a totally different manner. This gives the game a lot of variety

Using a Walker is by far one of the high points of the game

You will also notice that for some reason researching is not available in the 1st 2 campaigns. And it appears that this limitation only applies to the player and not the opposition AI which was a bit of a let off.

The game also lacks good flying units with each faction having only one or at most two basic units. But the game makes up for it by providing you with a wide array of ground units to choose from.

The Bottom line

All in all Universe at war will provide you with a good entertainment but don't expect it to blow your mind off.

Dawn of magic (RPG , 2007)

2009-05-10T05:24:00.000-07:00

A poor game with a horrible interface

Graphics - 6.5
Sound - 7.5
Gameplay - 3.5
Difficulty - 5
Overall - 3.5

The thing about RPG games is that you cant be absolutely sure about weather a game is good or not until you've played it for at least 5-6 hours. But the good thing about Dawn Of Magic is that you get a pretty good idea of how bad the game is very early on. And that's probably the only good thing i can say about this game.

With mediocre graphics, an average interface, boring story line and an absolutely horrible game play experience its not too hard to think as to why this game is not rated too highly. When compared to its competitors Dawn of magic falls behind heavily on all categories.

The Bottom line

With the amount of RPG games around you're better off playing something else than Dawn Of Magic.

Fantacy wars (Turn Based Statergy , 2007)

2009-05-10T05:09:00.000-07:00

A refreshing game with smooth gameplay

Graphics - 7
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 7.5
Difficulty - 8
Overall - 7.5

In a time where Real Time strategy games have taken a hold of the gaming industry, most players look at Turn based strategy games with a bit of skepticism. And like many gamers , Fantasy Wars is such a game that i looked at with a considerable amount of skepticism. But having played through one campaign and half of the next one i must admit that i am pleased with what i got.

First things First Fantasy wars lacks many aspects to it that would have otherwise made it a fantastic game. Mediocre Graphics and Music, Fairy good Storyline and a unpolished looking interface hinders this game from obtaining its full potential.

Dont let the graphics fool you. Its the game play that makes this game attractive

But there are many more aspects that make this game more enjoyable as well. The game play is as smooth as it can be. From attacking on high ground to defending cities the game adds certain variables that always keep the gamer their toes. The inclusion of hero's, abilities and a fairly wide array of spells also brings in a few plus points for this game. And the fact that there were no bugs in the game was a real bonus for me.

The Bottom line

All in all you should play this game if you enjoy TBS style games and enjoy a change from time to time.

Neverwinter nights 2 : Mask of the betrayer (RPG / 2007)

2009-05-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

All that you hoped it would be.

Graphics - 8
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 8
Difficulty - 8
Overall - 8.5

Let me start off by saying that i am a huge fan of RPG games and that the original NWN2 was a bit of a let off for me due to wide array of bugs within it. And because of that my expectations of NWN2:MOTB was not too high. But having finished the game, I now hold a completely different opinion about it.

Compared with the original the expansion is a huge improvement. Better graphics, Better Music and hell of a lot better adventure element brings back the true RPG experience that was missing in the original. And the fact that almost all of the bugs that were present within the original have been fixed was a huge relief for me.

The biggest downside for me was that the game was just too short for me to enjoy completely. And although there are a few new classes and prestige classes available all of the new ones just seem like a combination of the existing classes. There are some aspects of the game play also that was a bit of a let off But explaining those in detail may turn out to be a bit of a spoiler for some.

The Bottom line

The game is a absolute must for gamers who love RPG's. The game may be short but every second that you play is absolutely worth it.

The Settlers : Rise of an Empire (Statergy / 2007 )

2009-05-02T23:36:00.000-07:00

Same old name... Same old game.

Graphics - 7
Sound - 7
Gameplay - 6
Difficulty - 6
Overall - 6.5

For me the settlers has always been a game that has been existing in concept. The idea of managing a city with a hint of fighting has always captivated my interest. But Alas This game falls short of filling the expectations i had about it.

Settlers is a city building game with a pinch of fighting tossed into it. And as it is with most games of this type. The objective is to build up a nice big city, protect it with your army and drive out enemy.

The focus of the game should have been resource management but the game falls short of providing a challenging enough environment for gamers to really engage into. The graphics, animations and sound are all better than the previous settlers. But its the game play is what really puts this game down. What is most surprising is that these errors were clearly visible in the previous settler games and have not been corrected.

For example in almost every mission you have to build your city from scratch, and this means wasting several hours of game play just getting your city up and running. The combat is also as lame as it has ever been and although a few new concepts and units have been added, the game still lacks the intensity of combat that you would have liked it to have. All other aspects of the game are pretty much average leading to a score of 6.5.

The Bottom line

If you have been a fan of the settlers series then you should definitely try it out. Else its better off trying out the demo first before launching your self into this game.

Odium (Statergy / 1999)

2009-04-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

A unique game that is captivating.

Graphics - 7
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 8
Difficulty - 8
Overall - 9

Although Odium is classified as RPG game its combat method is based purely on turn based statergy. You might even say that the combat in Odium is somewhat similar to the combat of Fallout 2. One of the key aspects in Odium's game play is resource management. You will often have to face situations in which you must decide which weapon or ammunition to use in order to kill the enemy cause if you get it wrong it may be the last choice you make in the game.

The graphics are not bad for a game developed in 1999

The game takes place in the near future in Russia in city near a military compound. Certain mysterious events prompt the UN to send a elite task force to investigate it. You take the role of this team.

The Graphics are not so great but its the combination of game play, sound track and story line that earns this game 9/10 from me. You will find no shortage of enemies in the game, each of which will have its own unique strengths and weaknesses. You also have the option of improving the fighting skills of your own characters making them better at range attacks, small arms or even hand to hand combat. The choice is yours.

Battles take place in a Battle area. Until you win the battle you cannot leave this area.

There are however some bad points to the game. Combat can often be difficult and you require a lot of micromanagement to keep your self on top. This can be a significant problem since the game ends even if once team member is dead, a problem that is elevated since you cant save the game during battles. The Role playing element is also not too evident instead the game focuses more on its combat system to attract players.

The Bottom line

All in all you should really give this game a try. Especially if you enjoy RPG and turn base statergy games.

Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal (Adventure / 2002)

2009-04-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

A unique game that is captivating.

Graphics - 7
Sound - 7
Gameplay - 7
Difficulty - 8
Overall - 8

Its really hard to describe a game like Zanzarah. Its a mix of action, adventure , statergy and puzzle solving. Zanzarah is a story about a girl who is lost in a magical world. And must use her intelligence and her ability to control the magical fairies to fight her way out and find her way back home. I admit even i found the story line a bit uneventful but after giving the game some time you start to care less about the story and more about the game play.

The graphics are a bit cartoonish and cannot be classified as great. But what is great about the Zanzarah is its game play. The game focuses on the players ability to control fairies. I know it sounds a lot childish, but these battles between fairies requires a fair amount of skill and intelligence and is often challenging enough to keep you satisfied.

The game's focus is on fairies. Some of them however don't exactly look like your average fairy

In the world of Zanzarah you will encounter many types of fairies. The objective is to have a good collection of fairies that are strong and have good variety. The more your fairies fight the better they become through experience. And since some fairies do better against other types of fairies the game requires you to have a pretty good knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of each fairy so that you can make the right choice during each battle.

Meet Amy. Your character in Zanzarah.

The other aspects of the game are pretty average but for me it was the unique game play style that really hit the spot. The only major drawback of the game for me is the lack of character choice. Whether you like it or not your main character is always a girl. However just like the story line you tend to forget about it and focus your self on the game as you play on.

The Bottom line

If you are into fantasy, magic and believe in fairies then try this game out. Zanzarah is not the type of game that you are gonna enjoy from the start. So be prepared to give the game some time to prove its worth to you.

Loki : Heros of Mythology Review (Role Playing /2007)

2009-04-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

Not bad. But Great either.

Graphics - 7
Sound - 6
Gameplay - 5
Difficulty - 6

Lets face it, the Diablo series were probably the only games that provided immense entertainment in the genre of "Hack n Slash" games. Most games that followed in this genre failed in one area or the other to bring out a solid game that is enjoyable by many.

Loki unfortunately is another failed attempt to bring to life what has been fledgling "Hack n Slash" gaming presence. Loki is not a bad game but it is not a great game either. The graphics are not bad and so is the game play but it lacks a great story line and game play at times can get repetitive such that it will easily bore you. But the game does have some cool new features as well. For example the character classes all have different campaigns. And it gives you the option of reloading dead enemies if you are low in XP.

But In the end the game gives you the impression that it was not given adequate development time for it to become a really good game. The biggest drawback with Loki is that it offers very little new features. And the lack of basic features of what a good game should have such as very good graphics, gameplay and storyline ensures that this game falls short of becoming a very good and entertaining game.

The Bottom line

Loki is the kind of game that you play if you don't have any thing else to play at all.

Two Worlds review (Role Playing / 2007)

2009-04-17T02:21:00.000-07:00

Great Concept. Average Game.

Graphics - 7
Sound - 5
Gameplay - 5
Difficulty - 5

As a gamer who has played a lot of RPG games over the years i must admit that i was genuinely exited about the concept behind "Two Worlds". But having played the game for almost 6 hours all i can say is that the game is not as great as i expected it to be.

Ill start with the bad points. First of all the story is as horrible as it can get. Clearly the people who came up with it were not successful in creating a story that can even compete with other RPG games that are available. There are also major issues with the 3D objects as it seems that the people in "Two worlds" can actually walk through walls and sometimes even through other humans. You can imagine my surprise when i saw an archer whom i cornered onto a wall was able to walk though the wall and shoot at from the other side. The AI of NPC 's are at a all time low in this game. For instance many enemies will run at you when they see you and just walk away without even looking at you. There were also many instances when people would just ignore a dead body that was lying around as if it isn't something important. And Don't even think of getting onto a horse. Its a absolutely horrible game play experience.

Going onto the Good points. The Graphics look great. And the environment is wast. The world of "Two Worlds" is open so you can explore almost anywhere from the very beginning of the game. Stackable items, magic spells and the ability to create potions is also cool. Fighting is not too bad but it could have been better. And thats just about it. Everything else is just pretty average.

The Bottom line

Unless they give you a patch that solves all the above issues dont play this game its just not worth it.

Plane Scape : Torment Review (Role Playing / 1999)

2009-04-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

A refreshing game with a lot of bugs

Graphics - 8
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 8
Difficulty - 5

The first thing that comes to my mind when writing this review is the amount of bugs i encountered when playing this game. Torment is a fantastic RPG game with a captivating storyline but the bugs in the game just made it a hell of a less more enjoyable. For a hard core gamer with a lot of gaming experience on these type of games i found it extremely difficult to finish the game without the help of a walk through.

The Game is developed by Interplay and Black Isle studios, Two companies who have very good experience in developing quality games such as "Icewind Dale" and "Baldu's gate" hense it is no supprice that the game play of "Torment" takes on a similar role. Howerver with respect to graphics and sounds "Torment" is in a leage of its own. With these improvements battles in "Torment" look more realistic and the places you visit seem to be more alive. The storyline also deserves its own prase. As it is one of the most sopisticated and well written story lines you will encounter. However this may lead to a lot of confusion at the end of the day and you might have to pay very close attention to even the smallest detail in order get the complete story.

The Battles look much more realistic

You start of the game as a Dead guy in a morgue. And as you go on you can recruit more allies into you team and have them adventure along with you. The sad part however is that your character model is not customizable which was a big disappointment. Even with new amour and weapons your character will always resemble a Dead guy. This has a lot to do with the main story line of the game. And you will soon find out that the concept of death itself is handled a bit differently in the game.

But even with all these new innovations "Torment" still has its downsides in the sheer number of bugs it has. There were more than one occasion in which i had to think and stare at the screen for hours at a time just to figure out how to get to the next place. The games difficulty increases exponentially because of the game designers inability to mark locations more clearly. On more than one occasion i had to sweep my mouse multiple times across the screen just to find out where the exit was.

Uhhh....Does any one know where the exit is ?

But if you are willing to ignore this major flaw "Torment" will surely be a game that can satisfy you for many many hours.

The Bottom line

If you want to play a smooth game without frying your brains then this is definitely not for you. On the other hand if you are the type that enjoy extremely challenging situations then Torment will satisfy your needs to the fullest.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Review (Sci Fi Shooter / 2007)

2009-04-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Another Console Game Transformed for the PC

Graphics - 9
Sound - 9
Gameplay - 7
Difficulty - 7

Lets face it Lost Planet was made to be a Console based game. It is not a game that was made specifically for the PC. And although the transfer from Console to PC is pretty good there are some areas of the game that lack the flair that PC shooters bring about.

Lost Planet is a japanise game and it is no surprise that the game involves the use of Robots which is kinda cool but also a bit difficult. It would have been a lot easier if you had a Console Game pad but its a bit of hazard trying to play it with the keyboard.

Overall the graphics, sounds along with the movies are excellent. The game play also (Although a bit repetitive) is good enough to keep you entertained. But if you are expecting a shooter game with a bit of adventure and puzzle solving then this is not a game for you. The only puzzles that you need to solve is how to kill the boss enemy at end of each level As it may require several tries before you find out the weakness of the boss. And the fact that its modeled on a console game means that you need to restart at the nearest way point if you happen to die mid way though the mission (Something i always find very annoying).

Thats a lot of bugs to kill

The storyline is something that the game developers should have worked on a bit more. Even in context of the game the story is something that really unrealistic. The multilayer also seems to be a bit broken and worthless. Often you will be faced be multiple technical difficulties that may eventually even lead to your game being terminated.

The Bottom line

All in all Its one of those games that you need to try out for the PC. But if you have the option of playing it in a Console then go for it.

Spore Review (Statergy , 2008)

2009-04-07T23:33:00.000-07:00

The Universe Should Never be this small.

Graphics - 7
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 8
Difficulty - 7 (Adjustable)

The very notion of being able to create a creature from the beginning of the cell stage to the end of the space stage was a very intriguing one. And i must admit that i had my doubts as to whether such a game can be created that allows you to literary control the weave of life. But to the credit of its developers spore can be classified as a game that archived its goal. But it offers very little of it.

Its not easy being a cell.

Spore is a game that is played in stages. Each stage represents a stage in a creatures evolutionary path. The first few stages provide very little entertainment. In fact you probably could finish the initial stages within a few hours. The objective of the game is to survive and grow. The choice of how your creature grows and what type of a creature it becomes is purely up to you. For example the creature you nurture can be a gentle Herbivore or even a powerful carnivore. One of the best things about the game is the fact that a lot of things about your creature is customizable. From its basic appearance at the initial cell stage to the advanced space ship that you will fly on the space stage, everything can have your own personal touch.

Who would have thought that you'd have your very own space ship?

The graphics look decent but nothing flashy, and the sound isn't bad either. The game play offers something unique but very little of it was there to be offered. Clearly the game comes up short in terms of the content provided. It could have been a lot more better and probably would have gotten better reviews if the game had more to offer especially in the earlier stages.

The Bottom line
All in all Spore is the kind of game that deserves a try out. But its not the kind of game that you'll be still playing for months to come. However the uniqueness of the game will probably encourage you to try it out one more time from the beginning.

Dawn Of War 2 Review (RTS / 2009)

2009-04-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

Everything You hoped it would be.

Graphics - 9
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 8
Difficulty - 8 (Adjustable)

The Original Dawn of war series was given a few expansion that didn't really change the game but added more factions and content. So when DOW2 was announced i wasn't really sure as to what to expect. But being true to its roots DOW2 is a game that will provide you a unique experience that will stick with you for a long long time.

The game differs from its predecessors in the fact that there is no resource collecting or building. Rather the game focuses purely on the player handling a few elite squads. This i have to admit was a bit of a disappointment for me. But the game makes up for it by providing a rich, story driven and unique gameplay experience.

The Single player Campaign is... well its different

The graphics and sounds are excellent and the game can be easily scaled downed to run smoothly on low end systems. The game also gives you a lot of choices as to how play each mission. Each squad can gain experience and can also be upgraded by collecting war gear. You can also select which squads to deploy for the mission allowing you to explore different strategies. There are also a fair amount of secondary missions that if you complete will make things a little easier for you. However most of these missions are similar and gives you a sense of repetition.

The Single player campaign consists only of one campaign. And that is for the Space Marines. However it is likely that more campaigns can be added through future expansions. The campaign is played in days in which you can play one mission(deployment) per day. You can earn additional deployments on the same day by completing missions with more efficiency. This is based on how fast you complete the mission, How many enemies you killed and How many squads survived. Often you have make choices as you which approach to use to get the maximum efficiency per mission. For example you may opt to finish the mission as soon as possible scoring high on speed but this might lead to a situation where a few squads are killed in which you loose points in that aspect.

The game also consists of a multi player and skirmish section that is completely different from the Single player Campaign. Here the game gets back to its RTS roots. Theres such a difference from the single player campaign that it can make you wonder if its actually 2 games in 1.

The multiplayer section gets back to its RTS roots.

The Bottom line
Love or Hate Strategy games, DOW2 is a game that you should play. Its worth every penny.

Neverwinter Nights 2 : Storm of Zehir Review (RPG / 2008)

2009-04-03T03:05:00.000-07:00

A complete ruining of a classic game.

Graphics - 7
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 5
Difficulty - 5 (Adjustable)

When you think of a expansion for a game like NWN 2 the thoughts that would generally come to your mind would be new quests, new story line and perhaps new items and classes. which was pretty much offered in its 1st expansion "Mask of Betrayer".

But alas this expansion falls short of even coming close to the greatness of the original and its first expansion.

While playing the game you cant shake the feeling that the developers were more or less experimenting with stuff. And the game it self feels more like a beta release than a final release. New concepts such as trading and the overland map system are interesting but the lack of quality quests and a extremely poor story make this game a complete disaster. It appears that the developers were more interested in testing out the new concepts than actually creating a worth while game.

Most of the quests are pretty straight forward and can be completed in a matter of minutes. The battles also a point of concern as most just last a few minutes. Leaving you wondering if this actually is a RPG game? And unlike its predecessors the locations are very small yet it takes a very long time to load the locations. The game is also filled with its fair share of bugs.

The Bottom line
This is the kind of game that you should not waste your money on. Unless you get it for free, don't play the game.

Dynasty Warriors 6 Review (Action / 2008)

2009-04-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

The more you kill...the more you love it

Graphics - 8
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 8
Difficulty - 7 (Adjustable)

Ill start of by saying that im not really a Fan of this genre. But i tried it out anyway just for the fun of it. And didnt that turn out to be the right choice.

Having tasted disappointments playing games of similar genre i was a bit skeptical about this one, But from the moment i played it i was in love.

The best part of the game is its simplicity and free flow nature. The game is modeled on a real time battle and once you play it you do feel like you're actually part of a great battle, rather than just a plain old hero bashing the hell out of the enemy.

The games objectives are balanced enough and change as the game progresses. This requires the player to always be on his toes. The objectives vary from killing a enemy general to capturing a key outpost. Be warned however that there are also certain objectives that if you fail, will result in your defeat. These objectives keep the game in balance and gives the player a real sense of a battle.

The action is non stop.

Even on low end PC's the game ran fairly smoothly giving the player a taste of non stop action. However the game lacks a strong story line and battles can sometimes be confusing with the sheer number of opponents and allies all fighting it out at the same time. The graphics and sound are not something to write home about but its good enough to let the player feel very comfortable within the game.

The Bottom line

This game is an absolute must to play if you are a fan of arcade style action games. Others also may find the game interesting if not fascinating.