Quick View : Antichamber

I played it for half an hour. I was not flashed. It was more like. OK.
Thats like a flash game in deluxe abstract style.

I was searching for a twist or some deeper wisdom.
Found none.

Seven Years ago : Eidos Interactive took on Midway

So while I dream of my new computer, I was curious about this title in a humble bundle.

Battlestations Midway. So let us have a look.

[few minutes later]

Yes. I played through the first two missions.

Unimaginative graphics. Lame controlls. Awful voice acting. Boring tasks. Strange lighting.

The boat level was actually something perhaps play worth. The air combat NOT.

I wanna be a powerful trade company when I grow up, Mother.

 BUGS, UGLY DESIGNS. NO CLUE ABOUT THE GAMPLAY AND I DONT CARE

So. Humble Bundle offered 90% discount on Paradox Interactive. Well fought, Humble Pack.

I bought several of the strategy games. I tested the newer ones like "Europa Universalis IV" and they were too ahm, painful detail full, but impressive accurate, so I thought, yeah well : Let us test the older ones.

So the first in this new series is "East India Company" and its DLC's. It has a low score on meta critics and it is not obviously not from the people who did Europa Universalis IV or Crusaders & Kings III, but as I said, let us (oh lord) test the older ones with an open mind. Yea ha.

*disgusted sound*. First, if you select the first tutorial, the text says that you have chosen the second tutorial. Same with the second tutorial. That alone is enough for me to delete a game AT ONCE.

Well. The menus look UGLY. Just plain UGLY. It is mandatory for a game where menus are important that they look good. How did that happen ?

Well, since I do not get these games for free, I can push them in the dirt when they are not worth my money. So lets go on.

No. I will not go on. The voice in the tutorials is so quiet that you cant hear it cause the wave sound is too loud. And the speaker speaks as if he had an stroke.

Thank you. But that's enough. *delete local content*

Halo : Spartan Assault ... Microsoft...OK. But what is it ?

SPARTANIC MOBILE-APP ACTION ISOMETRIC TRASH

2013 ??? Hello ???

I love that moment when you press PLAY in Steam for a game you got somewhere and then totally and absolutely forgot what it is.

Well. There is some sci-fi style short intro. Lets have a look.

This is a strange 3D Isometric From Above game with no zoom in and no rotation. You play somekind of SciFi Soldier and fight against enemies who look like bananas.

Build-In Irony

The graphic looks like 2005 ?, but I think this game is actually from 2013 ?. The maps are incredibly linear and small. You only have a very small amount of ammunition for your weapons. And the sniper rifle I upgraded to only hits 1 in 3.

Well I am braindead right now, so it's perfect. But Microsoft ? WTF is this ?

Besides one thing that is really ugly is the neon-blue borders around everything. Why people still use these colors in menus ?

Something cool is that you can actually board the enemy ships and drive around with them and kill the then ridicolous easy enemies. And this does not require any skills at all. Hmm. I am really confused from this game.

Fun Fact : You can not access the settings while ingame in a mission. That is new.

So I was playing along cause I am still not sure that this wasnt the real game. There is this "simulator" you are playing, so I am confused. Is this perhaps even a mobile game ported
to PC ? Well nevertheless. It is boring, stupid, badly designed and has nothing at all what would
keep me playing. 

Indie - What am I playing now ? Ah, Cinders from MoaCube.

IF YOU LIKE INTERACTIVE FAIRY TALE BOOKS, THIS IS FOR YOU

Time for another Indie. It is called Cinders. On Steam. It is 15,99 Euro. I got it in an Indie Humble Bundle. So the least I can do is to give it some attention.

The main menu music and the design is promising.

It is a multiple choice game, as far as I can tell after 10 minutes. No voice acting, just a lot of text which makes ping noises.

I really like the graphics and the music a lot !

I really like the...drawings.

You play Cinders, a young woman who has two stepdaughters and reads obviously too many books about strong, independent women. I didn't say that. She did ! Really.

But if all you do is read and do multiple choice, then this is not a game but an interactive novel.
Lets have a look.

Yes. It is a interactive book. I am not a fan of interactive books and I am a bit annoyed by the self-talks this beautiful but naive rich girl is doing all the time. I will keep it on my harddisc, perhaps there is a time when I will be in the mood for it. But again, the graphics and the overall-design are very nice !!!

Too hot to play but what the **** . Time for some Indie - Signs of Life !

WORK IN PROGRESS, BUT ENTERTAINING AND WELL DONE

Independent Game ( Sweet Dog Studios )
Early Access (yikes)
"We are a tiny team with no budget, so Early Access will allow us to think longer-term, and ultimately deliver a better game." - Sweet Dog Studios

They actually call themselves Studios. Well. Tiny Team, no Budget, buuuut Studios. Good. Seems like that's part of the underdog, or should I say, sweet dog, imaginative lunacy you need to survive in this business.

Clearly, this game belongs in the trendy Mesh'N'Run. You jump, you run, you mine, you craft, you build, you explore, you learn, you fight, you die.

Signs of Life is imo more computer gaming art (not art) than a computer game, it's animations are stiff, it's gameplay unorthodox, it's game menus refreshingly uncoordinated. It's inventory graphics are clean but ridiculously minuscule, its key mapping strangely random and the sarcastic computer helper wristband is funny unsympathetic but not really helpful.
But nevertheless, there is A LOT to explore and it is refreshingly different from other games like
Terraria etc.

Vanished Post or How I started to enjoy Saints Row IV.

GET LOST FOR A BIT IN THIS "SIMULATION" IF THERE IS NOTHING ELSE

Dude. This game is still over 20 bugs everywhere.

I can not remember where, but I bought it for 5 bugs *somewhere*.

Well. I even did a small post here (I Could swear) and said how disappointed I was.

But I played it again. And I must say. It more fun than expected. It helps to be stoned I guess,
but that's no option for me. So. Here's my stone-cold sober report of a game obviously made
for stoned GTA fans who also like space-invader parodies and a very funny implementation of a suppressive regime propaganda.

I like the name - but thats about it, sry. - Indie Mesh'N'Run Game "Windforge"

IT IS INDIE, BUT IT IS UGLY AND FEELS WRONG

Since Terraria I like games, well, I call the genre Mix'N'Run, or sometimes Mesh'N'Run. Why ?

Cause they are a mixture of RPG, Ultima Online Crafting, Minecraft, Classic 2D-Jump'n'Run and most of the time a genre like Cyberpunk, Steampunk or Phantasy.

Since Terraria ****** my brain, I was instantly interested in Windforge.

Well. Its DRM free, that's good and I got it cheap in a Humble Bundle Sale.

But. No. Thank you. Windforge has no consistent style, it is full of bugs, it plays inorganic and looks ugly. The only reason I discuss it here : It is a (very funny but sad) style of it's own. And it should remind every developer out there HOW NOT TO DO IT *fgs*. Oh Yeah.

And since you can't make screenshots using PRNT, I can not show you the graphical reason for my opinion so far.

Humble Bundle 2k - yes we are stupid and we do not need to enhance our infrastructure.

Humble Bundle. They are sympathetic. But they are not smarter than Steam.



They do a 2k humble bundle, where even I got my wallet out and payed at ONCE. Normally I wait a few days and research the games and ponder about it.

But, the complete Bioshock series, The Bureau XCOM Classified, Spec Ops TheThin Line and a few more. So wtf. Even if you only trade them, you win. ( Somebody told me today you can actually trade Steam Games !!! )

And then - their email server (one?) breaks down. WHAT a surprise.

Germany beats France in Worldcup. I rather go and test "Killing Floor".

OK FOR CASUAL ROUNDS, GOOD IF YOURE FAN OF THE GENRE

Where are my little Monsters ? Come to DADDY !

Yes, I know. No Zombie Blog ? But is it a zombie game ? It was on sale, I liked the name, and in the television highly paid zombies were chasing a leather things, thus I will try it.

So time for a survival game. At least its not DayZ (which ruined Arma somehow) or The Forest (which is so early access that you can see the source code) !

I'm just getting a coffee, then I will start it up without bias.

Uhhh ! Its from Tripwire. They made I think Red Orchestra 1&2, a realistic tactical WW2 FPS I really liked ! Well, let's go !

Are headache and bad mood good basics to get a first impression of a F2P FPS ? Warface.

CURRENT RATING : BORING LINEAR FPS (FREE TO PAY TRASH)

Who wants to pay for fresh old clothes ?

Yes I have a terrible headache and I am in a really bad mood (cause of the headache and the bad software that Samsung makes for its tablets). And yes, probably not the best scenario to get a first impression of a fresh beta FPS.

While the whole world except Crytek thinks Crytek is broken, they release a free to p(l)ay FPS over Steam. Warface. The trailer looks nice. The story is that about our world gone totally openly neo-cyberpunk-fashism-money-dicatorship-capitalism BUT you of course are playing those who fight against the capitalist bastards. (That's why Crytek broke ??)

Short Interlude : Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians - Indie Arcade Jump'n'Run

FIRST IMPRESSION

While I still **** my brains out with Terraria, btw. really awesome game if you're into that kind of thing, but, I thought, a coffee morning interlude with Beatbuddy couldn't harm the diversity.

I bought Beatbuddy sometime ago in a Humble Bundle for .... not much. More precisely the Humble Bundle German Edition for 11 €. Now I see Beatbundle alone is, uh, 8.99 € on Steam. OK. All praise to Humble Bundle. Well. Money saved ?! Hurray.

Beatbuddy is made with Unity. Since I am still convinced to use Unity for my Owl Game I am a bit more motivated to look at this game.  How do I know ? Apart from Intel and two other splash screens it shows the Unity splash. And it was a winner of the German Developer Award 2013.

TODO: What exactly is the German Developer Award ?

Hmm.The music in the white start menu sounds like something I can make in a tracker in a few hours. (But when I entered the game, I realized that this choice of music for the main menu actually makes total sense !)

Ah, I love the smell of new Software in the morning. So let's press PLAY.