Reviews

Re-playable shooter

I first discovered Deadzone Rogue when looking for free demo’s of games coming out soon.  I installed it and played it with a couple of friends.  Bearing it mind it was a demo, I spent thirty hours playing it so, when it launched fully, I felt they deserved my money.   I now have 345 hours in the full game!  So, let me tell you something about it and less about how sad I am.   Deadzone Rogue is a Co-Op PvE shooter with four zones that you unlock as you progress.  Each zone has a couple of ‘Story’ missions and then a series of themed missions like Uniform Enemies or special missions to unlock new weapons.  As you progress you unlock more items and weapons, as well as recovering ‘tech’ to upgrade your character stats, so you are a little stronger every round until you have maxed everything out.  But don’t worry, when you open the next zone, you get a new attribute to upgrade and make yourself stronger.   I think I am making this sound terribly complicated; its not when you actually play it.  When you have selected a mission, and ideally got your two mates to join you, you proceed through the levels and at the end of each get an upgrade, whether that be a new gun, an elemental power or something else.  There are six different elements to get randomly so every round is a different experience, throwing you in to create a build that suits the weapons you have picked up and the element you have chosen.  Ice is popular for new players as it freezes enemies and stops them advancing on you but all the elements have their place and fit various styles.   You can, of course, play solo but it is harder.  With friends, if one of you makes it to the end of the round, you all respawn to collect the loot.  Solo, it’s game over, man!   With so many combinations to try out, no run is the same, add to that there are five difficulties on most missions, which you unlock as you complete the previous difficulty, there is plenty of room for replaying the game, as my 345 hours can attest.   There is a Deadzone Rogue 2 on the horizon too.  Some have complained that the original should have been developed further, but I am of the opinion that the original game is spot on as it is.  A second game allows them the finance all the work they have put in to create this masterpiece and continue the story.  I am looking forward to it.

Ninjas assemble

I never played the original, I was introduced to this game while it was available on the Xbox Game pass, specifically because it can be played co-op with up to three players. Given that criteria we thought we would give it a try and I am glad we did. The game is mission based rather than open world; you are set in a small hidden village where you are set tasks from and follow the story. Basically, you’re a ninja with mystical powers that you upgrade with experience. There are multiple options to choose from meaning the three of us had differing skill sets. I expected the game to be relatively short and bearing in mind I replayed a few missions; I sank over thirty hours into the game before completing the story which just seemed to go on for ages. I don’t mean that in a bad way; it was long enough to progress through the upgrades tree and feel badass without out leveling the ever-strengthening enemies. Can you play it Solo? Absolutely! If anything, you can achieve more solo because you can dictate the fighting style more but like with most things, the game is more entertaining with more than one ‘player’. As you progress the story introduces more powerful and varied opponents and there are collectibles and money to find on each level so there is plenty to keep you going. You need money to buy the usable items like healing potions and smoke bombs (you’ll use those a lot) and to unlock different weapon and armour styles, including colours all of which are purely cosmetic. I had a lot of fun playing this game, so much so that I purchased it when it left the game pass. Multiplayer connectivity is about the smoothest experience in online gaming I have seen, although you can only join when in the village before a mission; there is no mid-game drop in option. Originally published on 15 September 2022.

Competitive Teamwork

As the name of this game suggests, this game can only be played by two players. As I understand it, only one of you needs to own it and the second player can download the game to play for free. In my case, we played It Takes Two through the Xbox Game Pass so were able to both download it and not find out the intricacies of one not having immediate access. From the Xbox app it opens into the EA app, so I was never quite sure if it was up to date or not but complications on installation and where it was running aside, let me get the important part, gameplay end entertainment. The start of the game sets the scene and there is a fair amount of cut scenes to do that. Ultimately though, you play a married couple who no longer get on and want a divorce, only somehow your daughter accidentally curses you into doll-like figures and, with the aid of an animated ‘Book of Love’ you must rediscover why you married and work through a series of challenges and varying landscapes to figure this out. You play Code (Clay man) and May (Wooden doll) and are equipped with various attachments along the way to complete each section which flow into each other well with no obvious loading screens; it’s sleek. Sure, it’s loading in the cut scenes but its good enough to make it feel like a fluid game. The odd thing at the start of the game is that you play on a vertically split screen which seems odd when you are not in the same room. But this becomes more useful as the game progresses and you can view your partner’s screen to figure out what you need to do as you often have different skills or powers. Dotted around the levels are various mini games where you compete against each other; some are fun, some are tedious and some just downright odd! There were all entertaining in some ways. The style of the game is quite beautiful, Toy Story style in animation and it makes for some gorgeous interactive scenery along the way. The story also seems to have a darker side to it as you see two supposedly loving parents do some questionable things to an elephant to make their daughter cry. Overall, this game is a lot of fun, assuming you get on with your game partner. Much like with Portal 2 you can have some fun killing each other, I mean, it is hilarious for a short time, but this game always comes back to teamwork, and you need to work together and trust your partner otherwise it will become frustrating, and you will never finish. The content was far greater than I had imagined; that said, we played it for about 15 hours to complete the story. 15 hours of thinking, cursing, and laughing, so well worth it. Originally published on 28 August 2022.

Aidens Assemble!

Dying Light 2: Stay Human is a vast improvement of the original in many ways but it’s not perfect. There are plenty of bugs and even when the devs claim to be fixing them in a patch, they seem to introduce as many as they remove. That said the game is beautiful and the parkour is mostly intuitive and smooth and only gets better and more fluid as you unlock additional skills. You play the part of Aiden, a Pilgrim searching for his missing sister, Mia. It explains very early on that Pilgrims roam the wastelands between the cities and you arrive in Old Villador on the trail of Mia. The tutorial is embedded into the start of the story so you are learning to play while making your way through the beginning of the game. Personally I find this far more rewarding than running an assault course to prove you got the moves. As you progress there are some defining story decisions to make and those moments restrict the time you have to make the decision. Different choices produce different outcomes in the game and while, you mostly get to the same point no matter your choice there are some fun differences and you can explore these differences by playing cooperatively with friends. When playing Co-op, the host has the final decision on all options, but other players can suggest what they would like to see chosen which is fair. Playing with others, as with so many other games, is fun in Dying Light 2 where you can help a friend up when they fall too far or get brought down by a horde. There is no friendly fire, which is just as well with everyone flailing around with melee weapons, though explosions caused and fire will hurt your friends. As with the first game, you can mod weapons to make them stronger or add effects that suit your play style… Fire, electric or acid maybe. There are a variety of fun combinations to try and almost everything can be upgraded using in game currency and zombie trophies taken from the slain undead. What you upgrade is up to you, although the First Aid kit is a popular upgrade. The skills tree is only restrictive in that you have to be a certain power level to unlock the higher end skills but that’s good; it means you have to make choices on how to build your Aiden. Bugs aside my biggest grip with the game is that in so many cut scenes you, as a character wait for or just allow your opponent to hit you before it returns to player control and allows you to end the fight in your favour. That and the requirement for all players to be there to speak to a quest giver or open a quest door, hence the quote “Aidens Assemble!” This game is huge. There is fighting and parkour which differs at night and by day but I did not find the night time to be quite as terrifying as the original game. In this game you can hold your own at night and fight all the zombies that come at you, use the combat to harvest the parts you need for upgrades but be warned, once your Chase level goes up to 3 of 4 or 4 of 4 the volatiles will decimate you; but they too, drop parts you need so maybe it’s worth the risk? I’ve played though the story now and with playing a fair number of the side quests I have spent 65 hours in the game; I am happy that I got my monies worth. It’s been an entertaining experience and watching how various decisions play out differently when in co-op with friends has been very interesting. Originally published on 28 February 2022.

Spaceman starts with nothing

What is Icarus? - Well firstly it’s a survival game. It’s not the same as most survival games though as the premise is a little odd. The world of Icarus below your space station has been terraformed but it’s not ready for habitation yet; there are frequent storms and some work needs to be done to pacify the environment before large-scale settlement can be started or something like that. Anyway, it’s a little odd because despite wearing a space suit and deploying from a space station you arrive with nothing on the planet. You land in a drop pod and step out into the very beautiful landscape and the first thing you must do is make the tools with which to survive… usual Survival Game antics right? So, you harvest the local fawner and wildlife to make tools and weapons, you build a base and everything you do counts as experience to allow you to level up. When you level up you get a Talent Point and three Blueprint point. Talents - This is a personal skill tree which allows you to develop your character to suit your style of play. On recommendation from TheTokenGeek, I put many points into Bow skills and this meant I was able to craft better bows, became more accurate and eventually got the highly effective and not at all cheat-like, auto aim which basically means ‘head-shot’ if you fire it anywhere in the general area of the animal. One friend of mine went all in on pick-axes and he gets to make those cheap and extracts more ore and another went for wood axe bonuses so he doesn’t have to actually collect wood anymore, he auto-picks it up as he chops away. You stop earning Talent points at level 40 so plan your point spend carefully. Blueprints - Blueprints allow you to unlock recipes of items to make. In the early levels you cannot unlock everything you need so playing with an adaptive friend will help but you can Solo it, it just takes a bit more daring do. Missions / Prospects - When you start a game, you choose a Prospect, this is the mission and there are many to choose from. They all have a different Mission Time ranging from 6 hours to 30 days. The time listed is real-world time, not in game time and you need to make sure you jump back in your pod and leave the planet before the timer runs out. This is because the premise is that you have to return to rendezvous with the space station as it orbits the planet and if you miss that window your character is lost on the planet presumed dead. If this happens, you lose access to that character until the devs decide to revive everyone as they did at Christmas 2021. Every time you drop on to the planet you start with nothing, although this is not strictly true as you progress. For a successfully completed mission you earn credits that can be spent in the space station Load out tree. This allows you to bring to the planet a 3D printed item that you have unlocked. I currently take a new Enviro-suit that gives me a Food slot, a Water slot and an Oxide slot (Oxide allows you to breath the air on Icarus, or it filters it in your helmet…). I also take an MXC Knife, Pick axe and Wood Axe. These are great starter tools/weapons but you must make sure you take them with you when you leave, so pop them in the Pod storage when they are replaced on mission or you have to repurchase them. The game is Session based so you can start a game and have up to seven friends join you, all playing on your session. When you leave, they will all have to leave but anyone can then continue the mission and become the new host and you can then join them. The mission can be progressed by other players when you are offline. Just make sure to leave before the mission timer runs out. Base Building - Certainly in the early missions this is optional. You can drop on to the planet, build the basics and go off to do the mission. As the missions get harder or you open up other areas you are going to need a base and a wooden one will not be good enough. Chances are it will get damaged in a storm or even set on fire and while you can research the Fire Whacker for such events, who spends that point early on? You’re going to need a stone base but for that you need iron nails so you’re going to need to find iron. This can be found in caves. Spelunking - Caves are where all the Ores you need to progress are found. Some are just big open entrances in the side of cliffs and some are covered in stone and you will need to ‘mine’ your way in. Once in there are dangers inside so it’s not for the feint hearted. Take a couple of cloth torches and drop them to light areas of interest. So Many Skills - There are so many things you can do in Icarus. You can learn how to make potions on the herbalist bench, you can learn masonry, learn animal skinning, make a machine bench to gear up, there is so much to keep you occupied. The game play evolves as you level up. At the beginning you start by making stone implements, dying to wolves and bears and then later, you arrive with the knowledge to progress quickly, breaking out shotguns and rifles. I still prefer the bow, whether it be the trusty long bow, the wonderful Recurve bow or the magnificent Compound bow but there are plenty of offensive options as long as you can find the resources. If you like survival games, you will probably enjoy Icarus. Like most games it is better with friends but you must work together. Originally published on 9 January 2022.

A classic series that just got a whole lot prettier

Firstly, I would like to thank this site’s very own Bombjack for getting me into Mass Effect in about 2011 when he told me ME2 was on sale on Steam in the Christmas sale for under £4. At that time, I had never heard of Mass Effect but I splashed the cash and started my career as Commander Shepard and I played solidly through the game, completing it in about 30 hours, only to play through it again spending 60 hours on the game in about two weeks while off work over the festive period. So, to say I liked the second instalment of this trilogy is an understatement. Obviously I played ME3 when that came out and I enjoyed that too. Sure, the ending was a let-down given the expectation but it was still a good game and I loved the Multiplayer, which I still play today from time to time. I had never played ME1 even though Bombjack tried to get me to do so. When I heard they were remastering it I thought “Oh no, please don’t do what Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning did!” and just polish the game but change nothing at all. Needless to say, I’m a sucker and I bought Mass Effect: Legendary Edition or why would I be writing this now? Having not played ME1 I decided to start there; I planned to play a Renegade FemShep but as I progressed through I just didn’t have it in me so she went on a redemption arc and became paragon towards the end and as I move into ME2 I am now playing her as a Paragon. I am doing something different here though. I nearly always create a Biotic God character; I love throwing powers around but this play-through I am an Engineer and It’s been fun. But enough about my choices, what’s the game like? ME1 has been polished to the standards of ME3, or perhaps better. It looks fantastic and there’s a Photo mode for capturing your favourite sights. They have mostly stuck with the mechanics of ME1 so the weapons overheat rather than use up a limited supply of ammo but that in itself is ok. The Mako, the ground vehicle I had heard so much trash about was actually really quite useful. Certainly the controls do not do quite what you expect, especially going backwards but she is virtually indestructible and physics defying; I found driving around in the Mako rather fun. I feel lucky that I got to experience the thrills and tragedy of ME1 for the first time on this play through. While I now understand I missed out not playing this before, getting to experience it all fresh for the first time, with the graphics looking so spectacular was a joy and I am enjoying ME2 just as much as I scour the galaxy recruiting allies. The story and journey behind the Mass Effect Trilogy does not change with this version of the game but visually it is stunning and I am thoroughly enjoying it all again. Yes, ME1 is a bit janky compared to ME2 but the story makes it worth the play through. If you’ve not played Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3 then now is the best time to get in on it. The story told is epic and the choices you make throughout the series make you feel that you have an impact on the events that unfold. There is no right or wrong way of doing things there is only Commander Shepard’s way. Originally published on 27 May 2021.

Crush your enemies and see them driven before you!

This review is based on playing Conan Exiles PvE because it’s a challenging and brutal world that adding the complication of PvP is not for me. You start with nothing, crucified and dying until Conan rocks up, frees you and then leaves you to your own devices. As with most survival crafting games you start gathering grass fibres, sticks and stones and then make your first simple stone tools and weapons. Everything you do earns you XP and there is a guide in the form of milestones to achieve which boost that and provide the basics of what you need. Build a grass fibre bed, make some grass fibre clothes etc. Nearly everything you meet will try and kill you except deer, they just run away if you hit them. As you earn XP you get points for Attributes and Feats. Attributes are your ability scores so these can be tailored to suit your play style. Things like Strength, Encumbrance, Vitality, Agility etc. Feats are your recipes for how to make things. Early on, you will want to learn how to build a base and then how to build various work benches to make new things. Once you are established you will need iron, lots of it and so on in the grand grind for resources that all of these games require. Once you have decent weapons and armour and are not being mauled by the local wildlife every time you leave the safety of your base you can start to look to acquiring Thralls at the NPC camps. It’s very Flintstones, Bash ‘em on the head until they pass out, then drag them back to your Wheel of pain where they’ll learn the meaning of calling you Master. Once done, they can follow you into battle or work at one of the crafting benches depending on what type you acquired. You can also tame the local wildlife although you cannot knock them out; you need to find a young version of the animal you want and snatch it away from its parents to add it to your Taming building where it too will grow up to growl you Master and follow you into battle or be a pack animal for your harvesting trips. On the original map, you must be mindful of the Sandstorm that rips through the air from time to time; it will kill you if you are caught out in the open while your minions don’t seem affected by it oddly. And then there’s The Purge! The Purge is an attack on one of your bases by some powerful NPC’s and their goal is just to annoy you to give up the game or rage quit until the purge is done. Seriously, they are a good source of resources if you can defeat them. The Purge does not just happen like the Sandstorm, it is directed by the Purge Meter that you can see in your inventory, it is a reflection of how much activity there is on the server; the more progressed you are, the sooner a Purge will arrive. You get a ten-minute warning (as standard) of the Purge coming and where it is going on the map. Nearly everything is adjustable in the server options; you can turn the purge off, make it so it only happens when x number of players are online or between certain times of the day. You can adjust the resource rates, the difficulty of the NPC’s the day/night cycle or, you can let someone else sort that out and join their server. You can even play on your own local version of the game to try it out before venturing out with other people. There is loads of paid DLC for the game but most of it is cosmetic, the only paid for you may need is the expansion map Isle of Siptah. This was launched last year but was a disaster. Taking into consideration feedback from the player-base, the makers have re=populated the map and it is now much more playable. Conan Exiles is an entertaining survival game were you can even charge into battle mounted on a horse or Rhino. On the former, you can even wield a lance and perhaps even joust with your mates. Originally published on 31 March 2021.

Excellent adventure with crappy boss fights

I played this game when it first came out and was totally confused about where I was going and what I was doing. I mean, the opening sequence where you learn how to control the character is pretty good and very ‘Star Wars’ but once I got the next planet I quickly became frustrated with how hard it was. I’m a Jedi Knight and I keep dying to some cow-elephant-alien-crossbreed thing. Aaarrrgggghhhhh! So I stopped playing it until a good friend said, “Stick it on story mode and enjoy the adventure!” That’s basically akin to playing it on easy – This is heresy! That said I took his advice and did just that. Ok, so now I feel like a Jedi Knight; I can defeat the monsters and the Storm Troopers become fun to fight. I played through and enjoyed the combat. Some of the puzzles are too complicated for my tiny mind, reminded me of tomb raider in a Star Wars universe at times but with persistence and the occasional look on Youtube I would work out where to go. My previous frustrations with the map cleared as I started to understand how it worked and I started to really enjoy the game. As you progress you improve your skills through the skill tree but you also unlock your Jedi powers as you journey through the story. The Force push is my favorite, throwing pesky enemies over the side is just satisfying! What can be frustrating at first are that there are areas and secrets you can see but not reach. There are places you will only be able to get to later when you have mastered new powers so you may find yourself coming back to places you thought you have completed. If you’re a Star Wars fan then you’ll probably enjoy this game. My only complaint is the ‘boss’ fights; these are predictably difficult, even on the easy setting. Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the game. Originally published on 17 March 2021.

Very Addictive Viking Survival

Valheim is an open world crafting survival game set in Viking mythology. It is a PvE Co-op environment for the most part but you can individually enable PvP and fight others who have set the same; I guess to see who is the best fighter? Most of the game is PvE though, and just as well for it’s a cruel world. As with most survival games you rely heavily on your heath pool and stamina. These are increased with food consumed and boosted if you can maintain a balanced diet. Sure, you can survive on cooked meat but if you eat berries and mushrooms (early game) then you improve your overall health and therefore combat effectiveness, or at least your ability to run away! You can run the game on your own PC and invite friends or you can get a dedicated server so that the world continues when you are offline. You start with creating basic stone weapons that you then try to upgrade to flint-based weapons and tools. You’ll need a base and a Workbench allows you to build within its area of influence. Building a base is easy-ish; you should make sure your wood poles are connected to the ground, ensure you have a proper roof (not more floor tiles) and ensure the walls are complete, otherwise your building will decay when it rains. You’ll need a fire inside but on the ground, so you’ll have to have a gap in your floor for that… and a chimney/vent above it for the smoke to escape, but that also needs to be covered by a roof angle to prevent the fire going out on a damp day. It is all logically complicated! In order to progress to the next tech level you will need to harvest tributes and present them at a boss alter where you will summon the boss to fight. Each person attending will need to get the reward from the boss so if there are 4 of you, you’ll need to fight it four times! There’s no cool down so it’s relatively straight forward; if you can beat the boss. After the first boss you gain the access to a pick axe and can start harvesting Copper and Tin to make Bronze which will then need for everything, including a boat. The more of you on the server the quicker those glorious resource nodes will evaporate and you’ll need to travel further to find more. You can sail to another island but beware, if you sail to close to the edge of the world…. Well, you’ll find out! There are Dungeons called Burial Sites and Troll Caves which you can clear out to get the cores you will need for the Bronze production and Portals which allow you to travel any distance point to point as long as you have a matched pair of portals. These are a game changer when you get them but you can’t carry metal through them which is by design. The game has so much going on and so many requirements and recipes and yet it is thoroughly addictive; I just can’t put this game down. As with so many games this is better in a group; a small group. Too many people on the server and the resource bun fight can get… interesting. Overall, the game is brilliant and I cannot recommend it enough. It’s less than 1GB in size which these days is unusual; it runs well and looks good enough for the game it is presenting. Originally published on 15 February 2021.

Disappointing Remaster

Kingdoms of Amalur Re-reckoning was billed as a re-master of the original game but in fact, this is a re-skinning of the original Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning that was released in 2012. I had high hopes for this game because the original game was really good for its time. The world is huge and the story is somewhat different but it just seems to work. You can spec your character as you like and either go full mage, warrior or rogue or mix and match to get the best set up for you. While there are hundreds of hours of game-play in this I was disappointed by the ‘new version’. For sure, the graphics are better than they were in 2012 but the styling is exactly the same, despite what the trailer would have you believe, and my biggest gripe from the original game remains in that although the game is open world and you can take differing paths to get somewhere, if there is a ramp, or step you will have to go round and find the bottom to walk up, there is absolutely no climbing in this game, even up an apparently tiny step. The combat is still excellent but then it would be, as apart from the graphics nothing has changed and there are some wonderful combos to open up as you level. It’s nice that all the NPC’s are voiced, but again, they always were. The original game was fantastic in its day but this re-work does not introduce enough improvement for me to want to play all the way through again. If you’re looking for a decent single player RPG and you have not played the original game Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning, then this is great; if you have played the original then you may well find this disappointing. Overall I was disappointed with this re-work Originally published on 9 February 2021.

Zombie Apocalypse every 7 Days!

This is one of those games that has been in Alpha for a very long time but is still being developed and is always getting better. Yes, there is the occasional new release that breaks something like the time when the rain was acid and caused death within minutes of touching your skin but generally problems like that get resolved quickly and the game becomes playable again. The setting is that of a post-apocalyptic landscape in North America where much of the population have become zombies who’s only aim in undeath is to consume live human flesh. The zombies are relatively docile during the day but run at night, although these settings can be changed to make the game harder or easier. Standard settings though, they are slow in the day and fast at night. To save on server resources though, the zombies are populated around player activity. They spawn dormant and are woken by noise or heavy activity on the ‘Heat Map’. If you crouch, you can sneak up on dormant zombies and kill them with an arrow to the head. If you over extend however, they can easily all wake up and surround you. The Heat Map is the activity caused by play industry such as the Cooking Fire, Forge, Work Bench, Cement Mixer, Chemistry Bench, Generator etc. The more heat you are producing the more undead visitors you will get. You can play on the standard pre-generated map Navesgane which has all the biomes and mapped out regional areas or you can play on a randomly generated map that could have lots of cities, or none at all. If choosing a random map, it’s best to research some good seed names so you at least have a trader. The maps are divided into ‘biomes’ with each one having its own characteristics which includes the climate, the zombie encounters and the resources that are most prevalent. The ‘green’ zone tends to be the easiest area because the temperature is generally survivable without too much clothing protection. The desert biome gets very hot but has an abundance of oil shale, something you will need a lot of later in the game. The snow biome is, rather obviously, bloomin’ cold and has mountain lions and big lumberjack men roaming. Some people prefer basing up in the snow, where they expect to get less visitors. The main thing that differentiates 7 Days from most crafting survival games is the ability to break down absolutely everything and build anywhere. You can dig down underground to bedrock and you can create any structure you like with the adaptive building blocks. The problem is the zombies will break it in a bid to get to you, particularly on Blood Moon night! Ordinarily, if you can break line of sight with a zombie, they will stop chasing you but on Blood moon, they know where you are and will come for you. My advice, don’t be at your base when that happens. By that I mean, if you have a base where you keep all your supplies, you don’t want it trashed. If you have a defensive base, then use it to reap lots of XP as you cut down the continuous waves of undead abominations. This game is really hard, just against the environment but it can also be PvP and in that case you then have to fortify your base from Zombies and hide the entrance from curious players, keen to steal your stuff and murder you if they get the chance. Being able to build anywhere though you can get quite creative with where you make your base. My favourite so far was a base entrance under a lake, it made me feel like a Bond villain! When you first start there are missions to do which teach the basics of the game; these are well worth completing as the final one tasks you with finding a trader, which it handily marks on your map. The trader will then give you more missions and reward you with useful items and cash, in the form of Duke tokens, which you can then use… at the trader. You can also sell items that are of no use to you. If you’re playing this with friends then team up because you’ll get shared XP for Zombie kills and you can share the effort on the skill tree. As you level and are given skill points you’ll need to unlock skills to improve your survivability and learn how to craft things that will help you improve that further. For me, the key at the start is to get the recipe for the Forge and Work Bench so I can set about making Bicycles my team. This might seem a strange goal but being on a bike means I can outrun a zombie, even at night, and start scouting the map. Don’t try this on Blood moon! As a team you can also share your missions that you get from the trader so that you both do it and get the rewards. There is so much going on in this game and it is very replayable. Personally, I prefer PvE but a run out in PvP can be entertaining, provided you are not too attached to your base. Indeed, there is so much I could say about this game but you are better off trying it for yourself. If you like survival crafting games then I would be surprised if you have not tried this already but if you have not, then give it a go. Oh and also the zombie dogs sound like a Tie Fighter when you kill them, something I love and I hope the Devs never change! Originally published on 8 February 2021.

I like big guns...

World of Warships is a ‘Free to Pay’, sorry, ‘free to play’ game from Wargaming who also make World of Tanks and Wold of Warplanes. While you can play it for free in theory, in reality it is going to cost you if you want to progress and have fun in the game. You start the game with a tier 1 ship from each nation. You can only access the Co-op arena games to begin with where you learn to play the game at a basic level and should learn about not shooting your own team, although this seems somewhat lost on a lot of players. As you earn XP on a ship you can unlock new modules and then new ships. There are many famous ships in the game, most are premiums though (you have to buy them for real money) but there are some in the actual Tech Tree like the might Yamato at tier 10 in the Japanese Battleship (BB) line. So, there are Battleships, there are also Cruisers, Destroyers and Aircraft Carriers although Submarines are on the horizon, so to speak. The original idea of balance in this game was this: Battleships (BB) hunt Battleships and Cruisers Cruisers (CA*) hunt Cruisers and Destroyers Destroyers (DD) hunt Destroyers and Battleships And everyone ignores the irritating planes from aircraft. However much has changed since the early days of this game; there have been new ships lines introduced that alter the dynamic somewhat. The Russian heavy cruisers for example are virtually battleships and hunt everything! Then there’s the re-worked Aircraft Carriers (CV) or as I like to call them “Sky Cancer”. In the old days of this game, cruisers tended to have good Anti-Aircraft guns (AA) and if they worked together and stayed with their BB’s or DD’s they could protect them with withering AA fire but since the rework, CV’s can direct their aircraft much more effectively and render much of the AA they encounter as insignificant, even directly bombing a CA that is fully build to defend against air power. I should not have mentioned the Sky Cancer; I knew this would happen. Let me move on… Note: * Cruisers are designated CA for heavy cruisers and CL for light cruisers. When you first start the game it will take you through the basics and introduce new game features as you gain experience so as not to bombard you with information at the start. Like with most multiplayer games WOWS is much more fun when you can group with friends so if you don’t have any that play this, your best bet is to join a clan and make new friends. There are plenty of casual clans that just want regular players rather than really good players. Playing with others is also a good way to learn the tricks of the game. Here’s a tip. Never launch torpedoes if you have friendlies ahead of you. If they sail into your torps, it’s still your fault and you will be punished by the game and most likely ridiculed by your team. Team killers are turned pink for a few games. If it’s a one off, it is just that. If you continue doing it, you will eventually get banned. Mistakes happen, repeat offenders are not welcome however. If you ever wanted to sail the legends of WWII and fire big guns then this is the game for you. A match typically lasts up to 20 minutes so you can easily play 1 round and come back later or you can play a whole day. I mentioned starting in Co-op, this is against AI bot ships which are stupid! When you’ve learned how to play, the game will let you into random battles against other players, although at the low levels you may find it is still against bots and 1 or 2 other real people. The bots are identified by a : at the start and end of their name. There are also ‘Operations’ that are unlocked as you progress. These are usually for tier 6 or 7 ships (depending on the mission) and are cooperative events based on a specific scenario like the evacuation of Dunkirk or rescuing a stricken Aircraft Carrier. In these operations the bots are still stupid but there tend to have overwhelming numbers. There really is lots to do in this game but if you do decide to download it make sure you sign up to and get the right version for your geographical location. If you are UK/Europe, you do not want to sign up on the North American servers or your gaming experience will be somewhat laggy. Originally published on 27 January 2021.

Too much effort for me

I really like survival games. On Ark, 7 Days to Die and Conan Exiles I have over 3000 hours and that’s not counting games like The Forest so it’s fair to say I like my crafting survival games. Green Hell appeared to be similar to The Forest but with better graphics and possibly an amazing ecosystem. I wouldn’t know because I didn’t get that far. We set out playing it on the easiest setting with no predators or tribesmen in order to get a handle on how to play the game. After two hours of scavenging a jungle for rocks and sticks to make a stone knife and build a shelter and make a fire, we were dehydrated and passing out every two minutes. It was, in many ways an entertaining experience playing it with a friend and trying to survive but it was not a fun experience and after those two hours that I can never get back I uninstalled the game. Green Hell is not for me. However, if you like a challenge…. If you think The Forest is too easy then maybe Green Hell is for you. It looks great but the grind is just too high for me in Green Hell. Originally published on 27 January 2021.

Survive the waves of monsters

Risk of Rain 2 is fun solo but improved playing with a friend. You arrive in a space pod and slowly meander around the map in search of power-ups and the Teleport platform to the next map (game level). As you gather items, you might get faster and the items you collect hang on your form until you look somewhat overburdened until you are zooming around the map, dodging projectiles thrown at you by the ever intensifying collection of alien monsters who have only one goal… kill you! There are different characters to play that you can unlock in game as a result of completing various specified tasks. Personally I have spent way too long playing the Engineer, who gets two turrets to deploy. Every update you get, the next time you put a turret down, it has the upgrade applied until you have a pair of stationary rail-guns at your disposal. The aim is to survive as long as possible or to get to round five and go through the Primordial portal and survive the moon round. The game gets harder as time goes by to the point that you are just running for your life and hoping to avoid the incoming bombardment and yet it is surprisingly different every time you play it. I have played over 200 hours on this and I am not tired of it yet. With more than one player it can become something of a ‘bun fight’ for the power ups but you need to try and distribute the items to the right characters; you need everyone doing their part in order to survive. Good luck out there! Originally published on 25 January 2021.

Crazy Golf taken to the next level

It’s Crazy Golf. Really crazy golf. The courses are really hard and utterly frustrating. The thing is, it’s frustrating for everyone, not just you. Make sure to have ‘Ball Collision’ switched on in the options, find 4-11 friends and start a lobby and you will have many varying reactions. There will be anger, swearing and threats when your so called mate punts your ball over the side when you have just lined up the perfect shot. There will be laughter, uncontrolled laughter when you punt someone over the edge or watch them fail to get past an obstacle that you found a shortcut and avoided entirely. There will be screaming; make sure you are all on voice comms for this! There will be glitches, there will be rage and there will be sweet victory! For a group game with mates, this is brilliant and well worth the money. Originally published on 25 January 2021.

Frustratingly Worthwhile

Firstly, if you’re looking for and arcade shooter and somewhere to maintain a positive kill/death ratio, then HLL is not for you. The game is very hard! It’s like hard-core Battlefield in that the maps are huge and you have a squad but it’s hard-core because there is no HUD whatsoever. There is also no indication that you hit someone when you fire off some rounds, other than if you see them fall. However, it is an extremely well thought out game. Each side has a Commander and each squad has an officer who can receive orders from the Commander and direct his own squad. He can, with support place new deployment points as the team pushes forward. The Officer can also request for aid from the Commander, in the form of artillery bombardment or a strafing run. The squads are limited to various roles to prevent the ‘Medic Rush’ tactics seen in some games or prevent a defending team having an over-abundance of Machine Guns raining down fire. It creates squads that are self-sufficient and dare I say it, useful. There is a lot of running across fields or beaches to get to the objective only to get popped by an unseen enemy and if you are easily upset by that don’t play this. What it does do is give a sense of the atmosphere of World War II, more so than any other game I have played before. I appreciate that in the real world you could not respawn but this is a game so that mechanic allows you to understand the scale of life lost in conflict. This is not glamorising war like so many other games of the period. When you do manage to get to an objective and take it with your squad, or even just get behind enemy lines and be a royal PITA to the enemy, it really does give a sense of achievement. Even if you cannot form a squad to join the server with, make sure to join an existing squad of misfits and work together; this game is not for the lone wolf. Even if you want to snipe, you’ll need a Spotter to assist and protect you. Originally published on 25 January 2021.

Harry Potter in an Ark'ish world

This game is a bit strange and takes some getting used to. There's a quite good tutorial quest giver at the start of each safe zone but there is a flaw. As you progress through the standard abilities learning it requires you to build a camp fire. In most games you build this in your inventory and then place it. In Citadel, you use a build menu by pressing B but it is not obvious at all! That annoyance aside you venture out into the big wide world at level 1 or 2 and go into a level 1-12 area where you are chased across the lands by level 5 or 8 boars, wolves, bears, sprites... pretty much everything except Hares and Elk want to eat you. So you set about building a base; at the low level harvesting takes forever but is pretty with the Extract Spell. You draw the materials out of the trees and rocks, getting not enough wood or stone so that it takes ages to build anything remotely big enough to get all the building benches inside. Of course, early doors your defending against the woodland creatures so you're not too worried about a roof, you probably can't afford it anyway. This becomes a problem when you level to the point of flight and either use a potion or a Broomstick and you discover your base id somewhat accessible from the air. The game is designed for PvP play. Personally, I would find that toxic in this game where base-building would become a logistical nightmare so I will talk about the game from the PvE perspective. You can use up to four weapons and scroll between them. Each weapon can have two 'spells' added to them and each weapon type creates differing effects from the same spells so there are many combinations to be trialed. Three very important (non-attacking) spells that you should consider are: 1) Haste - This gives you a speed boost and makes traversing the lands or escaping trouble much simpler. 2) Extract - This is the harvesting spell. Add range at creation by adding Faery Dust 3) Pacify - Used to tame wild creatures to aid you. You can tame almost anything, even quest creatures which is a flaw in the game. You need to knock their heath down without killing them; the lower their health the faster it is to tame them. Many creatures can then be equipped with a saddle for mounting and faster travel. The game feels like it was meant to be played in groups, the healing other spells are far more efficient than the heal self spells for example and yet, some quest items are singular and require re-spawn for all the party members to complete. Resources re-spawn is relatively speedy though so it's not too much of an inconvenience. Overall, the game is entertaining and challenging although I do not see it as something I will play long term, but then there are very few games that do that these days. It's fun and looks good although it appears to be difficult to make a good looking character. The combinations of crafting options are staggering and the farming provides more resources than those found naturally, there simply is so much to do that is not combat, however as with most games, fighting is where most of your XP comes from. If you're a fan of Magical or Wizarding combat; if you like the Harry Potter journey and want to wield those effects yourself, this game is entertaining. Originally published on 6 January 2021.

Terrifying Solo... take some friends!

This is an up to 3 player co-op FPS set in a world where Alien Dino's have taken over earth and you are part of a small team sent back to fulfill various tasks. You get deployed, have to do the missions and then extract out, all while avoiding or fighting dinos. The dinos range from Raptors to Rex's, although thankfully, the latter are not common. There are four character classes each with their own specialist roles and there are multiple weapons to choose from which can be upgraded with the research points and dino parts earned or found on missions. Upgrading weapons is somewhat convoluted and confusing to start with; it is not well explained but the game is still Alpha so maybe it will get improved. The guns handle well, feel right and it is a lot of fun to play, although if you play it solo, it's eerie and scary. The map markers do not update for everyone so it can be difficult to see what team mates are directing you to but again, alpha. Overall, it's a fun shooter. Ark meets The Cycle meets Left for Dead ish I guess :) The only bit to really annoy me was the tool tips at the start; they pop up and tell you how to play the game, right across your screen while you are trying to fight. Originally published on 8 December 2020.

Terrifying, yet funny co-op

In a group, this game is very funny, although working out what to do can be difficult, somehow that is entertaining in its own way. The game is terrifying when you are chased but the build up to that point is worse, in a good way. It's not something I would see has much re-play-ability but for the price its worth a shot, if you have friends to scream with! Originally published on 8 December 2020.

Surprisingly re-playable

At first glance this game looks like a bad rip off of Dungeon Defenders; it is certainly modeled similarly but it is nothing like that game in play style. Gunfire: Reborn is a FPS set in a clunky alien environment and you start the game playing as, what we now think is a fox.... it's not a cat! There are two other characters to unlock and each character has two unique abilities. For me, this game feels like you are playing a ground team adventure with the cast of Star Fox. As you play the game you earn 'Talent' points which you can use to revive if you are downed and a teammate cannot get to you or you can save those points to unlock skills on the talent tree at the end which will make you stronger the next time you play. Note: You can only use the self revive once so use it wisely. These points are also how you level up. Each talent skill bought represents a new level. So, the 'Fox', his (or her) primary ability is an Orb of stasis? It holds an enemy still for a short time, useful for self defense or freezing a sniper at range. The secondary skill is a poison grenade that does corrosion damage and slows the enemies. Both of these abilities can be improved at the end of level chests where you get to pick one of three random options. These are different each game so you rarely get the specific build you want and have to adapt your play style to the bonuses you get. There are also 'Cursed Chests' where the Skill Scroll comes at a price; you have to decide if the price is worth it. Enough about the mechanics, how does it play? It's actually quite a clever game, you get good bonuses for Critical hits so head-shots are important but you can also spray and pray, if that's your preferred tactic. The basic gun you start with has unlimited ammo and should easily get you through the first level where you will find new guns are dropped for you. As you get further through the game, more new guns are dropped and each time you discover one, that is then unlocked to appear anywhere in the game. The guns themselves then have varying inscriptions that make them more or less suitable to differing play styles. As you progress the weapons also get more powerful and can be upgraded further at the Crafter who is placed randomly about the map, along with his buddy The Peddler who can sell you new gear, health and ammo. I appreciate I am making this sound really complicated.... it is but, it leads you into the complexities gradually so as a player you find it makes sense as you go. The game is up to four player co-op but you can play solo and it is still fun. Granted, it is more entertaining with some support. The loot that drops is all yours and not shared but you can drop weapons to share them with your team mates if that takes your fancy. Since the weapons have different properties, I have found that me and my duo buddy like different weapons so chopping and changing to get the best balance for the team is important, but that's enough about how we play :) Overall, this game surprised me with how re-playable it actually is. Originally published on 8 December 2020.