Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Strategy, Word, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
In Gunpowder, you're a Western version of Robin Hood. Your job is to ignite gunpowder to blow up kegs and get the contents of the bank safe. There are rivers to jump and mountains to negotiate, with kegs acting as 'bombs' to keep the gunpowder lit.
I liked this game because it's just fun to blow up stuff. Plus, the physics and the simple storyline are both well-done.
Humanity's days are numbered in this amazing sequel to Iron Heart: Steam Tower! Use your tower defense mastery to crush the steel legions before it's too late!
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
8 Floor has come out with another in their TD series. If you've played their games before, you'll recognize the usual types of towers and attackers: the big slow robots, the tanks that release three small fast bots when they are destroyed, the flyers that can only be taken down with gun towers.
I played the Mac version, which had no level select. Sometimes 8 Floor games are way too difficult, but this one was pretty easy. I won 3 stars on all levels in about four hours of gameplay.
Still, it was 4 decent hours of entertainment, so thumbs' up! And I'm always happy to see a new Strategy game.
Gunspell is a storydriven task-based game where magic and guns combine to fight vampires, sorcerers, even monster ants. It's a combination of Match 3 and tasks as well as lots of power-ups.
Match 3 isn't my favorite game type, but in Gunspell the games are 'duels' against your opponents. If you match three skulls, the monster gets a hit - and vice versa. You also match 3 - 5 to get powerups, health points, money, etc.
This is what makes it so fascinating - you have to try and make the best match possible while setting up the worst match for the ant-wizard. Different opponents have different strengths, so at first the game seems easy. Fear not, it gets really challenging quite quickly.
Along the way you talk to fellow gunslingers in storyboard format. The illustrations are pretty good, but it's all static. I have no complaints, but the art doesn't leap off the screen.
Still, the game is SO compelling I had to hide it from myself so I could get some work done. Luckily the gunslinger's energy runs out, or I'd play all night. You can also recharge the gunslinger with a point and click game.
Kudos to the developers for producing a fun, challenging game that's different from the other bigfish games. Highly recommended!
Hero of the Kingdom is one of those 'get lots of tasks and accumulate stuff' games. The storyline centers on you as a farmer's son who earns your way up the military ladder, fighting fantasy armies (skeletons and trolls) along the way.
There are a lot of different things to do, such as collect mushrooms, brew potions, go fishing, and complete tasks. The graphics are flat but perfectly fine, although most of the action happens in text.
This game kept me entertained for about five hours, so kudos to the designers. It's definitely worth the credit, and if they come up with a sequel I'll be interested to see what new gameplay the company devises.
Certainly, it's wonderful to find a new title that isn't another HOG, so I was excited to see Hero of the kingdom.
As another reviewer wrote, the game designers' first language is obviously not English. That said, I appreciate writers who can take steampunk, put it into a Grecian setting, and make it work.
Again riffing off other reviews, improving your defense mechanisms is pretty confusing. I had no idea what I was doing at the beginning - all I knew was it was pretty cool. However, I realized I could buy higher levels of triangles, circles, squares, and stars (don't worry about it; it makes sense later. Sort of) and use them to widen my shooting radius, shorten reload time, etc.
There are all the usual attack machines - air missiles, large and slow beasts who drop fast, smaller beasts (aka groups of attack soldiers) and boats. They're all based on Archimedes' designs, which is pretty cool. The inventor, a steampunk-y woman, is Archimedes' student and wants to rescue him from the enemy.
The file downloaded so quickly I thought this would be a pixilated mess, but I was pleasantly surprised by the graphics and storyline. The game level is playable, perhaps a shade too easy. I know it must be hard to get that just right - either you have too easy or Impossible To Play/ Stop Me From Throwing My Laptop Out of The Window (cough, Fort Defenders, cough.)
(Btw, if you're looking for amazing tower defense I highly recommend Risen Dragons. That little gem is hidden in strategy games, and It. Is. Amazing.)
If you don't mind spending an hour or so learning how to play, Defense of Greece is fun tower defense. I highly recommend it.
I played my way through Maze: Subject 360 and enjoyed it. I'm all about dark themes and scary games, so this one fit my tastes. (It's not terrifying, although there are some jump scares and character deaths.) The puzzles were original and fun. I liked the concept of having to figure one out underwater before your lungs filled up.
The concept was highly original and along the lines of 'explore the shadowy recesses of your psyche.' However, the storyline and settings were all over the place. First we are in an asylum, a hotel, a maze, then a town, then our minds, then there are aliens... It's crazy! The file is huge, so obviously the designers kept throwing stuff at the wall to see what would stick.
I appreciate a game that creates a mapped setting I can visualize as I play. This didn't happen in 360. It's too bad, because with some crafty writing and careful editing, this could have been a real gem.
Graphics are nice, the mazes are fun, and the voiceovers are well-done. HOS's are interactive, and the adventure gameplay is good, along the lines of 'find yet another key.'
360 definitely kept my attention, but it's a crazy mess. A hot mess, if you will.
I really enjoy small-company games. The Tiny Bang Story was quirky, original, and sucked me into gameplay, so I hoped for the same thing with The Inner World. While I loved the concept and storyline, the long conversations I was forced into with other characters made me back out. Anytime I have to put up with "..." as a line of dialogue makes me say, Nope.
Cruel beings have devastated a floating island leaving its peaceful populace helpless in the face of war. Conquer the evil scourge and repair the land!
I poked around the back corners of the Strategy collection and came across this amazing game. It's a bit buggy but so fun the mistakes don't matter. This is a tower defense game that also brings in Match 3 and adventure elements. Some levels are so difficult they seem impossible, but if you persevere you'll get them in the end. Graphics are well-done with lots of monsters and different 'dragons' to fight with along with plenty of upgrades. Storyline is engaging. In fact, I was so addicted to this game I snuck off several times just to see if I could finally beat the Red Island level 2 (which I finally did.)
Too many cut scenes and trite characters to interact with for me. Plus, when the game is called 'Ominous Objects' I expect dark atmosphere and jumpscares, not lots of pink, purple and boys in sailor suits. I suppose the HO puzzles (the two I made it through before I got thoroughly bored) were well-done, but it doesn't make up for a dumb plot and horrible art.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
I'm still playing this game, and it's just as fun as when I started. Most word games start with a simple concept and get harder and harder until I quit out in disgust, but this one offers loads of level-ups to buy to keep you playing. There are new characters and weapons to try as you create words to battle 'monsters' - and I'll probably replay it as one of the other characters.
The idea is simple - create words with the letters you're given, but those level-ups add dimensions such as double letters, using a Q, etc for extra points. Plus there are Wheel of Fortune-type mini games that are a lot of fun.
Total home-run for me - kudos to the designers for creating something new and fun.