| written by Malkom on Nov 09, 2011 01:05 |
 | |  | | ![]() Steambirds: Survival - thank you, 4.6M; I got it on my iPod, 'cause I could, and it is pretty darned fun, as well as being a unique concept for strategy games. I find it intriguing. | |  | |  |
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| written by 4616599 on Jan 01, 2012 09:36 |
 | |  | | 0 AD is a pretty fun historical RTS with factions like the Romans and Persians. The AI is admittingly still rather bad, the game being in alpha stage- but the real hidden gem is the map editor, which is very much a free sandbox- throw in lots of troops! Make a load of Leonidas (Leonidases? Leonidae?) stand together and pour in spearmen! Make planes buzz a Roman legion!
(Honestly, I've wasted more time in the editor than in the game itself  ) | |  | |  |
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| written by Neuzd on May 27, 2012 12:58 |
 | |  | | ![]() Yesterday I found this: Mirror Moon.
It's a very short puzzle game, but the gameplay is quite unique. Also the atmosphere and graphics are in a class of their own, one could even say that it has a kind of Noctis quality to it... | |  | |  |
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  | | | | ![]() I've been playing DayZ, an Arma 2: Combined Operations mod, a lot lately. Steam Says 12.3 hours and I've only had three play sessions.
It's a survival horror anti-game according to the creator, Rocket, who is actually a developer at Bohemia Interactive.
It's currently in Alpha stage but it has a lot of features already added as well as a lot of promise.
You start out on a beach, on a random spot on the 255 square kilometer map, with basic equipment. A pistol, some food, bandages, painkillers, a canteen and a few other basics.
New equipment can be found by either scavanging from towns which are infested with zombies. Or by killing other players and taking it.
The game has pemadeath, which makes combat a very tricky situation.
Your health is represented by blood, which can be lost from serious wounds and can only be replenished by either eating (The slow way) or a blood transfusion, which can only be done by another player to you.
I think the creator wanted to make other players the biggest threat to each other, while making the so called "zombies" just a basic obstical.
Don't get me wrong, if you try to mow down a horde of walkers you are going to end up dead. They are a threat. But stealth is your biggest friend, because firing even a single shot could alert nearby zombies... Or nearby players.
So far, because it is a sandbox "game" two clear factions have arisen. Survivors, who salvage what they can to survive and try to team up with others, only killing others when threatened. And Bandits, who are generally shoot first and don't stay around for questions sort of folks.
However a few other interesting smaller groups have arisen, such as the Cult of the Zombie. Who do not kill zombies, and murder those who do. Calling the zombies "The Enlightened Ones".
The zombies themselves will remind you very much of the ones from the 28 Days Later franchise. Fast, and dangerous. But not too bright when it comes to spacial awareness.
Rocket has said the zombies in this game are actually still alive, infected with a disease that dulls their senses, effects their muscles, and makes them crave blood. They still have the instinct to stay near their homes or work place. But can be found in the wilderness standing over the corpse of a freshly killed survivor.
On a more technical note.
The game is hosted on third party servers, which hook in to a master server controlling all player data which is tied to their CD key. That data is used on all servers so as soon as you log off, you will have the same gear and will be in the same spot as last time, even if it's a different server.
Most servers have 50 slots but some less funded ones have around half that.
I'll find some good videos that I've seen later and post them here too, just so you can get an idea of the game if I haven't sold it already.
Before going into it though, do remember that Alpha is Alpha and you will die to bugs. You will lose equipment to bugs. You will have to wait 5 minutes to get into a server. But that's what you pay for getting early access to something awesome. | | | | |
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| a title is a curious thing... |
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 | | | | ![]() I read a Eurogamer article on this mod, and I was intrigued.
The writer had some great stories to tell, and they really showed how the entire game is based on feeble alliances between players. It's not uncommon for "teams" to turn on each other, and fake alliances to form.
Another nice touch that has me intrigued is the ability to chronicle your character's life in a journal. Obviously, it's not something all players will use or care about, but for people like me, it's an interesting way to maybe say some last words before being killed, and have a sort of Dark-Soul's-esque note system. | | | | |
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| | | | ![]() It is true that a lot of alliances are very unstable. It's really interesting reading some of the stories on the forums.
One fellow posted about someone they allowed to join their group. He spent two days helping out and gaining their trust, then double crossed them as his real allies steamrolled them because of sabotage and knowledge of their weaknesses.
There is a real psychological element that makes for interesting gameplay.
I actually enjoy seeing people talking in the global side-chat sometimes. Seeing alliances rise and fall. However there is a lot more that goes on in "direct chat" which is a local area sort of thing, that you can't get access to without being there.
I know some servers disable the side-chat all together so you can only communicate to those nearby, which can make things even more tense. | | | | |
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| written by Kynreeve on Apr 07, 2013 16:37 |
 | |  | | ![]() Spent half of my precious day-off playing The Aurora Wager. Totally worth it.
http://volo-airsport.net/blog/
Yeah, as you can figure out, it's a game where you have to reach some very distant location in a (upgradable) hot air balloon using your compass for navigation and some wind to push your vessel (mostly) forward. And that's about it.
Now get on it! Reach the North pole and don't fall out of your gondola on the way! (because I did  ). | |  | |  |
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| written by Kristos on Apr 29, 2013 16:13 |
 | |  | | ![]() I don't know if I've ever mentioned it but Return to Sector 9 is probably my second favorite 2D shooter game. And it's free. Fly a spaceship with the keyboard, aim and fire with the mouse, get upgrades, get new ships, unlock new levels and new game modes, you know the drill. And this particular game does that drill very well! | |  | |  |
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| i haz title: speed-y-???-1 |
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 | written by Speeder on Apr 29, 2013 16:25 |
| | | | ![]() I saw a let's play of Aurora Wager, that ended when the guy got curious about what the grappling hook do, and hooked his baloon to the ground and could not figure how to unhook it. | | | | |
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  | |  | | ![]() I tried the Aurora Wager when Kynreeve first posted about it. On my first run, I initially ran the burner too long and didn't release any air, not wanting to waste fuel. After some time, I reached an elevation where the islands below were no longer visible, swallowed by the grey fog. Eventually, I decided to release some air and descend to see where I was. It's not exactly obvious how fast you are descending, so when I tried jumping at one point, I just sort of floated in place and drifted slowly out of the gondola and away from the balloon. Later, I determined that this was because the jumping physics are terrible and extremely "floaty", as if you are jumping on the moon, causing you to potentially fall slower than a still-inflated hot air balloon. In any case, I ended up falling for quite some time, even down past the islands and through the death-fog, without actually dying. Eventually, even the skybox drifted off the top of the screen. I left the game running for quite a while, but never did hit anything.
On another run, I descended to an island, and when I hopped out of the balloon, discovered that I reduced the weight enough for it to lift off on its own and leave me stranded. That was actually kind of amusing. A couple other times I just drifted too close to the death-fog, covering the nonexistent surface between the islands, which is just annoying, especially since it's just a solid shade of grey, so you can't tell how close you are to it until it's too late. It would be much better if there were water between the islands, so that you could estimate your altitude by its appearance. Also, the islands are boring, and all look pretty much identical. A game like this really needs interesting things to see to keep it engaging for more than a short outing. It sounds like the developer does intend to expand it in the future though.
The Volo Airsport alpha is also worth trying while your there. It's a bit rough, and doesn't really offer much in terms of gameplay, but makes for an entertaining wingsuit simulation. It can be fun to see how fast you can get while still managing to recover from your dive, or just skimming the mountains at close as possible. | |  | |  |
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| i haz title: speed-y-???-1 |
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| written by Speeder on May 01, 2013 14:32 |
| | | | ![]() I remembered the game "Against the Wall"
unfortunately the version available is quite old, and paying a pre-order... for now means nothing, only that you paid, and you still play the same old version.
But it shows potential and is quite interesting
http://www.againstthewallgame.com/play/ | | | | |
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| written by Stiven on May 27, 2013 20:59 |
| | | | I just saw this game, and it reminded me of Noctis, so i came here to tell you guys about it. It's called StarMade. The current version is free to play. It's a minecraft inspired 3D sandbox space shooter. http://star-made.org/content/gallery | | | | |
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| written by Kristos on May 29, 2013 22:21 |
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