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GRIDD Gud – GRIDD: Retroenhanced Shmup Hits Steam

May 17, 2017 Alex Connolly 0

PC, Mac, Linux • World-class style isn’t just reserved for the catwalk in Milan. Going by the likes of Mixed Bag, Santa Ragione and now Antab Studios, Milanese game development is about matching substance with impeccable visual kung fu. Having had my senses tickled by the likes of forma.8 (currently on sale, you know what to do), Futuridium (first-person or bust) and FOTONICA (PC or iOS; a personal pick for endless runner), it’s time to stir a little Last Starfighter into Lawrence Angelo’s coffee. Behold, the freshly-released GRIDD: Retroenhanced.

Upcoming update to bring friendly quests and deck sharing to Hearthstone

May 17, 2017 David Neumann 1

iOS, Android, PC, Mac • It’s been awhile since I’ve been on the Hearthstone bandwagon. I know it’s got polish on top of its polish and that, as far as digital CCGs go, it’s still a pretty great game. Still, there’s something that drove me away. I think it was the bloat of expansion after expansion and the focus on esports that made me feel like casual play wasn’t really something Hearthstone did well anymore. I just don’t have enough time to research a game in order to play it well. Also, I have Race for the Galaxy now, thank you very much. Still, it’s a big money maker for Blizzard and, as such, they keep showing it love. In a few weeks it will be getting a major update that adds a couple of new features that might make it easier for old farts like me to get back into it.

Star Realms getting a makeover and new expansion, Colony Wars

May 15, 2017 David Neumann 10

iOS, Android, PC, Mac • Star Realms is one of those cardboard-to-digital ports that everyone seems to love. Even if deck-building isn’t your favorite mechanism, Star Realms just does everything so right that you feel the need to keep it installed on your iPad. Games can be played quickly, the entire game is remarkably cheap without any boosters to constantly buy, and it just feels like it was made for digital from the get-go. That said, it’s about to feel a lot different. The Star Realms you know and love is getting a complete makeover, and it’s coming on Wednesday.

Paradox announces new city-builder, Surviving Mars

May 12, 2017 David Neumann 0

PC, Mac, Linux • The current go-to city builder on my laptop is Paradox‘s Cities: Skylines. Looks like it’s getting some competition, and soon, from…Paradox? That’s right, Paradox is publishing another city builder in the near future, but set in the distant future, and I think both will coexist peacefully on my hard drive. It’s called Surviving Mars and it looks pretty freaking great.

Next up for HexWar, the War of 1812

May 12, 2017 David Neumann 8

iPad, Android Tablet, PC, Mac, Linux • While you’re probably familiar with the fact that, last year, HexWar published a digital version of Academy Games‘ wonderful 1775: Rebellion, you might not be aware that 1775 isn’t the only game in the series. It’s actually only one of three games dealing with early American warfare with the others covering the French and Indian War of 1754 and the War of 1812. The games aren’t clones of each other, but they do share several similarities, so I had been wondering if HexWar would be porting the others to digital at some point down the line. We aren’t sure about 1754, but today they did confirm that 1812: The Invasion of Canada will be coming to in June.

Waiting for Narmer in Predynastic Egypt

May 11, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC, Mac • I’ve mentioned my love of Ancient Egypt in the past, with some of my Favorite.Games.Ever being Pharaoh from Impressions and Children of the Nile from Tilted Mill (neither of which have been ported to Mac or mobile, sadly). I know I’m not alone, as Egyptian history continues to be a mainstay of movies, games, and books. While I’m happy that Tom Cruise is getting work, I’m not sure a CGI-filled action film is what I’m looking for. What I really want is the ability to live there, build and grow. There hasn’t been a good civ builder in Egypt since Children of the Nile, but Clarus Victoria is hoping to change that with their latest, Predynastic Egypt.

Nice-ometrics – Tokyo 42 Drops May 31

May 10, 2017 Alex Connolly 0

Windows, Console • I’ve been exercising an increasing regime of self-control in regards to SMAC Games’ Tokyo 42. Isolated and insulated against everything bar the basics. All I really know so far is that it is going to be a Jolly Good Time.

Forget it, dear readers, it’s Moreytown.

May 8, 2017 David Neumann 3

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • One of our favorite gamebook creators back in our Pocket Tactics days were the fine folks over at Choice of Games. Their gamebooks appear spartan, lacking any illustrations, but are actually deeper than just about every other piece of interactive fiction out there. This comes from their spreadsheet-like approach to tracking your choices and adjusting your character as you proceed through the story. It also comes from the fact that many of their gamebooks tell epic, sweeping stories rather than focusing on a single quest or adventure. Their latest isn’t any different.

You guys remember Heaven’s Vault? Yep, it’s still a thing

May 8, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac, Console • While it’s sad to think that we won’t be getting any more Sorcery! titles from the mad geniuses at inkle Studios, it’s comforting to know that we’re getting something. Heaven’s Vault is their upcoming title and I say “something” because we really don’t know much about what the hell Heaven’s Vault actually is. A few screens of a woman and her robot looking over a desolate landscape is all we have to go on. That and the fact that Raymond Chandler and Gene Wolfe were mentioned as inspiration. That’s all they really had to say, but they keep throwing more info at us anyway.

Review: Monster Slayers

May 1, 2017 Nick Vigdahl 19

PC, Mac • How often does a game’s catchphrase, a blurb that’s often silly and seldom informative, sell you on playing said game? We’re hoping the answer is, “not often”, but check this out: A Deckbuilding Roguelike Adventure. Sold! That’s the tagline for Monster Slayers, a game by Nerdook Productions, and it’s the exact coupling of words needed to penetrate the inky blackness of my heart and, more importantly, wallet.