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Puzzle City PC Game Review
Most people won’t spend their free time wondering what Tetris would be like if it went sideways and had to fit into a set board. The answer is that it looks like Puzzle City with a little Sim City thrown in. The result? A fun twist and change of pace for Tetris fans without Sim City’s complexity.
Meet no nonsense boss, Mz. Towers and the friendly foreman who shows you around. Mz. Towers sets the goals and expects their successful completion. Both characters pop in with dialog to motivate me, to insult me, or to provide a little comic relief. The foreman loves to order pizza while Mz. Tower questions hiring me. Usually, I’m too busy to read the dialog, but it mostly repeats a handful of phrases.
A level consists of a grid that varies in sizes. Some grids are narrow while others are quirky and full of angles. A conveyor belt sits on the bottom of the game screen rolling out the blocks for placing on the grid. These blocks range from one to four pieces creating different shapes.
Not only do I fit pieces into the grid, but also I must pay attention to areas highlighted in a specific color. Colors represent the type of building such as aqua for a shopping center, yellow for factory, green for homes, and blue for police station. Sometimes I can’t tell what color blocks belong in a highlighted area, but the game doesn’t allow putting in wrong colored pieces into highlighted areas.
Mz. Towers might give orders where you must build a 2ײ police station or a 3׳ hospital. I’ve blown that a few times especially when there were no highlighted areas. Since the conveyor belt stops for no one, I feel like Lucy at the candy factory when trying to manage pieces that I forget about the objectives leaving no room to build a 2ײ or 3׳ building. Sometimes I want to throttle the grid or Mz. Towers, but it’s all in fun as Puzzle City offers a diversity of challenges.
The game contains two types of power ups. One affects items on the conveyor belt and the other affects pieces. The latter power ups include a tractor for destroying buildings to make room for more, a recycler for changing the shape of an existing piece, and a trash bin for recycling pieces (This is a very green company!).
Conveyor belt power ups appear just below the belt (OK, I can just hear the quips flying). Dynamite blows away all pieces currently on the belt. Spray paint randomly changes the color of the current pieces. Other power ups include freezing the conveyor belt for a few seconds, reversing the conveyor belt, and (my favorite) the hammer for converting pieces into one-block pieces. Some levels spoil me with power ups while others have me dying for one or the right one.
My favorite part is the mysterious “special building.” Its brown pieces only come in single blocks. When all the blocks fill in the highlighted space, the building materializes and angels sing its praises. These special buildings should come along more often.
Due to the randomness of the pieces, it’s easy to get trapped and replay a level a few times. The game takes luck and strategy. Puzzle City brings out all kinds of emotions from euphoria in finally making through a tough level to aggravation in watching your belt fill up with no help in sight.
The second game mode, untimed, requires reaching a specific score rather than completing objectives. I don’t care for this mode especially since I could not move pass level 3-4 even after reaching the minimum score many times. Story mode is the stronger of the two, but I wonder if I would want to play the game again once I finish it. With Puzzle City’s having an arcade element, it should be possible to create an arcade version without a story.
I ran into a technical glitch where the game freezes when the puzzle pieces cover all of the squares. Other than that, Puzzle City’s colorful cartoon characters and upbeat music give it a neat spin on Tetris while bringing something novel to the casual games arena.
System Requirements: Windows
- Windows ME/98/2000/XP/Vista
- 600 MHz or faster processor
- 128 MB RAM
- DirectX 6.0 MB or later
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1914 Shells of Fury Review
1914 Shells of Fury, developed by H2F Informationssysteme and published by Rondomedia and Strategy First.
The Good: Seemingly realistic and uniquely different from contemporary submarines, pleasant interface, quick mission generator, time acceleration
The Not So Good: Uninformative tutorials, outdated graphics, no multiplayer, static campaign missions, quick mission builder is very limited
What say you? It’s not the best game in the genre, but there is still some World War I U-boat fun to be had: 6/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
Submarine games have a storied tradition on the PC. From the Silent Hunter series to the classic Jane’s titles, you don’t have to go far to find a quality simulation of action under the surface. Most of these games are set in the present day or (surprise!) World War II, where most of the hunting and/or killing focuses on technology. But what about the olden times, before fancy gadgets turned metal behemoths into blips on a screen? 1914 Shells of Fury simulates old school World War I submarine action: no sonar, just periscopes and torpedoes. Most of the subs during this time period operated above the surface until they spotted an enemy ship, and then submerged for the kill. This makes the gameplay of 1914 Shells of Fury potentially different from more current sub games.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
1914 Shells of Fury is one of the worst contemporary naval games in terms of graphics. It’s not terribly complicated to make a nice looking ocean, believable ship models, awesome explosions, and decent underwater scenes, but 1914 Shells of Fury fails in pretty much every one of those areas. The waves stink: they are completely angular triangles that rise and fall in the ocean. The ships are equally straight and lack detail, and the explosions are unimpressive. Even underwater scenes look unrealistically murky and green. When you compare 1914 Shells of Fury to games like Ship Simulator, Virtual Sailor, and even Days of Sail (not known for its graphical prowess), it’s clear that this game needs a lot of work in the graphics department. The sound effects in 1914 Shells of Fury are a slight bit better with some OK effects, although there isn’t any voice (German or otherwise) in the game. 1914 Shells of Fury also has some subdued music that fits the stealthy atmosphere of the game well. Thankfully, simulations focus more on gameplay than graphics and sound, but it would still be nice for the world of 1914 Shells of Fury to look pretty.
ET AL.
1914 Shells of Fury features play from the German side of World War I. You can play single missions, the campaign, or a quick mission builder. The single missions include limited tutorials that cover only one thing at a time, and they don’t really teach you anything (just “do this”). There are a handful (around five) stand-alone missions that are a lot like the campaign missions: search and destroy. Although you can play from the start to the end of the war, the campaign is very linear and features the same missions each time. This is disappointing, since it would be seemingly easy to randomize the locations and enemy ships at least a little bit. The mission generator does this to some extent, as you can choose your sub, the region, year, enemy, weather, time of day, and season. However, you always spawn right next to the enemy and this removes all of the scouting involves in submarine attacks. 1914 Shells of Fury also lacks multiplayer. Obviously, there could have been a lot more done to round out the features in 1914 Shells of Fury.
Fortunately, the actual gameplay is pretty good. You can adjust the realism in the game, including the availability of batteries, fuel, oxygen, torpedo faults, convoy movement, and torpedoes. 1914 Shells of Fury follows the World War I submarine method of movement: operating mostly on the surface because there was no sonar (and battery power was limited), spotting enemy ships, and then submerging to attack using the periscope. All of this plays out in real time, so thankfully 1914 Shells of Fury includes time acceleration: up to 16X when engaging enemy ships, and 1024X if you are using the map view with no spotted enemies. The game will also automatically switch to real time speed if an enemy is spotted. This makes three day missions take about half an hour to complete, depending on how many ships you encounter. Most of the missions have you patrolling a specified area and engaging any enemy ships you see; they will follow realistic paths and zigzag to avoid torpedoes. 1914 Shells of Fury features a decent interface that allows you to do basic actions from any station, although most of the time you’ll want to switch positions on the ship.
There are ten rooms to visit on the ship. The first is a sailing view that allows you to feel the wind in your hair, virtually speaking of course. The control room features straightforward speed, depth, and compass settings, as you use the mouse to set them. The torpedo room allows you to load the four tubes, set the depth the torpedo will follow, and its speed. You can go above deck and fire the deck (for ships) or machine (for planes) guns, or have the computer do it for you. You can also equip the binoculars to spot enemy goings-on, listen to the radio, or check the mission objectives and extensive damage report (with a multitude of systems that can be destroyed) in the captain’s room. Most of your time, however, will be spend in either the map room or with the periscope. You can plot up to five waypoints on the map and set autopilot to follow them (then accelerate to ludicrous speed) or just keep an eye on enemy contacts. The periscope can be raised and scrolled to spot enemy ships. The scrolling is a bit too touchy and it takes a couple of tries to lock it on an enemy ship. Once it is centered correctly, you can have the game calculate the firing angle and follow it automatically, or choose to do these things yourself. Overall, I prefer the more basic submarine mechanics of 1914 Shells of Fury over the more modern simulations with tons of electronic equipment you must learn. I certainly think that 1914 Shells of Fury is more appropriate for beginners as it’s pretty easy to figure out what to do and you still get to blow stuff up. I can’t find anything wrong with the gameplay or any glaring features missing, so 1914 Shells of Fury is as realistic as a World War I submarine simulation can be.
IN CLOSING
Despite lacking some extra features, 1914 Shells of Fury is an entertaining and realistic submarine simulation. I actually like this simplified approach to submarines better than the technology-dependent modern subs: there’s no listening to soundings or any of that techno mumbo jumbo to worry about. It’s find the enemy, submerge, and fire. 1914 Shells of Fury would feel like a more complete product if a better mission generator and more varied missions were included, but all you are going to do is hunt and kill, so there’s not much variety inherent in that anyway. The budget price of $20 makes 1914 Shells of Fury a reasonable addition to a naval simulation library. It’s not as advanced as some other games, but neither were the subs of World War I. I feel that I got $20 worth of fun out of 1914 Shells of Fury, and the more simplified approach is sure to be welcomed by a segment of the gaming population.
Build-a-lot PC Game Review
I’m already ready for more and hope that Hipsoft, the company behind this brilliant addition to the tycoon genre, works on a sequel (could be same topic or something different with a similar concept). No one thing makes Build-a-Lot special — it just has the right amount of challenge, an easy to figure out interface, and absorbing game play.
Rub elbows with the mayors of eight locales where you buy and sell land, build and upgrade homes and special buildings, and help communities make their dreams a reality and thrive. The settings take builders from ornery towns and the countryside to the not-so-wild west known as Granite Springs and to Palm Grove, a Hollywoodish spot aiming to have its own film festival in hopes that it rivals Cannes.
The key factors involve buying blueprints, training workers, purchasing materials, inspecting houses to stave off damage, and building, of course. The steps to take depend on the goal and resources available. Two special buildings, the Workshop and the Sawmill provide added bonuses in lowering the cost of training workers and the price of lumber. It still takes money and workers to build these and these don’t bring in any rent money.
You can also build two types of banks, one where all profits go to charity and one where you keep the profits. However, keeping the profits means Mr. Taxman will come knocking on your door with a huge property tax bill especially on larger homes. If you don’t have the money, the tax bill climbs faster than a credit card with high interest rates.
In Career mode, what most know as story mode, buildings must meet all the goals for the level to move forward. The mayor is the boss and sometimes the boss makes requests in the middle of a job. But rewards will follow upon successful execution. A level begins with a specific cash amount, available workers, and units of material. And the hard work comes in carefully using these resources while obtaining more.
The interface uses tabs for easy switching to get the needed information. The all-important goals that take you to the next level always appear at the top of the screen complete with checkboxes letting you know when you’ve met the goals. This lets you spend more time focused on the other tabs that keep the work moving.
Most games have a second game mode to extend the game’s playability. Usually, the casual or endless game mode doesn’t interest me or they look like an afterthought in meeting gamer expectations of a second mode. Build-a-Lot gives players more freedom for creativity.
Rather than endlessly building and selling homes and lots, you can do whatever you want as long as you reach the financial goal. With many possibilities for reaching the goal, the casual game mode compels builders to play again after conquering all the goals. Furthermore, after completing Career mode, you can return to any level and play it again especially for those that don’t have a star indicating you beat the deadline.
I’d like to see more buildings to include a special feature like the one that comes with the post office. After building the first post office, you’ll get mail at any of the places you own. These letters are usually the bearer of great news and added funds — small but helpful. Perhaps, the cinema could send movie rentals and a much needed break from hard labor. OK, maybe that doesn’t have much to do with the game, but you get the idea.
The game also attracts those not into tycoon or diner style games as it capture my better half’s curiosity and he loves the game. This alone should speak volumes for Build-a-Lot -– a game of a specific genre that could convert non-fans of tycoon games and rivet those who are. Speaking of rivets, I had better return to work on those extravagant mansions and castles and sell those lower-priced Rambler, Colonial, and Tudor homes to make room for them.
System Requirements: Windows
- Windows ME/2000/XP/Vista
- 500MHz or faster Processor
- 256MB RAM
Gamezebo has tips and tricks for surviving the more challenging levels of the game.
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Narobiyu Review
Narobiyu, developed and published by Balázs Buri.
The Good: Original gameplay, fast pace, nice graphics for the genre, cheap
The Not So Good: No multiplayer
What say you? A simple premise makes this puzzle game unique and quite addictive: 7/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
I’ve been reviewing less and less puzzle games recently, mainly because they have become all the same (how many times do I need to play a match-three game?), but I’m up for a unique idea. The puzzle genre has spawned some distinctive titles, from Tetris to Lumines. Both of the aforementioned titles have very simple mechanics and highly addictive gameplay, something you look for in a quality puzzle title. Narobiyu is hoping to be one of those games, taking straightforward gameplay and elevating it to the upper pantheon of puzzle greatness.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
The graphics and sound of Narobiyu are very reminiscent of Lumines, which is a good thing. The game has a very clean look to it, with brightly-colored blocks and dynamic backgrounds that don’t obscure the action. I like the graphical style of the game and it fits the genre well. The music is along the same lines, with an upbeat tempo appropriate for this kind of game. The graphics and the sound of Narobiyu are both pleasing on the eyes and ears.
ET AL.
Narobiyu effectively takes a straightforward, innovative idea and creates a fun, entertaining, and addictive game. Here is how the game works: you must connect two blocks of the same color by tracing the connection with your mouse (or keyboard, but the mouse makes it a lot easier). Each time you make a connection, the next connection of the same color must be exactly one block longer. Once you make three progressively longer connections of the same color, they disappear from the board. Normally, you will start out with a two block connection (two adjacent blocks), then a three (with one differently colored block in the middle), and then a four. While the blocks are being removed, you can make additional connections for bonus points. You can do a run of connections with more than one color at once, but its much easier to focus on the same color so you don’t lose track on which length you need next. If you make an incorrect connection, it turns grey and can’t be removed except with a bonus. The gameplay is simple once you learn the nuances; it took me a couple of tries to get it right (there is no tutorial) but once I did, Narobiyu was quite enjoyable. Watching the gameplay video shows how Narobiyu is played if my description didn’t make any sense (likely).
The standard game mode is the usual increasing speed mode present in most puzzle games like this, but you can also play for a short period of time in the time trial mode. I would like to see more customization options in the time trial mode (such as length and starting level), though. Narobiyu is a very fluid game and helps you out: the game pauses for several seconds if a column reaches the top to give you a chance to eliminate some blocks in specific areas. The gameplay is repetitive but it’s still fun as the difficulty slowly ramps up with additional colors and faster scrolling. Narobiyu takes a unique concept and executes it well, resulting in an engaging puzzle game.
IN CLOSING
Innovation is hard to come by these days in the puzzle genre, but Narobiyu comes up with a unique change that makes it memorable and enjoyable. You really need to play the game with a mouse, but the controls are straightforward and smooth. The graphics and sound are good for the genre and create a nice gaming atmosphere. Although the gameplay is somewhat repetitive, the difficulty ramps up fast enough to keep you interested for the duration. Plus, Narobiyu has that addictive “one more game” feel to it. Anyone remotely interested in puzzle games should definitely give Narobiyu a serious look, especially at the low, low price of $7. It is something different for the genre, and that’s to be commended.
Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos PC Game Review
Evil mastermind, Dr. Chaos, travels the world in an attempt to cause destruction. Your job, of course, as an INTERPOL special operative is to stop him. The game does a superb job of giving the game a cool and futuristic look and feel with the Interpol Crime Computer. Other than that and scenes that reflect the current locale, Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos is an atypical game in the hidden object games genre.
Travel to Paris, London, New York, Rome and many other countries as you follow Dr. Chaos’ trail to thwart his plans. When you arrive in a country, seek out the hidden objects in different locations the run from the gamut of museums, coliseums, and churches. The game is very up to date as it includes objects like a USB drive, Bluetooth headphone for cell phones, and laptops for finding.
Each level requires finding a set number of objects — and the number goes up as you advance — and ends with solving the puzzle by seeking 10 specific objects or things wrong with the picture in a picturesque scene. You could be in China looking for 10 Chinese flags, in Italy looking for things that don’t belong such as an alien ship or clothing on a statue, or in Paris looking for differences between two of the same scenes.
Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos contains fabulous graphics, splendid scenes, and sleek spy-style effects. While it doesn’t offer anything different or original outside of the graphics, the game provides long lasting and an enjoyable gaming experience. It takes a lot of gameplay before the game starts reusing scenes and objects. By the point, the game feels repetitive as you find many of the objects in the same place as in a previous visit.
As you inspect a room, a green box like those you see in spycams acts as your mouse pointer. Even with the box, the game might not recognize that you’ve clicked the correct hidden object. Sometimes object clicking works well and others it doesn’t.
If you find multiple objects in a row, you must wait a second or two for the previously selected object to disappear before the game accepts your next found object. I appreciate the game retains the names of the found objects for those times when you luck out and don’t know what you found. I also pick up a couple of new words and remember forgotten words. One new one is fasces, which is a bundle of rods bound together.
As for hints, you get four per level and you pick which item you want to find. I prefer this to games that randomly select the object for you. Also be ready for unexpected music. Music pops out of nowhere while you inspect a scene. For example, expect to hear either orchestra music or applause while reviewing the scene at a theater. The music grates after a while, so just turn it down or off.
Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos makes a fine addition to the hidden object genre. The trial period is more than enough to give you an idea of the game. You won’t miss surprises down the road other than whatever comes with finishing the game. If you love things 007 or Mission Impossible, this one should satisfy your inner agent.
System Requirements: Windows
- Windows ME/98/2000/XP/Vista
- Pentium III 800 MHz or faster processor
- 128 MB RAM
- 75 MB available hard disk space
- 16-bit graphics card with minimum 80000 resolution
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Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Review
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, developed by Splash Damage and id Software and published by Activision.
The Good: Team-based gameplay, each class has a purpose with multiple objectives, neat deployables, concentrated battles, accurate combat model, experience unlocks reset every three maps, capable bots, useful interface
The Not So Good: Needs full servers for optimum enjoyment, repetitive assault-only maps, two sides are almost identical with only subtle differences, generic weapons, lacks VoIP
What say you? An enjoyable team-oriented objectives-based first person shooter: 7/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
Multiplayer games are becoming increasingly team-oriented. In the case of the first person shooter, titles of the past have normally been an individual endeavor, trying to rack up the highest number of kills. However, clans and the use of voice-over-IP have made playing as a team a more viable option. Online shooters like Battlefield 2 started offering in-game squad organization and organized play is certainly popular in MMORPGs (which stands for “hi, I am a nerd”), where gathering a band of merry men is a common occurrence. We’ve seen more games force the team dynamic on players lately, like personal favorite World in Conflict. Another example is Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, which takes the gameplay from the free Wolfenstein add-on and applies it to the Quake license in order to sell more games.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
While some people aren’t exactly impressed with the graphics of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, I found them to be good enough. There are some instances of great texture detail present in several of the game’s levels, but then you encounter some bland maps as well (though I guess it’s hard to make New Jersey not look bland). The game features a good attention to detail, as most of the outside areas feel realistic, although the building interiors feel a bit repetitive and overly metallic. I like how the vehicles in the game have semi-realistic displays that show speed, rather than just showing a generic wheel. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars has some nice effects like bullet hits and a number of the explosions are impressive. The character models are well done, although most of the time you’ll be shooting from far enough away where you’ll just see the friend-or-foe indicator. The vehicles appear futuristic as well, and the game’s overall theme of near-future combat seems plausible enough through the graphics. The sound ranges from appropriate background music to some annoying effects. The jarring whistle heard when starting a new match is tremendously irritating. The game’s sense of humor with audio responses is funny at first, but then just gets old. I do like the sound indicator when you successfully hit an enemy: very useful. The music does fit the overall impending doom of the game well, though. So while Enemy Territory: Quake Wars might not be the most technologically advanced game on the market, the presentation is sufficient.
ET AL.
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars features the tense struggle between the human GDF and the alien Strogg. There are really only small differences between the two sides: the weapons and vehicles are identical (with different skins, obviously) and the abilities are the same with only a few differences. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is designed to be a multiplayer game, but the same objective-based gameplay is available against AI bots in a single player mode. The bots are good for the most part, as they will achieve the objectives and generally act smart, though they will occasionally drive into objects or stand around. Multiplayer is integrated into game well, with browser filters that actually function correctly (I’m looking at you, Battlefield) and it’s easy to join a game. The game is occasionally laggy online, though this really depends on the server you choose. The game features stat tracking, but unlike Battlefield 2142, this does not permanently unlock new weapons. Experience bonuses are only gained in each campaign (a set of three maps) and are reset each new game. This is much better than the alternative, as new players are not at a disadvantage to players who play nothing but Enemy Territory: Quake Wars night and day. It is hard to gain ranks, however: your rank is supposed to be relative to others on the server, but after a good deal of playing I have yet to get above the entry level position. Rank doesn’t do anything, but it’s either broken or there are just too many experienced people on the servers I play.
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars features four three-mission campaigns (that’s a total of twelve…I can multiply!). All of the maps in the game are assault (one attacker and one defender); there is a lot more that could have been done to increase the variety in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. As it stands, every map involves driving, constructing, destroying, hacking, or transporting objects, or defending against these actions. As a comparison, World in Conflict features three different modes of play, but we are limited in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. The advantage to the assault-only gameplay is that each battle is very focused: there is almost constant action and everyone is fighting in the same area, instead of spreading out over the entire map. This is helped by forward spawn points, and each map features both indoor and outdoor areas for a little variety. The map size does not scale according to the number of players, so you really need a full 24-player server for the game to work well. Other than the three-map campaigns, you can do a single-map match or the stopwatch mode that switches attacker and defender roles and sees who can do it faster. The interface of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is good, as it shows objective locations, enemy and friendly units, and other pertinent information in a clear and informative manner. And Enemy Territory: Quake Wars doesn’t require having the DVD in the drive when you play…bonus!
There are five classes to choose from in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and each class has its role in the overall scheme. I have yet to find a “hated” class and all are equally fun to play (unlike World in Conflict where I dislike the infantry role). The weapons each class gets are pretty generic (a standard assault rifle for most), considering the Quake heritage. In fact, a lot of the weapons from Quake games aren’t even included in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: where is the plasma gun, chaingun, super nailgun, hyperblaster, or BFG? The five classes for each side are identical and are simply given different names. The basic soldier/aggressor can choose between the standard rifle, a machine gun, a rocket launcher, or a shotgun. Soldiers also get explosives that are required to complete some of the objectives. Engineers/constructors can deploy defensive turrets (anti-personnel, anti-vehicle, or artillery interceptor) and repair things. Medics can revive dead teammates (to half health) and Strogg technicians can make spawn points from fallen GDF soldiers. Field ops/oppressors and deploy artillery and order air strikes. Cover ops/infiltrators are equipped with long-range sniper rifles and can deploy radar (extremely useful…probably my favorite deployable) and remote cameras. Experience earned in each class can allow you to run faster or unlock better weapons, but they are reset after the end of each campaign (again, a welcome feature).
The gameplay of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars can best be described as a fast-paced tactical model. It only takes a few shots to kill someone, but you can run fairly fast and respawn times are generally short. It’s not the same style as Quake, with large health and drawn-out skirmishes, so the “Quake Wars” moniker is somewhat misleading. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars uses an accurate shooting model which “guesses” where you meant to shoot, to make up for lag differences. The result is a lot more accurate shooting and more enjoyable gameplay as a whole. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars does emphasize teamwork, so everyone needs to deploy their turret (one per person) and support each other to bring about glorious victory. It seems odd, then, that Enemy Territory: Quake Wars lacks voice-over-IP; although I don’t use it, the lack of this feature is surprising and it makes planning more difficult. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars puts more emphasis on infantry than the assortment of vehicles; because things are easy to destroy, even with basic assault rifles, vehicles are more for transport than assault purposes. I think this is a good thing, as there isn’t the helicopter dominance of Battlefield and taking on enemy armor is a possibility without a rocket launcher (as long as you have some help). Maps and servers that feature longer respawn times are more enjoyable, as it favors the medics and self-preservation; though it does involve some running, a fifteen-second clock is a bit too short. In general, I had fun while playing Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and the game is a few small issues away from being one of the best online shooters.
IN CLOSING
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars should satisfy your need to execute enemy forces in a team-based setting. Is it a Battlefield-killer? Well, I had more fun playing Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, though the gap between the two games is small. The game does feature some curiosities that prevent it from being completely enjoyable. The Quake license seems very extraneous, especially with identical forces and generic non-Quake weaponry. The maps are all the same, assault-only, and the objectives are repetitive enough where maps don’t retain any individuality. The maps don’t scale for smaller battles and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars lacks VoIP, which hinders online coordination. However, there are a lot of good things in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: the shooting model, the equally useful classes, the focused action-packed battles, the decent AI bots, and the resetting of experience bonuses. I certainly did have fun playing the game, so much so that Battlefield 2 has been uninstalled (Battlefield 2142 has long since been deleted). So if you are willing to fight through some small problems and like a more tactical game, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars serves up some satisfying online shooting.
Brass Hats Review
Brass Hats, developed and published by Square Earth Games.
The Good: Straightforward strategic gameplay, good tutorials, well developed campaign with increasing difficulty, nice graphical style
The Not So Good: No random maps or map editor, no Internet matchmaking, poor performance
What say you? A good wargame for novice players: 6/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
Strategy games have run the gamut from very complicated wargames to more straightforward offerings. Each of these ends of the spectrum appeals to a different audience, so eventually everyone is happy. There have been some more casual games in the tactical wargame theme, where you move small numbers of units around a hex-based map. One of these is Brass Hats, which hopes to marry the strategic depth of wargames with an easy-to-use accessible game.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Despite the 2-D graphics of Brass Hats, I actually like the presentation of the game. The levels and units might not be spectacular 3-D replicas of their real-life counterparts, but Brass Hats has a very effective cartoon-like atmosphere. I like the design of the units and the maps and I would much prefer this style to a muddled 3-D world with poor textures. The music is along the same lines: it is repetitive and MIDI-like but catchy at the same time. Not every game needs to make the jump to 3-D or have an inordinate amount of cash involved in the graphics in order for them to be successful. It is weird, then, that Brass Hats has some performance issues on my dual core computer: mouse lag is bad on large levels involving lots of units, and it rears its ugly head even on some menus. I would also like to be able to play the game in windowed mode, since Brass Hats is displayed at a low resolution. Still, overall, I was pleased by the graphics and sound of Brass Hats.
ET AL.
Brass Hats is a turn-based strategy game where you order units across a hex-based map to take over the enemy capital. The game centers around World War I-era units and includes a rather lengthy 28-level campaign. The campaign includes a branching structure that offers increasing difficulty as you attempt to eliminate the Central Powers from Europe. You can play cards earned through good performance that will give benefits to certain units. New players can learn the game through the well-written tutorial missions that teach each aspect of the game one lesson at a time. There are also a few single missions intended for skirmish play or multiplayer matches. These missions are more balanced than the campaign missions; there are not very many missions to choose from and Brass Hats lacks a map editor or random map generator, so you will exhaust the single battles quickly. Multiplayer can be done on the same computer or over the Internet, but you need to know your opponent’s IP address since Brass Hats lacks a matchmaking program. Still, the single player campaign offers enough content to keep you busy for a while.
Brass Hats features a number of units that can be built at captured factories, airfields, and ports. These include infantry, artillery, tanks, flamethrowers, fighters, bombers, and an assortment of naval units. Each of these has advantages and disadvantages and associated costs; money can be earned by capturing cities. Brass Hats emphasizes an assorted crew: tanks are the most powerful close-range unit, but only infantry can capture enemy or neutral buildings. There are also roles for the aircraft and ranged units like snipers and artillery. Brass Hats does a good job in making each unit important to the gameplay. Some missions contain a fog of war that obscures enemy locations; snipers or units stationed in mountainous areas can increase your sight range. Units can be ambushed (which stops their turn immediately) so there is a definite benefit to scouting ahead. Most units can move and fire in the same turn; units near enemy forces can only move single hexes to prevent fast retreats or moving past enemy forces unopposed.
Combat is straightforward: Brass Hats gives you odds that are calculated based on the units involved. Units can gain experience through combat that can impose restrictions on an enemy unit’s ability to counter-attack; this makes keeping experienced units alive important. Units with decreased health can repair at a city (for infantry) or factory (for tanks), although new units cannot be produced there while the hex is occupied. Being successful in Brass Hats requires planning ahead, using your unit’s strengths, attacking appropriate units, and using combined arms to bring down the enemy. I found the gameplay of Brass Hats to be quite enjoyable and it stays true to the wargame theme without being bogged down with sight lines or supply or any of that other stuff. You move, attack, and produce new units while advancing towards the enemy HQ. The pace is slow enough to allow for some plans to develop, but quick enough to get the game over with. Brass Hats is a simple game, but it is still challenging and requires some thought in order to be successful.
IN CLOSING
If you are scared off by the complexity and monotony of wargames, then Brass Hats might be the game to change your mind. The game is very easy to learn, thanks to simplified controls and useful tutorials. Despite its simplicity, Brass Hats maintains a high level of strategic gameplay, which should satisfy players of all experience levels. I really like the overall design of the game, from the mechanics to the graphics and sound. Brass Hats may be missing some features that would extend the life of the product, but $24 gets you a good amount of content and the campaign will provide a lot of entertainment. Brass Hats is a well-designed strategy game that is easy to learn and fun to play.
Ducati World Championship Review
Ducati World Championship, developed by Artematica and published by Strategy First.
The Good: Multiple game modes, quality points are interesting
The Not So Good: Unrealistic physics and handling, no difference between arcade and simulation modes, boring circuits, laggy menus with no mouse control, must use gamepad to navigate menus to use it during the race, can’t assign an axis to the throttle or brake, sporadic AI, no online or LAN multiplayer, outdated graphics with a jerky camera, poor sound with an outrageously annoying and repetitive crew chief, most content must be unlocked
What say you? There’s no reason to play this archaic motorcycle racing game: 3/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
There are plenty of niche motorsports taking to tracks around the world. One of these is motorcycle racing, featuring riders going entirely too fast on small two-wheeled vehicles inches from the ground protected by a helmet. I didn’t say it was very smart. There have been several notable motorcycle racing games published on the PC, from the MotoGP series to…well…the MotoGP series (oh, and I liked Superbike 2000). A new (maybe) entrant into the fray is Ducati World Championship, a racing title that features Ducati motorcycles (surprise!). Will this simulation give us reason to race with only two wheels?
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Both the sound and the graphics of Ducati World Championship are terribly outdated. This game looks to be a port from a console game (evidenced by the lack of mouse input) and I’m not sure how old the console game is: Ducati World Championship features some really ancient graphics. The effects are underwhelming at best: there is no grass or dirt flying or collecting on the wheels (something I vividly remember from Superbike 2000), just sparks flying every once in a while. The textures are bad and lack detail, from the riders to the bikes to the tracks. The track design is bland with not much detail paid to the track surface or the surroundings. The racers experience a canned seizure-like crashing animation that makes no sense and certainly doesn’t involve rag doll physics (a fun (albeit disturbing) possibility in a motorcycle game) and shake their fist at passing motorists. Ducati World Championship also has a jerky camera that has a difficult time focusing on the action, constantly shifting small increments behind your bike; I don’t know if this is intentional or not, but it is certainly annoying. Plus, Ducati World Championship can’t display at 1280x1024, a pretty common resolution these days with LCD monitors. Ducati World Championship is not even close to the bar set by RACE 07 in terms of graphics; I have no idea why this game takes up nearly 3 GB of hard drive space. The sound design in the game is as bad as the graphics. The Ducati motorcycles sound whiny instead of manly, the crew chief screams annoying phrases at you (such as “DRIVE FASTAAAAAAAAA”), and I don’t know what the sound effect that’s played when you exit a menu is supposed to be, but it sounds like a cat being castrated. Plus, Ducati World Championship features a horrible soundtrack full of poor alternative metal. Ducati World Championship is like a dumb ugly girl: painful to look at and listen to.
ET AL.
The only thing saving Ducati World Championship from complete mediocrity is the multiple racing modes. The game comes complete with quick races, a career mode where you advance through three classes, and a points championship using the racing bikes. The career mode features 60 events scattered over three classes; you can change the setup of your bike (although the results are minimal and the options include “low,” “medium,” and “high”). New bikes are unlocked and magically put in your garage with good finishes. It’s a good way to get you introduced to the game. The championship mode features 14 events using the top class of bikes where the top 15 drivers earn points towards the cup. Also, there is the “capirex challenge” where you must complete specific objectives like perform wheelies and other special moves, or racing in endurance races against other riders. Again, this is a nice feature. Multiplayer is disappointingly only possible on the same computer, as Ducati World Championship lacks online or LAN play. You do get to play multiplayer matches as a deathmatch, best of series, or for total points, and you can include AI drivers or just race one on one. This is a pretty good set of features for a racing game; sadly, the rest of Ducati World Championship is so horrible.
Ducati World Championship features about 30 circuits (although some are alternate layouts of other tracks) and all are the same comfortable width and not very challenging. There are four kinds of bikes in the game (classic, sport, superbike, and racing), but the only difference is that they go progressively faster. There are some control issues with the game: in addition to the lack of mouse control and laggy menus, you can’t assign a joystick axis or pedal to the throttle or brake (button only) and you must use the gamepad to navigate through the menus or the game will default to the keyboard (it took me about 15 minutes to figure that out, after re-setting my controls a number of times). Once you actually get to pilot one of these things, you will find completely unrealistic handling. This goes for the arcade and simulation modes: your bike goes entirely too fast around corners. This would be fine for the arcade mode, but I would expect the simulation mode to behave like a simulation (is that too much to ask?). The first couple of bikes don’t even require the brake, as you simple need to lift the accelerator for the tightest corners. The powerful (meaning faster) bikes to require some use of the brake, but it’s still not as liberal as it should be. The control scheme is pretty standard, but the game requires you to hold “up” to reach maximum speed (to lean forward and reduce drag). This supposedly reduces handling, but I didn’t see it and just kept pressing up the whole time with no ill effects. The only interesting aspect of the racing is the inclusion of quality points; they are earned by maintaining a good line or overtaking other drivers. Quality points are used for small boosts of acceleration. This is a neat way of rewarding good driving, but it makes it very easy to cheat. This is a lot like the tactical aid in World in Conflict, and that will be the last parallel between that great game and this plague. The AI in the game is very linear and not hard to beat, hardly providing a challenge as they behave like robots following in a line all the way around the track. Ducati World Championship seemingly forgets every advance made in racing simulation during the past 15 years, and it should be avoided at all costs.
IN CLOSING
Ducati World Championship is one of the worst racing games I have ever played. While there are some bright spots, such as the varied modes of play and the quality points, they are completely overshadowed by the sheer crappiness of the title as a whole. The graphics are old, the audio is painful, online multiplayer is missing, the tracks are boring, the AI is robotic, and the handling is completely wrong. Ducati should feel ashamed for having their proud name tied to this poor excuse of a game. Do yourself a favor and pick up RACE 07, a vastly superior game. Even at $20, Ducati World Championship is about fifteen years too late and the rest of the racing world has passed it by.
Alawar Entertainment Goes Mobile
Alawar Entertainment, publisher of casual games like Snowy the Bear series, Magic Shop, and Magic Ball to name a few, announces the creation of Alawar NewEdge Mobile. This company specializes in publishing games for smartphones and mobile devices. The new company will launch over 1000 games for mobile devices including Magic Ball 2, Treasures of Montezuma, Snowy, and more.
NewEdge will continue and focus on developing games while Alawar does the publishing and distribution. With more companies producing games and applications for handheld devices, we won’t have to wait till we get home or to the office to get things done or have fun. Just do it while you fly, ride (not drive, of course), or wait in a doctor’s office.
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Little Shop of Treasures 2
This highly-anticipated seek-and-find adventure game is a set in the charming town of Huntington, and your task is to help shoppers find the items they need and earn enough money to restore and re-open your Uncle Roy’s gas station.
Joystick Johnny Review
Joystick Johnny, developed and published by Flea Circus Games.
The Good: Lots of classic games recreated, short sessions with each game reduces monotony, appropriately adjusted difficulty
The Not So Good: No instructions for individual games, a loss requires to redo the entire sequence over again, levels are identical if repeated
What say you? A nice nostalgic collection of classic arcade games: 6/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
The first video game console I played was an Atari 2600. My family had (and still has, somewhere) quite an extensive collection of games for the system. All of these titles are very simplistic by today’s standards, but they were quite fun twenty-five years ago. Not surprisingly, several collections have been released featuring those titles, hoping to cash in on the nostalgic fervor. Joystick Johnny is one of those games, sort of. You see, it contains eerily similar adaptations of classic games, and you must complete a couple of levels of each game in a set amount of time. Will Joystick Johnny successfully recapture the youth of gamers everywhere?
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Joystick Johnny certainly captures the atmosphere of those classic arcade games. Featuring low-resolution graphics in all their pixilated glory, Joystick Johnny does a nice job representing each classic game in a slightly different context (replacing asteroids with pizzas, for example). The variety of games is impressive, and the fact that each level “looks right” is a testament to good graphical design. Joystick Johnny has a generic 80’s-like music mix; it would have been better to rip off (I mean borrow) the actual game music. Overall, Joystick Johnny looks and sounds just like it should for what it is attempting to accomplish.
ET AL.
Joystick Johnny contains three arcades in which you need to beat thirteen games in twelve minutes. Each arcade is divided into three rows, and you must beat one, two, three, and then four levels in four of the five games in each row. There is some strategy in choosing the orders in which you play the games: obviously, games you stink at you will want to play first, since you only need to beat one level to move on to the next title. The controls can use the keyboard, which works well on most of the games. Still, a joystick gives you the ability to move at an angle easier (and makes the Gyruss clone playable). I found the time limit to be adjusted well: just enough time for a semi-perfect game. Every time you die, you lose five seconds of completion time; this can become an issue in the later rows. You can adjust the difficulty to allow for more and less time; harder levels will add more bonus points to your score. It took me a couple of tries to beat each arcade level; the limited number of lives in the very last game makes it quite difficult, and also annoying if you lose since you have to play all the games over again.
Joystick Johnny features a pleasant and complete list of arcade classics, or at least reasonable replications thereof. There are around 25 different games to choose from, including Asteroids, Space Invaders, Pac Man, Marble Madness, Missile Command, Gyruss, Spy Hunter, Joust, and the unforgettable E.T. for the 2600. Of course, the names have been changed to protect the innocent. I found that all of the replicas perform just as well as the originals, so the gameplay of Joystick Johnny is enjoyable. The game doesn’t give explicit instructions in each game, so it can take a couple of tries to figure out what you are supposed to shoot or collect and what to avoid. After you defeat the regular time limited game, you can enter mystery mix mode that will randomize the games’ placement, or dollar dash that will allow you to pick and choose. After you finish a game, you can upload your score to the Internet and revel at your incompetence.
IN CLOSING
Joystick Johnny successfully recreates some classic arcade games and presents them in an original concept with a neat overall goal, instead of simply slapping them all together. The gameplay is just as you remember it, and the subtle graphics changes make sure the developer won’t get sued (much). Joystick Johnny will obviously have more appeal for people who played the original games oh so many years ago. Still, the game is well designed and the quick pace reduces the probability of boredom associated with playing these archaic games. It helps if you have played these games before, since Joystick Johnny is devoid of instructions for each game and inexperienced players might not be able to figure out why they keep dying. Still, those looking for a fast-paced adaptation of simplified arcade action will find Joystick Johnny a satisfying title.
Astraware Launches Boardgames
Years ago, I had Backgammon on my Palm Pilot and it hooked me. Then more original games came along and I forgot about it. Astraware knows these games are a mainstay for a reason… they’re good games. Astraware Boardgames comes with eight games:
- Chess
- Checkers
- Snakes and Ladders (aka Chutes and Ladders)
- Reversi
- Ludo (similar to Trouble and Parcheesi)
- Tic Tac Toe
- Nine Men’s Morris
Users can customize the rules and level of difficulty (three levels) for each game. Boardgames supports Palm OS devices, Windows Mobile (both touchscreen and non) 2003, 5 and 6.
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Bloom Review
Bloom, developed by Karma Team and published by Elephant Games.
The Good: Easy to learn gameplay, editor
The Not So Good: Repetitive and not challenging, some flower locations are inaccessible, distracting backgrounds
What say you? A puzzle game that’s fun for just about five minutes: 4/8
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
Gardening is a time consuming activity where you get to sweat and handle fertilizer. I fail to see the appeal. Still, it’s popular enough to warrant plenty of “garden centers” in large stores around the nation, and its appeal could be carried over to computer games in some way. In Bloom, you must water spouting flowers by diverting water pipes to the appropriate locations. How will Bloom stack up in the pantheon of puzzle games?
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Bloom is presented in a 2-D, top-down format. The game does feature some pretty flowers and some nice detail for the genre, but the backgrounds are too similar to the foregrounds. Therefore, it is very, very difficult to spot new flowers when they are camouflaged by the background foliage. This makes playing the game ultimately frustrating as you squint in order to hunt for new sprouts. It is realistic to have flowers placed in a flowery garden, but the decision makes Bloom tricky to play, and this should not be caused by the graphics. The background effects are not much better, featuring a single looping song and some effects that accompany the flower growing. It’s rare to find titles where the graphics actually hinder the gameplay, but Bloom attains this dubious feat.
ET AL.
As I stated in the introduction, “in Bloom, you must water spouting flowers by diverting water pipes to the appropriate locations.” Copy and paste is so much fun! The method to the madness involves rotating pipes to complete connections to the various sprouting plants that randomly appear in the map and growing enough flowers before the water supply runs out. There are forty levels to complete and they go by fairly quickly; there is a pretty decent level editor that comes with the game to add some replay value. Bloom’s controls are simple, as the entire game is controlled with the mouse and the gameplay consists of clicking on pipes in order to rotate them. The game is pretty easy, once you learn that there is one solution that will divert water to almost the entire map and a couple of key points that can be switched. Some of the levels are poorly designed, however, as there can be large portions of a map that is inaccessible without the use of a bonus. There isn’t any change in the gameplay as you advance through Bloom: it’s all very monotonous. There are no difficulty settings in the game, and Bloom is too easy for players with any gaming experience. The game never really has a hectic feel that makes for good, challenging puzzle gaming. The bonuses available in the game, that do things like add more water, switch an existing connection, speed up growth, or slow time, make Bloom even easier. Because of the straightforward levels, there can be a lot of sitting around waiting for the level to end once you have set the perfect solution. Money you earn from growing flowers can be used to purchase upgrades to your house: this is pointless and doesn’t impact the game at all. It would have been much better to allow for buying bonuses instead of superfluous upgrades. Overall, Bloom’s gameplay is too easy and too repetitive to be enjoyable in the long run.
IN CLOSING
Bloom has a decent concept for a game, but the execution is definitely lacking. I don’t mind a repetitive game as long as it is fun, but Bloom is far too easy and it doesn’t offer anything different as you progress through the game. While the game mechanics are certainly easy to learn, the game becomes very boring after the first couple of levels. This game was obviously designed for the very casual player in mind, as anyone with any gaming experience will find Bloom to be too easy. There are no interesting strategic decisions to do with your earned money: instead of deciding on game-changing upgrades, you get to pick between a pond and a tree. The graphics even impair the gameplay, obstructing the flowers on the map. I do like the inclusion of an editor, but this isn’t enough to save this doomed puzzle game. Bloom wilts under the heavy weight of poorly designed aesthetics and features with uninteresting, repetitive, and effortless gameplay.
Plant Tycoon PC Game Review
I wish biology teachers had Plant Tycoon based on real plants to help students learn about genetics and trait inheritance. The game is all about breeding and cross-pollinating plants to create expensive and rare plants as well as the six magic plants. This one is more an interactive experience in pumping up your green thumb than it is a game.
The game looks familiar to Virtual Villagers players because it comes from the same developers, Last Day of Work (yet they keep working!), and these plants hail from the exotic island of Isola. Virtual Villagers takes place on Isola and the graphics style and dialog boxes are the same. You’ll also recognize many customer faces in the nursery as they look like the people of Isola wearing modern clothes.
Also like its ancestors, Plant Tycoon is a real-time game where the plants continue growing even after closing the game. Players have the option to pause time and change the speed of time to slow, normal or fast. So if you’re off to bed or work for the day, either pause the game or switch to slow mode to ensure your plants don’t check out.
The game isn’t without its pests — figuratively and literally. The literal part involves catching butterflies and insects with a net. This is an optional game within the game. Virtual Villagers fans will recall the adventures they had trying to catch every rock, bug, and shell to complete the collection.
The nursery where you sell the plants is the biggest pest — figuratively. If you exit the nursery to change a price or anything else and go back in, the customers start over. If you had hordes of people inside the nursery, they’ll be gone and you’ll have to sit and wait for them to show up again. I wish there was a way to change prices while in the nursery and that the nursery would keep running even if I’m not in that screen. When it comes time to sell the plants to make room for new ones, I open the nursery and go do something else to past time.
Shop at the store for supplies, which includes three levels of soil, water, clippers, nets, and seed collection box. You must buy a level one item before a level two, a level two item before level three. The level of supplies affects your ability to grow exotic and rare plants as well as in catching the little buggers.
Oh, how this game can go on for days and weeks! I tried to keep track of the plants and seeds on paper. That didn’t work. It was too complicated since there were too many similar seeds and plants. Then I tried using the amazing spreadsheet that contains the breeding charts, but there were too many combinations and I couldn’t make up my mind which to do.
If I had more time on my hands, I’d study these guides to better understand the breeding formula. It makes sense when I break down the chart to a small 5 grid, but to apply that to every single combination with over 500 plant possibilities… forget it! That’s what makes this game unique (other than Fish Tycoon from the same developer) is that it makes you think. You can only store so many seeds that it’s tough to decide which to keep as it takes no time to fill up the seed box.
For busy and impatient folks, Last Day of Work posted great guides, charts, and spoilers in its forum. Clicking the link takes you to the forum list where no spoilers appear. You can see the post titles so you can decide what to look at. Be prepared to have patience when starting the game. It takes time to grow plants and build up the funds for bigger purchases.
I love creating new plants and seeing what would show up after cross-pollinating two plants. It would be nice to have a feature that keeps track of all the plants I’ve made. I tried doing that myself, but it was a monstrous task. The game does have stats indicating the number of species you discover, plants sold, bugs caught along with your rank for each.
I also enjoy clipping the dead parts of the plants and seeing the plant change to reflect the clipping. Those with brown thumbs like mine can play Plant Tycoon without worrying about killing plants. Gregor Mendel, “father of modern genetics,” would be proud.
System Requirements: Windows
- Windows ME/98/2000/XP/Vista
- 700 MHz or faster processor
- 96 MB RAM
- DirectX 7.0 MB or later
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Sins of a Solar Empire Preview
Sins of a Solar Empire (Preview), developed by Ironclad Games and published by Stardock Entertainment.
The Good So Far: Little micromanagement due to high amount of smart automation, outstanding intuitive interface, enjoyable 4X real-time gameplay
The Not So Good So Far: Slow pace and long travel times, research trees could be clearer
MY POORLY WRITTEN INTRODUCTION
The 4X strategy game is quite a popular genre, especially ones set in space. From Lost Empire to Galactic Civilizations II to Space Empires V to (deep breath) Starships Unlimited to Sword of the Stars, the list is getting so long that it's limiting the things I can say in the introduction (other than the list I am repeating). Produced by the same people behind Galactic Civilizations II (the best game in the genre) comes Sins of a Solar Empire, a 4X game that sets itself apart with real-time gameplay. That’s right: no more turn-based nonsense! Through an incident involving a llama, two sticks of dynamite, and former President Clinton (don’t get me started), I got my hands on a preview build of the game, which is due for release in February 2008. If you are reading this in February 2008 (probably because I referenced the preview in my review), how is it in the future? Has Paris Hilton doomed humanity yet? Oh, maybe that was February 2009; Nostradamus can be a year or two off. In the meantime, please enjoy this preview!
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
Sins of a Solar Empire has a nice graphics engine that shows detail all the way up close back to the entire universe you are playing in. This is a lot like Supreme Commander, where the game map and the mini-map are one in the same. Sins of a Solar Empire does a fine job showing all of the pertinent information on multiple zoom levels, including the useful, albeit initially confusing, empire menu that shows all of your ships and structures as blips next to your planets. This preview build only contained one playable race, so the variety of ship designs is not evident yet. Overall, Sins of a Solar Empire seems to be a good looking space game, as the environment lends itself to visual splendor. The sounds also appear to be on track, with some genre-appropriate background music and good effects for the various combat operations on-going in your game world. We’ll see what Sins of a Solar Empire looks and sounds like with four more months of tweaking.
ET AL.
Sins of a Solar Empire is a classic 4X strategy game, where you establish your colonies, build a fleet, and go blow stuff up. The innovation is playing the game in real-time, and I am not sure if this is a good thing. The game goes by very slowly in the beginning while you are expanding your empire; this is normally the time where you would keep hitting the “next turn” button, but in Sins of a Solar Empire you just have to wait. The game features single player skirmishes on a handful of pre-designed and random maps, a tutorial that teacher some (but not all) of the game’s mechanics, and multiplayer over LAN or Ironclad’s matchmaking service. The multiplayer aspects of the game seem to be working fine so far.
The economy of Sins of a Solar Empire is based off of collecting credits (from taxes), metal (from mining), and crystal (from more mining). The game displays a per planet rate of resource collection, useful in determining your most important economic strongholds. The usually excellent user interface does a good job in giving the player useful information in sizable bites: controlling a large empire scattered over several star systems can be difficult, but the sorted reports, zoomed views, and empire menu help immensely. Your resources will be spent upgrading planets, building things, conducting research, and raising defenses. Each of your planets can be developed in five areas: civics (increasing the population and therefore the taxed credit income), logistics (more buildings), tactical (more defenses), and your fleet and capital ship caps. There are a number of structures that can be built in orbit around each planet: metal and crystal collection facilities, factories for ships, labs for research, trade ports and refineries for additional funds, and broadcast centers for culture. Defensive buildings consist of the typical gun platforms, plus repair vessels and shields. If you don’t want to manually place all of these structures, you can have the game auto-place them. There is a good selection of buildings available; they cover the range of possibilities without being overkill.
A portion of your economy will be devoted towards building ships. There are three classes: small frigates, medium-sized cruisers, and huge capital ships. The ships will automatically engage enemies in their planet’s range (unless told to hold fire) and usually don’t require much micromanagement. Thankfully, the special abilities available to each ship can be auto-used by the AI, reducing the tedium even further. Your largest ship, the capital, can level-up, increasing the success of its special abilities. There are some alternatives to fighting, such as negotiating cease fire, intelligence, trade alliances with the other empires. There is also a three-part research tree (military, civilian, and artifact) that could be a lot clearer. It’s hard to make out the icons and difficult to see which grant new ships or are required for certain structures. It would be nice if they build menus were somehow tied into the research trees, showing where the requirements for building a trade port are actually located on the convoluted display.
As far as the gameplay goes, the AI is not terribly aggressive and seems to send out only one large force to begin with. This makes it easy to colonize perimeter planets, as long as you get lucky and don’t run into the large enemy fleet. The game mechanics are interesting, as there are several paths you can choose since your resources are quite limited. You can focus on colonization, research, military, cultural, or diplomatic exploits, and each has an advantage. Maybe it’s because I’ve been playing World in Conflict, but I found Sins of a Solar Empire painfully slow. The ships move slow, colonization is slow, and the beginning of the game takes 30 minutes just to get a decent sized empire going. I don’t really see how this would work very well in multiplayer, unless players have an extremely high amount of spare time. The movement times are agonizingly realistic (a problem also seen in 3030 Deathwar) and it takes forever just to move a couple of ships to a new planet. Since a lot of the game is automated (which is a good thing), you’ll spend an inordinate amount of time waiting for the credits to add up or for a ship to move. Granted, Sins of a Solar Empire still has four more months of development left, so things could improve in the future, but right now I found the pace to be very slow.
IN CLOSING
Sins of a Solar Empire, for the most part, looks good so far. The game has a nice foundation of 4X gameplay with great graphics and promising multiplayer capabilities. The user interface is great and helps you control a large empire with ease. I really like the amount of automation present in the game, removing a lot of the monotony associated with this genre. The pace is slow, but hopefully the game will all come together with four more months of work. We’ll find out then!
