Distant Worlds: Shadows – Here There Be Pirates (and Love)

By | Published 05/16/2013 at 8:14 PM
Welcome to the Age of Shadows!

Welcome to the Age of Shadows!

Back in January, I got a PM on Matrix Games’ forum asking if I wanted into the beta for Distant Worlds: Shadows, the third expansion for what’s become my favorite space 4X games (and one of my favorite games period). I would’ve been excited at the time…had I thought to visit the forums themselves. ;) I totally missed the boat in getting in on the beta MONTHS ago, so yeah, sadface. Thankfully, however, I was brought into the beta until a couple of weeks ago, and crammed several hours of playtime with one of the more recent beta versions. Make no mistake, this expansion adds a TON of stuff to an already bountiful game, and in this preview, I’ll look at the main additions to the game — pirate factions, ground combat enhancements, the Age of Shadows and so on — and discuss how these affect the game on their own, as well as how they affect the traditional empire play that the game is known for. With that said, let’s dive in. :)

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Distant Worlds: Shadows In Yo’ Face! (via Google+ Hangout)

By | Published 05/15/2013 at 8:41 PM
A Taste of Things to Come...

A Taste of Things to Come…

Hey guys and gals. I’m chiming in because I just finished a massive Google+ Hangout on Air with some folks from Gamers with Jobs in which they asked me to show them Distant Worlds with the new expansion, Shadows. It kinda goes all over the place, but it shows a good bit of gameplay from the empire’s side of things. You can expect my formal review of Distant Worlds: Shadows likely tomorrow.

Enjoy the video! (Also, this is my second Hangout on Air ever, and I barely had any idea what I was doing, so please be gentle ;)

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StarDrive Open Beta: Fast-Paced 4X Frivolity (With a Fuss…)

By | Published 04/23/2013 at 7:00 AM
This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series StarDrive Preview
Aren't You Adorable...

Aren’t You Adorable…

I’m writing this while on a bit of Vicodin (just got a tooth removed), so I’ll blame any inaccuracies or irrelevancies on that. ;) Now, a while back I wrote a preview on a much earlier version of StarDrive that was provided through Desura as a Kickstarter reward I believe. That early version had some issues, but it was still a good time. Now, in a preview, us writin’ folk are supposed to stay positive since the game isn’t finished yet, which is mostly what you’ll see here, but since you can buy the game already, and it’s this close to being released (like, this Friday), I’m also gonna be a bit blunt on some things as well, stuff I’d usually save for a review. That said, the earlier line still holds true, this version still has some issues…

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Galactose: Sweet, Sweet Potential

By | Published 03/12/2013 at 7:00 AM
1 - I Don't Even Know...

An Auspicious Beginning…

One of the best things about this gig is learning about games that seem to come out of nowhere. One of those games is Galactose, a space combat game in which you fly laser and jet-equipped food. No, I’m not kidding. Cupcake and burger fighters, waffle and broccoli bombers and turkey motherships are just some of the ships that make up the cadre of craft in this game. It sounds like a wackadoo concept, but stick with me, it gets better. ;) Continue reading “Galactose: Sweet, Sweet Potential” »

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Let’s Play Kerbal Space Program – Entry 1 – One Small Step for Newbs…

By | Published 02/22/2013 at 7:00 AM
This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Kerbal Space Program Preview
Kerbal Space Program Entry 1 Screenshot

Wheeeeeee!

So here’s the deal. This game, Kerbal Space Program, has intimidated me ever since the first time I ran it and indiscriminately killed three little cute fellas in a fiery ball of DEATH. Also, the building part is wacky insanacrazy. So I put it off for a while, finding I had writers block in terms of writing up a preview because I had no idea how to write all this FEELS stuff out, you know?

So I realized yeah, I stink at this game. I mean, REALLY stink, but that doesn’t have to remain true forever. I therefore welcome you to the first installment of my preview series looking at KSP, which I hope you’ll join me on a journey of education, discovery and crazy stupid fun, because that’s what this game is. Enjoy!

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Smugglers 5: Turn-Based Elitism

By | Published 11/06/2012 at 7:00 AM
A System Map in Smugglers 5

Give Me a Ship and a Star to Sail Her By…

There are few games in this or any genre of gaming which have had as wide-ranging and long-lasting an influence as Elite. Pioneering two genres at the same time — the first person perspective space sim and the space trading sim — Elite is a game that still influences the genre nearly thirty years later.

One of the more recent offshoots of Elite’s pedigree come to us via early handheld computers such as the Palm Pilot with games like Space Trader and Solar Wars. These games offer all the trading and mission variety found in games such as Elite, Wing Commander: Privateer and so on usually without the 3D engine. These games have made their way to the PC as well, including games like Black Market and the Smugglers series. Today, we’ll be looking at the latest iteration in the latter series, Smugglers 5, and see how it fares.

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Let’s Play Drox Operative – Hello Everyone, Welcome to WAR!

By | Published 10/15/2012 at 7:00 AM
This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Drox Operative Preview
Drox Operative Screenshot

Watch Me Do This, and More! ;)

So I just recently revisited Drox Operative after the most recent patch (0.925) and found that it pulled me in just as it did the last time I played, but only moreso! The game feels more full now, more complete, and ultimately, much more fun. Therefore, I decided to make a video of me playing the gorram thing for around an hour. ;)

It’s kind of all over the place, and I curse a bit, but a lot of fun stuff happens! If you’ve not read my previous pieces on the game, and are coming to this cold, you might wanna do so. I do give a brief overview of things in this vid, but then I jump right in. I hope y’all enjoy it. :)

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Zigfrak: A Little Combat, A Little Humor, A Lot of Fun

By | Published 07/12/2012 at 1:18 PM
1 - Quite an Unassuming Menu

Simple Beginnings

Some days, you never know what you’ll find while perusing digital distribution sites. I was scanning through Desura a while back, and came upon this interesting looking spacey game named Zigfrak. I’d never heard of it, but since the price was maybe $7, I snagged a copy and added to my list of games to try soon(ish). Now that I’ve had time to play the game, read on to find how surprisingly fun I found it to be. :)

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FTL: Running Away Was Never So Much Fun…

By | Published 07/10/2012 at 1:43 PM
1 - It Begins

Let’s Do This!

I’m gonna say one thing right off the bat before getting to the meat of this preview…I suck at roguelike games. I love them, love the hell out of them, but wow do I stink at actually playing them. I think this is due to my natural impatient tendencies. Roguelikes are typically not kind to their players, and FTL is no exception. I played several sessions of FTL for this preview, and how many did I win? None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Did I have fun while I was on the run? Keep reading, my friends…

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Drox Operative: Back on the Job

By | Published 07/03/2012 at 1:34 PM
This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Drox Operative Preview
1- Beta is Up to 0.905 Now

They See Me Playin’. They Patchin’.

So with me, previews are typically a one-hit wonder. Play a game for a while, write my impressions, and move on while I wait for the final version. However, with Drox Operative, something different happened. I just could NOT. STOP. PLAYING IT. Even with my (admittedly few) issues with the game, I found it so addictive and compelling that the other games I should have focused upon sat there unplayed while I kept improving my ship and saving sectors in Drox.

I began to feel guilty — not guilty enough to stop playing, however — but enough to blog about it so folks wouldn’t wonder where the hell I had gone to. Well, in that blog, Istvan suggested I write up another entry on the game, which seems so BRILLIANT in its simplicity that I feel silly for not thinking of it myself. The game has received several patches since my last article — this article is based on changes up to 0.905 — and my ship has improved dramatically, so let me now take you back to the universe of Drox Operative to see what’s improved and what hasn’t…

Edit: As I was writing this, Soldak released ANOTHER PATCH to the game. Wowie. I’ve not had a chance to try it, of course, but I just wanted to note that my comments below don’t reflect changes found in this latest patch, 0.906.

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