PC Game Review: Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

Sins if a Solar Empire: Rebellion is a good Real Time Strategy game. It is a well built game by Ironclad & Stardock Entertainment.  It looks & feels great, and is complemented by solid mechanics.  These mechanics center around large tech trees, balancing between building your fleet and economy. As with any good RTS having the right composition of units to counter and over whelm your opponents is a must. The main reason why Sins is so cool is because huge fleets, composed of massive fleets of space ships blowing each other to kingdom come. Oh, and you can zoom in on the explosions.

Iron Clad is trying to change some of the mechanics from the previous iterations of Sins of a Solar Empire games. They pushed the envelope a bit in rebellion by adding new factions but not any new races. Also unique research options to the tech trees that are epic and, of course, a new unit.  The new unit is the corvette, a very fast and mobile ship, somewhere between the strike craft, and the frigates.  Kind of how the cruisers are between frigates and capitol ships.  The corvette specializes in hit and run tactics, that being cheaper.  You can build a lot of them. They are harder to hit than the rest of the ships in the game, but can't take as much punishment.  The corvette is a step in the right direction to fix one of the problems the franchise has had since the beginning.  Combat feels too static.  The ships get in range of one another and just sit there shooting at each other.  Think of the battle ships during the First World War but with a few variants like different weapon types other than just cannon.  The ships were constantly trying to get a better shot at their enemies while trying not to be hit themselves.  The edition of the corvette makes the battles feel a little less boring.  I have always wanted to see more of that in Sins and the corvette gives it just that bit more.  Combat feels more involved with their constant motion, and I like it a lot better than what it has been.  It would still be nice to see some simple combat patterns added to the fleet menu. Also, having defensive maneuvers to protect planets or the ships themselves would be wonderful. Maybe even an attack pattern to have fleets be more aggressive when the situation calls for it.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is a solid Real Time Strategy game. Fans of such games should check it out.  It is solid and pretty, but the problem with rebellion is that it does not feel like a full game at the moment.  It feels more like an expansion than another game in a series of games.  I like the changes that they have made, I just think they need to make more to encourage more players actually buying the game.

Maturity Rating: 

The game is really only limited to whether you can understand what real time strategy is and how to play it. Unlike other RTS games there is very little graphic violence. In fact, it is limited to ships blowing up rather than there being blood and gore. As such the maturity rating is PG for Parental Guidance. 

Final Analysis:

Despite the things lacking in this game, it has shown a marked improvement over previous iterations of the game. Further more, Real Time Strategy fans love it for what it is. As such the game gets 2 1/3 out of 3 Triforce.

For more information on the game check out our video review.

Mobile Game Review: Meowch!

Introduction:

There comes along from time to time a game that is just perfect for casual gaming. Most casual game iterations just don't get it. Either it is too complicated in controls or game play, they lack clear tutorials, or they are just not entertaining enough. Fortunately this is NOT the case with Meowch! The game is simple, the controls are easy, the objectives are clear.

The Story:

You are a cat. Your mission is to save other cats that are missing and stranded on the "Outside". You must navigate from windowsills to other ledges while avoiding obstacles or falling to the ground. Some obstacles include the Cat Lady, live wires and gutters. If you fall to the ground you are caught by Animal Control. Once you've rescued the stranded cats you must navigate to the Exit.

Writing & lines added.

Game Play:

Every successful casual game I have seen has been based on simple controls and appealing graphics. Meowch! get this perfectly. The graphics are simple and fun. The controls are as well. You simple touch the cat pull back and aim. An arrow shadow shows were the cat will jump to. But don't be fooled by the simple controls. The levels start simple with tutorials to show you what to do, but as you progress the courses get progressively difficult. Still, the courses (36 as of the writing of this article) are a real pleasure to play. It was hard for me to put the game down.

Maturity Rating:

Meowch! deserves a rating of E for Everyone. I have no problem having my kids playing this game. It is cute and encourages lateral thinking. I wouldn't go so far as to call the game educational. Still, if it's the choice between them rotting their brains out in front of the Cartoon Network and this, I choose this every time. 

Final Assessment:

Meowch! deserves a full 3 out of 3 Triforces. As a casual game it fulfills it's promise to be fun, entertaining with just a little cerebral. As I mentioned before, this game has all the right ingredients to make it a fun game to revisit even when you are finished with all the levels. I can't wait for more levels with up coming updates. 

To get Meowch! for Android you can purchase it from the Amazon Appstore for $1.99. The Google Play store also has a Paid version for $1.99, but also offers an Ad-supported Free version if a couple bucks is too steep for you. In either case you have plenty of options for where to purchase the game. I prefer the paid version myself. No pesky ads to deal with and no worries about kids accidentally touching them when I let them play with the game.

For iOS devices, Meowch! is also available for $1.99 for the paid version as well as a Free version. Both the Android and iOS versions of the game work with both phones and tablets.

Additional Screen Shots:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile Game Review: To-Fu, The Trial of Chi

Introduction:

Fortune Kitty & Chi.

You stick on whatever surface you hit
unless it is unique like metal or glass.

The Amazon Appstore gives away one paid app per day. If this is news to you, where have you been for the last year? This game is the free app of the day for 6/18/2012. Now, the free apps of the day vary in quality or at least in my level of interest. But when I saw the title I did a double take. It was so ridiculous I had to set aside time just to play it. It was the right call. This game is so strangely fun and amusing it has what it takes to be a hit! This is a game designed for casual gaming. Much like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope and Where's My Water, this game is designed on the simple user interface that makes the game fun and easy to play for users at all levels.

Some planks rotate, some moves\
up & down or horizontally.

The Premise:

You are To-Fu. You are a little ninja to-fu that must collect Chi and get to the Fortune Kitty (a pink fortune cookie). It is really fun and funny.

Spikes kill... but in a cute way...

Metal makes To-Fu bounce
rather than stick to the wall.

The Game Play:

The game has the basics for making a good, simple game. All you need to do is touch To-Fu and pull the character towards the area you want him to fly. The objective of this is to move him through obstacle courses. The expressions on his face as you stretch him and watch him fly is just wonderful! There are minimum moves you can try to shoot for to accomplish the obstacle course. You can also collect little blue spheres called Chi. To finish the course you must get the Fortune Kitty. It is so simple and easy. At the same time it is challenging at points. The obstacles are varied and entertaining. 

Some buzz saws are stationary.

Other buzz saws are mobile.

Impatient Much? 

Bricks crumble a little after you touch them.

If playing through the levels is just too tedious for you, there are a couple in app purchases for $0.99 each available to you. One unlocks all 100 levels contain in the game. This is a wise move on the part of the developers because it isn't necessary for the game, but the option is great IF you want to move faster. The other is called the Golden To-Fu and when you launch To-Fu it makes it so he flies to all the Chi and gets to the Fortune Kitty in a single move. It is also $0.99. Both in app purchases works on multiple devices so you get more bang for your buck. No need to buy them once for each device you have.

Maturity Rating:

This app should be rated as E for Everyone. The game contains nothing that would qualify it for an other rating.

Final Assessment:

This app is available for free until a little after 12 AM Pacific Time. After that it will be $0.99. In either case I suggest it as a great casual game. It is well thought out and executed game. It deserves a 3 out of 3 Triforce rating. It is currently only available through the Amazon Appstore,. The Google Play version is a Free Ad-supported version. The iOS version is also available in an Ad-supported Free version. 

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Mobile Game Review: Aftermath XHD

Introduction:

Zombies have been on my mind. It may have something to do with me being friends with Dr. Bishop, an English professor who has published a scholarly work on zombies. Or maybe it's because of my zombie themed children's book I've written and that is in the process of being illustrated. Also, I have recently posted an article on my blog Something Geeky This Way Comes. Either way, zombies are everywhere and I can't seem to escape them! So one can see that when confronted with another Zombie Apocalypse game I had to jump on it. 

The Story:

Your standard story line for a Zombie Apocalypse game. You are, as far as you know, the last living person on Earth or at least in your area. Starting out with a pistol, you must navigate the undead infested cityscape. The story progresses from there. And there is a story. I would presume to ruin it for you.

Controls:

Standard d-pad on the left hand side of the screen. The right hand of the side of the screen controls the view but is not limited to a d-pad. This was a wise move. To throw a grenade you simple tap the location you want it to land. The problem is that sometimes by swiping the screen you can accidentally throw grenade. Still, this isn't a game changer, just a petty annoyance. On the top right is the weapon and ammo indicator. You can change weapons and reload ammo by tapping the related image. The upper left shows health, grenade counter and pause button. The bottom left is the sprint button. Considering the game is not optimized for controllers (yet...) it is a well designed interface. The reason for the yet is because it seems that the game is well supported and very well designed.

Game Play: 

I love it! The game is third person high-up prospective. The system for firing is simple. You have a flashlight. You aim the beam at your target and you fire. You move, you run, you shoot, you throw grenade. You swear as you get cornered. You pray when you see a horde coming at you. There are objectives you have to achieve. This is part of how the story moves on. You pick up weapons as you go. You can run out of ammo. By picking up a "gun" image you gain more ammo. Same goes for grenades.

The zombies are well done. There are slow and fast ones. There are VERY fast as well. There are also hard to kill ones and the type of zombies that throw projectiles. All in all, a good balance. Since there are no difficulty modes the game is rather difficult at times.

Guns are good as well. A pistol with infinite ammunition is the only one that does not run out. Then a submichine gun, shotgun, sniper rifle and a typical battle rifle. Combined with the grenades, it is a good balance of weapons.

Graphics:

Not the top of the line, but it is well done. Honestly, I think it does well enough and actually adds to the game play. The darkness combined with the flashlight beam makes it wonderful.

Maturity Rating:

This game is rated as PG-16 ( Parental Guidance for ages under  16). The level of graphic violence merits this rating. There is no mature language, just gun use and some gore. There is no sexual contant.

Final Assessment:

In the end I give this game 2 2/3 out of 3 Triforce. At $5.99 in the Google Play store, this game is quite amazing. You can also purchase the game from the Amazon Appstore for the same price. The iOS version is $2.99 and works for both iPhone and iPad. I do advise you play it on a tablet for best experience, but it could also be played nicely on a large phone's screens. I do suggest you be running a dual core processor at least. This will ensure the game play remains zippy. I don't give it a full 3 out of 3 because of the one annoyance of the grenade mishaps. Still, perhaps that is due to my sausage fingers. In either case, if running from and at zombies while shooting them, this is the game for you my friend.