Three Reasons to buy Virtual Villagers 4: The Tree of Life

1. Relatively Low Cost
2. Long play time
3. Fun characters

Three Reasons to avoid buying Virtual Villagers 4: The Tree of Life

1. Slow Pace
2. Simple Graphics
3. Gets Boring Fast

“Virtual Villagers 4: The Tree of Life” is fourth in the series of “Virtual Villagers” Games. In this one the chief of Isola sends out a band of five selected villagers to discover why life seems to be fading in and around the island. This tiny band of explorers soon find a huge dying tree, decide it is the “tree of life” and settle near it to build a village and try and heal the dying tree.

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As in the other three installments “The Tree of Life” is a role playing game. The player literally manages all aspects of the tiny villager’s lives, from what they learn to what food they gather and even who they have babies with. Set a villager to a task and they will continue it until it is done, you set them to a new task, or they decide they can’t get it done. Neat thing about this game it is the characters continue to grow and function even when the player is not interacting with them. It is a true “real-time” game. There are three paces to the game: slow, normal or fast.

To win the game the villagers must heal the tree. They also must survive. So they learn skills as they go along like how to weave fishing nets, make soap and so on. Of course they must gather or grow food, build huts and so on as well.

You must solve 16 puzzles in the game to allow the villagers to cure the tree. It is these puzzles that make up the main sequence of game play.

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The graphics are good without being exciting and to establish a good background and context for the game play. The sound is typical with lots of faux tiki music and special effect sounds as well. While the sound doesn’t detract from the game play, it doesn’t add much to it either.

If you are expecting a “Civilization IV” type of game for $19.95 American you are going to be disappointed. This game is more like the poor cousin of “The Sims” but not as good. If you enjoyed the other installments of the series you are likely to like this one as well, but to others, the game play is long and boring and ultimately unfulfilling.

Check out Positech’s site for more information and to buy the expansion pack which costs $5.99.

You can try the game at this link:

http://www.nielsbauergames.com/TVManager.html

Game Review Summary: Flotilla is fun and quirky, like a fast play version of Sid Meier’s Pirates, but in space.

Three Reasons to buy Flotilla

- Reason #1: Fun, easy to learn
- Reason # 2: Great value for ten Dollars
- Reason # 3: Re-playability

Three Reasons to avoid buying Flotilla

- Reason #1: Not so great graphics.
- Reason #2: “Careers” are short.
- Reason # 3: No story to follow

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Full Game Review:

Remember when strategy games were fun and compelling without requiring years of your life. Or worse, when they degenerate into annoying click-fests, when the player wins by merely being able to drag and drop faster than the AI. Flotilla by independent game developer, Blendo easily avoids both these pitfalls.

In Flotilla, you are the Captain of a small fleet of space ships. Starting with two missile destroyers, you seek adventures in space. Each planet explored brings opportunities for trade, growing the fleet, getting new personnel and other alien encounters or fighting for your life. The ‘story’ is advanced through a series of text boxed decision points where you must make a choice. It is in these snips of dialog that the games shows much of its odd charm as the player interacts with Panda bear pilots, aggressive space pirate chickens, bellicose rhino bounty hunters and other strange “aliens”. This way of advancing you through the game’s action reminded me a lot of the old “Choose Your Own Adventure” books from the 70s and 80s. In that each decision changes your fate in the game.

While the exploration and adventuring is fun, it is the combat mode that is the heart of the game. When you encounter a hostile force, the game mode changes into a 3-dimensional (3D) battle space. The combat is simultaneous-turned based, which means that you and your opponent make decisions while the play is paused, but the combat is resolved simultaneously.

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Ships armor is weakest on the bottom and rear. The fleet commanders maneuver their ships to achieve bottom or rear shots on the enemy ships to inflict real damage. The combat continues until one side or the other is totally destroyed. The combat is easy to learn, but hard to master, as you must learn the capabilities of your own ships as well as the enemies. Each class of ship has its own individual strengths and weaknesses. Further, the AI is no pushover and you can lose rapidly if you don’t fight well.

Each time the game is replayed the game’s universe is randomized, which means no two “careers” are ever the same, giving Flotilla lots of re-playability.

So, if you like PC strategy games that are fun and interesting; Flotilla is a beautiful gem of a game, you should not missed.

Telepath Psy Arena 2 – A pickup-and-play turn based tactics game worthy of praise, and your hard earned cash.

I sat down to demo the game earlier today with the intentions of playing for an hour or so and writing my review. Nearly 9 hours later I am pulling myself away, to say this to you fine folks, for the love of god stay away from this game if you are a parent of a small child, or own a pet, because they will surely be neglected.

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OK, lets get down to brass tacks.

TPA2 is all about moving and attacking the bad guys with efficiency. At the beginning of a turn, each character under the control of the player is given a finite number of steps and PSY points to use during that turn for movement and attacks. During the turn you use steps to move units, PSY points to fire weapons. Picking up items or changing the way your facing also uses up steps. Once you have used all your steps and PSY points, the turn goes to the computer and moves its units and sets up its attacks. With the great job Sinister Design has done with the AI driving the game, It wont go down with out fight.

It starts with you traveling from a distance to seek fame and fortune in the Grand Tournament of Ravinale, a competition of blood. Why are you fighting? Who is the big baddie everyone is afraid to speak of? Well, I will not spoil that for you. What I will say is you are sure to love the journey.

The care Sinister has put into this game is very clear, from the surprisingly good soundtrack, to the hilarious dialog, and the slick graphics, you can see the love behind this. I have been a fan of the genre for years, and after being disappointed with almost every offering the mainstream publisher’s has thrown up at us, It’s good to see that someone out there actually gives a crap about quality.

Three Reasons for purchasing, Easy.

1. The best indie game I’ve run across in a long time.

2. CHEAP! 12.95?!? You can’t even get a pizza for that.

3. I think the thing I enjoyed most about this game was the dialog, seriously funny guys.

Three Reasons for not purchasing, this one is a little harder.

1. If you don’t like TBT games this one is NOT for you.
2. If you are required to wear a helmet at all times this game is not for you.
3. If you are prone to fits of epilepsy, this is not the game for you.

In all seriousness, I did enjoy this game VERY much and I hope you will give it a shot.

“Join Scarlett, the feisty star of Farm Frenzy 3, as she puts robots to work on her land. Can you keep up with the latest advancements in technology as you grow crops, feed animals, collect produce and manufacture goods? Of course you can! Just don’t let the zany new animations distract you from the task at hand. Featuring 90 levels packed with never-before-seen characters, buildings and challenges, Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie promises a bumper crop of fun! ”

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What do you get when you cross SimCity with Tetris? Mother Gaia Studio provides an intriguing answer in City Rain. With a disappointingly limited demo, it’s difficult to tell exactly what to expect out of the full version. What you can expect, however, is an unusual mix of city planning and split-second decision-making that makes the demo at least worth a look.

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As mayor, your goal is to create a thriving city. The usual city-building conventions apply: Supply power, meet your citizens’ needs, manage your budget. What’s different is that all the buildings fall from the sky. Your citizens don’t mind this for some reason, as long as you don’t destroy existing buildings with the new ones. This is generally an easy task until curveballs get thrown your way. Trash is the most common adversary, often appearing just when your last landfill (the only place you can drop trash without penalty) is full. The unexpected appearance of city blocks (shaped like Tetris blocks) also complicates things, as well as the occasional tornado.

Unfortunately, after twenty minutes of play, City Rain completely runs out of steam.

With three difficulty settings that only adjust the speed at which everything falls, there’s very little to keep you playing City Rain once you’ve figured out how to make a city that doesn’t implode upon itself. The videos on Mother Gaia Studio’s website for the game promise petitions and a larger playing field. But since the demo is available only in Flash and not as a standalone file (as the full version would be), there’s no way to tell what’s included or even how it runs other than by its list of features. City Rain’s demo is so limited that it doesn’t offer a clear picture of what the full version is like.

What can be determined from the demo is that there are some nice visuals. The buildings tend to look a bit too similar to each other, but other than that, there’s not much to fault in the art department. The sound is a little too bland, however. The one musical track is generic easy listening, while the audio is little more than two or three sound effects and the advisors’ messages in accented English. The Brazilian developers don’t quite have a proper grasp of the English language – which is worst of all in the endings, which include such mangled messages as, “The people disapproves your administration.” None of these make the game any more tempting to buy.

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With a selling price of only $9.95, City Rain might be worth buying. It’s a good concept with an acceptable presentation. The big problem is that the demo only demonstrates a concept, with only the vaguest example of how it’ll be presented in the full version. Without any sort of baseline to judge exactly how the final version plays, buying this game is totally a gamble. For that reason, City Rain gets a 2 out of 5.

We won’t share the solar system, and the aliens are not impressed!
Harvest: Massive Encounter by Oxey Game Studio is a unique real-time strategy game which incorporates 2D fantasy. You are the base commander of a space colony deep within the galaxy, your job is to expand the colony while bravely defending it in every manner you can.

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You have a selection of five building types. Now use these creatively, protect the colony, and fight hordes of evil aliens. Construct power plants, defense towers, and mineral harvesters. Supply them with adequate energy to fend off the evil intruders. There are a plethora of strategies on offer which will see you facing the greatest battle ever fought.

Buildings will cost you credit and energy; these are gained by harvesting from the mineral fields. Energy of course will come from the power plants. One of the most challenging areas of the game is getting the power and energy to the construction in need. Now this is not easy at all as you will need to place your energy links well. Energy is moved from power plants to other locations by jumping between these links. Setting your way points well is all part and parcel of strategy intelligence.

Build your defenses well, ensure you have as many as possible. The aliens are far from shy, and intend to gain the pocession of the colony at all costs; it could be at your death. Laser Towers, Missile Turrets, bombs, need to be charged well. Link the Laser Towers together for added security. When linked together this improves their range and damage control. Upgrade your missile turrets for a host of varied uses.

The aliens are well equipped for a great battle; they have the use of ten units. You will need to have all your wits about you in this battle of survival. Stay alive; survive, well at least for as long as possible. Get your name on the on-line high score list. Join player groups, and battle other player groups, Beat your own record while exploring three planets.

The game is a real award winner, I loved it. Planning and creative thinking are definitely the highs while the 2D graphics are sensational. The five game modes which range from the easy to the insane are great. With nine types of alien enemies who have your death as their mission, the game is highly challenging. The seven building types which come with a great range of abilities are well designed.

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Summary:
The game is fabulous, but crazy in many areas. You will only have 2-3 power plants to begin with and this makes for some radical thinking on your behalf. These power plants produce 1 energy per second, spend fifty minerals and you will purchase a placement. You will need twenty energy points to construct it first! With up to a thousand ways to set up your defense, the possibilities are endless.

Highly entertaining for the entire family. A game which certainly gives hours of strategy challenges. A great gift for one and all.
A 9/10 rating. Well worth the purchase price. Enjoy!

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Three reasons to buy Solium Infernum

-There are so many ways to customize, the game has endless replay value.
-The game looks great.
-Single and multi-player modes are equally enjoyable.

Three Reasons not to buy

-$29.99 is a high price for a downloadable game.
-The load times make the game frustrating to play.
-The complexity of the game will confuse most players.

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Full Game Review

Solium Infernum is a Downloadable game for the PC, which is stuffed to the gills with content. It is a turn based strategy war game with endless opportunities. The appeal for most gamers will be the hellish theme that envelopes every aspect of the game.

GAME PLAY

It would be impossible to summarize everything one can do in Solium Infernum, but one can get a taste of the flavor by looking at the highlights. Before doing anything else, players need to create avatars. There are fifteen images to choose from, and this one choice is the only thing that doesn’t effect the game. Players will also use points to customize their avatars to be top killing machines. They can choose a level of leadership, special skills, and physical and mental statistics. Creating an avatar that fits your style is of the utmost importance.

The game can be played as a single player against computer opponents, or in a multiplayer mode. Players take turns giving orders, demanding sacrifice from their underlings, bidding on troops, bidding on buildings, casting spells, moving troops around, and so on. There is no tutorial, so one has to learn by doing, or at the very least, reading the instructions. The latter is preferred, as Solium Infernum is incredibly complicated, and will lead to frustration. For those who can fight through the learning period, Solium Infernum is an amazing game, sure to be enjoyed by all fans of turn-based strategy games.

Aside from the difficulty of game play, the only downside is the long wait time to load the game, and the long wait time between turns.

GRAPHICS

The images that accompany the avatars, troops, buildings, spells, and the like all have a great design and a beautiful infernal appearance. The map graphics are less impressive, but serve their purpose. Don’t expect flashy movements, but most will be impressed with the overall look of the game.

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AUDIO

There really isn’t much in the way of sound effects here, but the music will keep players pleasantly entertained while they click their way through endless menu screens.

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

The creators of Solium Infernum took a chance making a turn based game with an expansive menu of options on any given turn. For most, the complexity will be a turn off, but it was a bold choice.

OVERALL

If they could fix the load time problem, and just include a tutorial, Soium Infernum would be a much more enjoyable game. Still, it is an impressive game. 4/5

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Totem Tribe is a flashy strategy game filled with colourful island maps and a decent story, but unfortunately that sometimes isn’t enough to save games like this from the junkyard of monotony.

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The introduction is well-put and lays the foundation of what this game is going to be about without causing any confusion. You begin the game as a young chieftain named Aruku of the Hawk tribe. The goal of the game is to discover and obtain the totems that have been spread throughout the islands in order for the Hawk tribe to achieve eternal bliss and prosperity. Its straightforward narrative and descriptive dialogue help this game’s story move at a quick pace. The plot isn’t the most original but it manages to deliver and gives you a goal to save your tribe and restore peace among the island.

The main issue with Totem Tribe was the shoddy game play, which didn’t entice me to want to keep playing past the trial. The inability to train who you wanted by clicking on a building (ex. Fighters from barracks) created some rather redundant game play, forcing you to build architecture that had a set number of people come out of it every time. Another problem was not being able to highlight over certain characters to allow faster building production, which really limited how much you could do at one time. The island exploration is slow moving but considering the minimal map sizes it’s not detrimental to game play. The battling system can be somewhat of a confusing task considering they are given tiny health bars underneath each character, but when fighting the island’s creatures you can’t really tell whether you’re winning or losing because the bars meld together and become undistinguishable. After completing a chapter mission you have the option of discovering objects on the island before continuing on, but this option really offers nothing to the player.

The graphics were vivid and imaginative with cute islander sprites and detailed architecture. The island is decorated with sea shells, bright gems, and many distinct animals (ex. Turtles, crabs, etc.) wandering the landscape. Considering the light-heartedness of Totem Tribes even the monsters are designed with adorable details such as the mushroom people. The cinematic story introduces beautifully drawn characters with bright colours and an over-all cheery atmosphere. Totem Tribe’s graphics are among the best feature in this game and drive the interest of the story wonderfully.

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Totem Tribe’s soundtrack is light and flowing befitting of the islander theme. Its cheerfulness and catchy tunes match the experience and the events that transpire through the story. Surprisingly the sprites don’t make any noises when clicked on or ordered to do something, which takes away from the realism of the characters.

From the sparkling gems that layer the island to the evil creatures that roam around them it seeps creativity. It’s a cute idea and as much as the game play was lacking the imagination behind it is inspired with effort.

We’ve seen this before, but worst of all, we’ve seen it done better. These types of over-top strategy games are not a dying breed and will be around for a long time, but Totem Tribe does nothing to bring innovation into this genre and does even less then what this genre has offered before.

Over-all, it’s a cute idea but that’s all it is. If the game play could be fixed up then it’d be worth the try but for what it is, Totem Tribe is not worth the money.

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