Lifeless Planet – PC Game Review

Lifeless planet is a game available on PC through Steam or GOG, as well as the Xbox One home gaming console. The game is an indie title developed by “Stage 2 Studios“, and published by KISS Ltd. In fact, it is one of the better games published by KISS Ltd in my opinion. Most games that KISS Ltd releases, just aren’t my cup of tea, so it doesn’t really take much for me to consider a game to be one of their better games. If it doesn’t make me want to smash my head through my monitor, it’s one of their better games!

Lifeless Planet tells the story of an astronaut sent to a fertile green planet. Their pod crashes on the home world, and he has become separated from his crew. Even more confusing? The planet isn’t a forested green world like they were led to believe! It’s instead a barren wasteland void of any life! As you search for your crewmates, you begin to discover signs that you aren’t the first visitor to this planet!

So, what type of game is it you ask? It’s a mixture of game genres! It’s mostly a third person perspective exploration/walking simulator. You just walk, and as you journey the story begins to unfold around. You can follow the trail clearly laid out in front of you, or go off on your own and discover things hidden around in the game world. Be warned though, traveling off the beaten trail can often lead to danger!

The game also has platforming elements, where you are required to reach an area just out of reach by jumping from rock to rock, or crates, or anything that will boost you up high enough to reach your goal. It also has a lot of puzzles to solve! Between the platforming and puzzles, the game will really put your mind to work!

Movement is smooth, and the controls are very intuitive. At no point did the game ever leave me confused or frustrated with the controls! It was all pretty smooth sailing! If mouse and Keyboard isn’t your cup of tea, the game is also 100% compatible with the Xbox 360 USB PC gamepad! Which, was also flawless! Basically, no matter how you decided to play, controls won’t be an issue!

So, the game has an amazing and captivating plot, and great gaming elements and super spiffy controls! That’s all fine and good, but how are the graphics? Remember that the game is an Indie game! So, it’s not on par with other AAA titles. For an Indie game though? The graphics and animation is outstanding! The world even reflects in the visor of the astronauts helmet! It really is gorgeous, and very well done! There’s a wide variety of locals, from wastelands, to caves, to volcanic hotbeds! All very beautifully rendered!

Unfortunately, the game lacks any type of audio options. Making it impossible to lower sound in the game, or to disable the few voice overs that exist. A lot of the voice overs are russian, and hearing spoken russian dialog distracts me when I am trying read the “Auto-translated” text. Having a way to disable it, or at the very least turn it down enough so that it’s not a distraction would be ideal.

As far as glitches go, the game seems relatively glitch free! I did encounter one glitch however. What happened was, I picked up a rock and carried it onto an elevator and used the elevator button. This froze my controls and prevented me from moving or dropping the rock. All I could do was bring up the pause menu, but even then the “Restart from last checkpoint” option was missing. I eventually had to quit the game, and then go back into it. No other bugs or glitches were encountered, and the one that I did encounter? I was unable to duplicate it.

Overall I had a fantastic time playing this game! Which is good, because the last two games I played sucked so bad that I was about ready to give up on gaming altogether! The story was it’s self was so interesting that I just did not want to stop playing until I was finished! Kind of how like when you read a good book, you don’t ever want to set it down? I had a similar experience with this game!

Should you get it? Well, the game is 20 bucks, which is a bit expensive for what you get. I finished the game in 4 hours roughly,and the majority of those 4 hours were spent wandering around exploring. I imagine it could be finished much quicker for someone who is just rushing through the game. If I had paid 20 bucks for it, I would have been a bit upset! For 20 dollars, I expect a little bit more than just 4 hours. Thankfully I got the game(As well as several others) for just 4 dollars in a bundle deal from Indie Gala.

I would suggest that if the game sounds interesting to you (And it should, because it’s awesome!) that you wait for either a Steam sale, or for it to be included in another Bundle(It has been bundled several times, so odds are that it will be bundled again).

PROS

• Great plot
• Easy to understand Controls.
• Flawless Gamepad support

CONS

• No Audio Controls.
• Tad overpriced for what you get

Overall Score: 8/10

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Grand Theft Auto 4 – PC Review

 

Well, I have finally gotten burned out on GTA5, and GTA Online, so decided to plunge into my Steam Library and play another GTA game. I decided to go with Grand Theft Auto 4, mainly because it and it’s DLC are the only games which take place in the same universe as GTA4. I know it’s older, but I have never played it on PC, so figured I would give it a shot!

Let me just say that Grand Theft Auto 4 is a excellent game, with an enjoyable storyline. Granted, The main character isn’t my favorite in the GTA universe, nor is this the best story. It however is a fun and enjoyable game with good graphics for its time, even if they are slightly dated nowadays.

This game takes you back to a larger and grittier Liberty City than you might remember from previous games. The city feels like a living and breathing city, with so much to do. You can visit amusement parks, go bowling or any number of other activities. Then of course there’s the shadier activities.

Despite the game being very good, it is also pain in the ass when it comes to the installation. The game requires GFWL, which also in turn requires you to sign up for an xbox live account. I’m sorry, if I wanted to play GTA4 on Xbox, I would have played the damn thing on Xbox! On top of that, there’s also the achievements! See the game does technically have Achievements, but again: Those are only posted to your xbox live account, they aren’t displayed on your steam account or anywhere else but your Xbox Live account. It’s just stupid. This is the only game I own that requires GFWL, and the very fact that it forces me to sign up for 2 other services(Rockstar Social and Xbox Live) is insane. I’m fine with the rockstar social club, but the other is just overkill.

Another thing that irked me, was the controls just felt clunky. They didn’t seem as fluid as the console version. I assumed the xbox control would be flawless since the game SEEMS to want to be an xbox game(Even on Steam), however these controls left me disappointed.

Still, it’s an OK game, and fans of Openworld crime sagas should definitely check this game out, despite the hassles.

Pros

• Incredible storyline
• Online open world gameplay
• Plenty of side activites
• Large Open world to explore
• Side missions as entertaining as main story.
• Incredible sountrack

Cons

• Requires GFWL
• Dated Graphics
• Clunky Controls
• Resource hog

 

RATING: 7/10

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Beasts of Prey – PC Game Review

 

In a world full of Zombie themed survival games, Beasts of Prey stands out. As far as I know, this was one of the first dinosaur based survival games made, though certainly not the last. It did however take a chance on something “Different”, and in my opinion it paid off. The game is available on Steam for only 12 bucks, so it won’t put you in the poor house. It is however an Early Access title, so expect some glitches and bugs.

I picked up Beasts of Prey a little over a year ago, but hadn’t played it at all within the last 6 months. So, I installed the game, to see if the developers had done anything with the game, and I was blown away! Everything from the game play to the graphics had been improved! It looked gorgeous, and I was impressed! In fact, I remember thinking: “This game is really going places!”

After the initial awe struck period though, I realized that my hot bar was empty. After fumbling around, trying to remember how to open my inventory, I finally hit tab. I saw my knife and bandages there, although they should by default be in your hot tray IMHO. So, I decided to try and drag them to my hotbar, only to find that I can’t click on them. After about a half hour trying to figure out how to equip my weapon/tool I grew frustrated and went to quit. Only ESC wasn’t bringing up the menu. I tried several other keys, and couldn’t figure even that out. Out of frustration I Ctrl+alt+Del out of the game.

This seems like a lot of trouble to me. Sure, it’s got good potential, and looks brilliant. However trying so hard to just figure out the basics is annoying. I know a lot of these “Survival” games say they don’t want to hand hold you, and they want you to figure it out as if it was a real survival setting.  I’m sorry, but explaining how to hold a knife isn’t “Hand holding” Everyone should know how to hold an item. It’s common sense, not a learned survival trait. I’m not saying that they should explain everything, but the very basics is kind of a no brainer! Then not even being able to exit the game? You shouldn’t even need a tutorial to figure out how to quit!  In the end, i’m just not sure it’s worth the trouble. If you don’t want to add a tutorial, fine! I can deal with that but maybe add some “Game tips” or something so you aren’t forced to just stand there trying to figure out the most basic actions.

Now, to be fair…I’m not sure if the not being able to click or drag my equipment was a bug, or if the esc key doing nada was a bug….but IF they were glitches..these are huge issues, that need fixing.

Pros

• Gorgeous graphics
• Dinosaurs
• Original idea
• Low cost
• Tons of craftable items
• Single Player option

Cons

• No Tutorial
• Either Glitchy or confusing controls.
• Not a large player base
• Very few official servers(w/high pings)

 

RATING: 6.5/10

Old Skool Adventure games

Guybrush Threepwood (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I have said before in the past, I am not very big a fan of PC gaming. I prefer consoles for my gaming, and PCs for my web surfing, porn viewing and blog writing.

While I may prefer my games to be on consoles, that doesn’t mean that’s how it always works out. Unfortunately, many games are PC only, especially when it comes to MMORPGs, RTS games and Point and Click Adventure titles. That being said, Point and Click Adventure games, was how I got my feet wet in the gaming world. This meant during my early gaming period, I was a PC gamer.

If you have never played a Point and Click adventure game, and love playing puzzle games, then you really are missing out.

If however you were one of the millions of Gamers who not only played them, but loved them to bits, then you will no doubt have fond memories of the excitement you had when you finally figured out that you had to place a matchstick between the toes of the severed foot BEFORE spraying it with the deodorant, or some other such obscure puzzle.

If you are anything like me, then you might even miss those days of old school point and click adventure titles. Back when Sierra and Lucas Arts ruled the game market. When names like Roger Wilco, Guybrush Threepwood and George Stobbart brought forth puddles of drool.

For many, the period of Point and Click Adventure games, is considered the Golden Age of Gaming, and while I may not agree entirely with that statement, I do believe it to be a great era of gaming. A point in gaming history that I would love to relive.

True, Game companies still release an occasional Point and Click title, but they are few and far between. The titles that are released, just don’t have the magic they used to. The charm isn’t there, and the characters don’t reach out and grab us. Unfortunately the glory days of Point and Click Adventure titles have faded away, but that doesn’t mean they are gone forever!

There’s a small little gaming company located on the web called Wadjet Eye Games, if you haven’t heard of them, don’t be too surprised! As I mentioned, it’s a small company, but it does make point and click adventure titles, that Rival some of the classics. their best series in my opinion, is the Blackwell saga, which reminds me a little of The Ghost Whisperer, Except without the star power of jennifer love hewitt’s boobs.

Still, there maybe some whiners out there, who think that nothing will ever be as good as the classics, and for them, might I recommend AGDInteractive Studio. Sure, the company is responsible for providing the world with Al Emmo, but it’ also on the verge of releasing Mage ‘s Initiation, which looks to be quite cool!, which looks to be quite cool! Also, it has released several VGA remakes of classic Sierra games, which can be downloaded freely on their website! Remakes for Kings Quest I, II, and III as well as Quest for Glory II.

Know of any other games that have that old school point and click adventure feel? Leave a comment and let us all know!

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Duke Nukem Forever: June 14th

Image via Wikipedia

I have to admit, I never thought it would happen. At least not in my life-time! Yet, it’s almost here; The release of the king of Vapor-ware: Duke Nukem Forever(Or as some used to refer to it as, Duke Nukem Forever in development)! June 14th 2011 is the date, that the game will grace PS3’s and Xbox 360’s(And of course PCs).

I have been looking forward to this game release for close to 14 years, and now that it’s finally drawing close, I have to say I am not that anxious. Mainly because, I am fully aware, that no matter how kick-ass this game turns out to be, there is no way in hell it will be 14 years of waiting kind of kick-ass! For 14 years I have been building this game up in my head, and to be honest there is no way in hell that the developers could have come out with anything that will say; “See? Wasn’t it worth the 14 years waiting?”

Anyway, it’s good that it’s finally coming out, and I will definitely give it a play-through, but I don’t have high-hopes for it.

Problem with Joes Adventure (Mafia II DLC)

Image by bigdigo via Flickr

When I first heard the news that Mafia 2 was being released, I was drooling at the mouth. The screen shots, trailers and everything else seemed incredible! I pre-ordered the game, and loved it as I played it, but ultimately found the game way too short.

However, recently Mafia II has been releasing some Downloadable Content, which is adding extra missions, and more story. This of course is costing you extra, however after spending double the amount of the game on DLC, you end up with a game about as long as a regular game should be.

Obviously, I didn’t purchase any of the previous DLC for Mafia II, because while I like the idea of DLC, I hate when companies ship out a partial game and then fluff it up with DLC at extra cost, just so you can get what should have been included to begin with.

However, when Joes Adventures got released, I did have to buy it, because Joe was my favorite character. So, I bought it! I plopped down 800 Microsoft Points, and I began to download. After the download, I dusted off my Mafia II disc, plunked it in and began playing.

That’s when the problem occurred. After choosing to play Joes Adventures, choosing a save location and then picking a game difficulty setting, the game began to load, and load, and load. Basically, it would keep loading and not begin the game! This ticked me off, and I figured it might be a bug, and thought I would need to wait for a patch or something.

After waiting awhile, I began to get anxious, because I wanted to play what I had paid for. So, I tried clearing the cache of my xbox 360, and then tried playing the game, and associated DLC. After choosing the difficulty, it switched to loading, and then when I thought it was going to stick again, it loaded!

Bottom line: Clearing Cache seemed to do the trick, so if you are having problems with Joes Adventures, try that! It also speeds up some games, like Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Mass effect series, Fallout Series, and pretty much any game that relies heavily on DLC. So, it might be worth doing, even if you aren’t having problems with Joes Adventures or other Xbox 360 DLCs