Recent reviews by Arctacia

If you've played any kind of game where dice are involved, or anything where chance is a factor, you'll know that probability can indeed be one sadistic mistress. In Chaos Reborn, you'll be knee deep in that very concept rather quickly.

In this game, you play as a master wizard who is capable of casting various spells, though the majority of them deal with summoning of creatures of all sorts. It plays out as a turn-based strategy that involves tactics and risk management for the most part.

You begin each match with your wizard and your opponent on a sprawling arena filled with various elevations and features. Each turn you can do each of three things: Move, attack, and/or cast a spell. Movement and attack is pretty straight-forward, and this, as well as the other interactions, are done on a hex grid for the arena. Casting a spell is where your options really come in. You start the game with a hand full of cards, each with a prominent percentage to show the likelyhood of that spell being cast, the alignment of the spell, be it law, neutral, or chaos, and the actual name and picture of the spell. Hovering over each of these allows you to see more details such as attack power, defense power, etc. You can click on the info botton to get the full overview of the spell itself as well.

When casting spells, particularly with the creature summoning types, you have the option of either casting it for real with the probability depicted, or an illusory variant which is 100% gauranteed to cast successfully. This is where the game has an interesting bluff mechanic. These illusory creatures will act exactly like their real counterparts, only they can be disproven should your opponent feel you are posturing. This is done by a spell that all wizards have and will always have access to as it has infinite uses. This spell, called Disbelief, can be cast on a suspected target to attempt to rule out if it's real or not. If the target is real, then the one spell a wizard can use that turn is used up and the creature's real origin is confirmed. However, if the target was an illusion, the creatures dispells and is removed from the arena and you can cast another spell, be it the Disbelief again, or some other spell.

When creatures are summomed, they are controlled in a similar fashion as your wizard; moving and attacking. However, they cannot cast spells as that is strictly reserved to your wizard. Creatures come in all varieties and types from slow melee to agile ranged types. There are even undead and strange magical creatures with great power. The arena itself has an alignment shift that occurs as law and chaos spells are used. (Neutral ones don't affect this.) Each type pushes the alignment bar in that respective direction. So each law spell will shift the balance of the arena more towards law. This shift provides a bonus to probability of casting that type of spell which goes up the further shifted the bar is. It does not however provide a bonus to neutral spells nor does it penalize the polar opposite type of spells. In this way, players can try to manipulate their chances further.

The arena itself also tends to have elevations which provide bonuses and penalties to attack. For example, a creature attacking from a higher elevation would have a bonus to attack something below. The opposite would be true if the creature below were trying to attacking something up high, in which case, a penality to attack. Everything in this game has only one hit point, even your wizard. In fact, in traditional rules, killing the opponent wizard is all that is needed to achieve victory. As such, much like in chess, treat your wizard as if it were a king and protect him at all costs. Inversely, whenever there is an opportunity to try to attack the enemy wizard, take it!

The cards you get come from a deck that you draw from any time a card is expended. The cards in the deck are sort of random in that the deck you play with does not always yield the same cards. Rather, your deck is assembled before each encounter automatically from a pool of cards that are determined based on the gear your wizard has equipped. Talisman items that you find later can be set into your staff and armor will can allow gauranteed cards to show. These talismans can also grant passive effects and even ones that require mana to activate. Mana is gained over the course of a battle from killing opponents, sacrificing your own spell cards, or finding mana deposits on the map itself. This mana not only allows activation of abilities, but can be used to activate your mega spell, or even increase the probability to cast a spell at the rate of 1 mana per 1%, which has a cap determined by your equipment.

The graphics are well done and quite thematic for a fantasy filled with magic and wonder. The sounds are appropriate and good quality. The music is good, but could use some extension with more tracks and variety. The interface is very intuitive and well organized. Actions you do for moves and attacks and have to be confirmed with another click to execute, which reduces error of doing something you don't wish to. The camera can he panned, zoomed, and even rotated to get a good view of what's going on.

There are various ways to play the game, single player campaign, offline skirmishes, online arena and realm based play, and quick matches. The campaigns and realm offer an interesting approach to the game which allows for story, hiring mercenaries, rumors and quests, territory control, and some exploration. Online play can present itself as either player versus player or even inviting allies to join you for teams or cooperative assault against the AI.

I have had a lot of fun so far playing this game, even though there will be moments of frustration when 100% is the only way to ever guarantee something will cast. ;) Still, it's this tiptoeing with chance that makes it fun, especially when that 20% chance fires off just at the right time when things get down to the wire. The big reason I am writing this review is it surprisingly seems like this game hasn't gotten as much attention as it deserves, though that's just based on the fact barely anyone on my friends list has it or even has it on their wish list.

If you're not sure how you feel about a game like this, be sure to check out the demo! Thanks for reading. Until next time.

I've been a fan of puzzle games for some time. They're not ones I normally go after regularly, but whenever there are ones with distinctive properties, I will consider. The Talos Principle without a doubt was one that caught my eye.

If you've played the Portal series, you'll feel some similarities between the two in that they both tackle the first-person action puzzle genre. (Though The Talos Principle does allow third-person as well) The way they do it is different in some cases. In the case of The Talos Principle, there are many puzzles to be had with a less linear approach and are player paced. There is a rather interesting and detailed plot to follow that is told through finding various text resources, audio logs, and even events that occur within the game. There is a deep philisophical approach to the game that has you thinking and even questioning things. I adore it for that reason. I think you'll be intrigued and even surprised at times by what the game presents to you and even challenges you on.

The graphics in the game are beautiful, being built on the Serious Engine 4, part of a series of engines Croteam has used and developed over the years. There is good use of texture detail throughout and even being sure to use detail textures when looking at things close up. Environments feel well done and all have their own theme and feel as you go along.

Music and sounds are nice. The music in particular was great and helped provide a nice mood for the game as you solved puzzles or contemplated what you've learned or have faced. I found some of the sound effects were oddly low quality or just lacked fidelity to them. This was mostly noticeable for the footsteps your character made. A lot of the other sounds seemed fine and did not have this issue.

The gameplay was quite satisfying. As mentioned earlier, players set a bit of a pace as to how they tackle puzzles. For the most part, you can do these in any order. Though, the beginning of the game has more of a guided pace to it, and appropriately so, in order to grasp and learn new concepts and items to play with as you get into more advanced puzzles. I felt the way this was done was very nice. I remember when I first started playing, I dreaded some of the red sigil puzzles as they seemed so intimidating and difficult. But, there was a charm to this in that, as you did more of the simpler puzzles, it gave you a better sense of how to do the harder ones. The only negative I have on this was there were quite a few puzzle-piece puzzles you had to solve in the game. But, these were spread out decently enough.

Since this game uses the Serious Engine, there are plenty of things to customize for controls, graphics, sound, game play, etc. There are even options to help with people who get motion sickness from playing games of this nature.

I have really enjoyed this game from start to finish. Not only did I feel accomplished and enjoyed the ending, it made me think and learn quite a bit about ourselves. By that, I mean us as a people and life in general. I've considered myself a fairly philisophical person, but this game has surprisingly broadened that a bit and has offered me a rather distinctive experience that I did not quite expect. This is especially true from a developer that we've known to do more of the action first-person shooter fare. I appreciate they took what was just something to fool around with at the time and made something great with it.

I can recommend this game to just about anyone that likes puzzles, but most importantly, if you are into the more deeper of thought and exploring the more philisophical elements of things. Certainly, one doesn't even need to fully appreciate the latter elements to enjoy the game, but if you do, it makes it all the better. This has been an experience for sure and I look forward to more content in the future.

People sometimes overlook games because they seem to convey an impression of "Been there, done that." In other words, concepts, ideas, mechanics, etc that have been used or done before. At first glance, Endless Legend does indeed have those traits. But, when settling in to give the game a chance, there's a feeling of refresh by the way it presents itself.

The graphics and style of the game are beautiful and help give a lovely sense of immersion and personality. The music score of the game is especially a treat and only help accentuate on these features. Gameplay is refined yet still deep enough to be somewhere in the intermediate of complexity. No, it's not the most deep of strategy 4X experiences one could have, but that's certainly not a bad thing. Rather, the way it plays out allows one to still use their mind and strategize, but not be overwhelmed to the point where it takes hours and lots of reading to make heads or tails of how the game plays out.

The factions in the game all have their own background, theme, traits, and their own thing going for them. And I have to say, some of them are downright intriguing. And in some cases, even unnerving--but in a good way! What's nice about these factions is they all play quite different from one another and even have their own quests to follow. As such, one could play through the game and have a distinctive experience each time. Though, this is all also thanks to the many customization options one can do for the world generation, changing anything from size, terrain types, general land formation, world difficulty, victory conditions, and more. For those bold or wanting to mix things up, you can even make a custom faction based on one of the existing ones as a template.

Combat is turn based with light tactical considerations. It's not as deep as some other 4X games, but there are some I have played where it's even more simplistic than how Endless Legend presents it. As mentioned before, Amplitude seems to aim to make games that have a happy medium with their approach to complexity, nothing too complex, but not too simple. They also like to make a nice clean, accessible, and slick interface to help make navigating and display information in a pleasant fashion that helps make a person feel comfortable using it more than intimidated.

I do like the direction Amplitude has been going with their games and certainly would love to see future developments from them. Their work is pretty solid from day 1 release. Though, there are bugs to be had and their track record with patches has been quite good with Endless Space. As such, their support is quite good and they're willing to do what they can to make their fans happy, even if given some time.

Bottom line, if you like 4X strategy games and enjoy ones of a fantasy nature that doesn't take itself too serious, but not too lackluster, I think you'll be at home with Endless Legend. It's a happy medium that makes it hard not to like for those that aren't looking for something too complex or casual.

We live in a crazy and busy world at times. But what's more apparent, is the fact that we're finding ways to be more connected with one another. We live in a digital age where a lot of the things we do have a tendancy to revolve around some electronic device. Board gaming has been one of those hobbies that strays away from such things and it is something I can appreciate. Despite the convenience and power we practically wield through even just a phone these days, it's nice to take a break from it to gather with friends and forget about such things for the sake of a more personal and human interaction.

But, we realize that such gatherings may not always work out, or perhaps you just happen to not have anyone nearby that shares the passion of these games. Ironically, through the use of computers, such experiences can at least achieve second best. Tabletop Simulator allows one to share those experiences with others over great distances, but most importantly, it still keeps that personal feel to a degree that one may not necessarily regard as digital or artificial. The way it plays out with physics and actually seeing what others are doing are the hallmark of what helps make board gaming interesting and engaging. Sometimes because of it, we may accidently tip over a piece or put something where we didn't intend. As much as it seems like a minor inconvenience, such little details are all the same thing we may tend to find in real life scenarios. Obviously, I realize not everyone is on board with such things and there are other solutions out there that fit the bill for those seeking a refined, perfected, and orderly take on tabletop gaming.

There's plenty to experience right out of the box with classic board games and cards. Also, the possibilities for bringing in custom content are grand, even given the limitations the program may have in the beginning. In time, we'll see more potential unlock from there. Imagination is the only limit I can see.

Quite aptly as it is named, Tabletop Simulator seeks to simulate the tabletop gaming experience. I think what makes this program a great entry is that it doesn't try to perfect the board gaming scenario and make it efficient. Rather, to bring it as close as possible to those who cannot as easily do so, but keeping it as organic as possible. To me, that's where the real beauty shines through.

This game is probably one of the underrated of 2013 I have had the pleasure of coming across. The game is not perfect or the best of, but rather is a balanced mix of things. It touches upon a few elements over the course of the game; brawling, exploration and scaling heights and ledges, puzzles, and an interesting memory remix element.

I feel if one tries to dig too deep into or wants exclusivity on any of the things the game brings to the table, I feel that is where most disappointment comes in. It is true there are other games out there that do any of its elements better and with more depth, but Remember Me does a decent job of blending these together and telling a story of a world that has fallen from trying to find ways to be perfect in this digitized memories society. This is a game where one needs to take everything in equally and not in pieces.

Remember Me is a living form of art. The level design, ambience, culture, scenery, sounds, and music, it's all gorgeous. I have found myself stopping to admire what a world these folks have shared. The ride I was brought along on was quite satisfying from start to finish. Combat in the game is pretty basic, but has intereresting ways to change your combo sets to inflict damage, heal, reduce cool-downs, and chain up previous hits for an added bonus. You also learn other abilities along the way that utilize focus, a type of energy you build up as you damage opponents, and nicely enough, when they damage you, too.

The game has an intriguing plot that I was interested in following the whole way through. Plenty of things in-game give you stuff to read up on for subjects not quite explained or just to get more in-depth information on. It's not a long game by any means. One could probably get at least 10 hours from it. Possibly more if you're like me and like to take in the details now and then. Despite this, though, the length felt about right for the direction the story was going. It's a linear game, but that is no flaw by any means. While there is no true freedom of open-world exploration, it's not needed for the type of game this is. In any regard, there is plenty to see and experience along the way if such a thing is not a deal breaker.

Normally, I sometimes tend to wait on games for prices to drop as I tend to have a lot on my plate to need to worry about getting any new ones right away. But, I admire the developers of this title for pushing to have a female lead and struggling to find a publisher that would take this game seriously. The sad story was that most turned them down because they felt the game would not do that well. I would look around online for stories about this. I wanted to support them for their efforts and give this game at least a bit more attention than it's currently getting. I really hope to see more of this universe as I can see quite a bit going for it. I normally also don't don't recommendations like this, but this is the first time I really felt compelled to. I hope this little gem finds your way to your collection, should you feel it would be one deserving of such an honor.