Daily PC Game Reviews

Heroes of Annihilated Empires
Game Category: Real Time Strategy, Role Playing Game
Developer / Distributor: GSC Game World / GSC World Publishing
Release Date: 6 Oct 2006
Rating: ESRB - Teens

Introduction
It seems that fantasy real time strategy games have been a dime a dozen in the last decade. With quite a number of titles fitting the category like Majesty, Battle Mages, Lords of Everquest, Settlers, Rising Kingdoms, Cultures, and Medieval Conquest, don't groan for I will throw in another game to the mix.

Heroes of Annihilated Empires (shortened to HoAE for this review) is a rather different game from all the previous ones in the list above. HoAE is from the people who brought you the historical based Cossacks series. You may know that games bearing the Cossacks title allow you to control thousands of troops. Well, it seems that the same engine has been re-imagined for HoAE, and you are going to (literally) have your hands full as you try to overwhelm, outmaneuver and outflank your enemies who relentlessly send their troops at you. The game also has elements of role playing in it since your hero can advance in levels and also purchase equipment for himself.

Originally planned as a trilogy, HoAE is actually the first chapter of the game. You will get to control the Elves throughout the first chapter. At first you will fight the Undead faction, but you will be surprised later as the story develops into a bitter fight for survival with other enemies.

This screenshot reminds me of The Fellowship of the Ring

Surf's Up
Game Category: Action, Kids, Sports
Developer / Distributor: Ubisoft
Release Date: 1 Jun 2007
Rating: ESRB - Everyone

Introduction
Whenever a game is released based on a movie license, people tend to be very critical about it. Some may claim that it is just another way to milk more money out of consumers, while others slam the game for being a poor carbon copy of the movie, or perhaps another group may say the game is too unplayable or unrealistic.

Swashbucklers: Blue vs Gray
Game Category: Role Playing Game, Action
Developer / Distributor: Akella / 1C Company
Release Date: 2 Mar 2006
Rating: ESRB - Mature

Introduction
Picture this - what happened if you crossed a swashbuckling pirate theme with a wild west cowboy theme? Why, you get Swashbucklers: Blue vs Gray of course.

This alternate history role playing game from Akella has you taking on the role of Captain Abraham Gray - a gung-ho anything-goes hero who suffers from (of all things) a split personality. Our poor chap gets embroiled in a series of events that is related to the US Civil War of the 1860's as well as a super powerful Ironclad being built in Liverpool by the Confederacy. Later on in the game, you even get to make the choice of either joining the Union as a spy or the Confederacy as a raider.

Welcome to the World of Swashbuckling

Everlight of Magic & Power
Game Category: Adventure
Developer / Distributor: Silver Style Entertainment / The Adventure Company
Release Date: 7 Oct 2008
Rating: ESRB - Teens

Introduction
The adventure genre has seen many ups and down in recent years. Most of the time though I have heard generally negative comments about adventure games. There has of course been exceptions. Over the years we have seen superb adventure games such as the Sam and Max series, the Monkey Island series, and the venerable Myst series. Not forgetting the huge number of adventure games coming from development houses such as The Adventure Company and Anuman Interactive.

The usual complaints about adventure games are that the story is either too boring, or the puzzles in the game are unsolvable, or that there is just not enough slapstick humor to tickle your funny bone.

Tonight's game, going by the lengthy title of Everlight of Magic and Power, tries to wow you with its fantastic premise - that of an adolescent wizard-to-be who must help the people of Tallen overcome a curse that turns them into totally different people when night falls.

Adventure abounds in Everlight of Magic and Power

Disciples III - Renaissance
Game Category: Turn Based Strategy
Developer / Distributor: .dat, Akella / Kalypso
Release Date: 13 Jul 2010
Rating: ESRB - Everyone (10+)

Introduction
The Disciples series is a fantasy turn based strategy game that was first released to the world back in October 1999. The original game Disciples - Sacred Lands, as well as the second release, Disciples II - Dark Prophecy were designed by Danny Bélanger. The third time round, Disciples III - Renaissance is being developed by .dat, a studio of Akella and led by Dmitriy Demyanovskiy. The task falls on them to continue the rich tradition established by the earlier games, and they almost pull it off successfully. There are issues with the game of course, and you'll learn more about it as I peel back the layers of this game.

It is inevitable that Disciples III would invite comparisons with similar games from the fantasy turn based strategy genre; games like Heroes of Might and Magic 5, and King's Bounty: The Legend. Truly, I don't favor any of these games in particular, I like all of them equally well. Incidentally, all three games were developed in Russia. Seems like a growing trend isn't it?

Before we begin the review, I'd like to let you know that I patched my of Disciples 3 to the latest version (v1.06.2), so I didn't see any major software bugs during my experience with the game (except for one minor glitch where a bridge seemed to disappear for a while). This patch can be downloaded straight from the Disciples III website.

Start of the Renaissance

Welcome my dear readers of Daily PC Game Reviews. I would like to announce the new Game Index page (which can also be accessed from the menu bar above). This page harnesses the power of Google's very own Spreadsheets service. You will notice there are three spreadsheets available on the page - Sort by date, Sort by title, and Sort by score. I hope it will assist you in finding a past review.

By the way, have a splendid Easter weekend. For your information, the guys over at Amazon are having a Great Easter Sale on their game downloads - you get to save 50% on over 200 games.


Finally, a big thank you to all my readers for your continued support. Do drop me a note or give feedback by clicking on the word x comments just below each blog entry.

Thank you and regards,
Gavin

Blitzkrieg
Game Category: Real Time Strategy
Developer / Distributor: Nival Interactive / cdv Software
Release Date: 28 Mar 2003
Rating: ESRB - Teens

Introduction
When you take the title of today's game Blitzkrieg and break it down into its constituent parts - "Blitze" and "Krieg", you will find that that these are German words that stand for Lightning and War respectively. And this is precisely the subject matter for today's riveting real time strategy game from Nival Interactive and cdv Software.

It is arguable where the origins of Blitzkrieg came from, but we should thank military the theorists/strategists Carl von Clausewitz, Alfred von Schlieffen and Helmuth von Moltke the Elder. It is believed that the Germans took their teachings, modified it slightly to shift the emphasis to attacking with lightning speed, and then launched a blistering attack on the Western Front directed at Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France.

As the Collins English Dictionary puts it, the word Blitzkrieg is a swift intensive military attack, especially using tanks supported by aircraft, designed to defeat the opposition quickly. And you do get lots of military toys to play with in the game of Blitzkrieg.

Blitzkrieg - dies ist ein gutes Spiel

Paraworld
Game Category: Real Time Strategy
Developer / Distributor: Sunflowers and SEK Ost / Deep Silver
Release Date: 15 Sep 2006
Rating: ESRB - Teens

Introduction
When you take an interesting topic like dinosaurs and mesh this together with human tribes in a real time strategy game, you inevitably get a fun game that invites comparison to the popular movie Jurassic Park from Steven Spielberg. The game has nothing to do with the movie other than a scene that looks hauntingly similar to a shot of the entrance to the park from the movie.

From the moment you start Paraworld and watch the introductory movie you will definitely raise eyebrows as you witness the miraculous sight of pterodactyls, lightning fast allosaurs, huge lumbering brontosauruses, heavily armored stegosaurs and ankylosauruses, fierce looking triceratops and the lovingly sleek death machines known as Tyrannosaurus Rex. The dinosaurs may be the stars of the game, but along for the ride are three human tribes who have somehow tamed these dinosaurs. These guys are shown hacking, stabbing, and shooting (with arrows) at each other - with no clear victor by the end of the movie.

With such an interesting premise, you only hope that Paraworld (from developers Sunflowers and SEK Ost) will inject into the gaming circle a new brand of fun as you command huge armies of beasts and men wanting to go at each other's throats. Read on to find out whether the game succeeds at this...

Enter the world of Dinosaurs!

Introduction
Space, the final frontier... whoa, wrong game... that was so yesterday.

Today's review is about a recent 4X turn based strategy game known as Armada 2526. This is an epic space conquest game developed by NTronium Games.

As is typical of other games of this genre, Armada 2526 places you in the role of the leader of a young space faring civilization. Thrown into either a preset or randomly generated universe and choosing an alien race from twelve tantalizing choices, you will have to either survive longer than all your opponents out there or at least meet racial objectives before they do. The universe in this game can get to be very large, so you will have to quickly eXplore your surroundings before setting off on an eXpansion phase of your civilization. You must also eXploit whatever resources and technologies your civilization researches and if your do bump into unfriendly civilizations, you will have to eXterminate them - the four X's.

This genre has spawned greats such as Galactic Cvilizations 2 as well as micromanaging nightmares like Master of Orion 3. Armada 2526 tries to find a comfortable place somewhere at middle ground, but thankfully some of its innovative features make this a better game overall.

Epic in scope!

Star Trek - Deep Space 9: The Fallen
Game Category: Third Person Shooter
Developer / Distributor: Double Helix Games / Simon and Schuster
Release Date: 15 Nov 2000
Rating: ESRB - Teens

Introduction
Star Trek games generally have had a splotchy past with great games and absolute stinkers. In today's case, Star Trek - Deep Space 9: The Fallen fortunately falls into the former category. Developed by Double Helix Games more than a decade ago (back then they were known as The Collective), the game's story is still respected for its contribution to the Star Trek canon as well as the superb game play and wonderful storytelling.

The Fallen is a third person shooter game that uses the Unreal Tournament Engine to great effect. Its story revolves around rival factions who are vying for control of the lost orbs of the Pah-wraiths - purportedly weapons of mass destruction with some religious mumbo-jumbo history tied to it. With the Dominion, Cardassians, and the Bajorans also after the orbs, you can rest assured that there will be nothing short of pandemonium reigning in the Alpha Quadrant - the home of the magnificent starbase known as Deep Space Nine.

I think The Fallen deserves much credit for setting out to achieve what the developers ultimately sought to do. The end result is an enriching plot, interesting characters, exciting action, and exotic sights all rolled into a smorgasbord of fun, more fun, and even more fun.

Pick from either Benjamin, Kira, or Worf to play

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4x4 Hummer
Game Category: Racing, Off-Road, Rally
Developer / Distributor: Avalon Style Entertainment / 1C Company
Release Date: 15 Jun 2009
Rating: ESRB - Everyone, PEGI 7+

Introduction
I firmly believe that Russian games have improved a lot in their standards as evidenced by some of the more recent releases from 1C Company - the premier Russian company dealing in computer and video games. In fact 1C Company has been pretty busy in Russian news, they have been absorbing all the smaller developers such as Buka Entertainment and Avalon Style Entertainment (ASE). They have now become a giant in their own right and can eventually contend with other heavyweights such as Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft.

1C Company have in recent times been praised for their incredible strategy game series such as Theater of War, Men of War, Fantasy Wars, and King's Bounty - all winners in their own right. I have all of these great games and will feature them in upcoming reviews.

There is however, a particular 4-wheel drive racing series also from 1C Company that is not as well known. This series of games from 1C-Avalon (as they are now called) comprises of UAZ Racing 4x4 and the more recent 4x4 Hummer. I shall be reviewing the latter game today.

The Hummer looks really cool in black

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Game Category: Third Person, Shooter
Developer / Distributor: Midway / Zoo Digital Publishing
Release Date: 24  Jun 2004
Rating: ESRB - Mature, PEGI 18+

Introduction
No, this is not a review of a game about magic nor does it have anything to do with Kriss Angel. Today's game is all about playing with the mind. Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is a highly polished science fiction shooter game that came out of nowhere and surprised me with its great game play, interesting plot, cool movies, and beautiful and realistic scenes of madness, mayhem, and destruction.

In the game, you get to take on the role of Nick Scryer, the protagonist of the game. It seems that a short time back, Nick willingly undergoes an operation to change his looks. He also has his memory of his past life blanked out. Nick is then placed at a fuel refinery that gets attacked by an organization called The Movement. This organization is run by nasty people possessing super psychic abilities, their only objective - to take over the world of the common people. They are lead by a person identified only as "The General".

In the ensuing attack, Nick is captured and brought into the secret base of The Movement. There, Nick meets Sara - a double agent. She injects him with a substance to help him regain his memory, all the while explaining that Nick was placed in this state of forgetfulness so that The Movement would not be alerted through their psi detection equipment. From there, the plot develops into an incredible journey of infiltration, action, and adventure...

Psi-Ops starting up

Petz Sports: Dog Playground
Game Category: Kids, Simulation, Action
Developer / Distributor: Ubisoft
Release Date: 4 Nov 2008
Rating: ESRB - Everyone

Introduction
Picture this scenario - your child comes up to you with pleading eyes and speaks softly, "Hey Dad, can I have a... may I... uhhh, I mean, would it be ok if we had a ... " He stutters and lowers his head. He just can't put it to words, and you wonder what's making him behave in such a manner. Thinking back on the past two hours that you've spent with him at the park, you remember the lovely afternoon stroll with him, both of you stopping to admire the bright red flowers, flashbacks of him playing happily with Mrs. O'Reilly's dog - it's a surprise who you can bump into at the park. Just another wonderful day spending quality time bonding with your child...

Wait a minute! Did you say that magical three letter word. D-O-G? Of course, your kid want's a dog... Oh no, that's no good. You don't want a dog in your house. So, what are you to do?

Let me get you back to reality here. Of course in this scenario, you could tell your kid "No". But what if, just what if you considered Ubisoft's release of a pet simulation game? The title of that game would be Petz Sports: Dog Playground (PS:DP). This is just one of the more recent games that you may have noticed on the store shelves in recent months. This could be an alternative to the more costlier solution - to get a dog.

Fetch, boy!

Majesty: Gold Edition
Game Category: Real Time Strategy
Developer / Distributor: Cyberlore Studios / Atari
Release Date: 31 Dec 2002
Rating: ESRB - Everyone

Introduction
Ever wondered what it would be like if you could be King for a day? You know, that kind of euphoric feeling where you command your people. They then bow obsequiously and do your bidding.

CivCity Rome
Game Category: Simulation, Real Time Strategy
Developer / Distributor: Firefly Studios and Firaxis Games / 2K Games
Release Date: 24 Jul 2006
Rating: ESRB - Everyone (10+), PEGI 12+


I must confess that my heart has a soft spot for city building simulation games. In recent times, there has been a sudden spurt of such games that I sometimes feel overwhelmed by all the choices made available to me. There are newer games such as Cities in Motion, Cities XL 2011, and Tropico 3.

Today however, I am focusing on historical city building, in particular dwelling on the subject of Rome. There's actually quite a number of Rome simulators out on the market. Let's see, in more recent times there were Grand Ages: Rome, Imperium Romanum, Caesar IV, Glory of the Roman Empire, and of course there is today's title - CivCity Rome, an interesting title from Firefly Studios and Firaxis Games.

Firefly Studios are the makers of the great Stronghold castle building series of games while Firaxis Games are highly respected for their Civilization series.

It's amusing how game developers have continued to center their attention on Rome, but nevertheless I must add that all the above games have their own strengths and weaknesses. I will be reviewing some of these games another time, so make sure you bookmark Daily PC Game Reviews if you want to read about them.

Do as the Romans do

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2
Game Category: Real Time Strategy
Developer / Distributor: Westwood Studios / Electronic Arts
Release Date: 21 Oct 2000
Rating: ESRB - Teens

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 is one of my favorite real time strategy games of the last decade. It's like Westwood Studios had gone off to collaborate with alternate history novelist Harry Turtledove, and upon their return we get this bizarre and incredible plot of the Soviets launching a massive invasion of USA.

In the very first part of the Red Alert series, that game took us down an alternate history when Albert Einstein travels into the past to remove Hitler from history. This action however has the repercussion of allowing the Soviet Union, under the rule of Stalin, to grow into a mighty superpower hell bent on war with the Allies.

Red Alert 1 gave us riveting real time strategy game play as well as allowed us to watch several interesting live action cutscenes to explain the story as the game progressed.

Now, following closely in the tradition of the first game, you will be subjected to superb game play and get to see live action movie scenes with a full cast of actors and actresses acting out a bleak world in which the only currency is war. Red Alert 2 is a marked improvement over the first game in all areas - it truly deserves to be praised once again. Here then is my take.

Battle Mages: Sign of Darkness
Game Category: Real Time Strategy, Role Playing Game
Developer / Distributor: Targem Games / Buku Entertainment
Release Date: 11 Oct 2005
Rating: PEGI 12+

Introduction
Battle Mages: Sign of Darkness is a real time strategy and role playing hybrid game that brings you on an incredible journey through the World of Daenmore as you assume control of the armies of fantasy races in four campaigns. Developed by Russian developer Targem Games and distributed by Buku Entertainment, Sign of Darkness is actually the second release in the Battle Mages series. Fortunately, Sign of Darkness is a stand alone game and you don't need to have Battle Mages installed to enjoy this game.

It seems the developers have stuck with what works best from the first game. They have also added in some new features to Sign of Darkness. These new features include new units and upgrades, an improved inventory system, and new magical abilities.

Sign of Darkness is set before the story line from Battle Mages: After the last great battle between the Lord of Chaos and the forces of The Order a thousand years ago, a Golden Age of peace and order have at last settled down on the lands of Daenmor. This is in part thanks to the formation of the Mages Guilds. As the first mission of the campaigns begin, you take on the role of a young novice mage Pheren who makes his way to serve the mighty Empire.

LGMs - Loathsome green monsters

Treasures of Montezuma
Treasures of Montezuma 2
Game Category: Casual, Match Three
Developer / Distributor: Alawar Entertainment
Release Date: 18 Jan 2007 / 8 Dec 2009
Rating: PEGI 3+
 
Introduction
Feast your eyes on the beautiful Treasures of Montezuma... ooh, even the name sounds exciting, isn't it? You might ask - Who or what is this Montezuma and why are we talking about a treasure?

Well, Montezuma's treasure is a fabled treasure from Arizonan folklore that is supposed to be buried somewhere in the Casa Grande Ruins, in southwest America, or perhaps in Mexico.

The developers have taken this namesake and tied it to an addictive and well thought out match three style game. They have also opted to place the game in Mexico and made use of the rich cultural history of the Aztec people.

I will be reviewing Treasures of Montezuma 1 and 2 in this review, both released by Alawar Entertainment.

Heroes of Might and Magic III Complete
Game Category: Turn Based Strategy
Developer / Distributor: New World Computing / 3DO Company
Release Date: 28 Feb 1999
Rating: ESRB - Everyone

Introduction
The Heroes of Might and Magic (HoMM) series is for me the definitive turn based strategy game in the entire history of gaming. Since its humble beginnings in 1995, the game has already seen six iterations.

PS - The latest version, HoMM6 is set to be released next month.

I love this game a lot

Incidentally, the rich fantasy world, characters and concepts in HoMM is shared by a great number of other games that bear the Might and Magic and the Heroes tags. The other games include the equally well-known and respected Might and Magicseries of role playing games, a couple of first and third person shooters (Crusaders of Might and Magic, Legends of Might and Magic, and the more recent Dark Messiah of Might and Magic), and even a card game by the name of Arcomage.

Tonight, I will be talking specifically about HoMM3 Complete. I have had HoMM3 Complete for many years now, and every now and then I would take it out to play this game again and again (unlike HoMM4, and HoMM5 which I keep safely in my collection of games).

Multiplayer is fun

This is a compilation of the main HoMM3 game also known as The Restoration of Erathia, plus its two expansions Armageddon's Blade and The Shadow of Death. When combined together onto one collection, you get a whopping 18 campaigns to play through. Throw in another 159 game maps to explore and I think that's more than enough to last a life time of turn based strategizing.

Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard
Game Category: Party Game, Kids
Developer / Distributor: Phoenix Studio / Ubisoft
Release Date: 24 Sep 2010
Rating: ESRB - Everyone (10+), PEGI 7+


Note: The Amazon link I am sponsoring at right is the link to the movie, the link to the game (which has no image to show) is available over here. A picture of the game box can be found over at the Ubisoft's microsite.

Introduction
Here I go again, taking my blog in another direction (my first party game review). Today's PC game ties in with Luc Besson's vision of a fantasy world - one where he brings to life the story (on paper and on film) of Arthur, our young protagonist of the story, who gets to go on his second adventure with the Minimoys.

It seems that there's no website out there on the Internet who has reviewed this game. I sincerely wonder why? Although targeted at kids, I thought that Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (or more commonly known as Arthur et la vengeance de Maltazard in France) is quite a fun party game for 2 players, especially one that emphasizes on cooperation in the Adventure Campaign game as well as the stand alone Mini-Games Chest. This is an excellent game for bonding with your kid, and if you have never seen the movie before, you may just want to see it with your kid after playing this.

Care to party with your kids?

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Game Category: Racing
Developer / Distributor: Sumo Digital / Sega
Release Date: 3 Mar 2010

Introduction

I can't wait

I still remember the days when I played Sonic the Hedgehog on my Sega Mega Drive console back before the turn of the century. I later read that Sonic was actually Sega's answer to Nintendo's Mario in their console wars. Boy, that article really boosted my ego back then, I was the proud owner of a great game featuring the coolest mascot I had ever known.

Rocketing more than 10 years into the future, it seems that Sonic the Hedgehog is very much alive, considering that he has seen so many releases in so many genres. Let's see, it seems Sonic is not only famed for his platforming action game, but he has also appeared in role playing games, party games, pinball games, and even education games. Seems like nothing's going to stop my favorite little hedgehog.

Lots of style

Tonight's focus is however on Sonic and his pals in his newest racing game. It's his third foray into racing on the PC and I think it's also one of the best yet. Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing features a whole ton of fun - with 24 courses, 20 racers, and 32 music tracks all coming from various Sega games (which justifies the All-Stars tag in the game title). All these goodies are waiting for you to unlock as you race in the Grand Prix and aim to complete the All-Stars Mission Mode.

Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing is really a mouthful for a title isn't it? I'll abbreviate it to SSASR for the purpose of this review.