Stronghold Kindoms

Stronghold Kingdoms
Price (at time of posting): Freemium (free to play, premium play available for purchase)
Style: Simulation, Medieval, Strategy, Massively Multiplayer
Developer: FireFly Studios
Released: 28th May 2009 (27th Feb 2012 on Steam)

Description

Stronghold Kingdoms (SK) is a massively multiplayer simulation strategy game based in medieval Great Britain. Create villages, build castles, complete research, repeat. Released on Steam  in February 2012, this game is free to play with premium upgrades available for purchase.

Gameplay

Tactics play a large part of this SK, the placement of buildings and structures determine how efficient your villages are at gathering resources and your castles are at defending against attacks.

SK isn't a game you can sit and play for hours on end (most of the time). As villages get larger, buildings take longer to erect (by the time you have about 40 buildings, you are looking at 45 minutes to and hour for each new structure). Research also takes longer the further you get (at 130 research tasks completed, new tasks take 3-4 hours).

You can also build up your castle, but some materials and structures can take up to an hour to build (after a major fortification, expect to wait a week or more for it to complete).

Buying a Premium Coin allows you to create a queue of 5 buildings or 5 research tasks so that your villages continue to expand and your research team keeps working without you needing to log in 12 times a day. $5 will get you two weeks with a Premium Coin, $8 will get you a month.

Review

Meehandlebars
Rating: 5

In my opinion, this game is good as a time filler. I don't think that it's a game that most people can get a large sense of accomplishment out of, but it definitely gives you a game to play while you wait for your buddies to sign on or argue over what to play next.

This game is equivalent to a nicotine patch for smokers... it get's you by until you can get to your next game.

Play this game if:
You like strategy sim games, and you like having a game to fill your time in between other games. When I play, I usually log on for about 20 minutes so I can research, add to my village and castle, and convert peasants to soldiers.

Don't play this game if:
You can't live without instant gratification or if you don't enjoy games that don't have a lot of action.

Unsalted38
Rating: 5

Going with meehandlebars on this, it is a filler, like the pink slime I used to eat in high school. Nothing overly wrong with it, but nothing really redeeming either. Granted, I didn't give this a fair shake as I'm not sold on F2P games (TF2 is the exception). But before I get into the details, let me congratulate the website designers on creating your account because this has to be the model that all account required games should follow. All the work can be done from the homepage, and its so user friendly you feel guilty not completing it, amazing. It would be like visiting the Louvre and not even glancing at the Mona Lisa.

Unfortunately that seems to be the high point of the games experience. Once installed and logged in you are guided by a tutorial that does what it sets out to, but really doesn't guide you. You go through the motions but at the end you feel like you just click a bunch of arrows. Games of 'ol didn't have these guides, and I feel like the iPhone-as-console concept is reducing the need for a human interface.

Play this game if:

You really truly have no money.

Don't play this game if:

Value your time.

Links

Get the game on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/47410/
Information about the game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stronghold_Kingdoms
Strategy Guide: http://help.strongholdkingdoms.com/index.php/Main_Page

Realm of the Mad God

Realm of the Mad God
Price (at time of posting): Free
Style: Action, RPG, MMO
Developer: Wild Shadow Studios
Publisher: Kabam
Released: 20th Jun 2011

Description

WTF did I just shoot?

Realm of the Mad God (RMG) is an action/arcade style massively multiplayer role playing game (MMORPG) produced with a groundbreaking multithreaded loadbalanced 4D graphics engine. Just kidding, it’s a top down 2D Flash style game. It’s not like you can complain. When exactly did you get rid of your NES?

RMG, like most indie games, has couple different features than your typical MMO, first being graphically simple. And the other? Shooting everything, from all directions, all the time! This game will test your ability to track several objects at once and process information. This leads to brain fatigue, which complements the permadeath that users experience if they, well... die. Rounds are short and action packed, which is great for a game that is free to play and can lead to some fun times in-between loading sessions of Battlefield 3 on a DSL connection.

Gameplay

The game (available on Steam) is of the Free to Play model with users spending their money on characters or or upgrades or not and just play the game. The game encourages you to play coop due to the way the developers distribute experience, equally to all players engaged, which of course is a great community growth instrument.

Starting from the Nexus, a central safe area, a user can enter a realm (again, hopefully with a friend or 5) and start shooting away. As mentioned earlier, this is a projectile heavy shooter game which is a stark contrast to classic RPG genre but definitely fits within the arcade/action style of this game. Aim well, pace yourself and shoot anything that moves. The mechanics are pretty straight forward as is the 14 classes which, as expected, vary the weapons/speed/defense characteristics of your player. Just don't expect to experience more than a handful of classes without devoting major energy into advancing.

Money is indeed optional here, only cutting down on some time required, which honestly isn't required here in great amounts when most gaming sessions last less than an hour. Overall, your impression of this game will depend on your aversion to pixelated graphics, how many friends you have, and the general feel of the game which is actually a great foundation to an independently developed game.

Review

Meehandlebars  
Rating: 2

This game... has potential. That's a nice way of saying I don't like this game. To me, it is not worth the 38.4 MB that it takes up on my 750 GB hard drive. The first five minutes were entertaining, learning the mechanics of the game: Where do I go? What do I shoot at? When can I change to a different class? Why is this the same thing over and over? When can I change to a different class? When will I see something new? When can I change to a different class? Why can’t I name my character myself? When can I change to a different class? YAY, I unlocked a new class! This new class sucks! Why do I have to play as this class so I can advance to the next class? Is BF3 done loading yet?

The permadeath thing surprises you the first time, too. Level up your character and collect better gear, die, and cuss at your monitor for not warning you that risk is not rewarded in this game.

OK, the lag! THE LAAAAAAGGGGGGG! I was running into black squares of unrendered environment as enemies would stop and submarine to the other side of the screen. Also, don't be surprised if it takes a full second/ second and a half to stop moving, on account of the effing lag.

Play this game if:

You have low self-esteem or if you don’t deserve legitimate games. 

Don't play this game if:

You expect content, development, graphics, plot or quality.

Unsalted38  
Rating: 5

RMG is like a perfect storm of my most dreaded parts of games (yes it’s going to be one of those reviews): it’s a mindless shooter; it’s an RPG; it has permadeath; it’s an upsell machine; and it’s got a truly buggy interface.

If you are saying to yourself “Come on ‘Salted, its free and action packed. How can you complain about that?” Because I can, that’s why!

Shooters in my opinion require little to no thought, no strategy, just raw processing speed. It makes for interesting moments but is ultimately unfulfilling. RPGs are the Toyota Camrys of the gaming world. It’s like all game developers are reading the same fantasy playbook. Permadeath is a concept I can come to like, since all racing games punish you heavily for making mistakes, but when you spend your time leveling up and leveling up only to slip in concentration for a moment and start over, feels hollow. This is of course is 100% subjective to the game at hand as you can see from my general like of FTL's permadeath mechanic. In between all of this I’m constantly being upsold using ads that appear to be constructed by a recent marketing major from India. PRO TIP: To developers, don’t design your ads to distract from the game. Games are like movies to most folks and they don’t mind you holding a Pepsi but please don’t hold it label out in front of the camera.

Saving the best of the worst…by far…is the interface (disclaimer: I only tried the Steam version).

The lag is, hard to describe, and no it doesn't feel like the lag we are used to from DSL days. It’s an interface lag, as if your mouse commands are processed the same way as a steering wheel on mid 90’s Dodge dually (a 2 axle pickup truck for those of that aren't from a red state). To make the game worse, simply full screen. That’s right, the game gets worse when full screened. Talk about disposable gaming. The interface lag alone is enough to discourage you from playing, but if not let’s look at some of my gameplay notes:

• I don’t want to be a wizard, how is this free exactly?
• Tutorial turns into Frogger
• Why…am I shooting cum?
• Just isn’t designed to be full screened
• Basic functions like pressing Esc to view a menu don’t work
• Cursor icon is hard to see…which makes windowed gameplay that much harder
• Hard to play co-op with an actual friend

This game seems to be a love it or hate it affair which is good for the asking price. If you do love it, it will be cause of the hollow gratification you get from leveling up and the mindless shooting which reminds you of NES games of the past. There is some good with this game but the bad just overwhelms me from even wanting to talk about them.

Play this game if:

You have some time between loading screens, and literally get off to ranking up.

Don't play this game if:

Enjoy the immersive and responsive qualities to most games.

Links

Get the game: http://www.realmofthemadgod.com/
Get the game: http://store.steampowered.com/app/200210/

Information about the game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realm_of_the_Mad_God

Strategy Guide: http://realmofthemadgod.wikia.com/wiki/Realm_of_the_Mad_God_Wiki

FlatOut

FlatOut
Price (at time of posting): $7.49
Style: Racing, Demolition Derby
Developer: Bugbear Entertainment
Publisher: Empire Interactive/Konami/Valve Corporation/Strategy First
Released: 12th Jul 2005

Description

Getting started

FlatOut isn't your normal racing game. Sure, there is a start and a finish, and you aspire to secure first place, but getting there isn't as straightforward as most racing games. Featuring a demolition derby aspect to the gameplay, FlatOut both rewards and punishes you for causing chaos and mayhem during your race. Throw in some movie-style "getting thrown from the car" ragdoll physics and you have a unique racing game.

Let's get some Nitro

Gameplay

Pick one of 16 cars (until you get more money, you can usually only afford the first few), then go make money. Use your earnings to buy a better car or to upgrade your existing one with engine parts, wheels, suspension, etc.

There are three ways you can earn money in FlatOut. The first is to place 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a race (amounts depend on the track, ranging from $300-$4000). With 5 different types of tracks, you will find some diversity in the racing environments. The second is to cause destruction to the track and the other cars (which slows you down), but you can earn much more by placing instead. And lastly, earn money in the Bonus section by completing that stage's stunt (we often see who can get the best score from the High Jump).

Get out of my way

The demolition derby aspect is one of the things that sets this game apart from most other racing games. As you race, you will likely hit a few barrels, cars, signs, etc. Doing so will start to wreck your car (and earn you much desired Nitro). Eventually, your engine will catch on fire, your shot suspension will have you bouncing up and down on flat pavement, and you will list towards which wheels have sustained the most damage. Resetting will not fix your car, you have to restart to do that.

Just a little higher

The other feature that helps make this game unique is the ragdoll physics. Get hit from the front hard enough and you will be expelled from the windshield like you are in a James Bond movie. Having such forceful wrecks bring a somewhat comical element to the game.

The ragdoll physics are also what make the Bonus stunt games possible. Eject yourself at will to attempt to smash that stunt's high score. Mocking  track and field events, the stunts are aptly named (e.g. Long Jump and High Jump are the first two events). Different "places" are set to point ranges, rewarding you with money for more upgrades.

After each race or stunt, you are automatically shown a replay. The replay has some pretty decent cinematics. All of the gameplay screenshots came from the replays, but mostly because it is hard to capture good action screenshots while you are driving (and trying to create those action shots).

Review

Meehandlebars
Rating: 3

Personally, the worst type of game is a straight racing game (Unsalted38 hates when I say that). Even though I don't like racing games, I can stand this one for a little while. The comically exaggerated ragdoll physics keep me from turning this game off after 5 minutes (I can sometimes make it to 20 minutes).

The Bonus section also keeps me from thinking that this is a racing game. Trying to out-high jump my buddies will keep me interested for a few extra minutes.

Maybe it's my perfectionist/completionist approach coupled with my lack of skill in racing games that makes me hate them so much. Nevertheless, I just can't stand them. That being said, this game gets a generous 3 because it is much more tolerable than most racing games I have attempted to play.

Play this game if:

You love racing games, or if you want to experience a new type of racing experience.

Don't play this game if:

You think that racing games are as boring as I do, or you don't have $7.50 to chuck down the drain.

Unsalted38
Rating: 6

So, let’s just get this out in the open. This is a terrible racing game, but not for the reason you would think or what Meehandlebars thinks either. Clearly this is a game that was designed by committee. The ragdoll physics is forced and disjointed from the rest of the racing mechanics, and the whole concept of gaining boost by crashing into objects (which always, always ends with you losing a few places) is just cruel. You may say that Burnout uses the same design, but you would be wrong. Burnout does reward risky behavior but often that behavior is unavoidable during faster races, and often doesn't punish you too much if you take it too far. In contrast, FlatOut tempts you to go-out-of-your-way to hit objects only to punish you excessively for using that gameplay mechanic. I've lost count of how many times I was falling slightly behind only to hit an orange cone and fall to last place. No joke, you go to the back of the pack with .5 seconds of boost gained.

Now that we got that out of the way, let me tell you why this is an amazing racing game. It has heavy, slow cars that don’t need motion blur to give you a sense of speed. It has damage that is a good compromise between visual only and drivability effects. It has a variety of tracks (with the winter ones being my favorite and the more challenging). Eventually, and this is one of the few games I played to the end, it teaches you to race like an actual race driver despite the committee driven gameplay mechanics. You will learn to pace yourself and the damage to your car, drive consistent around the turns, and don’t rely on boost to make up the distance.

That being said, the learning curve is artificially too high, and the disjointed feel of the whole thing limits its appeal and replayability. Only the most dedicated racing fan will play more than a few hours of this at all, and he/she will never actually like the game. 

Play this game if:

Like simulation racing games but want a slightly arcade like experience.

Don't play this game if:

Like simulation racing games but want a slightly more fun racing experience.

Links

Get the game: http://store.steampowered.com/app/6220/ ($7.49)

Information about the game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FlatOut_(video_game)

Strategy Guide: http://flatout.wikia.com/wiki/FlatOut_%28First%29 (unfinished)
Strategy Guide: http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=141598&rid=131570

Coming up: FlatOut

Coming up: FlatOut

Check back later this week as we review FlatOut, a demolition derby style racing game.

In the meantime, check out our past reviews. Don't forget to subscribe.

FTL: Faster Than Light

FTL: Faster Than Light Price (at time of posting): $10 or $9.99 Style: Space Sim, Strategy, Action, Single Player, Roguelike Developer: Subset Games Released: 14th Sep 2012

Description

FTL: Faster Than Light is a single player space sim that is somewhat roguelike. Roguelike is a sub-genre of RPG (Role Playing Game) where almost all elements are random, death is permanent and gameplay is turn-based. FTL is somewhat roguelike because only some of the elements are random, death is permanent and gameplay is real-time (as opposed to turn-based). Strategy is key when determining how to upgrade your ship so you can beat the game.

Gameplay

As for the object of the game: you are carrying information that can help keep the rebels from taking over the galaxy. Fight your way through 8 sectors of space and deliver the information to your superiors. Then destroy the final boss to save the galaxy from oppression.


Plan ahead and upgrade smartly. You can upgrade all of you ship's systems (engines, weapons, shields, etc.), but you need to buy power bars before you can give life to your upgrades. Buy weapons and drones from stores, but make sure you have enough explosives and drone parts or you'll find yourself defenseless. Oh, and DON'T run out of fuel. You are screwed if you run out of fuel.

You'll eventually unlock more ships to pilot (9 in total), each with strengths and weakness. Recruit crew members from 7 different races (also their own strengths and weaknesses) to man your ship. Any way you do it, this game is HARD (even on easy). You will need to find that perfect balance to even MAKE it to the end, let alone beat the game.

By the way, the screenshots in this post are low quality to keep the file size small. The actual game doesn't have mind-blowing graphics, but it does have a crisp look.


Review

Meehandlebars Rating: 6 I like this game. At least I did the first dozen time I failed miserably (on easy, I might add). In fact, i would have give this game an 8 a few weeks ago, but replayability just ran out for me. This game is space Oregon Trail, but instead of picking a profession, you are picking a ship. And when you get to "Oregon," there is a giant that is trying to kill you and take over the US. I have to admit that the game is designed extremely well. Complicated enough to make it challenging, but not so complicated that it's impossible to learn. Now, let's talk about the randomness... This game is  random. (how random is it?) It's so random, that over the dozen times I've played (and failed), I have found new weapons, drones and augmentations that I hadn't seen yet. OK, I so badly wanted to beat this game (and couldn't) that I cheated. I used a hacking program to alter my stats and gave me unlimited resources. Without this, I would have given up before acquiring the necessary skills to beat this game properly. Play this game if: You want to relive Oregon Trail, but give it a different feel or if you like space sims. Don't play this game if: You have to beat games, but have no patience, or if strategy sims with RPG elements aren't your style.

Unsalted38 Rating: 8 A bit of disclosure is needed here. I admit to wanting to design a game strikingly similar to FTL for a while now. Pretty much it was going to be FTL with more of a story and less turn based gameplay. Nevermind, I'll never actually get to make that game so let’s talk about this one! Check the description for the details about the game itself, but in a nutshell this is a tightly packaged highly focused character building space game version of Oregon Trail. It excels in so many areas I feel I may be missing some, but here is a short list: Perfect tutorial Perfect interface Genius power management Unforgiving randomness The last point on my list seems negative, however it’s really refreshing to see truly random events. Modern games are using advanced AI to adjust the difficulty dynamically (think Left4Dead series) but if you stop and think about it, life is rarely that dynamic, and as a human we are conditioned to prepare for most eventualities. Going back to FTL, I've had games end in as little as 10 turns due to a random collection of events; either I wasn't prepared to handle missiles or invader hoards or a combo of the two. One game ended when all my crew was killed from putting out fires, then the invaders and my last crew got hit in route to the med bay by a random missile hit. I just sat there in my chair in shock. How could I be mad at the game, it hadn't “cheated” me, just tossed an odd setup of an enemy I wasn't entirely ready to defend against. What I don't like can be summed up into two points. First, the game is amazingly hard. On easy. Beating this thing is really saying that you have invested hours into mapping out all the paths and ship setups to find one that works with your style of play (I’ll be impressed BTW). On the other hand I can report that this doesn't stop you from replaying the game but it does discourage you a bit. Second the story here is as weak as the IP laws in China. Then again Oregon Trail didn’t have/need a story but with a game this good I wished it had something else there to bring me into it a bit more. Maybe that’s modern games influencing me, but I've had several games that were repetitive yet I kept playing just to see how the story played out. Far Cry 2 and Vietcong come to mind. These negatives can be summed up as subjective, so your mileage may vary. Play this game if: You like Oregon Trail You like classically straightforward space games Resource management sounds exciting You like a challenge Don't play this game if: Graphics are a major component to your game purchase decision You appreciate stories in your games

Links

Get the game: http://www.ftlgame.com/ ($10)
Get the game: http://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/ ($9.99)

Information about the game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTL:_Faster_Than_Light

Strategy Guide: http://ftl.wikia.com/wiki/FTL:_Faster_Than_Light_Wiki

Coming Up: FTL: Faster Than Light

Coming up: FTL: Faster Than Light

Check back later this week as we review FTL: Faster Than Light, a roguelike space sim.

Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 Price (at time of posting): Free Style: First Person Shooter, Action, Team, Multiplayer Developer: Valve Publisher: Valve Released: 10th Oct 2007

Description

Nice hat

A staple for LAN parties worldwide, Team Fortress 2 (TF2) is a fast-paced team-based first person shooter. With a 9 year production schedule, this much awaited sequel to Team Fortress (a team-based multiplayer mod of Half-Life that eventually stood on its own as Team Fortress Classic, or TFC for short), keeps the same elements that made the original great and added the source engine (released with Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source). Pepper in some cartoony caricatures based on the original "cast" and you have one of the most played free games (if not the most) in today's gaming culture.

Let's do this!

Classes

Pretty standard as far as FPS's go, having a familiar feel allows you to master the controls easily enough. The tough part is deciding which of the nine unique classes work best for your playing style. Divided into 3 types (offensive, defensive and support), each class has its advantages and disadvantages to make the whole gaming experience feel balanced (except when it's n00b vs pwner). Sprint past everyone as a Scout, hand out lead poisoning with the Heavy's (Heavy Weapons) Gatling gun, disguise yourself as an opposing layer as a Spy, light your buddy on fire with the Pyro's flamethrower, throw the Demoman's sticky grenades on your enemy's

I heart you

face, construct the Engineer's turret, ubercharge your teammate as a Medic, rocket jump as a Soldier, or pick off rebels from a perch as a Sniper. Mastering a class will take time and dedication (and plenty of junk food to fuel your game binge), but you'll eventually pick a favorite and laugh in your friends' ear holes as you get that one perfect shot.

Doing it just for the classic sound FX

Game Modes

If you think there are too many classes to ever make up your mind, you'll need to take a deep breath before you decide which game mode you'll pick up first. An FPS classic (especially because of TFC), Capture the Flag... errr, Briefcase... is fast-paced, scramble your ass off, grenade/rocket jumping (if you're good enough) action. Payload is an interesting twist on "advance and conquer" style of game, while Control Point and Territorial turn you into prey as you stand in the open while trying to capture points. You'll probably need to take a break (if you've even made it this far) before you try the other four game modes: King of the Hill, Arena, Medieval and MvM (Mann vs Machine).

Review

Meehandlebars Rating: 9 I really enjoy this game. This franchise will always rank among my favorites, partly because TFC (TF2's predecessor) is the game that got me into gaming. Even without the extra sentiment, TF2 is an exceptionally exciting game at LAN parties, and it should be added to your game list. I have to admit, I felt a rollercoaster of emotions when this game was announced (because of my love of TFC). First, I was excited that a sequel game was coming out, then I was bummed that the cartoon-like approach wasn't that similar to the original gameplay. When I eventually got TF2, I was upset for being so stubborn and missing out on some great TF2 playing time. When it came out, it wasn't free. I waited a year and bought it for $30 (and thought I was getting a steal then!). This game for free?! As far as free FPSs go, this game is THE benchmark (perhaps because the production level is that of a paid game?). As Steam's first game in the "Free to Play" genre, the proverbial floodgates were opened to a deluge of free and freemium games. This game was the catalyst, and you should thank Steam for the amount of free games today. Play this game if: You like fast-paced team-based FPS's or you like campy humor from animated characters (pun intended). Don't play this game if: You don't play well with others, or if thinking games are more your speed.

Unsalted38 Rating: 8 Having played (and paid) for this game when it first came out I can perhaps tell you a little more about its  overall progress than your average person downloading it right now. First of all this is the free-to-play (F2P) model game that every other F2P game should be compared against. You may say, well that's not really fair since the game started as a traditional (buy from a store) game but I say that's part of  its story in that they already paid off the development with their most likely customer base (people like me and Meehandlebars). Then instead of letting the community fade until they turn the servers off they opened the game up to their customers' friends under the free to play model. This move ensures the customers who paid money for the game continue to enjoy it years afterward with a vibrant community.  My hat (pun intended) is off to Steam for this crossover success. I may not have shared my counterpart's excitement when I first started playing, but now, I really enjoy getting a group of friends together and playing a few rounds between other games. Play this game if: You are at a LAN party searching for a game to maintain the gaming momentum.  Don't play this game if: You are looking for a game to play in your basement by yourself.

Links

Get the game: http://www.teamfortress.com/

Information about the game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Fortress_2

Strategy Guide: http://tf2wiki.net/wiki/Main_Page

Welcome to DualReviewal

Welcome to DualReviewal:

At DualReviewal, we are always on the lookout for free and affordable PC games that we can satiate our gaming desire without removing the ability to save for retirement (where we will be able to play games longer without pesky work getting in the way).

Check back next week as we review our first game: Team Fortress 2.

We know it's a hugely popular game, but as far as free games are concerned this is one of the obvious starting points.

If you already know and love the game: congratulations, you're not a total n00b. Just remember to subscribe and come back to check out more reviews of free and affordable games. You might just find a few gems you otherwise wouldn't have known existed.

If you don't know this game, (you should question your gamer cred and then) check out our review coming up. If it sounds like something you'd enjoy, give it a try. If not, just remember to subscribe and come back to check out more reviews of free and affordable games for all you budget conscious gamers (I feel like I'm starting to repeat myself).