Recent reviews by Raven

Still some way to go (but it's early access, so that's to be expected). The core gameplay is extremely satisfying, and the game itself is much more thematically tight than its predecessor titles in the Wargame series.

Rather than trying to cover decades, WARNO focuses on a specific moment of alt-history and the game reflects that by giving you historical divisions with a more or less historical TO&E for that moment. The American Armored division is full of Bradleys and top shelf main battle tanks. Soviets are actually attacking with waves of modern T-80 variants.

When it works, WARNO stands head and shoulders above either Wargame or Steel Division. While the early access is still light on content, that should be remedied in the coming weeks and months along with any balancing issues. It's clear that very soon WARNO will be the game Eugen fans have been waiting for - if enough of them are left willing to give it a chance.

Worthy successor to the Wargame franchise. RTS combat on a grand scale, and no other game offers the same sort of experience. Excellent in single player and multiplayer.

Steep learning curve, be prepared to invest time and effort. But if you learn the game, it's a deep and satisfying experience.

This game has really met and exceeded all of my expectations and I highly recommend it.

Dying Light provides some unique mechanics that differentiate it from other similar games - Parkour, and Day/Night Cycle.

The parkour works very well, I'd even say seamless. You can climb virtually any surface that's got handholds, and visually the parkour is well done as well - your character's hands go to their proper places like grabbing handholds rather than just clutching at air as you climb up a wall. What's more, the parkour mechanic is more than just fun - it's necessary. The volume of zombies in the streets is usually too high not to use the roofs to travel, which adds a realistic element when combined with what's basically total freedom to climb and go where you want to.

The Day and Night cycle is also well done - at Night, a more vigorous form of zombie comes out and you go from the Hunter to the Hunted, trying to avoid these quick, frightening monsters. The sound effects are also great - anguished howls at the transition to night, radio traffic and tolling bells signal when night is about to fall. Only heavily fortified 'safe zones' lined with UV lights keep the survivors safe at night. From an atmospheric standpoint, this makes night time very creepy. In the early game you'll find yourself avoiding night at the plague, while later on you become powerful enough to venture out yourself - but never without danger.

Another important element is obviously combat - and you will find this both visceral and satisfying.

The length is also pretty good - I have 42 hours on record and I'm only about 2/3rds of the way through the game, albeit paying a lot of attention to side quests. There's also a 'Story+' mode to look forward too where you start the game over, but with all of your unlocks and weapons.

The major downside I've encountered is the high system requirements, as it is a console port unfortunately. My laptop has a lot of trouble running this game, but even so I've enjoyed myself immensely. But if you can run the game, I would say it's well worth the buy.

Wargame: Airland Battle, like it's predecessor European Escalation, offers a unique strategic experience by putting you in the shoes of Cold War-era commander managing hundreds of different types of units over maps that are dozens of square kilometers.

Though it has a very steep learning curve, the tactical combinations and realistic combat offer an unparelleled gameplay that would be reminscient of a larger scale,
hardcore, modern-day Total War game.