Recent reviews by Tasos0079

This is a fantastic city builder which has a lot to offer and a steep learning curve. At first, even at the easiest setting the game might seem overwhelming with lots going on. With a little bit of practice and by paying attention to the tutorial popups one gets an immediate handle upon the various mechanics. Graphics are aesthetically very pleasing and the game can be really pleasant once you set up your food producing engine. Recommended, but be prepared for a challenge if you are new to the city building/survival scene.

Summary Review: A guarded yes. This is a turn based tactical game with some character management, base management and stealth elements thrown in. Essentially, this is an XCOM2 Lite with a sprinkling of some Desperados Lite. Should you pay top coin for this game? Well, for 50 Euros I had more expectations, primarilly with regards to base building (non-existent), base management (pretty basic), character customization (adequate, but could use more features).

If you want a somewhat easier ride than XCOM2 without having to worry too much about base/character optimization then this is for you. Due to the fact that post XCOM2, there are other games out there that do a much better job at turn based tactics (See the suberb "Expeditions: Rome" by THQ Nordic) whilst asking for less money, I can only recommend this as a "purchase when in sale". Although I like the combat and the characters combine their abilities really well together, this game isn't worth 50 Euros as it is.

This game represents an amazing achievement for this developer. It is astonishing how well crafted this game is for the amount of money asked. The content is simply huge, it's absolutely guaranteed that you won't play the same game twice. This game is a mix between a logistics game, a city builder and a rogue lite. It reminds me more of the Anno series but without this huge pressure that comes after a while. There is a steep learning curve but this game eases you gently one step at a time. And once you've understood what it is that you should be doing, it all falls beautifully in place. Amazing game, amazing effort, other AAA studios that produce 60 Euro/dollar supposedly AAA titles should take note of how it's done.

The game is nicely made and it does cover an area which was sparsely populated but there are a few caveats for those interested (and really, STEAM's binary Yes or No system has to be changed to a points system):

1. First of all, so far, this is a copy of an existing game, Motorsport Manager with the added bonus that Frontier has access to all the F1 licensed material. The drivers, cars, voice overs, F1 theme, car sponsors, you name it! Everything is authentic and that gives a very nice feel to the game. I mean who doesn't like to play an F1 game which starts with the original F1 anthem. But as I said earlier, you must keep in mind that this is, in its core, a copy of an existing 2016 game.

2. There are some "teething" problems with the game, so to speak. First of all, driving and crash animations are not good. The cars seem to make way too aggressive swerving and the single car crashes are totally unrealistic both in animation and in results. I've had Sainz go out and crash the barriers in the Saudi Arabia GP in a crash which visually should have terminated his race and all he suffered was minor front wing damage.

3. Orders to your drivers are really very poor. You only have two options as far as direct commands go. The rest you have to figure out via Tyre, Fuel and ERS usage. There should have been more orders, other than "hold back others" or "don't attack team mate".

4. Tire management in general is poor. First of all: during the race I can't easily tell what tire compounds my rivals are using which is a shame. Lap differentials due to different tire compounds are difficult to access and do not change (at least I haven't so far seen any changes after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs which I run fully from FP1 to the race) after FPs or Quali. During FPs you should have to discover the ideal compound just as you have to discover the ideal setup.

5. The information graphs above each driver were a bit difficult to decipher, at least at first. Also, I haven't been able to create custom, cross-comparison reports between drivers which is something that the TV coverage regularly offers.

6. Sponsor handling seems a bit bland at least for the time being. For instance, after ten hours of playing I haven't found out if you are able to choose where to place tittle sponsors on the car, something which you could do in Motorsport Manager. Also, I see sponsor events on the calendar for which there is zero interaction.

7. Voice-overs are great and the sounds are awesome. You hear the real drivers and the real mechanics just like in F1 TV coverage.

8. You should have been able to handle the press, answering questions with answers which have different consequences, just like in the FIFA series. Also, you should have been able to have a mini-game where you can actually design your facilities on the ground and gain potential synergies from building adjacencies. Right now, facility handling feels a bit bland. Upgrade this, get that bonus modifier.

All in all, this is a management game which was needed but which needs refining. If you haven't played Motorsport Manager before and do enjoy F1 and/or managing sims then by all means do buy this game. If you have played Motorsport Manager before and F1 copyright material is important to you then buy this game. If you have played Motorsport Manager and visuals/voice overs/F1 copyright material is unimportant to you then this game has very little to offer so far.

CONCLUSION: A guarded yes, but there are improvements needed.

As I'm writing this I've clocked 70 hours worth of gameplay and I've gone through three passes from Episode one up to Episode 8, that's how good this game is. I cannot stress just how good this game is. As far as Episode 2 is concerned:

- The music was already awesome, now it's even better. Seriously, the amount of time the creator has put to select the music is astounding. Some of these pieces have become my new favorites!

- The animation has much improved since the first episode and so has the quality of the images.

- The mini games are good fun and they can actually provide you with in game income.

- The story is magnificent! Forget the sex scenes, they are great, but this is not what this game is about. It's just astonishing how well the creator manages to juggle so many different characters, each with his or her own quirks and personality. The story is so well written and there are so many meaningful choices that I've managed to see new things through every playthrough.

To make a long story short: if you enjoy a good plot then BUY THIS! It's like reading a college "game of thrones"! For what it offers, this game sells dirt cheap. Can't wait for the third Episode!!! (as a matter of fact, as I'm waiting, I think I'll buy the guides and go through it a fourth time!)

If you like a good deduction mystery game then you could give this game a try. If you're a Crimes and Punishment fan then there are a few things that you should note:

1. The game has a lot of nice mechanisms but some of them seem a bit shallow. For instance, when observing someone you should be under some sort of time pressure to find out all clues. The chemical analysis mini game could have been a bit harder and there could have been more such puzzles to solve.
2. Some of the cases force you on tedious back and forth travelling, making you waste time for no apparent reason. The world is huge but the game doesn't give you too many reasons or benefits to explore it. There is so much more that they could have done here. Apart from being a completionist, there is no real reason to finish the side quests. They could have provided a skill tree to Sherlock and awarded XPs per case solved, this way you'd have a motive to finish all those side quests and stories.
3. The main stories are well written and their plots pan out nicely. It would have been really nice if they either had one correct answer per story or they provided statistics for the percentage of players choosing each possible outcome. As it is, you can end a story whichever way you wish and there is no consequence (at least for now) or benefit.
4. The learning curve for this game was a bit steep but once you get the hang of it, it becomes almost repetitive in nature. More mini-puzzles would have been welcome.
5. There are a few glitches especially with the narration of some cut-scenes but other than that the game plays nicely.

All in all, a good effort but it doesn't (yet) surpass Crimes and Punishment for me. If you are on the fence about this, either watch some gameplay videos before buying or wait for a sale.

This is a must buy for any amateur aviation enthusiast like me with a few disclaimers being added first.

1. You MUST have a joystick of some sort to play this game properly. Yes it can be played with a game pad and nominally, you could theoretically play this using the keyboard and mouse. Trust me, I've tried both and failed. Only with a joystick can you fully enjoy this game. If you don't already own a joystick or do not wish to commit 40-60 euros for a low end introductory one, you won't really enjoy this game.

2. This game cannot be refunded if you purchase it via STEAM. This game downloads 1,5 G as an installation file which then runs the game and demands a further whopping 152 Gs of downloads. This huge batch of files does not download via STEAM servers but instead utilizes Microsoft servers. Your landline speed does not matter for this download; you are at the mercy of Microsoft. I personally utilize a 100 Mbit VDSL connection which has very fast download speeds from STEAM. For this game, I had to leave the PC on overnight to do the job. Since this violates STEAM's 2 hour game running limit, you have absolutely no chance at a refund. The game has already run for 7-8 hours without you even having played a single minute.

3. This game is beautiful...if you have a high end PC to take advantage of it. You need high-end everything for this game to perform. GPUs are high in demand as is a good quality monitor, 16G RAM and a high end CPU. Don't attempt to buy this if you don't have the recommended specs.

4. Loading times are out of this world. No, your game hasn't stuck or isn't frozen. Yes it takes four to five minutes to start flying. That's how the game works. If you don't like it, don't buy it.

5. Tutorials are really nice as far as piston engine aircraft are concerned but I found them a bit lacking for jet aircraft. Even in beginner's settings the learning curve is steep. This isn't an arcade game. You really need to pay attention and even do a bit of research online for some flight school basics.

If you are happy with all of the above then yes, this game is really worth its hefty price tag.

As much as I hate to say it, this purchase has been a waste of my money. This game is not worth 40 Euros but that's not its main problem. This game is just plain boring. They've tried to do too many things at once and failed at everything. Dear developers, when something works (XCOM series) there's no shame in copying it and tweaking it slightly. There's no point in adding features upon features upon features which end up not making any sense together.

Positives:
- Really nice music
- I do like the character presentations and their diversity. It really does feel like I'm playing with a true mobster
- The tutorial is descent and will give you a nice introduction of game mechanics.

Negatives:
- AI at the moment is just plain crap and makes illogical moves all the time. Of course this is something which might be fixed in the future but you know...I'm sick and tired of paying top price money to get a beta. At least label it as an early release and price it accordingly.
- I totally dislike the real time element that is built within the city view. It's confusing and it doesn't allow me to plan for stuff.
- Diplomacy is bland, time consuming and you can play without it
- Questing feels bland
- Empire management is problematic. They've tried to do too many things and failed at all of them. There's too much to optimize and it's unclear how everything fits together.
- Scrolling in and out of the map can get glitzy at times. I assume it's something they'll fix in the future but there you go.

All in all, considering the money paid, this is an unsatisfactory purchase for me

This game offers an awesome story! Forget about the sex scenes, this isn't about that. This is truly a gripping story and a must buy!

I'm in my fourth playthrough of the game right now and it still amazes me just how well made this game is. Imagine that even during this fourth time I've still found new quests and new places which I haven't visited before, the world you play in is THAT massive. Graphics, for when the game was released, were really state of the art. What really stands out though are the excellent voice-overs, the breathtaking vistas, the intriguing side quests...I could go on and and on and on singing this game's praises. There is a little bit of everything to satisfy all interests and there are just so many different ways the main plot can go that even after all these hours I haven't seen them all. What I really enjoy though is Geralt's dry sense of humor and the amazing dialogues and funny scenes that the writers have managed to insert in. All in all, this game has spoiled me and has set the benchmark when it comes to open world RPGs. As a matter of fact, if something isn't as good as the Witcher I end up not playing it, that's how good this game is.