Recent reviews by grdell

I love the game but can't progress very far in it because it keeps crashing. Until they fix the crash bugs, I cannot recommend it.

I so wanted to like this game, I really did, but holy crap what a GD waste of money. DO NOT BUY. NOT EVEN ON SALE. There is NO explanation of what you're supposed to be doing, the controls are AWFUL, and there is no way to just experience the story without being forced into the mysterious gameplay that sucks. There's CONSTANT interjections from the characters that you're doing everything wrong with no explanation of what's RIGHT. How the hell are you supposed to learn anything that way? The "tutorial" teaches nothing - just throws you into the deep end and constantly tells you you're doing it wrong.

Like I said, I really wanted to like it. But it seems like the devs didn't want me to.

This game is pointlessly merciless. Must have been designed for the truly masochistic gamer. Even the tutorial is punishing - you get limited resources, the mechanics are not accurately described, and then you use up the precious resources you're given trying to "figure it out for yourself" (In a tutorial? Why? Isn't that what a tutorial is *for*?) with no possibility of replacement. And even then, you *still* don't know what you're doing. I'd rather not spend my time doing web searches trying to figure it out when it isn't even worth it.

I've only begun to scratch the surface, really, but already I am enjoying this game tremendously. It's very grindy when it comes to gathering enough materials to build what you want to build, but that's okay really. Keep the wiki handy, though, as the game itself explains next to nothing. All in all, I enjoy it and recommend it for anyone who likes survival crafting games.

Definitely the spiritual successor to the Dungeon Keeper franchise, this game expands upon that successful formula like any good sequel should. My only complaint is that it is a bit more stressful than the originals, with a pace and a challenge that is definitely more intense. But if that's your thing, then you'll love this game. Overall, very solid, and I highly recommend to anyone who misses the old DK games.

At first I liked it. I found a faction that looked like it matched my playstyle (non-violent advancement of science) but by the time I reached the fourth goal in the main storyline quest it FORCED me to declare war on one of my allies. Why, if I'm playing a non-violent science-based faction, am I being forced into war with an ally? This fact alone broke my faith in this game completely. It's not a very good 4X game if it forces you into a playstyle you are not comforatble with. You should be able to play whomever you want, however you want. Keep your $35. I wish I could get mine back.