Recent reviews by Rad-Icarus

With just over Twelve Hours in, this game has delivered all I was asking for in a village building game.

Let's get the inevitable comparisons with other games out of the way.

- This is not Age of Empires or Civilization, but you will fight (on occasion) for your territory and there is a tech tree that will advance you through the prehistoric ages.

- This is not Banished, but you will create a workflow and watch your individually named villagers grow up, grow old, and eventually die. It's also a bit less harsh in general or I got lucky with my RNG. This doesn't mean it's easy - only that it is less challenging.

It's a great looking game, with solid music that sets the tone for a generally relaxing game with tense moments sprinkled in to keep you from getting too relaxed. Wild animals can wander too close, villagers can be exposed to the cold without proper clothing, infections can spread, and raiders may attack.

But the thing that grabbed me that I loved the most is how alive the game feels and how much you can set to automate and watch while making tweaks to the flow of production and deciding what to do next. These are prehistorical people and they are tough. They can fend off wild animals if they have the right weapon, or in numbers they can bring down large prey and eat well all winter. Resources feel appropriate to consumption and rate of depletion as well. Sometimes they do a mildly frustrating thing or act stupid, but these instances were rare and could be remedied with a few clicks and an understanding of how the game flows.

All in all, this is a really addictive mix of heavy city builder and lite-RTS. The villagers and their smooth animations at dozens of tasks will keep you interested in the moment, and the long term expansion goals and tech tree will keep you there for the long term.

I highly recommend.

One of the best open world adventure games I've played.

Capcom's fantasy epic is a hidden gem that allows quite a bit of freedom with beautiful environments and creepy dungeons to explore. You don't need to be especially invested in the fairly standard premise of being the hero reborn with a great destiny, but it provides a solid background for you to explore, loot, level, and complete quests across a vast land loaded with monsters and mystery tucked into every corner.

Really addictive game play loop.
Banished appears to be a stripped down city-builder, but it offers a lot of depth if you have the patience and like to think ahead a few steps.

There really is no one way to "win" and while the game can be unforgiving, there are multiple difficulty options for your survival strategy simulation sandbox experience.

I'm mixed about this game.

- It looks nice visually with a partially cell-shaded style that blends well and doesn't give off an overly cartoony presentation for the darker story and setting.

- It has some innovative systems that set is apart from other ARPGs like the crafting system and Technology VS Nature branches

- Loads of loot and gear with various properties that all appear on your character

- Endless character building options

But there are some issues.

- Some environments look nice, others are bland and feel low effort.

- Party management can be tricky, and controls can feel clunky

- Some bugs and crashes, along with some confusing and buggy quest objectives

Overall, if you just want to try a new Hack and Slash ARPG that isn't a diablo clone and you like to really build a customized character, this one will scratch that itch. None of it's drawbacks ever make the game feel broken, and you can adjust the dificulty from the standard easy to brutal difficulty right from the start.

I don't recommend this game to people looking to try the ARPG genre for the first time, as there are smoother experiences with a richer world to explore. For veterans, I recommend this is as a nice alternative to the big hitters that we've all played for hundreds of hours. There's enough depth and variety of loot to make it a satisfying experience.

Bot Vice does an amazing job of bringing fast 1990s era arcade quarter-eating action with all the modern conveniences of PC home gaming.

Having played Super Star Path, I had high hopes for this game from DYA and I wasn't let down. Bot Vice looks and feels like an authentic acrade dodge and shooter reminiscent of Neo-Geo and Capcom games from the early to mid 90s with beautiful spritework, nice controls, fast action, great music, and loads of challenge.

It can take a while getting used to all the controls, you're given a cover, roll, melee attack, shoot, aim, and weapon swap. You'll need to get a handle on all of them as enemies pelt you with waves of fire and direct attacks. This is arcade action at it's purest. DYA have done another great job of blending genres as their Super Star Path took ship shoot 'em ups and blended them with puzzles, Bot Vice blends top down shooters like Ikari Warriors and Shock Troopers with a gallery shooter like Operation Wolf or Terminator 2 for something unique and extremely fast paced.

Pros:

- Charming and well animated spritework
- Variety of colorful foes with varying attack patterns
- Destructible environments
- Variety of short term but devastating power up weapons
- Challenging but rewarding if you learn the controls

Git Gud and enjoy a super fast paced arcade action shooter!

This is a video game!

Just a short review of this one, Renegade Ops takes you back to the classic days of gaming when it was all about the gameplay and fast arcade action. The characters, setting, dialogue, and scenarios will all remind 80s and 90s kids of their favorite action cartoons, while the game itself will call back to classics like Jackal and Ikari Warriors,

Pros:

- Detailed graphics and destructible environments
- Great handling and controls
- Several vehicles with unlockable upgrades
- Classic 80s style story and villains
- Levels are long with multiple objectives, but never feel too long
- Difficulty is fair and never feels too hard or easy

To summarize, it's a great action game that provides a classic arcade era rush while updating the look and controls for modern gamers. If you are a fan of twin stick shooters, this is a must buy!

This game is called Sky Force Anniversary, but I have never played or even heard of the original version before jumping in and trying this one. That being said, I am a fan and experienced player of the arcade shoot 'em up or SHMUP as the genre has come to be known.

The typical SHMUP most often involves the player controlling a spaceship or aircraft battling through linear stages featuring waves of enemies, patterns of bullets, and large multi-stage bosses. Player characters frequently fall to one or just a few attacks, and can dish out increasingly ridiculous amounts of ordinance which they well need to break through those waves of enemies and bosses.

What this game attempts and largely suceeds in doing, is to adapt the often ridiculously difficult, action packed, and usually very short arcade experience to the home computer and console setting. The game does this in several smart ways. Powerups and items can be found in level, but in addition and more importantly, there is a "hangar" that acts as a shop where players use stars (the in game currency) to purchase permanent upgrades in addition to the shot powerups and sub weapons and shields that can be purchased and found within the stages themselves. They also added a set of objectives (like not taking any damage and rescuing civilians) that once completed unlock higher difficulty settings for each stage.

Now, where this game really shines is the gameplay itself.

The controls are smooth. Graphics and animations are detailed and represent a very cohesive visual style where 3D models and lighting represent the classic look and feel of some of the more impressive 2d spritework the genre is known for. Your ship rarely falls to a single attack, but you won't survive long if you aren't dodging and gunning down enemies. The skill level requirement ramps up evenly and it feels satisfying each time you conquer a new stage. Player deaths almost always feel like they were deserved and not cheap. End level bosses are big and threatening with multiple attacks and target points that must be destroyed.

That's not to say the game is without flaws.

There is a lack of stage motiffs and enemy types. You'll be facing mostly the same enemy types over the same ocean and island terrain for almost all of the game's nine main stages. The biggest difference between stages comes down to the layout, patterns of enemy attacks, and stage bosses. Even a few of the stage bosses repeat, but there are enough not to feel overused and they vary from giant battleships, to super tanks, to massive bombers and even some sci-fi themed mechanical monstrosities.

On top of the lack of stage variation, powering up your ship to be able to handle later stages requires lots of stars to purchase upgrades, and that means a bit of replaying or grinding stages. While this lengthens the gameplay and the stages are fun to play, the short nature of the genre and the lack of enemy or stage theme variety does become an issue here depending on your tolerance for repeating stages. You can shoot for the achievements while doing this, but a few more stages and enemy variety would have went a long way here.

As a fan of classic SHMUP games, I would reccomend this game especially to those new to the genre as it is more forgiving than the "Bullet Hell" sub-genre, and it features smooth, less stressful gameplay with pretty visuals and fair difficulty curve. For experts, this game is pretty and well crafted enough to provide a solid experience, and unlocking the higher difficulties for each stage will provide some challenge.

I have fond memories of playing the Shadowrun game on the Super Nintendo back in the 90s, but I've never delved into the tabletop game or novels. When I saw there were a series of Shadowrun games available for PC I was interested, and going on what I'd read in forums, I decided to jump in with Dragonfall - Director's Cut which is an enhanced stand-alone expansion for the previous title, Shadowrun Returns.


The game has you create a character with a great deal of customization options including gender, race, combat class, appearance, and even an advanced mode that lets you create a custom build from scratch. Once that's done, you're thrown into a heist with a crew of Shadowrunners - the term used for mercenaries in this dystopia/fantasy world hybrid - and things soon turn ugly as your team leader is mysteriously killed on what should have been a routine mission. This sets the tone for most of the well written, and well balanced campaign. You're running in the shadows doing questionable acts for often unscrupulous clients in order to uncover a greater plot and seek revenge for your fallen teammate.


The gameplay is segmented into two parts: You'll hang around the Kreuzbasar in Berlin which functions as a hub complete with story to investigate, team members to form relationships with, and merchants to buy weapons and upgrades from. Once you've got everything together, you head out on jobs to earn money, gain Karma (the in-universe term for experience) and advance character and story elements. This is the meat of the game and it plays out in turn based battles in the vein of XCOM or Divinity:Original Sin. You and your team will use guns, swords, magic, fists, remote controlled drones, performance enhancing drugs, and explosives to dispatch enemies and reach objectives.


Overall, I found the experience pleasant and addictive. I have a habit of not finishing RPGs, but this one kept me playing to the end with a pretty satisfying conclusion. As I mentioned before, the characters and plot are well written, and the world is a nice departure from generic swords and sorcery and heavy handed dystopia by instead combining the two genres pretty seamlessly. You really have to experience it to fully appreciate a world where Adam Jensen could hang out with a gun toting Legolas the elf. You'll often be presented with difficult moral and leadership choices as you muddle and force your way through the campaign.


Pros:

• Interesting story and characters
  
• Flexible character creation and game play
  
• Music that fits the atmosphere
  
• Workshop support, editor and player made mods to extend the experience
  
• Selectable difficulty

Cons:

• Campaign is a little short
  
• Isometric graphics are detailed and well implemented, but won't blow you away

I would recommend this game for fans of tactics games and role playing games. The unique setting is intriguing, and the campaign is well-written.

It's Super Alex Kidd Brothers in Adventure Islands!

Yes, this game delivers a fairly good approximation of many classic 8-bit games in a simple to understand homage to the mascot platformers of the 80s.

What I like about this particular retro-styled game is that it borrows and blends several classic franchises, without copying any single one completely to create it's own experience. Most notably, you'll feel elements of Super Mario Bros., Alex Kidd, and Hudson's Avdenture Island show up throughout the game.

So overall, I'd say I very much appreciate the game. Here are some of the reasons why:

- The controls are pretty solid, and controller support was hassle free with an Xbox360 controller.
- Secrets and hidden stuff everywhere
- Levels are long enough to be a challenge, but not too long that they become tedious
- Music and sound effects fit very well with the 8-bit style
- Pays respect to the games of yesteryear without directly trying to clone any one single franchise

I'd reccomend this game on or off sale, but for less then a dollar during the Holiday sale, I feel I got a great deal.

Victor Vran is an isometric, free camera, action RPG set in a fictional vaguely 19th century Eastern European country that's been infested with all manner of evil creatures.

While it's an ARPG at heart, it separates itself from it's peers in several key ways, most of which are a welcome breath of fresh air. If you've played Diablo, Torchlight, Fate, Titan Quest and games simlar to those, you know the drill, so I'll list the things that make Victor Vran stand out:

- skilled gameplay: You'll need to dodge, charge up, move and strategically retreat in order to survive. This is not a click to kill sort of game. In this regard it has elements of a twin stick shooter and character action game mixed in the control scheme.

- Less loot, but more focused loot and loot improvement: for better and worse, it's a good shake-up that won't really let true loot ♥♥♥♥♥♥ down, you'll still be sorting through your inventory comparing stats and looking for upgrade properties.

- Many maps and lots of challenges. "Curses" and hard mode add an additional level of challenge that left even an ARPG veteran like myself feeling like I had to fight for progress rather then sleepwalk through the enemy hordes.

- Level up system: stats are locked to levels, but you can earn rewards and custom gear. Destiny cards add a further level of customization.

Now on top of that:

- The graphics are crisp and detailed depicting a wide variety of environments from city streets to swamps, to dungeons, to rural villages.

- Controls are precise and feel intuitive once you get the hang of them.

- Enemies look great, mostly with a gothic or classic horror feel, but there could be a little more variety.

So in conclusion: Victor Vran is a solid action RPG that relies on player skill and treats you to a short, not particularly amazing story, but provides hours of great gameplay, challenge, and atmosphere.

I reccomend it!