Recent reviews by Train27

The Turing Test is a puzzle game about lateral thinking and the human condition. Are we better than machines?


You are Ava Turing (what a subtle reference), main engineer and vehicle officer of the Fortuna, a spaceship sent by the ISA (International Space Agency) to establish a land base on Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. You are to stay on the Fortuna until the ground base is completed. However, you are awoken nearly 6 years after your arrival by TOM, the artificial intelligence that monitors the mission, because the ground team might be in danger, and you've got to get down there to see what happened.

The voice acting is supreme, and really helps to transmit the character's feelings and the true meaning behind their words. I really liked that TOM didn't have a robot-esque filter (it actually has, but very subtle). I mean, they can make a fully-fledged AI but not a reallistic voice? f*ck off mate..

Spoiler alert! - However, Sarah's voice was terrible, it didn't carry the same emotions that her message did. - Spoiler alert!

Your main (and pretty much only) tool is an EMT (Energy Manipulation Tool), with which you move energy cells around to activate a variety of devices (doors, ramps, elevators...). I know it sounds simple, or even gimmicky, but trust me it gets very complex very fast.
The puzzles or challenges that you are presented with, are considered to be solvable only by humans, and that's when the mechanics start getting grasp of the game's main idea.
Spoiler alert! - Later on, it is revealed that a human alone can't ever be capable to solve these challenges by itself, and you start working together with TOM, thus, making the game's question even more puzzling - Spoiler alert!

The game was made in Unreal Engine 4 and boy does it look gorgeous. Seriously, the screenshots you see on the Store Page are no bait, the game really looks like that. If you don't have a PC that can run this game at max settings, I'd recommend buying it on Xbox One/PS4 (assuming you have one, ofc).

The dinamic lighting is just stunning, I have no words to describe how close I felt to actually being there. The sound also helps a lot, as the sountrack isn't your generic sci-fi digital music, but rather made to order with normal instruments.

On the other hand, the SFX sounds are a bit... lacking... and tedious. Don't get me wrong, it didn't bothered me for most of the game. However, in the last quarter of the game, where all the mechanics were starting to be put together on very big rooms, and there are a lot of them working and sounding at the same time, their continuous sound in the background kept poking on my head as I was trying to think, making me more nervous and a little bit stressed.

From time to time, you found some audio records left by the ground crew. They advance the story a lot. Seriously, don't miss the audio records. They are the ones that tell what has happenned in the ground base, and how the characters are and behave. However, they are not subtitled, and some of them are so fuzzy that it's very hard to even hear anything at all (and some of those are quite important to the plot).

The story progresses through little bits of dialogue between Ava and TOM at the start of every level, and so, the puzzles slowly begin to just feel like a job you have to do in order to get a few extra lines of said dialogue. When you reach certain milestones however, and the game determines that you've already mastered the pieces that you have, he presents you with a couple more to keep you engaged on the challenges.

There is no fail state; so no matter how badly you mess up the puzzle, you know you can always fix it without restarting the level. Some may think that's bad because it forces the players to be the ones to reset the room back to normal, but I think it's good design because not only does it help you to understand why what you tried didn't work; but also helps you to get out of your mind the ever-famous puzzle game idea of "what the hell, this puzzle is unsolvable!".

I recommend playing the game in a few days, as it's constantly referencing itself on previous (and subsequent) events. Also, unless you've spent more than 20 or 30 minutes on a single room, I thoroughly recommend not watching playthroughs if you feel stuck. Use lateral thinking.

In any case, I recommend to all players to look for the optional chambers (they can be found in-between some levels, one per chapter) and AI papers and articles. The first ones are somewhat simple and short. The last ones take a bit more time, but each one of them is really worth it (except maybe the first one, you won't get that until later in the game... in both senses ;)).

Spoiler alert! - As said earlier, at some point in the game you have to start collaborating with TOM in order to overcome the puzzles, and it comes just when you thought the game couldn't throw anything new and fresh. It not only helps develop the game's plot and message, but also adds a layer of complexity that you didn't thought of before in the game. - Spoiler alert!

If you've got some background in the field of computer science and/or Artificial Intelligence (like I do), the arguments and debates sustained during the plot will probably seem a bit silly, basic, or even vague upon the complexity of said field. However that does not mean that it is not enjoyable. At all.

If you, however, are just a fan of sci-fi, computers, or both, but you don't really have technical knowledge on the matter (shame on you! it's totally fine), you'll find the debate quite deep and engaging.


A word on the ending (obviously super spoiler):
Spoiler alert! - After knowing what happenned with the ground crew, knowing about their discovery, TOM's actions and being repeatedly presented with the game's last moral dillemma... we are presented with an ending, but we are snatched of a climax.
You can provoque one of two (four actually, but three of them are very similar) endings. And then... nothing. You've completed the Turing Test.

*Note how I said choose between quotes, because the game doesn't hold your hand at all here. - Spoiler alert!

I'll add this in a second spoiler tag to show that it's even more spoileroo than the previous one.
Spoiler alert! - It actually took me a while after I finished the game to reallise what it was all about.

This is NOT your average "AI gone evil" game.

TOM is actually the protagonist of the game. TOM is the player and the moral compass of the game. TOM... is YOU. That's why YOU've passed the Turing Test. If you kill Ava and Sarah, you'll feel remorse, and if you let them disconnect you and, hence, spread the virus they carry to the Earth, you'll feel fear, not only for mankind, but also for yourself, ceasing to exist. This is why, you are no longer distinguishable from a human, and thus, you have passed the Turing Test. - Spoiler alert!


I've thought a lot about what to do with this game. It has some plot holes that I cannot forgive, but then I thought of the most emotional moments of the game: the post-ending (after thinking about it), and the visit to the ground crew's quarters. I'm not afraid to say I dropped a few tears there, as I gazed upon the lifes of people that left everything behind, that would never return to see their loved ones again.

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Red Trigger is a short puzzle-platformer game with a nice atmosphere.

In Red Trigger you play as a robot agent that must upload a Virus to the central computer of a very large building.
You do this by using a gun which infuses electricity when fired, thus activating certain platforms in order to reach the end of every level. However, the gun uses battery to be fired, so you can only activate three platforms at a time. You must also crouch, run, jump and use physics for such purpose.
You can clearly see that at some points it tries to pledge an homage to Portal without getting to the easy-reference level of just showing a companiong cube or a portal gun.

The visual style of the game is very amusing, with scenes made exclusively of geometrical shapes and a color palette full of different tones of reds, blues and whites.
Most of the time the music just slips into the background with very calm melodies and low tones, but sometimes it can get a little bit repetitive (and I really disliked the menu music, it felt very grating).

The puzzles themselves aren't hard at all; the real obstacle to solve them being most of the time the platforming element. For a game made with Unreal Engine 4, the controls feel a bit sloppy, and I believe the start menu to be an outright botch job.

In most of the puzzles there is only one way of solving them, but some others offer a couple of choices, which is good (wether this was intentional or not, I don't know).
The mechanic of the rising laser beams (basically a timer to climb up a very high room) is only used in one room. It is a pity that at some points the game introduces new features like this one based on previously presented ones, but never gets to put them all together into big puzzles near the end. Most of them are just shown once and then thrown away, never to be seen again (although, of course, the basic ones remain throughout).
The game itself isn't very long, between 40-60 minutes depending on how many times you die in the fan level fast you are. You can also replay it again to get the achievements if that's your thing.

If there is one thing that this game does exceedingly well inside its genre, is not to bug the player with tedious tasks like go and fetch, backtracking, and wait for it.



Overall it is a good game if you have an hour to spare and/or just want a simple, self-contained experience.

Accidentaly fork-bombed my own machine and bluescreened to death.

11/10

screenshot:
[proof]http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=936433530[/url]

15 hours of co-op fun with a friend.
I wouldn't recommend playing it alone unless you're a big fan of the saga and don't want to skip the story of this game (which is pretty much tangential to the main story besides SPOILER -> Wesker's Death <- SPOILER).
Even if you really are a big fan of the saga, I wouldn't recommend buying the Gold Edition because of how little gameplay time it adds.
I haven't played the other modes but they're basically the same thing repeated from Re4, so... I'm not even gonna try.

if you wanna know the story watch it on YouTube, buy only if you're gonna play it with friends, because your partner's AI is worse than Koopas'.


PS: beware of the lasers if you don't wanna lose a friend.

Un sci-fi shooter en 1ª/3ª/4ª persona en el que matas dinosaurios. 8 clases donde escoger (5 desbloqueables) y modos cooperativo, PvE y próximamente también PvP. Tiene unos gráficos de alucine para ser un indie y sólo cuesta un puto euro.
¿Más claro? Cómpralo ya.

UPDATE: próximamente el juego saldrá como F2P, tal vez con algunas ventajas para los que ya lo tenían comprado, si no te convence espera un poco, y si lo hace, tal vez sí te merezca la pena pagar un eurito

Esta review está escrita a fecha del parche 1.6.1, la modificaré en próximas actualizaciones.

El juego está en early access, y no vamos a mentir, se nota. No es nada del otro mundo, pero se nota.
UPDATE: en las últimas semanas los jugadores están experimentando más bugs de lo usual, aunque aparentemente se están resolviendo poco a poco.

Pros:

• Niveles adaptativos de dificultad según el nivel de tu equipamiento.
  
• Menús +/- intuitivos.*
  
• Visualmente agradable.
  
• Estúpidamente barato: 1$-1€ (durante Early-Access, después será F2P).
  
• Mecánicamente fácil (en el sentido de que se aprende rápido a jugar).
  
• La estética de los menús es simplista y agradable (desconozco si por facilidad a la hora de preparar el early access o por cuestiones de diseño).
  
• Mezcla distintos estilos: Shooter-MMORPG-Lobby Games-Mundo Abierto (próximamente).
  
• El "lobby" principal (la estación espacial) es muy bonita.
  
• Los efectos de luz natural están muy bien conseguidos.
  
• Los árboles de talentos realmente se sienten poderosos rápidamente.
  
• Misiones diarias y retos semanales.
  
• Puedes jugar con cualquiera de las 7 clases sin tener que "crear" otro personaje, aunque los ítems que tenga uno equipado no serán accesibles por el resto, pero sí los ítems de la mochila.
  
• Las partidas duran lo suficiente como para no convertirse en un minijuego, pero no tanto como para hacerse pesadas.
  
• El dinero "de verdad" no mejora tus capacidades in-game, es para motivos puramente estéticos. Además, puedes conseguir este dinero con los logros y las misiones.
  
• En realidad se debería llamar Halo vs. Dinosaurs & Robots.
  
• Hay una buena variedad de mapas (6-7 creo), y como puedes jugar de día o de noche, parece que hay aún más.
  
• ¡¡¡¡¡Añadidos tras la versión 1.6.1!!!!!:
  
• -->Nuevos lobbys sociales, Citadel y Agora, añaden diversidad a la estación espacial.
  
• -->Cada vez añaden más opciones para personalizar al jugador, que se pueden conseguir sin tener que pagar.
  
• -->Añadido a cada mapa el modo niebla; da atmósfera pero consume muchos recursos y es un dolor de huevos para apuntar.
  
• -->Añadido por fin el módulo PVP, aunque está sólo en fase beta y tiene algunos bugs y desbalanceos, pero se están corrigiendo.
  
• -->El sueño húmedo de cualquier fan de TF2, tienes decenas de sombreros y cascos.
  
• -->Esto no es exclusivo de esta versión, pero he esperado para corroborarlo: en general, la mayoría de la comunidad es agradable y da gusto jugar en compañía.
  
• -->El modo offline cooperativo local por fin funciona correctamente, sin bugs y sin caídas repentinas de fps.

Contras:

• *Los menús se entienden, pero hace falta un tutorial para que te oriente un poco al principio, te sientes un poco perdido.
  
• Las piezas de equipo no tienen nombre, sólo atributos y un nivel de objeto.
  
• A veces tarda bastante en iniciar.
  
• Todavía no tiene una gran base de jugadores, por lo que a veces el lobby está un poco vacío.
  
• No suele haber más de 3-4 partidas a la vez, pero siempre puedes crear la tuya o jugar offline.
  
• Todo el mundo se conecta a un servidor central que luego redirige a otros por el mundo según decida el creador de la partida, por lo que te puedes encontrar jugando en Singapour.
  
• A día de hoy no puedes vender nada, ni materiales ni equipo.
  
• Subir el nivel de tu equipo empieza a ser muy difícil y lento a partir del nivel de objeto ~200. Hay que grindear muchísimo. Supongo que se arreglará en versiones posteriores.
  
• Al final todo el mundo acaba jugando a la misma misión, y siempre son los mismos enemigos, así que puede hacerse un poco repetitivo si lo juegas muy seguido.
  
• ¡¡¡¡¡Añadidos tras la versión 1.6.1!!!!!:
  
• -->Hasta la fecha no se ha solucionado ninguno de los problemas anteriores, pero sí se han añadido algunos.
  
• -->Ya no puedes ver las habilidades ni armas de las otras clases. Si esto lo combinas con que hay poca gente que juega y no hay muchos gameplays, te toca comprarte una clase casi a ciegas.
  
• -->En la versión anterior (1.6) hubo un bug que redujo notablemente el tamaño del inventario de los jugadores (de 80 slots a 25) y muchos jugadores perdieron equipo e ítems a causa de esto. Aún se desconoce si reestablecerán el inventario anterior o dejarán las expansiones de pago.
  
• -->Tras cada update importante (al igual que con la 1.6, ya ocurrió lo mismo con la 1.5) el rendimiento del juego baja considerablemente, hasta que tras una o dos semanas lo arreglan.

Me cuesta mucho dar un voto positivo a este juego por el camino que me temo que va a llevar Trek Industries, pero he pasado muy buenos ratos y en general valoro mucho el juego como para darle un voto negativo.

Por ahora tendrá mi voto positivo, pero cambiaré de opinión si veo que optan por agresivas políticas de restricción para los que no paguen las suscripciones premium.

7.5/10

With almost 7 hours of play and 100% of the achievements unlocked, I think I'm ready to give a solid opinion about the game.

If you enjoyed playing the typical browser-based fighting flash games, then this one is just for you. It's been developped by a lithuanian indie dev on the GameMaker engine (which is not bad, it just limits the options for the game) and it's free. 100% free, not even skins, soundtracks (which by the way is gifted to you as soon as you install the game) or game power-ups.

When I started playing it a month ago or so, it had only 2 modes:

• Normal mode: about 10 lifes (I can't believe I've never stopped to count them...) and thousands of wolves to beat.
  
• 1 HP mode: pretty self-explanatory, same but only with 1 life.

However, recently a new mode has been added, which allows local "PvP". It's like a volleyball game between pigs, except that the ball bleeds when you hit it... and there are wolves hanging around trying to kill you... but yeah it's very similar.

10/10, the game gives what it promises, the trailer is an exact reflex of any gameplay.