Recent reviews by IndieBob

Mad my go-to chill, relax and see eye candy game. Pretty easy but fun. Definitely one of the more beautiful games around and they seeds of what might have developed into a really great game are definitely there. The opening cinematic is definitely one of the more memorable opening sequences in gaming history.

On release it suffered from two things: a) being released at the same time as MGSV and b) being released at the same time as Fury Road. This is a very different, more brutal and driven Max from the one in that movie. Replaying it, it out of that environment all makes much more sense.

As Max in the game, you are a one man wall of violence, murdering (and helping) your way across the wasteland, taking down and rebuilding - one brick and one body at a time.

Started it, tabbed out and it hang so had to use task manager to end the task. Restarted it then waited 5 minutes for the prompt "initialising" to clear. Then saw the letter E under it and so pressed it. Nothing happened so waited a bit longer then realised I had to hold E down to get it to work and the game started. Changed screen mode to "borderless" and restarted so I could tab out, restarted and all was good.

Enjoying it so far but it is rough around the edges. Most annoying is the repeated spam of a message telling you to claim your pre-order reward, a mistake which can cost you many frustrating hours if you do it too early, so I hear. Happily I heard it so no hours were wasted. The prompt was still annoying.

Definitely a work in progress but seems a good start.

Lightweight but fun little time waster that keeps you under pressure and is engaging enough to keep you coming back for more. Wave after wave of monster attack and your objective is to stay alive. Easy to get into and addictive. Tried multiplayer but couldn't find any servers. Maybe something to arrange with friends.

I've spent a long time playing CK II and enjoyed it but would I recommend it in its current state. I'm unsure. So many DLC components that to get the full game working costs over £130. That's a lot of money. DLC which often delivers functionality but not the graphics ... severe price gouging. They need a new model and it really leaves a bad taste in the mouth for me and many other players. Shame, as the underlying game isn't bad.

I'd sound a note of caution about the technical issues but I'd hope they'd be patched in time though. other than problems streaming, I have had no issues. Perhaps the issue is having Steam streaming enabled?

HOWEVER this is a very good game. A VERY GOOD GAME INDEED. JC2 was good, but it had it's limitations. They fixed those and added a few things you didn't even think you needed but when you see them you'll like! BOOM BABY!

Please note: I am not some nub scrub who doesn't understand homeworld. I was playing and writing games in the 70s before most of those reading this reveiw were born, before some of their parents were born O.o. I have played all the homeworld games and I started on the RTS around 1992 with Dune 2. I can still beat 12 year olds a dark souls 2 pvp so please, no ageist BS.

Can't really recommend this bundle at the moment as it doesn't seem finished. The problem is the "remastered" Homeworld 1. Some random observations:

• Problems arise first in the tutorial where it keeps asking you to press "ok" to continue, and then continues whether you do or don't.
  
• Key assignments don't seem to work: I reassigned keys for panning up/down and suddenly i couldn't pan backwards and forwards or up and down with keys and my mouse wouldn't go back/forwards, instead it went up/down.
  
• It seems plagued by flickering textures and lighting issues.
  
• There seem to be some problems with selecting units and control at times. At the end of a mission I was harvesting but the harvesters all ignored the harvest controller nearby and went to the mothership.
  
• Also has problems with streaming via steam and also if you have MSI afterburner running. Not that either is hard to avoid but they're also not that hard to program around (given the number of games out there which manage it).

HW1 also has the homeworld 2 control and manufacturing systems but they don't seem to work consistently, in the tutorial you manufacture a whole wing of ships, not so in the missions where they pop out one at a time.

Homeworld 2 is much better and haven't really encountered any problems with it but what you're paying for here is a collection. If half a working package minus multiplayer is enough for you then sure, buy it, but if not, wait. Not sure how this is getting 9/10s other than the usual game industry BS. Hopefully things will improve with time but experience teaches not to expect it.

Part 1 review: I liked this gentle scifi comedy. I've heard of complaints that the puzzles are too easy and I'd disagree, though unlike some games, if you use the spanner and then the bucket on an item to try to solve a puzzle, it will often give you a hint that you need to use the item on the bucket then spanner, rather than keeping you guessing at every possible combination for hours on end. I liked the riddle, mainly because I didn't have the item in question and only by working it out did I know where to go to solve it.

Part 2: the problems definitely ramp up in difficulty and, though I liked the challenge, I have a beef with some aspects of this. MINOR SPOILER AHEAD Several problems rely on using information one of the characters you control discovers with the other, but, in some cases, there's no way the information could be passed on. Sort of like a game in which a person in England in the 1870s discovers a diary entry which gives the combination to a safe which is then used by a character you control in the revolutionary America. No internal logic to justify the transfer of information. They might at least have hinted at some sort of telepathic link between the two or something but if they do, I missed it... This irks me. Possibly unnecesssarily, and the rest of the game is great, it's just that this makes me go Hmmmm. A lack of care in game design.

I hated Daylight at first until I understood what it was than then chillaxed and for the £5 I paid for it on ebay, it wasn't bad.

Basically this is a souped up chase/light puzzle game like slenderman, with some procedural aspects in the way the world is generated.

Very little storytelling and the tutorial elements are lacking, so here's what you have to do. Hidden around each level are "remnants", sheets of paper which glow read in the dark. You can see how many you have next to an icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.

When you have them all you have to find a key item which then allows you to exit the level. All the time you are being chased by shades which you can dispell with flares, which you will find dotted around each level.

You will also find glowsticks which, as well as illuminating your surroundings, show you objects which can be manipulated: climbable blocks; searchable boxes etc. Environments in the playthrough I did include an old hospital, catacombs, a beach, and forest.

At the end there is a reveal of sorts but it is brief and confusing but interesting nontheless.

If you stream the game on twitch, it responds to things people type in chat, producing 'scary' sounds and events in response to various keywords people type. Apparently, I was never quite sure if it worked.

Might give it a replay to see how much things change with a new iteration.

Nice story and developments with 1 maybe 2 false endings. Remeniscent to "lost" in the basic setup.

Levels are tomb raider levels but very open and expansive with fast travel between them so you can go back to previous levels at any time to try stuff out. This is a good thing as some puzzles can only be solved with equipment from later sections of the game. They are much more "organic" and realistic than previous games, with numerous collectables and things to do in each.

Loved the cable car scene with the ship!

Hunting is in there but is optional. Multiple weapon upgrades, with 16 different weapons in total (though these are as 4 basic weapon types you upgrade up to 4 times as the game progresses).

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: wooden crates that you burn out of nets when you find them and where every other wooden thing in the game bursts in to flame instantly, they do not. The game makes extensive use of this burning mechanic, and yet they chose to sent the game in dank, damp environments where things probably wouldn't burn that well...

The Tress FX (TM) hair modelling is very good and realistic but it does make everyone's hair look freshly washed at all times, even when they are bruised, govered in mud etc.

Also though the physics works in terms of the game puzzles, it can be weird at times. e.g. fasten a rope to a raft and pull it, the raft will move towards you. Fasten a rope to something on land whilst you stand on the raft and it stays put no matter how hard you pull ... but I guess they did this so you had to solve problems in a certain way which does mean you get some corking problems!

Don't let the movies put you off.

This is a cool sneaker/shooter/stabber/brawler with bonefide indie roots, or rather two such games as the pack includes an extended version the original CoR redone in DX10 and its sequel Darth Athena. The story of the original "Butcher Bay" is arguably better but if you're there for the sneaking and stealth more than anything, both deliver a well crafted, enjoyable experience.

There are plenty of great moments and the odd idiosyncrasy that adds charm. E.g. the tutorial is woven in quite cleverly. It guides you through various stealth moves, combat etc and you seem to be escaping from the prison surprisinly easily... when suddenly you are awoken by the guards on the prison transport on the way to the prison and it was all a dream.

The games still look remarkably good though the engine shows it's age in some respects, e.g. you cannot enable SSAO and FSAA at the same time.

Pick it up in the sales, like I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuTF1B0gf8k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvn7rB0Z5C4