Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Complete with Alien Crossfire Expansion Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)An excellent empire building and management game.
There is also much dark sci-fi going on.
The variety of customizable factions and units along with the inclusion of terraforming makes replay value high.
Over the years I have played this for an embarrassing number of hours until I just can't play it anymore. Perhaps my highest praise is this: I wish I had never seen it so that I could start all over again.
The only down side I can report is that late in the game, especially on large maps, there is considerable lag between turns. This is reduced with modern CPUs but not eliminated.
The voice acting is superb and there was obviously a great deal of thought put into the tech tree. The graphics by today's standards are crude. Doesn't matter. Get it, enjoy the time to explore it, maybe find Vel's Strategy guide when you want to up your game.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Complete with Alien Crossfire Expansion

Get 70% OFF

Click here for more information about Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Complete with Alien Crossfire Expansion

Read More...

UFO: Extraterrestrials - Chaos Concept Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Well, there's no doubt in my mind that this is a major XCOM clone. If you enjoyed the original you'll love this game. Although, I still think XCOM Apocalypse is better. Basically, the game is played on a map where you see continents and a UFO appears and you have to shoot it down. AFter it's shot down you send your ground units into kill/stun the aliens and capture equipment. And of course, there's loads of science to research and build. Half the fun is arming your units with the aliens weapons and killing them with it.However regular gamers will definitely be turned off by how unpolished this game is. The resolution is set at a low level and cannot be adjusted by the menu. The graphics are barely any better than the original XCOM. You can't control your aircrafts when you send them to intercept the UFOs. They'll basically just follow it and shoot or they'll just hover in the same place and shoot one another. Also, your units can't die so there's not really a big loss that you feel when your unit gets blasted by a UFO. And recruitment is automatic which might be a turn off.It's a clone to XCOM but it just lacks the soul that Microprose put in the games.PROS:
XCOM Clone down to small details
Great assortment of weapons and research to do
Killing UFOS with their own weapons!CONS:
Piss poor graphics especially in the main map
Difficulty level is all over the place. Sometimes the first UFO ground mission contains like 20 aliens sometimes 5.
Rather unpolished game and lacks heart
You can't kneel or allocate time for flash hits or aimed hits - they're automatic

Click Here to see more reviews about: UFO: Extraterrestrials - Chaos Concept

Get 36% OFF

Click here for more information about UFO: Extraterrestrials - Chaos Concept

Read More...

Project: Snowblind Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Graphics : Sweet. Gameplay : difficult at first, but once you understand the control scheme, you quickly get the hang of the rest. Incredible particle effects. Very well done music. Replayability : moderate to none. That's the only downside. The game has good length, and a fun idea as a plotline. But, there are not too many twists and turns plotwise, so that pulls quite a bit away from re-playability. This ran well with the minimum specs on my system : AMD XP 2800 -- 512 MG DDR RAM -- 128 MG GeFORCE 4 5600. For the sheer shooting power of the game, i would recommend it. But, don't expect extreme depth in the gameplay. Just a good bit of fun.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Project: Snowblind

Intensive single-playerexperience!Product InformationExperience the dramatic intensity of the frontlines of a war through the eyes ofthe first of a new breed of super soldiers in this gritty and epic first-personaction game.In the not so distant Future Lt. Nathan Frost is challenged to stop arenegade regime from eradicating the civilized world.Hong Kong 2065. 2nd Lt. Nathan Frost is just a regular grunt until hevolunteers for a super-soldier transformation for an international army calledthe Liberty Coalition. A painful series of surgeries gives Frost extra-normalabilities via implanted enhancements which place him on the frontlines of a waragainst a destructive regime. After a military coup leaves him stranded inhostile territory cut off from command with only a handful of men Frost muststop the militia's secret weapon that threatens to plunge the world intodarkness.Product FeaturesRobust online multiplayer experience with 16 players and voice over IPsupport - classic and new multiplayer modesUse Bioenhancements to exploit the superhuman powers of your characterArsenal of experimental weaponry and secondary high tech gadgetry injectnew depths of gameplay never before realized especially when leveraged inmultiplayer playPick-up-&-play intense battlefield action starts at minute 1pulling the player through a cinematically immersive storylineWide variety in mission pacing ranges from frenetic action of battlefieldchaos to infiltration style missionsVehicles serve as functional obstacle solving tools and as weapons inboth single and multiplayer gameplayProduct Reviews"Unprecedented stream of battlefield chaos" - Play"The future of war" - Game Informer"All those weapons mean the possibilities are up to your imagination" - Electronic Gaming Monthly"Make the FPS genre better"&

Get 97% OFF

Click here for more information about Project: Snowblind

Read More...

Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I don't want to sound like an extrimist, but this is literally the best game I've ever played. The story is extremely engaging, as I constantly found myself anxios to see what happens next. The graphics are superb, and the game engine is perfect! You can pan around in 360 degress. And as you turn, the sounds around you rotate accordingly. The worlds you travel to are brilliantly designed, each putting you in a different mood, somehow drawing you into the game (I know I sound looney when I say this, but this is true).You can also have conversations with characters, even assume their forms to get more info out of them. And there are more items to pick up then ever! In short, this is one game that you won't want to miss.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

Travel 3,700 years in the past and embark on an urgent mission to ensure the Earth's survival. Travel to lost mythical civilizations and uncover the secret of the Earth's past. As Agent Gage Blackwood, you'll travel through time, assume multiple identities, interact with characters from ancient civilizations, and weave your way through an intricate web of puzzles. This epic, four-CD-ROM story line continues the Journeyman series.

Click here for more information about Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

Read More...

Project Earth Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had a hard time playing Project Earth. The game control is no way near as good as Homeworld or Homeworld Cataclysm. One has to use the mouse & arrow keys & ctrl key to get anything done. In the end the controls are not intutive and take the fun out the game. He graphics are OK. If you have not played Homeworld or Homeworld Cataclysm I would recommend that you buy them instead. They have easy game control, good graphics & music and a great story line.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Project Earth

Get 93% OFF

Click here for more information about Project Earth

Read More...

Conquest: Frontier Wars Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Superb graphics. Clean AI. Truly exciting battles. Creative strategies. And, i had no problem with this on my own system. I even have windows xp and i got this to run very easily. Don't knock this game because some guy knows so little about his own computer that instead of trouble-shooting, he goes out and gets another one and even IT wont run the program. I thik this game was and still is underrated. Massive levels with a pretty cool multiplayer setup (8 players on my lan!) The background (space, mostly) is BEAUTIFUL. Runs on a moderate system. Athlon 900 / 1 gig ram(pc 133)/ geforce 4 4800 (128 ddr) / soundblaster audigy 2 / 12x dvd+rw drive / 24x cd-rom drive There is a little rough language, which is where the fifth star went. There's little need for that in a great game like this. It takes away from it, really. It just feels forced.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Conquest: Frontier Wars

Click here for more information about Conquest: Frontier Wars

Read More...

Space Empires V Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Short History
I've been playing 4x games almost from the beginning. The first fun 4x game that I played was master of orion. Being able to play different races with different abilities and customizing up to 6 ships at the same time! Man, it was great ... for it's time.
Then came Master of Orion II which is a good game in its own right. I've spent many days playing the second game of the series and have to say that for quite a while it was my favorite game of the genre. That was until I happened upon space empire IV. I'd heard about the space empires series, but the reviews were generally low, so I stayed away from them. But, since Master of Orion III was a total loss and the Galactic Civilization series seemed to lack the depth that I like in a game, I thought I'd give it a try.
Space Empires IV
So, about a month ago, I purchased for less than $20 Space Empires IV. It's a solid game with a lot of committed modders out there that really made a good game. I wouldn't say great, but good. The tech tree is huge, the AI is O.K., and ship design system is good as well. It was the most fun that I had had with a 4x game since the original Master of Orion first came out.
Space Empires V
Then, space empires V came out. Quite a few low reviews made me wait for a while to purchase the game. There were a lot of bugs in the initial release and I can see why the reviews that were done were low because of that. But, I got the game this week and all I can say is WOW! What a great game!
The 3D graphics are the really good! The real time space battles instead of being turn based really are well done. The ships are different for each race and look pretty good. Not perfect, but good. Each weapon has it's own effect in battle and you can set each ship to do a different function. One ship can act as a picket defender, another could Kamikazi, another stay at optimal firing range. There are quite a few strategy options that can be set for each fleet. The layout is nice too.
The technology is incredible! You can get cloaking, the obligatory laser beams, anti-matter torpedoes, missiles, anti-missile guns, fighters, bombers, and even organic weapons with armor that heals itself, etc. Just about anything you can think about to put into a strategic space sim is here.
The sounds are good. Ships have neat sounds when the blow up, weapons sound good. Warp points have a good sound, but it somehow overloads my speakers and sounds a little bit like feedback at one point of the sound, but the actual sound is very appropriate for ships going through a warp.
The ship battles are great fun! And there are a lot more of them than I've experienced in other space sims. It really has a feel like you're fighting for galactic dominance. You can't really sit back and relax, it's a fight in this game. Albeit a fun one.
So far the AI seems to be good. Again, not great, but very good. I planted 2 colonies in a system that was a little ways away. The AI came in and took them out without declaring war on me. They even warned me in advance to leave the system as they were claiming it. Then ... they did! It was pretty cool.
Be warned, as with most good strategy games, there is a learning curve that at first may feel like a cliff. But hang in there, the actual gameplay is worth it once you understand what's going on. My personal opinion is that to maximize this great game that someone would be well served to buy space empires IV first. Play it a month, then go to space empires V. But, if you're like me, you won't. Just means that the learning curve will be a bit steeper. OH, and btw, I've heard that steam has an offer out there where you can buy Space Empires V and you get Space Empires IV for free included.
My Review
Graphics - Good 7
Sounds - Average 5
Gameplay - 9
Overall Fun - 10
Pros -
Absolutely HUGE and fun tech tree
(I'd estimate the numbers of technologies at least 500 distinct techs)
Good AI ... the best I've seen for this style of game
Good battle scenes
(Numbers of ships battling each other definitely reaching an epic scale)
Sounds are average for a game of this type
Ability to create/design your ship using researched technologies
- This part is great fun and probably the best part of the game
Good real time battle scenes
Cons -
Sound could have been a little bit better
Lots of bugs before patching up to 1.20
(that's the latest patch version at the time of this review)
LONG learning curve. Almost assumes that you've played Space Empires IV.
Final Conclusion
Overall a great game. I think this is the best PC game that I've purchased since the Total War Series. Two thumbs up ... WAY UP!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Space Empires V

Get 62% OFF

Click here for more information about Space Empires V

Read More...

UFO Aftershock - Altar Interactive Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Even though Aftershock was created in the X-com vein, it's not an X-com game and as thus, should not be compared to X-com.
Instead of talking about what was good, I'll just discuss the bad things which is a much smaller list.
The game introduces resource management, which can be really difficult. I would strongly recommend going to www.strategycore.co.uk and reading the resource management FAQ. Read all the Aftershock FAQs as well, to enhance game enjoyment.
The game is actually too long. Near the end, I pretty much stopped using strategy and just swept the mission area, killing and healing as I went. :)
Sure, there are bugs. Nothing is perfect. There are also workarounds. I finished the game long ago so I do not remember what the latest patch number is. Again, those FAQs and reading the strategycore forums will help you alot.

Click Here to see more reviews about: UFO Aftershock - Altar Interactive

Platform:WINDOWS 2000/XPPublisher:ALTAR INTERACTIVEPackaging:RETAIL BOXRating:TEENThe pact has been concluded with the alien invaders. They took control over the Earth in exchange for a safe place in a huge orbital space station. Fifty years later the player will need to investigate what happened on the Earth surface and if somebody survived.Players will land on Earth and start building bases and collecting resources to be able to produce new technologies and develop weapons for fighting against new enemies who want the Earth for themselves. Features:Sequel to the successful UFO: Aftermath Global strategy and small scale tactical missions intertwined. Destroyable environment Resource and base management in the strategic part of the game. Improved Simultaneous Action System and RPG system in the tactical part of the game Fights taking place inside of the buildings. The new system of leveling up and training your troops New amazing technologies and items to be researched and developed. New scary enemies and powerful allies Diplomacy an important strategic element combine with a strong storyline.System Requirements:Windows 2000/XPPentium or AMD 1GHz or faster512MB RAMNVIDIA GeForce 5700 or ATI Radeon 9500 video card or betterDirectX 9.0 compatible sound card4x DVD-ROM DriveMouseKeyboard

Get 81% OFF

Click here for more information about UFO Aftershock - Altar Interactive

Read More...

Hegemonia: Legions Of Iron Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)It may not be Homeworld 2 but it's a great way for 3D space RTS fans to get their regular 'fix'. The game may lack polish, but makes up for it in sheer fun.
The pace is slower than Homeworld, and the combat system is much better than O.R.B. But it's different enough from both to stand on its own. Some of the other reviewers here do not seem to have have read the help/manual or they'd have found the very functional starmap built in.
The graphics are better than functional. Ship detail may not be as good as Homeworld, but the space field effects are spectacular. The voice acting is very weak, and the plot seems makeshift. The research tree is as detailed as you would want it to be.
Strategic placement of units, use of spies and the combat system is where this game shines. The mobile bases are devastating in their power. The unit population limits are set fairly low for each mission, but each ship comes with enough firepower to make that irrelevant.
Definitely recommended for sci-fi RTS fans. Users new to this genre should start with Homeworld.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Hegemonia: Legions Of Iron

Product InformationHegemonia takes you into a powerful space opera where the solar system mustunite to fight the deadly Legions of Iron! Play against friends in co-op modeor try out multiple game modes in multiple LAN or Internet play The latest ingaming technology brings the experience of massive space battles to yourcomputer in Hegemonia!Product FeaturesPlay as 4 different races in full 3D as you pilot 40 differentbattleshipsIt's 2104 and mankind is engaged in a fratricidal civil warbetween Earth and Mars. But when the deadly alien invaders comethe races will have to put their differences aside and unite toface a common threatNon-linear gameplay lets you explore the universe in thrillingscenariosUse your strategic skills to make technology your greatest asset-- work with over 200 new inventions a spying system and fullmanagement systemTwo unique single-player campaigns with different goals as youfight in massive battles that span solar systemsMinimum RequirementsWindows 98/2000/ME/XP600 MHz Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon processorRAM: 128 MB4X CD/DVD Rom 550MB available hard drive space16MB Direct 3D compatible video cardDirectX 8.0a compatible sound card Keyboard MouseAll NVIDIA GeForce cards ATI Radeon Matrox MGA-G550Matrox Parhelia Kyro II CardsRecommended Requirments1GHz or faster CPU256 MB RAM16x or faster CD/DVD-Rom drive32 MB or greater Direct 3D compatible video cardEAX-compatible sound cardRequired for Mulitplayer:1 Disc per player per computerInternet (2-8 players) TCP/IP compliant networkconnection Internet service required for Internet Play

Click here for more information about Hegemonia: Legions Of Iron

Read More...

UFO: Aftermath Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have a hard time seeing how someone can like X-Com and not like this.
The play-style is similar to X-Com: Apocolypse in that it is semi-realtime. I find this acceptable because it greatly speeds up gameplay and really puts more tactical decisions in your hands rather than relying on automatic reactions during the enemy's turn, as happened in UFO Defense.
I also like that the missions frequently have more defined goals than just "kill everything". I distinctly remember some X-Com missions taking me over an hour just trying to find the one last alien hiding in a closet somewhere. Aftermath missions tend to be more specific (you don't have to kill everything) and even the "kill everything" missions only have you kill about 90% of the enemies before giving you the option to declare it a success (presumedly your backup troops will do the mop-up after your elite team does the majority of the work).
I also personally appreciate the pacing of technological advancement. The one thing I never liked in X-Com games was a shortage of real-world weaponry and what you did get was replaced by alien technology almost immediately. In Aftermath you have a great variety of normal human weapons and the desire and ability to replace them with alien weapons occurs much slower.
Furthermore, if there is a type of mission you just don't like doing, you can "delegate" it to the regular army. It will be resolved automatically without the use of your team. Obviously you want to use your team where success is vital, but if your team gets shot up or you just don't like to do scouting missions then you can delegate and still have a chance of success.
Another change is that you can't enter buildings on a map. When I heard about this I thought it would suck, since entering structures was a predominant feature of X-Com games, but it's really not that bad: where X-Com would have an "urban" map that consisted of a small map and one big building, Aftermath has "urban" maps that consist of city streets and many buildings. Having to enter them would be a time consuming and unnecessary distraction. In the instances where you do need to enter a structure (such as a crashed UFO), it's done as a two-part mission: part one to secure the exterior, part 2 takes you inside.
The only thing I can think of that I really miss is in these crashed UFO missions: In X-Com, the crashed UFO had battle damage, including some of the alien crew already being wounded or dead. In Aftermath the ships all seem perfectly intact on the inside with no wounded or dead crew. (I guess the aliens invented better surge protectors and shock absorbers.)
One bit of cheese is that you can abort a mission at any time and any upright team members are automatically extracted. This is useful but cheesy: In UFO Defense you had to make it back to your ship to extract your team, in Aftermath you can hit "abort" whenever you want and extract your team in unrealistic circumstances, like just before a big missile is about to kill everyone.
But still, overall it's a great game. Where Apocolypse was really taking X-Com into a ridiculous direction with crayola aliens and a bizarre futuristic setting, Aftermath goes back to the roots: guys with machineguns fighting horrible aliens. (Well, eventually you get machineguns, initially you're fighting with pistols, shotguns and grenades! (Hint: Grenades are your friend.))

Click Here to see more reviews about: UFO: Aftermath

A Dungeon and Dragons Real-Time Strategy Experience!Product InformationIt's May 25 2004 and Earth is doomed unless up to seven soldiers take actionto rid it of scary aliens and mutants through global-resource strategymanagement and on-the-ground in-the-action small-squad tactical combat.Develop your soldiers through the game's role-playing element and execute yourdirectives simultaneously in real-time combat with the option of pausing thegame to get your team of soldiers to roam earth's alien- and mutant-infestedcountries. The sole focus being: to blast the aliens and mutants into anotheruniverse.UFO: Aftermath' is a combination of a small squad tactical combat and aglobal strategy game putting you against an alien threat. Use all of yourskills and abilities to defend the planet Earth from its destruction. Fightagainst many kinds of mutants and aliens research new technologies developincredible weapons and devices which will help you in your war against uninvitedspace visitors.Product HighlightsCombining a global strategy with small squad tactical combat the challengeoffered is to fight against an alien invasion. Featuring run time generatedtactical missions with innovative simultaneous combat action; the genre is alsoenhanced with strong RPG elements offering a quite unique mix of strategicideas.RPG - Your soldiers will improve as they gain more experience. Theirskills are derived from these statistics and each point that you put into anyone of these attributes will have a noticeable effect on that soldiers skills.These attributes are: Strength Agility Dexterity Willpower Intelligence andPerceptionStrategy - You must manage your bases interceptions and squads.Territory is equal to power in the game - the more you control the better yourinterceptor coverage. Also the faster you research the better things could be.Tactics - Fighting on the ground against aliens and mutants for thecontrol of territories. Once you

Get 35% OFF

Click here for more information about UFO: Aftermath

Read More...