Recent reviews by Caduceus

I've put a few hundred hours into the first game after it launched on PC. I immediately fell in love with both the premise and the gameplay. I'm pleased to say that Arrowhead Games strikes gold again with the wildly successful sequel.

The gameplay returns to form but at a new angle with a new third person camera. Gunplay is satisfying with a fairly large range of weapons and abilities to use. The two current enemy types employ drastically different tactics, with melee-centric bugs and ranged attacking automatons. Planets have pretty unique biomes and a functional day/night cycle.

There's a fair amount of customization on offer for those interested. Characters can choose between four voice types, two body types, a currently equipped emote and victory pose in addition to armor, helmet, and cape options. Your personal intergalactic destroyer "levels" with you as you upgrade it with in-game currencies.

On the subject of currencies, let's talk about the season pass system: Warbonds. They're fairly easy to progress through, requiring a currency available upon mission completion (and also available within missions as a rare "drop"). If you were skeptical like I was of a dreaded season pass, worry not, as even the "real money" currency of "super cash" is also available through the free Warbond -- and Warbonds never expire. Hurray!

As for GameGuard, well... It's the one hook I'm still stuck on. It's an unfortunate system set in place on a purely co-operative "PvE" title. It's unfortunate, and I hope that it is removed at some point in the future.

Overall, this is an exceptional game that I would highly recommend to anybody interested in a co-operative experience with their friends.

FOR DEMOCRACY!!!

You likely would not expect such an engrossing narrative to be provided by a very short film about a border checkpoint. However, those experienced with Lucas Pope's titular Papers, Please "game" will find an all-to-familiar setting. Sit back and bask in the glory... Glory to Arstotzka!

What can I possibly say that hasn't already been said countless times before by the myriad other users who play this wonderful game?

The Fun Pimps -- questionable studio name aside -- have taken this game from humble beginnings to nearly professional level development and etiquette over the six years 7 Days to Die has been available on Steam. Newcomers to the title are spoiled with enormous explorable worlds, configurable and appropriately nasty zombies, a crafting and equipment progression system with some SERIOUS longevity, and an overall enjoyable gameplay experience through-and-through.

Taken online or played individually, I would encourage creative sandbox builders and zombie survival enthusiasts to get their hands on this one!

I'll get straight to the point with this one: Dying Light is an incredible experience. Harran is essentially a three-dimensional canvas for you to make your own. Combat is fluid, heavy, and satisfying in execution. Dexterity, agility, and "parkour" maneuvering feel liberating and fantastical. The zombies are appropriately grotesque and your very first "volatile chase" sequence is a memorable experience that you will carry with you for years to come.

This is a nearly perfect marriage of first person melee combat with first person parkour. Kyle Crane isn't a clunky and clumsy fish-out-of-water... and you will absolutely feel what I mean by the time you've mastered all of his skills and techniques!

I feel obligated to touch on the Following as well, Dying Light's critically acclaimed expansion taking all of the action into a lush countryside. With a wide open expanse set out before you, it's only natural for a robust buggy vehicle to be introduced into the winning formula. To top it all off, this expansion carries over and climaxes the story of the base game.

Last but not least... I must mention the co-operative experience. This game is magnificent with friends and like-minded company. Work together to concoct unique new ways to dispatch zombies, explore with an extra pair of eyes and ears, and have tremendous fun in a pleasant teamworking environment.

Honestly, I can't recommend this game highly enough. If you're a fan of action, zombies, or co-op combat, Dying Light should already belong in your library. It's as simple as that.

Forgive me... it has been over three years since my last review.

That aside, I would certainly recommend Company of Heroes 2 to those interested in a real-time strategic setting within the European Theatre of World War II. This installment, much like prior Relic entries, focuses less on traditional RTS staples such as rapid expansion and exploration and instead hones in on small skirmishes with invaluable soldiers. Resource management is a tense mind game of its own as you field squadrons of specialized troops and vehicles in order to bring down your Axis (or Allied!) foe.

Battles are diverse, dynamic, and visceral. As you "research upgrades" to better arm your forces and acquire veteran combatants, you'll begin to grow attached to the small ragtag attack force you've assembled. Furthermore, choosing from specialized military commanders and advantageous "intelligence bulletins" ensures a plethora of options for initiating -- and ending -- any battle you wish.

Historically authentic and intensely paced, Company of Heroes 2 stands out uniquely from its modern scenario peers!

A quick preface:
I extremely dislike Perfect World Entertainment. After having worked with them many years as a consumer attempting to enjoy some of their products, I find it difficult to recommend anything that they oversee. This is a word of caution, stranger.

With the negativity out of the way...! Torchlight II is a sublime game. Colorful and vivid visuals mesh with professional sound quality and gameplay design features. I have put plenty of time and effort into the game and can easily recommend it to gamers looking for a 'classical' experience.

Torchlight II is an action role-playing game not unlike the Diablo franchise. Immerse yourself in a fantasy world rife with conflict and unique people, places, and ideas. Play one of four classes and then embark on a journey to customize your character even further with three skill trees for each of the archetypes. Bring friends along, tackle procedurally generated dungeons, and advance in the engaging storyline as a casual gamer or passionate 'min-maxer'.

Torchlight II is an exceptional game that can keep you occupied for hours, if not days.... perhaps weeks!

(Review as of January 27, 2016)

I will preface with this:
This is most certainly an early access peer review. Space Engineers updates weekly, sometimes even more frequently, and constantly changes, adjusts, and updates factors that may alter gameplay.

I'm an aspiring aerospace engineer. I've set my sights on attending the ever prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where some say aerospace engineering was founded. Naturally, I immediately devoted some attention to Space Engineers for this reason. Using voxels, modules, and some ingenuity, you can create incredible entities. One may pay homage to great movie and show starships, or develop real-life historic vehicles largely responsible for mankind's presence in space..... or you can do whatever you want, create whatever you want, and play however you want.

Let's get down to brass tacks and discuss what currently works and what could use improvement:

What works:

• An innovative ship and space station creation system with robust options in function and form through voxels and parts.
  
• Some realistic grounding with physics, especially with inertia and momentum.
  
• Two varied game modes (enduring survival and imaginative creative) with adjustable environments and settings.
  
• A mod-friendly execution.

What could use improvement:

• Multiplayer. Long time veterans knew this would be first on the list. Network optimization is poor and gameplay frustrating.
  
• Performance in general. This is a pressing issue to Keen Software House's Marek Rosa and should likely be addressed within the year. Let's hope!
  
• Static animations most certainly testament to the game's early access nature. (Most evident with astronaut movement.)
  
• Painting. Painting is the stuff of nightmares. Be prepared to fight the poor paint-application system.

What doesn't work:

• Building two separate station / habitats and connecting them together with voxels. (Some things are just too difficult to cut-and-paste.) This is an exercise in patience.

Ultimately, Space Engineers is a fascinating game. If you have any desire to design, create, and fly your own spacecraft, then this is a wonderful experience. Share your creations with your friends, enjoy the vast network of mods available to you, and start your own space empire!

TL;DR: Crash to Desktop: The Game.

I'll begin by stating I am not an ardent fan of the Assassin's Creed franchise.

My first intallment in the franchise was Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Some will say that this was a highlight in the storied gaming series, and it certainly felt entertaining and refreshing for its time. Since playing and completing Brotherhood, I've longed to play another Assassin's Creed game despite varied successes.

I contemplated purchasing Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, but decided against it purely in opposition to its selling point: its naval exploration and combat focal points. I wanted a return to the exciting combat and incredible settings that Brotherhood (and many subsequent games) have aspired for.

That was my first mistake.

I had also wanted to give Assassin's Creed: Unity a chance... but decided against it due to overwhelmingly negative peer review. Still, the idea of a co-operative Assassin's Creed game is promising.

I decided that I had waited long enough. I had heard that Assassin's Creed: Syndicate attempts to capture what made Brotherhood so great. (You might even argue that Jacob Frye is emulating Ezio Auditore a little too much.)

That was my second mistake.

I went ahead and purchased the gold edition for the game with having put a little time and research into the product. I came in with relatively low expectations due to repeated failures in Ubisoft's past, but was pleasantly surprised by the prologue. Jacob and Evie Frye are fascinating characters and genuinely enjoyable to play for the most part.

However, this is not only an Ubisoft game, it's an Assassin's Creed game. What bugs and glitches I experienced at first were minor, at best, until the big one came. My hardware should have little trouble running this game on decent settings, yet despite that, I reached the infamous "Stage 3" train scene and fight.

This stage is known to cause immediate crashing, to which it has done to me aplenty. I cannot pass it, and in some cases, cannot even load to the main menu as a consequence of where my progress stopped.

Now, I dislike the idea of "thumbs down"ing a game due to a performance issue I cannot resolve on my part... However, in this case, I make an exception. It is an issue many have experienced and Ubisoft has not yet addressed with patching. Until this problem is resolved, I cannot -- in good faith -- recommend this game to my friends or the general public.

Alas... I had looked so forward to it.

Faster Than Light holds no punches as it thrusts you into the dangerous reality of space. You are an evasive Federation crew attempting to avoid Rebel capture in order to deliver urgent news to your Federation allies on the other side of the galaxy. Choose a ship, gather your crew, and build up your arsenal in this difficult, but rewarding, experience. FTL not only successfully utilizes the "rogue-like" system of gameplay, it does so in such a way that every single playthrough is truly different from the prior playthrough. Fantastic artistic visuals also complement a compelling and engaging soundtrack, giving you everything you need to delve head-first - faster than light - into the great abyss of space!

Run your own ambitious space program in this quirky, devilishy addictive simulator known only as Kerbal Space Program. With a complex Newtonian physics engine and a masterful grasp on aeronautical technology and techniques, Kerbal Space Program puts you in the director's chair. Explore a fictional universe with the most zany - or practical - spacecraft of YOUR design! Design a space-plane from the ground-up to rival the very real X-15, or put the Space Shuttle to shame as you soar efficiently to the stars, and beyond! You can even create an elaborate space station, or land on the nearby "Mün" and get your wheels rolling! Just be sure to honor Jebediah Kerman while you take one small step for kerbals, or crash and burn attempting to!