Recent reviews by Oak's Game Room

This is att the same time one of the hardest, and easiest reviews I've ever written. I'll do a vid on this game when time and opportunity arrives.

Where this opinion is coming from: My first video game system was the original Pong console in about 1975. Since then, Zelda. Final Fantasy, Might and Magic, EQ2, DnD, Diablo, Minecraft, 7 Days to Die, Ark Survival Evolved, Guild Wars 2, etc. I love adventure/survival games, complete with recipes, hundreds of quests when offered, and the genuine sense of exploration. Exploration being #1. What's over the next hill? What's around the next curve? What's on the next island, as it was in this game.

To the devs: Amazing job and thank you so much. I have SO many games to offer me the fear of my demise around each corner as I venture forth on my journey. Still, I always wanted a game where my demise was never there, and the game contained absolutely NO combat, just that sense of wits to progress and find out what was around the next bend, yet, where I controlled the character in real time and sought ingredients, and materials, while growing said materials, (i.e. crops from farming, wood from trees). At... My.. Own... Pace... Most important. A chill game when needed, a constant adventure when ya slam the pedal to the metal. That's what I found with your game devs. That's what I found here.

For anyone reading this, as I'm sure is done for an opinion, mine is this: If you enjoy the type of game I just described, and you find that you'd like to chill with no death threat in-game, while still enjoying that sense of adventure, this game is for you. Easiest way I can say it.

Again, Great job devs on a "little game that could", that surpasses AAA games in many, many ways.

The main thing I consider when playing ANY game, like many others I would guess, is... Do I want to keep playing? I do, I will, and I am excited to do so.

\m/

To all of my viewers: Buy it now... Oak's Quick Look video at the bottom of this review.

This game is a great example of Early Access games. Low price point. Very playable game. Plenty of content. Clear vision. Thoughtful dev team.

Most important factor: The game is fun and the mechanics are smooth. It’s not easy to combine multiple genres of games and come out with something that is isn’t confusing to the senses. I didn’t feel like I was playing a roguelike one minute, an RPG the next, a Strategy the next, an Adventure the next and an ARPG the next. Each time the mode of the gameplay changed ever so slightly, it was always appropriate to the situation in the game. Because of this, the game moved along fluently and without breaking immersion. The story held tight as a result.

Strong points of the game that made me enjoy my time:

• It’s a survival game with varying loot drops, like common, uncommon, etc. Those who are loot mongers like me and enjoy the loot variations of Diablo, Borderlands and Zigfrak will enjoy that fact immensely.
• The camera swings easily, the shots are true, and the interaction is spot-on.
• Great atmosphere from the wonderfully-appropriate music and sound effects right down to the creepy shadows that hide zombies and dirty look of the screen (which is indeed adjustable to your liking by the way). When you’re outside, it feels like it. When you are inside, the confinement adds to the claustrophobic life or death situation you are in.
• The gun reticule is appropriate to the gun you are using. If you’re using a pistol, the reticule is closer to your character; use a rifle and you get a longer aiming reticule and better accuracy. A great way to simulate aim difference in a top-down game.
• You can go it alone or bring in survivors to your fold and form a squad. You can then interact with the survivors in your squad much like Baldur’s Gate, Might and Magic, etc., by transferring items, sharing the carry load, specializing each member in ranged or melee, completely separate skill trees and so on. I highly suggest creating a squad. It really adds to the game play.
• An intense and well-written story that is gritty, but not too over-the-top set just after WW2 in New York. You consistently have a sense of purpose in the game. I was very surprised by the research the dev team put into character names. One such name is described in my Quick Look vid.
• There isn’t a CHANCE that you will get infected. You ARE infected and have to manage that by gathering a serum to keep your infection at bay. This same serum is used as currency to barter with NPCs for upgrades and supplies. There are consequences to your actions here.
• I can’t fall down open sewer grates to my death. The character stops at the edge. +1
• You are rewarded for exploring. I went off the beaten path a few times and was rewarded with a loot container. When you loot a container or object, there is a chance you will fail. There is a progress bar that counts down as you hold your spacebar to simulate time taken to loot. If you fail your attempt, you may loot again, but it takes longer each time afterward. This really adds to the “Oh Crap” factor when zombies are nearby. Loved it.
• When you are outside, you start incurring a tiredness penalty. The more tired you are, the slower your health and stamina regenerates. Nice touch. You can rest up in clearly marked buildings on the map (and mini-map) by going inside and getting out of the weather.
• There are varying mobs. Such as common, elite, boss, etc. Each tougher mob drops appropriate loot. And, you have a proficiency level in your stats that gives you a BONUS when killing each mob type after you have leveled up your kill count with that particular mob. Very, very cool.

There are more, but some are surprises that I don’t want to spoil.

What I didn’t like about the game:

The fact that the text sometimes auto-scrolls and I missed some of the story. I was quickly contacted by the dev after my review vid and told that I could have just paused the game. Very true and that wiped out the only thing I didn’t like.

All in all, I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a survival experience with good atmosphere, story and mechanics. This game is well put together. Here’s the kicker: At the time of this review, it was still in Early Access. Very impressive and very exciting for us. :) I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLYnFzq97WM&list=UUb8-Xfh-YYjBhRtvEaJBZsA

Review as of Alpha 9.3

In a nutshell: Minecraft meets Chuck Norris.

7 Days To Die accomplishes what many, many games have set out to do. And it’s still in Alpha stage of testing and production. I’ve been gaming for a long time and have tested many alphas and betas. 7 Days To Die is by far the most advanced by way of production and stability of any of them, including betas. That in itself is impressive, but that wouldn’t mean a thing if the game wasn’t enjoyable to play. It passes that test with ease, if you enjoy games of exploration and survival. Check out my YouTube channel for dozens and dozens of vids on 7DTD. OaksGameRoom.com

This game is single player, multi-player co-op and multi-player PvP. The amount of customization before you start your game is staggering. You can make it as easy or as hard as you wish, in a multitude of ways, before you even pop into the game. If you don’t like the idea of the zombies, at all, and want to wander around exploring the landscape to see what’s over the next hill, you can simply turn the zombies off completely. It effectively makes the game two games in one. Three, if you turn on the cheats and just want to build without scavenging for your materials and supplies.

What’s it all about? Skipping what you can gather from the description, this is a survival game at its finest. Ever wonder what it would be like to be plopped in the middle of nowhere with one can of chili, one bandage, one bottle of water and then left to your own devices to scavenge, build shelter and survive on what you find? This is your game. It does it better than any other to date.

Mining. Check.
Building. Check.
Growing your own garden for food. Check.
Hunting wild game for meat and leather for clothing. Check.
Ability to die from diarrhea caused by dysentery. Check.
Ability to bleed out if you don’t use a bandage. Check.
Ability to get infected by a zombie virus. Check.
Yellow polka dotted rabbits with bugged out eyes that kill you in one bite. Nope.
Brown rabbits that are tasty when you are starving. Check.
Build campfires and cooking utensils. Check.
Build a forge to smelt metals that you mine. Check.
Clowns. Nope.
Ability to drown. Check.
Broken leg that slows you and scares the pants off you as zombie dogs chase you and chew on your butt. Check.
Ten-foot tall elephants that roll like bowling balls and wipe out your entire crew. Nope.
Large ruined cities that you can explore and loot. Check.
Vast wilderness areas. Check.
Snowy areas, deserts and wastelands. Check.
Randomly generated world that are different every time you start a new game. Check.

Suggestion: Set the game on 60 minute days, 20% night, 50% block durability, max your damage, lower the damage done to you, and speed up the crafting and loot timers until you get the basics learned well. After you get the hang of it, crank up the difficulty to normal and give it a go. It will save some discouragement and make the game more enjoyable for you.

Is the game worth the regular price or should you wait for a sale? If what I said above sounds like your kind of game, it’s well worth it. This game is completed enough to be extremely playable and enjoyable in its current state. Not easy to find in today’s flood of alpha stage games.

Oak's Game Room [OaksGameRoom.com]

Enjoy the game and see ya on YouTube,
-Oak

I've played a lot of driving simulation games and this is by far the best to me. No arcade stuff. No Frills. Only good, solid driving mechanics set in a believable world. It's a very immersive game. You can make it as relaxing or as hectic as you want. You can also put your own mp3 songs in a folder to play on the radio as you drive. If you're looking for either a relaxing driving game, a game where you can see what it's like to drive a tractor trailer, or a game that you can play as a challenge to building a fleet of trucks and owning your own trucking garage and company, this is your game.

-70sG

If you enjoyed Space Invaders back in the day, and would enjoy the added bonus of power-ups in such a game, then this game is for you. Simple, colorful, proper challenge-to-advancement ratio, and most importantly: Fun to play. For the type of game that it is, I would give this a 10/10. -70sG