Recent reviews by Temko

Until Paradox addresses the stuttering and lag issues... do not purchase this!
I love Stellaris.. a LOT. But even with all the good things this expansion brings, it has also created new problems that lower the value of this expansion in terms of enjoyment quite a bit for me.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY6LRMJJrR4

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Gameplay wise though there are a lot of good things to look at and even more interesting things to dive into. Its not without flaws, even taking aside the performance issues and bugs, but it has certainly opened up new gameplay modes.

The biggest problem I have is with the changes to population management. Previously you could assign and move around population quite easily to accommodate your needs for resources, but with the changes and priority system this no longer works and it causes needless annoyances when trying to manage your resource generation. Another item that lowers my enjoyment of the title is the empire cap / expansion penalty, where the threshold is set way to low for my personal enjoyment and stifles expansive empires heavily.

That said, the changes to planets & planet progression in terms of districts, buildings and other changes as well as the changes to rare resources, the addition of new resources and the way they are generated is a welcome changes creating more economic depth.

This depth comes to great fruition when looking at the global marketplace the trade routes as well as trade contracts. This new layer of gameplay allows for smart economy gameplay with some really interesting dynamics between empires and how to deal with rare resources and resource generation, so that even smaller empires can have access to truly rare resources can hold their own for quite a while.

Overal, were it not for the performance issues and bugs this would be an easy recommendation, but with them i'd hold off for now until those are fixed.

when they ARE fixed? Dive right on in full force.


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A competent, Enjoyable and well built adventure game ... but its bland story and setting detract from an otherwise enjoyable experience.


Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qEYLf-NnEY

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Let start with the good, because a lot of this game is good - its game design, while linear provides a steady progression with decent challenge as you go through the various levels, mobs, "puzzles" and obstacles, increasing in difficulty as you go forward.

Also unlocking and learning the usage of your different summons is interesting and the range of summons and their various uses, as well as buffs and skills allow you to customize your experience a fair bit yo your preferred gameplay style. This is all pretty decent overall, with smooth flow across levels and allows you to play - up to an extent - in your preferred way.

This also translates to smooth visuals, that while not amazing or stunning do feel unique enough in terms of enemies, animations and diversity on display.

Further, the sound and voice acting is pretty decent and it runs overall like a dream at 60+ fps at all times.

....that said, i'm bored to bits by the setting and story. This is my biggest gripe with the title overall.

This game gives me a feeling of overlord, or other games where you summon minions and command them - and while from a mechanics standpoints, that is VERY true - from the world and story it all feels bland and flat. You're running around with your automatons fighting other automatons controlled by the generic evil overlord while your protagonist is a bumbling baboon that wins the day.

Its devoid of energy, originality or depth... which is a Damn shame as the game is pretty damn good overal.

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Empires apart is a step into the well remembered shoes of age of empires and RTS of old, with a modern experience aimed at multiplayer gameplay.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYN5bbVhrBI

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This is not a perfect RTS, but its pretty damn solid if you like competitive or multiplayer gameplay. the races available are diverse enough to provide tactical choice and options, while remaining coherent enough that even when you don't know every nuance you are not completely lost.

A solid chain of units, upgrades, tech advancements and tactical choices allows for diverse gameplay across the board... If you like multiplayer.

Because while the game does offer a skirmish mode (and a horde survival mode, which is fun) the AI is damned weak and provides little challenge, but the online ranked and unranked multiplayer does give the game tons of strength.

Visually the game is not a powerhouse, but the polygonal shapes of the graphics are mostly distinct and clear and while some unit details are lost in the shuffle of fighting, overall i have no complaints on the artstyle or visual fidelity.

Where i do have an issue with is the Unit AI - With pathing in particular causing me quite a few headaches when units cant decide if left or right is faster, and start spinning around in circles. Very annoying, causing unnecessary micromanagement.

Having said that, audio is also pretty solid in the title, with voice overs, music and sound queues all pretty solid.

all in all, a pretty damn enjoyable and solid multiplayer RTS experience with lots of depth and tons of fun units to play with.

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I'm enjoying my time with the game, but it has some serious flaws that will influence your enjoyment quite a bit.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23r0oHW0Ddk

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Visually quite a pretty game, its impressive how far they've been able to get mars not to look like a endless box of red sand... but sadly, at the end of the day, impressive artstyle aside... every map is a giant red sandbox. Obviously this fits with the theme and and, but its still not exactly visually diverse. This doesn't mean its not pretty, the animation & art on display are all pretty damn good.

Gameplay wise though, there are some glaring issues and some minor gripes.

First the biggest one: Can I get some damn information out of this UI? Curious about how your Biodome is doing on the food? tough luck - you only get global food production. Want to know where your food is stored at that moment to distribute? Good luck, you'll need to scour the map for it visually.
Need to know which colonists are unhappy? well, hope you like going through EACH ONE one by one to figure it out. Yes, literally.

This is the single biggest issue I have with the game. The amount of endless chores that serve no purpose and that other games have solved in elegant ways ages ago is staggering. Even something as simple as chaining actions for your transport rovers is tedious.

That said, I do truly love the way you build your colony - a lot of annoyance is taken away from the joy when you slowly build a working and maintainable system in the game across food, water, oxygen and electricity. with enough resources for maintenance and enough distribution to make sure it gets everywhere.

Between carefully managed bio-domes and resource allocations you have a lot of control to fine-tune your colony across the board. It doesn't remove the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ clicking nightmare, but it does make you sit back and enjoy your populace slowly breeding you new workers quite a bit.

the research is also very cool and has a ton of progression, that slowly opens up more late-game stuff for you to enjoy... sadly, the late-game has another flaw in that well... there really isn't an end, its a sandbox sure, but you're not really working towards anything unlike many other games in this sort o niche.

Overall, the game has some deep flaws, but still provides an enjoyable and somewhat unique experience to a competent degree. Not for everyone, but if you want to build a colony on mars - this is the game for you.

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For the first time in a decade, I'm in love with a Final Fantasy game again... and that's saying a lot as the lack of mouse control in the menus makes me want to strangle noctis.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD8-VA21dnY

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From a PC Port perspective this is a decent port, while there are some glaring issues (mouse control in menu / interface) and some minor annoyances (why is there no borderless windowed mode), all in all the performance, stability and options available for this PC Build are pretty solid. Its not going to win any prizes, but neither is it going to cause any big annoyances.


From a gameplay perspective, just looking at visuals - this is a undeniably stunning title. Animations are phenomenal (probably my favorite animations in years), visual fidelity is great and overall audio is stunning. This, in both its original Japanese and English translations is well executed across the board.

This translates to an easy to learn, hard to master combat system that has a ton of options and chaining of abilities, but really.. if you just take it slow and steady, you can overcome most encounters and progress, just don't expect those high rating unless you pull of some fancy combo's.

This doesn't mean there are no gameplay annoyances at all, especially unskippable cutscenes (YES, I KNOW THE SUN IS DOWN IGNIS) or annoying repetitive running across the map (Yes, the pier is pretty, but its also a full minute of my life the 20th time game).

Thankfully, these are overshadowed by the strength of the combat, progression, story and overall world design.

Honestly... this is my favorite final fantasy game ever, and I fully recommend the PC edition.


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Not Yet.

That's the short of this review. At least, if you're playing on desktop which is what I've played it at and not VR.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgnnE80VVME

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This is early access, and things will change over time, but right now, especially for the price, there is way to much missing to be worth that price.

Single player has about ~ 60-90 minutes of game time, and with no Vs. Ai skirmishes, after those 90 minutes you're left with multiplayer which exists out of 2 factions that are mostly straight up copies with a different paint job. Not great...

That all said, what IS available, is not all bad, its definitely unfinished and unpolished, but the core ideas are pretty solid, and I am a sucker for well put together turn based tactics - which this does offer.

But with lackluster visuals, VERY limited units (...3. all space marine variants), limited equipment (... just a few items to equip to your marines) almost no special skills and a fairly simple map, it just lacks a level of depth that I feel other turn based tactics games offer in spades.

Does the VR angle help It? Maybe, but As I played the desktop variant, the lack of rebindable keys (or any meaningful options) and the lack of a completed mouse controls for actions, but only used for camera / aiming also left me annoyed more than not.

On the flip side, the story in the game is pretty good, the performance is decently good, the voice acting & overall audio quality is great and while everything is VERY limited in its availability, which is why I say "not yet", the things in place are pretty interesting... just to little even in early access to justify its asking price. Unless you just need to have the incomplete PC version of the board game right now...

So give this a few months to grow, because it needs it for sure to see if under the scaffolding & construction material a nice little game emerges.

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Its no secret that I Love Stellaris, and While a lot of the changes for Apocalypse are pretty sweeping (especially wormhole travel) almost every single one has grown on me in a positive way.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZO1wssrE6s

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2.0 makes a ton of sweeping changes and the two biggest are the way Faster-Than-Light travel works and how warfare works.

All other changes mostly tie into how these two have made that possible. First, now there is only Hyperlane travel, instead of the three options that were there previously, and while this is hard to swallow (I know i always played with Wormholes as mine), the resulting changes due to this restriction is amazing.

Now systems have predefined locations where they connect to meaning you can create defensive bottlenecks and even more important... you NEED be smart about your expansion plans. Because traveling between systems for your fleet might take quite a bit longer than previously, you're going to need to make sure you can actually defend what you claim.

About that claiming, its changed that each system now needs a outpost like building, which ties into how borders work, as borders only spread to systems you actually claim - meaning that no longer are borders vague blobs that grow by the magic of lala land. they are controlled. These outposts are also the building you upgrade to make them into strongholds where you can have orbital defenses, MULTIPLE Shipyards and the like in them... meaning shipyards are no longer bound to planets and you can position yourself in places that are important strategically, regardless of the planets available.

(this is especially amazing for habitat tech players)

Further, due to this - further changes in armies and warfare restrict fleet size, change how the " stack of death" works (IE: fixes it a BIT, but not fully) and how movement works - a lot of new options for strategic gameplay are available. This does a 180 degree turn in how to plan your empire, and its damn fantastic. Though, players much smarter than me will judge combat balance, I found myself playing a more controlled game with less guesswork than previously.

The changes don't stop here and I strongly suggest checking out the video but new changes to exploration, technology, sub-light speed travel and many small changes to ship upkeep, upgrading, fleet management are also added. There is a ton of stuff, and ALMOST all of it good.

The bad? The already slow midgame.. seems to have slowed down further. which I don't like. Also, diplomacy, while more important than before hasn't received much love - both are things that still need work.

But all in all? ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I love this game, and this expansion is an amazing addition.

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If i had to describe this game in a single sentence the best i could come up with would be "A flawed RPG Gem". Because for all its flaws, I am adoring this title.

video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWxBnHzA5rw

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Lets get the big bears out of the way first: This game has WAY to many bugs & performance issues spread across every aspect of its design to be acceptable. While the developers have committed to be working on fixing them as fast as possible, I am still not okay with them and that is my biggest negative against the title. The reason I've still put this as recommended is also why I call this a gem: This game is so damn much fun.

From melee combat where you have a very different type of combat than most other games, with tactical and methodical gameplay being rewarded, to the way skills work and the focus on story progression as a nobody, instead of the "hero of ages" are all amazing.

While I mention that none of the features are working as they should, most are still amazing fun. The very idea of stealing and how people will recognize stolen goods (but villages further might not) and how if you've washed or what you're wearing impact how people react to you are all great.

Adding to the way the various quests, objectives and stories intertwine into a historically (reasonably) accurate representation of 14th century Bohemia are enjoyable to say the least. From period correct buildings and clothing, to the way the land is laid out - its great fun to explore, experience and progress.

but, its also flawed with the forests being more empty than not, and there being way to many NPC's in the world you cant interact with at all. This leaves you wanting as you end up in a place after trekking through dangerous woods... only to find yourself standing in front of a dead eyed npc.

That all said, when the game comes to story, it shines with quests and characters involved that all feel great and step by step make a living and enjoyable world.

Overall, outside of some clunky mechanics, were it not for the various bugs - this game would be one of my favorites of the year, and even with those I'm still enjoying myself... But would I recommend you buy it THIS INSTANT? No. wait for at least patch 1.3 and see how many issues that fixes to save yourself the annoyance of running up a staircase, that has delusions of being a damn wall.


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Consider this a "first impression" of the title - as I was unable to dedicate the time to create a full in-depth review. Should I find that time, a review will be posted on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/guylogicgaming

That all said, the title is not BAD in any way, but neither does it stand out above its various rivals - while the mechanics around the solitaire gameplay are interesting, they mostly follow the same twists and turns any of its competitors do with theme cars to give you a boost, or locked cards that restict your playfield. And while never confusing, it also doesn't stand out

The story in the game is interesting, but its only in text and taht doesn't travel well into the various challanges of the game. Meaning that while you might read 5 paragraphs of text, you'll have forgotten half of it by the time you get the next bit.

As for performance? Its fine. No bugs or annoyances I've encountered, but again - neither does it stand out.

Its a solid title, but in an ocean of competitors, it does not innovate or expand even in its own little niche, where we've seen other titles like Shadowhand, take steps to move orward.

For its price, its a fun little distraction, and there is nothing wrong with it, but all in all, if you're shopping for a solitaire game, there are a pletora of competitors that are equaly competent.


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Rise & Fall is a solid expansion, but adds some interesting mechanics to the table, but sadly, does not resolve the major issues that the game already suffered from.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-NXYb8sFLk

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The 3 main additions are all pretty good to lesser or greater extent and improve the overall gameplay - but do not improve it enough to overcome some issues inherit in the title.

First the new Dark Age / Golden are system across ages is a nice little addition, that rewards early game exploration, and mid-game expansion across your empire. with a bit of nuanced choice you can decide how you want to expand from there- sadly, the bonuses / negatives are minimal and can mostly be ignored unless you stumble on them by accident, and trying to trigger them actively, might have negative effects for your overall progression due to needing to go out of your way to accomplish it.

The second system is Loyalty, and this is immensely enjoyable. Each city has loyalty that will Raise / Lower depending on various influences up to being able to switch sides or become a free city. This is combated in various ways and creates a good balance against massive expansion and land grabbing early on - spread to far, and you might not be able to maintain your empire. Coupled with ways to sabotage enemies, it adds an additional layer of choice to your empire building and that's great.

Sadly, the Governors system, that allows you to place special NPCs in cities that give them buffs & Loyalty, are lackluster. While the loyalty is pretty good, the abilities of the 7 available governors are specialized to the point of being useless most of the time. Sure, the times you have a benefit out out of them, they're amazing - but most of the time, they are merely there. I wish they'd have done more with this system overall.

So none of these changes are bad - but also, none of them are must haves and with the title expansion costing $30 or its equivalent, its a hard bargain to recommend this across the board, so i suggest waiting for a Sale to pick up this expansion, as the features it gives are pretty great, but it does't fix the issues with the games lackluster AI in any real way.

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