Recent reviews by ZigZach

Do not expect Sandstorm to play like Insurgency(Source). New engine, new feel, new bugs, same soul. This is a great game, but like all games it has some bugs, needs some refinement, and QoL features added. While that other stuff happens, it's still a great game!

Sandstorm rewards patience, soft footsteps, open ears, and overall spatial awareness.
Running and gunning is required, not always the most effective option, and often the only option.
Smoke grenades are meant to block the sight of the opponent, not your allies.
Objectives win games more efficiently than k/d.
Bullets are deadly, big bullets punch through walls.
Don't stand in doorways.
And as always, WE NEED A F%CKING RADIO!!

I was immediately excited the first time I heard about Sword Coast Legends, and waited intently for the release. Being the seasoned gamer that I am, and having been burned on hype before, I waited for reviews (both "official" and community). And those reviews were not stellar, and in many cases downright negative. So I was disappointed in a missed opportunity at a genre I had been waiting to resurface. Cut to present day and I found a good discount on SCL so I decided to give it a shot, and I almost immediately regretted not getting it at release.

Yes this is a massively slimmed-down and simplified version of previous (popular) installments in the genre, and for those wanting exactly that experience I can see the disappointment, I was slightly disappointed myself. But I still gave the game time, and while it didn't turn out to be the next Neverwinter Nights or Baldur's Gate it is still a solid game with fun A/RPG mechanics, easily accessible to a broader audience, and a large amount of replayability, especially for dedicated groups. Overall I feel SCL was judged too harshly by a group of D&D purists, and given the (advertising) opportunity to appeal to a broader audience I think we'd see a different state of things today, not only within the game, but also the developers.

I've been with Starbound since it came into the Early Access program, and I've enjoyed the game the entire time. Starbound is a game about curiosity, exploration, crafting, building, and enjoying the serenity of the sandbox universe. There is a main questline, and an abundance of procedurally generated sidequests, but those are hardly the focus of the game. Starbound excels at creating a sandbox that is yours to develop in any way you want, be that a medieval themed village on a lush planet, a beautiful resort on an ocean planet, or a science facility built into an asteroid field, Starbound gives you the opportunity to create your own piece of the universe in your own vision. If you are looking for a beautiful 2D pixel art game, with seemingly endless planets to visit, addicting crafting, building, and farming mechanics, a rapidly growing mod community (with Steam Workshop support), and a lighthearted Sci-Fi setting then Starbound may just be the game for you.

TL;DR

Upon starting this game for the first time I was greeted with a familiar site. What at first appeared to be a quick attempt to throw together dated graphics, and a pay-to-win profit model cloaked in a well used FPS genre, turned out to offer more than my initial reaction gave credit for. While that reaction is harsh, the game does contain dated graphics(eg. 2010), and a profit model that allows paying players to progress more quickly. What Heroes & Generals also offers is solid gameplay, progressive customization, and well balanced maps, all painted in a coat of FPS nostalgia.

With most free-to-play titles the first thing people criticize is the monetezation features, and this was one of the first areas I investigated. I'm glad to see that Heroes & Generals does a great job of avoiding the pay-to-win pitfall. By making all equipment available for both in game credits, and Gold purchased with real funds, H&G developers made it possible for people, paying or not, to access the same gear, albeit at different times. Monetization features allow players to purchase pre-trained soldiers, increase Credits/Warfunds earned in battles, unlock/purchase equipment/skins, purchase Assault Squads, and unlock 1 extra badge/equipment slots.

Overall Heroes & Generals is a balanced experience, and a game I will continue to play. While at points the game may seem unfair due to people having better equipment than you, it is actually a nice dose of realism, as in war you are not always evenly matched technologically. This game is still in Early Access, so expect minor bugs and glitches, but at this point I've encountered very few. This game is at the perfect point to start playing and becoming active in the community. For the price I highly suggest taking some time to play this game, and develop your own opinions, and if you have suggestions don't hesitate to voice them on the forums, because that's the whole point of the Early Access system.

I first purchased this game about a year ago(before the Steam EA release), and I was very impressed with the visuals and solid gameplay. While the game was, and still is, very basic, it excells at immersing you in its stunningly beautiful environments. If you haven't noticed, this game is amazing to look at, not only compared to other titles in this genre, but compared to most other games as well. While the world still shows signs of its voxel roots it masks them very well with convincing vegetation, and terrain features. The beauty of this game doesn't end with its masking attempts either, with vivid colors, impressive lighting, an epic soundtrack, and an overall natural and magical terrain, you often feel compelled through the world simply to see what's over the next hill, all the while accompanied by an audio track that feels inspiring and exciting.

When I saw that Blockscape had released on Steam as an Early Access title I knew I should download again and dive back in to see the changes. I am happy to see that in my time away there have been some significant updates. Right away I notice less crashing than before, which was my largest complaint previously. I also see that a crafting system has started to be implemented, and you now have a sense of a character model, although with how unimpressive it is I'm not sure being a floating head is worse. My framerate is also much steadier than it was before, showing that the developer has put time into optimization.

Bugs definitely still exist, and character movement can be wonky at times. Some surfaces will cause your camera to jump rapidly while moving across them, and small steps in a surface can bring you to a hault rather than changing your elevation. Other things you may notice are odd floating boulders(which I'm sure has to do with the algorithms used to generate terrain), but with how otherworldly geologic features appear in this game maybe these floating rocks hint at a more magical side of this world we find ourselves in?

At this time I do recommend this game, but not to everyone. If you enjoy the pure pleasure of exploring a beautiful new world, and building structures within that world you may find something to love here. Also if you like the idea of watching a game grow from a basic idea to fruition, and you also enjoy the exploration/crafting genre then you may have found a gem in Blockscape. This game is at the point in its life where the foundation is set, with only minor tweaks needed, and features(survival, crafting, empire building etc) have only begun to be added. There is no story, or enemies to encounter, and the wildlife that you see is a placeholder at best, so your time in Blockscape will mostly be spent building and crafting. This is the pivot point for this project, with our further support hopefully it will allow the developer to expand their workforce and really have a chance to push this game to the heights it is capable of.

On the surface Planet Explorers seems like a quick cash-in on the Crafting/Exploration genre, which is not to imply it doesn't succeed at what it intends to do. While still in Early Access this title performs very well on both fronts, and should not be dismissed for the bugs/flaws currently in-game. The attempt at exploration Planet Explorers makes is impressive, and although the graphics may be a little dated, the scenery can be downright beautiful at times. Even with a map as vast as the one in Planet Explorers moving forward is not always the best option, with vast cave networks easily discovered using you Handheld PC, you won't have to venture far to discover the unknown. One flaw that currently is plaguing this title is the draw distance, and the rate at which the landscape appears, while easily written off as an Early Access issue, it is one that will need to be addressed before official release.

Crafting in Planet Explorers can feel like the usual fanfare, resource tiers(wood, rock, copper, iron, etc), but the Creations Editor is where the crafting in this title moves beyond what I've encountered so far in my gaming experience. Yes, other games have had content creation, map editors, etc, but Planet Explorers brings it right to the forefront of its systems. While the Creations Editor(a more accurate name would be Blueprint Editor) can seem daunting and unwieldy, spending time learning it's nuances will quickly show you just how robust this tool can be. I have had a blast buidling new vehicles and testing them in Build Mode to see how well they perform, and the experience brings me back to my childhood playing with legos.

While Planet Explorers is on the right path towards what, in my eyes, is the next evolution of the Crafting/Exploration genre, it is not without it's bugs. I previously mentioned the draw distance, which is an issue for immersion, but also for traversing the map in aircrafts, or other very fast moving vehicles. While travelling around the map you will have trees, animals, mountains, and more appear in front of you, often leading to emergency meneuvers. With the robust Creation Editor, and Steam Workshop support this title has the potential to develop a large following, and create many memorable moments. Other bugs do occur, and not all game elements are currently implemented, but I feel with our support this could be a title to throw up on the board with Minecraft, and if all the kinks are worked out it will surpass it in what it does.

Edit - Long overdue edit. Ignore Oovee Games, go with Mudrunner/Snowrunner. Mad Dog Games(MDG) actually seems willing to push the offroad sim-lite genre further than Oovee has, so I suggest supporting MDG with your purchase and getting Mudrunner or Snowrunner. Snowrunner is clearly the superior choice in my opinion.

This is a great engine. The reason I say engine instead of game is because there's actually very little to do once you start playing. You can uncloak hidden areas of each map, unlock vehicles by getting close to them, deliver resources to unlock garages, and finally deliver logs to finish the map objectives, but basically you drive from A to B. I say this not to imply that Spintires isn't worthy of our praise, or your support, but to make it clear that Spintires is not about the destination, so much as the journey there.

As other games have similarly done before, Spintires gives us an engine to create our own personalized experiences based on our direct interaction with this games biggest foe, the terrain. Where Arma 3 has you perform recon and select the most tactical positions for your squad before a firefight, Spintires has you controlling gearboxes and determining the best tire placement over the most unforgiving, and detailed terrain I've ever encountered in a game. While some people may find Spintires boring, other games have proven over and over that even some of the most tedious tasks supported on a solid foundation can find a strong following. Those who may find navigating European roads, piloting an aircraft, or managing resources enjoyable may also find some fun and often exhilarating moments in lining up the perfect path between trees, struggling through mud holes with a large log trailer, or winching your friend out of an impossible situation so you can both continue exploring.

With the praise I'm giving the game I will point out some flaws. First, the camera isn't the easiest to work with, but this is being remedied. Second, you currently cannot see the terrain deformation caused by fellow players in multiplayer, also planned to be fixed I believe. Third, other small glitches occur(sometimes resources wont be counted as delivered, chat box closes randomly, winch can cause problems occasionally in multiplayer, and other small things that will be addressed). I would have suggested releasing this title in it's current state under Early Access, because even though I love the game and trust they will fix everything, it doesn't help your credibility to release a title in this state. I would have purchased it at the same price in Early Access, and would not have batted an eye at any bugs or flaws currently occuring, in fact I probably would have been impressed at how completed the title already was. I know this makes no actual difference, but from a consumer standpoint I can see how the developers might have benefitted from the Early Access program, giving them more time to run public beta, and also more funding to allow for the extended beta development stage.

This game scratches the itch that I have never been able to reach. It started with 4x4 Evolution and Test Drive: Offroad on PS2, continued with MotorM4x and Offroad Drive on PC, and finally Spintires gets it right. As it stands I highly recommend this game to anyone interested in any of the titles I just mentioned, I also want to press that this is a much more realistic offroad representation, you will very rarely break the 30mph mark, and you will get stuck often, the game is called Spintires, and it ain't cause your doing burnouts. If this game receives the mod support it deserves I would bet we will be seeing this game for a long time to come.