Recent reviews by Tosche Station

Impressive strategy game. You command either the Soviet or German forces on the European eastern front of WW2. The game is accurate to history reagarding the sequencing of Stalingrad, and a perfect way to carry out the battle as you may seem fit. But remember the game is just that: Stalingrad with surrounding skirmishes, and nothing but that.

The combat is comparable to Civilization V's: hexagons with finite movement for units. The main difference between Unity and Civ's combat systems, however, is the logistic behavior. Units have supply gauges that change with the availability of resources, toggled by supply line efficiency. Of course, if the enemy captures a section of your supply line, it will not be efficient for you! So a main component of the game's objective is supply line management, a category of logistics.

One might think that this game is simply strategy combat, and therefore boring. Within an hour of gameplay, that person can testify otherwise. The dynamic weather/landscape and intelligent AI kept me engaged for sure; the enemy always has something brewing in the pot. You can notice its strategy, often focusing on your weak and vulnerable units to find a path to your supply line. Other times it makes deliberate retreats when you do that same thing to them. It's truly captivating.

If you are interested in a microcosm of Civ V's combat and then some, this is the game for you. Nothing daunting, just casual strategy fun.

9/10

Homeworld Remastered Collection includes all parcels of the Homeworld franchinse, except for Homeworld Cataclysm. Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to enjoy the original in the 90s due to the lack of life. But this edition fixes that by reintroducing an amazing RTS gaming experience. Aside from the great price-to-content ratio, the gameplay and design improvements provide a spectacular set for both an interstellar epic and an interstellar war. In the remastered edition of Homeworld 1, the story appeals to every human’s instinctive desire: exploration. What would a space-game be without a voyage through the vastness of the cosmos? The skirmish mode appeals to unique space physics. Unlike many other gravity-deprived RTS games, Homeworld combines true science with fictional science in perfect proportions, avoiding a space simulation but maintaining a somewhat credible reality. For example, constant explosions during a battle enhance the gameplay, but at the sacrifice having sound travel through no medium-- violating physical principle. However, science martinets should not worry because the soundtrack and plot attract your attention perpetually. I don’t know if Barber's Adagio for strings was featured in the original Homeworld 1, but its inclusion in the remastered version definitely adds to the dramatic story. All of these aspects sum to an enjoyable experience, but not without the occasional flaw. Thankfully, only minor and often insignificant. Sometimes the 'skybox' (in context, ‘skybox’ is not concise, but you get the idea) shows a strange illustration. If there is a galaxy in the background, stars behind it will be equally luminous as ones far away from the galaxy. My reasoning leads me to think the stars should be perceived at least slightly dimmer. The units rarely break formation, but when they do, controlling combat becomes difficult. Also, in one story mission, a relatively large ship I deployed got stuck between my mother ship and a computer mother ship, rendering it unusable. Aside from these, I found the game to run smoothly. 9/10.

Top-rate game. Although it is fairly difficult to capture the survival horror genre's tone and gameplay, this game easily does it. In fact, I think this game sets new standards for a relatively young genre. Combining the aspects of an open-world and a linear story mixes for a great experience-- especially in the Alien universe. It's also impressive that The Creative Assembly achieved this, considering they typically develop RTS games. My only complaints are the Alien's scarce appearences compared to the length of the story, and the amusing lip sync. However, I appreciate the attempt at a diverse opposition (working joes, hysterical citizens, etc.). If you do get stuck on a level with a premise you find boring, it is always enjoyable to admire the beautiful graphics. 8.75/10

The game doesn't function properly for me, the screen continually flashes in game, I would not suggest buying it only so other gamers avoid ecountering the same problems I do. Also, before everybody ridicules me, I DID spend time to find a solution, and various popular methods to fix the flashing did not work for me. So, I am compensating for dissapointment via civ 5.

Edit: After installing this game on a new computer, the screen flashes ceased. Very complex game with a steep learning curve. Because it now works, I recommend it to hardcore strategy gamers.