Recent reviews by Milkyway Commando

Before I offer my review of this product, I like to share a bit of my history with this franchise. In late 2019 I became a more consistent computer game player as I had more time than I did when I was younger. I found and played through “Dragon Age: Origins” and all DLC material available. I simply fell in love with the compelling, captivating, and immersive story; the lore; the companions; the choices; the consequences of my actions…! It was a journey that brough back memories of playing the tabletop first edition of advanced dungeons and dragons with my buddies some 40 years earlier! With an insatiable appetite, I immediately continued my exploration of Thedas by completing all the content for Dragon Age 2 (DA2) and Inquisition (DAI). I spend hours and hours getting to know more and more about Thedas and its people, places, politics, and plights. So, with eager anticipation, I waited ten long years for the next installment of the Dragon Age story…

The following are my thoughts, observations, and opinions of this next installment…

The game’s character creator is run-of-the-mill. I was not a big fan of all the options and the art style of my character. Upon completion, I felt my rook looked a bit cartoony, disproportional, and too clean/neat.

Upon completion of my character and starting the game, I felt like I got air dropped into the world of Minrathous’ action without much context as to why I was there. Although I was familiar with Varic Tethras from my DA2 and DAI characters, but as the player character, I could not help but wonder, how do Varic and I (Rook) know each other? How did we meet and why exactly am I here? In other words, what was my back story and how did come to be here? In addition, the more I played the more apparent it became that my character Rook really was not the main protagonist. My character really did not have any reason to be in this role. I mean, other than a quick few lines from a codex entry and some throw away lines mixed into a ton of meaningless dialog indicating your Rook in the main protagonist, there is no tangle reason why your character should even really give a rip about what is happening.

As for the music, I thought Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe’s composition was out of place and bit too futuristic for the overall setting. At certain times I got the impression I was playing a bit more of a sci-fi genre than a dark fantasy RPG with the music. In short, I would say the music did not help with my immersion into the game very well at all.

I choose the lowest difficulty level to fully concentrate on the story and it is here where I the most problems. For starters, I found the story to be weak, inept, and quite amateurish! It is clear the story writer(s) for this game were inexperienced and unskilled as they did not stay true to or respect the history and lore associated with the franchise. For instance, my previous choices from all the previous adventures were simply ignored or frivolously disregarded with a brush of a codex entry or throw away comment by a companion or NPC. Really? Is it not this feature that made BioWare such a great studio back so long ago?

Next, the dialog is more modern day and juvenile. It was as though it was written by a complete novice or second-grader. I expected much better from folks who are supposed to be professional game / dialog writers. For instance, the world of Thedas is in danger of being destroyed and the dialog from your party members is pollyannish at best. Their dialog is one of complete optimism and no urgency about the grim things that are happening. If I disagreed with the comment(s) of a companion or NPC, I did not truly have the option of saying something different or down-right ugly.

And if that was not enough, the identity politics dialog was completely immersion breaking, ham-fisted, and utterly offensive. The writing and interchange by your party members is utterly inconsistent with the established lore and times. Again, in previous DA stories, these types of topics were well written, presented with care, and within the context of the place or society within Thedas!

In addition to the story, the combat – for me - was a weak, demure, and tedious especially as the game went on. The enemy types are too few and damage sponges. By the end of this train wreck of a game, I did not want to engage in any of the combat because it was just a rinse and repeat from a task lazily done and created. Other, true DA titles not only had dark, gritty villains, monsters, darkspawn, and demons that appeared utterly menacing and fearful, but were each unique, varied with their own attack sequences and patterns. I found this part of the game to be completely void of creative talent and understanding of the previous adventures and lore.

As for what BioWare and EA did well on this title…

First, the environmental settings were extremely well done. The non-executive, front-line programmers and developers who worked on this aspect of the game are highly commended for creating an environment consistent to the original concept art and lore of the Dragon Age franchise. It is certainly evident these folks poured their passion into this aspect of the game. Very well done!

Second, BioWare / EA certainly “rooked” me into believing this piece of work was a “return to form” for the franchise. This so-called “return to form” is an utter lie. It is now apparent that the gaming media is a lap-dog to studios and publishers. The $80 price tag for the deluxe edition was a scam and simply a money grab.

Third, the “veil” of was kept over this piece of work until it was too late to get a refund. The further I got into this title in name only, the worse it got and I found myself not enjoying anything about it at all!

And lastly, they succeeded in firmly raising my “guard” for any other products they may release in the future. In other words, I have absolutely no faith that BioWare or EA will be able to deliver a quality Mass Effect game that is true to its lore and that is not riddled with bad writing and identity politics.

Given the monetary resources available to BioWare via EA, this game does not live up to a AAA game studio title at all! I would not recommend this game at all. It is not in-line with the other games within this franchise. If someone does decide to buy and play this title, I would suggest paying only $5-$10 USD.

Rating: 0/5

A great hidden object game that is perfect to relax to after a really stressful day of reality (i.e. real life drama and demands that drains one of their passion in life - laid back relaxation playing games!).

I highly suggest getting this game! It's wonderfully done; has great achievements and will make you a cool hidden object player and an HOG envy to all your HOG friends. Ok, the last statements are due to too much wine and too much fun with this game! Seriously though, get this game... it's awesome!

Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness is a single-player RPG / CRPG game released about 6-months ago from the GrapeOcean Technologies software company. I added this title to my library 4 months later after some positive Steam Friend Activity comments. And I’m so glad I did! Not only were the positive comments correct, this game is very well done and lots of fun! It’s unfortunate that we only have a thumbs up rating because I’d certainly give this smashing game an overwhelmingly positive rating! Why?

I loved pen and paper RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons and Gamma World back in my younger days when getting a group of folks together was a bit easier. Unfortunately, those days are over and now just a chapter of really great memories of wonderful adventures and great stories. These days my RPG adventuring is mainly done via single player computer games like the Dragon Age and Baldur’s Gate series. So, I was so excited and eager to try this little gem as soon as I could. Would it compare to other CRPGs?

I decided I’d give it a go on the easiest setting available – story mode. On this mode, combat is much easier and would allow me to concentrate more on the story as well as learning the mechanics such movement, inventory, and other basic stuff of this new game. The prologue did an outstanding job of being superb tutorial of the overall mechanisms that were employed throughout the entire game; not once did feel confused, lost or frustrated with how to interact my surroundings. This introduction also immediately captured my intrigue and imagination with respect to the storyline of greed and darkness.

If you’re into party-based escapades where you have control over other characters, then you will find this as enjoyable as I did. The party member control system is quite intuitive and much easier to utilize than the one used in Dragon Age Origins. The inventory system is what you’d expect and like other systems can be a tedious but not so much that I found it to be a major negative. In all honesty, it was very much in line with other classics in the genre.

The most exciting part to me was the morality system. Many of the games I’ve played did not take into account the love of coin or how much wealth one could amass throughout the story. While amassing great wealth can be achieved, what you could do with it was, for me, a refreshing aspect of gameplay. I also enjoyed how one could decide just how far and in which direction they wanted to take their principles. Suffice it to say, I personally found the story and this element very relevant to what appears to be an issue for us here in the real world… constantly balancing our greed with generosity.

With respect to the graphics, I found them to be top-notch. Many times, during my playthrough, I’d be awestruck and captivated by the level of detail put into the scenery. The detail given to each area is well developed and thought out. I highly applaud the developers for not going simplistic with their world / location designs! Different areas are unique and not a cookie-cutter lay out. I genuinely felt the love and dedication this software company put into their product. I can only hope this game does well so this company can continue their growth. I also hope you’ll give this one a try as I really think you’ll like it too.

Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness is certainly on my list to replay. I’m not a big achievement hunter so I cannot speak to whether one can obtain all achievement in one playthrough. I do not typically target this aspect of a game and figure I can obtain all of them over repeated playthroughs. I will be increasing the game difficulty next time as well as recruiting some different characters. As far as characters, they were okay but I did not feel all that connected to them. However, I did not get the impression that was the intent or focus of the developers. If there’s another installment in this story, I’d support a bit more character involvement but not so much that it’d take away from the overall story.

Probably the most important aspect for me was that I never ran into any glaring problems / bugs. I am very, very impressed with the level of quality the developers have put into and continue to put into this title. I wish other software companies had the same philosophical and professional stance as this team with this product. Very well done GrapeOcean Technologies! Thanks for a great story and game!

Again, I’m a bit bummed that we can only give this title a thumbs-up. If you’re looking for a great CRPG / RPG game to play, I’d highly, highly recommend Black Geyser! In short, it gets an overwhelmingly positive rating from me!

I was looking for a game what I like to call, 'my after work degas' and this fit the bill perfectly. The game mechanics worked fabulously and each level present a good challenge. I'd highly recommend this if you're into those old pencil type puzzles that required you to make a shape without tracing the same line twice.

In short, the devs put together a really great game! Go ahead, give a try! You'll see what I mean.

I love sci-fi type games and despite the overall “mixed” review on the Steam store page for this title, I decided to give it a go. First and foremost, I’d like to will give the devs two thumbs-up for their tremendous effort on this project. I am not a programmer or game designer but I can only imagine the challenges of making a game on a very tight budget and hoping against all odds the project will not only excel but also be instrumental in making a name for the business. So, on the off-chance anyone from Elder Games reads this simple review, I wish the studio all the success in their future titles and next projects.

With that said, however, I am not inclined to give Everreach: Project Eden my top rating but also do not feel the game was so terrible that I should give it a horrible review. The best way to explain this dichotomy of feelings is with the words – frustrated and disappointed. I wanted to love this game with all the little quirks that other reviews have mentioned (e.g. aiming and gun play and janky player controls) but the killing point for me was what I will call an anomaly that I could not figure out how to get around. So, here’s what I mean specifically… the game world is designed beautifully and the player controls were a bit frustrating to me but not a deal killer. The disappointment came when I hit what I’ll call the third chapter anomaly. Nora’s stats when I entered the “hot zone” just simply disappeared. Strength, Stamina, Intelligence all were negative 1 (-1). Armor and health points were near the starting values. The end of the chapter requires the Nora to leave the outpost and return to Eden. The attack drone was so powerful, character with almost no health or armor and janky control, I was unable to get through this segment. I diligently tried to figure out what happened to Nora’s health / armor but could not ever get it back without starting the whole game over – which I did not want to do.

Since Steam only gives reviewers two choices, I am sad that based on my experience with this title, I cannot recommend this game in its present state. Again, I think the devs are onto some good things but Everreach: Project Eden just was a bit too frustrating and ultimately disappointing for me.

This game caught my eye as it offered an opportunity for me to play something a bit outside my usual type of games… epic RPG campaigns and the like. I have not played a lot of titles tagged with “Noir” or “Point & Click” but the intro trailer on the store front is what made me want to give this a try. I am very happy that I did. It’s a very well put together piece. It took me a little over 2 hours to play but I was engaged in the story from the beginning. The voice acting is very well done as are the graphics and game play mechanics. In short, this is a very solid game and worth your time even if this a bit outside of your usual type of games. There are a total of 3 chapters in this story and I look forward to playing the next 2 as soon as I can! Great job SkyGoblin! Very good product! My score 5/5.

Picked this up during the last summer sale and I'm glad I did. It was great game and was very well done. The story was fairly straight forward but enough to keep me interested. The puzzles were challenging but not to the point where it was completely frustrating. The overall game controls were spot on and worked fine.

In the final analysis, if you're looking for a solid game that can be played in one day, I highly suggest picking this one up.

(8/10)

I’d like to start by mentioning that I’ve always been what some might call a “numbers” guy. No, I’m not an accountant and I haven’t stayed in a Holiday Inn Express anytime recently. What I mean by “numbers” guy is that I’ve always felt like numbers don’t tell fibs and are always true. For example, 2 + 2 will always be 4. As for my review of this title, however, I must confess, I’ve never been a fan of this type of “numbers” puzzles. I received a coupon for this particular game via the badge crafting process and decided to give it a chance.

I was surprised to find the game did not simply drop you into the hardest puzzle right off the bat. One could choose to do so if one wished but one would have to intentionally select that option. I started with the easiest “trainee” puzzles. I thorough enjoyed how the game did the default annotations and the robust number of hints – 6! I especially liked the “pause” feature as I was learning the little nuances of the game. For instance, one can have more than one annotation per square and by default the proposed numbers in those annotated blocks will be removed if the number is utilized elsewhere within the jurisdictional field. For me, this is one of the biggest advantages this type of puzzle has over its paper counterparts… no tearing a hole in the middle of the puzzle due to constant erasing!

Here's a bit more specifics about what I like about the game… As mentioned above, I started on the “Trainee” level (easiest) but for the more advanced players there are six levels of difficulty. Each of these difficulty settings have their achievements. For example, I strive to improve my overall puzzle solve time each time and there is an achievement for that success. I like the fact they “highlight” in red any errors that you make. If you’re the type of person who enjoys co-op, there’s a way to do that with this game. And finally, you’re going to love this if like numbers but don’t want to “overdose” on ‘em… you can change the game up a bit choosing different types of emblems such as Greek letters, colors or shapes. I haven’t done any of those yet…

And finally, I’d like to share with you what I find the most refreshing… in a world where I feel that advertisers and games are constantly pushing more elaborate / busy designs to catch the eye, this game keeps those things to a minimum. For me, I like the minimalistic type design… no bells, whistles, pop-ups to add this new thingy to the game. It a simple straight forward look. However, who wants to look at the same white page with black numbers / shapes / etc.? There are different themes one can choose such as ‘space blue’, ‘ice’ or ‘midnight’ to name a few. And did I mention the music? I find it relaxing and conducive to playing the game.

Overall, I’d give the game very high recommendation (10/10) and encourage anyone interested in Sudoku type games to check this one out. In fact, the Milkyway Commando would go so far as to say, “this is my favorite Sudoku game on Steam!”

One day I was simply browsing through Steam and looking at games which contained popular user-defined tags for games that I had not traditionally played before such as those with “exploration” and “walking simulator” identifiers. Having a higher-end desktop computer (latest version of Alienware Aurora R11 with a top-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card and ultra-wide curved monitor), I was also looking for titles that had been released recently (2019+) along with a “mostly positive” (or better) user-rating. I’d played a few titles from “smaller” developers and was interested to see if my past experience with these type developers was just fortuitous or if I could find others that could deliver the same good gaming experience. In short, I was experimenting and wanted to know if other solid, well-built products were being released by lesser known / smaller developers that I was not familiar with.

The story, for me, was engaging but I’m a huge world war 2 history buff and have often thought and wondered, what would the world look like today if the allies had lost that war. Some have said the player character moved too slowly throughout the game but I found that to be refreshing in that it gave the player a chance to explore the world built by the developers. It helped me get into the character more as a good RPG should do. I personally did not experience any “bugs” or “glitches” as one might expect to find. The game play mechanics were simple, easy to use and quickly acquired mainly because this game is designed to be a bit more story / narrative driven.

In conclusion, I’d highly recommend playing this game even if this is typically not the type of game you usually go for. Overall, I found it to be refreshing and something I plan on playing through again at some point. If you’re looking for a good, solid made game with a good story and relaxing game place, give this one a try. I honestly think you’ll be surprised and impressed; I was!

This type of PC game is tad-bit out of what I typically like to play. However, I do enjoy a good mystery / spy movie with lots of twists and turns, so thought, why not give this title a go as it was on sale and looked like it might be good. Overall, I'd give the game a 3.75 out of 5.
MY RATIONAL:
1. The story line for the 5 cases were pretty good. I would've like to have seen a bit more "connectivity" to the final case as one might find in a good British Masterpiece Theater series but that's my age talking. Loss of 0.25 points here.
2. Yes, the game was published 5 years ago but the "flow" of the game seemed to be a bit "segmented" and "choppy" for me. What I mean by that: "x" number of clues needed to be found but if you inadvertently missed / overlooked one, you spend your time trying to figure out where it could be picked-up instead of penalizing you for not finding it. Loss of 0.25 points for that.
3. The biggest loss of points (0.75) was for controls that were "off the mark". The developers wanted folks to click on a certain area but the activation area was never in the same area as the point to interact with. In time where timing mattered, one had to replay the section over and over trying to "find" the correct places to interact.
My final appraisal is that I would recommend this game to other players. It was a decent story and worth playing. For me, however, I do not think I'd play it again as this was truly more of a genre experimentation for me.
Cheers!