Armored Core: Nexus, Armored Core: Last Raven and Space Empires IV:
Half-assed reviews I wrote mostly because...well...I think it was because I lost a bet, or someone guilted me into it or something. Probably some combination of Emp and VM. I beg you, please, don't read them. I'd rather not even talk about them, although if pressed I'll say that Last Raven is the one I'm least ashamed of.
Genesis Rising: The Universal Crusade
My first piece as an official Freelancer. This one, and my continuing adventures as a reviewer, began with this AIM conversation...
[11:55] Empleh16: Will -- you like Sci-Fi RTS stuff, right?
[11:55] WillTheGrt: Yup
[11:55] WillTheGrt: ...why...?
[11:55] WillTheGrt: >_>
[11:56] WillTheGrt: *dodges lassoo*
[11:56] Empleh16: It's okay, you can say no.
[11:57] Empleh16: One of the publishers I have on my books has sent me a preview download for a new Sci Fi RTS, but my system can't run it. So I need someone to do it for me. In return , they get the preview code of a game only press have played so far.
[11:57] Empleh16: Thought you might want it.
Emp was correct. I wrote up the preview and got myself all excited, because it was a fun little demo. Some time later...
[12:38] Empleh16: Will -- good news.
[12:38] WillTheGrt: ?
[12:38] Empleh16: There's a review copy of Genesis Rising for the taking.
[12:38] Empleh16: And it's in the US office. Intersted?
[12:39] WillTheGrt: Well yes, but for two things
[12:39] WillTheGrt: 1) It probably still has that NVidia bug
[12:39] WillTheGrt: 2) I'm in Canada >_>
[12:39] WillTheGrt: Postage would kill my already overextended bank account
[12:39] Empleh16: Canada is nearer to the US than the UK, was my point.
[12:39] Empleh16: And you don;t pay postage. The US office does.
[12:39] WillTheGrt: Oh
[12:39] WillTheGrt: Nifty
[12:40] Empleh16: The US senior editor is on AIM now, so if you want it, I'll tell him to contact you and sort it out.
That being, of course, the Honest Gamer himself, our beloved Jason. Thus I became a freelance reviewer and received a copy of GR in the mail. And was quite disappointed. :( A damn shame, too, because it had such potential, and had it not been shoved out the door prematurely it would have been really good. But eh, "premature release" seems to be Dreamcatcher's slogan these days, which is why I now tend to avoid their games like the plauge.
Ancient Wars: Sparta
My second official freelance review, and the first given to me by the Big Cheese. I was expecting something like Rome Total War, if not in gameplay than in historical accuracy. I got neither. It was basically an Age of Empires clone set in the Hellenistic period and rushed through development in order to piggyback on the popularity of 300.
American Civil War - The Blue and the Gray
Funny story: these guys gave us a demo and expected us to write a full review. This is part of the reason I was so unforgiving, because it was a bloody slap in the face. Other review sites got full copies...
A word to the wise: if you want to get on my good side, give me a full copy of the game you want me to review. But in this case I didn't really miss out on much, because like I said in the review, it's too little like a game and too much like the actual Civil War. And, much like this game, the actual Civil War wasn't a lot of fun.
Painkiller: Overdose
Based on DoI's review, this was actually a good game, so I'm not entirely sure what was up with the crappy demo I wrote a preview on. I think the guy who compiled it needs to be shot. Or fired. Or both. In that order. Or maybe they just read my preview and took my suggestions to heart. Anyway, if I ever make an FPS, remind me to create a special demo level that showcases all the cool things without making it look like the game just hands them to you.
SunAge (preview)
This was the first project since GR I was actually excited about. Also, I got direct developer linkage! Anyway, this is the demo that made me power through that Painkiller preview, because if EmP hadn't held it over my head I would never have written the damn thing.
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
This was actually on my Christmas wish list for a short time until I got an email from the freelancer mailing list saying it was up for grabs. Which is nice, because it retails for about $50 US. And plus, early Christmas present. Anyway, I absolutely adore this game, it was as much fun to review as it is to play.
Jetpack
This is a game I played many, many years ago on my very first computer, the much-talked about 486 I inherited when my father purchased a shiny new high-tech Acer-build Pentium for The Family Computer. It was on one of those shareware CD compilations alongside other gems such as Doom, Jazz Jackrabbit and Fire and Forget II. I played it. I loved it. I forgot about it until eleventh grade when I needed something to kill time on my craptop - sorry, laptop - after I finished Exile. Fast forward to the Alphas, where Emp pestered me to enter. I got "J". I started thinking, "Hmm...what games do I know that start with 'J'..."
Then I remembered Jetpack.
SunAge
I include this among 2007's reviews because I began writing it before the New Year. First it took three weeks to get mailed over from Jolly England (thanks again Emp), then it took another two weeks for me to actually write the review what between family obligations and Christmas shopping and driving my girlfriend to the hospital because her nosebleed wouldn't stop for three hours and she actually almost passed out from blood loss. Luckily my second-favorite Englishman (only to Winston Churchill) was able to buy me some time to write the damn thing in what spare moments I had. SunAge, though, was certainly worth the wait, because in my book this is the best game of 2007.
Also, Turducken needs to start writing again, because he's really good at it even if he doesn't think so. Be sure to tell him if you see him!
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EmP - January 03, 2008 (04:04 AM) If you're going to dig out old, old AIM convos, you could at least fix my typos. I look as bad as Boo in those. For the record: this whole 'Year in review' thing was my brainchild back in 2005. But I don't blame everyone for imping. Next year, I expect triple the amount of reviews you have up now. Starting with the belated Starship Titanic. And, yeah, I agree; let's re-nag Tur. |
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