Rust Review

Rust delivers all the fun of a nudist colony in post apocalyptic Earth.

Rust, the post apocalyptic survival game seems to have been inspired by Minecraft, Darwin, and porn. You spawn in a hostile world with no clothes, no cell phone, no guns, just a rock. Not even a particularly big or heavy rock which could be an effective weapon, its just a plain old rock. Like Minecraft the player has the freedom to wander around a sprawling world filled with animals, resources, and beautiful landscapes. Unlike Minecraft the player is surrounded by other players on the server. They all start out just like you do, naked alone and hopeless, but through hard work and team work they can achieve success in this world that many people can share. 

In my time in the game I quickly discovered that many of the other players are not interested in altruism. As a naked man I was killed and robbed fifteen times before I found a friendly player. Eventually I found another player named Steve, we wandered the world, fighting off the zombies and bears, and hiding from better players who had built homes where we were. Steve was significantly farther along than I was, but he shared with me many of his weapons, medicine, and even clothes. After many hours together Steve and I shared Skype information so we could team up and play again. He let me set up my bed within his house so that way when I signed off my character wouldn't be killed by other players and have my inventory looted. What Steve didn't know was that I had already learned the rules of the wild. As Steve signed off I told him that I would sign off as well. I lied. As Steve signed off his avatar fell asleep inside his house, I went ahead and took my oppritubity to murder him and loot his body. Knowing that he would hunt me down with his house full of guns and grenades he had fashioned for himself, I decided it would also be advantageous to steal everything from his house. But he had all of my information for the game, he could easily hunt me down if he forged new weapons, which is easy to do with a house as defended and secure as his. I knew what I had to do. From the outside his house was an impenetrable fortress, but from the inside I could easily tear it down. I razed his home leaving nothing but a few standing walls and his corpse lying on the ground.

When Steve signed back on and saw what I had done he sent me a long paragraph on Skype about how he knew he shouldn't have trusted me, should have killed me when I was weak, and many other offensive things he wants to do to my avatar and me in real life. My only reply was, "Thanks for the free stuff." I then proceeded to help out a random player and the exact thing that I did to Steve happened to me as he murdered my player in his sleep. I should have known better, but I rationalized it as I needed a clan to compete with the other players who formed clans or groups.

That is the nature of Rust, you need to work together to move up in the world, but inevitably the selfishness of every player comes out as the cut-throat world is in a constant state of self destruction and re-alignment. It is almost a social experiment on the human race, and it is nail biting every step of the way.

5/5

Pros	Cons
+Nudity	-Still not a Completed Game yet
+Great Gameplay	-Nudity
+Illustrates Survival of the Fittest

Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth Review

Beyond Earth revives Meier's original space 4x game

Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth, the spiritual successor to the acclaimed Alpha Centauri, delivers an incredible experience that echoes back the themes of the original hit. In the newest installment of Civilization, Earth has been decimated by pollution, wars, and humanities accidents. They leave their home in hopes of finding a new life in the celestial bodies which dot our skies. The game picks up as major corporations have taken over the major regions of the Earth. They board the colonists onto the shuttles which will lead them to a new eden.

In my first game which took me about eighteen hours to complete, I chose the Brasilia Corporation. We landed on the new planet in hopes of starting a peaceful life with our new neighbors. This however did not come to pass as the world was hostile and quickly tried to ruin our dreams of peace. Within about 250 turns however I had followed the Harmony Affinity and combined human DNA and alien DNA to create the most radical "new life" the original colonists could have imagined. I went on to conquer the world with my new hybrid species, and my new culture dominated the other corporations in turn. 

What struck me about Beyond Earth in comparison to Civ 5 was the regression in choice. In Civ 5 the social policies were well fleshed out and offered alot of customization to each civ. In Beyond Earth the virtues pale in comparison to their predecessors. Another striking feature was the overly complex "tech web" which was about as clear and concise as Rocket Science for Dummies book. It took me about thirty minutes to decipher the various technology paths and relate them to previous installments. Luckily these cons are overshadowed by the many pros such as the affinity choices, quest system, and the improvements on diplomacy and warfare. 

4/5

Pros	Cons
+Increased Difficulty was Welcome	-Lack of Clarity in Tech Web
+Interesting Lore and Backstory	-Virtues Suck Compared to Social Policies
+Improved Diplomacy	-New UI not Streamlined Compared to Civ V

Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor Review

Tolkein's fantasy realm matures in this graphic, gore-filled game which challenges lore.

Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor is simply a very good, well polished game. It accomplishes everything it attempts to do well, which isn't very difficult when it copies the majority of its gameplay elements from other games. It takes its parkour inspired free-climbing elements from the well known Assassins Creed franchise. It takes its combat from the renowned Batman Arkham games. The lack of originality would normally hurt a game, but it uses these elements and has perfected them beyond even what the original games were able to do. The combat is gruesome and fierce and perfectly encapsulates what it means to be a hero in Tolkein's landscape.
The story is fairly predictable, and does not follow to Tolein's cannon at all, but it plays a backseat role to the setting. Mordor has a very alive feel to it. Uruks wander around minding their own business, Orcs talk with eachother about the weather in the dark lord's kingdom. It all adds to the immersion.
Sadly everything cant always be sunshine and rainbows in Mordor as the characters are often times very bland. Many of them are just stock characters with little depth or originality. Overall the game is very good, the predictability is a negative, but it doesn't take away from all the other positives of the game.

4/5

Pros	Cons
+Beautiful Graphics	-Shits on Tolkein’s Cannon
+Great Environment and Setting	-Lack of Originality
+Polished Gameplay Mechanics	Uninteresting Characters

Anno 2070 Review

Anno 2070 delivers an addictive experience, but lacks direction.
Anno, Ubisoft's long running series about exploration, settlement, and growth delivers a unique experience in its newest installment Anno 2070. The Anno series has a long reputation of delivering very fun and addictive game play mainly focused on trying to create a settlement from the ground up and turning it into a sprawling metropolis which is completely self sufficient.
This is of course disregarding the story mode which is actually atrocious. Its plot is clunky, completely disregards the aspect of freedom which many players expect with the Anno series, and overall just isn't fun. It would be unfair though to judge the game off the story mode when the games real time to shine is in its independent match mode. This mode drops you into the middle of the ocean with just a few cargo ships and supplies and forces you to explore and discover which island you wish to settle. It allows complete freedom and endless matches. You can choose between three factions the Ecos, the Industrialists, and the Tech faction. Depending which faction you choose greatly changes the overall game play.
The game has beautiful graphics and a fantastic soundtrack. Its common to sit down and play for fifteen minutes, then look at the clock and realize its been four hours! The addictive quality stems from its immersion. With the incredible graphics and soundtrack you slip into a trance. No longer does the player think about whats around him, but rather he/she becomes addicted to optimizing production through refinement paths and industrial city planning layouts. It doesn't take long for the player to become absorbed in trying to perfect all the production paths. Before long most players begin searching online for other users designs on how to eliminate wasted time and production in ones city. I myself have spent hours trying to discover which layouts work best for each faction.
Over all the game is very fun and very addictive, but some glaring issues arise when new players try to jump into the series with this game. Anno 2070 assumes that most players have already learned how to play the series with previous installments and disregard tutorials almost completely. The learning curve is treacherous as many of my friends have given up after a mere half hour out of frustration. They cant compete with the AI or other players, and they just give up.

3/5

Summary

Pros	Cons
+Addictive Gameplay	-Poor Story
+Stunning Visuals	-Difficult Learning Curve
+Great Soundtrack

Tropico 4 Review

Somewhere between stereotypes and insensitivity Tropico 4 delivers a very fun experience. 
Having played the Tropico series since the release of the first one, their comedic satire has never surprised me nor bothered me. However, it is important to acknowledge that some of my friends have claimed this game pokes fun at serious world events. That said, the game is an enjoyable experience that I have never had any problem with. The game hhumorouslyportrays Cold War era Cuba... I mean Tropico, and the player takes the role of the Cuba... I mean Tropico's Dictator, "El Presidente". The goal of the game is to bring success to Tropico whether by industrializing the island nation, or by trading with powerful countries like Capitalist America or Communist Russia.
Playing the role of "El Presidente" the player can set propaganda on the public by use of different news mediums. He can also choose to execute political prisoners, grow cash crops such as tobacco, and even schedule a visit from the pope himself. During the reign "El Presidente" different political factions will encourage you to do things for them. The "Tropico for the Tropicans" may encourage you to kick all immigrants out, or ban foreigners from accessing healthcare or public education. The eenvironmentalistsmay encourage "El Presidente" to go green, and the religious faction will push for building of more churches.
Of course is always important to keep the factions content, however its impossible to please one faction without stepping on the toes, of another. That's where your military might comes in. When one or more of the factions decides to plan a coup its important that you have enough support from your military to silence the opposition.
Tropico 4 is a lot of fun, its hilarious with all its references and allusions to real world events. I want to give this game a better rating however its blatantly obvious that Tropico 4 is almost an exact copy of Tropico 3. There was not much innovation or new creative things, It felt recycled, still fun, but recycled. Because its eerily similar to its predecessors I have to give it a 3/5 stars.

Monument Valley Review

Monument Valley changes the game for apps.

Normally I wouldn't dedicate a review for a mobile app, however due to the fact that this app is incredibly engaging and stunning I thought it would be appropriate to review it as a full fledged game. Playing through Monument Valley one quickly realizes that this is unlike any other app. It is as complex and challenging as it is stunning. Combining striking visuals and complex puzzles Monument Valley aims to be better than any other mobile game app. The puzzles aim to challenge the player to think, and the artwork aims to challenge the player to feel while they're playing.

The levels are based on an artist names Escher whose minimalist style is clearly reflected in the game. While the game does succeed in nearly every category, the length is a bit disappointing. While it is only a few dollars, I worked through the ten brief levels in a matter of a few hours. I feel like I have to say though that despite its brevity, I have never had more fun with a mobile app. Therefore Monument Valley earns a 5/5 and is a must buy for anyone with a smart phone 

Civilization 5 Review

Sid Meier's Civilization 5, the turn based 4X strategy game to end all turn based 4X strategy games. 
In my extensive time playing Sid Meier's Civ 5, I founded a city, discovered how animals breed, built the Taj Mahal, and sent the first rocket ship to Alpha Centauri in hopes of colonizing life on a foreign planet, all while playing as Pachacuti of the Incan's. Needless to say history was rewritten as my hordes of long swordsmen and cannons bombarded Madrid with violent intent. The possibilities are endless as you begin the game with a mere settler and one group of club wielding warriors. As you settle on some fertile soil, you notice your population grow and culture expand, allowing for new sciences to be researched in hopes of gaining an advantage over your barbarian neighbors.

The ancient era flies by as you discover writing and philosophy, leading into future eras which hold many possibilities including diplomatic treaties, political trash talking, or even the danger of war. For those unfamiliar with the franchise Civilization, better known as Civ is a 4X turn based strategy game with a focus on historical figures, economic strife, and political ideologies. 4X is a genre of games which focus on exploration, expansion,exploitation, and extermination. Having played every installment in the series since Civ 2, I can say that Civ 5 and its expansions are obviously the most technologically advanced game in the series, boasting an ungodly amount leaders, resources, city-states, and units. It is remarkable how much content has been poured into this installment, yet it never feels overwhelming to a veteran of the franchise. The addition of more content has also come with a streamlining of most of the pre-existing content.
Where previously it was required to set taxation levels, and scientific production levels, now the series has taken away the cluttering charts and graphs present in old installments. Instead it has replaced those with meaningful choices present in the game including social policies. With social policies a civ can become a scientific powerhouse, an economic gold mine, or a cultural epicenter. It has taken all the fluff which made the game feel like work, and replaced it with unique and enjoyable policies.
I could go on and on about the details of the game, all the improvements and expansions, but its easier to just say that I highly recommend this game. It is a genre that is a bit polarizing, but i think its safe to say that it is the highest quality example of what that genre has to offer. Sid Meier's Civilization 5 earns 5 stars our of 5.