[NoCashReq has entered the room.]
And yet again, I am forced to admit defeat. Part of it is my total lack of motivation with virtually all RTS games, and partly it is the insane amount of time I have to spend at work, but I don't think the review for Age of Empires is going to happen right now. Fear not, my fellow Budgeteers! I will not quit! They may take our lives, but they'll never take OUR FREE GAMES! I will have a review for you soon! It will be less-than-humble! I WILL FORGE ON! Just, not on Age of Empires. For now, thanks for your readership, and keep looking for those missed diamonds of games that are out there!
[NoCashReq has left the room.]
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
faster, Faster, FASTER WOULD BE BETTER!!!
[NoCashReq has entered the room.]
Alas and alack, my fellow gamers, I have failed you. Due to a radical shift in my work requirements, a change in location, my son cutting several teeth at once, and the release of Torchlight II, I have lost all sense of responsibility and have not played Age of Empires for several weeks. So it will be a little bit longer on the next review. For all my readers, whether new or long time, I appreciate you choosing to spend your time with me, and would humbly ask for your patience. For now, it's time to dig in and get back to the game!!! So expect a review soon, and keep your guard up! Here there be Dragons!
[NoCashReq has left the room.]
Alas and alack, my fellow gamers, I have failed you. Due to a radical shift in my work requirements, a change in location, my son cutting several teeth at once, and the release of Torchlight II, I have lost all sense of responsibility and have not played Age of Empires for several weeks. So it will be a little bit longer on the next review. For all my readers, whether new or long time, I appreciate you choosing to spend your time with me, and would humbly ask for your patience. For now, it's time to dig in and get back to the game!!! So expect a review soon, and keep your guard up! Here there be Dragons!
[NoCashReq has left the room.]
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Moon Breakers Review #2
[NoCashReq has entered the room.]
Making the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, and pulling Titan's Turn on my way to your computer screen, I am NoCashReq, This is Flat Broke Gamer Review, and we are coming back again to continue the review of Moon Breakers!
A QUICK REMINDER
The last time we were here, we looked at the Playability (3/5) and Atmospherics (3/5) of the game. My first few trips out of the Hangar Bay were met with a lot of explosions, but having persevered, I found my groove and started pulling hairpin turns and blowing up other pilots.
And now, onwards we go!
BLUF: Continued play has reconfirmed that although this game is lacking a lot of the personalization and variety, it is a lot of fun to play and well worth your time. The Community is rather small right now, so occasionally you will have no one to play against, but the game only released in May and the company is still working to improve the game and expand it, so I would expect it to turn into a great game with a steady following.
Here's the Trailer, most of which is actual screenshot video, so you can see what I'm talking about!
SCORES
Learning Curve: 4/5 The ships are all upgradable, and the skills required for playing truly set apart the Top Guns from the rest of us pilots. Lacking the ability to personalize your play further than the upgrades and the limited number of ships/variety of weapons is the only thing that holds their score from a 5.
Community: 4/5 Although there will be times where there aren't enough people to play with, the people who play have been polite, friendly, and helpful. We'll have to watch as this game expands its player base to see if it stays the same.
Support: 5/5 Even the download was quick and smooth. No issues playing it at all, and the forums (http://moonbreakers.userecho.com/) includes the developer's changes and plans for the future.
Cash Shop: 3/5 Only the ships are available for purchase, and the prices are a little bit higher than I think they should be, but they have it right that the actual play improvements are available only through flying well and earning them.
Overall: 22/30 Still in its infancy, this game has a lot of fun gameplay, and a lot of potential. Hopefully it grows into a great game, as it is already a really fun time.
LOAD UP YOUR PHOTON TORPEDOES
Continuing where we left off, I decided to keep the pedal to the metal, and have logged in several more hours of flight time. There are three types of game styles and three maps.
Seek and Destroy: Kills, kills, kills. This is your typical deathmatch, where the only thing that matters is getting the other pilots before they get you.
Capture the Flag: On the "top" of the carriers are a transmitter that you can fly over to pick it up, and by bringing it to your carrier, your team can shoot for the high score. There is a value to killing the other pilots, but you won't get the highest creds available that way.
Carrier Assault: The easiest way to rid the skies of your enemies is to give them nowhere to go back to. Destroy the turrets and drive torpedoes into the sides of your opponent's carrier to win.
The Broadsides map places the carriers barely separated by an asteroid field. It is a lot of fun for all of the play types, and allows for any type of ship to be effective.
Playing on the Broken Moon map is harder, as there is literally the remains of a moon inbetween the carriers. Light fighters don't do as well near the opponent's carrier, as they are very exposed, but the other types do better.
The final map is called Rockfield, and is similar to Broadsides, save for the distance between the carriers. This is probably my favorite map for Seek and Destroy, but my least for Capture the Flag.
In addition to earning creds, playing well will earn you a bounty. Kill streaks, stealing the flag, blowing turrets and hitting with torpedoes will earn you a bounty that other players can cash in, and the longer you keep the streak going without being blown out of the sky pushes the value up more and more. This is probably the first time I've seen a reward for taking out a hot player that wasn't restricted to your current match, and I like it! It's so fun to see everyone swarm someone when that "BOUNTY" appears over their name.
The longer you play, the higher your level will go, and at the beginning of the game, you will see bars next to your name, giving a rough idea to the other players of your skill.
NOCASHREQ TO TOWER, REQUESTING A FLYBY
The game designers have a forum (link here) where they keep you up to date on the new patches, plans for the future, and responses to legitimate posts. The game plays well, and with them listing the future for all to see and respond to, this game seems to be on the right track, support-wise.
The community is still really small, and there have been three times where there were NO other players to strafe, but when there is someone to play with, most of them are freindly, talkative, and will help you get better. If the game expands and grows the way they are talking about, the community should grow too. now, that could be as much good as bad, possibly drawing form wretched hives of scum and villany as much as it brings in true followers of the Force, but we'll have to see.
2,000 UP FRONT, 15,000 ONCE WE GET TO ALDERAN
The only thing you can get in the cash shop is He3, Helium 3, the currency of the universe of the game. You can use this to unlock all of the ships, but in my opinion the ships are too expensive. $50, the largest amount of money they have an exchange rate for, will buy you one of each of the classes, and a few others, but you could buy a new game for that much, and this still leaves you short a few models. If the prices were a little lower, I'd consider it a better price. All improvements for your ships are only available for Creds earned in matches, so they got that part right.
YOU ARE CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF, GHOSTRIDER
So is it worth it? Yes, this game is a lot of fun, if still a little small and limited. Keep an eye on it, and I think you will watch a good game grow into a great one. That's all for this review, come on back next time when we go after Age of Empires Online, until then, keep your six clear of Tie Fighters and your phasers set to stun! See Ya!
[NoCashReq has left the room.]
Making the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, and pulling Titan's Turn on my way to your computer screen, I am NoCashReq, This is Flat Broke Gamer Review, and we are coming back again to continue the review of Moon Breakers!
A QUICK REMINDER
The last time we were here, we looked at the Playability (3/5) and Atmospherics (3/5) of the game. My first few trips out of the Hangar Bay were met with a lot of explosions, but having persevered, I found my groove and started pulling hairpin turns and blowing up other pilots.
And now, onwards we go!
BLUF: Continued play has reconfirmed that although this game is lacking a lot of the personalization and variety, it is a lot of fun to play and well worth your time. The Community is rather small right now, so occasionally you will have no one to play against, but the game only released in May and the company is still working to improve the game and expand it, so I would expect it to turn into a great game with a steady following.
Here's the Trailer, most of which is actual screenshot video, so you can see what I'm talking about!
SCORES
Learning Curve: 4/5 The ships are all upgradable, and the skills required for playing truly set apart the Top Guns from the rest of us pilots. Lacking the ability to personalize your play further than the upgrades and the limited number of ships/variety of weapons is the only thing that holds their score from a 5.
Community: 4/5 Although there will be times where there aren't enough people to play with, the people who play have been polite, friendly, and helpful. We'll have to watch as this game expands its player base to see if it stays the same.
Support: 5/5 Even the download was quick and smooth. No issues playing it at all, and the forums (http://moonbreakers.userecho.com/) includes the developer's changes and plans for the future.
Cash Shop: 3/5 Only the ships are available for purchase, and the prices are a little bit higher than I think they should be, but they have it right that the actual play improvements are available only through flying well and earning them.
Overall: 22/30 Still in its infancy, this game has a lot of fun gameplay, and a lot of potential. Hopefully it grows into a great game, as it is already a really fun time.
LOAD UP YOUR PHOTON TORPEDOES
Continuing where we left off, I decided to keep the pedal to the metal, and have logged in several more hours of flight time. There are three types of game styles and three maps.
Seek and Destroy: Kills, kills, kills. This is your typical deathmatch, where the only thing that matters is getting the other pilots before they get you.
Capture the Flag: On the "top" of the carriers are a transmitter that you can fly over to pick it up, and by bringing it to your carrier, your team can shoot for the high score. There is a value to killing the other pilots, but you won't get the highest creds available that way.
Carrier Assault: The easiest way to rid the skies of your enemies is to give them nowhere to go back to. Destroy the turrets and drive torpedoes into the sides of your opponent's carrier to win.
The Broadsides map places the carriers barely separated by an asteroid field. It is a lot of fun for all of the play types, and allows for any type of ship to be effective.
Playing on the Broken Moon map is harder, as there is literally the remains of a moon inbetween the carriers. Light fighters don't do as well near the opponent's carrier, as they are very exposed, but the other types do better.
The final map is called Rockfield, and is similar to Broadsides, save for the distance between the carriers. This is probably my favorite map for Seek and Destroy, but my least for Capture the Flag.
In addition to earning creds, playing well will earn you a bounty. Kill streaks, stealing the flag, blowing turrets and hitting with torpedoes will earn you a bounty that other players can cash in, and the longer you keep the streak going without being blown out of the sky pushes the value up more and more. This is probably the first time I've seen a reward for taking out a hot player that wasn't restricted to your current match, and I like it! It's so fun to see everyone swarm someone when that "BOUNTY" appears over their name.
The longer you play, the higher your level will go, and at the beginning of the game, you will see bars next to your name, giving a rough idea to the other players of your skill.
The game designers have a forum (link here) where they keep you up to date on the new patches, plans for the future, and responses to legitimate posts. The game plays well, and with them listing the future for all to see and respond to, this game seems to be on the right track, support-wise.
The community is still really small, and there have been three times where there were NO other players to strafe, but when there is someone to play with, most of them are freindly, talkative, and will help you get better. If the game expands and grows the way they are talking about, the community should grow too. now, that could be as much good as bad, possibly drawing form wretched hives of scum and villany as much as it brings in true followers of the Force, but we'll have to see.
2,000 UP FRONT, 15,000 ONCE WE GET TO ALDERAN
The only thing you can get in the cash shop is He3, Helium 3, the currency of the universe of the game. You can use this to unlock all of the ships, but in my opinion the ships are too expensive. $50, the largest amount of money they have an exchange rate for, will buy you one of each of the classes, and a few others, but you could buy a new game for that much, and this still leaves you short a few models. If the prices were a little lower, I'd consider it a better price. All improvements for your ships are only available for Creds earned in matches, so they got that part right.
YOU ARE CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF, GHOSTRIDER
So is it worth it? Yes, this game is a lot of fun, if still a little small and limited. Keep an eye on it, and I think you will watch a good game grow into a great one. That's all for this review, come on back next time when we go after Age of Empires Online, until then, keep your six clear of Tie Fighters and your phasers set to stun! See Ya!
[NoCashReq has left the room.]
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Moon Breakers Review #1
[NoCashReq has entered the room.]
"GGGUUUUURRRR!"
"I don't care what [the review] smells like, GET IN THERE!"
Welcome Back to FBGR, I'm your less-than-humble host, NoCashReq, and this is the first portion of the review for:
Moon Breakers is a Space Flight Combat Simulator developed by IMBA Entertainment and published by Uber Entertainment in 2012.
BLUF: Having not completed the whole review, I will caveat my Bottom Line Up Front by saying that I will likely change my opinion, but for now: The Physics on this flyer suprised me, as there is so much drift in the ships (which is appropriate to space flight) that I pulled a "bootlegger" without even realizing I could. without a tutorial or any training, it was frustrating the first few tries out, but I soon got the hang of flight, and have enjoyed the last few forays.
SCORES
Playability: 3/5 The controls are fairly intuitive, but with no tutorial or training, being thrown into matches straight against anyone in the same server group (including some very skilled pilots) will leave you frustrated early on.
Atmospherics: 3/5 The look of the game is nicely balanced between space opera and Space: Above and Beyond's attempt at realism, but does come off a little generic and hard to tell the difference between the classes of fighters. Not being able to rework your ship's paint job/build/design is a let-down though.
So jam the tractor beams, get your coolest helmet out of storage, and let's get to flying!
FEELIN' THE NEED FOR SPEED (BACKSTORY)
In the future, two sides fight for control of the only thing that matters anymore, Helium 3. This resource is fuel and currency both, and the government forces and pirate rebels battle to control it.
AAAaaand, that's all she wrote. The backstory information says the game is based off an alternate WWII history, but never explains more than that, and leaves you feeling that it doesn't really matter who wins. there are no cutscenes, no lore or major characters, the only voices you'll hear are either a snarky control tower radar jockey, or the ones that live in you head (at least I think they do, they might just be sending thoughts across the alien device the government stuck in there).
JUST LIKE HITTING A WOMP RAT, IF YOU'RE THE RAT
After one of the quickest downloads I have ever had, I fired up my game, made an account, and went to find the tutorial. Umm, hello? helloo... helloo... hello... Anybody there? There... They're... Their... I was as shocked as a Droid in a Jawa transport to find there is no tutorial. OK, no one panic, then they must have a good level-based system of matching people up, right? RIGHT? Nope, the computer balances the teams as best it can, but expect there will be a space shark in your asteroid field, waiting to gobble up the newbie chum. I died almost without fail as soon as I made contact with the enemy forces. More specifically, their missiles.
Needless to say, I did find my balance in the game, and after having watched the pilots who drove me to distraction drift turns better than the bootleggers they were named for, I realized that the physics of this game were actually impressively thought out; contrary to several iterations and attempts by Star Wars games, in space your inertia and the direction of your thrust will make radical changes in direction possible, bombs do not make any sense as a weapon since they won't fall, radar would only help in a spherical display, and leading your enemies is not just recommended, it's required. The first couple of days playing you are allowed to test-pilot any of the several ships in all four of the classes:
1. Light Fighter: Swift, agile, and really light on armor, these puppies are great for capture the flag or defending your carrier, but don't get too cocky, kid, these things blow up real nice.
2. Medium Fighter: The workhorse of the fighter fleet, these bad boys are interceptors, designed for drawn out combat away from the cover of carrier cannons. Still maneuverable enough to leave the big boys in their wakes, but armored enough to take a few hits without becoming a smoking wreck.
3. Heavy Fighter: You wanna mess with the bull? Here's the horns. These things are as armored and armed as you can make them and still call them fighters. Nowhere near as maneuverable as the smaller crafts, these things are designed to take out enemy ships AND be able to take a whack at carrier cannon mounts, without much more than a scratch in the paint.
4. Bombers: Despite their misnomer, these behemoths actually are armed with space torpedoes. There is a required arming distance, and carrier turrets will destroy them long before they do much damage, but these beasts are armored up to survive the runs necessary to do the job.
Once the free trial is over, you have access to one light flyer and one bomber, but fear not! Additional ships can be bought, with or without cash, and all ships are upgradable with earned in-game currency. The only thing that you can't do is build your own ships, or at least repaint the ships you buy. But hey, if the only thing missing are aesthetic changes, that's fine by me.
TALK TO ME GOOSE...
Flying by the seat of my pants, and doing fine, be here next time when we pick up again on the review of Moon Breakers. Liked what I had to say, got more to add or want to disagree with me? Leave a comment! Till next time!
[NoCashReq has left the room.]
"GGGUUUUURRRR!"
"I don't care what [the review] smells like, GET IN THERE!"
Welcome Back to FBGR, I'm your less-than-humble host, NoCashReq, and this is the first portion of the review for:
BLUF: Having not completed the whole review, I will caveat my Bottom Line Up Front by saying that I will likely change my opinion, but for now: The Physics on this flyer suprised me, as there is so much drift in the ships (which is appropriate to space flight) that I pulled a "bootlegger" without even realizing I could. without a tutorial or any training, it was frustrating the first few tries out, but I soon got the hang of flight, and have enjoyed the last few forays.
SCORES
Playability: 3/5 The controls are fairly intuitive, but with no tutorial or training, being thrown into matches straight against anyone in the same server group (including some very skilled pilots) will leave you frustrated early on.
Atmospherics: 3/5 The look of the game is nicely balanced between space opera and Space: Above and Beyond's attempt at realism, but does come off a little generic and hard to tell the difference between the classes of fighters. Not being able to rework your ship's paint job/build/design is a let-down though.
So jam the tractor beams, get your coolest helmet out of storage, and let's get to flying!
FEELIN' THE NEED FOR SPEED (BACKSTORY)
In the future, two sides fight for control of the only thing that matters anymore, Helium 3. This resource is fuel and currency both, and the government forces and pirate rebels battle to control it.
AAAaaand, that's all she wrote. The backstory information says the game is based off an alternate WWII history, but never explains more than that, and leaves you feeling that it doesn't really matter who wins. there are no cutscenes, no lore or major characters, the only voices you'll hear are either a snarky control tower radar jockey, or the ones that live in you head (at least I think they do, they might just be sending thoughts across the alien device the government stuck in there).
JUST LIKE HITTING A WOMP RAT, IF YOU'RE THE RAT
After one of the quickest downloads I have ever had, I fired up my game, made an account, and went to find the tutorial. Umm, hello? helloo... helloo... hello... Anybody there? There... They're... Their... I was as shocked as a Droid in a Jawa transport to find there is no tutorial. OK, no one panic, then they must have a good level-based system of matching people up, right? RIGHT? Nope, the computer balances the teams as best it can, but expect there will be a space shark in your asteroid field, waiting to gobble up the newbie chum. I died almost without fail as soon as I made contact with the enemy forces. More specifically, their missiles.
Needless to say, I did find my balance in the game, and after having watched the pilots who drove me to distraction drift turns better than the bootleggers they were named for, I realized that the physics of this game were actually impressively thought out; contrary to several iterations and attempts by Star Wars games, in space your inertia and the direction of your thrust will make radical changes in direction possible, bombs do not make any sense as a weapon since they won't fall, radar would only help in a spherical display, and leading your enemies is not just recommended, it's required. The first couple of days playing you are allowed to test-pilot any of the several ships in all four of the classes:
1. Light Fighter: Swift, agile, and really light on armor, these puppies are great for capture the flag or defending your carrier, but don't get too cocky, kid, these things blow up real nice.
2. Medium Fighter: The workhorse of the fighter fleet, these bad boys are interceptors, designed for drawn out combat away from the cover of carrier cannons. Still maneuverable enough to leave the big boys in their wakes, but armored enough to take a few hits without becoming a smoking wreck.
3. Heavy Fighter: You wanna mess with the bull? Here's the horns. These things are as armored and armed as you can make them and still call them fighters. Nowhere near as maneuverable as the smaller crafts, these things are designed to take out enemy ships AND be able to take a whack at carrier cannon mounts, without much more than a scratch in the paint.
 |
| Flying by the seat of your pants only works if you have rocket pants. |
Once the free trial is over, you have access to one light flyer and one bomber, but fear not! Additional ships can be bought, with or without cash, and all ships are upgradable with earned in-game currency. The only thing that you can't do is build your own ships, or at least repaint the ships you buy. But hey, if the only thing missing are aesthetic changes, that's fine by me.
TALK TO ME GOOSE...
Flying by the seat of my pants, and doing fine, be here next time when we pick up again on the review of Moon Breakers. Liked what I had to say, got more to add or want to disagree with me? Leave a comment! Till next time!
[NoCashReq has left the room.]
Thursday, August 30, 2012
We Interrupt This Broadcast....
[NoCashReq has entered the room.]
It is with great regret that I inform you that Maplestory just DOES NOT WANT TO PLAY. Regardless of what I have tried, this game refuses to load properly or play, so I will have to shelve it in the far corner of the review Queue, back behind the cobwebs and left of the moldy sandwich (at least, I think it's a sandwich) and move on to another game, Moon Breakers. Having stumbled onto this little gem in my never ending wanders through the inter-webs, the idea of space flight combat intrigues me enough to push it straight to the front. So expect some bad impersonations of Han, Chewie, references to Space: Above and Beyond (bonus points for knowing what I'm talking about) and Babylon 5, and lots and lots of digs on Top Gun. Later!
[NoCashReq has left the room.]
It is with great regret that I inform you that Maplestory just DOES NOT WANT TO PLAY. Regardless of what I have tried, this game refuses to load properly or play, so I will have to shelve it in the far corner of the review Queue, back behind the cobwebs and left of the moldy sandwich (at least, I think it's a sandwich) and move on to another game, Moon Breakers. Having stumbled onto this little gem in my never ending wanders through the inter-webs, the idea of space flight combat intrigues me enough to push it straight to the front. So expect some bad impersonations of Han, Chewie, references to Space: Above and Beyond (bonus points for knowing what I'm talking about) and Babylon 5, and lots and lots of digs on Top Gun. Later!
[NoCashReq has left the room.]
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Stronghold Kingdoms Review #1
[NoCashReq has entered the room.]
.....bawwitabawdebangdebangdiggydiggydiggysaid the boogie said up jump the boogie! bawwitabawdebangdebangdiggydiggydiggysaid the boogie said up jump the boogie!
And we're off again! Welcome all you purveyors of the refined gaming experience, you hunters of the inexpensive electronic entertainment, you kings among men! I am NoCashReq, and this is Flat Broke Gamer Review. Let's get started.
Going for the brass ring this time is:
Stronghold Kingdoms is a Persistent Real-Time Strategy MMO developed by Firefly Studios and released in 2010. It is available online through a variety of sources, including their own website, Steam, and Amazon.com.
BLUF: An interesting concept piece, and definitely helpful in interesting young people in history, this game falls short with unbelievably slow development of your castle, town, forces, architecture, etc., and is not Free-To-Play, it falls definitively in the Pay-To-Win category.
SCORES
Playability: 1/5 A poorly written tutorial that prompts you through only the bare bones of the game, little to no logic to the myriad of menus you have to use, and an unclear goal in your development starts this game off on the wrong foot.
Atmospherics: 3/5 The look of the game is neither inspiring nor hideous, but fits into the overall theme of boring and pedantic.
Learning Curve: 3/5 The fact that you should (note the hesitance in my usage of the word should) be able to win as many points in the game throwing banquets and developing priests as you would in destroying you neighbor's castle is a nice idea, but the sheer mass of choices leaves you with no real idea how to get to either endgame.
Community: 2/5 I had no interaction with the other players aside from several offers to let me become someone else's vassal, and no real clear idea why I would want to do that. This does not seem like the game that you would have the opportunity to get online and actually interact with fellow players much.
Support: 4/5 No issues with the game's play, a regular newsletter that keeps you up to date on the game developments and other players/factions actions, the people at Firefly Studios seem to run the game well.
Cash Shop: 0/5 The only way to develop quickly enough to actually let you play for long periods of time is to buy premium tokens, unlocking queues for your research and building projects, and in-game cards that speed your production/give you resources/improve your playing make this a Definite PTW.
Overall: 13/30 This game is not worth your time. It is boring and slow, and really, I wouldn't even expect you to finish this review, let alone try this game. History buffs might get into it, but those are about the only people I can think of that would.
BACKSTORY AND TUTORIAL
Ever read any European history book? Good! Then you already know the backstory to this game, as it takes place in Medieval Europe, with you as the next up and coming landowner. You are given charge of a new town in a random parish, and are given just enough resources to start a town and castle. From there, you are led by one of your peasants to build a woodcutter's hut, stone quarry, and apple orchard to provide for your building needs and food for the villagers. He will walk you through one of your many options for research, show you all the menus that you'll have to get used to, and then depart as soon as a random marauder group decide to take you down a notch. After that, you are on your own, and with NO hints or prompts, it is really up to you to figure out how to do anything else. Want to build a bigger castle? No problem, just go to the castle tab, and oh wait, you don't have the knowledge to build in stone, or build bigger structures, gotta go to the research page, oh wait which option lets you build more? Architecture? Defenses? Combat? Wait, we'll need more wood and stone for that, how do I get more? Oh that's right, I need more woodcutter's huts and quarries, but I don't have any more people to put to work there, how do I...? And so on, and son on, until you are left bewildered and frustrated, which is right about when your complimentary Premium token will expire and you will only be allowed to build one building at a time, and only one research project can be set up. I was mad before this, and that just pushed my little candy-like red button.
FURTHER ON, GOOD SQUIRE
I kept going though, convinced that the game would pick up after I got to attack someone, even if it was only the local wolf den. But wait, you haven't developed enough to build weapons yet! AAAAAUUUUGH! FINE! I researched and built a weapon factory, started building bows, and that's when I realized that the number of people in my village to be recruited for Archery duty was not something I could directly control, I only got new move-ins on the game's time, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. Fine, I waited for a day to calm down, rubbed my ears and said "Woo-sah," a few thousand times, and dove back in. Got my archers, got some scouts, got some villagers with pitchforks, and set out to kill me some wolves. Then my neighbor set out on horseback with knights that moved twice as fast as me and killed them all before I got there.
And that was when my head exploded.
Seriously!?! I get hosed out of killing anything? Nope, that's it. research the rest of the game, write it off, and move on. The support for this game seemed solid, the Community seemed non-existant and non-communicative, and the Cash Shop, well.....
SOUND THE DEATH KNELL
Premium tokens that speed your development up, allow queues for building and research, and generally allow you to develop five times as fast, cards that can be played for any number of advantages, and everything that someone with a lot of disposable income could buy to beat you senseless means that the final nail in this coffin was set.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Even if you wanted to drop your hard earned sawbucks on this game, I would encourage you to try any, ANY other game first, as this game will simply bore you to tears, frustrate you to violence, and then irritate you into getting the sledgehammer and "hitting any key" repeatedly. Do not waste your time.
Like I have.
Next time on FBGR, I will tackle into Maplestory ( I found another avenue to download it that worked) and hopefully the only suffering will be the soreness of my fingertips from playing far too long. Until then, Get in the pit and try to LOVE SOMEONE!
[NoCashReq has left the room]
.....bawwitabawdebangdebangdiggydiggydiggysaid the boogie said up jump the boogie! bawwitabawdebangdebangdiggydiggydiggysaid the boogie said up jump the boogie!
And we're off again! Welcome all you purveyors of the refined gaming experience, you hunters of the inexpensive electronic entertainment, you kings among men! I am NoCashReq, and this is Flat Broke Gamer Review. Let's get started.
Going for the brass ring this time is:
BLUF: An interesting concept piece, and definitely helpful in interesting young people in history, this game falls short with unbelievably slow development of your castle, town, forces, architecture, etc., and is not Free-To-Play, it falls definitively in the Pay-To-Win category.
SCORES
Playability: 1/5 A poorly written tutorial that prompts you through only the bare bones of the game, little to no logic to the myriad of menus you have to use, and an unclear goal in your development starts this game off on the wrong foot.
Atmospherics: 3/5 The look of the game is neither inspiring nor hideous, but fits into the overall theme of boring and pedantic.
Learning Curve: 3/5 The fact that you should (note the hesitance in my usage of the word should) be able to win as many points in the game throwing banquets and developing priests as you would in destroying you neighbor's castle is a nice idea, but the sheer mass of choices leaves you with no real idea how to get to either endgame.
Community: 2/5 I had no interaction with the other players aside from several offers to let me become someone else's vassal, and no real clear idea why I would want to do that. This does not seem like the game that you would have the opportunity to get online and actually interact with fellow players much.
Support: 4/5 No issues with the game's play, a regular newsletter that keeps you up to date on the game developments and other players/factions actions, the people at Firefly Studios seem to run the game well.
Cash Shop: 0/5 The only way to develop quickly enough to actually let you play for long periods of time is to buy premium tokens, unlocking queues for your research and building projects, and in-game cards that speed your production/give you resources/improve your playing make this a Definite PTW.
Overall: 13/30 This game is not worth your time. It is boring and slow, and really, I wouldn't even expect you to finish this review, let alone try this game. History buffs might get into it, but those are about the only people I can think of that would.
Ever read any European history book? Good! Then you already know the backstory to this game, as it takes place in Medieval Europe, with you as the next up and coming landowner. You are given charge of a new town in a random parish, and are given just enough resources to start a town and castle. From there, you are led by one of your peasants to build a woodcutter's hut, stone quarry, and apple orchard to provide for your building needs and food for the villagers. He will walk you through one of your many options for research, show you all the menus that you'll have to get used to, and then depart as soon as a random marauder group decide to take you down a notch. After that, you are on your own, and with NO hints or prompts, it is really up to you to figure out how to do anything else. Want to build a bigger castle? No problem, just go to the castle tab, and oh wait, you don't have the knowledge to build in stone, or build bigger structures, gotta go to the research page, oh wait which option lets you build more? Architecture? Defenses? Combat? Wait, we'll need more wood and stone for that, how do I get more? Oh that's right, I need more woodcutter's huts and quarries, but I don't have any more people to put to work there, how do I...? And so on, and son on, until you are left bewildered and frustrated, which is right about when your complimentary Premium token will expire and you will only be allowed to build one building at a time, and only one research project can be set up. I was mad before this, and that just pushed my little candy-like red button.
I kept going though, convinced that the game would pick up after I got to attack someone, even if it was only the local wolf den. But wait, you haven't developed enough to build weapons yet! AAAAAUUUUGH! FINE! I researched and built a weapon factory, started building bows, and that's when I realized that the number of people in my village to be recruited for Archery duty was not something I could directly control, I only got new move-ins on the game's time, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. Fine, I waited for a day to calm down, rubbed my ears and said "Woo-sah," a few thousand times, and dove back in. Got my archers, got some scouts, got some villagers with pitchforks, and set out to kill me some wolves. Then my neighbor set out on horseback with knights that moved twice as fast as me and killed them all before I got there.
And that was when my head exploded.
Seriously!?! I get hosed out of killing anything? Nope, that's it. research the rest of the game, write it off, and move on. The support for this game seemed solid, the Community seemed non-existant and non-communicative, and the Cash Shop, well.....
SOUND THE DEATH KNELL
Premium tokens that speed your development up, allow queues for building and research, and generally allow you to develop five times as fast, cards that can be played for any number of advantages, and everything that someone with a lot of disposable income could buy to beat you senseless means that the final nail in this coffin was set.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Even if you wanted to drop your hard earned sawbucks on this game, I would encourage you to try any, ANY other game first, as this game will simply bore you to tears, frustrate you to violence, and then irritate you into getting the sledgehammer and "hitting any key" repeatedly. Do not waste your time.
Like I have.
Next time on FBGR, I will tackle into Maplestory ( I found another avenue to download it that worked) and hopefully the only suffering will be the soreness of my fingertips from playing far too long. Until then, Get in the pit and try to LOVE SOMEONE!
[NoCashReq has left the room]
Friday, August 17, 2012
Technical Difficulties... Please stand by
[NoCashReq has entered the room.]
NO GOOD STINKIN ROTTEN BLASTER TWO TOED SON OF A HAIRLESS WOMBAT! Oh, uh, hi there. How long have you been standing there? No matter, things are doing their best to get in the way here. I had reported that my next review was going to be on Maplestory, but due to some as of yet unknown reason my computer will not download it. So, in order to try and keep you ravening hordes outside my blog at bay and satiated, I will move on to one of the other games on my list: Stronghold Kingdoms. Expect more soon! Now where did I put that sledge.....
{NoCashReq has left the room.]
NO GOOD STINKIN ROTTEN BLASTER TWO TOED SON OF A HAIRLESS WOMBAT! Oh, uh, hi there. How long have you been standing there? No matter, things are doing their best to get in the way here. I had reported that my next review was going to be on Maplestory, but due to some as of yet unknown reason my computer will not download it. So, in order to try and keep you ravening hordes outside my blog at bay and satiated, I will move on to one of the other games on my list: Stronghold Kingdoms. Expect more soon! Now where did I put that sledge.....
{NoCashReq has left the room.]
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