Rob Zacny


28 games reviewed
74.9 average score
79 median score
50.0% of games recommended
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Jun 9, 2016

An accessible and arresting strategy game that captures the size and scale of World War 2.

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May 19, 2016

It feels exactly the way a Warhammer-themed Total War game should feel, and creates tons of dramatic battles and storylines over the course of each campaign. But to reliably generate all that excitement and tension, it secretly disconnects many of the strategic systems that hold good Total War games together.

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Jan 21, 2016

A great tactical RTS with all the gorgeous aesthetics and atmosphere of the original series.

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4.8 / 10.0 - Tharsis
Jan 20, 2016

Tharsis can never stop reminding you that you don't have control over its interstellar disaster, just the illusion of it. Every time I watched my ship fall apart, and every time I watched new events propagate across the ship that were completely impossible to stop, I felt like, win-or-lose, Tharsis was having all the fun.

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Dec 10, 2015

When I started playing Thea: The Awakening, I was excited for its possibilities. I'd love to play the game that I thought, in those early hours, that I was playing. If the card battle system were better and less predictable, if there was more stuff to do with your village and a greater tension between exploration and protecting your home, if failure weren't quite so punishing or random at times… Thea breaks the mold by doing a lot of different things at once. It just needs to do all of them better.

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Nov 20, 2015

Legacy of the Void is the most fun I've had with StarCraft 2, perhaps because it's more mellow, and more generous with players who don't want to focus entirely on the elite competitive experience. It's a challenging RTS when you want one, but it also lets you have fun stomping AI with friends and trying out new toys. Legacy remembers that it's a game as much as it is an esport.

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Oct 28, 2015

The use of different classes and the evocation of the Warhammer setting is enough to make Vermintide a competent twist on the Left 4 Dead formula, but it doesn't execute them well enough to live up to its inspiration. Even at its best, Vermintide's co-op horde mode lacks a sense of suspense, and its addictive loot chase can't fully replace that. As I'm sure any Skaven would tell you, there are better things than being a rat in a maze.

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8.3 / 10.0 - World of Warships
Sep 22, 2015

Scoring a hit with World of Warships' big floating guns feels great, and teamwork pays off big.

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It's charming and evocative, but the more I play it, the less substantial it gets.

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Sep 3, 2015

I enjoy a lot of things about Act of Aggression: the bloody, orgiastic spectacle of it. The tactical combat that puts a premium on winning the battle for map vision and positioning. The nuanced faction differences. But Act of Aggression is also a game that obscures information rather than reveals it, and attempts to bewilder you with a million minor choices rather than a few clear-cut strategic decisions. In sharp contrast to Eugen's previous work, my first enemy is always the game itself.

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4.8 / 10.0 - F1 2015
Jul 16, 2015

Codemasters' F1 2015 racer falls far behind the pack this year due to a lack of expected features.

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8 / 10 - Project CARS
May 20, 2015

But to enjoy that game, you have to forgive incomplete or poorly implemented features, and make your peace with the evil AI. They're small problems, in the scheme of things, and they don't spoil a great drive. But they're just enough to deny Project CARS what could have been a clean pole position.

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May 6, 2015

Order of Battle: Pacific is that dramatic, and the scenarios can be that finely-balanced. Once I start a scenario, I find it almost impossible to quit until I've seen it through to the end. Fast, approachable, and challenging, it is everything I want in a wargame.

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May 5, 2015

Spellcasting in Magicka: Wizard Wars is good fun, but it's not a perfect fit with MOBA-style multiplayer.

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6.9 / 10.0 - StarDrive 2
Apr 20, 2015

StarDrive 2's ship building is top notch, but the flawed game surrounding it keeps it from ever truly shining.

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8.1 / 10.0 - Frozen Cortex
Feb 26, 2015

Frozen Cortex is a great tactical turn-based sport that only really fumbles off the field.

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8.3 / 10.0 - Sunless Sea
Feb 19, 2015

Sunless Sea gives you a wonderful world to explore that's packed with memorable written vignettes and danger.

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I'm pretty happy with this version of Heroes of Might and Magic 3, but it is a bit harder to recommend when the Complete edition is on GOG with even more missions and a map generator.I can cheerfully recommend it to people who may never have encountered the game before. But if you're a Heroes of Might and Magic fan, who never needed high-definition anything to enjoy these games, then the chances are that GOG already had you covered, and there's not much for you here.

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9 / 10 - Grey Goo
Jan 27, 2015

Still, these are flaws in an otherwise tremendous offering from Petroglyph. It's the most purely fun, accessible RTS I've played in years. Whether it will stand the test of time like Company of Heroes or StarCraft is a question for five or ten years from now. What I can say now is that Grey Goo is a superb, cheerfully inviting real-time strategy game. It's one I can recommend to both fans of the genre and people who have felt shut-out from RTS gaming these past few years.

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7.4 / 10.0 - Elite: Dangerous
Dec 18, 2014

Elite: Dangerous puts you in some amazing spaceships, but doesn't always give you a lot to do with them.

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