High Hell is ample demonstration that good and simple game play still has a place in world of multi-gigabyte monsters with eight-figure (or higher) development and marketing budgets. It's perfect for those situations when you just want to sit down and shoot things for a few minutes without having to deal with even an iota of realism. After all, they're called "games" for a reason.
Yes, it's vulgar, it's crude, and it's often profane. Be that as it may, Mutant Football League is probably the best football game available on the PC today.
Perfect for anyone that remembers playing the original in the previous century or folks looking to visit gaming of the past, Auroch Digital's OGRE is a faithful re-engineering of a venerable classic. You get all of the strategy and tactical action of the original absent the bookkeeping, lost game pieces, and requirement of having friends actually in your house to play.
While it's still in early days, Heliborne is already well polished and provides a fantastic mix of tactical airborne helicopter and strategic decision making in a very affordable package. This one is well worth giving a try!
With its excellent focus on online multiplayer supported with some innovative fair-play features and related social features, Gran Turismo Sport is a great choice for drivers focused on those aspects. For offline players and those that don't want to grind to gain access to an extensive collection of cars and tracks, though, there are better alternatives.
Empyre: LordS of the Sea Gates offers an innovative style of gameplay to liven up the RPG nature of the game. The writing is well above average and does a great job of setting the appropriate tone and, at times, is quite witty. Combat is approachable in the early stages, but becomes increasingly difficult as the game progresses.
FORM was an enjoyable and mildly challenging romp through some beautifully crafted spaces populated with puzzles that achieved a nice balance between being interesting without being either too easy or frustratingly difficult. Sadly, I was ready for more than it had to give.
Archangel is a great example of what VR is all about. The all-encompassing environment removes all worldly distractions and enhances game action to a fever pitch. Movements feel fluid and natural, and the periodic introduction of new or upgraded weapons follows the increase in difficulty well. The story aspects are unobtrusive yet satisfying.
Galaxy of Pen and Paper hearkens back to a more manual style of game play that has aged well, but requires a more patient set of players than most games today. The writing is imaginative, and it seems a good introduction to the genre, but the graphics may be off-putting to those that enjoy more realistic renderings.
Trails of Cold Steel is one of those games where you get out of it what you put into it. While it is playable for a rank newbie, there is far more depth available to the experienced player. There are some small rough edges, but it works very well overall.
The Escapists 2 is a worthy successor to the highly popular The Escapists. The improvements to the overall look, feel, and sounds of the original make this one very much worth picking up.
Kingdoms and Castles is entering into a competitive genre and may struggle to get noticed, but the ease of play and nice balance between simplicity and complexity makes it worth taking a look at. Just be sure to consider what you're going to do when the Vikings come calling.
Sniper Elite 4 is one of those games that has something for everyone. Being a borderline recluse, I was attracted to the idea of playing as a lone wolf, but the multiplayer co-op Overwatch game was even better!
Shenzhen I/O is perfect for those that have an interest in programming the old-fashioned way, and those that enjoy experimenting with code-drive electronics, without the hassles and burdens of working for the man. It is a fairly steep learning curve, but that's just the cost of puzzles that provide immense satisfaction when completed.
Iron Wings shows a lot of promise, but is in need of some redesign of some of the more important game elements. The graphics are fast and beautiful and there are some interesting new twists to the air battle arcade model, but the current balance between challenging vs. downright frustrating leans to heavily towards the latter.
Forza Horizon 2 is just about everything you would expect from an already superb game upgraded and moved to a stronger platform. While it's disappointing that higher end driving rigs still can't be used, the quality of the game and the Xbox One's controller ease the pain just a bit. This one is well worth the 100+ hours it will take to work your way through.
Simple does not always equate with easy. War, the Game has stripped away the deep complexity typical of the real-time strategy game and left the player with a simple-to-learn, hard-to-master global dominance game that allows the armchair general to concentrate far more on the actual strategic planning and implementation of battle than on the logistics that support them.
Well worth the time of any Tex Murphy fan. Even those that know nothing about the history of the protagonist will find something to like.
An innovative approach the adds a degree of non-linearity to the game play combined with a compelling story line and great visuals make Daedalic's Alcatraz 1954 a game that is hard to walk away from.
While it may seem like a step backward with its lower track count than previous Forza versions, in reality it is quite the opposite. The tracks are an example of quality over quantity, and one could assume that a future DLC solution will address this anyway. The new Drivatar system is basically a crowd-sourced AI training system and results in a more realistic (and, at times, frustrating) racing experience. Multiple configuration options allow the challenge to be finely calibrated to any skill level. If nothing else, the visuals alone are worth the upgrade.