Crypt of the NecroDancer is a roguelike game in which your goal is to find the answers to your family mysteries. This game is all about music, rhythm and is sure to make you shake your bones while playing!
Just like the theme, the gameplay is all about movement. You can move in four directions, and that is it! But do not let this simplicity prevent you from seeing further, you have to move and fight your enemies at the beat of the music. So, despite being simple, which is great for newcomers, it offers a lot of challenge! Actually, gets to a point that is so challenging that we could not finish the game with the last character... Too hard for us. T_T
The progression is straight forward, as you complete each zone you get to know more about the mystery surrounding Cadence's family. You also get diamonds as you play the game, this diamonds can be used to buy temporary and permanent upgrades, as well as to increase the loot tables on chests you find during your adventures.
Crypt of the NecroDancer is a unique game, with a very creative setup, that masterly uses the whole music theme to make an experience that is so captivating that is sure get the party started, literally! On top of the great soundtrack you have wonderful 8-bit characters, a well done voice-over and procedurally generated dungeons, for that extra replayability!
Magicka 2 is an adventure game where you have to find and protect the chosen child from imminent danger. With a unique conjure and cast spell combination system, you will strike fear at anyone in your way, even if they are your friends...
Casting magic.
Conjuring magic.
Gameplay is very "simple", you have eight magic elements to conjure: water, life, shield, ice, thunder, death, earth and fire. You can conjure them in any order to a maximum of five, and then your choice of four different ways to cast it: on yourself, in area around you, in front of you or in your sword. After you make your choice, disintegrate your enemies promptly. That is all... Oh, one more thing, depending on the combination of elements, you will get different effects, and this is where the "" of our "simple" comes from. To help a bit you can also have up to four fast access Magickas, which are pre-determined combinations that have special powerful effects. You can totally throw them on your own if you remember their conjuring sequence, but some are quite a handful when you are running for your life. Worry not though, as this confusion will only add to the chaotic, fast paced fun that this game is! And that would be the key word about the gameplay of this game, entertainingly chaotic.
Artifacts.
The progression is very straight forward, you go through the short story defeating the challenges and earning new weapons, robes and artifacts. Some are hidden, so the game tells you if you missed something. Weapons and robes will both change your appearance and how strong/weak an element is. While most artifacts have similar effects (by strengthening or weakening an element), there are some that will do subtle changes, like transforming your game into a comedy show. They are only usable by making a custom game, which took us a while to figure out, so remember this if you get an interesting artifact after a chapter. Although it is a cheap trick to increase replayability, bare in mind that they can help you get through a difficult spot if you boost some elements, or make the game extra, extra challenging if you so desire.
The game is definitely best played in local "co-op", as the fast paced action is great for a couch session with friends, but the game is perfectly enjoyable as a single-player experience. If you play online with friends make sure to use voice chat all the way, you want to hear those screams! The whole game is designed around a chaotic satirical feeling, making fun of many popular references beyond games. Topped with some hilarious voice over, simple but polished graphics, and amazing spell effects, this game has its flaws, but it will entertain anyone with a sense of humor. Damn, killing your friends over and over is pretty much already entertaining enough! MUAHUAHUAHUA...
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist is a third person stealth and shooter game in which your goal is to stop the attacks of an organization called The Engineers. The night vision sonar googles, pipes to hang from and Mark and Execute power are signatures for this game and will sure make you feel like a true special trained agent.
Sneaky routes are always an option.
Sonar + Thermal Goggles.
The gameplay is very characteristic of most stealth games, you have to use cover, shadows and other obstacles for camouflage or subterfuge while keeping an eye on your enemies field of view. After all, your goal is to reaming unseen. You can shoot lights to make new dark paths, attract enemies to specific locations, climb walls, windows and pipes. But when the sneaky arts fails you, and firepower is needed, you will count with an arsenal of different weapons and gadgets to your survival, all very characteristic of any shooter game. What makes Splinter Cell Blacklist very distinct is a very special ability that gives you a capital "S" for special agent, an ability called Mark and Execute. Whenever your "power bar" is filled you can mark three different targets and skilfully put them down with whatever weapon you are current using. All in a very special slow motion cinematographic sequence.
How much was that again?
The progression system is done in a very peculiar way. From the very start you can see all weapons and upgrades available, but in order to use them you have to buy such equipment. Each mission you complete will give you cash based on your mission score, which is based on your performance. We like to think of it as government funding for a well done operation. Although generous six figures amounts are common (and they could have most certainly used digit group separators) you will quickly realize that you will finish the game before even getting a full high-end gear set. Unless you keep repeating missions, in which case you are fine, as every mission can be repeated endlessly and will always give you more cash.
Where are the real challenges?
The tutorial and user interface could also have used some more iteration, as everything is accessible from the start, it is overwhelmingly confusing what everything means. The manual pages were incomplete and far from much help, we ended up just figuring out as we played. It is not that hard after all, just confusing, so we recommend that you access everything through your start menu, instead of going around speaking with NPC's. The challenges are badly balanced and rewarded, as a stealth game expecting you to kill 500 enemies with a pistol and award you 30.000 moneys that barely buys you anything is more of a chore than a challenge, and it also does not provide any incentives to try different play styles or strategies. There is also a bug with the cover system that sometimes you are in cover but when you aim your character will just aim at the cover/wall, not really a top agent skill, but nothing that standing up and breaking your stealth will not solve.
Now that's more like Special Agent Skills!
We also got very, very disappointed when we finished the last mission and the ending cinematic was locked due a UI bug, this should have not made to the final game and definitely should have been patched. If it happens do you, do not pull your hairs out, the game saves when the score comes up. Just watch the ending on youtube and go back to the shadows. Despite falling short for some aspects of game composition, the mechanics of Splinter Cell Blacklist are very well done, topped with great hand-to-hand animation and a plot that will keep you to be on your toes.
Half-Life 2 is a First Person Shooter game in which your goal is to help the resistance fight off the controlling forces that took over the world after the events of Half-Life 1. Just like the first game, Half-Life 2 has excelled to a point where its place in history is set to stone as one of the best games ever made.
Moving can be challenging when done right!
The gameplay mechanic is very simple and no different from the first game. You control your character around the world and have to eliminate the challenges by shooting at them and solving puzzles. Nothing extraordinarily original, but just like the first game, what lies underneath is nothing short from greatness. What really makes this game shine is how every challenge is created around the use of one or more mechanic, be it a weapon, movement or just interaction with the environment. And every subsequent challenge or puzzle will gradually increase in complexity and difficulty. When you get to feel comfortable with one mechanic the game will throw something new at you. In particular the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator (also know as Gravity Gun) play a big role, but that is just because it is not your regular shooting weapon, which opens a lot of possibilities that were very well used.
Half-Life 2 takes everything that worked well in the first game and makes it better. Sound, voice over, scripted events, plot, graphics, you name it... Well, not the User Interface, that one had little improvement. Despite this minor set back Valve managed to intertwine all mechanics so well together that most games still have not figured out how to reproduce their successful formula. Although being just a shooter game, Half-Life 2 manages to be much more than just a shooter game.
Crown and Council is a turn based strategy game where your goal is to defeat all enemies in the board/world. Very casual, simple and quite relaxing, this game reminds us of table top board games.
14 Gold to spend, things are going well.
The gameplay is simple, during your turn you can attack and build. Each action requires gold, each conquered space gives +1 gold per turn by default. The more spaces you own, the stronger your turn is. You can attack adjacent or remote locations, if the target is fortified you might have to attack multiple times in order to conquer it. You can build fortification in a owned location or two kinds of resource producing buildings: Villages that will increase earnings in +1 gold per turn, or universities that will allow you to upgrade your actions to become more efficient.
Unfortunately this upgrade mechanic is a good idea but not quite balanced, as it is the most expensive building, takes many turns to pay off and the effectiveness is neglectable compared to increasing your gold per turn. As you can see in the image above, conquering 6 locations to receive +6 gold the next turn at the same time we are denying those locations of our enemies is a much more competitive strategy. There is also stuff that you can do but have to use the "secret debug mode", like accessing the local multiplayer, which makes the game feel unpolished. Check an online guide and you should be fine.
Map generation underway.
Despite this problems, everything else is in the right place. There are random events that might make you loose a building or even a location, but they won't save you from defeat or give you the victory. All maps are randomly generated so you can play as many times as you desire.
Overall is an interesting game that can be entertaining for couple hours before you start beating the AI every match. There is plenty of room for improvement, like proper menu, instructions, match customization options and even an online multiplayer would be great. But given it is a free game we would recommend trying it out as an exercise that even the simplest mechanic can be enjoyable.
Just like the theme, the gameplay is all about movement. You can move in four directions, and that is it! But do not let this simplicity prevent you from seeing further, you have to move and fight your enemies at the beat of the music. So, despite being simple, which is great for newcomers, it offers a lot of challenge! Actually, gets to a point that is so challenging that we could not finish the game with the last character... Too hard for us. T_T 
