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General discussionReview Guidelines & Review of the Month contest(176 posts)(176 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted May 30, 2016
Our guide to a world of awesome game reviews

Game reviews are important. They help developers get direct feedback on their games, and as gamers they help us make an informed purchase or share our thoughts. Writing a quality review carries a certain responsibility: to do good by both the game and the community. Striking that perfect balance is a challenge, a delicate art that we want to promote.

Next time you're about to write a review, you'll see our simple suggestions for crafting a top-notch review. You can always revisit them from the review form as well.

—Focus on your in-game experience: if you have general feedback or need tech support, contact us!
—Avoid politics and drama: let the game stand on its own merits.
—Critique responsibly: whether it's positive or negative, a great review should be helpful and informative.

We hope that these three essential guidelines will help make GOG.com reviews even more awesome than they already are, but we also don't want to stop there!



CONTEST: REVIEW OF THE MONTH

Together with our friends at ROCCAT we venture to encourage and reward the best reviews on GOG.com – and to that end, we are introducing our monthly Review of the Month contest!

Submit your review for any game (or games!) released on GOG.com between May 1 and May 31, 2016. This time around, the grand prize is the RENGA gaming headset, courtesy of ROCCAT.

Here's what you need to know:

—Once you've posted your review, submit it for consideration by also quoting it in this post's forum thread.
—Keep the review guidelines in mind. A good review can be both entertaining and informative, it can be brief or extensive. It doesn't need to be positive in its overall assessment of the game - as long as it's eloquent and fair (or hilarious), it has our attention.
—All eligible reviews must be about games that have joined the GOG.com catalog within the previous month. For this first phase of the contest eligible reviews shall concern games that came out on GOG.com between May 1 and May 31, 2016.
—Winners will be announced at the beginning of every month with the start of next month's contest. The first round of winners will be announced in early July, giving you guys a bit of extra time to fine-tune your entries. Remember that if you're not happy with the shape of a review you've already posted, you can always contact our support team to rectify that.
—The best review of each month will win a sweet piece of gaming gear, courtesy of the good people at ROCCAT. Any runners-up will receive honorable mentions and one $9.99 code each, to be redeemed at GOG.com.

Let's celebrate the reviews that hit the nail on the head — the most constructive, informative, or fun to read. Grab your keyboards and make some magic happen, GOGers!
Post edited May 31, 2016 by maladr0Id
Posted May 23, 2016
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zeogold: I'd still like my question about how these headphones are going to be delivered to be answered, especially with your guys' past history of "prizes" in contests. Once again, ROCCAT's website states that they only ship to Germany and Austria. You guys are in Poland. So they ship to you who ships to the winner? And will the winner have to cover this shipping, or will you do it yourselves?
...and I somehow get the sneaking suspicion that I'm not going to GET an answer...
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mrkgnao: They reply only to people in Germany and Austria.
No worries, we'll deliver wherever need be.
Posted May 23, 2016
Shadwen review. Apologies for the wall of text, hit the character limit while writing the review and had to delete some stuff. :D I gave the game 4 stars out of 5.

Stealth games are a tricky thing to get right. There has to be a balance between realism and leniency to give a challenging experience while still making it fun to play.

In my opinion, Shadwen doesn't traverse this line very well. The AI is limited, and as the game is also based on a series of escort quests you have to work around this AI for both the enemies and the little girl Lily which you are escorting. It can lead to a frustrating experience.

There's also a few other questionable components, the story tells itself mostly through overheard dialogue with the guards and little snippets inbetween levels, but it feels almost like an afterthought. The game actually has some interesting elements, such as time manipulation which could have added another layer to the storyline if it was incorporated, but it never gets mentioned.

In spite of all this, I've given the game 4/5. It may not make sense as what I've written above is unfavourable, but I think the game comes into it's own when you approach it a little differently. If you're like me it's tempting to take the pacifist route, as I did on my first playthrough; in retrospect I find this to be the least fun way to play through the game. Playing somewhat more.. messy? Killing the problematic guards, using all your (lethal) tools etc. feels so much more satisfying. It also helps offset the poor AI/pathing issues which I mentioned earlier.

One thing I was disappointed about compared to the demo is the removal of the scoring component. I played the demo multiple times trying to get new high scores, I am very surprised to see this feature missing from the main release and hope it's something Frozenbyte could look into for a future patch perhaps?

In summary: Shadwen can be a very fun game, but in my opinion needs to be approached with a different mindset than the average stealth game. It's tempting to abuse the time mechanic to try to get a perfect run, but I honestly think this cheapens the experience of the game.
Post edited May 23, 2016 by Goatbrush
Posted May 23, 2016
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Cypisss:
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zeogold: I'd still like my question about how these headphones are going to be delivered to be answered, especially with your guys' past history of "prizes" in contests. Once again, ROCCAT's website states that they only ship to Germany and Austria. You guys are in Poland. So they ship to you who ships to the winner? And will the winner have to cover this shipping, or will you do it yourselves?
...and I somehow get the sneaking suspicion that I'm not going to GET an answer...
I think they were trying to answer you, but answered me instead. See two posts above.
Posted May 23, 2016
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mrkgnao: I think they were trying to answer you, but answered me instead. See two posts above.
Probably, Already told him when I noticed. :)
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Goatbrush: One thing I was disappointed about compared to the demo is the removal of the scoring component. I played the demo multiple times trying to get new high scores, I am very surprised to see this feature missing from the main release and hope it's something Frozenbyte could look into for a future patch perhaps?
Scoring is missing?
Weird, it was a major part of the demo.
Post edited May 23, 2016 by omega64
Posted May 23, 2016
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omega64: Scoring is missing?
Weird, it was a major part of the demo.
Yeah, seems a strange decision. Was hoping for a system similar to the demo with some leaderboards or something, feels like the game has a chance to thrive with that stuff.
Posted May 23, 2016
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omega64: Scoring is missing?
Weird, it was a major part of the demo.
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Goatbrush: Yeah, seems a strange decision. Was hoping for a system similar to the demo with some leaderboards or something, feels like the game has a chance to thrive with that stuff.
Yeah, would give the game way more replay value, especially with the community maps that we can't access.
Posted May 23, 2016
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zeogold: I'd still like my question about how these headphones are going to be delivered to be answered, especially with your guys' past history of "prizes" in contests. Once again, ROCCAT's website states that they only ship to Germany and Austria. You guys are in Poland. So they ship to you who ships to the winner? And will the winner have to cover this shipping, or will you do it yourselves?
...and I somehow get the sneaking suspicion that I'm not going to GET an answer...
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mrkgnao: I think they were trying to answer you, but answered me instead. See two posts above.
Well, I guess I was technically right in my prediction.
And thanks for showing me.
Posted May 23, 2016
Was interested in the contest until I saw that it has to be a game that was added to the GoG.com catalog within the last month. Since my backlog is already massive and I've been unemployed for a short while I haven't been able to get any of the new to GOG.com releases, so I guess I'm out. Good luck!
Posted May 24, 2016
The Original Strife: Veteran Edition review

Not just another Doom clone

The 90es saw the release of Doom, which gave birth and popularize to the FPS genre and spawn a myriad of FPS clones, at first glance Strife, which use the Doom engine, is such a clone. However a deeper look will reveal that Strife has a number of innovations that make it stand from the rest of the FPS crowd.

The first thing is that the game is happen is a world map, where you will be free to go where you please rather than traveling through different levels. Another innovations is the number of RPG elements that is incorporated in the game, you will be giving missions to fulfill by the rebel leader, you could talk to the NPC in the game world, purchase weapons, ammunition and medkits and after each successful mission you could upgrade your health and fire accuracy. You could also have infiltration mission, where you need masquerade as an enemy soldier to get to your objective rather than just firing at everyone around you.

Another thing the game stand out for is the plot, while very cliche and generic it does play an important role in the game and allow you to make several plot choices that would change the course of the game and the final ending. You also have a sidekick which talk to you from a comm link and give useful advices as well make some sarcastic comments on your situation from time to time, I find this to add very much to the character of the game.

While the world design are good and easy to navigate, the enemy variety is somewhat limited and they tend to be boring, as well as most of the bosses who also tend largely to be the same. The auto aim at some of the weapons is not that good and while it understandably for an old game I'm feeling that Night Dive should have fixed it as part of the control modernization that they implemented.

In conclusion, Strife is an uncanny entry is the FPS genre, that was sadly overshadow by Quake which release is about the same time, highly recommended to those who want to play a 90es FPS with it own uncanny character.
Posted May 25, 2016
My BIT.TRIP BEAT review:

A classic rhythm pong mashup by lord.seo
I've owned a few version of bit.trip beat (right back to the original wii release) and I have to say that it is one of the best rhythm games on the market. It is deceptive in that is looks simple, but it throws a lot novel & mind bending challenges at you even if it is a memorization heavy game. The presentation of the game is fantastic both in the soundtrack, but also in the visuals. The 3 boss fights are varied and interesting.
Now for the shortcomings of the game. If you don't like repetition and dying to learn new beat types you will probably not enjoy this game. There are not a lot of "levels" but they are pretty long.
All that said, it's the sort of game that you will play over again just to get in that groove.
Posted May 27, 2016
This sounds like a potentially good idea. And fun. I truly hope it works!
I just wrote a review that fits the chronological limitations, so let's give it a try (^-^):

(If I understood correctly, we have to post the whole review here and not just link to the page).

SKYSHINE'S BEDLAM (3 stars)

"A strategic wasteland.
Bedlam can brag of great world-building and exceptional art-work reminiscent of Jean Giraud, Gimenez, Liberatore or Peter Chung. The game's tone is that of 2000 AD comics (specially Judge Dredd), and takes place on a setting inspired by post-apocalyptic classics like Damnation Alley, Mad Max and Gamma World.
It's a small well-written game that works around its limitations as best as it can somewhat succeeding, but also, somewhat not.
As the player you drive a gargantuan vehicle across the wastes transporting a cargo of people, seeking the promised land of (pretty much) Mexico. It starts meagerly equipped but fills with weaponry, fighters and buffs along the way. Your crew include 4 types of defenders. Your resources are meat, energy, oil and passangers.
It's all these promising things about Bedlam that leave you wishing for depth after you actually play it, for all its parts are painfully simplistic.
Cover and terrain features are poorly implemented, for the arenas where you battle are barren squares without variation. After only 2 runs Bedlam starts feeling repetitive and would've benefited from set battles interspersed with the random ones. Differences between factions are slight and null between you and your opponents since you all share the same weaponry, roles and buffs. Tactics devolve quickly to using one that you feel comfortable with and your 2 preferred combatant types. Simple management of your Dozer's Energy and your fighters' Damage can easily see you through most runs. Saving spots are iffy. Quit a game and you may find that past events were not recorded, loosing your gains. Freezes during busy battles happened at least once per run.
Where the skirmish style of combat works in Banner Saga in Bedlam feels claustrophobic since futuristic weaponry is in use. Bedlam is a nice thematic product filled with atmosphere that could be a good graphic novel or movie, but I found a tad too simple in its strategic scope and mechanics as a game."
Posted May 28, 2016
BROKEN SWORD 5 - THE SERPENT'S CURSE

Great adventure game for genre lovers (4 stars of 5)

Want to see a woman carrying a bloodstained mop in her pocket all the way from Paris to a small church in Catalonia to play 'Ave Maria'? Or a man with a pet cockroach Trevor whose name should be Boris? Then this game is for you!

To make it clear this review is actually 4.5 stars. The only problem for me was that apart from a couple of puzzles most of them were very easy with no struggle at all. If I recall correctly all of the puzzles can be solved in the same location you encounter them and this means 1 to 3 screens representing adjacent sub-locations. But all of them are very logical and can be solved analyzing information you've got at the moment on hand. Well, almost all. There is one glyph puzzle closer to the end of the game that didn't look so logical to me. About 30% of it felt random, but it could be only me and lack of analysis. And I was very happy to encounter one message deciphering puzzle which was only in BS1, if I'm not mistaken.

Everything else was very good: beautiful backgrounds, believable plot with a good ending (rare case), pretty lengthy (took me 13h to finish and I consider game to be easy), humor, voice acting. To my taste Nico's voice was the sexiest in BS1, but in this game it's second best and pretty close to the original. It's pretty obvious the developers put a lot of effort and a bit of their souls into BS5 to make it in spirit of the first two games. And I think they achieved it.

Summarizing all aforesaid, this game is a must-have for all fans of the original BS1 and BS2, a very good choice for the novice in the genre of adventure point-and-click games. And it's still a very good game for the mighty and experienced adventurers, just keep in mind you won't struggle but will still enjoy it nevertheless.

--- END OF REVIEW ---

I cut out the last sentences in square brackets from the original review as irrelevant.
Posted May 31, 2016
You need to make it so that people can edit their reviews or more easily edit their reviews. I have personally looked to edit a review I made and never found a way to do that. This is important. Please look into it.
Posted May 31, 2016
Why bump this one the last day of the contest?

I don't get it...
Posted May 31, 2016
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Zoidberg: Why bump this one the last day of the contest?

I don't get it...
You'll understand when you're older.
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Community
General discussionReview Guidelines & Review of the Month contest(176 posts)(176 posts)
(176 posts)