Games

[Nic P]

http://carbongames.com/

From the Fat Princess guys. Essentially Herzog Zwei with 3v3 matches, Robotron-style controls, and the ability to build units with the numpad, which makes things much more efficient. You can choose between several mechs with different abilities, such as surface-to-air vs air-to-air missiles, a sword and shield (great against other mechs), or damage buffs for units (to name a few).

The best way to play is using the 360 pad in conjunction with the keyboard (for controlling the mech and ordering units, respectively).

Game seems to be in open beta right now (according to the website). It's fun, and anyone who liked its spiritual predecessor should check it out. Unfortunately, the servers are a ghost town.

[icycalm]

Looks really cool. The illustration work is nice too, except for the faces, as usual. I am Herzog Zwei's number 1 fan, but what needs to be said is that that was a real-time tactics game, and the real-time strategy games it has spawned are much better, because building and defending bases is hella fun. Still, I will definitely try this in a couple of weeks, probably before I delve seriously into Supreme Commander. I've got a GTX 690 and some bits and pieces coming in the mail, and when they all get here I'll set up my PC and give it a try. If you are still interested in the game then and not mad at me for telling you off in the other thread, we could take on some hapless victims together.

[icycalm]

http://culture.vg/forum/topic?f=23&t=4951

Since we seem to have settled on this, make sure everyone has it installed by Sunday. No idea what the Prime version is all about. I skimmed the description and it seems to give you a ton of stuff, including dozens of new units, but the devs insist it's not "pay2win"... It's also funny how the spelling of the title is different for the two versions. Goes to show how careless the devs are that they can't even spot such a blatant mistake after all those months, or even worse, that they don't care about it. Still, I really like the look of the screenshots, so I am hoping for something at least decent.

AirMech: http://store.steampowered.com/app/206500/
Airmech Prime: http://store.steampowered.com/app/216174/

It's funny, but I can't seem to make up my mind on whether I should buy Prime or not.

On the one hand, the game looks pretty damn cool, and I have spent up front way more than the $20 asking price on games that looked a hell of a lot less cool, and ended up being shit, and I never complained. I would easily have spent $60 on it if it were a normal kind of game and if that were its price. The game is "worth" $60 even if it's merely mediocre, and I should buy Prime and give them the petty $20 they are asking for merely as a matter of principle. Merely the fact that they did such a good-looking follow up to Herzog Zwei is reason enough to give them that $20, and a whole lot more besides.

On the OTHER hand, however, if the Prime goodies can be won while playing the game, it will obviously detract from my enjoyment of it if I START the game with them...

What a fucked up business model. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.

What's more, I just KNOW that if I go ahead and buy Prime the devs will misinterpret my intentions. "He just wanted the bonus stuff", they'll think, whereas that is precisely what I DON'T want, but merely to find a way to pay for my goddamn game.