ORION: Dino Beatdown

“ORION: Dino Beatdown is an Open World, Class-Based Cooperative Survival Sci-Fi FPS. The game puts five players together in huge, endless environments in which they must work together to accomplish objectives and survive the devastating Dinosaur horde.”

Pick the game up here. (Please listen to the podcast first!)

Pros:
- Interesting idea (space marines shooting dinos sounds awesome)
- We got an episode out of it
- At least we got one and a half legitimate pros

Cons:
- Broken. Really broken.
- Stole Nate’s soul
- Wasted ten dollars and hours of our lives on this bug ridden disgrace

Ratings, next week’s game and second half talking points after the jump. Continue reading →

MacGuffin’s Curse

“Help Lucas MacGuffin (magician turned thief turned werewolf) sneak and smash his way through this fiendishly addictive comedy-puzzle-adventure for PC and Mac. Winner of the Freeplay Award for Best Game Writing!”

Pick the game up here.

Pros:
- Well-done artwork
- Clever dialog
- Obviously made with care

Cons:
- Slow paced
- Somewhat repetitive
- Fairly standard block pushing puzzle game

Ratings, next week’s game and second half talking points after the jump. Continue reading →

Ricochet

“A futuristic action game that challenges your agility as well as your aim, Ricochet features one-on-one and team matches played in a variety of futuristic battle arenas.”

Pick the game up here.

Pros:
- Tron disc-wars concept
- Tron art style
- Good LAN party game

Cons:
- Not a Tron game
- Really shows its age
- Absolutely no online community

Ratings, next week’s game and second half talking points after the jump. Continue reading →

Toribash

“Toribash is an innovative fighting game based on the physics sandbox model where YOU design the moves! Join us today, and pit your skills against other players all over the world.”

Pick the game up here.

Pros:
- Intuitive game design with high skill-ceiling
- Very flexible, robust game engine
- Limb tearing, bone breaking fun!

Cons:
- Sometimes frustrating user interface
- Incomplete-feeling tutorial
- A few server-based issues

Ratings, next week’s game and second half talking points after the jump. Continue reading →

Chime

“A Zoë Mode production for the video game charity initiative OneBigGame, Chime pits gamers against the melody in an all-new puzzle experience. Place blocks against the clock, complete solid quads and try to cover the whole playing surface, all the while remixing and embellishing pieces by musicians from across the planet.”

Pick the game up here.

SUPER BIG WARNING:  At the beginning of the second half, Nathan tells a slightly bawdy and very bad joke.  Children old enough to understand it but young enough to have it corrupt their minds should be extremely careful when listening to the second half.

Pros:
- Simple to learn and play
- Addicting
- Darn near perfect

Cons:
- Not a music game.
- Only 6 songs/levels
- Bonus level should have been an unlockable mode

Ratings, next week’s game and second half talking points after the jump. Continue reading →

Snuggle Truck

“Welcome to Snuggle Truck, the award winning over-the-top physics-based indie driving game. Save your cargo of crazy animals by delivering them to the zoo unscathed in the least amount of time. Tilt your truck, catch the fuzzies, drive over armadillos, and rocket your way through hills, caverns, and deserts.”

Pick the game up here.

Pros:
- HUGE fan-created level selection
- Fun new spin on Trials-like game
- Strong and easy to use level editor

Cons:
- Poorly implemented menus
- Fan created levels are mostly a let-down
- Very minor bugs that don’t affect gameplay

Ratings, next week’s game and second half talking points after the jump.

Continue reading →

Cubemen

“Cubemen is a fast paced, action packed, original 3D Tower Defense game that mixes TD with RTS in single player & online multi-­player awesomeness! Get ready for some crazy Cubemen action! It’s the age old struggle between Good vs Bad, Blue vs Red, Little men vs Little men. Use your own little Cubemen to defend your base from other little Cubemen that are trying to run it over. It’s the usual story, but with many very interesting twists.

Play a purely defense game in various modes on a sweet selection of levels, or go into Skirmish mode and play a new type of TD game against either the computer or another human opponent. That’s right.. Two way REAL-­TIME TD against the computer or a real person! It’s TD like you’ve never seen or experienced before.”

Pick the game up here.

Pros:
- Lots of maps
- Several game modes
- Moving towers is a novel idea

Cons:
- Towers/soldiers have absolutely no aim
- Enemies have more range for no reason
- Fundamentally broken in places

Ratings, next week’s game and second half talking points after the jump.

Continue reading →