Tank Universal + Shadowgrounds
I played a demo of Tank Universal, a very cool little tank combat game similar to Battlezone. I was very pleased with the gameplay: there's something supremely satisfying about scoring a direct hit on a moving enemy tank from a half kilometre away and then moving in to pick up his energy shards. The game is more than just combat, however, and it only promises to get more interesting as the single-player campaign progresses in the full version. The music is great, and the graphics are a pleasing blend of retro styling with modern effects. The developers signed with independent publisher Meridian4, and so it will be distributed on Steam starting August 21st for $9.99.
I pre-purchased it and, as if $10 for such a fun game isn't enough of a deal, you get Shadowgrounds for free which is another supremely fun game. I actually just finished Shadowgrounds last night--it took me about 7 hours to play through it--but it was quite enjoyable and I found the plot to be very amusing in its campiness. The dialogue is so badly written that it's too funny, but the gameplay is very fun. The diversity of weapons lends itself to a surprising variety of strategic styles, so it's hard to get bored. And the ending is just hilarious. Spoiler: the aliens are apparently not evil hordes bent on destroying everyone on the planet (despite doing exactly that for the entirety of the game): they just want their bomb back so us puny humans don't destroy ourselves. How humbling.
I pre-purchased it and, as if $10 for such a fun game isn't enough of a deal, you get Shadowgrounds for free which is another supremely fun game. I actually just finished Shadowgrounds last night--it took me about 7 hours to play through it--but it was quite enjoyable and I found the plot to be very amusing in its campiness. The dialogue is so badly written that it's too funny, but the gameplay is very fun. The diversity of weapons lends itself to a surprising variety of strategic styles, so it's hard to get bored. And the ending is just hilarious. Spoiler: the aliens are apparently not evil hordes bent on destroying everyone on the planet (despite doing exactly that for the entirety of the game): they just want their bomb back so us puny humans don't destroy ourselves. How humbling.
