PREVIEW: Space Crew! on PC

Preview by Jon Donnis

I was sent a preview key for Space Crew on Steam (PC) by Renaissance PR

The first thing you will notice about Space Crew is it is clearly a salute to Star Trek.

You take control of a small space ship, your job is to defend Earth and mankind, and to boldly go where no "crew" has gone before. Sound familiar?

This is the most important view you will have while playing the game, and it is the one that you will need to get a grip on. You click on various crew members and give them instructions, whether that be to control the weapons while fighting alien invaders, using the tractor beam, fixing the engines, tackle fires, repair systems and so on, you control the character by either directly clicking on them, or using the panel on the left side of the screen.

Each action you do does have an effect on parts of the ship, so if you put all your power into the shields, then you will lose gravity, engines and weapons, so sometimes you have to make a choice and decide how to balance your needs.

I have played through the first few missions in this Preview release, and my initial thoughts are that although the controls could be better, the game does have potential, you will fly between Earth and Mars on the initial mission, you switch between the internal view of the ship and an external view, on the external view you can select enemies to fire at, or warp gates that allow you to travel between areas, you will transport goods and so on.

Once you complete missions you can upgrade your crew with various equipment, appearances and so on.

You can also customize your spaceship, improve the shields, engine, weapons and so on.

The Good

The graphics are clear, and everything is perfectly fine in the looks and sounds department.

The Bad

The controls could be better, I wasn't keen on them and was forever trying to figure out what to click to get back to an option I previously had on screen, however the more you play the more you will get used to them, I just think they could be a bit more fluid from the start, although the game will "train" you how to play, what to click and so on as you go along.

Summary

The game has a lot of potential, but it also has a long way to go to be the finished article.

I am reliably informed that there will be a DAY 1 patch for Space Crew which will include bug fixes, quality of life improvements and additional gameplay content, so I look forward to seeing what extra they add to the game.

Strategy JRPG Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia Announced for PS4

In Runersia, a continent created by the Rune God, mana rains down endlessly.  Eons ago, five Mana Stones were brought forth by this continent and passes through history alongside human nations, eventually embedding into special Brigandine equipment to create Rune Knights – special individuals who can wield the mana power and stones embedded into their armor to cast skills and magic as well as summon and control ancient monsters. Six Brigandine nations of Runersia, each with conflicting ideals beliefs, histories, and faiths, are divided by Brigandines of Justice, Glory, Freedom, Sanctity, and Ego, while the sixth nation exists without Brigandine. The goal is to win battles to expand their nation’s influence until the entire continent of Runersia has been taken over by the player.

The PS4™ system version of Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is currently in development by developer Matrix Software and will be published by Happinet digitally on the PlayStation®Store. The game will be playable on PS5™. This game has not yet been rated by the ESRB and rated “T for Teen” for the Nintendo Switch™ system. The Nintendo Switch version released on June 25 and is available on the Nintendo eShop for $49.99/ €49.99.

Featuring a Fantasy world conquest within the turn-based strategy genre, Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia will offer hundreds of hours of immersive gameplay in this stunning new campaign for conquest. Players choose one of six nations to assume the role of the ruler aiming to conquer Runersia. As a ruler, players will command more than 100 Rune Knights throughout the six nations leading various monster troops of various dragons, ghouls, and fairies, into fierce battles on hexagonal grid maps in the tactical turn-based battle system.

Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia Features:

Choose between six nations and enjoy the high degree of freedom- Players decide which nation to play as and which countries to invade and how to conquer the continent

Hundreds of hours of gameplay- A single nation’s plotline can take over 30 hours of playtime and content from the mainline with multiple endings, three difficulty levels, and post-ending content

Original gameplay and design from its predecessor- Combat is turn-based tactical RPG, with knights on each side leading three monster platoons into battle on a hexagonal grid to jostle for victory

Immersive gameplay and original artwork from talented veterans- Lead artist and character designer, Raita Kazama, known for his character and monster designs in Xenoblade Chronicles, Puzzle & Dragon and others, brings his artistry to the 40 base locations, over 100 unique knights, and 50 monster types in Runersia

Challenge mode- Battle in a combination of a sandbox and score attack experience where new missions are non-stop, challenging the player’s ability to change strategies on the fly as difficulty becomes harder the longer a player survives

DIRTY LAND - Crowdfunding Trailer

Independent developer Naturally Intelligent today announced Dirty Land – a video game about salesmanship, crime and desperation, inspired by classic sales movies of the eighties and nineties. The studio today launched a Kickstarter campaign for Dirty Land, with opportunities for backers to appear as “leads” in-game.

Part drama, part satire, part life of a salesman and part murder mystery, Dirty Land is a story-driven adventure about desperate people and criminal behavior in an era when greed was good.

Dirty Land casts players as Frank Marsh, a newly-hired salesman for Pure Sky Properties – a real estate office where coffee is for closers and the goal is selling worthless swampland to unsuspecting buyers for a profit. Will you discard your ethics to make a quick buck for you and your family, or will you take the high road and find a way to carve out an honest living?

Key Features

The Birth of a Salesman. It is 1982. You are Frank Marsh. You’re a good man who made a bad mistake and you’ve ruined your family. You can't change your past, but you can change your future. 

Something New Every Day. Begin each morning outside your drab office in a run-down strip mall. Every day brings new characters to meet, new events to experience, and new stories to be told. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?

Always Be Closing. Every day you’ll have chances to make a sale or two. Learn what your leads like, study their habits, memorize everything you hear about them and make that sale! How many leads can you pitch and sell each day to get back on your feet?

Enter an office from hell. Thought your work environment was crazy? This is worse! A bizarre boss, wisecracking rival salesmen, an elusive owner, and more. Choose to be polite or rude, and make friends or enemies.

Play amateur detective. Immersed in a world of desperate men and shady characters, Frank will come face to face with crime, corruption, backstabbing, and even murder. Everyone is a suspect; even Frank. Can his connections and detective work help keep him out of jail?

Fans interested in Dirty Land can back the Kickstarter NOW and get involved from as little as $1. 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/naturally/dirty-land-thrill-of-the-sale

Additionally, an IndieGoGo campaign has been launched alongside the Kickstarter to give backers additional option in supporting Dirty Land: 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dirty-land

REVIEW: Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Don't Dry on XBOX ONE

Review by Jon Donnis

I was sent a review code by Assemble Entertainment for Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Don't Dry.

Most gamers under the age of about 30 will have no idea who Larry Laffer is, well back in the late 80's and early 90's the Leisure Suit Larry games were some of the biggest games around, they featured adult humour, so if you were a kid these were the hottest things around. Well it is now 2020 and Larry is back, and I for one couldn't be happier, since I was playing these types of games all the way back in the 1980's.

Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Don't Dry is a classic point and click adventure following Larry as he wakes up in a dark room, he finds his way out, heads into a bar, and is told he has been missing for 30 years. But Larry hasn't changed at all. He still only has one thing on his mind, and that is sleeping with women.

As Larry you will end up with a new "Pi Phone" and an App called "Timber", but to sleep with his perfect woman (Faith) he needs the perfect score, and this leads you on an adventure whereby you will meet loads of people, find yourself completing tasks, and solving puzzles. 

This is a game that perhaps is a bit out of time, it is a risk to bring back a game that relies on adult humour especially in 2020 whereby everyone is offended at everything, however I think that this game is firmly aimed at people who played and enjoyed the original games. If you are under 30 you will probably hate this, and if you are over 30 then it will bring back fond memories.

The Good

Beautiful hand drawn scenes, plenty of fun interactions within the story, and a "satisfying" end.

The Bad

I enjoyed it, but I can imagine some people finding the humour just not fit for modern times.

Also the game did crash for me a few times, I have not heard of anyone else having this issue so it might just be me, but if it is a problem I am sure the developers will fix it asap.

Summary

Leisure Suit Larry is back at his filthiest and best, an enjoyable story, funny moments. I score the game a solid 8/10

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/leisure-suit-larry-wet-dreams-dont-dry/9p270ndwmq2h

REVIEW: Unrailed! on PC

Review by Jon Donnis

I was sent a review key for Unrailed! for PC by the good people at RenaissancePR.

Unrailed! is a simple game, you have a train, and the train is moving from point A to point B, and your job is to make sure it gets there safely, you accomplish this by building the track ahead of your train. As I said, SIMPLE!, well not quite, you need wood and steel to build the track, so you need to cut down trees and mine the steel, but the train has already started moving, but wait you now have a river flowing through the area and you need to get past it, and now there are cows on the track, and just when you think you know what you are doing the train is now on fire!

And that pretty much is the game, each time you play a level and fail, you will instantly realise how you messed up, so you will restart and try to get it right. Ideally this is a multiplayer game, up to 4 players all at once helping each other to complete the track, mine, and so on. There is a single player mode, and you have the help of a bot which you can send commands to, to help you along.

There are a few different modes, including a versus team mode, where you play against others and the winner is the one who makes the longest track, personally I played the single player mode the most, and just tried to get as far as I could.

As you earn gold you can upgrade your train so it can hold more wood and steel, buy extra wagons, a better engine and so on.

The Good

This is an addictive little game, regardless of if you play it alone or preferably with others, you will find yourself keep coming back to it.

The Bad

Retro style graphics are in fashion right now, but I think the blocky style in this game doesn't quite work, I think you could have had simple style graphics without going full block.

Summary

A fun addictive game, that you will keep coming back to.

8/10

Review by Jon Donnis