Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So many Laz0rbeemz.

C.S. Goto must've messed his shorts with joy when this came out

OK, the reason I didn't post a review last month was that I couldn't pick a good game to review. This month I couldn't choose again so I decided to do something different, I present to you...


The Top 5 webgames that make you think

Note: these aren't necessarily games that require a lot of thought to play, but make you think about things when you play them, and leave an impact on you. This list is totally IMO so feel free to disagree.


Number 5: Small Worlds

There is too much noise

This is a charming, atmospheric game about exploration, as you move around the level, the view zooms out rather than move around, until your character is only a tiny, 3-pixel high avatar. The levels are astonishingly well designed, but it is the ending thatis unexpected, it will surprise you, honest. Link



Number 4: Coil

When She awoke from the Coil, time didnt wait for her...

An 'experimental Flash game' from indie games mogul Edmund 'Bluebaby' Mcmillen, this is possibly one of the most abstract games ever created, it is a series of minigames, interspersed with ominous storytelling, and it isn't clear who 'she' is and what is happening to her, she could be being raped, or even be a developing foetus, its up to you. Link



Number 3: I Fell in Love with the Majesty of Colours

Last night I had a dream...

One of the most poignant webgames I've ever played, Colours casts you as a misunderstood, curious, titanic sea monster. The game revolves around how you react with 'the Creatures' (the inhabitants of a nearby Island). The game is masterfully written with 5 distinct endings, so you can start by looking at a balloon, and end by watching a child be eaten by sharks. Link



Number 2: Time Fcuk

When you close your eyes, everyone else disappears...

This lo-res game was created by William Good, Justin Karpel and Edmund Mcmillen (see no. 4), it revolves around time travel and interdimensional transport. The interdimensional element allows you to swap between two dimensions, areas inaccessible in one dimension are accessible in the other and vice versa. The time element is recieving text messages from past and future versions of yourself in different rooms, these can be quite creepy. Some are malicious insults, others are desperate pleas for help. I placed it above Colours because it requires thought to complete as well. In all it taught me one thing, I'm a in the future Link



Number 1: Babies Dream of Dead Worlds

Before we have memory, before we know what this world is, we dream. Babies dream of what came before, of universes that are no longer there. Babies dream of dead worlds.

From the guy who made Colours, this game has an even weirder title, and an even more memorable story. It is set in the world of a race of strange flying creatures and you take control of an athlete, a scientist and a treasure-hunter as their world collapses and ends. The game offers a unique perspective on how people react in that situation, some are resigned to their fate, some mindlessly blame you, some are determined to find a fix. It's the game's quotes that I remember; "What do you suppose our babies dream of? Before they open their eyes? Before they have any memory? What do they dream about?" or "Everyone, this is the final race before the racing association closes for good, After this, everyone will go back to their families and wait for the end, a record made today will last forever, it will never be broken. Go." Link

Well done i mist say, I really liked the I Fell in Love with the Majesty of Colours game. Keep the good vibe flowing my friend

Better late than never...


Solium Infernum

Cryptic Comet have already established themselves as a skilled independent games developer with 2007's Armageddon Empiers, a turn-based strategy game set in the nuclear wasteland. Relatively recently, CC have returned to the turn-based RTS genre, but with a fresh new perspective. You aren't some WW2 General or medieval king or any one of the various other RTS stereotypes, you are an archdemon battling for the throne of Hell.

Welcome to Solium Infernum


Hell; more grey than you expected

A game of Solium Infernum starts with you, at your evil fortress of DOOOOOOOOOOOOM!, and a legion of slavering minions to go and stomp the underworld flat with. As deliciously evil as this may sound, you'll need a lot more than that to become the new Satan! The greatest thing about SI is the amount of paths to victory. You can manipulate your way to the top, feth up the lives of others with despiccable rituals, or just be a vicious war-bastard and crush everything in your path. however, I might as well point out the game's biggest, most obvious flaw; there is a steep learning curve (although Armageddon Empires veterans may find a few similar features) and there isn't any kind of documentation to be found in-game. Fortunately, the games playerbase have stepped up. Creating a wiki that thoroughly explains everything about the game, found at http://www.cyberstratege.net/wiki/solium/index.php/Main_Page, Tutorials and a PDF Manual can also be found at the main site.


The artwork is just breathtaking

Winning a game of SI seems simple, various actions earn you prestige points, whoever has the most at the end of the game wins. However, the clue to why this is NOT simple lies in the fact that you must also stop your opponents from gaining these points, but usually without provoking them into open warfare (unless you are on of the aforementioned war-bastards). In short, to succeed in Solium Infernum you have to be a total dick.

Each turn you can make a limited number of actions, many require 'resource cards', these can be acquired via tribute and are split into 4 different types. These types appear to be Fire, Water, Souls and Orbs (dont exactly know what inspired that last one) almost every action, from performing incantations to bidding on mercenary legions, require a minimum bid of these cards, so stock up on early turns! I think the main reason I enjoy the game was that it is openly, unashamedly Evil. Any gamer worth his salt that has played an RTS has, at some point, desired an evil empire stretching from horizon to horizon, with everyone else either dead or his boot-licking vassal. Solium Infernum takes that desire to the utmost extreme, offering you legions of devoted servants and control over, literally, an Empire of the Damned. The lack of links to reality allow the developers to be very creative with all facets of the game, meaning that an entire, billion-strong legion of grasshoppers (sorry, INFERNAL, EEEEEVIL GRASSHOPPERS O' DOOOOOM!) is not too far-fetched.


In hell, the Beatles look very different...

Possibly the greatest joy of the game is the amount of detail, every infernal device, army-for-sale, Significant map feature etc. has lovingly detailed paintings and backgrounds stories accompanying it, all written/painted in glorious, pseudo-satanic style. You can create your own personal Archfiend avatar, choosing it's appearance from a list of incredible paintings. giving it an evil name, choosing it's skills, goals and 'perks' (unique traits that completely change how you should go for victory) before unleashing it upon the inferno with the legions of hell at it's back. Playing against AI opponents is fun (and challenging at higher difficulties) but nothing like knowing you are playing real people. Yes, SI does have multiplayer, but it functions with tedious, old-fashioned PBEM (Play-By-Email), meaning that online fiend-offs lack the fluency we have come to expect from modern, online games. The only other criticism I can level at it is that, in contrast to the splendour of the painted representations of your legions, the actual game map is a very dull grey, I would curse it for being ugly but, it's hell, it isn't supposed to be picturesque. The game is available (download-only) from Cryptic Comet's website for $29.99, but I can't recommend enough that you try the demo first, just to make sure you like it.


Cowboys look quite different in the netherworld, too.

Score: 8/10

A solid, very original game that allows you to be thoroughly evil (it made me forget how many O's there are in DOOM!). But crying out for netcode.

Sorry about no update for July :S, anyway, as I am going away on Sunday for 12 days, I thought I'd better do another review for August/July while I still had chance.

Alien Swarm

When game developers Valve announced that they were putting out a new game, everyone automatically assume it would be the next Half Life episode, but it wasn't. Ok, how about Portal 2? It's been a while coming... but still no. It turned out that what Valve had been doing was paying a bunch of professional modders to create a top-down, co-op shooter called Alien Swarm. This game epitomises why I love Valve, it's fun, it's polished and it's free. Yes, the full game, complete with Multiplayer hosting tools and SDK to create maps and mods, is all yours for just £0.00 ($0.00 for you americans).


Kill it with fire, or failing that, lightning

The basic premise is this, you are on a team of four space-marine types. You and your buddies must move through an off-world colony, cleansing it of it's alien invaders. It's basically Left 4 Dead crossed with Space Hulk. The game also features levelling up and unlockables (familiar to Modern Warfare fans) and Achievements. You can play online with strangers, or people from your Steam Friends List, or you can practice offline with pretend bot-friends! Success in Alien Swarm is dependent on teamwork, on any difficulty setting running off on your own will punish you and your entire team. This is why it is better to play with friends, as it is sometimes hard to co-operate with strangers found over matchmaking. There are four distinct classes available to play; officers are a good starting point for newbies, as they have modest health and a wide variety of weapons to pick from. Probably the next easiest to play as are Special Weapons marines, which have the most health and access to the most destructive weapons, but a SW player has to be careful to avoid friendly fire! Medics are vital to success in the campaign, they keep their teammates healed and are the only class that can cure the dreaded 'infestation'. Possibly the most difficult class to play as is the Technician, he is not as durable as the other classes, but is necessary to complete many missions. He can hack door panels and consoles (usually through a minigame) but can also pack a punch with experimental weapons.


Left to Right: Special Weapons, Medic, Officer, Tech

Valve's team of modders have really been clever with this game, Valve's games are famous for being open and (relatively) easy to mod. Don't like the third-person view? There is a console command to switch to first-person. Do you find Matchmaking unreliable? You can find a good server through the dedicated server browser. Tired of the existing maps? There is already a host of community-made ones that rival the official ones in quality! The only downside is when you get dropped into a game full of gakheads, but that isn't the devs fault at all, and the community is 99% superb. So give it a shot, it's free, what've you got to lose? (psst, if you play just 2 full games online, you get a hat for your TF2 games!)


Boomers, just as nasty as their L4D counterparts


The infestation even made it's way into TF2, but that nice spy is going to help put it down.

SCORE: 10/10
This would be lower if it had a pricetagdue to a general lack of content, but the community are helping out and it's a Valve game, so they're gonna keep supporting it for a long time.