Delicious 7: Emily's True Love Premium Edition [FINAL]

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Pickers: Adventures in Rust [FINAL] Updated BFG

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East India Company

Imagine a world dominated by multinational corporations. A planet subjugated by profit margins, where global trade routes are fiercely battled over and lone pirates raid cargo-ship behemoths. That's right: East India Company's focus is on the years 1600 to 1750. It wraps this stodgy historical filling in a light layer of creative license, where players begin as the CEO of one of eight suspiciously evenly-matched mega-corporations. They're each based in the central port of their home country, and rapid expansion is required to solidify trade passages to the Indian subcontinent, with its valuable ports and exotic loot.

Like a child with a pocket full of Pokemon cards, East India Company only has two things on its mind – war and trade. Far-flung ports sell trade items such as spices, silk and tea. Bring them home and you can earn yourself a small fortune. Economies are in constant flux, however, and the principles of supply and demand affect prices in your home port.

If you're keen to get stuck into the minutiae of goods transport, you can stuff cargo holds manually, or manage items to the nearest ton, but those who set their cargo fleets to 'auto-trade' won't be hampered too much. As long as you keep an eye on the financial screen's profit graphs, it's a simple task to change your main trade item from one commodity to another, regrowing consumer desire for an exotic cargo.

Relying on auto-trade removes a level of depth from the campaign mode: while your economy won't run itself, it's hardly taxing setting up a regularly alternating trade system. This is fine for those who've come along for the watery warfare, but weak for those wanting a Civilization IV rival. This brings us to the game's main draw: combat. The ground game is out – taking on Empire Total War on its own terms would be a step too far for the ambitious developers – but they've landed a broadside hit with East India Company's seafaring battle engine.

Particularly pretty, this watery warfare is also a step above basic point-and-click combat, with an array of options giving at least a modicum of meaningful control over a form of attack that is, by definition, ponderous. Sail size, firing width, and shot type can be toggled on the fly, while you're able to take direct control of your flagship with the keyboard. In a weaker design decision, port assaults are handled entirely by the AI, with your fleet and embedded marines matched against a local garrison via 'health' bars.

Ultimately, East India Company feels bare. The bones of ship combat and trading are solid, but at present, unspectacular. With a bit of work from a dedicated community, the game could coalesce into a historical favorite, but it won't currently wow salty sea dogs.

Aug 17, 2009

EKO Episode 1: Strange New World

 EKO Episode 1: Strange New World [FINAL] | Adventure/Puzzle| 160.4 MB

Lost and alone on a strange new world … how will you ever repair your crashed ship and return home?

An unexpected accident has left Eko, the humble space mechanic, stranded on a bizarre, unknown world. You must guide him on his quest to repair his ship, following the clues of oddball local citizens and solving intriguing puzzles to gain the parts he needs. But it’s not going to be easy! All is not well on this distant planet, and you and Eko will face many adversaries, using your combined wits and ingenuity to outsmart the power-hungry underlings of the Evil Ruler.

Download:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cf539dc/n/EkoStrangeNewWorld.rar
 

Walkthrough:

http://sinars-studios.com/walkthroughs.php

 thanx to TE

Throne of Olympus [FINAL]

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A Girl in the City Extended Edition [iWin]

 A Girl in the City Extended Edition | 87 mb

With her journalism degree in her pocket, Laura leaves her small-town home to take a bite out of the Big Apple! She dreams of becoming a freelance journalist with a major New York women’s magazine, but the road is long and fraught with pitfalls! Help out A Girl in the City in this fun Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!

• Awesome Locations

• Stunning Puzzles

• Set Out To Conquer New York!

Download: 

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cf51860/n/AGirlCityExtendedEdition.zip 

Or:

 http://www.filejungle.com/f/phjMW8/AGirlCityExtendedEdition.zip

thanx to Leegt

Jaws Unleashed

Cards on the table. This is the most awesome bad game we've had in the office in ages. Everything you might want to do as Jaws is here, from bellyflopping lone jet-ski riders to launching yourself onto a beach and thrashing your 30-foot mass towards delicious onshore humans. We didn't even think it was possible for a game that encourages the devouring of entire pods of dolphins to be bad. Somehow, we were wrong.

On the plus side, it's a quick heartbreak rather than a gradual disappointment: things go wrong the second you feel how Jaws handles. For the biggest, bulkiest nightmare below sea level, he can outpace anything, fish or boat. And he steers with the nervous agility of a goldfish. He twists and zips and nips (and clips) around, and the only time you lose the feeling of unnatural speed is when you blast through something narrow and get stuck. Worse, all this makes precise maneuvering impossible. Deadly predators tend to be pretty good at striking their prey, and don't barrel past their target and have to come around for another pass. And then another. But you will.

Elementary My Dear Majesty! [FINAL]

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Jade Empire: Special Edition

We're trying desperately to replenish our chi before our scantily-clad female character wades back into kung fu combat with a flaming horse demon. Of course, that's pretty much par for the course in Jade Empire, BioWare's latest role-playing epic in which the traditional fantasy trappings have been replaced with a mythical Chinese setting. But being a port of a two-year-old Xbox title, is this a case of glorious reincarnation or ageing master?

The first act introduces you to the controls and the story. Ghosts inhabit the world of the living and after your home-town is destroyed and your master is taken by the Lotus Assassins, it's a non-stop action ride to set the world's problems straight. Expect a journey packed to the rafters with a fantastic supporting cast and a wide variety of inventive foes, from arrogant fellow students to animal spirits and creepy ghosts.

Jade Empire is set in a massive and lush world, which borrows liberally from several Far Eastern influences. The game offers some of the most beautiful levels we've ever laid eyes on, with plenty of variation too, from fungus-lit caves through haunted forests to (quite literally) small slices of heaven. Everything feels like BioWare has poured it's heart and soul into the game, from the inclusion of an entirely made-up language to the masses of scrolls, signs and conversations that fill in the back-story and work to create an accessible and hugely believable world.

Demolition Master 3D [FINAL]

Demolition Master 3D [FINAL]| 43 MB

Indulge in Explosions with Demolition Master 3D!

With Demolition Master 3D you will fill like the real bomb expert capable of tackling even the most complicated tasks. Travel to

various countries and continents, take part in ambitious construction projects and demolish, demolish, demolish!

Demolition Master 3D is a sequel of popular game Demolition Master that already has hundreds of thousands fans worldwide.

*Realistic physics
*Excellent graphics and nice visual effects
*90 levels, 4 locations
*4 types of explosives with different properties

Download:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cf5351c/n/DemolitionMaster3D.rar

 thanx to VELOCITY

Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures Episode 2

Although we're certainly a fan of the plasticine pair of Wallace and Gromit, we have to concede that our review of the first episode was spot-on. While the game was a great adventure, the humour evident in the Wallace & Gromit films and Telltale's other games was lacking.

After playing the second episode, things haven't really improved in this department. It's certainly charming, with a few cute smiles and knowing grins, but very few of the laugh-out-loud moments Sam & Max or Aardman elicit. That said there was at least one, caused by a character's pun name: Scottish character Duncan McBiscuit.

Despite the humour dip, Bumblebees was well-designed with satisfying puzzles. Unfortunately, the puzzles in Last Resort aren't as good. For example, we solved the opening and finale parts of the episode by accident. The middle parts fair better, but it's all too easy. The story involves Wallace setting up a holiday resort in his basement, and then a whodunit mystery as Duncan gets thumped and Gromit has to find the, um, thumper. It's all very entertaining and the story's chapters all have separate enjoyable objectives.

The characters are mostly the same lot from Bumblebees with the addition of Duncan and Ms. Flitt's two psychotic dogs, and are all fun to talk to. We've gotten used to Ben Whitehead's impersonation of Peter Sallis (the real Wallace) now, and thankfully he's no longer drowned out by the music. The rest of the voices, effects and music are all excellent as usual, although there was a bit of sound popping now and again. The Last Resort is still enjoyable for fans of Wallace & Gromit, but seasoned adventurers will run through it like a summer breeze.

Jun 8, 2009

Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!

Unique is a word immediately associated with Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!, a name that just screams "Play me now!" You've just got to find out what it involves and why everyone seems to think it's so good. Is it good? Yes, it is, although its charms and engaging nature only hold attention for so long. Being nominated in the Videogame Writing category in the Writers' Guild Awards 2009 indicates to what degree the game is appreciated and, to an extent, it deserves the applause.

Set in the '20s, the game involves you building up a gang of dilettante females who, by misbehaving, uncover plots and foil dastardly deeds being perpetrated. Picking a queen from a list of characters, you set about recruiting three more on the board game-style map that confronts you. As you do, various plots unfold. There are also side quests to complete, giving bonuses and allowing you to upgrade your characters' skills.

When you confront another character, a minigame appears. One is a poker-style game of bluffing, while another is a reveal-the-words game. There are a reasonable number to go through before you exhaust them all, and there is also a taunt game, which works exactly like Monkey Island's Insult Sword Fighting. The jazz soundtrack fits perfectly too.

As a casual game for eating up a spare 30 minutes or so, Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble! is perfect. Clever, original and genuinely pleasing to play, this is easily worth the reasonable price you'll pay for it on Steam.

Jun 24, 2009

Rift: Storm Legion review

Since Rift's launch in March 2011, Trion has more frequently pushed new content into their popular MMO than any other subscription-based game of its ilk on the market. Rift's first expansion, Storm Legion, strikes home with two massive new continents, an incredible player-housing system, and new class Souls. Despite the lack of new low-level content and the grindy nature of questing, Storm Legion successfully reminds old and new MMO adventurers why Rift is still a great game.

Storm Legion's content begins on the old continent of Mathosia. The scantily clad Queen Miela will plead for your help to fend off the Storm Legion in a conflict overseas. The queen will give you a choice to aid one of the new continents, Brevane or Dusken, but you'll explore both on your journey to level 60. This is great if you happen to already be level 50, but if you're returning to a lower level character, you'll need to tread through the old content before you can access the new landscape.

The diverse landscape of the new continents feels more detailed and intricate than the standard wide-open valleys found in Rift's original content. You'll not only find canyons with more nooks and crannies, but also full urban cities and rolling highland-inspired coastlines. A few of the new areas will feel familiar, like vastly better looking versions of Ember Isle or Shimmersand, but the majority of the new landscapes appear uniquely twisted by planar activity, with environments sculpted from hills with teeth and gums or a thorn-infested desert snowed over with pollen. The terrain's elaborate three-dimensional layouts make for some great action during zone-wide invasions.

 Storm Legion is a solid expansion.

Storm Legion has made an effort to make questing a more organic experience, but leveling from 50 to 60 is still an arduous process. You'll find that quest hubs only contain essential story quests which work to direct you around each continent. While pursuing this saga, you'll pick up random collection quests from objects, or automatically obtain Carnage quests by killing various enemies. Carnage quests are the definition of the tired "kill ten rats" moniker, requiring you to kill sixteen Storm Legion scouts, twelve savage scorpions, or whatever other fauna happen to be nearby. These do a great job of letting you move around the world without feeling tied to individual hubs, but the overwhelming amount of Carnage quests quickly makes the moments between story quests feel like a grind. Despite this minor annoyance to questing, leveling feels much more fluid when utilizing all of Rift's existing, player-friendly features, such as Instant Adventures, player-versus-player Warfronts, and their Looking for Group dungeon queue system.

Storm Legion introduces four new Souls (one for each class calling), which seem particularly effective in dealing with the expansion's tougher enemies. The Harbringer (melee mage who summons weapons), Tempest (Ranged Warrior the wields lightning), Defiler (complex cleric which creates links between players and enemies for healing and debuffs), and Tactician (awesome rogue who utilizes necrotic, ice, and flamethrowers for huge area of effect damage) all do an excellent job of providing players with a new type of gameplay for each class. Traditional specs still fare well in the new content, but each of these Souls seem designed particularly to make your lengthy leveling experience more enjoyable and easy.

But Storm Legion's standout feature has nothing to do with progression whatsoever. Dimensions, Rift's new player housing, is by far the most innovative housing system in the genre. Each Dimension gives you a sizable area to build whatever you can imagine with various objects purchased, collected, and crafted around the world. The Dimensions themselves come in a variety of themes and price points, from free and relatively small (earned via a quest from your faction city) to larger and more expensive. The high end Dimensions offer substantially more room to build and their own unique themes, such as the water-filled canyon from Ember Isle's Dormant Core.

If you can't afford to build your own fancy home (at 50 platinum, they are quite pricey), Dimensions also display a large array of social options that grant you the ability to visit other homes on your server. You can share your Dimensions with friends, guildmates, or the public. While you visit Dimensions open to the public, you'll be able to help contribute by purchasing item limit upgrades and giving a plus-one vote for your favorites, which are tallied weekly to show off the top community-voted Dimensions. This community feature really helps you find new and creative ways to decorate your own home or to show off the 20-person hot tub you've made from strategically placed table textures. Each and every feature feels designed to make building and visiting player housing an easy experience.

Trion's first attempt at an expansion has proven to be a great addition to a constantly improving game. The new class souls and Dimensions are a great welcome to the game for new and old players, and the gigantic new continents add some much-needed diversity to the end game. Storm Legion proves, once again, that Rift is a game worth revisiting time and time again.

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E3 2011: Gamma World: Alpha Mutation – it’s about time someone licensed this awesomely wacky RPG

In what we assume is publisher Atari's effort to conserve paper, yet another beloved pad and paper RPG is being turned into a video game. This time around it's Gamma World, and the video game iteration has a lot of potential. The game is a third-person shooter with the same setting as the original TSR game: a post-apocalyptic world ripe with tongue-in-cheek humor and everything from androids to talking trees to mutant animals carrying handguns. Visually, it resembles Borderlands, both in its use of cel-shading and its comic book style cut scenes, though its nowhere near as polished just yet.

To create your player character, you choose any two of six different options. For example, our character was a radioactive man combined with a yeti, which gave us a about the closest video game representation of Manbearpig there is (android and cockroach are two of the other possible choices). Each type has its own advantages; ours could poison enemies and swipe them with his claws. This functions well and guarantees a bit of replayability to explore other character abilities.

There are a number of different weapons as well, including unique and powerful Omega Tech weapons created by a mysterious manufacturer. Gamma World also features a crafting system in the game similar to Fallout 3, but less extensive. With this comes a lot of loot, both found on dead enemies and lying around the game. Enemy AI leaves some to be desired, as they wouldn't always pursue the character, but this problem was acknowledged by developers during our playthrough.

Both split screen and online co-op has been promised, and the team at Atari is still working on hopefully including four player online co-op. As a bite-sized PSN and XBLA title, Gamma World: Alpha Mutation is set to weigh in at an appropriate ten hours. We're pleased with what we've seen so far and are hungry for more. Release is slated for Fall 2011.

Jun 17, 2011

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - first look

Want to make a movie-based game that has a good chance at not sucking? Take a note from publisher Electronic Arts and developer Double Helix Games. Presented with the G.I. Joe license and a chance to make a game tying into the upcoming summer blockbuster movie, they could have attempted to make a brutal war epic, a dark third-person shooter, their version of Gears of War. Instead, they stuck to the spirit of the toys in creating The Rise of Cobra, a co-op-focused arcade-style shooter.

The co-op in Rise of Cobra is single-screen only and the main focus from EA is accessibility. This is a franchise that's been around longer than most people have been playing games – actually, considering the 12-inch G.I. Joe line launched in 1964, it pre-dates home gaming consoles entirely – so they want to make the game as pick-up-and-play as possible. Thus, there are few tactics and a grand total of two actions for the player to juggle: running and shooting. Sure, you can also leap behind cover if necessary, but with the pulled-back camera and auto-targeting, you aren't going to be making tough strategic decisions for your Joes.

Then again, they can't let the game get too simple. The two player-controlled characters will rotate between a total cast of 12 playable soldiers, including four unlockable members of the sinister organization Cobra, and characters will be split into a number of classes that can accomplish different things. We got to witness three of the heroes in action, including Heavy Duty, clearly of the Heavy Weapons class, which makes him slower than most other Joes but with tons of firepower. Fighting alongside him was Snake-Eyes, a Commando class soldier who uses his ninja sword to focus on close-up melee fighting. In a later level, Heavy Duty was replaced by Duke, a Soldier class who comes packing a grenade launcher.

If all these names have some classic cartoon nostalgia flaring up inside of you, you'll be happy to know that the timeless "Go Joe!" battle cry returns in the form of this game's invincibility power-up: accelerator armor. Lifted from the film, this powerful pick-up will makes the characters faster, more resilient to enemy fire, and more damaging to the bad guys for a short period of time while the classic G.I. Joe cartoon theme plays in the background. This will also be a prime time to raise your points, which are converted into battle points after every mission to access unlockables such as the classic G.I. Joe public service announcements from the '80s – which are, by any standard, freaking hilarious today.

Besides the mix of characters and play styles, The Rise of Cobra will also become a little more complicated during boss battles. In one battle against a large mech suit, one of the characters had to distract the boss from the front while the other flanked and did damage from behind. In another, Duke and Snake-Eyes took on a flying gunship that dropped in waves of henchman as its energy depleted. Players will also be able to hijack vehicles of both the Joe and Cobra variety at certain points throughout the game.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra will be the exact same game across the 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, and PSP, with only the DS and mobile versions getting their own separate game with RPG-lite elements. While the gameplay doesn't go much beyond that of Xbox Live Arcade titles like Assault Heroes, it still seems surprisingly engaging and well within the boundaries the license. We'll have to wait until the film and game's release in August to find out whether that will hold up for a full game.

Mar 31, 2009

Tiny Token Empires [FINAL]

Tiny Token Empires | English | Deutsch | Français | 151 mb

Tiny Token Empires is an amazing mix-it's a puzzle game, Tiny Token Empires is an amazing mix-it's a puzzle game, match 3 game and turn based strategy game.

The player plays one of the five major ancient Empires: Rome, Greece, Egypt, Persia, or Carthage. By developing cities and armies, and annexing new territories, the player gradually expands his power over the world! But Tiny Token Empires is also a "casual" strategy game that doesn't take itself too seriously. It contains a crazy comical universe: goofball gods, super cute mythological monsters, clown and much more.

• 5 Nations, 5 heroes, 25 generals and 50 kinds of Units!
• 5 kinds of puzzles to get through battles, digs, events and more.
• 3 difficulty levels that offer a new challenge every time.

Download:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cf64220/n/TinyTokenEmpires.rar

thanx to Leegt

Joining Hands [FINAL]

 Joining Hands [FINAL]|14 MB

Joining Hands is a puzzle game that leaves no hand behind! Enter the Whispering Woods and meet the Peablins. They are curious little creatures who share a common belief: hold hands with your friends and the Boogeyman won't take you. This has worked as long as they can remember, so it must be true. Join the Peablins on their quest to find all their siblings and cousins in this adorable drag-and-drop puzzle game!

Download:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cf35762/n/JoiningHands.rar

 thanx to VELOCITY

Non-Fellows:Episode 1-Desolate City [FINAL] EN/RU

Non-Fellows:Episode 1-Desolate City [FINAL] EN/RU|GENRE: RPG/VISUAL NOVEL|83 MB

ANGELA: A little blonde angel, who will be sweet and smiling until you accidentally spoil her hairdo – or stain her new blouse at the cost of a new car.

RITA: She loves her old Harley Davidson and… and, well, nothing except that. She can solve most of her problems on her own and hates asking anyone for help. She also hates the ones who cause those problems.

BEAST: Calm to phlegmatism, he is difficult to surprise or upset. He treats girls with a slight allowance, but as a true gentleman he is always eager to help them. This feature, however, often collides with his laziness.

VADIM: He is always good-looking and good-mannered. Being everybody’s favourite, he uses this circumstance shamelessly. Not everyone is sure if he can feel shame at all, though. On the other hand, he’s got money and insolence

Download: 

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cf36ae7/n/Non-FellowsEN-RU.rar 

thanx to VELOCITY

Schoolmates 2: The mystery of The Magical Bracelet [FINAL] (RUSSIAN)

Schoolmates 2: The mystery of The magical bracelet [FINAL] (RUSSIAN)|158 MB

Вас ждет продолжение удивительных приключений трех подруг – Блонди, Евы и Флекс. Наши волшебницы осваивают в ордене Селены новые заклинания, ходят на свидания и вообще живут полной жизнью. Однако беззаботности подруг приходит конец, когда исчезает Блонди. Что случилось с девочкой? Вас ждут опасные и захватывающие приключения в новой игре «Подружки-одноклассницы. Тайна волшебного браслета»!

По мере прохождения игры вы повстречаетесь с новыми яркими персонажами, обманете коварных троллей, познакомитесь с капризным духом огня и сразитесь с могущественным волшебником. Только подумайте, сколько всего вас еще ждет! Вперед, навстречу новым приключениям! Скачайте новую игру «Подружки-одноклассницы. Тайна волшебного браслета» и помогите подругам найти Блонди!

As you progress through the game you meet with new colorful characters, fool the wily Trolls, get acquainted with the whimsical spirit of fire and fight a powerful wizard. Just think how much you still waiting! Next, meet the new adventures! Download the new game of "Girlfriends-classmate. The mystery of a magical bracelet "and help her friends find Blondie!

**Sorry this game is only available in Russian Language

Download: 

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cf4cfeb/n/Schoolmates2RU.rar

thanx to VELOCITY

Lost Lagoon 2: Cursed and Forgotten [FINAL]

Lost Lagoon 2: Cursed and Forgotten | 149 mb

Save yourself, before you end up as a sacrifice to the gods!

You're waked up on the beach of a South Pacific island - but the idyllic paradise is quickly becoming a nightmare! Natives want you to sacrifice to their goddess, and the whole island is full of pitfalls and dangers. Can you break the curse of the island?

Download:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cf4c3ab/n/LostLagoon2.zip 

thanx to Leegt

Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Episode 1

The most surprising thing about Telltale Games' latest episodic adventure is that you quickly forget it's from an American developer. That's no small feat when dealing with something as quintessentially British as Wallace and Gromit, nor is that – for the most part – it feels right. It doesn't simply resemble the original stop-motion cartoons. It absolutely nails the look and feel, right down to the fake fingerprints embedded in the characters' 3D modeled plasticine. There's no Peter Sallis (the voice of Wallace in the animations), but everything else is exactly what you'd hope for in a W&G conversion.

This series is four episodes long – Telltale's shortest yet – with installments due on a monthly basis. This first one, Fright of the Bumblebees, is relatively simple. Wallace and his long-suffering dog Gromit have just set up their latest home business, making honey for their sleepy northern town. They need 50 gallons of the stuff by nightfall to pay off a debt from their last wacky business, only Wallace has forgotten to plant any flowers for his bees. The solution is obvious: whip up some quick grow formula for the daisies, and if you can't guess what happens next, you may in fact be legally dead. Sorry to break it to you. Can we have your stuff?

That's the only real problem with this episode's story. It's a fine premise, but not one that lends itself to many twists and turns. Much of the fun in the original shorts comes from the tight mix of down-to-earth northern-UK style and outlandish escapades, and while you may not know exactly what's coming up in the next puzzle or scene, you can have a pretty good stab at predicting the general sweep of this story before the introduction is over. In a similar vein, if you've played any of Telltale's previous games, you know how the adventure part works already. Lots of Three Trials-style puzzles so that you always have multiple objectives on the go, relatively simple one-step solutions, and a couple of more dynamic set-pieces thrown in for good measure.

This familiarity is somewhat disappointing, if not a killer. Like Sam & Max and Strong Bad, W&G is a fun, casual adventure. It's simply that the focus is clearly on getting several episodes out, relying on a handful of inoffensive techniques to build puzzles and structure the adventure, rather than necessarily looking for innovative ways to handle each new license.

The Early Years of Flight

They might be hilarious when sped up and accompanied by the Benny Hill tune, but the early days of flight were dull. At least they are now, as we have fighter jets. Sure, the Wright brothers probably pissed their pantaloons as their shed of a plane awkwardly flopped upwards for a bit and Amelia Earhart probably let slip a giddy fart as she spluttered skywards for the first time, but when you're trundling down a runway in what looks like a bunch of cardboard boxes tied together with wool you realise that the early days of flight were actually rubbish, and not fun at all.

This unofficial expansion for Flight Simulator 2004 and X attempts to recreate the ramshackle beginnings of our conquering of the skies. Not wanting to undersell one of mankind's greatest achievements, the pack includes five of the earliest heavier-than-air aircraft (to quote the Wright brothers, "only arseholes fly balloons") and three missions. The models are of FS2004 quality and so lack some of the nifty new views and effects FSX provides, while the already lackluster missions are ruined by FSX's ground scenery, which places trees right in the way of famed aviator Louis Bleriot's take-off en route to Dover.

Without the spectacle of invention, what you're left with is the tedious job of flying the contraptions – a tiresome, effort-sapping (and at £25, overpriced) slow-motion crawl through the air. Yes, it's got polygonal gentlemen with stately moustaches wearing their 'trying to leave the ground' faces, but this won't tickle your balls even if you're famous for being bat-shit crazy on old planes.

Jul 25, 2008

Little Inferno review

So here's the thing: Little Inferno (developed by some of the folks that made World of Goo and Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure) is an inventive, surprising puzzle game that we highly recommend you play. That said, knowledge of what makes it special takes away from exactly that--the more you know going in, the less surprising this surprising game is. In other words, if you're even remotely interested in playing it, you should just go do that; we promise it's worthwhile, even if it is a little pricey.

If you're still not sold, and don't mind having things spoiled, then feel free to read on, and find out what makes Little Inferno one of the most imaginative games of the year.

As the recipient of a new "Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace," you're tasked with burning stuff. Burning stuff produces coins, which you can use to buy more stuff that you can burn, to get more coins to buy more stuff to burn to get coins to buy more stuff to burn. You can unlock new catalogs full of stuff by burning specific stuff together, adding some puzzle vertebra onto the pyromaniac backbone. But, by and large, you'll spend a majority of the two-to-three-hour-long game tossing stuff into a fireplace and watching the flames slowly engulf it. Wooden blocks? Sure, toss 'em in. Corn? Why not--it'll make popcorn. Dolls, animals, black holes, planets? Whatever, man. Burn it, loot it, and then burn it some more. That's what the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace wants you to do, and since you can't turn away from it, you might as well burn every non-flame-retardant thing you can.

It's entrancing in a weird, destructive way. If that was all there was to Little Inferno, it would still be worth experiencing, if not to just to allow your eyes to fill with the sweet glow of inferno. But beyond the flames and embers, and far from the smokestacks and chimneys, there's something hidden beneath the thick layer of soot covering Little Inferno. Though it starts plot-less and relatively innocent, an incredibly creepy story slowly unravels as you toss more objects into the flames, giving you insight into the frozen dystopia right outside the door.

At first, you might skim and ignore the random letters you'll receive from strangers, thinking them to be flavor text for kindling. But by the end, you'll be pouring over each note, desperately scraping for any details on the world you can't see. What is happening in the world? Why can't you just walk outside? Why can't you even turn around? It's all slowly explained, making for a weird, disturbing story that comes out of absolutely nowhere, and is utterly entrancing.

The puzzle elements, albeit light and nonsensical, are fun and imaginative. Burning different items together in hopes of unlocking new combos is, in a weird, sadistic way, somewhat soothing, as is watching the well-modeled objects slowly turn to pieces as the fire immolates. Though it's a little too short and a little too expensive, the mostly unseen world outside the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace is charming and impressive, and absolutely worth experiencing.

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