STG's

 Just got Marvel Spider-Man Remastered, which I understand is originally pretty old. This follows the open world game recipe book pretty well. It really reminds me of Just Cause 4, even the tower unlocks to scan a region is similar (Just Cause did it a lot better - the wavelength mini-game is pretty silly, and I am pretty sure I have seen it a bunch of times since at least the 90s, if not the 80s). Graphics are pretty good. I have to mention the start-up time, which was VERY surprising. It is not only really fast, but you can even skip all the logos. Combat is nice enough, there is an ok stealth component, plenty of gadgets, skills, suits, and suit add-ons. I also like that the suit powers are choosable, as opposed to locked in a suit. Also plenty of activities. The research stations missions can be a little annoying, though. Overall, very nice, I really like it so far.

 Katana Zero is an interesting side-scroller with a lot of sword action. It stays in an interesting place between pure action and pure strategy. I do like that it quickly rewinds the level when you make a mistake. Seems a little too easy to make mistakes, and some levels can take a while, so that part is annoying. Graphics are pixel perfect retro, with plenty of effects - it looks great. There are some wall to wall jumps, but they are quite forgiving.

 Islanders is, supposedly, a minimalist city builder game. In practice it reminds me of some tablet games, such as a Simcity version, and another that had a real state theme I played many years ago. It mostly rewards you for placing city-themed objects in certain relations (such as mansions near city centers, house near other houses and city centers, etc). In the high score mode, after a while you will unlock a larger island. That is, in fact, not unlike a city builder, so I guess the "minimalist city builder" is somewhat accurate. But it feels different to me - like comparing Mini Metro for one of the regular train network games, such as OpenTTD. The game has nice (but minimal) graphics, and pleasant music. I found it somewhat enjoyable, but it feels like a game you will play for a few minutes and then stop, not something you will spend hours with. Given that the price is proportionally right, seems like a reasonable purchase.

Warstone TD - as the name already points out, is a Tower Defense game. To be honest, I am not sure if I like it or not. Graphics and music are very nice, but on Windowed it maxes out at 2048  x 1080 - which is quite annoying in a quad HD monitor - fixed, it now supports Quad HD (2560 x 1440) and looks great in it. It cuts out almost all the lines of its bubble text. And the UI is annoying at times (for example, you have to keep scrolling on an almost screen size TD level to see all controls). There is a lot going on, unlike most TD games. You actually have to develop your base, adding new building to get new units and capabilities. You have two different kinds of upgrades (which I consider kind of annoying). And in the actual TD part, you have the usual warriors, some upgrades, and many spells you can use. It also has reverse TD with regular TD on certain levels (i.e. you are sending units on a path while defending another path). On the bad side, I was able to lock mys...

I recently got Slay the Spire in the Humble Bundle. It is a deckbuilding roguelike, which I doubt I'd get by myself because I usually don't like either type of game. When I started playing, it felt a little boring. But once I got more cards, relics (objects you get that give an effect and stay you throughout the whole run) and potions, the strategy of the game became more apparent, and I really enjoyed it. There can be a lot of thought on each round, and there are cards that can affect the whole battle. I've played for 80 minutes for now. I am still not sure what happens when I die, but so far I really like the game.

Middle Earth: Shadow of War is a nice update on Shadow of Mordor, and is a third-person view RPG. (yes, I am phoning it in today). It plays mostly the same as that one, with a number of added complications. Since it's been a while, I don't quite recall with any certainty what is new and what is not... Certainly there is a lot of stuff, and it gets a bit more complicated than I'd like (for example, the UI can be a bit confusing sometimes, specially with the many maps now and the bunch of things to do). However, so far I really like it - 6 hours into the game, and certainly there is a lot to do. It is also nice that apparently there was a store component that was removed. One problem I get sometimes is getting trapped at a corner, and being unable to jump. Pretty annoying when you are being chased by a bunch of orcs. Overall, looks pretty good so far, although at times the movement feels a little weird.

I recently got Just Cause 3 on Humble Bundle Monthly. I remember playing the original, and liking it even though it was a bit repetitive (not unlike most open world games, like the Far Cry series). I tried it, and it is interesting, although it feel wrong in a number of ways - not to mention quite buggy. One example is that just clicking on items on the map is quite buggy, and usually have offsets. I'd think it was an obscure thing just happening to me but it is quite present in forums. I also had problems with the cursor leaving the game area in windowed mode, which is pretty dumb. A small nitpick - why does it use CTRL to go back in menus, when everyone uses ESC??? Also frequently explanations of minor items in play are insufficient. Overall, I wouldn't recommend the game, but I am still going to insist on playing further. Update (26/01/2019): I have continued to play the game. The mouse cursor issue is still a factor, but other than that I really like the gam...

I have been interested in the Sniper Elite series for a while, as I usually like sniper games, but never got one because I thought the hard ballistics would be annoying. But it was a game in this month's Humble Bundle, so I decided to try it. First of all, at the lower levels there are basically no ballistics. You aim, you hit. That might be annoying for some, but I felt it was fun enough. I mostly liked the missions, and how useful stealth were, while not being a requirement. Graphics are good but a bit dated. I love how fast it starts (and in an HD!), and how fast saving and loading games are. What I didn't like was how short the campaign was (7 hours), and the minimal progression of guns (kept the first one all the way through) and skills. I've gone through all the DLC levels and they are totally worth the current price. Overall, pretty good at a discounted price.

Forts is a nice RTS, where you make forts to destroy other forts. You build the whole structure, then add stuff like mines for metal, and wind turbines for power (the only resources). Then you add weapons (such as mortar, machines guns, cannons, missiles and lasers) and upgrade these while shooting at your enemy and doing repairs. Overall, it is fun. Took me 6 hours to finish the campaign, but there are many more maps.

Prison Architect is an interesting PC prison management sim.  I actually got it in a Humble Bundle way back in 2014, but it was on sale last week, and there were so many comments praising it that I checked Steam for opinions, and realized I had it. Many said it can easily take hours of your time, and that is certainly true. I've played the whole campaign in 11 hours (I'm sure it can be done much faster, but I wanted to complete some of the optional quests, too). You can also just create prisons as you want to, outside the campaign. I found it quite entertaining. There are many possible things to build and control, many with important consequences. It is a bit buggy, too, but usually not too serious (mostly things like having to enclose areas for them to be recognized, even though it isn't a requirement). The game clearly states it is for prison reform, through both the mechanics and the cut scenes, which I think is a useful thing. Clearly it makes no point to use ...

Everspace is a roguelike space fighter game. I imagine that sound weird, but the roguelike elements came from how the game is structured - you jump into different areas of space, which can have lots of things for you to loot, dangerous enemies, or anything in between. It also has an element that I've seen a few times that I really like - while you WILL die a lot, some stuff passes between game runs. That includes, among others, credits and blueprints. Credits can be used to buy perks between launches (although you MUST use all your credits before start), which add tons of things, including the ability to have more guns, other ship types, engine power, loot, etc. Blueprints can be used to craft stuff such as guns, shields, mods and other items. There is also a lot of looting, both for credits, blueprints (which are kind of rare) and other elements that are used for crafting. Gunfights are fun enough, with some strategy elements - for example, some guns are good against s...

Prey is a very nice sci-fi FPS/RPG that takes place in a space station, against aliens. It has a big System Shock feeling to it, including some cyberpunk aspects such as the ability to install Neuromods - effectively an excuse to unlock abilities - such as extra strength (makes no sense in the Neuromod context, but let's go with it...), hacking, repair, etc. The RPG aspect is pretty well developed, and I really liked how you get little pointless item across the station, but can then recycle them as materials to build stuff, as long as you find their schematics. Another nice thing is how clever the fighting feels, with turrets, environmental dangers, etc. Overall, strongly recommended for fans of the genre/theme.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a pretty though tactical stealth game. You take control of a few different units, each with their abilities in missions for a new Shogun in Japan. Graphics are great, but sometimes it can be hard to find the right thing to do after the start missions. Also, the level load time is so bad they added a warning that the game is not locked up :-). A nice thing is that while there are clear paths that the game prepare for you, you are able to do whatever you like, as long as it works. Overall, pretty good if you like the game genre and have a lot of patient for saving and retrying till you get it right.

Saints Row 4 is a pretty old game. I bought it in a Steam sale years ago, and just decided to play it last week. I don't usually like 3rd-person view games, but this one works well, specially after the beginning. The game is a cross between the GTA series and the Matrix, with a lot of Prototype and Tron in. You are in a simulation, that soon your people hacks and you get superpowers. This works very well with the upgrades available for everything, including your weapons, stats such as health or ammo, and powers, such as fireballs, freezeballs and telekinetic attacks. There are a ton of activities, including races, killing waves of enemies, destroying stuff, and there are also some platformer style activities, which I find annoying. I really like the really fast start up time, with skippable movies,  which is tiny, but inside there are frequent stops, probably not helped by the game running on an HDD and not a SSD. Graphics are good, but feel a little dated (because they...

I recently got Killing Floor 2 on Humble Bundle Monthly. I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. It is a cooperative/single-player zombie killer, where you fight waves of harder and harder zombies. There are a few slow zombies, but mostly they are nasty and quite fast. They also have a habit of coming from places you wouldn't expect. The last wave is always a boss (which usually have minions). This can be a bit annoying, as bosses are very repetitive (not sure if they vary per character level, but looks like it), and tend to run off to heal. Levels are pretty good and look great. You have a number of "character types" - called perks - such as Commando, SWAT, Sharpshooter, etc where you get bonus with the specific guns. One thing I like which isn't always available in single player is that you still get experience and improved stats (such as more damage, health, etc). You also unlock skills every 5 levels, such as bigger magazines, faster reloading, etc. O...

Far Cry 4 is basically Far Cry 3 with some new stuff. I can't say I blame them - Far Cry 3 was pretty good and there was little incentive to mess with the formula. Most differences are small, such as new mission types, and minor things like the main protagonist having his own house where you can buy upgrades. Some new things, like the ability to retake outposts, are quite nice. Overall, I really like it. I'm not sure if it is better or worse than Far Cry 3, but it is still worth playing, specially at a discount.

Hitman:Sniper is a new version, mobile version of the pre-sale game for Hitman:Absolution. In both, the plot is very simple - you are Agent 47, carrying out an assignment, sniping from a distance. You get challenges - headshots, number of guard kills, kills that look like an accident and so on. The game is pretty fun, but it can feel a little repetitive because you only get the one level. You can also unlock new weapons as the missions go by. The game has an unwelcome pay-to-win component as you can buy some of the better weapons outright. They aren't cheap either - US$9,99 for the best one. Personally, I feel the interface is acceptable, given the mobile possibilities. Shooting felt much more precise and fast when using a mouse, though. Maybe they will release a PC version as the pre-sell of the next Hitman game... Overall, pretty good, but a little too repetitive.

Hunters of the Dead is a Tower Defense (kind of) and strategic game where you fight several monsters while trying to kill Dracula. You start with a single building and defender, and you can at each day (turn) try to clear another building. There is a chance of a battle, and if you survive it you get the benefits of the screen below - such as a new defender, faster healing, new guns, etc. Except for the battles, you might have seen this as a flash game (using a zombie wasteland) before. Battle takes place with a grid where you put your defenders - which might remind you of Plants vs Zombies, except that you can actually move your defenders a few times. Every defender has experience that rises when it kills an enemy, and can receive guns you collect at guns stores. They also need to heal and to rest every few rounds, which can be very bad (i.e.: at starting levels it is very easy to have all your defenders resting). The game grid is random, and the game itself is very hard...

Broforce is an interesting retro 2D platform shooter. You play as several 80s movies characters, such as Rambo, Ripley from Alien, Robocop, TimeCop, MacGyiver (one of the best - throws explosives), etc, etc. Each has their own different guns and skills. And every time you die or free another one (they are in cages around the levels) you switch. It is still an Early Access game, and since it is been this way for so long, I'm not sure if there will ever an official release, but it is playable now. The coolest part is how explosions and fires can destroy pretty much everything. There are plenty of user maps available, too. The most annoying thing I can think of about it is that your firing range can vary a lot from characters to character, and can be a lot less than your enemies. Overall, pretty much recommend for the price.

Space Run is an interesting variation on Tower Defense (TD) - you design a ship that has to quickly cruise through a set of pirates and asteroids to make a delivery. You get a few variations on guns, engines and shields, that are upgraded as the levels go, and you also get to re-do levels to get more money (although unlocks require using the max stars on each level instead). Difficulty increases sharply on replays. Graphics are reasonably good, and playability is good on the first few levels, but gets a little annoying later. Unlike most TD games, you often have to rotate your guns or activated some special items, but you don't have any way to pause. Overall, pretty good, but ultimately can be a little frustrating.