Oil Rush

I generally like strategy games and Oil Rush is a decent example of one, however I think the interface, built specifically for this game, is too clunky. Long loading screens and cheesy dialogue for the cut scenes don't help it's case either.

As the title suggests, you need to control resources (oil) in a future world that has been flooded. Using oil for currency you can buy units and upgrades to fight off attacks and take control of existing resources. The game is really well detailed, the action is pleasing to watch, and the game touts a stripped down interface. Unit and resource production bases are not built, only captured, and units are auto-generated based on the building designation; the same goes for unit deployments, you select their base, then determine what percentage of available manpower is sent out.

Definitely a nice looking game.

The game looks great and it has a decent concept for the plot, however I'm finding the interface to be problematic. The key to a great RTS is a fluid interface that allows you to be quick at each action; with this one I found unit selection and upgrading to be a bit slow. I'm sure more practice would increase my ability, but the great RTS's I can remember playing, like Warcraft I and II, didn't require that time, just time to get into the flow of the game. I also found the loading times to be a little too long, there is a lot going on in each map and, once loaded, they perform well, but it's a little distracting.

6/10 for Oil Rush, a good looking game with an interesting premise (even if a bit overdone), but execution on the game mechanics falls short, either because of or in spite of the design.

Puzzle Agent

I'm a Telltale fan, I think they have a great business model, buying existing licenses and gaming them; Puzzle Agent and Puzzle Agent 2 seem to be a new IP for them, but still a very good example of their talent. I can't say these are the best games I've ever played, but I got much more enjoyment out of them than I expected.

As member of the FBI Puzzle Research Department you travel to the town of Scoggins, Minnesota to solve a mystery, said investigation involving a series of puzzles. The town is populated with an eclectic group of people involved in a very strange set of circumstances (hard to say much more without spoiling), leading to some very challenging puzzles and quite a bit more genuine humour than I expected. Puzzle Agent 2 is required to get the full story as it's not so much a sequel as it is episode 2, but it does wrap the story up nicely.

Spoiler alert: This is an actual solution to one of the puzzles

I enjoy puzzles in games, but I've actually never really been sold on video games based on puzzles, I find they often lack context that allow full grasp,  a problem this game is rife with. I'd also cite an imbalance in the puzzle difficulty throughout this game, some at the start are harder than some at the end, but that could simply be subjective, due to my skill set, and not technically true.

I got about 10 hours of play out of these two games, which isn't bad; I'd say the story plods along a little bit, due to conversation dialogs, but it is interesting, and, again, funny enough to have kept me going. I'll do an 8/10 on these 2; puzzles tend to the esoteric, and, although the playtime seems a bit short, it's actually about right for this style of game. This gets Robs Stamp of Approval!

Dear Esther

There isn't much to say about Dear Esther as it isn't a game in any sense I'm accustomed to. I didn't play much of it, although I did play more than I expected to, mostly because I was wondering when something would start happening. The whole thing is nothing more than walking around an island, a very beautifully rendered island,  listening to letters dictated to you; that's it, that's the whole "game".

Looking at this screen cap has literally allowed you to play a part of the game.

I did a bit of reading about it after playing a bit and found that it is a big deal on the indie scene, a whole new genre of game. You may ask, who is going to be playing said genre? I certainly don't know, I just know it won't be me.

2/10, the game is very pleasing on the eyes, and the letters are intriguing in their ambiguity, but there is literally nothing to do here.

Neighbours from Hell

Not knowing what to expect, as I don't remember when I got these games, I thought I'd give Neighbours from Hell a try. Starting it up seemed to promise a platformer, but that promise was a very pleasant lie. There are 2 entries in this title, but they are little more than 2 episodes of the same game.

The game is a point and click puzzler that actually manages to pull off some of the humour it's driving for. Concept is simple: you play tricks on a neighbour, sneaking around the house, or vacation spot, finding items to use, then setting up the tricks, while avoiding getting caught by him, his pets, or, in the sequel, his mother; not much story, but it's not needed. The levels also do a great job of ramping up the difficulty, allowing you to get your feet wet and learn how to play before getting hardcore.

Sneaky little shit, isn't he?

I have to say there is quite a bit of re-playability to it as it's very compelling to go back and redo levels to try and up your ratings, timing your tricks to get the neighbour madder and madder. A single play of both titles can easily be done in under 10 hours, but going for the full score will almost double that. I'm not much of a fan of the "sitcom tv" style the game uses, but I see where the designer was going with it, and it's not obtrusive.

9/10 on this one for me, it's inexpensive, engaging, and, best of all, fun. Only caveat is, point and click puzzles may not be for everyone.

Papers, Please

Papers, Please is a game that should be arbitrarily dismissed as crap: very little story or plot, exceedingly low-res graphics, topped off with point and click gameplay. You play a border guard in an early 1980's communist state tasked with inspecting documentation for people wanting to enter the country. I can unequivocally say, this is a good game.

Every morning you get requirements for entry, often very different from the day before; as the game progresses you get more and better tools for the inspections, but taking the requirement changes into play means more work, then add in the fact that you get paid by the number of people you process, and not very well. When you're done you have to allot your salary for household expenses, usually resulting in what member of your family you let suffer, or die, due to not enough money for basic necessities.

Graphics intensive it is not.

Frustration #1 is your superiors will always know when you screwed up so letting the wrong person in or denying the wrong person often ends up penalizing you, resulting in not enough money taken home. Frustration # 2 is the fact that properly analysing each person takes too long so you don't bring home enough money either way. Throw in a subplot about spies and revolutions that actually matter to you (because, hello, bribes!) and you get an experience you can get immersed in.

I'm giving this one a 9/10, I'd like to give it full marks, but it's a little too frustrating for that. Then again, replace the word "frustration" with "challenge" and you've got what makes a game worth playing.