Previews & Early Access

SCUM Preview – Crawl, Walk, Run, Make Computer Game.

14Sep

By KevinNo Comments

Gaming, PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

SCUM Preview – Crawl, Walk, Run, Make Computer Game.

Gamepires & Croteam bring us the delightfully named SCUM to check out for PC. This prison island multiplayer survival game looks like it could be hard to escape from. Time to don my bright orange prison gear and make a hasty shiv. I'm going in. Gameplay I decided to jump right in to the single player mode to learn the controls. First I had to create a character, so I gave him my stats. Not the best plan given my actual age and size, but I might as well be realistic. Points are spent on skills, so work out what will be most useful. Upon entering SCUM I found I could move around using the WASD and mouse and there seemed to be plenty of places to go. After investigation I found a path down to a river and a dam, it looked interesting so I went and investigated. I jogged down, and 15...

Shoppe Keep 2 Preview – Granville, Fetch Your Hammer!

3May

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Shoppe Keep 2 Preview – Granville, Fetch Your Hammer!

Shoppe Keep was a wonderful shop management title, played from a first-person perspective with a strong focus on just selling items to customers. It didn’t really venture further than that, and it was hard to get into due to the progression system feeling lacklustre. Shoppe Keep 2 is here to change the game. Shoppe Keep had always been a fun experience no matter how many times I revisited it. Sadly the initial enjoyment of earning enough money to upgrade the store ending up feeling like more work than it needed to be. Customers didn’t flock in, but those that did lobbed your items like a tired bull trying to cause chaos. Shoppe Keep 2 arrives on Early Access with a much stronger focus on management than its predecessor. It also seems to feel just as sluggish in gameplay as the previous ...

Murderous Pursuits Preview – Making Assassination More Fun

23Apr

By TC Staff Writer1 Comment

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Murderous Pursuits Preview – Making Assassination More Fun

If you prefer to eliminate your foes with stealth, and tactics rather than running in, all guns/swords blazing, then you might be interested in jumping on ship during the Jurassic Period, with Murderous Pursuits. Blazing Griffin’s assassination focused multi-player title, Murderous Pursuits ran an Open Beta from the 20th of April 2018, until 5am Monday 2018. Now, this one for me had been hiding away. I had seen nothing of the title anywhere before the open beta announcement until a friend of mine told me about it. So it was a lovely surprise to see it a few hours before it went live. Now, Murderous Pursuits is the toned-down equivalent where if Assassin’s Creed and Dishonored had a baby, and merged that DNA with a hint of The Ship, this is what you’d see birthed. The reason I mention...

Double Kick Heroes Preview – Proper Death Metal

6Apr

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Double Kick Heroes Preview – Proper Death Metal

Double Kick Heroes by French based developer Headbang Club who reside in a "dark garage filled with guitars, drums and beer corpses" located in "Hell's 6th circle" is a side scrolling zombie splattering game where Rock music is your key to your escape. Inspired by the dramatic worlds of Tarantino, King and Rodriguez, it is up to you to lead your dysfunctional band of rock musicians on a nightmarish roadtrip across the map while dismembering hordes of zombies that chase after your exclusively modded car, the Gundillac. Gameplay My initial thoughts when I first saw Double Kick Heroes was "Noooooo, not another pixel based game!" Having seen the strange popularity of the low-res graphic genre rise and rise since the introduction of Minecraft, many devs have adopted the blocky imagery wh...

Total War: Arena Preview – Divide and Conquer, 1, 2, Flee!

16Mar

By KevinNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Total War: Arena Preview – Divide and Conquer, 1, 2, Flee!

Total War: Arena is being developed by Creative Assembly to bring us real time mass battle with people all over the world. I mean, what's not to like? Hopefully they have achieved their goal and this is going to be one epic indulgence. Time to strap on a pair of steel boots, clamber onto a steed and charge into a preview. Gameplay Once Total War: Arena opens you have to choose your squad commander and the units. Read the descriptions to see what type of game you prefer playing. Charge in with cavalry, grind out melee combat with swordsmen or fire in arrows and stay safe. Once you have chosen your squad, hit play and you will be matched with players of a similar skill level. The terrain will pop up and several starting positions will be available. Pop your squad in one of these and...

Descenders Preview – Hitting Those Trails

9Feb

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Descenders Preview – Hitting Those Trails

Ever wanted to take on some steep slopes, hit some crazy stunts off some sweet sweet jumps, or carve up some great turns on some tight curves? Well if you answer yes to any of these, then Descenders might just be the game for you. Developed by RageSquid and published into Early Access by No More Robots, Descenders is a downhill freeriding game with procedurally generated worlds, where no track is ever the same and mistakes have consequences. Gameplay When you first load up Descenders you are treated to a very basic tutorial, taking you through turning, carving, jumping and performing skills. This arms you with enough controls to take on the courses and move forward towards being the best Descender out there. With procedurally generated environments you will be taking on fresh and ...

Computer Tycoon PC Preview – The Tycoon’s Tycoon

9Nov

By KevinNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Computer Tycoon PC Preview – The Tycoon’s Tycoon

Produced single handed by András Illés, Computer Tycoon is a foray into the world of building computers. The aim of Computer Tycoon is to dominate the global markets in all forms of computer production. Time to see if it is cooler than super-cooled or overclocked and overheated. Gameplay So jumping straight in and avoiding the 'easy' difficulty setting I chose my avatar, a slick 70's throwback and I named my company. Time to get building computers. The first screen you are met with is a map of the world. On top of this is the advice you need to be successful. Build in 2 countries, create your computer and then start the clock. I chose Italy because the women are pretty and I like the word "ciao", not that I would be having much to do with the women being a 70's throwback with the ...

Guardians of Ember – Early Access Preview

25May

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Guardians of Ember – Early Access Preview

An isometric Steam Early Access game featuring distinctive character classes with the ability to gain a second class and blast your way through the levels in order to conquer almost 60 different regions in game, each littered with unique enemies, challenges and loot. Is Guardians of Ember worthy of being played? Game Play Guardians of Ember has been developed by the gamers of Runewaker, the team behind Rune’s of Magic and Dragon’s Prophet. This team has a lot of experience and knowledge in making games and it shows in Guardians of Ember. Thrust into the game you’re immediately tasked with saving a base from a goblin invasion. The game is good in teaching you what to do and how to use the different skill panes and how to customise your character to use the skills best suited to you...

12May

By Jason2 Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Battle Chasers: Nightwar – Preview

A fun isometric role-playing game with turn-based combat and an in-depth crafting system. Classic combat featured in a technology-infused fantasy land, is Battle Chasers: Nightwar everything that it promises to be? Battle Chasers: Nightwar was originally funded by a kick starter project back in 2015 and is now available on Steam Early Access. The game is being made by Airship Syndicate, a company located in Austin Texas. Being a staff pick on Kickstarter and funding over $850,000 which was over $300,000 more than they needed, the game's prospects are strong. Gameplay Having invested a couple of hours into the game, all I can say is that I wanted MORE! Inspired by classic JRPGs is clear from playing the game but the developers have only been inspired, everything is fresh, clean and crisp...

21Apr

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Squad Early Access Preview

Tactical shooting is a tough thing to get right but Squad totally hits the nail on the head with its adrenaline pumping and nail-biting Squad based combat. Slowly pushing through enemy lines with eight team mates covering your back, Squad makes you really feel an important part of a team with a real role to play in order to make sure you complete your objective. Gameplay Starting off in a base, in attack and secure your mission is to push forward and capture the bases between you and your enemy’s main base and to reduce the enemy’s tickets before yours run out. To do this, teaming up is essential so jumping into a squad with a good, confident and knowledgeable squad leader is a must. With orders being given over voice communications by the squad leader, you all jump into an APC and star...