I know of New Star games since the release of New Star Soccer 3 (NSS3). NSS3 is also like NSS4, slowly growing from being a little kid and unknown figure in the world of soccer to a superstar like Michael Jackson in the music industry back then. To tell you frankly I loved NSS3. It was one hell of a game as I loved the concept of playing as just one individual in a team and improving your own skills from amateur to world class. Since then I always wished that Fifa or perhaps Pro Evolution Soccer would develop on such a beautiful piece of concept. This also tells why I was so hyped up over Fifa 08 when they finally said that such a mode would be available. NSS4 brings the simulation to greater heights. Everything feels much better. Graphics are greatly improved compared to NSS3 and gameplay is much more refine and diverse.

NSS4 is about developing your career as a soccer player. It also focuses on your personal life for example your relationship with your family and friends. A soccer legend would know when it is time to juggle and when it is time to put down the ball and have a dinner with the whole family.

Career Aspects

In your soccer career, there are two major components that make it: skills and money. Skills as in how well you dribble the ball, shoot, run, fly whatever. In NSS4, there are 4 categories of skills (sub dividing themselves further into different parts) you can improve in.  They are mainly Skills, Tac/Tec (Tactical/Technique), Physical, Mental. In skills you have Tackling, Shooting, Passing etc, Tac/Tec you have Positiong, Vision, Physical you have strength, pace and in Mental you have Aggression, Determination. See all the different categories and sub-categories in detail in the screenshot below:

Skills are developed in the training ground as well as during matches. You shoot well in a match, your shooting increases. You dribble like Cristiano Ronaldo your dribbling skill increases. Almost everything you do in a match affects how you grow. That is something that is commendable as it is just as it is in real life. The more you play, the better you become (usually). This ongoing progression/growth system gets you to give your best in every single match so as to ensure you make the most out of it. However, if your manager is making you warm the bench, you still have a chance to improve your skills on the training ground. At the training ground, you can choose whether you want to improve the skills manually (which usually benefits more in the earlier stages) or automatically where you will increase the skill you are training by 1 point. If you choose to increase it manually, you have to take part in different challenges (depending on the skill you are training in) and how much you excel in it determines how much skill points you are going to get. For example to increase your shooting you have to score goals. Goals give you a score and the score determines how much skill point you are going to get. The further you score your goal, the higher the score will be. It is as simple as that.

Abilities such as positioning, aggressiveness are all improved when you meet certain requirements. For positioning, it increases whenever you receive a pass from a teammate and you are in space. Aggressiveness increases as you slide your opponents down whether with the ball or without it. Flair increases if you do last minute passes or shots. The rest of the different skills can be read up at their official forums on how to improve them. The way the game allows players to train their skills is definitely what Fifa’s Be a Pro should follow as it is the most realistic method. You actually train your own shooting skill as a gamer while your digitalized player improves as well. Kudos for such skill progression and nay for rpg style of upgrading skills. It is not as if players would LEVEL UP after playing a couple of matches.

Moving on would be the contracts and the teams you play in. This is definitely what a soccer simulator should have. Unlike Fifa 09’s Be a Pro, you can change teams throughout your whole career. It is simply realistic to say that one player would often move from team to team in search for either better money or reputation. To say that one player would stick to a club for their whole career wouldn’t be something wrong, just seldom. And if you are looking to start small and go big, you can definitely achieve that in NSS4. As you become more skillful and professional, bigger clubs would be willing to offer money to bring you to their teams. Of course as you become closer to the legend that you want to be, the contract provides money that a legend ought to have. It is fun really to see clubs offer the different amounts of money for you and you negotiating with the board for that extra penny and so on.

It would be good for players to start in the smaller clubs for example the Blue Square Conference (English League) teams such as Oxford United, Wrexham etc. The opponents you face then wouldn’t be too overwhelming such that every time you touch the ball you get muscled off and get tackled. Also you wouldn’t be facing situations that even when the ball is just 10 meters away from you, someone 100 meters away gets to the ball first. Starting at smaller clubs gives the advantage of you starting in the first eleven. Unlike big clubs such as any Premiere League teams, you will find yourself playing on the pitch often rather than warming the bench or worst still sweeping the floors. Always remember that small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.

Personal Aspects

In most soccer player’s personal life, they usually have only one thing to face, relationship with the people around them. In NSS4, the personal life concept isn’t so detailed but is sufficient. You have to try maintaining a good relationship with your loved ones as well as your superiors. In NSS4, you can have a good and bad relationship with your boss, friends, teammates, fans, family, sponsors, girlfriend (Children eventually) and the media. To increase the relationship with either o the few listed is by spending free time with them and going through a process of a slot system whereby 2 or more matches would get you a plus in your relationship. You can also choose to praise or criticize people and then face the consequences.

Occasionally you would be presented with a situation whereby you can only do one but not the other. The different ways you react would result with different outcomes. For example would you rather stay on the training pitch for an hour more to please your boss or go out with your friends? Things like that happen in real life and is nice to see it happen in the game as well. Decisions are always hard to make, so make one that you would not regret.

Though the personal life aspect of the game is rather shallow, I believe it is sufficient enough for someone who would want to play a soccer simulator. This isn’t the game of life; this is the game of a soccer player. Perhaps in future editions of the game they would expand further into this component, but for now it is just right and enough for me.

Matches

In-game controls are best when using a controller. The controls are simple and neat. It is however hard to master but once familiarized, fun to play. At the start you would have difficulties receiving balls passed to you. It is like the ball would always seem to move away from your player unless you stay still upon receiving one. Still, once you get the hang of it, it isn’t much of a problem. The different camera views can be readjusted to suit your own liking. Overall, I haven’t got much of an issue with the camera or how the matches are presented. What I like was the feature to save replays and share them with other people. This is rather neat and fun to show your friends all your super goals. However due to the poor graphics, the feature is less effective as what it ought to be. Last notable feature is the ability to celebrate after you score a goal. Although the different celebration styles to choose from is limited, I guess it is alright as it doesn’t matter too much.

The only major problem is the AI of the players (both goalkeepers and defenders mainly). Defenders back off from approaching players and seem to like to make last ditch challenges rather than challenging opponents when they are further from the box. It is weird really to see how the defending is done in the game. Sometimes it might cause frustration for there are situations where the ball could have been easily won earlier but your defenders would just keep moving back and back.  Another frustrating point to take note is how stupid the goalkeeper is. He positions himself such a way that goals are easily conceded. He also doesn’t seem to know what rushing out is unless the ball is within a radius of whatever they are programmed to see. After playing the game for awhile, you would often realize that to score goals from 40yards is extremely easy. Just aim to either one of the corner of the goal post and shoot. Viola, you scored a spectacular goal. The goal post seems too wide for the goalkeeper’s reach for their dives are often horribly short and useless. Add on their poor positioning and you get the reason why goals are easily scored/conceded.

Other stuff that they have

Gambling is present in the game. Alcohol and drugs as well. Very mild though. Gambling gives you money if you win, alcohol boosts your confidence for a short time, drugs make you feel high and almighty.

Overall/Conclusion

For a production that is of lower budget, it is wonderful to see the final product so posh and fine. Call it an indie game if you want but the quality it brings out is absolutely worthy of praise and admiration. I would say to buy it if you like being a soccer player or if you like playing soccer games. This is the best soccer career simulation in the market yet. Yes Fifa 09’s Be a Pro have awesome graphics, but seriously you call that being a pro? Come on man, all you have to do is press next match and play, next match and play, level up and that’s all. Bleh, that is more like Be a Player where you control just one player. Might as well play exhibition mode and just lock yourself to one player. NSS4 definitely provides an ideal gameplay concept for both EA Sports and Konami to follow should they want to go further into career simulation.

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The passing, whether it is a direct or a through pass, feels as if there is more freedom given. Of course if you select the manual way of passing, you would have almost all the freedom in the world. However, if you are a semi-assisted/assisted user like me, you will definitely find the new way of passing much more delightful and fun to play with. In this year’s game, the passing displays a power bar (like those when you are shooting) and it does affect where the ball goes to some way or another. It works in the same way as it does in Fifa 08; hold onto the button longer the further the pass is. However, the developers seem to have tweaked and refined the mechanics a little so as to make passing much smoother and sweeter. I don’t know what went on backend but it just feels better. However, what I am sure of is that with the new passing, through passes becomes much more awesome. In the past, creating through passes that slice through the defense were rare and almost impossible. Now, it is different. With the correct power and position of the players on both ends, you can often make such beautiful passes. Soccer simulation has simply become much more wonderful in Fifa 09.

Other features, like the Adidas Live Season, add the finishing touches to the game making it wholesomely fun. You would eagerly anticipate for the next update as you watch your team destroy another in real life. For when the team plays well in the real world, they would as well in the virtual realm. Collision detection seems to be working really well. Players feel as if they really touch the ball to kick it. Sliding is as useful but dangerous at the same time for referees are much stricter and will show no hesitation when producing the red card. However, with so much positive comments on the game, there definitely are some parts which irk the players and fans alike.

The goalkeeper is still as stupid as ever. When the ball rolls by him (Let us say going out for a corner. Therefore it would be smart of the goalkeeper if he would approach it and pick it up), even if the ball is moving at snail speed, he would watch the ball roll by. Yes, you will see him turning his body as the ball rolls by. Bugs and exploits such as bouncing balls would beat the keeper, keeper moving backwards instead of taking the ball allowing a striker to run forward to take the ball and so on.

Players seem to have a weird bug of walking backwards when the ball approaches them. This happens frequently and sometimes frustrates the players, especially when they are losing. Invisible players happen often when playing online. And others you might face but isn’t as frequent as those I listed. Nonetheless all these bugs and irritating keeper AI shouldn’t stop you from purchasing the game and enjoy the tweaked to near perfection (yet) gameplay.

Here are some screenshots using the in-game screen shot capture mechanism. Quality is rather bad and do not depict the real and true potential of the game.

EDIT: Took some screenshots through camera. Gallery right below.

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Many would argue and say “Hey, you can’t compare the console version with the PC’s! It is just not fair!”, but the sad truth is everyone does and I am no exception. PC gamers and console gamers are all gamers. They want the best experience they can have in each and every game they play. So if you come out with a game for that particular console/PC, you better make it good. Fifa 09 felt almost if not the same as Fifa 08.

Hit the jump for screenshots and the full review.

What exactly is lacking? Let us just talk about the basics. The Goalkeeper AI is still as retarded as ever. They do the most impossible things that no one will ever expect. For example the ball is rolling towards him at a really really slow pace. He could jolly well run and pick it up, but he will just wait for the ball to roll REALLY REALLY slowly towards him before doing so. Another example would be the fact that the keeper seems extremely lazy (in fifa 08 as well). He could walk towards the side of his goal to pick up a deflected shot by the opponents to prevent a corner, but he would prefer to stand by and watch the ball roll out. Seriously, he would STAND BY AND WATCH THE BALL ROLL OUT. Of course you can add in the speed of the ball of a REALLY REALLY slow pace. It gets on your nerves. EA Sports would rather spend time making things that doesn’t matter much than to improve the AI (In particular the goalkeeper).

Now we shall talk more about the new features they implemented. They finally add in the real be-a-pro camera which is now called “third person” camera. Of course if you had the console version for Fifa 08, it looks exactly like that, just a little rougher and less pretty. It sure seems to be a cool and awesome thing to happen for pc fifa gamers, for people like me who did not have a console then, got all so hyped up over the be-a-pro mode. However, we(I) were all disappointed with the TELE view and thus makes controlling one player more of a hassle then of fun. Yes I would say that bringing over the TRUE be-a-pro/third person camera would be just the thing for the be-a-pro career mode. However, the AI of your team in the game when playing be-a-pro just seems so frustrating.

I’ll cut the story short on what the AI actually feels like. It felt like a bunch of kids who dare not touch the ball as if it was spiked with poison needles. Your defenders dodge away from your opponents as they advance. You have the hold the pressure button to actually get the ball within a faster time period. Without holding the pressure button, it is like watching a nine hundred and ninety nine (th) grade film. Boring and frustrating. And once your team gets the ball, the way they pass is worst than my country’s soccer team. Not that they are really bad or anything, but the AI attacking style is seriously terrible. They pass aimlessly and lose the ball very often. Without you being a striker (worst if you are a defender), I doubt your team can score more than 2 goals in a match. After actually playing for some time, you feel like taking a break from seeing all your little kids fighting/running away from a ball. There is no actual purpose in the mode with the way the AI is playing. Controlling one player then seems to be extremely painful and tiring. I would just give this a pass.

I am not saying that the console version of the AI during the be-a-pro practice mode was particularly good, but since it was the newest addition then it was passable. Besides, now that we can play 10v10 in the consoles version, we do not need to worry about the retarded AIs and their terrible standard of soccer. Alright, perhaps be-a-pro is not really the thing. But what else are there? The normal game modes are of your normal game modes. Graphical improvements are barely noticeable in my eyes and it simply feels like Fifa 08 all over again (Worst then the Fifa 08 on the consoles by the way). However, something that seems the most innovative (probably) and interesting addition is the mouse control.

Oh my god, the mouse! Does it remind you of the wii version of the PES? Yeah, it is something like that. You use your mouse to aim your passes, shoot etc. Kind of cool and perhaps it would make PC gamers feel more exclusive for such control scheme will never (yet) reach consoles anytime soon. It makes playing much more interesting and you feel as if you have better control over the game. Where ever you want to pass, you aim and you pass it. The thought of such freedom seems extremely fabulous. However, you can’t really feel the freedom yet. It is just a little looser than the locks they had for Fifa 08. Sure you can aim in front the path of your running striker, but it will just simply act as a normal through pass. There isn’t anything so great about it. Where you can pass with the mouse you can pass with the keyboard/gamepad. However, with such addition it would definitely make it a more PC version rather than a trying-to-be a console version’s quality.

Minor additions such as the widgets and Adidas live season are just merely gimmicks in my opinion to make out with the lack of quality the whole game have overall. Sure it is cool to see the latest news of your favourite team right in front of you before you start the game. It is fun to have your players form to be the same of the players of real life. However, all these do not seem so fun at all with the Fifa 08 same gameplay they are giving. I would rather stick to Fifa 08 and get some newspaper instead. Saving money on such titles perhaps would lead to a possibility of enough financial capital to invest in a console. Till then, it is just yet another PC version that I expected to suck badly (to suck in my terms to not have any or much noticeable improvements). For now, I simply cannot wait for the console version due to the catalyatic effect the PC version gave me. Look, if you compare a terrible and an average game together, the effects would be amplified and instead you would think the average game is a perfect game.

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P.S If you really want me to rate it, I’ll go with a 6. Passable and thats all.

“Power? Football? Oh my goodness that sounds awesome enough to be a mini crappy boring 1d flash sports game.” If you had that kind of impression or thought upon reading the title of the game that I am about to review, prepare to be wrong, well it was for me. At first I thought it was another boring sports flash game that people play when they felt like dying. Usually flash games are small and fun for the moment; only some are extremely addictive and keeps players hooked up on it. In addition, sport flash games are mostly horrible, only around 1% to 2% of them got me excited; power soccer being one of them. The only exception is that it is an online awesome addictive free soccer JAVA game. Yes, you heard me right! It is splendid for a little small game.

Power Soccer is based mostly on online play with people you know or just with everyone or anyone all around the world. It is a sports game and like its name, it is all about soccer. You manage your own team and it starts out as sucky as you are. It is logical for a new player to be fitted and paired with new “in-game players”. However, as you progress throughout the game winning and trashing teams that come into your way, be prepared for your team to LEVEL-UP. Just like MMOs this game is awesome that grinding (playing matches to gain experience points) helps your team to GROW UP. Upon leveling, you get attribute points for each of your player to add. You can add from several different attributes making him the legend you want him to be. Of course if you are wise enough you don’t add tackling attribute for a striker. No it isn’t right for a legendary defensive striking tackler.

The game is as simple as it can get. With only a few different keys you can start scoring goals like you have never seen before. Goals that are within the penalty box that is. You can pass, shoot, lob, tackle and slide. The keys are simplistic and easy to get used to. The match engine however is still under development. Several key features such as cards are not present, heading and some other stuff you would definitely notice if you played it. However, it is still impressive to note that for such a small java game, it had rules of fouls, penalties and even an offside system. Yes, offside is present in the game. The ability to save and view highlights is definitely something extremely exciting to look forward to. You can save how you tackle the opponent keeper and then kicking the ball onto the keeper making the ball bounce back or whatever. There is also an instant replay for good shots and goals. For so much in such an unexpected small java game, it is simply fantastic.

Glitches and bugs do exist in the game, with rather poor gameplay if lag is present. However, what is really innovative about the game is that the game is presented in a way of an MMO (massive multiplayer online) game. With levels and stats explained earlier, you also get to design your own badge or team kit (members only though). There are cups, leagues, ranked matches as well as the normal friendlies all giving you experience once played. You get to adjust and edit your team tactics, write opinions about other teams and even rate the teams after having a tough match with them. It is simply good for a game of that small, just extremely unexpected. Talking isn’t going to do much of a help unless you try it out yourself. Do yourself a favour, just give their game a hit and tell me your comments either through the site or even talking to me after having a match in-game. My username: swiftpolar is ready to take you on. Please just don’t trash me, I feel bad. For now, you might want to see some of the screenshots I made of the game, enjoy.

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http://www.highstreet5.com.sg

Music rhythm games are plentiful throughout the gaming universe. We had the rather well known Dance Dance Revolution starting up everything. Basically music rhythm games are whereby music is played (obviously), and players had to hit the notes they see on the screen. Really simple gameplay style, but definitely proves to be effectively fun and addictive. There are several adaptations of this gameplay style and up to now, there are almost a dozen of games out there that play in such a manner. However, the good and the bad are separated greatly. Today in this article I will be touching on the MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) dance game called High Street 5.

Speaking about dancing rhythm styled games (also music rhythm games, all have same ideas), we can come out with a few names immediately. However when we say it is a MMO styled dancing rhythm game, that is something different and unique. High Street 5 can be said to be the direct competitor of Audition, another game that is almost the same in terms of gameplay. I picked up the game when it was in its early stages under the first publisher (Snailgame - the developers themselves). It was in chinese and I did not quite understand much of the storyline or how to play the game to its fullest potential. However, what I was impressed and was surprised was the outstanding graphics and catching music. When compared the Audition, I would say High Street 5 beats it hands down. That however is just my opinion. Graphically it is stunning and realistic, music wise it has the latest Chinese pop hits and some famous English songs. Whatever it is, the graphics are engaging and the music unforgettable.

Presentation

It is a huge game and a fantastically long download if your internet is average. Around 1.5gb installer, you get nearly hundreds of different kinds of customizations you can apply to your character. From top to bottom, left to right, the game definitely does not lack in providing something you can put on to make yourself the best or most stylish dancer in the game. The game itself has also several hit songs (both English and Chinese) but the lack of quantity definitely makes it a boon after playing continuously for some time. The way it divides players into rooms and enabling them to dance any time they want is something unique and interesting. The way the story is first delivered is also intriguing as voiceovers are used (the first time I ever heard for such games, or even MMOs). The realistic way it presents itself surely attracts audiences of all ages.

Graphics

For a MMO game that is free, the graphics are awfully colourful and beautiful. Different accessories and clothes all look sleek and awesome, making it a must to get them all no matter if you need it or not. The different varieties and style of clothes gives the opportunity to shape their character the way they want. The surroundings are all colourfully lighted and filled with appealing buildings, objects such as chairs tables and also populated with sufficient npcs (Non-Playable Characters). Whenever a perfect combo is achieved or when you are using a finisher, the special effects without doubt makes it even more heroic and accomplishing for the player. In my opinion the graphics made and used is comparable with games that you pay for. Not too good but it is there, average. However, since this is a free game, we will compare it to other free games. When that is done, I would say High Street 5 beats almost all of them hands down.

Sound

A music game ought to have good music and good sound effects. High Street 5 is no exception. Songs that are heard throughout the game ought to be familiar with people who listen to latest or current pop songs etc. The majority of the songs are in Chinese (famous Chinese pop songs) as the game was developed by a Chinese company. Nevertheless there are some English songs as well that are equally good. High Street 5 definitely brings Chinese or perhaps the Asia continent together (excluding Japan) with its perfect choice of songs and sound.

Gameplay

Simplistic gameplay. Instead of notes, you have arrow signs. You’ll start from pressing from 1 arrow sign to a whopping number of 10 arrow signs in the same amount of given time. You press the arrows as you see on the screen (dance steps), and then you successfully execute it when the beat is correct (a bar with a moving circle. Once the circle reaches an area, you press the spacebar to execute it. The closer it is to the desired point, the better your score. Basically they rate your accuracy with perfect, cool, ka-good, bad or miss) In addition, you get to use special moves when your “high” bar gets filled up. It is something like the more you dance the hippier you get. The hippier you get the better special moves you can execute. Kind of similar to a scenario whereby you start taking drugs and going wild. And lastly you can use items that help you get high faster (like drugs) or stop yourself from feeling fatigue or anything. There are several different modes in the game. Team battles, couple dancing etc. All are rather gimmicky and just tweaks the normal single gameplay a little. For example when you go to couple mode, you dance with a partner. So basically there will be a whole bunch of notes appearing on screen whereby some are greyed out, and some remaining in their original colours. Therefore, you straightforwardly know that the greyed out notes are not for you to care but only to take note of the coloured ones. That is already one different mode. Other modes are like I said before different but not too much.

There are shops you can go to and start window shopping or spending some cash to dress yourself up. You can choose from a variety of different styles to suit your own playing manner or likings. New dance moves can also be purchased at the dance studio and you can start flunking them off to your friends. You yourself also have a “home” to go to, and in there you basically can do all the necessary such as admiring your own dance moves you have already learnt, set the systems settings in case of any lag, dress into your favorite emo dress or whatever and also view the cream of the crops in the game. Cool and new I must admit.

Lag is present if your computer cannot take the graphics demanding game. Of course you can set everything to low but when faced with huge amounts of players dancing at the same time in the same place, you start feeling your computer tiring out and letting go. You, because of the lag, suddenly become much worse than before because whenever you want to get your perfect hit, the lag comes out of the blue and lag the hell out of you. Causing you to miss and feel depress. Sometimes maybe because of internet connection, you will only view your notes when you have only 2 seconds to press them in. This also frustrates me and would also to you.

Playable songs are not plentiful but are all of great quality. You may request for songs to be played by selecting the NPC that is a DeeJay. Songs might get boring after long hours of continuous gaming as you might feel that the songs are repeated almost thrice. However, after some time you might want to take a break and start chit chatting with the people there. No problems, the game offers you the ability to make new cyber friends as they provide you with a “cellphone” to keep in touch and a “mailing” ability to mail your friends. Play, communicate, have fun. Basically that is what the game provides and produces.

One last final pointer about the game. You can actually record your in-game footage (the dancing parts) by clicking on the saving of replay for your dance for that particular song. Rather cool and best for reliving the epic moments whereby you scored a full perfect for that particular time. Have yet to explore much of it yet but from the looks of the Chinese website, there are several videos members made that you can download and watch. Watch a feel and was really impressed by the professionalism and the quality.

Value

It is free! What do you expect? Its quality is fantastically good for a free game and is a must if you love music, or just love to show off your ability to react and press according to what the computer wants you to press. Though there is presence of some lag at times it is definitely not going to hinder or frustrate you too much to the point that you cannot take it and quit. However, what worries me most is the availability of purchasing items using real money unbalancing the whole game. Well, that is how most free games earn money so can’t complain much. Overall the game is not too bad and is worth a try (especially for music fans and rhythm gamers).

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Presentation

Simcity Societies presents itself as a rather happy, light-hearted and fun game. As previously simcity games, you got a building menus and have the ability to choose from different categories etc. However this time, Simcity Societies uses a filter system instead of making several sub categories. For example the broad category of housing can be filtered (not subbed. Pretty much the same still I guess) into other categories such as creative houses, productive houses etc. (sounds weird but that is the way it is. No proper name of course but it is something like that.) There are 8 types of resources in the game. First electricity, second money and the six other resources (social energies) namely productivity, prosperity, creativity, spirituality, authority, and knowledge are used for maintenance and the running of buildings. Money for the start-up, electricity for well, obvious running of city accompanying with the six other social energies as well. The game provides a tutorial that is almost useless as it tells the most mundane stuff, but it sure gives you a feel of how different it is from the previous simcity titles. Being much more simple and easier than before that is. Menus are rather simple and effective, nothing much to comment on actually. And the game provides some statistics for you to know more about your own city.

Sound

The sound and the effects it creates is easily the best of the game. You can hear your citizens shouting and screaming when they meet with ghosts on the streets, some short and sweet voices when you click on the different citizens and even the rain falling down onto your city giving a slight erm pat pat pat sound? Occasionally you will hear some effects of people beatings someone up or screaming (as mentioned previously) and that is usually triggered when a minor event is happening. When a police catches a thief or so, you will hear the police beating the thief up (if you are nearby). What you expect will eventually come out, making the game sound as realistic as possible. (a building caught fire? Expect yourself to hear the fire burning.) At menu screens you are treated to light hearted music, great for relaxation I suppose. And when different natural disasters occurs, you are in for a treat for the different sounds you are going to hear, and of course the visual effects that you are about to see (will go into next). Overall, if you are not going to enjoy the gameplay (meaning you are a hardcore player. I expect casual players to actually enjoy the game first few hours before feeling bored) you sure are going to enjoy the sound effects you are about to hear.

Graphics

Colourful, bright and cheerful. Did I say the game was light hearted? That is absolutely right. With the graphics accompanied with the happy sounds, the game is a blast for people who just want a day off from hard tedious work. You know when I first played the game, all my worries seem to have washed away. Amazing but true. I cannot deny how the game has that kind of magical feel whereby it gives you a very soothing and comfortable feeling. Bright and colourful buildings with an additional night scene that is spectacular to the eyes. Not suited for those gamers looking for realism in graphics as the game only hits the passing mark for that. Cartoony, hell yeah! Still, it is not that cartoony but well, let me say a good balance between realism and fantasy? Some disaster is a blast for your eyes. Some details such as animals in your zoos can be seen moving and doing other stuff. Not much details though (the zoo is like one of the exception) but sufficient. Houses have their own variety meaning one single type of house; have 3 different designs to it. (For example. House A will have A1, A2 or A3 to it.) They do not differ much but sure it does make the game livelier and not so monotonous. One disadvantage to the graphics is that the buildings all are too colourful and bright. Yeah I praised it previously and still is but sometimes, some buildings ought to stand out for example the police station or the fire station. Fire! Oh no, you are going to spend some time finding your fire station if your city is huge and filled with buildings. One last note, I find the game too happy that even the supposing creepy haunted castles look cheerful to me.

Gameplay

Three words and a phrase: simple, addictive, weird and never-ending .

Simple - If you are expecting the same way you had to think deeply on how to lay the cables so as to make effective use of your power stations, be prepared to be disappointed. In this latest release, electricity can flow its way to your city and there is no need to worry for water. (It magically produces and no wait, your citizens are supermen because they do not need to drink!) Very simple and straightforward. You need people, build houses. If you need more social energies, find buildings or decorations that increases them. Need money? Build working places. Citizens feel sad? Build venues for them to visit. Yes it is that simple. No need to worry much about placing working places together with houses etc. However there is a bonus if you place different decorations with buildings together resulting in an enhanced value of property as well as revenue if it is a workplace. There is not much a learning curve here and the most difficult difficulty is still a piece of cake.

Addictive - Once you start, it will last for hours. There are many different types of buildings you can build for each of the social energy. You have to have a certain amount of social energy to unlock better and nicer looking buildings and that keeps you going on and on wanting to see all there is. Interesting as you see your city develop into the city you want. Whether is it a polluted city, a city filled with corruption and crime or even a city bustling with activities and business discussions, you choose it, and you build it.

Weird - Sometimes in the game you might start wondering why some buildings give social energies while others deducts them. It is totally illogical and I just figured out that it is best to leave it as it is. An example would be a monastery taking up spiritual energies to work. Wait, don’t they produce them? Alright, perhaps when you have spiritual energies it means you have more holy people or erm, sheesh I really do not know how to explain.

Never-ending - There are no main objectives in this game. The game can go on, and will go on and on and on. You can never lose, I suppose because whatever you do seems to be right. There is no wrong but only right in this game. Even if your citizens all feel sad and stuff, you can call your city a sad city! So there is no such thing as, “hey you have to do that and that”. What you want go ahead. However, the lack of an aim and objective soon makes me bored (and you as well). Sure I am interested in completing the achievements (those are the only well objectives in the game. Gain 10,000 population, 200 creativity etc) and when I do, I am utterly disappointed with what the prize is; A small puny statue taking one block of space. Great! Unlocking the different buildings sure gets me excited and that is what I enjoy the most. But once you unlocked them all, what next? The game will keep going on and soon you will feel bored because there is lack of a purpose. As sad before, this sure is a casual game and will always be. No serious players here, take it lightly and you will enjoy it. NOTE it is common for you to experience drop in frame rate as your city progresses, many other gamers with great computers themselves experience lag. Now, so the never-ending might even turn out frustrating.

Value

It is definitely worthy as a casual game. Get it for the holidays, enjoy it then and you can like keep it for remembrance. Take it out once in a while and play it and you will find that the game is still as fresh as ever. However, if you are those serious gamers who want a challenge, this game is definitely not for you. Take it easy and you will enjoy. Loved the previous simcity series? No you might not like this latest release. It is completely changed and its target audience definitely switched to casual gamers. Casual, casual and even more casual.

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Storyline

Almost every RPG have a strong storyline backing it. Avencast however only has a mediocre one. Very straightforward, you ought to know what to expect in the end and is pretty much like the hero killing the bad guy. You start with an introduction on how you are born (well not actually born but like, you know found or something) and then how you arrive in this magical castle called “Avencast”. Very peaceful at first and the game goes around teaching you the basics etc. Smart move by the developers as it masks the tutorial as somewhat like a quest. You learn how to fight etc and soon you found your way doing a examination to prove your worth. Upon completing it and arriving back at the castle, you, expecting the castle to be as peaceful and merry, was wrong. It was in complete ruins and monsters are everywhere. That is when your true adventure begins and the storyline develops even further and deeper. I quote from Avencast’s official site:

“In the magic kingdom of Aldgarth, demons tore up a dimension portal and invaded your academy… Now a forgotten demon army is about to descend on your world… Descend into the depths of a sunken civilisation…. Fight the mighty Demon Marshal Morgath, forged from the crystals of the God…and uncover the secret of your past!” ~Avencast.com Game > Story

Yeah that is pretty much it. Nothing really special nor breathtaking but still, enough to make you get into the game and be part of it.

Presentation

The menus for shop screens, main menu etc is all very neatly done. With a very magical and ancient blend to it, it sure blends well with the game’s theme. The in-game inventory etc is very simple, and to view the different details of the items, you simply have to hold down your right mouse button or if it is a letter or so, double clicking the left mouse button would enable you to read the contents. To compare equipment you just looted, holding the right mouse button on it will enable you to compare both the current equipment you are wielding and the one that you just looted. Good job as it enables players to easily compare and contrast to decide whether wielding the newly looted equipment would benefit him or not. Texts are readable and the in-game UI (User Interface) shows everything you need to know quickly. Health, mana etc

Sound

Like almost every single games released, sound plays an important factor to it. Whether you want the mood to be very scary or perhaps a very light mood where you can feel the joy and happiness in the air, sound plays a big role in it. Besides that sound also have a component called “voice-acting”. And that is extremely important in RPGs as it brings out the characters’ character and personality. Music played, the voice-acting and the narrator (at cut-scenes) are all well done but not to the extent of superb. The music is well, alright, enough to bring out the mood and feelings to the gamer. Music at the castle before it was attacked was very merry and happy, while after it was attacked, very down and sad. When you are about to enter a battle (meaning an enemy is nearby and is about to engage you), the music will change to a battle beat. Sure that is a great addition as it paints the battle images more vividly and make gamers more excited but the variety of music is just not there. After a few battles you will be bored and tired with the music as it gets boring and repetitive after quite some time. Luckily, special sound effects help to further bring out the atmosphere of the area. Different sound effects will be played when the player uses different spells etc. Even when attacking and your attack comes in contact with your enemy, “bah” (yes I do not know how to explain nor express the sound.) or something can be heard. On to voice-acting,; The narrator, which you will hear during cut-scenes, have a very fatherly feeling to him. He really sound like a person reading a story book to a child or something and I really like it. A story ought to be told by a storyteller no? Then come the different characters in the game and their voice. Everyone that you are able to interact with will have a speech accompanying its text. The great magicians all sound great and the adepts blur and stupid. Not bad with the voice-acting and I should say the best of all the other sound effects.

Graphics

I do not really want to comment much on the textures, character models, animations etc. They are pretty much so-so. Of course you do not compare it with other graphics intensive games such as oblivion etc. For its level, graphics are just average. What I really want to comment on is the special effects for spells. Whenever you cast a spell or similar (summon or whatever), the graphic effects produced is sure interesting and eye catching. You might go “wow” even with the simplest of spells. For example a shield spell (summoning a shield) is extremely pleasing to the eye (for me in this case). It sure brings out the grandness of mages and magic and show how powerful your spells are. Another aspect I want to comment on is the ability to see what you wear. Many games produced in previous years lack such feature. Confused? What I meant is that for example you wield this humongous sword and when you view your character in the normal game view, you can see it. So Avencast is no different, wielding a staff with a skull looking thing on its tip will be seen when you wack the hell out of your enemies. I really like these kinds of features and I feel that it is a must for RPGs as it further brings out the personality of your own character. In Avencast, I find myself switching to different armors (not caring if it degrades my character or not) for pure entertainment and self pleasure. I wonder why some armor looks extraordinarily good but suck in actual fact. Perhaps that explains the saying not to judge a book by its cover eh? So let us recap what are the best graphics aspects of the game, the dress your doll/character effect (is that what it is called? I know there is a term for it but I just cannot recall it) and the spell effects. Once more, I would like to emphasize how good the spell effects are.

Gameplay

I would like to break this section into a few different parts than reviewing it individually. Gameplay itself is too broad a category thus I want to divide for more specific and detailed review. So the components are: Camera, Battle System (includes controls etc), Character Development, Puzzles and Quests and Misc (everything else not mentioned)

Camera

Fantastic. One word is enough to describe the camera viewing system. I would say it is very simple and good to use. Effective for you to run in and out during battles, targeting enemies and looking around the surrounding for items etc. Avencast lets players choose from 3 different camera type (easily switchable during the game) and among the 3, the one whereby is called “expert” (not really hard to use, needs some time to get use to it though) is the best. It gives you the freedom to swing your view left and right, follow your character etc. You really have you try it out yourself as it is hard to explain. All you need to know that it is effect and comfortable for the players. One problem is that you can only pan left and right, zoom in and out, but not up and down. This thus results in you sometimes to hear your enemies first before even seeing them. However, this pose not much of a problem.

Battle System (Controls, Hotkeys etc)

Alright. Every gamer ought to know what an Action Battle System means. It means you have to press or click something, to perform an attack. It is not point, click, wait, enemy dies, you feel happy. No, action battle system is whereby you press different buttons to perform different attacks on your enemies. One major problem with such system is that if the game is not developed with advanced enemies or so, you will end up button smashing. However, in this case, Avencast requires players to dodge from time to time and to think frequently. (Yup, some strategy is involved) Let us talk about the controls first. W A S D are movement keys, F1, 2 , 3 so on are the hotkeys and the mouse controls where to aim and clicking on the left/right mouse button will perform an attacking move. Left clicking performs a melee attack while right clicking performs a ranged attacked. A perfect control layout for an Action game and is even better when you talk about the hotkeys. When we think of hotkeys, we usually think pressing a button to perform a spell instead of manually going through the spell list and then right clicking it or whatsoever. Yes Avencast is no exception but with a bonus. You can press movement keys followed by an attack to perform a spell. Interesting? Definitely. This system implemented sure give players more freedom on how they want to perform their combos etc. For example pressing left (A) than right (D) and followed by a left mouse button will make your character perform a firewheel spell (or others). It is definitely cool and a unique system I must admit. Right so now we understand how great the control scheme is, we talk about battles. You can summon monsters to help you distract the enemy while you perform a time consuming spell or perhaps just rushing to the herds of monsters and perform and devastating area damage spell. Whatever it is, button smashing will get you nowhere (well during the beginning at least. You see when you start off, the game is rather difficult thus button smashing will definitely get you killed). Also occasionally you have to perform dodges etc and that is simply done by double movement keys. Left and left (A and A) will make you roll left and so on. Thus when you see an enemy shooting a fireball at you, you have the choice of being a retarded hero, absorbing all the damage or simply rolling away dodging the fireball.

Character Development

Like most RPGs, you have levels and experience points etc. Upon leveling in Avencast, you are given 10 points to spend in whether your normal attributes or to learn a new spell. You ought to get what I mean by now but one thing I would like to point out is the two different types of paths of magic you can take. One is Blood Magic (Melee) and the other Soul Magic (Ranged). It somewhat replaces a class system in most RPGs and for this game since you only can be a magician, you can choose between a melee magician or a ranged one. Besides those two paths, you can also summon things to help you. Whether is it for distracting enemies or a pal to keep you from being lonely, summoning sure is helpful.

Puzzles and Quests

Avencast surprises me with the different variety of quests at the beginning. It is not just purely go to that person, talk to him, kill a certain amount of monsters than coming back etc. Avencast has quests that involve the players to be quick with their fingers, and to be cunning enough to hide from certain people. Stealth and thinking is what quests of Avencast provide. Very interesting I would say. The different variety sure keeps players from being bored. Another thing is that the game has a few riddles and puzzles for players to solve. However, none of them provides a challenge at all. Still it adds on to the variety of gameplay and definitely make player feel that they ain’t doing things over and over again. There is always something new throughout the game.

Misc (Others not mentioned)

That is practically about it. Anything else not mentioned are usually the same as of other RPGs. Equipments, looting etc. Nothing too special nor worth mentioning except the ones above.

Value

Avencast let players choose from three difficulties and two classes. Upon completing one path (one class) you might want to try the other one just to see how magnificent the spell effects are. You are likely to play again to try beating another difficulty as there are no bonuses or anything that makes you want to do so. The game is not too overwhelming that keeps you wanting more. It is short and sweet and definitely worth your money, especially if you are a hardcore RP Gamer. Not much replayability value except to test out the other class. No multiplayer or co-op mode is present (though is discussed in their forums and one of the developers said that they will look into that) thus once you complete the game once or perhaps thrice, you can actually keep the game for the cover and disc, or just sell it away. Hold on to it for awhile though as mods/expansion packs might be available (for free, well, I hope) in times to come. If your holidays are approaching, getting Avencast sure can entertain you for a few days.

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Official Site: http://project-torque.aeriagames.com
Project Torque is a MMORG (Massive Multiplayer Online Racing Game) created by aeriagames. Besides the usual racing action you all get from racing games (that is kind of obvious), you are able to customize your car to make it the best racing machine ever. From the colours to the wheels, Project Torque gives you the ability to edit and change them accordingly to your personal needs and preferences. Since it’s a MMO, you are able to join rooms and channels and compete with other fellow racers. Scared of lag? No problem as Project Torque provides a rather unique and lagless racing mode, called the Ghost Mode, and your ride will be as smooth as those you play offline! With average 3D Graphics and several game modes, Project Torque is a must especially for driving fans. (Just try it! No harm as it is free!)

Presentation

Menus, game lobbies, channels, room etc are just like your everyday multiplayer games. With buttons to navigate through the different options, Project Torque’s presentation is simply pleasing to the eye. Simplistic and straightforward buttons, choosing the different game modes and adjusting your car is as simple as A-B-C. Project Torque offers shops whereby users can spend money they earn through participating in races to upgrade their cars for the better. It also provides an easy to use interface for you to equip the different items you have bought. Game lobbies have nothing special to it, just the normal interface you would see in almost any room-based online games. That is practically it, nothing special, and nothing too amazing to be mentioned.

Sound

Everything you have in a racing game. If you still do not know what sound effects there are, why not go around your neighborhood and hear the cars drive pass you. Broom, is one of the sound you will hear in the game. How about this, go ride a taxi to nowhere (I meant a taxi, not a cruise) and inside the taxi, be still and try remembering what sound you heard in the taxi. That, will also appear in Project Torque. Now you ask: “I hear music! Radio!” and I would answer: “Yes, you can put your own music in a folder of the game, and you will be able to play it when you’re racing”. That pretty much sums everything up. Sound effects like crashing into the side walls etc are included. Boring in my opinion. However, it is a great thing to enable players to put their own music into the game. In that way, players would not get bored easily with the boring and uninteresting sound effects that you can hear almost everywhere even in reality.

Graphics

The graphics are actually quite impressive for a free to play game. It is even better when you come in terms of a MMOG (Massive Multiplayer Online Game), let alone a MMORG. Besides there are only 2 other MMORGs out there (Kart Rider and Drift City) but none of those can compare to Project Torque’s graphics. However if you compare it with the graphics of games such as Need for Speed etc, of course you will find that Project Torque’s graphics suck big time. But you know, since it is a free to play game and it is a MMORG, we do not compare with those offline single player big shots (Yes they have multiplayer options too but that is not the main feature of the game). Instead we compare it with other MMOGs especially Kart Rider and Drift City. In that case, you will find Project Torque’s graphics to be the most realistic, and most detailed. Besides that, car damage can be seen. When you ram into something your car starts to peel and break apart. It is rather amazing that the damage seen is kind of cool and fun to look at. Even the older versions of Need of Speed do not have damage effects etc. The different routes are beautiful to look at. You can choose from the different seasons and the time of the race thus producing different outcome of that particular route. For example racing at night at the city would result in beautiful lightings all around the race tracks and wonderful reflections of the colourful city on the road. Animations are alright except for the hands. What I mean is that if you select the inside view while racing, your “hands” often twist over 720 degrees thus resulting in an ugly sight for the player. Overall, Project Torque provides players with decent graphics and is exceptional when we speak of MMORGs.

Gameplay

Project Torque provides players with a rather realistic driving experience. I am neither a driving fanatic nor a hardcore racer thus I do not know much about the standards of a good racing game. However, in my opinion I feel that the racing and driving in Project Torque is rather smooth and fun. Drifting, turning and accelerating seem to be the same as those big shots such as Need for Speed etc. Besides all that usual racing features, Project Torque gives players the opportunity to choose a view that they like. Out of the seven different views, 1 of them definitely would suit the player. For me, I really like the inside view as it gives me a better feeling that I am the driver. Putting all of that aside, what I really was impressed with the most was the damage system. Your car can get damaged when you knocked into the side walls etc and your car will show it. As in you know if your car’s left wheel is damaged terribly you will find yourself constantly needing to turn left or right to keep your car moving straight. Also, when you knock into a tree you will see that your car’s front headlights to be broken etc. A lot of racing games out there do not have such system in place! Thus Project Torque’s damage system is definitely a booster to its gameplay as it not only adds to the fun but also the realistic driving simulation. Like almost every other MMOs out there, you can buy items and equipments such as engine parts and spray colours to decorate and upgrade your car. Currently the amount of cars you can choose from is rather limited to around 5 (4 to choose from the start and an additional 1 to buy if you ever have enough money to do so). Also experience points can be acquired throughout the race by completing tasks and by winning the race and these points can level you up so as to enable you to take a driving license test. Upon passing those tests, you are able to drive better cars and buy better items. So it is somewhat like the levels you have in MMORPGs. All in all, it is like your everyday racing game but with a bonus damage system that will blow you away.

Value

Is Project Torque worth your time downloading and testing out? Yes, definitely. A hardcore racer looking to win some big racers, this is definitely for you. Besides, it is completely free! I would say Project Torque is comparable with those paid games out there and that it definitely needs some attention. For now, it is rather empty thus leading to little rooms and races carried out. However, I hope that with my review, you would test it out and spread the joy (or hate, I doubt) of the game. Have fun with your free professionally made MMORG.

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