Recent reviews by BCG2000

NOTE FOR BUYERS: The Steam version has a bug where all textures are rendered in low resolution no matter what you do, there are different fixes for this on the web, but not all of them work for everyone. This is because the Steam version is a bad distro of version 2.11.25 (the latest one is 2.11.26). They never bothered to fix this after all these years. However, there is a very easy solution that is not only the best, but guaranteed to work for everyone:

1) Buy the Steam version, but don't download it.
2) Download the official standalone installer (it comes already updated to 2.11.26): http://files.trackmaniaforever.com/tmunitedforever_setup.exe
3) Install the standalone version.
4) Run the game and when asked for the key, input or paste the one provided in your Steam copy (CD Key).
5) Enjoy.

While this won't count your playtime in Steam, you get a fully working version of the game. In any case, if you want your playtime to count, you could copy the files of the standalone version over the files of the Steam version (after downloading it) and it should work.

As for the game itself, there isn't much to say, it is the best TrackMania game, There are 7 different environments, each with their own specific car and physics, providing the maximum amount of variety in the whole TrackMania series. The physics are very consistent, you eventually learn and become able to predict how your car will behave in any specific situation, meaning you pretty much become the car itself.

People don't play this online as much as in the past, most play the Nations Forever portion of the game which is free and is basically a demo of this game (Stadium environment only). But in my opinion, it is worth it for the single player campaigns alone, as well as the infinite replay value in being able to create and race on your own tracks. You can also download tracks, cars and skins other players have made. There is something for everyone in this game.

I originally reviewed this game in September 2019, but now decided to update my review to be more objective. It is not a bad game by any means, it is just that it has one glaring flaw that makes it difficult to recommend. Since there is no neutral option, I changed it to a thumb up instead. Here is why, based on my original review after further reflection.

The game has a pretty unique concept: you drive all sorts of buses in hilariously absurd situations. The charm and humor in the game is on point, and each level has its own story and twist. There is a whole lore you learn as you play and complete the levels, as well as many unlockables and secrets. Like most arcade games, it is simple to learn and play.

The glaring flaw I mentioned in the beginning is the very unpredictable mid-air physics, which I will refer to as stunting from now on. When the bus is on the ground, controling it is pretty straightforward and it is something you can master given enough time. Now, when the bus leaves the ground, it is a different story... It has a tendency to spin in ways that are very difficult to see coming and correct, and sadly there are a lot of levels that require the bus to jump to complete objectives and bumper obstacles that send you flying away.

A big reason for this is that the bus's spinning speed is different for each axis, it spins a lot faster on the sides than it does on the front and back, which means that when you are going really fast and find yourself spinning uncontrollably in the air, you will always have a hard time making sense of the moment and consequently how to correct it so you can land on your wheels. If you don't land on your wheels, the bus will instead often land on its side or upside-down which results in a game over and forces you to restart the level from the beginning. Another reason is the fact that you can only control the bus's pitch and roll, but not its yaw. The lack of one entire axis of control further makes the stunting unnecessarily frustrating.

Despite my best efforts, I could not manage to master this stunting aspect of the game and only completed the game by trial and error, then gave up on trying to unlock everything when it became clear that it was gonna take too much time to be worth it. The game entices you to unlock everything by having a medal system along with secrets, so if you want everything you need to be fast enough to get gold medals and pull off really difficult manuevers, all of which have nearly no room for error. This is of course a good thing, but will potentially kill off your fun pretty fast if you waste time on it.

Maybe it was skill issue or maybe it was the fact I played on a keyboard. This game, including the stunting, is not impossible to fully master and there are speedrunners who showed that in action. And I do like really difficult games, like Super Hexagon, Boson X and Getting Over It, all of which I have completed before. The key difference is that those games are far more consistent than this one, and you can always feel that you are making progress on them, however small.

In short, Omnibus is a decent game which would have been great had the developer made the stunting aspect more consistent. I don't think they meant for it to be this frustrating, sometimes mechanics just aren't polished enough, especially rarer ones like stunting. If you do pick up this game, my suggestion is to play it without taking it very seriously. Enjoy the absurdity rather than trying to 100% it.

This is a very good and cheap game for what it is. A very solid F-Zero-like racing game. The way the machines handle and feel, the track designs and themes, the great soundtrack, it all blends well.

However, you should only buy it if you want to support the developer. AceSpeeder3 is the mobile port of AceSpeeder2, which is freeware (it was a paid game long time ago) and is available for download on the developer's website (www . raingraph . com, remove spaces, I don't know why Steam blocks the link) along with the Origin track pack. AceSpeeder2 is the superior version of the game: it runs at 60 FPS instead of being locked to 30, has a unique HUD, you can brake and boost manually, there are different camera views and even replays. The only downside is that the intro when you start the game and the unskippable credits sequence each time you complete a stage cause delays, but with a little patience it is not a problem.

I don't know why the developer or the publisher decided to sell this inferior version on Steam, it looks like a game quickly made in Unity by an amateur and that's not true (the original seems to run on a custom engine). I don't assume they had malicious intentions, because AceSpeeder3 was supposed to be a proper sequel with 3 planets (one being the AceSpeeder2 tracks) with more gameplay modes. There is also a track editor you can buy from the developer's website, but it is barebones and requires you to make the tracks by editing a text file (although an unfinished GUI tool is available to help with the process).

There are different "Density" modes within the "Racing" mode that the game doesn't tell you about until you unlock them by clearing all stages. You start on "Density 20" which means there are 20 machines on the track and you can unlock "Density 30", "Density 40" and "Density 50". They are the same stages all over again but with more machines on the track, with the increased machine count making little difference in gameplay. There are also the "Time Trial" and "Keep Shield" modes.

These extra modes feel more like filler than meaningful additions and don't make up for AceSpeeder3's downsides compared to the original version of the game. As such, while AceSpeeder2 only has "Racing' (championship) and "Challenge" (single race) with 30 machines on the track at all times, it still comes out on top.

Just go with the original.

PAYDAY 2 is a game where you and your friends can play as a team of heisters. Kill, steal and run the *censored* away, or die trying.

There are hordes of cops to take down, they come in waves like in a zombie survival game and there are even special units with different abilities. So the action is non-stop, and the music keeps pumping you up for more and more.

As you play, you get money and experience which you can use to upgrade your character. Masks, weapons, armor, skills and perks, it has it all. This means you can build your character in a way which fits your playstyle. This also means you can make a team with your friends where everyone has a specific role with different skills and perks, complementing each other.

And there are constant updates with more content and bug fixes. Note that you don't need all DLCs in this game, the only really required DLC is the Gage Mod Courier DLC. However, if you want to get the best of the game, get the GOTY version because it includes some of the best DLCs.

[PROS]

• Non-stop action, awesome music.
  
• Different enemy units, including special ones, all with their unique abilities, strengths and weaknesses. This makes the combat dynamic and adds a layer of strategy to it.
  
• Different weapons, skills and perks to choose from and upgrade. There is something for everyone here.
  
• It's really fun when played with friends, you can easily end up playing hours and hours non-stop.
  
• Skin safes that are free to open!

[CONS]

• It can feel too repetitive and/or annoying sometimes, the drills are a perfect example of that.
  
• The game may feel very limited and/or incomplete without DLCs.
  
• Sometimes it feels grindy.
  
• The anti-cheat is "non-existent" because it only checks whether you have a DLC you didn't buy or not instead of checking for actual cheats/hacks.
  
• The game engine is somewhat poorly optimized, it uses more resources than it should considering the graphics quality and visual features.

Score: 8.5/10.0, highly recommended!

One of the best parkour-inspired games out there, a thrilling experience!