Recent reviews by Professor Nova

The Positive's
+ Interesting Gameplay Mechanics
+ Intriguing Story
+ Multiple Endings

The Negative's Were Not Permitted By The State

The Aspect Of The Game
You are Carl Stein a new appointed landlord of a residential apartment building. It is your job to spy on your tenants as well as work with the state and do whatever the state requires of you while managing family and tenant needs.

My Two Cent Review
I love dystopian games like this where you have an over controlling government watching and potentially controlling your every move. The story writing is alright but nothing really special. There are some interesting characters you will meet as you go through a revolving door of tenants through your game. Your family while is nice to have is not required to finish the game so you have some options. There are about three main endings along with a bunch of small death endings that can take place if your not careful with your wording or actions. The soundtrack is atmospheric for it's setting with it's constant black and white atmosphere. The game is rather short with you easily being able to get through it within a couple of hours with some aspects of replay ability seeing what other choices you could have taken with your tenants could have lead you to.

The Value Of The Game
The game goes for as little as two dollars on sale which great value for what this game gives you. If you love dystopia story's as well as management games then this game is perfect for you!

The Positive's
+ Multiplayer PVP
+ Unique Gameplay Mechanics
+ Randomly Generated Maps

The Negative's Were Bribed Away

The Aspect Of The Game
You are a oil entrepreneur who is competing against 3 others over who becomes the next mayor of the town your in. Go around to different regions and drill for as much oil as you can get. Whoever owns the most shares by the end of the game wins and becomes mayor!

My Two Cent Review
I have been playing this game on and off since I was in high school years ago and I still play it on and off today. This is one of those games you can keep coming back to time and time again because it's always going to be a different run. You may get luckily and hit it big or run dry continuously and go bankrupt. You start off with a modest sum to get you up and going and have to budget for expedition costs, bribes, shares to become mayor, and upgrades. You can either play with AI or play with your friends as you all run your own respective oil harvesting companies competing with one another. The multiplayer is turn base with you all being able to take your time during your rounds but none of you may start the next season until everyone finishes there current season. It is also great to know at the time writing this the developers are still updating this game that came out in 2016 which was nearly 8 years ago as of time of writing which is insane! At the beginning of the game don't expect to make a lot but as you upgrade and invest more in bribes officials to keep fines low and prices high you will go far. All in all this is a very unique game that stands out as a fun competitive gold rush style game where ya either go big or go home.

The Value Of The Game
This game is worth getting on sale to play with friends. There will be plenty of fun to be had with friends as well as the AI if you aren't a big people person. It's a fun luck based strategy game where if ya play smart you'll go far.

The Positive's
+ A Continuation Of The Beholder Series
+ A New Unique Art Style
+ New & Old Characters

The Negative's
- Short Playtest I Want It To Be Longer ;-;

The Aspect Of The Playtest
You have been selected to be a conductor for the train Determination Bringer. Your job is to maintain order, assist passengers and monitor them for the state.

My Two Cent Review
I am a big fan of this deep state dystopia series and I was excited as could be when I heard playtesting was being offered for there newest title! I signed up and was immediately granted access. Upon loading it up I was greeted with a unique art style that I haven't seen before in the serious and some great opening cutscenes. The animations are smooth without issue. The little bit of story I have been given so far holds up great and the characters are some what memorable.Especially the old characters from the past games you will meet. There are two new game mechanics so far where you had to manually set up each passenger room by clicking and dragging item's out of a box into there perspective places in the passengers room. As well as a new system for checking the contents of peoples belongings by taking them out of there luggage one by one and putting back in the order you took it out or get in trouble with the passenger for realizing there luggage has been checked by someone. The playtest is not long at all with no saves which is to be expected it is a playtest after all. From little I have played it has hyped even more for the full games release.

The Value Of The Playtest
If this little showcase is any indicator of what is to come I can see these easily selling for 15 to 20 dollars that is if they continue to add more content to the game.

The Positive's
+ Playing For The Opposite Team
+ Interesting Story
+ Large Sandbox

The Negative's
- Black Flag Clone With Few New Mechanics
- Collectible Hell

The Aspect Of The Game
Following after the events of Black Flag you are playing as Shay Patrick Cormac assassin turned templar assassin hunter who must hunt the very people who mentored him to protect the world from the dangerous threats they pose to release during the French and Indian war.

My Two Cent Review
This was a fun game to play however it's just black flag with a few different ship features and a different environment. You are still liberating sea forts and going around collecting a million collectibles if that is what you feel like doing. The story is rather interesting as perspective of who the good guys and bad guys get more blurry with each mission you do until eventually your working for the opposite team all together. Outside the animus the game takes place in the same building you were in during black flag just in a lockdown mode which was okay to revisit but nothing really changed unfortunately except for new lore you can find around the office space. There's also the same fleet mechanics where you can capture ships and send them out on missions to earn you money while your off doing your own things. There are some new collectibles that will unlock some new armor for ya but that's really about it everything else is just about the same except the environment locations in the animus. You'll of course meet some new characters and some old characters but that's to be expected they can't make everything the same after all.

The Value Of The Game
If you were a fan of Black flag then this you will love this game. However if you were looking for something different then ya bought the wrong game. I'd grab it when it's on sale but feels more of a DLC then a real standalone game so take that with a grain of salt.

The Positive's
+ Captivating Story
+ Straightforward Gameplay
+ Suspenseful Parts

No Negative's
- Very Short Experience

The Aspect Of The Game
You take on the role of Curly/Jimmy captain and copilot of the delivery ship Tulpar. A ship that has taken unfortunate turn of events leaving the crew stranded in the middle space.

My Two Cent Review
While this game isn't a long game it had a compelling story with some good horror elements to it. The characters were somewhat memorable and the atmosphere was excellent. It really was a straight forward game leading which wasn't hard to follow. What they didn't tell you could easily put two and two together story wise. There is only one ending for the game with some collectable achievements in there that might give you some incentive to either explore more linear sections more closely or to or maybe play it again but it's a straight forward story. It certainly does play on psychological horror elements for some of the game which is interesting to look into with some excellent twists you might not see coming.

The Value Of The Game
You've got maybe 2 hours of entertainment from this game if your taking your time though if you really want to get through you could probably speed run this game and refund it before you hit that mark. If you love short horror stories set in a sci-fi setting this might be the game for you when it goes on sale.

The Positive's
+ Workshop
+ Fun Gameplay Mechanics
+ Multiple Gamemodes

The Negative's
- Stale Soundtrack
- Repetitive Dialogue Choices

The Aspect Of The Game
You are one of three channel directors in charge of maintaining and growing your channel competing against the other rival channels working in the same building with you.

My Two Cent Review
This is a short little TV studio simulator game that I have been playing on and off and will most likely continue to be playing on and off again. I love the little 2D art style they used when making the game and the mechanics to play the game are very straight forward. There is even a workshop that allows you to import real tv shows and movies into the game world as well as actors. There are multiple modes you can play around with if you don't want the game to end or wanna set a goal for yourself to reach. While maintaining your channel each day you also have the option to either buy different shows/movies or create them yourselves which is a much cheaper option in the long term. To make money you take out ad contracts which rewards you for getting a certain viewers attention during a certain channel block. There are also optional side quests you will be given throughout the day which if you fulfill will also earn you a little bit of money on the side. The more popular you become the more upgrades you unlock and better choice of actors to pick from when casting tv shows or movies. One thing I don't like is when you are in the production phase of a movie or tv show you will often get halted by about 10 possible scenarios which are always the same outcomes sadly which are interesting at first but get repetitive to read when you are constantly making shows or movies like I have been doing which of course could be fixed with workshop additions. There are also random event's throughout the week that you have option to participate in that can boost your viewership if done correctly which is fun little side work. The music of the game has only two different music tracks which get stale very fast if you play the game long enough.

The Value of The Game
While there isn't a whole lot you can really do in this game I believe for the content is worth picking it up when it goes on sale.

The Positive's
+ A Masterful Story
+ A Massive Explorable Open World
+ Grade A Soundtrack

The Negative's
- Repetitive Gameplay

The Aspect Of The Game
You are Sam Bridges an independent porter who delivers packages from point A to B in a hostile environment across America and back.

My Two Cent Review
I have always been a fan of Hideo Kojima's work with Metal Gear so I thought I should give his other works a try. I was originally put off by the idea of playing a point a to b walking simulator but it's much more then that. In the beginning the game was dreadfully slow with having to constantly walk everywhere in long distances. For most places if you had to walk somewhere it would literally take 15 to 30 minutes for each delivery. Along the way there were hostile entities, unfortunate weather conditions that ruined packages and unwelcoming paths that could kill you if your not careful. However after about an hour or two when you get to a certain point you will be given vehicles which vastly makes delivering packages A LOT easier. The environment in the game is truly realistic with climbing and walking through with of course some fake environments to spice up the gameplay. The story itself is rather simple... at least in the beginning though in a good Hideo Kojima fashion things get complicated and very interesting with plot twist I assure you will not see coming. The more you deliver to certain clients the more gear you will be granted access to which will help significantly in the field. There are stealth mechanics and combat mechanics in this game with boss fights so do no think all you will be doing is delivering packages there's more work then that todo. You will also literally be rebuilding America by contributing to mega projects like road construction to make driving through unforgiving terrain with ease which is well worth investing in believe me. The characters you will be talking to have there own personality and charm to them adding life to an almost lifeless world. If you wanted lore about the world around they do not skimp on the lore. They will give you a books worth of lore about the people and world around you either by communication, email, or data logs. You can also customize your vehicles colors, modify your characters equipment and choose your own playstyle that suits you. Do not come into this game thinking this will be a short one and done game. It has taken me over a month to fully complete this game with 78 hours on the docket however the ending is worth sticking for in my opinion though just be aware you will be taking many many breaks from this game. It can get very repetitive at times especially doing side deliveries and jobs to make your life easier in the world around you but it is worth it.

The Value Of The Game
It's obvious the developers put a lot of love into this game and the amount of time you will be playing it is worth the full price listed.

The Positive's
+ Wide Range Of Customizations
+ Large Array Of Weapons
+ Unique Gameplay Mechanics

The Negative's
- Unnecessary Weapon Nerfing
- Minor Bugs (Glitch's)
- A Semi-Toxic Community

The Aspect Of The Game
Congratulations you have decided to join the fight for democracy be becoming a helldiver which is an elite fighting force dedicating to protecting humanity's way of life at any cost. With your very own ship you are tasked with defeating whatever super earth's government deems a menace .

My Two Cent Review
This game was a great start to the year bringing us a unique hoard shooter which was a disaster the first month of launch. I don't believe the developers were prepared for the amount of people who were ready to play there game due to how dry the gaming market was at the time with new content that wasn't complete trash. Of course they adjusted and eventually got enough servers to bring the wait time from hours to minutes. It was so bad at times I heard there were people who would get in the game and no log off after they were done with it. They would just leave the game on while they were off doing there own things to avoid the waiting time of rejoining the game because of how bad the server queues were. They fixed that problem awhile go luckily which brings us the game itself. You and three other people can go down a war torn planet and complete objective's while either fighting robots or bugs at the time they have added another faction by the time your reading this who knows. You have an arsenals of weapons you can use to make going through heavily invested bug nests or robot bases a breeze. Make no mistake you will die at least once or twice through any mission you undergo it's inevitable with amount forces that will quickly overwhelm you. You will run out of bullets far before they run out of creatures to attack you with depending of the difficulty of course. There are also a variety of different creatures which offers you a different level of hell each with there own unique abilities. While they all have advantages they also have disadvantages that make them easy to dispatch if you know what your doing and get to know them long enough. I would advise if you want to play this game with others to do it with your friends. Playing with the community can lead to varying results which will sometimes aid you but have mostly hindered me during my adventures with random people. Friendly fire is actually usually the biggest killer of them all in this game where I have died from my friends gunfire and accidental bombardments more then any bug or robot has ever done to me funny enough. There are minor glitch's that sometimes happens like falling into a crack you can't get yourself out of or watching enemies fall through the maps and disappear into a void forever but thanks to the developers those are slowly getting patch worked out. What I don't like is how when you have something really fun to use the developers will see your enjoyment and then take it away by nerfing a weapon that doesn't need to be nerfed leaving you with a literal nerf gun fighting hoards of enemies with very real and truly devastating weaponry at there disposal that rarely ever gets nerfed. Also don't get me started about the PlayStation controversy where the company that published the game on the real developers behalf wanted to make everyone create and use a PlayStation account that had about as much account security as a child lock. Story wise there isn't a whole lot since it's mostly player driven though you can find tidbits scattered around the battlefield and some voice lines of info from the personnel on your ship.

The Value Of The Game
Though the game is fun you will pretty much do everything that can be done with the game after about 30 hours and the developers really ain't adding anything really new at the time of writing this so I would really wait for this game to go on sale before buying it.

The Positive's
+ All DLC's In One Game
+ Remastered Graphics
+ New Content!

The Negative's
- Bugs That Weren't In The Original

The Aspect Of The Game
You play as Vito Scaletta a small time petty criminal turned war hero who comes back to Empire Bay a city with debts to pay and money to earn along side his best friend Joe.

My Two Cent Review
I played the original a couple years back and saw the remaster on sale for a low price and decided to pick it up. It was good revisiting this iconic franchise but I did notice a few differences. First off there are more clothing options and vehicles that weren't in the original game. A few more minor buildings got more details added to it which was a neat little edition. Strangely though there were bugs added to this game that I didn't notice in the original. Enemies freezing in doorways when they originally went out and attacked you. Car chases where the car your chasing decides to no go and smell the roses instead. The most interesting one is my companions now randomly fighting law enforcement for no reason on the streets getting me in trouble for just associating with them. It seems the fix for it is just reloading the game again but it sucks they were there to begin with. The story is still the same with as far as I can tell no one differences from the original. I will not be reviewing the DLC'S in this review since I guarantee it's the same stuff from the original and weren't that great to begin with anyway. Despite the negative's editions Mafia 2 is still a great game.

The Value Of The Game
Honestly if you own the original stick with the original it's better made then this edition there really isn't much new with this edition at all.

The Positive's
+ Amazing Storytelling
+ Multiple Endings
+ Great Art Design
+ Outstanding Soundtrack

The Word Negative Shouldn't Even Be Associated With This Review...

The Aspect Of The Game
You are tasked with slaying the princess...

My Two Cent Review
Now this is something extraordinary since I haven't seen a story telling game this good since... well come to think of it there isn't. This game has so many different choices and endings that would put any story telling game to shame. I mean I saw the overwhelming positive reviews for this game on steam of course I didn't read them because I don't like spoiling the game for myself but this game did more then just exceed my expectation it became the new gold standard for multiple choice story telling games. It did everything perfectly and is one of the few games I can say I played from start to finish for hours on end without leaving my seat once. This game kept me wanting more and I will certainly be coming back for more of this game when I have the time. The voice acting in this game is top quality along with expert writing with so many branching choices I was a kid in a candy shop. Time passed by so quickly while I was playing this game where I started playing this at 12am and by the time I had gotten to my ending it was already nearing 4am and I hardly even noticed the passage of time or my surroundings for that matter I was entranced with this game. The characters the atmosphere this was better then any 60 dollar triple A game could ever even think of doing and all I did was listen, look at art and select choices on a screen. I can with 100% certainty this is definitely my game of the year for this year. If these developers produce new games with this level of care and effort they will be one of the most well known and cherished developers ever to step foot in the gaming industry but I'm getting ahead of myself. I am so happy I bought this game and finally got around to playing it because this is one of those few games I will never forget and yes I call it a game even though technically it's more an "interactive novel" but if there are choices you can make and an objective in mind it is a game.

The Value Of The Game
Worth every penny and if your not a big interactive story novel person when your done playing this masterpiece you will be.