Recent reviews by Perc Wizard

Dwarf Fortress is a fantastic, influential, and ridiculously unique video game. It's an excruciatingly detailed experience with a lot to take in. It's odd, it always has been, but this new release breathes a lot of new life into the game and allows for a much more accessible experience - even if it still needs a little bit of tweaking here and there.

For those who've never delved into Dwarf Fortress before:
• The game will generate as many worlds as you'd like, each will be incredibly detailed to a rather ridiculous degree. Hundreds of years of lore and history will be generated; historical figures, civilisations rising and falling, wars breaking out, art and literature (down to literal music and poetry forms), etc. There'll be different biomes, some absolutely terrifying like a haunted biome, where if anything dies - there's a big chance it'll get back up. Butchered a sheep and forgot to tan the hide? Well, the wool in that barrel is starting to push it's way back out into the living world.
• Once you've generated a world, you can play in it. You can make a fortress that will eventually house hundreds of dwarves in Fortress Mode, play as a custom created individual within the world in Adventure Mode (not in the premium version yet), or read through the generated history through Legends Mode (external programs are still a little better than the baked in method of reading into your world though, imo).
• The game generates so many crazy stories naturally, and it's all usually awfully brutal and terrible - but that's just the FUN of it all, isn't it? Either way, the really cool thing is these worlds have an ever-evolving history. You built a fortress, it grew to an impossible size, you dug too deep, a beast dwelling in the depths came up and destroyed everything. Cool. You can literally see all of the details of that happening in Legends Mode, you can read what happened to the dwarves that escaped. You may even see some again if you start up another game. You can even explore your previous fortresses as an individual in Adventure Mode. If you abandoned a fortress before it got destroyed, the fortress may even still be standing, and you can converse in your own tavern that you made as an individual. It's really interesting!
• It's crunchy and complex, and there's a lot to learn and a lot to play with. It's been in development for around ~20 years now - and that's not stopping any time soon!

For Those Returning:
Upsides:
• It's still the same old Dwarf Fortress you know and love. It's just a drastically changed exterior, is all.
• The mouse is officially supported now, as opposed to having to use DFHack.
• Menus! UI! It all exists now. Things are far, far easier to find and understand.
• Aesthetics! Beautiful tileset with some interesting new graphical features, like entrails trailing behind maimed creatures, wonderful depictions of vomit, all the usual wholesome stuff. The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic also, and is genuinely one of the best OSTs I've heard in a long while. I can jam to this all day.
• World generation is much quicker now!
• Various fixes to general annoyances. Stairs are pretty normal now - no more up-downs, just stairs - and it works perfectly. Controlling work and labour is baked into the game better now (albeit a little different from what you're used to with Therapist and the like). Etc.
• Legends Mode has hyperlinks and tabs now!
• Probably more I'm forgetting!

Downsides (as of now):
• In a lot of circumstances mouse support isn't added atop keyboard support, but rather it replaces keyboard support all together in some menus. Creating things in workshops is a pain where you've gotta click, move, look, scroll, click instead of just mash the same 2 keys a bunch.
• Keybinds! It's all changed! And no "old-school" option to change 'em back quickly! Though you can easily mess about with binds in the options, so it's not all bad (or you could just get used to them).
• No options to change tilesets in game, you have the fancy stuff and you gotta stick with it as it is right now. Sorry ASCII fans. (Not sure if there are other ways of changing this outside of the game, however.)
• No Adventure Mode yet! It'll get there eventually, but as it is right now we have Fortress Mode and Legends Mode only.
• Legends Mode, though better than the original, still isn't anywhere near as great as using Legends Viewer or anything yet.

It's Dwarf Fortress. It's amazing. If ya got the money spare, support the devs. There's only like 2 of 'em, and they deserve every penny. This is my favourite weird antfarm game, and I await Adventure Mode excitedly. Fantastic job, Toady, Threetoe and Kitfox! :)

Don't let the Steam hours fool you, this is a game I've spent a ridiculous amount of time playing over the past 5 years or so.

Daggerfall is the most ambitious Elder Scrolls title to exist. Yes, is, not was. It's still to this day got the most built-in mechanics out of every entry in the series. This is probably my favourite RPG ever, and I'll explain exactly why that is.

This is always a point brought up when people mention Daggerfall, so it's nothing new to say that it has a ridiculously in-depth character creation system. This isn't complex due to aesthetical reasons akin to most modern RPGs, but complex due to mechanical reasons. You can make almost any kind of character you want (to varying degrees of difficulty).
You wanna make a character who studied economics and archery in his early years, only to pick up exotic languages of creatures and medicinal training later on? That weirdness is possible, if you deem it so.
Also yes, that's right; this game lets you 'speak' to enemies if you know their language. It's not well fleshed out, and more-so pacifies rather than actually opening dialogue, but it's a cool idea that was later fleshed out in Battlespire, a game I wish remained a DLC like originally planned due to that.
For anyone familiar with tabletop RPGs, this game's character creation works similarly to that of GURPS, though more mathematical. You can pick advantages like being a great zombie hunter, or disadvantages like having a phobia of spiders; all of which modifies the time it takes for you to level up. You have a bunch of skills to choose from, and base attributes to distribute/roll points for.

The gameplay loop of Daggerfall is an interesting one. This game is less of a heroic fantasy and more of a fantasy life simulator. You can go around very large scale cities, strike up slightly odd conversations with the sprawling amount of civilians within, visit the bank, take out a loan, purchase a house, fail to pay it back, get chased by loan sharks, etc. It's insane how in-depth a game from 1996 can be.
Of course these systems, though very much there, are simple at their core. Once you buy a house, you can't do much in it, just kind of exist there. A lot of these issues can be fixed with mods (as per usual with Bethesda games), so if you'd like to decorate things and whatnot I'd advise checking out Daggerfall Unity; a fan-made source port that modernises the game and supports a plethora of mods.
Dungeon crawling is a big part of the game, and though it can stretch out to long extents, it's still a lot of fun. Pre-set dungeons exist but the majority are procedurally generated akin to a rogue-like of sorts, changing up the game every time you play. Puzzles, monsters and treasures galore. It's also very easy to get lost.
Combat is fun, albeit it can be deadly (and if you know what you're doing, very broken). You swing swords for melee, different directions having different hit chance and damage ranges. Archery is here, and spellcasting is ridiculously in-depth. You can craft insanely complicated spells, and it's a lot of fun - and unlike Morrowind's equally great spellcrafting system, this one doesn't hold back at all; you have access to all spells to craft with right off the bat. Have fun.

The world is amazing, for it's time. The atmosphere is beautiful and despite the graphics, absolutely pulls you into the universe. This is mostly due to the wonderful music and audio, which is incredibly underrated; it's all dynamic, dependant on weather, reputation, location, etc. It can be terrifying, peaceful, mystical and fantastical. It's amazing. Different regions will have different cultural themes, different city layouts and ruins. The wilderness is empty, for the most part (something that can also be fixed with mods), but it is rarely a requirement for moving through, as fast travel is incredibly useful and simulative (real time will pass by as you travel, and you will have a bunch of different ways you can get from one place to the next, varying your speed).

I'm not speaking through nostalgia goggles. This was the fourth Elder Scrolls game I'd played through, and it's still my favourite. It has it's quirks, it's certainly not without it's issues, but it's a ridiculously unique game, literally nothing else exists that plays similarly to it. If you can handle dated games, I highly advise checking it out. Play through Privateer's Hold and get to a city. Join a guild, and you'll be hooked. If you can't quite handle a dated game like this, I'd advise Daggerfall Unity (hell, I'd advise it to everyone, even the ones that can handle the dated original), it fixes bugs, adds advanced mod support, is easier to run on modern systems, has great built in options for ease of play (smaller dungeons, click to attack, etc.) and is just overall an amazing fan-made project. It's still in beta, I think, so there are still some bugs (less than the original though) and optimisation issues when it comes to mods, but it's playable from start to finish none-the-less.

Daggerfall is dope. I love it. I could gush about it forever. Play this game, it's free after all.

This game took a little while for me to truly get into, but now that it is, I truly understand why this is a time-trap for most people.

First off, this Steam version is only a little different from the free version you can get from te4.org; so if you'd like to try the game, it's pretty much there for free in it's entirety. Purchasing on Steam only gives you small buffs, like being able to use custom tiles for your characters and of course it gives you the ability to purchase the amazing DLC so far. The Steam purchase is moreso to support the developers than anything.

ToME4 is a traditional roguelike along the lines of Angband, Nethack, etc. This means Turn-Based, Grid-Based combat around procedurally generated landscapes and dungeons (though this game also has different options, like multiple lives instead of just one, etc.). This game has a huge amount of variety in it's character creation, races and classes; as well as the ability to mod your own in with ease. If you're a fan of the character building aspect of the old Diablo games, then this game will automatically appeal to you.

This game doesn't throw much unfair insanity your way like a fair amount of Roguelikes do, and so every move you make feels immaculately strategic as opposed to just pure luck; though that certainly is an aspect too. The UI is fairly slick, controls modular and very easy to learn in comparison to other games in the genre, and the gameplay loop is incredibly addictive.

The devs are wonderful and work on the game non-stop pretty much, sometimes they'll hop on the game and grant players some items to help through their run, or just some goofy abilities; like the Sheer Badassery ability, which makes all creatures in a certain radius compliment your badassery when you kill them. It's a load of fun, and the game is fairly social for a singleplayer experience. All your characters are saved online on the website if you have a profile, letting you share your amazing builds, items and the inevitable varied ways your character will perish.

The game is a lot of fun, and the setting is creative; ranging from generic fantasy stuff, to lovecraftian stuff, to hellscapes, etc. I highly recommend this game. Amazing experience, and I'll undoubtedly pump more hours into it as time goes on.

(Update: All the DLCs are well worth it too.)

Dusk plays like the original Quake.
It's good.

So, when you're looking at reviews on here; keep an eye on the playtimes. The vast majority of control complaints are from people who've put 10 minutes into the game at most, and this game takes a fair bit more getting used to than that. Just think of all the people who didn't like 'Skate's controls when that first released.

First off; this game is trying to be a simulator. It is mostly aimed towards the niche audience of actual skaters who enjoy the sport for what it really is as opposed to enjoying it for the high-scores of Tony Hawk's and the tricklines of Skate. Not to say those games are bad or anything; I love them, but just keep in mind that this game isn't trying to be those games by any means, it's something completely different.

The control scheme seems to be something that is complained about without explaining how it works exactly, so I'll take the liberties in doing so, however please read the sentence after this list if this sounds bad:

• Each analog stick is bound to your skater's left and right foot respectively. (This means riding switch swaps your controls)
• You turn the board left and right with the triggers.
• You push with X/A.
• B is to 'brake'
• Y is to get off of your board.

The main thing I wanna add to this is that these are DEFAULT controls. Though there isn't any mapping (yet?), they are adjustable for more casual gameplay, as well as more hardcore gameplay too. The analog sticks can be set to frontfoot/backfoot; so riding switch doesn't change your control scheme for example. There are also adjustable ways to turn with the triggers, such as turning slow depending on how hard you push the trigger down, or how fast, etc. You can also choose to manually catch tricks and whatnot if you want more difficulty/satisfaction from landing tricks too. These controls take a few hours to get used to, so don't complain about them if you haven't put the effort into learning them, they aren't clunky; just different to the norm. This isn't meant to be an easy game after all.

Onto the actual game as it is now. It only just got out into Early Access; so bugs run a little rampant at the moment, so if that turns you off I'd wait for a later release. The game itself also isn't too fleshed out, it's just a bunch of street maps recreated from NY's areas which you can skate freely, though there are things like challenges to do which give the game an optional goal for people looking for something to do in this game besides skate freely. There is an object dropper, which is pretty good for the most part; though the sensitivity seems a little high to me as it is, and it can't be adjusted. There is also some customisation options, such as character models and the ability to change clothes to what you'd like them to be. Multiplayer is not implemented yet, though it will be in the future, so wait if you're hoping on playing with friends for the time being. Same goes for Mod Support; it will be implemented, it just isn't at the moment.

Unlike Skater XL, the devs are very good with communication and seem to be competent enough to make sure that there are far more updates to come for this game, which is always good. As the game stands now however, if you're someone who isn't interested in irl skating by any means; I'd recommend waiting to purchase it at a later date. If you like skating irl or are interested in it, then you may be able to have some fun here. It's is definitely in need of more, but it just got out into Early Access; so that's already guaranteed. I won't rate this or anything yet, but I have high hopes that this is going to be something great in the future.

Caves of Qud is a traditional roguelike akin to Dwarf Fortress: Adventure Mode, Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead, Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup and, well; Rogue.

As a fan of the genre, this game has caught me like no other, and that's saying something considering how many hours I've clocked into C:DDA.
This game has so many ways to play due to the mutation mechanic, and the game is almost entirely randomised, from every tile to even the lore of the world. It's really a different experience with each playthrough, which is perfect for this game, considering you may end up having to restart a lot, it's a roguelike after all.

It's a game where you can pretty much do as you please, from being a 4-armed, quilled man with hooks for feet who throws corpses at his enemies to, well, pretty much anything else. Plus, it supports steam workshop, so even more content is available in this already content-packed game. And hell, it's in Early Access, there's even more to come!

Buy it.

A lot of people ask; why should I play PC instead of a console?

This is why.

An amazingly simplistic RTS that perfectly executed what it set out to do. Amazing for RTS noobs, yet hard enough to master for RTS vets to enjoy too! The amazing artwork, design, atmosphere, plot and soundtrack all help add to my recommendation. Hell, each commander has their own individual soundtrack. Seriously worth the price.

This game is amazing.

Pros:
Fast paced, yet controllable.
Competitive.
Great sound.
Simplistic yet amazing graphics.
Runs on a good amount of potatoes.
The best netcode I've ever seen (I can play with people in america with 120 ping and pretty much have no disadvantage).
The best community ever (I've never met a mean person, first time I played someone brought me to his server and taught me weapon mechanics and movement in it's entirity).
Devs seem very nice and listen to the community.
In game level creation.
In game HUD creation.
Colour overrides that can help the colourblind (or just make the game look cooler).
Player editor.
Lua widgets to go onto your hud.

Cons:
Needs more players. (Yet another reason you should buy it.)

All in all; an amazing successor to classic Arena FPS games. Just buy it already.

This is my personal favourite Counter Strike game.
I've noticed that a lot of people say that it's too close to 1.6. But hear this out.

PROS:
Better graphics
Bumpmaps
Some more weapons
Singleplayer
Bots
Map remakes (Which I much prefer over the original)
Definitely has the nicest community over all CS games
Mod friendly
Servers not too full

CONS:
Not many servers compared to the other CS games
Goldsrc in 2004

That's it really.