Recent reviews by Hive Scum

More sweaty than an anime convention.

An absolutely massive RPG with insane attention to detail, yet no battle pass or micro-transaction ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Larian definitely rolled a natural 20 with this game.

The whooshing sounds drown out my tinnitus.

Thanks a lot, I just pissed myself. 10/10.

I can't really see any reason to recommend this game.

If you're a veteran player, you can't use your existing account, so that's a no.

If you're a new player, the answer is "it depends".

While Wargaming seems to do a better job explaining the various systems that make up the game, you will likely struggle early on. A lot. To have an even footing with longtime players, you need well trained crews, and the only way to get them is to spend Gold (premium currency) on training and exp books. If your crews aren't skilled, your tank will massively under perform compared to players with well trained crews. That means you can't spot enemies as far away. You will be spotted from further away. You can't aim or reload as quickly. You can't traverse bad terrain as effectively.

So while the core gameplay is fun, you're really going to have to spend money as a new player if you want to have any hope of being on equal footing with longtime veterans. That 100% trained crew you get with your first tank? If you want to use them in the next tier vehicle, they have to be retrained. The only way to retrain them at 100% for that new vehicle is to spend Gold.

The free to play model in this game is not friendly to new players. Be prepared to spend a fair amount of money on Gold and premium tanks going in.

The only battle royale game I care about, and the price is right. Hug Simulator 2020.

After a long love/hate affair with Destiny, I finally feel like Bungie has gotten it right with Shadowkeep. The classic Bungie gunplay formula is there, but the content releases are more steady now.

Likes:
Shooting Things
Strikes
Nightfall
Raids
Dungeons
Gambit
Getting Loot
Dailies
Holiday Events
Playing With Friends

Dislikes:
The Pinnacle Grind
Crucible

Anyway, why are you reading reviews? The game is free to try, so fire it up and see if Shadowkeep is worth your hard earned dollars.

If you enjoyed Death Skid Marks, buy this.

If you enjoy shmups, buy this.

If you enjoy rogue-lites, buy this.

If you enjoy space games with a demented sense of humor, buy this.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to start a run to Uranus.

This game is broken. Initially, I couldn't even log in without having to change my Perfect World account password.

Once I got that sorted out, I found that the game won't run with AMD drivers. I have an AMD R9 series card, and the game freaks out at the character creation screen, then crashes.

It might be worth revisiting if they can fix these issues. I would recommend waiting awhile.

War Thunder is an incredibly fun, accessible war simulator that everyone should check out.

Initially, you may be a little overwhelmed by all of the plane options, and how the advancement system works, but give it time. Soon you will be cruising through the tech trees like a natural. You'll likely start off flying old biplanes, but soon you'll advance to faster, more effective fighters. There are also heavy fighters, attackers, and bombers, so you should have no trouble finding something you like regardless of your play style.

I've spent most of my time in arcade mode, so I can't really comment on the historical battles. Arcade mode matches you up with other players in objective based games. You can win by running down the enemy's "resource bar" (via bombing their base and ground targets), or simply shooting down all their aircraft. There's also a fun "capture and hold" mode that has you trying to control airfields.

It's an addictive game, and I always find myself muttering "just one more match" late into the night.

If World War II dogfights appeal to you, check out this game and prepare to be engrossed.