DEMO: Total War: SHOGUN 2 (Windows)

Total War: SHOGUN 2 on Steam for Windows

Courtesy totalwar.com

Genre: Historical Strategy (real-time and turn-based)

Full Game Price: $50.00

No. of Players: 1, with online multiplayer

In 5 words: complex, eye-candy, historical, epic, difficult

It's been awhile since I posted a demo review for PC and this demo is the reason why. Total War: SHOGUN 2, released this month, features a robust and rewarding demo that every strategy fan should try. It's kept me tied up for weeks.

Courtesy steampowered.com

SHOGUN 2 is the latest entry in the Total War series of strategy games. This series is one I seemed to have missed, but if SHOGUN 2 is at all representative, I need to give the other Total War games a look. Set in 16th century Japan, SHOGUN 2 is an epic strategy game with real-time and turn-based components. As a clan leader, you struggle to unite a fractured Japan.

As clan leader, you have a variety of economic, diplomatic and military tools at your disposal to help extend your influence, nearly all of which are used during the strategic turn-based phase of the game. At the strategic level, you and your opponents take turns. Each turn lasts a season and weather affects morale and combat. SHOGUN 2's tactical real-time strategy mode is limited to combat between foot soldiers, cavalry, siege towers, and the like. In addition, sea power plays a significant role in your quest for unification.

Technically speaking, SHOGUN 2's graphics and gameplay are top notch. The audio is well done, although the character that helps you through the demo seems to vacillate between a Japanese and Scottish accent at times. A minor quibble, but quite annoying at times. Camera and unit control take a little getting used to, but are pretty intuitive after a few minutes of practice.

The SHOGUN 2 demo is not for the faint-hearted, or faint-computered. My Athlon II X2 and 7800GT struggled at times (recommended system specs at bottom of this page). Even then, I put over 3 hours into the demo and never found the bottom. Considering that the game is $50.00, I am pleased that SHOGUN 2 has a demo that really lets you explore before taking the purchase plunge.

I currently have no plans to purchase Total War: SHOGUN 2, but I have to admit that the game is amazingly deep, challenging, and rewarding. If you like strategy games, be sure to give this demo a try.

Demo Gamer Stats:
Age range: Rated T for Teen for language, sexual themes, and violence
Demo length: 3+ hours
Demo worth playing? Definitely worth a test drive
Full game worth buying? I'm not sold, primarily because I'm poor and I don't have the time to put into such a deep strategy game right now. But this is a solid, solid game. $50.00 looks like a very fair price.

Are you a fan of the Total War series? What's your take on SHOGUN 2? Sound off in the comments!

Wii Demo Roundup - 03/28/11

Welcome back, and giddyup! It's time for this week's Wii demo roundup! We have two new demos on tap this week, something Nintendo has not deigned to deliver since February. But are they worth it? Head past the break to find out.

Dart Rage
Rated E for Everyone, up to 4 players, Wii remote only, $6.00

Courtesy nintendo.com

In 5 words: darts, cheap, meh, varied, better-than-pong-toss-pro

Dart Rage is a game about darts. Shocking, I know. The graphics are flashy and the motion controls are pretty well done. Dart Rage also features a variety of game types and settings within which you can fling your flechettes. Just make sure you have your protective jacket on your Wii remote before you play.

JV Games continues to live up to its name: this is no "varsity" game. I'm not sure it is even a JV game, although it is better than Pong Toss Pro. At only $6.00, if you're dying for a darts simulator, this is probably the way to go. The demo, while short, does give you a good idea of what you can expect from the rest of the game, so kudos to JV Games for that.

Will I be buying Dart Rage? Don't count on it. I'll stick to the real thing if I'm in the mood.

Learning with the PooYoos: Episode 2
Rated E:C (it's for kids, yo!), 1 player, Wii remote only, $5.00

Courtesy nintendo.com

In 5 words: cute interactive learning cell-shaded cartoon, part deux!

Nick Jr. meets Wii Ware. If you have little kids (under 5?), give it a whirl. Otherwise, don't bother.

Well, a pair of mediocre demos this week leaves me wondering if Nintendo would have been better off releasing a demo for PooYoos: Targets of My Dart Rage.

Sigh. The eShop can't come soon enough.

--Demo Gamer

Freebie Flashback Friday - Scorched Earth

You're hunkered down in a nuked-out crater, hoping your enemies don't have any napalm. A variable wind besets your best attempts at ballistic bombardment and your shield is failing. What to do? What to do.

You admire the jagged landscape while evaluating your options. You could MIRV the guy on the ridge over there, or even better, if you place your shot right, you might be able to Death's Head your way straight to victory. Assuming you don't frag yourself in the process. Decisions, decisions. Welcome to Scorched Earth, my friend.

Courtesy abandonia.com

Destructible terrain. An expansive weapons catalog. Multiplayer action. Scorched Earth brought it all to the table back in 1991. You've seen this game before, and you'll see it again: it's the tried-and-true artillery game. Angry Birds is similar in many ways: choose your angle, set the power of your shot, and pull the trigger. Simple, right?

Scorched Earth was one of the first artillery games that I ever really enjoyed because it is chock full of offensive and defensive options. This makes Scorched Earth one of the deepest and most complex artillery games I have ever played. Now it's abandonware, and you can get it free here.

BTW, if you like Scorched Earth, I highly recommend Worms: Armageddon.

Know any other great artillery games? Sound off in the comments!

--Demo Gamer

Wii Demo Roundup - 03/21/11

Monday means more free fun in Wii Ware land. This week, go to an alien world in search of fortune and fame in Dive: the Medes Islands Secret.

Dive: the Medes Islands Secret

Rated E for Everyone, 1 Player, Wii Remote only, $10.00 full game price

Courtesy cosmonautgames.com

In 5 words: stunning, deep, disorienting, mysterious, tranquil

Dive: the Medes Islands Secret is an immersive 2D adventure game set in a world that is alien to most humans: the ocean. The first thing you might notice upon playing the demo is just how good the graphics look, especially for a Wii title. The animations and ambiance provide a wonderful setting for this type of game. The Dive demo allows you to explore the first level of 10 offered in the full game where you encounter jellyfish, anemones, and other forms of sea life in your search for treasure. The controls are pretty easy to get the hang of and the gameplay starts out simple, but the deeper you go, the darker and more difficult your quest becomes.

Dive is interesting in that while you have a spear gun, your ammunition is so limited that I can't consider Dive a shooter. In addition, you cannot fully explore each level without upgrading your gear at the dive shop. This gives players the opportunity to play each level multiple times and should make the full game fairly interesting. In addition to the upgrade shop, Dive also has a list of achievements to help divers find direction in the deep.

Sounds pretty interesting, right? Well, you'll have to download and play the demo for yourself. I was not sold. The graphics are gorgeous, but the gameplay is too generic for me. If you enjoy it, I'm sure $10 for 10 levels of Dive is well worth it, however.

Well, Nintendo actually released a decent demo this week. I hope they can keep it up. Come on back next week for another edition of the Wii Demo Roundup!

--Demo Gamer

Freebie Flashback Friday - Wing Commander

It's that time again, time to step back to an era of mediocre graphics, launching games from the command line, and having a blast. That's right, it's Freebie Flashback Friday, and today's game is a space combat sim classic.

Courtesy Abandonia.com

Wing Commander is the first entry in a series of cinematic space combat games that spawned a terrible movie (I know, right?). It was a great game when it came out, and is still fun to play now. Face off against the Kilrathi, a race of aggressive space cats (much cooler than it sounds) as you fly a variety of ships, dogfighting, escorting, and creating general mayhem wherever you go.

Wing Commander features a branching storyline that depends on your performance as a pilot. A strong set of cinematic features including more than a dozen characters and a bunch of really cool cutscenes keeps things interesting, whether you are taking off, coming home, chatting with fellow pilots, ejecting, or dying in a fiery explosion. Here's a gallery of screenshots. Enjoy.

When I was a kid, I played through this game and enjoyed every minute of it. I even lost missions on purpose so I could explore every branch of the mission tree and I remember epic dogfights against Kilrathi aces. The best thing about Wing Commander (besides the combat) is it is abandonware and free to download. Go get it here!

Any Wing Commanders out there? Have fond (or not-so-fond) memories of this game? Sound off in the comments!

--Demo Gamer

PS - Wikipedia rocks: As development for Wing Commander came to a close, the EMM386 memory manager the game used would give an exception when the user exited the game. It would print out a message similar to "EMM386 Memory manager error..." with additional information. The team couldn't isolate and fix the error and they needed to ship it as soon as possible. As a work-around, Ken Demarest, a developer on the game, hex-edited the text so it displayed a different message. Instead of the error message, it instead printed "Thank you for playing Wing Commander."

REVIEW: Fludity (Wii Ware)

Jaded. Tired. Bored. That was me a few months ago. My apathy for video games was complete and a year of dust covered my Wii. Then Nintendo restarted its Wii Ware demo program in November of last year. The first wave of demos was alright, but then the Fluidity demo arrived. It quickly captured my attention and deftly liberated me of a few hard-earned dollars.

VISIT THE OFFICIAL FLUIDITY SITE FOR GAMEPLAY VIDEOS AND MORE

Fluidity (by Curve Studios) is a physics-based puzzler/platformer that makes good use of the Wii's intuitive motion controls. You must save Aquaticus, a magical book that has been corrupted by evil black ink called the Influence. Using water, you must banish the inimical ink from the book's 4 chapters by collecting over 80 magical rainbow drops while also finding puzzle pieces which open special play rooms where you refine your water handling wizardry.

Use your water to save fish and reveal a rainbow drop

As you start Fluidity, your control of water is limited to sloshing around and jumping. Tilt the Wii remote left or right to move the water. Move the Wii remote up sharply and your water will spring into the air. As you progress, you collect ability "stickers" that allow you to do things like change physical states and explode. There are 9 ability stickers in all, and by the end of the game, the variety of powers at your disposal is impressive.

Those nasty goop slugs will flare your water into oblivion

Fluidity is also a platformer with baddies you have to defeat. Goop slugs and goop hornets are Influence incarnate and they are out to end your adventure. In addition, you must beware of environmental hazards like acid and lava. Fortunately, there are many clever, captivating contraptions and tricky terrain features that help you complete your task. The way Fluidity's world is presented is cartoony, but not overly so; cute, but not too cute. It is interactive, engrossing, easygoing and even soothing.

Nothing flies quite like ice

Some games (especially Wii games) have a novelty that wears off, be it quickly or not. For me, the novelty of Fluidity never wore off. It seemed like there was always a pleasant surprise just around the corner. Whether I was driving a fire truck, playing basketball, crashing through walls, swinging from a helicopter, or flipping coins in a penny pusher, Fluidity never let me down. Some puzzles are easier than others while some are downright difficult, but this just adds to Fluidity's charm: it is a varied, fantastical adventure that is funny, fun, and lengthy. I must have spent at least 10 hours enjoying Fluidity.

Don't fall in the lava!

Fluidity is a game that I enjoyed like no other in recent memory. It had me happy, smiling, and even content at every turn. Every minute felt like it was worth it because every minute was terrifically innovative and completely rewarding. Despite all this, I lament to tell you that Fluidity is not perfect. The music is very well done, but can get repetitive (it didn't bother me, but others have complained and I can see why), and I would have liked to see more types of goop baddies. Perhaps in Fluidity 2?

Float high in the sky, then rain down

Fluidity is the best game I have played on Wii Ware and is worth at least $30, which makes its $12 price all the easier to pay. That being said, I don't like to recommend games on Wii Ware because of the abusive DRM that Nintendo uses. As a rule, I cannot recommend even good games on Wii Ware. Fluidity is not a good game. It is a great game, and I highly recommend it despite the DRM. I give it a 9.9 out of 10.

Stick to the gear and freeze the goop hornet while you bypass the lava

There is a hole in my gaming heart now that I have finished Fluidity, but my 4-year-old son is still wending his way through this wonderful world of fascinating fun, and I will enjoy helping him. Also, I still have all 4 play rooms to work on, the last of which is quite the homage to Metroid. Well done, Curve Studios. Well done. More, please!

Have you played Fluidity yet? Was it as great an experience for you as it was for me? Sound off in the comments!

--Demo Gamer

Wii Demo Roundup - 03/14/11

A new week means a new demo in Wii Ware land. This week, it's time to make some music in the Mix Superstar demo.

Mix Superstar
Rated E for Everyone, 1 player/arranger, Wii remote only, $5.00

Courtesy mixsuperstar.com

In 5 words: needs mouse and keyboard, music

This week's Wii Ware demo is a blast from the past for me. I used to make music using Sonic Foundry's ACID tools (now owned by Sony) and Mix Superstar is very similar, but for the Wii. The concept is that you take pre-made royalty-free sound loops and arrange and modify them to make your own music. The demo has a nice variety of loops for you to use, and also includes a couple of songs built in. The demo is limited to 10 minutes, effectively circumventing the analog hole.

Using a keyboard and mouse to arrange music using ACID is somewhat difficult. Using the Wii remote to lay down audio tracks is worse. This type of software really needs a mouse and keyboard just to make things bearable. Still, at only $5.00, Mix Superstar is fairly impressive (most loop-based software is much more expensive than that). You can even expand your loop library through the Loop Shop and share your mixes online at mixsuperstar.com. If you've never tried loop-based music software, you can start here with the demo, I guess, but I would recommend ACID Xpress for Windows instead. I can hardly recommend Mix Superstar, primarily due to the cumbersome controls and Wii Ware's horrible DRM.

Fancy yourself a mix superstar? Share your music in the comments! Here's a song I made a few years back...

--Demo Gamer