Fideous

Great game! It's a classic match 3 or more casual game with an extensive fantasy storyline, as well as find-it puzzles. It also combines magic powers at the bottom of the screen which change the game play. You build up magic power by completing a certain amount of matches of a specific color. Overall quality is really good for a casual game. It's somewhat aged as far as graphics are concerned and the Steam version has a frame rate counter at the upper right corner of the screen. Why they don't offer the HD version for the PC is frustrating. Sound quality is good. I would think seriously about getting it the next time it goes on sale if you like games such as Bejeweled. You will not be disappointed.

Since my initial review, the developer has released a patch and is interactive with the community to trouble shoot and improve the game overall on Steam. This effort merits a higher score, therefore, it's a B-Movie with a grade of B-. It's has the whole creepy evil kid thing down very well. The graphics and video shorts I think are well done, the sounds adequate and the house has a creepy vibe to it. Although the lip sync issue is pretty bad in the English version. It reminds me of an interactive movie, the puzzles aren't too terribly difficult to figure out and its fun poking around the house and collecting items, but extremely linear -- its not like Lucius is going to do something that is not in the script or get into much trouble running around wielding a wrench in his hands without question by the adults. For that matter, the chores are pretty much more of a 'quest' than actual consequences if you continue to ignore the adults around you. It would be nice if some dark humor was intermixed with the items you can interact with, to make it more like a Monkey Island type of experience. The house members and staff are pretty much a three line conversation deal. What carries you along is the plot of what Lucius might end up doing next and how he is going to take out the next person in game. I will say the Steam achievements seem to be the only thing to pop-up unexpected. Reminds me alot of the Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth -- if you are a fan of Lovecraft, it works well enough. With that said, if you like the old Omen movies or B movie horror films, you will enjoy Lucius more than most and is worth the money.

Fun Egyptian themed casual game where you shoot spheres out of your mystical winged scarab to help destroy the approaching colored spheres by matching three or more in a row. Its a simple puzzler but what makes it exciting is the power-ups and jewels offered by completing several chains, which are thrown in the 'air' on the playing field for you to catch. The action is non-stop and is fun to pass the time away. The improved HD graphics make it pleasing to the eye. The sound quality is good, but is somewhat flat and does not achieve stereo surround sound like other puzzle match games such as Bejeweled. There are in game achievements, but I would have liked to seen more than a dozen or so to unlock. I would have also liked to seen corresponding Steam achievements available to unlock to show to friends. A developed storyline to follow would have made it shine and given it more appeal. Overall, it's better than your average puzzler and a good time investment.

Bizarre little game designed by a Ukrainian developer, Oasis Games and published by Interplay. The premises is that you are a child in a Nintendo-esqe / Commander Keen type world jumping, shooting, dodging and exploring various levels while fighting living veggies/fruits and gathering candy for bonus points. You eat vitamins to regain health (which begs the question why not eat the veggies!) In the first scene, you have to bribe an overgrown gnomish drunk with 'stinky booze' to progress to the next level. Mixed messages if you are going to have your child play it. Plus, gathering items to progress to the next level can be complicated for a younger child without adult supervision. The lack of support from the developer, other than an update on 4/2011 and a nearly haunted community on Steam makes it one of the strangest purchases in my library. Then again, it was on sale cheap and no reviews to speak of, so I couldn't resist. It has strange retro-charm and might keep you entertained for a while.

Matching rune puzzle game is what it's about. I can't say that the sound track is remarkable to listen to or the graphics are stunning. It's game play is solid but somewhat repetitive. The power-ups to match multiple runes can be found in other games, i.e. clear a row, explode the runes around you, etc.. The challenge comes after you complete board by trying to your compass aligned by moving certain blocks through a maze-like puzzle. The board can rotate and you can use the re-shuffle after a set period of time. The problem is, the game is simply too easy when you can re-arrange the board multiple times during a game. Also, the timer moves incredibly slow to allow you to complete it with ease. Combined with simply 'unlocking' various wonders, its storyline isn't all that great either. There is no danger, humor intrigue or excitement when playing the game. Pretty much your standard match-type puzzler -- with no unlockables on Steam.

Shad'o is a wonderful tower defense game created by Okugi studios. The game play is based around William, a nine year old boy whose memories have been lost and its up to you to recover them. The story unfolds as bits and pieces of his memory return to him. The storyline is intriguing as you continue to find out about William's past. William's 'friends' you summon are upgradable in game, as well as 'spells' which you learn cause global effects to change game play. The sound track is outstanding and the visual graphics I've seen are very nice. I like the fact that you can re-challenge a level in 'nightmare' mode and there are mini games inside the game which change up the style in which the game is played. I truly appreciate the fact that the developers who are located in France have done an excellent job in providing both a French and English version of the game. I find the higher levels are appropriately challenging as far as tower defense game play is concerned, although for hardcore gamers, they may be too easy. What I would have liked to have seen is the ability to change the difficulty level at the Main Menu. Easy if you wanted to have your children play, Normal for most folks like me and Hard if you are an experienced tower defense fanatic. I appreciate the fact that the developers are interactive with the public and overall, the game appears to be free from glitches. Which means that the team spent a large amount of time making sure everything was in order -- which is good. With that said, a limited beta test at the beginning would have helped overcome the Quicktime installation issue that so many users encountered on launch -- which is bad. First impressions are important, but willingness to help if something does go wrong is equally important. I don't feel as if the game offers anything new to the tower defense style of game, other than an excellent storyline surrounding the mystery of William's disappearing memories and the gradual unfolding of the elements therein. It's noteworthy. It's a refreshing change of pace which doesn't cater to the teen and tween crowd of over-popularized mega violence and gore. The money is well spent and I am a true fan of the game. A solid 9 because its a great game, simply fun to play and deserves to be in your library of games. It's perfect for those young or young-at-heart!

I only dream of what this game was supposed to be. Originally, this game was supposed to be a much larger, non-linear RPG-type storyline, including more characters and locations, as well as a co-op system for up to four players. This would have enabled players to pick one of four characters and carry out their own investigation independently or team up with the others. A multiplayer version of the game would have allowed for on-line deathmatch battles in specifically designed levels. A lot of other features, such as high environment interactivity, were also scrapped due to budget and time constraints and problems with the level design. Multi-player would have drawn a larger interest from the PVP/PVE crowd who don't like single player games to enjoy with their friends. A larger RPG element and environment interactivity, along with editing tools would have created a community continuously willing to improve game play, graphics and providing new content to explore. This game has neither element. It's heavily scripted and very linear, with only one path through the chapters from start to finish. Lots of good things can be said, its scary, eerie and creepy. The sound quality is nice. Lovecraft's work in it. The graphics look nice. It has a small fan base to patch it well enough for playability, relative to other games currently available. The vanilla version is buggier than Virginia, USA in the summertime. The learning tutorial is non-existent, so you simply have to dive into the key mapping to know what you are doing. It's not the next best thing to propel the thriller/horror based video game genre to a whole new level. I am sad that Bethesda Softworks had anything to do with its release, because it's nothing like Skyrim or Fallout. It's Bethesda 'light'. No light deserves to be in a Cthulhu game.

Shuggy is a great indie game with tons of levels to explore! It's an old school Halloween-esque platformer with puzzles and challenges around every bend. The game play is smooth. The graphics and sounds are acceptable. Each room has an array of new traps and foes to overcome by various means -- fly, float, and swing your way to victory! The developer regularly visits the Steam forums and listens to ideas and suggestions. An expansion pack is soon to be released. Which is good, because despite it's charm, once you have completed the game, its replay value is somewhat limited. While the single player campaign is stellar, the multiplayer aspects also need to be addressed. Offline co-op mode for a PC game is impractical. These two minor aspects would make it a solid 8 gaming score, but I always respect a developer who interacts with the public on a regular basis and is constantly improving game play, so I give it a 9.

Champions Online is now three years old and the developers have worked tirelessly to improve game play, include new content and resolve the bugs which were abundant on the initial release. Perfect World bought this game and Star Trek Online from Atari for over $50 million dollars and the new content is coming in at least twice a week. Taken at face value with all the included changes, its the most diverse, hero customizable, and tight community you would want to be a part of! It's now free-to-play, they still offer lifetime memberships as well as monthly accounts for extra perks. Graphics are great and support DirectX 11 -- posted tweaks on Steam to make them even better. The game play is fast and action oriented, the new alert system puts you in the action instantly, the characters are customizable with character points in addition to powers, you can create your own nemesis which appears in the world. It's worth travelling back to Millennium City to see the improvements -- for free!

Indie games don't get better than this! Waveform launches you into space on sine wave which you can increase the amplitude and frequency by means of travel. Ride the wave while avoiding objects and collecting light particles is what it's all about. There are at least eight stages around a planet, plus the ability to post your high scores on the leaderboard. Each stage of the game gets progressively harder as you strive to unlock achievements and complete each 'wave' perfectly. The developers check the Steam forums on a regular basis and listen intently to everyone's suggestions and are constantly improving gameplay. There is even downloadable content available. It's reasonably priced and a great game to own.