Patches

Usually for a game like this, you'd hear "If you like Space Run, you'll like this one." But it's not that easy... Of course they have made improvements like: - No longer the ship you'll use is fixed. Now you can buy new ship templates, add hexes (limited amount for each ship though, but get 2 new hexes and you can put them in every ships you own) and use any ship you want for a run. - You can put color on each hexes of your ship. So you can visually remember the spots you're planning to reserve for the thrusters, the weapons, etc. - You can play the same run multiple times. And if there's a contract on that run, you'll get payed each time you're successfully do it. A good way to get the few thousand credits you lack to progress, for example... But they also made some debatable decisions: - If you were hoping for a choice of difficulty (easy, medium, hard for example) this time, forget about it, especially now with multiplayer. Like Space Run, there are one difficulty and you have to live with it. - You have a limited pool of each modules you can put on your ship. You put a laser and en route it is destroyed and you don't have anymore in reserve, too bad no more laser to defend you for the rest of the run. - You can craft new modules (or more of the old ones) with the material you are given as a reward for a successful run, but the material is stuck on the planet you finished the run. If the Mechanic on that planet is too low level, or don't work on module of the color you've got then you can't do anything with the material. - And here comes the third problem. What can you do with unused material? Well, you can sell them to the merchant for credit or you have to make a run for yourself to a planet that can craft said material (1 material = 1 hex taken on your ship). And if what you want crafted is 3 planets away, you have to make 3 runs to carry your material to the destination, assuming you can put everything in your ship or else it's 6 run that is needed. Or 9, or 12. If you play Offline you must do it yourself, if you play Online you can gives a contract to another player to carry your material for you. They create this mess to include a multiplayer part to the game, but this mechanic is clunky at best. -The first Space Run was scripted, so you know what ship you had and where and when the enemies would come. Not anymore. Bits of randomness in each run gives more longevity to the game but also make it more difficult. - And now the Elephant in the Room: Of course, you still need to manually collect nuts and turning turrets making the game artificially more difficult than it should be without any satisfying reasons to do it. And with the developper unexplainable insistance to not add a slomo or a pause that lets you makes change then unpause, the game is not only more difficult, but more hectic as you progress through the game. In the end, more so than the first one, this game is too difficult to please everyone.

The game seems to follow the board game (3rd Edition) to the letter... For a guy like me, who only played the original Space Hulk (1st Edition), the small rule changes between the 1st and the 3rd are really easy to grasp, making the life of the Terminators a bit easier... Now add to that a look and feel like Xcom: Enemy unknown (seeing how it cost to go on the clicked spot, Close Camera on a kill, etc...) and add to that the claustrophobic feeling of corridors and you get a game that is quite a blast to play, even if you have the board game... Plus, they added nice touches, like when you reload you Assault Cannon second ammo clip, you see that it now have a red glow at the end of the barrel, making easy to see just by looking at the AC Terminator if you're using the first or second 10 ammo clip... Of course, nothing is perfect. I saw a bug in the menu (a display that don't want to go)... Also, it is sometimes difficult to figure how many tiles are between your Terminators and the Genestealers, especially when the corridor is really dark (A button that highlight all the tiles would be useful)... Nothing future patches couldn't handle, I bet... Also, I wish I could play the Genestealers versus an AI Terminators... So, Space Hulk is really the board game, as promised, with cool graphics only a computer can give and without the need to paint the units...

When I purchase this game, I though I would bought a Terraria with easier ressource gathering/building and more action and battle... It's somewhat true, but Cortex Command definitely lack the polish Terraria has... Got to admit I have a love/Hate relationship with this one... Hate: Tutorial... Probably one of the few tutorial in my life I managed to fail... It show you what you can do when controlling a robot, then you're on your own, when the enemy AI sends it's bots to kill your Brain... Love: Dropship... So much Robot/weapons/tools/etc... combos you can buy and drop everywhere on the map... Although be careful or the enemy may shoot it down if you try to drop your stuff too close to him... Hate: AI... It sure don't know how to hunt enemies or mine gold properly... A few times I lost a robot to a suicide mission (like a bot with a digger gun shot down trying to dig the enemy base) or going beyond the edge of the map (usualy the bottom edge) meaning losing contact... Love: Same AI... It sure know how to shoot... Seeing a shootout between robots is a blast... Hate: Because of said AI, you have to control each and every one of your Robots, jumping from one to another all the time... Making a mission far more tedious than it should be... Add to that the slow pace your robots walks... And I challenge you not making Jetpacks your basic movement!... Love: Miscalculate a jetpack burst and you can end landing head first or even broken... Or in enemy line of fire... Hate: Robot control... For Robots, they're surely spineless and difficult to control... Try controlling a robot to climb a ladder that is incomplete or damaged... Or using a jetpack in a narrow corridor... Love: Robots, when shot, can lose arms (you can't use weapons) or legs (you can only jetpack to move, no walking) or if damaged badly, health can goes down 1 point per second, until it's destroyed... Hate: Campaign and missions are generally a mess... Massacre mission, for example, have no AI in it even if one is selected... You're alone. A good way to learn to control your robots, building a bunker, buying things, etc... though... Love: Terrain... One pixel = something 'living'... One dirt pixel will fall by gravity, changing the layout of the map... One gold pixel means 1$ if harvested by a digger gun... One cartridge ejected from a gun firing means one pixel you have to climb. And when a turret fires a lot, you'll have a little mountain of cartridge you'll have to climb, or clean with a digger gun... etc... Hate: Some Missions forcing you to have a LoS between your Brain and the sky, making impossible to put your brain deep into your bunker... You're usually forced to use a walking brain and walk him deep into your bunker... And hope the damn thing will not do stupid things like getting out of it's safe spot and try killing the enemy by itself or it's Game Over!... Maybe having the option of locking a door closed should be available... Love: When you win your 1st mission (Dummy Assault, in my case), all the frustration of a long battle seems to fade and satisfaction takes its place... Hate: No save games... So when you start a mission, you have to finish it... And Esc sometimes makes you quit the game entirely, without even a yes/no confirmation... In other word, don't touch ESC... An OK game, overall (when you spent enough time learning how the game works) but serious patching/tweaking needed to reach goodness or even greatness...

Error 37... So no singleplaying for me... So I just sit here and wait or I play another game in the meantime... I don't know... Torchlight maybe?....... 'nuff said........ I may write more and change the score if and when I'll be able to play it...

1st thing: It's a blattant Port from Console to PC, and a bad one at that.... Graphics, sound and fighting are ok. The enemies and boss are generics but do their job well. Got to love how the basic robot grunts are dimembered, but still want to fight...... Now here's the trouble part: controls. It was designed for the PS3 and probably play well with that controller, but it's a real mess with a mouse/keyboard. Clunky mouse movement... The button you have to push and hold to focus on who talks to you should have been a on/off button. Right now, you have to WASD with that button pressed... Press the 'answer' button to have a list of answers to someone, and try to select one. Arrows, WASD, mouse, etc... No way I could select the proper answer. And peoples are supposed to like you less if you shoot them or if you don't answer them!... All control changes must be done outside the game, with another setup program... OH!... while in control setup, don't forget to choose Keyboard instead of controller, cuz the program is not smart enough to tell if you're using a mouse or a controller. Else you'll see controller button when a hint appears......... Less than stellar game with an abysimal lack of effort to make it PC friendly...... Don't bother unless a serious patch is released and when serious price drop happens...

At last, Ubisoft see the light!!! NO more Uplay or DRM... Good riddace!!!...... Only annoying thing (nothing can be perfect) is a Facebook gimmick when you start the game for the first time: It opens a browser and ask you to log your Facebook account, and accept a program for Leaderboard and finding friends to play and such. Click the grey 'start Shoot more Robot without it', and the game won't start. So, you have no choices but to accept it and open (or create if you don't have) your Facebook, then start the game at least once, then you can delete this nonsense an turn it off in the game's Options. I found it unacceptable business practice (especially offering a broken button that's supposed to bypass all this process) and punish it with a -2 score....... That put aside, the game is a solid 2D Solo or Coop Scroller with fast gameplay and a 'Borderline' graphic style that is quite welcome. However, controlling your beer and gun lover 'toon' is kind of limited to Up, Down, Left, Right and 2-3 angles between them. I suspect it's more designed with Controllers in mind than a Mouse (-1!...), Definitely a solid game, that don't take itself too seriously, but with enough fun and unlocking (tons) gears (by collecting bolts from dead robots)... You choose the unlocked gears you want to use (2 guns, 3 gears) then you choose the map you want and 1 of 3 difficulty level and hop you fight... You can play the same maps again and again or try a new one you just unlocked, you choice... Also, the game is scallable: the more people plays, the more robots will be spawned...... The basic moves are right, left and jump, but depending of the gear you choose, you can, for example, jump higher, slide or even fly if you wear a jetpack....... I can easily see more DLCs, in the future, offering more gears, maps, etc...... For the price, it's a nice little time killer, to enjoy with or without friends... And again it's, at last, a Ubisoft game that isn't burdened with moronic DRM! Buy this game just to show them they're on the right track... ;-)

***Updated*** Intersting concept, in theory... But the execution... The Retro random generated map and the turned-based movement and feel is well done. But when you actually play the game, it's dissapointment after dissapointment... There is no loot to speak of. When you found a new item, you have the choice to keep what you have or take the new one... That's it... But the worst offender is the survivability of your character. Health are too few and far between, meaning that you'll die by attrition no matter what you do... After a few hours trying, I didn't even survived past the 1st Level!!!... Either I do something really wrong, or the game has a serious problem balancing the number of enemies, loot (especially health), etc... it throw at you!... I can't honestly plunge this game in the '0' abyss, because I'm sure a patch can fix the balancing and survivability, turning this painfully experience into an enyoyable one with a minimum of effort from the Developpers... However, it's the 1st impression, that count right now, and it's a terrible one... *Update* I don't know how or when, but even with (or because of) my repeated failures, I managed to unlock the Knight class. And with it, I was able to go to lvl5 before dying. There are light at the end of the HSL tunnel... But it also means the game was really designed that way!... I still fail to see the fun in playing caracters doomed to failure again and again in the hope of getting better classes later... We are far from the steady progression of a Diablo game... This game is definitely worth more than a '0', but my '5' still stand firm...

2 Maps, 4 Characters and a few Weapons & Equipments. That's it... And all of it must be unlocked (well, except the Maps, of course...) by purchasing Packs with Credits or real $$$ (BioPoints) and hoping that Lady Luck will give you one of these items. As for the maps, they are bigger and quite challenging, compared to the original one. On the other hand, both are plagued by a huge number of Cover Glitch (you cover behind something, then turn around 45° to shoot something, and it's health bar won't budge)... Right now, it's free. So hurry and get it. Because IMHO it's not worth paying for it...

I just finished the game tonight. And it bring back memories of time long past when I played Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder and such... Boy, that sure made me feel like an old-timer... ;-) About the game proper, it is a solid game that bring an old formula that is simple to learn, but difficult to master. It is about Trial and Error (or Google search) Puzzle-Solving and tactical combat maneuvering. However, not all is perfect in the land of Grimlock... Pro: - Graphics are good enough. As is the sound. Everything to have the feeling of being trapped in a closed Dungeon. And checking often for the 'hidden switches' to find secrets caches... - Ressouce management (Backpack space and weight, etc...) of what you should and should not carry is still a huge part of the game. Do I have enough (or too many) Torches? Food?... - Auto-map (optional, if you wish) is a breeze to use. Plus you can write notes on it, making even more enjoyable. - You can use the default group of 4 'convicts', or you can customize your party. Yes, you can have a party of 4 warriors or 4 mages... And try to live with the consequences... - In the New Game menu, you can only select Grimrock, but it is designed to select, I assume, future Dungeons. Also, a level editor is promised by the developers, giving even more replayability to the game... Con: - Some puzzles are infuriating. The ones that forces you to push the direction buttons in the right order with the right timing, with no margin for error. Suffice it to say that for me, I had to try and reload A LOT! And I read in the game's forum that some peoples are just not able to solve them. I don't mind a tough puzzle, knowing that I can Google the solution if I really can't find the answer (I did it a few times actually, to be honest..), but these puzzles, research all you want, if you don't have the timing to solve them, you're stuck with no hope of progressing further. It is the ONLY reason I hesitate to restart a new game: knowing that these puzzles exists and having to pass them again... -2 Just for that... - Spellcasting for mage is tedious. I know it was, in my time playing Dungeon Master, but we're in 2012. It should at least remember the last spell you 'programmed' for each mages, so you only have to click on the mage hand, then on the throw spell. I hope they improve this in a future patch. For the Fighter or the Rogue, you only need one click to attack. But for a Mage, you need one click to open the spellcasting, 3 clicks to 'program' the Fireball spell, then another click to send the spell. Between 3-5 clicks needed each time a mage attack... -1... All in all, a good game that bring back a genre too long forgotten by Developpers...

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]