Mr. Skeltal's thoughts deposit

I would define Uprising 2 as a game belonging to the "iterative sequels" category, a typology of games who are direct sequels with some new gimmick while sharing most of their mechanics. Depending on your standing on the predecessor, this can be either a good or bad thing. Aesthetics The 3d graphics used here are a step up from its predecessor: the textures are cleaner and made much more readable. Apart from this detail, the overall look is pretty much the same. User interface being heterogeneous, the particle details being flashy, and a sparse amount of animations are all traits in common with its predecessor. Like one could expect, they are just a bit more refined. The voice acting is sparely used, but what there is it's fine enough. For some reason, the music is bugged, the game wouldn't play the tracks despite them being present in the dedicated folder, it's not deal breaking, but it's worth to mention. The tracks themselves aren't something extraordi...

How many times you encountered a game in your childhood and never remember how it was called? To have a vivid memory of something and being unable to recall what it exactly was, to then rediscover it years later? I had the same feelings for Gun Metal, but the end result wasn't what my young self would have expected. Aesthetics Remember how you were told to never stare at the sun? Because this game doesn't The 3d graphics are above average for the time, with a particular care for the skybox and the cloud effects, to the point that they cast a very clear shadow on the ground. Not everything is good though, the developers added an effect to intensify the sun effects when stared directly, which make it an eyesore, literally, it's so bright to hurt the eyes. The particle details are ok, the bullet effects look nice, and the debris give a sense of chaos and destruction. Animations are a mixed bag, they are decent for the mech, but haven't received the most care ...

Simulator of various kinds were the bread and butter for the 5th generation of video games on PC, many series started and ended in the span of 6 years. Due to the fall in popularity of this genre, one may think that it's simply too old and complex to care and should be ignored, but I think that there is still fun to be had with this kind of games. Let's take a look at Uprising: join or die and see what it did right and wrong. Aesthetics Patrolling a recently conquered hot zone The 3d graphics have not aged well, the textures look very low resolution and the models are very blocky, unless you have a pair of rose-tinted glasses for this kind of appearances, everything just looks ugly. Not a great start, but it gets better almost immediately. The user interface struck me, it's heterogeneous, meaning that unlike other games where the UI is an abstraction shown to the player, here it's part of the tank you command. It gives a much appreciated boon to immersion. I really enj...

Mech focused action games are not really popular today. That typology of games having shooter aspects, but that focalise on piloting a mechanical vehicle adding complexity and tools with unique and customizable properties. If you ever feel the desire for such a game then you should take a look at Battle Engine Aquila. To stay up to date, follow me on steam or twitter . Aesthetics Fighting to guarantee a bridgehead The game, released in 2003, uses standard graphics for the age, with an average number of polygons for the models and textures with saturated colors. Furthermore, the game doesn't go for a realistic style, but for a colorful almost comic book one, very popular during the 6th generations of video games. The particles effects are on point, but I do wish that they lasted longer, especially since the debris don't stay on the battlefield f...