Recent reviews by Taskmaster

The plot is not understandble near the end, so you have no idea where to go or why you are going there. You just want to finish the game at that point. Much better HOGs available. Get this in a bundle or from a giveaway, but otherwise save your money.

I like pinball having ground up with the real tables in the 70's and 80's, but this game has a bug that kills the enjoyment, along with some irrating features.

The ball "drops" through the plunger many times meaning you cannot start the gameplay. You have to quit and restart the game hoping it doesn't happen again. It happens enough that I will not recommend the game.

Aside from that the game feature very bright light effects that are purposefully the same color as the pinball. There are bright green lights that flash and you have a bright green ball so you lose sight of it. In multiball play there are also red and cyan colored balls with the same colored roving spotlights that again make the balls basically invisible. It may be to add challenge, but personally I find it annoying.

I enjoy card games - preferring "golf" solitaire to this match the pairs - but if you have patience and don't mind playing the same layout over and over and over, then you will enjoy this game. There does not appear to be any weighting of the deck so card distribution is completely random, meaning you will lose many more times than you win.

Power ups are limited to three very expensive options so you have to adopt a style of play where you simply replay the level and hope for a better distribution than to attempt to buy a power up.

The limited selection of music will ending being repetitive as you grind levels. You have to complete 10 levels to a fairly high "standard" to advance to the next set of 10 layouts. Again, if you don't mind replaying a level several times to get a perfect score or just to advance to the next set of 10 levels, then there are many levels for you to enjoy.

Catch it on sale though so you can break even on the trading cards if nothing else.

You check out my guide before buying to see the approach, strategies and tips offered to give you a better idea of the gameplay.

Blah.... this game is a subpar HOG. There are much better ones available. I am not sure how you define adventure but this doesn't meet my definition of an advenutre either. You simply advance from one HOG scene to the next.

As with many of the other reviewers the novelty of a sci-fi based hidden-object game drew my attention and excited me, but like many of the other reviews I too found the game to be "blah!" The game is just "off" somehow in a way I cannot quite explain. It is not bad, per se, it just is not good. It has potential, but it seems we will have to wait for some other company to brave straying from the fairytale formula of hidden object games.

If you can get it in a bundle then it is worth a few minutes just to seee for yourself what the game does well and what it does poorly.

Kaboom! POW! Boom! Bang! Snap, Crackle, Pop! Crash, smash, bash!

This game is a blast both figuratively and literally. Planes, trains, and automobiles, plus motorcycles, boats, jetskis, helicopters, and a ton of other vehicles to drive and destroy. Soar through the air like Spiderman using your grappling hook, wingsuit it around the islands, or parachute leisurely to and fro. Find the boxcar racer and speed your way down the winding mountain road into oncoming traffic. Liberating fun while having fun liberating...

Over 600 hours played should be all you need to know about ARK. It is Minecraft for adults. Grab some friends, form a tribe and conquer the environment of The Island or The Center. The depth within this game is amazing.

No matter what shortcomings this game may have it is Civilization so it is going to be a recommendation in my book! However, owning Civ 4, as well as 1 and 2, Civ 5 feels like a cash grab in comparison. I know this doesn't apply to all of you as many people bought a bundle with the DLC. But just Civ 5, without the DLC, which is what I own, it is an incomplete game compared to Civ 4. Civ 4 had religion, spies, etc., all included in the "base" game. If I want the Civ 4 version of Civ 5, it would have been much more expense for not much gain (in my opinion).

Still it is a great game, wwith tons of options and tons of replayability. Of course, with Civ 6 available, it may all be moot.

The comparison to Asteroid Bounty Hunter fits in terms of game play. Asteroid Bounty Hunter had a story - barely - while Duke of Alpha Centuri does not. Then again if I want a story I'll play an RPG not a Shoot'em Up, so ignore those reviews that cry about that.

The graphics are good, as you can see for yourself on the Store Page, so again you can ignore those reviews complaining about that. It is a 2D game, but no where does the game claim to be 3D.

I find the game to be fun, though not quite mindless, as you do need to learn the firing pattern for the various enemy ships, their trajectories (i.e. homing missle?), and their special attack, if any. You also need to manage your shield and hull, which admittedly is not difficult, especially if you make use of the upgrade points. Each level gets progressively longer, in that additional waves of enemies are thrown at you, and additional types of enemy ships are added. It can get fairly hectic when you factor in the random asteroids, but I never felt it was out of control.

The music, in my opinion, mostly rocks, as I enjoy techno. It will pump you up and I try to extend the level just to keep listening to it. If you liked Asteroid Bounty Hunter you will like this game as well.

As for the folks complaining about achievements, I'm just afraid I don't get the "children" on Steam, who in some forums are complaining because a game doesn't have achievements, but are complaining in other forums because they have "hard" achievements (wah), or are complaining still in more forums that there are too many achievements. Play the game because it is fun, or go to Big FIsh Games where there are no achievemnts to worry about.

The price is a mere $3 but if you don't want to spend $3 - I get it - then just add it to your wishlist and wait for a sale. It makes a nice addition to your library. It's a casual game, as noted, and a nice, fun diversion for the money. (Full disclosure: I got the game from a Bundle and did not pay full price.)

I was given this left over Bundle game for the cards, but I try to at least play each game I have. This game is like the original Doom in style, and by that I mean every location is "square", but that is where the similarities end. This game is way too dark with no gamma adjustment. The game play is lousy! I've already wasted my time typing more words than this game is worth.