Recent reviews by Bassem

This is one of the best AG/HOG (point & click Adventure Game / Hidden Object Game) hybrids I've played.

What I enjoyed

• The HO scenes are well laid out, with no cheap tricks or obstructions. A bit on the easy side, but at least not frustrating.
  
• As a female take on Robin Hood, you recruit the famous members of the Merry Men gang by helping them win pardons, in return for their skills as contextual abilities.
  
• Great voice acting, especially on the main character Robin.
  
• Art is pretty good, and the UI is polished with excellent user experience.
  
• Side objectives like collectibles.
  
• Optional side games (archery competition) to offer a break from the quests. Because there's quests.
  
• The game helpfully marks a scene as "area clear" when you've solved all puzzles and found all secrets in it. If it hasn't, you're missing something.

What I didn't like

• Low resolution (garbled, blurry if played fullscreen).
  
• 4:3 screen. Making it fullscreen on a widescreen monitor will stretch the game horizontally rather than add black bars, distorting everything.
  
• I didn't find much difference between Casual and Advanced modes of difficulty.
  
• The archery side game is just one stage that's repeated in all the "competitions".
  
• Having to play it windowed makes the objects in HO scenes harder to find.

All in all an excellent little HOG/adventure mix. About 4.5 hours worth of play. For the asking price, definitely recommended.

No point and click problem solving, no long cutscenes with voice acting, only minimal and skippable puzzles. This HOG focuses on object finding, the way I like them.

What I enjoyed

• The HO scenes play in the classical PopCap way that I like. Objects blend in and require skill, but they are not cheaply obstructed / hidden - most of the time.
  
• Scrollable scenes, and an object list that helpfully dims each item name if you need to scroll to see it (almost too helpful, as it makes finding stuff extremely easy).
  
• Some of the HO scenes are beautifully rendered "Da Vinci's sketchbook" looking layouts. Looks great and provides an alternative to photorealism.
  
• One mini-game had me finding anachronistic or "intruder" items inserted into a painting of Christopher Columbus, such as kangaroos and AK-47s. That was funny.
  
• Nice character art in the story sections (except for the main character - see below).
  
• The historical journal provides an interesting backdrop to an otherwise dull plot.
  
• Once you finish the story mode, all the locations unlock for your clicking pleasure, in a time challenge mode that you can ignore if you want. So you can keep coming back to the game every once in a while.

What I didn't like

• Some ridiculous mistakes in the English text throughout the game.
  
• I said the objects are well hidden - most of the time. The few times they aren't, it's just a cheap opacity trick that would be infuriating if not for the scrolling trick. Or the hint button.
  
• No widescreen, and the art resolution is a few years old.
  
• You see the main character in the game's cover art on Steam? You see that bored, irritated look on her face? That's the only artwork of her that's going to accompany you throughout the game. I don't know if they were trying to get a "professional" look on the face of this FBI agent / art expert but she just looks like she's thinking "I hate this job. I hate these people."
  
• I didn't think anything could make me dislike Moonlight Sonata, but this game overuses it to such a degree that I just muted it eventually.
  
• Abrupt, unsatisfying cliffhanger ending.

This game isn't for me and I don't think I'll play it much, but I think a lot of people would enjoy it.

The concept is that you're freefalling (BASE jumping) and you have to weave between buildings and platforms, falling as close to the walls as possible without touching them, to accrue maximum points. You also get to smash through score pads, gesture at fans, paint tag, and other such stuff. Then you need to nail the landing in a tight spot, deploying your parachute at just the right time to not break your bones.

The skill in the game is to know which weaving path to take as you fall in order to maximise your points and be able to spend them on unlocking further levels. Which group of buildings has the longest walls, which score pads are the most valuable, which landing pad to aim for, etc.

I would have liked the movement to be a little more responsive, but I understand that would defeat the purpose of the game.

As usual with Dejobaan games, the music is a lot of fun and the game is imbued with a witty edgy mood.

Playable with a controller, and that might be the better way to play it.

I disagree with the "casual" tag on this game. It's one of the more difficult Breakout-type games I've played, requiring very precise aiming in the later levels as well as when there's one block left that you need to break, nestled between unbreakable blocks.
The level design is also very unforgiving in the later stages, and if you're a score chaser you need to finish each level set ("world") in one sitting or you'll lose your score.
So if that sounds like your kinda game, read on!

What I enjoyed

• A beautiful old-school feel to the graphics and audio.
  
• Solid block-breaking play.
  
• The game is enhanced by adding an upgrade shop in most levels.
  
• Spellcasting helps you shoot blocks, guide the ball and more. There are more spells than you might think; check the in-game help for a full list.
  
• There are varied themes for the levels grouped into different "worlds" or regions that you access on a map.
  
• In between missions, you can spend your gold to help restore a village and receive rewards, as well as equip for the next "world".

What I didn't like

• In the later levels, too many unbreakable blocks are placed in rows very close to the paddle, leading to very fast bouncing back and forth and more chance of missing the marble. This is artificial difficulty and just unfair.
  
• If you go back to the map without finishing a "world", you lose all your progress in that set of levels.
  
• If you save and quit the game, your level progress in the "world" is saved but your score is reset. No idea what drove this decision. It prevents short play sessions. We don't all have time to sit through a whole level set.
  
• Related to the above progression issues, there is no arcade mode that lets you jump into any level you've previously completed. You have to go through the campaign.

It's difficult to decide whether to recommend this game or not. And you'll see the other Steam reviewers saying the same. It looks and sounds lovely, and the gameplay can be fun, but there are many annoyances.
Yes, recommended because there is definitely enough enjoyment for the low asking price.

It's not a walking simulator. In terms of gameplay, this is very decidedly a third person platformer. You'll be hopping from surface to surface, sometimes making mistakes, sometimes dying. You will jetpack. You'll roll rocks. You'll use a hydraulic manipulation arm. You'll solve some simple puzzles. And yes, you'll walk and look and listen, so it has a bit of the "walking simulator" in it, but it's very much a game with game mechanics.

The Steam description for the game already tells some details from the story so I won't worry about spoiling: you're an astronaut exploring a lifeless planet, yet finding remnants of a Soviet base, and then a figure in the distance who might be friend or foe.

The game's backstory is told in bits and pieces, as you travel through setpieces on this foreboding planet. There are themes of fear, sadness, hubris, and exploitation.

It's a lower budget game, evident from the models, the terrain, the quality of the cutscenes and animations. And I think they did an excellent job working within these constraints. Even with these limits, the game manages to be engrossing, even creepy at times.

What I enjoyed

• While it's mostly forbidding Mars-like terrain, there's a wide variety of locations.
  
• The music and voice acting, top notch. The music is especially marvellous: brooding, melancholy violins and cellos, and the occasional sci-fi synth, do much to set the mood. The voices, while few in numbers, are just as engaging. The voice journals left behind (yes yes, that tired narrative device; personally I never really minded it) are in Russian and help immerse you more into what happened to the colonists that left them.
  
• A few simple mechanics add some flavour to the otherwise simplistic platforming gameplay. Most of all I like the extended jetpacking that lets you cross wide chasms.
  
• It's linear from start to finish, but there are a few collectibles to find if you wander off the beaten path.

What I didn't like

• A couple of spots have fiddly platforming. Very few though.
  
• One area of the game, towards the end, is rather tedious. Not only are you walking up thin walkways and jumping from one to the other, you're doing it in the dark. Thankfully, it ends before dragging on too long.
  
• Some strange lack of transitions between scenes. I get the feeling there were some cutscenes that never got made, or simply that the developers had no idea how to link the two areas. Can be abrupt and jarring. I wonder if they were going for a "jump cut" feel like in films.

I can say I loved this game. If you want a semi-casual single player platforming linear experience, with a simple but engaging story, I say go for it.

The first Clockwork Man game was not so good; while it was well presented, the gameplay itself was quite frustrating or unfair at times. This sequel is improved in gameplay and presentation.
What I liked

• A mix of HOG and point-and-click problem solving.
  
• I mentioned high production value: excellent art, music and voice acting throughout.
  
• A simple but interesting story.
  
• Some scenes let you scroll or zoom for more searching, which is fun. Takes some getting used to.
  
• Dialog between characters is fun enough that you won't just click through it. This is helped by the excellent voice acting.
  
• Throughout the game, the main character keeps a journal that serves as summary of the story and a reminder of what needs doing next. It's well written and beautifully illustrated.
  
• As in the first game, there's an elaborate hint system where you can choose how exactly you want to be helped: a preview of what objects look like, a radar that highlights items, a straight-up locator, and a narrative hint guide.

What I didn't like

• Probably the worst offence of this series is how objects might be partially obstructed behind other items in the scene, sometimes in a way that hides their defining features.
  
• Although this problem is not as prevalent here as in the first game, you still occasionally need to find objects that end up looking nothing like what you expected. A shovel or a saw will end up looking like very strange variations of each. Not what you imagine in your mind at all. A hint system allows you to see a preview of the object, but why should have to use that? But, this rarely happens, unlike in the first game where it was just terrible.
  
• Also improved from the first game but still present: some tiny, tiny objects and fiddly clicking.
  
• The point-and-click sections necessitate pixel hunting and mouse sweeping, unless you're willing to use hints. Later in the game, a hint allows you to see all interactive items for a short time.
  
• Related to the above points, I again get the feeling that they really want you to make use of the hint system as part of your experience. That's because the hint system is well developed and kind of fun to use, they probably wanted to capitalise on it.

All in all I enjoyed this game much more than the first one (which got a negative review). Embrace the fact that the hints are part of the gameplay, and enjoy this nice casual game.
Some technical notes:

• Not widescreen, no high resolution
  
• No Steam integration (overlay or screenshots or achievements / cards)
  
• Can't Alt-Tab away from the game (if you're in fullscreen); the screen will flash a bit and then put you back inside.
  
• Game wouldn't run on my PC, I played it on another PC (runs fine in Windows 8) and the developers were nice enough to try and help in the forum.

A 3D HOG? Never seen that before, but I've wondered about the concept. It mostly pulls it off, with some issues detailed below.
The good

• Funny! This game got many laughs out of me, just from the silly situations that characters find themselves in and the conversations they have.
  
• Plenty of locations to play in, with plenty of gameplay in each.
  
• The 3d aspect allows you to rotate and zoom around certain scenes to look for objects.
  
• Plenty of varied mini-puzzles. Quality varies, dumb to very interesting and from super easy to reasonable.
  
• Hints and puzzle skips are available if you need them. ("casual mode" in options)
  
• Nice music, does not get old. There's no voice acting, which is fine with me but maybe kids prefer to hear voices.

The bad

• It's made in a blocky, low poly, low texture sort of way that makes it quite difficult to make out objects at time. I think if a HOG is done in 3D, it has to have much higher fidelity, like 2D painted HOGs do.
  
• Clickable objects have no margin around them, so you have to be very accurate when clicking. If you have to click on a nail or a spring, well - there's no hotspot around objects like in 2D HOGs. And objects are very small in this game because you're looking from a distance.
  
• The controls can be clunky fiddly at times. For instance, you sometimes need to use a catapult. You can't click and drag on the catapult to aim it; there's a separate set of levers to use.
  
• A couple of cheaply hidden objects behind other objects, that there's no way to find if you don't pixel hunt.
  
• A few of the minigames rely solely on trial and error, which is just a waste of time and requires no skill.

The game might be trying to aim for children as an audience but I think it's best played by an adult with them sitting & helping.
Overall I had a pretty fun time with this game. It's lighthearted and never gets you too stuck. And at the same time it's varied and has plenty of content.
For the asking price, it's definitely worth it.

I usually write reviews after being done with a game, but I feel I should leave some early impressions already because I see so many negative reviews, especially about the controls. I'll edit my review when I'm done with the game.

Personally I think they did a fantastic job with the controls and puzzles. the added depth (literally) to the gameplay allows much more room to play around and find creative solutions.

About the lack of skill upgrades: People forget that Trine 2, with its skill upgrades, was already a simplified version of Trine 1 with its additional skills and also items and trinkets that you equip for buffs and so on. Each sequel is simplifying, and that's not necessarily bad because it's a lateral change, not a step down.

I have not played long enough to see if the idea of unlocking levels with gems is frustrating. In the early game it isn't, but maybe later it will be. I already like to replay levels, so I doubt this will bother me.

Probably the only thing that will really bother me is the reportedly short length of the game.

Overall, so far, I am loving it. So far, a worthy successor to the earlier games.
(And Lord, those graphics.)

This short, alpha teaser leaves me hopeful that the full release will recreate what we loved about Descent. I hope it delivers well.

From the weapons to the level design, it feels just right. Shooting a flare down a dark corridor... instant love.

Overload is being developed by former developers of Descent with a full single player campaign, and MP and level editor coming later. And the keepers of the Descent name are also releasing a multiplayer-focused title named "Descent Underground" which I already bought. There is room for both games. I'm very glad 6DOF games are making a comeback.

Keep in mind this is an early alpha teaser, so it is lacking in features and is not optimised. (very graphically taxing)

In this casual game, you play as an aetherial homunculus that absorbs any smaller objects on touch, and keeps growing with every object absorbed.

The idea is to map out the best path to follow that lets you absorb the highest number of objects in a steady increasing size to get the highest grade within the time limit.

The game's levels are mostly set in urban environments (indoors and outdoors) with also a few abstract levels such as a Pac-Man one and one made of letters and words.

You unlock a level by getting a passing grade on an adjacent level.
There's also a mode without time limit that you unlock with passing grades.

I would say it takes a couple of hours to pass all the levels. But you can keep playing indefinitely with the timeless modes, trying to beat your own high score.

A quick list of technical annoyances:

• No widescreen support
  
• Controller play is wonky. Go for keyboard & mouse.
  
• Collision can be sticky, and you can get stuck in some places. You might get sent flying off if you get squeezed somewhere, or slowed to a crawl.
  
• The poor collision also prevents you from picking up objects sometimes, so you walk back and forth over them like passing a vacuum cleaner over a stubborn speck stuck to the carpet.

Overall though it's a fun little game that will entertain you for a couple of days. And you won't really find any other Katamari-likes on PC, so this one will do.

As usual with Dejobaan's games, the music is a lot of fun and the game is full of little quirks.