FPS/Shooter / PC / Reviews

The War Z Alpha/Beta Impressions

The War Z Logo

I’m currently playing The War Z in what is either an Alpha or Beta version.  Honestly, I have no idea.  Given my experience with the game so far, and my history with Day Z, I thought it would be helpful for me to share my thoughts on the game so far.

Overall Impressions

The War Z is a much, much, much more polished game than Day Z.  War Z is faster-paced, and slightly less realistic.  The gun-play is excellent, the movement is smooth, and performance is great (although I have an issue where sometimes my computer locks up when I load into a new server).  The War Z gives me a constant sense of imminent danger, and lots of anxiety when I see other players.  With a few important additions and tweaks, this can be a fantastic game.  More after the break. (more…)

32 Comments
November 7, 2012
MMORPG / PC

City of Steam Alpha Tour

City of Steam's pretty view
For a browser MMO, City of Steam looks great.

I had the opportunity to go on a tour of City of Steam with Mechanist Games’ Gabriel V. Laforge this morning.  Before we began, he asked me how I wanted to approach this tour.  My answer was simple: Show me whatever will help me inform my readers about how City of Steam is meant to be played.

City of Steam is a browser based game that uses the Unity plugin.  There is no download (other than the plugin).  In fact, you just log into your account on the site, press play, and the game is streamed directly to you.  I consider this CoS’ greatest strength.  There isn’t anything shady about getting into the game, and their site doesn’t remind me of a typical F2P game made by a company in China — yes, there is a stigma attached, but rightfully so.

Read on for more from my tour of City of Steam. (more…)

14 Comments
August 18, 2012
Free to Play / MMORPG / PC

City of Steam Alpha Weekend Key Giveaway

We have another giveaway for you our loyal readers!  We’re giving away 45 City of Steam Keys, graciously provided by Mechanist Games,  for the upcoming alpha weekend events: July 27-29 and August 3-5.

First, for those who have never heard of the game, here’s a quick bit of info.

About City of Steam:
City of Steam, a full-featured, browser-based 3D MMORPG, transports players to an industrial metropolis that has fallen from grace. Emerging from the ashes of ages past, heroes versed in swordplay, divine harmonies, and the arcane arts seek their fortune in a world beset by countless foes, from dangerous factions to mechanical horrors.

From what we can tell, City of Steam blends fantasy and steampunk settings. Classes include everything from sharpshooting Gunners to church hymnal singing Channelers. City of Steam is a Free-to-Play game, and as always we’re hesitant to believe any claim made by any developer that it won’t be pay-to-win, but we’re a sucker for giving everyone a chance to prove the model wrong.

During the upcoming weekend you’ll be able to try the Elves, and the next weekend will be all about the Greenskins (always our favorite). Playable classes will be the Arcanist, Gunner, Warder, and Channeler.

We’ll be giving City of Steam a try for the first time this weekend so we can’t weigh in with our opinions just yet.  We encourage anyone interested in the setting or features of the game, and willing to help test, grab a key and get in there to experience the game.   Look for our followup post with our impressions, and be sure to let us know what you think!

You can find our giveaway widget after the break.
(more…)

25 Comments
July 24, 2012