Echo Prime – Steam Review
Its been a few days now since Robot released Echo Prime on Steam. Following its release back in October last year it is great to see Echo Prime arrive on PC as this allows more people to play the game who previously would not have been able to if they did not have an iOS device. On PC Robot brings us an expanded version of the game with even more levels and enemies. So lets take a look at what the bots bring to the table with Echo Prime. Read more
Cavemania Review
BonusXP have just released their latest mobile game on iOS and Android – Cavemania! The game is published by Yodo1, the same partner Robot Entertainment used to publish Hero Academy in China. Cavemania is a “Match 3” game, this means the core concept is similar to games like Bejeweled where you much like colours to score points. In Cavemania you match resources like food, wood, gold and stone. A nod to Age of Empires! However, Cavemania is about a whole lot more than just matching like tiles, taking that Age of Empires likeness further there is a whole lot of strategy involved that really sets this game apart. Read more
Kenny’s Word Chums review – there’s no going back!
When I was preparing this review for Word Chums, it hit me. Word Chums is like one of the following analogies, so pick the one that applies to you depending upon your age. It’s like you went from cassettes to CD’s or home phone landlines to a cell phone or dial-up internet to broadband. When I went from Words With Friends and other word games to Word Chums there was no going back. When I first installed Word Chums I immediately noticed some things that may seem trivial when you see them on a press release or someone tells you about them. But upon further inspection there are major changes to the genre of the game. And by major I mean they improve the experience by one hundred percent. The guys over at PeopleFun took what annoyed me about other word games and they fixed them. And some of them I didn’t even know that I disliked until I played Word Chums. Read more
Orcs Must Die! XBLA Review
So the date is finally upon us – October 5th the release date of Orcs Must Die! (OMD) on Xbox Live Arcade. I have been playing OMD! over the last few days and have been extremely impressed with the game. OMD is the first original IP game to be launched by Robot Entertainment. For a number of people at the studio who worked previously at Ensemble this is the first game outside of the traditional RTS field. For those people this game is a breath of fresh air allowing for a new type creativity to flourish, and it certainly has done. OMD is a third person action strategy game. The goal of the game is simple – kill Orcs, kill them in any way you can. Players can choose between weapons, traps and magic to do the job. The Orcs must be killed before a certain number reach the rifts at the other end of the level. Otherwise its game over! Read more
Kenny Newell reviews Atomic City Adventures – Case of the Black Dragon
Avid Age of Empires Online players will no doubt recognise Kenny as radiokenny on the AOE-O forums. You may remember Kenny as the person behind the genius Rogan Knight project which will soon be coming to a conclusion. The Rogan Knight project involved sending a figurine of a knight to Age fans all over the world and then have the knight posted to Robot Entertainment HQ for a group picture. You can follow the journey of Rogan Knight here: http://mapvivo.com/journey/15239. Rogan is currently in the hands of Kristin “BatsyBatsy” Reilly at Microsoft Studios where he is pending a photo shoot. It wont be long until Rogan‘s journey is over!
Today however, Kenny is here to share his thoughts about Windstorm Studios’ Atomic City Adventures which was released last week. Kenny is a big Ensemble Studios fan and as such has been quick to check out Atomic City Adventures, an independent game by sole employee, Dusty Monk. Check out Kenny’s thoughts on the new game below! Read more
Age of Empires Online review – Part 3 – Art & Design
Part 3 of the Remember ES Age of Empires Online review looks at the art style of AOE-O and other aspects like the UI design. Firstly, it is important to note that the engine behind Age of Empires Online is the same engine we have been used to for the last few iterations of Age. AOE-O uses the Bang! engine first introduced with Age of Mythology, the first Age game to utilise modern 3D graphics, moving away from the 2D bitmaps used in Age 2. Age 3 demonstrated just how excellent the Bang engine can be at generating realistic graphics (remember the water!). The Bang engine was used perfectly to produce the stunning realistic art style of Age 3. AOE-O uses the same engine but does things a little differently, instead of using a realistic art style like Age 3 we now have a more “cartoony” style with AOE-O. Read more
Age of Empires Online review – Part 2 – Multiplayer
Multiplayer
Multiplayer in Age of Empires Online takes two forms – player vs player (PvP) or Co-Op play. PvP is similar to traditional Age of Empires multiplayer and refers to players being matched against each other, such as “Supremacy” and “Deathmatch” on ESO from Age 3. Co-Op play on the other hand refers to co-operative play where players join forces against the AI in quests or the Defense of Crete. Read more
Age of Empires Online review – Part 1 – Gameplay
According to the online countdown over at AOE-O Fans, Age of Empires Online is now just 2 days away from launch. A number of community members have been lucky enough to secure pre-release keys to play the game early ahead of the August 16th launch date. Remember ES has been checking out the pre-release and today wanted to share my thoughts on the final product. The pre-release is the full version of the game, although there will be a small patch in the coming days for the full launch what we are seeing is the near final version. In just 2 days Age fans worldwide will get what they have been longing for, a new release in the Age franchise since the Asian Dynasties release in 2007.
The Remember ES review will be split into 5 parts:- Gameplay, Multi-player, Art & Design, Sound & Music and Conclusions. Each part will be coming out over the next few days, so keep checking back! Read more
