Wall for trachy (page 26)

Steam finally added refunds. This was my biggest problem with Steam, so I'm very glad to see it fixed.

I should probably read some Anne Rice over the summer.

Codename STEAM quick review, some spoilers
tldr: Intelligent Systems weakest title, better mobile tactics games are available. Such as Fire Emblem for the 3DS or XCOM for Mobile.

Codename Steam is a turn-based tactics game from Intelligent Systems. Ever since Bioware went the way of all EA devs, Intelligent has been my favorite developer in the industry. These are the guys behind what are unquestionably some of the best tactics games of all time with Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. They're also the guys behind the Paper Mario series, which means these guys have made some of my favorite games. Sadly, Codename STEAM doesn't live up to the amazing legacy of Intelligent.

Codename STEAM differs from most turn-based tactics games by having you control aiming like a third-person shooter, rather than having a percentage based hit chance as is standard for the genre. This doesn't really add anything to the experience, and tends to be more annoying than anything else when your gun still doesn't shoot as you want it to. Not really sure what is up with that. If they wanted things to be random, they should have given us random percentages in order for us to make calculated decisions.

There are some sections of the game where you fight in a mech suit called the ABE. These parts are just awful. They're way too easy and they have no tactical element involved in them. Sadly, there are three fights (including the final boss) which use the ABE. The final boss fight in particular was lame, as the previous boss was actually very challenging and satisfying to fight against. Having the game go from one of its best moments to its weakest gameplay mechanics feels really terrible.

The biggest problem is really the lack of depth to the mechanics. There isn't much strategy to do outside of movement. Things such as unit customization do exist, but they are incredibly barebones. When compared to something like XCOM or Fire Emblem, it feels like you really don't have much choice in how to play the game.

One of the major points advertised for the game is the setting. The game is set in an alt-history world where technology has advanced through steampower. It's also a world beset by eldritch abominations and filled with characters from late 19th and early 20th century literature. While the steampowered world is well realized, it isn't really anything all too new or exciting. What did interest me at first was the idea of famous characters from literature and folklore coming together. It's been done in the past with things such as Fables or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and I tend to enjoy that sort of thing. Sadly, there is little diversity in characters to be found. This is because a full third of the playable characters are from Wizard of Oz. It managed to make me happy with the fact that the enemies you face are Lovecraftian, but I still ended up being disappointed by having four characters from Oz (all of whom were some of my least favorite characters to use) cluttering things up.

I have nothing really positive to say about Codename STEAM. It doesn't do anything in particular that stands out. It's competent, most assuredly, but that doesn't cut it for an Intelligent game. I would safely recommend not buying it.

Previously mentioned GoT article, beware of spoilers.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/05/27/game-of-thrones-season-6-casting-search-begins

Puzzle Dragon Z+Mario is a solid entry into the match-3 genre. However, it is fairly light on mechanical depth, which makes the $30 asking price a bit too much. I'd suggest holding off on buying it if you're thinking of getting it until it drops to $15, $20 at the most.

Speaking of match-3 games, if you're wanting to play one, why not play what is in my opinion the best in the genre? Pokemon Puzzle League adds a great deal of skill to the genre by cutting out a lot of the random cascade nature that is prevalent in the genre. You're in almost complete control of the board state, allowing you to plan your cascades, rather than just simply hope for them to appear. With a really strong competitive aspect and plenty of different game modes, it's well worth buying. Only real problem is the repetitive taunt dialogue, although it ended up growing on me thanks to the nostalgia, having played it since it first came out.

In other news the casting search for Season 6 of GoT was just released and it gives really strong indicators on what's to come. As you have read the books you wont have any difficulty determining the characters, but I guess it will be spoilers for the series.

http://www.omgbeaupeep.com/comics/The_Walking_Dead/001/

142 issues of The Walking Dead. Free, no downloads required. Site is safe (at least with adblock on, I never bothered to check with it off). Read it. It's really really good. I was surprised with how much I ended up liking it, seeing as I'm not the biggest fan of the show. But it's easily one of the best comics I've read, on par with the all time greats.

Also:
"Chutulu worshiping vikings are not to be trusted."

Just watched ep 7 of GoT and it was good, really damn good. The show will start to spoil the book from now on which is both very good and very worrying.

Try not to buy games from Desura. They don't pay the developers of the games you're buying. Most devs have their own website where you can buy their game directly.