You may like or dislike this game, but it sure sold a LOT of copies during its 10 years of existence (more than 20 million by 2012, making it the best selling game ever!). Now Electronic Arts surprised us all when it released the game for FREE on its digital service Origin, as preparation for the upcoming The Sims 4.
To get your free copy: log into your Origin account (or download and sign up for it if you haven't already), go to Redeem product code and enter "I-LOVE-THE-SIMS" to get your free copy. That's all!
The Ultimate Collection contains all the Expansion packs (8 of them) and all the Stuff packs (10 packs). Quite a LOT for a free game.
I cannot even remember if I ever played it, I know I played The Sims for a few hours back in 2000, but it just wasn't a game for me. You might enjoy it, those tens of millions of people can't be that wrong, could they?
You probably heard it elsewhere already, but who cares!? When Fargo ended I was hoping they wouldn't go for season 2 and actually leave the masterpiece as it is. A month later I feel different and I am glad they are going to do this. It will be a different story, different setting and all new cast. Or so they say. Thumbs up!
Also, and it's old news already, Turn is getting Season 2 as well! I'm glad that happened, I am sure that show has a lot to tell us in the upcoming episodes.
Game score: 75%
Platform: Steam, PC
I recently saw this game on Steam and I just had to buy it. I played it before... 10 years ago or so (it was released in 2002) and I remembered how much fun I had back then. Then I remembered I even wrote a review for it! So here it is, my 10 year old review of a game that is still as fun as it was back then. Enjoy it!
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This game will probably go by unnoticed. Shame, since Moonbase Commander is one of the most original and most entertaining games lately! It might not have stunning graphics and sound, but if it’s fun that matters then this is one great game!
So, what’s the story of this game? It’s quite simple – four companies are fighting for domination of the Moon. That’s all! There are no more details of the story, you will not be briefed about the current situation on the field, nothing! As the single player “campaign” starts, you will play as Niceco Company, then move on to Dewolf, then to System 7 and finally complete the game as Alpha team. Each company offers 4 missions and if you play for about 2 hours per day you should be done in less than 4 days. And I was just beginning to completely enjoy my superior strategy…
The game plays as follows: you construct various structures such as air defense missiles, energy collectors and radar towers as well as fire missiles, bombs or crawlers. Each component can be constructed only in the hub. Hubs are the cores of each “base”. When you want to build a component, you need to select it, pay the price for construction, then aim and fire the component in the wanted direction. New component will be connected to the hub and will be destroyed if hub is destroyed. Hubs can also construct other hubs, but note if the main hub is destroyed so are all others and you have lost. Each component has its price of 1, 3 or 7 energy points. When you start the game you will be getting 7 energy points per turn, but finding energy sources and placing energy collectors gives you extra 3 energy points. Your goal is simple – destroy enemy main hub(s) or place an energy collector on a specific energy source and hold it for a set number of turns (you will be told about your goal).
There is total of 18 components and weapons that can be “fired”. Aside from previously mentioned hubs and energy collectors, you can also build air defense (protects you from various air attacks), towers (provide larger viewable area when fog of war is turned on), shield (protects an area from everything) and so on. On the other hand, guided missiles are great if you are not aiming well, EMP disables shields, hubs and other structures, bombs are dumb and you need to aim well and finally, crawlers are ultimate weapon of destruction… but the move real slow. There are other weapons and components but you need to find something on your own!
Once you complete the single player campaign, you can still play skirmishes versus up to three opponents or in team with a computer against other computers. There is a multiplayer game option but you can only play it online via GameSpy.
The graphics and sound are much below today’s standard but such game doesn't need them anyway. Although the game can only be played in 640x480, everything looks real sharp and nice. Sounds are limited to the usual set of beeping, booming, crashing and whistling, with a voice commentary from your superior’s computers.
Overall, the game is quite fun but it doesn't last long enough. After I was done with the campaign, I lost interest, as I never enjoy playing skirmishes (they just seem pointless to me).
If you don't want to read it all:
Score: 6/10
Verdict: Would have been better as TV series since it could explain some things better.
I've heard of this movie just because Harrison Ford was in it. That and futuristic space combat were enough to watch it. After watching it I read a bit about its origins and found out it was made after a book. Series of books actually. And that explained a lot because there was so much compressed into just two hours...
Ender's game takes place on future Earth that recently survived an attack from an alien species known as Formics, highly advanced ant-like creatures. Pure luck and bravery of a single pilot (think of the destruction of the Death Star) ended the war and drove Formics back to their home planet. Now, 50 years later, humanity is preparing for another invasion and is using a brand new tactics - recruiting and training of children with very high IQ and warfaring talent - to lead Earth Fleet and defeat Formics forever. Ender Wiggin is one such child and he is being sent to Combat School on a base in Earth's orbit under the supervision of Colonel Graff and Major Anderson.
Ender's Game seems like a two hour long trailer for a 10 hour movie. With mega spoliers. Well, spoilers that actually show all the major scenes, including the grand finale. Seriously, only after finding out it was made after a book I finally realized why everything was happening so fast. Poor little Ender goes from one school to another, from one combat team to another in a matter of minutes. Just imagine a season of Game of Thrones compressed into 60 minutes only! Some may like such a tempo, but I personally prefer a bit more depth.
Ender's game reminded me of other movies and computer games in many ways. Formic invasion and destruction reminded me of Independence Day and Star Wars. Formic tactics reminded me of... Starcraft and Zerg! Oh yeah, Protoss as well since both sides use carriers with hundreds of drones. Damn, I hated those Protoss carriers in Starcraft multiplayer. Harrison Ford reminded me of Malcolm McDowell in Wing Commander 3. The movie may have been influenced by those, but the book itself is older than all but Star Wars.
Overall, the movie isn't bad, but it's far, far from being a masterpiece. It's great if you like a movie that moves fast and doesn't take time to explain just about anything but those really crucial things (so you know what the hell is going on). Other than that... if they realize the true potential we could expect a reboot and a trilogy (at least) in a few years. Until then, I expect this movie to go by almost unnoticed.
Game score: 82%
Platform: Steam, PC
This game is such a perfect stress reliever! It offers hours of endless destruction without limits and is a lot of fun along the way. Flying around in a helicopter, armed to teeth with endless missiles and overheat-free cannon... priceless!
Thunder Wolves is simply being what it is - a brainless action flick that never gets boring. There are 12 missions + tutorial and they are all unique in its own way. Yes, you fly a helicopter and shoot at hundreds of enemy soldiers, structures, vehicles, aircraft, cannons, ships... but every mission offers something new. In one of them you get to fly a drone inside a cave. In the other you are shot down and have to escape in a tank. Later in the game you are carrying an armored vehicle and need to drop it on a beach for a D-day-like encounter. One mission makes you cover a field agent while he infiltrates a moving train. Some missions feature a gunner mode where you no longer fly the chopper but control the machine gun (LucasArts' old game Rebel Assault comes to my mind as reference for this). I am really really happy with the game makers' effort to keep this game fun throughout all of its missions and I think they did a great job at it. And when you add some hard rock tunes, adult language in communication between the pilots, lots and lots and lots of explosions... And that's what it's really about, isn't it? Thunder Wolves simply never gets to be boring. Not even when you replay the missions to get a better score and get more stars (these serve only for achievements on Steam).
There are 3 difficulty levels but neither is too hard, not even for a casual gamer. That's my only objection to the game, I just wish there was another difficulty level to lift the challenge bar high up and made it nearly impossible to complete. There's a lovely co-op mode that is really fun to play with a friend, but it simply screams for more challenge.
The game has a total of 20 achievements on Steam: about 5 of them are easy to get and you will achieve them as you progress, while some require some effort. There's this guy named Pedro who hides on each level and if you find and kill him on all 13 - you get an achievement. There are also 25 hidden crates throughout the game and if you find them - you get an achievement. Other achievements are about collecting all stars on all levels and all difficulty levels, ramming 10 enemy vehicles, killing a miniboss by crashing into it etc. Overall, achievements are okay and will not ask you to do the impossible.
What else to say... I really enjoyed playing through Thunder Wolves. It took me about 12 hours to complete the game and get all the achievements and I had a lot of fun with it. With the current Steam summer sale, the price is down to under 4 Euros/USD and it's well worth the money. Have fun with this little jewel!
Final score: 85%
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT! Do not read if you haven't seen the finale!
There it is, the final episode of Fargo has aired and we're done. In my first review of Fargo I said that it's a single season TV show, but I am not so sure any more. There are rumors of season 2 circling around, but nothing's been confirmed yet. Fans already have some ideas about the Sioux Falls incident that's been mentioned a few times in these 10 episodes with Lou (you know, Molly's father... ex cop who owns the diner?) as the main character. That would mean a 1970s setting and would be awesome!
As if this season wasn't awesome itself. I loved it, I enjoyed it from the very first minute to the very last. It's an amazing story of a wolf meets a rabbit then turns a rabbit into a fox who then realizes it's been a monster its whole life. Could you really decide on who's the worse man? Malvo or Lester? They're both ruthless bastards, but at least Malvo is honest with himself. Lester on the other hand is a sneaky little... ugh, I can't find the right word to describe him. Killing his wife may have been a rash decision, something he did in anger that's been accumulating inside him for years. But what he did to his own brother... no excuses there. Some may say it was a desperate move and he was ready to do whatever it takes to save his own skin and get rid of his annoying brother (yeah, he was annoying, but he IS still his brother!). So how about what he did to Linda? Sending her to death just like that!? Lester, we all hated you after that episode and you got what you deserved.
The good guys win in Fargo and that is exactly what surprised me the most. I honestly expected something entirely different to happen and that's a big success for this show. Gus got some satisfaction for what's been bothering him for over a year. He was being ripped apart by guilt and he really needed to settle it down. One thing that bothers me is that he got away with murder, but I won't make a fuss about it. Molly also got what she wanted - she's a Chief and we have Bill to thank for it. Good old naive Bill realized who he is at the end and made the best move he could. Good job Saul! I mean Bill, sorry.
I cannot talk about Fargo without mentioning some fantastic acting by just about all the actors in it. Billy Bob was incredibly convincing as Lorne Malvo, his talent for transformation was used numerous times (remember how he pretended to be an innocent preacher?). Martin Freeman as Lester was fantastic (don't forget he's English and had to put an extra effort to do that northern accent), Bob Odenkirk, Keith Carradine as Lou, Colin Hanks as Gus... But one name stands above all: Allison Tolman as Molly. Allison has been, in my honest opinion, the BEST of them all. She did her role as deputy Solverson so well, she completely overshadowed her more famous colleagues and I hope we get to see more of this fantastic actress in the future.
Overall, Fargo is a fantastic piece of entertainment. The finale may have surprised or even disappointed some, but that's just a thing with finales. I hope they really do end it here and don't go for season 2. And if they do - please do it with a completely different set of characters. There's no need to risk and ruin what's been done.
What a day... 18 years since the first appearance in the World Cup qualifications, Bosnia is FINALLY at the final tournament. And in Brazil, a home to five time champions, a country where football is a religion! What are our expectations? Honesty, we are happy we finally got here, the result does not matter. Most of my countrymen actually expect us to go through to the next round by beating Nigeria and Iran, but I don't really care. These players are my heroes no matter what.
So, the debut. Against Argentina and Lionel Messi, world's best footballer ever (in my not so honest opinion). It's gonna be tough, it's gonna be hard. Their attacking force is horrifying, it would make any defense in the world shiver in fear. Ezequiel Lavezzi, Sergio Agüero, Gonzalo Higuaín, Ángel di María and Leo Messi himself. Horrifying I tell ya. They even beat us 2:0 eight months ago in a friendly match in USA. 15 years ago they beat us 5:0 as well, but that was some other time, not worth mentioning. Tonight will be a different game, Bosnia has nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Argentina... They will be under pressure, Bosnia is an underdog and it's always hard to play against such teams. Prediction? I expect Bosnia to lose, I hope for a draw and I pray for a win. Seriously, I cannot be objective enough, who could? We can win for sure, Costa Rica showed us how to do that with their victory over a favorite Uruguay. If they could do it, why couldn't we do the same? After all, our attacking force is world class as well. Edin Džeko, Vedad Ibišević (whom I expect to start at bench tonight), Miralem Pjanić... all world class players that can score multiple goals against any defense. We have fast wingers (Lulić and Hajrović), a brainiac Misimović who can find Džeko's foot blindfolded, one of the best EPL goalkeepers - Asmir Begović... Defense might be our weak spot, but in a defensive setup (which is expected) it will be stronger than usual.
Expected lineup for Bosnia and Herzegovina: Begović, Mujdža, Spahić, Bičakčić, Kolašinac, Bešić, Pjanić, Misimović, Lulić, Hajrović, Džeko.
LETS GO BOSNIA!
