Rune Masters is a game I really wanted to like. It's got some good ideas and a lot of potential, and the core gameplay is challenging and fun. But close, as they say, is no cigar.
The hex is one of my favorite things and, no, I'm not talking about witchcraft. I'm talking about the shape and what it represents to us gamers. As a kid I remember finding one of my dad's old wargames, the arcane kind with plastic bags full of abstract, cardboard chits representing different units. I remember thumbing through the thick instruction booklet and wondering how anybody could ever play a game with so many rules.
It doesn't take long to realize that something about Ice Age Online looks a little familiar. Only moments after creating an account and logging in, you'll use your head to bash hard objects to reveal small stashes of rewards and hurl projectile at incoming baddies. After that, you'll leap across pits, stomp on turtles, and complete each stage by running past a green flag. There are a few new tricks in store and a noticeable absence of verdant plumbing pipes, but I could probably end this review right now by calling Ice Age Online a reskin of Super Mario Bros. and you'd know exactly what to expect.
Life in a quaint country village is normal and safe until the town's massive clock tower suddenly stops working. With the clock tower gone, a magical force takes over the down, destroying buildings and forcing villagers to flee. Through a bit of coincidence, you'll come across this town and will be encouraged to help restore each individual building before this magical curse can become permanent.
Let's try something fun. Scroll down a bit, look at the screenshots in this review, and try and guess what kind of game But to Paint a Universe is. If you guessed "match-3 puzzler," you're somewhat correct. 3's are matched as sure as the sun sets, but that isn't exactly the game's end goal. Rather, it's to place same-colored pieces in certain points scattered throughout levels. Confused?
The underground world of the gnomes was once a vibrant, peaceful place. A great Crystal of Life shining down upon the civilization, bringing happiness to everyone in the area. But when an evil witch steals the crystal and destroys this once-beautiful world, you'll be called in to help retrieve pieces of a magical wand that can defeat her, and return life to the area. So begins A Gnome's Home: The Great Crystal Crusade. Epic, right? A little less epic? All the time management quests that follow.
Had enough of Zynga's cutesy big-headed social avatars? Line up, homeslice. Better yet, just forego the farm next time you pop onto Facebook and play The Grinns Tale instead. The Grinns' wide, gap-toothed smiles are kind of horrific, but we mean that in the most endearing way possible. Make no mistake though, there's nothing unsettling about the gameplay that powers The Grinns Tale. Frankly,Nexon's mix of city building, strategy, and role-playing raises the bar on Facebook games.
I am a man of many tastes, but I have a few choice passions of mine that take a considerable amount of time out of my life. Among this exclusive list are card games and comic books. Anything that has ever combined the two (most notably Vs. System - curse you Upper Deck for running it into the ground!) has been a friend of mine, and Legacy of Heroes, aside from one weakness, is no exception.