Bargain Bin Games Revue - Round One
by Eddie Turner on September 1, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
The final game for this first article, Tarr Chronicles is an arcade style combat sim set in the realm of deep space. Unlike a lot of these types of sims, Tarr is a story-driven saga. Even so, the fact that your squadron of ships is out to destroy the opposing force known as the Mirk is all you really need to know. Before I go any further, let it be known that this game is beautiful. The graphics and overall design of your surroundings are top-notch and really give you the feeling of being a pilot as you cruise through the nebulas of space. (Ed: I thought space was mostly black?)
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Once you get your wings, the opening sequence gives you tips on how to handle your ship. The controls are fairly simple get acquainted with, utilizing your mouse for the thick of your ship's movement. In addition, you'll use the A and D keys for barrel rolls to the left and right respectively. Machine gun fire is done with the left mouse button, missile fire with the right. Other keys will allow you to boost and strafe as needed during combat. Although your orders are to meet up with your squad mates post-haste, you may find it hard to follow them at first. Instead, you may feel compelled to just cruise around and fly through various corridors in the several nearby space stations for a while.
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Once you've reached your first objective, you receive orders to protect another squad currently under attack by Mirk fighters. At this point, players may choose to either fight their battles in the standard third person view or from inside the cockpit of your ship. Once you've cleared the area of enemies, you'll be directed to another area to clear before you dock your fighter in one the bays of the mother ship. Depending on how well you completed the previous objectives, new parts and weapons will be available to add to your ship. While this may sound simple enough, there are a number of things to consider when modding your ship, including elements like weight and overall balance. New ships will also become available as you progress though the campaign.
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Tarr Chronicles provides a decent yet shallow space combat experience. Players are limited to traveling from point A to point B and joining in dogfights before taking out larger ships that serve as bosses. Also, Tarr has no multiplayer element, which is a shame since the thought of battling against your friends in this manner could be extremely satisfying. That aspect, coupled with overly repetitive missions, greatly reduces any chance of a recommendation on my behalf. It certainly is a beautiful game, and if you pine for sequels to Freespace or Freelancer (or perhaps even Wing Commander), Tarr is certainly worth the price of admission; those who aren't fans of the genre will find nothing noteworthy here.
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kilkennycat - Monday, September 1, 2008 - link
Penumbra:Black Plague is the second game in a trilogy. The first is Penumbra: Overture, still available retail from Gamestop and on-line sources for $19.99. The game mechanics in Black Plague are a lot less awkward than in Overture. The third in the series Penumbra:Requiem has just been released in the past few days and is available as an add-on EXPANSION to Black Plague. Afaik, there will never be a retail version of the Requiem expansion, however it is available for download purchase for $9.99, currently from www.gamersgate.com. The download version will run with either a retail copy or download copy of Black Plague. Gamersgate has all parts of the trilogy separately available for download purchase and also offers Black Plague Gold Edition for $19.99, which contains both Black Plague and Requiem. This combo may also be released retail, but I have not come across any (US) sources so far. See:-http://www.gamersgate.com/index.php?page=shop&...">http://www.gamersgate.com/index.php?pag...what=bro...
Not affiliated in any way with Gamersgate. I have not (yet) purchased any games from them. I have retail copies of both Overture and Black Plague, knew that Requiem had just been released for download only, so came across Gamersgate yesterday in my hunt.
duderockin - Monday, September 1, 2008 - link
this could also be a useful article series for those who want the more zen perspective of 20/20 hindsight.also good for those who hate spending more time on video card catch-up than actual gaming.
GTForce - Monday, September 1, 2008 - link
Check out Falcon:http://home.novint.com/">http://home.novint.com/
and how Penumbra series benefits from it:
http://home.novint.com/games/games_list.php?c=0&am...">http://home.novint.com/games/games_list.php?c=0&am...
http://home.novint.com/games/games_list.php?c=0&am...">http://home.novint.com/games/games_list.php?c=0&am...
cosmotic - Monday, September 1, 2008 - link
I don't really see any need to do (Ed: blah blah) notes. I presume there is an editorial process that is two way? Maybe these 'issues' should be resolved and the text of the article changed. This makes for an easier read and would help the professionalism of the articles. Thanks.JarredWalton - Monday, September 1, 2008 - link
I felt most were somewhat humorous. Sorry they didn't please, since I added them. Without having Crazy Machines 2 I couldn't verify whether PhysX drivers were sufficient or not.Pottervilla - Monday, September 1, 2008 - link
I agree with the humorous part.However, you guys are one of the premier hardware review sites on the web--I would expect you to know about things like drivers. Also, I would expect that if you were reviewing a game, you would have a copy of it somewhere, and maybe a couple PhysX capable graphics cards.
Overall, it was still a good thing to mention (the possibility that PhysX drivers might open up the extra levels), but I have come to expect a little more than maybes from this site--and a little communication between editor and reviewer would be nice too. :)
I hope this is constructive criticism--keep up the good work.
Nihility - Monday, September 1, 2008 - link
...suck.The whole point of the titles is to make it easier to navigate a 7 page article. Sure it's fun to be random at times and be witty, but seriously give us readers a break please.
StormEffect - Monday, September 1, 2008 - link
I thought they were clever. Enjoy the creativity, if you want numbers and easily searchable reviews go to google or use meta-critic.Anandtech readers can be so dry and boring sometimes. Waa waa waa.
JarredWalton - Monday, September 1, 2008 - link
And here I thought the readers might enjoy some literary quotes as a change of pace. I mean, isn't the point that you actually read about the games rather than just look at a page heading and decide whether or not that's worth reading? Or you can treat it like a magazine and click through the pages; if you see the pictures and don't feel like reading, click to the next page. It takes all of 5 seconds. Besides, more page views are good for the articles - the popular stuff is more likely to get similar articles in the future, since after all we are a business the depends on advertising.Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, September 2, 2008 - link
Honestly I think it's got to be a balance between something creative and something functional, I try to blend the two as much as I can whenever I write - sometimes I get it right, other times I don't.I've never been a fan of forcing pageviews on an article, my thinking is always that if an article is good enough it'll attract its own traffic, regardless of how it's structured.
Thanks for the feedback, while I can't always guarantee that we'll be perfect - we'll definitely try :)
Take care,
Anand