Frozen Synapse: Red Release And New Valley Reviews/Videos

Our good friends at Mode 7 Games have released the Red expansion for their tactical heaven Frozen Synapse. They've added co-op, and a new campaign, and a new multiplayer mode, and...well, a ton of good stuff. It's absolutely jam-packed, and does more than just slap a fresh coat of (red) paint on one of the better indie games in recent memory.

Red's available now both through Mode 7 themselves and on Steam (both offering 15% off during the first week of release). The base game is also 50% off through launch week.

In Arcen news, GameSpy included AI War on their 10 Great Co-Op RTS Games for Comp-Stomp Fun list, while A Valley Without Wind reviews and video coverage are still trickling in as well:

Gamebreaker -- Indie Spotlight: A Valley Without Wind

Vagary.tv -- Review: A Valley Without Wind (PC)

Game Side Story -- GameTest - A Valley Without Wind (French)

Let's Play A Valley Without Wind #1: Getting Started by Deihlanos

A Valley Without Wind Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 by 1331skippy1331

A Valley Without Wind 9 Part Series by izTheJack

A Valley Without Wind 7 Part Series by Lcron55

A Valley Without Wind [PC Gameplay] by SmugglerWeb (Finnish)

Indie Game Sales, Bundles, And AVWW Stuff

Big things happening these days. A Valley Without Wind has seen several more additions and refinements over the past week as we approach the 1.1 (and first official) update for the game. We also have a pretty cool announcement we've been sitting on for a few days that hopefully we'll be able to share before the weekend, or at least by early next week. We'll see.

One press item we wanted to highlight regarding AVWW: Vagary TV's Indie Game Review podcast. In the inaugural episode the game is reviewed by the two hosts and then Chris joins for the interview portion.

Other happenings in the indie world we wanted to quickly mention:

The Because We May week has kicked off, where developers can and have freely reduced (or in a few cases increased) the prices on their games. There's a ton of indie devs taking part, and although we're not actively involved, you can be sure we're passively participating by pricing our games at their normal price during the week; because we may. ;)

Our pal Gnome points us to the Bundle In A Box Adventure Bundle. That goes through June 6th and includes a bunch of solid indie adventure games such as Gemini Rue and Size Five's Zombie Cow efforts. It also has The Sea Will Claim Everything, which people keep mentioning how awesome it is though I haven't had a chance yet to play.

Here's the press that's come in for Valley over the past few days:

Armless Octopus -- A Valley Without Wind Review: Beware of The Wind

Dark Zero -- A Valley Without Wind Mac Review

Singju Games -- Review: A Valley Without Wind for PC

Gamer's guide to Life -- Review: A Valley Without Wind

Mash Those Buttons -- A Valley Without Wind [Review]

[VIDEO] A Valley Without Wind - First Impressions (Portuguese)

[VIDEO] A Valley Without Wind Part 3 and Part 4 (Russian)

New Reviews, Interviews, and Videos for AVWW

The past few days saw several new feature additions to A Valley Without Wind highlighted (at least I'd say) by the addition of the store in 1.009.

Tom Chick talks to Chris for a good two and a half hours on Quarter To Three's podcast, chatting on AVWW, Arcen, some preferred genres, and gaming in general.

Also a reminder that there's still a day or so left in the SavyGamer anniversary sale. Here's the rest of the coverage that's come in this past week for AVWW/Arcen:

[Just Press Start] A Valley Without Wind - Reviewed

[Gather Your Party] Interview: Chris Park, CEO Of Arcen Games And Creator Of A Valley Without Wind

[Gather Your Party] A Valley Without Wind Review

[XBLAFans] Downloadable games growing beyond their bytes

[Gamespot] A Valley Without Wind Review

[BagofGames] A Valley Without Wind Review

[Destructoid] Review: A Valley Without Wind

[2nd Opinion Productions] Arcen Games: A Valley Without Wind Review

[IGN] A Valley Without Wind Review

[Co-Optimus] A Valley Without Wind Co-Op Review

[Hidden Exit] Review: A Valley Without Wind

[I'm Not Doctor Who] #oneaday Day 838: Still No Wind Here

[Gry-Online] Straight from Indie #5 (Polish)

[PlayerAffinity] A Valley Without Wind - Review

Video Coverage

[Tenatios] Let's Try - A Valley Without Wind + Steam Code Giveaway

[RockLeeSmile] Indie Impressions - A Valley Without Wind

[IZTheJack] A Valley Without Wind Part 4 - Our First Mission and Part 5 - Seeking Materials and Part 6 - The Endless Chunk

[SundayGamerHD] Let's Play A Valley Without Wind Part 1 - Kinky Skelebot Dungeons!

[GryOnlinePL] Straight from Indie - A Valley Without Wind] (Polish)

[SoftpediaGamesReview] A Valley Without Wind - Softpedia Gameplay

[NightDiRaven] Let's Play: A Valley Without Wind | Part 1 (Russian)

AVWW Now Available On Desura; New Reviews and Coverage

A few new AVWW items to pass along. First off, post-release 1.007 hit last night, bringing in several new features and improvements. If you've been away from Environ for a couple days, check back in and take another look around.

We're also happy to pass along that A Valley Without Wind is out on Desura. Both the full game and demo are available on their store to download now.

Another awesome note, Total Biscuit/Cynical Brit put together a "WTF Is..." for our game that's can't miss for a variety of reasons and moments in particular.

New Reviews, Impressions, Spotlights, LP Videos, And More

A Valley Without Wind Review | Brave New World -- 9/10 (Jonathan Lester, DealSpwn)

Review: A Valley Without Wind by Arcen Games (Omejia, IndieGamesChannel)

Indie Game of The Week: A Valley Without Wind (TheTechLabs)

Wot I Think: A Valley Without Wind (Jim Rossignol, RPS)

A Valley Without Wind: punching meteors in the face (Tom Chick, Quarter To Three)

A Valley Without Wind -- 7.5/10 (Luigi Guarnuccio, Gamers Haven)

A Valley Without Wind Review -- 3.5/5 (Kevin Alexander, Gamezebo)

A Valley Without Wind -- 5/10 (Marteen Green, Reaction Time)

Indie Impression: A Valley Without Wind (The First Hour)

A Valley Without Wind Review (Cross Platform Gamers)

A Valley Without Wind | Amazing Genre-Blending Platformer (PlayThisThing)

IncGamers Plays: A Valley Without Wind

Wiley Plays! - A Valley Without Wind Part 1 -- Part 2

Delphidelion's Let's play AVWW Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3 -- Part 4 -- Part 5 -- Part 6

IZTheJack's Let's play AVWW Part 1 -- Part 2

Pickselate's A Valley Without Wind Review Part 1 -- Part 2

LockeVincent's Weekly Gaming Update - DOTA2, Prototype 2, A Valley Without Wind

FrozenDozer's Let's Play: A Valley Without Wind | Episode 1 | Part 1 -- Part 2

Tom Plays - A Valley Without Wind pt. 1A - Life and Death of: "Unlucky Foot"

DrEvilBones' [P1LP2] A Valley Without Wind

Shobbles' We Play - A Valley Without Wind - Pure Gameplay

New AVWW Reviews and GGTL's Livestream Event

A few new A Valley Without Wind reviews we wanted to pass along, plus a live event taking place this weekend to mention.

In Armaan Khan's review on TruePCGaming he felt had barely scratched the surface in terms of content during the 12 hours he spent in the game. As he puts it: "a time in which I could have played out most other modern games at least twice."

Peter Parrish aptly provides his take on the game in his incgamers piece 'A Valley Without Wind Review - It doesn't blow.'

The Controller Online thought the concept was bold and interesting, though didn't believe the game was for everyone.

Tierra Gamer gave the game an 8.5/10, raving about the gameplay, soundtrack and background visuals. (Spanish)

Gamer's Guide To Life Livestream

I'll be joining a couple of the guys from GGTL for a livestream of Valley this weekend. The show will start at Noon ET today (Saturday, April 28th) and run for around an hour. We'll be talking about the game as they play, I'll be taking questions, and there's going to be a giveaway as well. Stop in if you're hanging around!

New AI War Reviews and LP Videos

Several reviews and Let's Play videos have hit the net for AI War: Fleet Command 5.0 over this past year that we've been meaning to pass along. They all have some very nice words on the game, which is always rewarding for us to hear.

They're also a great reference point to have as a developer, especially with a unique title like AI War that has undergone as much change as it has over these first couple of years. So we're very appreciative of these journalists and reviewers to take the time to review a game originally released in 2009.

Reviews

"I was intimidated, even frustrated at first, but once I took it upon myself to learn the ropes, I discovered a deep strategy game that will keep me entertained for a good, long time."- GameRanx

"An elaborate back-and-forth game of action vs. reaction, patient wit vs. volatile force -- that’s what AI War is, for those who can play it well. It’s a game of manipulation, as you balance the AI’s sensitivity, tricking it into allowing you to cut a line straight to its heart, making it think of you as a trivial pest, while in reality you’re more like a hive of termites: an annoyance, as easily crushed as you are forgotten... until you bring their house crumbling down when they least expect it." - digital hippos

"Intimidating: Check.  Difficult to learn: Check.  Worth your money: You bet.  AI War is many things (and game types) in one, and fortunately they are all good.  You may have to dig a little (lot) to find it, but no one can accuse this game of being light on content.  The dynamic AI makes for a different game each and every time you play, and the fact that you’re under the constant pressure of expanding without raising the alarm adds a level of complexity (and tension) to the genre that will make it hard for me to go back to traditional RTS games." - Platform Nation

ExtremeMMOGamer: A.I. War Fleet Commander Review
Gaming Shogun: AI War Alien Bundle Review
Three Point Games: AI War Review

Videos

JaviLQ Let's Play Video
10MMulti Let's Play Video

Digital Hippos and DarkstarMatryx Review Tidalis

It's been so busy around here prepping for the A Valley Without Wind beta that we've slipped a bit in keeping up with sharing reviews of our games. Let's remedy the situation right now!

Two favorable reviews for Tidalis have hit relatively recently via Digital Hippos and DarkstarMatryx. Here's a bit from each (both are very enjoyable reads):

"I am not a puzzle gamer. But for those of you who are; for those of you undaunted by the likes of Bejeweled, Puzzle Quest or Clash of Heroes; for those who find no sport in World of Goo or Plants Vs. Zombies, there’s Tidalis: a game that never ceases to build upon itself, exponentially, until the ethereal mind-space between your brain implodes into a singularity that devours reality as we know it."

- Christian Higley, Digital Hippos

"Tidalis is another game in the family of falling block puzzle games, but with some entertaining differences...If you’re a casual puzzle player or a serious one, chances are you should be interested in this game."

- Raymond Matthews, DarkstarMatryx

Each review concludes by rewarding Tidalis with a 4/5 score. Thanks to both sites for taking a look!

Tidalis (Mac) Reviewed on Brutal Gamer

Amy Nelson of Brutal Gamer has taken the time to have a look at the Mac version of our puzzler Tidalis. In it she touches on the amount of variety in the game, as well as discussing both the more intense and zen-like modes she came across and how they compliment one another.

She concludes her review by rewarding the game a score of 8.5 out of 10, with a strong recommendation to puzzle fans looking for something new and different, describing it as such:

"Tidalis is engaging, challenging, unique, and just plain a whole lotta fun. With such a great variety in levels and items, the game just never gets old. The ability to create custom levels adds even more variety. The characters and music fit perfectly with the colorful style of the game. Tidalis is just a well-rounded and well-executed game that really gives you bang for your buck."

Read the full review over on Brutal Gamer.

AI War Expansions Reviewed on Big Download

James Murff of Big Download already gave AI War a full review back in 2009, and now he has given the same treatment to all three of the game's expansions: The Zenith Remnant, Children of Neinzul, and Light of the Spire.

Some of our favorite excerpts:

"Each expansion is independent of the others and brings new ships and Ai types unique to that particular expansion. The one thing they have in common, however, is how much they increase the difficulty compared to the original game. These expansions are for the hardest of the hardcore."

From the Zenith Remnant portion:

"Zenith Remnant provides a ton of new content for players to sink their teeth into, and it's an excellent addition to the AI War franchise... If you have AI War, this expansion is a must purchase, and paves the way for the next two in terms of difficulty."

From the Children of Neinzul portion:

"You aren't so much purchasing a new expansion, but rather donating a few bucks to a charity and getting extra content in AI War as a result. It's a cool system that we wish more developers tried."

From the Light of the Spire portion:

"Spire is our personal favorite expansion... The new campaign types are significantly harder than the core game, and the additions to the AI's arsenal take a heavy toll on inexperienced players. The sheer variety it adds, though, is extremely impressive. If you feel daring enough, this is the expansion that we recommend highest of all three."

Murff concluded each review with a verdict of "Must Own", which puts a significant amount of love in our tummies. Read all three AI War expansion reviews here.

AI War LotS Review on Indie Game Reviewer

Over on Indie Game Reviewer Callabrantus has taken the time to check out and give his thoughts on AI War's recently released Light of the Spire expansion.

Some of the more tasty bits:

"This latest entry brings with it a healthy variety of new content and features, most notably the campaign modes, while staying true to the core experience...Even without the expansion sets, AI War is the type of game one never truly masters...Here, the concept of “casual” cowers in fear."

Read the full review on IGR.

AI War Review on i-luv-games.com

AI War 5.0 has received a glowing review from John over on i-luv-games.com. Here's some of our favorite words:

"I love that AI War is so different from every other Real-Time strategy out these days...No other strategy game that I’ve played treats the player to battles of such epic proportions...AI War: Fleet Command is a game that combines equal portions of quality and quantity. Not only is it a great game, but it’s a great big game. The battles, micromanagement, exploration, and discovery, will keep strategy gamers coming back."

Read the full review here.

AI War and LotS Review on IncGamers

Peter Parrish has written a great review of AI War and the Light of the Spire expansion over on IncGamers. In it he awards the game a 9 out of 10 on their review scale and sums it up as "an exceptional, unique strategy title with near-endless customization and unparalleled post-release support."

A particular excerpt that put smiles on our faces:

"Having played this title at two distinct points in its life cycle what really stands out is the incredible dedication of Arcen Games in keeping one top of how the game evolves and expands. Even though a great many features have been added and tweaked and refined, it was possible for me to drop back into AI War after more than a year away and not find it to be a confusing mish-mash of feature overload. The post-release support is, quite honestly, the best I've seen for any game."

Read the full review on IncGamers.

Eurogamer Reviews AI War!

It's a balancing act, with your own strength on one side, and the AI's opinion of you on the other. Piss it off before you're ready to face it, and you're going to get squashed. That moment, when you're finally in a position to turn the tables, is about as glorious as gaming gets.
- Phill Cameron, Eurogamer Review

The review is really quite worth a read, as it's one of the better ones we've ever seen for really capturing what the game is all about.

Tidalis #2 On Tom Chick's Games You Should Have Played This Year

Tom Chick, taste-maker PC games reviewer also to be found on SyFy channel's blog Fidgit, has recently been posting his 2010-in-retrospective posts.  The most recent, Ten games you should have played in 2010, held an excellent surprise for us: Tidalis in the #2 spot.  "The thinking man's Bejeweled 3," indeed.  His original review of the game was here, at Gameshark.

For that matter, yesterday Chick had a list called The ten most overrated games of 2010.  Starcraft II took the #1 spot on that list, which we won't comment on either way (it's really a different sort of RTS from AI War, anyhow), but in his notes about other games that should have gotten more attention that were instead overshadowed by Starcraft were both AI War and Gratuitous Space Battles (another big friend of Arcen) having had "great expansions."  Awesome -- as you'll recall, Chick was a big fan of the original AI War all the way back circa version 1.013 or so.

Recent Reviews For Tidalis And AI War

 Tidalis:
"It's evident from the onset that a vast amount of passion was poured into this game, from the superb piano-and-string musical score to the detailed and smoothly animated backgrounds... Seriously, the effort poured into this game cannot be stressed enough. You can submit scores to twitter, customize the appearance of blocks, even directly edit the animated backgrounds to better suit your taste. There's nothing they haven't thought of."
Ben Tyrer, SavyGamer

AI War:
"Combining deep strategic gameplay with AI that is worthy of the moniker, AI War: Fleet Command is a game deserving of a much larger audience. Indeed, it is a must-have title for anyone who takes games of interstellar conquest seriously."
- Scott Tortorice, GameSquad

Big Download Review of Tidalis

"Tidalis is, in short, stunning. It's one of the most complex, yet easy to learn, games we have ever played. Just when you think you know everything, new blocks and modes are given to you to toy with, leading to tons of replayability. We would, in fact, say that this is one of the best casual games we have ever played, if not the best."
James Murff, Big Download (Final Verdict: Must Own)

GameShark and Appletell Reviews of Tidalis -- Top Marks!

"I can say with some authority that Tidalis stands apart... The bottom line is that Tidalis is a flexible, smart, refreshingly unique puzzle design, and it's situated neatly into a large generous package. It's far better than any mere puzzle game should be."
Tom Chick, GameShark (GameShark Editor's Choice Award, "A" Score)


"Usually, puzzle games have such a simple concept that they quickly become boring or they require you to have lightning reflexes just to keep up. It's because of this that I usually avoid puzzle games entirely. Yet Tidalis is the first one I've played that I can recommend to everyone without reservation. Whether you match three colors in your sleep or avoid puzzles like a plague, Tidalis is a really fun game that will keep you entertained and strategizing for hours on end."
Erica Marceau, Appletell (4/5 Score)

Tidalis Reviewed At PC Games And Reviews

"Tidalis is well produced in both the looks and sound departments and sports a puzzle mechanic I've not seen before. It has literally hours of stream-building puzzle action, plus it has a character called Humphrey and if that isn't an excuse to buy this I don't know what is! Puzzlers: Go Get!"
Andy Yates, PC Games And Reviews (7.5/10 Score)

More Great Tidalis Reviews!

"Tidalis is a dream of a game, and more than worth the money paid for purchase. If you like Bejewelled, Tetris or any title that tests your brain, Tidalis is a must-buy."
Harry Balls (5/5 Stars)

"Overall it's a cracking puzzle game title - it looks great, is easy to pick up the basics but very difficult to master completely, has a nice story mode for people like me who often get bored with puzzle games normally, and as you'd expect from Arcen Games has some great multi player options."
CaptainD, CaptainD's PC Gaming Blog (8/10 Solo, 9/10 Multiplayer)

"Tidalis's ease of use really lends itself well to the casual market it is trying to hit, but there is also enough substance in the game to make it appealing for more hardcore puzzle gamers as well. This is definitely a game to check out if you are looking for a new type of tile-game."
Chris Meyer, GameVortex (80% Score)

Bytten Review Of Tidalis

"Tidalis is the first game in recent memory that I can unreservedly recommend to everybody. If you're a puzzle game fan then it's a no-brainer. Tidalis is simply the best abstract puzzle game on the market, hands down. If you're not much of a puzzle game fan, then prepare to be surprised."
Steve Blanch, Bytten (81% Overall Score)