Diaspora: Shattered Armistice Review (@IGN)

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Nathan Meunier

“The story of humanity’s last-ditch struggle to escape extinction at the hands of the Cylons certainly hooked me, but Battlestar Galactica’s phenomenal space battle sequence are what really set my inner sci-fi nerd’s heart aflutter. Re-living those thrilling moments from inside the cockpit of a Viper instead of from the sidelines makes playing Diaspora: Shattered Armistice a real treat at times. Despite a few rough edges, this impressive fan-made Battlestar Galactica homage captures the intense rush of blowing the frak out of Cylon raiders as you rocket full-throttle towards a fully-powered Basestar.”

Check out the full review here at IGN.

Free Bytes Double Whammy

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Nathan Meunier

Free Bytes: Mother Robot

“Back when I was a young kid with an overactive imagination, nighttime was the most ominous stretch of the day. When the lights went out, it felt like every creak of the house signaled my impending doom at the hands of some slathering, flesh-eating beast thing waiting for me in the dark – to suck out my guts with a vile proboscis, I would assume. Thankfully, my trusty flashlight was more powerful than a broadsword in its ability to ward off my impending monstrous death with its illuminating beams. Mother Robot takes that idea and runs in a different direction. This crafty little game is about staying alive by keeping the lights on…by using lots of robots and laser umbilical cords.”

Check out my full Mother Robot write-up here at IGN.

Free Bytes: Pipedreamz

“At one point or another, most folks get stuck working a crappy stint in a dead-end job for awhile. During such times, it’s often all-but-expected that you’ll do the best job you can muster while letting your mind wander to enjoy the marvels of mental inner-space to help make the misery pass quicker (unless you’re a jet pilot or a nuclear power plant operator, of course). Pipedreamz is kind of like that but a heck of a lot weirder.”

Check out my full write-up of Pipedreamz here at IGN.

Free Bytes: Double Feature

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Nathan Meunier

I’ve been lousy at updating this site lately, so I’m going to make an effort to catch up. Here’s the past two installments of my Free Bytes column over at IGN from last week and the week before! Boom.

Free Bytes: I Am An Insane Rogue A.I.

“As a psychotic supercomputer that’s intent on world domination, your primary objective is to take over the planet one high-tech warehouse at a time. However, each warehouse is filled with pesky, squishy humans and sentry drones that seek to thwart your diabolical efforts. With only a limited amount of cycle power to take action with, you have to carefully herd (or brutally massacre) your human adversaries away from each building’s computer terminals long enough to hack into them and take over the mainframe.”

Read the full write-up here at IGN.

Free Bytes: Goblin War Machine

“Revenge is the sweetest when it involves rolling over your foes with a mechanical automaton of doom and crushing their civilization under the barbed wheels of sweet metallic Armageddon. The clash of cymbals, the boom of drums, and a malevolent orchestral groan sets the mood for wanton destruction quite nicely in Goblin War Machine – a game about building the biggest, gnarliest damn war machine imaginable and using it to turn the human countryside into ground hamburger.

Read the full write-up here at IGN.

Free Bytes: Effing Meteors

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Nathan Meunier

Hey, there’s a meteor. Eff that! Kidding. Effing Hail was awesome. Effing Meteors is event more awesome. It was also my Free Bytes installment over at IGN for last week. Yeah, I’m still behind on posting stuff. Here’s the linky: Effing Meteors. Wooh!

Feature: Minecraft – Digging Deep Into a Curious Realm

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Nathan Meunier

Once I started playing Minecraft I was totally hooked. It’s a very cool concept, and players are really taking the engine and running with it creativity-wise. I recently interviewed Notch and put together a massive feature on the game for GameSpy that you can check out over here. I’d blog about it more, but I spilled my guts on the subject pretty thoroughly in the article. Give it a read! Thanks.

Free Bytes: Octodad

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Nathan Meunier

I’m a big fan of wacky games, and Octodad is about as oddball as it gets. You play as an octopus masquerading as a human dad that’s trying to do some crazy research while not blowing his cover to his human wife and kids. Intentionally wonkly controls make humorous light of the fact the protagonist doesn’t have bones, and fumbling your way through the game’s challenges is pretty hilarious. This student-crafted indie game is short and sweet. Definitely give it a spin.

Check out my write-up of Octodad in my weekly Free Bytes column over at IGN here.

Free Bytes: Radical Fishing

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Nathan Meunier

Generally speaking, I’m not a huge fan of fishing games, but Radical Fishing is definitely more my speed. Missile launchers, chainsaws, and gatling guns make the sport a lot more enjoyable. This crazy fishing game has a lot of quirky charm, and it’s bloody enough to dial up the absurdity meter to epic porportions. You can check out my full write-up of this free game in this week’s edition of my Free Bytes column over here at IGN.

Free Bytes: Haunt the House

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Nathan Meunier

“In Haunt the House, you play as a seemingly docile little ghost looking to prove yourself by freaking the hell out of a the 30 dinner guests visiting the mansion you happen to be haunting. Since the only thing about the mansion that’s spooky from the get-go is the price tag for the expensive furniture, you have to really shake things up to set the right blood-curdling atmosphere. Flying around from room to room, you can possess any objects you encounter and then make them do creepy thing to freak out the guests.”

Check out the full column here at IGN.

Free Bytes: Super Crate Box

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Nathan Meunier

“Feel like getting lots of work done this afternoon? Forget that. Pay attention and get ready to kiss the rest of your day’s productivity goodbye, because once this week’s freebie sinks its jaws into you, you’ll have to gnaw your own limbs off to escape. Today, sweet blissful doom comes in three delicious words: Super Crate Box. Play it. Fear it. Love it. Obey.”

Check out the full column here at IGN.

Free Bytes: Sheriff Sam

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Nathan Meunier

“In the dusty plains and sweltering heat of the Wild West, a man does not readily part ways with his trusty steed, particularly when four-legged transportation can make all the difference between life and death. Keeping one’s ride in good working order is important, but when a horse hurts a leg, getting it up and running again isn’t as easy as changing a spare tire. When his horse Argo gets hurt in the middle of the desert, Sheriff Sam has to man up and defend his pal with a six-shooter in hand until help arrives. Unfortunately for them, it seems every critter in the galaxy and beyond has suddenly developed a taste for horse meat.”