Planet Nomads - Review

Planet Nomads is a Steam early access, open world, survival game on a planet which has varying biomes for the player to explore. In the game, you crash land on this planet and have to survive in the wilderness by yourself. As a lone scientist, you, the player, have to use your wit and knowledge to create whatever basic needs you require in this sci-fi sandbox. The is constantly being updated and is never boring. When starting a new save in Planet Nomads the player is presented with a sleek looking menu which prompts them if they want to play a survival game, or a creative game. The feature is something fairly small, but it proves that the developers have thoughts quite deeply about who they might want to target for their audience. For an early access survival game, it is very good that they have already considered that not many people will want to do the “survival” element of the game and just want to build a cool base or a cool car. After all, not everybody is into resource

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam - Review


Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is a realistic FPS that focuses on the Vietnam war, hence the name. The game was released on the 30th of May, 2017 and has since been met with varying views. Some people have enjoyed the game and think it is a great addition to the series, where as others think it is a horrible title in comparison to the other Rising Storm games. Now, “in comparison” is key, as my review will not compare the games from the same standpoint as others have. Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is in fact the first Rising Storm game I have played and I actually enjoyed it, here’s why:

The launch of Rising Storm 2: Vietnam was admittedly quite poor. A lot of bugs, crashes and various other problems peppered the game and caused a lot of frustration amongst the players. This is 2017 though. Launches are known to be rough and I didn’t expect Rising Storm 2: Vietnam to be any different. I booted up the game and to my surprise was met with a very unique feel to the entire game. The maps are interesting and unique. It was very difficult to see enemies and to identify them at that. I wasn’t used to team killing being on and neither was I expecting the odd, yet usable FPS perspective they were using.


I got used to the play style of the game and quite quickly got into the flow of how the maps worked. I enjoyed the variety of different play and the huge emphasis on teamwork, as a one man army almost never became a viable solution. The game is also in a sort of permanent hardcore mode, with no crosshairs and no regenerating health. On top of that it is a 2 hit kill in most cases and the only time you can stop yourself from dying if by bandaging, which you can only do twice.

After I had enabled the advanced flight model for the helicopters, the flying in the game became quite similar to the flying in games like the Arma series. Something cool I found was that you can also use autorotation to fly a helicopter if the engine ceases to function. Flying is extremely fun in the game and the pilot classes are always instantly taken from the moment the rounds start.

The game does have issues though. Although teamwork is heavily encouraged, barely anybody uses the voice chat system that is in place to communicate with the rest of the team. The majority of the time, the Commander is the only person to tell the team what is happening and what to do, but even then people don’t listen. There is also the issue of the servers. It’s so difficult to find one to join and the server list is never fully accurate. By the time you are reading this review, this may have been fixed, but as of the last time I played the game, today, it was still an issue. On top of that, the SAM missile system destroys helicopter pilots nearly instantly. As a pilot I find this majorly frustrating as there is no counter to SAM’s, but I suppose realism is realism.


Now, for the comparison section. I played the Rising Storm/Red Orchestra 2 Multiplayer and I personally felt like it was a step down. I found Vietnam was much more immersive and a much more intense experience that never let me down in terms of intensity. This may have just been unlucky with the games I played, but my experience will probably vary from yours. I personally do not feel the same way others do, and feel like Vietnam was a step in the right direction for a Vietnam war era game. Since I haven’t put many hours into the Rising Storm/Red Orchestra 2 Multiplayer, I may not fully understand the way the game is meant to be played. I approached the game the same way I played Vietnam, which might simply not work.

So where does this leave my stance with the game? As I stated, I really enjoy playing this game. It’s incredibly fun and always poses a challenge. Despite the bugs and glitches that are still in the game, I believe it will be fixed and will be one of the most enthralling experiences an FPS player could have. I would recommend Rising Storm 2: Vietnam simply from an FPS player to another as it is an intense and fun experience I feel you won’t receive in other games.


-X_Pilot

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