Contributions > Descriptions by Pirou Julien (2963)
Pirou Julien has contributed 37 descriptions to the database.
Shadowrun Chronicles - Boston Lockdown is a turn-based, tactical role-playing game set in the Shadowrun universe. The game requires an online connection and is meant to be played in cooperation with other players, although it is also possible to play alone.
The game is set in 2076, and shares the timeline and metaplot of the 5th edition of the Shadowrun pen-and-paper game. As its name implies, Boston Lockdown takes place in Boston, as the city gets quarantined following ominous events: the awakening of an unknown Dragon, a mysterious, rainbow-coloured rain, and a pandemic of people getting insane. As in any Shadowrun plot, things quickly become messy, with gang warfare, corporate shenanigans, and different agendas pulling the strings in the shadows.
The player plays a "shadowrunner", a mercenary doing dirty jobs for the Megacorporations and other shady clients. After meeting NPCs (and other players) in a "hub" environment, the player(s) can use the map of Boston to tackle various missions ("runs"), earning nuyens to buy better equipment and karma to improve their skills.
Uchū Senkan Yamato 2199 Battle Field Infinity is a turn-based strategy game set in the universe of the Uchū Senkan Yamato 2199 anime series, the remake of the classic space opera.
The player takes control of either the Terran or Gamilas fleet in a series of battles. Only one ship can move each turn, and they all have different movement ranges, abilities and attack modes. When attacking an enemy ship, the player has to manually aim and shoot by touching the screen. Defeating an enemy unit grants a free turn allowing the player to perform another action with the same ship. The goal is usually to destroy all enemies on the battlefield while losing as few ships as possible.
Victory is rewarded with experience points and resources to build new ships and weapons. The game is free-to-play, which in this case means it is possible to spend real money to buy special resources necessary to build 'rare' units. Some randomness is involved when buying a ship: for instance you know you are buying a fighter, not which fighter model it will be or who will be its pilot.
Uchū Senkan Yamato: Nijū Ginga no Hōkai is the third and final part of the "Dark Nebula series", after Uchū Senkan Yamato: Iscandar e no Tsuioku and Uchū Senkan Yamato: Ankoku Seidan Teikoku no Gyakushū. It follows the events of the second half of the fourth Yamato movie, Be Forever Yamato. The Yamato and the Yukikaze have finally reached the Dark Nebula, and discover it is actually two parallel galaxies, one of light, and one of darkness. Entering this new universe, the heroes of Earth are about to discover the secrets of the Empire, and engage in a deadly battle to ensure the future of the human race.
Uchū Senkan Yamato: Nijū Ginga no Hōkai is a very similar to the previous two Playstation 2 games, and feature both the real-time space battles and third-person phases, where the player takes direct control of a character and must navigate 3D levels to accomplish specific objectives. Like previous games of the series, the game features character-design by Keisuke Masunaga, based on the original characters created by Leiji Matsumoto. The story is told both with animated 2D movies and fully-voiced in-games cutscenes. The characters are rendered in cel-shading.
The game's story is based on co-creator Leiji Matsumoto's original ideas and is quite different from the movie, offering two possible endings.
Uchū Senkan Yamato: Ankoku Seidan Teikoku no Gyakushū is the second part of the "Dark Nebula series", after
After the battle of Iscandar, the Dark Nebula Empire strikes back and invades Earth. They aim to force the earthlings into submission with the threat of a planetary neutron bomb. The bomb's trigger is located on the Empire's home planet, and so the Yamato takes off once again to find a way to prevent the bomb from exploding. Meanwhile, Yuki Mori finds herself stranded on Earth, and joins the Resistance against the invader. The game's story is based on co-creator Leiji Matsumoto's original ideas, and is quite different from the movie, with some characters meeting very different fates.
Uchū Senkan Yamato: Ankoku Seidan Teikoku no Gyakushū features real-time space battles that are very similar to its predecessor, but also new third-person phases, where the player takes direct control of a character and must navigate 3D levels to accomplish specific objectives. Like previous games of the series, the game features character-design by Keisuke Masunaga, based on the original characters created by Leiji Matsumoto. The story is told both with animated 2D movies and fully-voiced in-games cutscenes. The characters are rendered in cel-shading.
Continuing the story of the space battleship Yamato after
Developed by the same team as the two PlayStation games, Uchū Senkan Yamato: Iscandar e no Tsuioku offers a very different gameplay. The semi-turn-based tactical battles are no more, as the game is now a real-time strategy/action game, where the player controls the Yamato and allied ships during 3D space battles. While following the plot of the movie, the game also includes some new twists, characters and adventures on the way to Iscandar.
Like previous games of the series, the game features character-design by Keisuke Masunaga, based on the original characters created by Leiji Matsumoto. The story is told both with animated 2D movies and fully-voiced in-games cutscenes. The characters are rendered in cel-shading.
Tesla Effect is the sixth instalment in the Tex Murphy adventure game series. The player dons the fedora of Tex Murphy, a private eye struggling to solve cases and pay the bills in a world devastated by a nuclear conflict.
The game is set in San Francisco in 2050, seven years after the cliffhanger ending of Tex Murphy: Overseer. During this time frame, Tex has seemingly abandoned his principles and has become a hard, cold-blooded man willing to take any job as long as it pays. As the game opens, Tex's office on Chandler Avenue is attacked by mysterious assailants and Tex receives a blow to the head. He wakes up, dazzled and confused, with no recollection of the last seven years. Having reverted to his older, nicer personality, Tex must now discover the truth about what happened to his girlfriend Chelsee and himself that fateful night of 2043. And of course, that will in turn lead him to uncover a sinister plot that has something to do with the research of 20th century inventor Nikola Tesla.
Tesla Effect is a first-person point-and-click adventure game that plays very much like previous entries in the series. The player sees through Tex's eyes in a 3D environment, moving with the keyboard and using the mouse to point and click at various objects and items. Regularly, a live-action full-motion video cut-scene will be triggered, as Tex (still played by series' creator Chris Jones) interacts with the world and various characters. Aside from series regulars, the game's cast includes several television and movie actors such as Kevin Murphy, Todd Bridges, June Lockhart, Richard Norton, Jodi Russell and Larry Thomas. The game offers several different endings, two difficulty modes, and a built-in hint system.
Motor Rock is an unofficial 3D remake of Rock 'n Roll Racing. Like the original, it is a racing game where drivers from various planets compete in an intergalactic championship using both their skills behind the wheel and the deadly weapons and booby-traps their vehicles are equipped with. The game features several modes, including single races and tournament. In the tournament mode, the player must win enough races to continue to the next planet, using the money earned by his victories to upgrade his current car or buy a more powerful one. A multiplayer mode is also present.
The game offers two views: the classic isometric view of the original game and a rear view more similar to 3D racing games like the Rock 'n Roll Racing's sequel Red Asphalt. As in Rock 'n Roll Racing, the soundtrack is comprised of arrangements of famous rock songs.
In Out There the player is an astronaut bound for Jupiter who wakes up from his cryogenic sleep to discover he has drifted away from our solar system and is now lost somewhere in unknown space. A meeting with a mysterious entity leaves him with a set of coordinates and the technology to jump between star systems. It is now up to the astronaut to find his way back home, or die trying, alone in the vast emptiness of space.
Out There is essentially a game of resource management. The player must keep a watchful eye on his fuel, oxygen and hull integrity gauges, as each action, each move, will decrease them more or less rapidly. Step by step, the player finds new technologies to salvage, planets to mine for resources, even derelict ships he can board. On some planets, he will also meet weird alien races who may help him on his journey, if he manages to decipher their language. Random events occur every time the player arrives in a new star system, which can put his best-laid plans in dire jeopardy.
There are no enemies to fight in Out There. The astronaut already has much to do to survive space itself and its many hazards.
Joe Dever's Lone Wolf is a video game adaptation of the long-running gamebook series starring Lone Wolf, the last of the Kai Lords. Rather than being based on one of the existing books, the game tells a whole new chapter in the life of Lone Wolf, written in collaboration with series' creator Joe Dever.
The game takes place in the fantasy world of Magnamund, three years after the destruction of the Kai order at the hands of the Darklords (as told in the very first Lone Wolf gamebook, Flight from the Dark). The only survivor of the battle, Lone Wolf now travels the kingdom of Sommerlund to fight the forces of evil. As the game begins, the player, as Lone Wolf, arrives to the remote mining town of Rockstarn and finds the town under attack from the Darklords' minions. It is now up to the player to fend off the invading armies of monsters, save the villagers and discover if the attack against Rockstarn is part of a bigger, nastier scheme.
The game is essentially a "video gamebook", with some light RPG elements and inventory management. At key points in the story, the player can choose between several skills to deal with the situation, leading to branching paths. When Lone Wolf encounters enemies, the game switches to a 3D battle sequence, the combat system mixing together active time battle mechanics (hybrid of turn-based and real-time made famous by the Final Fantasy game series) and quick time events. While the narrative sequences can be played with the device held horizontally or vertically, battles require the device to be held horizontally.
The story is told in episodic form, each new chapters needing to be purchased through an in-game shop.
Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106 is a text adventure in the spirit of "choose-your-own-adventure" gamebooks, taking place in the post-apocalyptic and dystopian future of the 2000 AD comic book. As Judge Dredd, a ruthless law enforcer, the player must patrol the crime-ridden streets of Mega City One, eventually finding himself fighting the criminals of the Sector 106 underworld, who have been hatching a nefarious scheme.
Each section of the adventure ends with a choice, taking the players to different scenes. Sometimes, the player will have to use Dredd's skills and roll virtual dices in order to succeed.
Judge Dredd vs Zombies is an action game set in the post-apocalyptic and dystopian future of the eponymous 2000 AD comic books. As the titular law enforcer, the player must navigate various levels to eliminate the zombies invading Mega City One. While in 3D, gameplay is very similar to arcade classics such as Alien Syndrome.
To unlock the exit lift, the player must destroy all zombies in the level, while trying to perform chain kills and combos to increase his score. The legions of the undead come in various shapes and sizes, needing more or less hits to be destroyed. To deal with the threat, Judge Dredd can choose between several weapons at the beginning of a level, including his trusty MkII Lawgiver pistol, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, and a rocket launcher. Various items can also be picked up in the levels, such as ammo, judge badges and medkits.
There are 3 episodes to be completed, with each consisting of 10 levels.
The game features in-game purchases to unlock all levels and upgrade Dredd's arsenal.
Dragonfall is an expansion pack for Shadowrun Returns and requires the original game to play. This new campaign builds upon the gameplay of Shadowrun Returns through a new storyline.
As all Shadowrun games, Dragonfall is set in the Sixth World, a cyberpunk future where magic has returned to the world. More specifically, Dragonfall takes place in Berlin, in 2054. A long time ago, in 2012, the rampaging Great Dragon Feuershwinge ("Firewing") was shot down by the German military, an event nicknamed the "Dragonfall". The player is the next recruit of an hardened team of shadowrunners, clandestine operatives doing the dirty work of megacorporations and other power players. Soon, the team gets caught in a web of intrigue and conspiracy that seems somehow linked to the death of the Dragon, 42 years earlier.
New gameplay features in Dragonfall include the ability to save anywhere, a greater emphasis on playing a team of characters with different personalities and backstories, and more freedom for the player to choose his missions, using the city of Berlin as a hub. The add-on also features new environments, new character portraits for both the player and the NPCs, and a new soundtrack.
In this follow-up to the 2010 game Lords of Shadow and its 3DS sequel Mirror of Fate, players once again take control of Gabriel Belmont, now better known as the Prince of Darkness, Dracula.
One thousand years after his victory over the Lords of Shadow and Satan himself, at the cost of his own humanity, Dracula is visited by his old "friend" Zobek, bringing dire news. Satan is about to return, and only Dracula can stop him and his minions from destroying the world. If he succeeds, Zobek promises to free him from the curse of immortality. But before Dracula can take the fight to Satan's acolytes, he will have to recover his old powers.
As its predecessor, Lords of Shadow 2 combines exploration of 3D environments (now with full control of the camera), melee combat and platforming sequences. Instead of a linear succession of levels, however, Lords of Shadow 2 offers a semi-open structure, more similar in spirit to Symphony of the Night. The game alternates between sequences set in modern-day Wygol City, as Dracula tries to undermine the efforts of Satan's acolytes, and dreamlike visits to Dracula's castle. The Prince of Darkness must explore the now-hostile fortress to locate his lost powers and other upgrades.
New gameplay features include a new set of weapons and abilities for the protagonist, like the Void Sword capable of draining the enemies' health and the Chaos Claws used to break shields/armors and other destructible objects. Dracula can also use various vampire powers, such as drinking blood to restore his health or turning into a plague of rats during stealth sequences.
Strider is a modern reinterpretation of Capcom's arcade classic Strider, with some gameplay elements borrowed from the NES version. The player takes control of Strider Hiryû, a ninja-like warrior sent to the technologically advanced Kazakh City. Kazakh has been taken over by a ruthless dictator, Grandmaster Meio, and his armies of robots. Many other Striders were sent before Hiryû, never to be seen again. It's now up to Hiryu to succeed where his predecessors have failed and free the people of Kazakh City from Meio and his henchmen.
As the original, Strider is mostly an action/platform game where Hiryû must hack and slash his way through hordes of enemies. The player must use Hiryû's climbing abilities to explore the 2.5D environments, uncovering bonuses and upgrades in the process. By progressing through the story and defeating the many bosses, Hiryû unlocks new weapons and powers, allowing him to reach new areas of Kazakh City. Contrary to his predecessors, this version of Strider is not linear and adopts a semi-open structure in the vein of the Metroid games, although a map and navigation system always indicate in which direction is the next objective.
Wizardry Online is a free-to-play dungeon crawler MMORPG inspired by the early Wizardry games.
The game takes place in the kingdom of Dimento, a fantasy world where magic is slowly disappearing. The authorities suspect this phenomenon is linked to ancient ruins left by the mysterious Dragoon civilization. Said ruins have soon become invaded by monsters, and the government issues a call for adventurers to venture into the ruins and discover the truth. And thus the adventure begins in the small port of Illfalo.
The players can create their character by choosing between various fantasy races (Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, and small, Hobbit-like humanoids called "Porkuls") and classes (Fighters, Mages, Thieves...). After completing some trials to join the Adventurers' Guild (acting as the game's tutorial), the player begins his quest, exploring dungeons, vanquishing monsters, and looting treasure. As in all MMORPGs, it is strongly recommended to find some friends to form a party. The game only features towns and dungeons.
The gameplay of Wizardry Online is intentionally old-school, especially the death mechanics. When killed, a player becomes a ghost, and needs to return to a statue in order to be reincarnated. But as the character grows in power, the resurrection rate decreases, and adding a chance to lose the character forever, except if the player sacrifices some items. And while he's looking for the statue in ghost form, his body can be looted by other players. On his way, he might also meet Reapers who will reduce his resurrection rate.
Dwarf Quest is a third-person, isometric dungeon crawler reminiscent of games like HeroQuest or Cadaver. The game takes place in the dwarven kingdom of Rockholm. Every year, a contest in held: five of the bravest dwarves descend in an underground maze called the Foundry, and the winner is the one who reaches the exit first. The player takes the role of Morrin Firebeard, one of the contestants. But as Morrin explores the Foundry, he finds the dead bodies of the other dwarves, and realizes something evil is stirring in the depths of the earth.
The player must explore a series of dungeons, collecting gold and equipment allowing him to survive the dangers of the maze. Combat is turn-based, and uses a system of action points. Any action (moving, attacking) costs a point, and any unused point is added to Morrin's defense against enemy attacks. The dungeons are often puzzles in themselves, as the player will have to find hidden keys and levers in order to reveal the path to the next level.
Might & Magic: Duel of Champions is a tactical card game set in the fantasy world of Ashan, where all Might & Magic games are taking place since Heroes of Might and Magic V. Despite a similar premise, it is not a sequel to Arcomage. Two players face off with a deck containing different sorts of cards: heroes, creatures, spells, fortunes and events. Every turn, the players gain resources allowing them to play one or more cards, the goal being to eliminate the enemy's creatures in order to attack his Hero directly. When a Hero's health is reduced to zero, his player loses the match. The game features the factions and art style seen in Might & Magic: Heroes VI. Through victory, the player will gain experience points, gold and seals, the latter two allowing him to purchase more decks and cards. The game adopts a free-to-play model, so it's also possible (though not mandatory) to use real-world money to acquire more in-game currency.
While the online multiplayer mode is the heart of the game, Duel of Champions also features a single-player campaign, telling the story of the Windswords, a company of mercenaries confronted to the sinister threat of the Nethermancers, the wizards of the Void.
Pirates of the Savage Sea is an "Adventure Pack" (or DLC) for Might & Magic: Heroes VI. It contains a 2-maps campaign and a separate large scenario map. The Adventure Pack also adds new heroes, a new artifact set, a new Dynasty Weapon, a new Boss fight, a Pet, and a new building on the adventure map (the Elemental Conflux, which allows to recruit the various elemental neutral creatures).
The story of the campaign is centered around the new incarnation of Crag Hack, a classic Might & Magic character revamped to fit in the world of Ashan. Now a barbarian-pirate, the retired Crag Hack has been called back into action to hunt a powerful creature known as a Thunderbird. During the course of his quest, he will uncover a sinister plot.
The scenario map, called "A Princess of VARN", is a return to VARN, to world of the very first Might & Magic, for a new story taking place 25 years after the events of that game.
The Adventure Pack was released alongside a free patch that notably included new town screens similar to the ones seen in Heroes III, and a full overhaul of the game balance.
The Incredible Machine on iOS devices is a new installment of the classic puzzle-game series, developed by Jeff Tunnell, the designer of the original games.
As in previous games of the series, the goal is to assemble Rube Goldberg machines in order to generate a chain reaction that will culminate in the realization of a specific objective. In each level, the player is faced with unmovable elements of an existing machine, and has access to a library of spare parts to complete it. When the player thinks his contraption is completed, he can press the "Go" button to start the machine.
The game features 75 levels and more than 90 different parts, ranging from pipes to ropes, bombs and rockets, see-saws and trampolines, cats and mice, and even a little boy named Mel. Contrary to the previous episodes, there is no "sandbox" mode. Updates added new levels in the form of DLC.
Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land is a turn-based strategy game based on the mythos created by H. P. Lovecraft. Inspired by the author's short story, Herbert West-Reanimator, the game puts the player in control of a squad of British soldiers facing unspeakable horrors in the trenches of World War I, following the system of Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu pen-and-paper role-playing game. The game is set in 1915. Professor Brightmeer of the Miskatonic University has been sent to the front lines by British intelligence to counter the actions of the Cult of the Awakened, a German secret society trying to win the war by summoning the creatures of the Cthulhu Mythos. It's up to Brightmeer and the British soldiers to risk their lives and sanity in order to stop the Cult from unleashing these evil forces.
The surviving soldiers gain experience points during missions, that they can use to improve their abilities and skills. Skills are also improved by simply using them: a soldier using a rifle several times will become better with this particular weapon. Between missions, it is also possible to purchase better gear for the soldiers, such as gas masks, armor, weapons, first aid kits and even esoteric spells. Every time the characters interact with a monster (for example attacking it or being damaged by it) they lose a bit of their sanity, and if that gets depleted they enter either in a state of paralysis or mania for one turn. The latter makes the character as if on steroids, able to perform more actions than normally possible before dropping unconscious in the next turn.
A character that is unconscious after losing all health or sanity points will survive a number of turns before dying permanently. In the meantime, another member of the party can heal him or her by using a first aid kit or a healing spell. There are other useful items which the player can buy. For example, the Book of Hysteria, and later the book Interpretation of Dreams can restore a limited number of sanity points. When in open space, the player can call in an artillery strike using a carrier pigeon, as a way to deal damage to multiple targets at the same time.
The Windows version of the game already includes the DLC, Kaul's Diary.
Labyrinth of Lost Souls is a new instalment in the long-running Wizardry series of role-playing games, and is part of the Wizardry Renaissance, an effort to relaunch the brand.
The game is very faithful to the early episodes of the series. In a fantasy world, the player controls a party of six adventurers as they descend into a treacherous dungeon. Movement is grid-based, with turn-based combat happening randomly. There are several classes of characters (fighter, mage, priest, thief ...), each with its own abilities (for instance, only the bishop is able to identify object found in the labyrinth). The game is designed to be difficult and unforgiving, so the player must optimize his party in order to survive the trials waiting for him. Between two treks in the dungeon, the party must get back to town to heal, trade and receive new quests. The graphics are minimalistic. The town and characters are 2D artworks, while the labyrinth itself is in simple 3D.
The Doctor Who Cloned Me is the second DLC expansion pack for Duke Nukem Forever. It contains a new single player campaign continuing the storyline after the end of the original game, a couple of new weapons (notably the Microwave Expander gun first introduced in Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium Pak), some new enemies (including the return of the Techbot androids from the first Duke Nukem) and four new Multiplayer Maps.
After the battle at Hoover Dam, Duke wakes up in Area 51 and finds himself a prisoner of the nefarious Dr. Proton, his old nemesis from the very first Duke Nukem game. Proton has been busy creating an army of Duke clones he intends to use to defeat the aliens once and for all, then conquer the world. It's up to the real Duke (with a little help from General Graves and Captain Dylan) to thwart this scheme and deal with the threat of a new Alien Queen.
Tapper World Tour is a sequel to the arcade classic Tapper on iOS devices, with an art direction and animation provided by cartoon veteran Don Bluth.
The player controls either Sam the bartender or his daughter Nikki as they travel the world serving drinks to the patrons of various bars. The player must literally "tap" the barrels in order to send drinks to the approaching patrons. Simple at first, the task gets more and more complex as the number of counters increase, as does the flow of clients. The player must make sure not to send more drinks than needed, else the extra glasses will fall and break, making him lose a credit. Sometimes the patrons will also send back the empty glasses, which the bartender will have to catch before it falls. Luckily, Sam and Nikki have some aces up their sleeves, and can for instance trigger a show in the bar to slow down the arrival of patrons during a few seconds. Some clients will also leave tips for the player to collect, earning him extra credits. Of course, while the bartender is running to collect his tips, patrons continue to arrive.
Galaxy on Fire 2 continues the adventures of the mercenary/bounty hunter Keith T. Maxwell. As he's on his way to Eden Prime to collect the reward for disposing a band of space pirates, his hyperdrive malfunctions and thrusts him though time. Awakening in the future, he will have to restart from scratch in a galaxy that has changed a lot in the meantime. And of course, eventually our hero will have to face a new galactic threat... Like its predecessor, Galaxy on Fire 2 is a mix of space shooter, intergalactic trade and cosmic adventure, similar in concept to games like Privateer or Freelancer. The game offers two modes of control: by using the accelerometer to control the steering of the ship, or by using a virtual joystick.
SimCity Deluxe is the second version of SimCity for mobile devices. It is very similar in terms of gameplay, but proposes whole new graphics (while the previous version was a port of SimCity 3000). In SimCityDeluxe the player is the mayor of a new city, and will have to manage its growth. The player can build residential, commercial or industrial areas, and must make sure to provide electricity, water, roads, education, entertainment and other commodities to ensure the well-being of the citizens. SimCity Deluxe lets the player play in "sandbox" mode (where the player starts with an empty map and is free to develop the city in any way) or "scenario" mode where the player must manage famous cities.
In 2981, overpopulation of planet Earth has led mankind to establish colonies in space. These colonies are under total control of megacorporations. To do their dirty job, the megacorporations hire teams of ruthless mercenaries called "hunters". The player takes control of such a group.
The gameplay of Hunters: Chapter One is similar to games like X-COM or Incubation. It is a turn-based strategy game where the player controls their squad on a tactical map. Each member of the squad has a limited number of action points they can spend to move or act during the turn. Surviving members of the team gain experience points allowing them to upgrade their skills. Between each mission, the player returns to the spaceship in order to manage their team and acquire new gear.
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