Lunar Flight
–— ADDITIONAL EDIT —–
It’s been 2½ years since my original review (see below) which still stands. However, I’ve now been able to play this game in VR (Vive) and felt compelled to update my thoughts.
This game is the best VR experience I’ve had to date! It’s easily a better VR experience that DCS which I also spend a lot of time with. Why the high praise? There are a few reasons:
GOOD FRAME RATES - Perhaps due to the fact that this is a relatively simple game, framerates remain high enough to give a good experience.
– Real player with 155.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Difficult VR Games.
This little gem is the perfect homage to 50 years of human spaceflight, and classic Lunar Lander games (originating way back on 1969 text-only computers).
It takes the idea of the old 2D arcade games with realistic physics, and perfectly transcends them into 3D - plus VR support! The audio deserves special mention: the mesmerizing music, plus voice recordings from real NASA missions, create an intriguing ambience.
Considering the ‘Newtonian’ flight dynamics, this game is of “Easy to learn, difficult to master” flavor. There is a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it feels AMAZING to fly around. The satisfaction of completing Mars missions is just so rewarding!
– Real player with 101.4 hrs in game
DiRT Rally
There’s nothing like flying down a dirt road sliding around corners and missing edges by inches. Its seat of the pants driving in the extreme.
Rally-sport is one of the last untamed racing types in existence. To me its baffling why the sport is not more popular. Im looking forward to attending my first local one next spring. A number of years ago after dirt showdown came out I was so disappointed by the offering I did a google search for rumors about the next dirt game when I came across a extensive survey(8 pages long) for what I wanted in the next dirt game. The nature of the questions were thorough and specific as far as authenticity and most of all realistic simulation vs arcade racing. After taking the survey I was super existed told fellow racing friends about it. But years went by and nothing… 9months ago codies said they were removing the dreaded GFWL from dirt 3 and making it a steamworks game. Time went by and I thought its fate was the same as the survey I took. Then in time for my birthday for this year we got Dirt 3 Complete. Then I was blown away because not long after dirt 3 came this gem.
– Real player with 473.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Difficult Racing Games.
Initially I had a cracked copy of this game, and I just felt guilty for playing it so much. Buying it was one of the best ideas I had, and I should have bought it day 1
Coming from a history of playing a TON of rally games from the PlayStation 1 era up until now, but sadly missed out on Richard Burns Rally.
PROS
- I love the fact it’s not as arcadey as most other rally games. I was pretty good in Dirt 3, but coming into DR showed me that I didn’t know NEARLY enough, and since I’d always push as hard as I could, the game punished me for it every single time. They could have improved on the physics but it is still one of the better representations of a rally car
– Real player with 321.9 hrs in game
DiRT Rally 2.0
Never really cared for any racing or driving games before this one.
It was brutally hard for me to learn but once you actually get the hang of things it is so damn fun and makes you feel like such a badass. There is no feeling quite like going sideways on a dirt road at 100 MPH and knowing you are fully in control.
– Real player with 157.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Difficult Racing Games.
Racing games were the one thing I always avoided. For someone like me, who’s a major newbie that can’t build on any past experience or skill in this genre, DiRT Rally 2.0 is a challenge. Sure it can get frustrating, sure I’ll never be the best. But this game reconnected me with real skill-building that requires time and concentration. But beyond the stats, and costs, and strategies, the driving experience is just plain fun.
– Real player with 61.0 hrs in game
Vector 36
The first fifty hours, they were the worst. The second fifty hours, they were the worst too. The third fifty hours I didn’t enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline.
So why play for so many hours if the game’s that appalling?
Ah hah. Ah hah. Taste the soup…
Yes, Vector 36 is actually very good - the first few hours or so are a bit dry figuring out how to build and fly the basic low-powered skimmer and getting enough credits from racing to buy the next one (the Phi 90 - a lot more fun; a bit like an underpowered sports car). Keep plugging away and eventually you get the Quill which has buckets of speed, handles well and doesn’t require too much modification (I suggest a larger fuel tank and an extra radiator or two). This machine is fun to fly and wins the races. There is also a faster beast (that looks like a fish, moves like a fish,) but it steers - like - a - cow.
– Real player with 318.9 hrs in game
TL,DR:
hardcore skimmer (compare: multicopter) racing SIMULATION, science fiction setting, difficult but rewarding. deep game.
~
after playing this game to the death the last few weeks I think it’s time for me to write a review. I keep it short and focus only on points that make this game special to me:
the physics and the controls are great, the handling is nuanced, complex and, yeah, I assume: realistic. though it’s all science fiction, it really is a simulation.
that makes the game hard and unforgiving at the beginning - the learning curve is really pretty steep. but once you get the hang of the controls and learn how to build a skimmer that’s to your liking, racing it becomes just glorious.
– Real player with 123.0 hrs in game
Elite Dangerous
I’ve played this game a wee bit, but using words to describe how I feel is difficult, so I’ll just go ever each aspect and things I find important to mention.
Point #1, Starting Out:
Steep learning curve. The game is extremely difficult to get “good” at at base level. The first couple of weeks (Yes, weeks!) were spent looking up tutorials and flying around aimlessly. Learning that you have to plot routes on the galaxy map took me a while too! Really learning the little details and small things about this game will take a lot of time, and it can be frustrating trying to figure out why your ship constantly overheats when fuel-scooping, or what “Jump Exceeds drive fuel use limit of 5 Tons” even means. This complexity makes the game feel like you are actually flying a spaceship, which I quite like, but some people may not like that steepness to the game.
– Real player with 2423.7 hrs in game
After 2000 hours of gameplay, I feel like I did almost everything I could on the game. The truth is, I probably didn’t.
I’m not a fanboy and I do store this game from time to time in my library giving it some time to allow me to miss it. But I can ensure you that this is the kind of game that you would actually miss, indeed.
From the beauty and tranquility of mining on frozen rings of distant planets, to surface exploration on the most daring and unexpected places, asteroid belts 10x bigger then the biggest gas giant, alien life on different forms and places, stuff that you spend hours amazed defying what you thought it could be possible.
– Real player with 2233.0 hrs in game