Legacy

It’s great to see a developer able to fulfill their potential over time. There are two good examples I have come across lately, both from years back.

Massive has always made the real-time strategy titles I’m not too slow to play. Ground Control and its sequel were great scifi warfare titles. Finally getting to play World In Conflict, their take on Cold War fantasy, it is great to see all the things I love about their previous titles given proper time and money to flourish. It’s an action gamer’s strategy title, even controlled with WASD. And the explosions are better than anything out there!

Then there’s Frozenbyte, lately of Trine fame, but who made their mark with two Shadowgrounds titles. Shadowgrounds is something I might have designed myself, very much steeped in old school gameplay. The original I grew quite quickly bored of. There just wasn’t enough quality. But the sequel, Shadowgrounds Survivor, is in every way an improvement. It takes the exactly same formula and just executes super well. I was most impressed by the subdued storytelling and world-class audio, both of which grated quite a bit in the first game. Well worth your time and money.