Don't Starve and Don't Starve Together Beta

From the Canadian indie development team Klei Entertainment, Don't Starve Together is a standalone multiplayer extension of the Minecraft and Tim Burton inspired 2013 release, Don't Starve. Don't Starve Together made its debut on Steam in late 2014 and is available to Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms.

you and your friends have one job

Passing through the great survival game floodgate of 2013 and 2014, Don't Starve was all about teaching kids a great life axiom: do not plunge into hunger and die. The parent game was met with critical acclaim with lauding comments such as "You will die," "A game where poop is more important than gems," and "I WORE A MELON ON MY HEAD AND DIED OF STARVING. BEST GAME EVER." However, the greatest sanity-draining-melon-hat simulator on Steam did not have multiplayer, which many players found odd. A survival game with crafting but no multiplayer? What is this? So amidst the historical 2014 cries of "༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ VOLVO GIFF DIRETIDE", the team behind Don't Starve decided to tap the multiplayer potential of Don't Starve. 

First off, I want to express how glad I am that Don't Starve Together has its own server hosting. No need to tangle with port forwarding if you aren't familiar with it. Games like Terraria, Risk of Rain and, for the longest time, Hammerwatch simply did not have its own server hosting capabilities. Hosting and connecting is simple and quick in Don't Starve Together.

If you've read my first impression experience with Unturned, another survival game that came through the 2013-2014 game industry floodgate, you wouldn't be surprised if I told you that I didn't plunge into the multiplayer experience alone on a random server. I gathered up two other well-fed friends, Ben and Mark, who were willing to starve with me and together, we made a pact to not starve. Random servers have PvP settings and likely more griefing and hostility between players which I did not want to dabble in. Throwing ourselves into Maxwell's nightmare dimension that is the world of Don't Starve, we were confident that we would forge the great state of Camp Carlos for the Oncadorian nation.

the melon is a historical symbol of power

Backed by fantastic art direction, sound work, and an eclectic cast of player characters each with their own unique abilities and drawbacks, the gameplay is relatively simple and easy to pick up on. Survival consists of three aspects: Hunger, Sanity, and Life Points. The early days will be spent collecting basic resources and exploring the lay of the land and players will find themselves in a relatively cosy encampment. A variety of odd flora and fauna dot the different biomes you will come across. Resources can be crafted into tools which advance players towards better structures, tools, and equipment. But be wary: you will most likely die before you can starve as the trial-and-error process takes its toll. You'll soon learn that darkness is fatal, frogs are assholes, and that a lush farm of reeds conceals something terrible (HINT: It's your death).

Although exploration and experimentation are the keystones of what makes a survival game (aside from crafting and never leaving Early Access), a majority of quality of life information is hidden from players, specifically tool-tips for items. Axes are no good for combat and log suits actually block 80% of physical damage. You will most certainly be tied to the Don't Starve Wiki to figure out a vast majority of the intricate mechanics at work—which isn't a bad thing, it's just that newer players may find themselves frustratingly lost without much direction from the game. However, there is an abundance of content to uncover, from cave systems to an Adventure Mode, provided you don't starve in your journeys. 

let's poke it

You'll most likely not starve but instead die a painful death brought by some strange beast. Combat in Don't Starve Together is similar to its parent game's system heavily involving kiting and exploiting the environment. It's rather mechanically simple but not as intricate as other mechanics found in the game. Fights are rather lackluster and involves watching for animation cycles and striking at the right time; a spear and log suit are dire necessities in fights. Some encounters can also take a long time as you kite a single mob out of a horde as dealing with multiple enemies is suicidal as they will stun-lock you with their attacks. Ranged weapons are scarce and difficult to come by in the early game, resulting in a rather underdeveloped and dull set of combat mechanics. Later on, players will gain access to magical abilities to set enemies on fire or freeze them, but these abilities and items take quite a long time to obtain. 

Although straight brawling mechanics are dull, environmental solutions can be creative and interesting. Should enemies chase you, one option is to run into a small pig village where the hostile mobs may fight the pigs instead. Setting a forest on fire to reenact the Vietnam War can also get you out of a tight pinch. Piles of gunpowder can be strategically placed to blow up slower foes. A corridor of traps can also be created to halt advancing enemies before they reach the Alamo to eat you and your friends. However, don't be surprised if you find yourself out exploring and get quickly dispatched by some ridiculous nightmare being. Beware of being too cozy in your Alamo: larger boss monsters can often force players to relocate to another camp, ever increasing the sense of urgency and dread.

noot noot

Weather and seasonal effects are also present and affect gameplay. Days are divided into three portions: Day, Dusk, and Night. The length of daylight changes with seasons as do mob behaviors and properties. Learning about how mobs interact with the environment and player can be very handy in learning the ropes of the game. Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer all bring their own unique mechanics such as freezing and overheating that must be overcome if you are to continue to survive.

If you die, I hope you at least didn't die hungry. Don't worry, death in Don't Starve Together isn't permanent; the dead player will return as a ghost player, but its presence negatively affects everyone on the server through a global sanity drain. Ghost players can haunt anything in the world environment for a variety of effects both helpful and detrimental. There are numerous ways to bring back dead players and if you're playing on the more relaxed Endless game mode, players can resurrect at the spawn point for a minor health penalty.
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"GOLD!" Mark cried out. "MORE GOLD! I WILL BUILD MY CITY ON A HILL WITH GOLD! NOTHING BUT GOLD! I AM WEARING A MELON ON MY HEAD." Ben and I both knew the melon was draining his sanity, but the promised Golden Age of Camp Carlos arrived with our combined efforts and we prospered together for awhile. 

i'm a robot slave and ben is a harem girl or something

Lead on by visions of melon hats and the beacon of the golden shovel, Camp Carlos slowly grew until illiteracy took Ben's life as he failed to recognize what the big zero hovering over his hunger meter meant. The quest to revive Ben was long and trying, but our Pyrrhic victory over our challenges left us weak and insane. Pecked apart by the world, at the very least we didn't starve together. We only horribly descended into insanity to be eaten by our own nightmares together.

Tropico 4

Tropico 4 is a city-building and political simulation game developed by Bulgarian developers Haemimont Games and published by Kalypso Media, based in Germany. Released back in 2011 for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox 360, Tropico 4 saw a Mac OS X release in 2013.

Summer has begun! It's officially time to plan your perfect island paradise getaway. But what if that perfect island doesn't exist? Sure, you could go to Hawaii, Jamaica, or even Cuba now, but will it be the island experience you've imagined it to be? Even so, maybe you'll finally realize that the rent and utility bills actually won't even make your plans possible. You're behind on your mortgage, you've lost your job, and the love of your life has left you for some snob with his own island. You might as well unpack everything and sit down and sulk, staring at the posters of far-off lands you've collected over your youth. Take that bucket list and throw it away- it won't happen! But the good news is, you can simulate everything that could've been with Tropico 4!

my son left for tropico: now he's a sugar farmer and only eats 1 meal a day

City building has a relaxing charm to it; it's fun to watch your city slowly progress through time, slowly sculpting itself into your vision from scratch. Tropico 4 has the player taking on the role of the customizable, illustrious and industrious "El Presidente" to guide the nation of Tropico to glory, whether it be a Communist utopia nightmare dimension or a Capitalist industrial nightmare dimension. Hey, at least the zoos and aqua parks offer your unyieldingly loyal Tropicans some respite!

healthcare is terrible and his friends are dead

Set to the tune of a handful of dazzling and energetic Caribbean soundtracks, the game offers a campaign storyline and a sandbox mode, both similar in gameplay. The backbone of Tropico 4's gameplay has the player developing a nascent island economy by harvesting and exporting raw materials such as ore, farm foods, salt, and logs. As time goes on, industry and service sectors become primary forms of income. However, this must all be done while juggling favor among Tropico's multiple factions. El Presidente, the Communists are raving for adequate housing and better healthcare again; the Environmentalists are demanding more gardens and a demolition of every lumber mill on the island; the Militarists just want more soldiers in their petition- the list goes on and on. It is up to the player as to which factions will hold priority, but beware: unhappy Tropicans are likely to protest, stalling production, and ultimately may end up as rebels!

The buildings and structures available in Tropico 4 are vibrant and demonstrate great attention to detail. The camera level can range from omniscient Tropican god to street level plebeian where you can watch your people go about their daily activities. Tropican lifestyle is ultimately dictated by the player, but a variety of life comforts must be available: food quality, job quality, religious satisfaction, entertainment, etc. Again, if these requirements are not met, Tropicans may defect and rebel. Perhaps you've created a religious police state where any heathen against the personality of El Presidente is arrested? Maybe a tourist paradise, juxtaposed with the poor and ragged toiling away in chemical and weapons factories just the next block over? Although the threat of rebellion from Tropicans demanding freedom of speech and increased liberty sounds pretty scary, the actual consequences of a rebellion are rather low.

there's no fire department; only 6 casinos and a zoo

In the event that the rebels do decide to launch an attack on one of your buildings, your army will be called in to deal with them. Even if the rebel threat isn't dealt with, the worst I've seen in 30 hours of gameplay is simply a single building destroyed. Although Tropico 4 is a kind of laid back, relaxing city builder, the sense of agency it attempts to create with its political system (for example, if relations with the US or USSR get too low, they may invade your island, ending the game) isn't quite all there. Foreign relations are relatively simple to juggle; completing two or three objectives lands you in a pretty spot with world powers. This leads to much of the game's more intricate features being somewhat wasted: options to interact with citizens or bribe faction leaders will mostly go unused. More often, I will find myself in an awkward position where my economy is shot down the pipes, leaving me unable to spend anymore capital as my treasure descends into the nether world where the debts pile up. My island would still run and there wouldn't be any serious repercussion; even being down tens of thousands of dollars did not lead to any losing condition.

Micromanagement of buildings can also be a hassle as the game's interface only allows for a single building to be selected at once. This leads to a problematic late-game scenario where you'll want to adjust wages for all of a certain type of building and then having to hunt them down, one-by-one. User interface issues are extended in the event of natural disasters: tsunamis, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc. can damage or destroy buildings, leaving a small indicator as to where the building is (or was). Again, if you've gotten far enough into the game and are managing a rather well-to-do island, it can be frustrating trying to find every little building that was destroyed in your urban sprawl.

tropico's top selling book: the naughty toucan

Despite suffering from a rather underdeveloped political game and annoying interface issues, being able to create your own story and vision for how your island develops is at the core of what makes Tropico 4 so addicting and rewarding. Strategy games often have that "Just one more turn!" feeling where even after you've won, you just want to keep going. City building sims also exude that satisfaction of a planned and elaborate cityscape. Even after you've beaten the campaign and its various challenges, player made levels are also available, tacking on more content for the player to explore and share. Tropico 4 also boasts a great sense of humor; it's characters and voice-acting satirize real world counterparts and archetypes, fleshing out the entire experience and adding a great sense of aesthetic pleasure.

Take that bucket list out of the trash- your dreams come true in Tropico! Now get off the game and find a job.