Invisible Gamer News

Flint, Michigan (that's a city in a state in the US, ostensibly a first world country) still doesn't have clean water.  No amount of effort from the citizens who live there can change the decayed infrastructure (lead pipes) or the criminally incompetent administration (local, state, and federal) that refuses to do anything about it.  All they can do is import clean water from other communities (again, a first world country can't/won't provide clean drinking water to a large section of its citizenry) or move to another area that has better living conditions. 

Soulworker is an anime action brawler, created by Lion Games and published by GameForge.  Set in a post-apocalyptic purgatory, you play one of (currently) four young schoolchildren who fell from the real world into the world of Soulworker.  The tutorial gives you the setting, which varies slightly for each character, and then moves you to the first hub area.  From there, you begin questing so you can get gear so you can do harder quests for more gear and to progress the story, using energy every time you enter a quest area.  The combat is a lot of fun, but if you're unwilling to pay - the current in-game economy is beyond ridiculous, and the premium currency is wildly overpriced - the game gets very grindy. The characters are the different classes, and the character designs are all very charming, even if they go a bit far on the 'females are to be looked at' side.  There's Haru, a broadsword wielding pre-med student who is apparently allergic to things coveri...

Welcome to Copero!  A lovely resort planet of the Chiss Ascendancy, with a dark secret.  This storyline for this flashpoint was written by Timothy Zahn, author of the Thrawn novels.  This is probably the closest SWTOR has come to being considered canon for years. Aristocra Saganu disapproves of your Jedi ways. Featuring the return of the influential and impeccably voiced Aristocra Saganu, from the Agent storyline, Copero is an exciting run through a beautiful world. omg god rays! Copero also brings back another Agent companion, Ensign Raina Temple - for better or for worse, depending on how your Agent felt about her.  I did my first playthrough of Copero as a Chiss Jedi, and for the first time in a long time, that made a huge difference in the story.  There are lines specifically for Chiss, and for Jedi, and for Chiss Jedi.  It is amazing. This place is prettier than Makeb, and that's saying something. Copero continues the dark storyline...

Who hasn't woke up one day dreaming of living through the French Revolution?  What, you haven't?  Well, whatever.  At least some people have!  Like the fine people at Joy Manfacturing Co., who are working on creating a game about this very scenario: Ambition: A Minuet in Power .  Play the part of Yvette, a young woman who takes an active part in the French Revolution - she's not just window dressing.  She's playing the court circles, making friends, spying on people, setting people up... just like high school, only with more guillotines.  Yvette is supposed to be searching for her lost love, but let's face it: we're all going to get this game to see how many people we can send to the scaffolds.  Tip: rename your victims after your high school bullies!  Instant catharsis. Joy Manufacturing Co. is a small team of creators and designers based in San Francisco, CA, and they make unique, creative, and interesting games.  Their Kickstarter ...

A Hand in the Darkness by Ertal Games is a BL Otome.  For those of you who were going to open a new window to look that up, let me save you a click: it's a visual romance novel but with boys kissing boys.  The game is available on Steam and from the developer's itch.io site.  The developer (a solo project, props and respect) writes in both English and Spanish, and while you might expect my major complaint to be about the translation quality, it's not. The game features three different love interests to pursue (and of course, get Steam achievements).  There's Damian, the rich rake who is unexpectedly mature; Rick, the smart one whose path I haven't finished yet; and Monty.  My problem with the game - which I enjoyed in all other respects - is Monty.  The stalker.  The controlling boyfriend who has no redeeming properties and causes a bizarre switch in the main character's behavior that I found both baffling and unpleasant.  Never have I rushed t...

I have a stack of articles to write up, mostly from Gen Con, and a full mailbox to go through of new things to write about. I also have some kind of horrible lung infection!  I refuse to say pneumonia.  I miss having health insurance. Oh well, hopefully I can get something done soon.

So, someone who has no idea that I am some sort of Internet blog-journalist-gamer-reviewer (I like to mix genres, okay) gave me a free key for the Early Access of a new game from Epic Games, Fortnite .  It's a... game where you gather materials, build forts, and then defend them from zombies.  You also attach weather balloons to vans, build possibly alien technology to combat zombies, and power things with blue goo.  And I thought I liked to mix genres....  Anyway, the game is fun, and does not take itself particularly seriously.  Except in the excellence of the mechanics. Building is fluid and simple, the harvesting mechanic is fun, the heroes and survivors all look different and interesting, and shooting/stabbing/burning/launching zombies is just as much fun as you think it will be.  The only thing I do not like is the minimap, which can be very confusing especially when searching for mission items in a party.  It's possible I am just directionally...