Bionic Dues has been released on STEAM and is $7.49 through Oct. 15th.
PE
It's also $7.49 at GamersGate (Steam Key) for the next week.
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-BIODU/bionic-dues
May as well get some extra Blue Coins out of it, too.
OMG the music in these Arcen Games is torturous. This one is like Tweenie-Pop or even Japanese Tweenie-Pop. *wretch*
>Music: OFF< per usual.
:P
Downloading now! Great find, by the way! I didn't know this was coming at all! :)
Buying this tonight. I <3 Arcen Games.
Buying right now :)
OMG LOL!
The enemy AI Bot voices put a grin on my face.
"It buuuurns!"
and
"Why was I programmed to feel paiiinn?!!"
;D
Just got my copy from the Arcen store - slightly cheaper and you get a Steam key anyway. :)
First impressions are good! You can tell it's an Arcen Games, er, game. You choose your missions on the strategic map which not only influence what kind of mission you play, but also how the overall campaign will turn out. Take out a command centre and the final battle will draw nearer (straight out of AI War). Win a mission to destroy a factory and you lower the overall level of the AI bots.
The missions themselves are fun, and definitely Roguelike. I love how there's loot scattered all over the place, and you have to decide where to use your limited hacks. It's no walk in the park either - I'm playing on easy (just to ease myself in) and my exos are still getting one-shotted at times. I appreciate the variety of weapons (grenade launcher rules) but the weapon effects themselves are rather sad; I hope Arcen put some work in, here. Still, you get direct shot and ground attack. There's cover, mines, fuel tanks to blow up etc.
Not to mention the large number of exos to customise your team with, and the customisation of the exos themselves, which I haven't even looked at yet. As is usual for Arcen Games, the replayability factor of Bionic Dues is going to be immense.
How's everyone else finding it?
Quote from: Huw the Poo on October 08, 2013, 02:52:03 PM
Just got my copy from the Arcen store - slightly cheaper and you get a Steam key anyway. :)
I probably should've got it there, but it says you can just copy the Steam install folder anywhere you want and play from there, so backing that up to disk is just fine - no need for an installer.
It's fun thus far. Nearly wiped on a couple missions so the difficulty can definitely be rogue-ish. However, you don't have to start anew when you lose individual missions so it's not really perma-death either.
I don't think I'd enjoy it as much if it wasn't for the RPG customization & loot. That's what brings it all together. The turn-based part could use some additions in the future but it's sufficient for now and certainly keeps my thinker on it's toes.
They mentioned adding further expansions (AI War style) as time goes on, if it's popular enough. I'm pretty sure it will be, especially at the price.
Yeah you can't just wade in, all guns blazing. You need to think your way through each fight because the AI has so many more bots, each one capable of taking you out with little trouble. I just wiped on my last mission so I think I'm going to have to look into the exo customisation.
Quote from: Nefaro on October 08, 2013, 04:44:16 PM
They mentioned adding further expansions (AI War style) as time goes on, if it's popular enough. I'm pretty sure it will be, especially at the price.
I'll be well up for that. I didn't buy any expansions for AI War because there was a ridiculous amount of content already, but I can see myself buying packs of new exos if that's what they do.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on October 08, 2013, 05:11:59 PM
Yeah you can't just wade in, all guns blazing. You need to think your way through each fight because the AI has so many more bots, each one capable of taking you out with little trouble. I just wiped on my last mission so I think I'm going to have to look into the exo customisation.
Indeed. You'll easily be one-shotted by some of them. Those ones with the damn Range-6 rockets are brutal if they catch you. Therefore, I tend to value Bonus range modules very highly along with additional ammo for your AOE weapons - the better to blow up groups around corners.
Then I've also pumped up Shields and Shield Regen on my Assault bot for killing the low-damage ones since it'll regen the little bit afterward. Extra Stealth Moves are essential for getting out of trouble or sneaking up to plant a Virus inside an AI-exo so that it becomes friendly. Just make sure you do that with your Ninja bot because if you take over one of those crazy Rocket exos, they tend to shoot that large AOE rocket near you; one of your Ninja-class exos specials is not taking AOE splash damage! ;)
QuoteQuote from: Nefaro on October 08, 2013, 04:44:16 PM
They mentioned adding further expansions (AI War style) as time goes on, if it's popular enough. I'm pretty sure it will be, especially at the price.
I'll be well up for that. I didn't buy any expansions for AI War because there was a ridiculous amount of content already, but I can see myself buying packs of new exos if that's what they do.
If Arcen holds true to form, they'll probably also add some extra game mechanics (would be welcome here, too) along with adding extra content. And quite affordable.
Oh - it supports Linux (and Mac) too! I didn't realise that - wooooo! I could've sworn Arcen said less than a year ago that they're unlikely to support Linux any time soon. What a lovely surprise. :)
I like it. It's tougher and deeper than it appears on the surface. I blew my first mission by using up all my hacks too quickly.
5 missions in and I'm hooked. I'm starting to see the synergy between abilities (stealth + virus can be awesome), and some of the higher-level bots will make you crazy. Highly recommended, even if it wasn't only $7.50
Bloody hell, this game isn't easy, is it? If I'm not getting wiped by some missile-hurling bot I'm destroying myself in explosions instead! Why does everything in the game have to explode all the time?!
For anyone on the fence there's a demo (http://www.arcengames.com/w/index.php/bionic-features) available. Just scroll down a bit to find the link.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on October 09, 2013, 05:01:27 PM
Bloody hell, this game isn't easy, is it? If I'm not getting wiped by some missile-hurling bot I'm destroying myself in explosions instead! Why does everything in the game have to explode all the time?!
The missile-hurling bots are definitely prime targets. The crazy ones (can't remember the exact name - the dumber ones) also tend to fire haphazardly after you inject a virus in them, to turn them friendly. Since that requires you to be adjacent to them, it can be dangerous if they end up blasting a wall nearby. ;D
As with other games of this type, you tend to continually learn new tactics to deal with certain types of enemies and you can outfit your 'Exos' accordingly. Fun! 8)
Yeah, my biggest gripe - well it isn't so much a gripe, just the factor that kills me most often - is that everything in the game is so damned explosive. My number 1 reason for dying is being caught in an explosion that I wasn't expecting or couldn't avoid.
I guess I just need to keep practicing...
Rock, Paper, Shotgun give it a good review.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/10/11/wot-i-think-bionic-dues
Quote from: Huw the Poo on October 11, 2013, 05:08:46 PM
Yeah, my biggest gripe - well it isn't so much a gripe, just the factor that kills me most often - is that everything in the game is so damned explosive. My number 1 reason for dying is being caught in an explosion that I wasn't expecting or couldn't avoid.
I guess I just need to keep practicing...
Watch out for the little glowing symbols on the floor being hit with explosive weapons. They replicate the blast on all others nearby. You know about those, right?
There are also the occasional explod-y stuff sitting on the floor. Mostly in rooms with a lot of AI-Exos or a 'Destroy' mission objective.
Quote from: spelk on October 11, 2013, 05:15:01 PM
Rock, Paper, Shotgun give it a good review.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/10/11/wot-i-think-bionic-dues
Quote from: RPS ReviewHowever, my first attempts to play the game made it seem impenetrable because of the sheer amount of information presented.
Ha! Rookie strategy game Reviewer! Your TBS kung fu is weak. :P
Hell... I want
more info displayed! ;D
Nef, yeah I'm aware of the "explosive runes" or whatever they are. But everything is explosive...you have to stand back even if you blow up some cover!
I'm not complaining by the way. I love this game. I'm just saying that I really, really suck at it and explosions are the main reason for it. :)
I've had Terminals explode when hacked and somehow take 2 of my exo's :P
Quote from: Tpek on October 12, 2013, 07:34:31 AM
I've had Terminals explode when hacked and somehow take 2 of my exo's :P
I've had that happen as well. I just chalk it up to the terminals having been booby-trapped.
Quote from: Tpek on October 12, 2013, 07:34:31 AM
I've had Terminals explode when hacked and somehow take 2 of my exo's :P
I would think that a bug. Unless perhaps a nearby aforementioned 'Splody Glow-Rune was meant to make a copy of such a blast radius
after your second Exo replaced the dead one. :o
Some of the terminals say that the consequences are unknown, so maybe some are booby trapped? It would be no less fair than opening a door and being face to face with a pack of rocket-launcher-wielding bots...*grumble*...
This really is a bloody good game. Probably Arcen's best since AI War (although I haven't played Skyward Collapse yet). Now that I've actually managed to survive a few missions in a row, the customisation options are really opening up, adding another layer of strategy to the game. I've become a lot more choosy in which missions I take on; going for shield factories when I want to upgrade my shields, for example.
There's a ridiculous amount of gaming here for the price they're asking.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on October 13, 2013, 09:55:53 AM
This really is a bloody good game. Probably Arcen's best since AI War (although I haven't played Skyward Collapse yet). Now that I've actually managed to survive a few missions in a row, the customisation options are really opening up, adding another layer of strategy to the game. I've become a lot more choosy in which missions I take on; going for shield factories when I want to upgrade my shields, for example.
There's a ridiculous amount of gaming here for the price they're asking.
Agreed.
Also.. I played Skyward Collapse for a few minutes and.. meh. I just kept getting the feeling that if they had made it a proper grand strategy with multiple factions of some kind and put more content in that it would've been more interesting. Some people probably enjoyed it but I thought it was trying to be
too different and the whole concept of keeping two separate powers equalized just didn't end up being as fun.
Bionic Dues, on the other hand, is like a less brutal Space Hulk with a good persistent campaign and a decent loot system. Maybe the Space Hulk devs will take note. Space Marines are more interesting than the 'Exo' background for BD, and BD's artwork isn't all that great, but it has some great gameplay and that's what counts most.