As an avid, life-long gamer, I decided to honour my hobby by creating a list of my all time favourite games. Originally, the list was supposed to be a top-10, but I simply couldn’t pick just 10, there are too many games that needed to be on the list.

So, I cheated a little, and picked the top 20.

I am a little disappointed that there are no truly surprising entries on this list. Most of my favourite games are games that were widely recognised at the time as being exceptional, winning multiple awards, and earning their place in gaming history.

However, the titles span decades of gaming and many genres, and showcases some of the best titles of their respective decades.

I am well aware that there are many games that deserve to be on this list but aren’t, however, I am only including games that I personally played and have fond memories of, if I haven’t played a game myself, it won’t make the list. Halo, for example, certainly would get a place on this list, but my first experience with it was very recently when I played the Master Chief Collection on PC, so it doesn’t get an entry.

All images are considered to be “fair use” and are property of their respective owners.

10: Duke Nukem 3D
1996: 3D Realms / FormGen

“Always Bet on Duke”

Nothing defines 90’s gaming culture more than Duke Nukem 3D. It’s violent, crude, offensive, in your face, and it doesn’t care.

Its graphics were powerful for its time: Combining 3D backgrounds with 2D sprites for enemies and weapons resulted in a game that felt like an immersive 3D shooter but had the performance to run on the limited hardware of the day.

The infamous Duke himself became more infamous than the game, and Duke Nukem, along with games like Carmageddon and Blood, often found themselves the object of controversy before GTA ever burst onto the scene.

However, unlike a lot of similar titles, Duke Nukem’s fame is earned, and not just derived from shock value alone. It’s gameplay is solid, with top notch graphics and sound. Enemies are powerful, and the player’s weapons even more so. The RPG, Devastator, Shrink Ray, and Ripper Chaingun eviscerate the games many enemies, often tearing them apart (Called “gibbing”).

Technically, it is an achievement, with complex effects such as remote cameras, and real-time modification of the level geometry.

Duke Nukem 3D also features one of the most memorable theme song in video gaming history “Grabbag” by Lee Jackson, as well as fully voiced one liners by the great Jon St John.

Duke Nukem 3D defines an era of gaming that is lost forever, but man, was it ever fun while it lasted.

9: Deus Ex
2000: Ion Storm / Eidos Interactive

An epic sci fi adventure that asks the question: What if all of the conspiracy theories you heard were true?

The player is JC Denton a “nano-augmented agent” or “Nano-Aug”, working for a government agency called UNATCO, tasked with defeating the terrorist organisation known as the NSF.

Along the way, the player will travel the world and meet many strange and well-crafted characters, uncovering a vast conspiracy that will make even the most skeptical of players don their tinfoil hat.

Much more than just a shooter, charging into a room all guns blazing will likely get you killed here. Deus Ex is a first person RPG, allowing the player to spend points as well as find upgrade canisters to improve their skills in certain areas, from combat, to special abilities, to computer hacking.

If your skills are good enough, you can hack into computer terminals and disable security cameras, or even turn gun turrets against your enemies, clearing a room without ever firing a shot.

The level design also offers a varied and infinitely replayable experience: There are many ways to approach each objective, from direct assault, to stealth, along with many hidden items and weapons that can easily be missed on a casual playthrough.

The game features extensive dialog and a complex branching storyline where choices matter: in many cases, the player’s actions and choices change how NPCs react to you, as well as influence whether important characters live or die in a way that is fundamental to the game’s plot.

Deus Ex features a beautifully crafted world that feels real, with everything from the food and drink items that the player can pick up to the texture and environment art fitting the dark sci-fi aesthetic.

Modern adaptations of the series, such as Eidos’s Human Revolution and Mankind Divided, while exceptionally good games, don’t quite match the sheer scope and impact of the original.

8: FEAR
2005: Monolith Productions / Vivendi Universal Games

Very few games have the ability to make a player truly afraid of a little girl, but 2005’s FEAR is that game.

FEAR’s horror relies on much more than simple jump scares. It’s dark, foreboding atmosphere combined with an adult-oriented and, at times, quite macabre story set the scene for one of the most frightening games of all time.

The player plays as an unnamed “Point man” for First Encounter Assault Recon, a team sent in to investigate reports of paranormal occurrences in the fictional city of Fairport.

Along the way they meet Alma, a mysterious and terrifying young girl with psychic powers and a secret past.

Well crafted visual storytelling and Did-Something-Just-Move moments create a powerful sense of suspense and apprehension that makes the horror moments even more frightening when they appear.

Not only that, but FEAR’s combat system is extremely strong, with not only a slow motion ability but smart and aggressive AI that actively hunt the player. Enemies will communicate with each other, flank around the player to attack from unexpected angles, and throw grenades. Enemies can even spot the player’s flashlight, alerting them to the Point Man’s presence.

This also makes each of the games many gun battles feel unique: Every fight plays out differently, depending on the player’s weapons and tactics. Get in close and gib enemies with the shotgun, or remain at a distance and pin them to a wall with a nailgun, the choice is yours.

FEAR’s graphics and special effects were state of the art for its time, and still hold up quite well today. The slow motion effects are some of the most fun elements of the game, and the violence, gore, and horror scenes are genuinely frightening and disturbing.

A shooter lives and dies by its weapon loadout, and FEAR does not disappoint. The old favourites are all there, duel-wielded pistols, shotguns, submachine guns, assault rifles, but there are also some more unique choices such as the awesome Particle Laser and the Repeating Cannon.

A must-play for any FPS or horror fan.

7: Rome: Total War
2004: Creative Assembly / Activision / Sega

Rome was the first game that I sank over 100 hours into, trying to conquer the world as the house of Julii.

Technically innovative, Rome was one of the first games to allow the player to control truly massive armies of thousands of men, in full 3D and realtime, unlike other contemporary games that would max out at maybe a few hundred units on screen at the most.

Rome made the player feel like they were controlling a vast army, and allowed them to use real life tactics, terrain, and strategies in order to succeed.

In addition to the titular Romans, the game also features ancient powers such as the Carthaginians, Macedonians, and Greeks, all playable without additional payment, and most with their own unique unit roster, from Legionaires to War Elephants, Archers to Cavalry, and without a single micro-transaction or paid DLC in sight!

In addition to the advanced battle system, Rome also features a complex campaign map, where players must engage in diplomacy, trade, and politics as they defend, expand, and administer their vast and ever-growing empire.

Trying out all of the factions, units, and army types takes hundreds of hours, and there is enough depth in the gameplay for each of the major factions to feel truly unique, rather than a simple re-skin.

I have been a big fan of the Total War series ever since. Napoleon was fantastic, and the Warhammer Total War games were a breath of fresh air for the series, but it is the original Rome game that stands out as the defining entry in what became a successful franchise.

6: Max Payne
2001: Remedy Entertainment / Gathering of Developers / Rockstar Games

Max Payne is another masterpiece of gaming history that has it all: Great graphics, an emotionally powerful, well executed story, fun, addictive gameplay, and a unique, instantly recognisable personality all of its own.

The game is a dark, gritty, noir detective novel told in gameplay form. Its story takes the form of a comic strip, with voice-overs by the gravelly voiced protagonist as well as the games many interesting side characters.

Probably its most famous gameplay mechanic is “bullet time”. Max Payne was one of the first video games to implement this mechanic after the Movie “The Matrix” popularised the concept, and it uses it flawlessly: players can dodge, shoot, and move, in slow-motion, clearing entire rooms of enemies before they even have a chance to draw their weapons.

Max Payne’s story is above and beyond for a simple shooter, and still stands out two decades later. Following the titular character’s discovery of his family murdered by a gang high on the effects of a new drug called “Valkyr”, he embarks on a quest for revenge. The game heavily leans into Norse mythology, combining it with gritty modern reality with a dark, depressing, somber tone that leaves its mark long after you stop playing.

The game’s sound effects, music, and voice acting add to the mood and complete the package. Max Payne is one of the titles that prove that the gaming industry is capable of producing powerful, adult-oriented stories, not just mindless shooters.

Max Payne 2 deserves a mention here as well, as being one of the few sequels that live up to the original, and both of these games are very playable today.

5: Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun
1999: Westwood Studios / Electronic Arts

A real-time strategy game by the renowned Westwood studios, Tiberian Sun is the second game in the Command and Conquer “Tiberium” saga, continuing the war between the GDI and the Brotherhood of Nod, led by the mysterious Kane.

Tiberian Sun features a stronger story, deeper world building and atmosphere, and a quasi-dystopian sci-fi setting that differentiates from 2000’s Red Alert 2.

The game features stellar sprite-based graphics, a strong sci-fi story, and unique units and missions.

Playing as the GDI and Nod feels completely different, with their unit rosters, while equally powerful, having completely different playstyles.

Maps are large and battles long, meaning tactics matter: Destroying bridges can cut off enemy reinforcements, and managing your Tiberium resources is vital.

The gameplay in Tiberian Sun is simple: Left click select right click move, but it feels solid and satisfying, the game can be complex, but the controls are effortless.

The game features good pacing, with missions not feeling too easy or too difficult, and new units being unlocked often enough to prevent gameplay getting stale but not so often as to be overwhelming.

Like Red Alert 2, Tiberian Sun boasted an engaging story told in the form of quite high-quality FMVs. The cast features recognisable Hollywood names, including James Earl Jones, and Michael Biehn with Joseph D. Kucan returning as Kane.

The story combines a futuristic sci-fi theme with references to terrorism, resource shortages and environmental disasters.

Tiberian Sun’s soundtrack, while possibly not quite as memorable as Red Alert’s, was much better than the vast majority of games of this time, and even today, which makes sense considering the awesome Frank Klepacki worked on both.

4: Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2
2000: Westwood Pacific / EA Games

The best real-time strategy of all time, by the unforgettable Westwood studios. I debated with myself as to whether to include Tiberian Sun first on this list, or Red Alert 2. Both are spectacular games, going above and beyond with their addictive gameplay, great graphics, and immersive FMV sequences.

I chose Red Alert 2 first simply because it was the game that I remember playing the most out of the two. While Tiberian Sun’s story might be slightly stronger, Red Alert 2 has the superior gameplay and playability.

The game features two fully featured campaigns: Allied and Soviet, and tells the story of an alternate reality where the Soviet Union has launched an attack on the United States, which the player must either defeat, or finish.

One of the most striking elements of Red Alert 2 is how smooth and satisfying the gameplay is. Movement and combat feel effortless, units are both unique and well-balanced, both within each faction, and between both factions. Units such as the Kirov Airship, Agent Tanya, Chronosphere and Prism Towers are all memorable fan favourites. The sprite animations and sounds are well designed, and integrate seamlessly with the action, with buildings becoming damaged and destroyed, soldiers being killed, and tanks blowing up with satisfying results.

Gameplay is simple, but challenging: players must use strategy and tactics, develop a plan and carry it through. However at the same time, this is not a “simulation” title, it is easy to pick up and play, and you could “tank rush” through most of the levels if you really wanted to.

Like its brother Tiberian Sun, Red Alert’s story is told through live-action FMVs featuring professional actors, such as the gorgeous Kari Wuhrer playing agent Tanya, and Barry Corbin playing General Carville.

Red Alert 2 takes its story somewhat seriously, which, despite its obviously fantastical nature, adds a great deal of immersion and depth to the game, which I like.

The third installment in the franchise, while not a bad game in terms of its core mechanics, descends too much into the realms of slapstick with its story, which I didn’t enjoy quite as much.

One final point is the soundtrack. Frank Klepacki created one of the finest video game soundtracks of all time, including the incredible “Hell march 2”, which , along with Duke Nukem’s “grabbag” is one of the all-time greatest video game hits.

3: UFO: Enemy Unknown / X-COM: UFO Defence
1994: Mythos Games / MicroProse

The greatest turn-based tactics game of all time, X-COM inspired an entire genre that still exists today. However, despite significant technical advances in the intervening years, none of the recent entries in the series have replicated the depth, replayability, and sheer scope of the original.

1994’s X-COM had the ability to build bases anywhere in the world, and customise their layout. It had a deep research tree. You could bring over a dozen soldiers on a mission, and equip them with any combination of weapons or gear. This lends itself to very powerful combinations. One soldier carries a rocket launcher while another carries ammo, so that you have plenty of time units to both move and shoot.. You can give a soldier nothing but a pistol, so they can scout and reveal enemies for your more heavily laden and slower soldiers.

Not only that, but X-COM features fully destructible terrain. Players can shoot holes in buildings to launch sneak attacks on enemies, or to evacuate if the mission is going badly. They can destroy fences, hedges and other obstacles to improve sightlines, and even demolish entire buildings to kill any enemies hiding inside!

While some of the modern X-COM and X-COM-like games are excellent (such as the Firaxis remakes), they still massively simplify the gameplay: No custom bases, only six soldiers per mission, loadouts limited by role, smaller map sizes, etc.
To this day, no mainstream title has replicated the sheer scope of what X-COM did. It is a genre-defining masterpiece that still holds up today, and is, as a game, almost perfect.

In my opinion, 2003’s UFO:Aftermath by Altar Interactive actually comes closest to capturing the magic of the original, but even this is vastly simplified. It is not a turn based game, and does not feature custom base building.

If I had to criticise X-COM, I would say that the psionic mechanic feels a little unfair. When enemies first start using psionic attacks, the player has no defence, meaning that you can suddenly find yourself losing half your soldiers through a random dice roll.

In addition, the game does feature frustrating searches for the last enemy on the map, called “last-bug hunts”.

However, the complexity and sheer power of the players choices makes the Original X-COM far superior to its more casual modern iterations.

X-COM is the kind of game that you can return to time and time again, and still discover new tactics, strategies, and playstyles.

2: Half Life 2
2004: Valve

Well deserving of its place on the list, Half Life 2 is a masterpiece of engaging, emotional, immersive, storytelling within a world that feels real.

While the original game was a technological milestone well ahead of it’s time, Half Life 2 takes this to the next level. It features not only state of the art graphics, animations, and an innovative physics system (That even rivals many modern titles) but also a powerful story and memorable characters, such as Alyx and Eli Vance, and Dr Breen as well as the crowbar-wielding MIT-educated protagonist Gordon Freeman.

In addition to its physics, Half Life 2’s graphics were outstanding, with innovative facial animations, lighting, and special effects.

Half Life 2 was one of the rare games out there where you genuinely care about the characters, and want to be a part of the world. Half Life 2 is set some time after the events of the first Half Life, where Gordon Freeman emerges from stasis into a world occupied by the alien Combine and their human collaborator Dr Breen.

The game’s storytelling is excellent, and its pacing is well balanced between action-packed combat, story-rich dialogue, and immersive exploration, driving, and physics puzzles.

The final sequence of the game, where the player is leading the revolution against Dr Breen, is one of my favourite moments in video gaming history. The world is so deep and believable that by this stage of the game the player feels genuine anger at the plight of the people of City 17, and is determined to help them earn their freedom.

There were times while playing this final battle sequence where I reloaded just to save random NPCs in the world. Not because they were important for the story, but because I couldn’t bear having them get killed.

The story features subtle but powerful moments (Such as the resistance tearing down monitors displaying images of Dr Breen) and lines of dialog such as “Now that you’re here, we’ve got a chance” that reinforce the player’s role as the saviour of this world and these people. You feel important, you feel like the world needs you.

That kind of immersion and genuine empathy for fictional characters is as rare today as it was then.

1: Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
2015: CD Projekt Red / CD Projekt

At the top of the list is what I believe to be the greatest game ever made. Its story, gameplay, world-building, characters, graphics, sound design, and immersion are the best I have ever seen in a game.

The sheer depth and care taken to bring the world of Sapkowski’s The Witcher novels to life results in a masterpiece of a game that can be replayed over and over again with new content still being discovered on each playthrough.

Tremendous voice acting, hundreds of quests, excellent music, hundreds of weapons, armour types, items, and equippable items, dozens of memorable, fully voiced characters (My favourite being Triss Merigold, voiced by Jaimi Barbakoff, and of course Geralt himself, voiced by Doug Cockle) and unique enemies (Such as the Leshen) make the Witcher 3 the kind of game that will simply never be beaten.

What makes the Witcher so great? Games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim offer more agency and customisability over your build, which I typically prefer over the more lore-focused Geralt of Rivia with his two swords and more limited magic abilities.

But that’s what sets the Witcher 3 apart from other RPGs. You are not simply playing a game, you are visiting a world. This is what gaming has always been for me: A journey, or even an escape, from one world into the next.

The Witcher offers hundreds of hours of gameplay within a story and character rich world. Each of the game’s side quests could be an entire story in itself, while the main quest features romance, humour, despair, and loss.

Other games may offer the player more agency, but in so doing they lose a lot of the depth and immersion that sets the Witcher apart.

The Witcher’s combat system is simple but satisfying, and even though Geralt prefers carrying two swords to a more varied combination of weapons, there are plenty of unique choices to keep your inventory stocked.

If I had to criticise the game, I would say that the combat system could be developed further. Once you have mastered the attack-attack-roll combo, even higher difficulties become a breeze.

More important than this is that the Witcher’s extensive crafting system (From Witcher Gear to Oils) is not important enough in the game. Players will find better gear in the world or from quest rewards, making the items that you have spent time crafting obsolete far too quickly. Oils do make fights shorter, but for most encounters they aren’t really needed. I have gone through entire playthroughs, even at higher difficulties, without ever crafting an item or using an oil on my blade. Finally, some of the quest rewards are worthless the instant you receive them (Such as the famous “Blade from the Bits” sword that you get from Hattori), although this is a common balancing issue in a lot of RPGs.

The Witcher is the kind of game you can get lost for hours in, just wandering from town to town, doing a quest here, talking to a character there, or just exploring, not to mention playing Gwent, the collectible card game that is additively fun once you get the hang of it!

Personally, I love the world so much that I don’t use fast travel (except between maps) or travel by horse. I prefer to walk, to drink in the atmosphere of the game. It is a role-playing experience, wandering from town to town, picking up contracts, talking to the locals, visiting the local taverns. I can’t even remember the number of times I have watched the sun set over the Novigrad docks, or wandered through the swamps of Velen at night with a torch in my hand.

With the Witcher, the player is a part of the world, but it doesn’t revolve around them. When you stop playing, it feels like the world is still there, that it is real, in a way. The Skelligers are still raiding the coast, Emperor var Emreis is still scheming to conquer the land, and Geralt, Triss, Yen, and Zoltan are still travelling the land, with many adventures still to be had.

The Witcher is a masterpiece that is unlikely ever to be bested, it just got it right in a way that nothing else can. There have been games out there that might have better graphics, more weapons and abilities, and maybe even better gameplay in some respects, but those are games.

The Witcher is a world.

Famed film critic Roger Ebert once said that “Video games can never be art”. I have always believed that he was wrong. Not only can video gaming be equivalent to other forms of art, they can, at least in theory, surpass them. Most art forms are passive: You watch a movie, listen to a song, look at a painting. Only gaming allows you to interact with the artform, be a part of it, experience it as you choose.

Even games that don’t offer branching story paths still allow the player to choose how they play: Which weapon to equip, which enemy to fight first, which room to enter, etc. This means that gaming can involve its audience in a way that no other artwork can.

In some ways, I believe that gaming has started to lose its way. Today, it seems the gaming industry is just that: an industry, dominated by predatory mechanics, micro-transactions, excessive politicising and censorship. However, the potential today is even greater than it ever has been. I wanted this list to be a celebration of my life with gaming, and I think it has been.

I have been lucky enough to enjoy what I believe to be the peak of gaming, a time when gaming was fun and free. I can only hope that some day we can rediscover the joy and passion that used to be the driving force behind the games we play.

The post The Top 20 Games Of All Time: Part 2 first appeared on Phoenix Game Development.

As an avid, life-long gamer, I decided to honour my hobby by creating a list of my all time favourite games. Originally, the list was supposed to be a Top-10, but I simply couldn’t pick just 10, there are too many games that needed to be on the list!

So, I cheated a little, and picked the top 20.

I am a little disappointed that there are very few truly surprising entries on this list. Most of my favourite games are games that were widely recognised at the time as being exceptional, winning multiple awards, and earning their place in gaming history.

However, the titles span decades of gaming and many genres, and showcases some of the best titles of their respective decades.

I am only including games that I personally played and have fond memories of, if I haven’t played a game myself, it won’t make the list. There are many games that deserve to be on this list, but aren’t. Halo, for example, certainly would get a place, but my first experience with it was very recently when I played the Master Chief Collection on PC, so it doesn’t get an entry.

All images are considered to be “fair use” and are property of their respective owners.

20: Infamous
2009, Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Computer Entertainment

Infamous is actually the only game on this list that I played on a console (PS3). Great graphics, powerful story and innovative mechanics are what I remember most about this game.

Infamous stars Cole McGrath, a lowly bike courier who gains supernatural powers after a mysterious explosion.

The world is fun to explore, with the player being able to use their powers to run, jump, climb, and glide around the fictional Empire city.

One of the most memorable aspects of the game is the “Karma” system: players can choose how to interact with the world and it’s citizens. They can be ruthlessly aggressive, harming civilians, killing wounded enemies, and generally causing havoc, or they can be merciful, not using excessive force and helping the people around them.

This choice not only affects the games story, it also affects the players appearance, and even the very powers that they is given. On the “Evil” side, powers tend to focus more on area-affect damage and general destruction, on the “Good” side powers are more focused and surgical.

Infamous’s cutscenes are delivered in a stylish comic-book style format, which works extremely well and fits the “super-hero” motif of the game.

The story is not spectacular, but it is solid, with several twists and turns and some emotional moments. In addition, the missions feature several moral choices which contribute to the players Karma score, although, unlike, for example, the Witcher, there is no ambiguity: The choice is simply “Good” or “Evil”.

19: Uplink
2001: Introversion Software

Definitely the most unusual game on the list. Uplink is a “hacker simulator”, with the player taking on the role of a fictional computer hacker doing jobs to earn both money and reputation.

Over the course of the game, the player will gradually upgrade their “Gateway” computer with new hardware and software allowing them to hack into more advanced networks, and therefore, take on more complex jobs.

The game is presented to the player as if they are accessing a remote computer terminal, and the player must create a secure connection to the server they wish to attack, circumvent its defences, and perform their illicit tasks without being detected.

The types of jobs the player will find themselves contracted to do could be anything from framing someone for a crime they didn’t commit, sabotaging computer networks, stealing or redirecting money from banks, or stealing research data.

The latter ties in to the games story, which is actually quite rich and involved.

The cyberpunk inspired story focuses on two rival corporations: Andromeda Research Corporation and Arunmor, and an Artificially Intelligent computer virus that could destroy the entire internet.

The player can choose which of the two factions to side with, with each choice resulting in a very different outcome to the story. Despite the games simple presentation, the world building and immersion is very strong, and there are many easter eggs and things to do within the game that are not immediately obvious.

Despite being a hacking “simulator”, the gameplay is fictionalised, using visual icons and a simple point and click interface which is easy to pick up and master.

Even so, missions are tense and players find themselves frantically scrambling to delete the last of their log entries before they are finally traced and caught by the authorities.

An innovate and very replayable game.

18: Soldier of Fortune 2: Double Helix
2002: Raven Software / Activision

Soldier of Fortune 2 competes with Duke Nukem for the title of best gory old-school shoot-em-up.

The players finger scarcely leaves the trigger from one end of the game to the other, with shotguns, pistols, machine guns and grenades being used to burn blast and dismember terrorists in locations spanning the glove.

The combat in Sof2 is violent, bloody, loud, and unbelievably awesome.

Soldier of Fortune 2 was incredibly advanced graphically for it’s time, and features a “Ghoul” rendering system developed by Raven Software to allow for realistic “location based” damage. Not only can limbs be severed, enemies will react to the grievous wound realistically: Blow off a leg and an enemy will limp or crawl, blow off an arm and they will be left waving a bloody stump.

Unlike many FPS games from this period, the story is actually very compelling. Rather than just “generic bad guy trying to take over the world” we instead get a disturbingly realistic story about a well-funded terrorist faction manufacturing a virus that they intend to use for high-stakes blackmail.

The player, John Mullins, is a mercenary, working for “The Shop” and is tasked with investigating, and stopping, the terrorists responsible for the virus.

The scene where the player first investigates the viral outbreak is particularly well done, and reminds me a lot of the movie “Outbreak”.

SOF 2’s random mission generator is also a lot of fun, allowing the player to create semi-randomised scenarios with different parameters.

I have re-played Soldier of Fortune 2 again recently, and I can confirm that it still holds up very well today. In fact, few modern games can compete with the games adrenaline-fueled violence.

 Another gem from a lost era of gaming.

17: Hell Let Loose
2021: Black Matter /Expression Games/Cover 6 Studios / Team 17

Hell Let Loose is the only multiplayer game in the list. I generally don’t like competitive online shooters, preferring single-player story driven experiences instead, but this is an exception.

Hell Let Loose is a World War 2 themed team-based shooter, featuring a variety of authentic weapons, vehicles, items and of course, locations. The goal of the game is to gain control over various strategic positions on the map: The team with the most points in their hands at the end of a round, wins.

What I like about Hell Let Loose is the authenticity, both in the setting and weapons, and in the gameplay. There are no health bars, pickups, or powerups: one bullet will kill. Likewise, the game features realistic weapons, settings, and characters (No Battlefield V historical revisionism here!).

Hell Let Loose is not a twitch shooter. Gameplay is very slow compared to most online games, and players must not only use cover and concealment, but communication and tactics too.

 Having a mic is not required, but very strongly advised for this game: Charging blindly toward the next point is likely going to end in nothing but a quick trip back to the respawn screen.

Players gain experience as they play, which unlocks various cosmetics, as well as new loadouts. Crucially though, most of these loadouts feature new combinations of weapons and items, but not usually new weapons.

This means that a day 1 player can access the games most powerful weapons, like the Stg-44 or G-43, which creates a level playing field where skill, careful play, and team work matter a lot more than your character level or loadout.

One final point is the community. Unlike many games, Hell Let Loose generally boasts a positive and welcoming community, which by itself is a strong selling point in today’s toxic online world.

16: MechWarrior 3
1999, Zipper Interactive / Hasbro Interactive

Giant robotic war machines fighting on an alien world, what’s not to like? MW3 was my first experience with the Battletech universe, and it’s still my favourite. The game features solid mechanics, powerful weapons, and a story that didn’t need to be nearly this good for a 90’s mech game.

Moving your mech really feels like you are controlling a lumbering armoured behemoth, and the weapons feel, look, and sound powerful. Sometimes in fact, too powerful.

Managing heat is a critical part of Mech games, and MW3 is no exception: Firing weapons too often, or without adequate cooling, will result in your mech shutting down, leaving you defenceless. The damage modelling is also well developed, for both the player, and enemy mechs. During combat, individual components can be damaged, and even entire limbs can be shot away.

One of the most fun aspects of MW3 is the ability to extensively customise your mech. Not only can you select the chassis (With mechs from the lowly Owens to the mighty Daishi being present) and your weapons, you can also select the number of heatsinks and the amount of armour. These completely change the gameplay. Players can create a fast, lightly armoured missile boat, or a slow, heavily armoured brawler.

The environment matters too: Mechs on Ice or Water maps dissipate heat more quickly, so players can pack their mech with Lasers of Particle cannons, while on a desert map missiles or autocannons might be a better option.

MW3’s story, mostly revealed through multimedia mission briefings, is not exactly prize-winning, but, as I said, a lot better than you would expect from a mech game from this period.

The plot concerns an attack by the inner sphere against Clan Smoke Jaguar on the planet Tranquil. This attack goes awry, with the player finding themselves and their comrades stranded on the planet fighting to survive against hostile forces. The player gradually reconnects with other stranded pilots, eventually controlling up to three squadmates in combat, culminating in a final showdown.

15: Starlancer
2000: Warthog Games / Digital Anvil / Microsoft Games / Ubisoft

An immersive flight sim that punches well above its weight, Starlancer is a game that shouldn’t have been as memorable as it was.

It’s a space combat sim, you fly around shooting at enemies, fundamentally, there’s not a lot going on there. The game features a diverse roster of ships and weapons, and solid, if somewhat unremarkable gameplay.

So why is it on this list?

Starlancer features a complex story, presented in the form of news broadcasts, mission briefings, character interactions, and more. The story is engaging, with strong characters and worldbuilding, and is fully integrated with the world itself (Which isn’t surprising, since Chris Roberts worked on Starlancer). The player will find themselves fighting alongside ships, squadrons or characters that they have heard about in mission briefings or seen on news broadcasts.

Missions contains a mix of objectives, from conventional space combat to infiltrating enemy carrier strike groups, to destroying orbital battlestations.

Between missions, the player is free to explore their star carrier and interact with their crew mates, whose reactions will vary depending on the players performance.

Immersion in the world is so complete that I often found myself repeating missions where I had succeeded but performed poorly just because I received a negative reaction from my shipmates. The players performance also affects the story, with cutscenes and mission objectives changing based on the players actions. Speaking of which, the cutscenes are action-packed and extremely high quality, and make the player feel like they are watching a movie (At least for the time).

One of my favourite Space-Combat Sims.

14: Tomb Raider
1996: Core Design / Eidos Interactive

Tomb Raider is one of the first games that cemented my love of gaming.

It is a true 3D adventure, unlike the mostly sprite-based games that came before it.

Not only that, it features beautifully detailed environments, immersive sound design, complex puzzles, one of the most memorable hero’s of gaming history, and a globe-trotting story that was ahead of its time.

The game takes the player through such varied locations as Peu, Greece, Eqypt, and even the lost city of Atlantis, combining real world enemies such as tigers and bats with mutants and mummies as Lara Croft embarks on her quest to find the lost artifact known as the “Scion”.

The story combines sci-fi elements with real-life mythology, and features CGI sequences and cutscenes with real voice acting, also quite rare for 1996.

Tomb Raiders gameplay combines exploration, puzzle solving, fully 3D platforming and action successfully in a way games often struggle with today. In fact, in many ways, Tomb Raider was one of the games that defined a new sub-genre: The Action-Platformer.

Lara Croft can run, jump, swim, climb and shoot through a beautifully rendered world, all in full 3D with a fully animated character. The platforming and puzzle sections are complex and challenging, but the games mechanics are solid, and the player soon finds themselves evading enemies, traps, arrows, and collapsing floors with practiced ease.

The depth of the world and setting, from the texture art, to the lighting, to the sound design, the enemies and the puzzles produces a uniquely well-crafted adventure that stands the test of time.

13: Aliens Vs Predator 2
2001: Monolith Productions / Sierra On-Line / Fox Interactive

Aliens Vs Predator 2 is, in my opinion, the best of the Aliens Vs. Predator games, with three fully featured campaigns: Alien, Predator, and Marine.

Each of the campaigns features a distinct but interweaving story, and completely different gameplay mechanics for the three characters.

The Marine is focused on combat, with arguably the best weapon roster of the 3, as well as armour and items such as night vision goggles. This makes them a tough, if conventional, fighter.

The Alien is actually the weakest combatant, possessing no ranged weapons and no armour. However, the Alien has the ability to walk on walls and ceilings, and has no fall damage, meaning they can attack from any direction. They are also by far the fastest of the three.

The Predator is the most interesting character. Their gameplay focuses on stealth, possessing a cloaking device and several vision modes (Including thermal vision, made famous by the original Predator movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger) allowing them to see enemies while remaining hidden themselves. They also possess powerful weapons such as the shoulder mounted blaster and wrist blades.

The games story centers around a research colony on the planet LV-1201, and each of the three characters play their part in either causing, or responding to the incidents in the game.

The graphics were solid for the time, and the story well-crafted, with the three story arcs building on each other cleverly.

Aliens Vs Predator also paid attention to the accuracy of its sound design, and the familiar alien screams, pulse rifle fire and blaster shots from the movies are all present.

A strong entry for a 25 year old game.

12: Star Trek Bridge Commander
2002, Totally Games / Activision

Bridge Commander was a dream come true for any Star Trek fan: The ability to command your own starship, within the incredible Star Trek Universe! Bridge Commander promised a lot, but delivered.

The game allows players to command two vessels: The Galaxy Class USS-Dauntless and the awesome Sovereign Class USS-Sovereign. The player can control the ship directly through an exterior cinematic view, moving, steering, and firing it’s weapons manually, or use the 3D bridge view, taking the Captains chair and issuing commands by interacting with the various crew members responsible for Helm, Tactical, Engineering, etc.

The games story is engaging and well thought out, and features a new race called the Kessok, in addition to familiar races such as the Klingons, Cardassians, and Romulans. Bridge Commander features the voice talents of Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard and Brent Spiner as Commander Data, who both play their roles extremely well.

The games graphics were excellent, particularly the damage modelling, with the player inflicting and sustaining damage in real time. Entire sections of ships can be damaged and destroyed during combat, with the bridge shaking violently and exploding in showers of sparks with each disruptor blast or torpedo hit.

Bridge Commander also features a “Quick battle” mode, which allows the player to setup custom scenarios involving not only ships from the story campaign, but other ships from the star trek universe too.

The game can also be modded, and I remember installing many custom ships to the roster, such as the USS Defiant and USS Voyager.

If I had one criticism of the game it is that, as a Captain, the amount of options you have for actually fighting a battle are somewhat limited. You issue orders to your crew for manouvers, weapons, power, targeting, etc, but beyond that you are simply waiting for the enemy ship to eventually be crippled or destroyed. I think the game could have benefited from a slightly more complex battle system requiring more interaction from the player.

However, Bridge Commander, even today, is a must play for any Star Trek Fan.

11: Bioshock 2
2010: 2K Marin / 2K

Dark, frightening, and oozing atmosphere, Bioshock 2 takes players back to the submerged dystopia of Rapture.

This time, players play as one of the most feared enemies of the first game: The “Big Daddy”.

Bioshock 2 is one of the rare games where I felt the story was better than the gameplay.

That’s not to say that the gameplay is bad, (although I did feel that the player takes damage far too quickly considering they are supposed to be an armoured behemoth) it was more than the story atmosphere, and characters, were so good that it felt that the gameplay got in the way.

Bioshock 2 features a variety of weapons and, of course, plasmids, leading to some interesting and powerful choices and abilities during intense firefights.

Enemies are aggressive, and the AI is powerful, meaning that the player needs to think carefully and stock up on ammo before combat.

Bioshock 2 features a relatively simple but emotionally powerful “choices matter” system, with the players decisions at key moments having a huge impact on the story.

The story is strong, and quite dark, dealing with topics such as suicide, socialism, and mercy vs revenge. The ending to the game is quite frankly fantastic, and one of the best endings to any game I have ever played.

There are at least 4 endings with radically different outcomes depending on the players actions. Without giving too much away, the emotional weight of these final moments really tugs at the players heartstrings, and it weighs heavily on you whether you choose to forgive or exact revenge on your enemies.

That’s part 1! Part 2 will be coming in a few weeks, with the top 10!

The post The Top 20 Games Of All Time: Part 1 first appeared on Phoenix Game Development.

I have just spent a little over a day working on the scripting side of Unity, and I have achieved something that I feared would take weeks to complete.

Not only did I successfully implement raycasting, but I was also able to create a polygon from code, texture it, and apply a collision mesh.

These three things can be very difficult, in Unity, the code to do it was just a few lines long.

The reason I chose this particular task is because of my Spherical Terrain project. The vast majority of my project *should* be engine independent, ie, it is mostly logic, variable declaration, etc, that should just require like for like changes, such as changing an “F32” in T3D to a “float” in Unity, changing a vector to a list, etc etc.

The parts that I am really worried about are the areas where my code integrates with the existing rendering and collision system, and the material manager. So far, using these subsystems has been very, very easy in Unity, and I a actually think that porting my Spherical Terrain code could be a viable option in the near future, if I choose to go down that route.

T3D and Unity also seem to both use a clockwise winding order, so this is also an advantage.

I find the code very elegant and neat, and powerful features can be implemented with very few lines of code.

The only issues that I am worried about would be the performance of C# compared to C++ (it would be slower) and the fact that most scientific computing code is written in C++. I now work mostly in the field of “serious” computing, virtual worlds, some computational physics, mathematics, etc, and using a “common” language would make it easier to integrate libraries and example code from the scientific computing field, which I would do on occasion.

Overall though, I am very impressed with the speed that I am picking up Unity, and I am looking forward to spending more time with it, it truly is a great piece of software.

The post Unity: Evaluation Part 3 first appeared on Phoenix Game Development.

I have completed a simple art Demo in Unity. This is a very basic demo of the standard features of the Unity editor, plus some assets from the asset store. I have not created any art for this demo.

I think the near photorealistic nature of even the standard Unity tools is staggering, and the sheer number of assets in the asset store (both paid and free) would be enough to speed up the development of almost any project.

The first project that I make in most new engines or versions of engines seems to be an island, I don’t know why that is, it seems to be my “Hello World” level or scene that I make.

It’s interesting to compare this scene to previous engines. Again, as I mentioned, the thing that really amazes me is the grass. I can completely cover all areas of the terrain with grass, for no performance penalty at all, that is very, very impressive.

The post Unity: Evaluation Part 2 first appeared on Phoenix Game Development.

I have decided to begin evaluating the Unity game engine, after spending some time with Unreal a few months ago. I found Unreal to be quite difficult to use, and the Blueprint scripting system wasn’t to my liking.

Unity, by contrast, seems to be much more user friendly, and I seem to be able to accomplish much more with it in less time, than with any other engine that I have used.

In just two days, I was able to install and set up Unity, and play around with it enough to get a relatively good idea of how everything fits together. I haven’t done much coding yet, but I have created an run C# files, as well as set up Visual Studio Tools for Unity, and the Visual Studio Debugger. This rapid progress is very encouraging.

So far, in addition to the ease of use, I am particularly impressed with the grass effects. I can completely cover a terrain with dense grass and not suffer and performance problems whatsoever. The same thing is true with the trees, but the grass optimisation and rendering is something I have not seen before.

I am also very impressed with the particle effect system. I have not created many particles of my own yet, but the default particles are very detailed and look great.

The next goal is to start writing some code in Unity. I am not expecting the C++ to C# transition to be particularly difficult, but there could be issues with transitioning from one engine to another. This remains to be seen.

sandbox
06/09/2016 , 10:51:50 PM
Sandbox

The post Unity: Evaluation first appeared on Phoenix Game Development.

I have recently received my Oculus Rift CV1, and I’d like to document my first impressions of it.

I haven’t used any other virtual reality hardware at all, except for some of those 3D glasses and very basic head mounted displays that were available years ago.

Even during setup of the Oculus, while I was configuring the location of the sensor, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the sense of presence that the Rift produces. During the Dream Deck Demoscenes, this sense of prescence was truly astounding.

In fact, I had to skip one demo that was set on a ledge on the side of a tall building, due to a genuine discomfort and fear of heights. That is a level of immersion that I have never felt in a game before, and it’s something you could never get from playing on a screen.

In addition to setting up Torque 3D and making my current projects Virtual Reality compatible, I have been exploring some of the other apps and games available on the rift.

The main one would be EVE: Valkyrie. The “launch” scene in this game, when the player is first introduced to the cockpit, and catapulted from the carrier ship into space, is  one of the greatest “wow” moments that I have ever had in a game, and it really impressed upon me the genuine feeling that VR is something different. This is something that is going to be big, because you just don’t get that “wow” factor on a screen.

Being able to look around the cockpit as the lights come on, and then seeing the inside of the carrier, and finally seeing the relative safety of the cramped launch tube disappear as your ship is propelled into the vastness of space, provokes genuine presence and awe. I found myself having to stare straight ahead in order to play the game for some time, since I found looking around made me genuinely uneasy.

I also noticed that at several points while using the rift, I instinctively reached my hands out in an attempt to interact with what was happening on the screen. I knew that the Rift currently has no “touch” controller, but it just feels like such a natural thing to do, you feel like you are “in” the game, and you don’t think to use a controller.

Initially, I felt that “touch” controllers were an important accessory, but an accessory nonetheless. Having used the Rift, I now believe very strongly that touch controllers are an absolutely vital part of the VR experience. To be able to interact with the world by physically moving your hands is essential to maintaining the presence and the immersion in the game world. Using a gamepad or, worse, a keyboard and mouse, would be like buying an expensive car and driving it by sitting in the back seat and shouting directions to the driver. You might get to where you’re going, but you won’t enjoy the ride.

Another point that is shared with the Rifts main competitor, the HTC Vive, is the significant dearth of content for these headsets. I spend time looking through the Steam and Oculus stores and had difficulty finding a game that I wanted to play. There were only a handful of titles that really interested me. I also noticed that most of the titles that were available were from small or independent gaming companies. There’s nothing at all wrong with this, my own work is in the independent gaming sector, and we are in the very early stages of virtual reality. What concerns me, however, is the possibility that the big-name companies are not investing in VR yet because the market is so small. They may be waiting for the second or even third generation of VR headsets to be available, hoping that at that point VR will be cheap enough that a significant customer base will exist.

The problem with this thinking is that I feel, personally,that without a significant investment from Triple-A, Big name games companies, VR may yet fizzle out. It is very much a fledgling industry at this point, and despite my love for independent gaming, I don’t feel it is enough to grow the VR industry. Big budget developers really need to start producing content for VR, at a loss if necessary, in order to encourage adoption of the technology. It would be considered an investment for the future, since I do feel this could be a major player in the future.

On a similar note, I have been looking much more favourably to less expensive VR Heatsets like the Playstation VR. The specs are obviously not going to match the two Rift or the Vive, but with their low cost, they are likely to sell better, and therefore attract more people to the industry, which in turn will drive developers to create more content.

With regards to creating content for VR, I think it is important to design the content specifically for VR, rather than designing the game for a gamepad or keyboard and mouse, and adding VR support after the fact. The latter is tempting, since Unity and Unreal Engine both make VR integration to a project very quick and simple. The problem with this is that conventional control interfaces don’t tend to work too well in VR. This is particularly true when rotating the player. With most first person games, or even third person games, the player is allowed to rapidly turn their character at the push of a button. However, this kind of motion can very often lead to “Sim sickness” in virtual reality. This is due to the same factors that cause motion sickness in a car, the eyes perceive the body to be moving, but the inner ear does not perceive movement, and this dissonance triggers feelings of nausea.

With a game designed for Virtual Reality, the player should be able to look and turn using the headset itself (which means the information from the eye and inner ear will match), or there will be other changes made to the control system to accommodate VR, and reduce the chances of inducing sim sickness. Some games, such as “The Vanishing of Ethan Carter” feature some variation of a “comfort mode” designed to reduce the effects of movement on the player. Even with a “comfort mode” it is clear that VR games need to be designed from the ground up to be VR games, it is not sufficient to simply port a non-VR game.

To summarise, I do believe that VR is here to stay. I think that once the content is there, VR will become a standard fixture in gaming, and it is very, very exciting to imagine the possibilities that VR games can explore. This is what myself, and many games dreamed of growing up, of not just “playing” the game, but “being there”. The Rift, as I said, provides this feeling, this sense of presence, that I have never felt before in a game. I still can’t handle more EVE:Valkyrie for more than a few minutes at a time, and I have to remind myself to “not look down”. Investing in VR right now, as a developer creating content or a consumer buying a headset, is a gamble, as with any new technology, but it must be considered an investment into a future that could bring the “Wow” back into gaming.

The post Oculus Rift: First Impressions first appeared on Phoenix Game Development.

I have begun working on the art for P167, which includes both modelling and texturing.

This has been my first opportunity to generate normal maps for my art assets, and the results are spectacular. Strictly speaking, normal maps should be generated from a high-poly mesh and mapped onto a low-poly mesh. However, the models that I have been working on so far are simple interior and exterior walls, a high poly version is not needed.

Instead, I have been using a program called “CrazyBump” to automatically generate normal maps from the diffuse (standard texture) map. CrazyBump is available for download HERE, but a licence is required. It costs $99 for a personal licence, which allows commercial use with a cap of $200,000.

The interface is extremely simple:

The results are below. The first image was captured without a normal map, the second with a normal map applied:

The difference is like night and day. Here are some shots from the game world, with and without normal maps:

I have been steadily working on the modelling and texturing for this project. It will take some time, since my art skills are not my strongest feature.

The post On the Benefits of Normal Mapping first appeared on Phoenix Game Development.

I have always had a great interest in multi-dimensional shapes. The idea that there could be a whole “dimension” of space that exists in dimensions beyond those that we can see is fascinating.

Human beings are used to seeing in three dimensions, length, breadth, and depth. In computer graphics these are generally labelled as X,Y, and Z.

However, there are an unlimited number of dimensions possible. Since humans only see the world in 3 dimensions, it is not possible to “create” a true 4 dimensional or higher object, but it is possible to create a representation of one of these shapes.

The secret is something called “Projection“. This is a mathematical means of mapping a higher dimensional structure onto a lower dimensional structure.

As a computer games programmer, I am very familiar with projection. Computer games, for now at least, are played on screens, which are two dimensional, while most games themselves, are three dimensional.

This means that it is necessary to do a “window to viewport transformation”. This basically “projects” the Z axis, or the depth information, onto the screen, while preserving the X and Y axis. This means that a 3D object can be drawn accurately onto a 2D screen.

The same technique works at higher dimensions. By fixing two axes, X and Y, in the same way as the 3D to 3D projection, and then projecting the other axes, (however many there are) it is possible to create a 2D representation of the higher dimensional shape.

These shapes look bizarre, especially when animated. This is because the way they are constructed and the way the move is completely unlike anything we are used to dealing with. We understand 3D objects, since we live in a 3D world. We also understand 2D objects, because 2D is a subset of 3D, but 4D objects seem to be “impossible”, even though they follow the same rules as other objects.

To demonstrate what a 4D object is, and how it is constructed, I constructed a “Tesseract” by following THIS tutorial. A tesseract is basically a cube in 4D.

First, here is a 1-Dimensional object, a simple line. containing only length information:

Then, a 2-Dimensional object, a square. Containing both length and width information:

Now there is a problem, because the screen is only two dimensions. So, how is it possible to represent a 3-dimensional shape, such as a cube, which contains depth information as well? The answer is simple, draw a representation of that cube:

This is not a true cube, but it can be essentially thought of as a “snapshot” of a cube at a given position and rotation. This idea of the “snapshot” will become important shortly. First, take a look at the tesseract, the 4-Dimensional cube:

This obviously looks very complex, but look closely, and you will see that it is essentially a series of interlocking cubes. Now, take a look at this image, which I obtained (HERE) from the wikipedia page on the tesseract:

This is also a tesseract, but it looks completely different. Why? This is simply because the viewing angle and rotation is different, producing a vastly different projected shape. Wikipedia has two examples of rotating tesseracts. The first (left) shows rotation about one plane, and the second (right) shows rotation about two planes:

These animations look impossible, and seem to violate the rules of physics. Yet what is happening here is exactly the same as what would happen if a cube was rotated about one or two of it’s axes, the only difference is that another dimension is involved, and our brains can’t truly comprehend it.

I have toyed with the idea of writing either a program or a library (probably for Torque) that can render higher dimensional shapes. It would be very interesting to see what they look like when using the Oculus Rift, especially since the rift is a true 3D device, and therefore would only need a 4D to 3D projection, and not a 4D to 2D.

There is a game by the name of Miegakure (and another game or concept project which I played some time ago, I believe that it was called Daedalus) which created 4D game worlds. This lends itself well to complex reasoning and puzzle solving. It seems that with enough practice, human beings can in fact learn to “process” the fourth dimension, and make some sense of it.

I don’t know if a 4D first person shooter has ever been created, I doubt it, but it would definitely be a fascinating concept to develop.

The post Drawing 4-Dimensional Shapes first appeared on Phoenix Game Development.

I have been intrigued by several of the very innovative horror games released recently. Some of these are designed for the Oculus Platform (Slender: The Arrival, Alien Isolation) and some are not (Five Nights at Freddy’s, Emily Wants to Play). These games are very often developed by independent or small-scale studios or individuals, and often feature very unique gameplay.

Despite their success, they can also tend to be quite simple. Alien:Isolation is an obvious exception to this, since it isn’t an indie game, but even it relies on somewhat non-standard gameplay, ie, instead of fighting enemies, the player must generally hide, or outsmart them.

Games like Five Nights at Freddy’s and Emily wants to play involve no combat at all. I think this greatly amplifies the sense of fear and helplessness. I remember playing F.E.A.R and I found the sections without combat more frightening. Removing firearms from the game basically removes the players ability to defend themselves, and I think this has a strong psychological effect on a player, and changes how they see the game. If a player is armed, they feel like they are in control, if they are unarmed, they are helpless.

Most big-budget games, horror games included, follow a fairly similar pattern, they are essentially either shooters or “survival horror” games. FEAR, Doom, Resident Evil, Dead Space, etc all follow this pattern.

However, independent game developers are not forced to follow the same pattern simple because it sells well, they are free to come up with new and innovative ideas.

This is why I feel the Oculus Rift, and VR headsets in general, can be a great boon to gaming, since in many ways it levels the playing field. Computer gaming, with the possible exception of mobile gaming, is dominated by a small number of big companies, which tend not to take huge risks with regards to gameplay or innovation.

The rise of VR gaming could create a new avenue for gaming, which, for a time at least, should allow all developers to have a blank slate with which to rewrite the rules of how games are created and played. This could be very good for the industry.

The post Horror Gaming on the Oculus Rift first appeared on Phoenix Game Development.

The garagegames community have launched a new forum HERE.

This forums seems to have replaced the previous one, which had been having problems with spam for some time. The new forum is actively moderated and spam free, and seems to have taken over the brunt of the Torque related discussion from the previous forum.

The post New Torque Forum first appeared on Phoenix Game Development.