Tag Archives: Bulgarian Video Games

Surviving Mars: Relaunched – Video Game Review

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TL;DR – if you have never played the game before, this is by far the best version, and you should give it a go. If you have bought the game before, I am not sure there is enough to warrant the price tag.

Disclosure – I paid for this video game.

A Map of Mars.

Surviving Mars: Relaunched Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a bit of an odd duck in that we are looking at what is apparently a from-the-ground-up remake for a game that is less than ten years old, which, for a strategy game, is quite odd. However, as I enjoyed my time with the first Surviving Mars, I thought it was only good to dive back in to see if it was worth the relaunch.

So, to set the scene, in Surviving Mars, as the title suggests, your job is to help manage the first colony on Mars and make sure everything runs smoothly. You begin by picking your mission’s sponsor, the USA, Europe, Blue Sun Corporation, and more. You then choose what type of commander you are going to be, an Ecologist, Oligarch, etc., and then you are off to the red planet. Here you have to pick your landing site on a very detailed map of Mars, you can select from one of the pre-determined locations or go ‘stuff it game I’m landing in the Utopia Planitia’, and then it is just you, a rocket and a couple of automated rovers to start you on building the first place for humankind away from Earth. Where you will face the needs of a growing colony, the harness of the environment, and the risk of declaring independence.

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Video Game Review – Surviving Mars: Green Planet

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TL;DR – It builds on everything that worked in the base game and then adds features that make it a must play

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Surviving Mars: Green Planet. Image Credit: Paradox Interactive.

Review –

Last year I had a look at a really interesting strategy game about starting the first ever colony on Mars. Just in its name, Surviving Mars, it told you just how hard it would be to build and sustain life on a hostile planet. You could set up a colony only to sit there and watch it die because you accidentally set up a negative feedback loop. But while this can be devastating, the game is always there tempting you to try again, and when you succeed there is so much joy in that moment. While I enjoyed my time in Surviving Mars, it did feel like it had yet to reach its full potential. Well, today we are going to look at the newest expansion Green Planet to see if this helps to fill in the gaps in the base game with copious amounts of Martian concrete.

So to set the scene, you are the commander for the first colony being sent to the red planet. When you arrive Mars is a bleak, hostile, but also a deeply beautiful place. It is a planet filled with promise but also death. You need to build up resources, construct domes to protect your people, provide oxygen and water, and keep it safe from all the disasters that can strike. However, while surviving is fine, there is a next step that you could take. Because what if we can shape Mars to be friendlier, what if we could turn it into a green planet?

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Video Game Review – Surviving Mars

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TL;DR – As a game it is a really interesting puzzle to get right, mimicking real life in some ways, but it would be good to take it a step further.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

Surviving Mars. Image Credit: Haemimont Games

 

 

Review –
When it comes to settings for films, TV, books, or games nothing is an easier sell for me than setting something on Mars. Whether it is your Red Mars trilogy, your Total Recall, your The Martian, whatever it may be, I am just engrossed with our red neighbour floating out in the void. So with this in mind, we are looking at a game today that simulates what it would be like potentially to create a colony on the red planet and well be prepared going in that you probably going to kill your colony a couple of times.

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