First 10!

First 10 – Sanctum 2 Gameplay and Impressions

The Overseas Connection gives a First 10 look and impression for Sanctum 2.

• Developer: Coffee Stain Studios
• Publisher: Coffee Stain Studios
• Release Date:May  15, 2013
• Platform: Xbox 360,  PS3 & PC
• Rating: T

Sanctum 2 is the successor to the unique First Person Shooter / Tower Defense game… Sanctum.  Sanctum 2 will feel quite similar to those who might have played games like Iron Brigade (aka Trenched).  While it lacks much of the charm of Iron Brigade it does deliver a very good gameplay experience that fans of both Iron Brigade and the game Defense Grid should be able to have some appreciation for.

Ultimately this game is a solid enough experience to justify the purchase price of $15 but it is rather niche so it may only appeal to those that are fans of  more tower defense like games.  We highly recommend trying the demo / trial out first if you have that option.

First 10 Impression:  3 out of 5      

First 10! FUSE Demo

The Overseas Connection gives a First 10 look and impression for the FUSE demo.

• Developer: Insomniac Games
• Publisher: EA
• Release Date:May 28, 2013
• Platform: Xbox 360 & PS3
• Rating: M

Fuse is a game that has a lot of attention on it being the first multiplatform game from Insomniac Games coming to the Xbox 360.  Known for creative weapons and great story telling Insomniac seemingly had done away with much of that as early criticism of this game was it looked and sounded very generic.

While the overall look may still hold a bit if a generic shooter feel we are happy to say this game demo dispelled many of our concerns.  Well voice acted, intriguing story and guns / powers that feel fresh for the shooter scene.  Fuse offers a fun 4 player drop-in and drop-out campaign experience that should impress most.

Fuse is game that fell of our radar and has fallen right back on.

First 10 Impression:  4 out of 5      

First 10! Star Trek

The Overseas Connection gives a First 10 look and impression for the video game Star Trek.

• Developer: Digital Extremes
• Publisher: Bandai Namco
• Release Date: April 23, 2013
• Platform: Xbox 360, PS3 & PC
• Rating: T

Movie tie-in games often have a bad reputation, and Star Trek does nothing to change that.  While having shown a great deal of promise back in 2011 when it was first shown off during E3 the game has since done little to evolve itself into something worthy of your money.  This 3rd person shooter has a number of technical bits and gameplay that “could” have made it really good, but sadly the developer couldn’t put it altogether into a great game.  Instead they left us with the typical movie tie-in game that lacks real substance and polish.  I can only think that the hardcore “Treky” may enjoy this one, but for the rest of us there are far better games to play  and spend money on.

First 10 Impression:  1 out of 5      

First 10: The Walking Dead Survival Instinct Impressions

The Overseas Connection gives a First 10 look and impression for The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

• Developer: Terminal Reality
• Publisher: Activision
• Release Date: April 2, 2013
• Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, WiiU & PC
• Rating: M

While the game surprised us by the depth of some of the systems overall we felt they fell short with many of their ideas and implementation.  Your first moments of the game will give some promise of something that might be better than expected but quickly you will realize this won’t be a gem in the rough but rather just rough. Give it a rent if you truly are looking for a zombie experience and have no other options.  

First 10 Impression:  2 out of 5