Diablo Meets Space Marines

Why aren't there more games like Diablo? A soupcon of story, fast frenetic combat alleviated by a breathing space when you get back to your base, a wide variety of opponents with terrifying bosses, and ever-improving skills and equipment--it's a recipe for unalloyed pleasure, at least for many gamers.

With Space Hack, Rebelmind has taken that recipe and taken it to science fiction, with your character a Space Marine who uses primarily fire rather than melee weapons, for an interesting change of pace. Of course, you may ask yourself whether a small indie developer can provide the level of polish for which Blizzard is renowned. We think they get close, but you don't have to take our word for it. That's what demos are for.

If Styrateg had been published in, say, 1992, we might talk of it in the same breath with Warlords or Heroes of Might & Magic; it's a nice, focussed turn-based fantasy RPG with an engaging story, pretty graphics (in a somewhat retro 2D tile-based mode), and Medieval-style music that's reminiscent of the soundtrack to Europa Universalis.

It has RPG-ish character advancement; levelling up allows you to improve your character stats and skills, and in some cases gain new skills. Each level has a turn limit, which creates a sense of tension missing in many turn-based games; you fail if you don't finish a level in a set number of turns (but can always replay it, of course).

Why Is Super Columbine Massacre Controversial?

Super Columbine Massacre is controversial for one reason only: Because our culture continues to assume that games are "mere entertainment," that a game based on so horrific an event must ipso facto be in bad taste. Games are fun, Columbine was a tragedy and never the twain shall meet; a game on Columbine must by nature trivialize or cynically exploit the event. Q.E.D.

Yet we do not make the same assumption about any other medium: a documentary on the Columbine massacre, or a novel, or a New Yorker essay would, a priori, be treated with respect, at least until the viewer or reader had experienced it, after which a judgment might be made as to its merits. And if the work proved insightful, somber,and respectful of its material, the world would consider it unexceptional.