This month at Game Tunnel you may notice that we went from May to July. Did you miss a month? Nope. In an effort to make our coverage sound less like last month's news we simply forward dated it by a month. Yes, I know, it really is last month's news, but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting darnit! So read on and see who was hot and who was not in June - I mean July!

Aveyond: Lord of Twilight

There has been a swell in RPG-maker RPGs lately, and they've been only increasing in quality. A fine example would be the latest in the Aveyond series, Aveyond: Lord of Twilight.

The story of Aveyond, like every RPG, is of major importance, and is your main motivation to get things done. The game stars Mel, a young and orphaned thief who is hired to steal an "heirloom" for a mysterious client. Things get out of hand, and she ends up on the run with a vampire from her assailants. She soon discovers that she is the descendant of the most evil mage that ever lived.

Gameplay is pretty typical: walk around, get stuff, fight monsters, make dialogue with the NPCs, and repeat. The formula is tried-and-true. Battling is standard as well: fight, use skill, use item, don't run out of health or you die, kill the bad guys, play victory music, the end. Not new, but still polished to a glistening shine.

The presentation of A.L.O.T. is another standout. The character portraits are well drawn and expressive, and the environments are vibrant. The music is scarily catchy, but it's atmospheric at the same time.

If you're in the mood for a quality adventure, or if you just want to kill 10 hours, then snag a copy of Aveyond: Lord of Twilight. Now, for the next episode! Let's have it!

Read the full review...

Science Girls

Imagine this: school's done for the day. You're about to head to an after school club activity, when BAM! Aliens invade your institute of higher learning. You, being the upstanding citizen that you are, do not call the authorities. That would be absurd. No, instead you (along with your science club pals) decide to wage war against the invaders. And you do battle with SCIENCE. Oh, yeah.

The RPG battles aren't your typical battles: all six girls can be in battle at once, but only the three in the front of the formation can attack or be attacked (with some exceptions). You can switch a girl in the front with a girl in the back whenever you want during her turn, as many times as you want, until they attack. Also, every attack costs SP, even the basic "punch" command. This means that you have to carefully gauge when to use attacks, and how often.

The graphics are both beautiful and mediocre at the same time. The dialogue scenes are beautiful, thanks to some awesome character illustrations. The battles look adequate, but they're pretty much for functional purposes only. The music's okay, too, but the issue was with the girls' battle cries during combat: their high pitch wails were a constant annoyance to me.

Don't let the big-eyed anime ladies and the cutesy style of Science Girls fool you. It's a great RPG, and it's accessible for just about anyone. If that isn't enough to convince you: it's really cheap.

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Light of Altair

At first glance, Light of Altair seems to be a casual little resource-management game in space. Then, you play the game and watch in horror as your colonies fall to economic pieces. Yeah. That happens. Basically, Light of Altair takes a concept that normally would encourage laid-back gameplay and gives it a good ol' injection of STRESS (in a good way).

In Light of Altair, the idea is to manage planets. Colonize them, mine their resources, establish trade, keep the people happy, and oh so much more. All of this managing and building and whatnot have a purpose, though. Throughout the levels, orders are given from your higher-ups on what needs to be upgraded and objectives that need to be met.

One of the most striking aspects of Light of Altair is the graphics. They're absolutely gorgeous. From the beautiful art direction of the individual galaxies as a whole to the details and lighting on the colony buildings, this game is impressive.

As a whole, the game is satisfying, and it's constantly engaging. If you're in the mood for a game that will make you think and dazzle you with it's presentation, Light of Altair is a good way to get your fix.

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Tradewinds Odyssey

Tradewinds Odyssey is a game that takes a little bit from a bunch of genres: resource management, strategy, adventure, and even some RPG elements are thrown into the mix. It's hard to pin down exactly what T.O. is, and that's why it stands out.

In Tradewinds Odyssey, there are six playable characters (two of which you have to unlock) and six storylines. Each character's main story is progressed via quests, which are divided up kind of like chapters. The quests involve (but are not limited to) bartering for olive oil, finding a random scholar, battling a sea monster, and everything in between. The dialogue throughout the game is witty and completely historically inaccurate, which makes it even funnier.

The graphics in T.O. are decent. While the dialogue portraits are fun to look at, they're not really unique in any way. The city maps are well animated, with lots of little characters walking about, which give the cities a small breath of life. The tunes sound good, but they don't fit the game very well. They don't sound Greek, which should have been the main purpose of the music to begin with.

It's accessible and entertaining for a wide audience, so what more can you ask for? If Tradewinds Odyssey is your type of game, you'll love it. If you're into more hardcore resource management/adventure games, you may not be satisfied.

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Faerie Solitaire

If you don't have any idea how to play regular solitaire, have no fear. There's not a whole lot that's normal about the card game you'll be playing in Faerie Solitaire (thank God, I can't stand 'real' solitaire).

In Faerie Solitaire, the card game is relatively simple. I won't get into the details here, because it's explained much better in the game and I'll just end up being confusing. What I will say is this: the levels are divided into nine hands, and each level has an objective. These vary from needing to get a combo of a certain size to earning a certain amount of cash.

The presentation is pretty bland, however. They're functional, and they do their job. That's all. That's the situation with the story, too.

Faerie Solitaire is a fun little card game, with plenty of replay value; especially with the challenge mode. Though it's not the prettiest gem out there, it's still fun. If this kind of game is your calling, then it's worth checking out.

Turning the Tide

As far as side-scrollers go, Turning the Tide is decent. It follows you, a pilot in WWII who, because of your skills, in charge of turning the tides (surprise!) of the war.

The game seems to strive for an old-school feel, and it accomplishes that relatively well. The graphics are reminiscent of the golden days, with cartoony ships and explosions; capped off with sparsely rendered environments. The music is a little corny, but it fits well with the game.

The game plays smoothly, and there's plenty of action and chaos (essential, especially in this genre). While it plays well, it doesn't do much else. It's good at what it does, but it doesn't really jump out in any way. Because of this, it seems kind of basic.

Bottom line: Turning the Tide is amusing, but it doesn't leave a lasting impression.

Conquest - Medieval Realms

In the realm of strategy games, Conquest weighs in on the very easy side. For newcomers to turn based strategy / war games, this is an excellent product that can really whet your whistle. For strategic masterminds or people like me who simply "game" every Friday, Conquest is a brief diversion and little more.

The game boils down to building troops that fight in rock-paper-scissor format and maintaining them by conquering land and sometimes building resource buildings. The one saving grace of this strategic format is they do add zones of control, meaning you can't just walk past someone of equal or stronger power than you. This creates a light strategic atmosphere, and through careful planning you can win a number of historic or random scenarios.

I am all for any game that can bring new people into a genre I love, but for those of us waiting for the next strategic masterpiece, Conquest just isn't it. Still, even for us veterans, it is worth downloading the demo to see some of the mechanics and stretch your brain around a new puzzle -even if only for an hour.

Read the full review...

Attack of the Alien Space Beetles

Attack of the Alien Space Beetles is pretty typical in every aspect. It's a space shooter that has nothing spectacular to offer, but will still be entertaining for fans of the genre.

The graphics are colorful and comfortable to look at, since everything is kind of bubbly in AotASB. But they're kind of bland; it's very easy to let your eyes glaze over and just ignore the details.

Controlling your ship is simple, but there's a flaw. The ship's movement lags behind the mouse's, which is obnoxious and which makes the game more frustrating than it needs to be.

The game as a whole is adequate, but it will probably bore almost everyone outside of the target audience. The main problem? While it tries to be engaging, it mostly fails because it's an overused concept that has been beaten to death. Not bad, but nothing all that great about it either.