Caveman Economics (a review of Power Grid: The First Sparks)

I used to follow Rare's video games because I liked GoldenEye for the Nintendo 64 so much. One of the games they had in their queue was an adventure game called Dinosaur Planet. I followed it with mild interest, mostly because GoldenEye was so good that I was willing to take a chance on an unbranded franchise. Delay after delay occurred, and finally, the game was released as Star Fox Adventures, the original game I had followed with a veneer of Star Fox theme. The game wasn't great, and the Star Foxisms were distracting. (Perhaps the greatest of this game's sins, though, was the dinosaur who followed Fox around saying, "Dum dee dum!" But I digress...)

So when I heard about Power Grid: The First Sparks, I assumed it was similar to the Dinosaur Planet/Star Fox Adventures situation: a decent game had been developed but needed the crutch of strong source material to pass muster. However, after several plays of The First Sparks, I can say that this game has truly earned its Power Grid moniker. But how does it stack up against its predecessor? Find out below!

On the Horizon: 2012

New years are great. New Year's Day may be a seemingly arbitrary holiday to some, but I think it marks a great time to look back and reflect on the past year, and at the same time look forward to new and excellent things on the horizon.

The same is true for games. It's a good time to be a board gamer. The hobby is growing and getting noticed, and a lot of high-quality, excellent games are being produced. Kickstarter has become a major launching pad for independent and small-time game publishers to find an audience and succeed. And there's no shortage of awesomeness coming in 2012 (especially as Essen 2011 releases s-l-o-w-l-y make their way to the States). Here are some of the games we're excited to see.