Creative Modern Games from the Former Soviet Union

There have been a couple TNL topics on older Russian games. This one's devoted to recent games developed in the areas of the former Soviet Union, and that stand out for being unique in design or style. Here are a few of them to start the topic (all for PC):



Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators
Developer: Elemental Games
Year: 2004 (Russia), 2005 (other parts of Europe and Australia), 2006 (North America)

I'm currently playing this, and after a bunch of hours, I feel like I have barely scratched the surface (any tips would be appreciated). It's pretty addictive even though it requires a lot of patience to advance given that it's very open-ended and makes you explore to figure out what to do.

What makes this game so cool is that it mixes genres in ways I have never seen before. It's primarily an old-fashioned space trading game like Elite, and it has a noticeable Star Control influence. In addition to ship customization and RPG stats, it has 3d RTS battles (which can also be played like third-person shooters), arcadey 2d shooter minigames, and "text quests" which are basically digital comic style adventure games. Some of these quests are racing games in text form.

The game's music is pretty awesome, too. It reminds me older PC and Amiga games.

I should warn that the retail version uses Starforce so a download is the better route. The downloadable doesn't include Space Rangers 1, though, although from what I gather it's not as good.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...angers%202.jpg

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...range2rev4.jpg



Tanita: Plasticine Dream
Developer: Trickster Games
Year: 2006

Anyone played this? I haven't but there aren't exactly a lot of plasticine adventure games out there so it intrigues me. The Neverhood is the closest I can think of for a game in the genre looking like this.

Video - http://en.akella.com/Game.aspx?id=18&mode=video
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...r/tanita_6.jpg

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...r/tanita_2.jpg



Parkan II
Developer: Nikita
Year: 2004

This game didn't turn out very good but I admire its ambition. It's an open-ended space sim/FPS hybrid (Parkan 1 was a strategy game from what I gather). The space action is decent but the shitty FPS sections bring it down. It's a great idea in concept anyway being able to capture an enemy ship and then board it switching to an FPS view. I love the art direction anyway. Also, a new Parkan game came out for cell phones recently.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...r/ParkanII.jpg

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/.../ParkanIIb.jpg



Steamland
Developer: Gromada
Year: 2003

I have only tried the demo but I like what I have played of this. The colourful, light-hearted, steampunk style stands out in the RTS genre.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/.../Steamland.jpg

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...teamland-b.jpg



S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Developer: GSC Gameworld
Year: 2007

This is the most well known game in the thread so far although it was still overshadowed by other first-person shooters last year. I think most people know it's a post-apocalyptic FPS with a large, open-ended world and RPG elements. There isn't really another game in the genre quite like it. I suppose it reminds me most of Deus Ex but even then the level structure is way different, and the atmosphere is a different brand of desolation. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s a great game, and the sequel is looking even better.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...ater/121-2.jpg

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/.../STALKERPC.jpg


So let's discuss anything related to the topic. I'm always interested to learn more about obscure, unique stuff.

STALKER (as buggy as it is) is a GREAT fucking game.

Pathologic is an interesting first-person adventure/rpg/survival horror game. It takes place over the course of a week in a small town that's succumbing to disease. There are three different characters, and the NPCs react differently to each (as well as based on what you do), so you can't uncover the full story without playing through it three times.

The major issue with Pathologic is the translation. It's one of the worst I have ever seen. The English version is often completely incomprehensible.

Still, it's one of the most unique games I have ever seen and definitely worth checking out.

Hmm, I thought Pathologic was some generic sci-fi FPS I played the demo of a while back but looking at pics, I must be thinking of some other game. I should check it out.

I bought Stalker when it was first released on Steam but haven't gotten around to playing it much. I'll fix that shortly.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-of-Migh...1502634&sr=1-1

Heroes of Might and Magic 5 is another Russia made production that is well known.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Atari-Dawn-of-...1502524&sr=8-1

Dawn of Magic is a Diablo like game, with pretty graphics, but few horrible review scores.

http://www.amazon.com/Atari-Kings-Bo...1502599&sr=1-1

Upcoming Kings Bounty as well.

Didn't Timeshift also come out of the former USSR? Has that sort of feel.

Timeshift was made in the States, I think.

Yeah, Saber Interactive has like six people in North America and the rest in Russia. So pretty much everything besides the basic design and direction was done in Russia. Denis Dyack ranted at the last GDC about Saber's organizational structure, complaining that you can't outsource creativity. It's worth reading interviews about it (and the rebuttals by Matthew Karch, the CEO of Saber).

Nine posts and not a single "in Soviet Russia..." joke? TNL is slacking off.