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#1

Meridian: Age of Invention

In Brief

A Time Management Game

Introduction:

Experience the wonder of discovery as you rebuild a crumbling kingdom in Meridian: Age of Invention, an innovative time and resource management game! To renovate rundown villages, you'll have to hire workers, scour for resources, repair infrastructure, provide food and other services, engage in trade and create machines that will make life easier for the people. To win a gold trophy on each level, you'll have to use your ingenuity to figure out the quickest way to gather resources and complete your other tasks.

As you travel through lush grasslands, arid deserts and a village built on the sea, your guide will be Professor Cardano, an eccentric but brilliant inventor. Along the way, you'll meet many other zany characters, all of whom have their own dreams you can make come true. Endlessly imaginative, visually stunning and accessible to players of every skill level, Meridian: Age of Invention will take you to a time and place you'll never want to leave!

Features:

* 55 levels

* 10 different tasks

* 10 unique characters

* Point-and-click controls

* Learn-as-you-play tutorial

Reference accessed HERE 26th March 2016

If you wish to see the problems section, which I've now incorporated into the FAQ's thread you can find it HERE and the recent games deals (now called The Weekly roundup of game deals) is HERE. I've still to post the installation section. Will do so later. In the meantime, if you have problems installing the game, do post a comment, thank you.

The Game:

Let’s face it: time management games are a dime a dozen, so it takes a lot for a game to stand out amongst its many peers. Unfortunately, Meridian: Age of Invention doesn’t invent anything new in the genre, and it stands out for all the wrong reasons.

Meridian: Age of Invention has a sloppy story line that sees you repairing a city in shambles after the ruling party gives up hope. An inventor arrives in his trusty wagon, and he instructs you through dozens of levels as you repair roads and buildings, work in mines or quarries, trade goods with outsiders, deal with bandits, or even add plumbing to homes.

As is standard for a time management game, each level in Meridian: Age of Invention gives you a series of overall tasks to complete, and then challenges you to balance the use of resources like ore and gold in order to complete them. Unfortunately, there’s no action queuing here, so you’re left waiting for workers to complete one task before you can even click to start another.

Builders walk slowly and must be used in bulk to repair or build most structures, while couriers move more quickly and are used to collect taxes from homes, deliver letters and parcels between homes, or collect any raw resources that the builders themselves create. Additional workers cost money to hire, so you’ll constantly be sending your couriers to and fro around the map as trading posts assign new jobs to them in order to earn extra money. Unfortunately, there’s no rhyme or reason for when these jobs become available, and in levels that ask you to earn a specific amount of coins to move on or build a specific structure, you’re left literally doing nothing as you wait for jobs to appear at random.

While each level comes with a different layout and overall design, including different themes as you enter new areas of the map, the goals are mostly identical across each stage. When things do start to vary, they only become more tedious due to the fact that you must click twice on an item or project before ever really doing anything. The first click opens the menu for that particular item, while the second click actually sets an action into motion. This menu system is completely unnecessary, and it adds extra time to each level that you simply can’t afford to waste.

Levels are all timed, but the difficulty between each stage varies greatly. Some levels are incredibly easy to complete with the gold medal rating, while others will see you struggling to finish before the entire time limit runs out. If we could queue actions or unlock additional workers without spending so much money to hire them, this wouldn’t be a problem. As it stands though, you’re left waiting for long periods of time in some stages, before you have enough resources or available workers to do anything else.

All the while, Meridian: Age of Invention presents you with some of the most annoying music and sound effects that I’ve found in a time management game. The music is on a loop that repeats once every 10-15 seconds, while the building sound effects are on a 1-3 second loop that’s even more annoying still. I rarely find myself playing games that are completely muted, but within five minutes, I had turned all of the sound off just to keep my sanity through the rest of the experience.

This isn’t to say that the sound effects and soundtrack are the game’s only issues, as the aforementioned lack of action queuing and overall tedium in this experience are far worse. Meridian: Age of Invention is simply a sloppy game, with very little in the way of storyline or additional redeeming qualities to save it. If you must try this game, download a free trial before spending any money, as it’s more likely to disappoint than it is to please.

.

Reference accessed HERE 26th March 2016

Video:

You’ll find a video of Meridian: Age of Invention game play HERE, HERE and HERE

Conclusion:

Not played it enought to write a conclusion, but i have posted a review from Gamezebo that gives it a rather negative review.

Scoring
I haven't scored this today as i haven't had the time to play my copy, which I purchased via Steam.

Extra information

The problems section that used to be posted here in the Game review is now included in the Game Discussion FAQ's thread; which you can find HERE.

I've updated the games section that used to be posted with the review. The thread is now called 'Weekly round up of game deals, formerly the games section of the weekly reviews. You can find the new thread (which I've posted in the sticky section of the game discussion forums to make it easier to find if you are perusing the game discussion forums) HERE.

<blockquote>Meridian: Age of Invention</blockquote>

<blockquote>In Brief</blockquote>

<blockquote>A Time Management Game</blockquote>

Introduction:

<blockquote>Experience the wonder of discovery as you rebuild a crumbling kingdom in Meridian: Age of Invention, an innovative time and resource management game! To renovate rundown villages, you'll have to hire workers, scour for resources, repair infrastructure, provide food and other services, engage in trade and create machines that will make life easier for the people. To win a gold trophy on each level, you'll have to use your ingenuity to figure out the quickest way to gather resources and complete your other tasks.</blockquote>

<blockquote>As you travel through lush grasslands, arid deserts and a village built on the sea, your guide will be Professor Cardano, an eccentric but brilliant inventor. Along the way, you'll meet many other zany characters, all of whom have their own dreams you can make come true. Endlessly imaginative, visually stunning and accessible to players of every skill level, Meridian: Age of Invention will take you to a time and place you'll never want to leave! </blockquote>

<blockquote>Features:</blockquote> 
<blockquote>* 55 levels</blockquote> 
<blockquote>* 10 different tasks</blockquote> 
<blockquote>* 10 unique characters</blockquote> 
<blockquote>* Point-and-click controls</blockquote> 
<blockquote>* Learn-as-you-play tutorial</blockquote>

<blockquote>Reference accessed <a href="http://www.gamezebo.com/2013/02/11/meridian-age-invention-review/" rel="nofollow">HERE</a> 26th March 2016</blockquote>

<blockquote>If you wish to see the problems section, which I've now incorporated into the FAQ's thread you can find it <a href="http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/11647" rel="nofollow">HERE</a> and the recent games deals (now called The Weekly roundup of game deals) is <a href="http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/458939" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>. I've still to post the installation section. Will do so later. In the meantime, if you have problems installing the game, do post a comment, thank you.</blockquote>

The Game:

<blockquote>Let’s face it: time management games are a dime a dozen, so it takes a lot for a game to stand out amongst its many peers. Unfortunately, Meridian: Age of Invention doesn’t invent anything new in the genre, and it stands out for all the wrong reasons.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Meridian: Age of Invention has a sloppy story line that sees you repairing a city in shambles after the ruling party gives up hope. An inventor arrives in his trusty wagon, and he instructs you through dozens of levels as you repair roads and buildings, work in mines or quarries, trade goods with outsiders, deal with bandits, or even add plumbing to homes.</blockquote>

<blockquote>As is standard for a time management game, each level in Meridian: Age of Invention gives you a series of overall tasks to complete, and then challenges you to balance the use of resources like ore and gold in order to complete them. Unfortunately, there’s no action queuing here, so you’re left waiting for workers to complete one task before you can even click to start another.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Builders walk slowly and must be used in bulk to repair or build most structures, while couriers move more quickly and are used to collect taxes from homes, deliver letters and parcels between homes, or collect any raw resources that the builders themselves create. Additional workers cost money to hire, so you’ll constantly be sending your couriers to and fro around the map as trading posts assign new jobs to them in order to earn extra money. Unfortunately, there’s no rhyme or reason for when these jobs become available, and in levels that ask you to earn a specific amount of coins to move on or build a specific structure, you’re left literally doing nothing as you wait for jobs to appear at random.</blockquote>

<blockquote>While each level comes with a different layout and overall design, including different themes as you enter new areas of the map, the goals are mostly identical across each stage. When things do start to vary, they only become more tedious due to the fact that you must click twice on an item or project before ever really doing anything. The first click opens the menu for that particular item, while the second click actually sets an action into motion. This menu system is completely unnecessary, and it adds extra time to each level that you simply can’t afford to waste.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Levels are all timed, but the difficulty between each stage varies greatly. Some levels are incredibly easy to complete with the gold medal rating, while others will see you struggling to finish before the entire time limit runs out. If we could queue actions or unlock additional workers without spending so much money to hire them, this wouldn’t be a problem. As it stands though, you’re left waiting for long periods of time in some stages, before you have enough resources or available workers to do anything else.</blockquote>

<blockquote>All the while, Meridian: Age of Invention presents you with some of the most annoying music and sound effects that I’ve found in a time management game. The music is on a loop that repeats once every 10-15 seconds, while the building sound effects are on a 1-3 second loop that’s even more annoying still. I rarely find myself playing games that are completely muted, but within five minutes, I had turned all of the sound off just to keep my sanity through the rest of the experience.</blockquote>

<blockquote>This isn’t to say that the sound effects and soundtrack are the game’s only issues, as the aforementioned lack of action queuing and overall tedium in this experience are far worse. Meridian: Age of Invention is simply a sloppy game, with very little in the way of storyline or additional redeeming qualities to save it. If you must try this game, download a free trial before spending any money, as it’s more likely to disappoint than it is to please.</blockquote>.

<blockquote>Reference accessed <a href="http://www.gamezebo.com/2013/02/11/meridian-age-invention-review/" rel="nofollow">HERE</a> 26th March 2016</blockquote>

<blockquote>Video:</blockquote>

<blockquote>You’ll find a video of Meridian: Age of Invention game play <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhJr4ERcyLQ" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MeAZju7v7g" rel="nofollow">HERE</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojj0qO-DkKQ" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>

<blockquote>Conclusion:</blockquote>
Not played it enought to write a conclusion, but i have posted a review from Gamezebo that gives it a rather negative review.

Scoring
 I haven't scored this today as i haven't had the time to play my copy, which I purchased via Steam.

Extra information

<blockquote>The problems section that used to be posted here in the Game review is now included in the Game Discussion FAQ's thread; which you can find <a href="http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/11647" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>.</blockquote>

<blockquote> I've updated the games section that used to be posted with the review. The thread is now called 'Weekly round up of game deals, formerly the games section of the weekly reviews. You can find the new thread (which I've posted in the sticky section of the game discussion forums to make it easier to find if you are perusing the game discussion forums) <a href="http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/458939#post-569898" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>.</blockquote>

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Reply | Comment by Whiterabbit-uk – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

#18

Good luck everyone. This is the sort of game I like but I downloaded from MyPlayCity no problems.

.................................Moderator Comment.............................

:)

Reply | Comment by Suzanne – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#17

nice game

Reply | Comment by Jason – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#16

With all the Total Entries, prefer buy it cause any chance to win. But I'm disappointed because the game stop in the video presentation or on the first screen. So can't play it, so sorry! probably the Intel Graphics 3000 not enough!

.......................Moderator Comment............................

Sorry to hear you are having problems playing the game Luc. It may be that you just need to update the drivers for your on-board graphic chip. You can get the appropriate drivers for te Intel Graphics 3000 chip via the following link:

Click HERE.

You could also try turning off unneeded background programs. A great and free application called Game booster free's up around 30% of your System RAM and can improve your game performance massively. It has a small footprint, so is very useful if you feel your system is under powered. You can get the program free from the Razer site HERE.

The Intel Graphics 3000 chip is just over 5 years old, but will still be okay for most arcade games except perhaps the latest releases. It's less likely to be good enough for most AAA games, but I would think the game I posted brief details of (i.e. Men of Honor: Pacific Assault), being 10 years old would play okay. You may have to dial down the graphic modes such as resolution and turn of anti-aliasing, but the chip isn't that old to be totally defunct. My old i7 2600K is based on the same architecture though using the full 12 cores, whereas the Intel graphic 300 chip only uses a tiny proportion of the available cores. Still, I am still able to play the latest games at full resolution with my 5 year old Intel chip. (I will be upgrading soon). It will also depend on how much sysRAM you have.

p.s. Game Booster temporarily turns off system applications that are not needed to play the game and you can also configure it to turn off non system programs, for example programs you may have installed via the giveaway project that run in the background and therefore use valuable system resources. Once Game Booster has been configured to accept the games you play (a simple click of a button sets the program up), whenever you start a game via Game Booster it will automatically turn off unnecessary programs and when you have finished playing the game, the resources will be automatically turned back on, so it's a painless process, but can add renewed vigor to your aging processor. :)

With all the Total Entries, prefer buy it cause any chance to win. But I'm disappointed because the game stop in the video presentation or on the first screen. So can't play it, so sorry! probably the Intel Graphics 3000 not enough!

<blockquote>.......................Moderator Comment............................</blockquote>

<blockquote>Sorry to hear you are having problems playing the game Luc. It may be that you just need to update the drivers for your on-board graphic chip. You can get the appropriate drivers for te Intel Graphics 3000 chip via the following link:</blockquote>

<blockquote><a href="https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/81500/Intel-HD-Graphics-3000-for-2nd-Generation-Intel-Core-Processors" rel="nofollow">Click HERE</a>.</blockquote>

<blockquote>You could also try turning off unneeded background programs. A great and free application called Game booster free's up around 30% of your System RAM and can improve your game performance massively. It has a small footprint, so is very useful if you feel your system is under powered. You can get the program free from the Razer site <a href="http://www.razerzone.com/gb-en/cortex/boost" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The Intel Graphics 3000 chip is just over 5 years old, but will still be okay for most arcade games except perhaps the latest releases. It's less likely to be good enough for most AAA games, but I would think the game I posted brief details of (i.e. Men of Honor: Pacific Assault), being 10 years old would play okay. You may have to dial down the graphic modes such as resolution and turn of anti-aliasing, but the chip isn't that old to be totally defunct. My old i7 2600K is based on the same architecture though using the full 12 cores, whereas the Intel graphic 300 chip only uses a tiny proportion of the available cores. Still, I am still able to play the latest games at full resolution with my 5 year old Intel chip. (I will be upgrading soon). It will also depend on how much sysRAM you have.</blockquote>

<blockquote>p.s. Game Booster temporarily turns off system applications that are not needed to play the game and you can also configure it to turn off non system programs, for example programs you may have installed via the giveaway project that run in the background and therefore use valuable system resources. Once Game Booster has been configured to accept the games you play (a simple click of a button sets the program up), whenever you start a game via Game Booster it will automatically turn off unnecessary programs and when you have finished playing the game, the resources will be automatically turned back on, so it's a painless process, but can add renewed vigor to your aging processor. :)</blockquote>

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Reply | Comment by Luc – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

Luc,

I'd 2nd what WR said, FWIW of course... that's because testing the game I downloaded from MyPlayCity, it runs in my VBox win7 32 bit VM with it's emulated [fake] GPU.

Reply | Comment by mike – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

Thanks you for all your propositions but I have already the latest driver, 10Go Ram and a ssd so for this game I have no solution but when I buy it, I found a good price for a 6 in 1 hidden objects bundle games and no problem with them. So continue to propose us games and for me it's a change to discover some.

....................................Moderator comment...............................................

There are also indie bundles that I've linked to in The Weekly Round-Up of Game Deals. At least three of the 40 to 50 bundles available at this time are Hidden Object bundles, each bundle costing on a few dollars for several games (between 6 to 12 depending on which bundle you purchase; see the links below).

They are all well worth the money. You'll find links to all of the main indie bundle sites via the link above. Bundle Stars has over 30 bundles live a the moment, with some fantastic deals. Indie Gala also has several bundles. Also worth checking are The Humble Bundle and the Groupee's bundles and finally the Daily indie Games bundles. We are really spoiled for choice these days.

Check the following bundles out. These are fantastic deals for 28 different Hidden Object Games. Also check out the other indie bundles for more amazing deals (see the weekly roundup of game deals thread). There's so much to choose from; if today's game didn't grab your attention, some of those on sale or in bundles surely will. All individual games work out at around $0.26 per game ( the three bundles with 28 different hidden object Games that I've linked to below cost a total of $7.35:

The Secret legends bundle - 12 HOG's for $3.19

Cryptic 4 Bundle - 10 HOG's for £1.89 (approx $2.67)

DIG ARTIFEX Bundle - (6 HOG's for $1.49 or two keys for each for $1.59)

Thanks you for all your propositions but I have already the latest driver, 10Go Ram and a ssd so for this game I have no solution but when I buy it, I found a good price for a 6 in 1 hidden objects bundle games and no problem with them. So continue to propose us games and for me it's a change to discover some.

<blockquote>....................................Moderator comment...............................................</blockquote>

<blockquote>There are also indie bundles that I've linked to in <a href="https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/458939 games" rel="nofollow">The Weekly Round-Up of Game Deals</a>. At least three of the 40 to 50 bundles available at this time are Hidden Object bundles, each bundle costing on a few dollars for several games (between 6 to 12 depending on which bundle you purchase; see the links below). </blockquote>

<blockquote>They are all well worth the money. You'll find links to all of the main indie bundle sites via the link above. Bundle Stars has over 30 bundles live a the moment, with some fantastic deals. Indie Gala also has several bundles. Also worth checking are The Humble Bundle and the Groupee's bundles and finally the Daily indie Games bundles. We are really spoiled for choice these days. </blockquote>

<blockquote>Check the following bundles out. These are fantastic deals for 28 different Hidden Object Games. Also check out the other indie bundles for more amazing deals (see the weekly roundup of game deals thread). There's so much to choose from; if today's game didn't grab your attention, some of those on sale or in bundles surely will. All individual games work out at around $0.26 per game ( the three bundles with 28 different hidden object Games that I've linked to below cost a total of $7.35:</blockquote>

<blockquote><a href="https://www.indiegala.com/legends" rel="nofollow">The Secret legends bundle</a> - 12 HOG's for $3.19</blockquote>
<blockquote><a href="https://www.bundlestars.com/en/bundle/cryptic-bundle-4" rel="nofollow">Cryptic 4 Bundle</a> - 10 HOG's for £1.89 (approx $2.67)</blockquote>
<blockquote><a href="http://www.dailyindiegame.com/superbundle_artifex.html" rel="nofollow">DIG ARTIFEX Bundle</a> - (6 HOG's for $1.49 or two keys for each for $1.59)</blockquote>

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Reply | Comment by Luc – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#15

Dieses Spiel ist gut und man kann viel lernen

.................................Moderator Comment...................................

Danke für Ihren Kommentar Jens , erfreut, dass Sie das Spiel gefällt .

Reply | Comment by Jens Wollmerstädt – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#14

Evidently not free. Turned into a big hassle & not worth it I'd rather put out 2.99

...........................Moderator comment.....................................

Hi Linda, it's only free for a limited number of community members. All you have to do is link to your Facebook account, post on twitter, join a Steam group etc. All free. Though as I've already mentioned, not a very inspiring game and as it cost less than $3 I wouldn't have bothered. That said, i already purchased the game on Steam when it was released.

Reply | Comment by Linda – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+4)

Whiterabbit-uk: "All you have to do..." - NO! That is it not worth!!! It does not matter how big is the "winning-chance"...

.........................Moderator comment...............................

Each to their own Clark. t all depends on how much you wanted such a game. We are talking several clicks of the mouse for the possibility of winning a Steam code for a game that will then be yours forever if you are one of the lucky ones. If you aren't interested FINE, if you are, then go for it. :)

All I'm trying to do is dispel the belief (from some community members) that this new giveaway is the new game giveaway. It's not, it's just an extra to the usual giveaways. Seems like too many negative comments over games that are being given away free. Personally I don't understand why there is so much negativity when it's not costing anything but a few moments of time??

Reply | Comment by Clark – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

Whiterabbit-uk, you don´t give only "a few moments of time" - you give personal information and that is not impossible. A few weeks ago a moderator wrote "...many children visit this site..." and so it is not serious to make HERE such dubious offers. All thumbs down for this site since changing to this practice - I hope the parents have an eye of their childrens activities.

............................Moderator comment.......................

That was me who said that this was a family site and that children visited. as for ages, i have no clue. it's down to the parents as to what sort of access their children have.

I can't remember the exact words, but that was said because someone was using very inappropriate language. This is a family site where the community can get free games. It's also a hub for the community, where many have become my friends. I just wish i had the time to communicate more often to those wonderful people. The game giveaway community has become akin to a global family, with roots in many countries. I chat, email and play games online with community members from all over the world thanks to this site.

I really don't understand your negativity towards the game giveaway site. Still, that's your prerogative. Have a restful Sunday Clark.

Reply | Comment by Clark – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#13

Is this Game Giveawayoftheday, or Game Contestoftheday ?
Have fun Jumping through hoops.
A lot will not bother.
If it is Giveawayoftheday, then it should stay Giveawayoftheday.
I pass on this one.

...........................Moderator comment.....................................

The game is an extra to the game giveaway, which today is Star Sky 2. We will still be getting our usual game giveaways every weekend, but on some days the team have managed to secure keys for versions of games that can be installed at any time, not just on the day of the giveaway. They are EXTRA to the game giveaway, not a replacement.

Reply | Comment by BarrysCool – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+7)

#12

Haven't decided to enter yet, so looked over Whiterabbit's 3 youtube video walkthrough links. The 3rd link is just a very short, low quality montage from BigFish, if you just want to get a very basic look. Neither of the other 2 illustrate the logjam effect the GameZebo reviewer mentions. The 1st link is by a proficient player, at least proficient enough to breeze through the 1st 6 levels. The 2nd link is from from a player struggling some on level 2, only earning a bronze. It appears this player is thinking a little too linearly, not really multi-tasking, which is a necessity in a game of this type. For instance, that player left 2 workers mining ore, when probably 1 would have done for some or all of the level.
The 1st video also includes the music, the 2nd only the sound effects, so there must be separate volume controls under options. You can use that 2nd video to assess better whether the sound effects will wear on you too much. As to the reviewers complaint about the music, it is and isn't true. There's more than 10 or 15 seconds of music, but it's composed by a minimalist, so the main theme is only about 8 bars and repeats over and over, ad infinitum, while the harmonic accompaniment changes slightly. That said, the whole thing doesn't last that long, maybe 32 bars, couldn't really tell. So, though simple games generally don't feature lots of music variety, the reviewers right in saying the effect here can become annoying too quickly for many.
Overall, since the 1st video available covered only the 1st 6 levels, though that's a more than adequate walkthrough usually, it's difficult to tell whether the game is challenging, tedious, or only enjoyable challenging for those who like very similar repetitive action. The video of that adept player breezing through the 1st 6 levels just doesn't give any hints of whether there really are potential logjams later on do to bad game design, or whether the reviewer just didn't grasp the gist of the strategy.
As I have said before, TM games walk a very thin tightrope between mentally stimulating and repetitive rat race. The latter of which many of us can already get at work. ;) I might give it a shot and enter. Thanks GGOTD and Alawar. And Whiterabbit, of course.

...........................Moderator comment.....................................

Thanks for your detailed feedback. I rushed through the write up for this game, partly because i wanted to concentrate on the main game giveaway, so didn't research it fully. I've actually played the game when it was first released, but I play so many games I'd totally forgotten the whole game play. As I've said before I'm not a great lover of most TM games, but this type and those of a Farm management style are ones I can tolerate. The game has actually got a lot of good reviews over on Steam. You can see those via the following link:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/397770/#app_reviews_hash

You'll need to copy and paste into your browser as I've got so many comments to moderate and all I want to do is start tomorrows review and go to bed, otherwise I'd have placed the correct code for it to be clickable link.

Haven't decided to enter yet, so looked over Whiterabbit's 3 youtube video walkthrough links. The 3rd link is just a very short, low quality montage from BigFish, if you just want to get a very basic look. Neither of the other 2 illustrate the logjam effect the GameZebo reviewer mentions. The 1st link is by a proficient player, at least proficient enough to breeze through the 1st 6 levels. The 2nd link is from from a player struggling some on level 2, only earning a bronze. It appears this player is thinking a little too linearly, not really multi-tasking, which is a necessity in a game of this type. For instance, that player left 2 workers mining ore, when probably 1 would have done for some or all of the level. 
The 1st video also includes the music, the 2nd only the sound effects, so there must be separate volume controls under options. You can use that 2nd video to assess better whether the sound effects will wear on you too much. As to the reviewers complaint about the music, it is and isn't true. There's more than 10 or 15 seconds of music, but it's composed by a minimalist, so the main theme is only about 8 bars and repeats over and over, ad infinitum, while the harmonic accompaniment changes slightly. That said, the whole thing doesn't last that long, maybe 32 bars, couldn't really tell. So, though simple games generally don't feature lots of music variety, the reviewers right in saying the effect here can become annoying too quickly for many.
Overall, since the 1st video available covered only the 1st 6 levels, though that's a more than adequate walkthrough usually, it's difficult to tell whether the game is challenging, tedious, or only enjoyable challenging for those who like very similar repetitive action. The video of that adept player breezing through the 1st 6 levels just doesn't give any hints of whether there really are potential logjams later on do to bad game design, or whether the reviewer just didn't grasp the gist of the strategy.
As I have said before, TM games walk a very thin tightrope between mentally stimulating and repetitive rat race. The latter of which many of us can already get at work. ;) I might give it a shot and enter. Thanks GGOTD and Alawar. And Whiterabbit, of course.

<blockquote>...........................Moderator comment.....................................</blockquote>

<blockquote>Thanks for your detailed feedback. I rushed through the write up for this game, partly because i wanted to concentrate on the main game giveaway, so didn't research it fully. I've actually played the game when it was first released, but I play so many games I'd totally forgotten the whole game play. As I've said before I'm not a great lover of most TM games, but this type and those of a Farm management style are ones I can tolerate. The game has actually got a lot of good reviews over on Steam. You can see those via the following link:</blockquote>

<blockquote>http://store.steampowered.com/app/397770/#app_reviews_hash
</blockquote>

<blockquote> You'll need to copy and paste into your browser as I've got so many comments to moderate and all I want to do is start tomorrows review and go to bed, otherwise I'd have placed the correct code for it to be clickable link.</blockquote>

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Reply | Comment by watcher13 – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

Well, I hope you didn't take my post as a criticism of you. Nor was I trying to denigrate the reviewer. I didn't want to download the demo, so was just giving some feedback on the available evidence. I wouldn't necessarily expect you to review everything. Though we all know of your very high standards, please trust that we always find your work far ahead of just plain adequate. After all, I wouldn't have had any videos to review or reviews to analyze if you hadn't taken the time to provide those useful posts.

..............................Moderator Comment...................................

Never; I just wanted to let you know that the review I posted was a little biased, so posted that link :)

Reply | Comment by watcher13 – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)

#11

If get this message from gleam.io, when you want to join the alawar games group on steamSorry, we cannot check private or limited profiles. Read this: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3330-IAGK-7663 Here stand the reasons and how You could change it.

Reply | Comment by nibo1978 – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

nibo1978,
*You

Reply | Comment by nibo1978 – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

#10

A game I would Play and I do not play games that often, looks like a lot of fun

Reply | Comment by George Makarow – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-3)

#9

I hate trying to win something we used to get for free! I also don't want to give steam my email so they can spam me forever, and it's just not worth setting up a throwaway email for a CHANCE to get a game that I never own and can't download.

.........................Moderator comment......................................

Hi Joe, you have no need to give anyone your email. nor have a Face Book account. Just go through the motions and you'll find you can still download the games. You still do get games for free, every weekend. Sometimes we miss a day and very occasionally the whole weekend, but that's down to being able to get games free every weekend. The game that has limited supplies is nothing to do with the regular game giveaway, it's an extra, that gives some community members the chance to own a full version game that can be installed at any time, not just on the day of the giveaway. If you don't want to apply for one of the free codes, don't, but don't knock it either. It's better to have this extra, with a 100 community members being able to get an extra game than none at all. i really don't know why community members are so negative about it.

Reply | Comment by Joe – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

#8

There is no link to download 'Meridian: Age of Invention' that I can see. The only thing that I can find is the "Join and Win" button, and it just moves me down the page to a link to join Alawar Games on Steam, which I have no desire to do.

The moderator has stated, in response to an earlier comment about the contest: "This game is extra to the usual game giveaway. Everyone who visits today can still get a game totally free, plus they can win a license to another game." However, there is no other game being shown as a giveaway today, so in effect there is no free game today.

Reply | Comment by effazin – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+7)

effazin,

https://game.giveawayoftheday.com/star-sky-2/ is today game

Reply | Comment by nibo1978 – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

#7

Win Meridian: Age of Invention

Reply | Comment by Anna Herda – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-5)

#6

Sadly, farewell. Site changes killed it for me.

.........................Moderator comment......................................

Seems a little extreme considering everything given away here is free. Things may have become a little more difficult at this time, but the end result is still the same, i.e. a free game. We can only depend on the kindness of the developers who donate to this site. I know that changes for example the recent site overhaul, can often cause consternation among the community. I too hate the new design,, it's made my moderating more difficult, but I still see the potential to get new games totally for free.

That said, it's your choice if you no longer wish to get free games from here. There are of course the other free game sites, but they also come with more hidden problems. at least the games we get from the game giveaway site are clear of malware and hidden extra's such as tool bars, browser changes, home page changes, in game adverts and your browser is never opened up to the contributors home page whenever you close down a game you got from them.

Reply | Comment by bryane – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)

#5

I hate this new business you've got going on. It really sucks! Why can't we have the old hidden object and other games?

.........................Moderator comment......................................

Hi Fran, we can only get games that the developers give to us. At least we are getting free games and the opportunity to try different genres. Okay, not every game is going to be likes=d by each community member who visits here, but we do get games for free virtually every weekend. If a game doesn't appeal, then maybe the next one will. Sadly, we don't get to choose what games are being given away.

Personally I have a lot to thank the game giveaway team, because before this project went live, I was blinkered with respect to arcade games. I played mainly breakouts and space shooters before the game giveaway project started. I never considered buying other arcade games (partly due to my love of AAA games such as RPG's and First Person Shooters) such as Match Three's, Sudoku, Time Management, Hidden Object and Tower Defense games etc. At the time those genres just didn't appeal to me; however, once the game giveaway project started, we were getting a different game for free every day for almost a year before we received any repeats, which gave me the opportunity to try out many of those games I wouldn't have bothered with prior to the inception of the GameGiveawayoftheday. This project opened up the world of arcade games to me and for that I've always felt indebted to them. It's one of the reasons I've spent the last nine years volunteering to moderating these comments, writing reviews and administering and posting in the giveaway forums for thousands of hours totally for free.

Reply | Comment by Fran Arnold – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

#4

:(

Reply | Comment by ****gaotd – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+7)

#3

I love these games and would love to win a license.

Happy Easter!

Reply | Comment by Gabriele John – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-9)

#2

WHAT A FUNNY STUPID JOKE !

100 license keys for more than millions of users..

....................................Moderator Comment........................................

Hi Animator

This game is extra to the usual game giveaway. Everyone who visits today can still get a game totally free, plus they can win a license to another game. It's giving a hundred community members the chance to get a free license that's different to your usual game giveaways. With these 100 you get a full license that enables you to install the game on any computer at any time after the game giveaway has finished. The team are trying some different tactics to bring in more community members. The more who visit this site, the more chance we have to get more and better games.

All that aside, thank you for your feedback; do you have any suggestions as to how the developer could improve the game?

Reply | Comment by Animator – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)

Animator, It's all become too much trouble and, sadly, I just can't be bothered anymore

Reply | Comment by Bob Conner – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+12)

Animator, To Moderator: Am I missing something? Because I don't see a free game available today, just a contest I couldn't win nor even enter because I don't social network. I'm not being snide, I wonder if my browser (Firefox) isn't showing me something. It wouldn't let me dl last week's game using the link provided.

Reply | Comment by semo – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+8)

Everyone,
Yes, there is a free game today! I had to go to the Game GOTD home page to see it:
https://game.giveawayoftheday.com/
It's here:
https://game.giveawayoftheday.com/star-sky-2/

Reply | Comment by Avid Gamer – 8 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+7)

Avid Gamer, Odd, star-sky-2 didn't show up in Firefox around 6 a.m. this morning, only the contest to win the other game. I tried IE and it did show up and I dl'd installed and played it. Now, it's showing up in Firefox.