"Why," you ask, "do you keep reviewing these games creeperCarole? They're not related to Minecraft..."

Well, you're right. They're not. But I like Minecraft. And when I find other games I like as well, I figure "Maybe someone else will like this game!" So I tell you all about it. So here's another one.

Factorio is for all you Minecrafters who get frustrated with the limitations of Buildcraft-like mods in Minecraft. The game is completely about starting out with a stick and eventually automating an army of mechs. Yeah. Like that. The current storyline (remember, this is still an alpha release, things are likely going to change...) is that you have been dropped on a planet to help terraform it... however, it already has an indigenous population who don't WANT a bunch of people coming and messing it up. So it's up to you, all alone, with a stick... to develop the planet to the point that you can bring down your friends.

Now, I'm playing sandbox mode, so I haven't been attacked by the local nasties. I've just spent several hours inventing steam turbines and running electricity to my science lab so I can research BETTER methods of creating electricity, because burning coal is so last century. Well, it's better than burning wood, and that's how I started...

The technology progression is quite logical, though if you get caught up following a certain tech path before you get the basics, you can really slow down your progression. You don't need to eat (how handy!) but you do need to stay alive, so you can research and create all manner of handguns, rifles and machine guns, machine gun turrets, special bullets and armour. You send supplies from one area to another via conveyor belts, which is much less tedious than lugging it yourself.

Please remember I'm still in the VERY early stages of the game (for instance, I only JUST learned the technology to create simple sorting mechanisms and automated factories for simple devices.) There is a lot of depth of play to be found. You can buy Factorio at http://www.factorio.com/ for the low, low price of $13 US, or, if you're like me and you want more to do, you can spend an additional $13 for a total of $26US to get the scenario packs as well. Mind you, the game is quite playable at the $13 level, and in the same model as Minecraft, you will receive all the upgrades from the crazy bunch of Czechs who made this game possible. You can also play the demo for free to see if you like it (and if it will run on your system.) By the way, if you DO like it, and you have a Steam account, go vote for it to be greenlighted. These guys need lots more exposure!