As in any other business, the games business sooner or later has to face an entire range of trading challenges, one of which seems to gather more ground, due to the influence of the digital era that brought an essential change in consumers’ thinking, this challenge being called the “Free trade”. The concept of “Free” has been and still is part of our everyday economy for such a long time, since many products that became widely spread on the market started to get a less priced value sometimes even reaching the zero level. This happens mainly to the products that one can not add further values or can not use the company’s image in order to support the product’s value. Producers can approach different methods to maintain a politic of high price, but sometimes at a cost that can involve moral issues thus emerging the effect that could be called ‘damage’. And exactly this situation may occur when it comes to networks supported by media. Media has always been seen as high-valued mean to promote the image of different segments of the market. We talk here about physical media that managed to create an artificial rarity which allowed the prices to be maintained on high levels.
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But the strategy of the physical media suffered the damages afore mentioned due to the appearance of digital technology, internet being the way through which the scarcity of information and media is pushed aside. There are modern technologies, such as BitTorrent, for instance, which displays hundreds of copies of the media’s results in a matter of short time and all these for almost zero cost, in this way changing the value of media in the consumers’ perception. This leads to the appearance of piracy that the industry fails to estimate its correct impact for the future times.

Due to the reasons of morality and law involved in using piracy, luckily a lot of consumers do not turn their faces toward piracy, though this is represented only for a short period of time, since the psychology of piracy is insinuating itself in the perception of the consumers. Lately a certain gadget for videogames consoles has been released in order to keep piracy away, but for other platforms piracy proves to be an easier way to perform and this is where “Free” concept starts to be in charge.

This “Free” concept is about preparing the games companies to recognize the decline of the media’ value in the perception of the consumers, and decide to cut this decline by releasing their products for free. The method they use is in the shape of boxed products giving away the up-front costs, relying on the capabilities of a game to get the consumers back in order to make some money via advertising, game time cards, micro-transactions or other services.

However there are some companies which do not plan to go through the transition, preferring instead to keep the traditional business model and at the same time struggling to find a way to replace boxed game incomes with ongoing income flows delivered by “Free” products. Yet the question still stands: Is “Free Trade” gathering ground on Internet ‘market’?

Xbox Live Arcade has set the 2D action platformer of “Shadow Complex” on a nonlinear 3D world using the updated graphics of the Unreal Engine 3 making it look more appealing when it comes to play around with a lot of fancy high-tech devices and interesting weapons.
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The role you play in this game is that of a colonel in US military force with the mission to protect the vice president of the USA from terrorists. You can use in this mission an entire arsenal of weapons and being protected by special shield you can steal also guns from your enemies and even take a chopper down. Even if you are playing a 2D side-scroller, you are enabled to do the shooting on a 3D plane. Throughout your shooting you are provided with a laser that will help you aim at your targets and at the same time keeping an eye at the background. But these are only some aspects of the game in order to open the taste for playing, since you are from the very beginning cast into the action already armored and weapon equipped.

The story actually begins with you, Jason Fleming whose girlfriend Claire is kidnapped by a paramilitary group known as Restoration. The primary goal of the game is to rescue Claire but as you go deeper into exploring the ways to rescue her you find out about the secret plans of the group that intends to cause US to break into a civil war. And the good news for you is that you realize that the group is equipped with plenty of weapon arsenals that you will try to steal from them. With every item that you find your abilities increase making you either stronger or faster.

The game environment is set in a labyrinthic wood which offers you plenty of possibilities of exploring, running, hiding or swimming. Many features are there for you to use in order to imprint your action a more sense of fun and excitement, such as using the foam gun which allows you to build a platform for yourself or freeze the enemies for after that to be able to detonate them by the aid of a grenade. Everything is displayed in a manner where you have to use your acrobatic abilities for jumping and climbing different spots that come in your way.

All your successful actions lead to gathering experience points and if you prove that you can exploit some giant mechanical bosses that come after you then you will gain more XP. Leveling up your character is getting stronger so it is a good idea to try exploring every shelter and corner in an attempt to find the hidden power-ups. You are also allowed to use maps to help you better explore some areas where you don’t have to feel yourself lost or merely wandering without finality.

The game lasts around 12 hours on the first play-through but there can be chances for you not to find everything that the game has to offer at your first attempt. “Shadow Complex” is a 3D world game to explore in a 2D manner, but you are allowed to do it in a combination of constantly discovering new power-ups and fighting to get them at the same time and if it made you curious enough be aware that it will be released on August 19.

Dawn of Discovery is a game that invites you in the complex world of exploration the seas with their deep blue, building cities and trading in a quite new experience for the games of the same nature. The exploration carries you to new found island which you can possess and build your own settlement with your shipyards and market of goods for your people, everything being conceived in a manner that doesn’t make the game accessible to everyone.
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Dawn of Discovery is known to be the fourth in the series of historically themed “Anno 1404 outside of North America” providing a linear campaign and an abundance of possibilities to customize the gameplay. The story goes like that: you are caught in a religious conflict and improbable alliances between West and East where you have to perform rather the role of a missionary for nobility than acting as a noble yourself. The continuous play mode allows you to set your own goals for bearing a victory and to keep a charted eye on the course of your actions on your way to achieving your goals.

The main action is that of discovering new islands with the purpose to build different items, to cultivate goods and make all the efforts to bring your society on higher levels of everyday living. If your society that you create is advanced enough you can gather gold in taxes, but having an outnumbered population may lower the level of your riches. The more your population grow and your society is advancing, the more their needs so you have to thoroughly plan all your moves in producing goods, building items, and prevent at the same time cities to operate on deficit.

It is a pity that the game doesn’t provide any tutorial on how to build a society that can be both profitable and efficient, but the bright side is that once you are into it , the game proves to be quite rewarding. Your society is divided in two social layers, and while the peasants are easy to satisfied, the wealthy ones are harder to please because their demands are even bigger.

Dawn of Discovery is a multitasker game with you having to keep constant control on the things that take place on the screen involving you in multipurpose actions and at the same time to take a look on the East side and figure what is there that it has to offer. Trading is a way to make you gather recognition as a leader in this way opening new accesses for you to the technology of the Orient this feature allowing you to create Eastern settlements, too.

Playing the continuous mode there are options to customize the game according to your needs in regard to sizing the islands, balancing conditions, including the possibility of setting your standards to lead you to success. But this success comes mostly from your way to make and keep your society flourishing, all these you have to do it all by yourself since there isn’t any other possibility to share the experience with other players. The graphics and sound of the play are very well rendered and while playing it you are able to hear even the waves of the sea crashing by the shore.

Dawn of Discovery truly deserves its title as you are cast in an experience where you can discover your skills as a strategic social leader as well as a good manager of the space that you own.