Meet Your Maker

If you often fluctuate between wanting to shoot stuff and build stuff, this might be the game for you. Meet Your Maker's DIY design is weirdly compelling. You'll start by heading out into the wasteland to take on an outpost, which typically turns out to be a challenging bit of cautious movement and quick reflexes as you slowly peer around every corner to see what might be waiting and then dodge any attacks. You will die -- a lot -- and be forced to start levels over from scratch (though, thankfully, you can also opt to quit at any time and keep the treasures you've found). But you'll also learn a little more with each attempt, and, importantly, you can use those learnings once you get back to your own base and start designing your own outposts for other players. You'll start to think like a gamesmith, figuring out where players are least likely to look for traps and danger. And as you become a better builder you'll also become a better player. Everything feeds into this core loop, and it can be a lot of fun.

What can be a little less fun is the potential for repetition and frustration. Every level you play in the game has been built by another player, and they're not all good. Some levels are so easy you'll finish them in minutes, others will lead you on annoying wild goose chases. Some are just sort of ugly. It makes a player appreciate the skill and ability of a professional game developer. However, if you find a level that works -- one that's been designed fairly, flows well, and has a cohesive artistic style -- then everything just sort of clicks and play becomes almost zen. The raids become not only fun, but also give you ideas about how to level up your own outpost-design skills. Like most games reliant upon user-generated content, Meet Your Maker is a mixed bag, but when everything is clicking it can be a blast.