Ticket to Earth ($4.99) is a well-made tactical RPG with a cool, puzzle-like combat mechanic that is both compelling and rather unique – a rarity in this day and age. The game’s first protagonist is fond of saying “see the grid, find the path," the mantra from a futuristic martial art that allows her to blitz through the battlefield and over different colored squares that fuel a variety of attack powers. The story is cool, and is set in New Providence, a dying colony on a distant world. The colony is being evacuated back to earth, but you need a ticket – and they all end up in the hands of the rich and powerful. The people have had enough, and faced with an uncertain future, opt to rise up.

It’s a very entertaining game, and one of the only knocks on it was its length of play time. Well, that’s about to be mitigated as Episode 2: Crash will be released on August 24th. Crash will pick up where Episode 1: Uprising left off right after its cliffhanger ending. No spoilers here, but suffice it to say Rose and Wolf — our heroic protagonists — are in a tight spot and will need to fight their way free of some imminent danger.

The best part is that Crash is free for those who already own the game, and naturally will be part of the package for anybody buying new. Developers Robot Circus also have episodes 3 and 4 in the works, which will also be part of the base game upon release. Ticket to Earth is a very entertaining game, and I recommend picking it up and checking out both episodes. While you’re checking things out, head over to our forums as well to see what others think of the game.