What an amazing world this game takes place in! It's VERY original and with great artwork does the job of presenting and immersing you into a Cthulu-esque setting. You are the owner of a ship and try to survive in an underground sea in a steampunk setting. Trading, fighting and exploring are the main ways to make money and upgrade your ship, hire employees and invest in town-building. But don't invest too much in your current character: you'll die often. Which is accounted for, as you basically build a legacy, but unfortunately, it takes away a lot of the possible enjoyment of this game. My first experience with this was when I finally managed to make enough money that I could venture out into the dark and explore more of the world (you have to have enough coal and food for a longer journey, otherwise you run into problems quick). I was nearing my limit and running out of resources when I saw a new town. I docked there, ready to replenish everything. But I made too little by trading and wasn't able to buy enough to get me back. So I was kind of forced to continue exploring, ran out of fuel in the middle of nowhere, sat there for a while, lost a few employees to insanity, and eventually my captain died. I restarted, did the same routine for about an hour to save up enough money to try again. I was halfway when an ice giant came into view, did some sort of ground stomp and killed my ship in one blow. I restarted, did the same routine for about an hour, explored a new area, met two pirate ships and got destroyed without getting of a shot. After restarting three more times, I was done with this game and never looked at it again.
I saw the many, many videos of this game, the Let's Plays, the positive reviews, and I got really enthusiastic to play this. I cleared my schedule to take the time to immerse myself and enjoy the beautiful world. But after a few hours in, I realized I was still waiting for this game to become fun. I had accepted the slow pace of the events in the game with the idea that I would eventually find that which I wanted to do and focus on this. But all of the activities were just... boring. I found myself frustrated by the lack of control I actually had and the impact on the world around me. Once again, if I didn't do anything in the game, nothing would happen. I understand going out and meeting all of the townspeople, but after a month in-game still had the "quest" and still had to meet two people. But since the game doesn't tell you who you already met, I couldn't figure out how to complete this task. Why didn't these people come out and meet me instead? I wasn't looking for the game to hold my hand, but this is just one example of the game doing nothing to come towards me. Never does the game say "hey, how about doing this?", you have to have the idea that something might be possible, and try in which way the game lets you do it. It took me literal days to figure out I could adventure out into the wild and fight mobs, and I found that out because I was bored with watering plants day in and day out. I've been really trying to like this game. It looks really nice, but graphics alone don't make a great game. There's a lot of potential, but the slow pace, the lack of guidance and /or advice make for an annoying trial-and-error playstyle.
... just for for sentimental worth. I still have the original disc but that version won't run on newer OSs, so I was very happy to see the game appear on GOG. It's a turn-based strategy game and your goal is the same every time: conquer the planet (either by destroying all enemies or by building a certain amount of city centers). I can't begin to recall the amount of hours I sank into this game. There are diverse enough different races, and even if they clearly are "these are good at this aspect of the game and not so at this aspect" choices, they make sense and help you shape your strategy. Speaking of which, on the higher difficulty levels you'll experience games that can last for days and really challenge you on a strategic and tactical level. The tutorial is one of the better ones and helps you understand the game mechanics quick. "Easy to learn, hard to master" definitely applies here. If you have an hour free, read the manual, but specifically all of the background material for every race. It's amazing to see how much they wrote, a clear sign of the time and effort involved. The animated advisors help personalize the races, and if you play long enough, will be rewarded with subtle jokes (ouch my spleen!) and understanding of the Deadlock universe. There's only one (really minor) thing I'd love to have in this game and that is more control over the battles themselves (outside of just placing units, hit 'Go' and wait). But as it is right now, this game is solid and still going strong.
Final Liberation tells the story of a planet which falls to the Orks (one of the many races in the 40k universe). Only one area remains lightly defended, and after an assault by Imperial Space Marines, this area forms a beachhead for the Imperial Guard, who are then tasked of reclaiming the planet. During every campaign turn you move your armies across the map and attack the Orks. You can expand your armies with new units and even add extra army groups so you can more effectively fight the Orks. When attacking an area, you move to the battlefield and fight a turn-based battle. You quickly learn to keep a good eye on morale: units might run away if they come under fire, and if they run of the battlefield, they're gone. It also means you don't always have to completely destroy the enemy. Taking objectives and destroying big units like Titans have a huge impact on morale! Winning battles gives you points, and with enough points, expand armies and buy units. You can also earn new armies by conquering certain areas of the map, with the description of these areas giving you hints on what might be there. The first time you get a Warlord Titan, accompanied by a lovely cut-scene, is a great experience. Speaking of cut-scenes, these are something special. Not only because of the now famous commissar Holt, who supports you in your role of commander, but they bring the Warhammer 40k universe to life via a mix of CGI and real-life actors. The game is easy to learn, and not that hard to master. When you figure out which units work well with each other, you can almost win every battle against the AI. The manual adds extra value: it not only teaches you how to play the game, but gives extra information on Volistad and the many units available to you.
I've played every Warhammer videogame there is (both Fantasy and 40k), and there is a clear distinction between the good and the bad. Unfortunately, Sanctus Reach falls under the bad. Visual problems, as well as a sometimes confusing interface and control, can be overcome, but will keep popping up its ugly head at the wrong moments. The AI is nothing to write home about (overwatch can be used in an almost cheating kind of way), and the graphics themselves, meh, they do the job but most of the time seem underwhelming. However, you will get very close to the tabletop with this game, so if you feel like having a battle but can't find an opponent, Sanctus Reach will entertain you for a few hours. Unfortunately, the game only has the Space Wolves and the Orks. And it might be just my opinion on interesting Space Marine chapters and xenos forces, but there are already (too) many games with the Space Wolves and Orks. Which I found two very boring factions in the 40k universe. Nothing original, the hyped up Wolves vs the ever random threat of Orks. Meh.
I adored the first and second Age of Wonders. The graphics are colorful, the music is great, the artwork of all of the characters looks perfect, and the stories drive you forward. The scenarios are challenging, and with your Heroes of Might and Magic experience, feel just that more rewarding when playing and completing them. But Age of Wonders 3 is a huge letdown for me. I expected more of the same, but within minutes of starting up the game, I realized this was not to be the case. The graphics are downright ugly when compared with its predecessors. Characters lack personality and look bland. Not once during a single game did I feel in control or felt it that what I was doing had impact. I was thoroughly confused. I played around 10 hours, and then decided to leave the single player mode alone for awhile. In multiplayer, me and my friends quickly felt like playing the older games again, which we did after a few hours of trying AoW3. I'm not sure why they decided to go for a totally different look. The drawings and paintings were so much better in conveying the feel of a fantasy setting than the 3d polygon models they used for this game. The worlds all look bleak and are generally uninviting. The only positive experience I got from AoW3 was that I wanted to boot up the old games and lose myself again in the wonderful world before this third disappointment.
