I have a terrible case of gaming ADD, but this one has held my attention 'till the end. Pros: * Unique and fun magic system. Magic is a part of the world, and you perform magic by interacting with the world - it's not innate to your character. Also it's petty rare - most people can't cast spells. It makes it feel like a real accomplishment when (if!) you get that ability. * Good-to-decent voice acting. Lena Headey, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis ... the main character is a little flat, but it's not too bad. * Challenging! You can't just spam clicks to win a fight. You have to really watch your opponent and be careful, especially early in the game. You don't start out at superhero-strength, you're just a schmuck like anybody else. * Fantastic sense of character progression. If you're patient, you can really see your character advance in the world. It's very satisfying to mop the floor with that lizardman who was killing you over and over again before! * Good atmosphere / world-building. The island is beautiful. Cons * You'll want to be careful if you want to be a mage. Your class is determined by what faction you side with, and it can be easy to be recruited into the wrong faction. Luckily, the NPCs try to warn you about this. * Combat is pretty hard. I still haven't learned how to counter-parry. It will need patience. * The island isn't exactly huge. It's well-designed, but if you're looking for a vast open world, this might not be the game for you. If you're expecting Skyrim, you'll be disappointed. Not to say that this game is worse, but it isn't a clone - it succeeds on its own merits. There's some crafting, but not the dizzying possibilities of Skyrim. There's a *lot* less armor, but it makes it feel like a bigger deal when you get new armor. It's as much a status symbol as new protection! I've really enjoyed it, and it pushed Dragonborn and Civ 5 to my backlog. Take that as you will.
I don't give 5-star reviews lightly, but this game absolutely earns it. Pros: * Gripping tactical combat. It's challenging, and your choices *matter*. It's not easy to win, and there is an element of randomness, but that's part of the fun. There are players who can win fairly consistently, so it's not all luck-of-the-draw. * Lots of options (even more with the new AE content). Tons of ships to unlock, each with their own types of winning strategies. Several alien races to recruit, each with their own strengths. Tons and tons of ship enhancements available (mind control units, drones, hacking tools, fire bombs ... ) * You can play a whole game in less than an hour or two, and it's very easy to pick up and go. * Absolutely stupidly addictive, and just a joy to play. Beating the game is always satisfying, and having built-in achievements and ships to unlock enhances replayability. Cons: * Uh ... graphics, I guess? Some people might want something fancy and 3-D. This isn't for them. * It's a roguelike, so you can't save before a fight and reload if it doesn't go well. That's part of what I love about it (it makes fights much more exciting), but some people might not like that. Overall, it's one of the best games I've played in years.
Deadlock 2 ... Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long, long time. It's not quite like any other turn-based strategy game I've played. Unlike Civilization or Alpha Centauri, it is province-based. You conquer (or settle) individual provinces, build your cities there, and eventually train troops and move them into your opponent's provinces to conquer. That part reminds me a bit of Warhammer 40k Dark Crusade. There's no micro-managing with combat. You just give your troops an order before combat starts (for example, the Human soldier can "berserk") and then they carry it out to the best of their ability. Unlike Civ, there are no "stacks of doom." If you build a large army (or your opponent does) it doesn't mean you have to go through each unit individually. That helps keep the gameplay fluid. You can choose from a variety of alien races, from the telepathic Re'lu to the tree-hugging Uva Mosk to the sickly Maug. I found each of them to be fun to play. As part of diplomacy, you can send messages to the other leaders (and you'll receive them as well) and these are in the form of pre-rendered animations that are pretty funny and interesting. Each race has its own campaign with a unique ending. Why 4 stars? Partially to compensate for any nostalgia-glasses on my part, and partially because some people might find city management tedious once you have too many provinces. That said, I'm glad GOG picked this up, I'll be getting my copy after payday.
The Heroes of Might and Magic games are an acclaimed combination of RPG and turn-based strategy. There is some light base management, and they generally revolve around building an army, exploring the countryside, and leveling up your hero(es). There are different town types (wizards, necromancers, etc.) that offer different kinds of troops. If you're only going to buy or play one Heroes of Might and Magic game, it should be this one. I say that even though the graphics of 3 are more timeless (and in my opinion, better), and 2 is undoubtedly the most charming of the series. It's hard to go back to them after playing this one. In many ways this game is similar to 3: The towns and troops (besides for the expansions) are almost identical. However, just about everything was tweaked and enhanced to make it more enjoyable. The heroes can all have unique abilities that greatly affect your tactics. The towns are more balanced (Inferno isn't terrible anymore). The heroes have much more interesting skill trees to follow through. Magic is actually useful in combat, even the damaging spells. And finally, the campaign is fantastic. The story is typical video-game quality, bombastic and silly, but the actual missions are very well designed, and they make you play to the strengths of your assigned heroes, all of whom are unique to the campaign and have some fun abilities. My favorite is the demon who boosts the initiative of his forces - it led to some nail-biting battles that I shouldn't have won, but did. I could never bring myself to get into a campaign in Heroes 3, but I played all through this one and had a blast. And that's not even getting into the expansions, which introduce all new races and mechanics, such as Rage and Runes. In short - if you've played HoMM 3 and liked it, try this. If you are new to the series, this is the best, deepest one available.
I picked this up in a Humble Bundle and didn't think it looked like much. On a whim I tried the original Shadowgrounds out and loved it, and I have to say that this is even better. There are 3 separate characters you play as, each with a unique playstyle. You can't turn the sniper into a brawler, and the flamethrowing fella will have to get nice and close to the baddies, but this keeps the gameplay pretty fresh. The graphics are very nice, the controls are fine and the gameplay has more tension than some AAA games I've bought. This is definitely worth a shot.
I suppose you'd only be reading these reviews if you hadn't played the game before, and you weren't able to wear nostalgia-glasses. I'll try to write with you in mind, then. This game has aged remarkably well. I play newer games such as Dragon Age and the Mass Effect series, and this still stacks up well. In my opinion it's much better than the Neverwinter Nights games - much better voice acting, more fun and interesting characters, a fantastic villain, and it uses 2nd Edition rules. 3rd Edition rules always felt like adjusting numbers on a spreadsheet to me. The graphics have aged better than any 3D game of its time, for certain. Immersion shouldn't be a problem as you explore the hand-drawn environments. The magic effects still look great. Yes, the game is more difficult than many in this day and age, at least until you become familiar with it. Yes, it's inconvenient when your characters die (shouldn't it be?) If you're looking for a fast-paced, cinematic game where you can click your way to victory, look elsewhere. But if you want a game where your compatriots banter amongst each other (and sometimes fight!), where you get drawn into a plot that is more greek myth than stereotypical high fantasy, where you have tense battles with dragons and massive demons (complete with unique music for those encounters) and where you have to really use tactics and the abilities of your group to get through tough spots, this is definitely your game.
