Tag Archives: PC Games
GrogHeads Reviews Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition
Can the update & enhancement bring the game up to modern standards? ~
Avery Abernethy, 30 June 2018
Baldur’s Gate was originally released in December 1998. It was a tremendous financial success selling more than a million copies worldwide. It was also a critical success earning a GameRankings score of 92%. I bought the game when it was first released and later the expansion Tales of the Sword Coast. I ended up replaying the game many times.
Minsc also has many memorable dialogue options including “Butt-Kicking for Goodness.”
An Enhanced Edition of Baldur’s Gate was released in January of 2013 on Steam and www.gog.com. The Original edition of Baldur’s Gate was removed from the market. Baldur’s Gate has one of the most memorable characters in computer RPG history, Minsc the Ranger with his companion Boo the hamster. Minsc obtained Boo after a severe head injury, thinks Boo talks to him, and that Boo is a “space hamster.” Minsc also has many memorable dialogue options including “Butt-Kicking for Goodness.”
What’s Gus Playing? Assassin’s Creed – Origins, part 2
Today, a different kind of “Origins” as Gus takes us back to the desert ~
Lloyd Sabin, 25 June 2018
Still smarting from a harsh and quick defeat as Nabatea in Rome 2 Total War, I returned to the warm bosom of Alexandria in Assassin’s Creed: Origins. I am currently at Level 13, and have just cracked open the game world by killing the first in a series of other assassin’s who tried to kill my wife, Aya.
Progression in this game is effortless, almost to fault…mind you that the difficulty level is adjustable. Players get experience points for just discovering locations, in addition to more difficult tasks like completing side quests and advancing the main plot line and completing quests. The controls can occasionally be slightly wonky but this is offset by the beautiful set pieces and visuals, all accessible to the player.
If you have any interest in the ancient world of Rome, Greece or Egypt you will love Origins. And if you don’t, Origins may kindle that interest. My continuing advance through the game world of is below.
After a few hours of introductions, the player can gain access to ancient Alexandria, where the game really begins to shine.
What’s Gus Playing – The Shortest Rome 2 Total War Campaign – Nabatea
The Dwarf of the Desert delivers dangerous deeds and derring-do ~
Lloyd Sabin, 11 June 2018
Sometimes you got it, sometimes you just don’t.
I chose to play as Nabatea because the idea of armored camel cataphracts charging through the desert really tickled my pickle
The Total War series is one of my favorites and has been since Shogun was released all those years ago. Fast forward to 2018 and I could not wait to play a faction from the Rome 2 Emperor’s Edition DLC – the Desert Kingdoms. There are four to choose from, including the Kush and Nabatea (think modern Horn of Africa and Saudi Arabia).
In doing some basic research on each, I chose to play as Nabatea because the idea of armored camel cataphracts charging through the desert really tickled my pickle. The campaign was rated as ‘Hard’ however, and even though that typically scares me off, I took my chances. Taking the plunge, I charged in to Nabatea circa 272 BC, and was psyched to get my first camel cataphract unit. It would be glorious.
Or it would be one of the more ignominious defeats in my TW history. I have had some lightning fast victories, mind you…I won as the Egyptians in the Medieval 2 TW Crusades campaign in under 25 turns! But this Nabatea playthrough was going to be the opposite of that.
All that said, I feel compelled to tell you that Rome 2, some 17 patches and many years after release, plays, runs and looks fantastic now. It really is a totally new game from the earlier versions. If you were frightened away by the nightmarish launch, it is worth it’s price now and goes on sale every so often.
Beware though that ‘hard’ means what it says here…there’s no messing around. So, let my ignominy be a lesson for you.
‘I am Nabatea.’ And I can’t wait for my first unit of shiny camel cataphracts. It’s going to be great.
What’s Gus Playing? Assassin’s Creed – Origins, part 1
When is “too much” actually “not enough”? ~
Lloyd Sabin, 4 June 2018
I love me some AssCreed. I’ve been playing the series since the first game appeared on PC 10+ years ago. Through the years my love has waxed and waned – I loved the series installments set in Crusader-era Jerusalem, very much enjoyed the installments set in Renaissance Italy, never played AssCreed: Unity, and absolutely loved AssCreed: Black Flag and its arcade portrayal of 18th century naval warfare set in the New World (mostly the Hudson River Valley and the middle Atlantic). And I loved AssCreed: Syndicate, set in 19th century, industrial revolution era London. I’ve even bought a few of the platform spin-off games, AssCreed: Russia and AssCreed: China…but still haven’t fired them up yet. I will soon. Most of all I have always enjoyed conjugating the title to AssCreed…it is the gift that keeps on giving and always makes me giggle.
Most of all I have always enjoyed conjugating the title to AssCreed…it is the gift that keeps on giving and always makes me giggle.
It took me some time to pick up AssCreed: Origins, mostly because of the ancient Egyptian setting. That is, until I learned that it was set in roughly 50 BC, during the waning days of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Hellenistic Egypt, with the Romans slowly encroaching, and not in the distant Old Kingdom era.
And so with my new found interest in Greek, Roman and ancient history, I lurked on Steam until Origins went on sale and got it at half price a few months ago, and just started playing literally yesterday in between bouts of Field of Glory 2 and a new campaign of Rome 2: Total War. I have about an hour and half invested so far.
GrogHeads First Impressions of Stars in Shadow
Screenshots of snake-people swashbuckling around the stars ~
Boggit, 26 May 2018
Developed by Ashdar Games Inc and published by Iceberg Interactive
I’ve been meaning to have a look at this game for some time now and finally have got around to it. Playing Emperor “Gritok the Devourer” of the Gremak Empire – an aristocratic race of four-eyed cobra alien slavers – I took to the stars in a huge Galaxy to try my luck as the mean and nasty imperialist snake people!
Here’s a collection of screenshots from my early expansion into the stars, which gives you an idea of how the game is presented, as well as the sort of options available to players. I liked the artwork, which unlike a lot of space games is nice, bright and colourful – and even a bit cartoony – which added to the fun. I liked what I saw with this game, which reminded me of the classic Master of Orion 2 in terms of gameplay. A big plus is that it is simple to play like Master of Orion 2, yet had sufficient depth to keep my attention.
So here we start at our home planet of Gremal. We’ve already made life a misery for the poor Enfi race that shares our planet having enslaved those centuries before. Now we have a chance to enslave other species to our will.
