08/27/13

Tuesday Screenshot – Divinity: Dragon Commander

A half-dragon’s work is never done.

Trying to save my father’s kingdom from the greed and ineptitude of my step-siblings has proven quite the task. Here I’m slugging it out with one of them on an island filled with valuable…stuff. Every territory I conquer brings me one step closer to crushing the insurgency and unifying the kingdom. Here my airships close in on the enemy’s forces. My ground troops follow behind as we prepare to punish them for aligning with the wrong side. Soon it will be done.

Game: Divinity: Dragon Commander

08/22/13

Warlock Four-Player AAR Tuna Session 10

LongBlade (LB): No, gentle reader, you have not miscounted or misread the title. Our last report came from Tuna and ended on Turn 38. The remaining players have had a few interruptions in real life, so we must pick up the story at the earliest point Tuna can share with us, Turn 58.

TURN 58

Tuna opens the turn by researching a new spell, Barren Lands. This is an offensive spell that will turn any land with resources into barren terrain.

He then continues on his mission to clear out Monsters in the Northeast, to clean the land for settlers he anticipates will soon move there.

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08/21/13

Video Review: Risk Legacy

Review by Son of Montfort, 21 August 2013

Monty reviews Risk Legacy

Discuss this review in our forums >>

08/20/13

Interview with Jim Crabtree of Lock’n’Load

When GrogHeads’ Editor Jim Zabek saw that Lock’n’Load redesigned their website last week and launched a new crowd-funding pledge system he knew he had to chat with Jim Crabtree, Lock n Load’s new Business Director.

Jim Zabek (JZ): Wow, so there are several big developments going on with Lock ‘n’Load. Let’s start with why you decided to get involved with Lock’n’Load. Did you wake up one morning and think, “I’m going to work at game company?” Why specifically Lock ‘n’Load?

Jim Crabtree (JC): No, I actually came across the opportunity by accident. I have been gaming since I was young and never stopped. One night I was out playing games with a few buddies, and I said, “I would love to do this full time”. My friend told me he knew a game company that was for sale, so I made a few phone calls and spoke with Mark Walker. Mark was a joy to talk to, and we were very excited about what we could do as a team. I really love LNL games, and I am really looking forward to see what the future of the company holds.

JZ: As the founder and driving force behind many of the game designs, what will Mark Walker’s role be going forward?

JC: I am running the business side of LNL, and making sure the day-to-day operations run smoothly. Mark is our lead manager of designers and developers. Mark is doing what Mark does best – designing and developing games.

JZ: Tell us about your new website!

JC: Our new website is lnlpublishing.com, and our old url will redirect you to the new site. We offer boxed and downloadable products.

Our systems will keep complete history of what the customer purchased, tracking numbers and access to download links. We also offer LNL Gift cards for download. The website features a Wish List, Customer Support Desk system, and forums.

We added an Article page to LNL that allows members to write strategies, reviews, create scenarios, and share them with other members on our site.

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08/10/13

Democracy 3 Preview

Developer: Positech Games

Publisher: Positech Games

Author: Son_of_Montfort

Have you ever watched the news or CSPAN and thought, “I can do better than those guys?” Well, with Congress’s approval rating at a low of 15%, chances are that you have. Cliff Harris and his UK-based company Positech Games (known by Grogs for Gratuitous Space Battles and Gratuitous Tank Battles) want you to put your bragging to the test in their upcoming governance simulation, Democracy 3. I got a chance to look at a near-Beta version of the third incarnation of Positech’s game of political intrigue and national management and I am happy to report that it is a news junkie and amateur pundit’s dream.

Democracy 3 follows the model of its predecessor fairly closely and, at first glance, the changes appear to be subtle. Like many of Positech’s newer releases, Democracy 3 now sports full HD resolution and a fairly simple but functional UI. The simplicity of the UI used by the Democracy series allows players to get a plethora of information with very little effort, hovering over key policies and modifiers or hot linking from faction to faction. This is extremely important, given that running a Democracy, not to mention winning elections (perhaps the most important goal of the game), requires a well-informed player. Just like the previous title, Democracy 3 has players make decisions in running the country in two main ways – implementing new policies from a fairly detailed list or altering already implemented policies through a simple slider. In order to implement or change a policy, the player must have and expend a certain amount of political capital that accumulates each turn, influenced largely by the player’s choice of ministers in his or her cabinet.