May 2024
Really well done tribute to the original King's Bounty, the predecessor of Heroes of Might & Magic games. While this game is quite similar to HomMM V, it's very different as well.
There is no turn-base on the main map so you can freely roam around like a usual RPG game. There are no quest indicators on the map so you should read your conversations carefully, though because of that sometimes it can be uncertain what to do next, especially if you give a break. Turn-based battles are pretty much the same with HoMM games. Kind of a down part for me; since the game isn't on weekly basis, the unit training also isn't on weekly basis, that means you cannot recruite units more than your leadership points. You can get more units indirectly but as long as your leadership points are not enough, they'll go rogue in battles. Nice detail actually, I don't like it though because you cannot doomstack units. At least that keeps the pace of the game in line, so expect a more casual gameplay.
The story is nothing special and I'm not really fond of unserious writing. The special device's name that you use on battles was Gizmo, there are a lot of examples like this. I mean, they're funny at first but gets boring rather quickly. Though there were some really nice plot twists here and there so it will keep your interest fresh. Getting lost on the map is boring at first look and it certainly feels that way, but the game has a lot of backtracking so overall it's not actually a bad thing.
There are different castle teams like in HoMM games, like Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Demons, Swamp Creatures etc. You are not a hero to a specific team (like in HoMM) so you can use any units on your team as you want. There is a morale point of units, they don't get along with each other if they are very different (There is a skill to prevent that.). However, there are some obviously better units. You'll want to use them more when you progress enough. Though if you form your units from the same team and also have items that give bonuses to them, you may want that as well. Pretty useful.
Overall, it's a great game and I'm sure you'll have fun if you like HoMM or even general RPGs. The last part of the game ended too quickly though, so before you reach to the last island you may want to take your time.
Refreshing game.
Unreal Gold
14 hours playtime, no achievements# 29
I fancied some boomer-shooter and picked Unreal this month. I played Unreal Tournament back in the days with my friends but never played the original Unreal game, finally I have. The game has big levels, kinda few enemies and somewhat interactive maps. Though the enemies were bullet sponges and some of them were way too mobile to shoot at, it was not so pleasant. However I now know why this game is beloved by the community. It was surely a nice experience, even though the game shows its age.
Unreal II: The Awakening
8 hours playtime, no achievements# 30
Sequel of Unreal but has no relation to it besides it’s the same universe, no continuation and different characters. This was also not a boomer-shooter, more like Halo than Unreal. It was pretty short, levels were pretty small. But loading screens were long. They were long like the game installed on an HDD in 2003. Unreal Gold always loaded instantly but this game… I played ~8 hours and probably spent 2-3 hours looking at loading screens. Maybe not worse than Starfield. :)
The ending sucked and the last mission had terrible physics and awful platforming. It was short like other missions but I died due to platforming a lot, that means a lot of loading screens. Yuck!
I feel kinda sorry for the fans of the first game who hyped for the sequel in 2003.
Even though this is a “definitive edition” it has some serious problems despite having quality of life improvements. While graphics and user interface is just lovely, the gameplay kinda sucks and frustrating most of the time. The units keep getting stuck on each other every time, some campaign maps are really small and you cannot train more than 50 units at the same time (outside of campaign the unit limit is 250) and the game is slow even on very fast mode. Now I kinda understand why Microsoft released the Rise of Rome DLC for AoE II:DE and not for this game because even they know it sucks. Play only if you’re interested in the campaign and want to see it with newer graphics. Other than this, there is no reason to play it.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
17 hours playtime, no achievements# 32
LAU trilogy is the best Lara Croft trilogy ever made in my opinion. Although PC ports are kinda janky, they still give you the satisfaction of seeing Lara in action (mostly puzzles though). And yes, Lara Croft games should be about puzzles and tombs however they’re mostly optional in the reboot trilogy. I mean, they are good games too but they somehow lack the Lara essence. TR Anniversary is the remake of the very first Tomb Raider game and it’s a pretty loyal remake as well. This one also didn’t have the weird controller issue that TR Legend had. I definitely had good time, so highly recommended.
I’ve only briefly played King’s Bounty and definitely liked the flavor as well as differences from Heroes. Lack of town you recruit from and manage truly does make a difference in terms of pacing. Any chance you play the other games in the series?
This was my first King’s Bounty and I found the beginning kinda slow, it gets fast pretty quick though. I think I prefer to have different campaign per town but this game was still fun to play. I’m planning to play Crossworlds next, which is basically Armored Princess + expansion, so I’m gonna skip Armored Princess. Everyone suggests the same thing anyway. I don’t have the later titles in my library but I believe Crossworlds will be enough for me.
Congratulations on all of your assassinations!! ᓚᘏᗢ
Which game was your top favorite? I’ve always been interested in Tomb Raider but the one game I played had the worst quick time events I’ve ever seen so I uninstalled and refunded. What are your gaming plans for next month?
Thank you <3
I haven’t reached my goal but still this was a good month. I really liked King’s Bounty but Tomb Raider was pretty good as well.
Hopefully that Tomb Raider game was not Underworld. Otherwise I’m gonna have a hard time since I don’t like QTEs at all. The two games I’ve played had QTEs but they were not hard to me, but I didn’t played on hard, maybe difficulty affects it. By the way, the worst QTE game I’ve seen was Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy, it was like a patience test. :)
I started with Obra Dinn since it’s a SG win but for the rest I don’t really have a plan, though added some to PAGYWOSG event. Expecting a relaxed month.