Crusader Kings 2 (PC)

crusader kings 2

I first heard of this game long ago, but not being big on computer games (yea I am a console guy) I never really got the chance to play it. But when it was tossed up on Steam by Paradox for free for a few days I couldn’t pass it up. So I tossed it on the starting kingdom they recommend and went to town on what they told me to do while adding my own thing to which the game allows for. For example they tell you to get married, but don’t really tell you who to marry. Here is a short summary of the first hour of game play for me.

So I start-up my game and fumble thru some menus and read the descriptions and quickly see there is a lot going on, much of it self-explanatory. this makes me happy. The game is constantly moving, days are slipping by. The game informs me I wont be attacked until my character reaches age 40. This is a plus because I have no clue what is going on.  I send my king into hiding just in case. Moments later I discover I need to get married. Time to come out of hiding. But what kind of wife should I get? Do i marry for land? Peace? Alliance? In true Medieval fashion I choose to marry my cousin so that when my uncle dies I can claim his kingdom as my own. I also discover the plot commands and choose to attempt to murder my older brother so I can take his land next door. My spymaster discovers dear brother had the same plan. What a prick right?

Not long after a small rebellion starts, after struggling I figure out how to send my army to put down a few hundred ungrateful peasants. My dear old brother chose this time to attack a neighboring kingdom. Now is my chance to strike, I move my army into his territory. That is when my assassin poisons him. Victory is mine…except I failed to notice I have 2 brothers. I simply moved my self up to next in line for his land, my other oldest brother is now in charge.

As you can see, this game is kind of like a computer version of Game of Thrones. Graphically it looks nice but is nothing special and the sound is solid. But the real genius here is how in-depth it actually is. Do you raise your armies and take land by force? Do you marry off your children and let the generations pass as you take the world thru guile and brains? Some odd combination of it all? The choice is yours, and it is all very exciting. Personally I can’t wait to finish off my brother. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Chrono Trigger PC First patch

chrono trigger

The first patch for Chrono Trigger on PC is out, with the following patch notes taken directly from Steam:

  1. Character sprites and background graphics adjusted to be more in-line with the original style of CHRONO TRIGGER. This can be selected from the menu as “Original” graphics, and is the new default selection.
  2. The font has been updated to give the game a more classic look.
  3. Text which did not match the game experience on PC has been revised, and a large number of other text issues have been corrected.
  4. Fixed the way the word “TRIGGER” is displayed as it floats in on the title screen.
  5. Adjusted the order of the demo video and animated opening sequence from the title screen to be more in-line with previous versions of the game.
  6. The background gradient of each text window has been adjusted to make it darker towards the bottom.

I haven’t had the chance to go back and check it out, but this should go a long way to restoring some faith for fans. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Day of the Dead:Bloodline (2018)

day of the dead bloodline

Day of the Dead:Bloodline is a re-imagining of Romero’s 1985 Day of the Dead, tho it is quite a bit different. While the same general Idea is there about zombies taking over the world and people living in small armed camps that are heavily guarded in order to keep people safe the over all story has changed significantly, and that is actually a good thing.

Rather than trying to do the same thing better they have realized it is hard to beat someone who has already done great, and they have simply tried to be great on their own which is succeeds at nicely. While searching for antibiotics to save a sick girl at a place the doctor used to go to school they discover a legitimate stalker of hers when she was a student that follows her back to base. After discovering he still maintained his human memories of her and that he hadn’t actually turned they captured him and attempted to use him to find a vaccine for the zombie virus, or as they call them rotters.

While it is well-known I am a sucker for a good zombie movie it is also well known I am overly harsh on a bad one. This movie doesn’t fall into either category. You won’t see anything new or exciting here and visually it isn’t anything worth writing about, that being said I can’t honestly say it failed anywhere. The movie was entertaining and the gore looked good and at no point did I feel like I was let down anywhere. It was just a good old-fashioned zombie movie. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Final Fantasy 15 Comrades

Ff15

I bought Final Fantasy 15 the day it came out with the season pass. That day I asked myself, why? You hated 12. Seriously, you can read about it. Final Fantasy 12 Review I also hated the 13 series of games. You can’t read about that because it has been so long since I played it that I haven’t written a review. But, I did it, and I loved I loved Final Fantasy 15. I actually got the Platinum for it. Then the DLC came out and I didn’t touch it, not because I didn’t want to I just got side tracked.

My friend then started harassing me to play Comrades with him recently, so I gave it a shot. It starts out with your character pretty much suffering from some sort of amnesia and being told he is one of the Kingsglave. As one of the glaves left in the years between Noctis disappearing and coming back you must keep the power on and keep things running until he comes back.

The game is actually pretty fun, tho a bit grindy as you pretty much do hunting missions to get power to unlock new areas so you can do new missions to power new areas. It’s a typical MMO in that regard really when it comes down to it. It is however fun for what it is and I wish I tried it sooner and it is Best played with friends. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Sonic CD (Sega Forever)

sonic cd

Sonic Cd is one of those games that people either loved or hated and many never even played for the Sega CD, probably because a lot of people never even owned one. I was fortunate enough to have owned one and can compare it to the original. Eventually I will also get around to playing it on the Xbox as well, but for now my cell phone is good enough. It looks nice enough , tho a little weird to play on a small screen. The controls and sound tho are nice. It’s nice to be able to play a full-fledged sonic game on the go and honestly of all the sonic games on Sega  Forever this one runs the smoothest on my phone. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mortal Kombat X

mortal kombat x

If you are like me you grew up playing Mortal Kombat. The first Mortal Kombat actually caused quite a bit of controversy. The games were always great to me, and so simplistic. The story was easy. War between realms, decided in a tournament. Pick a fighter, win the tournament see how the story ends. Sure according to the actual story there was a definitive winner and an over all story but it was always so much fun. Admittedly I fell off the series for a bit. Sure I played nine at a friend’s house and X here and there but I never really played the story. The combat itself is fluid and graphically its beautiful, of course. It is Mortal Kombat after all.

The story here tho is amazing but weird for me. Sonya and Johnny Cage having a kid? Liu Kang and Kung Lao being dead? All that weirdness being aside the story is compelling well written, possibly the best story in the entire series and that actually pains me to say considering how much I love the rest of the series. Mortal Kombat X is a must play for fighting fans everywhere. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Spyro Remastered Officially Coming

spyro remastered

It wasn’t long ago there was a rumor floating around about a Spyro trilogy remaster coming this year. That rumor was quickly said to be fake and was never coming at all much to the dismay of fans everywhere. Well now the release day is September 21st, and that is officially September 21st by the way. All built from the ground up for the PS4 and XB1 September will be a great time for Nostalgia fans. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Zoo Tycoon (Xbox One)

zoo tycoon

Zoo Tycoon is one of the more odd tycoon games I have played recently. The game looks good, but not great. The campaign is good, but most of the missions have but time limits. They are for the most part reasonable and aren’t all that like, usually no longer than 45 minutes at the most but many as low as 15 minutes.

The animals for the most part just wonder around their enclosures and every attempt I made to toss some deer in with the lions and tigers was met with the game telling me no. This is in every way a game about running a zoo and it won’t let you traumatize your patrons. This is probably for the best actually since the game is clearly meant for educational purposes. There is plenty to read and lots of fun to be had while you are at it.

The game also has plenty of challenges and even has a challenge mode as well as a sandbox mode.  However this is one of those games I would suggest getting on sale or if you have game pass playing on there. The game is fun, but or many it will get old quick. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.