Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities: The Viewing [Film Review]

If you ever want to watch something mesmerizing that captures the essence of cosmic horror, I’ve got something special for you: The Viewing. The Viewing is part of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, which is a horror anthology on Netflix. It only got the one season, and despite being quite entertaining, Netflix sadly decided not to renew it for a season two. The collection got a few horror gems, but the stand-out is definitely The Viewing, so I’m glad we at least got that story before being axed like a slasher victim.

Continue reading →

Jagged Alliance 3 – Abandoned? [Video]

One of the best franchise revivals in recent times was Jagged Alliance 3, which had its release three years ago. Time flies, huh? Jagged Alliance 3 was a good game, so naturally most of us expected that the franchise wouldn’t go dormant again so soon after such a strong resurrection, but it did. And honestly, it’s a complete and utter waste, considering how cool the series is, and how good a job the developer Haemimont Games did. Not one DLC, not even a single word about the future of the franchise. In this excellent video by Kordanor’s Gaming Lair—Kordanor (he kinda looks like a JA merc) talks about these issues: why things stalled, and what to expect.

It’s mostly speculation, of course, but he does clear up a few things. Such as who owns what now (IP, dev team), a fact that makes this much more complicated than one thinks. The future isn’t looking too bright though… Video after the jump!

Continue reading →

The lack of Stealth in a Vampire game…

I have been trying out the newly released RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker, and the lack of any kind of stealth in this game is an incredibly missed opportunity that would have added an excellent thematic gameplay mechanic. Instead, if it’s scripted not to do so, you will have to fight your way in or out of a situation every time.

While this is clearly a skill issue from my part, I find the combat incredibly awkward. This is mostly due to a spastic camera and the brutal action‑based combat, where you are supposed to block, dodge, and kill multiple opponents on a regular basis. And well, it’s just too hard for an old fella like me, yet I can play Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord without trouble using manual blocks. I’m not sure what is going on here, outside of having a difficult time focusing on what’s happening in a skirmish, visually. Anyhow…

Continue reading →

Star Wars: Zero Company – Three Strikes and You’re Out

Finally, a long-sought-after turn-based tactical game in the style of an X-com-like is here, and simply, it’s good. Now, that’s not to say it doesn’t have problems, because it does, but in a general sense, Star Wars: Zero Company is a welcome addition to the genre and should satisfy the call for squad-based combat. I might as well make one thing clear already. This is not a battle simulation in the style of Jagged Alliance 3—it’s more of an Xcom 2 (nuXCOM) game, with perhaps even a stronger focus on board game rules, gameplay and combat abstraction. But before we get into that, let’s talk about the story, which is a huge focus in Zero Company, maybe to its detriment in some cases.

Continue reading →

Star Wars: Zero Company – Very Early Impressions

After geeking out on Star Wars: Zero Company for about eight hours now, I’m ready to give some very early impressions—so take what I say with a grain of salt. This will be a bit haphazard, so I won’t go over things in detail; I just want to talk about a few points. We can start with the story and the protagonist. The story so far seems interesting, with you running a mercenary company during the height of the prequel era—and having the big separatist war looming in the background is just awesome (if you like the prequel movies, that is). However…

Continue reading →

One Day – Two Releases

Today is a busy day, since the personally hyped turn-based Xcom-like Star Wars: Zero Company is being released. I have avoided reading and watching reviews, as I don’t want anything spoiled, but at a glance, things are looking good. The only definite sad thing I know about the release is that the devs will not support mods officially, which is a baffling decision considering the genre. We will see how that turns out, but it probably means they have a lot of DLCs they want to sell down the line. I just hope it’s gameplay and story stuff and not only a cosmetic onslaught—if that is the case. The second release is…

Continue reading →