Mirror’s Edge Catalyst – Parkour Bore

I remember playing the first Mirror’s Edge many years ago on the Xbox 360. It wasn’t my favorite game or anything, but I did like the system of movement, and the general atmosphere of the city in which the game takes place. It had this cold, minimalist stylistic corporate vibe to it, that for some reason left a mark on me. So when I saw Mirror’s Edge Catalyst for sale on Steam for 2 euros the other day, I couldn’t help to dive in – I mean, what is 2 bucks even if it sucks?

The first thing that hit me going in is that I don’t remember being thrown in prison from the first game, and apparently I needed to read some kind of comic to understand why I was. A huge negative stain on the game already, and I’m about 5 minutes into it. I hate when games do this, movies too for that matter. Expecting you to find/buy, and read media outside the game to understand the plot. Another thing that messed up my understanding of the story whilst it was ongoing, was that I had no idea that Catalyst is a reboot, and not a sequel, which I thought it was. I didn’t know this until after I finished the game. I discovered it when I was searching for answers to some questions I had about the plot. Apparently, it wasn’t a retcon or two, in the story, the whole thing had been retconned, huh!

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Call of Saregnar – Demo Impressions

Call of Saregnar is a promising indie RPG coming out of Slovenia. However, there is an international flavor to the team since they are coming from all corners of the world, all the way from America, to New Zealand. For anyone knowing their RPGs, it’s pretty easy to tell where the inspiration for this title is coming from; namely Betrayal at Krondor. Which I, unfortunately haven’t had the pleasure of playing, regardless, I know about it well. On a side note, I really should sit down and play it some of these days, considering its legendary status within the cRPG community.

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Battle Brothers – The last DLC?

For a game that was supposed not to get any DLCs, Overhype Studios sure released plenty over the years – some free, some paid for. I’m not saying this to slag off the game, since the DLCs provided have been a great addition to it, and well worth the money. It has expanded the gameplay, lore and features with many hours of worth of content. But now, with the release of the free expansion Of Flesh and Faith, it seems that we have reached the end of the line for Battle Brothers. I would say, it’s both bad, and good. The bad thing is, since I love Battle Brothers, is that I would love to see more expansions released for it. The game still has so much untapped potential, like for an example, I would like to see the possibility of camp/castle ownership. A way to dump money into your own little mercenary guild, with accommodating fortress. Or, why not expand the game with interior areas, like crypts and the likes? Imagine Battle Brother going dungeon diving – there is so much potential here! Alas, all things must end, I guess.

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The Bureau: XCOM Declassified – A good game?

The confused Xcom. The hated Xcom! The Xcom that wasn’t Xcom. It was a divisive time, and I do agree partly with the naysayers – it sure didn’t feel like the classic games going by the promotional material. But as it turned out, I took a real liking to it. I can’t say anything about the first-person-oil-slick-enemy-Xcom that was the original pitch because that game never got to see the light of day. Instead, we got an underrated little squad-based third-person shooter with RPG elements in the company of a damn good pulp-like story. This game is one of my guilty pleasures, and I think I have finished it three times by now. I’m here to tell you why it’s so good and why you should play it. And there are plenty of reasons to do so!

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Icewind Dale II – Temple Hell

I can’t critique the full game since I have not finished it, and unfortunately, I’m not sure how likely that will be. Anyways, talk about a game that goes from awesome RPG goodness to a pure bore of the slog +2…

Let’s start with the good parts. The intro, like the first Icewind Dale, is great and gets me into the adventure headspace immediately. Creating the characters for your party is fun – especially now considering the engine was updated to D&D 3.0 edition rule set (which is my favorite version) from 2.0. The prologue and the first chapter have a magnificent feel to them, a freezing old town under siege by goblins and orcs. Mercenaries and guards are all over the place, and with an exciting narrative that steers towards conspiracy and treason.

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