Year: 2023

Last Train Home – Go East, to go West

The Christmas game is here, if you don’t mind the blood, the civilian casualties, and the general horrors of war. Beyond that, it has snow and that is good enough for me! Last Train Home is somewhat of an X-com title, in that you control a “base”, build it up, and equip your men in wait for harder tasks—with the mix of Men of War inspired real-time combat when it comes to the fighting. Does it work, and is it fun? Well, let’s get into that, but first a bit about the story.

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On-the-pot thoughts – Are Games Art?

Time for some on-the-pot musings. Are games art? I would say in general yes, as it is an effort to make something creative for people to enjoy, just like movies and music. Everything has some kind of artistic value, I guess, if you view it from that perspective but it’s the level here that I find important, and a few other distinctions. Did the artist suffer for his creation, is it a product out of greed, etc? You also have the cultural impact to consider, which also affects the status of something that is determined to be in fact “art”. All this in the end is of course subjective, however, this is my take on it.

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Gates of Hell – Is it hell?

I have been playing Gates of Hell: Ostfront again, thinking that I might not have given it a fair shake, but damn – the single-player campaign missions can easiest be described as a bonafide medic simulator. The majority of the gameplay consists of me babysitting my men and making sure they are actually fighting instead of dreaming of a happier place in heaven while red stuff is leaking out of them. Especially so since I use the mod Simple Damage Increase. To be fair, blaming the game for problems when using mods isn’t exactly nice, but to my defense Gates of Hell: Ostfront really needs it! The damage is so low, it’s like the men are shooting with pellet guns otherwise. That mod reminds me of my own that I made for Men of War: Assault Squad 2 called Equality of Men. It addresses the same type of issues I had with that game.

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Stargate: Adventure – The Grey Vikings

To say that I understand the Stargate lore from the TV show is to highly overestimate my knowledge of this piece of fiction, especially after playing Stargate: Adventure made by Sektor 13. However, I do know the general gist of things, and I like the character Jack O’Neill (much because of the MacGyver days). The problem here, while the game feels very authentic to the source material, is that it drops you smack down in the middle (or maybe the ending of things?) – which makes lore newbies like me feel pretty out of place. Honestly, though, it’s no problem. This is a free fan-made point-and-click adventure game, that is made for the dedicated followers of the show. Cred is where it’s due.

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Starship Troopers: Terran Command [DLC] Raising Hell – The Gehenna Rumble

The bugs are back with a vengeance and this time they are harassing humanity on the volcanic planet of Gehenna. Raising Hell is more of the same, however with the killing now taking place in an extremely hostile environment – for both man and bug. There is more than just the mobile infantry fighting the crawly critters this time around, as private money-seeking mercenaries join in on the fun. With money being their primary concern, these units come with a different flavor. They are as good at destroying bugs as their brothers in the Marines, making the case that the promise of coin can be a potent motivator indeed.

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