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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Arma 3 APEX – Jungle Fever

My buddy and I recently finished the official APEX expansion in cooperative mode for Arma 3. The story is a direct continuation of “East Wind” from the original game. At first, it does feel disconnected until something specific comes up, which I won’t spoil. It’s a cool touch having a narrative that connects with each other, considering it’s a war simulator and not your standard AAA-game series.

Instead of the usual all-out war, you play as a cloak-and-dagger special operations team that has the task of taking out a local warlord on the island paradise (for criminals) of Tanoa. This group is named “Syndikate” and is mostly equipped with old-fashioned AKs and equipment like that. Not the high-tech armies of past campaigns. However, later on in the campaign, you get to meet another faction that is equipped with more futuristic high-tech weaponry, like yourself. The story is presented in a very Tom Clancy-esque way, which to me is awesome. It instantly gets me into the clandestine thriller mood, so well done here!

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[Arma 3 mod] Battle of Norway – Operation Weserübung

I have recently been getting into Arma 3 again, playing the APEX expansion with a friend (impressions coming soon!). While being fun, what truly caught my eye is the amount of single-player/cooperative campaigns out there on STEAM workshop. And one of those campaigns is the World War 2-themed Battle of Norway – Operation Weserübung. It takes place during the invasion of Norway, and you get to play as a German paratrooper equipped (well, at least from the start) with an MP40 and if you are lucky a few stick grenades.

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