Expeditions: Rome – Quick Impressions (& rant)

Another game, another uncertainty, hence the “quick impressions”. This impression so far has lasted me about ten hours with the game, and while certain parts show great potential for Expeditions: Rome, it also has incredibly boring mechanics that are part of the core gameplay. While I loved Logic Artists‘ first game Expeditions: Conquistador, which felt like a true expedition into the unknown, filled with danger and the lure of treasure, Expeditions: Viking fell way short for me. When I played it, it was buggy as hell, and in general, I found the game tedious and uninspired, missing what made their first game so good in the first place. All that barrel-smashing for random loot didn’t feel like the epitome of gameplay.

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Syrian Warfare: Return to Palmyra [DLC]

Welcome back, soldier. It’s time once again to defend the ancient city of Palmyra from the terrorist savages. It won’t be easy. Actually, I’m sure this campaign will be at least double as painful – so make sure the quick save button is ready to see some heavy action. Syrian Warfare: Return to Palmyra is an expansion with five more missions for you to battle out in the Middle East. While it’s still the same old war, you will control a different group of men this time around.

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Syrian Warfare – Terrorist Hunt

After playing Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance, I wanted to try one of their previous games to see if it played any differently and to see if it was any fun. I’m very glad that I did, otherwise Syrian Warfare would have passed me by unnoticed which would have been a great shame. While my quick impressions of their new Terminator game weren’t all that positive (I blame it on mood at the time), Syrian Warfare is an excellent realistic RTS that everyone who likes the genre should play.

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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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Assassin’s Creed Mirage – Arabian Nights

The only reason I got this game was the promise of the franchise going back to its roots. While that remains true to a certain degree, it’s not the long-lost promise land of Grandpa’s old-school Assassin’s Creed gameplay. It’s mostly a mix between the original games in the series, and the RPG take on it that started with Assassins Creed Origin. I mostly blame this half-hearted attempt on the engine itself, since Assassin’s Creed Mirage shares that with Origin, Odyssey, and Valhalla. It looks pretty, there is no denying that, but everything that involves the player, as in parkour and the combat feels very floaty, just like in those titles. It has much less of a “simulation” approach than the former games which leads to the setting feeling less grounded and realistic. More on that down below.

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