The Guild – Europa 1410 [Trailer]

I’m a bit late for this one, but I felt I had to make a post about it. You see, The Guild II is one of my favorite management games from the past. It’s janky, a tad buggy, but incredibly charming. Especially in multiplayer where I spent many hours with my sis—to become the top-dog businessman of whatever city we ran at the time. It’s a sandbox combined with an economy simulation, creating the ultimate medieval dynasty game. It has a lot of subtle trolling included in the gameplay to make it a hilarious experience—that might as well backfire on the instigator, to throw the victim into prison.

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Arma Reforger: Operation Omega – Back to 1989, baby! [Review]

Finally, Bohemia Interactive decided to release something for us single-player addicts—in the form of a mini-campaign doing commando stuff behind enemy lines. This, naturally, caught my attention, since so far the multiplayer-focused Arma Reforger has not interested me much—beyond a vague curiosity in testing the new and supposed improved engine, that is. So, was it worth the purchase? Read and find out!

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NORSE: Oath of Blood – Demo Impressions

NORSE: Oath of Blood I have followed for a while, so this demo didn’t take me by surprise like Of Ash and Steel. However, the demo by itself is a surprise in how entertaining it felt, especially going by the atmosphere, writing, and the satisfying turn-based combat. A prerequisite is that you must like Vikings, as the setting is supposed to be as authentic as possible to them, according to the developers. No monsters, dragons, or zombies this time around, yet murderous slavers, and lunatic forest hermits can be unsettling enough!

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Airborne Rangers – Devlog 2 [AI, ragdolls & destruction]

I made a post about Airborne Rangers back in April this year. It presented the initial announcement trailer that looked very promising. Especially if you are into military simulations like Arma 3, with co-op as the core. Now, the developer team BlowPunch Gameworks has released a devlog in video format that showcases some truly cool stuff. We get an impressive ragdoll/gore system, detailed destructible environments and an AI that actually uses tactics, and looks challenging to defeat.

And with that, my hype has doubled. Could this be the first realistic tactic game in ages – a spiritual sequel to Men of War that will be good? The future will tell, of course, but I will allow myself to feel a little hype. Check out the video for yourself after the jump!

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Kingdom Come 2 – Boring Beginnings

I decided to give Kingdom Come 2 a go, since I liked certain parts of the first outing. Specifically, the sandbox nature of the game that reminded me of such classics like Gothic & Risen. What I didn’t enjoy that much, like many of Vavra’s (the game director) games, is the cinematic approach to storytelling. You are constantly being railroaded, with long segments of endless cutscenes with varying quality of dialogue. You might think you are given a choice, but narratively, the story and the protagonist (Henry) is set in stone. For example, going on a full murder spree on some poor village folk, has a clear disconnect from the narrative. Henry, as he is realized in the first game, is a good boy, and wouldn’t do these things. Kingdom Come is not my favorite game or anything, but it was okay for one playthrough thanks to the unique setting, which the sequel now no longer can lean on.

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