Tag: Review

Solasta: Crown of the Magister [User Campaign] Morrows Deep – Lizard Revenge

Welcome to another review of Artyoan’s three-part campaign series for Solasta: Crown of the Magister. This time we talk about Morrows Deep, and much like its predecessor it’s a campaign with a heavy focus on combat. However, the writing is much better than in Forsaken Isle, and overall, the story has an improved flow comparably. Locations also make much more of a logical sense in the world – like enemy placements and the environments in general.

Morrows Deep is a 1-15 level campaign, and while the four-man version is the standard way of playing the campaign, I went for the six-man version this time around. In Forsaken Isle, I felt a lack of companions and interesting combat combinations that come with that. So, I thought why not give the six-man version a go? I can’t say I regret my decision. The added party members change the dynamic of the group and make for a much more enjoyable experience. It also allows for experimentation with different classes since you can afford to go outside your personal preference, something the four-man version lacks. You don’t have to worry about balance issues, as Artyoan has designed this version specifically for an increased party. Essentially, engagements have a ton more enemy units trying to claw your eyes out (and probably eat them).

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Solasta: Crown of the Magister [User Campaign] The Forsaken Isle – Wrath of the Gorillas

The Forsaken Isle is a 1-12 level user campaign that you can download from Steam Workshop for Solasta: Crown of the Magister. It’s made by Artyoan and is the first campaign in a series of three, of which two are available. The third one is still being made, as I understand it. This campaign requires that you own the DLC Inner Strength for it to be playable. My overall opinion is that it’s a pretty good campaign, both in the sense of gameplay and story, but its combat is hard as nails. I will go into more detail after we have talked about the story a bit.

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Baldur’s Gate 3 – If Michael Bay made an RPG

It’s time to finally review this mastodon of a game after giving it around 150 hours on one-and-a-half playthroughs. For the most part, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a fine addition to the CRPG genre, and Dungeons & Dragons games overall. However, it’s not without issues, and issues it has aplenty. This rest on more than just gameplay and story, unfortunately, since there is a lot of polarizing content in it that takes the form of the current progressive zeitgeist. Your level of tolerance will affect your enjoyment of Baldur’s Gate 3, unless you are a firm believer, and sees this game as some kind of triumph furthering the cause – like mainstream gaming journalists. More on that later.

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UnMetal – The Army of Mikes

We are back with another action-adventure game by Unepic fran. The last one I played from these guys was Ghost 1.0, which I thought was an excellent metroidvania. UnMetal is this game’s name, and while it manages to stand on its own, it’s a comedy spoof of the Metal Gear games and takes a lot of its content from them. From the sneaking and knocking out guards, to long inane conversations with villains with questionable motives. Not even the main guy is safe, as both mannerisms and visual appearance are very similar to the number one chain smoker Solid Snake. Now copying mechanics like this would be considered a bit weird, however, UnMetal takes the themes and makes one hell of a parody of it—and not only in writing: the gameplay is stand-out too!

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Jagged Alliance 3 – Mercenaries Unite

One of the most abused, but beloved turn-based tactical PC franchises is back with another game. Earlier attempts go from abysmal to somewhat playable but often lacking soul. Through some fantastic luck (and skill?) this time it actually captures the classic feeling and is fun to boot. Jagged Alliance 3 has the essence of what once was, which is a rare instance of something old being updated to modern times and still manages to retain an old-school gaming feeling. It’s not without faults though. For example, the laptop shenanigans from Jagged Alliance 2 have been transferred over, but it has not been fully explored, which makes it feel like a cheap copy of the original. The basics are there, yet, all the fun flair, or at least most of it, is gone. The A.I.M mercenary recruitment page no longer comes off as a normal website either. Luckily other parts have much more effort put into it – like the combat, and story, which in turn makes this a worthwhile sequel to a fabled game.

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