A Big Fat Crusader Kings II Review

Crusader Kings 2 is a PC grand strategy game that takes place in medieval Europe from the years 769 to 1453 as of the latest Downloadable Content (more on that later). You have the choice of playing any rank of noble from this time period, the objective being to grow your dynasty and its prestige while surviving a deadly period of history. This is accomplished by warfare, intrigue, and diplomacy.

The game captures the spirt of the time period well, through several game mechanics that help you to understand the Middle Ages. Your character can die at any time from being slain in battle to a sudden case of slow fever or any other common disease from the era. In most games, this would be an annoyance, but the succession mechanic means that death has a meaningful impact on gameplay. You might find that your first son (who you are now playing as a result of your character’s death) is challenged by a younger son for succession rights of your domain. This can turn ruling a peaceful kingdom into a desperate struggle for at any moment.

Considering the game came out in 2012 Crusader Kings II still looks
sleek and elegant

Where Crusader Kings shines the most is in its ability to generate meaningful scenarios no matter what you do in the game. In order to do well in the game you need to keep an eye out for rival characters and kingdoms that covet your land, and build alliances with other dynasties through marriage or mutual need. Certain characters or vassals will even try to betray you for personal gain or simply because they do not like you. Staying in power is a constant battle that requires you to pay attention to what is going on in the world around you.

This being said Crusader Kings 2 is not for everyone playing the game requires a willingness to learn about medieval concepts such as succession laws, and understanding the ranks and relationships of nobility such as dukes, barons, earls, kings and emperors. The game throws vocabulary at the player such as demese, levy, retinue, and de jure which can be difficult for a modern mind to understand. Furthermore it can be difficult to wrap your head around all of the diplomatic, military and intrigue actions you can take in the game. However the game provides tool tips, a decent tutorial, and generally does a good job of explaining what is going on such that a determined player can make sense of the game given enough time.

Crusader Kings II covers a huge amount of land (not pictured here
North Africa, the Middle East and India)

Furthermore I would be remiss if I did not mention the business model of the game, the vanilla version of the game currently sells on steam for $39.99 but if you want all of the downloadable content the complete package goes for $218.46. Most of the DLC adds unnecessary fluff such as character portraits for different nationalities, extra emblems for dynasties and titles, music and unit models, but it also includes DLC’s that will allow you to play as a trade republic, Viking raiders or an ahistorical scenario in which western Europe is invaded by Aztecs to name a few. The game has frequently gone on sale on Steam for as much as 75% off on everything so pick it up while it is on sale and then decide if you want to purchase the extra content.

I have never played a game quite like Crusader Kings 2, it uses a similar mechanics to Paradox’s other grand strategy game, but the inclusion of characters with motivations and goals makes it feel less like you are playing as and against faceless government entities slugging it out, and more like a huge drama out of Game of Thrones or a Shakespeare play. If this game interests you at all I recommend looking into it, as it is excellent example of what video games can to accomplish.

Puzzle Agent: A Review

        Do you like puzzles? If not why the hell are you reading a review of a game called Puzzle Agent? In Puzzle Agent you control FBI agent Nelson Tethers of the puzzle research division, who has been sent to Scoggins, Minnesota to get an eraser factory that supplies the white house back up and running. The unfortunately there is a large overcomplicated lock on the door to the factory, the foreman is missing, and everyone in the town has a unhealthy obsessed with puzzles. It's up to you to discover the secrets of Scoggins, but beware there are malevolent forces trying to stop you. Also did I mention that there are puzzles?
         Game play in puzzle agent is divided into a point and click style locations, and the puzzles. The puzzles in Puzzle Agent are a mixed bag, there are several unique and clever puzzles that are worth playing the game for, but at the same time there are some puzzles that aren't clearly explained, or mentally stimulating.
        For most seasoned gaming veterans nothing quite makes them quake in terror like a point and click inventory puzzle. Fortunately there are none in Puzzle Agent the style of gameplay is used to get agent Tethers to from point A to B, and interact with other characters. This is where the game really shines as the voice acting and cutscenes are great, and really suck the player in.
        The game took be about 4 hours to beat but I didn't complete all of the optional puzzles. If you can get this game on sale is is an easy recommendation to anyone who enjoys and intellectual challenge and is willing to bust out a pencil and paper to solve some of the more difficult puzzles. Even if you are not that good at puzzles the in game hint system will help you through the game. Did you know this game has puzzles?

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MGS V: TPP Review Update. ***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Earlier I posted an in-progress review of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, lauding it as an impeccable triumph of the stealth-action genre and a great final entry to the Metal Gear series. Having now completed the game, I feel as though I should talk about the latter half of the game, and where I thought a serious dip in the development quality occurred - and why.

I will be discussing the plot of the game and revealing details of the locales encountered later on. If you do not wish for these details to be spoiled, please refrain from reading this article until you have finished MGS V.


****SPOILER CONTENT AHEAD

Patches, Updates, and DLC - Thoughts

This week, I'm going to talk about additional content of games, so bear with me and lack of pictures. I'm lumping any changes post-release of a game as "additional content", and have chosen to focus on patches, updates, and DLC and their importance (or lack thereof).

Hehehe.....bear.

3 Games to Make Fun of Your Least Favorite Politicians

3 games to make fun of your least favorite politicians

Ever boot up a game of Organ trail, and load up a wagon with your enemies and intentionally sabotage a trip so that they die off slowly and painfully? Then this list is for you! The wonderful world of video games allow us to play god in ways that are either therapeutic or potentially harmful depending on who you ask. So practice your evil laugh because here are 3 great games to get even with Obama(or whomever you blame for the worlds problems)

1. Fallout games

The fallout games offer a unique opportunity in video games, the one intelligence playthough. By lowering your characters intelligence to 1, you are provided with unique dialogue options that highlight your characters lacking mental faculties. Moreover you can roleplay all kinds of terrible decisions that you think that they would make as you take on the many quests throughout the game.

2. The Sims

But what if simply making fun of the politicians stupidity and poor decision making is not enough for you? What if you prefer to create a bizarre and unethical sociological experiment targeting a specific group? See how long your sim world leaders survive without water or sleep, make them participate in competitions with arbitrary rules, rewarding and punishing individuals as you see fit.



3. X-COM: UFO Defence
The original X-COM is a classic turn based strategy and management game by MicroProse, in which you play an organization tasked with the defense of earth against aliens. Two important factors make this a great game for the purposes of this list, the game lets you name all of your soldiers and the game is notorious for how swiftly and brutally your soldiers die. So assemble your squad of Donald Trump lookalikes, send them to fight off a terror mission, and before you can say alien hunting they will begin being incinerated, melted, zombified, mind controlled, and blasted out of existence.

Papers, Please - Brief Review

Anyone who has ever worked retail, customer service, customs, or any job that requires you to interact with and follow a procedure with dozens of strangers on a daily basis knows the issues that can arise when the urge to help your fellow man conflicts with a need to follow the rules of your job. A few years ago, I played Papers, Please and thoroughly enjoyed it - recently though, after working retail for a bit, I was reminded of how good a game this was.

Papers, Please puts the player in the shoes of a border inspector controlling entrance into the communist state of Arstotzka. Every day, the player is supposed to follow the rules and let in people with valid passports, while keeping up with sets of new rules that reflect the shifting political atmosphere of the game world. One day, because of a terrorist threat, I was instructed to simply bar entry to all people from a certain country. Every correct processing of a person you do (for some odd reason in a communist state) earns you money. Incorrect processings can get you warned, fined, or worse. At the end of the day, you can use your money to keep your family warm and fed, maybe upgrade your workstation if you have extra dough.

I mentioned the retail job I had because Papers, Please makes you feel the pressure of balancing speed, accuracy, and appeals to humanity. The shame I felt at work when I incorrectly processed a return and held up a customer several minutes was similar to the shame I felt when I got lazy with my checks and let a suicide bomber into Arstotzka. Sometimes customers want returns when they don't have any form of proof of purchase or they're barely outside the return policy date. Sometimes people need to flee to Arstotzka without valid paperwork or die. In either case, you're just doing your job.

As far as gameplay goes, border inspection makes for a surprisingly entertaining and challenging experience. Every day, the difficulty slowly mounts as you keep up with changing regulations. You have limited desk space to inspect each person's documents. I was constantly trying to make my methods more efficient, less error-prone. Every new rule meant that I'd make less money unless I improved my speed without compromising accuracy too much. 

The story the game tells is also really interesting, though I won't really say anything about it other than that there are about twenty endings so players should replay Papers, Please to get more than one ending. It is a very thoughtful commentary on many themes: doing what you're told, breaking the rules for another person, stereotyping, fear and paranoia over terrorism, and totalitarian society.

Papers, Please is well worth it at $10. Additionally, it has very low system requirements - I'd only recommend a decent mouse over a touchpad. I highly recommend Papers, Please

Buying Games on Steam

Steam is my go-to client of choice when playing any game on my PC.  I love how games can be purchased, organized, and played off the same client, with very little difficulty.  This week, I'm writing a short article on my thought process of discovering random indie games, or buying recommended games.

The Consuming Shadow, A spoiler free review

The consuming shadow is a project spearheaded entirely by Ben Croshaw, better know by his nickname Yahtzee, creator of the show zero punctuation on The Escapist. Before I begin, I should mention that I have long been a fan of Yahtzee work though I will try to remain as objective as possible.

Apparently Scotland was spared from the shadow

The Consuming Shadow takes place in an alternate version modern England that is under attack by an otherworld being attempting to invade the world within a 60 hour time limit. Your job is find out which of the so called gods is invading, and discover the banishment ritual to prevent the invasion. This requires you to drive to towns claimed by the shadow, and fight all manner of fearsome creatures to find clues that allow you find out which god is invading, and the correct runes to banish it. You then go through a dungeon from one of 5 archetypes (garden, office building, wear house tenement housing, or residential building) completing an objective that will allow you to gather information that will allow you to banish the correct god.

My character needs a better flashlight

The main meat of the game consists of entering dungeons, and fighting Lovecraft inspired monsters. The game punishes you for running from enemies by lowering your sanity, so learning patterns of your enemies is important. Ammo is annoyingly limited (most likely because this game is set in the UK and not the USA) so you will need to rely on pistol wiping the tar out of the fleshy sacks of awfulness you encounter.

But is it scary? The black text on red background and mysterious runes in the background promises several stained undergarments. The answer sort of, the consuming shadow is more unnerving that it is scary. The game has several ways that it messes with it's the player when your characters sanity bar drops low (and it will), effects such as illusionary enemies, causing your character to go invisible, and suddenly swapping options you are choosing from to a "kill yourself" button will occur. This along with the dark tone of the game, creates a sense of dread and uneasiness similar to venturing into a public restroom that is a departure from a standard jump scare riddled horror game.

One click in and there already is a kill yourself button

The main strength of the game is in it's writing everything from the text messages you receive in your car, to the random events, and the description of towns you are about to enter all add to the games atmosphere. There are also journal pages that you can
recover in the dungeons that give some back story to the game and are a gripping read.

The main weakness of the game is in its presentation, while this is, for the most part, a one man project most of the other indy games on the market look much better than The Consuming Shadow. Also, the controls for keyboard and mouse are difficult to get used to, I recommend a controller since the controls are nonrebindable.

If you are looking for a game with a unique experience and are in to Lovecraftian style horror then The Consuming Shadow is for you. Even as someone who doesn't like Horror games I still enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone who finds the concept to be interesting.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain in-progress review

It has been three days since the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. In this time, I have put 22 hours into it and yet have only achieved about 18% completion (and I did a lot of side questing). I still clearly have quite a ways to go towards finishing the game; however, I couldn’t quite contain myself so I will make an exception for MGS V and do a review in-progress. I feel as though I’ve formed enough of an opinion on the game having sampled it for 22 hours.

Though I played through MGS 1 and 4, I admittedly couldn’t stomach the controls and camera system of 2 and 3 (which were a repeat of 1’s, which I barely managed to get through). I am by no means a diehard MGS fan, so I'm hoping my perspective on the series will entice newcomers to try out the games. I will refrain from giving away any plot details of MGS V, save for those mentioned in Ground Zeroes, the prologue to The Phantom Pain (which I highly recommend playing, especially if you feel like you need a taste of what TPP is like before purchasing it for the hefty release price of $59.99.)

For the gameplay, I have nothing but the highest of praise. The Metal Gear series is an icon of tactical stealth games, and The Phantom Pain is Kojima’s crown jewel in the series. Right away, when playing Ground Zeroes, what impressed me most was the way Snake controlled. Very few games nail movement, but in Ground Zeroes Snake’s movements were all believable; they carried weight, and yet were at the same time very responsive and easy to direct. The details in the animations, from the way Snake stands with whichever foot forward that his walking animation ended on, to the way Snake scoots himself forward regardless of stance when you tap the control stick a bit, are truly a sight to behold and a testament to how far animation technology has come since the early days of 3D gaming. A personal favorite touch of mine is the way Snake reacts to the player changing stances from prone to crouch while moving backwards - instead of getting up in the way he faces and then awkwardly turning around, Snake fluidly transitions from prone to crouchwalking using his hands and knees to maintain movement in the direction of input. In The Phantom Pain, there are even small improvements to movement - now there are continuously variable crawl and crouchwalk speeds, and Snake does a neat somersault if you quick dive off of a height instead of landing painfully on his stomach like in Ground Zeroes.

I can't help but drool.

A stealth game gets its challenge and replay value out of its AI - and thankfully TPP’s AI is no slouch. It isn’t amazing and can get a tad predictable after a while, but it is kept fresh by the fact that the AI counters over-reliance on a single tactic by arming itself against that tactic the more it is used - early on, my favored approach was to take out guards by headshotting them with a suppressed weapon if they were in my way. Soon though, a majority of the guards began wearing helmets as word got out of me leaving a wake of porous heads behind me. I then found myself resorting to other methods such as CQC or simply pure stealth.

The game offers a rich and satisfying customization system for your loadout. Almost anything you bring with you can be customized to a certain degree - even the camouflage I took on missions with me I would preselect in order to best match the area I was in (and since camouflage effectiveness is an explicit game mechanic in previous MGS games, I’m pretty sure it still matters in TPP.) You have a set of “buddies” you can bring into missions with you, the first of which is the D-Horse. I thought a horse would only hinder me in a stealth game, but surprisingly I grew to like the horse a lot and developed a lot of gear for it.

My faithful steed, D-Horse.

On top of all this customization comes a level of freedom unheard of in previous MGS games - TPP is open-world. And it suits Metal Gear, so well. You can come in at any angle you want, in whatever style you want, equipped with whatever you want, and at whatever time of the day you want. I’m already thinking of what my next playthrough will be like. I’m thinking I go Mongol warrior style and stay mounted on the D-Horse for as long as possible. The weather system in the game also delivers an appreciable impact on gameplay; rain covers the sound of your footsteps, and sandstorms obscure visibility beyond a very short distance for both player and enemy. Navigating the open world can be a little tedious because of its sheer size, but luckily the game has a fast travel system and also affords you mobility with D-Horse at the very least.

The game does fall short in a few areas. For big MGS fans, the voice of Snake this time around is Kiefer Sutherland instead of David Hayter. Not only does he deliver a much different Snake, Snake also has a lot fewer lines compared to previous entries in the series - it could be an attempt by Kojima to make the player place themselves in Snake’s shoes, but it is a bit jarring considering how much personality Snake previously had. The majority of Snake’s dialogue is contained in a bunch of backstory tapes which the player can listen to at their leisure - however, unlike Bioshock where interruptions to this experience were unlikely, the player can frequently be interrupted while listening to a cassette tape by story dialogue over the radio, and the tape will not pause. The only other major gripe I have with TPP so far is the lack of fluidity between changing locations. I spent a lot of time moving between home base, to the Aerial Command Center, to the field of operations, and much of this time was spent just watching Snake fly in the chopper. An option to skip the inconsequential fly-in portion of some of the missions would be great. You can warp to the ACC while in the field, but you must manually call in a chopper pickup if you are at your home base so that got annoying after a while.

My comrades in arms, at the ready. You almost make the boring chopper ride over here worth it.

Graphically, the game is great. I am not so much amazed by the graphical fidelity (which is great in its own right), but by how well-optimized the game is. A lot of games that look this good would make my rig struggle a bit. TPP runs at near max with no hiccups at all, 60 FPS. It’s refreshing to not have to fiddle with configuring a game’s settings to get optimal performance. It also cooperates pretty well with being alt-tabbed, a definite plus in my book.

Overall, I would be surprised if TPP didn’t go on to be my personal GOTY. I am biased since I love stealth action, but currently it is my favorite game this year (sorry Witcher III - I still love you.) If you’ve got any love for stealth games and can excuse the objectionable business practices of Konami one last time, I highly recommend Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

VVVVVV - A Review

VVVVVV is a non-traditional puzzle platformer with an amazing chiptune soundtrack.  This game focuses on level design more than storytelling, so for those who are looking for a challenging platformer with interesting mechanics, I would recommend checking this game out.

Bioshock - The Mathematics of Collecting ADAM

Bioshock.  One of the greatest games I have ever played.  In honor of its 8th anniversary, I have decided to write an article outside of our normal post date.  We will dive into the numbers of ADAM, everyone's favorite resource of the game.

Volgar the Viking

Everyone knows that vikings are the coolest. Ninjas are a cowardly lot who would never win a fair fight, and pirates are a bunch of scurvy ridden sailors who mutiny at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately the last time I dusted off the old ridiculously huge axe to rape and pillage a local village I received 5-10 years at my local penitentiary. So I must turn to video games to perpetuate my nonexistent viking heritage with Volgarr the Viking.

MOBA Games: Which One is Right for You?

MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games are currently one of the most popular genres of online multiplayer games out there. The MOBA genre, however, is rather famous for its high barrier of entry - MOBAs are not for everyone. Even my own co-author and good friend Jack does not see the value in them at all. That said, with a wealth of options out there for anyone looking to give them a try, I believe there is a MOBA for almost anyone. That does pose the question, though: which MOBA is right for you?

What is a MOBA game?

First it is important to understand just what is common to all MOBA games. A MOBA game is a 5v5 team game where each team, with one character controlled by each player, attempts to destroy the other team’s base to win. Defending each team’s base is a series of structures known as towers or turrets which thwart attempts to simply run up and destroy the base by individual players, and helping each team are spawning waves of minions/creeps that continuously push forward to try and help kill the enemy base. Players can make their character more powerful by killing these small minions/creeps, neutral monsters, or other players to gain experience and level up, as well as gain gold which can be spent on items that help the players achieve victory.

Transistor - A Review

Transistor.  An action RPG story-driven video game with isometric POV.  It is a wonderful game to play with an emotionally gripping story, and strong gameplay elements which allows for a very enjoyable experience while going through the story.  I would recommend this game for those who are looking for a short, but powerful, story experience integrated with twitch reflexes and slow, deliberate gameplay.

Nuclear Throne: Why You Should Play This Game

         I love Nuclear Throne. For the past month I have been playing, showing it off, and raving about it to all of my friends like a priest struck with divine fervor trying to evangelize everyone who will listen. I believe that Vlambeer has done an excellent job with the game and would like more people to check the game out. In that spirit, these are the three main reasons think Nuclear Throne is worth your time:

The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt Review

I never was a huge fan of the first two games of the Witcher series. I could only stomach the first game in a story-focused Let’s Play format, and had mixed feelings about The Witcher II: Assassins of Kings. CD Projekt Red, however, visibly improved in their quality of design and their skill as craftsmen of fantasy worlds between these two games, and with their latest work they show a promising continuation of this trend. The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt is a strong, strong contender for my game of the year, and among story-focused RPGs one of the best I have ever played.

Welcome to our Blog!

Welcome to our blog site.  We are all avid gamers with college degrees who are passionate about video games. Each Wednesday, one of us will write a blog about anything - from game reviews to an article that focuses on just about anything to do with the video games. We hope to share our love of gaming, and thoughts with as many people as we can.

Ori and the Blind Forest - A Review

Ori and the Blind Forest.  When I first saw it revealed at E3 2014, I was immediately hooked.  An atmospheric, story-driven action platformer?  Yes please.

Ori was developed by Moon Studios, an indie game developer, which piqued my interest even more.  I have had a great experience with many indie games, and have played a wide variety of them.  But after playing for about 20 hours over the past 2 days, and maxing all achievements, I can confidently say that this is a game that I would highly recommend playing.

What makes this game so amazing?