Couch Lounger

Another year brings another broken gaming model. This time it takes the form of a beloved franchise in Star Wars: Battlefront 2.

These days we’re use to games that break out of the box and companies that release tons of garbage that could have been programmers’ weekend projects.

When you pay $60 for a new game from a top company you expect a full gaming experience. You don’t expect Farmville-style up-selling spam. So gamers were rightfully angry when they found out Battlefront 2 would ship with a pay-to-win storefront (game companies are calling this a “mechanic” now).

Paradox Studios has had a busy period, releasing Hearts of Iron IV in June and Stellaris just the month before.  They are both fantastic achievements – two high quality products in close succession.  Stellaris, specifically, represents a new direction for Paradox, which is known for its historically grounded games such as Crusader Kings, Victoria, and Europa Universalis.  This time someone in Paradox must have decided, “let’s make some stuff up and put it in space” – and it’s a good thing they did.

June 6 (D-day!) marked the release of Paradox Studios’ Hearts of Iron 4, the venerable World War II simulator.  I’ve had a long love-hate relationship with this strategy series going back a decade or so.  Love, in that in captures one of the most tumultuous periods of human history and lets you jump in wherever you please – feel like playing as the Dominican Republic?  Sure, go nuts.  Hate, in that, the game’s complexities, though adding strategic depth, make it nightmarish to approach at times.  It is a series not for the casual strategist, but more for the armchair Pattons and Eisenhowers.

Assassin’s Creed is a franchise that has been struggling to justify its own existence of late.  Despite its plethora of available material covering the entire breadth of human history – we have seen the Crusades, the Renaissance, the Golden Age of Piracy, and now, the height of Pax Britannica – the franchise seems at times to be stagnant and lacking originality.  Why is that?

Open world!  Go where you please!

This was the promise of the future.  What we wouldn’t have given back in the days of Donkey Kong Country to have been able to free roam across DK Island with the promise of new levels to be had… new loot (and bonus level barrels, of course).  Back in those days, theera of the 1990s when the video game hobby was really finding its feet and jumping into an obscure late-night tv commercial thing to a generational standard – oh what amazing machines our Super Nintendos and our Segas were – we were fixed on pre-determined path by our video game designer overlords.  Except for the occasional warp pipe, we progressed from level one, to two… to three.

It is no secret that Fallout 3 was one of my favourites.  Fallout: New Vegas appealed to many, and although I enjoyed it, it never quite struct the same resonant chord with me that Fallout 3 did.  However, the success of both made a sequel inevitable…

I took a shot in the dark on ‘Life is Strange’ on Steam – and was very impressed.  It is a five part interactive story set in a sleepy Oregon town, built along the same lines as Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead – however, it tells an original story set in a world that feels very nostalgic.  Definitely worth a go for the low price.

I remember the day, back in the wild times of the mid ’90s, when we were still amazed by Mario Kart 64’s whole eight character roster (Wario, playable?  Wow!).  Back then I’d rush home from the store as fast as the city bus would get me there (not very) – and pop my brand new shiny cartridge into the ’64.  Boom!  New game, product complete, fired up in all its early 64bit 3D glory.  Two years later, that game would be just as was then – awesome.  No patches required.

Do you have what it takes to maintain an empire spanning an entire galaxy? Can you keep track of all the supply lines, fleets of warships, and whimsical populations across hundreds of planets?

Not just for fans of the amazing Galactic Civilizations series, the newest title is for anyone who enjoys epic scale sweeping strategy games.

With a campaign slogan of “A Violent Today for a Better Tomorrow”, anthropomorphic rabbit Bunnylord launches a bid for mayor of London in Not a Hero, available for pre-ordering on Steam.