Recent reviews by camelotcrusade

I've been trying both JRPGs and old-school RPGs one after another, and finally I've found one that ticks all the boxes without being obnoxious. I like RPGs to be a challenge--but not to punish the player--and I like having rich character art and meaningful character development. I also like a grind I can sink my teeth into. SoS has all of that and more.

The story is light but interesting, the combat similar, and the pacing good. Just when things feel slow or unispiring, you can go to another dungeon or try a class change to spice things up. The availability of mini-bosses in every dungeon (called Lineages), of varying difficulty and challenge, also keeps things interesting and gives you short-term goals and challenges to pursue.

I haven't finished it yet, but after sinking in 50+ hours, taking my time and enjoying things, I can fully recommend this game. I'm not going to say it's perfect, but compared to some of the slogs masquerading as RPGs out there, this one gets a thumbs up from me.

I haven't played any games in this series before so this is my first time with the author's work. I have to say I'm having a great time! I was a little worried the game would be of the "too dumb to enjoy" variety but that's not the case. It's a charming, funny game and it's backed up by an enjoyable combat and gearing system. Best 3 salebucks I've spent in a while!

Plug in your headphones, turn on the full-screen and let the world of Solstice sweep you away! The characters are compelling and vibrant, the music that accompanies them evocative, and the art and backgrounds a pleasure to view. Add to that a driving story with excellent pacing and you have Solstice--a truly wonderful way to spend an evening (or several, if you go after alternate routes).

I especially liked that so many characters brought something new and interesting to the game; there were few bit players and it's truly a visual novel that respects your time and rewards your investment. I also enjoyed the story device of switching between main characters and their points of view, a nifty trick that keeps you from learning too much, too fast.

Finally, the romance options were satisfying. They were optional and I managed to find one M/M and one F/M in my first playthrough. Anyway, though I prefer them to be a bit deeper I was pleased with the role of romance in the story. Plus, that guard captain... <3

Editing to add that I'm nominating it for a steam award, and that since I wrote this review I've gifted the game to a few friends and shown it to others--and all of them enjoyed it. The music is great, too (cheers to Rob Westwood).

I had fun with Darkest Dungeon and enjoyed its atmosphere, art and character design immensely. I found the first part of the game to be harder than I prefer but nonetheless there was enough pull there to keep me going 20+ hours. I was proud of the scrappy team I had put together and that I had found strategies that worked... and sad about those who fell on my path to greatness (especially poor Tibault, he was awesome). I got about 20 hours of fun out of that and so I recommend this game.

Sadly, after that it came to a halt. In many games with a brutal beginning you catch a break if you can claw yourself up to the midgame. In DD, it became even more difficult rather than a ray of hope. I couldn't use my veterans to farm lower dungeons and the level-appropriate content required more than I could afford. I wasn't too keen on grinding a bunch of lowbies to fund them in the meantime (I wanted to play my cool guys!) so I've put down DD for another run when I'm willing to start over.

Perhaps the Devs will add an option to open lower level content to higher level heroes. There are a number of difficulty tweaks already in the game and that setting is one I'd like to try, if nothing else to salvage a game like the one I started.

I can't speak to this game's merits as a challenging 4x, but I can tell you that I just finished a long beginner game and I had a great deal of fun. I played and enjoyed Fallen Enchantress, but unlike that game Sorcerer King kept me going until the end. I really like the adventuring and army tweaking aspects, and this game had it in spades. Town development was present but never felt annoying to me, and though I had hundreds of tactical combats I enjoyed each and every one of them. There was plenty of variety in map locations and combats, and it was easy for me to both recruit and acclimate new units as well as carry tried and true "lowbie" starter units to the end through patient leveling, gear, and lots of enchanting. Recommended in its current state for casual 4x fans... see other reviews for how it holds up to more challenging play.

As for bugs, as of the last patch in December 2015 I only encountered a handful, none of which stopped my fun and which I expect will be fixed as they put the final polishes and touchups on the game.

I really wanted to like this game, and initially, I did. I liked the atmosphere it created, especially in the first town (ooh, dark and edgy) and creating my character was interesting and full of possibilities. But one thing brought it all down for me: Combat. I look forward to combat in RPGs and in this game I did not like it at all. Once the honeymoon of the campaign setting wore off, I kept playing, hoping the sum of its parts would overcome my distaste for the combat. Sadly, this did not happen for me.

Despite how I carefully crafted my characters and selected their spells & abilities, I was not at liberty to use them in everyday encounters... which is where I spent most of my combat time (lots of small encounters). So I ended up basic attacking (which is boring) through every fight I could, being afraid to expend "real" power. I had a lot of trouble positioning my attacks and abilities. It made me yearn for proper turn-based combat. I would carefully indicate what I wanted to happen, but once I unpaused the game my attacks would fire in the wrong place or not as quickly as I had hoped. The result is that many of my useful abilities "on paper" were not easy to use at all.

Nevertheless, I liked the music, the story was moderately compelling, and the NPCs were interesting enough... so I pressed on until I had liberated my stronghold, thinking finally, this will tip the balance: I love having a base I get to improve. And yet, it was not enough. I still needed to do a lot of combat to make progress, and through clearing the rest of my stronghold I realized I couldn't take the combat anymore. It's too imprecise compared to true turn-based combat, and rationing my neat abilities may have added to the challenge but it took away what fun was left for me. If I could have turned on a mode to allow resting and remove resource management, I might have kept playing for the story and the characters (basically trivializing combat, but hey, I didn’t' like it anyway, may as well go for broke).

That said, I hope you enjoy the game if you buy it. It has a lot to like, and just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it's not for you. Unfortunately for me, combat is my thing, and this type of combat is not. :)

PS - Why did I have to stealth my entire party to search a room? I felt like an idiot stealthing in front of people so I could "search" their room. I think search and stealth should be separate actions. That was my only nitpick worth mentioning, though, which is a good thing.

Edit: Typos fixed.
Edit 2: Well what do you know, it's not just me. ;)
http://www.pcgamer.com/why-i-hate-pausable-real-time-rpg-combat

I hear this is a great game for discerning fans of city sims. That may be, but all I can say is that it's also a great game for casual players, too. I don't play games like this for the challenge; I play for the city porn. That means I get great satisfaction out of attractive city blocks, creative neighborhoods, and tidy traffic flows. In Cities: Skylines I can indulge in that from the beginning, effortlessly enabling the mods I want for the experience I want. I also have to say this game is remarkably stable: I hasn't crashed on me once, and that's with the addition of dozens of workshop mods, some of which I installed in the middle of a savegame.

This review is for co-op mode. Divinity: Original sin is a dream come true for fans of RPGs and Tactical Combat games. All of the key elements are there: interesting tactical choices, good character building, lots of party synergy and tactics, challenging fights and a decent RPG/fantasy backdrop (complete with good music, environment, characters, the works).

I especially like the elemental interplay, allowing you to do things like set an enemy on fire, coat him in acid - which then ignites again - creating a poision cloud, which poisons him, but if he's still burning, it explodes... bwa ha ha. Truly you can devise fiendish ways for your foes to perish. They can also be used against you, so be wary.

Co-op mode also has an entertaining way of letting you make choices, pitting you against each other in a game of paper-rock-scissors when you disagree. Over all it's an excellent way to get some fun RPG action with a friend or spouse.

After putting 80+ hours into this game with two ongoing playthroughs I definitely recommend Might and Magic X: Legacy. At first I was slow to succumb to its charms. I felt the controls and immersion were a little clumsy, the voices and sound effects cheesy at best, and the visuals less than stellar. When I got to the heart of the game, however, all of those things faded to the background and I found a lot to enjoy in the party building, monster smashing, and exploration. I encourage newcomers to begin with an open mind and to be prepared to invest some solid time with a trial party to get acquainted with the mechanics and to learn what works well and what doesn't. Then once you have a vision and some goals it makes the challenges in front of you - and your progress - much more rewarding and motivating.

I'm enjoying mysecond playthrough even more, this time using my knowledge of trainer and gear availability, what works best in combat and what doesn't, and an understanding of the pacing of the game to make a challenging party that beats the odds. What's more, the game is deliberately set up to prevent you from trying all of the skills and classes in one go. At first this frustrated me; now I appreciate the built-in replay. A tip on that note: Don't try to do it all, do just a few things really well, and then try a different mix in another playthrough.

KAG is my favorite RTS. I've been playing it since it came out in 2001 and only recently downloaded the Steam version to connect with friends who had lost their CDs (I have one signed by the devs... I know, I'm a KAG geek).

It has some of the most dynamic AI and gameplay of its day, and games never feel old to me no matter how many times I play them. I really enjoy the company dynamics, the presence of techs, and the way you can create your own units, maps, and AIs to customize the game to your taste (look up KMod if you're interested). In fact, my partner and I have created 7 epic campaigns that we play all the time, each featuring different Kohan and types of challenges. Tinkering with AIs is also great fun (look for The Awakening fan site to download tons).

Anyway, I recommend KAG if you like retro games and want to try something different. Have fun!