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A new lick of paint on an old favourite. None of the mechanics or AI have really changed, which are the things holding it back against new Total War games. Still a good one though and incredible when it was released, I have many fond memories.

I enjoyed my time with this game, but it is grindy, clunky and somewhat subject to RNG. I don't mind any of these things in isolation, but together they mean that I have no incentive to complete the narrative, which is a real shame. I've played Mordheim and several other systems in the same vein on the tabletop, and this captures the same feeling of progression and investment in your characters. This takes far longer to invest into here though I feel. The grind is real, and that combined with the learning curve and sometimes punishing RNG is a real disincentive.

Regretably this game does not seem to be what I'm looking for, the learning curve is fairly steep. I've played a fair few RTS games, so when a game makes it possible to lose the tutorial without egregious error I have cause to question its design.

This is a great little game. The music that started blasting when my first gladiator entered the arena gave me a moment's hesitation, but the moment the blood started flowing I realised just how well it fit the tone of the game. Following the growing legend of your champion and the emotion of their death is something you can really feel. I look forward to the expansions adding more gladiator combat styles, I'd also like to see slightly more variety and options in the management side of things in the mid to late game.

Really struck a chord with me, the lore and setting are amazing and just what I'm looking for. A tough, unforgiving world with meaningful decisions and characters, that if you can persevere and survive in, can create a story of heroes and great deeds. A narrative I really only get in some of my favourite novels with multiple POV characters and a lived in world with background behind every corner. Visually and auditorily really evocative, art style and music is just nailed. The dredge make for fantastic enemies with the hint of humanity behind the monsters you are fighting.

The combat system requires some heavy thinking with health being directly tied to your damage output and a 'you go, I go' system regardless of the amount of combatants, requiring you to be cautious about letting something go on a rampage before you can bring in the correct units to stop it, and in reverse allows a few warriors to go on a burst of heroism and carve through the enemy without being halted. I am looking forward to the next two installments with great anticipation. Last year was Call of Juarez ,this one is hard pressed to top as the most enjoyable game I beat from my backlog this year.

A real hidden gem, I never expected to enjoy this game as much as I did. But the high speed adrenaline rush when you got some upgrades and went to town chaining massive combos was simply unmatched by anything else I played this year. The guns felt really satisfying to use, there was a hint of the arcade style and the pacing was impeccable. I felt like I was in a Western. Outstanding.

Relatively short campaign and simple controls, but a cinematic spectacle. Gorgeous and gratifying to play. I was quite often reminded of the Starz Spartacus series with all the execution combos. Highly recommeneded if you want something low in maintainence and high in satisfaction

I've been an avid fan of the Total War games since the original Rome Total War, and a fan of the Warhammer universe so this is naturally the best Total War game in the series, period. The fantastic thing is, this isn’t just my internal bias because this really is the best Total War game, and it wholeheartedly deserves that title even if you are neither of those things.

The atmosphere, mechanics, faction diversity, replayability, character development are all exceptional. Every race is distinctive and intuitively different in a way that corresponds to their aesthetic. The Dwarves are slow, tough and technologically advanced. The Wood Elves are mobile, fragile and deal heavy damage at range. The Empire are a strong jack of all trades, whilst the Vampires rely on infantry supported by a host of powerful casters and monsters etc. This leads to wonderfully unique battles depending on the factions in play, and gives you a genuine motivation to play the campaign of each faction as each play through will be very different to the last, because many of them have specific win conditions or campaign mechanics to explore as well.

The introduction of heroes, magic and monsters creates an extra dimension to the gameplay on top of the swords, spears, bows, cavalry elements you expect from a Total War game. It’s refreshing, and it gives you all kinds of diverse tactical options to employ. Legendary characters from the lore level up, get new abilities that affect both the campaign and battle maps, obtain magical items and weapons and personality traits. It’s a step back towards the kind of character connections you would have in Rome or Medieval II, you actually care about who your leaders are again, which I felt has been missing from many of the later entries. The battle pacing is also much more to my taste than that Rome II and Attila.

The diplomacy options aren’t fantastic and often limited by predetermined faction relations, but at the same time they play into the atmosphere and lore of the world as well, so I don’t have much of a gripe with them. Siege battles are also somewhat lacking at this point, but the recent introduction of the modding kit and the steam workshop in general is going to rectify this swiftly. Indeed, many of the small gripes (and they are very small in the grand scheme of things) are alleviated in little modifications on the workshop, and enable this game to be the genuine 10/10 game that it is.

If you’ve never bought a Total War game, this is where you should start. If you have, buy this one, it is exceptional.

Stronghold is the game of my childhood. A little niche compared to others out there, but it brought together so many facets of components I enjoyed in other games together (RollerCoaster Tycoon, Caesar III, Age of Empires). It would take until I discovered the Total War series(and I was pretty late on that train) to find a game that surpassed it.The city planning, economic micromanagement, castle building and war making all in one delighful package. It's got some great classic British humour, with some very memorable adversaries in The Rat, The Snake, The Pig and The Wolf, and its amazing just how much playing against each of them corresponded to the impression their heraldry gave. What really sealed the deal for me, and why i kept coming back to this game, was its editor and the community that spawned from it. Extremely powerful and flexible, the sheer amount of incredible content kept me scrawling through dedicated forums for the game for years. It stands the test of time incredibly well, both aesthetically and from a gameplay perspective. If I'd had a steam tracker on it back in the day it would probably be my most played by a considerable margin.

This is a very delayed review, and probably not going to interest anyone, so more for my own ego's sake than anything else. That being said, I'll remain spoiler free if you've wandered across this review somehow and haven't played it (you should, its excellent!). Bioshock Infinite takes us from the submerged, suffocating horror of Rapture to the strident, soaring world of Colombia, high above the clouds. The atmosphere and tone is very different, but atmosphere and tone is still very much present in this world. Bioshock is dragged out of the shadows and put into the light. It works, it's a captivating fantasy world which I really enjoyed with its own hooks, but on some level its not "Bioshock" as I immediately associate it with the claustrophobic, maniacal terrors of Rapture. That's not a bad thing courtesy of its magnificent storytelling. There's a good selection of powers and weapons to choose from with a variety of playstyles to select as you please. Having the DLC made the early game feel a little too forgiving however, as you receive a substantial volume of additional resources. The highest difficulty levels present a decent challenge, you have to be moderately conservative with your ammunition and vigors. At no point did I hit a brick wall in my achievement runs of the story, a test but beatable. There is also a challenge mode over several maps, and this is a challenge! Some of the wave missions are pretty demanding and precise, and if you mess them up, you have to start the entire map again and get back to that wave. Be prepared to invest some time if you get the completionist itch.

The games strongest component is its storytelling. It's exceptional. Unlike the blank canvas of our Rapture denizens, Booker and Elizabeth are defined characters with distinct personalties, behaviours and voices. They interact heavily with the world around them, and most importantly with each other. There was a really poignant moment where I wandered into a room after a firefight, and found a guitar. Elizabeth began singing as Booker strummed. Spontaneous and incredibly touching. I normally skip such pseudo cutscenes if possible, but I found myself just sitting back and listening. That's good storytelling.They tangibly develop as characters over the course of the game, and you feels its earned and justified. Nothing is more rewarding as a player than when you yell YES! or WHAT! while playing, because you've developed a connection to the characters. There are also the classic Bioshock plot twists. Prepare to dive into the rabbit hole in this one, it gets pretty wild with some clever nods. I loved it. The game also possesses the most wonderfully bittersweet ending, which is worthy of a mention in itself. It makes your second playthrough almost as interesting as your first, as you look for the telltale signs of the set up. And oh boy is it a set up.

So the question that rises: is it better than the original Bioshock? Well, in my opinion yes, but for a specific reason. As visceral as the atmosphere and plot twist of Rapture is, the strength of the narration and characterisation in Infinite carries it above it's previous entries, with twists to match those of the first game. It goes on my all time favourites list, and my 100% completion list.

'There's always a lighthouse, a man, a city'