Recent reviews by ScotchYeti

Excellent Visual Novel with lots of twists and a huge finale. Although I don't understand Japanese I loved the voice acting, it makes the atmosphere so much better. Music is great, using variations of classical pieces was a creative idea and it works out very well. The DLC18+ isn't necessary, it's "the usual" stuff and gets boring quickly.

Highly recommended, it's my #2 VN right behind Steins;gate.

A quick note on the meaning of "Erlkönig" or "maou". The German word doesn't refer to the "devil" or Satan while in Japanese it clearly does. The translator of Goethe's poem took some freedom and obviously he hit a nerve.

Loved the graphics and music and was looking forward to the story. After 2-3 hours however it became very tiring. Too much reflection and too many inner monologues slowed the pace down tremendously. Not for me.

Should have listened to the other reviewers - once you start it's hard to stop! It's a game full of decisions and there is a large variety because of the different characters with their own unique subset of cards and the different relics that you can earn or buy. It will take a loooong time until the game mechanic grows old.

I played "Drive on Moscow" first and didn't plan to get BoB, but I am glad I did. The rules are roughly the same. The map is different of course and the scenarios have a different feeling too. I like it that you first attack and then defend (or vice versa) and the game itself plays faster than Moscow. The AI is not particularely strong and once you have "solved" the game it won't pose much of a problem.

The RNG is hillarious. When you try for 3 rounds to win with 9 vs 2 pupils to break the supply chain, or if a 10 vs 1 attack just forces the enemy to retreat, well, this is frustrating. In "Moscow" you take your time for manoeuvering and single bad combat results can be looked over, but here - where decisions have more weight - it's an annoyance. Not enough to spoil the game but a close edge.

If you like this kind of game then don't hesitate and buy it now or when it's on sale. You can easily get 10-20 hours of fun out of it and it's different enough from "Moscow" to justify owning both.

"Star Traders" can indeed simulate the life of a star trader. At times I felt like a famous smuggler: run missions, greet other smuggler with the "dubious handshake", militars get a "stiff salute", my charisma helped with political missions, new contacts wait everywhere and in parallel trade goods are transported between the worlds for extra cash. Nice.

After some hours it can become a bit boring though. You earn enough money so what I did was to re-fit my ship and play more as a pirate. The background story also tries to higher the stakes but ultimately something is missing - it's probably the fact that the life as a star trader HAS boring times. Period. When this happens just leave it for a while and return when you are ready. Or try a new crew.

6 / 10 stars

"Drive on Moscow" is not your usual wargame. It's better to call it a puzzle game in a World War II scenario. The rules are simple: you can activate one field on the map and use the 1-3 units for attacking or you move them around. Then it's the opponent's turn unless it's a special round where someone gets extra turns. The number of turns per round is not fixed, which adds to the tension. You win by having a certain amount of victory points or, when you play the Axis, also by conquering Moscow. The weather plays a big role and strategy-wise you have to ensure that the enemy doesn't cut your supply lines.

In the beginning it can be tough to figure out how to beat the computer. You will have an easier time when you play the full campaign, otherwise the short time limits can make it difficult to break through in time to acquire enough victory points.

One thing people will probably hate is the randomness of individual fights. A single unit can survive against 9 others while at other times the computer easily breaks through your 6 units in a forest. When you learn to live with this chaotic element then you will see that it adds to the experience and tension. No victory is guaranteed and lesson number one is: fights are not your friend.

Beating the AI first seems impossible but then becomes easy. A terrible weakness is that it doesn't deal properly with multiple attacks at the beginning of some rounds. If you leave your unit stranded without supply and THEN during such a phase reconnect your unit, you will be able to enter an abandoned Moscow.

I definitely got my money's worth out of the game. It's fast and you can try different strategies. The randomness adds to the replayability.

Unheimlich komplexes Spiel, als Anfänger wird man förmlich erschlagen, aber dafür bekommt man eine Simulation die seines Gleichen sucht und das Strategenherz höher schlagen lässt. Es gibt sehr viele Möglichkeiten um seine Nation wachsen zu lassen, und die historisch nachempfundene Missionen und Ereignisse sorgen für das gewisse Etwas. Oder man schreibt die Geschichte neu und lässt Europa ganz anders aussehen.

Einziger Nachteil: ein Spiel dauert sehr lange.

Ich hatte früher FX2 auf der PS3 gespielt. Hatte Spaß gemacht, aber Pinball Arcade war einfach besser. Jetzt ist es genau anders herum. Die Community Features sind super motivierend und mit den Williams Packs besitzt Pinball FX3 die realistischste Flipperphysik aller Spiele. Dabei mindert die "Rewind" Funktion den Frust, denn zum Teil geht der Ball schneller verloren als man gucken kann. Wenn man einmal die neuen Tische gespielt hat, kann man nicht mehr zu Pinball Arcade zurück.

Kein ernsthafter Flipperfan kommt an FX3 vorbei. Außerdem sind die Tische oft genug im Angebot, so dass man seine Sammlung langsam vervollständigen kann.

Tl;dr: Recommended for fans of ARPGs, many options to customize your build, great game mechanics.
NOT recommended if you look for deeper immersion. Game will become repetitive after a while.
Price is okay for 20+ hours of entertainment.
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I have a love-hate relationship. The game is huge with many options to build your character. You have the usual set of attributes and resistances, a choice between different classes and on top of that the "devotion" tree for which you have to find shrines. You can also customize your weapons and armor with special materials, the options are endless.

Unfortunately you will slay your way through masses of monsters with ease at normal difficulty. There is a lot of variety, but only the bosses might pose a problem, or if you have forgotten to invest in aether/fire resistance. I am reluctant to increase the difficulty because then the campaign will probably take forever as the maps are HUGE if you try to explore every corner.

After ~20h I started to feel bored. Something is missing, something that makes you say WOW or surprises you like "Lord of the Ring: War in the North" (which is much simpler, but I liked the atmosphere and the story). In Grim Dawn the story is ok for an ARPG, the focus is clearly on the game mechanics. Also, am I missing something or why do the shops never have great stuff? I get better loot from monsters and chests and only ONCE purchased something.

I guess I will come back to the game now and then just to finish it or to waste an hour or two.

A bitter sweet story with wonderful characters that show deep, realistic emotions. eden* avoids any cliches and while there are some pacing issues in the middle of the novel I mostly enjoyed the ride. Art and music are beautiful and the whole story makes sense (unlike "Planetarian", which uses its elements just for the drama).

eden* makes me want to learn Japanese - and who knows, maybe one day I will start.