Recent reviews by Dr Strangelove

As a big HW franchise fan (HW, Cataclysm, HW2, HW RM, Deserts) I was worried that HW3 would not live up to the exceptional status of the majority of it's fore-bearers in the franchise.

There are a few areas that are annoying - tunnel pathfinding can still be a bit sketchy, some formations vs certain ship types cause issues, and the overall control scheme isn't as sharp as HW1/2.

The campaign is a bit "lets all talk about our feelings as we kill the badguys" - safe to say Imogen is no Karan, but Ruskay is back with the beats, the aesthetic and art style ooze HW vibes, the effects and the ship models/ damage look immense.

But where HW3 really shines is in it's attempt to make the environment more interesting, and more interactive - the derelicts, asteroids, ice sheets, stations and the such now offer different options for unit approach, stealth, and attack.

Space feels less empty, however there is an element of: "let's showcase these new improved mechanics at the expense of the narrative". And what happened to my salvaging, rebuilding and harvesting time at the end of a mission?! I'll tell you when we're moving on command!

So with all of my above ramblings taken into account - I'm giving it a solid enough 7/10, it's not quite got the magic of the originals, or the tension that deserts somehow evoked, but it is worthy to bear the Homeworld title.

Skip to the end: "The only Beaver you will be needing for a long time! - 10/10"

For when Surviving Mars is too martian, and Frostpunk is too depressing, these little Beavers will teach you no end about sustainable forestry, agriculture, irrigation, dams, and maximising your economy before the droughts kick in - and the H20 starts becoming scarce!

A moderate learning curve, nothing savage, and ultimately your little beaveropolis will only be limited by the size of your imagination - couple of early losses to starvation and dehydration rams home the importance of keeping these little geezers alive, also make sure you have at least some concept of how a dam works before you build one and flood your town!

Tree hugging hippie Beavers are a go from the start, the more Industrialist/ Tech Savvy Beavers are unlocked by attaining the relevant hippie faction public satisfaction rating (if i can do it - you certainly can). But if you are stuck other players have some amazing ideas and suggestions in the discussion pages, seek them out for a better understanding of Beaver survival.

Conclusion: Finally something fun!

It's Mass Effect 1,2 & 3 contained within the one launcher, graphically updated, levelling system updated - I have just rounded up all the main party members on the Citadel (ME1) - and thus far it has looked and sounded stunning - cant wait to work through all 3 base games! A no brainer for anyone who enjoyed the original games! But on the remasterdness scale its up there with Homewrold Remastered, C&C Remastered, Mafia Definitive - the upper end of the spectrum!

Rome Remastered for me has been a blast so far (a meagre 6 hours thus far granted), and I know others were perhaps expecting more, or that the new overlay in the campaign map is too clever for its own good, but i don't mind it - it's Rome Total War! Graphically the battles have been brought up to date, but the unit animations still look like the original Rome - clunky! And the units are very "Sticky" when issuing orders, effectively the response time of units is no way near as fluid and instant as in later total war titles, but once you remember how that works it's not a problem. Unit pathfinding is the same as the original Rome - certain terrain features pose problems, i.e bridges, steep elevations etc. But for me it was nice to get back to the old school campaign mechanics - traders, diplomats, spies and assassins, and going back to Roman House colours makes the politics so much easier to comprehend when looking at the minimap etc - my biggest annoyance in Rome 2 was not knowing which general or admiral belonged to which Roman faction! (And yes i know there were probably workshop mods for that and it was me being lazy!) Or maybe I'm a nostalgic old fool - but if you approach with modest expectations it doesn't disappoint!

Remasterdness Level:

(Note: Remasterdness Level is subjective, no refunds, your experience may differ - terms and conditions apply.)

AOE III Definitive [] Mafia Definitive [] Red Faction Re(Mars)tered [X] Homeworld RM []
(Poor Effort) (Not Bad) (Good Effort) (Nailed It!)

Having played the tabletop back in the good old days I was excited by the prospect of getting my Orlock gang back on the go - in a digital fashion. I never played Mordhiem, so my review is not affected by any unconscious bias in that regard, but once you get used to the mechanics of the thing it becomes quite a gripping game - a game that captures the grim atmosphere of the hive city perfectly. Play the campaign first to avoid struggling with the controls, and then fire into creating your own custom gang once you have the basics figured out. No brainer for 40k enthusiasts.

Revised: 11/09/20: There are some bugs! Not been effected by any CTD, but camera got stuck when melee was taking place in confined spaces. And the AI is very hit and miss - scavenger missions work "ok", 3 way battles work "ok", but on stronghold defence missions the AI sits there like a plum and does nothing. There are also some AI pathing / navigational issues on terrain - but still a positive review from me overall, the devs are looking into the AI according to latest statement - if they fix that it will then fulfil it's true potential as Necromunda's digital (heresy i know!) heir!

A thorough effort at bringing the Battletech/ Mech Warrior universe to life. A turn based tactical combat simulator housed in a strategic sandbox; indeed many have commented on the similarities between XCOM and Battletech - and for good reason, although the subject matter is wildly different, the two games share the same conceptual design. Easy enough to jump straight into combat, veterans of any prior Mechwarrior/ Mechcommander game will be at home, but learning the subtleties will take you longer. Customise your mech, salvage fallen foes, manage the company finances, upgrade your dropship/ base, manage mech warrior skills, resolve conflct or unexpected events between team members. It is a wonderfully detailed and immersive experience.

A Virtual Mk48 Torpedo: $3.8 million, A Virtual Blue Whale: $??!, Cold Waters: Priceless!

I digress - whilst shooting whales is undoubtedly ammusing the main aim of the game is to get to grips with the submarines of the Cold War. At first the interface seems a bit busy, but considering the controls for a fairly accurate rendition of a US nuclear attack sub have been streamlined into four simple interface tabs/ screens, i was impressed. The game offers Campaign and Single Missions, but is split between two primary era's 1968, 1984, depending which era sub you pick alters your enemies and tactics needed for victory. 68' is all about close range duels and knife fights in relatively untested technology using mediocre weapons. 84' is definately more of a stand off approach relying on sophisticated torpedo and anti ship missles and ultra quiet sub designs on both sides. Yes you will eat your own stray torps, some crusty soviet diesel sub will come out of nowhere and kill you, you will get disabled and slowly slide beneath crush depth (ugly), the soviet airforce decides to send in the anti submarine torpedo spam, etc etc. But once you do the tutorial to explain the interface, and then have a couple of goes in single missions the basics come quite quick, a solid arcadey/ sub sim lite with a lot of realism and plausability.

Sanctus Reach is great, it's 40k table top on the PC, the art style is pretty much citadel minature simulator, the map design too is meant to look like tabletop fluff! The rules have been condensed somewhat however, but it plays a bit like a slower X Com Enemy Unknown turn based gig. At present Sanctus reach offers Space Wolves V Orks, but in time i should imagine more factions will follow. A no-brainer for 40k enthusiasts and/ or turn based strategy guys.

If you are familiar with Tripwire and preceeding titles such as Red Orchestra 2/ Rising Storm then this should be a no-brainer - more of the same good stuff we know and love. If you have not played any of the older Tripwire games do not let that deter you - essentially they make really good historical FPS games which rely on teamwork, careful movement around the map and a good eye for spotting and shooting the enemy. One shot will tend to kill you; so if you prefer something a bit more casual I would suggest scurrying off back under the CoD/ Battlefield rock from whence you came.

Being a bit of a huge fan of the DoW franchise I approached pre ordering DoW III with some trepidation, after pre loading and playing for the first hour or so that uneasy feeling remained - it was familiar to the old DoW series in many ways but different from my expectations; maybe I, along with everyone else, was expecting CoH2 reskinned to 40k. However what you get is something more along the lines of Epic 40k with DoW3 - it turned out i was getting too attached to my insignificant individual squads of men and not building enough of them! Once I started treating DoW3 more like Supreme Commander unexpected enjoyment occurred, and when you finally figure out the baffling elites menu the game becomes a lot more interesting! Sure there could be more maps, and you know the additional factions will be pouring in on a regular DLC basis, but if you like your 40k then I would still recommend it - ignore the hate train - its just confused people who were expecting CoH2 dressed up as 40k, instead you get something on a larger scale, and once you wrap your tiny mind around the magnitude of the thing it absolutely makes sense.