This game was a $5 budget CD when I bought it over a decade ago at CompUSA but I never got around to playing it until now. I have seen it rated on several lists as one of, if not the best strategy game of all time. I can see why it has its reputation. There is a ton of depth in the technology trees and every aspect of the game can be micro-managed to you heart’s delight. The early stages of the game are fun as you explore the planet and set up your first bases. However, gradually the game becomes and overly-complex and tedious exercise in unit management. One might argue that is just the game’s depth showing its hand. Fair enough, but to me it just feels like work.
There’s a point in which every game, no matter your strategy, begins to feel exactly the same. The AI opponents are always saying the same stuff and behaving the same way. There is no real variety in the terrain beyond forest, dirt and fungus. As such there is no need to adapt to a strange alien world or anything like that. The science fiction theme only served to make all the technologies difficult to understand at a glance. Matter Editation, unlike something in an Earth-based civ game, is meaningless to me and tells me nothing of how it could be used to bolster a particular strategy. Not that it matters, because it feels like the game randomly just gives you these tech discoveries.
Again, I can see the appeal. The whole “just one more turn” thing got me for a couple of nights, but lack of variety wore on me. I think I’d be willing to try a more modern Civilization sequel if my mood and the price was right.
I like this soundtrack well enough, but it doesn’t have any of the jazzy or avant-garde elements of my favorite Morricone scores. It feels like a fairly normal sixties soundtrack in the vein of Nelson Riddle. The vocal parts in the main title are fun and keep this from being a total bust. This is part of the Maestro box set.
Another great soundtrack from the Maestro box set. This one is a split between easy listening bossa numbers and avante garde horror jazz soundscapes. The main title features Edda Dell’Orso at her best. The film is one of the more memorable giallos too (I sampled it in my music).
A very mellow, bossa nova tinged soundtrack from a film I’ve never seen. It includes the fantastic “La Moda” which is a jangly, foot-tapping pop number and one of Morricone’s finest moments. This CD was part of the excellent Maestro box set from Dagored.
Another arty walking simulator for the PC. This one is all about the nature of choice and free will within a game world. You play Stanley, an office worker who finds that everyone in his office is gone. The game is dominated by an often funny narration that tries to get you to follow the “correct” path. The whole point here is that every time you think you are subverting the game but straying from the correct path, the narrator explains how your choices don’t matter. Ha ha. ART! A fine exercise but definitely not worth more than a couple of bucks or an hour of your time.
A collection of six lengthy essays on race, history and misconceptions. The “Black Rednecks” essay is probably the most important of the lot. In it Sowell demonstrates that much of what we stereotype as black cultural norms are actually the continuation of Scotch/Irish herder culture. The key to improving their lot in life is replacing this culture with one that embraces learning and puts aside the misguided tropes of honor culture. The rest of the book is similarly insightful and provocative in it’s subject matter: racist attitudes towards middleman minorities, the worldwide roots of slavery, education of blacks in America, etc. Filled with examples and statistics, and the general theme here is that institutionalized racism isn’t the primary thing holding back minorities.
It’s been a little while since I’ve played a current generation FPS, so maybe I just impressed with the slickness of it all, but I enjoyed this one. The New Order, unlike the 90’s Wolfenstein, is very story focused. The premise here is that Blaskowitz got konked on the head, woke up a decade later, and found out the Nazis had won World War II. So, first things first, get a gun, join the resistance and shoot everything that moves.
The action is paced so that you aren’t blasting everything Serious Sam style. There are stealth tactics and lots of hidden extras to be found through exploration. A big part of the game is the new welder gun thingy. You can use it to cut through metal fences, chains and crates. This adds to the exploration but it’s not that impressive as a weapon or new game play mechanic. I usually stuck with the standard machine guns, shotguns and silent strikes. All the weapons can be dual wielded and there are bonuses for pulling off specific types of kills.
As I said before, there is a big emphasis on story here. The situations are pretty ridiculous and over the top. However, there is a seriousness to many of the character interactions that just seemed out of place. This included a couple of embarrassing “love” scenes and a side story about a Jimi Hendrix wannabe who won’t fight because Americans are just as bad as the Nazis or something inane like that. In the very first level you are given a binary choice which doesn’t really affect the story path much, but it does set up Death’s Head as a great villain.
Witcher 2 takes what was a sprawling and somewhat unfocused RPG and refines almost everything to create an excellent role playing experience. They have kept many of the best elements from the first game such as its action oriented combat, limited gear choices, and adult tone. On top of that they added a much refined leveling-up system, better crafting/potion creation, and loads of interface tweaks.
The real improvement here is the cohesive story and characters. The game gives you a big mission right from the get go—capture the assassin and prove your innocence—and it keeps that focus even through the multitude of side quests and distractions. The narrative is filled with distinct and interesting characters, many of which are returning from first game. Most importantly, there are points within the game in which your choices matter and shape the tone of the experience. Things do get a little deep in the political weeds near the end of the second act, but the epilogue does a good job at explaining everything and tying it all together.
Once again Geralt can have his way with the ladies and it still feels corny, but at least you aren’t collecting victory cards for each person you bed ([un]fortunately, the GOG version comes with a “Triss Playboy Session” to re-sleazify the whole affair). I am now tempted to dive into the third game, but hearing people say, “I have already put 1200 hours into this game!” doesn’t bode well for my already minuscule social life.
This is a strange Gordon Liu movie in which he wants to avenge the friends who died at the hand of The White Lotus. He keeps having fights with the old guy and losing. Each time he learns a new technique and gets closer, but it isn’t until he incorporates his sewing skills that he ever has a chance. The film was goofy (but not really funny per se), and has some good fight sequences and sharp visuals.
A compilation of humorous essays by eighteen conservative authors in which each tackles the merits and faults or various virtues. Overall it was a pretty good collection that doesn’t get terribly political or partisan. However, it doesn’t quite rise to the “Funny as Hell” tagline on the cover. Of the eighteen, my favorites were from Rob Long, Jonah Goldberg, Dave Burge and James Lileks (Sadly, I think P.J. O’Rouke has lost some of his edge these days).
