Tom Senior: League of nations
Total War: Warhammer 2 is turning the traditional 4X campaign map into a race. Typically the series encourages players to conquer a certain number of territories to win a game, which results in sluggish mid-to-endgame segments as you gradually mop up weaker factions. It can still be a fun power trip, but it doesn’t require any strategic thought. Total War: Warhammer’s factions are instead fighting for control of a big magic vortex. As well as forcing armies into the same playspace, this makes it possible for a weaker force to sneakily claim victory while the others are duking it out. It occurs to me that this is exactly what a Skaven player would do. If only somehow they were in the game…
I’m pleased that The Creative Assembly have gone all-in on the races for Total War: Warhammer 2. Some people could argue that the lizardmen, who ride larger lizards into battle, live on the sillier end of the Warhammer spectrum. Those people would be right, but the setting has always welcomed colourful extremes, and who doesn’t want to command a T-Rex—ahem—Carnosaur, in battle? Chris’ hands-on preview of the game went up earlier, but you should pick up a copy of the latest issue for loads more sweet dino action.
Phil Savage: Win & Yang
I’ve been diving into some of Steam’s lesser known new releases, looking for some gems amid the anime mistakes. Bokida – Heartfelt Reunion is one such gem. It’s a first person adventure about reuniting two planets—one dark, one light—via the activation of monoliths. It’s strangely baggy, full of extraneous systems, but at the core is a striking monochromatic world, some interesting light-touch puzzles, and, best of all, a cool traversal method.
You can jump high into the air, and hold spacebar to glide. You can also build blocks, and use right-click to ‘boost’ towards them. By combining these two systems, you jury-rig a genuinely enjoyable basic flight system, not dissimilar to Just Cause 2’s parachute/grappling hook combo. It doesn’t make a lot of sense in the context of the world, but it does weirdly fit the serene, meditative pace. The story is a letdown—full of vaguely profound Taoist quotes—but Bokida offers a stark and striking world that’s worth experiencing.
[Source”GSmerena”]