Apparently today is the day for lists. We got the monthly play-list,
we had the Amazon Prime games, and now we have the HumbleChoice games
too. Why couldn't all these have been spread out a bit more?

Oh well. This month on HumbleChoice, you can get: https://www.humblebundle.com/membership

- Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning - Fate Edition
- Hell Let Loose: Assault on Hill 400
- Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice
- Roboquest
- Eldest Souls
- Unmetal
- Raji: An Ancient Epic
- Morbid: The Seven Acolytes
- Ghost Song

"Kingdoms of Amular" is the big-name title of the month. This fantasy
RPG is strangely revered by some. I remember trying to play it and
getting bored with the game before I finished the tutorial section.
Still, even at the time I knew I hadn't /really/ given the game a good
shake, and apparently the 'Re-Reckoning" fixes alot of the bugs and
mechanics (in addition to updating its visuals) so maybe I should give
it another chance.

"Hell Let Loose" is one of those rare games I've never even heard of.
Not that will stop me from having an opinion on the subject. It's a
WW2 FPS, apparently, with an "RTS meta game" and "maps modeled on real reconnaissance images". It /seems/ to be online only though, and while
reviews are generally positive, they also admit it doesn't really do
anything too novel for the genre. It sounds like an updated take on
"Day of Defeat", which isn't a bad thing by itself, but not something
I can get too excited about.

"Aiko's Choice" is the stand-alone expansion to the original "Shadow
Tactics: Blade of the Shogun", and like its predecessor is basically "Commandos" but with ninjas. The expansion is as well-reviewed as the
first game, and while top-down stealth games aren't particularly my
'thing', they are still fun and I'm glad to have another well-made
example of the genre in my library.

The rest of the games are less exciting. "Roboquest" is a cartoony FPS
(and in Early Access to boot) with survival elements. "Eldest Souls"
is a top-down hack-n-slash with zero originality. "Unmetal" seems to
be a retro-clone of the original "Metal Gear" game with sophomoric
humor. "Raji: An Ancient Epic" is an isometric action-adventure game,
and yet another example of an Indie game where the protagonist is a
young child murdered repeatedly. ;-) And "Morbid: The Seven Acolytes"
seems a retrofied cross between "Castlevania" and "Diablo". None of
them are bad games - they all have fairly decent reviews - but neither
are they particularly exciting.

"Ghost Song" (not actually available until 3 November) is a '2D
atmospheric adventure" and has retro-style but beyond that, I've no
idea.

All in all, not the best selection of games but not the worst either.
"Amalur" and "Aiko's Choice" alone are worth the entry fee; the rest
are just bonus as far as I'm concerned.

But decide for yourself. Like I said, these games aren't free (it's
$12 USD for the bunch) but they're cheap enough that they won't bite
too deeply into your wallet. You have until December to decide if
they're worth the price to you.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 01/11/2022 23:12, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

"Aiko's Choice" is the stand-alone expansion to the original "Shadow
Tactics: Blade of the Shogun", and like its predecessor is basically "Commandos" but with ninjas. The expansion is as well-reviewed as the
first game, and while top-down stealth games aren't particularly my
'thing', they are still fun and I'm glad to have another well-made
example of the genre in my library.

It's definitely a good game although the emphasis is far more on stealth
than Commandos or at least that's my understanding. It actually plays a
bit like a puzzle game of how do you slowly unlock the vision cones of
the enemy even though there still are multiple ways to tackle each map.

One word of warning though, if you haven't played the original then it's probably going to feel as though you've been chucked in at the deep end
as it very quickly ramps up the difficulty.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wed, 2 Nov 2022 08:57:58 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

On 01/11/2022 23:12, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

"Aiko's Choice" is the stand-alone expansion to the original "Shadow
Tactics: Blade of the Shogun", and like its predecessor is basically
"Commandos" but with ninjas.

It's definitely a good game although the emphasis is far more on stealth
than Commandos or at least that's my understanding. It actually plays a
bit like a puzzle game of how do you slowly unlock the vision cones of
the enemy even though there still are multiple ways to tackle each map.

I've never entirely warmed up to top-down stealth games. The original "Commandos" was an interesting game, but its awful control scheme cast
a long shadow (at least for me) over the entire genre. Even though
newer games have greatly improved the genre in that regard, I still
can't help but flashback to the original. They're the sort of game I
can appreciate more for their technical merits than out of any
enjoyment playing them. Partly because increasingly I've become less
enthralled with the top-down viewpoint, and partly because I often
lack the patience to wait for a guard to wander far enough away to
make the necessary dash. They're just too puzzle-like for the games to
work their magic on me.

They're good games, but I'm not really suited to playing them. I want
my explosions. I play them, but they are never my first-choice when
picking what to play next ;-)

One word of warning though, if you haven't played the original then it's >probably going to feel as though you've been chucked in at the deep end
as it very quickly ramps up the difficulty.

Thanks for the warning.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Side note: If you got the November Choice games, "Ghost Song" is now
available via the HumbleApp. It's a sci-fi/horror-themed
Metroidvania-styled action/platformer with retro-inspired graphics. It
doesn't look too bad, and I might give it a try myself.

So if you paid the $12USD for the other games, don't forget to grab
this one.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)