Tag Archives: Video Games

Endless Legend 2 & the Tidefall mechanic, 9/24/26

Posted on by Henry

Endless Legend 2 is out.

I’m shocked to realize that I haven’t written anything about the Endless games here. I planned to connect my thoughts today to what I’d previously written about Amplitude’s games, only to discover that there was nothing to connect to. I haven’t ever mentioned Amplitude Studios, let alone their interconnected series of Endless games.

It’s time to rectify that. I’m a huge fan of Amplitude’s work.

I freely admit that Amplitude doesn’t always hit home runs. I admire, however, that they consistently take big swings. They also (to my eyes) create some of the prettiest games, offer incredibly informative and accessible and layered UI, and with their Endless games weave all that into a single sci-fantasy setting that neatly legitimizes many of a 4X game’s mechanical abstractions.

Dust is narratively superior to a classic 4X’s generic abstracted “gold.” I will fight you over this.

I haven’t yet played enough of Endless Legend 2 to give you a thorough review. I’ve struggled to find time for a new 4X while juggling childcare. That’s especially true when my laptop can’t run the game and my desktop is in the baby’s bedroom. I played some of the early access versions, but only in bits and pieces. My knowledge is thus both partial and out of date. 

I have however played enough of EL2 and other turn-based 4X games to understand the promise EL2 offers. Amplitude Studios is trying another big experiment. Regardless of how it turns out, I think they’ve once again already improved the genre.

It all comes down to Tidefall.

Continue reading →

Immersion & Worldbuilding in Co-op Video Games

Posted on by Henry

Void Crew, Deep Rock Galactic, and Helldivers 2: three co-op games, three “shooters” (kind of, more on that later), and three games that build on their own self-contained fiction. I’ve played all three. I’ve enjoyed all three. So why do I only admire two of them?

Continue reading →

How has Fallout been my chill-out?

Posted on by Henry

It’s been a minute.

I’ve been packing, clearing out, and moving into a smaller space (plus storage). This is, as ever, revealing. It’s also a tremendously time-hungry pain in the ass.

I’ve had less time for consuming media as a result of all this, but I’ve sometimes watched an episode of Fallout as a way of relaxing in the evenings. And I do mean relaxing. But why is this show about awful stuff not awful?

Continue reading →

Dominions 6: Same Great Taste, More Accessible

Posted on by Henry
Don’t play it for the graphics

I love fantasy strategy games. I’ve played piles of them. That includes most of the Age of Wonders series, Master of Magic (the original and the new version), Warlock, Fallen Enchantress, Heroes of Might and Magic 1 through 5, and more. But Dominions outshines those games in multiple ways.

If you’re already someone who plays the Dominions games, you’ll have heard about Dominions 6 and you’ll (probably) already have it—or you’re waiting for the right moment to buy it. I’m more interested in those of you who haven’t played Dominions.

The last time I wrote at length about a Dominions game was a decade ago (damn), for Dominions 3. I said around then that I feared falling into the game, feared losing myself in its intricacies. That fear was appropriate. But I also wrote about the lure of a game that offered such stories—can my demon monkey kingdom raise enough hordes of undead and bleed the land dry fast enough to destroy the other would-be godly tyrants?—and I was right about that too. Dominions 6 isn’t accessible in the same way that I’d want if I were introducing novices to strategy games, but if you’re willing to dig into this game it will scratch itches that other games could never satisfy.

Check out a game that will let you turn your warriors’ skin to tree bark, throw fireballs, hunt the minds of enemy mages, accelerate time so that the whole world withers and dies, and steal the sun.

Continue reading →

Chasing realism is a trap

Posted on by Henry

Chasing realism is a trap.

This might be true of art in general, but it’s video game graphics that keep reminding me of it. Chasing realism is an expensive luxury. Unless realism is a core part of whatever you’re trying to make, it’s probably not worth fixating on it. That’s because…

Continue reading →

Held at Gunpoint

Posted on by Henry

There’s a lovely new game that came out very recently.  It’s called Gunpoint.  Perhaps you may have heard of it…

Continue reading →

Not a Gun Show; Total War: Shogun 2

Posted on by Henry

With Rome 2 looming on the horizon, it’s time to look back at where the last game left us.  Shogun 2 represented a fairly impressive step forward from the previous games (Empire, Medieval 2), offering a slick new heir to the already prestigious line of Total War games.  All of the buzz about Rome 2 suggests that Creative Assembly is ready to do it again.  But how does Shogun 2 really stand up to the previous Total War games?  What should CA look to keep, and what should be revised or removed?

Continue reading →