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Majesty 2 Review

September 15th, 2009 · 8 Comments · Crispy Gamer, Review

Now up at Crispy Gamer. I like Majesty 2, but I can’t really recommend it unequivocally to any audience. There is a difference between frustration because you are still mastering a system and frustration because your puny units keep dying stupid deaths. This game is the latter, and that – with the repetitiveness – is […]

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Pacing the RTS Campaign in Majesty 2

September 15th, 2009 · 3 Comments · Design, RTS

I’m putting my final touches on my Majesty 2 review now that the review embargo has been lifted. I’ll have more to say on the final evaluation of it once that review goes live. I am struck by how Majesty 2 paces the campaign. This is a real time strategy game that is all about […]

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Operation Babarossa Released

September 10th, 2009 · 10 Comments · Matrix, Wargames, WW2

Yet another war game I don’t have time for. Operation Barbarossa: The Struggle For Russia is probably as uncreative a name as you can imagine, but how many options are there? I like the range of campaigns, scenarios and tutorials they promise – including a tutorial specifically on the use of paratroops, something that is […]

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Three Moves Ahead Episode 29 – Getting Started

September 8th, 2009 · 21 Comments · Podcast, Three Moves Ahead

This week, a full panel deals with the question of getting started in strategy gaming. Should people approach the genre from first principles (The Murdoch Method) or through a topic they are interested in (The Goodfellow Approach)? How important is the visual immersion compared to the mechanics? Bonus: Everyone is called an idiot by someone […]

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Seven Questions

September 3rd, 2009 · 8 Comments · Me, Podcast

Why seven? Who knows. It’s one of those magic things, I guess. But the latest Gamers With Jobs conference call had a discussion about what seven questions gamers consider when they decide whether or not to keep playing a game. You have to skip past the as-usual interminable but part-of-deal talk about what everyone is […]

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Three Moves Ahead Episode 28 – We’re on a boat

September 1st, 2009 · 8 Comments · Podcast, Three Moves Ahead, Wargames

The smallest podcast ever! Scheduling confusion means that just Tom and Troy are on hand to talk about naval tactics in strategy games. High on nostalgia, low on insight and yet another plug for Crown of Glory: Emperor’s Edition‘s tactical naval engine. You do get a moment where Tom fancies himself to be Da Vinci. […]

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