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| Vroom, vroom vroom! |
The following post is part of a series of posts that are published every Wednesday to update readers on what I've been playing during the week (this also includes games on my "Pile of Shame"). The games to target are picked by Choicest Games contributors Choona, Luke and myself. As I'll be talking about my progress through these games, there may be spoilers ahead, especially for games containing a narrative. Consider yourself warned.
Escape from Monkey Island
- Picked by Me
- Percentage Complete = 25%
My daughter wanted to play this game with me again. I had to use the Universal Hint System (UHS) a second time to get a hint on what to do in terms of the Lua Bar and although we were on the right track in terms of sabotage there was one extra step missing in the plan. Guybrush is now on Jambalaya Island which is interesting to analyse as an adult since there are a lot of parallels here between the commodifying of Hawaiian culture as a tourist attraction and what happens to the pirates in this game. Obviously, it's not brutal like what happened in real life in Hawaii (this is a comedy pirate adventure after all) but sometimes subtly exploring these concepts in other genres such as sci-fi or indeed comedy can help open minds on the injustices in the world.
Battlefield 2042
- Picked by Me
- Percentage Complete = 100%
I've been continuing to unlock stuff in Battlefield 2042. The game can still be buggy at times but generally having fun. In fact, recently I was having issues with Origin in that I couldn't login until I refreshed my system clock beforehand. It was a pain in the backside and eventually I decided to reinstall Origin, only to find they have changed the app to the "EA App". Anyway, I'm relieved the installation process was seamless and it remembered where everything was. Steam player numbers for the game are still hovering around the 13,000 mark and it's currently just scraping in the top 100 games being played on Steam (although Battlefield V and Battlefield 1 are still more popular).
Rebel Galaxy Outlaw
- Picked by Me
- Percentage Complete = 5%
I got two games during the Steam sale. One of them was Rebel Galaxy Outlaw since I felt in the mood for a space combat sim and what I got, isn't quite what I expected, and I'm not quite sure what to think of it. Once you're locked onto a target in this game you can hold the right mouse button to auto-pursue your target. The nose of your ship will always point at the target to ensure you've got the best chance of landing hits with your cannons. It makes things pretty easy in this regard, especially if you're playing with a mouse (where it's normally more challenging than using a joystick in this sort of game). However, when I tried doing the same thing against mines, which are stationary targets, it didn't work as well: it pointed your ship in the right general direction but you needed extra precision in order to hit the targets. So it's easier to hit moving targets than it is to hit stationary targets. Go figure.
Other aspects of the game give me strong Wing Commander: Privateer or Freelancer vibes which I like: the Merchant's Guild is here, the Mercenaries Guild is here, you've got your ships more suited to combat and those more suited to trade, there's a mission computer at each station, a bar where you can talk to fixers, etc. I like it. I'm not quite sure why the game has a "Mixed" rating in Steam but it's still early days.
Horizon Chase Turbo - Senna Forever
- Picked by Me
- Percentage Complete = 20%
The other game I bought on this sale is actually DLC for Horizon Chase Turbo. I like how they talk about Ayrton Senna's career in this game and being able to drive F1 cars around tracks that existed in grand prix races of the 1980s. The game is still pretty much Horizon Chase under the hood though, so most of the changes are cosmetic. I currently feel the game is a better DLC than Summer Vibes though and so it should be as it's dearer too!
Bomber Crew
- Picked by Me
- Percentage Complete = 100%
I finished the game! But the final critical mission was a real doozy.
The first time I attempted the mission, I lost my elite crew and plane I have had for half the game. It blew up mid-flight because the Grand Slam bomb the Lancaster was carrying was too big which meant there was no protection from bay doors. It just took one Ju-88 to sneak up under the plane and fire upwards to cause it to be blown to smithereens. Although it was sad to lose my crew, thankfully in gameplay terms the setback turned out to be minor as I had enough money in reserve to upgrade my new crew and plane to the same level as my previous setup (obviously the crew experience wasn't as good but you also don't get raw recruits in this game once you're up to the higher level missions).
The next time I attempted the mission I ensured to have the tail gunner sit in the ventral turret position to ensure there was at least some protection for the bomber's underbelly. So the second time I attempted the mission I managed to get to the bunker but since you have to bomb the target from a high altitude, it's sometimes hard to see it. Turns out I missed and on the way back, almost everyone started to bleed out, including the pilot. The plane crashed and miraculously only one crew member died: four even managed to make their way back to England.
After another attempt I finally destroyed the target but again, I ended up losing the plane and the crew, but since the objective was fulfilled, the end credits rolled, regardless.
Overall, a fun game. Seems to be one for fans of old bomber flight sims, roguelikes or WWII games in general.
LINK: [ The Pile of Shame ]
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