Distant Worlds 2: Factions - Quameno and Gizureans - DLC Review

Distant Worlds 2: Factions - Quameno and Gizureans by developer CodeForce and publisher Slitherine Ltd.—PC Steam review written by Robert with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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The Distant Worlds franchise, developed by CodeForce and published by Slitherine, Ltd., returns with another Factions update containing two new species. Distant Worlds has long been a favored franchise of mine, with Distant Worlds Universe being one of the seminole "it" franchises for galaxy-spanning strategic gameplay. Adding to the existing 7 races (9, if you include the Ikkuro and Dhayut Factions, available here), the Gizureans are an insectoid-like plague on the galaxy. With more in common with locusts, they are an entirely organic species- while I wouldn't go so far as to call them "Zerg-like," but their primary modus operandii is not unlike the blitzkrieging that the Gizureans thrive by. In stark contrast to the Gizureans are the reclusive and introverted Quameno; an aquatic race that, for all of their love of science and research, have culturally grown into a race whose society is modeled after a modern-day military economy. With that, I'd like to spend a few minutes talking about my time with these two races.

I initially felt that I would struggle with the Gizureans as I tend to lean into more defensive gameplay in strategy titles like Distant Worlds; color me shocked when I found that the Gizureans were an absolute hoot to play. I never really liked playing the Zerg in StarCraft and I still hold that the Flood from Halo is right up there next to Dead Space's necromorph as "scariest space-faring organic blobs of hatred" that we've seen in gaming. The Gizureans are like that, but fun. As you're guiding your tidal wave of organic expansion, you'll be hard pressed to keep your insatiably-hungry and ever-expanding empire. CodeForce says, "The Gizureans are legion..." and there haven't been truer words said about the Gizureans. Well ... except that they are actually pretty dumb, so dumb that even they don't know their past. While I'm sure the claim that they have a "mysterious past" has a grander story to tell, but my headcanon is not that they have a mysterious past. It's that they hove focused on breeding and feeding rather than retaining knowledge. 

While the Gizureans do have some diplomacy options, their lack of a diplomat means the rest of the galaxy will hate you, which is just fine for the Gizureans. When one of the options for a planet is, "devour," you know you're in for a good time! As you encroach upon a world, if you come across intelligent beings, you can choose the aforementioned "devour" option, or you can instead choose to "study" ... which just means you'll stare at them a bit before you eat them. Moral of the story is that you have a choice to eat anything you come across, including other Gizureans, or you're going to take the time to put on a bib, then you'll devour them. TLDR, lots of eating are in your future if you're playing the Gizureans.

Where the Gizureans were a complete opposite to what I typically play, I'd have thought I'd have more fun with the Quameno than I did. It's not that they are bad, but I think me playing the Gizureans first sort of spoiled the fun of Quameno for me. As a highly introverted guy myself, I thought that I might enjoy playing a highly introverted species. Focusing more on introspection, research, and solving the puzzles of the universe, the Quameno aren't much for military might. In contrast to the Gizureans, the slower, more methodical and plodding nature of the Quameno is a much-appreciated counter to the downright evil nature of the Gizureans. 

With it's focus on self-improvement and research, the Quameno leave much to be desired by way of its military. This proved to be a bigger issue for me than I would've initially thought, as it seems that most of the galaxy wants to punch me in the face. I can't help but think that my playstyle (ergo, me) may be the issue here. While on paper the Quamenoan species seems like it'd work well for me but I just couldn't become invested in the playthrough. I personally find that I was constantly being badgered / at war with due to the fact that the Quameno military has the same structural fortitude as mashed potatoes.

Though I favored the Gizureans, I was challenged more as a player by playing as the Quameno and I think that is a huge accomplishment; not once did I feel that my looses as the Quameno as a failure due to balance or bugs, but mostly because I just suck; not so much with the Gizureans. Though the subsequent updates to Distant Worlds 2 have made it far more accessible, I think that the Gizureans may actually be the easiest species to play as with the only caveat being, "don't slow down." If you don't maintain your forward momentum in the early game, the end game will be absolutely brutal. Push, and push hard with Gizureans; if you're looking for a slower, but more hands-on playthrough, the Quameno are right up your alley. Any which way you spread it, the point is the same in that ... you should absolutely go buy Distant Worlds 2: Factions - Quameno and Gizureans (after picking up the main game, of course).

TLDR, Distant Worlds 2: Factions - Quamen and Gizureans is an easy 8 out of 10.

Score: 8/10

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Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War - PC Review

In an unexpected twist, Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War is not a horrible mess nor a total disgrace to the good GamesWorkshop name that nearly every single other Warhammer title released in the last 5 years has been. In fact, it is quite enjoyable if a bit mundane at times, but the great folks at both Proxy Studios and Slitherine Ltd. Have put together a more-than solid turn-based strategy title under a franchise that has been historically beaten to death by a slew of vomit-inducing insults to nature. Truth be told I was pleasantly surprised with my time in Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War and that in itself is an achievement.

Folks may think that I am a bit hard on the Warhammer video game franchises but let us be real for a minute … I am not. The overwhelming majority of the *thirty seven* Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 titles released since the start of 2013 have been fit for no more than the bottom of the bargain-bin at a Wal-Mart, and even then that is being kind to those games.

Many are fundamentally broken, being unbalanced, full of technical issues (that never went unresolved), or so devoid of anything interesting that it make counting sand by hand an enjoyable experience so when Gladius was announced I audibly groaned and closed my laptop. As more press releases came through and more content was provided to the press and public alike, I took a bit more interest, especially since I am quite familiar with Slitherine-published titles, the majority of which I have thoroughly enjoyed, but I still kept my expectations in check as here I thought there would be another steaming pile of horse dung…

I was wrong.

Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War is not only a good game, but I would even be so inclined as to call it a great game. Though the difficulty curve seems a bit out of place (likely due to balancing oddities, like why is it that I will have Predator tanks get demolished by standard Imperial Guard infantry? Not even anti-armor!), Gladius is not only stunning in appearance and concept, but really brings a bit of the tabletop flare to your desktop, a feat few can pull off. Even then, none of those titles that can are part of the Warhammer video game franchise (not since Shadow of the Horned Rat, a critically under-appreciated Warhammer game from last century).

With Relics of War you have a wonderful 4x-like turn-based strategy game set on Gladius Prime, a planet that the Imperials have deemed archeologically important. Taking control of the gargantuan Space Marines, monstrous Orks, hateful Necrons (they are literally the worst), and everyone's favorite squishy boi's, Astra Militarum, you will wage (and often lose) war across the broken remains of Gladius Prime.

Though I have played my share of Orks and Necrons, winning and losing equally, it was with the Space Marines and the Astra Militarum that I played the most. Admittedly I have lost 100% of the games that I have played as the Space Marines (making it an incredibly frustrating experience), but the real mindbender is that I have won 100% of the maps that I have played as the Imperial Guard / Astra Militarum. Normally this band of squishy goodness is good for nothing more than causing the enemy blascannons to overheat (that is, until you bring their mechanized warmachine to bear) but man, in Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War? Nah, they are wicked.

This is where I think that there is a bit of a balance problem; the chance that a single unit of Guardsmen taking on a single unit of Terminators is so wildly not possible outside of the actual tabletop game (where dice matter and anyone that has played a dice game with me knows, I role zeroes on a D20 nearly 100% of the time) that each time it happens I am quite confused. On the other hand, having your Predator tanks thoroughly trounced by a rando Ork or Necron unit is rage-inducing. Balance issues indeed.

Beyond a few quirks though, Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War is an excellent 4x game set in a dark and gritty universe. In time I hope that we see the additional races, Eldar, Dark Eldar, Tyranids, and my personal favorite, Tau, as only 4 playable races does make the game feel a bit empty at times. That said, what is there within the four playable races equates to a solid turn-based strategy game that, Emperor take me, is an excellent Warhammer 40k title. Gladius - Relics of War is 2018's Warhammer Must-have.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Proxy Studios
Publisher(s):
Slitherine Ltd.
Genre(s):
Tuned Based Strategy
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
N/A

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Robert

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Empires Apart - PC Review

Empires Apart is a beautiful mess of a game. Designed with competitive multiplayer in mind, Empires Apart takes the fast-paced action of a professional StarCraft II match and sticks it into a graphically-stunning world that is a near-mimic of Age of Empires. Wear it falls flat though, is in the fact that if you are playing more casually, you will be destroyed, period. Speed is key and the utterly ridiculous keybindings do everything they can to prevent you from efficiently building your empire and destroying your enemies. With a little balance and far more work put into the keybindings and interface, Empires Apart could be an excellent alternative to RTS gamers that are tired of being utterly destroyed in the StarCraft II ladders.

With no real campaign, solo players like me will gravitate towards the single player games and skirmishes, so if possible play with a friend or four as that is where the real magic begins. Empires Apart shines as a 2v2 game where one teammate can focus on defense and the other offense. While to many this may seem like a risky move, with the current balancing in Empires Apart it is quite fitting. If one teammate can rush to mid-end game units while the other turtles for both team members, it will pay out in dividends. Not because a single person could easily take down two opponents, but because it allows one team to really accomplish what Empires Apart is really about and that is …

Resource management.

Large armies can be easily decimated so the primary goal for any player here should be to expand as fast as possible to control the various gold and stone nodes on the map; without those the other teams will need to rely on gathering lumber (a slow and tedious process) to then sell at the market (which is extremely inefficient and market prices will change the more you sell of a specific resource). If one side can gather enough nodes and protect them, then the rest of the game is quite simple; build inexpensive expendable units and whittle down the enemy teams until a small but deadly mid-end game army can rush through the various buildings of the enemy to strike at their town center. Once the enemy's last town center is destroyed a timer will appear and once it reaches zero that player loses. This is why it is important to have a solid team of two players, one focusing on defense the other on offense, as it can greatly reduce the often-frantic pacing that Empires Apart has.

In fact, the very speed of the game is something that is a bit difficult to get used to; take a standard RTS single-player mission, ramp it up to 10 on the "how fast can I die" factor, then there you have it. Admittedly it is not as fast as some pro StarCraft II matches I have seen, but for something that is far less "hardcore," Empires Apart is a speedy one.

The issue though, comes in to balancing. A small group of about a dozen units can absolutely tear through significantly larger armies, even if those armies are early game they should be able to put up something of a fight. Unfortunately they do not. I had a large army (about 30-40 units) of fully upgraded spearmen/skirmishers and archers that got absolutely THRASHED by four heavy cavalry units, four mounted archers, and a handful of skirmishers. I was bamboozled. Heck, even in StarCraft II a pile of Marines can do wonders, but alas, StarCraft II this is not. Nor is it up to the standards set by Age of Empires. But hey … at least it is pretty looking! It is just unfortunate that Empires Apart is less about tactically smashing your opponent and more about the end-game rush to get the nigh-invincible units; better balancing equals greater variation in gameplay. Perhaps we will get there one day, but today is not that day.

Graphics and good sound design can only go so far until you really start seeing the warts of a game and while Empires Apart is not horrible, it does feel confused with its balance issues and its push for end-game runs. A little more tweaking and the buttoning up of features/upgrades for your units and it could be an excellent Indie-style near-competitive RTS title. Heck, if there was a bonafide single player campaign for Empires Apart, it would be far, far more enjoyable than it currently is. Not to say it is not fun, it absolutely is, but it is only fun for short stints at a time.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
DESTINYbit
Publisher(s):
Slitherine Ltd.
Genre(s):
Strategy
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Robert

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