Recent reviews by overkill17

This *almost* would have been my first negative review. Almost.

Continuing from my review of TBS 1, after properly importing my old saved file instead of creating a new one, the gameplay was good as usual. The story, more intriguing. I then started encountering bugs. Not the ruining-the-game kind but they were there. Was almost halfway through it. Then finally if I recall correctly, after an update more than a year ago, the audio stopped working. I filed a report. Soon I found realised I'm not the only one finding technical faults with the game via the forums.

I thought instead of waiting for the newest update, why not take a break, let them iron out more issues if they do and restart playing it a year later? I did that. A month ago I passed it. My main audio bug was fixed obviously. However, the technical issues were still there, and it kind of felt like I was forgiving a lot. Not many gameplay improvements were made besides a few since TBS 1. I saying this with respect to TBS 3. It's fair to expect improvements in a game similar to its prequels.

However, the story continued to engage me and I wanted to quickly finish this series, ignoring the occasional tech issues. I would say the game doesn't disappoint still....but the tech issues and it's not-newbie friendly gameplay features would be a reason I wouldn't recommend it to people outside this genre. So if you decide the play it, be prepared to be a little forgiving. I recommend it to others and quickly moved on to TBS 3. At the time of writing this, I finished the series btw...so see you at my review there. :P

Long-time RPG player and knew the BG series would be eventually something I needed to play.
Pros

• Nice storyline, unlike the typical "fantasy world about to end, you're the chosen one blah blah". Political intrigue etc.
  
• For those who've not played RPGs, this may be a Con. "Different" style of gameplay i.e turn-based but not exactly. I liked it.
  
• Based on the infamous D&d rulebook, so us RPG fans will get a taste of what gameplay mechanics are in a tabletop RPG (very roughly).

Cons

• As with all old classics, certain shortcomings need to be forgiven. Minor ones ignored, so there's just one point: Travelling. Having your party of heroes travel across the game world is a pain in the..no wait, it's just boring. This game has no quick travel feature so I could say roughly 30-40% of my game time is just...travelling. Couple this with waiting for that damn loading screen between different parts of the world map. Add also say you travelled from one end to another with a few minor stops, this includes potentially multiple waits. A double whammy of no quick travel + long loading time. I took a good several months break due to sheer boredom/frustration during half the story but resumed since I loved the game.

I'm reviewing more often now. Mainly after I read the article "What developers think of Steam reviews" at Rock, Paper, Shotgun and the need for it because of negativity bias.

This is spoiler-free. Tried my best to be vague when referring to anything like that. Let me know otherwise.

On the story:
One of the best story-rich games I've played (to be fair, not played that many of that kind). I had this prejudice against dystopian stories which to me, were just "sad and depressing". After playing this, I see the beauty in such stories and they're not that cliched, there are so many joyous moments as well. Many times where even the slightest form of humour shown by characters, or a minor happy event are simply beautiful. Maybe because of the entire caravan's dire situation, it makes all this feel even better. The world may be fantasy, but humanity's reactions/behaviour are realistic.

I can literally say this taught me about life in general, let me elaborate in the next paras.

One of the trademarks of TBS are the choices which often leave players feeling regret or stupid when they make one which affected their caravan badly. That too I had at first. That happens and sometimes, at its worst, characters even die based on your choices. Leaving their blood on your hands. Yeah. That pretty much is one of the worst feelings. I loved and hated it when I finished this and moved on to TBS 2. Out of regret, I DIDN'T import my saved file and started you their default save files, where the character/(s) that didn't make it because of my previous choices in TB1, were alive. All was good at first until slowly I realised that I didn't feel a belonging to the story anymore.

Finally, I started from the beginning playing TB2, this time, importing my saved file. Seeing the character/(s) missing, and one or more characters being affected by their death(s) made me feel I made the right choice. This version of the story is mine. The one I wrote in TB1. I felt content and continued, feeling the sadness but also the happiness that
comes making a decision and sticking to it, facing the consequences and moving on. An important life lesson.

Let me further continue and say to those to still feel like how I felt. There are no "stupid" or "wrong" decisions in the game, all choices represent what that character would make, given their personality and anyone in their desperate situation would make similar choices. Even if some are stupid or even smart, it won't necessarily be bad or go well (respectively) for you and luck will factor a lot in it; i.e like horrible situations in the real world. There, another life lesson.

The moral dilemma choices add another point to it teaching you about life.

More things I liked about the story: All of the main characters are interesting, sometimes even the side ones. Dialogues are great, even with it being most text and minimal audio. I actually like it this way. The sheer mystery of what's threatening their world also makes it a very suspense-ridden story.

Other:
Oh, I went on and on about the story, didn't I? Let's see what's left? Gameplay: simplistic turn-based strategy which gets complicated as you master it, good in my books. People unfamiliar with turn-based games can get into it. Sound/Music: it's got awards and the great soundtrack tag! I'm not so good at appreciating that but isn't that more than enough? I love the music. Misc: Love their artwork too. Love the fantasy world they created, with the rich lore.

Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® is "the main" game!

EDIT: Jokes aside. Finally thought of putting a proper review.
I'm a long-time RTS fan and the Warhammer 40K DOW series or Warhammer, in general, was something I had not tried before despite seeing it referred to so much.

Downloaded this one and got to it. At first, saw it as a typical RTS with the squad-based approach (I played Company of Heroes years before) and found the campaign dull. Felt it lame since it had one race and the enemy races seemed to lack any personality. The world just seemed dark or even black and white. I compared it to Warcraft 3 where the campaign featured all four races and there was no "good" side per se.

Until I played more and started looking up the story in the fan wikis. Boy, I misjudged this game and was comparing it unfairly.

Point 1
Warhammer 40K started out as a board game, and have numerous collectables figures. 40K is the future dystopian sci-fi world of The Warhammer franchise. Very different series and beyond the scope of this review.

I'll elaborate more but concisely since one could go on and on about this universe. With enough free time, the fan wikis will help you all the lore you need. I'll give two examples for people who don't know about this high fantasy world like me.

Earth is not directly referred to but called Terra. It's roughly the 40,000 AD (hence 40K). Humans are space-faring and have multiple colonies across the Milky Way. They're ruled autocratically under "The Emperor". They long passed their golden age of being a utopia and having rapid technological advancement. They now worship The Emperor and it's a satire on medieval Catholicism. Rebels/deserters are branded as "heretics"; "inquisitions" are frequently conducted on planets where they see any other alien races or even if they deem their own kind as having done "blasphemies". Ignorance and complete obedience are virtues while kindness and peace are viewed as heresies. Still technologically advanced to an extent, as compared to the other alien races, their progress now is stagnant. They even worship their machines as another gift from their Emperor, with them having "machine spirits". They have forgotten most of their civilisation's past.

The Orks are another race I'll use here since I suspect nearly every newcomer to this fantasy world would discard them as straightforward cliches. They resemble the typical green, dim-witted humanoid with sharp teeth. Yet they possess, albeit inferior and makeshift-looking, advanced enough technology to be space-faring. They work in only one way: war. Their prowess lies in their sheer numbers. Now it gets interesting. On reading further lore you find that how they reproduce is still a mystery to the other races with some saying they even reproduce by just simply multiplying (think spores in fungi or cells dividing). There's even an account of once a planet is targetted by an Orkish invasion, their hordes won't stop attacking till either the planet's home race is wiped out or they themselves are exterminated. Leaving even a single one Ork alive, usually means there'll be more to come. Their ♥♥♥♥♥♥ tech working is also a mystery with them being powered by their collective "belief" that it works (eg simply painting a rocket red makes it high explosive or as they put it "paintin them rokket red make it go bigga boom"). A human trying to use any of their tech would find it not working or barel functional. Orks make their tech out of instincts since they possess juvenile-level intellect.

The are several other unique races. There's "magic" in the world in a sort of psychic energy. There are demons. Tech is ludicrous...for instance, Space Marines possess plasma weapons and at the same time use chainswords for melee....yes, you heard right. Chain. Swords. One word. There are two-legged vehicles which just have claws to tear apart anyone.

2. Oh and, yes, the gameplay is good. Multiplayer is potentially fun but due to not being many players one can post on the Steam forums, send friend requests to people who are down for it. It's fun and totally worth it.

3. Also, in terms of expansion packs to DOW:GOTYE: The remaining (Winter Assault, Soultorm) are worth it since they have campaigns and more races. Dark Crusade is the next recommended and popular one since it also has improved mechanics, and a similar potential multiplayer experience to DOW:GOTYE due to it being popular.

4. So, yes within no time, I too felt like shouting and putting updates on my social media going "It's better to die for the Emperor than to live for yourself", "Knowledge is power, hide it well", "The Emperor protects!", "There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt", "Truth is subjective" "Even a narrow vision, sees clearer" "Faith is purest when it is unquestioning" "Even a man with nothing, can still offer his life"
Though I fear my friends will think I'm gone insane.

TLDR: just see point 2, 3 and point 4. Point 1 cannot be tldr-ed. But just skim through it if you're not familiar with the Warhammer 40K at all and read it if you love high fantasy books/games!

My first review. I'm reviewing more often now. Mainly after I read the article "What developers think of Steam reviews" at Rock, Paper, Shotgun and the need for it wherever there is a negativity bias.

I'm a big fan of roguelikes and have played many of the major ones. I've been trying to get into this game for a few years, on and off. I refrained from using spoilers. I finally feel I've spent enough time to assess it.

Pros (for some of you, these may as well be under Cons):

• Hard: By "hard" I don't mean your character will get killed often, that happens too. Dying isn't the main issue, oh no, this game is merciless when it comes to outright crippling your otherwise well-to-do character. Be it by destroying precious equipment or by those nasty sometimes game-changing corruptions. It challenges you in another way.
  
• A lot to explore/Game length: There's a big enough world to explore and even after more than 100 hrs of gameplay, I still just feel my best character has barely progressed a quarter of the game.
  
• Tileset/Sound/Music: Good. The classic ASCII mode isn't recommended even for players like me who prefer it. Mainly because that part feels not developed enough and you'll miss out many features.

I can now safely conclude that this game has its own niche like the other major roguelikes, which I can appreciate it for.

Cons.

• UI: Really one of the most negative aspects of this game. The controls feel arbitrary, unintuitive and annoying to use, with little scope for customisation. Could take a cue from Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, which has such a streamlined UI and control setup.
  
• Buggy: By this I mean, no major game crashing bugs but minor ones and some features of the game feel incomplete. For instance, the sound randomly stops working and the quest feature doesn't seem to be implemented uniformly.

TLDR: Veteran roguelike players can appreciate this game but it needs to be given time and its UI shortcomings excused. Not recommended for those new to the genre unless they have plenty of time (and patience) on their hands.