Knights of Honor

Before I start reviewing this game I think it is important to state that I did not play this game when it first came out in 2004, just recently while I was looking through steam I found it was on sale and thought it was worth a shot. So there are no nostalgic feelings attached to the game which concludes that the review is not clouded by overpowered childhood memories. To my own astonishment I was positively surprised that its quiet a good game and still playable even if it is already more than 10 years old.

I think it is also important to state some other games published in this years to be able to make better comparisons and really look at games place in gaming history. Other 2004 releases are: Lords of the Realm 3, Settlers: the Heritages of Kings, Rise of Nations and Rome Total War (of course I only listed other strategy games). Moreover I think it is good to also state some milestone games in the strategy genre and their date of publish: Europa Universalis 3 2007, Crusader Kings 2 2012, Hearts of Iron 2009, anno 1701 2006 (in my opinion some of the most important strategy games for the genres development)

Mini Metro

First of all I have to admit that I think this game is presented in a very appealing style. As an architect it is my day to day job to think about graphical appearances of drawings and diagrams so I see myself capable to state that the art and graphic style of the game is phenomenal. The greatness of the presenation starts with the use of pictogram's and symbols, includes great color management and concludes in a nearly flawless minimal design game.

Banished

After the snow is melted away by the lazily spring sun the BanischdTown people are heading to the fields and its time to decide what to plant. With potatoes, beans, corn and wheat a greater crop yield is achieved but the citizens of the town are healthier if they eat different variety of food, so a small compromise is needed. When the summer comes the fields manage themselves and the townspeople can concentrate on collecting building resources, make cloth for the winter, work in the iron mine and help the smith . When autumn begins everybody in BanishedTown is back on the fields again as autumn is the harvest season and if the crops a left to stay in the cold too long they are ruined. Autumn is also the time for the last preparations before winter the last bit of venison is carried into the stone houses of the hungry citizens and the wood cutters and foresters work newer stops. And Winter of course is the season to rest! No not really. First of all the hunters work in the winter as their products are one of the few that can still provide food in the cold month. Not much still because the wild is scared and in hibernation but something is better than nothing. Also an important part of the building activities of the town need to be done in the winter as spring and therefore plannting time comes always around if the year before was planed well managed good.

5 reasons "Mount and blade" is a good and fun game in spite of many downsides

When we are taught how to write an essay in middle school, we learn that  positive sides and negative sides of an topic are evaluated and afterwards in the end all these explored aspects are brought together into a final symbioses thus creating the conclusion and the main opinion of the author. But in game reviews this system does not work always as sometimes good aspects of the game set such an high standard of game fun that it can not be brought down by any negative aspects. "Mount and blade" is such a game in my opinion. So I wanted to evaluate X reasons "mound and blade" is a good and fun game in spite of many downsides. And I came up with 5 reasons which are as follows.

But firstly lets quickly sum up the downsides of the game which are as follows: very low variety in different quests, no over the top skill tree or leveling system, bad (too much texture based) graphics, lifeless surroundings, shallow economy, no in-story character development.

6 reasons why Anno 2070 (or a the idea of an Anno developed around a scenario set in the future) is no "real" Anno.

-I remember the first thing I always did when playing a new Anno was to take the starting ship, direct it to the nearest enemy ship and look at the cannons firing, ships burning, mast cracking, wood splitting and in the and ships sinking. When I started Anno 2070 I moved on to do the same but I hesitated because this modern ship with its modern weapons had as much as zero charm to me. And I feared that the naval battle was going to be even worse. And it was like I feared. The naval battles in the new future world of Anno are no fun at all. I have to admit, that was a heavy blow for me.

Sword with Sauce

After the job of getting the traps to stick on the wall was done Vini only had one thing left to do. Make as much noise as he can. And after some seconds he heard people coming upstairs. Quickly hidden behind a corner and he could watch with excitement how the enemies fell into his trap and were taken out one by one.

In "Sword with sauce" the players starts by choosing a hand full of gadgets he wants to use in his next mission. These gadgets include known weapons as a gun, a shield and a bow, but also real film like gadgets for example a black hole grenade or see-through walls glasses. By combining the destructive and deadly power of these different gadgets the player has to take out all 35 enemies on the map. While in the missions the player can also pick up the weapons of his fallen victims.

Home Behind

Today I have a rather short review of a game called "Home behind" for you. Picking the refuge problem as a topic this game sets itself a nearly impossible task of handling the subject in the right way.

In "home behind" you play a father who lost his daughter while their home was attacked by the rebel armies. Promising himself he would find his daughter who has probably escaped together with his brother, the protagonist begins his journey. On the way he has to steal food, have an eye on his water reserves, fight enemies and therefore upgrade his weapon and armor.

To start from the positive, the game has a good crafting system. It is not phenomenal and does not give the crafting subject really new perspective but its a well carried out, modern crafting system. Extremely rewarding and motivation giving part of the game as the deep desire to get the new kitchen or workbench upgrade keeps the player moving forward. The problem in this is that the crafting system is but the only part that gives the player motivation to continue in the game. And in addition to the crafting system it needs to be added that the skill tree and skill points system is ill fitted for the game.

Anno 1701

Hendrick Jorgensen awaits his allies ship on the farthest edge of his kontors dock because rumors were heard that the ship contains huge amounts of lamp oil. A joyfully panic overcomes Hendrick and he can not stay still. The last two days were hard work for the young man. He had to scrap together all the coin he could get to buy as much lamp oil as possible. The settlers were not amused as Hendrick ordered to sell all the wood and brick available in the depots of the city. "We need that for our houses. Don't you see they are getting too small for our families we need these materials". But Hendrick had no choice, he needed the lamp oil and all the islands in the north were already occupied. No! He had to do anything in his power to get this lamp oil even if it meant the ruin of his city and of himself.

The great computer controlled players in "Anno 1701" give the 3th game of the series a great bit of character and add to the cute comic style of the game with cities that burst in different colors and islands full of exotic animals and local plantation . But to start from the beginning in anno 1701 the old (and hugely appreciated) concept does not change. Only beginning with one ship and a few resources the player starts to build a small settlement, expand on other islands, get more resources, trade with others, rage ware and build the greatest city the world has ever seen.

Anno 1503: The New World

It is difficult to work in the University of the "Anno town " as the king is very inpatient and always wants to be informed of new discoveries. Just half a year ago the Great Professor himself was a great part  involved in the finding of a better arrow head that makes the archers even more deadly. But it is war and the enemies have sticks which let out steam and fire small metal balls in the allied ranks of men. Many brave warriors and some battles were lost to the invention of this new weapon. But the Great Professor was on the merge of getting their own "steam stick" up and working. When it is finished the bravery of our soldiers will not be withstood for very long.

The second game in the "Anno" series is "Anno 1503: The New World " in which we are again starting only with a ship and some resources to carve ourselves out a life from the uninhabited island formation. The second game stands out by adding even more resources and make it even more complex than the former game.

Anno 1602 creation of a new world

Alfred ran as fast as he could. "The ship is seen on the horizon" his friend told him and after this the whole town was in tumult. "AH! Finally the ship" said the old lady on the market place cause she dearly needed some new fabric from "fabric town" in the south. "Alfred! Here have some money and buy some spices. This is the ship from Fabric Town there must be at least 25 t on the ship". "Dear boy!" said Alfreds neighbor "Pleas look for me if there is any jewellery in the ships cargo, cause I need a birthday surprise for my loved on. This is the ship that takes the route from fiber town to Goldy and back to us. Please be so kind and look for me". "Ah! The ship from Goldy, my brother is a gold worker there. Will you ask the captain if he knows anything about him? Maybe a letter." requested the carrier from Alfred. And Alfred was happy to be of service, he only hoped he could keep all this in his mind. But what was that! The ship was on fire as it seemed and on second look it seem a bit crooked. As the evening came the whole truth was out. It was war! This was the last ship that got through the barricade of the enemy and the last ship that was to be expected from Goldy.

Tropico 2: Pirate Cove

Captain Morgan is standing on his new frigate, because the "Pirate King" has ordered him to go on plunder in a heavy guarded Spanish region, the "caribbean islands". After the last man has fulfilled his gambling pleasure in the casino and the first mate finally came from the brothel , the sails could be set and the journey began. As Captain Morgan anticipated (not feared because what would a pirate be if he felt fear!) the journey was rather difficult and after 10 days on sea with only the never changing serration made of corn they Spanish armada took them by surprise and the newly made frigate joined the other wracks of former great ships on the bottom of the sea. Only Captain Morgan survived and swore to come back to the island where the new Rum Distillery was making the first bottles of rum and  the Pastries  were so delicious.

I often found myself supprised that I; was loudly singing to the soundtrack of tropico 2 which is phenomenal and is just a real great part of giving the caribbean, pirate, freedom, ANARCHY! feeling to the player. So lets dive into my review.

In " Tropico 2: Pirate Cove" the player  gets into the role of a "pirate king".  Only starting with a few pirates and some prisoners for the hard work, everything is in the hand of the player as the good interlink between different game mechanics gives grate variety of options and play style.
- Decide to let the prisoners be happy and satisfied their needs or let them bee unwelcome on the island and risk them running away and kill untrained pirates.
- Ask yourself the question if it is better to have happy pirates who survive a plunder and invest in their swordplay, canon, navigate ... Skills or use the pirates as disposable resource and let them go on a threatening plunder trip if they are to angry with you so they may "accidentally" die.
- Do you want to create a island where you produce what you use or do you want to live the "real" pirate life where you buy everything from the black market. And the gold? Yes the gold comes from many plunder trips
This many options and different style in gaming (with if chosen highly unorthodox methods) and the change in scene (being "pirate king" not El Comandante) helps greatly for the agony and sarcasm which is one of the main assets that connect all 5 games of the series.