Review
Art trumps design in The Banner Saga
Life and death on the Old Norse Trail.
Tag: turn-based strategy
Article
How XCOM taught me that I don’t matter
In memory of the people on the ground.
Review
Desktop Dungeons brings the metagame full circle
Do we always need progress?
News
Civilization V designer wants to give Attila the Hun his due
The history of the West is a violent, teeth-gnashing, and unholy succession through the centuries. And while empire-builder games let us toy with the past — to stroke our chins and speculate what if Rome had been defeated, say, in the War against Nabis in 195 BC — they’re typically a war of attrition among civilized states. The empire-builder hasn’t let you reenact the savage raids by unkempt armies on decaying empires. Jon Shafer, the smart-as-a-whip designer, best known for calculating martial law in the daddy of all empire-builders Civilization V, wants that to change. “There have certainly been games…
News
XCOM the shooter is quickly approaching Duke Nukem Forever territory
Remember XCOM? Of course you do. It was the surprisingly great reboot of the classic strategy game that had the gaming press in thrall last fall. Yannick wrote our stellar review of it, arguing, “whatever Firaxis managed to salvage from the wreckage of XCOM’s legacy, they turned into a surpassingly tight and smart game.” Well, not that one. – – – Nope, I’m talking about the XCOM you’ve forgotten about, XCOM, the third-person squad-based shooter by 2K Marin. Yes, the XCOM that the entire internet was up in arms about because it was a bastardization of the beloved franchise. The…