Recent reviews by Lord Cucumber

I highly recommend this software. I really enjoyed using it for Silent Hunter 4 in my trials and intend to keep using it for this game specifically!

Made a short video to show off what it can do ingame:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njYsKL2faMg&feature=youtu.be

What a fantastic game this is! It's a strange yet satisfying mix of things: XCOM 2 style base building, 8 bit NES style turn based combat, and a ton of references thrown in mixed with some amazing humor and.. An actual story to follow! I enjoyed my first few hours immensely. Haven't had this much fun since Darkest Dungeon.

Recommended!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nsqu8tGV10

Probably my favourite Total War title until Shogun 2 came out, this game is one for the books. I recently started playing it again after many, many years, and I must say: I am instantly hooked again!

https://youtu.be/K0_VBInsaL8

What can I say, this is the deep strategy space game I have been waiting for for years.


Example of awesome:

Pirates attack my fresh colony

I send my only fleet to attack the pirates

While in combat with the pirates in a system far outside my borders, a report comes in that an asteroid threatens TO HIT AND OBLITERATE my new colony

I retreat out of combat to take on the HUGE rock hurtling towards my second home

I destroy the rock and return to mop up what's left of the pirates in time for tea

I send my science ship to collect the rubble from both battles

Thanks to the rubble my science research points bag me three discoveries in a row


Would hunt random space rocks and pirates again, 10/10

Probably one of the best remakes of a classic hexbased wargame ever made. If you enjoyed Panzer General back in the day, you'll most certainly enjoy this..!

I recently did a small look at the latest DLC, Soviet Corps, focussing on the Winter War in Finland of 1939 scenario. It give you a good (Though short) impression of what the game is like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj4tqat2sIE

Close Combat: Gateway to Caen is an excellent Close Combat game that details Operation Epsom, a British plan to flank German positions at Caen to basically create a short cut into the city, whilst at the same time taking down German defenders at the Odon river. Historically, it was a costly battle for both Axis and Allies, and technically the Allies won, as German defenders committed all of their armour to close the gap, essentially wasting their fuel and vehicles on re-establishing their positions on the river Odon after the initial British attack. The British, as said, paid a high price, as they were up against veteran armour 'fresh' from the eastern front, that chewed up British armour like nothing else. The battle could have gone either way, and so the 'what if' factor is perfect for a game where you can play both sides.

Gateway to Caen takes some getting used to if you are a veteran of the CC series. Unit scale is back to somewhat smaller, and unit choices per battle when playing the grand campaign are somewhat more limited. This is by no means a bad thing as you are finally forced to truely consider what you field when. When playing the campaign, as troops grow tired you HAVE to rotate them out every so many battles, or they eventually panic/surrender, no matter what their quality.

Units included in the game are, amongst others, 2nd & 12th SS Panzer ('Das Reich'& the infamous 'Hitlerjugend' fanatics), The Royal Scots Fusiliers, the 46th Highland infantry brigade, 9th RTR and 43rd Wessex Infantry division.

The main campaign is pretty well balanced: Generally speaking the British forces outnumber the Germans with what they can field at any given time, but the Germans often outgun the British with their heavy armour and 88mm Flak batteries. German troops do consist mainly of 'ad hoc' defenders initially, making for a pretty steep start when playing Germans, despite the prepared positions and the big guns.



On my YouTube channel, I dedicated a series to this game, playing the main campaign as the Germans, check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtW8YlPecNk&list=PLXIwxNbJRA-D0JflIFLCp0u90eTR0oDrx&index=1


I recommend this game to anyone interested in World War 2 gaming and the Close Combat series in general.

For early access this game is already really good. As with the first Killing Floor, it's all about the multiplayer cooperative experience. Surviving wave after wave it becomes increasingly difficult to stand your ground as a group, leading to the awesome chaos one would expect from a title like this: Buckets of blood everywhere and the occasional puke/acid/fire/screaming/chainsaw attack by the more powerful foes.

I made a nice video with fellow YouTuber Agrippa Maxentius that showcases the game in its current state (August '15), have a look if you are curious how the game runs, but beware of the goriness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMgVPOXEIGw

I was never into highly abstracted wargames with a grand strategy scale. Up til now.

Higly recommended if you are into World War 2 and wish to gain some understanding on the scale of the battle for the Soviet Union.

One tip though: Read the manual. Many games can go without it, but this game is an old school exception to that. The game gives you an insane amount of information and knowing what controls what really helps.

This game has improved incredibly over the time it's been out. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in a cool railroad/transport simulation sandbox game. With all the mods already out there, it becomes a railroad modellers dream!

After near 300 turns and hours of play, I must say this is a very nice twist on the 'Civ V hexbased franchise' (for lack of a better descriptor). It's not Alpha Centauri, but definitely just as fun. Plays very differently though, with the tech web being one of the major changes. The quest system is a great way to guide growth toward one of the victory conditions, and the culture/affinity system is of an interesting design but takes some getting used to. Small grievances towards feedback on some of the tooltips, e.g. not all effect of quest choices are explained in the tooltip when you have to choose.

All in all a cool experience, which I heartily recommend to any Civ fan. Definite 9/10.

I am very curious to any DLC this game may get in the future (if any).