Reviews
PC Gaming Review – Project: Gorgon
MMORPGs are alive on the PC… sort of! Project: Gorgon is a call back to old school MMOs, which has it’s pros and cons.
Overview
I was really enjoying Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, but for me any chance to play a multiplayer experience with friends overrides any single player game. I actually bought (and refunded) Project: Gorgon in the past. I originally jumped solo into a big open world that seemed empty, yet overwhelming. I didn’t have the strength to ‘sell’ the game to my friends because I really didn’t understand it at the time. This time around I was invited by someone else to play, and it was on sale on Steam!
Gameplay
Right when I entered the world of Project: Gorgon my first instinct took me back to the days of playing the original Everquest. You make a pretty basic RPG character and get started on a newbie tutorial island. The graphics even suck like they are from 1999 (okay, maybe 2002). If you looked solely at the graphics, you would refund this game immediately. What really gets you drawn in is the interactions and mechanics of it all. There’s no “!” quest markers or arrows telling you what to do. You are forced to explore, uncover and interpret. Sure, there is a fair amount of combat, but the game doesn’t revolve around the combat. Though combat is usually necessary to complete the goal at hand. I usually click through quest dialogue, but in this game you’ll miss obvious and subtle hints about the world. For example, we went into a crypt with 10 or so items on the wall. I generally don’t read lore or any quest dialogue so I just clicked away, spawning bad guy after bad guy. One person in my group recognized the items from something he read earlier on. He was able to click them to unlock a chest full of loot as a reward for paying attention to the details.
Skills & Leveling
Most MMORPGs have a goal to grind through the levels for endgame dungeon content. Project: Gorgon doesn’t have a character level, which turns out to be refreshing for me. I don’t feel the need to mindlessly grind to catch up levels with my friends. There are levels for every skill in the game. Every. Skill. Everything is leveled up by actually doing it, not just adding points to it. You eat to level up eating, unlocking abilities to eat better foods that regen stats faster. You level up forage by foraging. You level up death by dying… yes, that’s a thing. The game looks pretty simple on the surface, but once you get into it the system is pretty complex. There are a number of combat skills like sword, shield, bard, mentalism, archery, knife fighting, necromancy, fire magic, etc. The neat part is that you can make class combos. For example, I can use a sword and shield by equipping both. After defeating a mob I’ll get XP for both sword and shield. Next I can put a lute and horn in each hand, and I’ll be leveling up bard. Replace the lute with a sword and now it is a sword/bard spec. There are even animal combat classes like a cow. Obviously a cow has no hands to equip a bow, so that limits it’s class combination to a magic or something that doesn’t require holding specific equipment. To take it to the next level, my bard has to level Stringed Instruments by playing the lute in order to unlock certain skills. I also have to level Vocabulary by playing a Boggle-like word game in order to unlock other skills. The more I play, the deeper it gets. The thing that keeps you hooked is that your goals are based on an arbitrary level like, “I need to get level 20 tonight”. It’s based on “I need to level vocabulary to get xyz skill”. This is a very simple example, and many quests get several levels deep into “I need to get x, to unlock y, in order to craft z”. When I am about to call it a night by dropping off one last quest at an NPC, it always turns into one more thing, one more thing… and then it’s way past my bed time!
It is not the greatest game ever
I will praise many aspects of Project: Gorgon, but at the end of the day this is really a niche game. Many people won’t want to drop $30-$40 just by looking at the graphics. Many people will get onto the starter island and give up because there is no obvious directions. Many people will make it to the first town and see that it looks physically empty and assume the game doesn’t any depth, or anything to do. I imagine the price point is high because it is not really for hordes of people. Dealing with high population spikes would take away from game development and make them focus more on non-development related issues (like dealing with servers and more compatibility). There are NPCs in the game that are noted as placeholders. They aren’t hiding that the game is unfinished.
Summary
I will confirm though, that there are lots of meaningful and memorable things to do. We’ve killed a couple named dungeon bosses that increase or notoriety. Each of them have been memorable and worth the risk. This game also has some really, really creative aspects. For example, one of the dungeon bosses was a cow. If you attack the cow and lose the fight, you’ll be turned into a cow. Luckily we won the battle, because I heard the quest to un-cow takes some time. There are lots of little quirks in the game as well. One NPC wouldn’t talk to me because I was filthy. Eventually I learned to dunk myself into a fountain or lake before talking to them. Part of the fun is learning. It doesn’t have a pop-up window explaining what to do to get cleaned up, but it makes sense when you think about it. Another neat part about the game being so small is that you really have to discover things on your own. There is a basic wiki page, but there are no walkthroughs or guides. I’ve run into many riddles (some I still haven’t figured out) because I can’t just Google the answer for.
Conclusion
There is so much more to talk about in Project: Gorgon. It doesn’t look like much on the surface but I can assure you that there is a lot of good fun deep-down inside. Despite the game population on SteamCharts usually only showing between 150-200 online, there are always friendly people willing to help or answer questions. Although it is extremely hard to recommend this game at it’s full $40 price, I think the niche player looking for that old school MMO formula won’t mind. For the general public though, I would suggest waiting for more development or a significant price drop.
PC Gaming Review – Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
I haven’t played an Assassin’s Creed game since the original (I lie, I did load up Black Flag to check out the ships). I was on the hunt for a AAA single player title while I wait for some upcoming releases. Looking at you New World! Assassin’s Creed Odyssey turned out to be a great action RPG title that I look forward to playing to the end.
Overview
To be completely honest, I almost refunded this game 5 minutes in. I went in with the mindset of “this better not feel like a console game”. The intro cinematics and gameplay have console written all over them. I was so tempted to refund (I bought it on Steam just in case). After several hours and getting off the initial island, boy am I glad I didn’t. The eye-candy is a great start. I have a decent rig and I always end up playing these 8-bit indie games, so it felt great to really push my system. I did end up running it at 1080p to get 60+ fps, but it is still very nice to look at.
Gameplay & Combat
Going in I heard that there were RPG elements. I braced for the worst considering Assassin’s Creed is generally not known as an RPG, but more of an Action-Adventure type game. To my surprise, I found the equipment and skill trees to have enough depth to keep me interested. Mainly because I can spec in Bow & Arrow or Warrior, instead of going full Stealth mode. Stealth assassinations still have the coolest animations, but I really don’t enjoy sneaking around slowly and waiting to strike. Luckily the Bow & Arrow Hunter spec allows for some high damage surprise attacks, then when they get close I use brute force to take them down. The combat animations are fluid, and there is an optional lock-on system. Combat is relatively simple with parry and dodge, but there is a great variety of attacks and finishers between the different weapons. I hope later in the game the equipment becomes more unique and you get “legendary” type equipment, but I’ve gotten to try lots of different basic weapons already. The enjoyment of combat makes it worthwhile, and it does get difficult when you are ganged up on by multiple enemies, as it should. You can also tell that equipment is going to start looking more and more badass as you level up.
World & Environment
The first island is essentially a tutorial island. It gets you familiar with the basics of running quests, using the blacksmith, etc. There are other cool systems built in once you begin to open up the world. For example, there is a bounty system, where high-level named guys have a bounty to kill you, and you also have a bounty to kill some of them if you are high enough level. You get one of these fights on the tutorial island and he was one of the more difficult ones. I imagine these guys get pretty mean at higher level. The game also allows you to use a traditional quest system with markers, or if you are hardcore you can turn it off and openly explore the world. As in all open-world games, there are lots of optional side quests on the boat and on land. Once you get off the tutorial island the story also opens up. No spoilers, but despite the story being pretty simple, I am pretty amped to see it through (and get revenge!). Lastly, there are lots of quality of life systems with fast travel and horse travel, so it doesn’t feel tedious getting around.
Summary
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey feels like a well-built game. It runs well, it feels good, and there are several systems in place to cater to different types of players. This game would appeal to a broad group of players; open-worlders that have to finish every quest, people that want to blitz the main story line, pirate fanatics, and even history buffs. Despite it having a tinge of console feel, the enjoyment and eye-candy keeps me going on PC. I am even playing with mouse and keyboard instead of controller to stick to my PC roots.
Conclusion
Overall I have high praise for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. I do prefer more character customization personally, but I understand games with a story like this make more sense by having characters (quick side note – you can also choose to play as a female character). My one significant gripe is the real money store attached to this game. It is a $60 title, yet there are lots of customization options available in the real-money store. There is also “time savers” that can boost your XP and in-game currency generation. Not cool. I ended up buying the game for 50% off so I ended up buying the XP boost for an additional $10 to plow through the game. I still feel dirty about it. I feel really bad knowing that people out there could be buying the more deluxe editions for $80+, then also buying cosmetic add-ons for $10 here and $10 there, plus time savers and more. Next thing you know you spent $150 on a game. Aside from the real-money store gripe, there isn’t much else negative to say about this title. I am genuinely having fun, and pleasantly surprised by everything really. The RPG elements are deep enough, and the combat is very satisfying (boat combat was way more fun than I expected as well). I would recommend this game at full-price or discounted if you plan to buy any add-ons. I’ll add some links below to current deals.
You can grab a copy of Assassin’s Creedy Odyssey for PC from:
Steam, Green Man Gaming, or Amazon
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
PC Gaming Day 1 Review – Artifact
As promised, I was able to get some Artifact time in. To start, there is a lot of different things going on in this game so this will be a pretty high-level overview.
Introduction
Artifact starts with a couple quick tutorial bot matches. It looks like there is a lot going on, but once you dig into it, it is pretty manageable. You get 10 packs to open to start and you can build decks right away if you like, otherwise there are some pre-made decks you can use. There are some featured decks you can play with to try them out, Solo Play again bots, Social play against friends, Casual matchmaking for Constructed and Draft, and then Expert/Ranked play. You can have fun and play solo and with friends without spending anything, but for Expert/Ranked play you’ll need event tickets. You get 5 event tickets with the game that can be used for Constructed, Draft, or Keeper Draft modes.
Gameplay
The gameplay itself is quite fun. Essentially, there are three lanes and you go through phases of actions back and forth for each lane individually before they resolve in the combat phase (when both players are finished and pass). Heroes are separated into four colors, and you can only play color coordinated cards in the lane if there is a Hero of that color. After you go through each lane, there is a buy stage where you can buy items to equip your heroes. After the buy stage, any dead Heroes (after a full turn) can be placed back into play. You get to choose that lane you want them in, and in addition you get creeps randomly added to lanes. You then draw two cards to your hand, which you keep throughout all the lanes. There is no card maximum for your hand, and no creep maximum in any lanes. There is obviously tons of strategy behind pushing lanes, defending, buying, etc. The objective is to destroy two of the other player’s three towers. Once your destroy a tower another tower (I forget the name) pops in it’s place. You can alternately win by destroying the 2nd tower, which has double the hit points as the original tower.
Marketplace
One super important topic to understand about Artifact is the marketplace. The Steam marketplace is built into the game to be able to easily buy and sell card with real money. You also have the option to trade in excess card for event tickets. If you are good and accrue 3+ wins before 2 losses in Expert/Ranked, you can win packs for more cards. If you lose 2 in a row, you’re going to be stuck playing casual games or invest real money to get back into the events. I’m not sure how well received this system will be since it doesn’t seem like there are any ways to grind out packs like some other card games.
Conclusion
I played a handful of bot matches and one casual global matchmaking game. I had fun in all of them, and I am a complete newb when it comes to these trading card games. I look forward to playing some of the bigger events where the wins actually matter, but I don’t expect to do well any time soon. Unfortunately that means I’ll either have to stick to casual or throw some money at it. All in all it is a polished game that is easy to play for beginners, but has tons (and tons) of strategy for someone that wants to invest their time (and potentially money) into it. It also feels great to get into a game like this early, when you know it will be around for years to come. For $20 I think you’ll definitely get your money’s worth.
Hardware Review – Ubiquiti UniFi Access Points
This isn’t directly related to PC Gaming, but I love these things so much I figured it was worth a write-up. Also, keep in mind that I am a networking noob, so I’ll probably use the wrong terms at some point.
To start, Ubiquiti makes a whole range of networking gear. It definitely is more of an enterprise piece of equipment versus your typical consumer residential equipment. This is evident when you set it up. Most consumer-grade equipment plugs in, has a wizard, and is running in no time. My Unifi APs (access points) were easy to set up, but took a bit more effort than something you would find from Netgear, for example. It was still easy to do since I left everything on Auto, but there are a ton of features that I have no business touching. My main reason to upgrade was simply poor Wifi in spots of my home. I have several cameras and smart-home items, and everything felt delayed.
One nice feature is that the interface is visually appealing. I am only running access points right now, but if you add a USG (Unifi Security Gateway) you can access tons of data about all the information you send and receive. I probably have no use for that as an average consumer, but it would be super cool to see! You can also add a Cloud Key device if you want to control your network away from home. For the average consumer though, if you are using the Wifi supplied by your ISP, you should disable that and add a couple Unifi APs.
My Frontier plan is 150/150, and with my previous setup I would generally get about 10/10 from anywhere in my house. I tried Wifi extenders and other options, but they were spotty at best. In my case I was able to wire 3 APs throughout my house (which is probably way overkill). Now I can walk from my driveway to my backyard with a super low ping, and full 150/150 speeds on my phone. My cameras, video doorbell and smart-home devices now load instantly and are very responsive.
They have several different spec APs at different price levels depending on your need, but they are all great pieces of equipment. Do your research to figure out what is best for your situation. If you’re like me, you’ll like the quality so much that you’ll go down the Unifi rabbit hole wanting more and more devices. I know this isn’t directly related to PC Gaming, but I had to plug them because they’re just that good.
Here are a couple of the APs I use:
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
PC Gaming Review – Grim Dawn
Grim Dawn is an Action Role-Playing PC Game from Crate Entertainment. This isn’t a new release title. It originally came out back in 2016, but has had updates and an expansion since then (and another on the way 1st quarter of 2019). I just recently jumped into this one, coincidentally alongside many Diablo refugees after the recent announcement of Diablo Immortal. This review includes the Ashes of Malmouth expansion.
Overview
Grim Dawn is an action RPG, very similar to the Diablo series and Path or Exile. If you are into this genre, you will most likely enjoy Grim Dawn as well. It starts out with a choice of starting classes that each have their own skill tree. Seems simple enough. At level 10 you get to unlock a second class, and that entire skill tree. At this point you probably only have enough points to unlock a few abilities. Still not too bad. Once you adventure and find a few ruins you get points for your Devotion skill tree. Okay, we have a lot of options now. Once you get through the main story line on normal/veteran mode (probably somewhere between level 40-45) you end up with a pretty good amount of skill points. Luckily, doing a character re-spec is affordable. The downside is that there is a shitload of options. By this point you have the ability to unlock several active and passive skills, lots of devotion points, and lots of stat points. Now you have to really theory-craft a good build that balances damage and defense (or look one up on the internet!).
Combat
In the vein of most ARPG’s, this game revolves around the combat and the loot. My character is an Elementalist (Demolitionist and Shaman combo). The build revolves around Storm Totems and Mortar Traps. I literally just drop each trap on the ground and run around like a crazy person throwing Flashbangs (debuff). I usually end up browsing through loot before all the mobs are even dead. But holy shit there is a lot of loot. Luckily there is a basic loot filter and third-party programs to assist (I am using GrimInternals mostly to auto-pickup components and other basic items). At the beginning upgrades were dropping regularly, but now that I am deeper into the game they are much more rare. You have to imagine that there are so many two-class combinations and so many unique builds that finding the items with the exact randomized stats you desire are very hard to find. When they do drop it sure does feel good. And that’s what keeps you coming back for more.
Summary
Steam says I have 30 hours into Grim Dawn at this point. I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. Running through the story line through level 45ish was fun, but running through the same content again on Elite mode is a bit of a drag. I really just want to fast-forward to max level 100 and grind out some awesome gear. I’m hoping this totem spec is viable all the way through but it is easy to re-spec and make tweaks along the way. I really do enjoy the combat and loot systems within the game, but I wish the graphics were a bit more updated. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t great either. One other cool optional expansion feature available is Crucible. This is a wave-based arena that I foresee being a lot of fun multiplayer. I’ve done a few rounds to check it out and I enjoy it. It also helps that my build caters well to the arena. I can just drop totems every few seconds and never really have to chase down or aim at any mobs.
Conclusion
Grim Dawn is a must buy PC game if you are into the ARPG genre. The combat and loot are solid, and it sounds like they have more content on the way early next year. This game is also typically on sale for less than $10 for the base game during Steam sales, but even at full price I would consider it a good value.
PC Gaming Review – Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is one of the biggest single-player RPGs released this year in PC Gaming. I originally purchased this game through their Kickstarter campaign many years ago. Glad to see it came to fruition!
Overview
Kingdom Come utilizes a classless RPG system in a medieval open-world environment, using a first-person perspective. It has a pretty minimal overlay (Health, Stamina, and a Compass) and feels a lot like Skyrim when you are wandering around the world. It does a great job of making you feel like an average person in an epic story, rather than an overpowered superhero. I’m normally not into big story-telling games, but the combination of music and graphics kept me intrigued. I was really happy that the game ran so well while rendering so much foliage and trees. It definitely has some nice scenery to look at as well.
Combat
I am used to RPGs being all about hacking and slashing through enemies for loot. After several hours into Kingdom Come I feel like I’ve only had to unsheathe my sword a handful of times (and shoot some bunnies with a bow). The game does provide a good combat system that is semi-complex but not overwhelming. There is no magic to go alongside your physical abilities, so you’ll need to have some combat skills ready. I thought I was a pretty good sword-fighter so I picked a fight with a trio of bandits. They kicked my ass. This game does a good job reminding you that you are still just a peasant. Combat is an integral part of Kingdom Come, but you’re really in it for the journey.
Summary
I haven’t yet beaten the game, but I have been able to put many hours into it. I feel like you could easily sink 50-60+ hours as the game world opens up. I enjoy many aspects of the game like the day/night cycle, requiring rest and nutrition, and the ability to play however you want. You can run around being a thief with a bow, or just build into an outright warrior. I also really enjoy how the game keeps you feeling like a nobody. At one point I thought I was moving up the ranks since I was tasked to accompany one of the noblemen on a hunt. He made me run alongside him and his horse all the way to the campsite. That brought me back down to peasant reality. There have also been some memorable moments and the story line has kept me very intrigued as well. However, some of the quests are incredibly slow and drag on. The pacing of the game has put me to sleep as moments.
Conclusion
This is a great looking game that holds some unique RPG elements. It has an enjoyable environment and runs well. I wish I could get paced the slow paced nature of the main story line. If I had more time I would love to get fully immersed, but as a Past Prime Gamer with a job and kid, I don’t know if I’ll ever have time to go back and finish this one. I don’t think I would get enough enjoyment from short sessions of this game to ever really enjoy it. Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a unique experience that would appeal to a niche group of RPG enthusiasts. Unfortunately, it’s just too slow moving for me.
You can pick up your copy of Kingdom Come: Deliverance at Green Man Gaming.
PC Gaming Review – Opus Magnum
Opus Magnum is a programming puzzle game from the team at Zachtronics. This is my first time trying a game from their PC gaming library of puzzle games.
Overview
I was looking for a typical Past Prime Gamer game. Something that is easy to learn but hard to master. Something that I could squeeze in for an hour here and there. This game definitely fits the bill. Watching some of the preview videos looked overwhelming and complicated. How could a game like this even be fun? Turns out (so far) it is a blast. That’s probably while it has an overall ‘Overwhelming Positive’ feedback on Steam.
Gameplay
It starts with a great tutorial that is short and to the point by introducing each of the basic mechanisms one at a time. Pretty straight forward stuff. Once you complete the tutorial it drops you into a blank space with the products, reagents, and all the mechanisms you need. You simply program the mechanisms to move/modify the reagents to create the final products… easier said than done. One neat part is that it tracks your cost (how many parts you use), cycles (how many moves), and area (how much space you take up). It’s great because you can ignore it and move on, or you can increase your efficiency by trying to lower these numbers. You can also have multiple saves for the same project and compare their stats. This seems great for replayability once you learn more about efficiency. The controls are simple drag and drop onto the map area, with an area at the bottom for “programming”. There are very intuitive hotkeys and ways to group items for when you need to shuffle items around. It is just very intuitive overall.
Why am I enjoying this game so much?
I’ve only put a couple hours into it at this point, but I fully intend to continue. The last two puzzles have really driven me. I started the puzzle, looked at the product required and thought, “I can do this”. It was a good challenge without being overwhelming. I am sure the puzzles will increase in difficulty but I am also sure the satisfaction will as well. I look forward to squeezing in a one puzzle for a short gaming session, while saving more difficult ones for longer sessions (or even breaking the more difficult ones into smaller parts/sessions). This has been a great change of pace from my current regimen of Rocket League, PUBG, and Monster Hunter World.
Summary
This is a PC gaming gem. It even has a built-in .gif recorder and a marble-like optional side mini-game! I would recommend this game to anyone looking to exercise their brain, even just for a short session. Even at the full price of $19.99 I vouch for it. This one is Past Prime Gaming approved.
You can purchase a copy of Opus Magnum at Green Man Gaming, or if you hurry, on the current Overwhelmingly Positive Humble Bundle.
Past Prime Gaming 