Wordsmith's Anvil

  Image Credit: A44 Games Last year I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled across the game called Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn . It was fun, explosive, and had just the right amount of difficulty in there to lightly frustrate while urging for just a little more from the player. Flintlock didn't just arrive from a fledgling team on their first outing, however. They had already created an arguably more famous game in Ashen .     In Ashen, you play a nameless and literally faceless character who is traversing the depths of some caves for seemingly no reason. Your companion is a blond adventurer who has little to say in the offset, but you two work together to reach the minuscule beginnings of a village. Only a couple people are hanging out here, and it becomes readily apparent in a matter of moments that you are going to be required to help them out in building this place from scratch.     As the villagers of Vagrant's Rest begin to build something to call home...

Image Credit: Reikon Games It's amazing what a game can do to your willingness to dive in with something as simple as a gun and a set of sci-fi powers. Now add a few more guns and a soundtrack that bangs with every track... and you've got Metal Eden .     You play as Aska, a "hyper unit" Android tasked with releasing the uploaded minds of millions of citizens that have been held hostage in what amounts to a sort of brain-storage-facility. This all takes place on a planet that has been designated as mankind's best new setting as Earth has been rendered uninhabitable. Unfortunately for Aska, but fortunately for us, there are obstacles in the way of her mission in the form of thousands of enemies that are tasked with guarding the "cores" needed to advance further.     Sound confusing?     Just wait 'til you play it. The Good First and foremost, the gameplay takes a front seat here. It's not just the combat, although that alone is truly special. The ...

  Image Credit: Streum On & Games Workshop Well... It's certainly been a minute.     You'll have to excuse my absence, I was doing a replay of the oh-so-glorious Rogue Trader . It still sits pretty at a solid 8/10, but I think that rating could improve with the addition of all the DLC they have planned for it. It's so damn good.     But I digress.     We're not here to discuss Games Workshop at its finest, courtesy of Owlcat. We're here to discuss Games Workshop at its most mediocre. Oops. Did I just tip my hand a little too early? Chances are, if you've already done your research on this 2021 game, you've likely made a conclusion one way or another.     Necromunda: Hired Gun takes place in the underhive city for which it gets its name. It's dark, gritty, covered in skulls, and everyone wants to kill you. Sound like Warhammer yet? You play as a bounty hunter working in this underground where your main hangout is the local dive bar and you...

Image credit: Constantinos Pritsos & me An Important Man May 1804 “There is no need to reveal all that is on your mind. Your qualities will be apparent through your daily actions.” That was a tough one to mull on, but of course Tsunetomo is right. I’ve had difficulty keeping my mouth shut on the best of days, and there are times that the quality can be a good thing. But there have also been times when it's been more than a hindrance. The Marine Corps certainly put that on display. I pondered that sentiment on the day that I cantered into the launch point for our exploration, Camp Dubois. Must’ve been the thirtieth horse since that very first one. I can’t even remember what this one looked like. I just dropped him off at the nearest stables and showed my credentials as an agent of the U.S. government. The stablemaster looked more than annoyed that he wouldn’t be receiving any pay for housing and feeding this extra horse indefinitely, but I couldn’t care less. My thighs were batt...

  Image Credit: Makee Games & Forever Entertainment S.A. Once in a while a game series comes along that just snaps up your attention and refuses to let go.       This is not one of them.     Rise Eterna tells a familiar tale of woe and ruin. We are first introduced to a hard-nose mercenary who has limits to what he will and will not do. Rob townsfolk? Sure. Let others butcher them in cold blood? Okay, fine. Participate in said butchery? No, ma'am! Absolutely not.     These are the morals that compose Natheal, the man who arguably fills the role of lead protagonist in the original game. His cynical view on the jaded aspects of everyday life changes once he starts to "connect" with Lua. I put connect in quotes because the connection here is minimal, at best. Lua is the stereotypical "I may be small but don't mess with me" female that we see in a lot of these types of games. Her connection to Natheal is that of a daughterly one, we're told i...

 Image credit: Glen Cook & Tor Books I love me some Glen Cook.     For the longest time I was on a Bernard Cornwell and Joe Abercrombie kick, and don't get me wrong those two are still among my top tier of writers, but I eventually stumbled into my Glen Cook phase and haven't looked back.     For those who don't know, Cook is a grimdark writer. The founder of the genre, really, who has given inspiration to the likes of Mark Lawrence and Joe Abercrombie. While those latter two are potentially heavier names in the modern day, Cook more than earned his stripes starting in the 80s. The Garrett Files just delivers further notches to his credential belt.     The Garrett Files is actually the title of a trilogy of his novels that revolve around the detective work of the titular character. The actual books within are titled Sweet Silver Blues, Bitter Gold Hearts , and Cold Copper Tears. All of them are standalone mysteries, but the character that Cook buil...