Prime Gaming 8 Dec 2024

Neither Epic nor GOG seem to be really getting into the 'season of
giving' spirit this year, but Amazon at least is keeping up. (Although
is it really 'giving' if I have to pay them for the privilege? Oh
well, it's not as if I weren't paying for Prime anyway). But I've had
to break out from the usual two-week announcement schedule because
there are just so many new games to grab.


    ----   


* Overcooked 2 (via GOG)
    This one isn't a surprise, given that we got the first
    game last week. I'm not anymore excited about this one
    than I am about its predecessor, but I guess it's got
    its fans.


* Dredge (via GOG)
    I haven't played this one yet, but it's been on my
    "buy eventually" list, so this freebie saved me a few
    bucks! It's an  adventure game, nominally about
    fishing but there's a Lovecraftian twist to it. Is it
    good? I don't know, but reviews are positive enough
    that I aim to find out for myself.


* The Outer Worlds (via GOG)
    "Mom, I want Starfield!" "We have Starfield at home". At
    home: The Outer Worlds. Except that's doing this game
    an injustice, since in many ways it's the superior game.
    Developed by Obsidian, it has a lot more character than
    Bethesda's somewhat soulless offering. But like many
    Obsidian games, its stylistic choices won't be to
    everybody's taste.


* Spelunky (via GOG)
    A rogue-like platformer with randomized levels. It's not
    really my thing.


* Baldurs Gate Enhanced Edition (via GOG)
    Odds are anyone who frequents CSIPGA knows what the
    Baldurs Gate games are already, so this one needs little
    introduction. This is the 2013 remaster that adds a few
    graphical flourishes and makes it easier to run on modern
    hardware, but the core of the game remains the same. Which
    is a good thing; it was a rockin' adventure when first
    released in 1998, and it remains as good today.


* Baldurs Gate II Enhanced Edition (via GOG)
    The inevitable sequel. Trust Prime Gaming with one thing;
    they like to offer up the entire series. Truth be told,
    although BG2 is often heralded as the better game, I never
    enjoyed it quite as much as the first. The story took a
    turn towards the grim, there was just too much magic being
    flung about, and the "Bioware formula" started becoming a
    bit too obvious here. It's still a good game; I just think
    the first one was better.


* Space Hulk: Death Wing Enhanced (via GOG)
    This game is a guilty sin of mine. It's not really that great,
    but it benefits from a) being a Space Hulk game, and b) it
    really captures the atmosphere of roaming about an abandoned,
    creepy space derelict very well. The gameplay is... acceptable;
    not terrible but nothing to write home about. Although...
    who's writing home about video games anyway?


* Quake II (via GOG)
    I know it's often the overlooked middle-child of the Quake
    franchise, but the second game was always my favorite. It had
    a lot of the frenetic energy of the first game, AND it had a
    story too! Not a very good one, no, but it was heads and
    shoulders above what the original Quake had! Oh, and it had
    colored lighting too. I know that's not anything special now,
    but man-oh-man, that feature rocked my world back in '98!


* Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (via GOG)
    In the early 2000s, LucasArts was pumping out Star Wars game
    after Star Wars games, most of them tied to the prequel
    trilogy. This... is one of them. It's not the worst game,
    but it's fairly average overall. Ported from the Playstation 2,
    its got clunky controls and too-small levels. But you get to
    wear the Boba Fett space-armor (well, technically Jango Fett)
    and zoom about on his rocket-pack, so it's not all bad.


* Tomb Raider: Underworld (via GOG)
    Remember what I said about Amazon and completing a series?
    This game rounds out "Tomb Raider: Legend" and "Anniversary",
    offered as freebies in previous months. It's actually a
    pretty good adventure, even if it does go a bit off the
    rails with the story and doesn't take any chances with its
    gameplay. It's probably my favorite in the (first) reboot
    trilogy.


* Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (via GOG)
    Again, Amazon is making sure we get the full franchise: we
    earlier got the first "Call of Juarez" and later "Bound in
    Blood"; now we get the final game (sadly, the forgotten
    middle game "The Cartel" isn't sold anywhere anymore so it's
    unlikely we'll ever see that one). This one is... okay. The
    story is fun but I found the gunplay a bit tedious and the
    levels rather boring. But it has its moments.


* Necromunda: Hired Gun (via Epic)
    A stealthed Warhammer 40K game; this one doesn't have you
    take on the role of a Spess Mahreen but instead make you a
    bounty hunter seeking out targets in one of those pits of
    scum and villainy, a hive city. But despite its intriguing
    concept, it's essentially a fairly bland FPS game with a lot
    of repetition in levels and enemies. Its one of those games
    you play to see what its like, but don't bother playing to
    the end.


* Warhammer 40K: Space Marine (via Amazon)
    A very openly Warhammer 40K game! Stomp about in the
    powered-armor boots of the titular Space Marine fighting off
    orks, chaos warriors daemons and Eldar. Alas, the actual
    gameplay isn't quite a match for its bombast; like too many
    Warhammer games, there's just not enough variety! The level
    design is fairly dull, and the weapons the punch to keep the
    excitement going. Still... for the emperor! and all that jazz.


* Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War (via Amazon)
    Origin of the Spess Mahreen meme (it's based on a badly
    voice-acted quote by one of the characters). A fun -if not
    spectacular- RTS game that has you leading whole squads of
    space marines against the Orks. It's not a very accurate
    representation of the table-top game, but it's fun enough.
    This version doesn't seem to include the various expansions,
    and for some reason is limited to single-player only? Weird.
    Still worth getting, though.


* Disney/Pixar WALL-E (via Amazon)
    Something for the kiddies! The gameplay isn't the most
    exciting, but it's charming and harmless and it's really hard
    to be negative about a game so cute. I mean, look at how
    adorable WALL-E is!



    ----   

See what I mean about getting a lot of games? All this in addition to
those we got last week; it's a bunch! I don't know if Amazon intends
to keep up this pace throughout the month, but if so I may need to get
a bigger spreadsheet!



WARNING: you may wish to hold off on reclaiming those GOG games for
the nonce. GOG's infrastructure is having a bit of a time trying to
keep up and if it errors out you can 'lose' a key as it gets marked as
'claimed' but fails to put the appropriate game in your library. So
maybe wait a few days. As much as I love GOG, they're sometimes a bit
half-assed in their operations.



I'll be back to announce more Prime Gaming freebies... eventually.
We'll see how quickly they restock the shelves. ;-)