Prime Gaming 02 June 2025

<Phew!> We got a lot of games to go through this time; it's a brand
new month and Amazon is dropping a lot of new titles on us. Some of
them might even be worth grabbing this time. Let's find out!


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* Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell (via GOG)
   I admit, I was never the biggest fan of the "Saints Row"
   franchise; the gang aspect and weirdness of the games never
   appealed to me. Still, they had a certain amount of fun to
   them that made them worth a look. But "Gat Out of Hell"
   things were getting just a bit too outlandish for me, and
   it's pretty much where I dropped out of the series. If you
   can stomach the silliness, I guess it's a good game. I just
   prefer something a bit more down to earth.


* FATE (via GOG)
   An old-school action/RPG dungeon crawler; a poor man's
   "Diablo". Mostly I remember them as one of those games
   released under the WildTangent line that was classified as
   spyware by many antivirus programs back in the day. The
   current game has been stripped of all this nonsense, of
   course, but it's still not a very exciting product. It's
   quite colorful though; I'll give it that much.


* Thief II: The Metal Age (via GOG)
   The old classic. The first game in the franchise was (in
   my opinion, at least) not much fun; it wasn't certain as to
   what direction it wanted to go, and it lacked a lot of
   polish. "Thief II" is a much stronger game; the developers
   understood the genre they had created, had a much clearer
   vision and a much better grasp of the tools at their disposal.
   It's still not my favorite of the series but "The Metal Age"
   is probably the reason why the franchise is so highly regarded;
   it might look dated and clumsy, but it's a masterpiece of a
   game.


* Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain (via GOG)
   More Legacy of Kain. This one was an okay game but it was
   pretty forgettable in story and design. It was an obvious
   sequel that existed simply because the first game was so
   well regarded. It doesn't do or say anything new, but if you
   just want more of the first game, this will suit you fine.


* Mail Time (via GOG)
   A way-too-cutesy adventure/platformer for me to ever engage
   with. Deliver the mail in this third-person kiddie game.
   I'll pass, thanks.

* Golf With Your Friends (via GOG)
   A mini-golf game, featuring outlandish courses. I can
   barely tolerate regular golf.


* Liberte (via Epic)
   This is an unusual one. A top-down action/adventure set
   in French Revolutionary times fighting off extra-dimensional
   invaders. Combat is real-time hack-n-slash and buffs are
   represented by cards that you collect. Conceptually
   intriguing, but reviews indicate the actual implementation
   is flawed; it's buggy, grindy and repetitive. Might be worth
   a look to see what it's like, but probably not deserving of
   a full play-through.


* Jennifer Wilde: Unlikely Revolutionaries (via EPIC)
   On the plus side, this game has an interesting setting
   and some gorgeous artwork. But reviews indicate -again-
   that the actual gameplay fails to live up to the promise;
   the pacing is terrible, the puzzles (it's a point-n-click
   adventure) are non-intuitive and you have very little freedom
   of action. It feels very half-baked; a good idea that didn't
   get the time or resources it deserved.


* Chessarama (via Epic)
   A chess-themed puzzle game; work your way through a series
   of levels, using chess-pieces to move about the map.
   Remember, the horsie moves in an L-shape.


* Endless Legend: Definitive Edition (via Amazon)
   Last month we got "Endless Space" that was sci-fi; this is
   the fantasy-universe equivalent. It's sort of a modern take
   on the old "Master of Magic" 4X games. Like its space-opera
   sibling, I find this one a bit too focused on the combat
   mechanics, but otherwise it's fine. It's no "Civilization",
   but then again what is? (I mean, not even "Civilization" is
   "Civilization" anymore, judging by reviews of Civ7 ;-)


* Trinity Fusion (via Amazon)
   An Indie side-view action/platformer... and hey, it doesn't
   feature young children facing off against unholy monsters or
   silhouetted visuals. How novel! It's more akin to the classic
   Metroid games, actually; run and shoot your way through alien
   worlds blasting the various monsters in your way as you pick
   up the necessary tools to progress. It's fine.


* The Lost Ashford Ring (via Legacy)
   What, did you think we'd get through this list without a
   hidden object game? You're so silly!


* Wolfenstein II: The New Collossus (via MS)
   It's the one with the KKK and where BJ gets his head chopped
   off. Actually, a fun game but it starts getting a bit silly
   the further along you play. The gun-fights are satisfying,
   though.


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Didn't I tell you there were a lot of games this time? I didn't lie!
Whether any of them are worth playing is up to you (I mean, its hard
to grumble too loudly about "Thief II" and "Endless Legend"). Sure
there are some fluff games but they aren't all bad. Which ones appeal
to you?

Anyway, that's it for this round. We'll do this again in a couple of
weeks, shall we? Until then!