I don’t usually get these free games but I do love me some colony sim. Havendock is a little cartoony but the gameplay looks good to me. And while I don’t particularly love bullet hell, I have been wanting a new low-attention arcade game to add to the mix. 2 for 2, picked them both up.
I installed Hyper Echelon, went into the upgrade screen and found there isn’t a way of exiting the upgrade screen. I had to alt-f4 to get out of it, and then I uninstalled.
I did spend a few hours in Havendock, though. The settler AI system is pretty good, shades of (very simplified) Dwarf Fortress or Rimworld.
I think you have to hit the escape key to get out of upgrades, but regardless, I did find it very confusing and difficult to control* Hyper Echelon with mouse and keyboard. When I switched to controller everything fell into place.
*Both in terms of gameplay and in terms of menu navigation.
I did try this. It appears to be a bug - an internet search suggested I wasn’t the only one having trouble, but not everyone.
Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties is free on Amazon. Pretty fun historical game, didn’t get as much attention as it deserved because it launched very undercooked (only Egypt, a couple Canaanites, and Assyria were in the game, and the main characters were Warhammer style immortal ageless lords). But after a host of updates (adding Greece, Babylon, a shitliad of minor factions, and the titular Dynasty mechanics) it’s a great game I can strongly recommend (especially for $0.00)
So the war wasn’t that total.
It’s ironic that none of the Total War games was set in an actual Total War, (by my count only WWI and WWII can be said to be “Total” though there may be other examples)
I think when you live in Italy and the Gauls invade (or whoever) most people there would consider that the whole world. Some might know of Greece and Egypt.
Given the slow nature of moving armies before mechanization (WWI and WWII) a true Total War would probably be impossible.
but “Total” does not refer to the geographical but to the methodological, a “Total War” is one in which all the resources of a state are mobilized for war, that only happened in WWI and II, if even.
Well, I think it was Napoleon who first started anything close to like what you are describing by arming his citizens and pressing them into the army.
Before that armies were professional and if you beat a few armies you won. Napoleon said you have to beat everyone to win. Positively freaked out the other European governments at the time.
Yes, but states at that point were not developed enough to actually orient all of the economy for war.
New free games from Epic:
TOMAK: Save the Earth Regeneration
This is a weird one. Apparently, it’s an old classic Korean PC (and later PS2) game that is being made free as part of its 25th anniversary. It’s a kind of simulation game… Apparently, the world is going to end, because the gods are sick of humans and want to kill everyone, so the “Goddess of Love” wants to intervene. But the other gods decapitate her, so your job is to culture her decapitated head in a flower pot, growing her over the course of 3 years like some macabre divine Tamagotchi, and keep her alive and happy while demonstrating that love is real and humanity is worth saving. You can also develop how she looks and there is a dating sim aspect to it, which can lead to romance eventually.
As I said, it’s weird, but if the bonkers premise is intriguing, give it a shot, as it is free for a limited time.
The other freebie is a bit more of a standard game:
Clone Drone in the Danger Zone
It’s a game where you control a robot in a gladiatorial arena, fighting other robots with high tech versions of medieval style weapons. It uses voxel graphics (think Minecraft) and combat includes a lot of chopping off artificial limbs. It looks like a bunch of dumb, silly fun.
The game seems to be mostly single-player, including a story mode, but there are multiplayer options (including battle royale, co-op, and 1-on-1 duels). The fights have running commentaries from show hosts. Out of the two games, I am definitely going to be grabbing this one. I’m not sold on the “grow a person from a head in a flower pot so I can date her” game.
This is one of the rare times I skipped both free games. Usually, I am the mind I may as well get whatever it is since it is free. Both of these were just a no to me.
After Warhammer 40k and Medieval III my guess is we will get a Total War: WWI. Or maybe a Victorian Era Total War.
The Mongols at the height of their conquests probably came close.
Total War: Crimea
Does roll off the tongue, doesn’t it?
House Flipper is free on Steam until April 6th. Surprisingly good reviews.
Graveyard Keeper is free on Steam until the 13th. Sim business manager about, unsurprisingly, a graveyard.
They’re really pushing Tomak. It’s free this week as well.
For the more standard game this week:
Prop Sumo, multiplayer fighting game where your character is one of various props.