Multi-Game Madness

Okay ... I've been bouncing around the Game-o-sphere again (still really ... lets face it, even when I'm playing primarily one game, I'm usually dabbling in 2 or 3 others). So I figured I'd drop some quick thoughts on what I've been playing lately.

Conan Exiles (https://conanexiles.com/)

Early Access game from FunCom (The makers of MMO games Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, and The Secret World) as well as some single player games, most notably The Longest Journey series and more recently The Park a single player adventure in The Secret World setting. Conan Exiles takes the Conan License into the Sandbox Survival genre allowing players to play Multi-player on Officially hosted persistent servers, Single player, or host their own persistent servers where they can set the rules. Originally I had very little interest in the game when I heard that they were working on the title as I was expecting a PvP gank-fest online game designed primarily around the idea of e-sports, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the single player and Co-Op options being presented with the title.

(Aside - For the record I have nothing against games being designed around e-sports or being PvP focused. I find, however, that while I may enjoy these games on occasion I rarely have the time/desire to sink the kind of time into them that it takes to be truly competitive so I don't tend to have much interest in them. Games like Mechwarrior Online that I can jump into and play a few matches occasionally in a setting / genre that I like can be fun, but aren't going to be a primary makeup of my gaming and as a result I'm not likely to pick them up unless I can get into them without spending cash.)

Conan Exiles has just launched into Early Access so I'm not going to be too critical here as a lot can change over the course of late development. I am also looking at this from the point of view of a PvE player.

Graphically the game is definitely beautiful:

And all things considered it's pretty solid. There are the usual balance issues (particularly between ranged and melee combat) but that's something that can easily be tweaked and adjusted through the early access part of development. Presently the skill progression is very inter-dependent and with the lack of skill points you aren't going to have a lot of 'wiggle room' in your chosen crafting skills. While this won't likely be as much of a problem on large high population servers where people can reasonably specialize and get what they can't make from other players, players like myself that prefer a smaller more intimate server may find themselves unable to do the higher end crafting because they've had to spread out their skill points too much,

There is a lot of potential in this game and there is the opportunity here to make a game that really takes the best of this genre and shines, but at the same time it is facing an uphill climb. This is a well established genre at this point. Games like Minecraft, Rust, Day-Z, and the like have all built this genre over the last several years and recent games like ARK: Survival Evolved have been expanding it into different settings so you have the dual edged sword of trying to make yourself stand out as a late comer to the genre, but at the same time constrained by the expectations of people that play the genre regularly ... you have to be different, but not TOO different.

In the end, it's a fun game and my friends and I are enjoying our private server Co-Op experience. I'll definitely get my $30 worth of entertainment out of the game. In it's current state the game is stable and fun, if difficult at times. It is, however, very much a game that needs multiplayer to really reach its full potential, or a much more robust NPC / RPG element for the single player experience. If you have several friends that like a Low-Fantasy setting I would say to keep an eye on this one for release. If you are willing to brave the issues of an incomplete game and the risk of burning out before the game even releases then the current Early Access game is solid.

Warframe (https://warframe.com/)

Free to play 3rd person action Co-Op shooter. This game is primarily a PvE 3rd person shooter with some PvP arena match games available. Game has a solid F2P model that encourages but doesn't require the player to spend real money on the game. That is to say that almost anything in game can be earned in game if the player wants to put in the time to earn what they need in game. The game can certainly become a major grind if you want to focus on it in that way, but if played as a game to just jump in and have some fun (particularly with a group of friends) and realize that the other 'stuff' in the game will take time to get to, then you can play it and have a lot of fun completely for free.

All Guild (Clan) goals are also achievable to even a small Guild (Clan), and in fact larger Guilds actually have to gather more in terms of resources to complete the same goals. The game is solidly designed around co-op game play with teams of 1-4 players doing missions. The matchmaking system makes finding a random team fast, or players can invite friends or clan-mates to squad up before starting missions ... more people on the team means a slight increase in difficulty and an increased rate of drops as well as better chances at rarer drops.

The game is a ton of fun, the movement and fluidity of the controls is pretty well done (It has it's issues here and there, but that's any game ever made as far as I'm concerned), and the combat is face paced and down right exhilarating at times. For myself, I find it's a lot more fun in a regular group of friends that play together and work as a team. PUGs (Random pick up groups) tend to focus on speed runs and that is (imo) what turns the game into a grind for most people. Keep it casual, keep it fun, but keep in mind that things will take time to get done.

Mordheim: City of the Damned (http://www.mordheim-cityofthedamned.com/)

Okay, I'm a bit biased here as I love the Games Workshop Warhammer (and Warhammer 40k) universe and I love turn based games. The game, based on the table-top mini game of the same name, is a dark fantasy setting in which you take control of a warband scouring the ruined city of Mordheim for fame and fortune. The game has a significant learning curve and the tutorial is largely unhelpful (It is a great lesson, however, in how NOT to design a tutorial series.). A lot of people complain about the Random in the game, but to be honest (they show the rolls in the combat log) it really isn't stacked against the player specifically and I've seen the type of things that people complain about happen during a game rolling dice.

That said, the rules of Mordheim are harsh (also because the tutorial sucks, they are somewhat mysterious) and the game will punish a tactical mistake without pity. The biggest advantage I've seen the AI have in the game, however, is knowledge of the map. They know where they can pass through where a player may waste a turn going into a building that's a dead end only to have to go back out the way they went in and go around. The story line missions are particularly brutal, unforgiving, and totally unfair, so that I think is probably where a lot of the complaints about the game come from.

All in all it is a very solid turn based squad tactical game in a dark fantasy setting. The different warbands (Mercinary, Sisters of Sigmar, Skaven, and Chaos in the base game Witch Hunters and Undead via DLC) have their own feel, strengths and weaknesses, and flow (along with their own story line, but see the above comment about the story line missions). The game allows a good degree of customization (Items, Weapons, Armor and look, as well as names and the like for each member of the warband.) allowing you to make a warband that reflects you ... and then watch in horror as they slowly die. Seriously though, I very much have enjoyed this and I am really stoked that the developer and publisher recently announced that they are working on a Necromunda title (similar table-top game set in Games Workshop's 40k setting) for me to look forward to.