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From: Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com>
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Subject: Prime Gaming 02 June 2025
Date: Mon, 02 Jun 2025 11:22:29 -0400
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<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!


--------      

* 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.


--------      

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!