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Failed to connect to MySQL: (1203) User howardkn already has more than 'max_user_connections' active connectionsPath: ...!local-1.nntp.ord.giganews.com!Xl.tags.giganews.com!local-3.nntp.ord.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2025 15:03:56 +0000 From: Spalls Hurgenson Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action Subject: Humble Choice April 2025 Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2025 11:03:54 -0400 Message-ID: X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 2.0/32.652 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 119 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com X-Trace: sv3-fYSny9hEv+nx6Z4oyCcagGGJdtzIN8xq1SZ0WrpXL5cT7p2wRFoFZlruc5hOiYXaFLdLvry+kwSIMNR!yqwrx1CrmP1pgYWAoRM4KIWXfnFBtgQ4cVrz44e8AvAYlh8yTpQi+w/K5sTnMaNsjx4R770u X-Complaints-To: abuse@giganews.com X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.40 Bytes: 6138 Another month, another opportunity to juice The Number. 8 new games for $12 USD? Sign me up! (Oh wait, I'm already signed up). Sure, sometimes some of the games aren't anything I'm interested in, but there's usually at least one game that makes it worth the cost of entry. Let's see if that's the case this month. * Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered https://store.steampowered.com/app/2478970/Tomb_Raider_IIII_Remastered_Starring_Lara_Croft These games are generally well-regarded, and are now considered the way to play the classic Eidos titles. But it does require that you enjoyed the originals to begin with, because they don't really do much to update the camera or some of the more archaic mechanics. Don't mistake these for full remakes; these remasters are mostly (slight) graphics overhauls with a few added quality-of-life features. Even with all that, modern gamers will probably have a hard time getting into them; these games still look and feel very old. They're just slightly less ancient now than they used to be. * Dredge https://store.steampowered.com/app/1562430/DREDGE/ I haven't played Dredge yet, but it was on my wishlist; it's gotten some great reviews and its hint of ancient undersea evils triggers my love of the Cthullian. I was going to play this game sooner or later; I guess now I've got no more excuses. * Aliens: Dark Descent https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150440/Aliens_Dark_Descent/ I played this one just over a year ago, and came away with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it did some things quite well: it captured the look and feel of the franchise, and mixing it up with the different sorts of aliens against your squad of soldiers (this is a top down tactical action game) was pretty fun. But there was a general lack of polish --bugs, some poor mechanics, a terrible ending-- that worsened the experience. It's possible that in the intervening year things have improved though. * 1000x Resist https://store.steampowered.com/app/1675830/1000xRESIST/ An interesting adventure that's more of a walking sim than proper game, 1000xResist has a deep story that asks questions about the nature of sin. It's visuals, while pretty, are a bit too anime for my liking, but the story is worth enduring that stylistic choice. But, like all walking sims, your influence on the direction of the narrative is pretty limited; it's telling you a story and you're just along for the ride (and occasionally allowed to poke into some nooks and crannies along the way). If you want more game in your game, this one is definitely not for you. * Nova Lands https://store.steampowered.com/app/1501610/Nova_Lands/ Another in a long line of Indie-developed factory building games. This one is a bit too cutesy in its visuals and, honestly, the entire genre never really excited me. I guess it's okay. * Diplomacy Is Not An Option https://store.steampowered.com/app/1272320/Diplomacy_is_Not_an_Option/ I mean, I'm tempted to grab this game just based on its awesome title alone. And being allowed to build my own castle is always a joy. But then watching as endless hordes of enemies tear it to pieces is less satisfying (although the scale is impressive). I can't say I'm digging the aesthetics either. It feels a lot like the "Stronghold" crossed with "Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator" and passed through a mobile-game filter. It looks like it has some good concepts; I just don't know if it implements it as a good game. * Distant Worlds 2 https://store.steampowered.com/app/1531540/Distant_Worlds_2/ A 4X space strategy game. It looks good but... well, I've tried so many games of its ilk and always have disappointedly returned back to "Master of Orion", because none of them have held a candle to that ancient classic (and its sequel). "Distant Worlds 2" might be one of the greats, but the odds are against it. * Nomad Survival https://store.steampowered.com/app/1929870/Nomad_Survival/ A retro-graphic'd roguelike shooter. I'm not really capable of judging these sorts of games; they're not my thing. This might be great, but it's incredibly unlikely I ever bother to play it. This one is a tough call... for me at least. I'm happy to add "Dredge" and "1000xResist" to the library; "Distant Worlds 2" has potential too. "Tomb Raider 1-3" and "Aliens: Dark Descent" would make this a slam-dunk of a month... except I already own them. Oh well, I guess it's still worth the price. I can't really hold it against Humble for not taking into account my spend-thrift nature when picking their games. If you're not quite as reckless in your buying habits as I am, this month's selection really is quite a good deal. (I really gotta stop buying games outside of these HumbleChoice deals ;-)