Category: Gaming

Why You (Might) Like … Disciples: Liberation

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Disciples: Liberation – It’s Me, Not You (Probably!)

It’s 2025, the Pope’s from Chicago, and I’m recommending a game I uninstalled: Disciples: Liberation. After 14 hours, I see its brilliance – a gritty story, fantastic characters (Avyanna & Orion!), and deep tactical combat. Yet, its army-building focus and specific challenge scaling weren’t my personal fit. This well-made tactical RPG deserves an audience, even if it’s not me. Hear my full “it’s me, not you” breakdown for why you might love what I couldn’t. Read More …

Why You Liked … Avowed

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Exploration, Companionship, and the Game That Deserved Better Reviews. What if the world doesn’t need saving? Well, tough rocks, the Living Lands of Avowed still need you to rescue them, but they’re at their best when you’re exploring, meeting dudes, and lighting the occasional villain on fire with a flaming sword. And honestly, that’s kind of beautiful. Introduction You start your epic quest in Avowed as the Envoy, one of the Emperor’s chosen from the land of Aedyr. There’s a plague called the Dreamscourge, and it is wreaking havoc on the empire’s citizens, and, more importantly for the Emperor, his throbbing desire to colonise and subjugate the free peoples of the Living Lands. Of course, it sounds nicer when he says it. As far as setups go, it reminds me more of Tyranny, arguably Obsidian’s finest effort, but it doesn’t deliver the same feels or Read More …

Overthinking, but Professionally: Steam, GOG, and Epic (or, Who’s Really on Your Side?)

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Maybe you were once naïve enough to believe Ubisoft Connect would add something to your life; I’m not here to judge. Among this digital clutter, three stores actually matter: Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store. First, the TL;DR—or as I call it, “The Algebra of Access and Aggravation.” I promise, this is only make-believe math: Now let’s overthink why Steam, GOG, and Epic are (mostly) on your side—or to badly misrepresent Tron, “For the Users!” Let’s also be professional about why publisher launchers are the worst thing since loot boxes, and how—despite exclusives—Epic might actually be on the right side of history. Steam, GOG, and Epic: The Convenient, the Collector, and the Cash Cannon We all have those same three fucken launchers, or maybe even four if you were once naïve enough to believe Ubisoft Connect would add anything to Read More …

Why You Liked … Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

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In my first-ever game review, I tackle Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, a haunting RPG where love, loss, and moral dilemmas take center stage (with some flawed-but-fun combat on the side). I unpack its bittersweet story, its obsession with meaningful side quests, and whether I can survive as a game reviewer without invoking the wrath of gamer purists. Spoiler: I’m probably already on thin ice, but if you’ve ever wanted an existential crisis with your ghosts, this one’s for you. Read on, and let’s see if I should stick to movies. Read More …

You Should Not Come To Me For Financial Advice: PCMR vs. Consoles

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When it comes to gaming, we’re all about that spend-and-play life. Have you ever stopped to think about just how much cash is flying out the window? I dug into the numbers, and here’s what I found: Consoles bleed you out with monthly costs, but PCs have a higher capital investment.

Want ease and safety? Consoles might be your thing. But PC gaming could be the better financial deal – by a hair – thanks to the ol’ Steam Summer Sale. Read More …

It’s Time to Talk About that Pile of Shame

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Without wanting to be a Debbie Downer on your recent-and-hopefully-delightful vacation, many of you are facing a cost of living crisis. I had a reader email me and say (I paraphrase), “I’m not going to start reading your Tyche series because it’s just so many books and I can’t afford that.” Ignoring the inherent logical pitfall here (where, if you’re going to pay for something, there’s no pro or con to standalone vs. series – i.e., the price is the same for either a) a trilogy or b) three standalones), it does shine a light on where people are at emotionally. People are feeling fairly fucked by the economy. There may be a way to survive 2024 with more of your dollars intact, though. Ownership can create an emotional attachment and increase the perceived value of something (the endowment effect). Read More …

Meanwhile, in Canada…

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Long time listeners to this show will know I love me some Warframe. Digital Extremes (the company behind this excellence) is hosting their TennoCon at the moment, and many, many new goodies are coming to light. We’ll get onto the serious stuff in a moment, but here’s fun for the whole family: I mean, how can you not love a company that does this stuff? To be fair, they did tell ’em not to pull the trigger. (For the geeks like me out there, I think the prop is an Opticor). TennoCon’s introduced a delluge of things, including a new faction, but what spun my wheels more than it should was the new intro cinematic: I’d pay to see that movie. They’re going a bit darker with the Duviri Paradox: …and starting a new war: …all of which means just Read More …

My Top Five Cyberpunk Games

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I’ve been turning my nostalgia to overload because of my upcoming release, Chromed: Upgrade. Some of that’s been books, or movies, but today’s post is about video games. I’m looking forward to Cyberpunk 2077 in the same way a heroin addict hungers for their next hit, but we’re not there yet. If you want a little fix before CDPR’s next thing, give these a look. 5: Shadowrun: Hong Kong https://youtu.be/dQp2HVTVQPo Shadowrun: Hong Kong is the latest in HairbrainedScheme’s franchise, and the best of the bunch. No prior experience with the previous two games is required. This is rich, gritty, full of story, and takes its time to get to the heart of the story. My only real complaint is this is more like a novel than a game; there’s a lot of reading required, but it’ll reward you. ACG’s take Read More …

EEE – My Top Ten

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That’s the name of a thing and the noise I make about this time of year. Earlier today I posted this on Twitter: Richard's hot-for-teacher top-10 EEE picks. I love @E3 time!1. @CyberpunkGame2. @TheLastofUsII3. @TombRaider4. @anthemgame5. @Halo Infinite6. @TheDivisionGame 27. @ControlRemedy8. #SpiderManPS49. @GhostOfTsushima10. @assassinscreed Odyssey pic.twitter.com/LwaicI6cyb — Richard Parry (@ParryForte) June 14, 2018 Because I’m OCD, I want to make myself a list of trailers and release dates. You can follow along at home, if you like. Cyberpunk 2077 It should come as no surprise that I love cyberpunk. I also loved me some Witcher. That studio is bringing us a first-person RPG: sign me up. Due: LOL. 2020? The Last of Us II If this doesn’t have you on the edge of your seat, you’re probably dead already. Due: Who the fuck knows (2018?). Shadow of the Tomb Raider I liked Read More …

Cyberpunk 2077: It’s Safe to Believe

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One of the Great Tragedies of 2018 was when my Cyberpunk 2020 RPG books were lost in our move. Just in time to make me feel better about myself is CD PROJEKT RED with their Cyberpunk 2077 trailer. Fucking outfuckingstanding. I could watch this thing on repeat all day long.