TL;DR
– A visually beautiful and fun game, even though
there are still a couple of rough edges in places.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review –
Last year the world was introduced to Sea
of Thieves a game about sailing the open seas, digging for buried treasure,
and sinking pirate vessels. As a concept, it looked like a great idea, and I
watched a couple of streamers like Stephanie Bendixsen have a lot
of fun on the open ocean. However, while it looked like a really fun game the
price point was just too high here in Australia for me to be able to dive into
it myself, something that has only be amplified by being out of a job for four
months. Recently the game released its one-year anniversary update which seemed
to add in a lot of the features people mentioned were missing, so I was glad the
game was getting continued support. But one day I opened up my email to find a
surprise, my friends had bought me a copy of the game. This meant that for the
first time I got to explore the world and discover the highs and lows of Sea of Thieves.
TL;DR – I had a smile on my face for the whole film, filled with joy and heart.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Before we start I should mention that I am probably the easiest sell when it
comes to a live action Pokémon movie.
I grew up with the show and the video games, so this is honestly the perfect
setting for me if you want to hit that rose-tinted nostalgia that people in the
industry crave. With this in mind, I walked into the cinemas with a sceptical
mind, but I have to say it got caught up in the world almost instantly.
So to set the scene, we open in on Tim Goodman (Justice Smith), there was a
time long ago when he wanted to be a Pokémon trainer, but that time has passed
and now he is happy being an insurance claims adjuster (which I think they
chose because it sounds like the most boring job in the world if you were a
child … or adult). His best friend Jack (Karan Soni) is about to leave town to
be a Pokémon trainer and he fears for his friend being left all alone, so they
try and catch a Cubone, this way he will have a companion. After that all falls
apart they walk back into town only to discover Tim has several missed messages
from Detective Hideo Yoshida (Ken Watanabe) from Ryme City where his dad works.
There has been an accident and his father has been killed in the line of duty
and Tim needs to come to the city to settle his affairs. However, when he
arrives he finds someone lurking in his dad’s apartment, a Pikachu (Ryan
Reynolds) that only he can understand.
TL;DR – While the big up-front features are interesting,
for me it was a lot of the small quality of life changes that really stood out
Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
Now, if you have read anything on our site before, you will likely know that I quite like the Civilization series. Well, I have had my hands on the new expansion Gathering Storm for a couple of weeks now and have been able to play a number of games with many of the new civilizations, so I think I have reached the point where I can give the game an informed review. With that in mind in today’s review, we will be looking at the civilizations, the main features, the improvements, and then the production to see what sort of expansion Gathering Storm is.
So to set the scene, if you are not familiar with the game, Civilization VI is a turn-based strategy game of the 4X persuasion. This means that instead of moving all at once, each player takes their turn to build wonders, move troops, and explore the map or whatever they are trying to do. Your aim is to build the biggest empire through economic, military, scientific, cultural, or religious means (or all of the above). Thus you eXplore, eXpand, eXpolit, and eXterminate. Gathering Storm is the second expansion pack for Civilization VI after Rise and Fall, which has historically meant that this is the last expansion for the game, but we’ll see about that.
TL;DR
– Every single feature of Civilization 6 (at time
of posting) in one map
Article –
This week, well two days ago at the time of writing, the new and second expansion for Civilization VI called Gathering Storm was released. It added new Civilizations, City States, World Wonders, Natural Wonders, and most interestingly Geographical Features (see all new features HERE). With that in mind, I knew I had to immediately jump in and update our Full Civilization VI Map.
Now as always, a couple of notes before we start, first the Civilization boundaries on the map are based more on clarity than anything else, so in most cases, they conform to their modern counterparts. We have also worked using the commonly implemented political borders, not necessarily what nations claim, and this means making some judgement calls which you will see below. Also, while all attempts have been made to make sure that everything is accurately placed, putting this together meant working from multiple different sources, and map projections, and as such, no matter how much you try there might be some slight discrepancies here and there.
Finally, after the break there will be a lot of large images, so now is the time to check that you are on WiFi and are not using Mobile Data.
Civilization Leader: Eleanor of Aquitaine Leader Agenda: English Capital: French Capital: Leader Bonus: Court of Love – Great works in Eleanor’s cities leads to a loyalty deficient in other civilization cities withing 9 tiles. If a city leaves a civilizastion and Eleanor is the the Civ with the most loyalty pressure the city skips the Free City phase.
Civilization Leader: Dido Civilization Agenda: Sicilian Wars – wants to settle coastal cities. Likes those who settle inland. Dislikes those with mostly coastal cities. Civilization Capital: Tyre Civilization Bonus: Mediterranean Colonies – embarked Settlers get +Movement & Sight, Cities on the coast on the same Continent as the Capital will always be Loyal Leader Bonus: Founder of Carthage – Can move the Civilization Capital to any city with a Cothon by completing a Special Project, +Trade Route for every building in the Government Plaza, +Production to Districts in the same city as the Government Plaza. Unique Unit: Bireme – +Combat Strength & Movement, protects near by Trader Units Unique District: Cothon Rivers: Litani River Deserts: Tanezrouft Basin
Civilization Leader: Suleiman Civilization Agenda: Civilization Capital: Istanbul (not Constantinople) Civilization Bonus: Great Turkish Bombard – +Production of Siege Units, +Combat Strength for Siege Units, Conquered cities do not lose populations, Cities not founded by The Ottomans get +Amenities and +Loyalty. Leader Bonus: Grand Vizier – Can use Ibrahim a Unique Governor Unique Unit: Janissary – Starts with a free promotion, Stronger and cheaper than the Musketman, cost a Population to build (unless built in concurred city) Unique Unit: Barbary Corsair – Cost no movement to Coastal Raid, Can not be seen unless units are right next to it. Unique Building: Grand Bazaar – extra accumulation of Strategic Resources in city boarders, + Amenities for each improved Luxury in the city boarders Rivers: Litani River, KızılırmakRiver Mountain Ranges: Balkan Mountains Deserts: Tanezrouft Basin
TL;DR – While there is some clear potential in the interactive story model, my particular playthrough of Bandersnatch was less engrossing and for me more frustrating than anything else.
Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Black Mirror is a series that is always looking to be on the cutting edge of
narrative storytelling. It twists worlds
in on itself, leads the viewer down the garden path only to cut their legs out
from underneath them, or destroys the nostalgia we have for the past, or indeed
the hope we have for the future. So, when it dropped a couple of days ago that
there would be a feature-length episode, well
that was some interesting news, but then when it was announced that it would be
a ‘chose your own adventure’ with multiple endings and user interaction, well
this went from intriguing to must watch in a heartbeat. However, now that I
have seen it I feel that maybe the idea did not match the execution. Also,
because this is a chose your own adventure, it actually makes it difficult to
review because my experience is going to be possibly a lot different to what yours
will be. Maybe I just drew the short straw and hit all the frustrating options,
maybe you’ll be luckier than me, which from the discussions on the internet
might just be the case, I just simply do not know. Well with that in mind let’s
take a dive into a world with multiple paths and endings.
Pachacuti of the Inca in Civilization 6 Gathering Storm. Image Credit: Firaxis Games
Inca Bonuses
Civilization Leader: Pachacuti Leader Agenda: Civilization Capital: Qusqu Civilization Bonus: Mit’a – Citizens can work Mountain Tiles (Production, Also Food if next to a Terrace Farm) Leader Bonus: Qhapaq Ñan – Domestic Trade Routes get bonus food for Mountain Tiles in Starting city, Can Build the Qhapaq Ñan an early Tunnel. Unique Unit:Warak’aq – Reconnaissance Unit, can attack twice if it still has movement points Unique Tile Improvement: Terrace Farm – Can only be built on Hills, + Food, + Housing, gets bonus food for adjacent Mountains, + production for adjacent Aqueducts, + production for Fresh Water Adjacency Rivers: Ucayali River
Inca Analysis
Goodness,
there have been production and food civs in the game so far, but nothing quite
pans out as much as the Inca do in Gathering Storm.
The first big change is unlike every other civilization in the game, The Inca
can work mountain tiles, which means that since you want to be near them for
your Terrace Farms, they are no longer dead weight. This will also boost your
Science and Faith Districts that like Mountain adjacency.
Indeed, it is these Terrace Farms that provide such a strong bonus working
great adjacency weather they are near mountains, or rivers, or both. Yes, they are tempered by the fact that you
need hills, and if you are unlucky with that you could be a bit stuffed.
However, I always get at least some hills in a start before. I mean these might
knock Australia’s Outback Station off the best tile improvement spot.
The other bonuses are all nice, but really it is the food/Production nexus that
really makes the Inca stand out, and this means that they will be a very flexible
civilization, giving you the ability to switch up which victory you go for.
Inca First Look
You can check out all the Features in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm HERE and join in the discussions at the Civfanatics Forums
By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.
What Civs would you like to see in Civ 6 Gathering Storm?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.
TL;DR– Bringing the survival gameplay into a world of dinosaurs is a fantastic idea, but for me,the balance is not quite there.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review –
If you have read my reviews in the past, you would know that one of the easiest sells for me is to add dinosaurs to something. Movies, TV, Books, you name it and if it has dino’s in it I am there for it. However, when it comes to video games with dinosaurs I am much more hesitant after getting burnt in the past with games like The Stomping Land,and more generally in this genre with Day-Z.So when Ark first came out I was not prepared to invest in another Early-Access survival game, but now it has been out in full release for a year I thought it would be a good time to take the dive into the world of Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, lots of Dodos,and oh the mechanic that lets you know when you pooped.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 