July 2021
Empire: Total War
July 31, 2021 Filed in: Video Games
For the last four weeks, I have been playing Empire: Total War. This is my third Total War game, following Rome: Total War and Medieval II: Total War. Because Rome was my first Total War game, it made the biggest impression on me. I loved the strategy of the campaign map with its tabletop board game feel. Plus, there was the thrill of commanding individual battles with large numbers of units in full 3D glory. Although Medieval II was another great game, I didn't get into it quite as much as Rome. This time around, my experience was somewhere in between. It took me a while to get into Empire. I had to relearn the game mechanics and controls. After several turns, however, I felt comfortable enough that I was really enjoying it. As with previous Total War games, you can directly control your armies on the battlefield. Empire also added the ability to command naval units during sea combat.
I decided to play the short campaign, which spanned 1700 to 1750. For my nation, I chose the United Provinces aka the Dutch Republic. The scope of Empire: Total War was greater than the previous Total War games I played. In addition to Europe, there was the Americas, the Indian region, and several trade regions (Brazil, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, and the East Indies). The campaign goal was to hold at least 15 regions by the end of 1750. Nine of those regions were specified as required.
Starting regions: Netherlands, Curacao, Dutch Guyana, and Ceylon
Required regions: Netherlands, Curacao, Dutch Guyana, Ceylon, Flanders, French Guyana, New Andalusia, Carnatica, and New York
The starting regions were a blessing and a curse. You are spread a bit thin without much concentration in any one place. On the other hand, it was nice to have a presence in all of the major regions. I tried to build up my economy and trade for the first five years or so. The Dutch have strong naval capabilities so getting established with sea trade routes was important. I then started my territorial expansion in the Americas. I clashed with the French and Spanish early. Before too long, I had captured all of my required regions except for Carnatica and New York. While I continued to grow in South America and the Caribbean, I grabbed Carnatica in South India. That embroiled us in a long running war with the Mughal Empire. As I approached the midpoint of the campaign, I had some decisions to make regarding New York. I really didn't want to go to war with Great Britain. They were a close ally and trade partner. They were also the most powerful nation at the time. Instead, I focused on further expansion in other areas. I eliminated the French and drove the Spanish out of the Iberian peninsula. Things went pretty smoothly until the 1740s when Württemberg declared war on us. They sent a large army to capture Alsace-Lorraine from us. I retaliated by marching two large armies from Amsterdam and Paris to recapture our territory. From there, I marched straight to their capital and destroyed the last of their holdings. Instead of going to war with Great Britain, I acquired New York through diplomatic means. I offered Mysore in India in exchange for New York to secure the campaign victory.
United Provinces Victory!
I decided to play the short campaign, which spanned 1700 to 1750. For my nation, I chose the United Provinces aka the Dutch Republic. The scope of Empire: Total War was greater than the previous Total War games I played. In addition to Europe, there was the Americas, the Indian region, and several trade regions (Brazil, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, and the East Indies). The campaign goal was to hold at least 15 regions by the end of 1750. Nine of those regions were specified as required.
Starting regions: Netherlands, Curacao, Dutch Guyana, and Ceylon
Required regions: Netherlands, Curacao, Dutch Guyana, Ceylon, Flanders, French Guyana, New Andalusia, Carnatica, and New York
The starting regions were a blessing and a curse. You are spread a bit thin without much concentration in any one place. On the other hand, it was nice to have a presence in all of the major regions. I tried to build up my economy and trade for the first five years or so. The Dutch have strong naval capabilities so getting established with sea trade routes was important. I then started my territorial expansion in the Americas. I clashed with the French and Spanish early. Before too long, I had captured all of my required regions except for Carnatica and New York. While I continued to grow in South America and the Caribbean, I grabbed Carnatica in South India. That embroiled us in a long running war with the Mughal Empire. As I approached the midpoint of the campaign, I had some decisions to make regarding New York. I really didn't want to go to war with Great Britain. They were a close ally and trade partner. They were also the most powerful nation at the time. Instead, I focused on further expansion in other areas. I eliminated the French and drove the Spanish out of the Iberian peninsula. Things went pretty smoothly until the 1740s when Württemberg declared war on us. They sent a large army to capture Alsace-Lorraine from us. I retaliated by marching two large armies from Amsterdam and Paris to recapture our territory. From there, I marched straight to their capital and destroyed the last of their holdings. Instead of going to war with Great Britain, I acquired New York through diplomatic means. I offered Mysore in India in exchange for New York to secure the campaign victory.
United Provinces Victory!
Dragon Age: DLC Campaigns
July 05, 2021 Filed in: Video Games
The Ultimate Edition of Dragon Age: Origins contained a lot of content. It included a bunch of DLC (downloadable content) that enhanced Origins with additional quests, areas, characters, and items. It included the Awakening expansion, which I completed last week. It also included four smaller campaigns, the last of which I completed today.
Here are the DLC campaigns in the order I played them:
Leliana's Song - This is a prequel to Origins. As expected, you play Leliana, who was one of the grey warden's companions in Origins. Leliana is a young bard from Orlais with a complicated past. This campaign expands on her backstory.
The Darkspawn Chronicles - This is a "what if" alternate reality campaign. In this story, your grey warden from Origins did not survive the joining ceremony. Instead, Alistair leads the fight against the darkspawn. The story is flipped and you play on the side of the darkspawn in service of the archdemon. Your character is a Hurlock Vanguard who commands these dark forces. It was a combat heavy campaign. The story was familiar, having already played it from the opposite side.
The Golems of Amgarrak - This campaign allowed you to import an existing character. Daylen, my character from Origins, died so I continued the story of Gerod from Awakening. The plot involved the warden-commander's trip to Orzammar and his aid to two dwarven brothers. Of course, golems are involved as was presaged by the title. This campaign featured some of the most difficult battles in Dragon Age. The combat was definitely the toughest of the DLC campaigns I played.
Witch Hunt - This was the last campaign. I got to play warden-commander Gerod for one final adventure. The witch hunt was a search for Morrigan, a companion of the grey warden from Origins. Shortly before the climactic battle with the archdemon, she left the group vowing never to return. This campaign shows Morrigan's fate.
That's the end of the saga for now until I play Dragon Age II.
Here are the DLC campaigns in the order I played them:
Leliana's Song - This is a prequel to Origins. As expected, you play Leliana, who was one of the grey warden's companions in Origins. Leliana is a young bard from Orlais with a complicated past. This campaign expands on her backstory.
The Darkspawn Chronicles - This is a "what if" alternate reality campaign. In this story, your grey warden from Origins did not survive the joining ceremony. Instead, Alistair leads the fight against the darkspawn. The story is flipped and you play on the side of the darkspawn in service of the archdemon. Your character is a Hurlock Vanguard who commands these dark forces. It was a combat heavy campaign. The story was familiar, having already played it from the opposite side.
The Golems of Amgarrak - This campaign allowed you to import an existing character. Daylen, my character from Origins, died so I continued the story of Gerod from Awakening. The plot involved the warden-commander's trip to Orzammar and his aid to two dwarven brothers. Of course, golems are involved as was presaged by the title. This campaign featured some of the most difficult battles in Dragon Age. The combat was definitely the toughest of the DLC campaigns I played.
Witch Hunt - This was the last campaign. I got to play warden-commander Gerod for one final adventure. The witch hunt was a search for Morrigan, a companion of the grey warden from Origins. Shortly before the climactic battle with the archdemon, she left the group vowing never to return. This campaign shows Morrigan's fate.
That's the end of the saga for now until I play Dragon Age II.
Dragon Age: Awakening
July 03, 2021 Filed in: Video Games
I finished another chapter in the Dragon Age saga. Awakening was an expansion pack that followed ragon Age: Origins">Dragon Age: Origins. Because ragon Age: Origins">my character died in Origins, I created a new one. Had my character survived, I would have imported him to continue his adventures. I played a mage previously so I decided to play a rogue this time. Gerod first specialized as a ranger. I focused on that aspect rather than the thieving arts. Thankfully, new characters start at level 18.
The story picked up months after Origins. Once again, you play a Grey Warden. This time, however, the protagonist was from Orlais, the largest and most powerful nation in the land. Civilization still faced the threat of darkspawn. Unfortunately, some darkspawn were showing signs of intelligence. No longer brutes, some were observed speaking in common language. An assortment of companions were encountered, both new and familiar. Awakening had many quests to complete along the way. It provided me a decent 20 hours of gameplay, which is decent for an expansion. By the time I finished, Gerod had achieved level 30.
Orlesian Grey Warden Gerod, a Level 30 Human Rogue
The story picked up months after Origins. Once again, you play a Grey Warden. This time, however, the protagonist was from Orlais, the largest and most powerful nation in the land. Civilization still faced the threat of darkspawn. Unfortunately, some darkspawn were showing signs of intelligence. No longer brutes, some were observed speaking in common language. An assortment of companions were encountered, both new and familiar. Awakening had many quests to complete along the way. It provided me a decent 20 hours of gameplay, which is decent for an expansion. By the time I finished, Gerod had achieved level 30.
Orlesian Grey Warden Gerod, a Level 30 Human Rogue