Archive For The “Articles” Category
Michael Eckenfels, 19 August 2019
When we last let off, BanzaiCorp had founded Smith, an uninspired-named yet first Colony of mankind, among the stars. I also took the lead in scoring, 50-48. This game is like a tennis match when it comes to scoring – back and forth, back and forth, and it always feels like both you and the bot are in the game at all times. It’s very tense and immensely gratifying.
Now, it’s the Competition’s turn; let’s see what they’re up to.
I drew Gliese 1, another until-now unoccupied star system. A Competition team gets placed there right away. Gliese 1 is at the top center of the following image.
Michael Eckenfels, 12 August 2019
To recap, in the last turn, the Competition placed one of their teams on Ross 780. They have nine teams deployed to the board right now, while I have four. Mankind as truly stretched to the stars, as of the 13 existing star systems in the Starfarers era (not counting Sol, which isn’t a playable area for building and whatnot), all but three are currently occupied by one or more teams.
Michael Eckenfels, 5 August 2019
BC’S TURN
Last time, the Competition gave me a thwack by taking a Breakthrough card and clearing out all the Offers, as well as following that up with an Edge that screwed up my infrastructure.
Michael Eckenfels, 29 July 2019
Let’s recap from last time: the Competition currently has five teams out there, while all three of mine are deployed. Two of the star systems my teams are in are also occupied by Competition teams. Only one star system has been explored thus far (Alpha Centauri, by a BanzaiCorp team thankfully), so there’s no Bases nor Colonies out there…yet.
This era of the game, as you might have seen in the previous installment, ramps up the tension significantly. Whereas in the previous two eras you could move a team right to where you wanted to go (with the right number of Move points, of course), in this era, you are subject to the star tracks in each star system, which means any move you make will quite literally take four of your turns. Fortunately, this move is automatic and happens at the start of your turn, so once a team reaches a system you could maybe take advantage of that, as long as the Competition hasn’t done so in that time you were waiting!
Here’s a picture of the map at it stands now.
Michael Eckenfels, 25 July 2019
Developer: Nival Interactive
Publisher: CDV Software
I’ve reviewed my share of RTS-type games. Heck, I’ve played more than my share. Titles such as WarCraft and StarCraft whetted my appetite for such games: building, training, destroying, encroaching…conquering! Such is the makeup of most serious wargames, whether tactical or strategic in nature, and while an RTS is inherently enjoyable from its base qualities, it’s a very difficult genre to capture effectively across the board.
I had reviewed a similar World War II RTS-type of title recently (Panzer Claws), and while I enjoyed that game, Blitzkrieg is in many ways a fuller experience for a gamer eager to get their fix from World War II era battlefields. And yet, it is still not quite a full RTS game in the same sense that it’s predecessors are.
Michael Eckenfels, 22 July 2019
When we last let off, BanzaiCorp had located an ‘Exotic Asteroid Belt’ in Alpha Centauri. It had a few pretty decent resources, including a 2 Profit benefit. Otherwise, the Competition had gotten a team off to the far edge of the map board on their turn, and now we’ve both had a single turn in this, the Starfarers Era.