Crimson Desert: Initial Thoughts
Last night, I spent the first 45 minutes after the launch of Crimson Desert, watching the 92GB pre-downloaded game files slowly decompressing and installing. I finally launched the game at about 10:50 PM GMT. I then waited a further 5 minutes while shaders were downloaded. It took me about 15 minutes or so to read through the various game settings and choose those that are optimal for my PC. I suspect even if you have a beast of a computer, you’re still going to have to spend some time tweaking settings. As for those players like myself with a gaming rig that is somewhere in the middle of the game’s specifications, be prepared to do a lot of fine tuning both within Crimson Desert itself and your Windows settings.
Hand of Fate 2
The basic premise of Hand of Fate 2 remains the same as the first game. However, Defiant Development have not just rehashed their action combat, table top inspired, card-based RPG. They’ve improved, refined and embellished the game, seizing upon its best aspects and bringing them to the fore, while beefing up the combat and adding wider features to bolster longevity. The sinister dealer returns but with a subtly different purpose this time. The player’s progression through the game is still filled with familiar fantasy tropes, random dice rolls, double-edged decisions and unexpected encounters. But this time the proceedings are contained within a more sophisticated framing device. There is a world map and a wider backstory to consider as you face 22 card-based challenges.
Hand of Fate: A Tale of Cards and Pickled Onions
I stepped outside of my gaming comfort zone when I bought Hand of Fate back in spring 2015. Furthermore, this is a game I purchased purely on the strength of watching a couple of "let's play" videos on You Tube. I don't usually gravitate towards card based video games, although I have always played traditional card games such as Cribbage and Nine Card Brag with my family. If I ever choose to gamble I tend to favour Blackjack. But Hand of Fate with it's curious hybrid mixture of deck based gaming, RPG action combat and story driven narrative just seemed to strike a chord with me. It is definitely more than the sum of its parts.