The games critic to be wrong with
Videogame and board game reviews by game critic Erik Twice. What does he think about the game of the year? And what about that forgotten classic? Read about it here!
Across the river, ten minutes from Amsterdam Centraal there’s a nice little arcade called Blast Galaxy. Featuring almost 90 games ranging from Pac-Man to Dance Dance Revolution, visiting it with my friends was one the highlights of my most recent trip to Netherlands.
Bloodthirsty vikings battle at the end of the world in Blood Rage. Players rally their monsters and troops to fight, not in pursuit of a goal, but for its own glory. It’s a streamlined, hyper aggressive game of area control and card play.
Every time I see it, I want to play it again. But every time I do, I walk away disappointed. It’s a game on the cusp of being great, in the same way a car without brakes is almost complete.
Dune has battles, but it’s not a game about combat. There’s treachery, and negotiation, but deals alone cannot secure victory. The highly asymmetrical factions give their leaders incredible power, but they are balanced in such a way that they are but a tool in the fight for the desert planet.
Forty years after its original publication date, its multi layered mechanics and superb theming have made Dune one of the best games I’ve ever played.
