These are elements that tend not to hit it off on a mainstream stage. I don’t want to say those are elements and a genre of gaming for your hardcore gamers but the hardcores tend to hold that corner of gaming down. It’s not a genre that casual gamers set up camp in regularly.

That means long-running series such as XCOM, Shadowrun, Final Fantasy Tactics, Ogre Battle, Fire Emblem, and the early Fallout games tend to be loved more by those very familiar with the gameplay and progression.

Hell, Fallout had to evolve and go 3D first-person to get over on a larger stage. Now look at the franchise: several award-winning entries, an MMORPG, a mobile offering, merchandise, and an Amazon series. I’m not saying XCOM should do the same but it’s going to be a crawl before it becomes a runaway phenomenon like Fallout while sticking to its roots.

Enter Marvel’s Midnight Suns

So, we’ve gathered that Firaxis Games is very good at a particular genre of games but they need that something extra to really pop beyond its loyal fanbase. One thing that will do that is work with Marvel. The entertainment powerhouse has enough IPs to work with for many gaming companies to do a variety of games—the same with DC Comics.

It was an interesting project to see what Firaxis would cook up with a Marvel property and they were given a low-risk one to work with in The Midnight Suns. Now, I’ll admit I was very excited about it because I like the gameplay of XCOM 2 although the loading at the time I played it on PS4 was egregious.

Also, in playing Marvel’s Midnight Suns, it was more mobile hero RPG like Star Wars Galaxies when Jr came to combat—and I was good with that. If anything it was basically Firaxis’ tactical RPG approach sped up, something I hope they utilize in another XCOM series. The battles in XCOM can be a grind for even the most seasoned player. Unless you’re marathoning or no-lifing the game, you’re not going to get a ton of battles in a couple of hours sitting.

In Midnight Suns, you could get a couple of battles in because of the smaller stages. Replacing the large stages of XCOM are waves of enemies. However, the core of running an organization or group of fighters and assigning missions are still there. I’d say it’s better done in Midnight Suns but that’s because there’s a focus on the characters with stories as opposed to just leveling up recruits.

One thing that did slow things down was needed to interact with characters regularly because there are bonuses tied to befriending them and giving gifts. Personally, I loved this part but I can see how it would turn off some players who just want to slam. I felt it added to the game a lot. Another thing I enjoyed but I could see being an issue is the whole exploration of the Abbey. Lots of mysteries to unlock but some of it is so lore-heavy that I found myself skipping some journal entries and the like frequently.

Hell, I found myself doing more of the hero-tied missions and collecting artifacts and the like than really getting into the main story missions. It’s just a well-designed experience.

This is the Formula and Firaxis Should Get Another Crack at It

Honestly, I felt this was a breath of fresh air for Marvel games. I love the open-world action games and the exploration that comes with the usually fluid battles and transversal of these well-crafted cities but we’ve been getting those for roughly 20 years via the Spider-Man games.

It’s for good reason because it’s a formula that sells. Unfortunately, Firaxis’ formula didn’t so it but I believe it would be great for a larger group like The Avengers or the X-Men. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t be that much different from Marvel’s Midnight Suns: just larger names and more heroes to play with.

What were your thoughts and experiences with Midnight Suns? Let us know in the comments!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

While we’ll get into the storylines and events from Crossroads RP and MnM in later updates, our Tales from the East Side debut is about one player’s adventures in the survival game Rust. It is in Rust that I experienced one of the greatest non-roleplay stories by a role player: willhenri, the “Friendly Gamer”, “Demon Queen”, “Terror of the Tunnels”, and a “true demon of the East Side.”

Who is willhenri?

Before we dive into this streamer’s week-long misadventures, a little bit about willhenri. I first discovered Will while he was playing “The Demon Queen” Ashley “Smashley” Williams in MnM. His character was the leader of the Queendom, a criminal organization in Los Santos which featured women as the main command of the group.

While he’s a really good role player who strained his voice playing Smashley, MnM is a setting where action was at the forefront. Clapping and slamming was the order of the day, so it was a faster-paced server than cities such as NoPixel (Whitelist), Twitch RP, and New Day RP.

The nature of the server will be a topic for another Tales from the East Side but willhenri displayed the killer instinct of a shooter while also being versed in combat driving and strategy. A prime example of all three of these traits is when MnM implemented gang turf for a brief period in 2022 and willhenri’s role in holding territory in the northern part of the county against the sneaky strategic shooter Jay Jizzle (played by YhLad) who led the Jizz Cartel.

Outside of RP, willhenri’s tact has been displayed in the dungeon-based battle royale Dark and Darker, which he played with members of the MnM/Crossroads community. To be honest, DnD is what led willhenri to dive into Rust.

The Odyssey of a True Demon of the East Side

See, Will had become extremely invested in the first open beta of DnD. The combat and go big or go home gameplay was similar to Rust and Escape from Tarkov—simply in a sword and sorcery dungeon setting. Actually, he became a bit toxic towards the end of the first and second play test as the leaderboard became his goal.

Will would team with his friends in MnM/CR or go it alone with ridiculous levels of aggression and speed. Slamming kids with stealth, daggers, and arrows was his jam in the first play test while magic and mayhem was the Canadian’s calling card in the second play test.

The thrill of DnD and anticipating the April play test left him needing more. In same sense that a bird needs to fly, Will needed to slam and roleplay wasn’t really fulfilling that need. He resumed playing in Crossroads RP as his Swamp Rat, a swamp person who was originally introduced as an East Side Bandito during the ban/break of several notable community members from MnM.

Swamp Rat was reintroduced in the community’s wild west server as the leader of the Swampers, a gang that was pretty much the original reoccurring threat to the Lawmen. The character is depicted as the son of Marshal Boss Hoggington (played by BlockbyBlock) and nephew of Marshal Berry Cades (played by ZombieBarricades)—both real-life brothers.

Will would mix in some playing some BattleBit—a voxel game based on Battlefield—but it wasn’t exactly getting the job done. That’s when—a little over an hour into his March 6, 2023 stream he dove into Rust.

The First Three Days

Going back to the week before, viewers were in ZombieBarricades’ stream wanting him to do another Rust stream. Rust is a kind of hardcore survival game that can also be viewed as something of a social experiment in how ratty a person or a group can be.

ZB agreed to a Rust stream for the following Thursday and even said it would be a scam-a-Thon or a sub-a-thon where the streamer plays for several hours but often doesn’t finish the agreed- upon time. To set things up for the scam-a-thon, willhenri and other community members were to get blueprints during the Monday wipe on the game’s main server.

Blueprints allow players to create many items such as weapons, construction pieces, and so on of varying tiers—the higher the better. This is where the misadventures started for willhenri.

The first three days were rough going as the community base wasn’t in the best location but was in a better location than the second week’s base. Also, progress on the base was slow. Whenever base builder PhantomRP came online there were usually two questions: “What happened to all the materials?” and “Who put this here?” usually in reference to something being placed in the base that wasn’t there when he finished construction for the moment.

Everyone else’s primary goal was to farm—or gather resources—for the first couple of days. By Thursday, the expectation was for there to be a sizeable, defendable RP base in the middle of a server of hardcore players and sweats.

As a matter of fact, the original villain of this story was a player named Denji who killed Will on the first day after the MnM crew failed in taking his base. It was such a kill that willhenri considered reporting him but didn’t. On the second day, Denji and his group took over the base. Will would vow to slam Denji and his group when he ran into Denji after losing horribly while gambling scrap.

The thing is: Denji doesn’t factor into the rest of this tale after Wednesday.

If you’re still with me on this story—things didn’t happen like that. While the crew would end up with a base that avoided raids from larger groups and lasted until the end of that week’s wipe, it wasn’t without some struggle and stress on Will who was often the person who remained on for hours from around noon until a little bit after midnight.

Civil War Versus the Bean Can Bandits

During those hours, there were often big plays attempted that ended in failure either by being outnumbered or underequipped. Monday and Tuesday featured an effective team involving Will, his protégé/bodyguard Riftz, Slidez, and one other. There was also a problem of having teammates on but not being on the same page. See, streamers have different times that they get on and can participate.

That means that resources can be depleted by an early morning crew after the afternoon- evening team gathered it and vice versa. This was the cause of some internal strife between Will and the Bean Can Bandits, friends of his who play in Crossroads RP as the Bean Can Bandits.

The group is headed up by YhLad, who is kind of like Vegeta to his Goku—rivals who become allies but have no qualms about fighting each other.

Will made the error of getting on their case for doing nothing and using resources. Mind you, YhLad established himself as the base DJ during the Monday wipe and was often away from the keyboard while others were farming. He’d get active later in the afternoon but in the morning/early afternoon, he was usually at the base while willhenri was in the field.

After bringing this up, Will found himself in a mini-civil war where YhLad, Moonbape, and Jason Harp trolled him for a little over an hour, trapping him in the base and refusing to let him out. Will would kill them several times and inch his way out of the base, but the Bandits had control of the base’s security.

Once he was out of the base, Will would be killed out in the field and lose the gear and loot that was on his character. The base was his home and he had to return empty handed and humbled to get back inside and gear up again.

The incident annoyed a few of the members of the base as it hindered the progress of the base. However, the Bandits remained with the base and would be part of a great twist to this story.

Love Thy Neighbor

By Thursday, March 9, things began to turn around Will and the crew. However, the base was

far from where it should’ve been if everyone had been on the same page the whole time. ZombieBarricades showed up for a bit after days of checking in on the progress via Will’s Twitch chat and on Discord.

It should also be noted that member Slidez, who is currently main-ing Rust frequently recommended moving to another server that would’ve been more enjoyable and less stressful. There was a consensus that the gang should move to another server, but it was late in the week. Not only that but willhenri was invested in the base.

Again, he’d gotten on early and stayed late trying to make this thing work. The group would move on to another server while Will soldiered on with the original base while others trickled in. Things weren’t looking good for the base until Friday.

Most of March 10 was the same as the rest of the week for the East Side Base. In the background was the war and raids of larger groups SMG and Galactic Assassins which resulted in rocket and gunfire echoing throughout Rustoria.

With parties out raiding and the base not being that defendable, there was the expectation that it was next to be raided. You’d think that building up defenses would be the main objective—and it seemed to be—until the community’s Kick plug Phoking basically ignited a conflict with a neighbor within seeing distance of the base.

Will figured that the base would be raided since he was alone but continued to do runs for materials regardless. Sure enough the once-friendly neighbor was ready to turn his guns on the base when Phoking returned! For several hours, willhenri and Phoking held off the neighbors with a spotlight aimed right at their foes and a sniper rifle. Will would clear trees while Phoking sniped others, allowing him to safely farm and attempt loot runs.

The sniper tower had been constructed by YhLad who would later fortify the tower. After two or three hours, the duo was joined by mNmIllmatic—the developer for both MnM and Crossroads servers—and Vectant in the late hours into early Saturday morning.

With a small, effective group, the field force of Will, Illmatic, and Vec managed to raid the neighbor’s base successfully. The three would raid another base before calling it a night on this big turn in fortune for the base.

Saturday Night Fever

Saturday was more of a continuation of Friday in that the group was juicing with both resources and gear from the raids. The early morning crew of the YhLad, Jason Harp, and Moonbape came in and got work down as far as farming and construction with YhLad adding on to PhantomRP’s work.

They would manage a successful raid on a base before Will returned. This time, willhenri had a larger team to work with as Slidez, Moonbape, YhLad, Jason, and JDogg joined in along with a few others. Both Slidez and JDogg were around on Friday but were gone by the time Will, Illmatic, Vec, and Phoking took the Herbal group’s base.

A few more raids followed and the base managed to avoid SMG and Galactic Assassins who were out looking for bases to raid. Saturday ended on something of an anti-climatic note as Will and Phoking began breaking chests and sleeping bags since the base successfully survived the wipe.

Why This Story?

The main reason I chose to focus on this week-long story is because it featured everything. There was drama, comedy, action, adventure, and even romance on the rocks. We also had frenemies coming through as strong allies and unexpected allies joining in during the Friday climax.

Also, the progression of this story as experienced through willhenri’s stream allowed for the viewer to not only experience all of this but there was amazing build. It was the action of Music and Mayhem with the drama and storytelling of Crossroads but in a place that wasn’t created by the community.

Again, this is a roleplay community of friends who have played with each other for a long time. They know what they’re good at and their personalities. This was a recipe for disaster without ZombieBarricades being hands on as he had been in the past but to see this group of perceived “sh**ters” make chicken salad out of chicken sh** was an even greater story than if they had the leadership of ZB.

There’s also the story of willhenri the streamer. Knowing that as much as it seemed like he would quit, he never gave up the base. There were times when he was stressed or pessimistic about the whole thing but stuck to it like a true demon of the East Side. By Friday, he had gone into Dark and Darker leaderboard rush mode and looked ready to go down with the base.

Hell, there was even a period that Friday where the base was his base. Everyone else left and he was the last demon standing. Not only that but there was some irony in him ending up as the base lord after losing control of the base to YhLad, Moonbape, and Jason Harp.

Again, this one week run had everything I could ask for in an engaging story. The downtime wasn’t even boring because of the looming threat that this base could be attacked at any point. Expect Will to jump to the Kick streaming platform once the app drops but most of the

MnM/Crossroads community who have been mentioned in this Tales from the East Side have migrated to Kick as of this posting.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

What Was Fallout Tactics?

FT was a tactical RPG which played a lot like the main Fallout games as far as the combat is concerned. That’s the main difference between the two series: Fallout is all about the action and adventure along with the exploration that comes with it.

Meanwhile, Tactics was more about achieving the objectives for this mission. The team management and choice of missions made this more like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance in its flexibility. However, the exploration and revisiting of locations for economic or whatever reasons was removed in Tactics.

It actually makes sense as Tactics gives players control over a team of Brotherhood of Steel initiates. Since they have a base with its own store, there’s really not reason for trade with waste landers and vault dwellers.

If you’re familiar with the combat in the first two Fallout games, that’s the focus in Tactics. It’s still very much an RPG and has a storyline but the focus is on strategic battles and character growth from those battles.

So What Happened?

Who knows? Fallout Tactics actually did very well for a game that was mainly for PC release at a time when most gamers were overwhelmingly still on console. If anything, Tactics should’ve been it’s own series. Publisher Interplay had several games it was getting out during the early 2000s while developer Micro Forté could’ve easily taken on another game in the series—if their game catalog is any indication.

Things ending with Tactics and the game being considered non-canon will always be a head scratcher because it’s a really good tactical RPG.

Rest or Reset

This is an obvious “reset”, folks. The main reason I say this is because Bethesda did try something new with Fallout via the Fallout Vault mobile game. Wouldn’t you believe it: the game is actually fun. The franchise is flexible enough that different things can be attempted and a failure is unlikely but not damaging.

Fallout 76 didn’t go the way Bethesda intended at all but the studio is still working on titles and isn’t in any threat of getting closed down. Why not make another attempt? Something safer? Tactics is a series that could be brought back either on PC as a new, ongoing thing for the Fallout purists out there.

However, I believe there is also a spot for Tactics on mobile. Games Workshop and Wizards of the West Coast showed this was possible with Warhammer and Dungeons & Dragons, respectively. Both games studios have titles that with a tactical RPG approach on mobile and those games are actually enjoyable.

Bethesda has dropped a few games on mobile with the grindy The Elder Scrolls: Blades, a trading card game based on TES, and the aforementioned Fallout Shelter. The studio has a presence on mobile but it needs a third banger and I think a mobile revival of Tactics without a gacha element would work. The game would just need to be true to the main series games in the same way as Diablo Immortal is to the rest of the Diablo series.

Of course, mobile can be a hard platform to portray Tactics on and having it on PC as a game where players can create their own maps, mobs, missions, and so on could end up being a cult hit. If anything, it would be similar to Wasteland 3 or Shadowrun Returns/Hong Kong as a returning tactical RPG series.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

The late 90s and early 2000s was a magical time for PC gaming development where ideas can be floated out there and a video game could very well be made off of it. The same goes for features: PC was flexible enough for the creation and advancement of many genres.

Real-Time Strategy and Roleplaying Games? What a Combo!

So, when Irrational Games dropped Freedom Force, it wasn’t too unusual. It’s a real-time strategy game with RPG elements and those are two genres that really had a place on PC at the time. Even today, RTS games gets love as it’s a throwback to another time in PC gaming history while also being pliable enough for new features, stories, and settings.

Now, with that said, it’s not a genre that is just pumping out smash hits like first-person shooters, action games, RPGs, and casual stuff. “What about RPGs?” Everything has levels and experience points to it now. RPGs really moved gaming forward as far as longevity of titles goes. With the RPG element, you have progress that can be tracked and gamers like progress.

Let’s Get Back to Freedom Force

FF which stood out as one of a few superhero games from the period that didn’t suck. It’s also one of the few superhero RTS games and RPGs in general. It’s a setting that tends to stick to the action genre.

What works about this game isn’t even the gameplay. I mean, the gameplay is solid, it’s pretty much along the lines of your basic RTS mechanics and progression. It doesn’t really reinvent the wheel and the RPG element adds to it.

The juice here is the Golden Age of Comics approach to the setting. Freedom Force takes place in the 1950s during the Cold War and focuses on protecting the U.S from a Soviet threat. It’s pretty much a 1950s storyline only with characters made for the game. There’s no Marvel or DC here but the archetypes common with both powerhouses’ characters are here and in abundance.

With that said, the storyline and characters won’t get you immersed in the world of Freedom Force or anything. It’s more like these are fun characters and this is an interesting setting combined with solid gameplay. It’s the kind of game that you’ll at least attempt to finish but once you do, you wouldn’t be blamed for forgetting about it weeks later.

I remember the game because I really enjoy building up and customizing characters, something FF allows players to do. Also, the progression of the story and the characters’ origin stories are all touches that I really dig.

What Happened with the Series?

FF got a lot of love when it came out. Again, it’s 2002, most RTS games had a sci-fi, fantasy, historical, or military approach to them. Freedom Force was something new on the outside while being very familiar on the inside. It was a good package.

It was received well enough to warrant a second game: Freedom Force vs the 3^rd Reich. In that game, the Freedom Force team goes back in time to fight the Third Reich and their super humans after the timeline is messed up and the Axis Powers win World War II.

Even that title got positive reception. However, it wasn’t enough to keep the franchise going as Irrational Games had turned its attention towards the SWAT 4 games before throwing its full focus into the first two Bioshock games.

Rest or Reset

I’d say that Freedom Force is worth a reset. Studios such as Interplay, Black Isle Studios, or Harebrained Schemes could really revive this franchise after 18 years of being in the grave. While the world of FF won’t immerse you, it never really had the chance to flesh out characters and bring the characters into modern times.

Freedom Force definitely has some creative potential in it and while that isn’t enough to warrant reviving a franchise, it would be a good franchise to have in a smaller developers A-deck or something for larger developers to offer for fans that crave that kind of gameplay.

If you’ve played Freedom Force what did you think of it? Let us know in the comments!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

If a game has at least two of those, I’ll stick around to see how it pans out. It might not hit all four but that doesn’t eliminate it from being a fun experience, after all. We’re going to get into five video game franchises with truly satisfying stealth mechanics.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War

We mention this game every now and then on AfroGamers but the Middle-earth really encourages a stealthy approach to dispatching enemies as opposed to just berserking on hordes. Mind you, if you’re armed and geared up enough, you could very well go berserk take out a small group of orcs.

However, the wise thing is to target lone or small groups of them away from larger groups or encampments. A stealthy approach is best for this kind of long game and Shadow of Mordor’s spin on stealth gameplay works perfectly with its setting and combat mechanics.

What really bolsters the stealth in Middle-earth—and the game as a whole—is the Nemesis System. Having enemies who remember their encounters with the player and actually improve if left alone was next-level AI—really years ahead.

It adds to the stealth by having the player stalk the movements of their main prey. That comes in the form of just following them if you’re close enough to remember their last location or interrogating other enemy commanders and either forcing them to serve you or getting info.

I’d love to see this in more games with stealth gameplay.

Elder Scrolls

I would’ve put Elder Scrolls and Fallout since their stealth mechanics are similar but Elder Scrolls’ setting makes stealth much more rewarding and fun. Sneaking around and lockpicking is more practical in Fallout. It’s something you should be doing because of how dangerous everything seems to be in the wasteland.

In the Elder Scrolls games, the danger—even at high settings—was never such that it was utterly impossible to avoid or overcome. That’s also in part because while looting, there’s not much to load up worth keeping in your inventory. You can always ditch something.

Meanwhile in Fallout 4, a glass bottle or tin can is worth keeping up until a point if you’re focusing on base building and crafting a lot. In Elder Scrolls, it’s more like you’re keeping the most value things for trading or salvaging skills.

Obtaining those valuable things by delving into dungeons, rummaging houses, and spelunking in caves requires a lot of sneaking, lockpicking, and trap avoidance. Well, at least to do it with a degree of caution.

Elder Scrolls’ stealth game is ridiculously solid for this kind of approach. Plus, doing it regularly actually shows some improvement while using stealth class skills. Locks become easier to pick, traps can be run over without triggering them, and you can sneak up on enemies and secure stealth kills. Love it.

Spider-Man

Marvel’s Spider-Man is a game with a good stealth mechanic that has a flaw of enemies always reaching a point where they’re aware of the player’s presence. The mechanics are actually good enough that you should be able to clear a room without alerting the remaining force.

Part of the stealth mechanic in games is enemy AI—particularly, their awareness that an enemy is nearby. Most of the enemy’s you’re clapping—and the same is the case with the Arkham games—are goons. Sure, some ninjas and cybersuit super soldiers might pop up but you’re mostly dealing with robbers and street toughs.

They shouldn’t be as quick as they are in spotting the player for some reason. I don’t know. Regardless, the swinging around rooms with conveniently placed bars, rafters, levels, platforms, and ledges makes for an awesome experience while sneaking around.

Also, Spidey’s combat of webbing enemies up and quick melee attacks makes dispatching enemies quickly and quietly very rewarding.

Metal Gear Solid

A stealth list wouldn’t be complete without Metal Gear Solid. Depending on the game, you might either really love the stealth and combat or really dislike one or both. I enjoyed MGS 3 and MGS 4’s stealth and combat but the first two games—eh, the stealth just wasn’t as fun for me.

It could be that I discovered stealth games during the PS2 with Tenchu and missed out on the initial PS1 run of Metal Gear Solid. Revisiting it after playing something more fluid in MGS 3 when analog movement wasn’t an addition might have impacted my view of the first two MGS games.

However, by the time we reach MGS 3, it’s an eye-opener for people new to stealth gameplay. Trying not to make noise, taking enemies out with knife attacks or sleeper holds, having to move bodies to avoid detection—it’s all presented extremely well in MGS 3 and it only got better with MGS 4 as consoles and PC power improved to where increasingly complex enemy AI and level design made the stealth pop.

Splinter Cell

The fifth one was a difficult pick but it just means we’ll have to do a second list down the line. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell was probably my second experience with stealth gameplay and it was more complex than MGS 3. I sum this up to a preference in approaches. While MGS action/sci-fi/stealth mix is extremely fun, I liked the more rooted stealth/action approach of Splinter Cell more.

Both games—as well as Hitman—require some clean up in the sense of hiding bodies to avoid detection but Splinter Cell made heavy use of tighter quarters/smaller rooms to discourage using firearms inside. Another thing that the three games focus on is paying attention to enemy movements.

I can’t say that one game does it better than the other. However, MGS often gave you more room to groove as far as level design. As the franchise went on, you were given more and more space to explore in your missions. Splinter Cell gave players more to explore as well but exploration never really became a focus of the games. This was more like practical space with better development technology. Think of it more like the early and mid-console Hitman games where knowing enemy location and a lot of navigating rooms and floors are necessary. That’s Splinter Cell’s stealth approach. There’s rarely a lot of places to hide if enemies are detected without backtracking a bit.

Let’s say this was part one of our stealth series. Did any of your franchise picks make the list? Also, what games do you think will make part two? Let us know down below!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

While better known for historical “Musou” slash ‘em ups such as Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors, the developer really made its name off of several series of historical games. Some were part of long-running series, others were duologies, and a few were one-off games.

Let’s look at five Koei classic title that aren’t the Warriors games.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1985-present)

If Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors are the hands and feet of Koei, then Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the soul of the developer. This is one of two longest-running franchises dating back to 1985 on the NES, Amiga, MSX, and other consoles of the time.

It is based on the 14^th century Chinese historical saga of the same name—which is also the base of the Dynasty Warriors series. The first couple of games started out as strategy games where players take control of a providence and must unify China via war while maintaining their own territories starting in the late 2^nd century.

When the second title in the series was released in 1989, custom officers was included and added something of an RPG, “What if” approach to the series. As the series landed on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo, the RPG elements of the game became a major part of the franchise alongside the core turn-based strategy.

I always believed that the best double whammy for Koei was using the same source material—Romance of the Three Kingdoms—but spinning it off into two distinct games with the same characters. Dynasty Warriors is action-oriented but has mixed in more of the strategy element via the Empires versions of the series.

While it didn’t take off in the West in the same way as the Warriors/Musuo games did, it still has a cult following. Personally, I believe this because RTK has always been more PC-friendly than console-friendly even though its roots are in console gaming.

Nobunaga’s Ambition (1983-present)

The best way to explain Nobunaga’s Ambition is that it’s RTK’s older sibling. It’s not exactly the same game but it has the historical approach and the goal of unifying Japan. For some reason, it never really took off in the West in the same way that RTK did in the early 2000s.

That’s why when you look it up on Wikipedia, it doesn’t have as extensive entries as other Koei games. Hell, defunct Koei franchises are better fleshed out there than Nobunaga’s Ambition.

Koei couldn’t exactly hit it out of the park internationally with a samurai-version of RTK—as it was viewed by 2000s Western audiences—but managed to do so with the Samurai Warriors series.

Aerobiz (1992-1994)

During the early 1990s, Koei was also building up for an entry into business management simulation games. The titles that became popular worldwide out of its Management Series were Aerobiz and Aerobiz Supersonic.

I remember first playing Aerobiz over my uncle’s house in the mid-90s on the Sega Genesis. He was big on air combat games and probably picked this one up thinking that’s what it was. The first Aerobiz game is what established my love of business management sims today.

Basically, you run an airline and purchase jets, invest in cities to turn them into travel hubs or tourism hubs. Historical events such as regional conflicts and sporting events play into success or failure of an airline connecting from a hub to say North Korea or something—North Korea isn’t a destination in either game.

Players are also responsible for repairing their jets and retiring them once manufacturers release better ones that can cover more distance. It sounds involved but actually, I’d say this is one of the best introductions to the business management sim genre outside of games such as Total Extreme Wrestling and Game Tycoon.

As you can see, Aerobiz only lasted for two games and the Management Series has been carried by the horse breeding/racing series Winning Post. However, I think Aerobiz has juice in the tank for a PC or mobile revival.

Uncharted Waters (1991-present)

This is a franchise that is still going today but its best days were when it was on Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis. Uncharted Waters details the age of sea exploration so expect lots of dealing with colonial super powers and the Ottoman Empire.

Trade, privateering, and piracy area all on tap in this one. Like most of Koei’s historical games, investing in a port or area are key to establishing good relationships. In Uncharted Waters’ case, it’s establishing good relationships to the point of a port becoming allied with your home country.

In the Super Nintendo/Sega Genesis titles, there are storylines for your chosen character but for the most part they exist more in the background to the main gameplay. The series continued into the 2000s and beyond but the last Western release was Uncharted Waters Online, an MMORPG which was decent at best.

Inindo (1991)

Back in late 2018, I touched on Inindo when going into my all-time favorite ninja games. I always felt that Inindo was one of the best Koei games of the 90s as it mixed RPG with a dollop of strategy for a really fun and interesting mix.

You also have to factor in that most ninja games are action-oriented and there are probably a thimbleful of ninja RPGs out there. This was a groundbreaking title for the theme and gave you enough play time and replay value that it worked.

Hell, it even features potential teammates with their own personalities, loyalties, and journeys that you can encounter and link up with during your own quest to defeat Oda Nobunaga! Again, groundbreaking stuff! In most RPGs from the period and even now, your teammates are often static. They don’t do anything outside of being selectable for your team.

Check it out if you can get your hands on an emulator as Inindo has been out of print for decades now.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Over the Christmas holiday, I finally got a chance to sit down with the game and I must say: I’m impressed. This is pretty damn fun game that will test your management skills. Actually, I’d say that management makes up a little more than half of the game. Let’s get into Medieval Dynasty.

Storyline Progression

Let’s get the lighter lifting out of the way first. There is some story in MD where early on, it’s all about meeting your uncle’s former friends. After war breaks out in the land, the main character—Racimir—flee and attempt to head to the village that his uncle was the castellan or village chief over.

Once there, he finds that his uncle died a few years earlier. He was a part of a group with different names depending on the member you ask and his eldest friend takes over his position as castellan.

He offers Racimir the right to establish a village in the valley and that’s the foundation of the gameplay. I’m still going through the main story but I’m finding the side quests, hunting, and foresting more interesting.

Gameplay

Now this is where Medieval Dynasty shines. Developer Render Cube really delivered the goods here as it’s a stripped down survival game as far as it’s very realistic.

While I love zombie survival and some of the pioneering games of the genre, MD is close to Oregon Trail levels of pure.

Your main enemies are hunger and thirst but during hunting it’s possible to run into aggressive animals like wolves, bears, boars, and bison.

Rabbits, moose, and deer are docile and tend to run while you never really know with badgers and foxes. They might run or they might want the smoke. Something I’ve yet to encounter but are definitely in the game are the bandits.

Outside of hunting and combat but related, you’re able to craft all kinds of medieval period items and dishes. To craft the items, you’ll need to do a ton of resource gathering mainly in the form of tree clearing and gathering but you’re also able to mine.

From there, you’ll need to build your homestead but you’re also dealing with a technology system. This tech system is basically your character’s familiarity with creating new things and can be raised by doing associated activities.

For instance, crafting items and making food raises production and cooking respectively. Plowing fields and planting crops raises farming. All activities give some sort experience and that plays into skill building and unlocking technologies.

Quick Hints

The earlier you’re able to unlock different technologies as early as possible. I’d recommend doing it before the story brings it up since the main story’s quests might not keep up your play style.

You might want to focus on farming but the quest line doesn’t ask for you to farm much for a while. An important piece for your village will be the well.

You’ll want that as soon as possible but you can float on buckets of water and water skins if you have one or two other villagers. In tandem with roughly any upgrade to houses, you going to need the woodshop because eventually planks will be necessary.

Then again, you can always ask villagers in different settlements about where to find certain resources or materials. Mind you, the villages where you want the really primo materials are always far out of the way. Just know most of the stuff sold by stores cost an arm and a leg.

When starting a new game, you’re able to change a bunch of the game world’s settings. So, you can play it straight up or make it so that more XP is awarded for different activities, remove bandits, or make crafting faster.

On this note, I’ll recommend changing the length of a season. The default is a little too fast. I currently have a game on fifteen days equals a season and it’s a bit of a crawl. I’d say ten days is probably the sweet spot in this regard.

Is Medieval Dynasty Recommended?

The ultimate goal is to build a dynasty and a settlement that is the envy of your neighboring villages and settlements. It’s a fun mix of survival and small-scale city building. However, it can be a bit on the grindy side of things. There’s no end to having cut down trees, find straw, travel to villages that are ridiculously far, and accidentally running into dangerous animals while taking a straight shot from a village to your settlement.

It’s extremely repetitious and the winter is probably the season that will slow everything down. If you’re not up for a grind, Medieval Dynasty might not be for you but I definitely find it to be an extremely fun game. Far from the most exciting throughout but you will get a lot of time out of MD.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Solid From the Start

One thing that many games miss the mark on frequently nowadays, is that there are a lot of games become good or great games over time, not the second that they release. Civ 6 was greatness straight out the gate. As soon as I popped it in and started playing, it felt like a game that was new and fresh while being familiar at the same time. There weren’t many big bugs that plagued the game around launch like many releases. There was a ton of content right when it came out and I spent my time playing around with the vast number of different civilizations trying to see which ones I liked and which ones I didn’t and also which specific playstyles or victory conditions I typically try to go for.

With this being said, I will note that there were other games out at or around the time that Civ 6 released that caused me not to run the game into the ground straight off the bat. I usually played the game for an hour when I first turn my console on to get me warmed up or even after a long day of gaming, a chill game that I can put on to unwind.

Keeping the New Content Coming

Somehow, Civ 6 has stayed fresh since 2016. Most games that release today cannot stay fresh for two months. Civ 6 has done this by releasing a steady stream of DLC content. The base game is enough to get countless hours out of but when they started adding in the DLC packs, the games seemed fresh all over again. Some of the civilizations that they added changed the dynamic of the game drastically even if you just had them in your game. Some even changed your whole playstyle into something that you never knew could be fun like recently when they added the Portugal leader Joao III who is a sea trader. He cannot make international land trade routes to other countries and can only make sea trade routes but he gets 50% more yields from them and higher movement range. He is a blast to play with and an example of how one civ can change the whole game.

The developers of the game also did a great job of bringing new wonders along with the new leaders. Just bringing the leaders in by themselves would have been fine but the wonders that are associated with those leaders make the game that much more fun to play and the fact that when you start your new game, you never know which wonders are in the game, there is always that element of surprise mixed with hope for which wonders might pop up and which ones you want to start the game near.

Modded For the Console

My primary method of playing video games is through my PlayStation console. I know that the “best” way of playing Civ 6 is on PC but I just don’t have one. That being said, something that is cool about the PC version of many games is the fact that they can get mods that fans make in order to extend the shelf life of a game or even bring an old game back from the dead and make it fresh again. What we have been given on console is not player made mods but rather mods made by the developers and they really impact the game. Since some of them have come out and I have tried them, they have become a staple of every new game I start and I honestly don’t remember playing without can cannot see how I did at some point.

To me, the best of these “mods” is the secret societies mode which lets you join one of four secret societies that gives different game changing perks that unlock throughout the game. They are based around certain concepts in the game. There is a military one with vampires (yes, vampires), a civic based one that allows you to have more control over and get more benefits from city-states, a religious one that drastically boosts your faith output and makes your religion even more deadly and lastly, my favorite one, the Hermitic Order which boosts your science output and gives you access to ley lines that give dramatic boosts to districts placed nearby early one and raw output later on.

Although I think that this one is the best, there is also an “ages” mode that allows you to rise to golden ages or fall into dark ages with different perks and penalties for each one. There is a dramatic weather mode which cause disasters to happen more frequently and be more devastating (which I do NOT play with). The world congress that makes the world leaders come together to make decisions and although it don’t have a drastic impact on the game, it is very cool. They also have a zombie’s mode that is cool, but not my cup of tea.

Wrapping Up

Time after time, I leave Civ 6 and come back to it because it is always consistent and always fun. Over the years, I have gotten to bump my difficulty up to level seven and that is something that I usually never do in games but I love the challenge that Civ brings. Although I never gave it the chance to burn out for me, I don’t see it doing that anytime soon and I hope that it doesn’t.

Staff Writer; Tardell Swift

This brother is new to writing yet has many different interests such as gaming, hip hop, wrestling, and manga.

You can follow him on Twitter; PhirewoodGaming and keep up with his thoughts there as well.

What really sets each house apart is the combination of starting characters for each house. These characters are usually broken down by the leader, their second in command, and their supporting members. The leader is usually the strongest, no matter what. The second in command isn’t technically the second strongest, but in most cases, they should be. There are things other than raw strength that can make the characters strong like their movement ability, which late in the games, matter much more than anything.

The Blue Lions

The first house that we are looking at is the house led by Demitri. Other than Bayleth, they have the best swordsman in the game in Felix, which is something to take into consideration. Overall, I think that the Blue Lions have the best combination of melee units (spear, axe, sword, fists), but the worst archer, back mage, and an ok healer. Late in the game, all of the characters are pretty strong but after playing with the other houses, Ashe is very lackluster as an archer, and Annette is the weakest black mage between the four starting black mages in the game.

Demitri as the head of the house is great, especially late in the game. He is a spear user and he packs a punch, with most battles that he engages in ending in one round. He is also pretty tanky. A late game strategy when you are in a pinch is placing Demitri somewhere where everyone will attack him and just letting him mow every enemy down. His second in command is Dedue. Early in the game, he is very weak and easily the worse second in command. What he lacks in attack power, he makes up for in defense because he is a brick wall. Most attacks do no damage to him even late in the game. His biggest flaw for most of game is his lack of movement which can be fixed by giving him movement boosting items to help him out. I would say that this house should probably be played second.

The Black Eagles

This house is led by Edelgard. They are a house mostly made up of crest users and have an extra magic user with them which is a gift and a curse because of their lack of defense and late in the game, they can easily be one shotted by most enemies, especially if they cannot take them out in one hit. They have the worse combination of melee fighters in the game. Petra is great as a sword user. Ferdinand gets the job done as a spear user, but Caspar is not only an annoying character but falls behind everyone else in battle. Although you can pick what you want anyone to be or weapon to use, Caspar just seems like he does not have place with the other characters strength wise. As far as their magic users go, they are great across the board. Their archer is the second-best archer in the game behind the leader of the Golden Deer house. Their second in command is a dark mage, and I will get to him in a second, but Dorothea is great. I would rather have her than Annette because it seems like her critical hits are more frequent and her dodge is a little better. She also has more attack range for some reason. They also have a solid great healer.

Edelgard as head of the house is great also. She packs more punch that Demitri although her defense isn’t as good. She can take some damage, just don’t leave her by herself for too long or your game will be over. Her second in command, Hubert is the second strongest black magic user in the game. He is excellent from the start of the game all the way through. Of course, you have the same issues like with all magic users like the lack of movement and lack of defense but if you can hide these issues, then Hubert is great. Overall, I would say that this house should be played last because of the two branches that they have to go down.

The Golden Deer

This house is led by Claude. This house is probably the most even house of all of them. They have solid melee characters, the best archer in the game and another archer that becomes a monster in the late game. They have hands down the most powerful mage and character in the game with Lysithea. She can one shot the Death Knight early in the game if you train her right. Their healer is alright. As far as their melee characters go, they lack a sword unit but makes up for it with a brawling unit that absolutely wrecks late in the game. They have two spear units. One is good (Leonie) and one is meh (Lorenz).

Claude, the house leader is a monster from the start. He has naturally high critical hit rate and can dodge most attacks. He can probably take a hit or two also but he is rather weak defensively. His second in command, Hilda, is a monster in her own right and probably the best second. She is almost as good as Edelgard with the axe, although it seems like late game, she trades in some of her defense for mobility if you choose to do the mounted route with her. Unlike most flying units, it don’t seem like she has any defense or dodging ability but she has a scary critical hit rate. I think that new players should play this house first.

Wrapping up, you can start the game with whatever house you like and get a good, even experience. It really comes down to preference and team composition. Also, remember that you can recruit people from other houses to join your if you choose to.

Staff Writer; Tardell Swift

This brother is new to writing yet has many different interests such as gaming, hip hop, wrestling, and manga.

You can follow him on Twitter; PhirewoodGaming and keep up with his thoughts there as well.

Civilization VI on iOS – The Good

People have been playing Civilization VI on Apple iPad for quite some time and now iPhones users can also download the game from the official app store. Following are the things that we like the most about Civilization 6 on iPhones and iPads.

The first and the most attractive thing about the game is that graphics wise, it is a direct PC port, which means you will hardly find anything less than the PC version of the game. This major factor makes the gameplay more appealing and of course, there’s a $60 price tag, so any compromise could have resulted in the death of the game on the platform.

On the latest iPhones that come with a big screen, Civilization VI looks pretty neat and easy to play. The interface design is the most important thing in mobile games. After reviews and app size, UI is probably the most important detail players look at on app store. To our surprise, the UI is very responsive and comfortable.

The game features two main game modes – single player and multiplayer. The multiplayer mode has two branches called hot seat and local. Hot seat mode lets players pass mobile to each other which may not sound great in theory but is fun when you play it with a friend. The local multiplayer mode lets you play with friends when they join you over Wi-Fi using their iOS devices.

Civilization VI on iOS – The Bad

Soon after I installed and played Civilization VI, I noticed that the game is a battery drainer. I wasn’t expecting this from an iOS port of this game, but it reminded me of the Pokemon GO horror. When Nintendo released Pokemon GO, the game was horrible and battery issues were later fixed by Niantic. The developer of Civilization VI needs to work in this area because the game eats up a lot of battery power. This particular issue ruins the experience for people who prefer playing games when they are traveling.

One more thing that disappointed many people is the lack of the Rise and Fall expansion. According to the developer, they “hope to support” the expansion pack in the future. As expected, there’s no timeframe given by the developer, so all you can do is just wait or buy the game on PC and access the expansion content.

One important feature missing from the game is online multiplayer. As mentioned above, the game’s multiplayer mode features local and hot seat features, but there’s no way you can enjoy the multiplayer feature online. Playing the game on a small screen is a pain. If you’re not using any of the latest iPhones then you will probably start hating the game soon. On the small screen phones, the controls feel cluttered and in no way justify the price.

Civilization VI on iOS – The Ugly

Out of all the good and bad things about Civilization VI, the worst thing about the game is its price tag. It’s true that making a game requires a lot of efforts and this is also true that lack of microtransactions is also a reason why the developer is asking for money upfront. The game looks amazing, but it is really not $60 amazing if you’re going to play it on a mobile phone. There are two DLC packs and if you want them, you will have to pay money. The upfront cost of $60 is certainly not a deal breaker for many, but those who have a PC or console would want to spend that money on some other games.

Staff Writer; Jay Baker

Have any Gaming Tips? News? Hit up our Video Games Guru at; JayBaker@AfroGamers.com.