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Other than that it's not horrible.

ffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

I can see the resulting AIM conversation now. It'll go something like this:

EmP: Will!
EmP: I see you've posted a Year in Review
Will: Yes. Yes I have.
EmP: I also see that it's several weeks late, just like everyhting else you've ever written
Will: Oh, go learn to spell properly.

*ahem*

Statisticians report that 2009 featured a marked improvement in the quantity of Will the Great reviews hosted on the interweb, up almost 50% from last year's total of eight. Project Spam Spam Spam Spam, an ongoing effort to get free HG points direct traffic to the site via Facebook updates is partially accredited with the increased number of hits to Will reviews.

Space Quest I - Roger Wilco in The Sarien Encounter

My first review of last year is probably best known for the large quantities of drama released from its RotW topic. Apparently, my revolutionary tactic of including pictures in a review was undermined by the fact that it had been done before. Like Calculus and...uh...that other guy who invented it. Not Newton. Anyway, say what you will about the drama llama, I'm proud of this review.

King's Bounty: The Legend

EmP thought it'd be fun to give me an RPG to preview. And I did. It wasn't that bad, but I wasn't really that impressed with it. The original piece was a bit harsher, but...oh, I know! EmP Conversation!

[14:58] EmP: I usually tend to keep away from saying "I am not a fan of this genre". The reader'll just say "Then why are you reviewing it?"
[14:58] WillTheGrt: The answer is because you made me
[14:58] EmP: Imagine reading a Starcraft review starting with "Starcraft doesn't use the offside trap and, as I only like football games, I hate it."
[14:59] EmP: Whether you were forced or tricked, we still need a creditable peice.
[15:00] WillTheGrt: Well put. I'll tone down the lost-in-translation a bit
[15:04] EmP: Yeah, tone that down and you're good.

So tone it down I did, while keeping the message. However, I feel the need to better explain my feelings toward this game, so I'll use EmP's clever analogy as a jumping-off point:

Imagine if Mass Effect(1) advertised itself as an RPG with engaging, dynamic space exploration as one of its selling points. Now imagine you get your hands on a copy and discover that, while space exploration is certainly an important game element, it consists of little more than bouts of clicking punctuated by falling off cliffs in a glorified bumper car. This should be easy to visualize, because that's what happened. Similarly, King's Bounty promised turn-based tactical combat; what it had instead was anything but. Thus, I was disappointed. Undue fixation on an ancillary game element? Or legitimate expectation that a developer will keep its promises? You be the judge.

Supreme Ruler 2020

I scored this game fairly high, but I did so out of academic appreciation for it. In retrospect, it was really cool but not that much fun. I probably would have been less forgiving if I'd played the first game; I certainly wasn't so kind to the expansion.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment

Entrenchment turned out to be one of those expansions you can write a lot about, which was nice because after 2008 (another year I forgot to YiR) was basically the Year of the Lazy Expansion Pack. I focused on starbases a bit, but that's because starbases were the main attraction. This is also the reason I'm not looking forward to reviewing the next one, Diplomacy.

Supreme Ruler 2020: Global Crisis

Hot on the heels of the original game came this. Some expansion packs dream of being a sequel; Global Crisis is the DLC that dreams of being an expansion pack. I confess I didn't actually play this for very long, it quickly became apparent that I didn't need to.

Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Collection

I honestly can't think of a game I've enjoyed in the last ten years more than Sword of the Stars. Not much more to say.

Space War Commander

This was a cute little casual game, reminded me a lot of something I used to play on my Palm during science class in grade eight.

Star Trek: 25th Anniversary

I was more than a little surprised at how awful this did in the TT, but like Space Quest I remain proud of it despite its reception. One thing I will say: some people criticized it for using the old section approach. This review does not use the section approach. What it does is break up the text with snippets from Star Trek's iconic opening lines, though in fairness I can see how it might seem like a sectioned review if you aren't looking too closely.

Hearts of Iron III

This was basically Supreme Ruler: 1945. Again, it was interesting academically, which is why I gave it high marks, but not the sort of thing I play to kill an afternoon. Evidently someone else was not so kind.

Restaurant Empire 2

I've always wanted an excuse to lay into The Sims, and what better excuse than the sequel to a thinly-disguised knockoff? I had a lot of fun with this piece, and judging from feedback I succeeded in making my point without unduly bashing the game.

Return to Mysterious Island 2: Mina's Fate

On the one hand, this was a pretty formulaic adventure game. On the other hand, the environments were stunning and that monkey is fucking awesome. I'd like to reiterate my closing question here: Why aren't there more adventure games around?

Normally I'd write up some snazzy conclusion, but I'd rather just go take a nap.

Great games. Anyway exploration and resource-hunting in ME2 really, really reminds me of those two. Anybody else getting that?

^_^

You guys were right, this is fucking awesome.

Here.

Meanwhile, work continues on Dragon Age 2, Neverwinter Nights 3, and The Old Republic. AMIRITE GUISE?

Comedy gold. Thanks BioWare, you just can't make that shit up.

The mysterious preview EmP and I unearthed some weeks ago can now be found at http://www.honestgamers.com/previews/6/Kings-Bounty-The-Legend.html under the new site structure.

So, while updating my entry for the Alphas, this happened:

[13:25] EmP: Have you seen where your King's Bounty link leads to?
[13:25] Will: I have not
[13:25] EmP: http://www.honestgamers.com/systems/content.php?game_id=35260&console_id=13&preview_id=6&refer_id=21443
[13:26] Will: What the...
[13:27] Will: Fixed. I think.
...
[13:27] Will: As for that link though
[13:27] Will: ....what the hell?
[13:28] EmP: No idea.
[13:28] Will: I'm bookmarking that

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

RAAAAAAAAAAAA! RAAAAAA! RAAAAGABGLABGLABGALGBALGBAGBALGBALGBALBA!

BLOOOOOOOOOOOOD! HEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Today's dish is variation of The Quesadilla, constructed from what little food was still in my fridge.

INGREDIENTS
1 (one) tortilla
Bacon (two or three strips)
1 (one) smallish avocado
1 (one) clove garlic
Lemon juice
Cheese
Salsa (optional)

Chop garllic fairly fine. Pit avocado and remove from skin, apply lemon juice quickly to prevent oxidizing. Mash the fucker, add garlic, plus salt/pepper/paprika/whatever the hell sounds good - for those not in the know you're basically making a small quantity of guacamole.

Fry bacon in a pan large enough to accommodate your tortilla when unfolded. Meantime, spread guacamole on half your tortilla, add salsa if desired, finish with cheese. When bacon is desired crispiness remove from pan and place on top, then transfer tortilla to pan.

Wait a few seconds for the tortilla to warm up and then fold it over. Proceed to cook until crispy on both sides, make sure to press it down so the cheese makes everything stick together. Remove from pan, place on paper towel if desired, eat.

Surprisingly delicious for a meal made of leftovers.

Since I acquired a large (10 lb) bag of potatoes for about $4 last week, I have been scouring the interwebs to determine what sort of delicious things I can do with them. Here are my results so far:

Mashed potatoes - The obvious
Potato skins - Tasty way to dispose of the outsides once you mash the insides
Baked potato - Also obvious, but much quicker and thus better suited for a late-night snack
Twice baked potato - A combination of all three elements, so delicious it should be illegal
Scalloped potatoes - Cheese and potatoes is seldom bad
Potato wedges - Like baked, simple enough for snacking
Potato chips - More commonly known in North America as "french fries", but since I am neither French nor did I fry them I opted for the UK term
Potato nachos - A variant of the above, accomplished by slicing widthwise instead of lengthwise into strips and then adding sour cream, salsa...I may just go make some right now actually

So, HG, what other fascinating things can I do with potatoes? I've still got two-thirds of a bag left.

Hey everybody, have a look at this wikipedia article.

See the References bit? See the list of reviews from prestigious gaming sites?

See the one from Honest Gamers thrown in with them? See my name next to it?

You're welcome.

Incidentally, here's a screenshot of my Reviews page last night. In particular, Sword of the Stars hits.

(Consolidated into a single post, because doubleposts are ze lame. Thanks, EmP, for pointing out the first one)

Not sure when it happened, just noticed today that SunAge has over FIVE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAND hits.

Small potatoes to some of you, sure, but it's a start.

Check it out on ze forums. I'd like to know what people think of the idea.

Zipp, Sash, thanks for not staging a mutiny yet. <3 This round might just be worth the wait.