• Humble Choice September 2025

    From Spalls Hurgenson@spallshurgenson@gmail.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action on Tue Sep 2 20:05:15 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


    The Number is hungry! The Number must feed! Fortunately, it's the
    start of a new month, and there's eight new games available at Humble
    Choice. Will these title satiate The Number, or will this be another
    month of "skip" games?


    * WWE2K25
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2878960/WWE_2K25/
    Say whatever else you want about the game, but seeing
    as this is the 7th best-selling game in 2025, this is a
    pretty generous offering. (That 2K is letting it go so
    cheap only tells you how lucrative the MTX market is!).
    Based on the "mixed" reviews, the game itself is... okay;
    not great, not terrible, and mostly held back by the
    business meta surrounding the game itself (for instance,
    they disabled Steam family sharing so you have to buy
    the kids their own separate copy!) Me, I'm not into
    brawler video games and think 'professional wrestling'
    just the most awful of entertainment mediums, so this is
    a game I definitely do NOT want in my library.


    * Destiny 2 Legacy Collection https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/55757/Destiny_2_Legacy_Collection_2025/
    Basically, "Destiny 2" and a bunch of expansions. I'm not
    a fan of the Destiny games (and, quite honestly, anything
    "Bungie" since 1998's "Myth II Soulblighter" ;) so this
    collection bores me. But I guess if you're into online shooters
    this might be an appealing way to catch up with the spend-fest.


    * The Plucky Squire https://store.steampowered.com/app/1627570/The_Plucky_Squire/
    A very Indie 3D-platformer, with the hero running-n-jumping
    across picture-books and toys in his quest to do whatever
    it is he's aiming to do. While I'll admit the visual
    presentation is intriguing, the gameplay bores me, even
    watching the trailer.


    * Spellforce: Conquest of Eo https://store.steampowered.com/app/1581770/SpellForce_Conquest_of_Eo/
    This isn't a game that fascinates me, except in comparison
    to the first three on this list. It's a turn-based strategy/
    RPG, and its visuals look good. It's not a game I'm dying to
    play, but neither is it something I don't want in my library
    too.


    * Return to Monkey Island https://store.steampowered.com/app/2060130/Return_to_Monkey_Island/
    Well, I've got really mixed feelings about this one. On the
    one hand, it's Monkey Island. On the other hand, those awful,
    awful visuals. But this is a game I've long been waiting to
    appear on Choice, just so I could get it really cheap and not
    feel like I'm paying for it directly. But god, I hate the
    chosen artistic style.


    * Eastern Exorcist
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1120810/Eastern_Exorcist/
    A side-scrolling platformer/brawler set in a fantasy Japan.
    The visuals and setting are appealing. It looks like a
    more colorful "Trek to Yomi", and I quite enjoyed that
    one, so I'm hopeful this game will be similarly pleasing.


    * Warhammer 40K: Speed Freeks https://store.steampowered.com/app/2078450/Warhammer_40000_Speed_Freeks/
    It's Warhammer 40K with cars. Take on the roll of the
    Orks and drive Mad Max-esque vehicles in a rather uninspired
    death-race. Not bad... but it doesn't stand out either.
    Although maybe I only feel that way because I'm so burned
    out on Warhammer anyway; it's a one-note franchise that
    desperately needs refreshing.


    * Grapple Dog
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1345860/Grapple_Dog/
    Another Indie platformer, this one featuring a mascot animal
    and cutesy graphics. Try to guess what special feature the
    protagonist has that makes him stand out from the crowd
    (hint: it's in the title, and it's not that he's a dog).
    Meh.



    Honestly, this is the most disappointing month of games offered by
    Humble so far. Not so much because the games are necessarily bad, but
    because several of their games are the sort of titles I purposely
    ignore. Yet despite this, I probably /will/ be buying the bundle...
    and the reason for that is almost entirely because of "Return to
    Monkey Island". I don't think I'll like the game, but I just can't
    leave that empty hole in my collection of Monkey Island games unfilled
    any longer.

    You win again, The Number. I hope you feed well.







    (note: apologies for any duplicate posts. My Internet has been flakey
    and tends to cut out right when I hit 'send', so I'm never sure if the
    message was posted or not ;-)

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Justisaur@justisaur@yahoo.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action on Wed Sep 3 06:59:12 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

    On 9/2/2025 5:05 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:


    * Return to Monkey Island https://store.steampowered.com/app/2060130/Return_to_Monkey_Island/
    Well, I've got really mixed feelings about this one. On the
    one hand, it's Monkey Island. On the other hand, those awful,
    awful visuals. But this is a game I've long been waiting to
    appear on Choice, just so I could get it really cheap and not
    feel like I'm paying for it directly. But god, I hate the
    chosen artistic style.


    Same, those visuals are ass.

    * Warhammer 40K: Speed Freeks https://store.steampowered.com/app/2078450/Warhammer_40000_Speed_Freeks/
    It's Warhammer 40K with cars. Take on the roll of the
    Orks and drive Mad Max-esque vehicles in a rather uninspired
    death-race. Not bad... but it doesn't stand out either.
    Although maybe I only feel that way because I'm so burned
    out on Warhammer anyway; it's a one-note franchise that
    desperately needs refreshing.

    Ooh, I do love me a good Mad max death race! Oh, it's online PVP. Nope.
    --
    -Justisaur

    ø-ø
    (\_/)\
    `-'\ `--.___,
    ¶¬'\( ,_.-'
    \\
    ^'
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2