14 DAY TRIAL // Andrei Dumitrescu: It’s still summer, but the temperatures have cooled off a little, which means that I plan to spend more time outdoors than indoors during this particular weekend, talking to friends, drinking a little and maybe enjoying a nice friendly-rivalry boardgame.
When indoors, my gaming time will gravitate towards one of the classics that have dominated my childhood: Alpha Centauri, the only turn-based strategy title that was entirely designed by Brian Reynolds.
The developer was one of the leading men behind the early success of Firaxis titles and Alpha Centauri, especially using the Alien Crossfire expansion, is, in many ways, a better game than those it was inspired by.
There’s a whole lot more variety when it comes to the factions and the paths they can take to ultimate victory and the far future setting is more intriguing than the historical one of the Civilization series.
I might also look for some mods that replicate the Alpha Centauri experience in Civilization IV or V.
Andrei Dobra: My weekend will be spent with two very interesting sequels, in the form of Orcs Must Die 2 and Prototype 2.
I have already finished Orcs Must Die 2’s regular campaign but I’m now looking forward to finishing the levels cooperatively with a friend, and then to test out our skills in the Endless mode. I have already managed to reach wave 30 on my own with the Sorceress, so I’m looking forward to teaming up with a War Mage and trying to beat my previous record.
When I won’t be killing Orcs I’ll be rampaging through the streets of New York City in Prototype 2, as I’m more than looking forward to see how it stacks up to the original.
So far, things are quite good, as the supernatural powers of Sergeant James Heller are even more impressive than the ones wielded by Alex Mercer in the first Prototype.