14 DAY TRIAL // Andrei Dumitrescu: I have two strategy-oriented experiences to play during the weekend, even though most of my time will be taken up by the birthday of one of my close friends and by the three matches played in the Six Nations.
March of the Eagles is a very cool title, one that takes the war-focused mechanics of the Hearts of Iron series and moves them to the 1815 – 1820 period.
Gamers are able to tweak the composition of their armies, set their tactics on the battlefield, decide who commands them and then invade their way across Europe, battling enemies, hostile terrain, supply limits and war exhaustion.
The other game is The Showdown Effect, currently in beta form, which might seem action-focused at first, based on quick reflexes and good weapon choices, but which is actually a very strategic experience where successful players plan their every in-game step for maximum efficiency.
Andrei Dobra: This weekend I'll engage in quite a bit of virtual running, as I'm testing an early version of Gaijin Games' Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien. While its actual name may be quite long and awkward, the game is really impressive and implements a variety of tweaks, including a stylized design that's an improvement over the pixelated Runner 1.
The levels are also much more varied and, while you'll still do quite a lot of running, jumping, sliding or kicking, you can also enjoy plenty of new elements and challenges, not to mention boss fights.
When I won't be running around in Runner 2, I'll most certainly jump into Mass Effect 3's multiplayer, not only to complete Operation Tribute, but also to accumulate lots of credits ahead of the release of the Reckoning DLC for the game's online mode.
I'm very excited about both Reckoning and the Citadel single-player one, so I'm looking forward to jumping back into Mass Effect 3.