Review: Kingshold, by DP Woolliscroft

Those of you with freakishly good memories may recall I read the sample of this as part of my snapshot reviews a while back, and I’ve decided to make a little progress with those.

Kingshold occurs almost entirely within the city of the same name. Ironically enough, the king and queen have sadly died from a case of decapitation, and it’s time for an elected leader. That, essentially, is the plot, which is written in quite a charming and relaxing way.

The cast, I would say, is more ensemble than focusing on a specific individual, with POV characters including precocious maidservant Alana, Hoskin the looking-forward-to-retiring-but-can’t-yet chancellor who has to govern the city before the new lord protector is elected, Mareth the bard, Motega the mercenary, and Neenahwi[sp], his sister (and also a sorceress).

And there might be yet more skulduggery afoot from elsewhere as the potential leaders use tactics fair and foul to try and get ahead.

The book is pretty simple, and the world is interesting (beneath the city there’s another settlement of dwarves, with whom good relations are typically maintained). Although events are mostly straightforward there are sufficient twists to keep it from being predictable or tedious, a couple of which are particularly good.

I found it to be a good, relaxing read. (NB the next review might be slightly longer than usual as I’m doing a spot of beta-reading, but I may ramble about CK3 in the meantime).

 

Buying note: I got this as part of the bundle within Kingshold: The Wildfire Cycle: Volume 1, which is only £3 and (provided the sample tickles your fancy) offers great value for e-book readers.

Thaddeus

Crusader Kings 3: Reading Recommendations

It isn’t long now until the current-gen consoles get some more grand strategy in the form of Paradox’s Crusader Kings 3. As someone into history, and enjoying strategy games coming to consoles, this is right up my street.

The game can start in 867 AD or 1066 AD, and I know a little of British (and, to an extent, European/Near East/North African) history of that period. Fairly poor on the rest, and given the map includes all of Europe, the northern half of the African continent, and most of Asia there’s a lot of new stuff to explore.

If you’re into the backstory and want to learn more, here are some reading recommendations, with links to full reviews of each book indicated.

 

The Norman Conquest, by Marc Morris

This is a fantastic book, and probably my favourite by the historian (I own four of his works). Not only does this detail what goes on in 1066, one of the most important years in British history, it also explains what happened beforehand and for decades afterwards, providing plenty of context.

 

 

 

Byzantium: The Apogee (book 2 in a trilogy), by John Julius Norwich

This entire trilogy is a riveting tale of the Eastern Roman Empire, which was a yawning chasm of ignorance in my understanding of Europe before I read it. All of it is worth checking out, but both start years are covered by a single volume, The Apogee. This covers, unsurprisingly, the high point of the Eastern Roman (also known as the Byzantine) Empire and, of course, their allies and enemies over this period.

 

Viking: The Norse Warrior’s (Unofficial) Manual, by John Haywood

A slightly more lighthearted book this one, and part of a fun yet informative series. To dive into Norse culture and the raiding military antics of the time (covering both start dates), this is one of the shorter and easier reads on the list, but still does much to shine a light on the Vikings and their impact on wider Europe (most notably in Normandy and England, as well as setting up numerous cities in Ireland).

 

Alfred the Great: The Man Who Made England, by Justin Pollard

This biography covers one of England’s most important kings. While technically never ruler of all England, he and his brother halted the seemingly unstoppable Viking advance and drove it back, thereby increasing the power of Wessex. Alfred’s reign started a few years after the earlier start date in CK3, but it’s still a wonderful book and one that goes a long way to painting a picture of a very different England.

 

The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000, by Chris Wickham

This is easily the broadest book on the list, covering not only Europe but north Africa and parts of the East over a period of centuries. It’s one of the best histories I’ve read and does a great job bridging the gap between the Western Roman world and the medieval era. If you ever want to understand why Europe was the way it was when the earlier start date comes about, look no further.

 

The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England, by Marc Morris

Another Marc Morris history, this one covers almost the exact same period as Wickham but looks at England and, thus, the Anglo-Saxons. If you want a more specific look at England, this is what you’re after (note it ends right before the Battle of Hastings).

 

Thaddeus

Review: Final Fantasy VII (PS5)

NB this is a review of the base game only, I haven’t played the Intergrade additional content yet. There will be some minor spoilers in the story section, but only vague and items relating to the premise.

 

Story

So, a quarter of a century of so after the original game came out for the original Playstation we have the PS4/5 version. The story is not identical. For a start, it only covers the first portion of the original multi-disc game. In addition, some areas are more fleshed out, or slightly altered. The additions are fairly significant, in terms of both main story midway through, and optional side-quests.

For the most part, these work well. An especially good aspect is that there’s a not-at-all-subtle explanation for why things work out the way they do, and the ending of the story does give overt notice that things might be substantially different going forward.

Pacing is mostly good but there are times when it can be jarring. When one character is rushing to save a child, the game decides to throw a needless very mini-quest (30 seconds work) that is done at walking pace and pointlessly steals away the sense of urgency. However, for the most part the story is handled well.

 

Gameplay

This is the area where I changed my mind most from the demo on the PS4 to finishing the game. I really liked the materia system, and have no problem with either standard turn-based battles or the ATB approach of the original. Materia is kept in this game, and works well (as might be expected), but the ATB system has been substantially reworked. You now have two ATB slots which are slowly filled over time, and more rapidly when you attack. Most things (spells, abilities, and items) require a single slot although some abilities require both.

This actually worked very well and prevents the real time nature of basic attacks getting swallowed by spamming spells. In addition, the varying nature of the four playable characters does make a big difference, with Tifa super-fast and Barret able to deal plenty of damage (especially at range) but rather slower. Initially, I thought it was just button mashing, and while that can work with more basic fights, smart use of materia and understanding how the system works makes a big difference for tougher foes.

Beyond your usual fights there are also optional arena style locations/events (Shinra’s combat simulator, or Corneo’s colosseum, for example). The latter is especially worth visiting as some of the optional fights here can yield more powerful limit breaks.

And there’s a darts mini-game in Seventh Heaven, which I quite liked. Looking forward to when we visit the Golden Saucer.

 

 

Sound

I’ll be honest, I own several varieties of One Winged Angel so I was wondering how the score would stack up. It’s fantastic, building on the excellence of the original and generally adding more, including the boss theme (particularly when fighting the Airbuster) and One Winged Angel. The only thing I felt could have been better musically was the reactor theme.

There’s also voice-acting. Some of this is very good, particularly Barret (John Eric Bentley) who gets some great lines and delivers them very well, covering the range from heartfelt emotion to overblown comedy and the occasional dry remark. Cloud, being somewhat of a dick, was a difficult character to pull off, but he’s likeable enough to work as the protagonist without losing his capacity to be pretty laconic. The friendship between Cloud and Barret developing is handled very well, and that’s a combination of good writing and a strong voice performance.

 

Graphics

Comparing the game from the late 20^th century (which, even at the time, had poor character models) to today’s effort is a bit like comparing the drawing you did as a five year old to the one you did in your thirties. Overall, the graphics are very impressive, particularly the grand set pieces and character models for the main characters. They tread the line between realism and larger-than-life very well.

There are a few weak spots. Minor characters can have, er, interesting faces, and here and there textures are distinctly muddy. On the whole, however, it’s good stuff.

One minor weak point is that there’s a photo mode (which can also be used in almost every cutscene, exempting only FMVs) but because the player only ever controls Cloud (excepting rare times when he’s absent) you can’t really focus on other characters. Also, there’s no posing, as per Dragon Quest XI S’ mode, or facial expressions, as per Ghost of Tsushima. However, there is an array of filters and some other settings to fiddle with.

 

 

Bugs and Other Issues

During my playthrough (about 35-36 hours) I encountered no crashes, hangs, freezes, or other problems. I’m sure there is a flaw somewhere, but I didn’t find it. Overall, very impressed with how smooth the sailing was.

 

Replayability

Haven’t started this yet, but completing the game unlocks the hard difficulty (which can be played on a chapter-by-chapter basis). In addition, at least one chapter (there are 18) has differing endings, it seems. Overall, choices are not that common and you’re mostly on rails. However, the hard mode will suit those who like a challenge. There are also multiple languages, and I might try a German playthrough at some point.

 

 

Conclusion

It’s a bit weird playing such an up to date take (with some amendments) of an old favourite, but I think the Final Fantasy VII Remake is a very enjoyable game. If you’re on the fence then check out the demo (if it’s still available), but I’ve got to say that during the course of my playthrough I liked it more and more, and am looking forward to the next part.

 

Thaddeus

 

PS Having some technical woe so apologies for the lack of proofreading and any ensuing errors.

Review: The White Song (Chronicles of the Black Gate Book 5), by Phil Tucker

This is sort-of the last book in the series (there’s a sixth but it’s a prequel), which I’ve enjoyed reading over a couple of years.

Reviewing a fifth and final (in chronological terms) story is a little odd because if you’ve made it this far and liked the four preceding books then it’s nigh on certain you’ll like this. Naturally, major spoilers for preceding entries abound, so read on at your own risk.

 

***

The pinnacle of the empire is about to be under attack from a seemingly unstoppable horde of demons and while the medusa and Tharok (and the kragh generally) are now allies rather than foes, it seems the world is about to be doomed. Obviously, that doesn’t happen in the first few chapters or it’d be a short book, but the odds are very much against the good guys.

One thing I’ve always liked about this series has been the varying character of protagonists in terms of both capability and attitude. Audsley has been one of the most entertaining, and his fall from grace last time is redeemed (at least to an extent) by his intelligence and bravery in this one. Asho is as defiant as ever, and there are strongly differing opinions from major figures regarding how to try and save the world.

The various discordant allies must try to come together, for if they fail then all will be doomed. And when an ancient and immensely intelligent former enemy offers to assist it remains to be seen if he, or the medusa, can be trusted. For that matter, can they even win?

It’s difficult to elaborate much more without ruining the plot, but I will say I found it enjoyable, once again, and a fitting conclusion.

Overall, I enjoyed this fifth and (sort-of) final part of the Chronicles of the Black Gate. It’s been a fairly old school sort of read, managing to keep the black-and-white distinction of good and evil in some areas (demons) while having more complicated hues with the likes of Tharok and, especially, Audsley. The world-building has been great, with a good combination of intrigue and action.

As already mentioned, characters have been nicely varied, making them both interesting in their own right and also bringing different strengths (and weaknesses) to the table, including legitimately varying perspectives.

Looking forward to reading the prequel, but for those in any doubt I would definitely recommend giving this series a look. The first five parts can be bought as a box set e-book, which is the most cost effective way of doing it and also means you’ll have (probably, I only got it later on) a larger sample size to find out for free if it’s your cup of tea.

 

Thaddeus