BENGALURU: The gaming world this week sped through by recklessly playing RPGs and eSports, debating the ‘fake’ Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok (the Viking version) images, and complaining about loot boxes in general. My PC screen, however, saw a different tenor.
As the chief commander, I felt like I’d done my job well. I saw the Blue enemy’s weak army formation of having two ‘Spearers’ on their wings and five ‘Clubbers’ in a single-file line. “I’ve got them,” I thought as I animatedly placed the ‘Clubbers’ and ‘Protectors’ of my own army in a triangular formation. “It makes sense to put the mid-range weapon folk behind; even if my Clubbers are attacked, the Speares can safely strike from farther away.” Click Start. The war began, the subtle tribal music ringing sweetly in the background, as if this were nothing but a sunset dinner in a jungle in the medieval ages… But it looked as though the Blues had an advantage over my tiny army. The bird’s-eye battle view was not clear enough to understand if my Protectors survived the onslaught. What were the Spearers doing? Aim. AIM! The tribal music in the background reached a restless peak.
It was over before I blinked. Victory! Thrilled by my success, I replicated the strategy (completely misjudging the strength of the replenished Red army). Disheartened, I went back to the game’s sandbox mode where I could control both sides: I could now pit mammoths against dragons, Minotaurs vs Minotaurs, a Monkey King or even a Singing Bard into the mix.
‘Totally Accurate Battle Simulator’ was a surprising winner this week, surpassing my expectations of the game. I thought it would have no replayability potential, but just high entertainment value for 30 minutes of game time (given that it released on April 1st).
TABS however, seems to have better game physics than Goat simulator or Beast Battle Simulator. I am now attempting to simulate the upcoming Big War in Game of Thrones to see if I am better than the Mother of Dragons in leading a mythical army.