I'm having real difficulty dealing with this heatwave. I don't like it when it's hot at the best of times, but right now it feels so incredibly airless and sweaty that it's actually making me feel quite anxious — like the world itself is trying its best to suffocate me.
I know that's nonsense, of course, but it's not making it any easier to deal with — nor is it particularly conducive to a productive day of work. I've spent most of today in our bedroom where our air conditioning unit is — but at least I've had the chance to start my Atelier Rorona DX playthrough, which I've been looking forward to.
That game is a pleasure to play at the best of times, but add in carried over New Game Plus equipment that successfully took down the Iron Giant last time I played and there's a delightfully enjoyable sense of romping through what the game has to offer, while being able to take aim at some of the more challenging long-term goals. I'm going for the Pie ending this time, since I've never done that before.
After beating Battleship, I also decided to give Carrier Command: Gaea Mission a go. This is a game whose existence I find absolutely fascinating, because it was a completely unexpected sequel to a game I used to play on the Atari ST. And so far it feels remarkably true to the original game — though since I'm playing the story-driven Campaign mode, it's a more directed experience that doesn't sacrifice mechanical depth. Which is good, because I was never any good at Carrier Command.
If you're unfamiliar with Carrier Command — rest assured, there'll be more on this in some form soon — then the concept is pretty simple. You have an aircraft carrier and so do your enemies. You need to get rid of the other aircraft carrier. In order to do this, you'll need to capture a series of islands and put them to use producing supplies and defending your territory. Rather than being a straight-up strategic game, however, Carrier Command allows you to take direct control of the "Manta" aircraft and "Walrus" amphibious vehicles your carrier plays host to, allowing you to take out the enemy units defending the islands as you see fit. And being by Bohemia Interactive (of Arma fame), this isn't a linear shooter; all the environments are completely open, allowing you to approach your targets as you see fit, including kamikazeing a Walrus off the top of a cliff into the middle of an enemy army in the valley below if you feel like it.
Gaea Mission adds a cool sci-fi aesthetic to the whole thing that was more implied than actually present in the original game, and the addition of a narrative to the campaign mode provides both incentive to progress and a good excuse for the game to teach you how all its various mechanics work. I'm already looking forward to playing more.
For now, though, I need to go and sit back in front of the cold air-blowing machine, lest I melt into this sofa. Be well, everyone!
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