I haven't posted for a few days. It was not my intention to take a holiday. I'm generally 'aware' of not posting. That is, most nights when I elect not to, it's a conscious decision. But, that said, those nights sometimes string together without be realizing how long the trend has grown. So, here I am tonight... even though I don't know as I have anything to say.

The major reason I've been away is a new video game— King's Bounty: The Legend. This game is ridiculously easy and fun to play. It's an update of a game I played and watched being played almost 20 years ago on the Sega Genesis. (That game was called simply King's Bounty.) After the death of the Genesis system, the game transitioned to PC's as Heroes of Might and Magic, spawning many sequels in the series over a period of 15 years. Then, a few years ago, the owner's of the Might and Magic license went belly up. I don't know how the original name became available again, but when I saw it on the shelf a month or so ago, I knew I had to play.

The original game was an early and simplified version of the RTS games that are so popular. ('RTS' = 'Real Time Simulation') Games like Warcraft and Civilization are popular examples of this type of game. (Warcraft, not World of Warcraft.) Basically, they're a type of game where you begin with limited resources, and you have to gather more resources, build your settlements, and generally build some sort of army to take on the bad guys who are doing the same as you somewhere else on the playing field. In King's Bounty ('KB') you're not going to be building anything other than your armies. You begin as a treasure searcher for the king with a small number of units available to fight battles for you. As you traipse about the map, you gather items and experience to further your goals. And you fight. There are many wandering and planned encounters for you to fight your way through.

When a battle occurs, the game field changes to a close-up grid of hexagons, with your army on one side and the opponent's army on the other. You may have up to five types of units fighting for you. (For instance, at my current play progress, I have Archers, Priests, Archmages, Guardsmen, and Chargers.) Based on the speed of each unit then, play progresses as unit after unit is moved or otherwise triggered. Units next to an enemy's unit may attack. As you may expect, each type of unit has its own abilities— Archers can shoot from a distance, Priests can heal units or bless them, etc.

The new game has a quest system which also drives a storyline. In addition to wandering the maps looking for resources, you will also be sent to new places as part of the story. Very often you come across fortifications or other structures from which you may buy new armies to replace your dwindling units. Although I play largely with different types of humans, there are also many different dwarven unit types, elven unit types, demon unit types, animal unit types, etc.

So far I'm having a blast playing the game. Any time I start it, it is usually hours before I log out again. Time goes by very quickly! Just by looking at the map segments that I've uncovered I'd say I'm about two-thirds to three-quarters complete now. As much fun as it is, I find myself hoping to finish soon now so I can get back to better uses of my time!

Until next time!

"I think it's wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly."— Stephen Wright