14 DAY TRIAL // Andrei Dumitrescu: This weekend I plan to play a long game of Pro Cycling Manager 2009 with the excellent PCM Daily mod installed (you will need to have an account to download the mod). The mod was released a few days ago and I am aching to get a career going as the team manager of Saxo Bank and lead the Schleck brothers to victory in at least one Gran Tour. Cycling is a really interesting sport, especially when it comes to the tactical aspects of the teams and to the way riders need to be managed to be effective during races. The PCM Daily mod offers more riders, more equipment, better stats, more realistic race results in simulations and an overall coat of polish to the game.
And, for those moments when race strategies and setting up sprints tend to become too tedious for my mind, I plan to execute a bit of escapism by playing Dragon Age: Journeys, the Flash-based, role-playing, lite title that was developed by the new entity EA 2D and that can be played in a browser window. It's rather easy to play and very, very fun, even if it is nowhere near as deep as Dragon Age: Origins, but it is going to be when it comes out on November 3. Give it a try.
And now, my turn.
So, the weekend was, indeed, prolific as far as the game time goes, but the week that followed wasn't as unwinding as I had hoped. As such, Risen must have felt a little neglected, with four days of complete loneliness. I barely managed to put together a few hours of gameplay last night, and it definitely made me remember why I loved the game. Combat really picked up as I gained a few more levels and, with enough of the “economical” skills of pickpocket and lock-picking invested in, I could focus on dealing damage. With the confidence to stand up to two ghouls at once, I felt adventurous enough to help out Patty.
The quest involves strolling over the entire island to find five unnamed graves in which Captain Steelbeard, Patty's old man, left clues for his hidden treasure. I won't ruin any more of the quest by spilling any secrets, but it's definitely one worth doing if you're in need of money. Or if you got the hots for Patty. Which I don't, I'm just saying in case you do. As future plans go, all I have in my agenda is Borderlands, and, since the PC version isn't out yet, I have enough time to give to Risen, yet again. I'm very excited about the title and can't wait to get my greedy hands on it. Still, with Gearbox's RPG close on the calendar, I might not have enough time to uncover every nook and cranny of the island of Faranga. And yes, I know Borderlands is already out on the consoles, but there's no way I'm giving up the good-old mouse and keyboard for a controller in an FPS, even if it has a lot of RPG in it.