In a way, Hard West 2 carves out its own path in a genre where certain concepts have become the norm. Granted, I didn’t know what to expect since I didn’t play the original game, but parts of this sequel did intrigue me.
#HARD WEST SCENARIOS CODE#
Gamers are unlikely to be playing Hard West for the long haul, but it's a good blast whilst it lasts.Hard West 2 is a follow-up from Ice Code Games and Good Shepherd Entertainment, and promises challenging turn-based bouts as you make your way through a grim frontier. Hard West may not reinvent the wheel, but it's a visually imposing title that brings tactical combat to a new and intriguing setting. That said, Hard West is overall a strong addition to any turn-based strategy fan's library of games, particularly those looking to keep them occupied until more news surfaces on the upcoming X-COM sequel. Unfortunately, there's not much to pull a player back in once they've had their fill of the game. There's not much to make a player return to the game once it is beaten, and after the game's difficult nature has been overcome. Unfortunately, although the individual scenarios themselves are strong, with a good attention to detail and plenty of challenge, there isn't much by way of replayability in Hard West at this moment in time. If the player chooses, combat injuries from one shootout will end up debuffing characters, but over time will lead to additional perks and strengths. Scenarios also give a fairly decent sense of progression. Gamers are given a world map to explore, in a similar style to Baldur's Gate overworld, and can jump to different situations. Hard West does offer some level of flexibility to play outside of its strict gameplay patterns. Hardcore fans of the tactical sub-genre will most likely find enough to sink their teeth into, particularly when the Ironman play style is introduced, which fails the entire scenario if a critical character is killed. The game follows turn-based tradition by being particularly unforgiving for players unfamiliar with the systems involved.
Having to reload at an inopportune time is lethal in Hard West - but then again, so are most things. Although it's commendable that Creative Forge has stuck to a little period accuracy with the number of rounds a weapon can hold, it seems a little unnecessary in a game about demons in the Wild West. This adds a little variety to combat, at the downside of increasing the likelihood that the character in question will have to reload quickly. Shotgun carriers can pull off a spray shot that can hit enemies within a close-range cone, while certain pistol-wielders can fan their shots, lowering their accuracy but increasing the number of targets that can be hit. Giving the player some kind of obvious ramification to a bullet missed or bullet dodged helps alleviate some of this, although it's still not quite enough to make up for a character with a 80% accuracy chance missing their shot.Ĭharacters can also have an individual skill to call upon in a tight spot. There's nothing more frustrating than an expertly-crafted combat situation being undermined by the sheer bad luck of a poor randomly-generated shot. In a passive sense, the Luck bar relates to the number of shots a character has missed, depleting with every bullet dodged and increased with each enemy round that hits home.Īside from the Luck bar being a clever mechanic in its own right, this addition to the usual turn-based fare also helps to redress one of the genre's major bugbears among critics. Each squad member has their own level of Luck, which serves multiple purposes in the title’s gameplay.
#HARD WEST SCENARIOS MOD#
There is one mechanic that helps to separate Hard West from simply being a fan-made mod of the most recent X-COM reboot however, and it comes in the form of a Luck bar.