Another Casualty Of The Long Summer Has Been Computer Games!
Dusting Off The Computer… And I mean Literally!
Now, unlike some of my other hobbies PC gaming was NOT temporally abandoned just because I spent so much time with the wife and family over the holidays. Not was I unable to play on my compete because of the difficulties that I have been having with my deteriorating mobility and the fact that my PC is way up in my attic man-cave! (But more on this later.)
No, to be honest my the reason I have neglected computer gaming since way before the summer holidays started was - actually - that there just haven’t been very many new titles have have captured my imagination or got me (or my daughter who I play games with) excited. 😟
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| Above: I was surprised that a family of mice hadn’t taken up residence in my PC!!! |
Every so often there has been what I call ‘game draughts’, where there either haven’t been any new and original game ideas or there has been a big lull in releases where some of the developers have been ‘just about to release’ a fantastic new game but which has then - predictably - been delayed.
The current drought is a combination of those two factors…
The BIG title everyone is talking about in 2026 is - of course - GTA 6. And while - yes - I am excited about that there is also an alarmingly long list of titles on my STEAM wish list that have been languishing in ‘coming soon’ purgatory for a very, very long time now.
A Long Time Ago, On A Computer Far, Far Away!
Anyway, now the summer is over and the wife will be spending more time in the evenings marking school work this was an opportunity for me to crawl back up all the stairs to the attic…
Now, I mentioned my mobility issues and when I say ‘crawl’ I am only half joking. The particularly steel staircase to teh attic itself is getting a bit difficult for me to easily climb and I have to resort to climbing this last flight of stairs using all fours (like a monkey)! 😂
Luckily, I was recently referred to the local Council by my GP and their Occupational Health department paid me a visit and are going to help fit extra bannisters and grab rails around our house - for free - as part of their service! How great is that!
SO, I should find it easier to get up to my hobby room at the top of the house.
In preparation for this I forced myself to make the climb and check out a lot of my bits and pieces which have been laying dormice over the summer months. This includes - really - dusting off my computer.
And to check it out - and do all the interminable updates - I managed to find a game that was on sale on STEAM that did actually pique my interest… Who wants to hunt ancient treasures and fight mummies? Yes please!
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| Above: Rebellion’s 2018 co-op 3rd person shooter STRANGE BRIGADE has that wonderfully retro Indiana Jones-come-The Mummy feel about it that’s just easy to get into fun. |
I have been keeping an eye on BRANDON FRASER’s heralded return to the MUMMY movie franchise. This wonderful actor has been through absolute hell but has managed to come through it and has restarted his movie career with a couple of critically and fan acclaimed films. But, of course, this all sparked huge fan - and wishy thinking - that he might once again return to his most successful and popular role of Rick O’Connell…
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| Above: My daughters and I are big Brandon Fraser fans and like everyone else we have been over the mon about his recent return to screen after all his years of misfortune. Moreover, the work he has done to get in shape in order to play Rick O’Connell is absolutely heroic. If anyone deserves a movie to be a big hit it’s Brandon. |
To me, this version of the Mummy film franchise (let’s ignore the horrendous Tom Cruise version and the recent ‘horror’ version) is up there with the Indiana Jones franchise as one of my favourite ‘retro’ rip-roaring classic adventure series of movies.
I am a big fan of the classic 1930s style grand hero led adventure and am an enjoyed some of the more (relatively) modern film recreations of this style, like Indiana Jones, Doc Savage, Flash Gordon and Sky Captain.
Above: This is a bit of a detour, but while thinking about INDIANA JONES I happened across this video about how Indy might have been based on an earlier movie character played by Charlton Heston! Having watched it I am fairly convinced!
Anyhoo, just in time to ride the marketing band wagon in light of the excitement surrounding Brandon’s reprise of his role in the forthcoming MUMMY 4 I was pleased to discover a game on STEAM called the STRANGE BRIGADE which is thematically exactly this sort of 1930’s high adventure game.
Egypt, 1930's. Erased from ancient history and buried in a nameless tomb for 4,000 years, Seteki the Witch Queen has risen once again.
Only one troop of daring heroes can stand against the fearsome power of Seteki and her army of mummified monstrosities: The Strange Brigade!
Explore remarkable ruins, solve perilous puzzles and uncover tantalising treasure while blasting your way through an array of undead enemies in thrilling third-person action that’s certain to bring out your inner adventurer!
And even better it was on sale for just six pounds! 😏
So I downloaded this installed it and gave my PC a bit of a much needed bit of exercise. The good news is that my machine ran the game very well, which is perhaps not so surprising as this game was originally released in 2018 by Rebellion.
Still, I was a bit worried as my PC is getting on a bit now (and definitely might need an upgrade to run GTA6). 😡 Even though Strange Brigadeis an older game AND is a bit of a cynical money grab based on Rebellion’s Zombie Army Trilogy I actually found it fun (if nothing original)...
The upshot of all this is that MY PC WORKS! 😊
And that is good timing as this will mean I can get some gaming done during this ‘winter schedule’ of hobbies…
And it’s also good news because a game that I am actually looking forward to - NIVALIS NIGHTS - comes out at the end of this month. Great timing.
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