Approaching Holidays
The holiday season is upon us. Jacinta has gone interstate to visit her sister, and so come Sunday I've found myself along and with a day free with no social commitments. Hurrah! That means that I can satisfy my inner-gamer.

What's interesting is what game I settled upon. Not a networked game with beautiful graphics, and engrossing gameplay, and the opportunity to be called a 'lame n00b' like Allegiance. Not a beautifully crafted atmospheric game like System Shock 2, or a strategy classic like X-COM, or even entertainment at its FPS-best like Halo or Half-Life.

No, I have a souped up machine with dual monitors, acclerated graphics card, and pounding sub-woofer so I can play Angband; without those silly tiles -- only ascii characters for me, thanks. Specially, I played a variant called Troubles of Middle Earth (ToME).

ToME is pretty good. It's got a lot of ideas that are very similar to ADOM, like skill systems and overland travel. It also has some very unique things -- a class that can befriend and enter symbiotic relationships with molds and slimes, 'unbelievers' who are able to suppress the manifestation of magic, and alchemists who are able to extract essences and craft new items. The Tolkienesque aspects have been enhanced on top of that from vanilla Angband, which I've found to be a real treat.