Three Moves Ahead

Latest Episodes:

Three Moves Ahead 576: Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Nov 26, 2022

Show notes

Len and John are joined once again by UNC Chapel Hill's Dr. Bret Devereaux to finally, at long last, discuss Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. We have some mixed feelings about it. What did we love and what did we really not? How do the systems and battles stand up to a military historian's eyes? And at the end of the day, is it actually good?

Three Moves Ahead 575: Total War: Warhammer Immortal Empires Interview Nov 19, 2022

Show notes

Len is joined this week by a full squad of developers from Creative Assembly to talk about Total War: Warhammer 3's Immortal Empires beta launch, and what may be to come in the near future. DLC Director Richard Aldridge, Lead Designer Sean Macdonald, Lead UI Programmer Mikaela Lidstrom, and designer William Hakestad talk about everything from the challenges of getting this beast working to their personal favorite start positions, while Len only revels a little bit in the fact that she's the only one here allowed to say "Chaos Dwarfs" without being tackled by a PR handler.

Three Moves Ahead 574: Victoria 3 Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

The long-awaited steel and steam macroeconomics simulator from Paradox has finally graced us with its presence, and we've assembled a League of Extraordinary Lady and Gentlemen to discuss it. Len and Jon are joined by Kotaku's Luke Plunkett, PCGamesN's Ian Boudreau, and our good friend from UNC Chapel Hill, Dr. Bret Devereaux to analyze this absolute behemoth of a game from every angle. Hold on tight and keep your arms and legs completely inside the podcast. We're about to leave the station for an epic episode.

Three Moves Ahead 573: Crusader Kings 3 in 2022 Oct 29, 2022

Show notes

Rowan is joined by Firaxis Narrative Lead Cat Manning and freelance writer Ruth Cassidy to discuss Crusader Kings 3, two years on. How do we feel about it after all the patches and DLCs? What's great about it, and what's still not so great? And what would our dream version of this game look like?

Three Moves Ahead 572: Forever Games Oct 15, 2022

Show notes

This week, Len and Jon discuss the concept of the Forever Game: the strategy game you could keep playing from now until the end of time. Do they even really exist? What has come closest for us? And has the trend of continuous development brought them into existence only recently?

Three Moves Ahead 571: Terra Invicta Sep 30, 2022

Show notes

SPOILER WARNING! Skip from 44:00 to 58:43 if you want to experience your first playthrough blind to the truths behind the alien threat. Len and Jon take to the stars with Terra Invicta: a wildly ambitious, solar-system-spanning, alien invasion grand strategy games from the makers of XCOM and XCOM 2's Long War mods. The ambition is incredible, but with ambition comes hubris. Is this even a working video game? And if so, who is it for?

Three Moves Ahead 570: Grand Tactician: The Civil War Sep 16, 2022

Show notes

The promise of the Civil War game that does everything is enticing but elusive. Now that it's out of early access, is Grand Tactician: The Civil War that game? Is it even close? Rowan and Rob get into the weeds on its officer promotion system, AI, brilliant little touches, and missed opportunities.

Three Moves Ahead 569: Immortal Empires Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Len, Rowan, Jon, and Kotaku's Luke Plunkett take the plunge into Total War: Warhammer 3's Immortal Empires beta. It's the fullest realization of the promise Creative Assembly made six years ago and one of the most ambitious strategy campaigns of all time. Did the madlads actually pull it off?

Three Moves Ahead 568: Farthest Frontier Aug 26, 2022

Show notes

Len and Jon are joined again by UNC Chapel Hill's Dr. Bret Devereaux to discuss Farthest Frontier, a survival city-builder with an uncommon level of historical authenticity. From clearing brush to crop blights, the attention the devs have given to inflicting realistic suffering on our villagers captured our imagination. But does it hold up at this early stage of early access?

Three Moves Ahead 567: Two Point Campus Aug 13, 2022

Show notes

Len and Jon are joined once again by Fanbyte's Mike Williams to talk about their semester abroad in Two Point Campus. Is the humor a bonus or a drawback? How is it, really, as a management game? And what exactly does the Scientography machine... do? We have written a thesis on all of these topics and are ready to defend it.

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