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Luke (12 KP) rated Bloodborne in Video Games
Oct 2, 2017
Strategic, challenging, and rewarding combat (6 more)
Excellent orchestrated soundtrack
Great aesthetic and visual design
Cool boss designs
Old Hunters expansion adds extra challenge
30-40 hour campaign with loads of content
Lovecraftian horror at its finest
Bloodborne is an action RPG developed by From Software and directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the Dark Souls series. Bloodborne takes elements from the Dark Souls games and mixes in elements of Gothic and Lovecraftian horror to make one truly unique experience exclusively for the Playstation 4.
You play as a Hunter and you have come to the city of Yharnam on the night of the Hunt where the lines between man and beast are blurred. Initially, your goal is quite simple: just go out and kill some beasts of all manner. Everything from werewolves to madmen to even other NPC Hunters. But as you progress through the game, you begin to unravel a conspiracy involving ancient gods from the cosmos coming down to incite this madness upon the townsfolk. Souls games aren't really known for their stories. Most of the game's backstory can often be found in item descriptions. However, Bloodborne differentiates itself by having one of the most fleshed out and intriguing plots of the entire Soulsborne series.
The presentation here is breathtaking. It evokes the style of olden Gothic horror tales from days long past. Towering spires line the horizon clearly inspired by Victorian and Gothic style architecture of Romania and this is reflected in the games level design. Blood spills out in a vibrant crimson color. Most of the game is completely silent save for the excellent sound design. The soundtrack only kicks in during boss fights and other key moments in the game making it even more special.
If you are familiar with any of the Dark Souls games, then you pretty much know what to expect from Bloodborne's combat. Bloodborne emphasizes speed and aggression with its combat system, but it is still quite strategic and very challenging. Don't go in thinking you can just rush through this in a weekend. This game takes patience and effort from the player to be rewarded. The weapon variety is significantly smaller than that of the Dark Souls games, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Each weapon feels unique, and each one will cater to a specific play style. And since you can transform almost all the weapons in the game, they almost feel like two weapons in one. For example, a shortsword can be transformed into a greatsword and so on. Instead of giving you a shield, Bloodborne instead gives you a wide variety of firearms, from pistols and shotguns, to a flamesprayer and a cannon. You can use these guns on enemies to riposte and perform a visceral attack for massive damage, even on some of the bosses. Armor sets are all really cool, reflecting the games Gothic design. The good thing is that you don't need to worry about upgrading armor sets like in previous Souls games. And the boss designs here are great, some of the hardest and most challenging fights in any game. You have to learn and figure out the timings of their attacks in order to know when best to strike. And if you ever feel like you're getting stuck, you can always bring in a friend with the game's co-op system. The side characters are also great, some of them giving you optional quests that you can carry out if you choose to do so.
There are optional chalice dungeons that you can complete should you choose to do so. The good thing is that they aren't required to finish the game. The bad thing is that these aren't designed as well as the main game. These dungeons are randomly generated and it certainly feels that way as rooms are often copy pasted together to the point where you feel like you're going in circles. Enemy designs are also lazy as hell here, some of them being reused as bosses. It feels like these chalice dungeons were thrown in at the last minute to offer some kind of replay value when they clearly weren't needed in the first place. I'm baffled by their inclusion as some trophies are linked to the completion of these optional missions. But since these are completely optional, they don't take away from the overall score.
There are also a few more minor gripes that I have with Bloodborne. The camera can often get in the way of the surrounding architecture at times. The framerate dips during some instances, even after several patches. Fortunately, these things don't happen all that often. And why can't I warp between lanterns? This doesn't make much sense as if you want to get to a new area, you have to warp to the hub zone and then warp to the area you want to go to. I feel like this would save a lot of load times if you are going back and forth for farming runs. Oh well.
Bloodborne is never impossibly hard. It does have a high learning curve for new players, but if you keep at it and if you are patient enough, you will discover just how rewarding this experience can be. This was my first foray into the Souls series and I am so looking forward to going back in to Bloodborne to try out new builds, new play styles, new weapons, and even greater challenge in New Game Plus mode. Bloodborne is now one of my all time favorite games ever made.
You play as a Hunter and you have come to the city of Yharnam on the night of the Hunt where the lines between man and beast are blurred. Initially, your goal is quite simple: just go out and kill some beasts of all manner. Everything from werewolves to madmen to even other NPC Hunters. But as you progress through the game, you begin to unravel a conspiracy involving ancient gods from the cosmos coming down to incite this madness upon the townsfolk. Souls games aren't really known for their stories. Most of the game's backstory can often be found in item descriptions. However, Bloodborne differentiates itself by having one of the most fleshed out and intriguing plots of the entire Soulsborne series.
The presentation here is breathtaking. It evokes the style of olden Gothic horror tales from days long past. Towering spires line the horizon clearly inspired by Victorian and Gothic style architecture of Romania and this is reflected in the games level design. Blood spills out in a vibrant crimson color. Most of the game is completely silent save for the excellent sound design. The soundtrack only kicks in during boss fights and other key moments in the game making it even more special.
If you are familiar with any of the Dark Souls games, then you pretty much know what to expect from Bloodborne's combat. Bloodborne emphasizes speed and aggression with its combat system, but it is still quite strategic and very challenging. Don't go in thinking you can just rush through this in a weekend. This game takes patience and effort from the player to be rewarded. The weapon variety is significantly smaller than that of the Dark Souls games, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Each weapon feels unique, and each one will cater to a specific play style. And since you can transform almost all the weapons in the game, they almost feel like two weapons in one. For example, a shortsword can be transformed into a greatsword and so on. Instead of giving you a shield, Bloodborne instead gives you a wide variety of firearms, from pistols and shotguns, to a flamesprayer and a cannon. You can use these guns on enemies to riposte and perform a visceral attack for massive damage, even on some of the bosses. Armor sets are all really cool, reflecting the games Gothic design. The good thing is that you don't need to worry about upgrading armor sets like in previous Souls games. And the boss designs here are great, some of the hardest and most challenging fights in any game. You have to learn and figure out the timings of their attacks in order to know when best to strike. And if you ever feel like you're getting stuck, you can always bring in a friend with the game's co-op system. The side characters are also great, some of them giving you optional quests that you can carry out if you choose to do so.
There are optional chalice dungeons that you can complete should you choose to do so. The good thing is that they aren't required to finish the game. The bad thing is that these aren't designed as well as the main game. These dungeons are randomly generated and it certainly feels that way as rooms are often copy pasted together to the point where you feel like you're going in circles. Enemy designs are also lazy as hell here, some of them being reused as bosses. It feels like these chalice dungeons were thrown in at the last minute to offer some kind of replay value when they clearly weren't needed in the first place. I'm baffled by their inclusion as some trophies are linked to the completion of these optional missions. But since these are completely optional, they don't take away from the overall score.
There are also a few more minor gripes that I have with Bloodborne. The camera can often get in the way of the surrounding architecture at times. The framerate dips during some instances, even after several patches. Fortunately, these things don't happen all that often. And why can't I warp between lanterns? This doesn't make much sense as if you want to get to a new area, you have to warp to the hub zone and then warp to the area you want to go to. I feel like this would save a lot of load times if you are going back and forth for farming runs. Oh well.
Bloodborne is never impossibly hard. It does have a high learning curve for new players, but if you keep at it and if you are patient enough, you will discover just how rewarding this experience can be. This was my first foray into the Souls series and I am so looking forward to going back in to Bloodborne to try out new builds, new play styles, new weapons, and even greater challenge in New Game Plus mode. Bloodborne is now one of my all time favorite games ever made.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Captain Marvel (2019) in Movies
Mar 9, 2019
Following the traumatic and devastating events of last years Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel finally arrives on our screens with huge expectation, anticipation and excitement. As Nick Fury was reduced to dust in the final moments of Infinity War, along with half of all living things in the universe, we saw that he'd just managed to send out an SOS message. The recipient of that message was revealed to be Captain Marvel, so far absent from the cinematic universe but labelled outside of it as "Marvel's biggest female hero", and "quite possibly Marvel's mightiest Avenger". With mad Titan Thanos still on the loose, and half of all life to restore, there's clearly a great deal resting on her shoulders. Thankfully we'll get to see how that all plays out in just over a month when Endgame hits our cinemas, but in the meantime we need to get up to speed on the origins of Captain Marvel.
But this isn't your standard origin story. When we first join Captain Marvel, or Vers as she is currently known, she is already part of the Kree Starforce, fighting alongside her mentor Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) as they take on shape-shifting enemies, the Skrulls. She already has a considerable amount of power, although she has no memory of how exactly she came about it, or of any kind of life preceding it. Following an early morning bit of fight training, with Yon-Rogg urging her to try and control her emotions and her power, it's straight into the action as the Starforce team are sent out on an important field mission. Things don't quite go according to plan though, and when they're ambushed by a group of Skrulls, Vers is kidnapped by Skrull commander Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and taken to their ship for interrogation.
The interrogation has a kind of Total Recall effect on Vers - unlocking memories of her life as a child, growing up with friends, military training and more. She manages to mount an escape, fleeing the ship and crash landing on planet C-53 (or as we know it, Earth), along with a bunch of Skrulls. She lands in the middle of a Blockbuster video store, with the Skrulls landing on a nearby beach and assuming the shape of some surfing humans in order to blend in with the locals. It's not long before the dramatic arrival has drawn the attention of a couple of SHIELD agents by the name of Fury and Coulson, both looking a lot younger than we're used to, due to the fact that we're in 1995. The de-aging effect, used sparingly but impressively in previous Marvel movies is simply incredible here, given that it is being relied upon for the entire movie in order to make the young Nick Fury believable. And it totally works too.
Up until this point in the movie, I felt that it was all just a little bit bland. We don't really get much time to get acquainted with our hero, or the alien world she inhabits, and the space-team-field-mission elements have all been done previously, and much better, in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Coincidentally, Ronan and Korath who star in those movies both appear early on in Captain Marvel, providing some nice backstory for them and a link to the rest of the cinematic universe. It's only when Vers arrives on Earth, and teams up with Nick Fury in order to stop the Skrull invasion, that the movie really finds its footing, becoming a great deal more interesting and enjoyable. Things really lighten up too, accompanied by a great 90s soundtrack and giving off a cool 90s buddy cop movie vibe. It's also great to see Nick Fury acting much less serious and having a lot more to do than in previous Marvel movies. As for Vers, we finally begin to learn a lot more about her too as she begins to piece together her forgotten history and learn more about her life on Earth as Carol Danvers.
The movie is made all the more fun by a couple of very good additional characters. Ben Mendelsohn is outstanding as Talos, providing just the right combination of menace and humour. Special mention also for Goose the cat, who joins Danvers and Fury on their journey. Although, if you're familiar with the comics (where he is known as Chewie), you'll know that there's more to him that meets the eye and he literally manages to steal every single scene he's in, providing some of the movies laugh out loud and surprising moments.
The final third of the movie is where things really kick in though with Carol Danvers unlocking her full potential, despite being repeatedly told throughout life that she's too emotional and too weak. Unleashing hell in an epic, breathtaking and extremely satisfying space battle. With just over a month to go until the release of Endgame, Thanos better be scared. He's not going to know what hit him!
But this isn't your standard origin story. When we first join Captain Marvel, or Vers as she is currently known, she is already part of the Kree Starforce, fighting alongside her mentor Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) as they take on shape-shifting enemies, the Skrulls. She already has a considerable amount of power, although she has no memory of how exactly she came about it, or of any kind of life preceding it. Following an early morning bit of fight training, with Yon-Rogg urging her to try and control her emotions and her power, it's straight into the action as the Starforce team are sent out on an important field mission. Things don't quite go according to plan though, and when they're ambushed by a group of Skrulls, Vers is kidnapped by Skrull commander Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and taken to their ship for interrogation.
The interrogation has a kind of Total Recall effect on Vers - unlocking memories of her life as a child, growing up with friends, military training and more. She manages to mount an escape, fleeing the ship and crash landing on planet C-53 (or as we know it, Earth), along with a bunch of Skrulls. She lands in the middle of a Blockbuster video store, with the Skrulls landing on a nearby beach and assuming the shape of some surfing humans in order to blend in with the locals. It's not long before the dramatic arrival has drawn the attention of a couple of SHIELD agents by the name of Fury and Coulson, both looking a lot younger than we're used to, due to the fact that we're in 1995. The de-aging effect, used sparingly but impressively in previous Marvel movies is simply incredible here, given that it is being relied upon for the entire movie in order to make the young Nick Fury believable. And it totally works too.
Up until this point in the movie, I felt that it was all just a little bit bland. We don't really get much time to get acquainted with our hero, or the alien world she inhabits, and the space-team-field-mission elements have all been done previously, and much better, in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Coincidentally, Ronan and Korath who star in those movies both appear early on in Captain Marvel, providing some nice backstory for them and a link to the rest of the cinematic universe. It's only when Vers arrives on Earth, and teams up with Nick Fury in order to stop the Skrull invasion, that the movie really finds its footing, becoming a great deal more interesting and enjoyable. Things really lighten up too, accompanied by a great 90s soundtrack and giving off a cool 90s buddy cop movie vibe. It's also great to see Nick Fury acting much less serious and having a lot more to do than in previous Marvel movies. As for Vers, we finally begin to learn a lot more about her too as she begins to piece together her forgotten history and learn more about her life on Earth as Carol Danvers.
The movie is made all the more fun by a couple of very good additional characters. Ben Mendelsohn is outstanding as Talos, providing just the right combination of menace and humour. Special mention also for Goose the cat, who joins Danvers and Fury on their journey. Although, if you're familiar with the comics (where he is known as Chewie), you'll know that there's more to him that meets the eye and he literally manages to steal every single scene he's in, providing some of the movies laugh out loud and surprising moments.
The final third of the movie is where things really kick in though with Carol Danvers unlocking her full potential, despite being repeatedly told throughout life that she's too emotional and too weak. Unleashing hell in an epic, breathtaking and extremely satisfying space battle. With just over a month to go until the release of Endgame, Thanos better be scared. He's not going to know what hit him!
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Ford v Ferrari (aka Le Mans '66) (2019) in Movies
Jan 22, 2021 (Updated Jan 22, 2021)
Matt Damon asked Christian Bale how he had managed to lose almost 70lbs for his role as Ken Miles, following his chubbing up to play Dick Cheney in Vice the previous year. Bale just smiled, shrugged and said, “I didn’t eat”. Such is his reputation for playing real people with 100% commitment, apocryphal or not, I totally believe that is true.
Sports films, and especially racing films, hang on three things: the quality and believability of the sports/racing scenes, the dynamic tension between the lead characters, and the degree we are hooked by the underdog makes a comeback element. Le Mans ’66, also known as Ford V Ferrari for American audiences, who obviously can’t make sense of French or numbers, has all three of those boxes ticked, and several others besides.
It will make it easier for me to explain why I liked this film so much if I confess up front to how much I liked it, so without hesitation I confidently state… more than Rush (2013) and Grand Prix (1966), making it probably the best racing film ever, but less than Warrior (2011) or Rocky (1976), making it a contender for top 5 but not the best sports movie ever. So, that is pretty high praise from the flag-fall.
Let’s examine the 3 key elements in order. Firstly, the racing scenes: This film is based on real people in real races driving real cars, with very little altered or tweaked for dramatic purposes (save one key detail of the final race). It didn’t need anything adding, because the real story is incredible enough. Part of that is the very real rivalry that existed between the undisputed champions of the world’s most beautiful cars, Ferrari, representing everything essentially European, and the empire of mass production efficiency that was the Ford dynasty, representing everything American.
The reproductions of the cars themselves and the personalities behind them is vivid and believable from minute one, so when the cars hit the track you can almost smell the fuel and feel the heat and grime, not to mention the speed. Every shot on every straight and turn feels like it should, and would, if you yourself were driving: intense, terrifying, exhilarating and addictive!
At no point did I see anything unrealistic, or a piece of footage copied and pasted. No trick angles or overuse of time stretching techniques, what you see is mostly what you get, and if you understand car racing in even the most amateur way then that is impressive. Add to that a complete understanding of tension building during a race from a direction and acting point of view and you just have to tip your helmet visor to James Mangold and Christian Bale, who seem in complete synthesis about what is required from a racing scene.
Next, look at the chemistry between Damon’s laconic yet stubborn pragmatist, Carroll Shelby, and Bale’s idiosyncratic, twitchy adrenaline junky, Ken Miles. They couldn’t be more different, personality wise, or actually performance wise. Bale chews up the screen with another in a long line now of big bold characterisations that you can’t take your eyes off, and Damon gives off solid, dependable, trust-worthy movie-star vibes in return. Their scenes together are spiky, fun, compelling and feel authetic, in a Hollywood movie way that we recognise and love. It feels almost like Paul Newman and Jack Lemon – the handsome straight guy and the quirky foil.
I love both these actors when they bring their A game. And they do here. It is consummate film acting, completely in control of what kind of film they are making. Not a naturalistic drama hoping to sweep the Oscars and hit hard in the emotional solar plexus, but a fun sports film driven by the conventions and tropes of the genre. Both manage to keep it just the right side of fun and exciting, whilst holding the reigns on believability also. Mangold, who knows how both action (Logan) and Bio-pics (Walk the Line) work to a very high level, brings experience of both genres to the fore here, and the blend is sublime.
Finally, there is the underdog element. Both of these guys were unconventional mavericks, and well known as being so. Both respected, but never treated as champions as they deserved in their lifetime, perhaps because they were not yes men or company men, who toed the line and played by the rules of the big bosses of the sport. Both of them absolutely driven by compulsion and passion to win, yet both flawed on the ways they could achieve that.
Then there is the consideration how much the car is a character, or at least Ford as a concept. What makes this story so great is the David and Goliath element, that makes you sure there is no possible way this could be true. As with all great sports films, even if you know the history and result of a real event, the little guy sticking it to the invincible and arrogant behemoth, win, lose or draw, is what makes us invest and then cheer, or cry, when all the effort is finally spent.
Effort, sacrifice, overcoming obstacles, facing defeat, bouncing back from setbacks, gaining respect of friends and rivals alike – all these elements make a sports film great. Le Mans ’66 has it all, with the added bonus of enough budget to make it fly, which isn’t usually the case in this genre. It looks spectacular, feels exciting and is ultimately completely satisfying, as both a character study of real men, and a document of a game changing moment in sporting history.
It also doesn’t entirely ignore the female influence on such a masculine world; the little known Irish actress Catriona Balfe as Mollie Miles really caught my eye in some really tender scenes. This film won’t be passing the Bechdal test any time soon, however, as she is pretty much the only female member of the cast with an actual name! But it isn’t something to get too hung up about, in my opinion.
I’d be bold enough to recommend this to anyone. No need to love cars, or racing or even sport at all. If you love good movies that keep you hooked till the checkered flag of the credits, then look no further. High art? No. A proper movie with huge mass appeal? 100%
Sports films, and especially racing films, hang on three things: the quality and believability of the sports/racing scenes, the dynamic tension between the lead characters, and the degree we are hooked by the underdog makes a comeback element. Le Mans ’66, also known as Ford V Ferrari for American audiences, who obviously can’t make sense of French or numbers, has all three of those boxes ticked, and several others besides.
It will make it easier for me to explain why I liked this film so much if I confess up front to how much I liked it, so without hesitation I confidently state… more than Rush (2013) and Grand Prix (1966), making it probably the best racing film ever, but less than Warrior (2011) or Rocky (1976), making it a contender for top 5 but not the best sports movie ever. So, that is pretty high praise from the flag-fall.
Let’s examine the 3 key elements in order. Firstly, the racing scenes: This film is based on real people in real races driving real cars, with very little altered or tweaked for dramatic purposes (save one key detail of the final race). It didn’t need anything adding, because the real story is incredible enough. Part of that is the very real rivalry that existed between the undisputed champions of the world’s most beautiful cars, Ferrari, representing everything essentially European, and the empire of mass production efficiency that was the Ford dynasty, representing everything American.
The reproductions of the cars themselves and the personalities behind them is vivid and believable from minute one, so when the cars hit the track you can almost smell the fuel and feel the heat and grime, not to mention the speed. Every shot on every straight and turn feels like it should, and would, if you yourself were driving: intense, terrifying, exhilarating and addictive!
At no point did I see anything unrealistic, or a piece of footage copied and pasted. No trick angles or overuse of time stretching techniques, what you see is mostly what you get, and if you understand car racing in even the most amateur way then that is impressive. Add to that a complete understanding of tension building during a race from a direction and acting point of view and you just have to tip your helmet visor to James Mangold and Christian Bale, who seem in complete synthesis about what is required from a racing scene.
Next, look at the chemistry between Damon’s laconic yet stubborn pragmatist, Carroll Shelby, and Bale’s idiosyncratic, twitchy adrenaline junky, Ken Miles. They couldn’t be more different, personality wise, or actually performance wise. Bale chews up the screen with another in a long line now of big bold characterisations that you can’t take your eyes off, and Damon gives off solid, dependable, trust-worthy movie-star vibes in return. Their scenes together are spiky, fun, compelling and feel authetic, in a Hollywood movie way that we recognise and love. It feels almost like Paul Newman and Jack Lemon – the handsome straight guy and the quirky foil.
I love both these actors when they bring their A game. And they do here. It is consummate film acting, completely in control of what kind of film they are making. Not a naturalistic drama hoping to sweep the Oscars and hit hard in the emotional solar plexus, but a fun sports film driven by the conventions and tropes of the genre. Both manage to keep it just the right side of fun and exciting, whilst holding the reigns on believability also. Mangold, who knows how both action (Logan) and Bio-pics (Walk the Line) work to a very high level, brings experience of both genres to the fore here, and the blend is sublime.
Finally, there is the underdog element. Both of these guys were unconventional mavericks, and well known as being so. Both respected, but never treated as champions as they deserved in their lifetime, perhaps because they were not yes men or company men, who toed the line and played by the rules of the big bosses of the sport. Both of them absolutely driven by compulsion and passion to win, yet both flawed on the ways they could achieve that.
Then there is the consideration how much the car is a character, or at least Ford as a concept. What makes this story so great is the David and Goliath element, that makes you sure there is no possible way this could be true. As with all great sports films, even if you know the history and result of a real event, the little guy sticking it to the invincible and arrogant behemoth, win, lose or draw, is what makes us invest and then cheer, or cry, when all the effort is finally spent.
Effort, sacrifice, overcoming obstacles, facing defeat, bouncing back from setbacks, gaining respect of friends and rivals alike – all these elements make a sports film great. Le Mans ’66 has it all, with the added bonus of enough budget to make it fly, which isn’t usually the case in this genre. It looks spectacular, feels exciting and is ultimately completely satisfying, as both a character study of real men, and a document of a game changing moment in sporting history.
It also doesn’t entirely ignore the female influence on such a masculine world; the little known Irish actress Catriona Balfe as Mollie Miles really caught my eye in some really tender scenes. This film won’t be passing the Bechdal test any time soon, however, as she is pretty much the only female member of the cast with an actual name! But it isn’t something to get too hung up about, in my opinion.
I’d be bold enough to recommend this to anyone. No need to love cars, or racing or even sport at all. If you love good movies that keep you hooked till the checkered flag of the credits, then look no further. High art? No. A proper movie with huge mass appeal? 100%
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Ion Fury in Video Games
Aug 16, 2019
Back in the 90s before the days of High-Speed Internet, 3D Graphics Cards, and other gaming technologies that we take for granted was Duke Nukem 3D. The game was developed by Voidpoint, in association with 3D Realms and 1C Publishing on the Build Engine and became a big hit in large part to the action, character, and interactive features of the game which were fairly new at the time.
Other games such as Shadow Warrior and Blood followed which were powered by this technology but it soon became a thing of the past as games such as Quake set the new standards for graphics and online play and with the advent of 3D acceleration; pixelated graphics became a thing of the past.
What was once old is now new again as 3D Realms have returned with a new game called Ion Fury. While Duke and Shadow Warrior have spawned sequels and remakes using modern gaming features and graphics Ion Fury takes a step back by giving gamers the look, sound, and feel of a game from the 90s.
Playing as Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison; players must take on the evil Dr. Jadus Heskel and his army of Cyber-Cultists.
While the look of the game may be retro there are many features that were not possible back in the day such as auto saves, improved physics, headshots, and more; the game is a fast-paced and action-packed shooter that more than holds its own with any of the recent entries into the genre.
While I had played the preview mission about a year ago, the full game did take a bit of adjustment as some things simply do not play like a modern game would. There can be some clipping issues, and enemy A.I. can be erratic. But the awesome array of weapons from your Loverboy pistol to Shotguns, Machine Guns, Chain Guns, and Grenade Launchers are more than enough to cut enemies down to size. You will need this and more such as your Seeking Grenades and Mines as the game throws lots of enemies at you and as you progress they become more abundant, varied, and dangerous.
Ion Fury is filled with numerous secret areas and Pop Culture references from the lines your character says to all sorts of locales and situations that arise. There are also some clever call backs to earlier games as I noticed the Bloody Handprint from BLOOD, the Ying/Yang Symbol from Shadow Warrior, and Duke’s Atomic symbol at various times.
The game mixes indoor and outdoor locales well including an Academy, Subway, Mansion, and of course the secret lab filled with all sorts of evil experiments.
The game is also filled with several puzzles as well as a few very annoying times jumps that had me cursing at their difficulty on more than one occasion. There were also plenty of long levels where you had to find alternate ways into rooms to obtain Key Cards to unlock other areas and keep the action moving. There was a decent supply of health and Body Armor along the way and it never was unappreciated as enemies would either swarm or attack from hiding frequently.
As I played the game I moved past the nostalgia and became really focused on the story and the action. I was able to look past the older graphics and gameplay and remember just how fun this type of game was and how we would spend hours online playing games like this.
Sadly this is not an option in Ion Fury at the time as the game is missing a Multiplay segment. We had done an interview for the game over a year ago; and we were of the understanding that this would be a part of the final release but sadly it is not. I had hoped to relive some of classic Deathmatch games of old.
The game is affordable as it is set to sell at $19.99 and considering I have over 14 hours of gameplay to complete the game; it more than delivers and I did not even find all of the secret areas each level offers.
In the end if you are in the mood for some retro action; then Ion Fury is one that you will not want to miss.
4 stars out of 5
http://sknr.net/2019/08/14/ion-fury/
Other games such as Shadow Warrior and Blood followed which were powered by this technology but it soon became a thing of the past as games such as Quake set the new standards for graphics and online play and with the advent of 3D acceleration; pixelated graphics became a thing of the past.
What was once old is now new again as 3D Realms have returned with a new game called Ion Fury. While Duke and Shadow Warrior have spawned sequels and remakes using modern gaming features and graphics Ion Fury takes a step back by giving gamers the look, sound, and feel of a game from the 90s.
Playing as Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison; players must take on the evil Dr. Jadus Heskel and his army of Cyber-Cultists.
While the look of the game may be retro there are many features that were not possible back in the day such as auto saves, improved physics, headshots, and more; the game is a fast-paced and action-packed shooter that more than holds its own with any of the recent entries into the genre.
While I had played the preview mission about a year ago, the full game did take a bit of adjustment as some things simply do not play like a modern game would. There can be some clipping issues, and enemy A.I. can be erratic. But the awesome array of weapons from your Loverboy pistol to Shotguns, Machine Guns, Chain Guns, and Grenade Launchers are more than enough to cut enemies down to size. You will need this and more such as your Seeking Grenades and Mines as the game throws lots of enemies at you and as you progress they become more abundant, varied, and dangerous.
Ion Fury is filled with numerous secret areas and Pop Culture references from the lines your character says to all sorts of locales and situations that arise. There are also some clever call backs to earlier games as I noticed the Bloody Handprint from BLOOD, the Ying/Yang Symbol from Shadow Warrior, and Duke’s Atomic symbol at various times.
The game mixes indoor and outdoor locales well including an Academy, Subway, Mansion, and of course the secret lab filled with all sorts of evil experiments.
The game is also filled with several puzzles as well as a few very annoying times jumps that had me cursing at their difficulty on more than one occasion. There were also plenty of long levels where you had to find alternate ways into rooms to obtain Key Cards to unlock other areas and keep the action moving. There was a decent supply of health and Body Armor along the way and it never was unappreciated as enemies would either swarm or attack from hiding frequently.
As I played the game I moved past the nostalgia and became really focused on the story and the action. I was able to look past the older graphics and gameplay and remember just how fun this type of game was and how we would spend hours online playing games like this.
Sadly this is not an option in Ion Fury at the time as the game is missing a Multiplay segment. We had done an interview for the game over a year ago; and we were of the understanding that this would be a part of the final release but sadly it is not. I had hoped to relive some of classic Deathmatch games of old.
The game is affordable as it is set to sell at $19.99 and considering I have over 14 hours of gameplay to complete the game; it more than delivers and I did not even find all of the secret areas each level offers.
In the end if you are in the mood for some retro action; then Ion Fury is one that you will not want to miss.
4 stars out of 5
http://sknr.net/2019/08/14/ion-fury/
Nicola Jane (6 KP) created a post
May 7, 2019 (Updated May 7, 2019)
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated the PC version of Outriders in Video Games
Apr 10, 2021
Once Patched: Outriders Is A Fun And Engaging Adventure Which Provides Plenty Of Action
With the Earth deemed unsalvageable and with mounting natural disasters, humanity plans to send colony ships to the distant planet of Enoch in an effort to save humanity. After 86 years in space, an elite unit known as Outriders land to pave the way and soon finds themselves under attack by rival security forces and a deadly and bizarre storm that has decimated the Outriders.
Seriously injured the player character is put in stasis and is awakened 31 years later to find what is left of humanity engaged in a violent Civil War with the player being their best chance for survival.
Thus begins Outriders; an ambitious game from People Can Fly and Square Enix which looks to combine action, combat, loot, and Science Fiction into a bold gaming experience.
Players can customize the look of their characters and must select a class such as Trickster, Pyromancer, Devastator, and Technomancer. The classes have specific abilities which as players gain experience, unlocks and allows them to select and use devastating powers as it seems the exposure to the storm has given the player character God-like abilities and has earned them the title of “Altered”. I selected the Devastator class and enjoyed being able to suspend and reflect incoming fire, add a protective barrier, produce spikes to impale enemies, crush enemies with a gravity-based attack, dash and smash, and my favorite; a propelled leap that reduced all in my landing area to a pulp. Each power has a cool-down timer after use but as the game is very customizable; players can unlock and assign new perks which can increase damage, duration, and more for their powers, weapons, and such.
The game had an extensive demo available pre-launch and this allowed me to get to know the screens to equip, modify, swap, or deconstruct gear as there is a huge variety of armor and weapons for players to use and modify.
While the menu system at times was confusing at first in terms of what the main mission was and what were numerous side missions and such; I was able to get things up to speed and with strategic capture points; players can always jump back to various locales.
Since the early missions involved being around the main base filled with trade and other options; I had figured it would play into the game going forward. However, as I went deeper into the game I found it easier to simply deconstruct or not gather loot that I did not want and simply equip better gear and weapons as they came my way.
The progress I had made in the demo also carried over onto the main game so long as you use the same platform for release that you did in the demo. This was great to experience as I did not have to replay the lengthy intro and setup nor the early missions.
With a crew of NPC characters along for the mission, the player will journey into dangerous zones each with their own unique biosphere and dangerous creatures and enemies who come at you in waves and can be overwhelming even with the ability to set the game difficulty.
Outriders is setup to be played with a party of characters and much has been made of the rough launch for the game which included server issues, cross-play problems, missing HUD Displays, and such hampered gamers. I was able to connect with a player I found in the forums for the game and he helped me through some battles that I could not figure out how anyone could be expected to complete on their own at the skill level they originated at.
Players can randomly join a party but did not have a clue where they would be in the story progress or how many were in a party, but it was very easy to resume a campaign where I left off should the party I joined be further ahead of or back of where I wished to be.
I did jump into a game that is done randomly and was able to get some higher-level gear and weapons which helped when I returned to my campaign, but in time I again found myself in need of help. One player had issues with getting in my game and then being booted as an example. The HUD display would vanish often which required a return to the lobby, sometimes multiple trips; to get it back. While it seems like no big deal and I worked my way through at times without it; not being able to see a mini-map, health, and if your powers were recharged does make it difficult.
The game offers lavish locales from snow-covered mountains to a jungle, desert, temples, and more. The enemies can be very challenging as I found the ones with guns to be easier at times than the wildlife which came in waves and could take all I had to bring down.
The graphics of the game are solid and the combat mechanics reminded me of a mix of Gears of War and The Division series as from a third-person perspective; players could take cover and shoot from a shelter, or wade on into the oncoming enemies and use the vast arsenal of pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles to win the day.
The numerous cut scenes dive the story forward and upon completion of the story; there is a mode where players can work to retrieve items. It was humbling to have weapons that reduced powerful enemies to mush do little more than annoy the enemies I encountered as it was clear that this mode was best suited for advanced gamers in a party.
A new patch arrived yesterday which seemed to resolve the issues I had with matchmaking, server connections, and the missing heads-up display. I was able to match up with another player where I was in the game and the two of us powered through the main missions as well as some side missions to complete the game. We did not have any in-game chat/communication but we were able to work well as a team. I would suggest using Discord or a similar service if you are looking to play with friends on PC or chat with console users.
While the launch was rough due to the numerous issues; they were addressed and the final result once patched is a deeply enjoyable action game that provides plenty of fun and challenges. Some may say waves of wildlife and enemies may become repetitive but the vast array of them as well as the varied locales, weapons, and powers had me hooked from start to finish.
I was a big fan of People Can Fly’s Bulletstorm game and have longed for a sequel ever since that game arrived. Here is hoping that Outriders will become a new franchise and we will see more content in the not too distant future.
Seriously injured the player character is put in stasis and is awakened 31 years later to find what is left of humanity engaged in a violent Civil War with the player being their best chance for survival.
Thus begins Outriders; an ambitious game from People Can Fly and Square Enix which looks to combine action, combat, loot, and Science Fiction into a bold gaming experience.
Players can customize the look of their characters and must select a class such as Trickster, Pyromancer, Devastator, and Technomancer. The classes have specific abilities which as players gain experience, unlocks and allows them to select and use devastating powers as it seems the exposure to the storm has given the player character God-like abilities and has earned them the title of “Altered”. I selected the Devastator class and enjoyed being able to suspend and reflect incoming fire, add a protective barrier, produce spikes to impale enemies, crush enemies with a gravity-based attack, dash and smash, and my favorite; a propelled leap that reduced all in my landing area to a pulp. Each power has a cool-down timer after use but as the game is very customizable; players can unlock and assign new perks which can increase damage, duration, and more for their powers, weapons, and such.
The game had an extensive demo available pre-launch and this allowed me to get to know the screens to equip, modify, swap, or deconstruct gear as there is a huge variety of armor and weapons for players to use and modify.
While the menu system at times was confusing at first in terms of what the main mission was and what were numerous side missions and such; I was able to get things up to speed and with strategic capture points; players can always jump back to various locales.
Since the early missions involved being around the main base filled with trade and other options; I had figured it would play into the game going forward. However, as I went deeper into the game I found it easier to simply deconstruct or not gather loot that I did not want and simply equip better gear and weapons as they came my way.
The progress I had made in the demo also carried over onto the main game so long as you use the same platform for release that you did in the demo. This was great to experience as I did not have to replay the lengthy intro and setup nor the early missions.
With a crew of NPC characters along for the mission, the player will journey into dangerous zones each with their own unique biosphere and dangerous creatures and enemies who come at you in waves and can be overwhelming even with the ability to set the game difficulty.
Outriders is setup to be played with a party of characters and much has been made of the rough launch for the game which included server issues, cross-play problems, missing HUD Displays, and such hampered gamers. I was able to connect with a player I found in the forums for the game and he helped me through some battles that I could not figure out how anyone could be expected to complete on their own at the skill level they originated at.
Players can randomly join a party but did not have a clue where they would be in the story progress or how many were in a party, but it was very easy to resume a campaign where I left off should the party I joined be further ahead of or back of where I wished to be.
I did jump into a game that is done randomly and was able to get some higher-level gear and weapons which helped when I returned to my campaign, but in time I again found myself in need of help. One player had issues with getting in my game and then being booted as an example. The HUD display would vanish often which required a return to the lobby, sometimes multiple trips; to get it back. While it seems like no big deal and I worked my way through at times without it; not being able to see a mini-map, health, and if your powers were recharged does make it difficult.
The game offers lavish locales from snow-covered mountains to a jungle, desert, temples, and more. The enemies can be very challenging as I found the ones with guns to be easier at times than the wildlife which came in waves and could take all I had to bring down.
The graphics of the game are solid and the combat mechanics reminded me of a mix of Gears of War and The Division series as from a third-person perspective; players could take cover and shoot from a shelter, or wade on into the oncoming enemies and use the vast arsenal of pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles to win the day.
The numerous cut scenes dive the story forward and upon completion of the story; there is a mode where players can work to retrieve items. It was humbling to have weapons that reduced powerful enemies to mush do little more than annoy the enemies I encountered as it was clear that this mode was best suited for advanced gamers in a party.
A new patch arrived yesterday which seemed to resolve the issues I had with matchmaking, server connections, and the missing heads-up display. I was able to match up with another player where I was in the game and the two of us powered through the main missions as well as some side missions to complete the game. We did not have any in-game chat/communication but we were able to work well as a team. I would suggest using Discord or a similar service if you are looking to play with friends on PC or chat with console users.
While the launch was rough due to the numerous issues; they were addressed and the final result once patched is a deeply enjoyable action game that provides plenty of fun and challenges. Some may say waves of wildlife and enemies may become repetitive but the vast array of them as well as the varied locales, weapons, and powers had me hooked from start to finish.
I was a big fan of People Can Fly’s Bulletstorm game and have longed for a sequel ever since that game arrived. Here is hoping that Outriders will become a new franchise and we will see more content in the not too distant future.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Tiny Epic Pirates in Tabletop Games
Dec 28, 2021
Gamelyn Games and Scott Almes have done it again. They’ve managed to create yet another Tiny Epic game with a combo of theme and mechanics that we just couldn’t pass up. When this Kickstarter went live, we were definitely auto-backing it. Now that it’s been fulfilled and we’ve had the opportunity to play it, does it meet all of our high hopes and expectations? Is Tiny Epic Pirates a hidden treasure, or is it fool’s gold?
Disclaimer: I do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook in this review, but rather provide a general overview of the rules and gameplay. -L
Tiny Epic Pirates is a competitive game in which players take on the roles of pirate captains sailing the seas, engaging in combat, trading at various ports, and trying to bury some treasure. Played over a series of rounds, the game ends once a player has buried their 3rd treasure chest. To setup, follow the instructions as detailed in the rulebook – there are simply too many to outline here concisely. Two unique aspects of setup are that the Map cards are shuffled and randomly placed in a 4×4 grid, ensuring a variable setup for each game. The other is that each player will also randomly assign Order tokens on their Wheel (rondel), which means that no two players will have the same setup for a game. Once the Sea has been created, players have prepared their appropriate mats, a market for Booty and Crew have been setup, and tokens/Ships are placed on the map, the game is ready to begin!
Each turn is broken down into 5 steps: Captain’s Order/Deckhands, Sail, Execute Captain’s Order, Trigger Bonus Actions, and Crossing the Ship Line. The first part of every turn is to move your Captain meeple clockwise on your Wheel to select your Captain’s Order for this turn. Moving to the next adjacent space is free, but to skip spaces you must place Deckhand meeples onto the skipped spaces. In future turns, you may have Deckhands coming off the wheel, and you will assign those to other tasks during this step. The next step is to Sail your ship. Every player begins the game with a base speed of 1 Map card, and this can be enhanced throughout gameplay. During this step, you may Sail your ship across Map tiles up to your total allowed distance. After having Sailed, it is time to Execute Captain’s Order. To do this, refer back to your Wheel to see which action your Captain is on, and perform it. Possible actions are to Plunder (steal Booty from settlements), Trade (trade Booty for $ at markets), Crew Up (add up to 4 Crew members to your Ship), Search (gain a one-time benefit from un-searched Map cards), Attack (attack opposing Pirates or Merchant ships at sea), or Hide Out (rest at a Cove and reassign all Deckhands). You may only perform the action that was selected in the Captain’s Order step, regardless of if your placement on a Map card has other actions available.
Once your selected action has been performed, the next step is to Trigger Bonus Actions. Looking at your Captain and Crew cards, if their leftmost icon matches your current Captain’s Order, you may trigger the listed bonus actions. Some bonus actions allow you to perform duplicate Captain’s Orders, but others will earn you money, let you reassign Deckhands, exchange Booty at a different rate, and bury treasure. You don’t need to perform every Bonus Action listed if you so choose, but they may only be performed when their card icon matches your Captain’s Order. The very last step of your turn is to see if you have Crossed the Ship Line. Check your Wheel and see if you have moved from space 5 across the Ship Line to start another circle around the Wheel. If you did not cross the line, then your turn ends and play moves to the next Pirate. If you did cross the Ship Line, then the Merchant and Navy ships will sail a set amount of distance. Merchant ships are simply trying to deliver goods to port, and will be traversing the sea throughout the game. The Navy ship is hunting down Pirates, and will move to attack the current player any time the Ship Line is crossed. When a player has buried their third and final treasure, the round finishes as normal and the game ends. The player who buried all 3 treasures is the winner! In the case of a tie, check the rulebook. 😉
As with most of the Tiny Epic games, I will first start by saying that the size of the box may be small, but the gameplay inside is enormous. There is so much strategy in this one, I think it’s the ‘heaviest’ one in the series so far. You have so many different choices when it comes to strategy, and the gameplay will feel different every time. You could choose to take the offensive and be the aggressor, attacking any and all Ships that you can. Winning combat against Merchant Ships earns you Booty and other resources, while winning combat against opposing Pirates earns you Legend Levels. Your current Legend Level dictates how many spaces you are allowed to Sail, as well as how many dice you can roll during combat. So increasing that level results in better benefits. Maybe you just want to be an honest Pirate and do all of your trading at legal markets, avoiding contact with others and trying to skirt around combat. Maybe you want to try a little of both? The point is, you have choices, and must be able to adapt them based on your opponents’ decisions as well.
A neat element I touched on earlier about this game is the variable setup for each individual player and their Wheel. This really factors into your strategy because you have to know when to use which actions. Do you use a Deckhand to skip a space, or do you burn a turn moving for free to keep that Deckhand right where you want him? And remember, Bonus Actions are only triggered when the matching Captain’s Order is selected, so maybe you have to sacrifice acting in a turn (not being able to perform the selected Captain’s Order) in order to trigger your desired Bonus Action. It’s all about strategy, and that keeps the gameplay engaging at all times.
Just a word of warning though, there is a bit of a learning curve, as there are so many steps and items to consider each turn. Thus the gameplay felt pretty daunting and slow-going my first few plays. But as I became more comfortable with the turn structure and the iconography, it became easier to know what comes next. Another thing to consider is player count. Playing Tiny Epic Pirates at 2 players didn’t really feel that immersive or engaging. With only 2 players on a 4×4 grid, it can be easy to completely avoid each other and skirt around, essentially playing by yourself in a way. With 3 and 4 players, there are more Ships on the map and more opportunities for player interactions and engagement. So it all comes down to what kind of gameplay you want, when selecting your player count.
Components. Again, so far all the Tiny Epic games have had awesome production quality and Tiny Epic Pirates is no exception. The artwork is bright and colorful, the cards and cardboard tokens are sturdy, the meeples are cute, and the actual ships are fun to play with. My only qualms are that two of the player colors – black and blue – are visually similar so in setup it can be tricky to tell them apart. Another qualm is that two of the Booty types (teehee) are a tan and gray color, and the iconography for both on the Map cards are similarly colored. The first few plays I found myself trading the wrong Booty at market because I didn’t check the icon closely enough. These are not game-breakers by any means, but just a heads up so you’re paying attention! As this was a Kickstarter, I did opt for the add-on Pirate Skull dice, and have to honestly say that I prefer the regular game dice better. The ‘knots’ on the corners of the skull dice stop them from continuing to roll, so I felt like I wasn’t really getting a real roll on them. Maybe that’s just my personal opinion, but the regular ol’ game dice are perfectly fine.
How does Tiny Epic Pirates fare in the lineup of the Tiny Epic games? Fairly well, I would say. It’s not one that I would pull out to play with just anybody, as it is a bit of a heavier game, but it is one that I know I would enjoy with my game group. There are a lot of neat elements and mechanics at play here that really work well together and make for an engaging and kind of brain-burning (in a way) game. Although Tiny Epic Pirates might not get as much playtime for me as others in the series, it’s a good one to have and it really embodies the tiny (small box, check) and epic (sweet and strategic gameplay) parts of the title. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a seaworthy 4 / 6.
Disclaimer: I do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook in this review, but rather provide a general overview of the rules and gameplay. -L
Tiny Epic Pirates is a competitive game in which players take on the roles of pirate captains sailing the seas, engaging in combat, trading at various ports, and trying to bury some treasure. Played over a series of rounds, the game ends once a player has buried their 3rd treasure chest. To setup, follow the instructions as detailed in the rulebook – there are simply too many to outline here concisely. Two unique aspects of setup are that the Map cards are shuffled and randomly placed in a 4×4 grid, ensuring a variable setup for each game. The other is that each player will also randomly assign Order tokens on their Wheel (rondel), which means that no two players will have the same setup for a game. Once the Sea has been created, players have prepared their appropriate mats, a market for Booty and Crew have been setup, and tokens/Ships are placed on the map, the game is ready to begin!
Each turn is broken down into 5 steps: Captain’s Order/Deckhands, Sail, Execute Captain’s Order, Trigger Bonus Actions, and Crossing the Ship Line. The first part of every turn is to move your Captain meeple clockwise on your Wheel to select your Captain’s Order for this turn. Moving to the next adjacent space is free, but to skip spaces you must place Deckhand meeples onto the skipped spaces. In future turns, you may have Deckhands coming off the wheel, and you will assign those to other tasks during this step. The next step is to Sail your ship. Every player begins the game with a base speed of 1 Map card, and this can be enhanced throughout gameplay. During this step, you may Sail your ship across Map tiles up to your total allowed distance. After having Sailed, it is time to Execute Captain’s Order. To do this, refer back to your Wheel to see which action your Captain is on, and perform it. Possible actions are to Plunder (steal Booty from settlements), Trade (trade Booty for $ at markets), Crew Up (add up to 4 Crew members to your Ship), Search (gain a one-time benefit from un-searched Map cards), Attack (attack opposing Pirates or Merchant ships at sea), or Hide Out (rest at a Cove and reassign all Deckhands). You may only perform the action that was selected in the Captain’s Order step, regardless of if your placement on a Map card has other actions available.
Once your selected action has been performed, the next step is to Trigger Bonus Actions. Looking at your Captain and Crew cards, if their leftmost icon matches your current Captain’s Order, you may trigger the listed bonus actions. Some bonus actions allow you to perform duplicate Captain’s Orders, but others will earn you money, let you reassign Deckhands, exchange Booty at a different rate, and bury treasure. You don’t need to perform every Bonus Action listed if you so choose, but they may only be performed when their card icon matches your Captain’s Order. The very last step of your turn is to see if you have Crossed the Ship Line. Check your Wheel and see if you have moved from space 5 across the Ship Line to start another circle around the Wheel. If you did not cross the line, then your turn ends and play moves to the next Pirate. If you did cross the Ship Line, then the Merchant and Navy ships will sail a set amount of distance. Merchant ships are simply trying to deliver goods to port, and will be traversing the sea throughout the game. The Navy ship is hunting down Pirates, and will move to attack the current player any time the Ship Line is crossed. When a player has buried their third and final treasure, the round finishes as normal and the game ends. The player who buried all 3 treasures is the winner! In the case of a tie, check the rulebook. 😉
As with most of the Tiny Epic games, I will first start by saying that the size of the box may be small, but the gameplay inside is enormous. There is so much strategy in this one, I think it’s the ‘heaviest’ one in the series so far. You have so many different choices when it comes to strategy, and the gameplay will feel different every time. You could choose to take the offensive and be the aggressor, attacking any and all Ships that you can. Winning combat against Merchant Ships earns you Booty and other resources, while winning combat against opposing Pirates earns you Legend Levels. Your current Legend Level dictates how many spaces you are allowed to Sail, as well as how many dice you can roll during combat. So increasing that level results in better benefits. Maybe you just want to be an honest Pirate and do all of your trading at legal markets, avoiding contact with others and trying to skirt around combat. Maybe you want to try a little of both? The point is, you have choices, and must be able to adapt them based on your opponents’ decisions as well.
A neat element I touched on earlier about this game is the variable setup for each individual player and their Wheel. This really factors into your strategy because you have to know when to use which actions. Do you use a Deckhand to skip a space, or do you burn a turn moving for free to keep that Deckhand right where you want him? And remember, Bonus Actions are only triggered when the matching Captain’s Order is selected, so maybe you have to sacrifice acting in a turn (not being able to perform the selected Captain’s Order) in order to trigger your desired Bonus Action. It’s all about strategy, and that keeps the gameplay engaging at all times.
Just a word of warning though, there is a bit of a learning curve, as there are so many steps and items to consider each turn. Thus the gameplay felt pretty daunting and slow-going my first few plays. But as I became more comfortable with the turn structure and the iconography, it became easier to know what comes next. Another thing to consider is player count. Playing Tiny Epic Pirates at 2 players didn’t really feel that immersive or engaging. With only 2 players on a 4×4 grid, it can be easy to completely avoid each other and skirt around, essentially playing by yourself in a way. With 3 and 4 players, there are more Ships on the map and more opportunities for player interactions and engagement. So it all comes down to what kind of gameplay you want, when selecting your player count.
Components. Again, so far all the Tiny Epic games have had awesome production quality and Tiny Epic Pirates is no exception. The artwork is bright and colorful, the cards and cardboard tokens are sturdy, the meeples are cute, and the actual ships are fun to play with. My only qualms are that two of the player colors – black and blue – are visually similar so in setup it can be tricky to tell them apart. Another qualm is that two of the Booty types (teehee) are a tan and gray color, and the iconography for both on the Map cards are similarly colored. The first few plays I found myself trading the wrong Booty at market because I didn’t check the icon closely enough. These are not game-breakers by any means, but just a heads up so you’re paying attention! As this was a Kickstarter, I did opt for the add-on Pirate Skull dice, and have to honestly say that I prefer the regular game dice better. The ‘knots’ on the corners of the skull dice stop them from continuing to roll, so I felt like I wasn’t really getting a real roll on them. Maybe that’s just my personal opinion, but the regular ol’ game dice are perfectly fine.
How does Tiny Epic Pirates fare in the lineup of the Tiny Epic games? Fairly well, I would say. It’s not one that I would pull out to play with just anybody, as it is a bit of a heavier game, but it is one that I know I would enjoy with my game group. There are a lot of neat elements and mechanics at play here that really work well together and make for an engaging and kind of brain-burning (in a way) game. Although Tiny Epic Pirates might not get as much playtime for me as others in the series, it’s a good one to have and it really embodies the tiny (small box, check) and epic (sweet and strategic gameplay) parts of the title. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a seaworthy 4 / 6.
Kyera (8 KP) rated Day 21 (The Hundred, #2) in Books
Feb 1, 2018
This is going to be much shorter as I've already reviewed the first book (plus this isn't out yet). Also, fair warning there will be spoilers in this one as its difficult to talk about without giving away any plot points or the development of relationships. I will attempt to reveal as little as I can.
While I am not well versed in the side affects and speed of oxygen deprivation, I suspect the portrayal of it is utterly inaccurate. What I do know is that a person can experience deadly CO (carbon monoxide) levels in less than a day when locked in an airtight room. Obviously, these people are not in an airtight room, but their spaceship is leaking the only oxygen that they do have at an alarming rate. One could calculate the time, but as I do not know the number of people in Walden or Arcadia, nor do I know the size of those two areas of the ship.
There is a <a href="http://kimberlymoynahan.com/2012/04/friday-fiction-facts-trapped-in-an-airtight-room/">great article</a> for fiction writers that allows you to calculate the amount of time that your character would be able to survive in an airtight room. It also describes some of the effects that they would experience. While I do not expect the oxygen deprivation/carbon monoxide poisoning to be perfectly explained and accurate - I do expect there to be some degree of <i>believability</i>. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Immediately upon the sealing of the craft, the author makes the reader believe that the people are already being affected. What makes the situation worse is that people begin to panic, using up the precious oxygen they need to rid their bodies of the carbon monoxide. In case you weren't aware, you take in oxygen so that it will bond with the carbon monoxide and be expelled from your body as carbon dioxide. (Obviously this is a very simple explanation, but I'm just trying to get the general idea across.) As they lose the oxygen around them, more and more carbon monoxide builds up in their lungs. With the number of people on the ship, I expect that after a few hours and certainly after a day they will have (if not run out) be dangerously low on oxygen. Yet, later on two of the characters have spent a number of nights together and the lack of oxygen hasn't caused them to fall unconscious.
With the size and population being what it is, it seems unlikely that there would be oxygen left (as it's steadily leaking out.) And if there was any that there would still be enough to breathe relatively normally. This is what immediately made the pseudo-scientist in me question how much research was done. Honestly, it doesn't take much to make it marginally realistic.
The characters are not as well thought out as they should be. Although flaws are to be expected, contradicting actions/personality aspects just make the reader confused. As obsessed as one character is with his sister, her well being, and at times her location - he seems to quickly thrust her aside when the new girl gives him attention. Just as before, the relationships are like roller coasters. One act tears them apart, then in the next moment all is well. Such an emotionally tiresome existence.
The first book had shadowy allusions to prostitution, a case of teen pregnancy, and the most emotionally indecisive characters that I have ever had the privilege to read about. This book has Stockholm Syndrome, inaccurate science, and trigger happy humans. As with the other book, it is enjoyable enough as a silly, simple read. Don't expect it to be more than that or you will be disappointed.
While I am not well versed in the side affects and speed of oxygen deprivation, I suspect the portrayal of it is utterly inaccurate. What I do know is that a person can experience deadly CO (carbon monoxide) levels in less than a day when locked in an airtight room. Obviously, these people are not in an airtight room, but their spaceship is leaking the only oxygen that they do have at an alarming rate. One could calculate the time, but as I do not know the number of people in Walden or Arcadia, nor do I know the size of those two areas of the ship.
There is a <a href="http://kimberlymoynahan.com/2012/04/friday-fiction-facts-trapped-in-an-airtight-room/">great article</a> for fiction writers that allows you to calculate the amount of time that your character would be able to survive in an airtight room. It also describes some of the effects that they would experience. While I do not expect the oxygen deprivation/carbon monoxide poisoning to be perfectly explained and accurate - I do expect there to be some degree of <i>believability</i>. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Immediately upon the sealing of the craft, the author makes the reader believe that the people are already being affected. What makes the situation worse is that people begin to panic, using up the precious oxygen they need to rid their bodies of the carbon monoxide. In case you weren't aware, you take in oxygen so that it will bond with the carbon monoxide and be expelled from your body as carbon dioxide. (Obviously this is a very simple explanation, but I'm just trying to get the general idea across.) As they lose the oxygen around them, more and more carbon monoxide builds up in their lungs. With the number of people on the ship, I expect that after a few hours and certainly after a day they will have (if not run out) be dangerously low on oxygen. Yet, later on two of the characters have spent a number of nights together and the lack of oxygen hasn't caused them to fall unconscious.
With the size and population being what it is, it seems unlikely that there would be oxygen left (as it's steadily leaking out.) And if there was any that there would still be enough to breathe relatively normally. This is what immediately made the pseudo-scientist in me question how much research was done. Honestly, it doesn't take much to make it marginally realistic.
The characters are not as well thought out as they should be. Although flaws are to be expected, contradicting actions/personality aspects just make the reader confused. As obsessed as one character is with his sister, her well being, and at times her location - he seems to quickly thrust her aside when the new girl gives him attention. Just as before, the relationships are like roller coasters. One act tears them apart, then in the next moment all is well. Such an emotionally tiresome existence.
The first book had shadowy allusions to prostitution, a case of teen pregnancy, and the most emotionally indecisive characters that I have ever had the privilege to read about. This book has Stockholm Syndrome, inaccurate science, and trigger happy humans. As with the other book, it is enjoyable enough as a silly, simple read. Don't expect it to be more than that or you will be disappointed.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated High Noon in Tabletop Games
Mar 1, 2021
Howdy partners, and welcome to the (fictional) state of Saratoga. There’s 4 main posses ’round these parts, and they’re all willing to fight to the bitter end to settle scores and collect gold. Who will y’all side with in this cut-throat town, and who will come out victorious? Only time will tell, and I reckon that time to be High Noon.
Disclaimer: We were provided with a copy of the game for the purposes of this preview. This is a finalized production copy, and the components you see pictured are those you will receive in your own game! Also, we were provided the 4-player starter set – the game is playable with more people when expansions are included. -L
High Noon is a game of action points, grid movement, and fighting, played over a series of 12 rounds, in which players take on the roles of various posses in the Wild West who are battling to collect the most gold in town. To setup for the game, each player selects a posse and receives their corresponding deck of cards, character sheets, and minis. Character sheets are placed in front of each player, and a red Poker Chip is placed on each to track the Health of each character. Setup the map tiles as shown in the rulebook, or players may create their own map layout using at least 7 of the map tiles. Shuffle the Loot decks and place them to the side within reach of all players, and create a pool of Gold tokens and Poker Chips. The Loot Crate tokens are shuffled and randomly placed on the green squares of the board, and then players will take turns each placing 3 more Loot Crates following certain placement restrictions. All minis are placed on their starting squares on the map tiles, players draw 6 cards from their own posse decks, a starting player is selected, and the game is ready to begin!
Each turn is broken into 3 phases: Movement, Action, and Draw Cards. During the Movement phase, players may move any/all of their minis on the map up to the Speed value listed on their respective Character Sheets. Movement is always in straight lines, or can be diagonal. Diagonal movement costs 2 squares of movement though, so keep that in mind! The map tiles have various obstacles as well, and navigating over obstacles costs 2 squares of movement as well. After a player has moved their minis, they now move to the Action phase. In this phase, each individual character of your posse is allowed one action: Play a Card, Loot a Crate, Loot a Body, Equip an Item, Pass an Item, or Drop an Item. To Play a Card, select a card from your hand, perform the action listed on it (either an Attack or Special Action), and discard it. It is important to note that a character may only ‘Play a Card’ if you have one of their cards in your hand! Each posse deck is made up of action cards for the various posse members – so you might not always have a card in hand for every character. In order to Loot a Crate or Loot a Body, your mini must be in an adjacent square to the item to pick it up. Any Loot that is picked up is placed with the corresponding character’s Character Sheet – each character may only hold a specific amount of Loot! Certain Loot items need to be equipped, and thus you may make that character equip an item in lieu of any other actions this turn. Loot cards have various uses: Weapons, Consumables, or Ammunition. These can provide extra Attack damage, Healing powers, or Defense bonuses to characters. Loot is highly coveted!
Passing an Item allows you to hand off Loot between posse members, or Dropping an Item (a free action) removes that Loot from your Character and is discarded. After all of your characters have acted (if possible), your turn then moves to the Draw Cards phase. You will draw 3 cards from your posse deck. Once you have 12 cards in hand, you must discard 3 cards in order to draw 3 cards. You must always draw 3 cards at the end of your turn. The game then proceeds to the next player, and continues as such until the end of 12 rounds. So how do you win? By collecting Gold, of course! And the way to do that is by attacking your rival posses. Any time one of your characters deals at least 1 point of damage to an opponent, you collect 1 Gold token. Any time you kill an opposing character (reducing their Health on their Character Sheet to 0), you collect the amount of Gold listed on the deceased character’s Character Sheet. At the end of 12 rounds, the player/posse that has amassed the most Gold is the winner!
Ok, so I know that seems like a lot, but I promise that the gameplay is pretty streamlined once you actually get going. The Movement phase is very straightforward and simple to perform. The Action phase is logical, and the options are clear. Drawing cards is a no-brainer at the end of your turn. The real nitty-gritty part of play is in the strategy. You earn Gold by dealing damage or killing opponents, so naturally Combat is where the crux of the gameplay is centered. All characters are armed with weapons that have finite range. You may only ever attack opponents who are in direct Line-of-Sight – in a straight line away from you, or diagonally, each square costing 2 squares of range. If an opponent is not in either of those 2 directions from your character, you may not attack them! So movement and character placement becomes a lot more strategic and important in gameplay. There is also the concept of obstacles impeding the attacks of players. It makes logical sense, and I feel like the damage adjustments to incorporate obstacles feel realistic. When a player is attacked, they may choose to play a card from their hand to defend against some of the damage being dealt. As mentioned above, though, a character may only ever play a card that is specified for him! (Ex. Col. Rodgers cannot defend if you have no Col. Rodgers cards in hand) Are you willing to risk your only Leroy Gang card to defend 2 points of damage instead of using it to attack for 3 points of damage on your turn? You have to figure out exactly how to play the combat, and that strategy can turn in the blink of an eye.
Honestly, for me, the trickiest part of the gameplay was keeping track of which character acted each turn. I ended up grabbing some of the extra Poker Chips and placing them on a Character Sheet once he had acted each turn. Not necessarily a knock on the game, just on my inability to control multiple characters I guess! Let me touch on components for a minute. The copy of the game that I received is a finalized production copy. There may be some updates to the rulebook, but component-wise, what you see is what you get. And what you get is pretty great. The posse and Loot decks are nice sturdy cards, and the cardboard chits (Poker Chips, Loot tokens, and Gold) are thick, if not a little too small for my taste. The Character Sheets are big, easy to read, and clear in their iconography. The map tiles are some nice thick card stock-like material that definitely will hold up to numerous plays. And the minis. They are so cool! Each posse has a designated color, and they are just fun to play with and move around the board. At first, I found it difficult to tell certain posse members apart, since some of the minis look alike. But then I realized that each mini has a number of nicks in the base to help players identify which mini corresponds to which character. That was definitely a lifesaver for me in my plays. The components make this feel like a luxury game, and that helps make it more exciting to play!
So all in all, how does High Noon fare? In my opinion, pretty well! The map grid and combat are reminiscent of Dungeons and Dragons, but with a Wild West theme that feels novel and unique. And according to the box, it can be played with more than 4 players if you incorporate expansions into the base game. So you can really turn this into an all-out Western showdown! The gameplay is smooth, the strategy ever-changing, and the concept and rules are fairly simple to learn and teach. High Noon definitely gets some high marks from me!
Disclaimer: We were provided with a copy of the game for the purposes of this preview. This is a finalized production copy, and the components you see pictured are those you will receive in your own game! Also, we were provided the 4-player starter set – the game is playable with more people when expansions are included. -L
High Noon is a game of action points, grid movement, and fighting, played over a series of 12 rounds, in which players take on the roles of various posses in the Wild West who are battling to collect the most gold in town. To setup for the game, each player selects a posse and receives their corresponding deck of cards, character sheets, and minis. Character sheets are placed in front of each player, and a red Poker Chip is placed on each to track the Health of each character. Setup the map tiles as shown in the rulebook, or players may create their own map layout using at least 7 of the map tiles. Shuffle the Loot decks and place them to the side within reach of all players, and create a pool of Gold tokens and Poker Chips. The Loot Crate tokens are shuffled and randomly placed on the green squares of the board, and then players will take turns each placing 3 more Loot Crates following certain placement restrictions. All minis are placed on their starting squares on the map tiles, players draw 6 cards from their own posse decks, a starting player is selected, and the game is ready to begin!
Each turn is broken into 3 phases: Movement, Action, and Draw Cards. During the Movement phase, players may move any/all of their minis on the map up to the Speed value listed on their respective Character Sheets. Movement is always in straight lines, or can be diagonal. Diagonal movement costs 2 squares of movement though, so keep that in mind! The map tiles have various obstacles as well, and navigating over obstacles costs 2 squares of movement as well. After a player has moved their minis, they now move to the Action phase. In this phase, each individual character of your posse is allowed one action: Play a Card, Loot a Crate, Loot a Body, Equip an Item, Pass an Item, or Drop an Item. To Play a Card, select a card from your hand, perform the action listed on it (either an Attack or Special Action), and discard it. It is important to note that a character may only ‘Play a Card’ if you have one of their cards in your hand! Each posse deck is made up of action cards for the various posse members – so you might not always have a card in hand for every character. In order to Loot a Crate or Loot a Body, your mini must be in an adjacent square to the item to pick it up. Any Loot that is picked up is placed with the corresponding character’s Character Sheet – each character may only hold a specific amount of Loot! Certain Loot items need to be equipped, and thus you may make that character equip an item in lieu of any other actions this turn. Loot cards have various uses: Weapons, Consumables, or Ammunition. These can provide extra Attack damage, Healing powers, or Defense bonuses to characters. Loot is highly coveted!
Passing an Item allows you to hand off Loot between posse members, or Dropping an Item (a free action) removes that Loot from your Character and is discarded. After all of your characters have acted (if possible), your turn then moves to the Draw Cards phase. You will draw 3 cards from your posse deck. Once you have 12 cards in hand, you must discard 3 cards in order to draw 3 cards. You must always draw 3 cards at the end of your turn. The game then proceeds to the next player, and continues as such until the end of 12 rounds. So how do you win? By collecting Gold, of course! And the way to do that is by attacking your rival posses. Any time one of your characters deals at least 1 point of damage to an opponent, you collect 1 Gold token. Any time you kill an opposing character (reducing their Health on their Character Sheet to 0), you collect the amount of Gold listed on the deceased character’s Character Sheet. At the end of 12 rounds, the player/posse that has amassed the most Gold is the winner!
Ok, so I know that seems like a lot, but I promise that the gameplay is pretty streamlined once you actually get going. The Movement phase is very straightforward and simple to perform. The Action phase is logical, and the options are clear. Drawing cards is a no-brainer at the end of your turn. The real nitty-gritty part of play is in the strategy. You earn Gold by dealing damage or killing opponents, so naturally Combat is where the crux of the gameplay is centered. All characters are armed with weapons that have finite range. You may only ever attack opponents who are in direct Line-of-Sight – in a straight line away from you, or diagonally, each square costing 2 squares of range. If an opponent is not in either of those 2 directions from your character, you may not attack them! So movement and character placement becomes a lot more strategic and important in gameplay. There is also the concept of obstacles impeding the attacks of players. It makes logical sense, and I feel like the damage adjustments to incorporate obstacles feel realistic. When a player is attacked, they may choose to play a card from their hand to defend against some of the damage being dealt. As mentioned above, though, a character may only ever play a card that is specified for him! (Ex. Col. Rodgers cannot defend if you have no Col. Rodgers cards in hand) Are you willing to risk your only Leroy Gang card to defend 2 points of damage instead of using it to attack for 3 points of damage on your turn? You have to figure out exactly how to play the combat, and that strategy can turn in the blink of an eye.
Honestly, for me, the trickiest part of the gameplay was keeping track of which character acted each turn. I ended up grabbing some of the extra Poker Chips and placing them on a Character Sheet once he had acted each turn. Not necessarily a knock on the game, just on my inability to control multiple characters I guess! Let me touch on components for a minute. The copy of the game that I received is a finalized production copy. There may be some updates to the rulebook, but component-wise, what you see is what you get. And what you get is pretty great. The posse and Loot decks are nice sturdy cards, and the cardboard chits (Poker Chips, Loot tokens, and Gold) are thick, if not a little too small for my taste. The Character Sheets are big, easy to read, and clear in their iconography. The map tiles are some nice thick card stock-like material that definitely will hold up to numerous plays. And the minis. They are so cool! Each posse has a designated color, and they are just fun to play with and move around the board. At first, I found it difficult to tell certain posse members apart, since some of the minis look alike. But then I realized that each mini has a number of nicks in the base to help players identify which mini corresponds to which character. That was definitely a lifesaver for me in my plays. The components make this feel like a luxury game, and that helps make it more exciting to play!
So all in all, how does High Noon fare? In my opinion, pretty well! The map grid and combat are reminiscent of Dungeons and Dragons, but with a Wild West theme that feels novel and unique. And according to the box, it can be played with more than 4 players if you incorporate expansions into the base game. So you can really turn this into an all-out Western showdown! The gameplay is smooth, the strategy ever-changing, and the concept and rules are fairly simple to learn and teach. High Noon definitely gets some high marks from me!
