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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Starlight Stage in Tabletop Games

Jul 25, 2019

Starlight Stage

2014 | Card Game

2.0

(1 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Your talent agency is failing. All you have available are rookies looking for their big breaks. However, they will take almost any work you can give them, and they can use their experience to reinvent themselves to bring greater visibility to your agency and greater star power for themselves. Do you have what it takes to show them their true potential and set them up for success? Or will your skills in talent management sink your ship before leaving the harbor? Let’s find out.

DISCLAIMER: I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rule book, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy from the publisher directly or from your FLGS. -T

Starlight Stage is a deck building, card drafting, and set collection game with a very unique theme and art style. As with all deck builders, players start with a hand of beginner cards. In this case, all players are dealt the same hand of starter idol, model, and actress cards. These are collectively called “Idols,” which is confusing, but I will address that in my summary. Essentially, each different type of idol provides you with a different type of currency/energy/power/resource to use when buying or drafting newer, more powerful cards.

On your turn you MAY flip over a card from one of the three decks available – Idol, Fame, or Event cards. Then you play cards from your hand in order to acquire more cards from the offer rows. Typically, you may only use one idol card per purchase, unless you are purchasing an Event card – you may send more than one idol to an Event. If there are no cards that you want, or that you can afford to purchase, you may “take a lesson,” by grabbing a resource token.

Tired of using just the starter idol cards all the time? Idols may reinvent themselves to become stronger. You do this by exchanging your starter (or upgraded) idol card and adding supporting cards and tokens to purchase a stronger idol card. These will typically provide more currency used to purchase more and better cards from the offer rows as well as providing more end game VPs. Example (shown below): exchange your starting Model idol card (blue diamond) plus several other supporting cards and tokens to transform your current Model into Super Idol Saori Tenkawa, who now provides you with one of each resource each time she is played.

Play continues until the Fame deck runs out, and points from cards are tallied to determine the winner.

Components: This game is a ton of cards and some resource tokens. The cards are great quality and will hold up well to repeated use, but super fans of the game may want to sleeve them, as the cards will be handled quite a bit. The tokens are typical cardboard chits and feature the diamond, heart, or music note symbols that are used throughout the game. Overall, production quality is pretty good.

So here’s the rub. When I pulled this out to play with Josh and Laura, we were immediately impacted by the art on the cards. When I started to explain the game mechanics and flow, Laura just COULD NOT contain her giggles as I tried to tactfully cover how to make your girls do jobs and attend events so that they can later upgrade themselves. I have to admit, the theme is not one I am accustomed to nor one that I can really get behind. I understand I come from a different culture background than that which is depicted in this game, but the theme is a definite detraction for us. Similarly, the art on the cards ranges from cute and uniquely anime to outright demeaning and near softcore hentai (there is no real NSFW artwork on the cards, but I certainly will not be playing this with my son until he’s at least 18). The idea of employing only young females and assigning them to different jobs to gain more fame or sending them to photo shoot events in skimpy clothing is just not very PC and not very 21st Century American. Again, I cannot stress enough that I do understand where this game comes from and the intended audience, but that intended audience is certainly not a group of highly inclusive, mostly minority, LGBTQIA member and allies, gender equal, 30-something board game enthusiasts and reviewers.

That said, the game itself can provide an interesting play session, but I highly recommend only playing with a specific group of people that you know will tolerate its suggestive art and overtones. For us at Purple Phoenix Games, we suggest Starlight Stage consider reinventing itself with a different theme. Also, I think some alternate terminology could be used for the Idol deck of cards that contain Idol, Model, and Actress cards. A minor quip, but it should be stated. Perhaps with some “Americanizing,” or at least having it be more PC, it would then overcome its 6/18 score and be invited to Hollywood with Simon Cowell.

Kudos

Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) created a post

Sep 23, 2020

Power Moves Out Of Necessity

An Essay On The Recent Acquisition of Zenimax Media and Bethesda Studios by Microsoft

Before this week it looked like Sony could do no wrong as they made the final sprint towards the release of their next gen system. It’s funny how quickly things can change in a week.

First there was the monumental fuck up that was the PS5 pre-orders, which included but are not limited to; times that pre orders are going live not being clearly stated, each retailer apparently having totally random respective times that pre orders went live and pre orders seemingly being in stock until the point when the customer goes to pay at the checkout screen when they are told, ‘sorry buddy, not today!”

Then there were the rumours, followed swiftly by the confirmation that the PS5 will indeed NOT be backwards compatible with anything pre PS4. Why is this something that is so difficult to do? This means that plenty of your favourite games from generations past, including titans such as the classic Hitman games, Silent Hill 2, the entire MGS franchise prior to Ground Zeroes, will spend yet another generation stuck on old hardware that is getting continuously older and harder to maintain.

For years people have been begging Sony to introduce a service similar to GamePass, which has been a huge benefit to Xbox and PC players for a while now.
They listened… sort of.
The PlayStation Plus Collection was announced which includes a meaty array of huge last gen exclusives, including Uncharted 4 and God of War. The caveat is that while GamePass includes brand new first party releases added to the service on launch, as well as a respectable back catalogue of exclusives, the PS Plus Collection does not. Apparently it is ‘not financially feasible,’ for Sony to adopt this practice.

Following all of this, Xbox then makes one of the most industry-shaking power moves that we have seen in the last decade, by announcing that they are purchasing Zenimax Media and by extension all of the studios under that umbrella, including Bethesda Softworks, Arkane Studios, id Software, Machine Games and Tango Gameworks. Talk about kicking a guy when he’s down.

Now before you go and place a panicked pre order on an Xbox Series X, it has been announced that not all games from these studios will be exclusive to Microsoft systems. Instead this will be something that will be decided on a case to case basis and PS exclusives Deathloop from Arkane and Ghostwire: Tokyo from Tango will still be released as exclusives on Sony’s console. However, Microsoft did spend 7.5 billion dollars on the acquisition and you can bet on the fact they are going to want something for their money. If they can manage to claim Elder Scrolls VI, or Fallout 5 as a Microsoft exclusive, it could shift a lot of the market back to Xbox. The most likely candidate in my opinion for a MS exclusive, is Bethesda’s announced new IP; Starfield. It is already highly anticipated and will most likely be a huge seller when it drops and if Sony folks can’t get their hands on it, I can see many people making the jump to Microsoft.

I have written before about my issues with exclusivity on either side of the console war, but I also understand the industry well enough to see that it is a necessary evil and in this cut-throat market, this is a clever investment. I really appreciate Xbox making a big move like this as quite frankly they had to do something major in this vein to even be in with a chance of winning the next generation. It’s good to see that they are refusing to go down without a fight. They really need a boost like this if they want to have any chance of catching up with Sony in the next generation.

The only hitch in this whole plan is that had they done this five years ago, - before disappointments like Prey, ESO, Wolfenstein: Youngblood and especially Fallout 76, - this would have been ten times more effective and mind-blowing. As of today, it seems more like 2 companies that are both on their respective backs trying to help each other up.

Overall, I think this is a good thing for the industry as a whole. I think that it will drive more intense competition, which will in turn result in better games. As a gamer, I think I would be way more upset about this if I hadn’t just built a decent gaming PC where I can play any Microsoft exclusives anyway, but I still think that it will ultimately benefit the individual gamer also by forcing more competition between developers and therefore a higher standard of games. I do think that it will encourage people who were originally going to just buy a PS5 to at least consider getting both consoles. This will have an effect down the line when MS starts announcing Xbox exclusive Bethesda titles etc, but we’ll see how much of an effect it ends up having at launch.

Kudos Comment

RəX Regent (349 KP) rated The Goonies (1985) in Movies

Feb 25, 2019

The Goonies (1985)

1985 | Adventure, Comedy

8.5

(87 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Classic

Contains spoilers, click to show

I first watched this seminal 80's classic in 1988, when it first appeared on TV and I was blown away by it. I was 10, roughly the same age as the lads and here was a film with a raucous sense of humour, strong child characters and large-scale plot which has made this film a multi-generational classic, with our parents, us as parents and our children all investing in the spirit of adventure of The Goonies.

Named after the Goon Docks of which they inhabit, a group of kids, after finding a treasure map, decide that this is their last chance to save the town, which is to knocked down in favour of a Country Club. This leads them on an adventure through the booby-trapped underground catacombs of the town, as they follow the map to One Eyed Willie's treasure.

They get mixed up with the Fratelli's, a matriarchal crime family who get wind of the treasure and follows them into the caves.

The first ting that struck me about this, is after all these years what that it was still fun, enjoyable and even though I might not bother watching by myself, I would defiantly enjoy seeing again with the right audience. The raucous nature of a group of children together in a room is captured so expertly here, with a young Sean Austin, now famous for his portrayal of Samwise Gamgee in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, holding the pack together; but the chaos is portrayed perfectly.

The language is good here too, with casual swearing amongst the kids, meaning that this must be one of the rare family films to truly capture the interplay between tweenage and teenage kids. Overall, this is a classic for all the right reasons, with the story by Steven Spielberg with only goes to further reinforce his status as one of Hollywood's greatest visionaries and a sharp, tight screenplay by Chris Columbus, who penned Gremlins the previous year and went on to direct the first two, but the weakest two Harry Potter movies.

There is also the questionable issue of the way that the Fratelli's treat Chunk. When you think about it he is threatened with torture after being kidnapped and spending time with the murdered corpse of two 'Feds' who have been shot in the head, murdered in cold blood.

I love this, treating the horror in a mature way, allowing it to used as humour but in a way to playfully scare kids, which it does. It is fun, but I do wonder where the PC brigade would let some of these plot points go in to a child friendly romp in 2011? I hope so, as it is the combination of elements that made this film what it is today.

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Call of Duty: Black Ops III - Eclipse in Video Games

Jun 19, 2019 (Updated Jun 19, 2019)

The second of four DLC packs for Call of Duty Black Ops 3 has arrived for PC and Xbox One after making its debut for the PS4. Eclipse offers four new maps and a new Zombie mode for gamers. As with previous DLC for the series, the collection can be purchased by itself or as part of a season pass.

The four maps are as follows…

Rift

Set in a futuristic military compound, Rift pushes players forwards and keeps the action moving, The focus is on close quarters fighting and explosives fly when the players become packed in. The

Verge

This is reimagined version of the classic Banzai map and one of the more distinctive maps in recent memory. The setting is a post apocalypse world filled with a water source and bridge and plenty of semi-demolished buildings to take cover. I noted that snipers seemed to like it but I actually did fairly well with my run and gun style of play.

Spire

Set in high altitude airport terminal of the future, this map is great fun. From balconies, open courtyards, and platforms with nothing but tons of air below you, this is a map that will put all of your skills to the test. I had more than one extended battle in this setting where numerous kill and combat zones could erupt at any time.

Knockout

Set in a Shaolin temple, this is a beautiful map that offers a distinct look and plenty of action. I first played it in an Uplink game and picking up the satellite on a martial arts arena and racing past Cherry Blossoms and other captivating setting to reach the goal was great fun. The action was intense due to several bridges and paths that would lead to open areas where the enemy was waiting.

Zombie lovers will enjoy Zetsubou No Shima which is set on a Pacific Island where the four characters must work with one another to battle never ending waves of undead. As with previous chapters players must gather items and assemble things to help their chances for survival. I liked the use of radiated water to power generators and grow plants that would yield useful items and weapons once harvested.

The other nice feature of this map was the inclusion of spider waves and other special creatures that would show up to menace players.

In all Eclipse is a solid pack that offers new value and gameplay options for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. While it is not anything radically different or groundbreaking, it does offer what you would expect in a DLC in the serious, more maps, more options, more fun, and more action.

http://sknr.net/2016/05/28/call-duty-black-ops-3-eclipse-dlc/