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Tiny Epic Defenders
Tiny Epic Defenders
2015 | Fantasy, Medieval
The Tiny Epic series. Where do we begin? They’re tiny and they’re epic – need I say more? Oh, I do have to say more? Ok then, here I go. Tiny Epic Defenders was the first of these games that I ever played, so I think it’s appropriate that it is the first one we review!

DISCLAIMER!! This review is for vanilla Tiny Epic Defenders, first edition. We have since added the second edition and The Dark War expansions, so we will revisit this game again including those additions for a nice contrast. -T

A kingdom at peace, finally, after years of war. All is calm across the lands, but the quiet never lasts. Reports start to come in of monsters spotted in the surrounding regions. If they manage to take over the Capital City, all will be lost. But there is still hope! A group of mighty warriors bands together to defend their kingdom at all costs! Only by working together can this group (the only line of defense between peace and destruction) defeat the monsters and save the realm!

In Tiny Epic Defenders, you play as one of the heroes trying to defend the kingdom. You and your comrades must travel between the outer regions of the kingdom and fend off the advancing monsters! Communication and cooperation are key – one small misstep could be the difference between victory and defeat. All of the heroes have unique special abilities, and all of the regions of the kingdom offer either a bonus or penalty for the heroes defending them. On your turn, you get 3 actions to either move, defend, or use a special ability. Once per round, there will be a group turn, where you must collectively decide how to best use the 3 actions between all players. New monsters surface every round, and eventually the Epic Foe will begin its final assault on the realm! If you manage to slay the Epic Foe before the Capital City falls, you win! But if you are overrun with monsters, unfortunately it’s game over for your kingdom.

The thing about Tiny Epic Defenders is that it starts off seemingly super easy, but then suddenly everything is on fire and you lose. I think that disparity comes from the turn order. The turn deck is shuffled anew every round, so the hero turns are not always evenly spaced throughout the deck. Sometimes all of the hero turns occur early in the round, which allow monsters who emerge later to attack undefended regions (players can move only on their turn), and overwhelm the heroes. The same happens if all the hero turns occur too late in the round – the monsters have already done their worst and the heroes must scramble to rectify the situation. And on top of that, a more menacing monster is added to the deck every round as well, so that just creates more of an imbalance between player turns and monster turns.

Even though the game can get a little overwhelming, I do really like the cooperative aspect of it! Everyone is working towards the same goal and all communication is open and free. Need advice for what to do on your turn? Just ask! Have an idea about how to deal with a certain monster? Tell the group! No single player bears all of the pressure because it really is a group effort!

Someday soon we will get the Second Edition to the table. And get that expansion added in too. But for the time being, our thoughts based solely on the original base game, Purple Phoenix Games give Tiny Epic Defenders a 16 / 24.

https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2018/12/05/tiny-epic-defenders-review/
  
Brightburn (2019)
Brightburn (2019)
2019 | Horror
Overall everything (0 more)
!!!!! WOW!!!!!
The last SONY production I saw was Venom... And while it was alright, it could've been so much better.
So lets just say I went into BRIGHT BURN with a little hesitation....
Was I ever wrong to hesitate...
Brandon Brier is a weird kid... Not well liked by his peers, the only friends he has are his parents and his aunt and uncle... And he just doesn't seem to understand what's going on within himself... Puberty can be a mother fucker...
While most normal kids grow hair in funny places and start thinking about girls, Brandon can shoot 5 million degree lasers from his eyes and stop lawnmower blades with his wrists... Did I mention he could fly??? Well... He can fly too...
Soon Brandon starts using his amazing gifts as weapon s to get back at the people who try and stop him from his ultimate goal... Take The World.
Oh... And I also forgot to mention he came to earth kind of like Superman... Landed on a farm in BrightBurn, Kansas... Was adopted by a struggling couple trying to have kids... And raised as their own... But Fucking KAL-El this little bastard is not...
He proceeds to off a shit ton of people in various manners... Even picking a pick up truck up with his mind and sending it crashingto the ground in one of the best practical effects I have seen in almost a decade...
We go through the motions like most super hero films, but these motions include glass to an eyeball, shattered fingers and wrists, a half decap hold the soy milk latte and so on and so forth.
BrightBurn is an impressive little film that kept me wanting more... You did it this time SONY... You kept me engaged and interested... And I can't wait to see what you come up with next.... (Psst... Psst... CARNAGE Sony... Fuck Venom....)
  
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Lara Croft - Tomb Raider (2001) in Movies

Aug 11, 2019 (Updated Aug 14, 2019)  
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider (2001)
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider (2001)
2001 | Action, Sci-Fi
I remember very clearly going to see this in the cinema when it came out (I was but a starry eyed 11 year old full of hopes and dreams back then), and I absolutely loved it. It was loud, obnoxious, and it had Lara Croft in it (again - I was an 11 year old boy...)
I also grew up playing the original Tomb Raider trilogy, so this was an exciting event in my pre adolescent life.


As as I've gotten older, it has become apparent that I don't have a lot of love for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider after all. It's just another shoddy video game adaption that doesn't have a lot of meat to it.
It's a film firmly stuck in the early 00s, with leather jackets, shades, and cringey breakbeat dance music in the background (thanks a lot Matrix).

One thing that is a huge positive, and why it still deserves at least 4/10 from me is Angelina Jolie. The script is just awful, but she is the embodiment of the original Lara Croft. It's honestly like watching the original game hero come to life.
The rest of the cast are pretty so-so. An early appearance from Daniel Craig (with a super dodgy American accent) is largely forgettable.
Iain Glen plays a pretty vanilla villain (although I really find it hard to dislike good old Iain), and Lara's assistants (played by Noah Taylor and Chris Barrie) are mostly enjoyable comic relief.

The action scenes aren't too bad (apart from the aforementioned music choices), and it's good to see some actual Tomb Raiding, but unfortunately Jolie alone isn't enough to elevate Tomb Raider above the ever growing pile of underwhelming video game movies.

I would like to finish this review with an apology to my girlfriend (who is also on Smashbomb and who will read this) who absolutely f***ing loves these movies - please don't hate me!
  
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Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) Aug 11, 2019

I enjoyed the 1st when I was younger and still appreciate the effort today, it's still fun to watch but amidst all the 90s pop culture cliches try to Remember...the Cradle of Light....there is no need for it to exist, it started of promising and quickly went south and became its own downfall that just dragged on.
We now have another Tomb raider movie which is clearly heavily based on the Tomb raider videogame reboot but where the game seems to have nailed it - the movie seems to have just missed the mark. Chris barrie was brilliant personally, besides- who doesn't wanna run around in their pj's shooting bad guy's haha.