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Hadley (567 KP) rated The Institute in Books
Oct 24, 2019
Likable characters (1 more)
Paranormal
Sexualizing children (1 more)
Not a regular King story
At around 95 novels, Stephen King, who is one of the most well-known authors of our time, debuts a possible new novel series about psychic children. 'The Institute' mostly takes place in a hidden facility located in a wooded area of Maine,where readers follow a kidnapped child prodigy named Luke Ellis, and the government experiments that are inflicted on him to heighten his psychic powers.
So why is the government kidnapping children to conduct psychic research on them? At first, it may seem just that: psychic research, because psychic powers seem to be more powerful in young children than adults, but nothing is what it seems. As the boss of this Institute says to the children: " ' There's a war going on, and you have been called upon to serve your country.' " A few sentences later, and she explains it a little more in depth for Ellis: " ' This is not an arms race but a mind race, and if we lose, the consequences would be more than dire; they would be unimaginable. You may only be twelve, but you are a soldier in an undeclared war. The same is true of Kalisha and the others. Do you like it? Of course not. Draftees never do, and draftees sometimes need to be taught that there are consequences for not following orders. I believe you've already had one lesson in that regard. If you're as bright as your records say you are, perhaps you won't need another. If you do, however, you'll get it. This is not your home. This is not your school. You will not simply be given an extra chore or sent to the principal's office or given detention; you will be punished. Clear? ' "
King writes in a third-person point-of-view, which makes it a little disturbing that when any female character he introduces (including girls as young as 11-years-old) are usually introduced by their breast size. It's not uncommon for male writers to introduce female characters this way, but when most of them are children, it can be very off putting for readers. One scene, King makes Ellis notice that Kalisha has 'her hands on her mostly nonexistent hips,' then writes about the character Helen in the same scene: " Another door opened and Helen Simms appeared, clad - - - sort of - - - in what Luke believed were called babydoll pajamas. She had hips, plus other interesting equipment. " Both of these characters are only twelve-years-old.
Aside from the children, King also introduces an important character named Tim Jamieson. This character starts the novel off before readers meet Ellis; we learn that he is a former cop who is traveling to New York while taking odd jobs on his way there, including a night knocker job in DuPray, South Carolina (which becomes very important later on in the story) .
Avery, my personal favorite character in the book, is a ten-year-old who acts like a five-year-old, " The screamer was a little boy in Star Wars pajamas, hammering on doors with small fists that went up and down like pistons. Ten? Avery Dixon looked six, seven at most. The crotch and one leg of his pajama pants were wet and sticking to him. " Dixon and Kalisha are both in the Institute for telepathy. " 'You know so,' Kalisha said, and began to stroke the little boy's [Dixon] hair again. Like had a sense - - - maybe bullshit, maybe not - - - that a lot was going on between them. Inside traffic. " And quickly, the group of children become protective of Dixon, " 'But you need to take care of this one for as long as you can. When I think of Tony or Zeke or that bitch Winona hitting Avery, it makes me want to cry. ' " Kalisha confides in Ellis.
Kalisha, one of the other children that has been kidnapped, is another very likable character that seems to keep all of the other kids' spirits up by either keeping them out of trouble with advice or stopping small fights between them. Another kid named Nicky, the troublemaker of the group, is the stereo-typical bad boy. He gets involved in fistfights with the orderlies that work at the Institute, taking quite a bit of abuse in return. But eventually, the rebelliousness catches up with him, leading him to be moved from Front Half to the dreaded Back Half.
Readers later learn that Back Half is worse than Front Half. Most questions we may have about why the Institute is abusing these children are all answered when readers get to see into Back Half from Kalisha's point-of-view. But what is left unanswered is exactly how many children have been through the Institute? From the amount of children seen just in this story, the numbers could be in the hundreds of thousands!
But, as expected, the children come up with a plan to escape - - - with giving as little detail as possible, an orderlie at the Institute is helped by one of the children with a personal problem, and in return, this orderlie decides to help one of them escape and reveal everything that is the Institute. The instance the escape starts being discussed is when the book really picks up.
King's writing of the abuse our characters sustain is very real (" When Stevie Whipple asked where he'd been and what was wrong, Luke just shook his head. He didn't want to talk about the tank. Not now, not ever. He supposed it was like being in a war. You got drafted, you went, but you didn't want to talk about what you'd seen, or what had happened to you there." ) The scene in which Ellis refuses to speak of is where the orderlie Zeke is trying to make Ellis confess that he is not only telekinesis, but also telepathic: "Zeke hauled him up by the hair. His white tunic was soaked. He looked fixedly at Luke. 'I'm going to put you down again, Luke. Again and again and again. I'll put you down until you drown and then we'll resuscitate you and drown you again and resuscitate you again. Last chance: what number am I thinking of?' "
King brings up a fictional belief that strikes fear in parents everywhere: children being kidnapped for government experiments. Readers witness Ellis' parents being killed, Kalisha being a surrogate mother to kids she barely knows, Nicky being beaten by adults when he refuses to get 'shots for dots,' night terrors, suicide, zap sticks and murder.
This book doesn't read like a regular King book; even with the paranormal aspects occurring in it, it doesn't add up to much. The horror aspect is more in the form of child abuse then paranormal moments. I would only recommend this book to fans of Netflix's 'Stranger Things' and Patterson's 'Maximum Ride.' I don't think I would read this again.
So why is the government kidnapping children to conduct psychic research on them? At first, it may seem just that: psychic research, because psychic powers seem to be more powerful in young children than adults, but nothing is what it seems. As the boss of this Institute says to the children: " ' There's a war going on, and you have been called upon to serve your country.' " A few sentences later, and she explains it a little more in depth for Ellis: " ' This is not an arms race but a mind race, and if we lose, the consequences would be more than dire; they would be unimaginable. You may only be twelve, but you are a soldier in an undeclared war. The same is true of Kalisha and the others. Do you like it? Of course not. Draftees never do, and draftees sometimes need to be taught that there are consequences for not following orders. I believe you've already had one lesson in that regard. If you're as bright as your records say you are, perhaps you won't need another. If you do, however, you'll get it. This is not your home. This is not your school. You will not simply be given an extra chore or sent to the principal's office or given detention; you will be punished. Clear? ' "
King writes in a third-person point-of-view, which makes it a little disturbing that when any female character he introduces (including girls as young as 11-years-old) are usually introduced by their breast size. It's not uncommon for male writers to introduce female characters this way, but when most of them are children, it can be very off putting for readers. One scene, King makes Ellis notice that Kalisha has 'her hands on her mostly nonexistent hips,' then writes about the character Helen in the same scene: " Another door opened and Helen Simms appeared, clad - - - sort of - - - in what Luke believed were called babydoll pajamas. She had hips, plus other interesting equipment. " Both of these characters are only twelve-years-old.
Aside from the children, King also introduces an important character named Tim Jamieson. This character starts the novel off before readers meet Ellis; we learn that he is a former cop who is traveling to New York while taking odd jobs on his way there, including a night knocker job in DuPray, South Carolina (which becomes very important later on in the story) .
Avery, my personal favorite character in the book, is a ten-year-old who acts like a five-year-old, " The screamer was a little boy in Star Wars pajamas, hammering on doors with small fists that went up and down like pistons. Ten? Avery Dixon looked six, seven at most. The crotch and one leg of his pajama pants were wet and sticking to him. " Dixon and Kalisha are both in the Institute for telepathy. " 'You know so,' Kalisha said, and began to stroke the little boy's [Dixon] hair again. Like had a sense - - - maybe bullshit, maybe not - - - that a lot was going on between them. Inside traffic. " And quickly, the group of children become protective of Dixon, " 'But you need to take care of this one for as long as you can. When I think of Tony or Zeke or that bitch Winona hitting Avery, it makes me want to cry. ' " Kalisha confides in Ellis.
Kalisha, one of the other children that has been kidnapped, is another very likable character that seems to keep all of the other kids' spirits up by either keeping them out of trouble with advice or stopping small fights between them. Another kid named Nicky, the troublemaker of the group, is the stereo-typical bad boy. He gets involved in fistfights with the orderlies that work at the Institute, taking quite a bit of abuse in return. But eventually, the rebelliousness catches up with him, leading him to be moved from Front Half to the dreaded Back Half.
Readers later learn that Back Half is worse than Front Half. Most questions we may have about why the Institute is abusing these children are all answered when readers get to see into Back Half from Kalisha's point-of-view. But what is left unanswered is exactly how many children have been through the Institute? From the amount of children seen just in this story, the numbers could be in the hundreds of thousands!
But, as expected, the children come up with a plan to escape - - - with giving as little detail as possible, an orderlie at the Institute is helped by one of the children with a personal problem, and in return, this orderlie decides to help one of them escape and reveal everything that is the Institute. The instance the escape starts being discussed is when the book really picks up.
King's writing of the abuse our characters sustain is very real (" When Stevie Whipple asked where he'd been and what was wrong, Luke just shook his head. He didn't want to talk about the tank. Not now, not ever. He supposed it was like being in a war. You got drafted, you went, but you didn't want to talk about what you'd seen, or what had happened to you there." ) The scene in which Ellis refuses to speak of is where the orderlie Zeke is trying to make Ellis confess that he is not only telekinesis, but also telepathic: "Zeke hauled him up by the hair. His white tunic was soaked. He looked fixedly at Luke. 'I'm going to put you down again, Luke. Again and again and again. I'll put you down until you drown and then we'll resuscitate you and drown you again and resuscitate you again. Last chance: what number am I thinking of?' "
King brings up a fictional belief that strikes fear in parents everywhere: children being kidnapped for government experiments. Readers witness Ellis' parents being killed, Kalisha being a surrogate mother to kids she barely knows, Nicky being beaten by adults when he refuses to get 'shots for dots,' night terrors, suicide, zap sticks and murder.
This book doesn't read like a regular King book; even with the paranormal aspects occurring in it, it doesn't add up to much. The horror aspect is more in the form of child abuse then paranormal moments. I would only recommend this book to fans of Netflix's 'Stranger Things' and Patterson's 'Maximum Ride.' I don't think I would read this again.
Paul Kellett (118 KP) rated The City of Kings in Tabletop Games
May 1, 2019
Great artwork (2 more)
Tons of content
Great for solo play
A bit fiddly (1 more)
Some scenarios are incredibly hard
A new take on the adventure game
The City of Kings is a tactical fantasy adventure, with procedurally generated monsters and some neat Euro mechanics. Frank West, the designer, has come up with a game that is massive in scope while being really simple to play and offering tons of replayability.
Set in an as yet unknown land, you take control of a hero (or, as this will be a solo focused review, a minimum of 2 heroes) to try and free the lands of the evil armies of Vesh Darkhand. The main story plays out over 7 stories, each with 4 chapters and 2 optional endings (Heroic & Legendary). There are also a bunch of stand-alone missions not tied to the main story.
The game is nothing less than stunning. The components are all top quality and the artwork is luscious. If you spring for the Deluxe version, you also get shaped wooden components for the resources as well as storage trays and some really useful plastic overlays to keep your character's stat cubes in place.
The game plays really smoothly. The rulebook is well laid out and gives the main rules in easily referenced sections. There is also a separate glossary which lists all the different creature abilities, location types, quest types and special tokens. This keeps the rulebook free of clutter and lets you learn about the different things as you play, giving the game a sense of mystery as you will be finding new things for many games to come. It's also really easy to open up and look up a skill.
The character sheets look intimidating but are wonderfully functional and quite intuitive as you start playing. Each character starts off the same, but as you kill monsters, complete quests and progress through the chapters, you will gain experience which lets you upgrade one of the several stats on your character sheet. This lets you customise your character and will make each play subtly different. You could go for attack and become the party's "tank" or you could focus on boosting your workers and be the one responsible for gathering the resources needed to buy better weapons or armour.
Each character also has a skill tree where you can gain different abilities unique to that character. With 12 different abilities and the restriction of only being able to pick up to 3 each game, it will take a good many games to try out the different combinations.
You get to perform 4 actions each turn and as well as being able to move your character across the map, you also start with a little worker that you can send out to the various resource locations on the map (when you have explored and found them) to gather the resources needed to purchase better equipment.
All (or most) of the map tiles will be face down at the start of the game, so you will be moving out of the city and exploring as you go, but when you flip over a monster spawn tile, you get to the meat of the game.
Unlike every other fantasy game, this is not your usual hack and slash, stand there and kill everything affair. This is more like a game of chess, you will need to be cunning and tactical to be able to survive and win.
You won't be facing the standard fantasy monsters, rather you will draw an enemy tile which will give you a description of the mob (yes, you are fighting groups at a time) you have encountered and then you will draw a stat card. These are numbered so after a couple of games you will know the basic stats of the next monster and be ready for it.
This sounds like it would become terribly repetitive, but each time you spawn a monster, you also have to assign abilities to it. these abilities are drawn from one (or more) of 3 bags containing Easy, Medium and Hard abilities so while you may know that the monster will do 4 damage and have 16 health, you won't know if it will spit poison at you, pull you into it's clutches or make you flee in terror. Or any number of other nasty things.
Line of sight, movement and combat is only done orthogonally, so as long as you are not in a straight line of the creature's range, you can leave him alone while you go about completing quests to either complete a chapter or to get the skills and equipment needed to defeat the beast.
On the whole it works very well. As is the nature of random token draws, you occasionally come across something that is just way too much to deal with and you will struggle to beat it, but that's all part of the fun.
I keep mentioning quests and equipment. There are two massive decks of cards, one you draw from when you interact with the quest location on the map. This will give you a quest that could be killing a monster, gathering a specific amount of a certain resource or, if you have the Deluxe upgrade, a dexterity quest. These are cool, you have to stack the wooden shapes in a tower without them falling :) and if you succeed you will gain XP and sometimes equipment.
The equipment deck is not quite a big as the quest deck, but still contains a load of cool tems which will be set out ready for you to purchase from the town or any discovered shop. To buy these you will need to have your worker running about the map harvesting the various resources scattered about the land and once you have enough, you can equip your heroes with mighty weapons and armour.
Be warned though, you can't just amble about the land at your leisure as each chapter has a strict time limit and if you have failed to complete your objectives by the time the clock strikes midnight after however many days you have been given, then the city will lose hope and you will fail. This makes for a very challenging experience where you need to work as a team and harmonise your skills to get the most efficient party.
Playing solo, you have to control a minimum of 2 characters, but it is not a complex task unlike a lot of other fantasy games. You don't have stacks of cards to shuffle through or tons of abilities or special rules to remember, just two character sheets with all the information easily seen and remembered. Depending on whether you play a single mission or a full story, the game will take between 1 and 2.5-3 hours and will offer a challenging tactical experience and a great narrative adventure that will be different every time.
This is such a good game and plays brilliantly as every player count (1-4) with different enemy stat bars to balance the threat against the number of players. Back on Kickstarter for a second printing along with some new expansion content, this should be on every gamers' shelf if you are a fan of great story driven fantasy games.
Set in an as yet unknown land, you take control of a hero (or, as this will be a solo focused review, a minimum of 2 heroes) to try and free the lands of the evil armies of Vesh Darkhand. The main story plays out over 7 stories, each with 4 chapters and 2 optional endings (Heroic & Legendary). There are also a bunch of stand-alone missions not tied to the main story.
The game is nothing less than stunning. The components are all top quality and the artwork is luscious. If you spring for the Deluxe version, you also get shaped wooden components for the resources as well as storage trays and some really useful plastic overlays to keep your character's stat cubes in place.
The game plays really smoothly. The rulebook is well laid out and gives the main rules in easily referenced sections. There is also a separate glossary which lists all the different creature abilities, location types, quest types and special tokens. This keeps the rulebook free of clutter and lets you learn about the different things as you play, giving the game a sense of mystery as you will be finding new things for many games to come. It's also really easy to open up and look up a skill.
The character sheets look intimidating but are wonderfully functional and quite intuitive as you start playing. Each character starts off the same, but as you kill monsters, complete quests and progress through the chapters, you will gain experience which lets you upgrade one of the several stats on your character sheet. This lets you customise your character and will make each play subtly different. You could go for attack and become the party's "tank" or you could focus on boosting your workers and be the one responsible for gathering the resources needed to buy better weapons or armour.
Each character also has a skill tree where you can gain different abilities unique to that character. With 12 different abilities and the restriction of only being able to pick up to 3 each game, it will take a good many games to try out the different combinations.
You get to perform 4 actions each turn and as well as being able to move your character across the map, you also start with a little worker that you can send out to the various resource locations on the map (when you have explored and found them) to gather the resources needed to purchase better equipment.
All (or most) of the map tiles will be face down at the start of the game, so you will be moving out of the city and exploring as you go, but when you flip over a monster spawn tile, you get to the meat of the game.
Unlike every other fantasy game, this is not your usual hack and slash, stand there and kill everything affair. This is more like a game of chess, you will need to be cunning and tactical to be able to survive and win.
You won't be facing the standard fantasy monsters, rather you will draw an enemy tile which will give you a description of the mob (yes, you are fighting groups at a time) you have encountered and then you will draw a stat card. These are numbered so after a couple of games you will know the basic stats of the next monster and be ready for it.
This sounds like it would become terribly repetitive, but each time you spawn a monster, you also have to assign abilities to it. these abilities are drawn from one (or more) of 3 bags containing Easy, Medium and Hard abilities so while you may know that the monster will do 4 damage and have 16 health, you won't know if it will spit poison at you, pull you into it's clutches or make you flee in terror. Or any number of other nasty things.
Line of sight, movement and combat is only done orthogonally, so as long as you are not in a straight line of the creature's range, you can leave him alone while you go about completing quests to either complete a chapter or to get the skills and equipment needed to defeat the beast.
On the whole it works very well. As is the nature of random token draws, you occasionally come across something that is just way too much to deal with and you will struggle to beat it, but that's all part of the fun.
I keep mentioning quests and equipment. There are two massive decks of cards, one you draw from when you interact with the quest location on the map. This will give you a quest that could be killing a monster, gathering a specific amount of a certain resource or, if you have the Deluxe upgrade, a dexterity quest. These are cool, you have to stack the wooden shapes in a tower without them falling :) and if you succeed you will gain XP and sometimes equipment.
The equipment deck is not quite a big as the quest deck, but still contains a load of cool tems which will be set out ready for you to purchase from the town or any discovered shop. To buy these you will need to have your worker running about the map harvesting the various resources scattered about the land and once you have enough, you can equip your heroes with mighty weapons and armour.
Be warned though, you can't just amble about the land at your leisure as each chapter has a strict time limit and if you have failed to complete your objectives by the time the clock strikes midnight after however many days you have been given, then the city will lose hope and you will fail. This makes for a very challenging experience where you need to work as a team and harmonise your skills to get the most efficient party.
Playing solo, you have to control a minimum of 2 characters, but it is not a complex task unlike a lot of other fantasy games. You don't have stacks of cards to shuffle through or tons of abilities or special rules to remember, just two character sheets with all the information easily seen and remembered. Depending on whether you play a single mission or a full story, the game will take between 1 and 2.5-3 hours and will offer a challenging tactical experience and a great narrative adventure that will be different every time.
This is such a good game and plays brilliantly as every player count (1-4) with different enemy stat bars to balance the threat against the number of players. Back on Kickstarter for a second printing along with some new expansion content, this should be on every gamers' shelf if you are a fan of great story driven fantasy games.
Dana (24 KP) rated Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles, #4.5) in Books
Mar 23, 2018
This book is actually receiving a 4.5 star review, but as you all know, we can't do that on here, so I just gave it a four star.
There will be spoliers, so ye be warned.
I'm going to go at this story by story, so bear with me.
The Keeper
I very much enjoyed getting to know Michelle Benoit because we do not get much of her in the base series. I love getting to know her and Scarlet's relationship on a first hand basis, but also getting to see the strain on their relationship because of the secrecy of Cinder. There are quite a few special moments between Michelle and Scarlet, namely, the one where she gives Scarlet her flight pin for her birthday present. Not going to lie, I choked up a bit on that one.
Another level of this story is the interactions between Michelle and Cinder. I loved seeing Michelle doting on Cinder, even though Cinder is in a suspended animation tank where she can't actually interact with Michelle. But being able to see the fear and the care Michelle feels toward Cinder was something very special and it warmed my heart to read it. I loved that Michelle gave Cinder her name to remind her that she is rising from the cinders and ashes of her past. So symbolic!
Glitches
Okay, now moving on to Cinder's early childhood. Garan was not really the best dad, from what I read. He is quite aloof and absent, not only in Cinder's early life, but in his own daughters'. It hurt to see how Cinder was mistreated by Adri from the beginning, even though I kind of undertand where Adri is coming from. I am by no means saying what she did was right. Let me just put that out there. She was a horrible mother to Cinder and I am not forgiving her, but her husband threw this child on her when they were already having a hard enough time supporting their two daughters. It must have been really difficult.
I loved how we got Cinder finding out that she was good at mechanics and fixed Iko! I was so happy when those two got together because I knew it was the beginning of a glorious friendship!
The Queen's Army
Ze'ev! Ugh, his childhood was almost no better. Yes, he had parents that loved him, but he had no choice in being conscripted into the army, then having to take care of his little brother who kinda hated him, then having to prove himself (and in turn save every person in his pack) by killing another person. He didn't even really have a choice in that either because Levana shoved the idea in his head. I'm just glad he gets to be happy with Scarlet.
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky
Carswell, aka Mr. Smooth, having a crush on the sweet and smart kind. Hm. Where have we seen that before? Oh yeah, with my girl Cress! He has a thing for nerds and I am okay with that. I loved getting to see baby Thorne learning all of his tricks and tricking people out of their money. Goals.
After Sunshine Passes By
Baby Cress! This story made me so emotional because she had so much hope that she was going to go to earth, but beotch Sybil had other plans because she is horrible. Her reaction to learning that she was going to be isolated was heartbreaking as hell. But I did really enjoy getting to see how she was trying to help the other Shells learn how to read. I'm glad she got to learn at least.
The Princess and the Guard
Baby Winter and Jacin playing Princess and the Guard was so freaking cute, but then it got real dark, real quick. We start with the moment she thought she was helping that poor maid who was being manipulated by Thaumaturge Park (asshole #1 right there, by the way), then we have to see her learn that she didn't acutally save the girl, but subjected her to more torment. And then her promise to not use her glamour and her eventually going mad. That first hallucination and her reaction to it made me almost start sobbing, to be completely honest. It hurt so freaking much.
And then we get the big moment: Levana making her cut herself. She was so strong throughout the whole thing. She didn't let it get to her one bit, until she was back with Jacin, the only one who could protect her. She was so strong throughout the whole ordeal, and even afterwards. It breaks my heart to see that she was almost completely broken by not using her gift. I'm just glad everything is okay with her now.
The Little Android
Talk about crying, this story brought out all the tears. The original Little Mermaid is sad enough, but this one got to me so much. I know a lot of people don't really like this story because it didn't add anything to the rest of the series, but it added depth to the world. I loved being able to see another android other that Nasani and Iko. And on top of that, she was another one with a "faulty" programming chip. Is it mandatory that all androids fall in love with Kai or people who look like Kai? No? Okay, it just seems that way from this series.
But in all seriousness, this story was heartbreaking. Especially the ending when she allows herself to die for the one she loved to be happy. Come on! I didn't need this sadness in my life! (But I actually did, because it was beautiful and I loved it. I just wish I didn't cry at it as much.)
The Mechanic:
I was glad to see that this was the next story, because at least it would be happy. Kai's perspective of meeting Cinder was the cutest thing ever. He was so shy and dumbfounded and had no idea how to flirt. It was so endearing. They both also seemed so young becasue, well, it was the beginning. I adored how he was obsessed with the foot from the moment he first saw it. Not because of a foot fetish, but because he was acknowledging cyborgs (that acknowledgement eventually growing into action, but hey, it was a start!)
Something Old, Something New
Talk about super cute, this story stole my heart on the cute scale. A wedding! Woo!! Wolflet's wedding: double WOO!!! I love these two and their interactions, but I loved even more that it was told from Cinder's perspective.
Them setting up an early surprise wedding was so adorable, I almost exploded from happiness. I loved how they all teamed up together to get Scarlet to get ready early and trying to not get her suspicious was adorable. The boys all setting up the wedding and making it beautiful, if not a little dangerous at times, also adorable. Thorne being the number one decorator was hilariously cute! I honestly loved every bit of this story. I called Kai proposing to Cinder from the start of the story, though. I am super happy that it happened though! So cute! And they were looking at the stars because they were star crossed lovers for a while. Ugh. I just can't with these feelings.
Overall, I loved this book. I am giving it a 4.5 because there were a few moments in the stories that were a little slow, but it was still really freaking good!!
There will be spoliers, so ye be warned.
I'm going to go at this story by story, so bear with me.
The Keeper
I very much enjoyed getting to know Michelle Benoit because we do not get much of her in the base series. I love getting to know her and Scarlet's relationship on a first hand basis, but also getting to see the strain on their relationship because of the secrecy of Cinder. There are quite a few special moments between Michelle and Scarlet, namely, the one where she gives Scarlet her flight pin for her birthday present. Not going to lie, I choked up a bit on that one.
Another level of this story is the interactions between Michelle and Cinder. I loved seeing Michelle doting on Cinder, even though Cinder is in a suspended animation tank where she can't actually interact with Michelle. But being able to see the fear and the care Michelle feels toward Cinder was something very special and it warmed my heart to read it. I loved that Michelle gave Cinder her name to remind her that she is rising from the cinders and ashes of her past. So symbolic!
Glitches
Okay, now moving on to Cinder's early childhood. Garan was not really the best dad, from what I read. He is quite aloof and absent, not only in Cinder's early life, but in his own daughters'. It hurt to see how Cinder was mistreated by Adri from the beginning, even though I kind of undertand where Adri is coming from. I am by no means saying what she did was right. Let me just put that out there. She was a horrible mother to Cinder and I am not forgiving her, but her husband threw this child on her when they were already having a hard enough time supporting their two daughters. It must have been really difficult.
I loved how we got Cinder finding out that she was good at mechanics and fixed Iko! I was so happy when those two got together because I knew it was the beginning of a glorious friendship!
The Queen's Army
Ze'ev! Ugh, his childhood was almost no better. Yes, he had parents that loved him, but he had no choice in being conscripted into the army, then having to take care of his little brother who kinda hated him, then having to prove himself (and in turn save every person in his pack) by killing another person. He didn't even really have a choice in that either because Levana shoved the idea in his head. I'm just glad he gets to be happy with Scarlet.
Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky
Carswell, aka Mr. Smooth, having a crush on the sweet and smart kind. Hm. Where have we seen that before? Oh yeah, with my girl Cress! He has a thing for nerds and I am okay with that. I loved getting to see baby Thorne learning all of his tricks and tricking people out of their money. Goals.
After Sunshine Passes By
Baby Cress! This story made me so emotional because she had so much hope that she was going to go to earth, but beotch Sybil had other plans because she is horrible. Her reaction to learning that she was going to be isolated was heartbreaking as hell. But I did really enjoy getting to see how she was trying to help the other Shells learn how to read. I'm glad she got to learn at least.
The Princess and the Guard
Baby Winter and Jacin playing Princess and the Guard was so freaking cute, but then it got real dark, real quick. We start with the moment she thought she was helping that poor maid who was being manipulated by Thaumaturge Park (asshole #1 right there, by the way), then we have to see her learn that she didn't acutally save the girl, but subjected her to more torment. And then her promise to not use her glamour and her eventually going mad. That first hallucination and her reaction to it made me almost start sobbing, to be completely honest. It hurt so freaking much.
And then we get the big moment: Levana making her cut herself. She was so strong throughout the whole thing. She didn't let it get to her one bit, until she was back with Jacin, the only one who could protect her. She was so strong throughout the whole ordeal, and even afterwards. It breaks my heart to see that she was almost completely broken by not using her gift. I'm just glad everything is okay with her now.
The Little Android
Talk about crying, this story brought out all the tears. The original Little Mermaid is sad enough, but this one got to me so much. I know a lot of people don't really like this story because it didn't add anything to the rest of the series, but it added depth to the world. I loved being able to see another android other that Nasani and Iko. And on top of that, she was another one with a "faulty" programming chip. Is it mandatory that all androids fall in love with Kai or people who look like Kai? No? Okay, it just seems that way from this series.
But in all seriousness, this story was heartbreaking. Especially the ending when she allows herself to die for the one she loved to be happy. Come on! I didn't need this sadness in my life! (But I actually did, because it was beautiful and I loved it. I just wish I didn't cry at it as much.)
The Mechanic:
I was glad to see that this was the next story, because at least it would be happy. Kai's perspective of meeting Cinder was the cutest thing ever. He was so shy and dumbfounded and had no idea how to flirt. It was so endearing. They both also seemed so young becasue, well, it was the beginning. I adored how he was obsessed with the foot from the moment he first saw it. Not because of a foot fetish, but because he was acknowledging cyborgs (that acknowledgement eventually growing into action, but hey, it was a start!)
Something Old, Something New
Talk about super cute, this story stole my heart on the cute scale. A wedding! Woo!! Wolflet's wedding: double WOO!!! I love these two and their interactions, but I loved even more that it was told from Cinder's perspective.
Them setting up an early surprise wedding was so adorable, I almost exploded from happiness. I loved how they all teamed up together to get Scarlet to get ready early and trying to not get her suspicious was adorable. The boys all setting up the wedding and making it beautiful, if not a little dangerous at times, also adorable. Thorne being the number one decorator was hilariously cute! I honestly loved every bit of this story. I called Kai proposing to Cinder from the start of the story, though. I am super happy that it happened though! So cute! And they were looking at the stars because they were star crossed lovers for a while. Ugh. I just can't with these feelings.
Overall, I loved this book. I am giving it a 4.5 because there were a few moments in the stories that were a little slow, but it was still really freaking good!!
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated the PC version of Call of Duty: Ghosts in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
Call of Duty: Ghosts is the latest installment in the commonly popular series and the first design with the next generation of consoles in mind. The 10th main game in the series is brought to life by series creator Infinity Ward with assistance from Raven and Neversoft, was written by Academy award-winning writer-director Stephen Gaghan who lists “Traffic” and “Syrianna” among his many credits.
Starting a whole new story arc, the game is set in the near future when a group of militants from the Latin American-based power conglomerate called the Federation, launch a surprise attack on a space station and unleash a devastating attack upon cities of the American Southwest that utterly destroys many of them in the process. The game jumps forward in time and follows the exploits of two brothers named Logan and David who nearly escaped the destruction of San Diego and 10 years later find the remaining American forces fighting a war against the ever-expanding Federation forces. When a rescue mission goes awry, Logan and David find themselves recruited by their father Elias into an elite Ghost Squad unit who soon discover that members of their unit are being hunted down by a former member named Rorke who was assumed killed on a mission many years earlier. The fact that Rorke may also be behind the attack on the United States as well as a big cog in the Federation’s plans springs the team into action with the fate of the United States hanging in the balance.
Players will play as various characters and assume control of everything from remote operated weaponry, Apache helicopters, tanks, and even a German shepherd named Riley who is a very welcome addition to the series. The heavily modified engine produces some amazing graphics in the game especially during some of the more scenic locales ranging from underwater missions to snow-covered landscapes as well as desolate cities such as Vegas and San Diego. Playing on the PC, did require a bit of patience at launch as the graphics did not seem up to par with what we’ve come to expect from the series much less a next-generation tweaking of the engine. Thankfully the game was soon patched and the graphics stepped up considerably although in multiplayer there were some frustrating moments where the mouse was not recognized and I had to do a series of workarounds until a patch resolved the issue. I still have occasional issues with the system wanting to reset the graphics down to the base level even though my card is more than capable of running the high-level graphics setting. This is a very minor annoyance though as I am able to customize the controls and settings anyway that I like and the gameplay is absolutely phenomenal as the developers clearly put an emphasis on a higher frame rate and smoother gameplay experience.
Fans of the series will know what to expect as there are a lot of familiar touches such is the wave-based attacks, stealth missions, and at the gun battles that are signature of the series. Early in the game, many moments seem to have been almost carbon copies of earlier games but thankfully the game finds stride roughly at the midway point and presses the accelerator all the way to the boards for one nonstop thrill ride which includes an epic finale and some shocking moments along the way not the least of which are the bonus scenes during the credits.
While I was able to complete the solo campaign in just under five hours I did find myself really caught up in the story and the characters which is something that I had not experienced in Black Ops 2 as a largely completed the solo play portion of that game out of obligation rather than compulsion. Absolutely love the space fight sequences as the Zero G combat was great and I would absolutely love to see an entire game set in this environment. I also loved taking control of the tank and running over opponents while unleashing furious amounts of firepower upon all those that crossed my path.
Now multi-play is the bread-and-butter of series and Ghosts definitely has a lot to offer in this category. From the co-op missions to the alien infested “Extinction” mode for up to four players battle against hordes of aliens for survival the game truly has something for everyone. Fans will be happy to know that in addition to the standard Death Match, Team Death Match, Kill Confirmed, and Domination modes there are five other modes which include Infected, Blitz, Search and Rescue, Search and Destroy, and Cranked as well as the standard and Hardcore modes of play.
Customization has long been a big part of the series and this timeout players can play is either a male or female character and have the option to customize the look of their player and online matches down to the type of headgear and uniform that they wear. As with previous games in the series, players are awarded points for kills, assists, and other challenges and actions during gameplay which allow them to rank up and obtain new weaponry, perks, and kill streak rewards. While I did find the customization menus took a little bit to get used to after being so familiar with the ones in the previous games, I soon was up and running and found plenty of options to my liking and I continue to experiment with various configurations to date.
The online maps are fantastic and full of detail however some of them appear to not have the same graphical wow as others because most of them absolutely blow you away and are filled with all sorts of nice touches such as dust and particle effects which have caused players with itchy trigger fingers to jump at shadows and shooter the paper flowing in the wind. The biggest complaint many people have with the maps is that they are extremely large in size and would be better suited for larger teams rather than the current number that is limited for online play. I specifically enjoy one in the snow as well as one set in a devastated city complete with leaning and partially destroyed buildings which allow endless opportunity to get the drop on your opponent especially from many floors up.
While I had some initial frustrations with the game, they quickly vanished and the more time I spent with it the more I was drawn into the characters and storyline as well as the multi-play versatility of the game. Well if used frustrations remain I have no doubt they will be patched eventually, and while I would’ve liked a slightly longer story mode what was presented was absolutely epic and delivered one of the best call of duty experiences to date.
I highly recommend the game and encourage people to focus on the many things that the game and gets right instead of lamenting about things that you wish they were included or what you feel was done wrong because it is a phenomenal ride that is not to be missed.
http://sknr.net/2013/11/17/call-of-duty-ghosts/
Starting a whole new story arc, the game is set in the near future when a group of militants from the Latin American-based power conglomerate called the Federation, launch a surprise attack on a space station and unleash a devastating attack upon cities of the American Southwest that utterly destroys many of them in the process. The game jumps forward in time and follows the exploits of two brothers named Logan and David who nearly escaped the destruction of San Diego and 10 years later find the remaining American forces fighting a war against the ever-expanding Federation forces. When a rescue mission goes awry, Logan and David find themselves recruited by their father Elias into an elite Ghost Squad unit who soon discover that members of their unit are being hunted down by a former member named Rorke who was assumed killed on a mission many years earlier. The fact that Rorke may also be behind the attack on the United States as well as a big cog in the Federation’s plans springs the team into action with the fate of the United States hanging in the balance.
Players will play as various characters and assume control of everything from remote operated weaponry, Apache helicopters, tanks, and even a German shepherd named Riley who is a very welcome addition to the series. The heavily modified engine produces some amazing graphics in the game especially during some of the more scenic locales ranging from underwater missions to snow-covered landscapes as well as desolate cities such as Vegas and San Diego. Playing on the PC, did require a bit of patience at launch as the graphics did not seem up to par with what we’ve come to expect from the series much less a next-generation tweaking of the engine. Thankfully the game was soon patched and the graphics stepped up considerably although in multiplayer there were some frustrating moments where the mouse was not recognized and I had to do a series of workarounds until a patch resolved the issue. I still have occasional issues with the system wanting to reset the graphics down to the base level even though my card is more than capable of running the high-level graphics setting. This is a very minor annoyance though as I am able to customize the controls and settings anyway that I like and the gameplay is absolutely phenomenal as the developers clearly put an emphasis on a higher frame rate and smoother gameplay experience.
Fans of the series will know what to expect as there are a lot of familiar touches such is the wave-based attacks, stealth missions, and at the gun battles that are signature of the series. Early in the game, many moments seem to have been almost carbon copies of earlier games but thankfully the game finds stride roughly at the midway point and presses the accelerator all the way to the boards for one nonstop thrill ride which includes an epic finale and some shocking moments along the way not the least of which are the bonus scenes during the credits.
While I was able to complete the solo campaign in just under five hours I did find myself really caught up in the story and the characters which is something that I had not experienced in Black Ops 2 as a largely completed the solo play portion of that game out of obligation rather than compulsion. Absolutely love the space fight sequences as the Zero G combat was great and I would absolutely love to see an entire game set in this environment. I also loved taking control of the tank and running over opponents while unleashing furious amounts of firepower upon all those that crossed my path.
Now multi-play is the bread-and-butter of series and Ghosts definitely has a lot to offer in this category. From the co-op missions to the alien infested “Extinction” mode for up to four players battle against hordes of aliens for survival the game truly has something for everyone. Fans will be happy to know that in addition to the standard Death Match, Team Death Match, Kill Confirmed, and Domination modes there are five other modes which include Infected, Blitz, Search and Rescue, Search and Destroy, and Cranked as well as the standard and Hardcore modes of play.
Customization has long been a big part of the series and this timeout players can play is either a male or female character and have the option to customize the look of their player and online matches down to the type of headgear and uniform that they wear. As with previous games in the series, players are awarded points for kills, assists, and other challenges and actions during gameplay which allow them to rank up and obtain new weaponry, perks, and kill streak rewards. While I did find the customization menus took a little bit to get used to after being so familiar with the ones in the previous games, I soon was up and running and found plenty of options to my liking and I continue to experiment with various configurations to date.
The online maps are fantastic and full of detail however some of them appear to not have the same graphical wow as others because most of them absolutely blow you away and are filled with all sorts of nice touches such as dust and particle effects which have caused players with itchy trigger fingers to jump at shadows and shooter the paper flowing in the wind. The biggest complaint many people have with the maps is that they are extremely large in size and would be better suited for larger teams rather than the current number that is limited for online play. I specifically enjoy one in the snow as well as one set in a devastated city complete with leaning and partially destroyed buildings which allow endless opportunity to get the drop on your opponent especially from many floors up.
While I had some initial frustrations with the game, they quickly vanished and the more time I spent with it the more I was drawn into the characters and storyline as well as the multi-play versatility of the game. Well if used frustrations remain I have no doubt they will be patched eventually, and while I would’ve liked a slightly longer story mode what was presented was absolutely epic and delivered one of the best call of duty experiences to date.
I highly recommend the game and encourage people to focus on the many things that the game and gets right instead of lamenting about things that you wish they were included or what you feel was done wrong because it is a phenomenal ride that is not to be missed.
http://sknr.net/2013/11/17/call-of-duty-ghosts/
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated the PC version of Mortal Shell in Video Games
Oct 8, 2020
Beautiful Scenery (1 more)
Hardening Skill can save you when you screw up
Back in 2009 Demon’s Soul, a PlayStation 3 exclusive, made its way into the hands of players around the world. The game was punishingly difficult, and was revered for its no handholding, brutally steep learning curve. A game that harkened back to the days of old, when video games were more about a player spending hour upon hour of mastering its nuances then relying on a never-ending supply of save games. This game, and the even more popular successor Dark Souls, gave way to its own genre defining style, the “souls-like” game. Since those genre defining years, several companies have tried to take inspiration from the originals and craft them into their own unique experiences. Whether that be futuristic takes such as Surge 2, or sticking to a familiar fantasy setting, with mixed results. Enter the latest in this genre, a game developed by the fine folks at Cold Symetry, released on Windows, Xbox and PlayStation.
Mortal Shell is an “souls-like” action role playing game, where you are a creature whose unique ability is to inhabit the bodies of fallen warriors scattered across the realm of Fallgrim. Much like its inspiration, Fallgrim is a land that is bleak and unforgiving. Whether you are traipsing across murky swamps, filled with bear tramps and poisonous frogs, snowy fields or fiery plains, there are always an unending supply of enemies that you must contend with. Each “shell” you inhabit offers up a distinct playstyle and upgrade tree that should appeal to every unique player.
The first shell you inhabit, is what I refer to as the Jack-of-All trades shell, Harros. Harros is a traditional knight like character that has a balance of health, stamina, and resolve (the statistic that allows you to use your special upgrades applied to your weapon of choice). As you progress through the story, you will come across three other shells for you to inhabit, that you can switch between as you wish. This allows you to vary your play style between Eredrim, a tank-architype with lots of health but low stamina, Tiel, the acolyte with less health but is more agile and able to dodge and roll out of the way, or Solomon, who has the most resolve. Each character upgrade requires Tar (the gold of Fallgrim) and Glimpses. These are acquired by defeating enemies, and through gathering various plants throughout your journey.
In addition to the four shells, there are also four upgradable weapons that can be found along your journey. You begin with the Hollow Sword but will come across others to aid you on your quest. There is the Hammer and Chisel, a dual wield, fast attack, but lower damage weapon. The Martyr’s Blade, a heavy two-handed sword that does massive damage but is slow to attack. Lastly, The Smoldering Mace. All of these can be upgrades with special attacks that are initiated by your characters resolve, that can do an incredible amount of damage when initiated.
Combat occurs by locking onto your opponent and then utilizing fast and heavy attacks to defeat them. Experimenting with executing fast and heavy in specific sequences will result in numerous combos that do additional damage and stagger your foes. Mortal Shells unique blocking ability is what the game refers to as Hardening. Hardening, does exactly as the name suggests, turning yourself into stone and blocking most incoming attacks. It can be initiated at practically any time, even during the middle of your attack, allowing you to brush off an incoming attack and finish up with an epic strike. Learning the best time and place to use your hardening skill, is the key to overcoming your most difficult opponents, and ultimately slaying them in the process. There is also a parry aspect, which you obtain at the beginning of your quest, that allows you to parry incoming blows, and respond with devastating effect. Be aware that not all attacks can be parried, and your Tarnished Seal Emblem (which enables your skill) will glow red to warn you of this.
During combat, if your health reaches zero, you will be pushed out of your shell (which reminded me of playing a mech game where your mech is destroyed and you are automatically ejected). You are given the chance to climb back into your shell, but if you are hit while outside of your shell you will almost always die quickly. If your health reaches zero again, you die and you return back to Sester Genessa, a shadowy figure who acts like a bonfire from the souls’ games. As with the games before it, dying forces you to drop your tar and re-spawns all enemies that you have killed previously. Returning to your body allows you to retrieve your tar and restores all your health.
One of the more interesting aspects of the game is in the use of items you discover during your adventure. Most items effects will be unknown until you use the item, which forces you to experiment with everything you find. As you use the item more frequently you become more familiar with the item, and as that familiarity grows, the effects grow as well. Some will damage you in the beginning, only to benefit you as you grow more familiar with them, others you will utilize at the wrong time, and not benefit from the effect, but you will still learn from the experience. In this way Mortal Shell rewards you for experimentation, and forces those who like to hoard their findings for “when the right time arrives to use it” to utilize it and learn from it.
Much like the Souls-like games that inspired it, Mortal Shell could almost be mistaken for one of the games it garnered inspiration from. The setting, the characters, even the fonts used, could easily have been taken directly from a Dark Souls game. You’d be forgiven if someone came up to you and asked you which of the Dark Souls games you are playing. That’s not to say that Mortal Shell doesn’t distinguish itself in other ways, but on the surface, it would be easy to mistake it for another clone. The sound design, the graphic design, is all very well done, so at least the inspiration is put to good use in Mortal Shell
While Mortal Shell generally plays fast and well, there are a couple of instances where death seemed to come due to little I had control over. There are various cut scenes where you are crawling through tunnels, and you come out on the other side. Occasionally your character will be attacked immediately follow the cut scene, which gives you little time to react. There are ways to time your crawl, as to not emerge immediately into a group of baddies, but nothing frustrated me more, when I came across these areas. The difficulty and learning curve are about as difficult as one would expect from such a game.
If you are a fan of Dark Souls or Souls-like games, there is a lot to like in Mortal Shell. Most of the gameplay and style will feel immediately familiar, and there is just enough uniqueness in the game to satisfy veterans of the soul’s type games. If you have been put off by the difficulty of souls-like games in the past, Mortal Shell doesn’t differ enough from the formula to likely change your mind. While it’s not as long as the games that inspire it, it’s hard to beat the price ($29.99 on the Epic Store), and it’s refreshing enough to act as a place holder until the Demon’s Soul remake becomes available
What I liked: Beautiful Scenery, Hardening Skill can save you when you screw up
What I liked less: No real direction on where to start
Mortal Shell is an “souls-like” action role playing game, where you are a creature whose unique ability is to inhabit the bodies of fallen warriors scattered across the realm of Fallgrim. Much like its inspiration, Fallgrim is a land that is bleak and unforgiving. Whether you are traipsing across murky swamps, filled with bear tramps and poisonous frogs, snowy fields or fiery plains, there are always an unending supply of enemies that you must contend with. Each “shell” you inhabit offers up a distinct playstyle and upgrade tree that should appeal to every unique player.
The first shell you inhabit, is what I refer to as the Jack-of-All trades shell, Harros. Harros is a traditional knight like character that has a balance of health, stamina, and resolve (the statistic that allows you to use your special upgrades applied to your weapon of choice). As you progress through the story, you will come across three other shells for you to inhabit, that you can switch between as you wish. This allows you to vary your play style between Eredrim, a tank-architype with lots of health but low stamina, Tiel, the acolyte with less health but is more agile and able to dodge and roll out of the way, or Solomon, who has the most resolve. Each character upgrade requires Tar (the gold of Fallgrim) and Glimpses. These are acquired by defeating enemies, and through gathering various plants throughout your journey.
In addition to the four shells, there are also four upgradable weapons that can be found along your journey. You begin with the Hollow Sword but will come across others to aid you on your quest. There is the Hammer and Chisel, a dual wield, fast attack, but lower damage weapon. The Martyr’s Blade, a heavy two-handed sword that does massive damage but is slow to attack. Lastly, The Smoldering Mace. All of these can be upgrades with special attacks that are initiated by your characters resolve, that can do an incredible amount of damage when initiated.
Combat occurs by locking onto your opponent and then utilizing fast and heavy attacks to defeat them. Experimenting with executing fast and heavy in specific sequences will result in numerous combos that do additional damage and stagger your foes. Mortal Shells unique blocking ability is what the game refers to as Hardening. Hardening, does exactly as the name suggests, turning yourself into stone and blocking most incoming attacks. It can be initiated at practically any time, even during the middle of your attack, allowing you to brush off an incoming attack and finish up with an epic strike. Learning the best time and place to use your hardening skill, is the key to overcoming your most difficult opponents, and ultimately slaying them in the process. There is also a parry aspect, which you obtain at the beginning of your quest, that allows you to parry incoming blows, and respond with devastating effect. Be aware that not all attacks can be parried, and your Tarnished Seal Emblem (which enables your skill) will glow red to warn you of this.
During combat, if your health reaches zero, you will be pushed out of your shell (which reminded me of playing a mech game where your mech is destroyed and you are automatically ejected). You are given the chance to climb back into your shell, but if you are hit while outside of your shell you will almost always die quickly. If your health reaches zero again, you die and you return back to Sester Genessa, a shadowy figure who acts like a bonfire from the souls’ games. As with the games before it, dying forces you to drop your tar and re-spawns all enemies that you have killed previously. Returning to your body allows you to retrieve your tar and restores all your health.
One of the more interesting aspects of the game is in the use of items you discover during your adventure. Most items effects will be unknown until you use the item, which forces you to experiment with everything you find. As you use the item more frequently you become more familiar with the item, and as that familiarity grows, the effects grow as well. Some will damage you in the beginning, only to benefit you as you grow more familiar with them, others you will utilize at the wrong time, and not benefit from the effect, but you will still learn from the experience. In this way Mortal Shell rewards you for experimentation, and forces those who like to hoard their findings for “when the right time arrives to use it” to utilize it and learn from it.
Much like the Souls-like games that inspired it, Mortal Shell could almost be mistaken for one of the games it garnered inspiration from. The setting, the characters, even the fonts used, could easily have been taken directly from a Dark Souls game. You’d be forgiven if someone came up to you and asked you which of the Dark Souls games you are playing. That’s not to say that Mortal Shell doesn’t distinguish itself in other ways, but on the surface, it would be easy to mistake it for another clone. The sound design, the graphic design, is all very well done, so at least the inspiration is put to good use in Mortal Shell
While Mortal Shell generally plays fast and well, there are a couple of instances where death seemed to come due to little I had control over. There are various cut scenes where you are crawling through tunnels, and you come out on the other side. Occasionally your character will be attacked immediately follow the cut scene, which gives you little time to react. There are ways to time your crawl, as to not emerge immediately into a group of baddies, but nothing frustrated me more, when I came across these areas. The difficulty and learning curve are about as difficult as one would expect from such a game.
If you are a fan of Dark Souls or Souls-like games, there is a lot to like in Mortal Shell. Most of the gameplay and style will feel immediately familiar, and there is just enough uniqueness in the game to satisfy veterans of the soul’s type games. If you have been put off by the difficulty of souls-like games in the past, Mortal Shell doesn’t differ enough from the formula to likely change your mind. While it’s not as long as the games that inspire it, it’s hard to beat the price ($29.99 on the Epic Store), and it’s refreshing enough to act as a place holder until the Demon’s Soul remake becomes available
What I liked: Beautiful Scenery, Hardening Skill can save you when you screw up
What I liked less: No real direction on where to start
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Way Too Many Cats! in Tabletop Games
Jan 24, 2022
Before we had children and pets my wife and I would love to visit the humane societies back home on a Saturday morning. Sometimes looking for ourselves, sometimes just to see the lovelies being kept, and maybe once or twice volunteering to walk the animals. One place I never really enjoyed visiting was the cat room. I am a dog person. Actually, the older I get, the more I am becoming strictly an aquatic animal lover. Give me a 55 gallon saltwater tank and I’ll be happy raising my Firefish Gobies and Coral Beauty Angelfish. However, when I was asked to preview Way Too Many Cats, I just couldn’t say no. One of my favorite publishers calls for help, I will do my best. Just know I wish it were fish themed instead of cats. Cats…
Way Too Many Cats is a cat and kitten drafting and spatial puzzle game for one to six players. In it, players work at feline adoption centers with the goal of having all stock adopted. To do this, players will be placing specific cats adjacent to other favorable cats for points, giving kittens a habitat of their own, and even supplying the cats with toys. The player who completes these tasks most effectively by the end of the game will score the most points and win!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, each player receives an adoption center board, starter cat tile, and a reference card. The kitten and toy tokens are placed into the provided bag to be shuffled and drawn later. The stack of adoptable cats is shuffled, and four drawn and revealed to create Cat Alley (from which players will be drafting). Nearby, three stacks of kitten/toy tokens are made with one stack containing one token, the next stack containing two, and the final stack containing three tokens. The starting player marker is given to the player who most recently pet a cat (aka probably attacked by a cat) and the game may begin!
A game of Way Too Many Cats lasts many rounds, and ends once all players have had the same amount of turns and one player having completely filled their adoption center. On a turn, the active player will take one mandatory action, and then will choose to take another two actions. The mandatory action that all players take each turn is to Choose a Token Set and Cat Card(s) and Place Them. A bit wordy, but this is a prototype, so I will let it slide. In any case, the player will choose to (1) take the smallest group of tokens and two Cat tiles of their choice, (2) take the mid-sized group of tokens and one Cat tile of their choice, or (3) take the largest group of tokens and the right-most Cat tile from Cat Alley (the offer row). Once the choice has been made and all components taken, the player then refreshes Cat Alley by sliding all tiles to the right and refilling to four tiles. Also, the player pulls three tokens from the bag and adds one to each group of tokens on the table. Note, as the player has just chosen a group of tokens, one of the groups will be empty until they place a token there – thus creating the smallest group and embiggening (I’m on a Marvel kick right now) the other two groups.
As an optional second action, the player may choose to give any cat in their adoption center a toy from their personal supply. Cat tiles show icons for toys that the cat will appreciate, though not every cat is into toys. Note, the toy tokens may be given to the cats on any turn, and even at the end of the game just before scoring.
Finally, at the end of the turn, the player may Create a Kitten Habitat by discarding three toy tokens to the bag. The player then designates a space on their adoption center to be the kitty haven and it can house any number of kittens.
Once a player fills their last adoption center slot, the end game is triggered. Players will finish out the round so that all have an equal amount of turns. Then, points are tallied and scored following an involved scoring process. Points in this game are scored in numerous ways. Firstly, the starter cats are scored, and then each type of cat is scored. For example, the paw icon on cat tiles earn 1 VP for each adjacent cat of a different color. Each ball of yarn icon on cat tiles scores 2 VP. The goldfish cracker icon scores 2 VP for each adjacent cat or kitten sporting a ball of yarn icon. Finally, the feather icon scores 3/7/12/18 VP for each group of adjacent feather cats of train size 2/3/4/5 cats. So placement is very important in this game. Not enough scoring?
Players will score more points for kittens and for specific icons on cat tiles. 15 VP is awarded to a player who holds a complete set of the seven different types of kitten tokens, while another 8 VP is earned for holding a set of four matching kitten types. The player receives a -2VP penalty for each kitten token not associated with either type of set nor in a habitat on the board. Additionally, for each cat tile on the board, special scoring will be earned for supplying the tile with the requested toy, or placing it in the preferred space in the center, or even for other adjacency considerations.
Players will be scoring hundreds of points, and hopefully having their felines adopted by unsuspecting travelers and goo-goo eyed children. The player with the most VP at the end of the game is the winner!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so I know that these are not final components at all. Having had many opportunities to preview for Weird Giraffe Games now, I am confident that the final game will be sparkling with upgrades and cool features. To reiterate, my interest in the theme is on the lower side, as I am not a cat person, but I can definitely understand the theme and it works well with this type of game. I guarantee that you will be able to spot Way Too Many Cats in stores right away because that box art is super colorful and busy. I do enjoy the cartoony art style, and it fits the theme really well. The final version of the game will undoubtedly affect this paragraph in the future, but for now this is well on the way to being a very solid title with regards to components, artwork, and theme.
But do I like it? Surprisingly, yes I do. Quite a bit. Theme goes a really long way with me, but I have been known to enjoy other games with themes that don’t necessarily resonate with me, so perhaps “surprising” isn’t the best term here. I really enjoy the spatial puzzle aspect of the game. I highlighted puzzle because that’s exactly what is going on here. When I am playing, I have to debate whether to take all those kitten tokens to complete my sets and be stuck with the right-most card, or perhaps taking the smallest group is more beneficial so that I can draft the two best cards for what I am building on my board. Is it really worth it to me to grab Taco just because I am starting to realize I have a food themed cat dispensary? Why does this cat need a scratching post token when it’s clearly been de-clawed?? These are serious questions, folks!
I kid, but only because this is a very light game, and one that I think works well in many situations. Have newer to intermediate level players coming over tonight? Grab Way Too Many Cats! Having an animal-themed game night? Pull this one out! Sticking with a mechanic-specific lineup? You got it. Now, I haven’t seen the Kickstarter page yet, nor have I asked Carla (the designer) what the plans are for it, but I know this one is close to many peoples’ hearts, so I imagine it will get all the love that’s possible in making this a wonder in a box. The mechanics are there. The theme is… great for some. Way Too Many Cats is a thinker in a catsuit disguise, but it is not too heavy to turn off casual or intermediate gamers. I can certainly add my stamp of approval and recommend checking out Way Too Many Cats. Look for it to hit Kickstarter in February and click here to be notified on launch. You will probably want to get in on this project early if any of this sounds appealing to you.
PS – How many catfolk did I offend in this preview? How many aquarists have I now befriended? What up, my peeps!
Way Too Many Cats is a cat and kitten drafting and spatial puzzle game for one to six players. In it, players work at feline adoption centers with the goal of having all stock adopted. To do this, players will be placing specific cats adjacent to other favorable cats for points, giving kittens a habitat of their own, and even supplying the cats with toys. The player who completes these tasks most effectively by the end of the game will score the most points and win!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, each player receives an adoption center board, starter cat tile, and a reference card. The kitten and toy tokens are placed into the provided bag to be shuffled and drawn later. The stack of adoptable cats is shuffled, and four drawn and revealed to create Cat Alley (from which players will be drafting). Nearby, three stacks of kitten/toy tokens are made with one stack containing one token, the next stack containing two, and the final stack containing three tokens. The starting player marker is given to the player who most recently pet a cat (aka probably attacked by a cat) and the game may begin!
A game of Way Too Many Cats lasts many rounds, and ends once all players have had the same amount of turns and one player having completely filled their adoption center. On a turn, the active player will take one mandatory action, and then will choose to take another two actions. The mandatory action that all players take each turn is to Choose a Token Set and Cat Card(s) and Place Them. A bit wordy, but this is a prototype, so I will let it slide. In any case, the player will choose to (1) take the smallest group of tokens and two Cat tiles of their choice, (2) take the mid-sized group of tokens and one Cat tile of their choice, or (3) take the largest group of tokens and the right-most Cat tile from Cat Alley (the offer row). Once the choice has been made and all components taken, the player then refreshes Cat Alley by sliding all tiles to the right and refilling to four tiles. Also, the player pulls three tokens from the bag and adds one to each group of tokens on the table. Note, as the player has just chosen a group of tokens, one of the groups will be empty until they place a token there – thus creating the smallest group and embiggening (I’m on a Marvel kick right now) the other two groups.
As an optional second action, the player may choose to give any cat in their adoption center a toy from their personal supply. Cat tiles show icons for toys that the cat will appreciate, though not every cat is into toys. Note, the toy tokens may be given to the cats on any turn, and even at the end of the game just before scoring.
Finally, at the end of the turn, the player may Create a Kitten Habitat by discarding three toy tokens to the bag. The player then designates a space on their adoption center to be the kitty haven and it can house any number of kittens.
Once a player fills their last adoption center slot, the end game is triggered. Players will finish out the round so that all have an equal amount of turns. Then, points are tallied and scored following an involved scoring process. Points in this game are scored in numerous ways. Firstly, the starter cats are scored, and then each type of cat is scored. For example, the paw icon on cat tiles earn 1 VP for each adjacent cat of a different color. Each ball of yarn icon on cat tiles scores 2 VP. The goldfish cracker icon scores 2 VP for each adjacent cat or kitten sporting a ball of yarn icon. Finally, the feather icon scores 3/7/12/18 VP for each group of adjacent feather cats of train size 2/3/4/5 cats. So placement is very important in this game. Not enough scoring?
Players will score more points for kittens and for specific icons on cat tiles. 15 VP is awarded to a player who holds a complete set of the seven different types of kitten tokens, while another 8 VP is earned for holding a set of four matching kitten types. The player receives a -2VP penalty for each kitten token not associated with either type of set nor in a habitat on the board. Additionally, for each cat tile on the board, special scoring will be earned for supplying the tile with the requested toy, or placing it in the preferred space in the center, or even for other adjacency considerations.
Players will be scoring hundreds of points, and hopefully having their felines adopted by unsuspecting travelers and goo-goo eyed children. The player with the most VP at the end of the game is the winner!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so I know that these are not final components at all. Having had many opportunities to preview for Weird Giraffe Games now, I am confident that the final game will be sparkling with upgrades and cool features. To reiterate, my interest in the theme is on the lower side, as I am not a cat person, but I can definitely understand the theme and it works well with this type of game. I guarantee that you will be able to spot Way Too Many Cats in stores right away because that box art is super colorful and busy. I do enjoy the cartoony art style, and it fits the theme really well. The final version of the game will undoubtedly affect this paragraph in the future, but for now this is well on the way to being a very solid title with regards to components, artwork, and theme.
But do I like it? Surprisingly, yes I do. Quite a bit. Theme goes a really long way with me, but I have been known to enjoy other games with themes that don’t necessarily resonate with me, so perhaps “surprising” isn’t the best term here. I really enjoy the spatial puzzle aspect of the game. I highlighted puzzle because that’s exactly what is going on here. When I am playing, I have to debate whether to take all those kitten tokens to complete my sets and be stuck with the right-most card, or perhaps taking the smallest group is more beneficial so that I can draft the two best cards for what I am building on my board. Is it really worth it to me to grab Taco just because I am starting to realize I have a food themed cat dispensary? Why does this cat need a scratching post token when it’s clearly been de-clawed?? These are serious questions, folks!
I kid, but only because this is a very light game, and one that I think works well in many situations. Have newer to intermediate level players coming over tonight? Grab Way Too Many Cats! Having an animal-themed game night? Pull this one out! Sticking with a mechanic-specific lineup? You got it. Now, I haven’t seen the Kickstarter page yet, nor have I asked Carla (the designer) what the plans are for it, but I know this one is close to many peoples’ hearts, so I imagine it will get all the love that’s possible in making this a wonder in a box. The mechanics are there. The theme is… great for some. Way Too Many Cats is a thinker in a catsuit disguise, but it is not too heavy to turn off casual or intermediate gamers. I can certainly add my stamp of approval and recommend checking out Way Too Many Cats. Look for it to hit Kickstarter in February and click here to be notified on launch. You will probably want to get in on this project early if any of this sounds appealing to you.
PS – How many catfolk did I offend in this preview? How many aquarists have I now befriended? What up, my peeps!
