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Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Earthfall in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
Left 4 Dead and its sequel Left 4 Dead 2 became must play games for fans who loved the four player co-op gameplay as players worked with one another to accomplish tasks and survive legions of undead and supernatural enemies.
The sequel came soon after the original and despite rumors and the best hopes of the gaming community; a new chapter in the series has yet to appear.
Thankfully Holospark have stepped up to offer gamers an enjoyable and intense gaming experience for fans who have grown weary of waiting for a new installment of Left 4 Dead. Set in the Pacific Northwest, Earthfall deals with the aftermath of an Alien invasion where four characters must work with one another to accomplish tasks, defeat wave after wave of enemies and survive.
Players can play with one another or play with A.I. controlled Bots whose ability level can be adjusted by players at the start of the level.
Weapons ranging from shotguns, pistols, bladed weapons, machine guns, and heavy weapons can be found along the way or printed at 3D Printers to help the odds of survival. There are also health kits, stations, ammo boxes, and Stimulant shots which will all have their place as the gameplay unfolds.
Teamwork is the key as the enemies are abundant and fast. While they may not have the best A.I. out there and rush straight at you; the fact that they are so abundant and attack from multiple directions at once really increases the challenge.
There are several types of enemies as well as boss Aliens who show up at various points of a level to throw a wrench into your strategy. Once a player is down, they can be revived by other players which often puts players in the difficult task of trying to stay alive or rushing into danger to try to save other players.
There are also devices such as auto and manned gun emplacements which can shred enemies, but overheat if continuous fire is used.
The game does offer various levels of difficulty so players can find one that best meets their gameplay style. Some may find the gameplay a bit dated but when you factor in the game was made by an Indie developer and has a list price for $30.00; it has some great things going for it. I have played the game well-over a year in early access phase and I have really enjoyed seeing the improvements to the game as it made its way to full release. The new maps are really good and there are more coming for gamers to enjoy as well. What is also really enjoyable to see is that Holospark seems very open to suggestions of the community and will continue to tweak the game going forward.
While some will likely say the graphics are a bit out of date and the dialogue is a bit standard, it is important to note that this is a game designed for fans of Left 4 Dead and is done by an smaller developer and not one of the mega-publishers, as such, I found the quality of the graphics and gameplay more than good enough for modern systems and at no time did I ever find it as a distraction to the gameplay as I was immersed from the get go.
If you are a fan of Left 4 Dead and want an affordably priced game that incorporates several of the best elements of the prior game, then you will not want to miss Earthfall.
http://sknr.net/2018/07/16/earthfall/
The sequel came soon after the original and despite rumors and the best hopes of the gaming community; a new chapter in the series has yet to appear.
Thankfully Holospark have stepped up to offer gamers an enjoyable and intense gaming experience for fans who have grown weary of waiting for a new installment of Left 4 Dead. Set in the Pacific Northwest, Earthfall deals with the aftermath of an Alien invasion where four characters must work with one another to accomplish tasks, defeat wave after wave of enemies and survive.
Players can play with one another or play with A.I. controlled Bots whose ability level can be adjusted by players at the start of the level.
Weapons ranging from shotguns, pistols, bladed weapons, machine guns, and heavy weapons can be found along the way or printed at 3D Printers to help the odds of survival. There are also health kits, stations, ammo boxes, and Stimulant shots which will all have their place as the gameplay unfolds.
Teamwork is the key as the enemies are abundant and fast. While they may not have the best A.I. out there and rush straight at you; the fact that they are so abundant and attack from multiple directions at once really increases the challenge.
There are several types of enemies as well as boss Aliens who show up at various points of a level to throw a wrench into your strategy. Once a player is down, they can be revived by other players which often puts players in the difficult task of trying to stay alive or rushing into danger to try to save other players.
There are also devices such as auto and manned gun emplacements which can shred enemies, but overheat if continuous fire is used.
The game does offer various levels of difficulty so players can find one that best meets their gameplay style. Some may find the gameplay a bit dated but when you factor in the game was made by an Indie developer and has a list price for $30.00; it has some great things going for it. I have played the game well-over a year in early access phase and I have really enjoyed seeing the improvements to the game as it made its way to full release. The new maps are really good and there are more coming for gamers to enjoy as well. What is also really enjoyable to see is that Holospark seems very open to suggestions of the community and will continue to tweak the game going forward.
While some will likely say the graphics are a bit out of date and the dialogue is a bit standard, it is important to note that this is a game designed for fans of Left 4 Dead and is done by an smaller developer and not one of the mega-publishers, as such, I found the quality of the graphics and gameplay more than good enough for modern systems and at no time did I ever find it as a distraction to the gameplay as I was immersed from the get go.
If you are a fan of Left 4 Dead and want an affordably priced game that incorporates several of the best elements of the prior game, then you will not want to miss Earthfall.
http://sknr.net/2018/07/16/earthfall/
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Cars (2006) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
The technical wizards at Pixar are back with a new feature film which continues their domination of the animated film genre.
With the huge success of their films The Incredibles as well as Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. and the Toy Story films, it would be easy to think that the studio might be at a creative crossroads. When recent news around the industry involved the end of their deal with Disney and subsequent new deal with the company after a period of free agency as well as delays on their new project, some began to wonder what audiences would see if their next outing.
Thankfully Cars continues the amazing run of success for the studio and sets the bar even higher for animated films to follow.
The film follows the exploits of rookie racing car Lightning MC Queen (Owen Wilson), who is the hotshot rookie attempting to be the first rookie in history to win the Piston Cup title.
As Lightening dreams of winning the prize and in doing so, a hefty sponsorship with the big oil company, he decides to ignore the advice of his crew which causes him to end up in a three way tie for the title.
In order to resolve the tie a special race is to be held a week later in California between the three winners. En route, Lightning ignores the advice of his driver Mack (John Ratzenberger), and in a series of mishaps ends up alone in the desolate
town of Radiator Springs. As if this was not enough trouble for Lightning, he is forced by the local judge Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), to perform community service to complete the damage he caused to the road upon his arrival.
Faced with the prospect of losing time needed to get to and prepare for the race, the selfish Lightning does his best to alienate the local townsfolk including the local tow truck Tom Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), who like all the locals do their best to befriend him.
Along the way, Lightning learns the values of friendship, teamwork and community as he attempts to find the true meaning of the term “Winner”.
Graphically the film is amazing as the amount of CGI rendering that went into the film is said to be so extensive, it literally taxed the computers at Pixar to their limits. That is clear as the detail level and complexity of the film is staggering. You fully believe that this world populated entirely by machines exists.
There is a lot of humor in the film as well and more than enough nods that will appeal to older viewers yet may be over the heads of younger viewers.
If I had to find fault in the film, it would be that with a running time of slightly over two hours, it does tend to drag in a few places. My nephew and his friend became restless about 50 minutes into the film which made me think that the running time may be to long for some younger children to sit through and that the film might have been better served by trimming about 30 minutes as there were segments that while visually appealing, did not really need to be there.
That being said, Cars is a true delight and proof that once again, Pixar is the undisputed champion of animated films.
With the huge success of their films The Incredibles as well as Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. and the Toy Story films, it would be easy to think that the studio might be at a creative crossroads. When recent news around the industry involved the end of their deal with Disney and subsequent new deal with the company after a period of free agency as well as delays on their new project, some began to wonder what audiences would see if their next outing.
Thankfully Cars continues the amazing run of success for the studio and sets the bar even higher for animated films to follow.
The film follows the exploits of rookie racing car Lightning MC Queen (Owen Wilson), who is the hotshot rookie attempting to be the first rookie in history to win the Piston Cup title.
As Lightening dreams of winning the prize and in doing so, a hefty sponsorship with the big oil company, he decides to ignore the advice of his crew which causes him to end up in a three way tie for the title.
In order to resolve the tie a special race is to be held a week later in California between the three winners. En route, Lightning ignores the advice of his driver Mack (John Ratzenberger), and in a series of mishaps ends up alone in the desolate
town of Radiator Springs. As if this was not enough trouble for Lightning, he is forced by the local judge Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), to perform community service to complete the damage he caused to the road upon his arrival.
Faced with the prospect of losing time needed to get to and prepare for the race, the selfish Lightning does his best to alienate the local townsfolk including the local tow truck Tom Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), who like all the locals do their best to befriend him.
Along the way, Lightning learns the values of friendship, teamwork and community as he attempts to find the true meaning of the term “Winner”.
Graphically the film is amazing as the amount of CGI rendering that went into the film is said to be so extensive, it literally taxed the computers at Pixar to their limits. That is clear as the detail level and complexity of the film is staggering. You fully believe that this world populated entirely by machines exists.
There is a lot of humor in the film as well and more than enough nods that will appeal to older viewers yet may be over the heads of younger viewers.
If I had to find fault in the film, it would be that with a running time of slightly over two hours, it does tend to drag in a few places. My nephew and his friend became restless about 50 minutes into the film which made me think that the running time may be to long for some younger children to sit through and that the film might have been better served by trimming about 30 minutes as there were segments that while visually appealing, did not really need to be there.
That being said, Cars is a true delight and proof that once again, Pixar is the undisputed champion of animated films.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Hullmetal Girls in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
<em>Hullmetal Girls</em> was both painful and fun to read, with machinery and body modification in space. Skrutskie's latest novel is quite different for those who have read her <em><a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/mini-reviews-part-1-emily-skrutskie-marie-lu-and-others/">The Abyss Surrounds Us</a></em> duology, but just as good.
No cute sea monsters though. 😞
<h2><strong>What can you expect from <em>Hullmetal Girls</em> then?</strong></h2>
Because that's what you're really here for. (That, and well, prime book shoving from one of your favorite book dragons.)
<h3>Space and machinery</h3>
<em>Hullmetal Girls</em> is kind of cyborgs in space but not exactly cyborgs as Scela are people who are enhanced with machinery to be stronger and better. There's a huge price to pay, but also rewarding for those who make it to the top. I found it interesting to see how the Scela worked both during the process of becoming one and training.
<h3>Very painful beginning</h3>
Skrutskie introduces us to Aisha, a girl who decides to undergo surgery to become Scela, an enhanced soldier who is stripped of humanity to protect the Fleet ruled by the General Body. We're in the process of the surgery with her, and it'll be a painful read as she is being taken apart and put back together.
<h3>Strong sense of family</h3>
Family is a huge theme from the beginning of the book until the end. Aisha risks her life to become Scela to provide a better life for her remaining family and to give her younger brother the best care for his sickness. Throughout the book, we see this as her motivation to get through basic training and to be a part of the best Scela, even though she probably doesn't care or want to be there. She's not the only one though, as one of her teammates undergoes the procedure to help her sister become the best researcher she can possibly be. If anything happens to the people they love, they're in a void of nothing, trying to figure out what their meaning of life is.
<h3>Friendship and teamwork</h3>
After Scela survive their procedure, they are placed into squads who they will be with from training and into their careers as the Fleet's protective body. From early on, Aisha and her squadmates: Key, Wooj and Praava are all thrown together and have to figure how they can work together as a team. They learn that if they all want to accomplish their goals, they'll have to meet somewhere in the middle. It's not something they get ahold of easily and without some challenges, though, but they get there eventually.
<h3>Open-ended ending</h3>
<em>Hullmetal Girls</em> has an open ending but brings everything together to a satisfying closure that leaves some imagination to the readers of what could happen to the characters after the book ends.
<h2><strong><em>Hullmetal Girls</em> is different from Skrutskie's debut novels, but just as amazing with the technology in space, the friendship that develops and the sibling relationship that drives some of the characters.</strong></h2>
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/hullmetal-girls-by-emily-skrutskie/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<em>Hullmetal Girls</em> was both painful and fun to read, with machinery and body modification in space. Skrutskie's latest novel is quite different for those who have read her <em><a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/mini-reviews-part-1-emily-skrutskie-marie-lu-and-others/">The Abyss Surrounds Us</a></em> duology, but just as good.
No cute sea monsters though. 😞
<h2><strong>What can you expect from <em>Hullmetal Girls</em> then?</strong></h2>
Because that's what you're really here for. (That, and well, prime book shoving from one of your favorite book dragons.)
<h3>Space and machinery</h3>
<em>Hullmetal Girls</em> is kind of cyborgs in space but not exactly cyborgs as Scela are people who are enhanced with machinery to be stronger and better. There's a huge price to pay, but also rewarding for those who make it to the top. I found it interesting to see how the Scela worked both during the process of becoming one and training.
<h3>Very painful beginning</h3>
Skrutskie introduces us to Aisha, a girl who decides to undergo surgery to become Scela, an enhanced soldier who is stripped of humanity to protect the Fleet ruled by the General Body. We're in the process of the surgery with her, and it'll be a painful read as she is being taken apart and put back together.
<h3>Strong sense of family</h3>
Family is a huge theme from the beginning of the book until the end. Aisha risks her life to become Scela to provide a better life for her remaining family and to give her younger brother the best care for his sickness. Throughout the book, we see this as her motivation to get through basic training and to be a part of the best Scela, even though she probably doesn't care or want to be there. She's not the only one though, as one of her teammates undergoes the procedure to help her sister become the best researcher she can possibly be. If anything happens to the people they love, they're in a void of nothing, trying to figure out what their meaning of life is.
<h3>Friendship and teamwork</h3>
After Scela survive their procedure, they are placed into squads who they will be with from training and into their careers as the Fleet's protective body. From early on, Aisha and her squadmates: Key, Wooj and Praava are all thrown together and have to figure how they can work together as a team. They learn that if they all want to accomplish their goals, they'll have to meet somewhere in the middle. It's not something they get ahold of easily and without some challenges, though, but they get there eventually.
<h3>Open-ended ending</h3>
<em>Hullmetal Girls</em> has an open ending but brings everything together to a satisfying closure that leaves some imagination to the readers of what could happen to the characters after the book ends.
<h2><strong><em>Hullmetal Girls</em> is different from Skrutskie's debut novels, but just as amazing with the technology in space, the friendship that develops and the sibling relationship that drives some of the characters.</strong></h2>
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/hullmetal-girls-by-emily-skrutskie/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Michael Mitcheson (16 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Apex Legends in Video Games
Feb 27, 2019
Solid game but will it survive the long run.
Apex legends is another battle royal game that has taken the world by storm. Some would say its a watered down genre however apex legends redefines the format adding its own spin on the mode.
Graphically it is stunning. A good amount of fauna, desert, buildings and caverns to showcase different textures whilst not quite being as cartoon like as fortnite.
The player handling is fantastic with vaulting, sliding and using zip lines. It does not feel clunky but rather smooth and fluid.
Sound is fantastic. Weapons sound so good and you can distinguish weapons prior to a fight just from hearing them. Footsteps alter from the terrain that is being ran on and dulled by crouching.
Currently the game is 3 person squads and has a max player count at 60 lower than the 4 person squad and 100 player count. This works well for the pace of the game and map size. You are never too far away from getting in the action should you wish after surviving the initial 5 minute onslaught for areas and that sweet precious loot.
You'll notice I put squad / team work in both positive and negative. The positive is it semi forces you to land as a squad. This can be cancelled by those who aren't the jump master and want to go rogue. I have noticed this but not is often as other games of the genre. 3 players allows for a good amount of mutual support, mixing and matching legend abilities to secure a win and having a diverse amount of weapons to cover all ranges. I have also negatived it due to the rogues, item/weapon/ammo stealing, lack of pinging (more on this after) and absolute lack of microphone communication. That last one is not a fault of the game or dev but merely an observation for the ps4 platform.
The ping system is the single point that makes this game fantastic. If you have a child or a broken mic you can opt to ping. Let's travel here, I'm watching here, enemy sighted and so forth. If you're not talking use the feature it's fantastic and also ends the classic e emy over there, where? There group conversation.
Legends have unique abilities but in a nutshell play what you like. Pick a character that has perks that fit your style. You can pick up that elusive 'dub' in any combination of legends. I still haven't settled. On one but enjoy 3-4 that I switch around. Its also good to have that incase someone rudely steals your character.
Minor bugs so far that I've encountered are falling through the floor (now patched allegedly and in fairness it hasn't happened to me in a while), items fallingb, through building/ dropship floor, death boxes dissapearing and falling through floors. The devs are however extremely good currently at updating and listening to the community.
Weapon balance is pretty damn bad (personal opinion). Peacekeeper is a beast shotgun at close range and mid range. The range for me needs dropping and that's prior to finding the attachment hop ups to strengthen it. The Mozambique is just a dreadful shotgun that you will find left on the floor to rust by just about everyone.
Very quickly on microtransactions. They are cosmetic only. You can warn everything including new legends in time but prepare to grind. Real money does not need to be used.
Time will tell if this game will survive the test of time as the devs release the battle pass and future content. Currently I'd give it 7/10. Solid game and worth a try by anyone. It is free after all.
Graphically it is stunning. A good amount of fauna, desert, buildings and caverns to showcase different textures whilst not quite being as cartoon like as fortnite.
The player handling is fantastic with vaulting, sliding and using zip lines. It does not feel clunky but rather smooth and fluid.
Sound is fantastic. Weapons sound so good and you can distinguish weapons prior to a fight just from hearing them. Footsteps alter from the terrain that is being ran on and dulled by crouching.
Currently the game is 3 person squads and has a max player count at 60 lower than the 4 person squad and 100 player count. This works well for the pace of the game and map size. You are never too far away from getting in the action should you wish after surviving the initial 5 minute onslaught for areas and that sweet precious loot.
You'll notice I put squad / team work in both positive and negative. The positive is it semi forces you to land as a squad. This can be cancelled by those who aren't the jump master and want to go rogue. I have noticed this but not is often as other games of the genre. 3 players allows for a good amount of mutual support, mixing and matching legend abilities to secure a win and having a diverse amount of weapons to cover all ranges. I have also negatived it due to the rogues, item/weapon/ammo stealing, lack of pinging (more on this after) and absolute lack of microphone communication. That last one is not a fault of the game or dev but merely an observation for the ps4 platform.
The ping system is the single point that makes this game fantastic. If you have a child or a broken mic you can opt to ping. Let's travel here, I'm watching here, enemy sighted and so forth. If you're not talking use the feature it's fantastic and also ends the classic e emy over there, where? There group conversation.
Legends have unique abilities but in a nutshell play what you like. Pick a character that has perks that fit your style. You can pick up that elusive 'dub' in any combination of legends. I still haven't settled. On one but enjoy 3-4 that I switch around. Its also good to have that incase someone rudely steals your character.
Minor bugs so far that I've encountered are falling through the floor (now patched allegedly and in fairness it hasn't happened to me in a while), items fallingb, through building/ dropship floor, death boxes dissapearing and falling through floors. The devs are however extremely good currently at updating and listening to the community.
Weapon balance is pretty damn bad (personal opinion). Peacekeeper is a beast shotgun at close range and mid range. The range for me needs dropping and that's prior to finding the attachment hop ups to strengthen it. The Mozambique is just a dreadful shotgun that you will find left on the floor to rust by just about everyone.
Very quickly on microtransactions. They are cosmetic only. You can warn everything including new legends in time but prepare to grind. Real money does not need to be used.
Time will tell if this game will survive the test of time as the devs release the battle pass and future content. Currently I'd give it 7/10. Solid game and worth a try by anyone. It is free after all.
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated the PC version of Battlefield 1 in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
Electronic Arts and Dice have crafted a thrilling entry into the Battlefield series with the World War I themed Battlefield 1. The visually stunning game is dripping with authenticity which is seen in every frame of the game. The weapons, uniforms, vehicles, tactics, and technology as a historians dream brought to life.
Players to take part in the solo campaigns find themselves reliving various battles from the point of those who participated in them. There is a tank mission behind enemy lines in Europe, a battle in the Italian mountainside, a thrilling aerial scenario, a very intense and emotional story set against the battle of Gallipoli, and a thrilling desert adventure featuring Lawrence of Arabia himself.
One of the great things about the game is that it takes modern gameplay tactics such as trying to secure an objective or defeat enemy units and infuses it with a sense of the past. Weapons are slow to load, are not always the most accurate at a distance, and have a crudeness about them that is refreshing in this era of games featuring advanced weaponry and technology. This does require a bit of a learning curve as there have been times where I would unload a full magazine on an enemy player and multiplayer mode only to see them survive and dispatch me with one or two shots from pistol. Once you start to get the way the weapons work and develop strategies to work within their strengths and limitations, you’ll soon find yourself able to make solid progress in the game.
The solo play campaigns allow players to set a difficulty that is best suited for their style of play and have very interesting and gripping narratives.
Many players will keep their focus on the multiplayer portion which has campaign objectives as well as quick matches. This does take a bit of learning as the landscapes are large and there are plenty of places for players with higher grade weapons to pick up new players before they even know an enemy is near. Naturally your weaponry choices to get better as your on-field accomplishments merit them it is also important to note that due to the vast landscapes littered with foxholes, trenches, villages, and other locales, wide open areas where players are very exposed and vulnerable are numerous.
Getting a tank often seems like a big accomplishment but when you realize that the vehicle is slow to turn it is a sitting duck for enemy artillery, explosives, and other tanks. Strategy and teamwork are vital to the success of any mission especially when players can move up and bring in one of the massive zeppelins into the battle. I really enjoyed flying the planes of the era but had to remember that there reduced speed made it very difficult turn especially for somebody who was used to strafing a target, flying into the distance, making a wide turn, and then attacking again. I found myself that many times with the leaving the battlefield warning and was not able to turn fast enough to get myself back where I needed to be.
As somebody who studied history extensively in college, it was amazing to get a sense of the war the on the pages of history books and learn how in this era of new technology such as planes, tanks, gas, machine guns, Zeppelins, and more, the capacity to do devastating damage upon an enemy was massive as truly technology greatly overshadowed the tactics and medical abilities of the era.
Battlefield 1 is a glorious achievement and gaming as it takes an error that has been largely ignored and brings it forward incredible detail combined with thrilling battles that are loaded with customization options that will keep players playing well into the future. With the planned DLC content to come, I’m very interested to see what direction the developers will take it as there are countless possibilities ahead.
http://sknr.net/2016/10/30/battlefield-1/
Players to take part in the solo campaigns find themselves reliving various battles from the point of those who participated in them. There is a tank mission behind enemy lines in Europe, a battle in the Italian mountainside, a thrilling aerial scenario, a very intense and emotional story set against the battle of Gallipoli, and a thrilling desert adventure featuring Lawrence of Arabia himself.
One of the great things about the game is that it takes modern gameplay tactics such as trying to secure an objective or defeat enemy units and infuses it with a sense of the past. Weapons are slow to load, are not always the most accurate at a distance, and have a crudeness about them that is refreshing in this era of games featuring advanced weaponry and technology. This does require a bit of a learning curve as there have been times where I would unload a full magazine on an enemy player and multiplayer mode only to see them survive and dispatch me with one or two shots from pistol. Once you start to get the way the weapons work and develop strategies to work within their strengths and limitations, you’ll soon find yourself able to make solid progress in the game.
The solo play campaigns allow players to set a difficulty that is best suited for their style of play and have very interesting and gripping narratives.
Many players will keep their focus on the multiplayer portion which has campaign objectives as well as quick matches. This does take a bit of learning as the landscapes are large and there are plenty of places for players with higher grade weapons to pick up new players before they even know an enemy is near. Naturally your weaponry choices to get better as your on-field accomplishments merit them it is also important to note that due to the vast landscapes littered with foxholes, trenches, villages, and other locales, wide open areas where players are very exposed and vulnerable are numerous.
Getting a tank often seems like a big accomplishment but when you realize that the vehicle is slow to turn it is a sitting duck for enemy artillery, explosives, and other tanks. Strategy and teamwork are vital to the success of any mission especially when players can move up and bring in one of the massive zeppelins into the battle. I really enjoyed flying the planes of the era but had to remember that there reduced speed made it very difficult turn especially for somebody who was used to strafing a target, flying into the distance, making a wide turn, and then attacking again. I found myself that many times with the leaving the battlefield warning and was not able to turn fast enough to get myself back where I needed to be.
As somebody who studied history extensively in college, it was amazing to get a sense of the war the on the pages of history books and learn how in this era of new technology such as planes, tanks, gas, machine guns, Zeppelins, and more, the capacity to do devastating damage upon an enemy was massive as truly technology greatly overshadowed the tactics and medical abilities of the era.
Battlefield 1 is a glorious achievement and gaming as it takes an error that has been largely ignored and brings it forward incredible detail combined with thrilling battles that are loaded with customization options that will keep players playing well into the future. With the planned DLC content to come, I’m very interested to see what direction the developers will take it as there are countless possibilities ahead.
http://sknr.net/2016/10/30/battlefield-1/
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Ghost Stories in Tabletop Games
Jul 28, 2020 (Updated Jul 30, 2020)
The Gameplay (4 more)
The Strategy
Replay Value
Thinking Ten Steps Ahead
The Concept
Hard (2 more)
Luck of the dice
The cruse dice
Spooky Scary Ghosts
I learned about this game through Dice Tower reviews, Rahdo runthrough and BoardGameGeek. And it looked really good. A cooperative game in which the players protect the village from incarnations of the lord of hell – Wu-Feng – and his legions of ghosts before they haunt a town and recover the ashes that will allow him to return to life. That sounded really intresting and unquite. So i bought it and its a excellent game. Let me talk more about it..
Gameplay:
Each Player represents a Taoist monk working together with the others to fight off waves of ghosts.
The players, using teamwork, will have to exorcise the ghosts that appear during the course of the game. At the beginning of his turn, a player brings a ghost into play and places it on a free spot, and more than one can come in at the same time. The ghosts all have abilities of their own – some affecting the Taoists and their powers, some causing the active player to roll the curse die for a random effect, and others haunting the villager tiles and blocking that tile's special action. On his turn, a Taoist can move on a tile in order to exorcise adjacent ghosts or to benefit from the villager living on the tile, providing it is not haunted. Each tile of the village allows the players to benefit from a different bonus. With the cemetery, for example, Taoists can bring a dead Taoist back to life, while the herbalist allows to recover spent Tao tokens, etc. It will also be possible to get traps or move ghosts or unhaunt other village tiles.
To exorcise a ghost, the Taoist rolls three Tao dice with different colors: red, blue, green, yellow, black, and white. If the result of the roll matches the color(s) of the ghost or incarnation of Wu-Feng, the exorcism succeeds. The white result is a wild color that can be used as any color. For example, to exorcise a green ghost with 3 resistance, you need to roll three green, three white, or a combination of both. If your die rolls fall short, you can also use Tao tokens that match the color in addition to your roll. You may choose to use these after your roll. Taoists gain these tokens by using certain village tiles or by exorcising certain ghosts. One of the Taoists has a power that allows him to receive such a token once per turn.
To win, the players must defeat the incarnation of Wu-Feng, a boss who arrives at the end of the game. There are also harder difficulty levels that add more incarnations of Wu-Feng, in which to win, you must defeat all of them.
There are many more ways to lose, however. The players lose if three of the village's tiles are haunted, if the draw pile is emptied while the incarnation of Wu-Feng is still in play, or if all the priests are dead.
It is hard game but the strategy to this game is excellent cause you have to think about your moves and what to do next. That and the clock is ticking down to one of the ten Wu-Feng Minions. Also if 3 village spaces get crushed than you lose. Also the luck of the dice and the cards. The strategy is ten fold. Its hard but a excellent game and a must play game. Buy it if you havent already cause its a must. If you want to learn more or see a runthrough of the game go to BoardGameGeek, Rahdo Runthroughs or Dice Tower Reviews.
Gameplay:
Each Player represents a Taoist monk working together with the others to fight off waves of ghosts.
The players, using teamwork, will have to exorcise the ghosts that appear during the course of the game. At the beginning of his turn, a player brings a ghost into play and places it on a free spot, and more than one can come in at the same time. The ghosts all have abilities of their own – some affecting the Taoists and their powers, some causing the active player to roll the curse die for a random effect, and others haunting the villager tiles and blocking that tile's special action. On his turn, a Taoist can move on a tile in order to exorcise adjacent ghosts or to benefit from the villager living on the tile, providing it is not haunted. Each tile of the village allows the players to benefit from a different bonus. With the cemetery, for example, Taoists can bring a dead Taoist back to life, while the herbalist allows to recover spent Tao tokens, etc. It will also be possible to get traps or move ghosts or unhaunt other village tiles.
To exorcise a ghost, the Taoist rolls three Tao dice with different colors: red, blue, green, yellow, black, and white. If the result of the roll matches the color(s) of the ghost or incarnation of Wu-Feng, the exorcism succeeds. The white result is a wild color that can be used as any color. For example, to exorcise a green ghost with 3 resistance, you need to roll three green, three white, or a combination of both. If your die rolls fall short, you can also use Tao tokens that match the color in addition to your roll. You may choose to use these after your roll. Taoists gain these tokens by using certain village tiles or by exorcising certain ghosts. One of the Taoists has a power that allows him to receive such a token once per turn.
To win, the players must defeat the incarnation of Wu-Feng, a boss who arrives at the end of the game. There are also harder difficulty levels that add more incarnations of Wu-Feng, in which to win, you must defeat all of them.
There are many more ways to lose, however. The players lose if three of the village's tiles are haunted, if the draw pile is emptied while the incarnation of Wu-Feng is still in play, or if all the priests are dead.
It is hard game but the strategy to this game is excellent cause you have to think about your moves and what to do next. That and the clock is ticking down to one of the ten Wu-Feng Minions. Also if 3 village spaces get crushed than you lose. Also the luck of the dice and the cards. The strategy is ten fold. Its hard but a excellent game and a must play game. Buy it if you havent already cause its a must. If you want to learn more or see a runthrough of the game go to BoardGameGeek, Rahdo Runthroughs or Dice Tower Reviews.
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
The latest in the popular Call of Duty series has arrived with Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII. The game has made the controversial decision to forgo the traditional campaign in favor of a Battle Royale mode known as Blackout and a more expansive online experience which includes more Zombie modes and a greater emphasis on gameplay.
I played the game first at E3 and then again during the Beta phases for the game so I had a decent familiarity with what to expect when the full release version of the game arrived.
After several days of playing the game, I have to say it is to me a mixed bag and many aspects of it disappointed me which is very frustrating as fan of the series since the very first game.
The look and feel of the game does not come across to me as a new game but instead to me look and play like DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Many of the maps seem familiar and have been updated from their appearances in previous games. The same holds true for the weapons and kill streaks. I am not saying it is not fun, but it all has a sense of having seen most of it before.
Another very annoying change to the game is the severe limitation of grenades in the game. Usually a player has a grenade option which comes in handy when Snipers setup behind cover. Without the ability to lob a grenade to get Snipers out from cover, players are easy pickings, especially when the first appear on the screen. You can unload a full clip into a player at a distance and still end up dead with one shot from a sniper. As such you have to wait until you reach level 42 in order to add them to your customized loadout and even then they are very Nerfed from what players have come to expect.
The multiplayer modes are what you have come to expect as there are the Team Deathmatch variations as well as the Capture and Control modes and a new mode called Heist where players need to capture or prevent the capture of a target.
For me the most enjoyable aspect of the game was the Zombie modes as not only were the players I was matched with usually very helpful, but they were also much friendlier than many of the other people I encountered.
The Blackout mode is very popular with gamers but not being a fan of the One and Done mode of play, I found myself enjoying the vast details of the map and preferring to work with a team, capturing vehicles, and such. I have seen multiple players unload point blank on a player in this mode only to see them walk away and one shot kill their attackers. This is either a hack or an example of how imbalanced things can be at times and you will see multiple instances of players taking numerous hits and walking away while others go down with one shot.
Black Ops IIII does not have a regenerative health system and instead requires players to use a timed injection in order to restore health.
This is all designed to foster teamwork and to make the game more appealing to the eSports community. While this is nice, it deviates from much of what has made the game so appealing from the start.
The game to me seems like it was hurried to market as it released on October 12th vs the traditional November release date. I am sure a big part of this was a desire to beat Red Dead Redemption 2 to market but in doing so it seems that things are missing from the final product.
There is much to like about the game as it is still an exciting and intense experience but to me is the first Call of Duty game to not feel shiny and new but instead more of the same in many cases.
The developers have supported the game with numerous updates and there are more on the way as well as planned DLC down the road so the game as it is now is likely to change in the next few months as more feedback is given to developers and new features are added.
Hopefully they will also look to add a campaign at a later date as although it is fun, it seems lacking and dated in many aspects as the changes seem like a step back to me rather than progress.
http://sknr.net/2018/10/23/call-of-duty-black-ops-iiii-2/
I played the game first at E3 and then again during the Beta phases for the game so I had a decent familiarity with what to expect when the full release version of the game arrived.
After several days of playing the game, I have to say it is to me a mixed bag and many aspects of it disappointed me which is very frustrating as fan of the series since the very first game.
The look and feel of the game does not come across to me as a new game but instead to me look and play like DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Many of the maps seem familiar and have been updated from their appearances in previous games. The same holds true for the weapons and kill streaks. I am not saying it is not fun, but it all has a sense of having seen most of it before.
Another very annoying change to the game is the severe limitation of grenades in the game. Usually a player has a grenade option which comes in handy when Snipers setup behind cover. Without the ability to lob a grenade to get Snipers out from cover, players are easy pickings, especially when the first appear on the screen. You can unload a full clip into a player at a distance and still end up dead with one shot from a sniper. As such you have to wait until you reach level 42 in order to add them to your customized loadout and even then they are very Nerfed from what players have come to expect.
The multiplayer modes are what you have come to expect as there are the Team Deathmatch variations as well as the Capture and Control modes and a new mode called Heist where players need to capture or prevent the capture of a target.
For me the most enjoyable aspect of the game was the Zombie modes as not only were the players I was matched with usually very helpful, but they were also much friendlier than many of the other people I encountered.
The Blackout mode is very popular with gamers but not being a fan of the One and Done mode of play, I found myself enjoying the vast details of the map and preferring to work with a team, capturing vehicles, and such. I have seen multiple players unload point blank on a player in this mode only to see them walk away and one shot kill their attackers. This is either a hack or an example of how imbalanced things can be at times and you will see multiple instances of players taking numerous hits and walking away while others go down with one shot.
Black Ops IIII does not have a regenerative health system and instead requires players to use a timed injection in order to restore health.
This is all designed to foster teamwork and to make the game more appealing to the eSports community. While this is nice, it deviates from much of what has made the game so appealing from the start.
The game to me seems like it was hurried to market as it released on October 12th vs the traditional November release date. I am sure a big part of this was a desire to beat Red Dead Redemption 2 to market but in doing so it seems that things are missing from the final product.
There is much to like about the game as it is still an exciting and intense experience but to me is the first Call of Duty game to not feel shiny and new but instead more of the same in many cases.
The developers have supported the game with numerous updates and there are more on the way as well as planned DLC down the road so the game as it is now is likely to change in the next few months as more feedback is given to developers and new features are added.
Hopefully they will also look to add a campaign at a later date as although it is fun, it seems lacking and dated in many aspects as the changes seem like a step back to me rather than progress.
http://sknr.net/2018/10/23/call-of-duty-black-ops-iiii-2/
Lee (2222 KP) rated The Umbrella Academy in TV
Mar 4, 2019
I hadn’t even heard anything about The Umbrella Academy before, let alone read any of the Dark Horse comic series on which this Netflix show is adapted from. The premise, and the trailer for the show, didn’t initially appeal to me if I’m honest. But, it turns out that Netflix have only gone and done it again, turning out yet another binge worthy little gem of a show.
The setup for Umbrella Academy is that one day in 1989, 43 babies were born to mothers who were not pregnant when that day began. An eccentric billionaire, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, purchases seven of those babies and raises them, training them to become a powerful crime fighting team. Living with them at the Umbrella Academy is an android Nanny, who the children refer to as Mom, and a well spoken elderly chimpanzee butler called Dr Pogo (impressive work from Weta, the team behind the recent Planet of The Apes trilogy). Each child is known only by a number given to them by their ‘Father’, Sir Reginald – Number 1 through to Number 7 – ranked in order of their usefulness to him!
Fast forward to present day and the team have all but disbanded, with what’s left of them living out problem filled adult lives. Number 1 (now known as Luther) has been living on the moon for the past 4 years. He possesses super strength and has a very bulky appearance, wearing roll neck jumpers and a long coat. Number 2 (now Diego) is a vigilante and a bit of a knife expert. Number 3 (Allison) is now a famous actress, gifted with the ability to alter reality with her voice. Number 4 (Klaus) is a junkie who can communicate with the dead. Number 5 is able to perform small teleportations, or time jumps, but has been missing since they were all teenagers. Number 6 (Ben) was killed prior to the events in this show and Number 7 (Vanya) is believed not to have any special abilities, always being neglected and overlooked by the others while growing up. When news reaches them all that Sir Reginald has died, they all return to the academy.
The opening episode of The Umbrella Academy is packed full of thrills, mystery and a very exciting setup for the remainder of the season. We get a taste of the childrens abilities and teamwork, impressively taking out a bunch of bad guys. Then in present day, Number 5 suddenly appears from a portal in the sky. He claims to have spent decades living in a post-apocalyptic future, having jumped there all those years ago, but unable to return. He survived there until the age of 58, but on his return to present day he returned to his 13 year old appearance. We get a glimpse of the apocalyptic world that Number 5 arrived in and discover that whatever causes it is due to happen in just a few days from present day.
From there, the show suffers with what a lot of high concept shows tend to suffer from – second episode drag. That’s not to say that it’s boring, but we begin to delve into some of the Daddy issues that the various team members have, along with issues some of them have with each other and it’s a sharp contrast to the impressive opening episode. If I’m honest, by the end of episode 3 I was considering giving up, but I stuck with it. I really grew to like this dysfunctional family, and as the show dips back and forth between their teenage years and the present day, I really became invested in the show and its characters. They begin to band together to work through their issues and try and find a way of working out what causes the impending apocalypse, and how to stop it.
There are certainly consequences which play out throughout the season though. We discover that during his time in the future, Number 5 became involved in an organisation which works to correct events in time in order to ensure the destined timeline plays out as it should. Because of Number 5’s return to the present, he is now being hunted by a pair of black suited assassins called Hazel and Cha-Cha. Consequently, the body count in this show is pretty high, usually accompanied by a killer soundtrack!
I’m glad I stuck with it, because the whole thing soon became compulsive viewing, building to an incredibly entertaining and satisfying finale. With the apocalypse imminent, the whole team finally work together once more – a few twists and turns along the way, and a great cliffhanger setting things up for another season. I really loved everything about this show and the way that something so completely bonkers is presented so well, so believable and so intense.
The setup for Umbrella Academy is that one day in 1989, 43 babies were born to mothers who were not pregnant when that day began. An eccentric billionaire, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, purchases seven of those babies and raises them, training them to become a powerful crime fighting team. Living with them at the Umbrella Academy is an android Nanny, who the children refer to as Mom, and a well spoken elderly chimpanzee butler called Dr Pogo (impressive work from Weta, the team behind the recent Planet of The Apes trilogy). Each child is known only by a number given to them by their ‘Father’, Sir Reginald – Number 1 through to Number 7 – ranked in order of their usefulness to him!
Fast forward to present day and the team have all but disbanded, with what’s left of them living out problem filled adult lives. Number 1 (now known as Luther) has been living on the moon for the past 4 years. He possesses super strength and has a very bulky appearance, wearing roll neck jumpers and a long coat. Number 2 (now Diego) is a vigilante and a bit of a knife expert. Number 3 (Allison) is now a famous actress, gifted with the ability to alter reality with her voice. Number 4 (Klaus) is a junkie who can communicate with the dead. Number 5 is able to perform small teleportations, or time jumps, but has been missing since they were all teenagers. Number 6 (Ben) was killed prior to the events in this show and Number 7 (Vanya) is believed not to have any special abilities, always being neglected and overlooked by the others while growing up. When news reaches them all that Sir Reginald has died, they all return to the academy.
The opening episode of The Umbrella Academy is packed full of thrills, mystery and a very exciting setup for the remainder of the season. We get a taste of the childrens abilities and teamwork, impressively taking out a bunch of bad guys. Then in present day, Number 5 suddenly appears from a portal in the sky. He claims to have spent decades living in a post-apocalyptic future, having jumped there all those years ago, but unable to return. He survived there until the age of 58, but on his return to present day he returned to his 13 year old appearance. We get a glimpse of the apocalyptic world that Number 5 arrived in and discover that whatever causes it is due to happen in just a few days from present day.
From there, the show suffers with what a lot of high concept shows tend to suffer from – second episode drag. That’s not to say that it’s boring, but we begin to delve into some of the Daddy issues that the various team members have, along with issues some of them have with each other and it’s a sharp contrast to the impressive opening episode. If I’m honest, by the end of episode 3 I was considering giving up, but I stuck with it. I really grew to like this dysfunctional family, and as the show dips back and forth between their teenage years and the present day, I really became invested in the show and its characters. They begin to band together to work through their issues and try and find a way of working out what causes the impending apocalypse, and how to stop it.
There are certainly consequences which play out throughout the season though. We discover that during his time in the future, Number 5 became involved in an organisation which works to correct events in time in order to ensure the destined timeline plays out as it should. Because of Number 5’s return to the present, he is now being hunted by a pair of black suited assassins called Hazel and Cha-Cha. Consequently, the body count in this show is pretty high, usually accompanied by a killer soundtrack!
I’m glad I stuck with it, because the whole thing soon became compulsive viewing, building to an incredibly entertaining and satisfying finale. With the apocalypse imminent, the whole team finally work together once more – a few twists and turns along the way, and a great cliffhanger setting things up for another season. I really loved everything about this show and the way that something so completely bonkers is presented so well, so believable and so intense.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) in Movies
Oct 24, 2019
Thoughts on Terminator: Dark Fate
Characters – Dani is the sweet Mexican girl that keeps her family organized with everyday events, making sure her father gets to appointments and her brother joins her for work, her family means everything to her. When Grace turns up, she finds her perfect life ruined, when she needs to go on the run with her from a Terminator, not knowing why a normal young woman has been targeted, she will learn her importance to the future and learn skills alone the way. The only negative side for Dani, is that we don’t learn enough about her before the events happen, it is hard to figure out just how old she is too. Sarah Connor hasn’t stopped hunting Terminators, she is prepared for them all and saves the day, she knows how to stay off the radar, well for the most part one giant plot hole with her talk here, but is a bitter hard as nails woman. The Terminator has many surprises this time, he helps, gets plenty of laughs and as always will fight the superior model. The bad Terminator can fuse with anything it touches, being able to break into more than one threat and isn’t going to stop for anything, he is relentless and on a similar mission focused level as the first two villainous Terminators. Grace is the enhanced soldier sent back to protect Dani, she does need to be kept alive with medicine, proving to be a different level of protection then we have seen before, she has all the human traits, she has lived, fought and battled through the future and knows why she is here and how important this mission is.
Performances – First we will go through the returning cast, Linda Hamilton is wonderful to watch, not only is she perfect here, she lets the new cast members shine, which was one of the weakness of a film that did the same trick, Halloween. Arnold Schwarzenegger gives his best action performance since his return to acting, not only does he still have the fighting down, he has got perfect dead pan comedy down too. Mackenzie Davis might well have just made her an action star for years to come here, giving a performance that could be a star making one. Natalia Reyes does everything right for her character, it isn’t her performance that lets her down, it is certain developments in her character that hold her back. Gabriel Luna as the new Terminator is great too, it is nice they picked a lesser known actor, because a big name would have shifted focus on them instead of a faceless killer.
Story – The story here follows a young Mexican woman that has been targeted by a Terminator, for a reason she doesn’t know, she has a super soldier and Sarah Connor to protect her, as she learns about a future, where like Sarah Connor, she will have a big part to play in the war against the machines. This is a sequel that feels like it has re-imagined the original, mixed with the second one, this is all good because having a new face that needs to learn their part in the future is what makes Terminator different in story, the idea that technology has moved on, also helps this story unfold nicely showing us just how much we are going to see. For a story that is 2 hours long, this barely feels that long if we are being honest and by the end you will be wanting to see more, because even though we have returning characters, they don’t feel thrown in like Arnie’s in the last film.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action here is massive, this shows some great teamwork from the stunt teams too, the fights are people bashing the hell out of an indestructible robot, which means we can hit harder and it not look stupid, while we might have a couple too many cuts during them though. The sci-fi idea has moved on from previous films, which shows us just how much could change in the future, the war will always be coming.
Settings – The film does use the settings are a plot point, where it is, we need to get here, then here, via here, all but the final battle seems simple enough locations.
Special Effects – The effects for the most part are wonderful, there are a few questionable moments, but when you see the Terminator get hit, the metal exposing, doesn’t look out of place.
Scene of the Movie – Opening Chase.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – There is one on the nose reference to gun control in America.
Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable action movie that brings the Terminator back to life for everybody to enjoy, this is bar far the best Terminator movie since Judgement Day.
Overall: Excellent Movie.
Rating
Characters – Dani is the sweet Mexican girl that keeps her family organized with everyday events, making sure her father gets to appointments and her brother joins her for work, her family means everything to her. When Grace turns up, she finds her perfect life ruined, when she needs to go on the run with her from a Terminator, not knowing why a normal young woman has been targeted, she will learn her importance to the future and learn skills alone the way. The only negative side for Dani, is that we don’t learn enough about her before the events happen, it is hard to figure out just how old she is too. Sarah Connor hasn’t stopped hunting Terminators, she is prepared for them all and saves the day, she knows how to stay off the radar, well for the most part one giant plot hole with her talk here, but is a bitter hard as nails woman. The Terminator has many surprises this time, he helps, gets plenty of laughs and as always will fight the superior model. The bad Terminator can fuse with anything it touches, being able to break into more than one threat and isn’t going to stop for anything, he is relentless and on a similar mission focused level as the first two villainous Terminators. Grace is the enhanced soldier sent back to protect Dani, she does need to be kept alive with medicine, proving to be a different level of protection then we have seen before, she has all the human traits, she has lived, fought and battled through the future and knows why she is here and how important this mission is.
Performances – First we will go through the returning cast, Linda Hamilton is wonderful to watch, not only is she perfect here, she lets the new cast members shine, which was one of the weakness of a film that did the same trick, Halloween. Arnold Schwarzenegger gives his best action performance since his return to acting, not only does he still have the fighting down, he has got perfect dead pan comedy down too. Mackenzie Davis might well have just made her an action star for years to come here, giving a performance that could be a star making one. Natalia Reyes does everything right for her character, it isn’t her performance that lets her down, it is certain developments in her character that hold her back. Gabriel Luna as the new Terminator is great too, it is nice they picked a lesser known actor, because a big name would have shifted focus on them instead of a faceless killer.
Story – The story here follows a young Mexican woman that has been targeted by a Terminator, for a reason she doesn’t know, she has a super soldier and Sarah Connor to protect her, as she learns about a future, where like Sarah Connor, she will have a big part to play in the war against the machines. This is a sequel that feels like it has re-imagined the original, mixed with the second one, this is all good because having a new face that needs to learn their part in the future is what makes Terminator different in story, the idea that technology has moved on, also helps this story unfold nicely showing us just how much we are going to see. For a story that is 2 hours long, this barely feels that long if we are being honest and by the end you will be wanting to see more, because even though we have returning characters, they don’t feel thrown in like Arnie’s in the last film.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action here is massive, this shows some great teamwork from the stunt teams too, the fights are people bashing the hell out of an indestructible robot, which means we can hit harder and it not look stupid, while we might have a couple too many cuts during them though. The sci-fi idea has moved on from previous films, which shows us just how much could change in the future, the war will always be coming.
Settings – The film does use the settings are a plot point, where it is, we need to get here, then here, via here, all but the final battle seems simple enough locations.
Special Effects – The effects for the most part are wonderful, there are a few questionable moments, but when you see the Terminator get hit, the metal exposing, doesn’t look out of place.
Scene of the Movie – Opening Chase.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – There is one on the nose reference to gun control in America.
Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable action movie that brings the Terminator back to life for everybody to enjoy, this is bar far the best Terminator movie since Judgement Day.
Overall: Excellent Movie.
Rating
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game in Tabletop Games
Sep 19, 2019
Teamwork makes the dream work! That’s how the saying goes, right? And in Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game, it is certainly the truth! When I say it’s a team-building game, I mean that both literally and figuratively – you must recruit heroes and work semi-cooperatively with your fellow gamers to defeat the evil Mastermind before they take over the city!
In an era where superheroes are the norm, the days of petty crime are over. As the protectors of our world have grown in power, so too have those who would see it fall to chaos. Out of the shadows comes a nefarious Mastermind who has engineered the most wicked evil scheme the world has ever seen. With an ever-growing band of followers and henchmen to carry out the plot, the future looks dismal. But do not fear – the supers are here! This job is way too big for only one single hero to handle, but if they all band together, then maybe, juuuust maybe, they might be able to pull it off…
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. Should we review them in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. -T
Set in the world of Marvel comics and, recently, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Legendary: Marvel is a cooperative deck building game. Players take turns drafting and playing cards to recruit heroes to their team and to fight off the villains trying to carry out the sinister scheme. You have to strategize how you want to build your deck to best complete the mission – do you recruit heroes that give you special abilities (like drawing additional cards), or do you recruit strong heroes that give you lots of attack points? The choice is entirely up to you! Although all players are building their own individual decks, you must also devise a team strategy because all players either win or lose together as a team. That being said, there is a small competitive aspect to this game – the player with the most Victory Points (earned by defeating villains and rescuing bystanders) is deemed the most legendary hero of the game! Exactly how competitive the game gets is up to the players. I personally prefer a more cooperative approach and usually don’t tally up VPs at the end of the game – either the team won or we lost.
The beauty of this game is that it can be played with any combination of Marvel characters – you are not limited to only using specific teams. Selecting which heroes/villains/Mastermind/etc. to use is at the discretion of the players. Want Iron Man to team up with Deadpool and Wolverine to fight off Kingpin? Go for it! You have basically the entire Marvel universe from which to choose, so the sky is the limit! With so many options, though, it can be a little overwhelming, so I usually use a randomizer app to create a setup for me. Sometimes the setup itself will determine how the entire game will play out – certain combinations of Mastermind/villains/scheme can be BRUTAL to play and difficult to win. But the cool thing about this game is that you cannot just look at a setup and tell if it will be difficult or not – that realization only will come once you start playing!
I love playing this game because of its immense variability – the base game alone has 500 cards! The ability to choose your own heroes, villains, Masterminds, and Schemes means that you will probably never play the same game twice. And on top of that, Legendary: Marvel currently has like 19 expansions! The possibilities are truly endless, and that is the Holy Grail for me when it comes to gaming. I know that I will never get bored of this game because it is a different experience every game.
On the flip side, my main grievance with Legendary: Marvel is with the physical setup and teardown. Every play uses SO MANY cards that it does take a decent amount of time to get setup or put away. Every individual hero/villain/Mastermind/etc. must be sorted and stored separately, and with 500+ cards, that time adds up. When deciding on a game to play, sometimes I skip Legendary: Marvel because of the time it takes to set up. I LOVE to play it, but sometimes I do not feel like taking that much time to set up – I just want to play! My other grievance deals with certain hero superpowers/special card text. Some hero cards have special text, and the definitions are outlined in the rule book but not on the cards themselves. Until I learned/memorized what that special text meant, I was constantly referring back to the rule book nearly every turn to make sure I was using the cards correctly. There is a bit of a learning curve with some of the hero text, but it does get better the more you play!
Don’t let the simplicity of the mechanics fool you – this game requires more strategy than meets the eye! You must not only decide on a strategy for building your individual deck, but you and your teammates must also collectively choose a group strategy to defeat the Mastermind. Cooperation is key, and it really helps the theme of the game come to life. Definitely a winner for Purple Phoenix Games with a butt-kicking 24 / 24 and a well-earned Golden Feather Award!
In an era where superheroes are the norm, the days of petty crime are over. As the protectors of our world have grown in power, so too have those who would see it fall to chaos. Out of the shadows comes a nefarious Mastermind who has engineered the most wicked evil scheme the world has ever seen. With an ever-growing band of followers and henchmen to carry out the plot, the future looks dismal. But do not fear – the supers are here! This job is way too big for only one single hero to handle, but if they all band together, then maybe, juuuust maybe, they might be able to pull it off…
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. Should we review them in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. -T
Set in the world of Marvel comics and, recently, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Legendary: Marvel is a cooperative deck building game. Players take turns drafting and playing cards to recruit heroes to their team and to fight off the villains trying to carry out the sinister scheme. You have to strategize how you want to build your deck to best complete the mission – do you recruit heroes that give you special abilities (like drawing additional cards), or do you recruit strong heroes that give you lots of attack points? The choice is entirely up to you! Although all players are building their own individual decks, you must also devise a team strategy because all players either win or lose together as a team. That being said, there is a small competitive aspect to this game – the player with the most Victory Points (earned by defeating villains and rescuing bystanders) is deemed the most legendary hero of the game! Exactly how competitive the game gets is up to the players. I personally prefer a more cooperative approach and usually don’t tally up VPs at the end of the game – either the team won or we lost.
The beauty of this game is that it can be played with any combination of Marvel characters – you are not limited to only using specific teams. Selecting which heroes/villains/Mastermind/etc. to use is at the discretion of the players. Want Iron Man to team up with Deadpool and Wolverine to fight off Kingpin? Go for it! You have basically the entire Marvel universe from which to choose, so the sky is the limit! With so many options, though, it can be a little overwhelming, so I usually use a randomizer app to create a setup for me. Sometimes the setup itself will determine how the entire game will play out – certain combinations of Mastermind/villains/scheme can be BRUTAL to play and difficult to win. But the cool thing about this game is that you cannot just look at a setup and tell if it will be difficult or not – that realization only will come once you start playing!
I love playing this game because of its immense variability – the base game alone has 500 cards! The ability to choose your own heroes, villains, Masterminds, and Schemes means that you will probably never play the same game twice. And on top of that, Legendary: Marvel currently has like 19 expansions! The possibilities are truly endless, and that is the Holy Grail for me when it comes to gaming. I know that I will never get bored of this game because it is a different experience every game.
On the flip side, my main grievance with Legendary: Marvel is with the physical setup and teardown. Every play uses SO MANY cards that it does take a decent amount of time to get setup or put away. Every individual hero/villain/Mastermind/etc. must be sorted and stored separately, and with 500+ cards, that time adds up. When deciding on a game to play, sometimes I skip Legendary: Marvel because of the time it takes to set up. I LOVE to play it, but sometimes I do not feel like taking that much time to set up – I just want to play! My other grievance deals with certain hero superpowers/special card text. Some hero cards have special text, and the definitions are outlined in the rule book but not on the cards themselves. Until I learned/memorized what that special text meant, I was constantly referring back to the rule book nearly every turn to make sure I was using the cards correctly. There is a bit of a learning curve with some of the hero text, but it does get better the more you play!
Don’t let the simplicity of the mechanics fool you – this game requires more strategy than meets the eye! You must not only decide on a strategy for building your individual deck, but you and your teammates must also collectively choose a group strategy to defeat the Mastermind. Cooperation is key, and it really helps the theme of the game come to life. Definitely a winner for Purple Phoenix Games with a butt-kicking 24 / 24 and a well-earned Golden Feather Award!
