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Rebecca Billcliff (2409 KP) rated Hey Duggee in TV
Nov 12, 2019 (Updated May 23, 2021)
Duggee is one of those programs for small children that knows adults are stuck watching it over and over. To help combat parental insanity, they throw in the odd grown-up joke, and I live for it.
When my lad decides to put Duggee on instead of some of the other inane crap there is for babies out there (and yes, he chooses, because he is a lockdown baby who at 18 months knew the code to the ipad, and how to put Netflix on, and chose the "kids" profile!), it makes my day.
I have honestly found it hard to get sick of this program, each time it comes on, I spot something new, a joke I missed, some subtle detail, it has (so far) not got old.
Now give me a Duggee hug!
When my lad decides to put Duggee on instead of some of the other inane crap there is for babies out there (and yes, he chooses, because he is a lockdown baby who at 18 months knew the code to the ipad, and how to put Netflix on, and chose the "kids" profile!), it makes my day.
I have honestly found it hard to get sick of this program, each time it comes on, I spot something new, a joke I missed, some subtle detail, it has (so far) not got old.
Now give me a Duggee hug!
David McK (3251 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in Video Games
Feb 13, 2020
Like, I'm sure, more than a few others, I've entertained fantasies of owning a lightsabre and mowing down a metric ton of Imperial Stormtroopers.
This is probably about as close to fulfilling that fantasy as I'm ever likely to come. Owing quite a bit to the Tomb Raider games - and, apparently, Metroidvania)(never even heard of that) - with a dollop of Dark Souls thrown in, this combines (re)exploration and combat in a story set roughly 5 years after Revenge of the Sith, with protagonist and former Padawan survivor Cal Kestis rediscovering his connection with the Force on a quest for a lost Holocron that identifies Force sensitives throughout the Galaxy. Its just a pity, I felt, that the map was hard to read and that there was no quick-travel option anywhere in the game...
This is probably about as close to fulfilling that fantasy as I'm ever likely to come. Owing quite a bit to the Tomb Raider games - and, apparently, Metroidvania)(never even heard of that) - with a dollop of Dark Souls thrown in, this combines (re)exploration and combat in a story set roughly 5 years after Revenge of the Sith, with protagonist and former Padawan survivor Cal Kestis rediscovering his connection with the Force on a quest for a lost Holocron that identifies Force sensitives throughout the Galaxy. Its just a pity, I felt, that the map was hard to read and that there was no quick-travel option anywhere in the game...
Mothergamer (1521 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Persona 5 Strikers in Video Games
Mar 29, 2021
This is a sequel to Persona 5. Set 6 months after the events in Persona 5, Joker is ready to reunite with his fellow Phantom Thieves for a Summer vacation camping trip. Things take a turn and they end up on another insane adventure. The road trip aspect of the game is great and the combat system is different too. It's an action hack and slash making exploration of each dungeon known as jails fun. Fusing personas is in there as well as a new bond system that levels up the entire party's skills. The art and story in the game keep the spirit of the Persona 5 game alive, but also form its own unique thing as well making for a fun experience. You can read the full review here: http://mg28-mothergamer.blogspot.com/2021/03/persona-5-strikers-more-fun-with.html
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Sea of Clouds in Tabletop Games
Sep 5, 2019 (Updated Jul 1, 2020)
When it comes to game themes, I think that we at Purple Phoenix Games are pretty good at trying just about anything. That being said, for some reason we keep finding ourselves back at pirates! So how does Sea of Clouds compare to our other pirate-themed games? Is it a good First Mate, or does it need to walk the plank? Keep reading to find out!
In Sea of Clouds, players are Captains of mighty air pirate ships. That’s right – flying pirate ships! Just like the pirate days of yore, your goal is to recruit the best crew, plunder for treasure and relics, and find the best rum along the way. But be careful because your rival pirate Captains have their eyes on the same prize – so make sure you’ve got a way to outsmart them and sail your way to victory!
Sea of Clouds is a game of card drafting, set collection, and push your luck in which players are trying to amass the most end-game victory points. Played over a series of rounds, players take turns drafting cards, performing bonus actions, and engaging in combat with their neighboring Captains. To setup, each player takes their chosen Captain board, the central board is placed in the middle of all players, and 1 loot card is placed face-down on each of the 3 loot spaces on the central board. The remaining cards are shuffled and create a draw pile. Now you are ready to play!
Each round consists of divvying up shares of loot between all players. On your turn, you will take the face-down card(s) in the #1 loot spot and look at them secretly. Decide whether you want to take the share, or leave it and look at the next one. If you decide to keep the card(s), add them directly around your Captain board in their corresponding spaces. If you decided to leave the share, add 1 card from the top of the draw pile to that share, and then look secretly at the cards in the #2 loot spot. Proceed in the same manner as before with the cards in the #2 and #3 loot spots, if necessary. If none of the shares catch your fancy, draw 1 card from the top of the draw deck to add to your ship. Play continues to the left, and once everyone has had their turn, move the round marker ahead on the central board, and continue on to the next round in the same fashion. At the end of certain rounds of the game, following the divvying of shares, there will be a boarding/combat turn – players will compare the combat strength of their crew (recruited during the divvying of shares) to that of their neighboring Captains. If your crew’s strength is greater than your neighbor, resolve any rewards/effects on your pirate cards. If your strength is less than your neighbor, you lose the combat and do not collect any rewards. Once all combats have been resolved, everyone discards all their crew cards, and the next round begins. At the end of the game, players count up their victory points, and the player who has amassed the most is the winner!
I’m going to get right to the spoilers and say that I love Sea of Clouds. It has some of my favorite mechanics (set collection and card drafting) and it is easy to teach, learn, and play. Do not let the simplicity of play fool you, however, because strategy is definitely a key to victory. One thing that takes this strategy to the next level for me is that there will be times when all players know what cards are in each share of loot. You’ve got to pay attention to which shares your opponents are taking, and figure out a way to stop them from collecting complete sets, or try to force them to collect a share they may not necessarily want. Also, as shares go unclaimed, they get more cards (and eventually money) added to them, so you have to weigh the risks of collecting a share because of one specific card, even though there may be a ‘bad’ card in that share for you. You always have to be adjusting your strategy based on what cards show up in each share, so there is no idle time for any player in this game.
Another neat thing I like about the strategy of this game is that all the cards have backs based on their card type. So all Relic cards have the same back, all Crew cards have the same back, etc. Even though you may not know what is on the other side of the card, you might just take a chance on a share of loot because it has the card types you are trying to get. That’s where the push your luck comes in, because until you look at a share of loot, you aren’t sure if that card is the one you need. Maybe share #1 has a couple cards you could use, but share #2 has a relic card that could be the final one in your set! Are you willing to risk passing up a decent share of loot to see if the next share has what you need? Or maybe the top of the draw deck has the card type you want – would you pass up all 3 shares of loot for one blindly draw card in hopes that it is to your benefit? There is no single ‘right’ way to play, and that is what makes this fun.
The only drawbacks of this game for me are the boarding/combat turns. I like the idea of this player interaction, but it doesn’t always work fairly in my opinion. At the end of each boarding/combat turn, all players discard all of their Crew cards, and you have until the next boarding phase to recruit a new crew. And sometimes, just based on the luck of the draw, you just never get the opportunity to hire anybody. Maybe your opponent takes the share with a Crew member before you get a chance to, or maybe the deck just isn’t evenly shuffled enough to get enough Crew cards out into the playing field. So if you have no Crew, you automatically lose the combat, and that can be detrimental to your strategy – opponents could steal or discard some of your cards, and cause you to lose end-game points. Maybe if there was a draw pile where you could pay a certain amount of gold to hire a Crew member, that would make the game feel a little more fair in the combat department. But ultimately, you’re at the mercy of the luck of the shuffle/draw, and sometimes it just doesn’t balance out.
All in all, I think Sea of Clouds is a great game. It’s a relatively simple game, but one that still requires strategic thought. The push your luck element feels unique in this game because you don’t really lose anything if your luck runs out, you just don’t necessarily get as far as you wanted. The game itself is pretty to look at – the artwork is very well-done and the colors really pop and draw the eye to the cards. This may not be in my Top 10 of favorite games, but it’s one that I will definitely be keeping in my collection. Take a chance on this one if you haven’t so far – it might surprise you. Purple Phoenix Games gives Sea of Clouds a high-flying 12 / 18.
In Sea of Clouds, players are Captains of mighty air pirate ships. That’s right – flying pirate ships! Just like the pirate days of yore, your goal is to recruit the best crew, plunder for treasure and relics, and find the best rum along the way. But be careful because your rival pirate Captains have their eyes on the same prize – so make sure you’ve got a way to outsmart them and sail your way to victory!
Sea of Clouds is a game of card drafting, set collection, and push your luck in which players are trying to amass the most end-game victory points. Played over a series of rounds, players take turns drafting cards, performing bonus actions, and engaging in combat with their neighboring Captains. To setup, each player takes their chosen Captain board, the central board is placed in the middle of all players, and 1 loot card is placed face-down on each of the 3 loot spaces on the central board. The remaining cards are shuffled and create a draw pile. Now you are ready to play!
Each round consists of divvying up shares of loot between all players. On your turn, you will take the face-down card(s) in the #1 loot spot and look at them secretly. Decide whether you want to take the share, or leave it and look at the next one. If you decide to keep the card(s), add them directly around your Captain board in their corresponding spaces. If you decided to leave the share, add 1 card from the top of the draw pile to that share, and then look secretly at the cards in the #2 loot spot. Proceed in the same manner as before with the cards in the #2 and #3 loot spots, if necessary. If none of the shares catch your fancy, draw 1 card from the top of the draw deck to add to your ship. Play continues to the left, and once everyone has had their turn, move the round marker ahead on the central board, and continue on to the next round in the same fashion. At the end of certain rounds of the game, following the divvying of shares, there will be a boarding/combat turn – players will compare the combat strength of their crew (recruited during the divvying of shares) to that of their neighboring Captains. If your crew’s strength is greater than your neighbor, resolve any rewards/effects on your pirate cards. If your strength is less than your neighbor, you lose the combat and do not collect any rewards. Once all combats have been resolved, everyone discards all their crew cards, and the next round begins. At the end of the game, players count up their victory points, and the player who has amassed the most is the winner!
I’m going to get right to the spoilers and say that I love Sea of Clouds. It has some of my favorite mechanics (set collection and card drafting) and it is easy to teach, learn, and play. Do not let the simplicity of play fool you, however, because strategy is definitely a key to victory. One thing that takes this strategy to the next level for me is that there will be times when all players know what cards are in each share of loot. You’ve got to pay attention to which shares your opponents are taking, and figure out a way to stop them from collecting complete sets, or try to force them to collect a share they may not necessarily want. Also, as shares go unclaimed, they get more cards (and eventually money) added to them, so you have to weigh the risks of collecting a share because of one specific card, even though there may be a ‘bad’ card in that share for you. You always have to be adjusting your strategy based on what cards show up in each share, so there is no idle time for any player in this game.
Another neat thing I like about the strategy of this game is that all the cards have backs based on their card type. So all Relic cards have the same back, all Crew cards have the same back, etc. Even though you may not know what is on the other side of the card, you might just take a chance on a share of loot because it has the card types you are trying to get. That’s where the push your luck comes in, because until you look at a share of loot, you aren’t sure if that card is the one you need. Maybe share #1 has a couple cards you could use, but share #2 has a relic card that could be the final one in your set! Are you willing to risk passing up a decent share of loot to see if the next share has what you need? Or maybe the top of the draw deck has the card type you want – would you pass up all 3 shares of loot for one blindly draw card in hopes that it is to your benefit? There is no single ‘right’ way to play, and that is what makes this fun.
The only drawbacks of this game for me are the boarding/combat turns. I like the idea of this player interaction, but it doesn’t always work fairly in my opinion. At the end of each boarding/combat turn, all players discard all of their Crew cards, and you have until the next boarding phase to recruit a new crew. And sometimes, just based on the luck of the draw, you just never get the opportunity to hire anybody. Maybe your opponent takes the share with a Crew member before you get a chance to, or maybe the deck just isn’t evenly shuffled enough to get enough Crew cards out into the playing field. So if you have no Crew, you automatically lose the combat, and that can be detrimental to your strategy – opponents could steal or discard some of your cards, and cause you to lose end-game points. Maybe if there was a draw pile where you could pay a certain amount of gold to hire a Crew member, that would make the game feel a little more fair in the combat department. But ultimately, you’re at the mercy of the luck of the shuffle/draw, and sometimes it just doesn’t balance out.
All in all, I think Sea of Clouds is a great game. It’s a relatively simple game, but one that still requires strategic thought. The push your luck element feels unique in this game because you don’t really lose anything if your luck runs out, you just don’t necessarily get as far as you wanted. The game itself is pretty to look at – the artwork is very well-done and the colors really pop and draw the eye to the cards. This may not be in my Top 10 of favorite games, but it’s one that I will definitely be keeping in my collection. Take a chance on this one if you haven’t so far – it might surprise you. Purple Phoenix Games gives Sea of Clouds a high-flying 12 / 18.
Kyle Colins (17 KP) rated ARK Survival Evolved in Video Games
Jul 29, 2017
Riding dinosaurs (4 more)
Becoming more advances
Never nothing to do
Discovering new stuff
Difficult
Very buggy at the moment (2 more)
Very grindy
Duplicating
So much to do!
I've been playing ark survival evolved since its release on the xbox in December of 2015. There is no other game on xbox that is quite the same. Starting off naked and alone on a random beach only to eventualy be riding dinosaurs into combat, or using them for utility mounts. The game is harsh to the player expect to be chaced killed and knocked out by many of the games dinosaurs. Work your way to the top and fly around in your ironmanish armor. There is a lot of bugs occuring at the moment anywere from frewuent crashing to DDOSing and Duplicatig. These issues are slowly being worked on but atill an issue regardless. Overall its my most played game regardless l!!!!
David McK (3251 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Assassin's Creed: Origins in Video Games
Mar 10, 2019
The visuals (1 more)
Photo mode
Ubisoft's 2017 entry in their Assassins Creed series; a series that, as time goes on, has seemingly become further and further disconnected from its original template - the whole animus concept (that allows a user to relive the memories of their ancestor), for instance, is now little but a side thought.
This particular entry is set in ancient Egypt, and introduces the character of Bayek the Medjay, who becomes responsible for the birth of the Assassins Brotherhood. Combat has been overhauled, with the series moving more into RPG territory than before and, at least to my mind, losing part of its identity as a result. I'm also not a fan of the endless grinding needed in order to advance levels with most of the main quests requiring Bayek to be at a certain level to have any chance of succeeding.
This particular entry is set in ancient Egypt, and introduces the character of Bayek the Medjay, who becomes responsible for the birth of the Assassins Brotherhood. Combat has been overhauled, with the series moving more into RPG territory than before and, at least to my mind, losing part of its identity as a result. I'm also not a fan of the endless grinding needed in order to advance levels with most of the main quests requiring Bayek to be at a certain level to have any chance of succeeding.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition) in Tabletop Games
Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 11, 2019)
Latest edition of Chaosium's landmark horror RPG. Default setting is the 1920s and 1930s; default milieu is H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, as the title suggests - but the game has proven almost infinitely flexible, with published supplements set everywhere from the Roman Empire to a bleak Aliens-esque future. Emphasis is on investigation rather than combat - regular player character death and insanity come as part of the package.
This revised edition switches the whole system to a percentile basis, the first big change in many years. It's not a substantial alteration and most of the system is unchanged. It is still a little crunchy compared to some modern narrative-heavy games, and there are a few tricky questions you have to resolve if you want to play an extended campaign, but this is, as ever, an immensely engaging and enjoyable game when played with the right group.
This revised edition switches the whole system to a percentile basis, the first big change in many years. It's not a substantial alteration and most of the system is unchanged. It is still a little crunchy compared to some modern narrative-heavy games, and there are a few tricky questions you have to resolve if you want to play an extended campaign, but this is, as ever, an immensely engaging and enjoyable game when played with the right group.
Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Extraction (2020) in Movies
Apr 27, 2020 (Updated Apr 27, 2020)
Action man
A hard hitting action packed gritty and violent movie that goes full adrenaline junkie in a very short time, that even when the plot slows, it isn't for long and doesn't feel any slower.
The movie is very 'John Wick' with its melee combat which is a bonus & Hemsworth has nicely shrugged off the thor status and adjusted to action star nicely.
Although an excellent movie it isn't without its downside, in this case it's the lack of dialogue/communication between the "hero team" during an extraction which felt a little odd in my opinion.
Plot:Chris hemsworth stars as A black-market mercenary who is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned powerful crime lord. But in the chaotic underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers, another brush with death is just around the corner.
The movie is very 'John Wick' with its melee combat which is a bonus & Hemsworth has nicely shrugged off the thor status and adjusted to action star nicely.
Although an excellent movie it isn't without its downside, in this case it's the lack of dialogue/communication between the "hero team" during an extraction which felt a little odd in my opinion.
Plot:Chris hemsworth stars as A black-market mercenary who is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned powerful crime lord. But in the chaotic underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers, another brush with death is just around the corner.
Mothergamer (1521 KP) rated Tokyo Xanadu EX+ in Video Games
Sep 28, 2020
Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ is an enhanced version of the original with an extra story chapter, two new characters, and additional mini games. The dungeon exploration feels similar to games like Persona and The Legends Of Heroes, but it's a lot of fun. You have one active character, but you can switch between party members quickly and this is actually part of the strategy for some of the boss battles. The combat is fun and easy to get into. The main story itself is pretty good and there are side quests that have stories that fit alongside the main story. There are also fun mini games to play like a skateboarding course. The game itself is really charming, fun to play, and it has a lot of interesting characters. You can read the full review here: http://lorrie28-mothergamer.blogspot.com/2020/09/mothergamer-plays-tokyo-xanadu-ex.html
Mothergamer (1521 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Tales of Arise in Video Games
Oct 11, 2021
Tales of Arise breathed new life into the Tales series with a revamped combat system that feels fun so that level grinding isn't a chore. It introduces two main characters Alphen, a mysterious man with no memories of his past who can't feel pain and Shionne a woman who can't be physically touched because of cursed thorns that erupt from her body. The story is about them and their adventure and the people they meet who become friends. The story itself is well told touching on topics like recognizing one's own privilege and understanding how they can genuinely help those in need. The artwork for Arise is beautiful and each character's story adds to the main story in the best way. It is a fantastic adventure that is a joy to play. You can read the full review here: http://mg28-mothergamer.blogspot.com/2021/10/tales-of-arise-amazing-adventure.html