Smashbomb

I managed to pick up a copy of Star Saga by Mantic, initially because I wanted the accessories more than the game.

I opened the box and was blown away by the quality and quantity of the miniatures as well as the accessories. We are talking dozens of characters with great sculpts, as well as the doors and consoles etc which look fantastic (and to get these alone is a significant cost). Additionally, you get a couple of dozen deck tiles, which are perfect for many sci fi miniatures games, and can be used separately to the in-box missions, if you wanted to go it alone/freestyle for other players.

I watched one of the Play Through videos on YouTube, and decided to try it myself. The rules are pretty clear and easy to follow, and it does help that the first 2-3 suggested moves are spelled out in the rulebook.

The first mission is a 1-2 player mission; you can literally play the game on your own, and there is enough flex in the Nexus (read- GM) cards to give an unknown quality to the game. Controlling one Character only, it is fully meant to get you used to the game.

First time I played, I rolled poorly (with 4 dice, usually failing to hit, or having my hits blocked by armour/scenery) and eventually got swamped by lesser minions. The second time I tried it, I managed to get through to the objective and complete it; having said that, the first loss was still useful as it meant I could see what impact damage and wounds had on the character.

The second mission is a larger mission, controlling several characters with different rules, with locked doors and more enemies - the rulebook also suggest if you have 2 copies of the game, to play the 1st and 2nd missions at the same time - although I actually think there is enough pieces to play the 2 together from the one box with minimal adjustment (maybe a slightly shorter corridor, for example).

In short, although it doesn't have the same "freeflow" as something like the old gem Warhammer Quest, it is close, and is a great sci fi dungeon crawler. There are also lots of expansions, but I need to defeat these bad guys first...

Kudos

ArecRain (8 KP) rated Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries in Books

Jan 18, 2018

I received this book this time last year as part of an exchange. I figured it is about time I write a review for it, yet I find myself struggling to come up with the right words to describe how I feel.

First I should mention that I love space. Despite this and the fact that I am actually a fairly intelligent human being, I have found that most books written about space, and physic in general, are written at such a high reading proficiency and are jargon heavy to the point that it is more chore to read than anything.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson brings his trademark humor to this novel as well as making it genuinely enjoyable to read. For being a non-fiction book, it certainly did not read like one. Regardless of whether you are a newbie when it comes to space or a seasoned fan, Death by Black Hole is consciously written with an easy almost conservational style that draws the reader in. I personally feel that it opens a lot of doors to those who want to learn but may have difficulty with the language.

I recommend Death by Black Hole to everyone. Literally everyone.

Kudos

Sam (228 KP) rated Green Valley in Books

Oct 19, 2019

Green Valley

Louis Greenberg | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Characters (3 more)

Descriptive Scenery

Thrilling Plot

Captivating Storyline

Sometimes has confusing dialogue (1 more)

Weird Chapter Setup

A Chilling Spectacle

This novel is truly something to behold, tackling the hard subject of technology, this novel takes place in a future where only a select group of people have agreed to live within a 24/7 virtual reality while the rest of the world has expunged all invasive technology, right down to the motion sensors that open doors at the supermarket.
It is within this universe that the novels chooses to display both the pros and cons of technological advancement as well as warns against advancing too far to the point where humanity becomes lost.
Although the chapters are set up weird, split from chapters into sections that seem unnecessarily placed, this seems to be a technical problem rather than a problem with the actual story. The story itself is both well organized and well written, building beautiful images of this world as well as developing characters as the story advances. Personally, I feel the ending seemed a bit rushed however qhether this was due to the actual writing or the fact that I couldn't put the book down is yet to be decided.

Kudos

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Cube 2: Hypercube (2002) in Movies

Apr 5, 2020

A little too out there

The first Cube film for me was always an underrated low budget cult classic, and definitely a precursor for the likes of Saw etc. The original was a great idea with just enough maths and science to make it believable and not completely ridiculous. Sadly the same can’t be said about this sequel.

They’ve gone far too over the top on the science that whilst it does make some sense, it makes the whole idea of the cube a completely silly and ridiculous idea. And the ending itself as far as the cube goes is just laughably bizarre. There’s also the general plot and story, which seems to have left out all of the bits from the original that made it interesting - like the scary traps and numbered doors. Some of the characters are interesting, others are just carbon copies from the original or completely pointless and forgettable. You can tell they’ve got a bigger budget with the amount of CGI in this, it’s just a shame it’s rather poor and lacks the punch of the physical traps used in the original.

This is a rather sorry excuse for a sequel, and not one I’d recommend watching. The third film and prequel Cube Zero is a much better watch.