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Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Prometheus (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
After nearly 2 years of waiting and rampant speculation, director Ridley Scott’s science-fiction epic Prometheus has finally arrived. The project initially started as a prequel to Alien, and in doing so got the attention of the Alien fan community. After the last two sequels and two disastrous Alien Versus Predator spinoffs, this fan community was eager for the director who started the series to bring the series back to prominence. However, hopes were dashed when it was announced that Prometheus would not be a prequel but instead a standalone film that “shared” DNA with Alien. As production of the film developed under very tight conditions, fans could only speculate as to the nature of the film even when leaked photos and eventually trailers seem to indicate more than a passing connection to the Alien franchise.
The film follows the story of Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), who in the late 21st century makes a startling discovery with her boyfriend Charlie Halloway (Logan Marshall-Green). Their discovery leads to an extremely expensive expedition to an unknown area of space aboard the state-of-the-art research vessel Prometheus. The eclectic but talented crew of experts along for the ride are under the stern watch of Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), who has been appointed by the Weyland Corporation to oversee the expedition even though she is highly skeptical about the expected goals that set the crew on the journey.
Holloway and Shaw believe that a series of paintings they discovered at several archaeological sites throughout the world indicated that ancient man had been visited and guided by beings from beyond the stars and that said beings may very well be responsible for engineering humanity as well.
After a journey of nearly 2.5 years the crew arrives at the star system depicted in the paintings and soon find themselves exploring a temple-like structure on an otherwise desolate and apparently lifeless moon. Despite the misgivings of the crew, when the true nature of their expedition is revealed upon their arrival, Shaw and Holloway are vindicated when remains of alien life forms and other technology are discovered by the crew.
Their initial exploration cut short due to a violent storm, the crew returns the safety of the ship to wait out the storm, save for two members of the team who remained at the temple after becoming lost. A series of events follow which soon indicate that not only are there hidden agendas at play but that the crew has stumbled upon a discovery that they are ill-prepared for.
Bizarre and horrific revelations and events follow which cause the crew members to question their motivations and the expedition’s purpose as well as examine their place in a much more complex and dangerous universe, where their petty human concerns and conflicts now seem much more insignificant.
It would be very difficult to go into further detail with spoiling key elements to the film. Suffice it to say that there are some real twist and turns along the way as well as some thrills and action that keep things moving along nicely as the film makes its way towards the conclusion. But, yes, Prometheus does have a very clear connection to the Alien films.
Scott had said that he wanted to do something epic in scale and in that he has, for the most part, succeeded. Shot using the latest 3-D technology, the film is amazing to watch. The opening sequence, as well as some footage of the ship in-flight, are truly gorgeous to look at and the amazing attention to detail not only on the alien world but on the ship itself is truly spectacular.
Early in the film, the android David (Michael Fassbender) is seen going through his various routines on the ship as the crew sleeps in suspended animation. His various activities range from monitoring the crew and their dreams, to watching old movies and studying ancient languages and keeping an eye on the ship systems. All that seems fairly routine, but it is his skill with a basketball that was fascinating and establishes the complex and dynamic character that he portrays.
This introduction underscores the diversity of the crew. We are given bits and pieces about all of them to help them stand out from the usual stock characters in this type of film. While we are not given as complete a background set up as I would’ve liked, little touches such as Capt. Janik (Idris Elba), insisting upon celebrating Christmas as well as the crew running side bets, help to underscore that these are people we can easily relate to, just doing their job in extraordinary situations. This was something that Scott mastered in the original Alien, giving you average Joe’s who had to deal with extraterrestrial horror.
I mention this because Prometheus is not an action film, nor is it a horror film. I wonder if perhaps this film had not had the production costs that it does, if it would be better suited for fall release. I say this not as a criticism of the movie, simply to emphasize the fact this is a movie that requires thought, something your typical summer blockbuster doesn’t. Scott does not lay it out on a plate for the audience and say “Here it is, take it.” He presents a story filled with questions, and instead of giving you answers, gives you even more questions as the film goes along.
At first, this was more than a bit frustrating as I wanted answers to questions I’ve had since seeing the original Alien back in 1979. I wanted to know more about some of the plot lines and characters as well as certain situations that were in the film. At one point the captain shares some very important information. I asked myself how this piece of news was arrived at, as certainly a discovery of this magnitude would have been a very interesting scene. However much like the film’s premise, faith is an underlying and key component. Just as the characters discuss and act based on faith, or lack thereof, audience members asked to have faith in the storyline and the sequence of events that lead up to the finale. There will be those who will be unwilling to do so and will be quick to find fault with the film, cast, and plot. But I hope there will be more who accept that they are seeing the first part of a larger journey and understand that there are things that they are meant to know, as well as things hey are not meant to know and in time more may be revealed.
Scott has indicated that he would like to do another film in the series and scuttlebutt indicates the studio would very much like to entertain thoughts of a trilogy. I would certainly like to see this, as would a few of my fellow critics. Following our screening, three of us stood around discussing aspects of the film, trying to figure out what it really meant and how it connected to the Alien series as well as potential future films in the series. If nothing else, this movie will spark interesting conversation.
As the days have passed since seeing the film I’ve appreciated it more and more with each passing day. Scott could have taken the easy way out and given a straight up prequel to Alien complete with all manner of monsters and CGI creatures on the loose wrecking havoc upon a crew of unfortunate victims. Instead he opted to take a much larger look at life, the universe, and our place in it and wove a complex and open-ended framework that not only provided fantastic entertainment but also provided an opportunity for intelligent conversation and introspection.
From the incredible visuals to the engaging and enjoyable cast, Prometheus is a refreshing and enjoyable film and an extremely welcome and much-needed addition to the alien franchise.
The film follows the story of Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), who in the late 21st century makes a startling discovery with her boyfriend Charlie Halloway (Logan Marshall-Green). Their discovery leads to an extremely expensive expedition to an unknown area of space aboard the state-of-the-art research vessel Prometheus. The eclectic but talented crew of experts along for the ride are under the stern watch of Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), who has been appointed by the Weyland Corporation to oversee the expedition even though she is highly skeptical about the expected goals that set the crew on the journey.
Holloway and Shaw believe that a series of paintings they discovered at several archaeological sites throughout the world indicated that ancient man had been visited and guided by beings from beyond the stars and that said beings may very well be responsible for engineering humanity as well.
After a journey of nearly 2.5 years the crew arrives at the star system depicted in the paintings and soon find themselves exploring a temple-like structure on an otherwise desolate and apparently lifeless moon. Despite the misgivings of the crew, when the true nature of their expedition is revealed upon their arrival, Shaw and Holloway are vindicated when remains of alien life forms and other technology are discovered by the crew.
Their initial exploration cut short due to a violent storm, the crew returns the safety of the ship to wait out the storm, save for two members of the team who remained at the temple after becoming lost. A series of events follow which soon indicate that not only are there hidden agendas at play but that the crew has stumbled upon a discovery that they are ill-prepared for.
Bizarre and horrific revelations and events follow which cause the crew members to question their motivations and the expedition’s purpose as well as examine their place in a much more complex and dangerous universe, where their petty human concerns and conflicts now seem much more insignificant.
It would be very difficult to go into further detail with spoiling key elements to the film. Suffice it to say that there are some real twist and turns along the way as well as some thrills and action that keep things moving along nicely as the film makes its way towards the conclusion. But, yes, Prometheus does have a very clear connection to the Alien films.
Scott had said that he wanted to do something epic in scale and in that he has, for the most part, succeeded. Shot using the latest 3-D technology, the film is amazing to watch. The opening sequence, as well as some footage of the ship in-flight, are truly gorgeous to look at and the amazing attention to detail not only on the alien world but on the ship itself is truly spectacular.
Early in the film, the android David (Michael Fassbender) is seen going through his various routines on the ship as the crew sleeps in suspended animation. His various activities range from monitoring the crew and their dreams, to watching old movies and studying ancient languages and keeping an eye on the ship systems. All that seems fairly routine, but it is his skill with a basketball that was fascinating and establishes the complex and dynamic character that he portrays.
This introduction underscores the diversity of the crew. We are given bits and pieces about all of them to help them stand out from the usual stock characters in this type of film. While we are not given as complete a background set up as I would’ve liked, little touches such as Capt. Janik (Idris Elba), insisting upon celebrating Christmas as well as the crew running side bets, help to underscore that these are people we can easily relate to, just doing their job in extraordinary situations. This was something that Scott mastered in the original Alien, giving you average Joe’s who had to deal with extraterrestrial horror.
I mention this because Prometheus is not an action film, nor is it a horror film. I wonder if perhaps this film had not had the production costs that it does, if it would be better suited for fall release. I say this not as a criticism of the movie, simply to emphasize the fact this is a movie that requires thought, something your typical summer blockbuster doesn’t. Scott does not lay it out on a plate for the audience and say “Here it is, take it.” He presents a story filled with questions, and instead of giving you answers, gives you even more questions as the film goes along.
At first, this was more than a bit frustrating as I wanted answers to questions I’ve had since seeing the original Alien back in 1979. I wanted to know more about some of the plot lines and characters as well as certain situations that were in the film. At one point the captain shares some very important information. I asked myself how this piece of news was arrived at, as certainly a discovery of this magnitude would have been a very interesting scene. However much like the film’s premise, faith is an underlying and key component. Just as the characters discuss and act based on faith, or lack thereof, audience members asked to have faith in the storyline and the sequence of events that lead up to the finale. There will be those who will be unwilling to do so and will be quick to find fault with the film, cast, and plot. But I hope there will be more who accept that they are seeing the first part of a larger journey and understand that there are things that they are meant to know, as well as things hey are not meant to know and in time more may be revealed.
Scott has indicated that he would like to do another film in the series and scuttlebutt indicates the studio would very much like to entertain thoughts of a trilogy. I would certainly like to see this, as would a few of my fellow critics. Following our screening, three of us stood around discussing aspects of the film, trying to figure out what it really meant and how it connected to the Alien series as well as potential future films in the series. If nothing else, this movie will spark interesting conversation.
As the days have passed since seeing the film I’ve appreciated it more and more with each passing day. Scott could have taken the easy way out and given a straight up prequel to Alien complete with all manner of monsters and CGI creatures on the loose wrecking havoc upon a crew of unfortunate victims. Instead he opted to take a much larger look at life, the universe, and our place in it and wove a complex and open-ended framework that not only provided fantastic entertainment but also provided an opportunity for intelligent conversation and introspection.
From the incredible visuals to the engaging and enjoyable cast, Prometheus is a refreshing and enjoyable film and an extremely welcome and much-needed addition to the alien franchise.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Quad City Killers in Tabletop Games
Jan 30, 2021
So I am going to cut right to the chase here. I am from the Quad Cities, the area of Iowa and Illinois where the Mississippi River flows East-West instead of its normal North-South. Admittedly, the name given to the area is the Greater Quad City Area and includes around 18 actual towns and cities. I have a love for my hometown and defend it to all who think we are just cornfields and unexciting. That said, when I saw a game was being produced about serial killers roaming my own stomping grounds, I knew I had to preview it.
Quad City Killers (or QCK) is a competitive game of moving around a map and eliminating points of interest by using resources from hand. Or, in actual gamespeak, stalking the streets of the QC murdering prey by using weapons, modifiers, and scenario cards to adjust the winds of chance for success.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign ending March 5, 2021, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup place the large map (an actual map that you would find in your grandparents’ Oldsmobile) on the table. Shuffle the Prey deck and the Resources deck separately and place them in their spots on the map. Place the Heat tokens on the lowest space in each city. Keep the three dice nearby for all players’ use. Each player will choose a serial killer profile mat, a color of skull mover token, and Dexterity token to track progress. Each player will also draw five Resource cards from the deck and one Prey card to place on the board in a city along with their skull mover token. The game may now begin!
The first thing each player will do on their turn is perform a Hunt action by drawing and placing on the map the top card of the Prey deck. Most Prey are color-coded to be placed in a matching city, but some are not and may be placed in any city on the map. Next, the player may perform any three actions from the following: Hunt, Travel, Attack, Scenario, Discard.
Hunt works the same as the action performed at the beginning of each turn: draw a Prey card and place it on the board. In order to Travel to a new city the player will roll the dice. For a value of 1+ the player may travel to any city within their current state. For a value of 2+ the player may cross the Old Man to the other side (preferably using the half-finished under-construction new I-74 bridge). A player may play a Scenario card from their hand, and if it shows the Action icon they will spend one of their three actions to play and resolve it. A player may also choose to Discard two cards from their hand and replace them with cards drawn from the Resource deck for an action.
The game would not be named Quad City Killers if killing was not involved somehow. As the final option of action to be taken on a turn a player may choose to Attack a Prey card in the same city in which the player’s token resides. To Attack, the player will consult the Prey card’s printed defense value for their target number. The player will then combine any Resource cards they may have in hand with their current Dexterity score (tracked on their player mat) and the roll of the three dice. If the end result matches or exceeds the Prey’s defense value the Prey is eliminated. The player collects the Prey card for a trophy and for its Notoriety value (victory points) at game end.
Resource cards come in different flavors: Weapons, Scenarios, Modifiers, and Ego. Weapon cards are just that: weapons. They may be used once for an attempted kill and then are discarded. Scenarios may mess with opponent tactics, allow players to move Prey cards to different cities, or other various activities. Modifiers may also adjust the current Advantage enjoyed by the player or be played on a Prey card to lower its defense value. Ego cards (and also some Weapon cards) will have an M.O. icon on them and may be placed directly on the player mat. These M.O. cards offer a once-per-turn advantage for the player and are very powerful.
The game continues in this fashion of taking turns moving around the map, hunting prey and killing them, and using Resources to adjust the difficulty of the murder. Once a player has increased their Dexterity token to the end of the track the game ends and the players count up Notoriety values (VP) of all slain Prey cards to arrive at the greatest serial killer the Quad Cities has ever seen (which, being from the QC would be saying something – I don’t remember ANY serial killers here).
Components. Okay, this was a super cool game to open up in the mail. Inside the mailer box was this strange Evidence bag. I have never seen an Evidence bag in my life so I wasn’t quite sure what was inside. But when I opened it and saw it was the components for the game I immediately smiled at how cool that was to include. It certainly made an impression. Now, please remember that this is a prototype copy of the game, and the finished version will have slightly different and improved components. That said, what we were provided is very close to final quality (and better than some games I have in my collection!). The cards are all fine, the dice are dice, and the tokens are well-designed and interesting. The best component, for me, is the excellent map of the QCA. It folds/unfolds like an old map would (prior to GPS) and has my hometown right on it! Luckily I live in a suburb(?) of the Metropolitan QCA so my house is nowhere to be found on the map, but it is very strange and exciting to play a game on a map of your home.
The game as a whole is pretty good. Though the estimated time to finish the game is quoted at 90-180 minutes (and maybe with the full compliment of players), my plays with my wife were well under an hour each time. We both enjoyed the game quite a bit once we got over the whole premise of it. The theme is obviously dark and macabre, but in the end it is still just a game.
I felt very engaged for every second of the game as I watched my wife nail roll after roll during her Attack actions while I fail to manage even a roll of 2+. Yes, I am unable to roll 2+ on THREE DICE. My issues aside, the dice really do add a layer of chance (obv) that all the accounting and cardplay just will not cover. I like that. I like chance in my games, even when it goes against me. I also enjoyed having five actions from which to choose three on my turn, but I could also use the same action all three times if I wished. More options is usually good, and having more than one obvious route or strategy is a huge bonus for me.
All in all I really did enjoy this game quite a bit. Again, the theme may be off-putting for some, and I will not play this game with my children until they are probably older than the suggested 13+ but I can definitely see myself breaking this out with a group of adults who are itching for something completely different from what they are accustomed to playing. If you are like me and need something just absolutely jarring in your collection, I urge you to take a look at Quad City Killers, on Kickstarter now until March 5, 2021. Just stay out of Milan (pronounced MY-lin) and we will be fine.
Quad City Killers (or QCK) is a competitive game of moving around a map and eliminating points of interest by using resources from hand. Or, in actual gamespeak, stalking the streets of the QC murdering prey by using weapons, modifiers, and scenario cards to adjust the winds of chance for success.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign ending March 5, 2021, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup place the large map (an actual map that you would find in your grandparents’ Oldsmobile) on the table. Shuffle the Prey deck and the Resources deck separately and place them in their spots on the map. Place the Heat tokens on the lowest space in each city. Keep the three dice nearby for all players’ use. Each player will choose a serial killer profile mat, a color of skull mover token, and Dexterity token to track progress. Each player will also draw five Resource cards from the deck and one Prey card to place on the board in a city along with their skull mover token. The game may now begin!
The first thing each player will do on their turn is perform a Hunt action by drawing and placing on the map the top card of the Prey deck. Most Prey are color-coded to be placed in a matching city, but some are not and may be placed in any city on the map. Next, the player may perform any three actions from the following: Hunt, Travel, Attack, Scenario, Discard.
Hunt works the same as the action performed at the beginning of each turn: draw a Prey card and place it on the board. In order to Travel to a new city the player will roll the dice. For a value of 1+ the player may travel to any city within their current state. For a value of 2+ the player may cross the Old Man to the other side (preferably using the half-finished under-construction new I-74 bridge). A player may play a Scenario card from their hand, and if it shows the Action icon they will spend one of their three actions to play and resolve it. A player may also choose to Discard two cards from their hand and replace them with cards drawn from the Resource deck for an action.
The game would not be named Quad City Killers if killing was not involved somehow. As the final option of action to be taken on a turn a player may choose to Attack a Prey card in the same city in which the player’s token resides. To Attack, the player will consult the Prey card’s printed defense value for their target number. The player will then combine any Resource cards they may have in hand with their current Dexterity score (tracked on their player mat) and the roll of the three dice. If the end result matches or exceeds the Prey’s defense value the Prey is eliminated. The player collects the Prey card for a trophy and for its Notoriety value (victory points) at game end.
Resource cards come in different flavors: Weapons, Scenarios, Modifiers, and Ego. Weapon cards are just that: weapons. They may be used once for an attempted kill and then are discarded. Scenarios may mess with opponent tactics, allow players to move Prey cards to different cities, or other various activities. Modifiers may also adjust the current Advantage enjoyed by the player or be played on a Prey card to lower its defense value. Ego cards (and also some Weapon cards) will have an M.O. icon on them and may be placed directly on the player mat. These M.O. cards offer a once-per-turn advantage for the player and are very powerful.
The game continues in this fashion of taking turns moving around the map, hunting prey and killing them, and using Resources to adjust the difficulty of the murder. Once a player has increased their Dexterity token to the end of the track the game ends and the players count up Notoriety values (VP) of all slain Prey cards to arrive at the greatest serial killer the Quad Cities has ever seen (which, being from the QC would be saying something – I don’t remember ANY serial killers here).
Components. Okay, this was a super cool game to open up in the mail. Inside the mailer box was this strange Evidence bag. I have never seen an Evidence bag in my life so I wasn’t quite sure what was inside. But when I opened it and saw it was the components for the game I immediately smiled at how cool that was to include. It certainly made an impression. Now, please remember that this is a prototype copy of the game, and the finished version will have slightly different and improved components. That said, what we were provided is very close to final quality (and better than some games I have in my collection!). The cards are all fine, the dice are dice, and the tokens are well-designed and interesting. The best component, for me, is the excellent map of the QCA. It folds/unfolds like an old map would (prior to GPS) and has my hometown right on it! Luckily I live in a suburb(?) of the Metropolitan QCA so my house is nowhere to be found on the map, but it is very strange and exciting to play a game on a map of your home.
The game as a whole is pretty good. Though the estimated time to finish the game is quoted at 90-180 minutes (and maybe with the full compliment of players), my plays with my wife were well under an hour each time. We both enjoyed the game quite a bit once we got over the whole premise of it. The theme is obviously dark and macabre, but in the end it is still just a game.
I felt very engaged for every second of the game as I watched my wife nail roll after roll during her Attack actions while I fail to manage even a roll of 2+. Yes, I am unable to roll 2+ on THREE DICE. My issues aside, the dice really do add a layer of chance (obv) that all the accounting and cardplay just will not cover. I like that. I like chance in my games, even when it goes against me. I also enjoyed having five actions from which to choose three on my turn, but I could also use the same action all three times if I wished. More options is usually good, and having more than one obvious route or strategy is a huge bonus for me.
All in all I really did enjoy this game quite a bit. Again, the theme may be off-putting for some, and I will not play this game with my children until they are probably older than the suggested 13+ but I can definitely see myself breaking this out with a group of adults who are itching for something completely different from what they are accustomed to playing. If you are like me and need something just absolutely jarring in your collection, I urge you to take a look at Quad City Killers, on Kickstarter now until March 5, 2021. Just stay out of Milan (pronounced MY-lin) and we will be fine.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Avengers: Endgame (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
Contains spoilers, click to show
I'm not really sure where to start with this so settle in for a ride. I've tried to avoid major spoilers but some of the things I've written might give away or hint at events in Endgame so please don't read this until you've seen it at the cinema.
We were left forlorn in the wilds of Wakanda after Thanos' snap in Infinity War. 50% of every living creatures on the planet, on every planet, wiped out of existence. Thanos has set off in his retirement while our heroes are reassembling. What's left of the team is trying to get back to a normal life, saving the world, saving each other. Some are moving on, some are stuck on the past, all are lost.
I wrote more notes for this than I've written for any other movie. It was so much of a problem that I condensed the original and then recondensed them into collected topics. I'm vaguely going to go in chronological order, let's do it!
We open with Hawkeye. The scene was simple and effective to help line up the change in him, but it wasn't the tone I expected for the beginning of the film. You have to start it somehow, and I don't know how I thought they would but tonally it didn't say "Marvel" to me. In the trailers we see his darker side coming through, after seeing the film I can't help but wonder if they needed to do this to him. It felt a little like they were just doing it to use for one scene. Clint is a stand-up guy, he would have been there for them regardless in this situation.
As we recap on what's happening in the wake of the snap we find Nebula and Tony attempting to return from Titan on the Guardian's ship. For me, Nebula was the best bit of the whole film. The scenes with Tony are wonderful and touching, she's able to make a connection that she's never really had before and her transformation through the film is a delight.
Something at this point that I feel I should bring up is the partnership that we witness. Tony and Nebula, Nebula and War Machine, Rocket and Thor. We're given lots of different Marvel Mash-ups with great results. Nebula, in particular, shone through in these. Watch out for her with Rhodey.
Steve, Cap, is very much in control throughout this movie, in leadership as well as of his emotions. He still has his positive outlook on life but even when it wanes he's determined. Visually they've left you no room to wonder on whether he is the first Avenger, he leads into a room and he gets a lot of shots that frame him perfectly. But he has changed... on more than one occasion I found myself going "Language, Steve!" I was unsure about his support group in the trailer and after the full scene it felt like it was just there to set up occurrences towards the end of the film. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was actually a Captain America film, it felt much more like one than Civil War did.
Before coming to Endgame one of the things I had been thinking about was how Scott was going to return from the quantum realm. What happens kind of feels like they had no idea how they were going to do it, and it was frustrating and leaves you with questions about what happened in the five years since the snap. There's also a potential horror movie spin-off teased in Scott's walk through San Francisco, he encounters a kid on a bike... classic horror movie moment in that scene.
Nat gets to flex her leadership muscles in the post-snap world trying to keep a new band of Avengers together. Still based in the Avengers complex she's coordinating with members around the world and out in space. We finally see some genuine raw emotion from her as they search for Hawkeye as he's off on his... well what is it? Redirected revenge? She's always had a trusted position with Fury and it seems like his dusting has pushed her to step up.
Carol is back after her recent debut... I still don't think we can call her Captain Marvel when no one else does. I still don't like her, I can't help it. She's cocky and she doesn't seem to have any desire to actually work with the team. If there's anything that I got from this film it's that Black Widow should have had her own film already rather than introducing Carol at the last minute. She's not really a massive feature of the film and her inclusion feels almost like they needed to a solution to a problem and she was the quickest way to fix it.
Now we get to the point where I had some major upset. In my opinion, Marvel have done wrong by Bruce/Hulk and Thor. I saw a spoiler on Twitter for Bruce that I hoped was fan-inspired, but when we get to him in the film I sat in annoyed silence as those around me murmured with excitement. As far as Thor goes, I can see why they made the choices they did with him but it felt like they just turned him into a joke, and that didn't sit right with me at all. Just one small step back from what they did and they would have nailed it, but it felt like they just went for the cheap laugh at his expense.
So it's time to talk about time travel, I think we all knew that we could expect to see it in some way or another in Endgame. Tony and Bruce obvious have a big hand in this one, and it was nice to see them acknowledging the "normal" person discussion of time travel with film references. Outside of that though they threw a lot of complicated script at it, it felt like a very random step away from how they usually deal with technical things in the universe.
From the one hour point of the movie(ish) everything starts to pick up, up until then I wasn't loving the film, and that was upsetting to me. What follows from the quantum suit walk is a lot of fun. There are a lot of nostalgic moments that brought humour and a fun layer to the older films and we get what is probably the most satisfying moment of the entire MCU.
Visually this is one of the better films in the sequence. Shots weren't overly cluttered and so busy that you couldn't see what was happening, and there were a lot more poignant visuals. There are however a few that make me think they had to be reshot because you get very specific angles that give you the back of someone's head and the audio sounds slightly off to the rest of the scene.
Two things left to specifically mention...
The women of Marvel. For so many films we had very few female heroes, certainly none that got their fair share of coverage until The Wasp, Captain Marvel and an excellent female ensemble in Black Panther. I'm all for more female characters but I think Endgame went too far. There is one scene near the end that felt more like they were worried they hadn't had enough women on screen and they really packed them in, it felt awkward rather than awesome.
Stan Lee's cameo. It wasn't the usual fun we're used to. Fleeting and forgettable. Stan deserved better, this just didn't feel right. I even briefly wondered if it was actually him.
For me, Endgame wasn't the finale that we deserved. It wasn't better than Infinity War but I don't think that it could have been because of how much it had to bring to the table. I went and saw it twice because I like to see the 3D and 2D when they come out, it was actually one of the better 3D films I've seen on a regular screen.
I probably would have given this 3 stars, while I had fun watching it I came out both times feeling kind of "meh" about it. Nebula, America's ass and the epic moment in the finale, as well as a few other amusing moments, bumped it up slightly. I sadly found that first hour rather challenging and couldn't get on board with some of the character choices that were made.
What you should do
Let's face it, you're going to watch it if you've invested time in watching all the Marvel movies and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I'm aware I'm in a minority with my feelings about this, but not everyone can feel the same way about everything. What a world it would be if we could.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'd still like an infinity stone... but I don't know which one.
We were left forlorn in the wilds of Wakanda after Thanos' snap in Infinity War. 50% of every living creatures on the planet, on every planet, wiped out of existence. Thanos has set off in his retirement while our heroes are reassembling. What's left of the team is trying to get back to a normal life, saving the world, saving each other. Some are moving on, some are stuck on the past, all are lost.
I wrote more notes for this than I've written for any other movie. It was so much of a problem that I condensed the original and then recondensed them into collected topics. I'm vaguely going to go in chronological order, let's do it!
We open with Hawkeye. The scene was simple and effective to help line up the change in him, but it wasn't the tone I expected for the beginning of the film. You have to start it somehow, and I don't know how I thought they would but tonally it didn't say "Marvel" to me. In the trailers we see his darker side coming through, after seeing the film I can't help but wonder if they needed to do this to him. It felt a little like they were just doing it to use for one scene. Clint is a stand-up guy, he would have been there for them regardless in this situation.
As we recap on what's happening in the wake of the snap we find Nebula and Tony attempting to return from Titan on the Guardian's ship. For me, Nebula was the best bit of the whole film. The scenes with Tony are wonderful and touching, she's able to make a connection that she's never really had before and her transformation through the film is a delight.
Something at this point that I feel I should bring up is the partnership that we witness. Tony and Nebula, Nebula and War Machine, Rocket and Thor. We're given lots of different Marvel Mash-ups with great results. Nebula, in particular, shone through in these. Watch out for her with Rhodey.
Steve, Cap, is very much in control throughout this movie, in leadership as well as of his emotions. He still has his positive outlook on life but even when it wanes he's determined. Visually they've left you no room to wonder on whether he is the first Avenger, he leads into a room and he gets a lot of shots that frame him perfectly. But he has changed... on more than one occasion I found myself going "Language, Steve!" I was unsure about his support group in the trailer and after the full scene it felt like it was just there to set up occurrences towards the end of the film. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was actually a Captain America film, it felt much more like one than Civil War did.
Before coming to Endgame one of the things I had been thinking about was how Scott was going to return from the quantum realm. What happens kind of feels like they had no idea how they were going to do it, and it was frustrating and leaves you with questions about what happened in the five years since the snap. There's also a potential horror movie spin-off teased in Scott's walk through San Francisco, he encounters a kid on a bike... classic horror movie moment in that scene.
Nat gets to flex her leadership muscles in the post-snap world trying to keep a new band of Avengers together. Still based in the Avengers complex she's coordinating with members around the world and out in space. We finally see some genuine raw emotion from her as they search for Hawkeye as he's off on his... well what is it? Redirected revenge? She's always had a trusted position with Fury and it seems like his dusting has pushed her to step up.
Carol is back after her recent debut... I still don't think we can call her Captain Marvel when no one else does. I still don't like her, I can't help it. She's cocky and she doesn't seem to have any desire to actually work with the team. If there's anything that I got from this film it's that Black Widow should have had her own film already rather than introducing Carol at the last minute. She's not really a massive feature of the film and her inclusion feels almost like they needed to a solution to a problem and she was the quickest way to fix it.
Now we get to the point where I had some major upset. In my opinion, Marvel have done wrong by Bruce/Hulk and Thor. I saw a spoiler on Twitter for Bruce that I hoped was fan-inspired, but when we get to him in the film I sat in annoyed silence as those around me murmured with excitement. As far as Thor goes, I can see why they made the choices they did with him but it felt like they just turned him into a joke, and that didn't sit right with me at all. Just one small step back from what they did and they would have nailed it, but it felt like they just went for the cheap laugh at his expense.
So it's time to talk about time travel, I think we all knew that we could expect to see it in some way or another in Endgame. Tony and Bruce obvious have a big hand in this one, and it was nice to see them acknowledging the "normal" person discussion of time travel with film references. Outside of that though they threw a lot of complicated script at it, it felt like a very random step away from how they usually deal with technical things in the universe.
From the one hour point of the movie(ish) everything starts to pick up, up until then I wasn't loving the film, and that was upsetting to me. What follows from the quantum suit walk is a lot of fun. There are a lot of nostalgic moments that brought humour and a fun layer to the older films and we get what is probably the most satisfying moment of the entire MCU.
Visually this is one of the better films in the sequence. Shots weren't overly cluttered and so busy that you couldn't see what was happening, and there were a lot more poignant visuals. There are however a few that make me think they had to be reshot because you get very specific angles that give you the back of someone's head and the audio sounds slightly off to the rest of the scene.
Two things left to specifically mention...
The women of Marvel. For so many films we had very few female heroes, certainly none that got their fair share of coverage until The Wasp, Captain Marvel and an excellent female ensemble in Black Panther. I'm all for more female characters but I think Endgame went too far. There is one scene near the end that felt more like they were worried they hadn't had enough women on screen and they really packed them in, it felt awkward rather than awesome.
Stan Lee's cameo. It wasn't the usual fun we're used to. Fleeting and forgettable. Stan deserved better, this just didn't feel right. I even briefly wondered if it was actually him.
For me, Endgame wasn't the finale that we deserved. It wasn't better than Infinity War but I don't think that it could have been because of how much it had to bring to the table. I went and saw it twice because I like to see the 3D and 2D when they come out, it was actually one of the better 3D films I've seen on a regular screen.
I probably would have given this 3 stars, while I had fun watching it I came out both times feeling kind of "meh" about it. Nebula, America's ass and the epic moment in the finale, as well as a few other amusing moments, bumped it up slightly. I sadly found that first hour rather challenging and couldn't get on board with some of the character choices that were made.
What you should do
Let's face it, you're going to watch it if you've invested time in watching all the Marvel movies and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I'm aware I'm in a minority with my feelings about this, but not everyone can feel the same way about everything. What a world it would be if we could.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'd still like an infinity stone... but I don't know which one.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated The Artemis Project in Tabletop Games
Apr 6, 2021
I don’t know about you, but I spend more time than I should probably admit perusing Kickstarter and checking out new projects. Although, that is how I came across The Artemis Project. A game about exploration and colonization of one of Jupiter’s moons? Yes please! The campaign looked promising, the gameplay looked engaging, and the hype was real. Once I finally got the game, did it live up to my expectations? Keep reading to find out!
The Artemis Project is a game of dice/worker placement in which players are trying to build and sustain a prosperous colony on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Played over 6 rounds, players will take turns rolling and placing dice across the regions of the board to collect resources, construct buildings, recruit and train colonists, and partake in expeditions to explore this vast ice-land. To begin, follow the setup instructions in the rulebook for the appropriate player count. Each player receives a player board, dice, and markers in their chosen color. Populate the board for the first round, select a starting player, and the game is ready to begin!
Disclaimer: I do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook in this review, as there are just too many details. For a more in-depth look at The Artemis Project, pick up a copy from your FLGS or directly from the publisher! -L
To start each round, all players will simultaneously roll all 5 of their dice. Once players are happy with their results, the round is ready to properly begin. Each round is broken into three phases: Placement, Resolution, and Upkeep. To begin the Placement phase, starting with the first player, players will take turns assigning one die at a time to the 7 regions of the board. These regions are: Basecamp, Vents, Quarry, Gantry, Doorstep, Academy, and Outfitters. (I will explain each region in more detail in the next section!) The value of the dice placed in any region is important, because it will dictate what you are allowed to do, or when you are allowed to resolve the action for that region – so choose your placements wisely.
Once every player has placed all 5 of their dice, the Resolution phase begins. During the Resolution phase, each of the regions of the board will be resolved in order, allowing players to perform their region-specific actions. Resolution starts with Basecamp. Placing dice at Basecamp allows players to partake in Expeditions in an effort to earn Expedition Badges (which translate to end-game VP), as well as extra rewards. Each Expedition has a difficulty level which must be equaled or surpassed by the total of all dice placed on that card. If the difficulty is surpassed, the Expedition is a success and rewards are doled out accordingly, but if the Expedition fails, no rewards are earned by anyone.
The next 2 regions, Vents and Quarry, allow players to collect Energy and Minerals, respectively, and are resolved in the same way. Players will collect a number of resources equal to their played die value. Pretty straight-forward! Moving on to the Gantry region, the value of dice placed on any building tiles are considered bids for buying/constructing that building. You can bid against opponents for building tiles, but each bid must increase the previous amount. When resolving the Gantry, the highest value die on a tile is the winner, and that player must pay their die-amount in Minerals to collect that tile. Buildings are added to your colony, and allow you to perform special actions once they are fully-staffed (all colonist slots on the tile are filled).
Next is the Doorstep – depending on the value of dice you placed there, you will be able to recruit 1-3 new colonists. Recruiting a colonist costs you 2 Energy per new addition, and any new colonists you recruit can be placed immediately into any of your buildings (if space is available), or into your Shelter where they will wait to be used. The Academy region allows you to exchange a colonist of your choice for one of a different type/occupation, again, depending on the value of the die used. And finally, the Outfitters region does not resolved during this phase, because it’s action is performed immediately upon dice placement. Any dice placed to the Outfitters gives Tool Kits (used to manipulate die values at the start of each round) to the player, based upon the die value.
The remaining element of the Resolution phase is the Even card. At the start of each round, an Event card is drawn, and will pertain to a certain region of the board. During the Resolution phase, when that region is reached, the Event card will be resolved – either penalizing players or benefitting them in some way. I have purposefully left out a few elements of the Resolution phase for you to discover on your own!
Once all regions have been resolved, the round moves to the Upkeep phase. During this phase, all players can choose to move 1 colonist to a building tile, or swap any 2 colonists between buildings. This is not required, but can only be performed once during this phase. Next, if any players have fully-staffed buildings (all colonist slots are filled), they may activate the listed ability. And finally, for any colonists left in your shelter and not in a building, you must pay 1 Energy for each to keep them warm! The game board is now refreshed for the next round, a new starting player is selected, and the new round is ready to begin. After the 6th and final round, VPs are tallied – earned through number of building tiles, Expedition Badges, sets of resources, and sets of colonists – and the player with the most VP is the winner!
I know that seems like a lot, but I promise that once you start the first round, everything is pretty intuitive and the game flows well. The turn sequence and phases are logical and easy to understand. The game board itself has lots of helpful icons that work as reminders throughout gameplay, and the rulebook has a nice and concise round overview on the last page as well, which is easy to refer back to at a moment’s notice. I’ll go ahead and touch on components here, since I kind of already started to do so. The components in this game are great! The game board and cards are all sturdy and have colorful and immersive artwork. The dual-layered player boards are high quality, the colonist meeples are cute and effective, the building tiles and cardboard chits are strong and can definitely hold up to many plays, and the dice are easy to roll and read. Definitely an A+ on components from me.
I have to admit that The Artemis Project surprised me. At its core, it is a worker placement game, and that in and of itself lends itself to a certain gameplay. You’re trying to complete your own agenda, being the first to snag those important placements that you need to accomplish those goals, while also blocking opponents from doing the same. The thing that makes The Artemis Project unique is that the ‘workers’ in this game are dice. And their value is what dictates the resolution of each region. Just because you place a die in a region first, does not necessarily mean that you will get to resolve first – depending on how your opponents play, they could block you entirely! The use of dice adds an extra layer of strategy to the gameplay that really elevates it beyond a simple worker placement mechanic. Another great thing about this game is that there is no one way to win – there are several strategies that you could play by in an effort to earn VPs. Maybe you are trying to complete as many Expeditions as possible, or want to construct as many buildings as possible. Either strategy can work, and all strategies can easily be adapted and altered during gameplay.
I am so happy that I came across this game on Kickstarter. The game is strategic, engaging, and just fun to play. I’m not necessarily a huge fan of worker placement games, but the approach to the mechanic taken by The Artemis Project really puts a unique twist on it that adds to the gameplay. This is one KickStarter that was definitely worth the investment. Check it out if you haven’t heard of it, or if you’re looking to elevate your worker placement games. Purple Phoenix Games gives it an enterprising 10 / 12.
The Artemis Project is a game of dice/worker placement in which players are trying to build and sustain a prosperous colony on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Played over 6 rounds, players will take turns rolling and placing dice across the regions of the board to collect resources, construct buildings, recruit and train colonists, and partake in expeditions to explore this vast ice-land. To begin, follow the setup instructions in the rulebook for the appropriate player count. Each player receives a player board, dice, and markers in their chosen color. Populate the board for the first round, select a starting player, and the game is ready to begin!
Disclaimer: I do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook in this review, as there are just too many details. For a more in-depth look at The Artemis Project, pick up a copy from your FLGS or directly from the publisher! -L
To start each round, all players will simultaneously roll all 5 of their dice. Once players are happy with their results, the round is ready to properly begin. Each round is broken into three phases: Placement, Resolution, and Upkeep. To begin the Placement phase, starting with the first player, players will take turns assigning one die at a time to the 7 regions of the board. These regions are: Basecamp, Vents, Quarry, Gantry, Doorstep, Academy, and Outfitters. (I will explain each region in more detail in the next section!) The value of the dice placed in any region is important, because it will dictate what you are allowed to do, or when you are allowed to resolve the action for that region – so choose your placements wisely.
Once every player has placed all 5 of their dice, the Resolution phase begins. During the Resolution phase, each of the regions of the board will be resolved in order, allowing players to perform their region-specific actions. Resolution starts with Basecamp. Placing dice at Basecamp allows players to partake in Expeditions in an effort to earn Expedition Badges (which translate to end-game VP), as well as extra rewards. Each Expedition has a difficulty level which must be equaled or surpassed by the total of all dice placed on that card. If the difficulty is surpassed, the Expedition is a success and rewards are doled out accordingly, but if the Expedition fails, no rewards are earned by anyone.
The next 2 regions, Vents and Quarry, allow players to collect Energy and Minerals, respectively, and are resolved in the same way. Players will collect a number of resources equal to their played die value. Pretty straight-forward! Moving on to the Gantry region, the value of dice placed on any building tiles are considered bids for buying/constructing that building. You can bid against opponents for building tiles, but each bid must increase the previous amount. When resolving the Gantry, the highest value die on a tile is the winner, and that player must pay their die-amount in Minerals to collect that tile. Buildings are added to your colony, and allow you to perform special actions once they are fully-staffed (all colonist slots on the tile are filled).
Next is the Doorstep – depending on the value of dice you placed there, you will be able to recruit 1-3 new colonists. Recruiting a colonist costs you 2 Energy per new addition, and any new colonists you recruit can be placed immediately into any of your buildings (if space is available), or into your Shelter where they will wait to be used. The Academy region allows you to exchange a colonist of your choice for one of a different type/occupation, again, depending on the value of the die used. And finally, the Outfitters region does not resolved during this phase, because it’s action is performed immediately upon dice placement. Any dice placed to the Outfitters gives Tool Kits (used to manipulate die values at the start of each round) to the player, based upon the die value.
The remaining element of the Resolution phase is the Even card. At the start of each round, an Event card is drawn, and will pertain to a certain region of the board. During the Resolution phase, when that region is reached, the Event card will be resolved – either penalizing players or benefitting them in some way. I have purposefully left out a few elements of the Resolution phase for you to discover on your own!
Once all regions have been resolved, the round moves to the Upkeep phase. During this phase, all players can choose to move 1 colonist to a building tile, or swap any 2 colonists between buildings. This is not required, but can only be performed once during this phase. Next, if any players have fully-staffed buildings (all colonist slots are filled), they may activate the listed ability. And finally, for any colonists left in your shelter and not in a building, you must pay 1 Energy for each to keep them warm! The game board is now refreshed for the next round, a new starting player is selected, and the new round is ready to begin. After the 6th and final round, VPs are tallied – earned through number of building tiles, Expedition Badges, sets of resources, and sets of colonists – and the player with the most VP is the winner!
I know that seems like a lot, but I promise that once you start the first round, everything is pretty intuitive and the game flows well. The turn sequence and phases are logical and easy to understand. The game board itself has lots of helpful icons that work as reminders throughout gameplay, and the rulebook has a nice and concise round overview on the last page as well, which is easy to refer back to at a moment’s notice. I’ll go ahead and touch on components here, since I kind of already started to do so. The components in this game are great! The game board and cards are all sturdy and have colorful and immersive artwork. The dual-layered player boards are high quality, the colonist meeples are cute and effective, the building tiles and cardboard chits are strong and can definitely hold up to many plays, and the dice are easy to roll and read. Definitely an A+ on components from me.
I have to admit that The Artemis Project surprised me. At its core, it is a worker placement game, and that in and of itself lends itself to a certain gameplay. You’re trying to complete your own agenda, being the first to snag those important placements that you need to accomplish those goals, while also blocking opponents from doing the same. The thing that makes The Artemis Project unique is that the ‘workers’ in this game are dice. And their value is what dictates the resolution of each region. Just because you place a die in a region first, does not necessarily mean that you will get to resolve first – depending on how your opponents play, they could block you entirely! The use of dice adds an extra layer of strategy to the gameplay that really elevates it beyond a simple worker placement mechanic. Another great thing about this game is that there is no one way to win – there are several strategies that you could play by in an effort to earn VPs. Maybe you are trying to complete as many Expeditions as possible, or want to construct as many buildings as possible. Either strategy can work, and all strategies can easily be adapted and altered during gameplay.
I am so happy that I came across this game on Kickstarter. The game is strategic, engaging, and just fun to play. I’m not necessarily a huge fan of worker placement games, but the approach to the mechanic taken by The Artemis Project really puts a unique twist on it that adds to the gameplay. This is one KickStarter that was definitely worth the investment. Check it out if you haven’t heard of it, or if you’re looking to elevate your worker placement games. Purple Phoenix Games gives it an enterprising 10 / 12.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Kingdoms of the Deep in Tabletop Games
Dec 26, 2020
Underwater-themed games are fast becoming some of my favorite to play. I have always enjoyed visiting aquariums (the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is by far the best I’ve seen) and I have owned many of my own tanks. So I have a soft spot. Couple a great theme with a great publisher and what do we get? A great game? Yep!
Kingdoms of the Deep is an abstracted area-control game set in the ocean for one to six players. In it players lead a faction of creatures intent on ruling the underwater kingdom. The player who scores the most VP at the end of the game is the winner, and as their king the player must rule with a strong pectoral fin. Okay, that last part isn’t in the rules, but it should be.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this preview. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, but to give our readers an idea of how the game plays. You are invited to back the game on Kickstarter launching January 12, 2021, order from your FLGS, or purchase through any retailers stocking it after it is fulfilled. -T
To setup players will choose a color and take all components of that color. Obviously, the best choice is purple. Next the central board will be built of large hex tiles surrounding an Atlantis tile. Upon Atlantis one Shark token will be placed. The Score Board is placed near the central hex board and upon it is placed the Round Marker, the End Game Scoring tile, and the three Goal cards. Players then populate the board with their Influence Cubes on their specific preferred terrain types. Upgrade Cubes (discs in the final version) are then placed on each player’s individual play mats on the furthest value to the left, save for the Reset upgrades: players will choose one to place a cube. Give the starting player the Start Player token (a manta ray in this prototype) and the game may begin!
On a turn each player will choose a card from their hand of Action cards to be flipped simultaneously. The starting player will resolve their card first and play will continue around the table thenceforth. Each player will take their action and prepare for the next round. Should a player choose a card that no other player had chosen for the round they will also be able to activate the Solo Ability printed on the card. Typically these Solo Abilities are a furtherance of the action chosen. For example, should a player choose the Deploy Action card and be the only one to do so, they will be able to deploy one additional Influence Cube on the board than normal. The actions are Bolster, Deploy, Move, Upgrade, Shark, and Reset. Each action is limited to a number of cubes added, spaces moved, or upgrades allowed according to where the player board discs (large cubes in the prototype) lie on the player’s mat.
The Bolster action allows the player to add a number of Influence Cubes to the board on the player’s current preferred terrain type. To Deploy units is to add Influence Cubes to the board on hexes already containing their Influence or hexes directly adjacent to those already containing their Influence cubes. When a player chooses the Move action they are able to move creatures (Influence Cubes of any player and Shark tokens) a number of spaces that can be used for once creature or split between several. Players will certainly wish to Upgrade their actions throughout the game by increasing their player board discs’ spaces on their mat. For example, upgrading the Move action could allow the player to move creatures three spaces instead of two. The Shark action allows the player to move the Shark token(s) and chomp creatures on the same hex. Once a Shark feeds, the controlling player will increase their standing on their own Bait Pile track on their play mat. Certain increments on this track will provide the player with one instance of an action (Move, Deploy, etc), and the creature’s Influence Cube is returned to the matching player. Reset actions allow the player to recall their played Action cards to their hands, but also provide whichever action the player originally chose at setup. Should a player wish to Upgrade their Reset action more actions will become available to them each time they utilize the Reset action. Additionally, at the end of the player’s turn having used the Reset action card the Round Marker token is moved one space closer to the end of the game on its track. More on this later.
During play, some creatures may be moved onto the Atlantis tile in the middle of the board via the Deploy or Move actions. When this happens the player who moved the cube onto the Atlantis tile will score a point immediately, and the creature cube is placed in the Atlantis castle (cloth bag in the prototype, but a castle component in the final version). At the end of the game points are awarded to the player with the most creatures in Atlantis.
Every three movements of the Round Marker token signifies a scoring round takes place. Players will consult the current Goal card for any scoring round bonuses and points are earned. The Goal card is then discarded to reveal the next Goal card in sequence on which players can concentrate during the next rounds of play. Also during the first two of these scoring rounds another Shark token is added to the board on the Atlantis tile to be moved around seeking lunch. Once the Round Marker reaches the final scoring round the game ends and points are tallied to arrive at the winner.
Components. Again, this is a prototype version of the game, and while I know certain things will be different in the final version, I do not know what else may be upgraded as a result of any stretch goals reached. Therefore I do not want to comment on the quality of the components, but rather the art style and direction this game is heading toward actual production.
The art on this one is simply gorgeous. The style is the same as that of Animal Kingdoms, which is also a release from Galactic Raptor. All the art I have seen in this game is sublime and permeates the theme into every portion of the game. It is so beautifully colorful and the creatures are all unique and interesting that it may be difficult to concentrate on the actual game for some people, I imagine.
All that aside, I really do think this is a good game. It certainly gives me the Witch’s Brew/Broom Service vibe with benefits for the player who chooses something the others have not. Combine that feeling with that of the chaos of Survive!: Escape from Atlantis area control of constantly-shifting cube placement and I think Galactic Raptor has a hit here. Again, I am excited to see the final product with the more premium components and tweaked rules, but what I have here is still a good implementation of the mechanics with a hard-to-beat theme.
I do quite like the Shark ability to chomp not only everyone else’s creatures, but also your own to take those cubes back into your supply to be Bolstered or Deployed elsewhere. I also really like being able to Upgrade any action I wish to truly personalize my style and tactics during play. I like being able to Move other players’ creatures into Atlantis for that immediate point, but also to remove that cube from play altogether. It creates quite an interesting dynamic and strategy to facilitate other players’ majority status in Atlantis in order to gain quick points and board control right away. There are so many thing to like about this game, and I am so glad I was able to give it a chance on the table.
If you enjoy games similar to those I mentioned previously, then check out Kingdoms of the Deep. It is beautiful, offers quite a bit of strategy and tactics, and stands to become an excellent mid-weight simultaneous action, area control game WITH SHARKS. While I probably won’t be playing this one every game night, I can certainly see myself introducing it to many of my fellow gamers. I urge you to check out the Kickstarter campaign for Kingdoms of the Deep once it launches in January. Tell ’em Old Travis sent ya.
Kingdoms of the Deep is an abstracted area-control game set in the ocean for one to six players. In it players lead a faction of creatures intent on ruling the underwater kingdom. The player who scores the most VP at the end of the game is the winner, and as their king the player must rule with a strong pectoral fin. Okay, that last part isn’t in the rules, but it should be.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this preview. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, but to give our readers an idea of how the game plays. You are invited to back the game on Kickstarter launching January 12, 2021, order from your FLGS, or purchase through any retailers stocking it after it is fulfilled. -T
To setup players will choose a color and take all components of that color. Obviously, the best choice is purple. Next the central board will be built of large hex tiles surrounding an Atlantis tile. Upon Atlantis one Shark token will be placed. The Score Board is placed near the central hex board and upon it is placed the Round Marker, the End Game Scoring tile, and the three Goal cards. Players then populate the board with their Influence Cubes on their specific preferred terrain types. Upgrade Cubes (discs in the final version) are then placed on each player’s individual play mats on the furthest value to the left, save for the Reset upgrades: players will choose one to place a cube. Give the starting player the Start Player token (a manta ray in this prototype) and the game may begin!
On a turn each player will choose a card from their hand of Action cards to be flipped simultaneously. The starting player will resolve their card first and play will continue around the table thenceforth. Each player will take their action and prepare for the next round. Should a player choose a card that no other player had chosen for the round they will also be able to activate the Solo Ability printed on the card. Typically these Solo Abilities are a furtherance of the action chosen. For example, should a player choose the Deploy Action card and be the only one to do so, they will be able to deploy one additional Influence Cube on the board than normal. The actions are Bolster, Deploy, Move, Upgrade, Shark, and Reset. Each action is limited to a number of cubes added, spaces moved, or upgrades allowed according to where the player board discs (large cubes in the prototype) lie on the player’s mat.
The Bolster action allows the player to add a number of Influence Cubes to the board on the player’s current preferred terrain type. To Deploy units is to add Influence Cubes to the board on hexes already containing their Influence or hexes directly adjacent to those already containing their Influence cubes. When a player chooses the Move action they are able to move creatures (Influence Cubes of any player and Shark tokens) a number of spaces that can be used for once creature or split between several. Players will certainly wish to Upgrade their actions throughout the game by increasing their player board discs’ spaces on their mat. For example, upgrading the Move action could allow the player to move creatures three spaces instead of two. The Shark action allows the player to move the Shark token(s) and chomp creatures on the same hex. Once a Shark feeds, the controlling player will increase their standing on their own Bait Pile track on their play mat. Certain increments on this track will provide the player with one instance of an action (Move, Deploy, etc), and the creature’s Influence Cube is returned to the matching player. Reset actions allow the player to recall their played Action cards to their hands, but also provide whichever action the player originally chose at setup. Should a player wish to Upgrade their Reset action more actions will become available to them each time they utilize the Reset action. Additionally, at the end of the player’s turn having used the Reset action card the Round Marker token is moved one space closer to the end of the game on its track. More on this later.
During play, some creatures may be moved onto the Atlantis tile in the middle of the board via the Deploy or Move actions. When this happens the player who moved the cube onto the Atlantis tile will score a point immediately, and the creature cube is placed in the Atlantis castle (cloth bag in the prototype, but a castle component in the final version). At the end of the game points are awarded to the player with the most creatures in Atlantis.
Every three movements of the Round Marker token signifies a scoring round takes place. Players will consult the current Goal card for any scoring round bonuses and points are earned. The Goal card is then discarded to reveal the next Goal card in sequence on which players can concentrate during the next rounds of play. Also during the first two of these scoring rounds another Shark token is added to the board on the Atlantis tile to be moved around seeking lunch. Once the Round Marker reaches the final scoring round the game ends and points are tallied to arrive at the winner.
Components. Again, this is a prototype version of the game, and while I know certain things will be different in the final version, I do not know what else may be upgraded as a result of any stretch goals reached. Therefore I do not want to comment on the quality of the components, but rather the art style and direction this game is heading toward actual production.
The art on this one is simply gorgeous. The style is the same as that of Animal Kingdoms, which is also a release from Galactic Raptor. All the art I have seen in this game is sublime and permeates the theme into every portion of the game. It is so beautifully colorful and the creatures are all unique and interesting that it may be difficult to concentrate on the actual game for some people, I imagine.
All that aside, I really do think this is a good game. It certainly gives me the Witch’s Brew/Broom Service vibe with benefits for the player who chooses something the others have not. Combine that feeling with that of the chaos of Survive!: Escape from Atlantis area control of constantly-shifting cube placement and I think Galactic Raptor has a hit here. Again, I am excited to see the final product with the more premium components and tweaked rules, but what I have here is still a good implementation of the mechanics with a hard-to-beat theme.
I do quite like the Shark ability to chomp not only everyone else’s creatures, but also your own to take those cubes back into your supply to be Bolstered or Deployed elsewhere. I also really like being able to Upgrade any action I wish to truly personalize my style and tactics during play. I like being able to Move other players’ creatures into Atlantis for that immediate point, but also to remove that cube from play altogether. It creates quite an interesting dynamic and strategy to facilitate other players’ majority status in Atlantis in order to gain quick points and board control right away. There are so many thing to like about this game, and I am so glad I was able to give it a chance on the table.
If you enjoy games similar to those I mentioned previously, then check out Kingdoms of the Deep. It is beautiful, offers quite a bit of strategy and tactics, and stands to become an excellent mid-weight simultaneous action, area control game WITH SHARKS. While I probably won’t be playing this one every game night, I can certainly see myself introducing it to many of my fellow gamers. I urge you to check out the Kickstarter campaign for Kingdoms of the Deep once it launches in January. Tell ’em Old Travis sent ya.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Small Islands in Tabletop Games
Oct 13, 2021
I have often wished to have been born in a different era of time. For me, I would have loved to have seen the birth of jazz in the US early 20th century. Or to witness the Renaissance first-hand. Another wish of mine was always to somehow discover something amazing. Like an island, or an unknown mountain range, or a new species of animal. That is so exciting to me, and I would have really loved to have just been around during these times. So along comes Small Islands, and my dreams have been woven into a board game about discovering new islands. That means the game is good, right?
Small Islands is a tile placement exploration game for one to four players. In it, players are explorers tasked with discovering resource-rich new islands upon which their clans may either exploit or inhabit. However, it’s each clan for themselves, and the players all need those precious resources. In the solo game, the player’s AI opponent is Alexis Allard, designer of the game. He has goal cards to be used and finishing point totals that the solo player will be attempting to beat during the course of the game.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, the player claims their player color and assigns Alexis with his color. They take all the components for each player and places them on the table. The starting tiles (that feature flying seagulls) are placed on the table in any orientation that is legal for play: islands need to connect, and seas need to flow from one tile to the next, as seen below. The Landscape tiles are to be shuffled and placed within reach. The four ship tiles are displayed, with all ships on their gray side, save for the solo player’s chosen color. The Navigation tile is placed below the ship tiles, and the beginning three Landscape tiles are placed in a row beside it. The small stack of Objective cards are shuffled and placed nearby, with the player drawing one to begin. They also draw two Landscape to start. For solo play, one Alexis difficulty card is chosen, and his deck of Explore and Land cards is built accordingly. The Prestige (VP) tokens are (apparently when I play) just thrown on the table and gathered in a loose pile. The game may now begin!
Small Islands is played over four rounds, with several turns being played per round. The solo player begins each round with their turn. A turn is divided into three phases: Preparation, Exploration, Reward. The Preparation phase has the player populating the Navigation Tile with six Landscape tiles face-down as a draw stack. The player then draws two Objective cards to add to their one they are currently holding. From these three cards the player will choose one to become their current objective for the round, one to be saved for a future round, and one to be discarded back to the stack. These Objective cards provide a strategy to guide the player through the current round, and also setup future rounds for scoring purposes. Upon them are icons that will award the player with points for scoring islands containing specific combinations of resources.
During the Exploration phase in the solo game, the player takes their turn first, and then Alexis will take his. A typical Exploration phase has a player deciding if they will Explore a tile or Land a ship. To Explore a tile, the player chooses one of the face-up Landscape tiles from the market/offer row and, along with their two held tiles, choose one to add to the play area. These tiles may be rotated in any fashion, as long as they can be legally placed: island edges are to be extended, sea spaces connected, et al. It is also at this time the player may place one of their Bonus Tokens upon any tile on the play area. These Bonus Tokens are resource icons that cover up existing icons on a tile, or directly over another Bonus Token. A player would do this in order to affect the balance of icons on a given island for scoring purposes.
Should the Navigation tile be empty of Landscape tiles and the player wish, they may instead Land a ship, thus ending the Exploration phase. The player chooses any of the ship tiles, and places it legally on the play area (in a sea space, as shown below). Once the player ends the phase, the game progresses to the Reward phase.
After the player takes their turn during the Exploration phase, Alexis takes his turn. This is done by drawing an Expedition card from his stack and following its instructions. The Expedition card will show whether Alexis would like to Explore or Land, which Landscape tile he would like to draw, and where he would like to place it – in relation to where the last player tile was placed.
During the Reward phase, the player will place any of their clan houseeples they wish on any island upon which they have not placed a houseeple previously. Then, consulting their Objective card, score points for successfully satisfying the card’s requirements. For Alexis, the player will draw a new Expedition card from Alexis’s stack, note the icons present on the Mission area of the card, and place Alexis houseeples upon islands that satisfy its requirements.
The game continues in this fashion until the fourth round is complete. The player totals their Prestige points (VP) and if they score more than Alexis, they win! The player must then take a picture of their archipelago they built and send it to the designer directly and gloat to them about their massive victory. Or simply rest in the satisfaction of having played the game well. Whichever.
Components. This game has a lot of components, and they are mostly cardboard and houseeples. The cardstock and board are good quality, as I have come to expect from Lucky Duck Games, and the houseeples are all different shapes for each clan color. I find that a nice and unnecessary, but very cool, touch. The art in this one is simply amazing. I mean, look at these photos! Everything from the color scheme to the art style all mesh well and give a well-considered polish to a great theme.
Okay, I won’t even hide it – I LOOOOOOVE this game. I never really liked Carcassonne very much, but Small Islands gives a similar feel, but executes everything so much better. Even with the solo rules. There are so many options available at any one time, and having a random Alexis game each time you play is just so satisfying. I feel like I could keep this game forever and not play the same game twice. Ever. And I think that I would WANT to play this one forever. Yes, I think this is a solid fit for my collection indeed, and I can see it working for so many different gamer types.
Having Alexis constantly applying the pressure to maximize and strategize every turn is delicious, and having almost zero conflict with him as we both explore is welcome. You know when you start the game how many points Alexis will score at the end of the game, so having that knowledge really makes you consider all the options available. It just works on so many levels.
If you are looking for a light-hearted, but with some great decisions to be made, then I strongly urge you to check out Small Islands. I knew immediately that this was a game for me. It’s on the lighter side without being too simple, I get to build a thing and admire it at the end of the game, and I have an opponent who just wants to see me win because he designed the game! I’m in and out in less than an hour and feel content that I was able to have a great experience with a well-designed game. I cannot wait to introduce this to all my friends and family gamers so they can fall in love with it as well.
Small Islands is a tile placement exploration game for one to four players. In it, players are explorers tasked with discovering resource-rich new islands upon which their clans may either exploit or inhabit. However, it’s each clan for themselves, and the players all need those precious resources. In the solo game, the player’s AI opponent is Alexis Allard, designer of the game. He has goal cards to be used and finishing point totals that the solo player will be attempting to beat during the course of the game.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, the player claims their player color and assigns Alexis with his color. They take all the components for each player and places them on the table. The starting tiles (that feature flying seagulls) are placed on the table in any orientation that is legal for play: islands need to connect, and seas need to flow from one tile to the next, as seen below. The Landscape tiles are to be shuffled and placed within reach. The four ship tiles are displayed, with all ships on their gray side, save for the solo player’s chosen color. The Navigation tile is placed below the ship tiles, and the beginning three Landscape tiles are placed in a row beside it. The small stack of Objective cards are shuffled and placed nearby, with the player drawing one to begin. They also draw two Landscape to start. For solo play, one Alexis difficulty card is chosen, and his deck of Explore and Land cards is built accordingly. The Prestige (VP) tokens are (apparently when I play) just thrown on the table and gathered in a loose pile. The game may now begin!
Small Islands is played over four rounds, with several turns being played per round. The solo player begins each round with their turn. A turn is divided into three phases: Preparation, Exploration, Reward. The Preparation phase has the player populating the Navigation Tile with six Landscape tiles face-down as a draw stack. The player then draws two Objective cards to add to their one they are currently holding. From these three cards the player will choose one to become their current objective for the round, one to be saved for a future round, and one to be discarded back to the stack. These Objective cards provide a strategy to guide the player through the current round, and also setup future rounds for scoring purposes. Upon them are icons that will award the player with points for scoring islands containing specific combinations of resources.
During the Exploration phase in the solo game, the player takes their turn first, and then Alexis will take his. A typical Exploration phase has a player deciding if they will Explore a tile or Land a ship. To Explore a tile, the player chooses one of the face-up Landscape tiles from the market/offer row and, along with their two held tiles, choose one to add to the play area. These tiles may be rotated in any fashion, as long as they can be legally placed: island edges are to be extended, sea spaces connected, et al. It is also at this time the player may place one of their Bonus Tokens upon any tile on the play area. These Bonus Tokens are resource icons that cover up existing icons on a tile, or directly over another Bonus Token. A player would do this in order to affect the balance of icons on a given island for scoring purposes.
Should the Navigation tile be empty of Landscape tiles and the player wish, they may instead Land a ship, thus ending the Exploration phase. The player chooses any of the ship tiles, and places it legally on the play area (in a sea space, as shown below). Once the player ends the phase, the game progresses to the Reward phase.
After the player takes their turn during the Exploration phase, Alexis takes his turn. This is done by drawing an Expedition card from his stack and following its instructions. The Expedition card will show whether Alexis would like to Explore or Land, which Landscape tile he would like to draw, and where he would like to place it – in relation to where the last player tile was placed.
During the Reward phase, the player will place any of their clan houseeples they wish on any island upon which they have not placed a houseeple previously. Then, consulting their Objective card, score points for successfully satisfying the card’s requirements. For Alexis, the player will draw a new Expedition card from Alexis’s stack, note the icons present on the Mission area of the card, and place Alexis houseeples upon islands that satisfy its requirements.
The game continues in this fashion until the fourth round is complete. The player totals their Prestige points (VP) and if they score more than Alexis, they win! The player must then take a picture of their archipelago they built and send it to the designer directly and gloat to them about their massive victory. Or simply rest in the satisfaction of having played the game well. Whichever.
Components. This game has a lot of components, and they are mostly cardboard and houseeples. The cardstock and board are good quality, as I have come to expect from Lucky Duck Games, and the houseeples are all different shapes for each clan color. I find that a nice and unnecessary, but very cool, touch. The art in this one is simply amazing. I mean, look at these photos! Everything from the color scheme to the art style all mesh well and give a well-considered polish to a great theme.
Okay, I won’t even hide it – I LOOOOOOVE this game. I never really liked Carcassonne very much, but Small Islands gives a similar feel, but executes everything so much better. Even with the solo rules. There are so many options available at any one time, and having a random Alexis game each time you play is just so satisfying. I feel like I could keep this game forever and not play the same game twice. Ever. And I think that I would WANT to play this one forever. Yes, I think this is a solid fit for my collection indeed, and I can see it working for so many different gamer types.
Having Alexis constantly applying the pressure to maximize and strategize every turn is delicious, and having almost zero conflict with him as we both explore is welcome. You know when you start the game how many points Alexis will score at the end of the game, so having that knowledge really makes you consider all the options available. It just works on so many levels.
If you are looking for a light-hearted, but with some great decisions to be made, then I strongly urge you to check out Small Islands. I knew immediately that this was a game for me. It’s on the lighter side without being too simple, I get to build a thing and admire it at the end of the game, and I have an opponent who just wants to see me win because he designed the game! I’m in and out in less than an hour and feel content that I was able to have a great experience with a well-designed game. I cannot wait to introduce this to all my friends and family gamers so they can fall in love with it as well.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Abstract Academy in Tabletop Games
Feb 25, 2022
There’s just something about a well-thought out and appealing box cover to really get you into it, am I right? Look at that graphic. The negative space used for the A and Y in AcademY is just sublime! Wait, I recognize those names on the box. Didn’t they also design some other games I enjoy? (1 minute later after consulting BGG) IT’S THE TEAM BEHIND TRUFFLE SHUFFLE, POINT SALAD, AND DOLLARS TO DONUTS?? I love those games! Oh, this is going to be good! AND it’s from Crafty Games? Boom. Gotta be a hit, I just know it. But where is all the food?
Abstract Academy is a card laying, hand management, pattern building game for two to four players. In it, players become art school students trying to impress their teachers. The only problem is that they must share a canvas, as the costs of school allow them very few luxuries. The player who can most effectively build masterpieces and satisfy all tested requirements over three rounds will ace the class and claim victory over the other starving artists.
DISCLAIMER 1: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
DISCLAIMER 2: My current temporary housing did not want me to have great lighting for photos in this review. Please try to ignore the yellow tint; I do not enjoy over-editing game photos.
To setup, shuffle each deck type and place the decks on the table. The rulebook does not specify where, so just throw them wherever. This is a game about art, so be creative. Each player draws a hand of three Canvas cards (with the whitish back and colors on the faces). The starting Teacher’s Pet player will then reveal cards according to the round from the respective decks, per the rules and provided reference cards. Each round will reveal different sets of Assignment and Professor cards. Players also draw one Inspiration card and the game is ready to begin! Paintbrushes at the ready!
Turns could not be simpler: Play a Canvas card, and then Draw a Canvas card. Both of these actions are self-explanatory, but let me expound on this a bit. Once the first Canvas card has been played by the current Teacher’s Pet, each subsequent card must be played orthogonally adjacent to another card on the table. To define the size of the entire project’s canvas, players will be confined to a 4 x 4 grid of cards. Once a column (the cards that would lead a path to the opponent) has been completed with four cards, the rows gain special rules. Firstly, the row closest to each player becomes the “Home Row.” Players may only play cards into their own Home Row, unless the only legal place to play a card is in the opponent’s Home Row. Secondly, the Home Row and the row above it is now consider the Scoring Zone, and will dictate which cards are able to be used to satisfy Inspiration, Professor, and Assignment requirements for VP. Therefore, until the 4 x 4 grid has been solidified, players are unaware which cards may end up in their Home Rows or Scoring Zones!
Victory Points are earned by scoring the special requirements of Inspiration, Professor, and Assignment cards once the entire 4 x 4 grid of Canvas cards is complete. Oftentimes players will need to compare scores to determine which player earns the points. For example, the Moret Professor card states that five VP are earned when the player controls the “most color areas with four or more quadrants.” Each Canvas card is divided into four quadrants, and quadrants are colored with one of the primary colors. A “color area” is simply a connected network of the same color within the player’s Scoring Zone. So, to satisfy Professor Moret, the player who controls the most amount of color areas that are four quadrants or larger.
Assignment cards come in Red, Blue, and Yellow, and pertain to those colors. For example, the red “Get to the Point!” Assignment requires the “most red areas with only one quadrant.” So the assignment is asking players to dapple their canvas with unconnected red quadrants.
In stark contrast, the Inspiration card requirements resemble shapes of quadrants, as opposed to colors or numbers of quadrants. Most of the shapes on these cards are reminiscent of Tetris-style shapes, where players will score their Inspiration cards by building the correct shape of connected quadrants of the same color within their Scoring Zone.
Once these cards are all scored for the round, the Teacher’s Pet sets up for the next round per the rulebook/reference cards. The subsequent rounds will require alternate decks to reveal cards, or choice of decks. When the third and final round has been scored, the points are tallied and the victor is crowned! With a construction paper and macaroni crown, most likely. They ARE starving artists, after all.
Components. This game is a double-card-deck box with 90+ cards and a rulebook. The cards are great quality, but the true hero here is, and appropriately so, the artwork. Every card is very stylish, the Professors are all nods to real artists (well, except maybe not the promo), and it has just a really great look overall. While being played, it just has an amazing table presence. I like that a lot.
I struggled with assigning a score to this one for a few reasons. First, I like so much about this game, and I dislike a few things. I very much enjoy having so many ways to score points each round, as it keeps my mind busy with trying to put the puzzle together. The monkey wrench, though, is that when you start a round, you play cards that may not even end up in your Scoring Zone. As your hand is always three cards, it is difficult to really plan too far in advance to create a perfect Scoring Zone. Is that a bad thing? Maybe, but I think it is also quite necessary to add a little chaos to this specific game. I will explain what I mean in a bit. Perhaps a few points docked for that.
Playing Canvas cards effectively is absolutely the crux of this game, because if a pattern or shape is being built to your benefit, your opponent can easily (and definitely accidentally) ruin your best laid plans with an ill-placed card to wonkify the grid. I think that is both delicious and very very frustrating. You know what? I will decide to give a few points back for this.
The ability for the Teacher’s Pet, a title that can be passed to the other player throughout the game, to choose which two of the three Assignment decks to reveal during Round 3 just adds to the replayability factor of Abstract Academy. True, there are only five cards in each Assignments deck, and there are mathematical or statistical formulae that can calculate the exact number of possible different unique games, the ever-changing grid of cards is what makes this nearly infinitely replayable. Okay, more points earned here.
I guess I judged too harshly, and my true rating is a little lower than perhaps this little game deserves. I absolutely know that I will be playing this a whole lot more – with gamers of all ages and weight preferences. It is easy to teach, keeps the brain engaged throughout, and forces players to step back and truly appreciate that which they have equally built together. I can completely foresee my score for Abstract Academy increasing with more and more plays, so please do not regard a 4 / 6 from Purple Phoenix Games as an absolute and inflexible score.
If you are a gamer who enjoys just a little chaos added to their careful planning, light and quick card games that pack more punch than expected, and some truly awesome table presence, then you most certainly need to grab a copy of Abstract Academy. I am soon to be culling my collection and curating it to only include games I thoroughly enjoy. I have a feeling Abstract Academy is going to make the cut. It checks off so many boxes for me and how I game, and I cannot wait to introduce my kiddos to it when they can grasp the concepts.
Abstract Academy is a card laying, hand management, pattern building game for two to four players. In it, players become art school students trying to impress their teachers. The only problem is that they must share a canvas, as the costs of school allow them very few luxuries. The player who can most effectively build masterpieces and satisfy all tested requirements over three rounds will ace the class and claim victory over the other starving artists.
DISCLAIMER 1: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
DISCLAIMER 2: My current temporary housing did not want me to have great lighting for photos in this review. Please try to ignore the yellow tint; I do not enjoy over-editing game photos.
To setup, shuffle each deck type and place the decks on the table. The rulebook does not specify where, so just throw them wherever. This is a game about art, so be creative. Each player draws a hand of three Canvas cards (with the whitish back and colors on the faces). The starting Teacher’s Pet player will then reveal cards according to the round from the respective decks, per the rules and provided reference cards. Each round will reveal different sets of Assignment and Professor cards. Players also draw one Inspiration card and the game is ready to begin! Paintbrushes at the ready!
Turns could not be simpler: Play a Canvas card, and then Draw a Canvas card. Both of these actions are self-explanatory, but let me expound on this a bit. Once the first Canvas card has been played by the current Teacher’s Pet, each subsequent card must be played orthogonally adjacent to another card on the table. To define the size of the entire project’s canvas, players will be confined to a 4 x 4 grid of cards. Once a column (the cards that would lead a path to the opponent) has been completed with four cards, the rows gain special rules. Firstly, the row closest to each player becomes the “Home Row.” Players may only play cards into their own Home Row, unless the only legal place to play a card is in the opponent’s Home Row. Secondly, the Home Row and the row above it is now consider the Scoring Zone, and will dictate which cards are able to be used to satisfy Inspiration, Professor, and Assignment requirements for VP. Therefore, until the 4 x 4 grid has been solidified, players are unaware which cards may end up in their Home Rows or Scoring Zones!
Victory Points are earned by scoring the special requirements of Inspiration, Professor, and Assignment cards once the entire 4 x 4 grid of Canvas cards is complete. Oftentimes players will need to compare scores to determine which player earns the points. For example, the Moret Professor card states that five VP are earned when the player controls the “most color areas with four or more quadrants.” Each Canvas card is divided into four quadrants, and quadrants are colored with one of the primary colors. A “color area” is simply a connected network of the same color within the player’s Scoring Zone. So, to satisfy Professor Moret, the player who controls the most amount of color areas that are four quadrants or larger.
Assignment cards come in Red, Blue, and Yellow, and pertain to those colors. For example, the red “Get to the Point!” Assignment requires the “most red areas with only one quadrant.” So the assignment is asking players to dapple their canvas with unconnected red quadrants.
In stark contrast, the Inspiration card requirements resemble shapes of quadrants, as opposed to colors or numbers of quadrants. Most of the shapes on these cards are reminiscent of Tetris-style shapes, where players will score their Inspiration cards by building the correct shape of connected quadrants of the same color within their Scoring Zone.
Once these cards are all scored for the round, the Teacher’s Pet sets up for the next round per the rulebook/reference cards. The subsequent rounds will require alternate decks to reveal cards, or choice of decks. When the third and final round has been scored, the points are tallied and the victor is crowned! With a construction paper and macaroni crown, most likely. They ARE starving artists, after all.
Components. This game is a double-card-deck box with 90+ cards and a rulebook. The cards are great quality, but the true hero here is, and appropriately so, the artwork. Every card is very stylish, the Professors are all nods to real artists (well, except maybe not the promo), and it has just a really great look overall. While being played, it just has an amazing table presence. I like that a lot.
I struggled with assigning a score to this one for a few reasons. First, I like so much about this game, and I dislike a few things. I very much enjoy having so many ways to score points each round, as it keeps my mind busy with trying to put the puzzle together. The monkey wrench, though, is that when you start a round, you play cards that may not even end up in your Scoring Zone. As your hand is always three cards, it is difficult to really plan too far in advance to create a perfect Scoring Zone. Is that a bad thing? Maybe, but I think it is also quite necessary to add a little chaos to this specific game. I will explain what I mean in a bit. Perhaps a few points docked for that.
Playing Canvas cards effectively is absolutely the crux of this game, because if a pattern or shape is being built to your benefit, your opponent can easily (and definitely accidentally) ruin your best laid plans with an ill-placed card to wonkify the grid. I think that is both delicious and very very frustrating. You know what? I will decide to give a few points back for this.
The ability for the Teacher’s Pet, a title that can be passed to the other player throughout the game, to choose which two of the three Assignment decks to reveal during Round 3 just adds to the replayability factor of Abstract Academy. True, there are only five cards in each Assignments deck, and there are mathematical or statistical formulae that can calculate the exact number of possible different unique games, the ever-changing grid of cards is what makes this nearly infinitely replayable. Okay, more points earned here.
I guess I judged too harshly, and my true rating is a little lower than perhaps this little game deserves. I absolutely know that I will be playing this a whole lot more – with gamers of all ages and weight preferences. It is easy to teach, keeps the brain engaged throughout, and forces players to step back and truly appreciate that which they have equally built together. I can completely foresee my score for Abstract Academy increasing with more and more plays, so please do not regard a 4 / 6 from Purple Phoenix Games as an absolute and inflexible score.
If you are a gamer who enjoys just a little chaos added to their careful planning, light and quick card games that pack more punch than expected, and some truly awesome table presence, then you most certainly need to grab a copy of Abstract Academy. I am soon to be culling my collection and curating it to only include games I thoroughly enjoy. I have a feeling Abstract Academy is going to make the cut. It checks off so many boxes for me and how I game, and I cannot wait to introduce my kiddos to it when they can grasp the concepts.
Mothergamer (1511 KP) rated the PC version of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
I was excited to play Witcher 3 Complete Edition as I had never played it before, yet I had read all the books about the Witcher Geralt and liked them a lot. I have not played the first two games, but they are both on my to play list. Geralt's world is interesting filled with complex characters, fantastic monsters, and great storytelling. All I can say is that I have a ton of games to play and some things get backlogged. I still have a stack of PS3 games to play and of course, I'll be playing the remastered Skyrim for PS4 when it comes out and that's another game I haven't played yet, but for this moment let's discuss how much I loved Witcher 3.
Yes, I loved Witcher 3. I stayed up way too late many a night playing this game because I was having so much fun running around killing monsters and helping people in need. My vision of Geralt was someone who did his best to do the right thing and that sometimes that meant siding with the occasional monster because there were times when humans were the real monsters. The story drew me in right away and these were characters and lore I was familiar with so I was thrilled to explore the entire world in the game. Truly, I unlocked entire maps because I just had to know what everything was. The areas that were too high a level for me at the time I made a note of where they were and came back later. I think it's great when a game makes exploration fun and it definitely helped having Geralt's horse, Roach to help that exploration go a bit faster.
The environments in Witcher 3 are amazing. I would find myself stopping and just looking around at the scenery whether it was roaming through a forest or wandering the streets of a city. The attention to minute details was quite impressive. The gameplay is great. The gaming controls are fine tuned to make battles fun without feeling frustrating and the camera angles are spot on which made a terrific gaming experience for me. The music for Witcher 3 is beautiful. My favorite music was for the area of Skellige. Skellige was also my favorite place to explore because it was so pretty there with all the wild flowers and forests. I genuinely liked the people there too because many of them did not treat Geralt with complete suspicion or call him a freak the way they did in cities like Novigrad. They respected him and what he did; the fact that he was a Witcher and had cat eyes didn't really come up much. I felt that showed a lot of variety in the thinking of the people in the different areas.
There are mini games to play as well. I enjoyed the horse races because those were fun and worth the time and effort. They gave some great rewards such as saddle bags that increased my inventory space and saddles that increased my horse's stamina and speed. Then there's a card game called Gwent which you can play with various people ranging from innkeepers to some of Geralt's friends. I really tried with Gwent. It was a bit confusing for me and I found myself looking up videos on YouTube just to try and get the gist of it, and it helped a bit. However, a huge shout out to my friend Danny for giving a simple explanation of how it worked and the best strategy to winning because that helped more. I mainly just wanted to finish the Gwent side quests I had and I managed to do that. After that, I no longer bothered playing Gwent. It just wasn't my thing, but I will say graphics wise it was a well designed mini game and while it was a tad frustrating for me, I understood why many of my friends enjoyed it. There's also fist fights tournaments (think Fight Club) that Geralt can participate in. I aced the heck out of those and won all those prize coin purses. My favorite fight was the Rock Troll because it was interesting and I got to learn his name at the end; a reward for winning the fight.
Level grinding was not a chore for me in the game because there were so many quests and Witcher contracts which involves hunting specific monsters or investigating things that might involve monsters. These offer good experience and a lot of money for Geralt. There are times when the leveling feels a bit uneven because sometimes the main story quests give more experience than a few of the contracts and side quests. It's not a big deal, but it is noticeable. The skills menu for unlocking Geralt's Witcher abilities and upgrading them is easy to navigate and quite user friendly. My favorite skill was an upgrade of the Axii skill known as Puppet which could make enemies fight each other. The cutscenes and voice acting are superb; while the loading times are practically seamless which made me very happy.
First of all, I don't like anyone telling me what to do. Ask my parents. There was a time when I was told to eat my vegetables when I was a kid and instead of doing that, I stealthily put them under my chair and claimed my plate was clean because I wanted to go play with my friends. Hey, I was four. What the heck did I know about being a mastermind? My parents bought it for two minutes until they discovered it and yes, it was wrong of me to think that I didn't have to listen and tried to fool my parents but this gives you an idea about how long I've been like this. Don't get me wrong, if you just have a conversation with me and we have a healthy discussion I will listen to what you have to say. What I don't respond well to is comments like, "You should NOT be playing that game because of this, that, or the other thing." Ultimately I like to decide and think for myself and I think everyone should be able to decide for themselves whether or not they want to play a game, read a book, or see a movie.
While playing Witcher 3 two things came up about this which were I should not play the game because there are no people of color in it and that it was sexist to women. I honestly did not know there was a huge hullabaloo about these things when the game was first released because honestly I get busy with things going on in my life and I tend to just choose games that pique my interest. I thought the game looked interesting, so I bought it. That's really all there was to it.
As for the second aspect regarding the game being sexist towards women, I just find myself wondering where this comes from. There are several, I repeat, several strong female characters in the lore of Witcher and in the game. How is any of it sexist towards women? Look, I understand not liking all the boobies in the brothels and the sexual scenes in the game. It's not for everyone and some folks are just not down for it. It never bothered me and some of those sex scenes have some amusing humor in them. The argument that Geralt feels no emotions so it's sexist towards women is utter crap. If a person takes the time to actually read any of the books, read the lore, or actually tried to play the game they would know that Geralt can not express emotions on his face because of all the mutations that Witchers go through. Geralt actually feels very deeply especially when it comes to people like Yennefer who is his true love, Ciri who is like a daughter to him, and of course Vesemir who is a mentor/father figure to him. The fact that he can't physically express those emotions due to him essentially being a mutant shouldn't count against him.
The issues with things like Ciri being called a bitch by men or Yennefer being called a whore; those are things that happen in the real world and they sure as hell happened way too often throughout history. Part of the storytelling of many artistic things is that it finds a creative way to discuss real world issues and inform you hey, this kind of thing happens open your eyes. The part I loved is that these women did not need saving. They handled it themselves. The man who called Ciri a bitch? She broke his nose and she stuck up for herself. Yennefer handled the man who called her a whore and she held her own very well. These are not wilting flowers. These are strong, intelligent, and brave women in the story and I was thrilled that a fantasy game had them. Honestly, as soon as I heard the sentence, "Feminist Frequency said..." I felt my eyes rolling because this is such a stretch. I'm not saying that they're not entitled to their opinion because they are, but I did not see any evidence of that in the game at all and I disagree.
Games are meant to be fun and for me Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt was so much fun and one of the best games I've ever played. The story, the open exploration, and the diverse characters were amazing and I enjoyed it immensely. Now, I'm going to play through again on new game plus because the completionist in me wants to get all the different endings and the game is worth playing multiple times if one wishes.
Yes, I loved Witcher 3. I stayed up way too late many a night playing this game because I was having so much fun running around killing monsters and helping people in need. My vision of Geralt was someone who did his best to do the right thing and that sometimes that meant siding with the occasional monster because there were times when humans were the real monsters. The story drew me in right away and these were characters and lore I was familiar with so I was thrilled to explore the entire world in the game. Truly, I unlocked entire maps because I just had to know what everything was. The areas that were too high a level for me at the time I made a note of where they were and came back later. I think it's great when a game makes exploration fun and it definitely helped having Geralt's horse, Roach to help that exploration go a bit faster.
The environments in Witcher 3 are amazing. I would find myself stopping and just looking around at the scenery whether it was roaming through a forest or wandering the streets of a city. The attention to minute details was quite impressive. The gameplay is great. The gaming controls are fine tuned to make battles fun without feeling frustrating and the camera angles are spot on which made a terrific gaming experience for me. The music for Witcher 3 is beautiful. My favorite music was for the area of Skellige. Skellige was also my favorite place to explore because it was so pretty there with all the wild flowers and forests. I genuinely liked the people there too because many of them did not treat Geralt with complete suspicion or call him a freak the way they did in cities like Novigrad. They respected him and what he did; the fact that he was a Witcher and had cat eyes didn't really come up much. I felt that showed a lot of variety in the thinking of the people in the different areas.
There are mini games to play as well. I enjoyed the horse races because those were fun and worth the time and effort. They gave some great rewards such as saddle bags that increased my inventory space and saddles that increased my horse's stamina and speed. Then there's a card game called Gwent which you can play with various people ranging from innkeepers to some of Geralt's friends. I really tried with Gwent. It was a bit confusing for me and I found myself looking up videos on YouTube just to try and get the gist of it, and it helped a bit. However, a huge shout out to my friend Danny for giving a simple explanation of how it worked and the best strategy to winning because that helped more. I mainly just wanted to finish the Gwent side quests I had and I managed to do that. After that, I no longer bothered playing Gwent. It just wasn't my thing, but I will say graphics wise it was a well designed mini game and while it was a tad frustrating for me, I understood why many of my friends enjoyed it. There's also fist fights tournaments (think Fight Club) that Geralt can participate in. I aced the heck out of those and won all those prize coin purses. My favorite fight was the Rock Troll because it was interesting and I got to learn his name at the end; a reward for winning the fight.
Level grinding was not a chore for me in the game because there were so many quests and Witcher contracts which involves hunting specific monsters or investigating things that might involve monsters. These offer good experience and a lot of money for Geralt. There are times when the leveling feels a bit uneven because sometimes the main story quests give more experience than a few of the contracts and side quests. It's not a big deal, but it is noticeable. The skills menu for unlocking Geralt's Witcher abilities and upgrading them is easy to navigate and quite user friendly. My favorite skill was an upgrade of the Axii skill known as Puppet which could make enemies fight each other. The cutscenes and voice acting are superb; while the loading times are practically seamless which made me very happy.
First of all, I don't like anyone telling me what to do. Ask my parents. There was a time when I was told to eat my vegetables when I was a kid and instead of doing that, I stealthily put them under my chair and claimed my plate was clean because I wanted to go play with my friends. Hey, I was four. What the heck did I know about being a mastermind? My parents bought it for two minutes until they discovered it and yes, it was wrong of me to think that I didn't have to listen and tried to fool my parents but this gives you an idea about how long I've been like this. Don't get me wrong, if you just have a conversation with me and we have a healthy discussion I will listen to what you have to say. What I don't respond well to is comments like, "You should NOT be playing that game because of this, that, or the other thing." Ultimately I like to decide and think for myself and I think everyone should be able to decide for themselves whether or not they want to play a game, read a book, or see a movie.
While playing Witcher 3 two things came up about this which were I should not play the game because there are no people of color in it and that it was sexist to women. I honestly did not know there was a huge hullabaloo about these things when the game was first released because honestly I get busy with things going on in my life and I tend to just choose games that pique my interest. I thought the game looked interesting, so I bought it. That's really all there was to it.
As for the second aspect regarding the game being sexist towards women, I just find myself wondering where this comes from. There are several, I repeat, several strong female characters in the lore of Witcher and in the game. How is any of it sexist towards women? Look, I understand not liking all the boobies in the brothels and the sexual scenes in the game. It's not for everyone and some folks are just not down for it. It never bothered me and some of those sex scenes have some amusing humor in them. The argument that Geralt feels no emotions so it's sexist towards women is utter crap. If a person takes the time to actually read any of the books, read the lore, or actually tried to play the game they would know that Geralt can not express emotions on his face because of all the mutations that Witchers go through. Geralt actually feels very deeply especially when it comes to people like Yennefer who is his true love, Ciri who is like a daughter to him, and of course Vesemir who is a mentor/father figure to him. The fact that he can't physically express those emotions due to him essentially being a mutant shouldn't count against him.
The issues with things like Ciri being called a bitch by men or Yennefer being called a whore; those are things that happen in the real world and they sure as hell happened way too often throughout history. Part of the storytelling of many artistic things is that it finds a creative way to discuss real world issues and inform you hey, this kind of thing happens open your eyes. The part I loved is that these women did not need saving. They handled it themselves. The man who called Ciri a bitch? She broke his nose and she stuck up for herself. Yennefer handled the man who called her a whore and she held her own very well. These are not wilting flowers. These are strong, intelligent, and brave women in the story and I was thrilled that a fantasy game had them. Honestly, as soon as I heard the sentence, "Feminist Frequency said..." I felt my eyes rolling because this is such a stretch. I'm not saying that they're not entitled to their opinion because they are, but I did not see any evidence of that in the game at all and I disagree.
Games are meant to be fun and for me Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt was so much fun and one of the best games I've ever played. The story, the open exploration, and the diverse characters were amazing and I enjoyed it immensely. Now, I'm going to play through again on new game plus because the completionist in me wants to get all the different endings and the game is worth playing multiple times if one wishes.
LilyLovesIndie (123 KP) rated Honour in Books
Nov 5, 2018
This review was originally carried out as part of a blog tour on Lily Loves Indie and can be seen here http://lilylovesindie.co.uk/?p=209
This stunning collection of short stories has got to be one of my favourite items on my kindle. When I read these I experienced such a depth of emotion and they moved me so much that I had to keep putting it down to get tissues and mop up the mess that I became. This, by far, is Feeney's greatest work to date. She elicits such a wonderful amount of emotion from you, and this is all the more remarkable when you consider that some of the stories are just a few thousand words long. In order to do each story the justice they truly deserve, I am going to briefly review each book before summing up my main ideas. So if you're sitting comfortably, I'll begin....
Honour
A young woman at a graveside, the rain falling down, already the emotions are running high, and this is just the first paragraph of the story, yet I'm hooked. Throughout the whole of this story Feeney leads you in a direction, letting your imagination fill the gaps, but then at the last minute she deals her hand and tells you exactly what is going on, and boy did it knock me for six! I was most definitely not expecting that turn of events, but strangely, it totally fitted. Apologies for the vagueness, but I don't want to spoil it for you as this is one of the key features of this story.
Deserter
Just as the title suggests, this story deals with a deserter, the officer who tries to cover it up and his family dealing with his actions at home. I know what you're thinking, there's enough material there to write a whole book! But Feeney writes this superbly, capturing the emotions of all the key characters in just a few short chapters. Jack's dilemma, and the reasoning behind his desertion, are both incredibly touching and very sensitively written. As someone who can't even begin to comprehend what horrors soldiers must see every day, I really feel like Feeney gave us a glimpse into a tortured mind, a soul that was broken and in need of so much healing that just simply wasn't available. She also deals fantastically with the stigma attached to deserting in a very delicate and sensitive manner, highlighting the other side of the story incredibly well.
Silence is Deafening
I've read and re-read this story so many times, but it still kills me every time! It's so emotionally written, charged with sadness and a sense of duty, a sense of honour. Strangely, I engaged more with Evelyn as I found myself imagining what her emotions would be when she wakes up and reads Joseph's letter. I could feel the ties that bound them together being strained and pulled, the pain they must have felt. It was just so well written the intensity of their love was completely real, it charged the room around my and stole my breath. But what I loved most about this story is that there was hope at the end. He might have survived, he might have come back. The tiniest glimmer was there, and it captured my imagination and sent seeds of thought rooting deep in my head. It's not a story you'll forget in a hurry, but in the best possible way!
Letters to No One
This is perhaps my favourite military based story I've ever written, but for me it is head and shoulders above the others in this collection. I could talk for hours about why I loved this story so much, but I'll try and summarise it and not spoil anything. The strongest feature of this particular story is it's wonderful believability and 'normal' way of approaching what is, to non-military families at least, a very abnormal situation. The letters are funny, yet very much full of a sadness at the separation and need to see each other one more time. Jonno is a great character, and although he doesn't feature much directly, it's the indirect references to him in his families letters which really bring him to life. Little Michael is totally adorable, and his letter is perhaps my favourite purely for the innocence only a child can have. The whole story touched me more than any other in this collection, eliciting full on body shaking sobs and I can only conclude that it is because it is a. wonderfully written and b. incredibly realistic. As much as I hate to admit it, this has probably happened to countless families out there, and that immense sadness just crushed me and opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at things.
Night Terrors
Initially, I found this quite difficult to get into, it's the one story in the collection I wasn't over keen on as I read through. However, it's a bit of a 'grower' and, like 'Silence is Deafening', it planted hundreds of little seeds of thought in my brain and when given time to develop they just grew and grew until they were out of control. Dealing with what is essentially PTSD, and how it affects not only the sufferer but also their family, 'Night Terrors' has so much it can teach the reader. We all think nothing of our 'normal' lives, but this was another story that really opened my eyes to the troubles being in the military can cause. Carl's dad clearly struggled for years, never feeling he could discuss him experiences and so they literally terrorised his dreams. It's incredibly sensitive in how the story deals with what is a very current and prevalent issue and Feeney deserves a great deal of credit for not only having the balls to deal with this subject matter, but also for doing it so brilliantly. Again, this is another emotionally charged piece of writing, but Feeney really does develop the plot so well and so subtly that it sucks you in without you noticing.
Welcome Home
The final story in the collection is as wonderful as the others. A happy ending, a reunion, a feeling of hope to carry forward. This is the ending we all want for all our soldiers, and Feeney cleverly reminds us that no matter how many may perish, and however sad that may be, we must always keep looking for that glimmer of hope, and take the opportunities of happiness that are offered to us when they are there, because we never know when they will be snatched away.
One of the key features in all of these stories is how engaging they are, despite what is, at times, very upsetting subject matter. The characters pull you in, the circumstances, although fictional, are tinged with a reality that brings you crashing down to ground when you think about them after (and believe me, you will) and you realise, 'that could have actually happened to someone'. It's a humbling thought, and one that really makes you think, but in a good way. Reading this book made me so much more thankful for the sacrifices servicemen and woman make, and the pain their families must experience, but mostly it made me grateful for my own life.
Something else that shines through is how real everything feels in these stories. I know Feeney did a large amount of research into military procedures and that is evident with the protocols, the addresses, the description, just everything really! It's clear that this writing means a lot to the author, and that passion for respect and honour of our armed forces just oozes from every page and fills you with a great sense of pride and patriotism. It's strange to feel proud of something when you're reading (unless it's something you've written), but Feeney manages to elicit that, as well as many other emotions as you're reading and it just builds to a huge crescendo.
Another key feature is the description, and this is a theme that is evident throughout the whole collection. Feeney puts so much into her writing. You can clearly see in your mind the characters, you can feel the emotions, you hurt when they hurt, smile when they smile. It's her attention to the small detail in this story that really gives this story that extra something. Even though you don't know all the specifics like names and ages, we know plenty to cry for their loss and smile with them in their joy. You hurt when they hurt. It's very rare I find a story that moves me in such a way, especially one that is just pages long, but that is exactly what this story does.
In conclusion, this book is truly phenomenal, one of the best pieces of literature I have read so far this year. It's engaging, thought provoking, realistic, easy to read, but above all, it's just, well, words fail me. Honestly, I cannot recommend this highly enough. Five stars is not enough for this book, and it truly deserves the highest accolades possible. Seriously, go one-click! It's now available on Amazon UK and Amazon US, but heed my warning, you want a lot of tissues near you when you read this, tear-jerker doesn't quite cover it!
* * * * * *
I am SO excited about reviewing this and interviewing the author over on Lily Loves Indie and Ramble Media on 1st November as part of the Blog Tour! Watch this space for updates and snippets of my review.
This stunning collection of short stories has got to be one of my favourite items on my kindle. When I read these I experienced such a depth of emotion and they moved me so much that I had to keep putting it down to get tissues and mop up the mess that I became. This, by far, is Feeney's greatest work to date. She elicits such a wonderful amount of emotion from you, and this is all the more remarkable when you consider that some of the stories are just a few thousand words long. In order to do each story the justice they truly deserve, I am going to briefly review each book before summing up my main ideas. So if you're sitting comfortably, I'll begin....
Honour
A young woman at a graveside, the rain falling down, already the emotions are running high, and this is just the first paragraph of the story, yet I'm hooked. Throughout the whole of this story Feeney leads you in a direction, letting your imagination fill the gaps, but then at the last minute she deals her hand and tells you exactly what is going on, and boy did it knock me for six! I was most definitely not expecting that turn of events, but strangely, it totally fitted. Apologies for the vagueness, but I don't want to spoil it for you as this is one of the key features of this story.
Deserter
Just as the title suggests, this story deals with a deserter, the officer who tries to cover it up and his family dealing with his actions at home. I know what you're thinking, there's enough material there to write a whole book! But Feeney writes this superbly, capturing the emotions of all the key characters in just a few short chapters. Jack's dilemma, and the reasoning behind his desertion, are both incredibly touching and very sensitively written. As someone who can't even begin to comprehend what horrors soldiers must see every day, I really feel like Feeney gave us a glimpse into a tortured mind, a soul that was broken and in need of so much healing that just simply wasn't available. She also deals fantastically with the stigma attached to deserting in a very delicate and sensitive manner, highlighting the other side of the story incredibly well.
Silence is Deafening
I've read and re-read this story so many times, but it still kills me every time! It's so emotionally written, charged with sadness and a sense of duty, a sense of honour. Strangely, I engaged more with Evelyn as I found myself imagining what her emotions would be when she wakes up and reads Joseph's letter. I could feel the ties that bound them together being strained and pulled, the pain they must have felt. It was just so well written the intensity of their love was completely real, it charged the room around my and stole my breath. But what I loved most about this story is that there was hope at the end. He might have survived, he might have come back. The tiniest glimmer was there, and it captured my imagination and sent seeds of thought rooting deep in my head. It's not a story you'll forget in a hurry, but in the best possible way!
Letters to No One
This is perhaps my favourite military based story I've ever written, but for me it is head and shoulders above the others in this collection. I could talk for hours about why I loved this story so much, but I'll try and summarise it and not spoil anything. The strongest feature of this particular story is it's wonderful believability and 'normal' way of approaching what is, to non-military families at least, a very abnormal situation. The letters are funny, yet very much full of a sadness at the separation and need to see each other one more time. Jonno is a great character, and although he doesn't feature much directly, it's the indirect references to him in his families letters which really bring him to life. Little Michael is totally adorable, and his letter is perhaps my favourite purely for the innocence only a child can have. The whole story touched me more than any other in this collection, eliciting full on body shaking sobs and I can only conclude that it is because it is a. wonderfully written and b. incredibly realistic. As much as I hate to admit it, this has probably happened to countless families out there, and that immense sadness just crushed me and opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at things.
Night Terrors
Initially, I found this quite difficult to get into, it's the one story in the collection I wasn't over keen on as I read through. However, it's a bit of a 'grower' and, like 'Silence is Deafening', it planted hundreds of little seeds of thought in my brain and when given time to develop they just grew and grew until they were out of control. Dealing with what is essentially PTSD, and how it affects not only the sufferer but also their family, 'Night Terrors' has so much it can teach the reader. We all think nothing of our 'normal' lives, but this was another story that really opened my eyes to the troubles being in the military can cause. Carl's dad clearly struggled for years, never feeling he could discuss him experiences and so they literally terrorised his dreams. It's incredibly sensitive in how the story deals with what is a very current and prevalent issue and Feeney deserves a great deal of credit for not only having the balls to deal with this subject matter, but also for doing it so brilliantly. Again, this is another emotionally charged piece of writing, but Feeney really does develop the plot so well and so subtly that it sucks you in without you noticing.
Welcome Home
The final story in the collection is as wonderful as the others. A happy ending, a reunion, a feeling of hope to carry forward. This is the ending we all want for all our soldiers, and Feeney cleverly reminds us that no matter how many may perish, and however sad that may be, we must always keep looking for that glimmer of hope, and take the opportunities of happiness that are offered to us when they are there, because we never know when they will be snatched away.
One of the key features in all of these stories is how engaging they are, despite what is, at times, very upsetting subject matter. The characters pull you in, the circumstances, although fictional, are tinged with a reality that brings you crashing down to ground when you think about them after (and believe me, you will) and you realise, 'that could have actually happened to someone'. It's a humbling thought, and one that really makes you think, but in a good way. Reading this book made me so much more thankful for the sacrifices servicemen and woman make, and the pain their families must experience, but mostly it made me grateful for my own life.
Something else that shines through is how real everything feels in these stories. I know Feeney did a large amount of research into military procedures and that is evident with the protocols, the addresses, the description, just everything really! It's clear that this writing means a lot to the author, and that passion for respect and honour of our armed forces just oozes from every page and fills you with a great sense of pride and patriotism. It's strange to feel proud of something when you're reading (unless it's something you've written), but Feeney manages to elicit that, as well as many other emotions as you're reading and it just builds to a huge crescendo.
Another key feature is the description, and this is a theme that is evident throughout the whole collection. Feeney puts so much into her writing. You can clearly see in your mind the characters, you can feel the emotions, you hurt when they hurt, smile when they smile. It's her attention to the small detail in this story that really gives this story that extra something. Even though you don't know all the specifics like names and ages, we know plenty to cry for their loss and smile with them in their joy. You hurt when they hurt. It's very rare I find a story that moves me in such a way, especially one that is just pages long, but that is exactly what this story does.
In conclusion, this book is truly phenomenal, one of the best pieces of literature I have read so far this year. It's engaging, thought provoking, realistic, easy to read, but above all, it's just, well, words fail me. Honestly, I cannot recommend this highly enough. Five stars is not enough for this book, and it truly deserves the highest accolades possible. Seriously, go one-click! It's now available on Amazon UK and Amazon US, but heed my warning, you want a lot of tissues near you when you read this, tear-jerker doesn't quite cover it!
* * * * * *
I am SO excited about reviewing this and interviewing the author over on Lily Loves Indie and Ramble Media on 1st November as part of the Blog Tour! Watch this space for updates and snippets of my review.
KalJ95 (25 KP) rated The Last of Us Part II in Video Games
Jun 23, 2020
You Won't Find A Better Game In Terms Of Presentation. (4 more)
Level Design Is Astounding.
Like The First Game, This Will Create A Conversation For Years To Come
Sound Design Is Incredible.
Takes Risks, And Some Do Pay Off.
A Flawed Sequel. (4 more)
Awful Pacing.
Structure Of Narrative Is Bad.
Some Terrible Dialogue.
Shoehorned Agenda.
The last of The Last of Us.
The video game industry doesn't get enough credit as a source of entertainment, in my humble opinion. Time and time again, the industry has proven that it can produce something magical, memorable, mesmerising to play, and even more so, something engaging to watch as someone not even holding the controller. Naughty Dog’s 2013 masterpiece, The Last of Us, became an overnight classic game because it was cinematic in presentation, and a rollercoaster of emotions in narrative. I sat and played the remastered version on my PlayStation 4 in 2017, and fell in love with the chemistry, love and heartbreak Joel and Ellie took with them, as they crossed a post-apocalyptic America. I was satisfied with the conclusion, and felt the story of these two characters was finished. I didn't need, or ever want a sequel. Then a few months pass, The Last of Us Part II is announced. Obviously, I was ecstatic, but also concerned. Trailers came and went, delays happened over and over, and leaks began to drip onto the internet. I was even more concerned with the leaks, and how this game was taking shape, but I remained open minded, and began playing the game.
The Last of Us Part II is a strange beast. An ambitious, exquisite experience, mired by multiple flaws in structure, pacing and plot holes. I simultaneously adored and loathed the twenty five hour experience, and I’m ready to do it all again. Ellie’s thirst for revenge deals with many issues of morality and hate, and the consequences of ones actions. To coin a phrase, “violence begets violence”, and this is very violent. A flawed piece of art, that often shoehorns a political tick list so it can cater to a certain demographic of sexuality and gender. Whatever you think about Part II, it will create a conversation for years to come, for better or worse.
Narrative:
Ellie and Joel are settled in Jackson, Wyoming, living a relatively normal existence. Ellie is nineteen, and has a job, like the rest of the fighters in Jackson, by going out into the world on routes to clear out the wondering infected. When Ellie witnesses a violent event, she takes it into her own hands to take bloody revenge on the people responsible.
A big risk was taken by Naughty Dog to decide what they did for the first two hours, even the VP of the company, Neil Druckmann, said himself the game will be “divisive”, and that is probably an understatement judging by the fan backlash. I feel it worked to support the other twenty three hours, and shows the blurry line of being good and bad in this world.
Unfortunately, the narrative slogs through awful structuring and some dreadful, downright cringe-worthy dialogue. The structure goes back and forth from the present day, to months, and sometimes years previous, and this is all to cement the events that keep the narrative flowing. The flashbacks featuring Joel and Ellie give you brief moments of happiness, followed by devastating revelations. They are the best moments of the game, you can feel the warmth the characters have for each other, and the heartbreaking actions they take. It made me wonder why they simply didn't just create a game with these ideas in mind. Other flashbacks create more problems than they solve, particularly in the latter half of the game. The first half, for all its faults, really treats you to a vicious and bloodthirsty ride through Seattle, and you completely feel the motivation and drive Ellie has to complete the mission she's set out to do. Seattle is huge, and the perfect backdrop for this game.
Sadly, the second half of the game is an absolute mess. The whole experience becomes nothing more than “go to this location, collect something, go back” over and over again. Its a lazy trope that causes so much fatigue in terms of pacing, slowing down any momentum gained by the first half. The second half serves the most important purpose too, and while I did grow to understand the intention it was presenting me, I couldn't help but feel frequently bored of doing fetch quests. To remain as spoiler free as possible, the game is split into two perspectives of Ellie, and an entirely new character. Naughty Dog wants you to understand the perspectives of both sides, but the history thats been created with the original game, you cant help but sympathise with Ellie more. The fact that its half the game away from the main protagonist, and starts you fresh with a new character, with new skill sets and weapons, really feels out of place. This could of worked much better as an episodic entry, rather than just two stories, one after the other. I can understand people who love this way of storytelling, but for me it slows the pacing down.
Gameplay:
Part II is the most beautiful game I’ve ever played. Naughty Dog continue to set the bar extremely high in terms of surroundings and facial animations, and the seamless transitions from cutscene to gameplay made my jaw drop. Each facial movement shows the hurt, the honesty, the devastation the characters carry with them. It almost feels more like a film or tv series than a video game, featuring an excellent performance from Troy Baker, and a career defining show from Ashley Johnson. Unfortunately, some of the new cast members don't have enough time on screen to give a full understanding of their personality or perspective. Some are likeable, relatable even, but some are just annoying, saying some of the strangest, out of place dialogue.
In terms of its gameplay, Part II hasn't really changed anything from its predecessor. It feels the same, whether you enjoyed it first time round or not. I personally am in the middle ground, it works for what it is. The Last of Us has always been a game about surviving by any means necessary. Part II feels like multiple ideas all in one, all conflicting themselves. Let me explain:
The game actively tries to twist the act of killing people to make you seem like its an awful thing to do. This is an interesting idea that has been done many times before in games, but it works in the oddest of ways here. I have completed the game twice now, and found it almost impossible to not kill anyone, yet cutscenes display remorse within the characters after they’ve murdered someone. This conflicts the idea of the whole game, where one moment I'm slicing a persons throat with a knife, the next I do the exact same, but this time I regret that decision. Again, its adding less weight to the story, and actively contradicting everything that happens.
Extra Notes:
The environments of Part II are some of the best in a video game. A sandbox of lush greenery and worn down buildings follows the same formula that Naughty Dog designed in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, where you can explore a massive space to do what you find the objectives, but also see the sights and collect items. The level design of the entire game is absolutely masterful, but this level astounded me graphically and structurally.
By this point, it probably feels like I utterly hated Part II. I did, and didn’t, and thats the line I'm sticking on. The Last of Us always presented a commentary as to the nature of relationships, love, life and death. At the core was Ellie and Joel, two wayward strangers forced together on a journey across America. Everyone has a reason to love that game, for me its their chemistry and progression. Joel was hardened, standoffish, only to warm to Ellie, and love her by the end. Ellie, the immune girl who's humorous, optimistic and full of life, who ultimately becomes cold, quiet and sceptical of Joel.
Part II presents a different commentary, one of revenge and hate. I firmly believe Part II is weak in most areas, a downgrade in fact compared to its counterpart, but its so beautiful and bleak, with so many incapsulated moments of joy, heartbreak, love, shock. Its uncompromising, relentless and essential for anyone with a PS4. This will be a game I will constantly change my opinion on the more I think about it. As I said at the beginning, I never felt a sequel was necessary, and I firmly believe the story must end here.
(P.S. I must mention that Naughty Dog and Sony have only themselves to blame when it comes to the reception Part II has received during its release and promotional material. Early reviewers were told that they could only go into detail about the first ten or so hours, not mentioning the other fifteen. The other fifteen hours are incredibly important to mention, and they either make or break this game, so not letting reviewers do their job feels disingenuous, and from my point of view shows that they had no faith in their product to be criticised. The promotional material is also hugely misleading. The trailers show a completely different game, and characters are swapped for others in key scenes. That is wrong, and once again, shows your audience you had zero faith in your product based on the actual plot of your game.)
The Last of Us Part II is a strange beast. An ambitious, exquisite experience, mired by multiple flaws in structure, pacing and plot holes. I simultaneously adored and loathed the twenty five hour experience, and I’m ready to do it all again. Ellie’s thirst for revenge deals with many issues of morality and hate, and the consequences of ones actions. To coin a phrase, “violence begets violence”, and this is very violent. A flawed piece of art, that often shoehorns a political tick list so it can cater to a certain demographic of sexuality and gender. Whatever you think about Part II, it will create a conversation for years to come, for better or worse.
Narrative:
Ellie and Joel are settled in Jackson, Wyoming, living a relatively normal existence. Ellie is nineteen, and has a job, like the rest of the fighters in Jackson, by going out into the world on routes to clear out the wondering infected. When Ellie witnesses a violent event, she takes it into her own hands to take bloody revenge on the people responsible.
A big risk was taken by Naughty Dog to decide what they did for the first two hours, even the VP of the company, Neil Druckmann, said himself the game will be “divisive”, and that is probably an understatement judging by the fan backlash. I feel it worked to support the other twenty three hours, and shows the blurry line of being good and bad in this world.
Unfortunately, the narrative slogs through awful structuring and some dreadful, downright cringe-worthy dialogue. The structure goes back and forth from the present day, to months, and sometimes years previous, and this is all to cement the events that keep the narrative flowing. The flashbacks featuring Joel and Ellie give you brief moments of happiness, followed by devastating revelations. They are the best moments of the game, you can feel the warmth the characters have for each other, and the heartbreaking actions they take. It made me wonder why they simply didn't just create a game with these ideas in mind. Other flashbacks create more problems than they solve, particularly in the latter half of the game. The first half, for all its faults, really treats you to a vicious and bloodthirsty ride through Seattle, and you completely feel the motivation and drive Ellie has to complete the mission she's set out to do. Seattle is huge, and the perfect backdrop for this game.
Sadly, the second half of the game is an absolute mess. The whole experience becomes nothing more than “go to this location, collect something, go back” over and over again. Its a lazy trope that causes so much fatigue in terms of pacing, slowing down any momentum gained by the first half. The second half serves the most important purpose too, and while I did grow to understand the intention it was presenting me, I couldn't help but feel frequently bored of doing fetch quests. To remain as spoiler free as possible, the game is split into two perspectives of Ellie, and an entirely new character. Naughty Dog wants you to understand the perspectives of both sides, but the history thats been created with the original game, you cant help but sympathise with Ellie more. The fact that its half the game away from the main protagonist, and starts you fresh with a new character, with new skill sets and weapons, really feels out of place. This could of worked much better as an episodic entry, rather than just two stories, one after the other. I can understand people who love this way of storytelling, but for me it slows the pacing down.
Gameplay:
Part II is the most beautiful game I’ve ever played. Naughty Dog continue to set the bar extremely high in terms of surroundings and facial animations, and the seamless transitions from cutscene to gameplay made my jaw drop. Each facial movement shows the hurt, the honesty, the devastation the characters carry with them. It almost feels more like a film or tv series than a video game, featuring an excellent performance from Troy Baker, and a career defining show from Ashley Johnson. Unfortunately, some of the new cast members don't have enough time on screen to give a full understanding of their personality or perspective. Some are likeable, relatable even, but some are just annoying, saying some of the strangest, out of place dialogue.
In terms of its gameplay, Part II hasn't really changed anything from its predecessor. It feels the same, whether you enjoyed it first time round or not. I personally am in the middle ground, it works for what it is. The Last of Us has always been a game about surviving by any means necessary. Part II feels like multiple ideas all in one, all conflicting themselves. Let me explain:
The game actively tries to twist the act of killing people to make you seem like its an awful thing to do. This is an interesting idea that has been done many times before in games, but it works in the oddest of ways here. I have completed the game twice now, and found it almost impossible to not kill anyone, yet cutscenes display remorse within the characters after they’ve murdered someone. This conflicts the idea of the whole game, where one moment I'm slicing a persons throat with a knife, the next I do the exact same, but this time I regret that decision. Again, its adding less weight to the story, and actively contradicting everything that happens.
Extra Notes:
The environments of Part II are some of the best in a video game. A sandbox of lush greenery and worn down buildings follows the same formula that Naughty Dog designed in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, where you can explore a massive space to do what you find the objectives, but also see the sights and collect items. The level design of the entire game is absolutely masterful, but this level astounded me graphically and structurally.
By this point, it probably feels like I utterly hated Part II. I did, and didn’t, and thats the line I'm sticking on. The Last of Us always presented a commentary as to the nature of relationships, love, life and death. At the core was Ellie and Joel, two wayward strangers forced together on a journey across America. Everyone has a reason to love that game, for me its their chemistry and progression. Joel was hardened, standoffish, only to warm to Ellie, and love her by the end. Ellie, the immune girl who's humorous, optimistic and full of life, who ultimately becomes cold, quiet and sceptical of Joel.
Part II presents a different commentary, one of revenge and hate. I firmly believe Part II is weak in most areas, a downgrade in fact compared to its counterpart, but its so beautiful and bleak, with so many incapsulated moments of joy, heartbreak, love, shock. Its uncompromising, relentless and essential for anyone with a PS4. This will be a game I will constantly change my opinion on the more I think about it. As I said at the beginning, I never felt a sequel was necessary, and I firmly believe the story must end here.
(P.S. I must mention that Naughty Dog and Sony have only themselves to blame when it comes to the reception Part II has received during its release and promotional material. Early reviewers were told that they could only go into detail about the first ten or so hours, not mentioning the other fifteen. The other fifteen hours are incredibly important to mention, and they either make or break this game, so not letting reviewers do their job feels disingenuous, and from my point of view shows that they had no faith in their product to be criticised. The promotional material is also hugely misleading. The trailers show a completely different game, and characters are swapped for others in key scenes. That is wrong, and once again, shows your audience you had zero faith in your product based on the actual plot of your game.)