Archives September 2021

CATCHING UP ON MOVIES- Disney Studios pt5

Disney Studios

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO DISNEY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Disney Studios (their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. With Part 1 we were taking a look at the live action version of Mulan. Part 2 discussed Soul and Raya and the Last Dragon. Part 3 looked at the live action story of Cruella. Part 4 discussed Luca and we are back with Part 5 to talk about Jungle Cruise!

Jungle Cruise

Based on the famous ride from Disney, the film follows a cruise through the jungle but instead of just the goofy cruise you experience on the ride Dr Houghton charters her voyage to find a plant that is said to cure any disease. Our first glimpse of Frank Wolff and his boat she would take is him giving a small cruise to tourists that is very similar to that of the ride, including seeing the backside of water. My expectations were low despite a great cast because I didn’t believe they could successfully stretch the ride into a full film. Thankfully I was wrong and it was quite enjoyable. My only complaint about the film is that it did not feature more of the fun jokes from the ride, I actually enjoy that level of dad humor and I needed more.

Have you had a chance to see this film from Disney Studios?

CATCHING UP WITH Marvel Entertainment PART 1

Marvel

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO Marvel Entertainment I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Marvel Entertainment (their home page is here) had sent me ca code to of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on it with you. This will be a regular series and starting with Part 1 we are discussing Black Widow!

Black Widow

When I first heard about this film I assumed it would take place long before Black Widow joined the Avengers but I was mistaken. It picks up right after Captain America: Civil War. Growing up in the American mid-west she was raised by Russian spies that stole some state secrets and returned with her to Russia where she was then placed in the Black Widow program. Fast forward over a decade she is on the run from the United States government due to her involvement in fighting against the Superhuman Registration Act. She receives a package from her “sister” that puts her on a path to destroy the resurrected Black Widow program.

With the quality of Marvel films over the last few years my expectations were high. Scarlet Johansson’s performance was once of her best and the film did not disappoint. It was easily one of the best films to come from Marvel yet.

Have you had a chance to see this film from Marvel Entertainment?

Warcry Faction Focus with Khainite Shadowstalkers

Khainite Shadowstalkers

Welcome to the another installment of a our series where we will be focusing on one of the exclusive Warbands from Warcry. This time we will be discussing the Khainite Shadowstalkers!

The Khainite Shadowstalkers are the second warband to be released in the Warcry Catacombs boxset and also had their own second release a few months later. This warband is essentially the secret black ops squad working directly for Queen Morathi and the Daughters of Khaine. They have been blessed with Ulguan Shadow Magic by Morathi herself after a pact was made with the daemons of Ulgu. They fight like shadows thanks to the combination of their powers and their acrobatic abilities. In Catacombs their abilities allow them to run on the walls above the heads of their foes, giving them the chance to surround or even ambush their foes.

Led by one of the most awesome looking models, the Shroud Queen, but preliminary images I thought she was a Melusai because of the cloak curving around her legs. She has an impressive ranged attack and a Quad ability that allows her to hit all enemies within 3-6 inches of her. The biggest issue with this warband is that they are basically a warband of all Glass Cannons- deal some impressive damage but easily removed from play. Because of her high damage output you will want to pair her with someone as a guard.

Warcry Warband Focus Featuring the Scions of the Flame

Scions of the Flame

Welcome to the another installment of a our series where we will be focusing on one of the exclusive Chaos Warbands from Warcry. This time we will be discussing the Scions of the Flame!

 With this year’s Gen Con Games Workshop announced a new Warcry release I decided it was time to return to our warband focus series, starting with the Scions of the Flame. The Scions are a group of fire obsessed zealots that hail from the realm of Aqshy. Each Chaos warband follows a unique aspect of the Chaos gods and the Scions are no different, they worship the Ever-raging Flame, hunting and eating the hearts of fire-beasts. This allows them to become the embodiments of the Flame. 

They are protected by gear designed to withstand the flame, except for the Immolators who like to catch themselves on fire and charge their enemies like a living fireball. Their playstyle is meant to resemble a spreading fire that turns into an inferno, building in intensity and destruction as they overtake the field of battle. Their level of damage output is much higher than most of the “tough” enemies, utilizing explosives and weapons covered in flame. Of the models the Immolator and the Brazen Champion really make this warband standout with flame covered action poses. On appearance alone the Scions of the Flame are my favorite warband so far released and with their flame based abilities it was like this warband was made specifically for me.

Warhammer 40k Kill Team Octarius review

Kill Team

Games Workshop has released a new version of Kill Team with Octarius and they sent us a copy for the purpose of reviewing it along with the Compendium.

Kill Team is essentially the skirmish version of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000. Players take small squads of fighters, or even a smaller and more elite force and battle for objectives or simply to eliminate the other team (this is my preferred way to play any tabletop game). Officially this is the fourth edition of the Kill Team game type but the second as a standalone title. The points systems are vastly different than your standard game of 40k but very similar in nature to that of Warcry in relation to Age of Sigmar. Now the first three editions also differed in points values when compared but this is the first to be more in line with Warcry.

Teams are comprised of roughly 1000 points and depending on the faction will determine how many models you will be using, for example, Adaptus Mechanicus will typically have more troops on the map than Astartes. Another big difference between this version and previous iterations is that the list building is much more limited this time around. For Kill Team I suspect this is to better control balancing for the game, possibly to minimize some of the min/maxing that some players do to give their play style an advantage. With the new limitations on list building I think this is a huge improvement because I like having a variety on the field of battle and like to fight a variety.

Overall I found this to be a great introduction game to the world of Warhammer 40k and in the smaller scale makes trying new armies much easier and way cheaper. The new models for both Orks and Astra Militarum are some of my favorite for both factions, especially the bomb squid. He is legit the first time I have said a squig was adorable. At the time of writing this we have already seen the announcement for Kill Team: Chalnath and features new Tau Pathfinders and Adepta Sororitas models along with some familiar looking terrain. I can’t wait to see what other exclusive models will be coming with each new kill zone! This is a fantastic starting point for anyone looking for a new army or to add to an existing army.

Tetragon – a rotation puzzle game

Tetragon

Buka Entertainment Enterprises brings their latest title, Tetragon, where the world is manipulated by rotating it and moving platforms.

Buka Entertainment provided a review copy of their latest game, Tetragon. As you progress through the world you will solve puzzles by either rotating the entire world or manipulating platforms to move to the exit or to some sort of collectible. The biggest “pitfall” with this puzzler is that the hero has a limited fall distance before instant death. The good news here though is that you return to the same puzzle but it is reset each time. The resetting of the stage can actually help the puzzle as you may make mistakes the first time around- I know I did on several of them and the reset made correcting those mistakes much easier.

Controls feel a bit clunky as at times you cannot rotate the screen certain directions when you could before or some platforms don’t move until the camera is rotated a certain way and there are no visual indicators, that I noticed, to indicate when this is happening. Visuals are more advanced than the retro 8-bit style but not significantly and the story comes in pieces but left me intrigued. The puzzles in this game are creative and sometimes require more thought than I expected but after two hours of gameplay left me feeling like the game is meh. I plan on playing another couple of hours to see if this changes but experience with the game so far tells me it won’t significantly.

Foreclosed – a cyberpunk game review

Foreclosed

Foreclosed, from Merge Games Ltd, is a cyberpunk game that feels like a living comicbook.

In the Merge Games’ title, Foreclosed, the world is more advanced than what we currently experience but some of the same pitfalls remain. The biggest pitfall being falling in debt further than you can afford. It’s easy to do in the real world but in Foreclosed you are already starting at this point. Through your own cybernetics you attend the court hearing for your debt as soon as you start the game. You learn that your debt has been purchased by a corporation and as you leave your apartment you learn there is more going on than just the settlement of your debt. Corporate thugs are trying to kill you and your debt is causing paths to be blocked from you. You learn that some software has been installed in your cybernetics and they want it.

Graphically it is not the most gorgeous game but the art style is original and works very well for the game. The story is quite intriguing and draws you in immediately. Controls are easy to learn and gameplay is both forgiving and yet unforgiving- turning down the wrong path leads to instant death but you respawn nearby and can try a different path. The game so far is quite engaging and sucks you in. I am really looking forward to investing more time into this game.

Pile up! Box by Box game review

Pile Up

Pile Up! Box by Box is a puzzle platformer from HandyGames where you play an adorable box that uses other boxes to complete puzzles.

HandyGames is back with another family friendly title, Pile Up! Box by Box, a platformer where collecting boxes and keys are your goals. You play as a box that navigates a world of water and cardboard to solve puzzles. Visually the world looks very similar to that of Paper Mario and there is nothing that would make me question if my children should be allowed to play it.

Puzzles are quite simple in the solutions but trying different approaches makes them more worth it. One of the levels has a puzzle that requires moving four boxes from one area to another and each area has bomb boxes. Picking up bomb boxes cause them to explode but if you nudge them you can get them into place without having to find all of the intended boxes. There does not appear to be a story for the game outside of the quests you must complete per level but those are more of a guided objective. Controls are easy to pick up but hitting the wrong button at the wrong time is always a concern. I found the game to be quite enjoyable and I am looking forward to sharing this with my family!

Cyberpunk 2077 – the game people love to hate

Cyberpunk 2077

CD Project Red has been on the receiving end of gamer’s frustration with Cyberpunk 2077 but is it actually warranted?

Back in 2012 CD Project Red announced their most ambitious project yet, Cyberpunk 2077. Eight years later it was finally released. Most projects are not made public so early in their process, or at least it seems that way in most cases. To say the least this game is massive with layers upon layers of storytelling and gameplay. That’s not even to mention the plethora of Easter eggs and branching dialogue trees and missions. The complexity to this game is is deeper than any I can recall every playing.

Before we get to my thoughts on the game, let’s discuss some of the complaints. Almost all of them resolve around the number of glitches found in the game, most of them random and inconsistent. Cars vanishing while driving, floors in buildings vanishing, models stretching and twisting in ways they shouldn’t. Thinks like that. What I have never seen though is a “polished” FPS (first person shooter) where there are never any glitches. I did experience some of these glitches and even had a couple force the game to close. Reloading the game and performing the exact same action resulted in the glitches not repeating themselves in nearly every case. At least that was my experience.

Gameplay was fast paced, controls were fluid and graphics (when working as intended) were amazing. The story was better than any other game I can remember playing. With the issues with the glitches I believe that most people had their expectations too high and expected the game designers to be more godlike than man/woman. I have never played a AAA title free of glitches and yet they are given the courtesy of lower expectations because they are a bigger studio that can publish games more frequently. This game is a higher quality product than any other FPS I have had the pleasure or displeasure to play and I will say this it is by far THE BEST GAME I HAVE EVER PLAYED! If I could take the team out for a round of drinks to thank them for the experience I would.

Frostpunk: Console Edition is the Complete Edition

Frostpunk

In Frostpunk the world has essentially ended in a permanent winter that some believe is the end times foretold by the Vikings, but are they right?

11 Bit Studios released Frostpunk a while ago but not so long ago released the complete Console Edition which includes all available DLC and this will help bridge the story of the original game and the eventual release of the already announced sequel. The world has succumbed to what seems to be a permanent winter, some survivors believing this is Fimbulwinter- the winter before Ragnarok that brings about the end of the world. The game is split into different story arcs, each with their own pitfalls and goals.

At it’s heart the game is a city management sim where the focus is not to let your citizens perish to the cold. Where most city management games the focus is one powering all of your structures as you build the city of your dreams this is more of a rush to keep everyone warm and alive while trying to expand. The first time I played the game my “captain” was exiled because more than half of my people froze to death within ten minutes of starting. The second time as I learned the menus better was more successful and after 3 hours they were still alive. The game has great graphics but is not very stimulating for the eyes, however trying to manage everything efficiently will keep your brain going into overdrive. I found the game to be fun but not something I would find myself playing more than half an hour at a time due to the lack of overall excitement.