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Game Reviews

Harrowing Halls: Taking Dungeon Tiles to the 3rd Dimension

 Harrowing HallsHarrowing Halls is a Dungeon Tiles set for Dungeons & Dragons that takes the long-running line to new heights. That's because they're not just dungeon tiles ... they're three dimensional dungeon tiles that can be used to build a staircase, raised platforms, tables, and pedastals, all of which player characters can jump on, leap off of and generally use to their advantage.

It makes a big difference on many fronts, starting with prep time. I got a review copy of Harrowing Halls a few months ago, but since I run a weekly Star Wars game I haven't had much call for a rustic hall/dungeon. That changed when I decided to run an epic showdown with a Jedi master in a temple on a stormwracked backwater world.

Martian Fluxx invades Earthling game rooms

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sun, 05/30/2010 - 5:30am

The Martians have landed. Their goals remain uncertain; indeed, they seem to change continuously: one moment they're attempting to capture Washington, D.C., the next they're trying to abduct humans, only to turn their attention to the great cow menace. Of one thing, there is no doubt: once the Martians figure out what they're doing, we're doomed.

This is the premise of Martian Fluxx, a card game by Loony Labs that's expands upon the rules of its popular Fluxx card game.

Anthologize the Future with Mass Effect 2

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sun, 05/23/2010 - 5:30am

Mass Effect 2 is Bioware's follow-up to their awesome-but-flawed space opera role-playing game. The sequel is a beautifully crafted game that knows exactly what scifi notes to hit to get player's blood pumping and keep them engaged, even as the main story is less than stellar.

The game – and that I almost wrote "movie" tells you a lot about it – picks up where its predecessor left off. Exactly where that is depends on the choices you made in the previous game. My main character was woman named Xandra Shepherd, a tough-as-nails, victory-at-any-cost commander who hated the anti-human Citadel Council, the ruling body of much of the galaxy. When their base of operations – a massive alien construct known as the Citadel – was attacked by life-destroying entities known as Reavers, Xandra didn't lift a finger to save the Council. She did, however, defeat the Reaver incursion. As a result, my game began with a new human council in charge of the Citadel … and the galaxy in denial about the threat of the Reavers.

Take to the alien skies with Dark Void

Posted in by Jonkga on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 9:11pm

 Dark Void for Xbox 360Dark Void is a videogame with a great deal of promise. When I first heard this game described, I couldn’t have been more excited.

A pulp adventure set in the Bermuda Triangle with alien technology, Tesla inventions, and jet packs! An Indiana Jones-like hero fighting the good fight against Battlestar Galactica-style foes out to conquer the world! Wow, that’s right up my alley.

Or so I thought.

Wage a Civil War with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Posted in by hardcorhobbs on Sat, 04/24/2010 - 9:24am

In recent months there have several major disasters involving superhumans. A cry has gone out amongst the people to hold the superhumans accountable for their actions. Congress answer that cry with the Superhuman Registration Act. The act requires anyone having or utilizing any form of superhuman abilities to register with the government as a "living weapon of mass destruction." Unfortunately this law splits the superhuman community.

Those for the act, lead by Iron Man, believe that this is the only way to show the people good faith that what they do is the right thing. Those against the act, lead by Captain America, believe it is against everything America stands for. The act is now law, and the lines have been drawn. Will you join Iron Man and the pro movement, or Captain America and the resistance movement? Regardless of what you choose prepare for a superhuman Civil War!

This is a brief background of Marvel Comics 2006 story-line entitled Civil War. It also serves as the background for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.

Astro Boy rockets to the Wii

Posted in by hardcorhobbs on Thu, 03/18/2010 - 5:30am

"There you go Astro Boy. On your flight into space. Rocket high, through the sky. What adventures soon you will make." ~Astro Boy theme song

After nearly 50 years what adventures could Astro Boy still make? Astro Boy the Video Game (DS, Wii, PS2, PSP) seeks to discover just that, in a fun little old-school style adventure.

Astro Boy is the story of an advanced robot, named Astro, who is created to replace the deceased son of a brilliant scientist. Unfortunately the scientist discovers his son can never be replaced and rejects Astro. Eventually he is found by another scientist who discovers Astro is more than he seems.

Get in the Fight with Dragon Ball: Raging Blast

Posted in by hardcorhobbs on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 9:48pm

Dragon Ball is a series well known for it's long fight sequences. Some may say too long, and when referring to the anime they would be right.

The popularity of the manga caused the animators to fast track the series, so fast they rand out of source material. To slow down the pace of the anime the animators drew out the fighting sequences, causing the long drawn out fights the series is so infamous for. So it's no surprise the a majority of the games created from the Dragon Ball franchise are fighting games, the latest being Dragon Ball Raging Blast.

Embrace Nature with D&D 4E's Primal Power

WotC’s supplement,Primal Power: Options for Barbarians, Druids, Shamans, and Wardens  presents expanded choices for each of the classes that draw power from the Primal Power Source.

It offers new possibilities for these classes in the same way that the books Divine Power, Arcane Power, andMartial Powerdid for their respective classes.

Elemental Chaos awaits in D&D 4E's The Plane Below

When I ran my 4E D&D playtest campaign, I decided to make it larger than life. That meant going planer. The churning unpredictability of the planes, the potential for exotic locations, the alienness of its inhabitants calls to my imagination. The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos, which details 4E's churning elemental wastes, is just my cup of tea. Or it would be if it had retained more of the 3E cosmology. As is it's more like a cup of chia; worth a sip, but not as satisfying as I'd hoped.

Arthur Dent beverage metaphors aside, The Plane Below is a 159-page source book that builds on the foundation laid down by last year's The Manual of the Planes. The Elemental Chaos is 4th Edition's catch-all planar setting for D&D's traditional elemental planes, as well as the Nine Hells, the Abyss, and the rest of the rest of the D&D cosmology that isn't the Astral Plane or Ravenloft.

Live your own story with Dragon Age: Origins

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 01/19/2010 - 7:17am

The highest compliment I can give Dragons Age: Origins is that everyone who plays it wants to tell me about their character. In a pen-and-paper RPG, that’s a major social faux paus, but with Dragon Age I think it’s a sign of just how into this game people are getting … and how well it’s namesake gimmick is working.

Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360/PS3/Windows) opens, as so many RPGs do, by having players pick their physical appearance, species (human, elf, dwarf) and class (rogue, fighter, mage). Your picks drive more than your abilities in the game though; they also establish which of six origins stories will be associated with your character.