Fantastic Contraption is a flash-based physics game in which the player is given a variety of tools to use in order to construct a device capable of moving a red ball into a goal.  Devices can be as simple as a single wheel pulling the ball, or as complex as a catapult used to hurl the ball over a barrier.

The levels get progressively more and more difficult, but they are never impossibly hard.  After you have completed a level, you can look at solutions that other players have used.  This often gave me ideas to use in later levels (Oh, I can string together a whole bunch of little sticks to make a chain…)

Fantastic Contraption consists of 20 levels that you can play for free.  For $10, you gain access to a level editor and player-created levels.

Technorati Tags: Flash games, Fantastic Contraption, games, video games, pc games, free games, physics games, game reviews

WotC’s Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition introduces a slew of changes to the venerable franchise, from a new modern look and feel to streamlined gameplay rules and a completely redesigned class and skill system. Today I take a look at the Player’s Handbook, and I will review the Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual in upcoming articles. After running a couple sessions, I’ll follow up with play impressions.

Fourth Edition has taken quite a lot of criticism, both because of the radical changes it’s undergone since Third Edition and because of the nature of the changes made – toward a simpler and more broadly appealing game. The first thing I heard about it from friends and fellow gamers is that looked like World of Warcraft on the tabletop. As a WoW burnout myself, and a vocal critic of Third Edition’s many shortcomings, I went in with a healthy amount of skepticism. To my surprise I was really impressed with the game’s focus and direction.

In this review I’m taking the approach that Fourth Edition is a complete game deserving to stand or fall on its own merits, so if you’re looking for a detailed comparison with previous incarnations of Dungeons and Dragons you’ll have to look elsewhere. At its heart it’s still a d20 system game, but beyond that it’s all apples and oranges.

Presentation

The new edition eschews the leather-bound tome look in favor of a more modern layout, with clean lines and simple decorative elements. It’s not quite as captivating as some of the really well-designed gaming manuals we’ve seen in recent years (here’s looking at you, Exalted 2nd Edition), but it delivers on the most important aspect: usability. Full color page-and-a-half paintings mark the beginning of each chapter with high fantasy action scenes, and smaller illustrations are scattered liberally throughout the book. The authors made great use of color and iconography in identifying important blocks, such as character powers and tables. Information is well organized and easy to access with an informative table of contents and extensive index.

Tables or lists of class powers by level would have been nice, as would an organized collection of important tables in a central area. As a PDF user with a hyperlinked table of contents and a bookmarks sidebar I don’t worry too much about these issues myself, but if you’re paging through a hard copy your mileage may vary.

Game Mechanics

The core mechanic is a simple roll a die, add numeric modifiers system familiar to almost any gamer. I’ve always been a fan of dice-pool systems for their smoother advancement and statistical spread, but the designers seem to have put in a lot of effort to ensure the difficulty of tasks keeps pace with character advancement. Characters gain their abilities almost strictly according to class selections, which is locked in at the time of character creation, and advance by level. This leads to a lack of character variety, but the selection of powers and feats available let players give their characters at least a little flavor.

Dungeons and Dragons has always been a combat heavy game and Fourth Edition continues that trend, with a reinvigorated focus on strategy. The game requires the use of a grid and a system to keep track of positioning and movement, and many character powers incorporate tactical movement into their effects. They’re not shy about pushing their miniatures products, but they do offer advice on simpler alternatives for players short on cash or shelf space. You may have heard this about 3rd Edition and other roleplaying games, but this time they really mean it: you are not going to get much out of Fourth Edition without a battle grid.

Non-combat activities have been streamlined and the skill system is incredibly simple – a character chooses a handful of trained skills which provide a flat bonus to his rolls. Fourth Edition introduces a few new mechanics to spice up non-combat encounters called skill challenges and rituals. In a skill challenge the Dungeon Master introduces a complicated scenario such as infiltrating a palace or discovering the location of a hidden temple, and players take turns using any relevant skills to advance the party toward the goal. The object is to accumulate a number of successful rolls before exceeding a maximum number of failures, and each participating character must act on his turn.

Rituals are sorcerous ceremonies conducted by any character with the appropriate instructions, though the magic-oriented classes excel at obtaining and performing them. They involve large investments of time and money and produce powerful effects from raising the dead to useful abilities for all participants, like underwater breathing. You’ll find most of the group utility-oriented and non-combat magic in rituals, a two-edged sword that allows a non-standard party to overcome common game-stopping obstacles but also reduces dependence and demand for traditional spellcasters.

Playability

Fourth Edition adheres to the philosophy that the rules should be simple, streamlined and easy to remember. Every rule has many exceptions, but the exceptions are encapsulated in powers and other abilities. When a power violates a gameplay rule it spells out the exception explicitly, so there is no need to memorize a complicated list of exceptions or special mechanics that may apply in odd circumstances. In this sense it reminds me of collectible card games with their extremely simple core rules and myriad special mechanics introduced by individual cards. Character creation is straightforward – allocate points to the six primary stats, choose a class, pick a few powers and a handful of skills and you’re ready to roll. We’ll see how well this all plays out in the upcoming game play article.

The game provides little to no mechanical support for theatrics or roleplaying, character personality traits and quirks. A few small concessions are made for creative problem solving, but for the most part the parameters are laid out and don’t allow for exceptions. Both the PHB and the Dungeon Master’s Guide (more on that in the next article) talk a lot about how lively description and interaction make the game more fun and engaging, but the words seem to ring hollow. As a long time GM I know better than to think roleplaying is enough of a reward in itself to keep players enthusiastic.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a roleplaying game mixing the best aspects of tactical turn-based strategy, collectible card games, and the heroic action of a typical MMO, Fourth Edition is right up your alley. The strategic elements of the game are strong enough to keep the intellect stimulated without taxing capacity for rules memorization, and the emphasis on movement and position should appeal to wargamers and tactical RPG fans.

On the other hand if you prefer your games gritty and political with a heavy emphasis on character development and roleplaying you’re likely to be disappointed. It’s a step up from a miniatures game, and wont’ suffer from the problem of anonymity that plagues the modern MMO, but it really doesn’t supply the carrot or the stick to draw out shy players or reward the enthusiastic for their efforts. The good news is that there are plenty of great games out there that do; in an upcoming review I’ll tell you all about the Burning Wheel, a system on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Technorati Tags: dungeons and dragons, fourth edition, fourth, 4th, review, roleplaying, role playing, role, play, player’s handbook, PHB, D&D

Frotz is a Z-machine interpreter which is needed to run Zork and other Zork like games, made popular waaaay back in the day by this little company called Infocom.

It’s a free app from the store, which comes with a bunch of games pre-loaded, and the ability to natively browse the IFDB (Interactive Fiction DataBase) for new stuff to download and play.

Game play is a little slow thanks to the iPhone keyboard but it’s still pretty much the same experience as it was back in the 80s.

Technorati Tags: frotz, iphone, apps, app store, zork, infocom, ifdc

One evening a few of us were sitting around chatting about games and imagining how our characters would act and what they could do. One of us mentioned that it would be great if gaming was more like this. We were all really into our characters, thinking like them and even beginning to act like them, even though we weren’t actually playing.

I tried a few things to make it run more smoothly, but ran into conflicts with the other existing rules. Part of the reason I wrote the article on traditional RPGs versus MMORPGs. The answer came from a comment by Adam on that article. (Thank you, Adam) He listed a few websites that focused on the role-playing side and not so much the hack and slash leveling up that even some tabletops seem to be leaning towards today.

And that brings me to The Window.

The window is a role playing game that really focuses on ROLE PLAYING. It even calls it’s players actors rather than players. The GM is called The Storyteller and the party of players is called a Troupe.

At first I was a little skeptical, thinking it was just a new veneer on old furniture. But I decided to continue reading. It starts with three precepts for setting up a game. These three precepts pretty much govern the game. It sounds a little vague, but it becomes much clearer as you read (and even clearer as you play).
These are the three precepts to a Window game:

“Everything about a Window character is described with adjectives rather than numbers.”
“It is the actor’s responsibility to play their role realistically.”
“A good story is the central goal.”

Let me say now that I’m hooked. This is the system I’ve been looking for. Rather than interrupting the game every 5 minutes for a new dice roll to make sure you’re still hiding, this game trusts the players to use their characters realistically. Not to say the GM doesn’t have control, it’s still ultimately up to the person running the game, but The Window actually works better when there is an exchange of ideas between the players and GM.

The creation process is more like writing a 3 paragraph story about your character than algebra homework.
Rather than having a number attached to each of your skills and stats, you describe them.
(Note for those of you starting to wonder what to do with the pound and a half of dice you own: Don’t worry, there are still dice rolls, they just take a backseat to actually playing your character.) if your character is “really good” at something, say exactly that. There is a chart (one of a very few for this game) to help you understand how to use the dice for this and all other instances. The website has a sample character to help you understand how to create one. You are even encouraged to dress as your character if it gets you into the role.

I’m actually having trouble reviewing this game without explaining it end to end, so I’ll sum up:

Good Stuff:

This game plays more like you’re acting in a movie as the script is being written than a dice rolling argument. The limited amount of dice used IN NO WAY LIMITS the flexibility of the game or the involvement of it’s players, it in fact maximizes how much they can contribute. It has no setting, allowing it to be played as any type of game, while having examples of how to use it in a variety of settings. It also has no limits of classes or races, allowing you to be EXACTLY what you want to be. You can learn the rules in under a half an hour and have a character created in another 15-20 minutes. Oh, and it’s free, the rules are spelled out on the website.

Bad Stuff:

The Window is rather open-ended, a problem if you’re dealing with inexperienced players, or are GMing your first game. The lack of set modifiers for classes and races can be a bit intimidating in character creation. It’s dice system is backwards from most systems out there (small dice are better, low rolls are considered successes), causing slight confusion until you’re used to it.

Overall, I’d highly recommend this game to anyone who is looking for a more captivating gaming experience. It has everything that you want in a role playing experience because it allows you to decide how the game will work. It takes a little getting used to, but after that, The Window gives a WAY better gaming experience than the other systems I’ve played. I am seriously considering using this as my default system when running a game. Everyone looking for something more than hack and slash should at least give it a look.

To keep with the theme of the game, I am going to rate it with adjectives. Numbers follow to help convert the ideas until you’re comfortable with their system:
Playability: Amazing (9/10)
Simplicity: Awe Inspiring (9.9/10)
Flexibility: Astounding (10/10)

Technorati Tags: role playing, rgp, the window, games, table top

A 2D platform game that has me discovering somewhere along the line I had traded my fingers for thumbs. It’s the jumping… I cannot do the jumping. Think Mario on acid.

I don’t know if I like it or hate it. The levels progressively get more difficult but the tasks have no rhyme or reason. WHY am I jumping and dodging to end a level that gives me no idea WHY I screamed and cursed at the screen through out my multiple demises?????

This game is for kids I guess and I want to pound on the kids who can breeze through these levels. Monster kids who were born with a controller in their hands and they must be stopped at all costs!

Each character I’ve played so far has no ability that distinguishes it from the last. The “toy factory” isn’t like any toy factory I’ve ever been in… (okay, I’ve never been *in* a toy factor or have ever seen a toy factory. As far as I know they’re all hellish evil playgrounds for demonic Care Bears.)

I will continue to play because that’s what I do, but as far as a relaxing game to give me a break from the more intense games I’ve been playing, it fails!

You know if most games forced you to jump as much as this one does- I may have traded my consoles in for… books a long time ago. >:-|

I can’t give you the traditional rating system because I’m not even half way through and I’ve no idea what I thnk of it over all. My ego is crushed as a young boy is pointing and laughing at me each time I poof my character and yell “CRUB!!”

19.95- for lipstick that’s a little spendy. For socks, they had better be durable for that price, and for a video game, it’s a steal.

I must admit that when I began to play it I completely age regressed. LEGO’S! IN ACTION! With working light sabers and shooting guns- HOW AWESOME! It was more than that though. It’s not a kids game, it’s for the kid at heart.

The areas were large enough to keep me interested, secret areas are challenging and special features that you unlock as you go along- forcing you to revisit the levels as different characters so you can nab the special prizes. I can’t wait to join the dark force so I can see what I’m missing!

Simple game play- Basic jumping, shooting, running, tip toeing. This game gradually gets you adjusted to the different types of characters and their abilities. Pretty soon you’re swapping the characters around to make the most of the situations placed before. Light saber action, blasters, and droids, they all have their importance and you can easily swap the characters while playing in order to make it a smooth level.

It combines combat, air combat, puzzles and most important- LEGO creations! You earn kits and laughter. The cut scenes are humorous and this game plays a great tribute to the original Trilogy. With three stories and each one houses quite a few levels, it keeps your attention and with the drastic change in environments, you don’t tire of the game play (or at least I haven’t yet). Even in the middle of the game you’ll find an area that has carnival type of challenges that cause you smile should you choose to break free for a moment to gain extra points and a breather.

One of my biggest gripes with games that are based on films- the game typically lasts as long as the film, and requires less skill to watch the film than to play the game with a few exceptions of course and this one of those exceptions.

You even get to don a Stormtroopers hat to *blend* in- which is quite hilarious when you have a tiny Storm trooper helmet teetering on the top of Chewie’s head- one wrong move and they’re onto you… lasers galore!

If you’ve been passing this game by and you’re a fan of LEGO’s and Star Wars, this is a definite must have. It’s genuinely fun, it doesn’t take itself too seriously and it completely lives up to the spirit of the films that helped push us into the love of the Sci-Fi genres that were out of this world.

The Good:

It’s fun, quick to get the hang of it. There’s always something to explore and discover.
There are at least 2 characters you can utilize at any time- six at the most and if you want your favorite person along for the journey, it can be a two player game as well. I tried that and I wound up frustrated, “You’re not using the force right!”

The Bad:

Highly addicting and it makes you want to go out and buy a ton of LEGO kits that can be rather spendy.

Overall Score: 8.9

Gameplay: 8
Experience (Sound/Graphics) 9
Replayability: 9
Fun Factor/Price: 9

From the hilly roads of San Francisco to the icy turns in a German town, you race your way up the food chain. This is your life and you’re one bad *insert preferred curse-esque word here*.

Amazon.com
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (HIN) evolves the current street racing scene, letting players experience the culture of the real-life HIN tour, the nation’s largest lifestyle custom car show in an intense racing experience. Featuring track and drift racing at real-world locations around the globe.

• Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights combines an intense, addictive racing experience with the culture of the real-life HIN tour, the nation’s largest lifestyle custom car show
• Perfect your skills in multi-car drifting races
• Driver DNA tracks each individual player’s driving habits, creating a profile that can be downloaded off of all online gaming services 
• Download celebrity DNA and test your star power skills
• In-game gambling let’s you watch and bet on live races with up to 1000 others
• Customization let’s you be who you want to be with 90 digitally scanned cars and over 250 aftermarket mods and numerous combinations of character features, players can treat themselves to the ultimate car and driver customization
• Online Pink Slip and Crew Racing means you can tap into your inner risk-taker by challenging other players for their cars and putting yours on the line.
• Race online with friends you hand-pick for your crew

I received this games months ago. Although I play it regularly, I sadly have not gotten around to writing about it because I’m trying to figure out my own opinion on the game. Actually I was hoping to improve a little bit more, however, I don’t see that happening any time soon. When you do perfect a certain skill such as powersliding, it lets you know but adding it to your DNA! I think a little ego boost helps every now and then.

I can honestly say that I like it. I find the graphics passable, the options and abilities to win money to supe up your car is awesome, but there are things that my inabilities hinder my game play. I can’t drift. For the life of me I can’t figure out why I’m such a horrible drifter! I question the controllers vice a steering wheel or perhaps it’s a simple of case of “I just really suck at it.” I don’t like the fact that you can’t move forward without showing skills in more than one area, mainly because I’m lacking in those skills.

In order to advance through the levels and gain more $$ you have to meet certain criteria’s- such as the ability to drift and pass the “Last Man Standing” challenges. You are also given a series of tasks to complete in each race in order to move forward. Example: Spook a particular driver. This part is fun because you aren’t just racing, you’re hunting someone down and scaring the hell out of them. There are bets you can place to rake in some extra cash. It’s illegal, challenging and you don’t have to worry about getting arrested or being beaten to a bloody pulp*

In each circuit your vehicle must meet a certain standard. This is fine and dandy, but you can never go back to the lower levels to see if you can sneak in some extra cash. You basically have to sell your car and start fresh. <-I’m stating this in case there are other drifting impaired people who wind up unable to move pass and you’re wanting to go to the previous circuit in order to get some practice in. If there’s a way to bypass it, I haven’t found it.

I’ve also heard that on the newer consoles you can customize your character. I feel so left out Unlike the NASCAR games, you can be any gender and guess what? The music is actually likable, especially for those long game playing days where you can drift to your hearts content. I really don’t think I can move past this drift portion without some serious professional help.

Racing games and sport games aren’t really my genre so the fact that this has kept me amused and returning, should say something. I’ve yet to lose interest and I’m looking forward to some how Matrixing myself by downloading the drifting skill into my brain so that it comes as second nature.

Juiced 2 does rock. I however, do not.

Overall 8.5
Gameplay: 8
Experience (Sound/Graphics): 9
Replayability: 9
Fun Factor/Price: 9

Only 29.99 at Amazon! Click to purchase Juiced 2
*Disclaimer: Playing this game will not prevent you from being arrested or beaten to a bloody pulp for activities outside of Juiced 2 Hot Import Nights.

Technorati Tags: Juiced 2, THQ, Racing Games, Drifting, DNA, Hot Import Nights

We’re proud to announce that we’ve partnered with @XI Computers and we’ll soon be expanding our reviews to include PC games thanks to an amazing new system provided by @XI. There certainly is nothing like a gaming experience on an Intel quad core extreme machine, water cooled and using one of Nvidia’s latest GPUs. Even Vista behaves like a snappy OS. I’ve got to say that the hardware looks damn nice as well. Thanks to @XI we’ve got the goods to review some interesting, top end games coming down the line.

The Xi® MTower™ IGE-SLI™ Gamer Edition tower is what these games will be tested on. You can read a review of the dual core model from 2007 in PC World Magazine where it scored an impressive 86 out of 100 and was also rated the fastest computer reviewed in PC World’s Best and Worst Computers of 2007.

There will be more pictures posted soon and in a week or so I plan to have a full review of the system, including benchmarks and complete specs online. One of the most impressive aspects I’ve seen so far (beyond pure performance) is that after spending some time with Bioshock, the hottest of the four cores came up at a rosy 56C (about 135F) very cool for such an intense gaming experience.

I can say that the @XI experience has been great – from notification that the computer shipped through receiving it and setting it up. If you’re into serious speed and serious gaming (or CAD and CG) you’ll definitely want to check them out – they offer great value for your money and deliver on their promises.

[tags]gaming, video games, water cooled, intel extreme, quad core, xi computers, @xi, powerhouse,

USB Missile Launcher
Stir Up Some Mayhem to Break Up the Monotony — Is your 9 to 5 getting you down?
Ever find yourself bored and frustrated on the job? Take control of the airspace
in and around your cubicle for a fun way to break up the day. — This USB
Missile Launcher features a 15 foot range so you can conduct target practice, or
see if your missle can land just outside the corner office. — Use your PC to
aim and launch the three foam missiles to secure your borders and defend your
homecube. The missile is controlled left to right, and fired using your computer
controls.

USB Missile Launcher
Price $29.99

Dr. Freud’s Therapy Ball
Tired of being called unsympathetic? Give the gift that keeps on giving. For that friend, significant other or relative who keeps trying to get you talk about their feelings, Dr. Freud’s Therapy Ball will have you appearing heart felt and caring in no time with over twenty responses such as: ”How did that
make you feel?” and “Talk about your mother.”

Dr. Freud’s Therapy Ball
Price $8.95

Train Man : Densha Otoko (2005)

My absolute favorite film of the year, therefore who WOULDN’T appreciate this as a gift? You have geekdom, Japan, a great love story and quirky all wrapped up in 102 minutes!
“A supposedly true combination of a romance and a Pygmalion story, Densha Otoko began as an on-line tale that captivated audiences in Japan: there’s a novel, a TV show, and a manga series, in addition to this feature. The title character is a textbook otaku, an anime and video game nerd who divides his time between the electronics stores in Tokyo’s Akihabara district and the computer in his cluttered room. One day on a commuter train, he prevents an obnoxious drunk from bothering a pretty girl. She sends him a set of Hermès teacups as a thank-you and a tentative romance begins. Train Man has no idea how to behave with a girl, so an on-line posse tells him how to dress and what to say. Ultimately, his example inspires them to go out into the world. Director Masanori Murakami effectively uses a split screen to create the on-line community. Takayuki Yamada makes a wonderfully maladroit Train Man: when he calls Hermès for the first time, he holds the phone as if he were about to commit seppuku. Miki Nakatami infuses Hermès with a winning mixture of gentleness and independence. This touching romance will delight Gen-Y and -Z members, whose lives are bound to the Internet. (Unrated, suitable for ages 13 and older: minor violence, alcohol and tobacco use)–Charles Solomon”
Train_Man Densha Otoko
Price $19.99

Blood Feud in NY
Did you ever wish you were a part of a crime family or know someone who does?
At the end of the Millennium, the FBI, working with various state and federal
agencies managed to rid New York of the ruling crime families that had become
entrenched in the city over many generations. As the boss of one of these
families, you are competing with the other players to determine who will
ultimately rule the world of organized crime. As tensions flare, a full scale
Mob War erupts to determine who will become supreme Mafia Boss of New York. This
is a hard action, take no prisoners game. You are a Boss at the head of a
powerful criminal organization. You and your adversaries are currently based in
one of the five boroughs of New York or in New Jersey. Your goal is to build and
expand your underworld empire by any means necessary. This can include
corrupting precincts to increase your take, kidnapping opposing family members
for ransom, and the coup de grace, taking out the opposing families’ bosses,
thereby removing them from the game. To take control of the city’s underworld,
you will need to be a brilliant strategist, a careful planner and a skilled
negotiator. Knowing the exact moment to take the offensive will be necessary if
you want to take advantage of opponent’s weaknesses. In the end, your paranoia
may prove to be one of your greatest character traits: ALWAYS watch your back!
Blood Feud In New York Board Game
Price $24.95

Halo III Covenant Carbine Scaled Replica
Give that Halo lover something they can take with them when the Xbox is off.
Price: $19.88

Marvel Minimates: Marvel Zombies Box Set of 5
Do you know someone who likes Marvel characters? Do you know someone who likes zombies? Do you know someone who likes BOTH? The Marvel superheros have become the walking undead! A great add to any collection- and they’re ZOMBIES!
Set of 5
Price: $18.99

X-Finger Middle Finger Road Rage Device Placed strategically in any vehicle, you can get that road rage out to defuse itself by squeezing a little bulb and gesturing to that moron exactly what you think of them. Hopefully you place it in an area where any little passengers won’t see…
Price: $14.49

The Cubes- Ann
A great addition to The Cubes collection or a starter. Used as either a voodoo doll playset or perhaps placed on a desk decorated with whatever subtle message you’re wanting to give your boss or co-workers, The Cubes is a brilliant set for anyone who is stuck in Cubicle HELL
Price: $12.99

No I Will Not Fix Your Computer-Tee
Are you or a friend constantly getting sucked into using your talents for free by any of your not so close friends, co-workers, relatives or acquaintances? Save your voice and get your point across. You are a person who deserves your own free time damn it!
Price: $19.95 – $21.95

Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy (Hardcover)
Nothing beats a pop-book, unless it’s a Star Wars pop-up book! Sabuda and Reinhart Studios have created another spectacular pop-up book for George Lucas’s epic STAR WARS movies! Bestselling pop-up artist and engineer Matthew Reinhart has designed a thirtieth anniversary commemorative edition that comes packed with a variety of novelty features — pop-ups, working light sabers, pull tabs, and other interactive looks at the exciting and popular movies. This beautiful book will impress all fans of STAR WARS and gives a whole new perspective to the films.
Star Wars Pop-Up Book
Price $19.79

Mental Floss
Turn your friends and family into geeks by causing them to fall in love with learning and showing off their brain power. This game seriously caused me to give trivia/question games another chance when I was getting completely tired of the genre. You’re guaranteed to walk away a genius!
The Mental Floss Trivia Game picks up where every other party game stops. This mind-challenging game has taken traditional trivia and turned it on its side with more than 1,500 crazy questions. Try to make it through an “Enlightening Round,” stop a “Big Fat Lie” and play a “Mental Block” card to give your opponents a real setback. Includes game board, six movers, 250 floss facts, 200 Enlightening cards, Mental Block cards, Peace of Mind tokens, die, label sheet and instructions. Price $22.98

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about the Xbox is DOA. The graphics and fluid movement has yet to be beaten by other consoles or games. I don’t know if I’m just missing a gem of a game out there that can rival it, but so far if you’re into martial art fighting- DOA is the way to go.

I bring this up as I played both DOA and Tekken on both the Xbox and PS2 today and found myself shockingly disappointed with the Tekken experience. WHY my disappointment with Tekken? Nostalgia. Back when PSX was new, it was one of the first fighting games I had experienced on the new engine. I quickly warmed up to the characters and vicariously fought my way into the depths of the genre. Many years later I could not believe the quirky and stale movements, the lack luster backgrounds and equally lack luster characters.

Take DOA. Known for its big breasted babes that initially had me shunning the games, DOA came through once I began to play, win modest clothing and was pleased with the combination of movements, storymodes and control over how the game looked and played.

Tekken 5 has fallen from grace and DOA, a game that I was becoming bored with, is once more on my game rotation.

I will admit however, that fighting games have never been my first choice as I’m not typically a fan, but I’m always revisiting it every couple of years to see where the industry is going with it.

Other Fighting Games I’ve Tried to Compare:
Mortal Combat (I know… I know…)
Tao Feng
Fight Club
Soul Caliber
Street Fighter
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
(all comic book vs games)
Dragon Ball Z

Why do I bring this up? The boy and I finally watched the DOA movie. I wasn’t too surprised as it felt like Hollywood’s take on special martial arts effects that Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Iron Monkey et al knew how to choreograph; it insulted a lot of the insultable characters that I had been playing for years- but all in all it was a fun little flick. Much like Tomb Raider, you don’t love the movie because it’s a wonderful film, you watch and enjoy it because it is what it is; a campy film paying some sort of tribute to a game that stole away a chunk of your life.

After viewing the film and going a few rounds of DOA with Jonathon, that’s what prompted me to take another look at Tekken because I didn’t want to believe that DOA was going to remain on top of my fighting games. An hour later and a look of disappointment, I feel like popping in Dead or Alive once more.

If you disagree, feel free to steer me in the right direction.

-Ghic

(Graphic- A quick, lazy Paint Shop Pro version of Tekken going up against DOA by me.)

Board games allow us to revert back to whatever grudge we had stuffed down as adulthood made it improper to hold onto the memory of finding your doll house doll’s head on your bed with a note from GI Joe threatening the other members of the doll house family unless you sneak two cookies and leave them outside your big brothers door.

Games equal revenge. Granted if you take a candid photo of all members playing, it looks sweet from an outside perspective, but underneath it all, we all know it’s “To the death. Survival of the fittest. There ARE no relationships or bonds when the board is laid out.”

I’m all for the silly games that require little skill, but even more so I’m always on the look out for a game that can boost your cerebral abilities and at the same time have light hearted fun.

One quest for such a game led me to find “Mental Floss.” I’m not quite sure what prompted going on a game run a couple of years ago, but I was bent on finding SOMETHING that didn’t require knowing about “celebrities” or luck of the die.

My final stop before I gave up and cursed my city for having nothing but mindless insults, was Borders Bookstore. On a shelf in the middle of an aisle housed more games that Hollywood created, and upon asking a clerk if they HAD anything called forth brain power, she looked at me confused and said, “Well we just got in Simpsons Monopoly…” As I was looking at her wondering how she managed to breathe without being prompted, I spied one shiny tin box at the very bottom of the shelf and as the angels sung while the sun beamed through the windows- I saw the name, “Mental Floss- It’s Funny. It’s Quirky. And you’ll walk away a genius.” Oh Pressman- you had me at Mental.”

Questions are set up as such:

Right Brain, left brain, spot the big fat lie, and Enightening Rounds (answer three questions in a row and you’ll get a Piece of Mind token… or you can risk it all on the fourth).

Examples:

Right Brain: What organization began in 1916 as the Junior Citizens?
Left Brain: What is the plural of “piecemeal”?
Spot the Big Fat Lie:
A. The original “jawbreaker” wasn’t a candy, but slang for a dental technique used to remedy especially-severe cases of lockjaw.
B. The original “blockbuster” wasn’t a hit show, but a large bomb. Made by the British in World War II, the explosives were powerful enough to destroy an entire city block.
Enlightening Round:
(theme) I Had Too Much To Think Last Night
1. Sometimes called “the founder of modern philosophy,” this French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher weighs in as one of the greatest minds in post-Columbian history. And while he’s best known for his ultra self-confident statement, “I think, therefore I am,” what’s a less well-known is that he hated mornings, and preferred to spend them philosophizing in bed. Name the late, great thinker.
(and if you get it correct, you move onto a slighter more difficult question, and then another- and the you either take your token or try the fourth and most difficult one)

You’ll learn, you’ll laugh and then you’ll want to play some more. My game came with a free Mental Floss magazine, which drove me to their main website as the magazine was equally fun and the website was even more enjoyable.

So, if you want to take your family therapy to the level of proving who’s the most brilliant causing the losers to kneel before your superiority, then this is the game for YOU! If you’re surrounded by a bunch of Poindexter’s… then you might want to stick with Yahtzee or Life.

I first began this game weeks ago and unfortunately regular life gets in the way so that I may afford the electricity to power up my PS2 and purchase food so that I’m not balling up in pain whilst playing the game. When life calms down a little allowing me to have some quiet time, you can be certain that I’m sitting with a controller in hand and my brain is bouncing all over the place while I’m reloading and regrouping.

Currently I’m stuck on a level (I won’t say which as I’m slightly embarrassed- but it is in the double digits) and strangely I’m not discouraged. In most games that I get stuck on, I wind up feeling like there’s a glitch in the game and I become disinterested. In this case, I know it’s solely due to me. I visualize many people beating this particular section with ease. For myself, it gets my mind in motion trying to figure out a decent strategy so that I can conquer and succeed. To me that equates an awesome game. The writers and developers actually put some thought into this and I truly see and feel it.

Let me back up a little- I haven’t played an RPG game in YEARS (with the exception of Kingdom Hearts II). I’m typically a gun toting, martial arts butt kicking type of gamer. Give me terrain, baddies and a few puzzles/situations to solve cerebrally and I’m happy. It’s all about in your face action, explosions, and feeling beaten down yet proud when you beat a level. RPG seemed a little too slow paced after many years of preferred genre.

When I received this game I was a little skeptical. Okay, I was a lotta skeptical, but after the first half an hour I fell prey to their agenda and I’m hooked. I’m a junkie and I don’t care!

Allow me to bottom line it:

The Good:

A decent story. Great characters (because the main one is ME as I was able to choose my own gender and name). Great squad building, battle strategy, plot, etc. Gig, the character who shares your body- a power hungry trouble maker, yet the one person who can assist you in your fight against the world eaters (please read the About section) he keeps me gasping and amused whilst thinking, “Omg, he didn’t just say that… did he?”

The Bad:

The beginning started out a little choppy and I had almost lost interest. Once you get past the needed background of the story, it does get better. Unfortunately when you wish to start a new game, there’s no way to by-pass the multi-hundreds of years of story. In some areas you can opt to skip scenes but not all. It makes it a little frustrating if you don’t save in the correct area and you need to relive a long winded section of dialogue.

The colors and visuals are a little limiting, but you truly get so into the game that the aesthetics seem like a minor issue.

You can forget about having a life as it winds up consuming a large portion of your free time and you tend to forget you have family and friends. It truly sucks so close to the holiday season as I have a feeling I’ll be dropped off many card and gift lists.

Overall Score: 8.25

Gameplay: 8
Experience (Sound/Graphics): 8
Replayability: 8 (although I don’t know when I’ll get to the end to replay it)
Fun Factor/Price: 9

I didn’t quite know how to sum up what it’s “About”- so I borrowed the following from the info Nazi site (long story) “Wikipedia”.
History of Prodesto
At the end of a long war-shattered age, one man brought all the countries in the Continent of Prodesto together under his rule: Lord Median the Conquerer. Though only one man, he became renowned throughout the world for his heroism, and had even managed to slay the god of death. However, within ten years, the empire Lord Median had created collapsed with the death of his son, quickly followed by his own death. With no apparent leader, the continent collapsed once more into civil war. Fifteen years later, Lord Median’s daughter had proven herself as a true leader, and convinced the remaining countries to form peace treaties, establishing peace once more.

This peace collapsed however, when the “Master of Death”, Gig arrived with three giant beings known as World Eaters under his command. They quickly devastated the land, annihilating entire nations in a matter of days, and it wasn’t long before nations began abandoning their alliances and allying with the World Eaters in an attempt to save themselves.

When things looked their darkest, Layna gathered up what remained of her forces and made a direct assault against Gig, a battle which apparently killed both of them. With their leader gone, the World Eaters fell silent, apparently having gone to sleep, remaining as monuments of the destruction that occurred.
Starting Your Journey
The year is now 800 in the Tamaito calendar. 200 years have passed since the defeat of the shadow at the hands of the technique user Layna. Ever since that day, with the shadow’s defeat, the giants known as “The World Eaters” have retained their silence in the continent. The body of one of the giants remains in the peaceful country of Raide, and serves as a symbol of fear to those who pass by it.

Within the country of Raide, there exists a small secluded village that refuses to acknowledge the existence of those from outside world. It is known as the “Hidden Village”. In that village lives the protagonist along with his friend Danette, and other members of the Sepp race. Along with Layna, whose age now exceeds 200, the protagonist helps to protect the village.

One day, the protagonist and Danette are called forth by old lady Layna and given weapons to help guard the village. Danette, who has always dreamed of protecting the village, is overjoyed and is given twin daggers. The protagonist is given a long black sword.

The moment the protagonist takes hold of the black sword, it begins to insult and swear at Layna. Both the protagonist and Danette are profoundly confused at this point. It is revealed that 200 years ago, Layna destroyed the shadow and sealed its soul into the black sword. The shadow goes by the name of Gig. To utilize the power of Gig, Layna chose to give this sword to the protagonist.

The protagonist is infused with the soul of Gig, gaining control of his power, and is now able to fight against the World Eaters, who have now reawakened. With Gig residing in his body and Danette, who has been his friend since he was young, the protagonist departs into the country of Raide to defeat the World Eaters.
Gameplay
A key element of the game is customization, giving the player many more options to choose from when progressing through the story. When the game begins, the player chooses the gender and name of the main character, a change from other Nippon Ichi games.

At the very beginning of the game the main character can become powerful enough to destroy even the final boss, but relying on Gig too much would be the equivalent of just letting the world be destroyed. Instead, the player is expected to build and train an army of units capable of handling whatever comes his way, relying on Gig’s powers as little as possible.

The player is given the ability to create and command squads, which, after enough time, will become an army capable of destroying the world he is trying to save. Up to 25 different character types can be created, each filling a unique position in the squad with its own strengths and weaknesses. Characters’ individual abilities can do such things as increase the range of an effect or give each unit a bonus to its inflicted damage.

Tedious tasks like visiting the same area over and over in order to level new characters (a staple of older Nippon Ichi titles) are no longer necessary as any character’s level can be set to that of the main character. Also, unlike the older Nippon Ichi titles, the player is not allowed to return to older levels. Squads can also be merged together in order to increase their power.

The game includes more options for interacting with NPCs than previous Nippon Ichi games. It is possible to steal items from shops or NPCs instead of buying them. Additionally, the player can attack the towns and fight against the NPCs inhabiting them. Alternately, the player can recruit NPCs into his army.

Technorati Tags: video games, soul nomad and the world eaters, frpg

Video Games
Juiced 2 (FINALLY a racing game I can get into)
Soul Nomad and the World Eaters- A FRPG that breathes life back into a genre I had nearly forgotten about,
Spider Man: Friend or Foe
Literature
World War Z- Z is for ZOMBIE!! (are you scared? I hope so as it IS that time of year, although any time of year is the right time for zombies)
and Lego Mindstorm (my world domination plans now includes toys).

My time has been spent wisely as I’m a girl in a geek store who is bouncing from a myriad of delights that I can’t wait for a little more progress on my part to share with everyone as to what’s worth playing, worth reading, worth constructing and worth starting your first winter blaze with.

Feel free to request other items of general geeky interest for review that can benefit the masses and divert us from complete global domination (it WILL happen).

Ghic Chic

For more photos, be sure to see our Flickr Talisman photo stream!

Black Industries recently came out with a new version (the fourth) of a wonderful game that I used to play when I was younger. This game, Talisman, has gone through a number of revisions. The best of them by far being the 2nd edition and all of it’s subsequent expansion sets, long since out of print.

Recently Black Industries sent me a promotional copy of Talisman for review. I was overjoyed when I received the package as this was one of my all time favorite games yet at the same time I was a bit nervous. What if this version of Talisman didn’t match up to the 2nd edition? What if it was awful?

I had read some teasers and was following their site with interest and my fears were somewhat eased when I read that they were taking the best of the 2nd addition and adding in a few changes. I decided to leave the box closed and invited Cavtroop over to play the game and help with the review. We would also be joined by my wife, who by admission is not a dedicated gamer like Cav and myself.

Finally the night arrived, Cavtroop was here and we had the table cleared. After a quick dinner of Pizza and soda (traditional gaming night entrees) we got out Talisman and opened it up.

Our first impression was very favorable. The six section folding board was beautifully illustrated and sturdy as all get out. The box that contained all of the cards, character pieces, various bits and counters and of course dice was very nice. A sort of faux velvet. Even more important however was how it was designed. Every set of cards was compartmentalized, along with the character cut outs and counters. No more little baggies and aging elastic bands! Thank you Black Industries for paying attention to what seems at first like a little detail but makes cleanup, storage and replay all that much better.

We took everything out of the box and separated the various cards into their appropriate piles. The board is huge! A bit bigger than the 2nd edition and quite a good size to fill the center of a table. Adventure cards, character cards, toad cards, Talisman cards, spell cards, purchase cards, and alignment cards. Also bagged up were a large number of gold coins with an antique finish, six dice and counters for life, strength and craft.

Giving the rules book a thorough reading we found it to be well organized and well written. The rules are clearly laid out and very easy to understand. We did spot an editorial mistake, there are two section 16:10′s in the rules. Unlike everything else in the game, the book is a bit flimsy. It’s put together like a magazine. Hardcover would have been amazing, although what it would have done to the price or production run I don’t know.

I love the character cut outs. They are nice, solid cardboard which mount into plastic stands, as do the toads. Our one beef with the characters was that they would fall out of their bases half of the time when we were moving them about the board.

The counters are a nice change from the 2nd edition counters, which were card board cut squares about a quarter of an inch across. The new counters are roughly the same size but made of hard plastic. Our only beef was that the raised numbers on the counters (1-4) are a bit hard to read. Multi-colored counters, or a brush with white paint on the raised numbers would do wonders for this. The gold coins are beautiful and a lot nicer than little square cardboard bits. The six sided dice are nice looking as well.

We set the cards into their appropriate piles, shuffled the lot that needed to be shuffled and glanced through some of them. The cards are of nice card stock and while the size is good for playing, the type is perhaps a bit small. Certainly not a game stopper but it did cause a bit of pausing for reading very small type.

We all chose our characters at random. My wife got the Elf, Cavtroop ended up with the Thief and I had the Druid. We set up our appropriate counters for life, craft, strength and our one gold piece and we were off!

That’s one of the inherent beauties of this game, it’s very easy to learn. While the rule book is important to read, for the most part all of the rules of the game are right in front of you. Each game space tells you how to act when you land on it. All of the cards, including the character cards have the special instructions you’ll need in order to make them unique characters. When you move and draw an adventure card, that card spells out exactly what you should do with it, including putting it in the discard pile if need be.

Each turn consists of rolling a six sided die to determine how far along the board you move, determining which direction you’ll go in and then drawing an adventure card or following the instructions on the board. The game board consists of three different realms. The outer realm where everyone starts is where you spend time strengthening your character, gathering equipment and allies, and planning your future strategy. Once your character is strong enough you journey to the second realm by way of a raft (either constructed, found or bought) or by challenging the Sentinal for the right to pass into the middle realm. Once there things get a bit harder. Monsters, animals and spirit enemies become stronger. All the while in both the outer and middle realms your not only encountering enemies via the adventure cards but you’re also encountering each other.

When two players meet, their may be a battle in which one player may lose a life, gold or an object. Spells fly and weapons come into play as well as the special abilities inherent to each character.

Once your character has the strength and/or craft to tackle the center realm, you’ll need just one more item. A Talisman. These can be found, given as gifts, stolen or won from other players. Once in possession of a Talisman you can attempt to gain entry and navigate through the perils of the inner realm. If you can reach the crown of command, once per turn you can cast a spell which has a 50% chance of taking one life from every player. Here’s where the game gets frantic as the other players try every trick, method and spell in the book in an attempt to slow down or stop the player who has the crown of the command. Eventually there is only one player left, and that player is the winner.

my wife picked up the game after our brief explanations and without reading the rule book in about three turns. It was immediately apparent that she was enjoying herself immensely once she got a feel for the game. We all enjoyed the game for its sheer playability. As soon as the first die roll is made everyone is involved. The turns are fast paced without being hectic and the game flow never stops. You just keep playing and enjoying it right up to the end.

The play time listed on the box is 90 minutes. Truthfully it takes a bit longer to play than that. We started at 6:30 and wrapped up at 9:00 for 2 and a half hours of play. Not to worry much though, we didn’t really notice the time going by. Talisman is one of those rare games that combines simplicity and immediate game play with a high replayability factor. Every time you play it will be a bit different thanks to the 15 characters available and the multitude of different events, actions and player decisions that will effect the game.

All in all we had a great game. After two and a half hours of character building and plotting my wife wielding the Elf made it to the crown of command to win the game, destroying first me and next Cavtroop in short order.

This game brought back a lot of great memories when we played Talisman 2nd edition. Even more important though it was just as fun in it’s own right playing right now. All of the flaws we found with it are of the nit picking type. Nothing is a deal breaker or will really affect game play.

Should you go out and buy Talisman when it hits the market in late September? Absolutely. If you enjoy board games with a fantasy bent you’ll have a great time with this game. I dare say you’ll be playing it a lot! With the 2nd edition there were a number of expansions that extended the game in all kinds of interesting ways.

We’re really hoping that Black Industries does well by this game and that they’re able to turn out some of the expansions they’ve been hinting at. We’ll be first in line to add them to our Talisman experience.

Where should you get it? Your local game or hobby shop should be carrying it. You can also pre-order it from Thought Hammer for $35.00 right now. To talk about this game before and after you get it, check out the Talisman forums at Black Industries site.

EDIT: We’ve gotten some great tips from around the web.  The first is to brush the counters with a sharpie so the raised numbers have a nice, black luster.  The second is to laminate the player pieces, giving them a bit of girth and allowing their plastic ‘feet’ to stay on. 

Technorati Tags: reviews, talisman, black industries, board game, fantasy, gaming, awesome