BEST BOARD GAMES OF 2017 (THAT I HAVE PLAYED)

In this list, I will highlight the five best new-to-me board games of 2017. Sometime in the future I will go back and rank all the new to me games from 2017 from best to worse (particularly because there are several that are probably going to be added in when I play them a bit more, such as Gloomhaven). I will try to stick to 2017 releases and I have not played all the games, with the big list of games probably incorporating older games. So without further ado, here they are:

UNLOCK- An escape room in a box. There has been a few come out this year. I have not played them all, but the one I did play (Unlock) hooked me in. Space Cowboys have done a good job of app-integration, and the non-consumable nature means that you can sell this off and not have it break the bank (similar to TIME Stories). I would imagine EXIT, Escape Room in a Box, etc. would also be high up if I played them.   

CODENAMES: DUET- Codenames was a good game with a couple of small problems. However, after playing Duets, it makes the original Codenames feel lacklustre for me. Things like downtime and bending rules go away. The only downside is it loses support for large number of players (realistically, you wouldn't play Duets with more than 4 at most), but what you gain in the card deduction and mechanisms more than makes up for it. 

7TH CONTINENT- This game is a big sprawling world where you go around and have adventures. It is one of my most played games despite its length. Eventually, I guess world knowledge would reduce the thrill of exploration. However, I think I am still 40 or so hours away from even contemplating this. 

SWORD & SORCERY- A generic name with generic classes and generic enemies. This game proves you don't need to have oddball or unique themes to be a great game. Solid mechanisms that reward teamwork without feeling forced, meaningful choices and intriguing stories. make this a compelling experience When the Kickstarter stuff becomes available I am looking forward to getting more of this.

AVENTURIA ADVENTURE CARD GAME: THE DARK EYE- A great system where there is a bunch of cards in your deck that are all good, but you must sacrifice a couple of them each turn to get mana. I don't care too much for the duelling mode, but I like the adventure mode. It is quick to setup, teach and get stuck into while giving a very lite roleplaying adventure story leading up to it, its main strengths are its intriguing card play and how fast it is. Coming back to it doesn't feel like you have to relearn allot of rules. Once I get started on building experience and deck building I imagine this is going to climb.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

    PHOTOSYNTHESIS- An intriguing game that is a spatial timing puzzle around resource management and area denial with some gorgeous trees. Can be a touch too mean though. Also I haven't played it enough to see if it has long term appeal.

   BARENPARK- On the opposite end of the spectrum from Photosynthesis, a cool tile-laying game. However, there is a slight lack of interaction to truly make this stand-out compared to Patchwork. An expansion that increases the interaction (but without being mean) a bit would be really good.

  ASSAULT OF THE GIANTS- A very assymetric game that isn't quite as assymetric as first appears. Falls into the trap of railroaded strategies for each faction to be most effective and have a chance at winning. 

   TIME STORIES EXPEDITION ENDURANCE- Another TIME Stories by Space Cowboys before there disappointing last couple of scenarios (Lumen Fidei and Estrella Drive). This delivered on the promise of exploring a time period, playing around with time travel mechanics and having an engrossing adventure and puzzles for the first time. I wish things from this, Prophecy of Dragons and Under The Mask get incorporated bettter in the future instead of fake difficulty and a railroaded story. The only reason this missed out is because it is technically an expansion.
  

MOVIE REVIEW: STAR WARS EPISODE 8- THE LAST JEDI (2017)

The second of the big movie releases for the end of the year that seems to have scared all the other movies away (with the other being Justice League), The Last Jedi had allot to live up to. With the criticisms of the Force Awakens being fresh in the minds of the new makers of Star Wars, this is a movie where it definitely feels like they jettisoned everything from Episode 7. This scorched earth approach unfortunately means that the bad bits go away, but so do all the good. 

* Spoilers Follow *

The story starts off following the magnificent trio of Poe, Finn and Rey as they continue on their side plots. Against them is the ever incompetent First Order headed by Snoke and Kylo Ren and an admiral that I didn't bother to learn the name of. Each of these goes through a plot where their plkot armour is in full effect and they never have to struggle for that much.

By the end of the movie, the only interesting villains (Snoke and his Red Guard) are dead. The only interesting plot development (Luke turned Dark and tried to kill Kylo Ren) is resolved in a way that says that Luke never did anything wrong because he never succumbed. ANd the Millenium Falcon can outgun a squadron of X-Wings. And First Order captial ships drop easily to a couple of fighters and bombers (and suiciding light-speed ships, which of course leaves everyone but the main characters unaffected).

And that is really the crux of the problem. The villains continuosly fail. The heroes never feel like they are in peril. And the characters and side plot are all boring. The special effects are okay (with some really weird parts that look awful), but there is nothing special about the movie or the performances in it. While Force Awakens may have been a little too much like the original, this throws away everything Star Wars for a bunch of generic perfect action heroes outgunning the foe. This is highlighted best by Carrie Fisher surviving being in a vacuum because of the force, which had me face palming. Doubly so because this was the only part of the movie where the villain nearly completes his goal.

At the end of the day, these are all nitpicks. The biggest sin of this movie is that I looked at my watch thinking the movie was nearly ending (because it felt like a slog) and it was only 30 minutes in. 

1.5 out of 5 force-awakened waffles.

PLAYSTATION 4 GAME REVIEW: NEVER ALONE

Never Alone is a small title from Upper One Games that is based on Native American culture and stories. It has an interesting premise wrapped around a puzzle-platformer where two characters (which can be played co-operatively) are trying to reach there goals, with each bringing unique skills to the problems.

The story is a relatively simple but conversely quite confusing. The main story is that a bad man comes into the main characters village looking for something. She then runs from him until she is forced to confront him. There are also blizzards which started happening. The story may have been based on Alaskan culture, but the storyline doesn't really provide much cohesion. It feels like a bunch of random tasks and puzzles thrown together, especially at the end of the game.

This may have been saved if the gameplay was good. Unfortunately, the platforming is mediocre. The movement and environmental effects is very loose and quite buggy. You can do the same jump twice and have it come with two different outcomes for unknown reasons. Not only that, but the Bola shooting mechanic is frustrating and unnecessary (considering the wealth of buttons that have no bindings assigned to them). 

So while the game is an interesting premise, the mediocre platforming and non-sensical story leaves allot to be desired. The game is short, which is its only blessing as it doesn't overstay its welcome too much. However, this would be a recommended pass.

1.5 out of 5 lonely waffles. 

GAME REVIEW: CASTLEVANIA- LORDS OF SHADOW- MIRRORS OF FATE

Castlevania Mirrors of Fate is a flawed game that had allot of potential. It is based on the classic Castlevania style system that has you exploring a castle and working towards facing Dracula. 

Mirrors of Fate is a 2D platformer with 3D elements and backgrounds. This doesn’t really work compared to the plain 2D environments. Sometimes it is confusing to see what is in the background compared to the foreground. Also the close-ups of the characters look pretty horrendous. 

The combat is pretty good for the most part. You control multiple characters but they all end up feeling the same with no cool abilities of their own. There are some different combos and enemies have varying attacks which keep things fresh, and the bosses are pretty good. However the camera feels far too close into the action for allot of combats to make you use the environment during combat. 

The story is perhaps the biggest misstep of the whole game. This doesn’t feel like a standalone game in the series. Enemies, characters and plot points really don’t work unless you have prior knowledge of the series. For example the toy maker shows up as a protagonist but you never face or interact with him. 

All in all this game is a miss in the Castlevania series. The graphics and story aren’t very good and the combat feels okay although you don’t have too many cool abilities or standout combat moments. 

2 out of 5 bloodsucking waffles.