BOARD GAME REVIEW: ADRENALINE

Adrenaline is a game that is at once exactly what it says on the cover and also nothing like what it says on the cover. This is a game that bills itself as a board game version of a first-person shooter.

In some ways, that is exactly what it is. Each turn, you can take two actions to pick up ammo, new weapons, move, and shoot. Each shot damages an opponent. Each shot you take damages you. However, the more damage you get, the more your adrenaline pumps and the more powerful your actions can be. There is a cool variety of weapons, each broken in some way.

However, how damage works is decidely non-first person shooter. Yo are in effect engaging in a game of area control, but each of your areas is the other player. This is because of how damage works. You score based on the majority of your damage markers being on your target, so the game is all about timing an dtring to block out your opponents, rather than a run-and-gun style affair. In fact, some of your turns can become quite cerebral.

I personally think that the choice to do this makes this game unique. It would have been simple to do a dice-chucker-type game. Instead, they made a bunch of unique mechanisms based around achieving the goal of making it a more thinking-type game. Although it does play slightly slower than I would like, and I would've liked to see some more variety in power-ups, I think the core gameplay is very interesting and the weapon combinations always make it interesting to play. 

3.5 out of 5 hyper waffles.

MOVIE REVIEW: ANTMAN AND THE WASP (2018)

Antman and the Wasp is a sequel to the superhero-heist movie that was Antman. Antman originally caught some lightning in a bottle (essentially), being a pretty good movie despite the constant chopping and changing behind the scenes.

That may actually be the main problem with Antman and the Wasp. It is essentially trying to feel like the original movie. It constantly seems to be trying a little bit too hard in landing its jokes or getting to its set pieces to feel like its own thing. There are also some puzzling story choices made throughout the movie. 

The plot is pretty easy. After Civil War, Dr Pym and his daughter Janet/Wasp are on the run while Scott is under house arrest. However, a few days before his 2 year house arrest ends, he has a dream of Janets mum. This leads them to trying to go to the quantum realm to free her while evading the police, some mobsters, and a mysterious ghost.

The movie is serviceable. However, it is also dissapointing. Any semblance of pseudo-science is lost as Quantum becomes synomonous with magic. Several promising plot threads are also resolved quietly without any sort of repercussions. For example, Antman being tricked into helping Captain America, Ghost's background and reasons for revenge, etc. are all dropped. Similar, the mobsters aren't there to be threatening, and should've been replaced by just the cops. Except that having an action scene involving cop cars getting totalled and the occupants killed would've involved real consequences.

This is a serviceable Disney/Marvel movie. Underneath the surface I could feel hints of a slightly darker story akin to Winter Soldier that didn't make it through the cutting room. However, most the jokes hit and the action scenes are nice. An average Marvel movie (at this point) is still a good movie. It just should've been better.

3 out of 5 shrunken waffles.

BOARD GAME REVIEW: FLASH POINT FIRE RESCUE

Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a game where you take on the role of a team of firefighters. In this game, your goal is to save enough people from the building before either the building collapses or the occupants are 'overcome' by the fire.

This game works similar to games like Pandemic. On each players turn, you perform 4 actions. These can be used to save people, move, or put out fires. Then, you advance the fire by rolling a new fire area. If you set off explosions, you may knock out parts of the building. 

Flash Point is a simple game at heart. It is in the gateway area of board games, similar to Pandemic and the like, where the rules are relatively simple. Each player does there actions, fires advance, and you move on. There are a couple of little rules tweaks, but these mainly come in the expansions.

But underneath its weight and simplicity, this game is brimming with theme and life. Saving people and putting out fires is something most people can easily get behind. And although the game can feel a bit samey after awhile (easily fixed with expansion maps), the simple yet variable system of fire advancement makes allot of games feel fresh.

This is a game I really enjoy. The theme and mechanics complement eachother really well and it all makes sense. One of my complaints with it is easily addressed by grabbing an expansion or two for some new maps and more variability. The other issue is the alpha gamer issue, which occasionally rears its head (like Pandemic). This is an issue allot of pure co-operative games struggle with, and this hasn't done much to alleviate the issues. You could implement an only talk on your turn policy for this, but keep that in mind when busting this game out.

4 out of 5 Fire Fighting Stars.

MOVIE REVIEW: SKYSCRAPER (2018)

Skyscraper is the latest action movie starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Here, he stars as a security expert and former SWAT officer that has been hired as a security consultant for the largest skyscraper in the world.

Movies are often descirbed as 'switch off your brain movies.' Personally, I never like movies where you have to switch off your brains to enjoy it. Well, to clarify, I like them, as long as the movie doesn't fall apart when you switch on your brain. For example, see The Last Jedi, where any type of question makes the whole movie fall apart like a house of cards. Please note that this is different from the Suspension of Disbelief, where I choose to believe in Space Wizards using The Force.

Skyscraper is mostly the better class of the 'switch off your brain' type of movie. It reminds me of Die Hard allot, with The Rock getting stuck in something he shouldn't have been. He then has to drive the plot forward for believable motives while working his way through some cool set pieces. 

The pacing and flow of the movie kept me invested in the characters. In this way, it reminded me of Mad Max. The whole movie is just an extended big action sequence. In fact, the only part that seems out-of-the-ordinary feels like the starting sequence. It feels like his SWAT background was going to be a bigger part of the movie, but instead it is just used as an excuse to give him a disability.

Overall, this is an enjoyable action movie. You can switch your brain off and enjoy it, but not feel like it will fall apart with any sort of critique of its plot or motives. The action is good, the pacing of the movie is good, and I would recommend checking this one out.

3.5 out of 5 skyhigh waffles.

BOARD GAME UNBOXINGS: SOME THOUGHTS

Another slow week of board game playing, so I thought I would give my initial thoughts on some games I recently unboxed and read through the rules.

FOUNDERS OF GLOOMHAVEN: Looks great but complicated. The rulebook looks clear but has allot of terminology. It is the sort of game where the impression I get is that it looks more complicated than it actually plays. Components are simple and some races may have issues identifying their colors (i.e. brown vs grey vs orange).

LEGENDARY CREATURES: The game looks fantastic. The rules seem interesting. However, there seems to be a couple of fiddly looking rules which may affect the enjoyment of it, especially as they appear easy to forget. Really looking forward to trying this one.

SMITHS OF WINTERFORGE: Another game that looks great. However, I feel like this may be a King's Forge but more complicated. I don't know if the extra complexity is going to make it worth it. Also am considering a small houserule out of the gate (you get +1 tokens = number of dice rolled if you fail a roll) because the dice rolling seems like it could be brutal.

RISING 5: RUNES OF ASTEROS: Looks nice. The rules seem pretty simple. I got the KS version at a decent price so have the mini-expansions to play around with. The rulebook layout feels a bit off, but still want to get it to the table.

VOYAGES OF MARCO POLO: Such a small rulebook. So many components. This feels like a Stone Age type game. Few rules, but nice to play. Looking forward to giving this one a go, but fear the visual appeal is a bit low with all the hotness around these days.

Hopefully I will get some more games played this week to get back to normal reviews.

INITIAL REVIEW: HOLLOW (NETFLIX ANIMATED SERIES).

The Hollow is a Netflix animated series. In this series, it follows three teenagers through a bunch of different adventures where they travel to different places. Along the way, they are trying to also solve some underlying mysteries. This is a review of the first handful of episodes. 

This series obviously draws inspiration from shows like Maze Runner. The underlying mystery is that they have no idea who they are or why they are there. The actual areas they are travelling through also have there own mysteries, both episode to episode and longer term.

However, the series does feel rushed in the first few episodes. For example, the characters seem to quickly accept there status quo and develop relationships really quickly. Another episode or two of developing the characters or showing some quiet moments between the characters 

Another thing is the generaly likeability of the main characters. One of the characters seems to be constantly whining and complaining, generally getting into trouble and using absolutley no sense. Only one character seems to act with any sense of urgency or sense in dangerous situations. 

Similarly, episodes struggle for consistency, seeming to randomly alternate between slapstick comedy, homage/parody, or drama/horror. Someone should tell the writers to aim for a bit more consistency instead of trying to be the hippest show around. 

However, despite these flaws, the overlying mysteries make the show compelling. The style of the show also makes it stand out, so I am hoping it can iron out the flaws as time goes by.

BOOK REVIEW- MARSH KINGS DAUGHTER BY KAREN DIONNE

The Marsh Kings Daughter is a book based on a slight retelling of an old story. The story is based on a swan princess who gets stolen away, and this book is about an abduction. 

The main story arc is based around the daughter of a man. The man abducted her mother when she was a teenager and kept her captive for 10-15 odd years until they escaped. The father has now escaped.  

The book isn’t written in a linear story. Instead, it jumps back and forward in time from modern day of the daughter and father hunting each other and the past where the daughter is raised in captivity, thinking everything is normal. 

The book falls apart because the story is inconsistent and convoluted with this narrative device. Revelations late in the book make parts of the beginning of the book make little sense. For example, the daughter figures out the dad is bad at the end, but other parts of the book after this still have her idolising her dad. 

Writing the book in a linear fashion would’ve definitely been better to sort out the narrative inconsistencies. The other main issue is just how unlikeable and uninteresting the main character is. She does horrible things, refuses to admit her mistakes, and puts everyone in danger with her dumbe decisions.

Unfortunately these two problems make the book very grating. Add to this that the plot requires contrivances to actually progress that break any sense of immersion, this book becomes a chore to read. 

1.5 out 5 marsh waffles.