VIDEO GAME REVIEW: FINAL FANTASY TYPE 0

Final Fantasy Type 0 was a game from the very early days of the PS4/X-Box One. In fact, it came in a package with the excellent Bloodborne with the PS4 console. Set in the Final Fantasy world, it follows a class of magic users (class 0) as they defend their nation from a mechanical nation that invades them.

This is the very definition of an early game in the consoles life, being more a tech demo. Many of the ideas presented here were refined and done better in Final Fantasy 15. From the real-time map-based combat to the overworld movement that lacks details or a map to tell you locations, all these elements have been refined down the line.

Add to this is the long wait times between areas. Rather than seamlessly moving between areas or minimising your transitions, there is an annoying number of loading screens as you move room to room or area to area. This makes the gameplay feel exceptionally slow and ponderous, which isn't helped by the random encounters and repetitive combat encounters.

When you also consider that the story is over-convoluted and not very engaging, this game unfortunately should be a pass. If you want a game done similar, Final Fantasy 15 is the obvious candidate for a replacement. It feels a little harsh as it is a bit of a product of the time, but that didn't stop Bloodborne being excellent.

1.5 out of 5 final stars. 

BOARD GAME REVIEW: HERBACEOUS

Herbaceous by Pencil First Games appears to be a pleasant little game. Themed around collecting different herbs for your collection. In order to complete this, you have 4 single-use containers. You fill these up by mixing herbs from your private garden and the community garden.

Herbaceous has an interesting way of building up the gardens. Each turn, you draw a card and then decide to put it in a communal area or your private area. You then draw and place a second card in the one you didn't choose. This gives the game a nice amount of interaction and means you need to watch what everyone else is building up.

This is where the game shows its teeth. You are trying to build up your 4 containers to be large scorers. Each scores differently, however. One rewards multiples, one rewards different pairs, one rewards different, and one just rewards special numbered herbs but is limited to 3 (and you can score bonus points if you get 3 different special herbs). And for all of these, you need to constantly pace yourself with the game timer, other players, and what is available in the communal garden. 

Herbaceous doesn't have many rules and is a small footprint. But the communal garden you are constantly forced to gives other players opportunities. It is a game of pacing, timing, and sometimes pushing your luck. It isn't going to light the world on fire, with games playing out similarly game-to-game (but there is a mini expansion that can help with that), but it is always enjoyable. 

4.5 out of 5 smelly waffles. 

MOVIE REVIEW: DETECTIVE PIKACHU (2019)

Detective Pikachu is a live action Pokemon movie that is based on a spin-off Pokemon game from a few years ago. Starring Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Pikachu, the movie is set in a world where Pokemon exist and occupy the world alongside human protagonists. 

The movie follows Tim, an insurance broker. He gets a call telling him that his father is dead. Travelling to Ryme City, he meets Lucy (a reporter) and a Pikachu (who he can understand) who has amnesia and used to be Harry's partner. They then try to unravel the mystery surrounding what happened with Harry.

For the most part, this movie works. It is a joy to watch the Pokemon walking around and interacting with the world. The plot-device that is Ryme City (where there are no battles or pokeballs) means that there is a reason for the Pokemon not to be constantly in battles or pokeballs and lets them interact with the characters allot more.

The downsides are few, but significant. The first is that this is a children's movie (or for those familiar with Pokemon), which means that those who are not familiar (i.e. parents) will find limited enjoyment. Also as a product of this is the plot is fairly predictable, with twists that can be seen coming a mile away.

Perhaps more significant is that the main characters don't really work. Tim and Lucy often feel like they are under-acting allot of scenes that should be emotional. They just don't feel like they really quite have the range to jump between all the tones the movie tries to touch on and make it feel natural.

But more significant is Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds). They simply made the character too snarky. The character is too much like Deadpool, making meta jokes when the situation is trying to be dramatic. Cracking jokes about climate change while they are struggling for their lives completely breaks the mood. It feels like most of these were studio-mandated jokes because, hey Deadpool made money.

So that is it overall. A nice movie but it keeps being brought short by the characters and plot. But if you like Pokemon, you will enjoy seeing them in live action.

2 out of 5 detective waffles. 

BOOK REVIEW: ALL MY FRIENDS ARE SUPERHEROES

This book (All My Friends Are Superheroes by Andrew Kauffman) starts off interesting enough. There are superheroes everywhere with different powers. Some are Perfectionists, some are Hypnotists, some can breathe underwater, some are simply always nervous. Some powers seem useful, some not. There are no supervillains per se.

However, one hero makes the girl he has a crush on believe her husband is invisible (by hypnotising). Oh, and he used to date her after he hypnotised her to essentially rape her for 3 months. But somehow he is still not a villain. And the book tries to play this off as "well, the Perfectionist had the best sex of her life with Hypno which is what he hypnotised her to believe, so it is okay." But no-one steps up to challenge this demented Deus-Ex character just to advance the plot more.

Overall, though (if you ignore this bit of writing stupidity), the book is humorous with its unique view of superhero powers. It is also short. But they are big things to overlook, so ultimately a big thumbs down.

1 out of 5 super waffles. 

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: KICKSTARTER ARRIVALS

So I just thought I would give some initial impressions of some Kickstarter arrivals that I have unpacked, purely based on the contents and the rulebook:

Mysthea- Looks really good. Storing it back in the trays is a bit of a pain. The game looks good. The standard miniatures look like they lost a bit of detail a they are quite small. The game looks quite fun. I am very happy I got the language pack for cards with text.

Neta Tanka- The deluxe edition had allot in it. The KS exclusives didn't quite fit well into the storage boxes. It looks very interesting but also looks like it has allot in it. Hopefully it won't be too complex.

Batman- That was allot of stuff. I doubt I will go with the new Kickstarter in June as there is allot here. The miniature bases and lack of player aides with a poor rulebook is very annoying.

Clash of Rage- Looks really fun. However, the boxes have heaps of unused space around molds. I think I can pack in all the stuff in the base game.

Wreck Raiders- The dice are a bit clunky, which affects how much they can roll compared to rolling them in the box. Looks like a nice small set-collection game. The component quality is okay, but looks like it plays quite fun.

MOVIE REVIEW: CREED 2

Creed 2 is the follow-up to Creed. This in itself was a sort-of sequel to the Rocky series, where Rocky comes back in the role of a trainer rather than a fighter. The main character, Adonis Creed, is now the heavyweight champion. However, the past is going to try catching up to him.

The main rival here is Viktor Drago, the son of Ivan Drago. After being shamed in his country for losing to Rocky, Ivan has decided to try and regain the glory that was taken from him by putting Viktor against Adonis.

Creed 2 feels at once both familiar and also fresh. Adonis has to contend with issues both inside and outside the ring as he aims to overcome the challenge to his title. It follows several of the familiar Rocky beats (including the training montage), and how it plays out isn't really exceptionally surprising.

However, not every movie needs to be filled with twists and turns. There are a few surprises on how things play out, but what this movie does, it does well. The story gets you emotionally invested and the characters are well realised. In particular, both sides are given plenty of motivations that are believable.

The only downside is that perhaps it is time for Rocky to step out of the series. He does serve as the known emotional bedrock of the series with history, but I would be interested in perhaps a new or different character moving into that role. This would probably be the final step to prove that Creed can truly stand on its own as a series. 

5 out of 5 boxing waffles. 

MOVIE REVIEW: ONCE UPON A DEADPOOL (2018)

Once Upon a Deadpool is a non-R rated remake of Deadpool 2. It effectively just dials back the blood and gore and swearing and instead changes its premise a bit. Instead of just a straight up movie, it is instead set akin to the Princess Bride, with Deadpool telling it to Fred Savage.

Deadpool 2 is the story of Cable, coming back through time. He wants to kill a kid (Russell) who will grow up to kill his family. Along the way, he runs into Deadpool who wants to protect the kid. Despite Deadpool treating allot of things like a joke, he never comes across as a joke. In addition, they are able to play with the new storytelling device to insert extra humour in areas.

Once Upon a Deadpool is as entertaining to watch as Deadpool 2. The acting and the jokes are great, the reveals are good, and it is a good superhero story. That being said, if you have watched Deadpool 2 then it doesn't add enough new things to make it worthwhile to watch again (unless you want to see Deadpool 2 again, in which case having things slightly different makes it feel a bit fresher).

That is probably the biggest criticism of Once Upon a Deadpool. Its reasons for existing are questionable. If people weren't going to watch it because of the tone and vulgarity, it doesn't remove enough of that to make it worthwhile. Otherwise you have already seen it. However, taken in  vacuum, it is still a very good movie.

4 out of 5 bloody waffles. 

BOARD GAME REVIEW: CENTURY EASTERN WONDERS

Century: Spice Road was a game that was a big hit. Although I wasn't the biggest fan of it, it still saw allot of play as it was quick, simple, and could easily be introduced to groups. My main complaint is that one mechanism doesn't make a game, and it was really hurt by the lack of any non-obvious victory point pathway (such as end game goals or achievements).

So when I heard Eastern Wonders was meant to be a gamer's version of Spice Road, I was excited. And it does indeed add some additional mechanisms such as a tech-tree of sorts and end game scoring. While Spice Road is a card and hand-management game, Eastern Wonders is much closer to a pick-up-and-deliver game. It also has the benefit of being able to be combined with Spice Road.

Eastern Wonders, however, felt like a two-steps-forwards/three-steps-backwards situation. The game adds a bunch of extra steps to set-up (including putting the board together, which should've really have had an included play-mat) and to each turn. In addition to this, the graphic design to see all the information is lacking, with the structures you build always obscuring important information you are missing.

But, for me, I guess this also suffers from a fatal flaw like Spice Road. In Spice Road, the lack of end-game or alternate scoring pathways left it feeling much less exciting than things like Splendor (with the noble tiles). Here, it is that the map remains pretty static for most the game. If you can spot a route that you can turn over resources quicker by travelling in circles, there is very little outside sources that can stop you. 

This is alleviated by combining Spice Road and Eastern Wonders to form a larger game, now requiring hand management and board management. The problem with this is that it turns into the same price as an expensive big box game, and you still have the graphic design issue. At this price, the game needs to be stellar rather than just good for what you are physically receiving. Unfortunately, it just isn't.

So in the end, Eastern Wonders wasn't for me. I prefer Spice Road because it plays quicker and is easier to set-up and teach to new players. However, for me, the Century series feels like a series of games that isn't for me as they miss essential ingredients of what makes the style of games fun. Maybe if they release a reasonably-priced box for the combined games than it may be more worthwhile.

2 out of 5 wondrous waffles. 

MOVIE REVIEW: AVENGERS END GAME (2019)

Avengers: End Game had big shoes to fill. Following up from Infinity War (which I regarded as the best Marvel Cinematic Universe movie at the time), End Game had the task of wrapping up Phase 3 of the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, rather than continuing Infinity War and taking any risks, End Game feels like a corporate paint-by-numbers movie.

End Game starts a little after the end of Infinity War. The trailers built up several mysteries (such as how Tony Stark is saved), but these are quickly resolved. The Avengers than go about the task of trying to undo the damage caused by Thanos and his snap. What follows next is an underwhelming, self-indulgent movie that the 'nothing matters' superhero movie criticisms can be applied to.

The main problems I have with it isn't that it is mediocre (which it definitely is). It is (like Captain Marvel before it) how it retroactively makes some of the best lines and scenes of the previous movies worse. Thor getting Stormbreaker and his nobility are thrown away into making him the comic relief. Hulk becomes Hulk again with just a quick handwave. The Soul Stone no longer requires sacrificing that which you love the most. They give an out for Loki to reappear. And the list goes on as they want to have their cake and eat it for future merchandising.

It all ends in a largely inconsequential fight at the end. You know the ending. The ending has been rumored since before Infinity War. It is very predictable. All you need to do is look at the upcoming movie releases and the most popular movies to know how it is going to resolve itself. No risks were taken and some of the big risks of previous movies were undone. However, the worst is done to Thanos and his fearsome and formidable Black Order, who are reduced to a generic villain and cannon fodder.

Infinity War took allot of risks for a superhero movie and is one of my favorite movies of all time. It also ended perfectly and would've have been a suitably epic end for the Marvel movies. Unfortunately, End Game fails and instead gets stuck in corporate mediocrity. I wonder when the dust settles on the hype if this movie will be fondly remembered. For me, I always prefer the twisted father-figure that was Infinity War Thanos and suspect that, like Transformers, it won't be remembered too fondly in the future.

2 out of 5 ending stars.

/MOVIE REVIEW: POWER RANGERS (2017)

Power Rangers is a 2017 American super-hero film that is based in a series of shows. The shows main premise is a bunch of heroes can transform into costumed warriors, pilot mecha-lions, and combine into a mega robot.

If that premise sounds silly and light-hearted, that is because it is. And that is something the previous series shows understood (for the most part). Maybe due to budgetary constraints or the quality of the acting that was available to them, they never took the premise overly seriously. And if you think that this new movie is anything but light-hearted based on the trailer, well, you are half-right.

That is ultimately where the Power Rangers movie falls down. It doesn't know if it wants to be light-hearted or grim and dark. I wouldn't be surprised to learn (if I cared enough to research) that it had large amounts of reshoots or rewrites of the script. What you are left with is a weird movie that randomly alternates between trying to be a dark-and-gritty take on the Power Rangers that grates against other parts of the movie that try to make everything a joke.

This is a shame as the movie had potential either way. Instead, the movie can best be summed up in one scene. In this scene, you see the giant monster incinerating the town and murdering the townsfolk. All the sudden, the old Power Ranger theme hits as the Power Rangers arrive on the scene, jarring you out of the dark section. And then one of the characters makes the mind-baffling decision to drive towards the giant monsters just to try and up the tension again.

1.5 out of 5 mighty-morphin' power waffles. 

MOVIE REVIEW: BAYWATCH (2017)

Baywatch is a 2017 movie that is based on the famous earlier television show (called Baywatch). The original Baywatch was known for its eye candy (with David Hasslehoff and Pamela Anderson). This movie is a comedy that casts Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the lead lifeguard and Zac Effron as a troubled gold-medallist.

The main plot revolves around the lifeguards getting involved in a criminal enterprise occuring on their beach. As part of this, Zac Effron also goes through his redemption arc as he proves himself to his mentor, chases the girl, and rises to the occasion. However, this movie isn't here for its originality but for its comedy.

For the most part, the comedy is okay. It definitely suffers in that the funniest parts have been shown in the trailers. The remains of the comedy isn't really anything that gets more than the occasional chuckle. The actors are charismatic enough, but the script and interactions really let them down.

But who is let down the most in this movie are the female characters. Every female character that has more than a passing mention only really exists to be a goal for the male characters. They don't really have any other moments of awesome, character development, or any resistance to the main characters charisma once they have saved the day.

So all up middling comedy and grating representations of characters means that this is more a miss than a hit. If you really want the best funny parts, just go and watch the trailers.

2 out of 5 watching waffles.

Book Review: Gone Girl

Having recently finished the Gone Girl book, I did really enjoy it. The book plays around with the unreliable narrator by making both the husband and wife that the book is set around unreliable. Just when you thought that you were getting a handle on what was happening, it then proceeds to pull the rug out from underneath the reader with a major twist.

Gone Girl had no set hero or villain. In some ways, it was just 2 bad people and one just happened to be much worse when provoked. With no reliable narration happening from either viewpoint, it is always difficult to know what is going on. 

It is also quite well paced. The story keeps moving along and, just when you think a lull might start or you might start spinning wheels, it throws another spanner into the works. Switching perspectives and throwing away established points with unreliable narrators tends to do that.

The only downside is that, every so often, you swear that the characters took the stupid pill. Some of the twists and turns seem to only exist there to be a twist rather than what a sensible person would do. However, despite this, I would definitely recommend this as a good read to pass a couple of days and a book that you want to talk about.

4 out of 5 Waffles Gone.

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: TWELVE (MARVEL)

Twelve is a comic where twelve World War 2 heroes get frozen to sleep and wake up in the modern day. Here, they have to adjust to modern life while the government hopes they act as heroes and show the world what heroes are meant to be. This is following events such as Civil War where heroes fight each other. 

So it pretty much ends up being about a bunch of Captain America's but the issue is are they all as "good" as Captain America just because they come from the same era? Spoilers follow.

Tonally, I am not sure what this book is trying to say. The heroes come out, some come out and try to be heroes quite successfully. But then they just end up arguing amongst themselves. This isn't helped by the bad guy being one of them (in fact the best of them, the Superman stand-in). And in order to drag out this mystery, a pretty weak deus-ex machine plot device is used.

Even the scenes of them trying to fit into the modern world, despite filling a big slot of the book, are not well handled. It is effective, however, in showing that there were things not always black-and-white even with the heroes of old. The rest is just the usual of change in police procedures, life on the wrong side of the road vs idealism, etc.

This book would have been better if there was a villain, perhaps a similar frozen villain. After criticising (in-story) all the hero vs hero stuff at the beginning, it is just another story that devolves into a hero vs hero finale at the end.

1.5 out of 5 Frozen Waffles.

BOARD GAME REVIEW: DREAM HOME

Dream Home is a pretty simple game. In effect, you are drafting cards that are a combination of a room and a special card (that gives an ability, points, etc.). You then effectively place the cards in a tableau to make your house.

Dream Home really is a nice little game. The decisions aren't deep but it plays quickly and gives you good decisions throughout the whole game. You are waiting to get the right cards for your house, as you get bonuses for making rooms bigger and having the home be functional. However, collecting a matching roof is also worth allot of points, which may make you choose a sub-optimal room. 

The one thing that it may lack is replayability. The cards are pretty straightforward but the variety sometimes feels lacking. While it is an enjoyable gameplay loop, the game mechanisms sometimes feel a bit too straightforward, particularly towards the end. The other thing is that constantly refreshing the display can feel a bit fiddly. 

The artwork in the game is great, with each room looking different. In addition, you have decor items which you can place on top of the rooms, which also look great. The artwork and the appeal of making your own house appeals to younger gamers allot.

At the end of the day, this game is a nice game. Despite concerns about it being fiddly and potentially lacking replayabiltiy. the core gameplay loop and choices involved with what combinations of cards you take keep the tension up in the game. It is definitely a game worth checking out.

4 out of 5 architectural waffles. 

BOARD GAME REVIEW: KEMET

Kemet by Matagot Games is a war game based on area control and battles. Set in Ancient Mythological Egypt, it is a game of conquest. In fact, you are awarded handsomely for winning combats and are punished if your forces are left weak, able to be crushed by the enemy. 

The basic engine behind it is a mix of action selections and power allocation (similar to Blood Rage or Cthulhu Wars). You get a certain number of power per turn to spend recruiting and getting technology upgrades. You then also have to move your forces around, trying to win fights and capture key locations.

There is allot Kemet does right. The map is great, with everyone 3 spaces from everyone else regardless of location. It does this and still makes the spaces and territories make sense (mostly). The other good thing is the combat system, which is fast but still gives plenty of decisions and ways to manipulate the outcome for your benefit both immediately and in the future.

However, Kemet does two glaring things wrong that come up in a game this long far too often. The first is that it is very easy to play kingmaker. With how turn order works and the ease points can be taken, people can very easily end up having to choose who is going to win. This is somewhat relate to the second big problem in that you can be stuck losing slowly and it is no fun.

At the end of the day, board games are a big time investment. A bad start that can cripple you in a video game means you can easily hit restart. A board game requires time commitment and so most my favorite games (that aren't co-op) tend to be games where you can still work on things or have fun when losing. Kemet tends to only have kingmaking as something the losing players can do.

So that is it. Kemet is a game with allot of cool mechanics and premise, but the game just takes too long for these issues. I know I am in the minority but it is a game that I think ends up being pretty average.

4 out of 5 mummified waffles. 

NETFLIX REVIEW: UMBRELLA ACADEMY

The Umbrella Academy is a show based on the comics (graphic novels) by Dark Horse Comics. In it, it follows a young superhero team who has grown up. It attempts to be both a satire of the superhero genre and also a bit of a love letter.

The premise of the show is that a young superhero team is trained by a Professor X-type figure. The superheroes all have powers because they were effectively immaculate conceptions all on the same date. As they grow up, they go their separate ways, reuniting when there mentor dies. Each of these heroes is not a well-adjusted adult, each suffering some trauma from the distant mentor they had.

While the premise may be intriguing, it ends up feeling quite generic. There are a ton of stories about realistic superheroes and how they struggle to adjust to life (with Watchmen being the best example). The fact that this is effectively based on the X-Men doesn't help, as recent X-Men storylines have also explored things Professor X being manipulative and a bad mentor, the effects of child-soldiers, etc.

The final nail in the coffin is the music. You can almost tell that this was made near Guardians of the Galaxy and its success, as pop music is shoved into nearly every scene. It is loud and obnoxious, and kept taking me out of any investment in the already quite generic characters.

Overall, this is the definition of Netflix binge-watching. It is predictable and brainless, with the acting being okay. Unfortunately, the premise is too generic and the constant music blasting over the scenes actually takes me out of the actual story they are trying to build.

1.5 out of 5 covering waffles. 

BOARD GAME REVIEW: SPACE PARK

Space Park is a game Keymaster Games that seems to be fitting into that ever so crowded genre of light-medium games, or gateway games. It is of the same weight as games such as Splendor and Ticket to Ride. It has a couple of rules and plays quite simply.

In this game, you are travelling around a board (which forms a circle), taking actions to collect gems. You use these gems to trade in for points (either directly or by victory point cards). The cards here also can give you special abilities. It is a victory point race like Splendor, with the game ending once a victory point goal is reached.

The components in the game are really good. The space-rock-gems are great, are a good size and easy to handle. The spaceships moving around the board are also great. The cards and board look really nice, with nice big artwork and also thought given to maximise there usability. The only complaint is that the fast travel and xp tokens could have done to be a little larger.

In terms of gameplay, it is a gateway game. Very few rules, non-complex interactions between the rules, and some player interaction but a lack of heavy take-that. The game plays very quickly as the board only gives each player 3 choices per round, effectively limiting analysis paralysis. This all makes the gameplay smooth and fast, which is good. 

In the end the game is good. It doesn't really put a step wrong. It doesn't quite have the potential for big surprising plays that other games do. Although it never really sets out to accomplish this, it does hold it back from those high ranks. Instead it is just a really fun, solid little game. 

4 out of 5 whizzing waffles. 

VIDEO GAME REVIEW: LEGEND OF ZELDA- A LINK BETWEEN WORLDS

The Legend of Zelda series have a firm place in my heart. From my childish nostalgia for A Link To The Past to the 3D wonder of Ocarina of Time (my equal 2 favourites), I have always relied on them to provide some great action games. And then along comes A Legend of Zelda- A Link Between Worlds. To me, this was the most disappointing Zelda game that I have played. It may not have been the worst, but it definitely did not live up to the high pedigree that I have come to expect from these games.

And how did it achieve this dubious honour? Because for the whole game I didn't encounter one decent new element. This whole game felt like it was ripped from A Link To The Past. The first Zelda game to be a direct sequel, I avoided most the hype for this game. But I started to get concerned when I noticed the same map from A Link To The Past. And then I noticed the same enemies. And then the same dungeon locations. Even allot of the bosses are repeated (oh, the turtle boss with the helmet, the boss thief in the dark world village, the big snake that has a tail for you to keep hitting, the final dungeon repeating the three light world bosses). Allot of the cool items are then taken out, replaced with one-use only items (oh cool sandrod that makes pillars of sand, shame there is no sand outside of the sand dungeon). Even the big new gimmick of merging into a wall painting is just like shimmying a wall in a stealth game.

I kept expecting this game to open up to something new. Maybe along the lines of extending the map world so that there are actual NEW AREAS (kind of like the old map is part of a bigger map), or the reveal of a third world. But no. A Link Between Worlds, for me, is the most disappointing Zelda game and I would prefer to play Link To The Past via emulator any day of the week (a game I have beaten 6 separate times, a game with infinitely more heart and thoughtfulness than this game).

1.5 out of 5 Linked Waffles

ANIMATED MOVIE REVIEW: SAHARA (2017)

Sahara is an animated movie that follows the adventures of some snakes in a desert. It constantly seems to jump back and forth, picking up and dropping plot points just to keep the story moving forward. I guess the spoiler here is that I found the movie very inconsistent. 

The story of the movie follows two snakes (a boy and girl) from opposite sides of a divide. When they each want to sneak to the other side, they meet each other. When the border patrol birds guarding the divide find them, they escape together. So it has the whole social commentary part going. 

It then promptly drops all these plot points when the girl snake is caught by a snake charmer. It isn't clear whether he can understand the animals, but his mind control dancing makes him the bad guy. I'm not 100% sure why as most the dancers seem quite happy dancing. But that sets up the climax of the movie without bothering about any of the earlier plot points.

This movies storyline is a mess. As indicated originally, it is inconsistent and constantly picks up and drops points along the way. The animation and voice acting are okay, but that isn't enough to save it when the foundations are quite poor. 

1.5 out of 5 venomous waffles.  

FINAL SPACE: ANIMATED SERIES INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

Final Space is a space-opera series that is on Netflix. It is very much in the same kind of parody and dark humor of other shows such as Disenchanted. With the setting, it does remind me most of Futurama. In the initial impressions, Gary is sent to a prison ship and is slowly going insane. His only companion is his jailer, an AI called Hue. He then stumbles into a plot that is much bigger than himself. 

The story of how he gets to the prison ship is actually pretty good. It isn't revolutionary, but it is believable and fits the shows fun sense of humor. In addition, how he arrives into the situation he is in and how he gets out of these also reinforces the shows sense of fun.

Overall, the show is quite fun. The relationships between the characters and how the mysteries and depth to them slowly unravels is well paced. It isn't a revolutionary show, and shows such as Futurama I still feel still do this future space parody better. One of these reasons is that Futurama's humor does appeal to different people, while Final Space tends to go for the most obvious jokes which tend to lack too much depth. 

However, once again, the style of humor and the pacing of the show reinforce eachother. Overall, the storyline is engaging and the show is fun. It is definitely worth checking out. 

MOVIE REVIEW: BIRDBOX (2018)

Birdbox is a psychological thriller along the same lines as movies such as Blindness. In this movie, the premise is that there is something causing everyone to go mad and commit suicide. However, you avoid this by not seeing them. 

The movie isn't set in a linear time narrative. Instead, it tends to jump back and forth between the time periods. I am not sure what they meant to achieve by this, but it clearly doesn't work. You know how things are roughly going to end up and who needs to die to achieve this, so it tends to undercut allot of the tension it attempts to build up.

It is a shame because the rest of the movie is quite good. The premise is sufficiently mysterious and terrifying, seeing people around you go insane. The force causing this is treated more like a force of nature rather than an explainable phenomenon. And the acting and character progression tends to be very good.

The overall story is definitely where this shines. There are quite a few idiotic choices by the main cast just to keep the story going, but the pace of the movie (with a couple of exceptions) tends to make these not too noticeable. It is easy to get caught up in the moment and forgive some (but not all) of the short-cuts that are taken. 

So overall the movie is okay. The premise is good but the main detraction is how they decided to direct it jumping back and forward in time. It doesn't work for what should be a slow-burn thriller.

2.5 out of 5 blind waffles. 

BOARD GAME REVIEW: SEA OF CLOUDS (2016)

Sea of Clouds is a game that takes a couple of mechanisms used in other games. It then mashes them together and makes something that is just a little bit special out of them. Regardless, it does have some flaws (like any game).
Sea of Clouds is a pirate-themed game from IeLLO. It mashes together an “I split/You Choose” mechanism from games such as piece of cake. However, the twist here is that it is done in sequence and you only see the back of the cards to start with. This then gives it a Small Worlds type mechanism where every time you pass over a card, you add another card to it. And finally, battling is done similar to 7 Wonders (fight each person besides you).

Ultimately, it all comes together really well. Seeing the back of the cards and knowing what type of cards there is gives you just enough information. It makes me wonder if Seven Wonders would benefit from something similar (knowing what types of cards are coming up means you can start building with direction).  Combat is powerful but because it only happens 4-5 times in a game keeps it from becoming too annoying. And the tough choices about skipping a pile, knowing the next card may make the stack amazing. And the artwork and components are great.

There are a couple of downsides, however. One of the main ones is that analysis paralysis is real, especially if there is pile someone doesn’t want but would be great for the next person. Be prepared for a bit of waiting or attempted negotiation in this case. The other problem is that it is entirely possible to run out of cards at 4 players, meaning you are just shuffling pirate heavy stacks back into the supply. A few extra cards would've really mitigated this allot.

However, overall, the game plays really nicely. The problems are far outweighed by the good, and it is a nice light game to start of finish off the night. It has some good meat on the bones as well to not feel like a throw-away game.

4 out of 5 heartily-enjoyable waffles.

MOVIE REVIEW: SPIDERMAN INTO THE SPIDERVERSE (2018)

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse is a Spiderman movie that seems to be set outside the main Marvel cinematic universe. It is an animated movie that follows a new Spiderman, one Miles Morales, as he gets bitten by a special spider.

The movie is very good. The animation is slick and the storyline is great. It has a couple of twists and turns, particularly towards the beginning, that shake up the normal superhero movie formula. It also has allot of quips and banter during fighting.

Despite the quips and twists, it doesn't actually lose sight of what it is setting out to do. Despite how fast paced the action and plot beats feel, it isn't afraid to slow down or have quieter moments. And despite how predictable some things feel, the excellent build up work means that when the big heroic moments happen, it still makes you feel like cheering.

It goes without saying that the sound and visuals are also very slick. The match and reinforce the story that they are trying to tell. The whole package just comes together very smoothly. Overall, this is one of the best superhero movies that has come out, and is heartily recommended.

5 out of 5 universal waffles. 

MOVIE REVIEW: GHOST IN THE SHELL (2017)

Ghost in the Shell (2017) is a live-action adaption of an anime starring Scarlett Johansson. Based in the future, Killian (played by Johansson) is a cyborg that is part of an anti-terrorism squad. However, things aren't quite what they seem.

As a visual adaption of the anime, the movie is a resounding success. The visuals are great, with everything feeling familiar and yet having a futuristic twist. Holographic billboards and robot assistants mix with super-high-density buildings and slum-like areas. It is great to see the visuals represent the anime so well.

Unfortunately, the story doesn't make the transition nearly as smoothly. While it attempts to tell a story of twists and turns, most the story is quite predictable and generic. It also unfortunately seems to force its story into a weird juxtaposition between trying to ask existential questions and action cliches.

Neither of these really work smoothly. The big existential questions grind the pace of the movie, and are often presented as exposition (in a classic tell don't show way). And the action scenes often don't take advantage of the unique visuals and opportunities of the premise, instead having Killian and Co. as gun-slinging superheroes rather than something similar to Dredd or Raid.

In the end, it is a shame. The visuals are great and things look great, but the story and skeleton holding everything together is quite flimsy. It unfortunately makes it hard to recommend Ghost in the Shell, although there is still some enjoyment to be had from it.

2 out of 5 ghostly waffles. 

SERIES REVIEW: DISENCHANTMENT (SEASON 1)

Disenchantment is a Netflix series created by Matt Groening (creator of the Simpsons). The story follows a princess, a demon, and an elf, through fantasy-times. Similar to Futurama, it seems to be aiming to be a very irreverent look at the normal tropes of fantasy cartoons.

For example, Princess Bean is a drinking, brawling princess. The elf leaves his land of singing that is taken to the extreme. The demon keeps encouraging them to keep making wrong decisions. The king is an oaf, etc. And that is the setup. Combine this with a bunch of semi-meta jokes, it seems to be a set-up for success.

And it mainly succeeds in what it sets out to do. It has wise-cracking and absurd situations where the main characters get through them in comedic fashion. It plays around with the tropes of the genre and also carves its own identity to an extent.

My only criticism is that it doesn't go far enough. Similar to Bart in the Simpsons, you can predict the moments where the irreverent nature of the show will stop and the heart-warming end sequence will begin. This is a shame, as it means that it gets dragged back into the generic territory, where it constantly plays it safe. 

There are no shortage of irreverent animated comedies available these days. The show is still good to watch, but it doesn't quite do enough to stand out. It keeps getting dragged back into familiar territory, which is a shame considering the humour hits more often than it misses.

3.5 out of 5 elf blood waffles.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: AGE OF SIGMAR

Age of Sigmar is what happened when Games Workshop decided to end their Warhammer Fantasy Battle line of rank-and-file troop engagements and effectively make  a version of Warhammer 40k ported into the Warhammer universe. I have currently played a handful of games using my Freeguild (old Empire) and some Stormcast Eternals. 

My initial impressions are quite positive. It is no doubt 40k ported over into Fantasy, but they have made enough small changes to make it feel quite a bit different. Of course, there are also things that are direct copies, just like there always was, and some misfires in some of the changes they made.

The big thing is how easy it is to choose a matched point army. This is a good and a bad thing. For one, now you just choose squads in multiples of a unit, choose a weapon option, and done. No longer are you paying for command or weapon upgrades. Of course, on the flip side, it means that points are quite fixed and customisation options are very limited. All weapon upgrades have to be equal or offer something, meaning some of the nuance is lost (particularly if a weapon is just better than the alternative). 

The other thing I really like is the theme. This is like a weird-steampunk/fantasy type setting. There is a mixture of weird fantasy factions and also more traditional factions. Steampunk airship-riding dwarfs and lightning-forge space marine clones march besides elf infantry. Unfortunately, this desire to split up armies into different factions (and Games Workshop desire to copyright names) meant that some armies have been split and don't really work as a stand-alone force. 

My hope for the future is that the power creep stops a bit. There has definitely been a bit of a power creep, particularly around summoning armies and huge stacking buffs. The other hope is that they flesh out some of the factions a bit more to make them a more coherent force. But overall, I am very much enjoying my plays of this.

MOVIE REVIEW: MISS PEREGINE’S SCHOOL FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016)

2016 really outdid itself with bad movies. But while Suicide Squad and Batman V Superman were bad, somehow this movie (while slightly more competently put together) feels worse. Tim Burton’s latest offering to the world of cinema feels like a pandering mess.

The movie follows a boy (probably 17 years old or something) who is the grandson of someone else. The grandfather tells the son stories of kids with powers who he knows.  As the boy believes these to be true when he is too old to believe in this, thus leading to social isolation and bullying. He is also a social outcast with no friends.

However, this all changes when he goes into a time loop, meets these people with powers, and has to save the day. Because, shock of shocks, he has the most special ability of all: the ability to see invisible monsters who hunt these people. This makes him one of the most special of special people, just like his grandfather.

Samuel L. Jackson plays the villain leading the monsters. Eva Green plays the headmistress. And the movie degenerates into a pandering mess. I can’t be bothered to finish explaining the plot because it is dumb. The social outcast find his place, falls in love with a hot girl his age just waiting around for him, and generally being the most awesome person in the world. And all this is generally a kids movie.

However, the bad guys also graphically eat body parts and the invisible monsters are body horror. This is a painful juxtaposition. At least movies like Eragon didn’t have horror in amongst them as it went about its wish fulfilment. Here, we have some adult themes (i.e. isolationism) with very adult horror in a movie to appeal to kids.

This doesn’t even mention things like the horrors (capable of killing whole schools) being killed by one crossbow bolt. Or how all the love developments just happen without any sort of character development. Or how the hero suddenly becomes a confident tactician and warrior despite being useless and with no training. At least Green Lantern had that short training montage.

So definitely a movie to miss. I can’t believe I am doing this, but I would recommend Batman V Superman over this. At least it doesn’t try to pander to the stereotypical outcast nerd who is suddenly awesome as it goes about being awful.

0 out of 5 peculiar waffles.