I recently received a steam key for Superhot as part of the Kickstarter for the board game. I have recently spent a little bit of time with it and have mostly found it to be fun although it is occasionally frustrating.
The main game is a first person shooter where 1 hit will kill you (and 1 hit will mostly kill the enemies as well). The main hook of the game is the art style, which is featureless polygons. The other hook is that time only moves when you move (which includes looking around). You go through a series of levels and a meta-story about playing a hacked game while you do this.
The game is fun in that each level is like a mini-puzzle with weapons and enemies lying around. The mechanic of time only moving when you do lets you assess situations and takes a normally frantic game type (first person shooter) and makes it nearly turn-based.
However, the frustrating part is that it is a puzzle and it does still rely on reflex. On some of the larger levels, it can get quite tedious to go through the same first slow-moving part of the level before you puzzle out a solution. This is particularly true if you are completing a difficult section of the level and than a stray bullet catches you, meaning your pinpoint timing has to be repeated.
Most the levels, however, are too short and fast paced for this to be a worry. Overall, I found Superhot to be a very enjoyable game which has a novel take on the first person shooter genre. It is definitely worth checking out.
4 out of 5 smoking-hot waffles
Wednesday, 26 July 2017
Wednesday, 19 July 2017
MOVIE REVIEW: SPIDERMAN HOMECOMING (2017)
Spiderman: Homecoming is a Spiderman film set in the Marvel Universe. In case you missed the promotional posters, Iron Man is present in the movie. Or if the posters are anything to go by, it may be Iron Man starring Spiderman.
Those fears are unfounded. Spiderman is very much his own movie. Tony Stark is there as a mentor to Peter Parker and someone he is trying to impress as he tries to go through life after Civil War. This story really focuses on Peter Parker and having to juggle responsibilities, including doing the right thing with his powers even if it hurts him.
Tom Holland plays a really good Spiderman. He is younger looking and more naive-sounding than Tobey MacGuire, and they own that by casting him as younger. The rest of the supporting cast is kind-of a miss. Liz (the love interest) is one dimensional, there new Flash (an Indian nerd who resents Peter's intellect) doesn't really have any pay-off, and Ned (the computer geek friend) is also grating. Michelle is the only hit out of them and probably the only one they should give a big part to in the next movie.
Where this movie really shines are the villains. It seems that they finally put a bit of time investment into establishing the villains and there motivations. It also helped that they brought the villains motivations back from taking over the world/killing the president/etc. which worked well in Civil War. Here, the Vulture specifically wants to stay below the radar of the big guys (because Vulture can fly; Iron Man can fly and has Tank Missiles) and so it leads him to mostly selling salvaged weapons and heisting them without people finding out.
All in all, this movie is a definite hit. The hero is good, the villains are good and the action is good. One complaint is allot of the big action beats are ruined by the trailers so it would've been good to have a bigger sense of wonder and the supporting cast doesn't really hit as well as it should (which, for a movie that spends allot of time with Peter Parker in school, should be a bit better). Despite that, it is a very hearty recommendation.
4 out of 5 web-swinging waffles
Those fears are unfounded. Spiderman is very much his own movie. Tony Stark is there as a mentor to Peter Parker and someone he is trying to impress as he tries to go through life after Civil War. This story really focuses on Peter Parker and having to juggle responsibilities, including doing the right thing with his powers even if it hurts him.
Tom Holland plays a really good Spiderman. He is younger looking and more naive-sounding than Tobey MacGuire, and they own that by casting him as younger. The rest of the supporting cast is kind-of a miss. Liz (the love interest) is one dimensional, there new Flash (an Indian nerd who resents Peter's intellect) doesn't really have any pay-off, and Ned (the computer geek friend) is also grating. Michelle is the only hit out of them and probably the only one they should give a big part to in the next movie.
Where this movie really shines are the villains. It seems that they finally put a bit of time investment into establishing the villains and there motivations. It also helped that they brought the villains motivations back from taking over the world/killing the president/etc. which worked well in Civil War. Here, the Vulture specifically wants to stay below the radar of the big guys (because Vulture can fly; Iron Man can fly and has Tank Missiles) and so it leads him to mostly selling salvaged weapons and heisting them without people finding out.
All in all, this movie is a definite hit. The hero is good, the villains are good and the action is good. One complaint is allot of the big action beats are ruined by the trailers so it would've been good to have a bigger sense of wonder and the supporting cast doesn't really hit as well as it should (which, for a movie that spends allot of time with Peter Parker in school, should be a bit better). Despite that, it is a very hearty recommendation.
4 out of 5 web-swinging waffles
Wednesday, 5 July 2017
BOARD GAME REVIEW: CHAMPIONS OF MIDGARD
Champions of Midgard is a game published by Grey Fox Games that has had no shortage of love. Featuring glowing reviews from the Dice Tower and featured on an episode of Tabletop, it grabbed my interest when it was described by Wil Wheaton as a mix of Lords of Waterdeep and Stone Age. These are both games I really like and, add to that the new expansions that are available for it, I decided to see how it would compare.
In Champions of Midgard, you are trying to earn the most glory over 8 rounds. Glory is earned by building up the village (resources), defeating monsters and fulfilling destiny (or goal) cards. This is done by a combination of worker placement and dice-based combat resolution against monsters threatening your village. The game feels quite tight, with only 8 rounds and normally only 3-4 workers per round meaning you have to focus on what you are doing.
Because Champions of Midgard feels so tight, allot can be dependent on the dice roles (especially when fighting the bigger monsters). The more you want to mitigate them, the more actions you need to spend to earn re-roll tokens. This is probably the biggest detractor from the game, as you can fluff key dice roles (even if you re-roll them) meaning you have lost out on allot of resources.
This is a shame because allot of the other mechanisms are quite nice. The way blame for not defending the village is assigned is what all semi-co op games should aspire too when trying to determine lose conditions (i.e. just punish the people not helping). The worker placement and collecting of dice resources feels nearly copied from Lords of Waterdeep, which isn't a bad thing (why shouldn't designs feel iterative) and collecting resources to send out for raiding feels quite thematic.
However, Stone Age has the advantage of not having each individual roll feel as critical and having the ability to stock up on tools and cards to mitigate this. Lords of Waterdeep is a very tactical game (except for those stupid Mandatory Quest Cards, which should just be reworked into negative points if uncompleted) where you aren't leaving huge scoring opportunities to chance. Compared to these, Champions of Midgard may be average to good, but won't often be a game I would choose to play above these or a bunch of other worker placement games such as Russian Railroads or Ancient World.
On a side note, it appears that the Valhalla expansion addresses most of my main issues with this game so perhaps that will elevate the game into the regular rotation for me.
2.5 out of 5 non-horned Waffles
In Champions of Midgard, you are trying to earn the most glory over 8 rounds. Glory is earned by building up the village (resources), defeating monsters and fulfilling destiny (or goal) cards. This is done by a combination of worker placement and dice-based combat resolution against monsters threatening your village. The game feels quite tight, with only 8 rounds and normally only 3-4 workers per round meaning you have to focus on what you are doing.
Because Champions of Midgard feels so tight, allot can be dependent on the dice roles (especially when fighting the bigger monsters). The more you want to mitigate them, the more actions you need to spend to earn re-roll tokens. This is probably the biggest detractor from the game, as you can fluff key dice roles (even if you re-roll them) meaning you have lost out on allot of resources.
This is a shame because allot of the other mechanisms are quite nice. The way blame for not defending the village is assigned is what all semi-co op games should aspire too when trying to determine lose conditions (i.e. just punish the people not helping). The worker placement and collecting of dice resources feels nearly copied from Lords of Waterdeep, which isn't a bad thing (why shouldn't designs feel iterative) and collecting resources to send out for raiding feels quite thematic.
However, Stone Age has the advantage of not having each individual roll feel as critical and having the ability to stock up on tools and cards to mitigate this. Lords of Waterdeep is a very tactical game (except for those stupid Mandatory Quest Cards, which should just be reworked into negative points if uncompleted) where you aren't leaving huge scoring opportunities to chance. Compared to these, Champions of Midgard may be average to good, but won't often be a game I would choose to play above these or a bunch of other worker placement games such as Russian Railroads or Ancient World.
On a side note, it appears that the Valhalla expansion addresses most of my main issues with this game so perhaps that will elevate the game into the regular rotation for me.
2.5 out of 5 non-horned Waffles
Wednesday, 14 June 2017
BOARD GAME REVIEW: MYSTERIUM
Mysterium is an English reprint of a game about a bunch of psychics trying to read visions sent to them from a ghost. It is a fully co-operative game, with one player as a ghost and the others looking at cards passed out by him.
The aim of the game is for each psychic to guess who in the past they are psychically connected to, and then which one of them murdered the ghost. It is a bit like Cluedo, but the ghost controls the information from a hand of 7 beautifully illustrated abstract-style cards.
This game is a really fun social game that has a low barrier to entry in terms of rules and knowledge/past game experience. However, it looks nice and can draw people in from the artwork. That and it is always a blast to figure out things or have a surprising guess be correct.
The downsides of this game is the final guessing round. It feels far too random and lucky for all the effort spent to get there. I have no solutions off the top of my head. Of course the other problem is that it may be too light for people who like heavier games.
In the end, Mysterium is just allot of fun. The assymetric roles, the beautiful cards and the solid mechanisms make a really good time. The climax leaves a bit to be desired, but you can't fault the rest of the game.
4 out of 5 spooky waffles.
The aim of the game is for each psychic to guess who in the past they are psychically connected to, and then which one of them murdered the ghost. It is a bit like Cluedo, but the ghost controls the information from a hand of 7 beautifully illustrated abstract-style cards.
This game is a really fun social game that has a low barrier to entry in terms of rules and knowledge/past game experience. However, it looks nice and can draw people in from the artwork. That and it is always a blast to figure out things or have a surprising guess be correct.
The downsides of this game is the final guessing round. It feels far too random and lucky for all the effort spent to get there. I have no solutions off the top of my head. Of course the other problem is that it may be too light for people who like heavier games.
In the end, Mysterium is just allot of fun. The assymetric roles, the beautiful cards and the solid mechanisms make a really good time. The climax leaves a bit to be desired, but you can't fault the rest of the game.
4 out of 5 spooky waffles.
Thursday, 1 June 2017
MOVIE REVIEW: APPLESEED ALPHA (2017)
Appleseed Alpha is an animated movie set is a post-apocalyptic future. In it, there is a women and a former cyborg soldier who hire themselves out as mercenaries. However, on their last mission, something goes wrong and they end up protecting another girl and her cyborg protector. These new survivors may just hold the fate of the world in their hands.
Appleseed Alpha's story is not interesting. It is highly predictable, leaning very heavily on the tropes of the past and not bothering to change any of them. The innocent girl who bonds with them. The disgruntled soldier. The loveable former thug who repents. The death to raise the stakes after a final speech.
And that would be okay if there were other things the movie offered. Instead, what we have are female characters in plenty of poses and cleavage drawn for the male gaze. Even if this were not the case, the action scenes and environments are quite bland and uninspiring.
So in the end, I can't really recommend Appleseed Alpha. It is competent but boring. Considering that this is meant to be for entertainment, competent is simply not good enough.
1.5 out of 5 Apple Waffles
Appleseed Alpha's story is not interesting. It is highly predictable, leaning very heavily on the tropes of the past and not bothering to change any of them. The innocent girl who bonds with them. The disgruntled soldier. The loveable former thug who repents. The death to raise the stakes after a final speech.
And that would be okay if there were other things the movie offered. Instead, what we have are female characters in plenty of poses and cleavage drawn for the male gaze. Even if this were not the case, the action scenes and environments are quite bland and uninspiring.
So in the end, I can't really recommend Appleseed Alpha. It is competent but boring. Considering that this is meant to be for entertainment, competent is simply not good enough.
1.5 out of 5 Apple Waffles
Sunday, 14 May 2017
TV SHOW REVIEW: BOYS OVER FLOWERS
Boys Over Flowers is a Korean television drama series. It follows the story of a young Korean high-school student and the cool clique of school, of which the coolest and richest is trying to be her boyfriend. It also has things such as lost memories, kidnappings and the like.
The show isn't good. It has allot of problems stemming from the main characters and how she is written to interact with everyone around her. For a start, she is presented as the only person in the school willing to speak her mind and stand up to the traditions and stereotypes of the school.
And then of course, this means that most the men in the show like her. Well, not most of them. Just the richest, popular and handsome of them. They do things such as close a whole mall just to give her a shopping trip. And when she goes to a new city with no plans, she instantly makes friends with the richest woman there. Of course all their wealth is inheritance as well, otherwise they may have to take a break from fawning over her to actually work.
And that is about it. A clear author-avatar character is sitting there going through life. Every challenge that comes up for her feels contrived and multiple characters have to take the idiot ball to keep the plot going. This is definitely one to skip.
1 out of 5 Flowering Waffles.
The show isn't good. It has allot of problems stemming from the main characters and how she is written to interact with everyone around her. For a start, she is presented as the only person in the school willing to speak her mind and stand up to the traditions and stereotypes of the school.
And then of course, this means that most the men in the show like her. Well, not most of them. Just the richest, popular and handsome of them. They do things such as close a whole mall just to give her a shopping trip. And when she goes to a new city with no plans, she instantly makes friends with the richest woman there. Of course all their wealth is inheritance as well, otherwise they may have to take a break from fawning over her to actually work.
And that is about it. A clear author-avatar character is sitting there going through life. Every challenge that comes up for her feels contrived and multiple characters have to take the idiot ball to keep the plot going. This is definitely one to skip.
1 out of 5 Flowering Waffles.
Tuesday, 2 May 2017
BOARD GAME REVIEW: ENDURE THE STARS (2017)
Endure the Stars is the first game out by Grimlord Games. It is a game that has a bit of an identity crisis. By the same token, it is also a game that encompasses the worst aspects of Kickstarter.
Endure the Stars is a space-themed dungeon-crawl type game. In the game, you and your team are on board a spaces station where something has gone wrong. The corridors are teeming with alien monsters, deadly machines and crazed cultists (depending on which scenario you play). Each scenario gives you some objectives to complete to get through, with multiple scenarios capable of being stringed together as a campaign.
The identity crisis comes because the game doesn't know what it is trying to be. Originally, it looks like it may be a survival horror. It even has some mechanics to support that (resolve checks, noise generation, diceless damage from the monsters). However, it then plays out more like a light dungeon crawler where you get your items and chuck some dice to kill stuff. And it is where these two mechanics merge where the problem lies. There isn't enough mechanics to make searching and then moving out with the best weapons a negative, but so many enemies spawn and move that without doing this or exploiting certain rules, you quickly get overwhelmed.
The worst part of the Kickstarter come with the rules. There is already a 3 page FAQ and 1.1 rulebook out that adds a couple of rules and changed. However, the added rules do not appear to be well tested. Similarly, a lack of playtesting (particularly blind testing) is apparent in how some rules and mechanics did not work. And for a game that was this expensive on kickstarter, it just isn't worthwhile.
You definitely get plenty of component bang for your buck inside the box, with nice tiles and miniatures and a variety of heroes to choose from. With maybe another 3 months of solid development and proper testing, this could've been a real gem. They should also have doubled down on a certain theme and modified the game to suit (i.e. survival horror with stronger but fewer monsters, limited searching and weak items but diceless; or dungeon crawl with no noise mechanic, constant minion spawning and unique starting items for each character and no searching). At the moment, it just feels like a bit mess. Which is a shame because it feels like it is about 80% of the way there, but so many other games in both genres are 100% (Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition; Dungeons and Dragons series of games).
2 out of 5 Enduring Waffles.
Endure the Stars is a space-themed dungeon-crawl type game. In the game, you and your team are on board a spaces station where something has gone wrong. The corridors are teeming with alien monsters, deadly machines and crazed cultists (depending on which scenario you play). Each scenario gives you some objectives to complete to get through, with multiple scenarios capable of being stringed together as a campaign.
The identity crisis comes because the game doesn't know what it is trying to be. Originally, it looks like it may be a survival horror. It even has some mechanics to support that (resolve checks, noise generation, diceless damage from the monsters). However, it then plays out more like a light dungeon crawler where you get your items and chuck some dice to kill stuff. And it is where these two mechanics merge where the problem lies. There isn't enough mechanics to make searching and then moving out with the best weapons a negative, but so many enemies spawn and move that without doing this or exploiting certain rules, you quickly get overwhelmed.
The worst part of the Kickstarter come with the rules. There is already a 3 page FAQ and 1.1 rulebook out that adds a couple of rules and changed. However, the added rules do not appear to be well tested. Similarly, a lack of playtesting (particularly blind testing) is apparent in how some rules and mechanics did not work. And for a game that was this expensive on kickstarter, it just isn't worthwhile.
You definitely get plenty of component bang for your buck inside the box, with nice tiles and miniatures and a variety of heroes to choose from. With maybe another 3 months of solid development and proper testing, this could've been a real gem. They should also have doubled down on a certain theme and modified the game to suit (i.e. survival horror with stronger but fewer monsters, limited searching and weak items but diceless; or dungeon crawl with no noise mechanic, constant minion spawning and unique starting items for each character and no searching). At the moment, it just feels like a bit mess. Which is a shame because it feels like it is about 80% of the way there, but so many other games in both genres are 100% (Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition; Dungeons and Dragons series of games).
2 out of 5 Enduring Waffles.
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