Hey folks! I’ve received a lot of positive feedback on my recent “Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game” video series. One of the most common questions I get is, “where did you get your game mat?” I figured I’d quickly answer that here for the benefit of those interested in picking one up.
I’ve covered a lot of games over the past few years, but I have yet to see anything like “President Wars”. It’s a one to two player card game that is currently seeking your help on Kickstarter (as of 2/12/14). For those of you who hate getting wrapped up with the intricacies of politics, you needn’t worry…”President Wars” is more of a casual royal rumble of sorts. Before I get into specifics, I’d like to thank Jesse Heuser from Activity Makers for reaching out to me and providing me with a prototype copy of the rulebook. It’s important to note that I didn’t actually receive a copy of the game, so this preview will focus more on the rules and my initial impressions of them. Still, those just discovering this game for the first time may learn something new.
JRPGs are an acquired taste, mainly because of how long it takes just to get through a single game. “Final Fantasy” and its sequels, for example, aren’t games that you can just simply breeze through in one night. Meet “Terrene Odyssey”, a card game that is currently seeking your help on Kickstarter. It simulates the encounters that you might find in a typical RPG, except that you’ll be facing off against a live opponent. It promises deep & engaging gameplay and judging by the card art featured on the game’s Kickstarter page, I’d have to agree! The best part? You won’t have to spend months playing it!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…”Apples to Apples” is probably one of the most popular games in our household. It’s easy to play and the kids really get a kick out of making silly combinations with the cards. Earlier today, I saw “Apples to Apples: Big Picture” sitting on the shelf at my local Wal-Mart and figured I’d give it a go. It looked similar to the “Apples to Apples: Junior Edition” we often bring out to play, but it had pictures…I admit, I was a little intrigued. I had to wonder how it compared to similar picture games I’ve played (like “Crappy Birthday“), though I’m sure the big question on your mind is, “is this version of ‘Apples to Apples’ as fun as the other editions?” Well, keep reading to find out!
I’m a sucker for zombie-themed games…if that hasn’t been made readily apparent by now. There’s just something about those lovable undead walkers that gets the adrenaline pumping…perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they want to eat your brains. One might think that professional help would be in order, but I’m sure I’ll have the last laugh when Milla Jovovich shows up in your town with a ten-ton nuke strapped to her back. At any rate, “Card of the Dead”, as you may have guessed, is a quick zombie-themed card game that tasks players with earning the most survival points over three rounds. Before we see whether or not this zombie game stacks up with the others I’ve played, I’d like to thank the folks at Alderac Entertainment Group (the same company who published “Smash Up” and “Trains“) for providing me with a free press copy.
What was your first NES game? “Super Mario Bros. & Duck Hunt”? “Excitebike”? “Gyromite”? Would you believe that mine was “Double-friggin-Dragon”? No, seriously, it was. I woke up one Easter morning and found an NES all hooked up and sitting on my desk. I guess my parents saw me play the arcade game one too many times at the roller skating rink. Looking back now, I have to question my taste in games as I found “Double Dragon” to be both awesome and addicting. In retrospect, it was frustratingly unfair. You couldn’t even perform certain moves (jump kicks, hair pulls, uppercuts, etc.) until you earned enough hearts (the game’s version of XP). I eventually beat the game, presumably because my NES controller was tired of being spiked into the ground.
It’s never too early to begin the quest for knowledge…heck, we humans begin doing so from day one whether we realize it or not. While most of the games I cover are fit for ages eight and over, I’d be negligent if I didn’t mention “Tinker Wheels”, a project that aims at a much younger audience (specifically kids that are in preschool, kindergarten, and the first grade). This game’s main goal is to help those youngsters hone their reading and writing skills…what parent worth their two cents wouldn’t want to introduce their toddlers to games that are both educational and fun?
Steam Early Access games seem to be the theme on my website as of late, but I’m not going to complain. “Pixel Piracy” is the latest acquisition, thanks to game developer Vitali Kirpu (“Solidust” on Desura). It plays a bit like “FTL” and is defined as a “side-scrolling 2D, pirate roguelike-like game”. You’ll be trying to improve your ship all the while dealing with events as they present themselves. The game is still in development so I won’t comment on this too much, but I will share my first impressions and gameplay videos via the below to give you a taste of what you’d be in for should you buy into it.
After finding this game on sale through Steam for four bucks, the decision to pick it up (along with two free gift copies) was a no-brainer. It’s a bit like “Clue” in that the mysterious Mr. X has invited a bunch of people to embark on a cruise…but things get ugly when you learn that cash is rewarded to people who manage to murder their targets. Guards and cameras exist to keep people from going homicidal, as well as a full-fledged jail for anyone caught breaking the rules. On top of being sneaky, you’ll have needs to meet like in “The Sims”…thirst, social, that kind of thing.
I’m doing my best to resist the urge, I swear. Every fiber in my being wants me to bellow “who you gonna call” even though this isn’t officially a “Ghostbusters” game. While the latest “Ghostbusters” video game satisfied my ghostbusting itch, I have to admit that I missed the ability to actually run my very own ghostbusting business. That leads me to “GhostControl Inc.”, a game that admittedly looks and feels like the pop culture icons we all know and love. I’ve thought long and hard about how to describe this game, but the best I could do is to say that it is a cross between “Ghostbusters” for the Atari 2600 and “XCOM: Enemy Unknown”. The former may not be recognizable to the lot of you, but the idea that both “Ghostbusters” and “GhostControl Inc.” conveys is generally the same. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank the folks at Application Systems Heidelberg for providing me with a free press copy.
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. No, I didn’t accidentally fall asleep at my keyboard resulting in a random spew of letters. “rymdkapsel” is actually the name of the game, which is Swedish for “space capsule”. The name honestly doesn’t do this game justice for as soon as I booted it up, I found that I had actually hours trying to master it. Either I was the victim of some type of time paradox or I had simply lost track of time…needless to say my first impressions were great. Before we head off into the review, I want to quickly thank Martin Jonasson from Grapefrukt Games for providing me with a free press copy.
Want to play as wizard dinosaurs, robot pirates, or ninja zombies? Of course you do. “Smash Up” is a card-fighting game that lets players choose two factions, combine them into one deck, and duke it out with their fellow players. While ruining someone else’s day is certainly fun to do (in the realm of gaming, of course), players will be earning points by trying to control various bases as they appear on the table. Which two factions will YOU choose? I admit, dinosaur ninjas have a certain appeal…I mean, who wouldn’t want to see dinosaurs sneaking around and doing backflips? It worked for the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, didn’t it?
“Crootle” was one of the unfortunate games to not meet its Kickstarter goal back in September of 2013. That, of course, isn’t stopping the developers from trying again. After listening to feedback from their supporters and implementing a few changes, “Crootle” is back on the charts. There’s still some question as to whether or not the developer will seek the Kickstarter option, but it’s good to know that they haven’t given up. What’s new, you ask, and why should you support “Crootle” this time around? Before we answer those questions, I’d like to thank Bruce over at World Village Games, LLC for providing me with an updated prototype copy. As with most prototypes, it’s important to stress that they usually aren’t representative of the final product. The content in the pictures featured below are therefore subject to change.
Words cannot explain how both fun and frustrating this game is. I’ve only played for a few hours thus far and holy hell, what a learning curve. It doesn’t help that the manual is eighty pages long, nor does the fact that some of the tutorials are in German. I pretty much just winged it and hoped for the best. Did I succeed? You be the judge.
“Dominion” was one of the first board games I purchased when “Dad’s Gaming Addiction” was but a mere speck on the horizon. The idea of building your deck during the game rather than before it was definitely a foreign concept to me at the time. “Trains”, surprisingly enough, plays a lot like “Dominion” in that you’ll be building a deck of cards as you play by purchasing them from the available supply. At the same time, you’ll be constructing rails/routes on the map, similar to that of “Ticket to Ride”. It’s as almost as if “Dominion” and “Ticket to Ride” went out on a date and got a little bit too tipsy during the obligatory nightcap (close your eyes, kids). At any rate, I wanted to see if the game was any good, seeing as how I am a fan of both games. The results may (or may not) surprise you. Before we begin, I’d like to quickly thank David Trudeau from Alderac Entertainment Group for providing me with a free press copy.
Let me tell you a little story…the year: 1990-ish. Gym class and I rarely got along, mainly due to the fact that I favored the academics as opposed to the athletics. I couldn’t catch a football to save my life, but that didn’t stop me from managing my very own football team in “Tecmo Bowl” for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was through video games that I learned how to “play” sports…by play I mean hike the ball, send my quarterback fifty yards in the wrong direction, and throw a hail mary for one hundred yards hoping that my receiver would catch the ball in the end zone. Why am I taking you on a trip down memory lane? Before I answer that, I’d like to thank Clay Dreslough from Sports Mogul Inc. for providing me with a press copy of “Masters of the Gridiron”, a game that is currently seeking your support on Kickstarter. It’s important to note that prototypes aren’t usually representative of the final product, making everything featured below subject to change.