Today is payday, and it being a Friday, the day is never complete without a shopping trip. I received an Email coupon for Barnes & Noble and headed over there at lunch. Of late, I realise I know nothing of the World Of Warcraft (WOW) other than the RTS PC gaming origin and the CCG starter I bought (and still haven't openned). In the sci-fi section I found an Atlas to Warcraft and a comic (produced by Tokyopop). Maybe this mild immersion into the field will prepare me for the day I eventually go online.
After work I headed to my local comic nirvana, Clockwork Comics, and hoped to get in a sealed, draft game of the Magic set, Lorwyn. Several new game mechanics have been introduced in the many years since I played regularly, so I tapped (pardon the pun) the owners mind for all the hidden meaning behind Plainswalkers, Haste, Flash, Tribal, Bushido, Changeling, Clashing, Hideaway, Vigilance, Champion, and Evoke. I miss the Star Wars CCG. I eagerly absorbed the new knowledge, but, alas, no one showed to play. So the owner introduced me to Warhammer 40K. I've heard of it, I've even seen people play, but up close and personal with the rules and figures and sets and dice (not to mention the substantial dollar value) the game is quite daunting. It appears to be an analogue (ie not a video game) offshoot of Warcraft. A turn-based strategy game with intricate pieces (from soldier to vehicle to mech to factory) to be layed out on a board that would make most HO model train enthusiasts jealous. You roll special dice and have special measurement markers for a blast radius or a flame thrower. No grids are used just a model battle field (scale 1:65) and measuring tape. It sounds clunky but after seeing a little bit of it I came to the conclusion it allows for much more freedom than some of the more restrictive "grid games", like the HeroClix series, Mage Knight, or even Star Wars. A new set called "Apocalypse" was just released with some of the largest vehicles seen yet, as well as expanded play for even larger armies. If I undertood this more I would have had an orgasm. As it is, Warhammer represents a geek passion I'm not familiar with. I should also note that collectors put great care towards the painting of the figures (which are silver but come with paint). An RPG is planned for 2008 and I'm interested to see if the two (2) games can be played side to side.
While I was waiting for a game of Magic that never happened I finally found the Star Wars constructible strategy game (as opposed to the Star Wars Starship collectible miniatures game), and much like the "Pirate Ship" game, half the fun is building a Star Wars ship. In my one pack I managed the rare Tantive IV and the common Droid Tri-Fighter (2 of 'em) and an ARC fighter. The printing on the punch-out sheets is excellent but having large fingers is a disadvantage here. These pieces will break if they don't go together perfectly. I'll have to see the game in action though to give it my full praise or not. When you leave me in a comicbook store long enough I start buying comics. Today was no exception so I bought the latest Superman, Batman, Superman & Batman together, Flash, Justice League, Green Lantern, and Spawn issues. A new Star Trek comic is being made called Year Four so I snatched that up, and Frank Miller is even doing an All Star Batman & Robin I had to grab. Tonight I will forgo the 360 for the large bounty of comics I acquired. Today I came across this site which details the current state of Comicbook Movies. I'm looking forward to the Green Lantern movie, featuring Hal Jordon. I've been waiting for this since high-school. When the Grayson preview hit the internet I was psyched when I saw GL, and now we're getting a movie.
On a side note; as I write this Stargate Atlantis is on. The store owner recommended this program tonight, so I'm giving it a try. Two (2) things have jumped out at me, so far. The character Dr. Keller is played by Jewel Staite, Kaylee from Firefly. It's good to see this actress still running around in Sci-Fi. The other thing I noticed is the name of the episode: Tabula Rasa. The phrase can be interpreted as "blank slate." This happens to be the name of a new PC game, produced by the gaming guru/development giant Richard "Lord British" Garriott, that comes out today. A strange coincidence. While perusing gametrailers.com I came across this little video showing off the promise of Sony's PlayStation Eye Of Sauron. This just goes to show I'm a sucker for a preview with Epic Music. If Ishtar were redone with the music from LOTR I would totally go see it.
That's it for now, hopeful next time I broadcast I will have defeated Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (HL2-E2). HL2-E3 better come out soon, unless of course it sucks right now, then Valve should take all the time they need. I'll need a breather after this season's rush of games. I'll hold off on GH3 until I see EmpTass play it like Slash.
3 comments:
I miss hanging around in comic stores. Fox – I might have to join you one time. We have all kind of followed the same pattern with gaming. First we were knee deep in ccgs, planning elaborate box parties and creating our own gaming scenarios. For me, this began when I was enveloped into the Wednesday SWCCG and Chinese food night at Emptas’s old abode in Fairfield. Those were good times my friends, times when we would say things like “have you seen this South Park show? Apparently its just a whole bunch of kids doing messed up things.”
After a few glorious years of watching SWCCG evolve, visiting incredible tourneys and many successful runs to Boxborough (can’t believe I never realized the irony that the place we bought so many boxes was called boxborough), SWCCG died out. I have yet to find a suitable replacement. Although WOWCCG is fun, with the approachable simplicity of SWCCG and also its eventual depth, it lacks the relationship we all had with SWCCG. Beating someone with Jawa’s is a feeling that is hard to replicate. That day at C3 when we found a vendor selling black-border boxes of all SWCCG expansions for $20 each was like finding Aztec gold.
So we moved onto video games and had brief run-ins with other CCG’s, with WOW being the closest thing to a replacement. But now I look around and see all these buildable card games, like pirates and star wars, and I start to twitch again. All of a sudden Kevin Audie’s way of life makes so much sense to me – why shouldn’t I just give up the ghost and be a grown-ass man in a comic book store?
I bought GH3 last night, which led me to roll past the Rock Band demo station. At first I thought someone was just wailing obnoxiously on an endcap to help their friend keep time at one of the many GH stations set up throughout that particular Best Buy. However, it was a Rock Band demo drum set, and a kid was pounding away on it. It was annoying to hear the random thwacking of the drum sticks – it lacked the satisfying hollow thump of Taiko Drum master – and equally annoying to witness because I knew I could totally kick that little girls ass in that game. I imagine Rock Band will be fun, but I am unsure if it will catch on like GH3 did. Tonight I try GH3 with a large group of friends, which should be a nice way to sample all the added features. The one I look the most forward too, simply because I have no idea how it will work, is the Crossroads battle feature. Having never thought I would write this sentence; it was inspired by the little known Ralph Macchio movie ‘Crossroads’. He travels around with a mysterious blues player and guitar battles people. It’s a surprisingly good film, and hopefully the subsequent gaming mode will be fun. Apparently you just play against a friend and try to get them to screw up. In the past, this was done by getting them more drunk, so I’m curious as to how GH will approach the same problem without packaging a pint of jack with each disc.
Siiiiiigghhhhhh...
geek geek geek
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geek geek geek
more words
I gave it a try.
:)
I have posted me reluctance to pick up GH3 previously, and about the same holds for Rock Band. Except the drums. The drums sound like a good idea. Amazon is selling a Special Edition with one each, guitar, drums, and mic. What about the other guitar? This kit s $170. I just want the drums. Separately the game is $60 and the drums are $80, it almost isn't worth it. Just spend $30 more and get the other two (2) pieces.
Magic is the only CCG out there that comes close to Star Wars for depth. Don't let our old Q-Zar geek nights of Magic, with Kevin Audie, fool you, the game is good. It started that genre and is still going strong. I'm stupified over Pokemon and it's longevity. As I posted before a new Magic set, Lorwyn, is out, and it is stand alone. I bought a couple starters and I'm going to get EmpTass hooked again, I don't care what Amy says.
The next stage after CCG might be CMG (miniature games). The SW starship game is fun, and the figure one probably is as well. The key would be to combine the best parts of the RPG, miniatures and starship combat. Balance the give and take of each game to make a new unified whole, different than the parts. The Warhammer RPG might do that, too.
I would definately trade in all my Aztec Gold and the Cross of Coronado to get my grubby hands on Black Border Premier, or black border anything, really.
Organizing my comicbooks today. I'll have to find a way to make it interesting and spin it into tonight's blog. Vexed by HL2, must distract myself with comicbooks.
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