Review: The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Never before had Netflix suggested I would give a show 5 stars before The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.  I had seen suggested 4 and a bit stars, but never a full 5 stars.  So I decided to test Netflix and see what the big deal was.  A few days later I finished both seasons of this cartoon.

From the sound of it, there isn't anything new about this cartoon.  It revolves around a union of some of Earth's mightiest superheroes - starting with Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Wasp, and Ant/Giant Man and eventually adding Captain America, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Vision, as well as having many heroes in reserve.  These heroes fight bigger and badder super villains as the show progresses.  I think one of the things that really hooked me, though, is that very rarely would one episode be separate from others.  There was a wonderful feeling of continuity here.  There is always some bigger evil plan being worked upon in the background of each episode until it comes to a head and the heroes need to deal with it.

One of the reasons I knew this show was really good is that normally I will be doing something else while watching TV (unless the show is subtitled like Naruto) and the TV will be the lower priority task.  However, I constantly found myself just closing the lid of my computer or putting down the game system to just sit and watch this show.  Granted, I am a huge superhero nerd, but still, there is definitely something magical about this show.  It's got plenty of action, plenty of intrigue, and plenty of interpersonal drama.  And just like the movie based on The Avengers, it managed to make me really like The Hulk, which I always find an impressive feat.  So Netflix, good call on the 5 stars!

My Games: Suspicion

The rules have stabilized enough for me to feel confident to post the print and play version of my first card game, Suspicion.  The game is for 4-8 players (I've  mostly played with 5) and takes around an hour (the more players you have, the longer the game lasts).  There is no real theme with the idea that the game itself is fun and if it is successful enough, I can release future themed editions of the game like Fluxx does.

So in order to print this, you can either print duplex style (I have never been able to test this method since my printer can't print that way) or you print all 8 odd pages, flip those 8 printed pages over and put them back in the paper tray, and print the 8 even pages.  If done correctly, page 1 and 2 should be a single page, page 3 and 4, page 5 and 6, etc.  Then it's simply 12 cuts per page (4 to trim the borders off, 8 to separate the cards).  Even though the images on the pages are aligned the same on every page, I have never been able to get things to line up perfectly from one side to another, so just in case you have the same experience, cut the back side of the card so that players can't tell which card is coming because of how a card is cut.

The balance of the game has not been perfect, so feel free to tweak the numbers after a few plays to see how things can change.  There are also 4 blank Manipulate and Agenda cards for you to create your own if you come up with good ideas.  If you do, let me know so I can try it when I play.  If you have any problems, comments, or feature requests, let me know.  Also, if you enjoy the game, let me know!

In case you missed the above download link, here is another link to download Suspicion.  Enjoy!

Games I Grew Up On: Crystalis

One of the very earliest action RPGs I ever played was Crystalis.  The music was top notch, the gameplay was a good balance of intense (usually for boss fights) and pleasant (wandering around killing monsters for money/experience), and the setting is amazing (100 years after a nuclear war where magic has been rediscovered and is combined with science).

The player wakes up in a strange tower with no memory, but is guided by four different sages through the story to ultimately combine four different elemental swords into the Crystalis sword and defeat Emperor Draygon who is conquering the world.  As cliche as that sounds now, it certainly wasn't when I was a little kid.  Although I'm not sure how well this game stands up if you didn't grow up on it, it's definitely a game I go back to play every once in awhile.

Essentially, combat is like Secret of Mana.  You run around in a mostly top-down view, stab at enemies with B, can cast some spells, can charge up your sword attacks to various levels by standing still (the character, not the player) and holding B (the player, not the character), use gold to buy upgraded armor and shields or useful items, talk to lots of people to figure out what to do next (eventually you get a Telepathy spell that lets you read people's minds, which is an interesting way to get information), and vanquish evil.  I really want to go back and play this game again now just thinking about it...

Review: Dishonored

I think I've finally figured out why I have such a high standard for sneaking games.  If done well, they are my absolute favorite genre, but it's very easy to make them drive me insane.  Sneaking games let me indulge my meticulous side, but if the guards' don't walk in patterns or my sneaky character walks into an ambush during a cutscene or it isn't clear why I got spotted, I will inevitably make the game infinitely harder on myself by being determined to still knock out everyone using stealth and then I will resent the game for not letting me play it right.  Fortunately, Dishonored does no such thing.

The men and women of Arkane Studios have done a wonderful job of truly letting the player decide their own playstyle and having it work throughout the entire game.  There are never any zombies that always spot you no matter how sneaky you are.  Cutscenes never place you somewhere you wouldn't have gone yourself.  There are always at least three or four paths to your destination (unless it takes you into another area, these are generally funneled into one or two entrances).  If you want to fight your way through, you can.  If you want to sneak past everyone on the ledges, go for it.  If you want (or need) to go through every avenue, then you can.

The choices you make can also affect the story, but sadly, this isn't as rewarding as the gameplay itself.  Essentially if you're not playing the sneaky, nonlethal game, you are going to make the game harder on yourself later on.  So although the game lets you play how you want, it definitely rewards one playstyle over all the others.  On the one hand, this is a good message.  Killing is bad.  It will make your life harder.  But from a gameplay perspective, this is kind of harsh for players who want to cut a swath through the city of Dunwall.

Another interesting aspect they added is that if you knock out a guard and then they get killed, it counts as you killing them.  So you have to be very careful when placing knocked out bodies lest other guards spot them, a rat swarm eats them, or they are lying in an inch or two of water (apparently the water won't wake them up and instead they drown).  This not only added some strategy to my playthrough, but it also created this game's OCD moments where I'd try to put the guys somewhere safe, but also somewhere where it would be funny to think of their reaction when they wake up.  So one guy went on the Lord Regent's bed (ruler of the entire city) along with one of his maids - hope he wakes up before getting caught!  Other guys would go in piles on top of each other or as close to sitting on chairs as I could make them.

If you enjoy sneaking games in the least, then I highly recommend this one.  It's the first (in my memory) to let you be completely sneaky from the beginning of the game to the very end of the game.  It's also pretty rare for a game where you're an assassin to let you play through the entire game without killing anyone, but this one manages it.

Cartoons I Grew Up On: The Mysterious Cities of Gold

I want to say the series, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, was my introduction into a show having continuity.  Unfortunately, I would miss episodes here and there, which made things a little confusing, so I wasn't able to watch the whole thing until a few years ago.

The show takes place in 1532 and revolves around a young Spanish orphan, Esteban, who is searching for his father while navigating for a mysterious man named Mendoza in his search for the Cities of Gold in the New World.  During their entire search, the crew is constantly hounded by other people also hunting for the cities of gold, including the commander of the Spanish forces, Gomez.  The closer they get to achieve their goal, the more they realize there is more to finding the mysterious cities of gold than just becoming wealthy beyond imagination.

This has some very minor similarities to Avatar the Last Airbender.  They both aired in the States on Nickelodeon, they both focus on three children (two boys and a girl), they both deal with the fantastic (although Avatar is admittedly way more fantastic than this is), and they are both animes (although this is also made by the French).  It definitely is a cheesy show (it is a kid's show after all), but it has some very interesting concepts in it that are worth watching.  It's only 39 episodes, so not that long of a series to go through.

Review: Telestrations

Normally I get nervous with any game that requires drawing, acting, or generally trying to get people to guess something.  One of the beauties of Telestrations is that half the fun is when people are wrong.  Poor artist?  Awesome!  Can't spell?  Spektakular!  Can't remember what the word to describe the action?  No worries, just describe the action and see how it changes things.

The game starts with each player writing a word on their pad and drawing it on the next page Pictionary-style.  After 60 seconds of drawing, each player passes their pad to the next player who then guesses what the drawing is and passes the pad to the next player.  That player draws the new word and this all repeats until each player gets their book back.  Then each player reveals their pad's evolution however they see fit (back to front, front to back, first drawing to the end and then the secret word, etc.) and everyone has a good laugh.

There are two methods to score the game, but I'll be honest, I never even read them because the game is fun enough without a winner or points.  To mix things up, our group would change directions we pass the pad and seating arrangements after each round so we never were passing to the same person twice.

The upside of this game is that I guarantee you will be laughing when playing this game, especially if you leave any judgements against poor drawing/spelling skills at the door.  The downside of the game is that you need at least 6 people for a quality game.  Also, you will learn quickly that embellishments can either be a dangerous or hilarious thing depending on if you want people to actually guess your word or not.

TV Show Idea: Matrix Murders

Synopsis: In order to convince people that they are inside The Matrix, a group of humans that have escaped (red pills) enter in and solve otherwise unsolvable crimes.  The operators outside the Matrix are able to hack the system in various ways (disguising the people inside the Matrix, changing the environment, giving the people jacked in tools and weaponry, etc.).  The more frequently the operators hack or the jacked in people bend the rules of the Matrix, the faster the Agents will find the group and eliminate them.

Basic episode plot: Someone's loved one just died/someone is being stalked by a murderer/etc.  The heroes approach that person and convince them they can solve the mystery.  As the operators read clues from the code and the jacked in people bend the rules to access areas normal people couldn't, the Agents start to chase the heroes.  Eventually the mystery is solved, the heroes escape the Matrix, the person saved/involved is rescued from The Matrix and brought to Zion.

Season 1 overarching story: One particular Agent is obsessed with catching the group and progressively bends/breaks more and more of the Matrix rules in order to catch the group with a climactic battle ending with the Agent being disowned by the other Agents.

Season 2 overarching story: A group of humans who don't agree with Zion or its goals have split off and formed their own city.  They are trying to work with the Agents to bring all of humanity back into the Matrix because it is more peaceful than their current existence.  This group is constantly working against the heroes all while the Agent from Season 1 is trying to find where he belongs.  Throughout the season his alignment shifts between working against the heroes and working to help the heroes.