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12TM: Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas
Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/22/2010 03:34:28

The Good: A great set of stories that really make Pinebox, Texas come alive. A few recurring characters keep most of the wildly diverse stories tied together. The "interviews" at the beginning and the newspaper articles relating the "official" versions of the tales at the end are a great touch.

The Bad: A couple of authors perhaps tried to be too clever, or (over)used the shocking twist of the benevolent supporting character not being what they seem.

Conclusion: Great read. I'd definitely recommend it as there is far, far more good than bad.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
12TM: Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas
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Public Enemies (ICONS)
Publisher: Vigilance Press
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/19/2010 01:23:24

The Good: Another very interesting selection from Vigilance Press, as their setting gets revealed piece by piece. Some very powerful, but interesting, foes.

The Bad: One superteam was given the short end of the stick, development wise...standing out like sore thumbs against the rest of book.

For a full review, please visit: http://mostunreadblogever.blogspot.com/2010/10/tommys-take-on-public-enemies.html



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Public Enemies (ICONS)
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5 Magic Items: Horrific Books
Publisher: Misfit Studios
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/17/2010 05:16:26

I don't expect this to end well, with a name like "Horrific Books". Betting everything here has, at least, a double edged sword.

Misfit Studios has announced that they are preparing for Halloween. and this seems to be the first step in that.

The first book is the Arcane Catalog of Dej, which is as it sounds - a helpful catalog of arcane items. Even if you don't otherwise know jack about magic items, this is useful...it, uh, can just get in your head a bit.

The Folio of Fiends is similar to the Arcane Catalog, except it imparts all kinds of useful knowledge on various types of beasties.

Purgatorum can inform a user about demons, including offering resistance against demonic powers...however, it is FULL of side effects, with one of the NICER side effects sucking a user into Hell.

The Tome of the Underworld can be used to enhance the powers of anyone with access to Miracles, infusing them with the essence of the dead. Best check with your deity, though, 'cause they may have a problem with it.

The Necronomicon...you might have heard of it. The Necronomicon makes its appearance, and it can be powerful, if you can understand it. However, it can wreak even more havoc if you don't.

Nice step away from weapons for the new release, with a couple of truly horric items, including the old classic the Necronomicon. A good selection that lives up to the "horrific" descriptor.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
5 Magic Items: Horrific Books
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5 Magic Items: Axes
Publisher: Misfit Studios
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/17/2010 04:55:33

This is a set-up identical to the Blades PDF, with five axes, their values, abilities and the Knowledge charts that can give the PCs information on the items...with the possibility of completely misleading information.

Additionally, a rule for using bennies is supplied, in the event that the GM makes the Knowledge rolls. Essentially, PCs can make the roll blind and, even if they fail again, can get a hint that they are remembering SOMETHING wrong.

It's not the most elegant solution, but with the GM making rolls for the PCs in that case, there's not much you CAN do.

First up is the Falcon Axe, which is a nice name for an old classic, an axe that returns to your hand.

The Headhunter Cleaver is an Orcish axe that will seek the heads whenever possible. It's an ugly, violent weapon, with a REALLY nice plot hook that would be GREAT to surprise an unsuspecting user with.

The Magicbreaker Axe is not a wizard's best friend, and is valuable for a warrior battling spellcasting types.

Stonehewer axes can inflict massive damage on stone and anything made of stone, while Treecleaver axes are their plant-fighting equivalents.

This is a really good addition of some solid weapons to the Magic Items list, with the most inspiring item being the Headhunter Cleaver and its awesome plot hook (that requires two raises on a Knowledge roll for the wielder to be aware of).



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
5 Magic Items: Axes
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Interface Zero 1.0
Publisher: Gun Metal Games
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/16/2010 17:13:01

Impressively comprehensive.

If you like Savage Worlds and cyberpunk, there is no reason not to buy this. There is plenty of information here that you can use to get a game going, and the setting is broad enough that you have a LOT of options to play around with for your campaigns. On top of it, there is plenty of room for expansion in future releases.

For a full review, please visit: http://mostunreadblogever.blogspot.com/2010/10/tommys-take-on-interface-zero-savage.html



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Interface Zero 1.0
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People's Revolution: Villains of WWII (ICONS)
Publisher: Vigilance Press
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/12/2010 02:24:28

We have had the Americans, The Germans, The British and the Japanese...and now, we get the Russians.

This is an interesting product, as it can be used as a group of heroes in World War II, or a group of Villains in a Cold War era...and, either way, doesn't "officially" exist in the Vigilance Press chronology.

Up first is Red Hammer, a Russian supersoldier who essentially becomes kind of a Captain America/Superman to them. He is said to be immune to aging, which isn't mechanically represented anywhere in his stats. I think I understand why, as - aside from Immortality - there IS no "immune to Aging" power...though I think I might would have added Immunity with a new specification (since Immortality would mean he can't be killed, period). As it is, the only thing he has on his sheet that backs it up is Regeneration.

Night Witch is a female Russian pilot with control over electricity.

Ice Fang is a werewolf and soldier, who defends Russia but refuses to make an army of werewolves for them.

Trans-Siberian Express is Ice Fang's closest ally, a superspeedster. The two of them commonly coordinate together on ambushes.

The Red Legionnaire is kinda like what would happen if the Green Lantern ring fell in Russia.

Battle Czar really is kind of a Superman type for the People's Revolution, and is bitter that Red Hammer has assumed control of the team. This leads to potential internal conflicts because of the two.

Sovi-ape was Stalin's one successful attempt at cross-species Eugenics, a simian genius who feels alone in the world.

Revolutionary Fire, as the name sounds, controls flames, but he was also the cheerleader of the team, keeping morale up.

Killer Whale is an outcast from Oceana and a bitter rival of Swordfish of the Crown Guard.

Also included are the necessary rules for using them as a PC team, per the ICONS team rules.

Every character has art, with most of it being provided by Dan Houser and the rest by Jon Gibbons and Darren Calvert. It is a noticeable clash of styles again, but it's still awesome to see every character depicted. Personally, I didn't find the characters to be quite as inspired as in previous supplements, but the usability as heroes or villain, depending on the era, is tremendous. All in all, it's probably my least favorite entry in the line-up (especially among the villain teams), but that has as much to do with how high the bar has been set as anything...if you've enjoyed the series so far, no reason to stop now.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
People's Revolution: Villains of WWII (ICONS)
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Monster Brief: Dark Elves
Publisher: Misfit Studios
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/12/2010 02:00:22

Meant to go hand-in-hand with Player Races: Dark Elves, this Monster Brief provides some variations on Dark Elves, to be used as monsters and adversaries.

Two Edges and two Hindrances are included, though Poison Resistance and Obligation are reprinted from Player Races: Dark Elves.

The first variation present is the "Dark Elf Arachni", which are pretty much Driders (dark elves morphed into half-spiders), but this thing is freaking scary. A single arachni is absolutely dangerous both up close and at a distance, from throwing weapons to using crossbows to casting spells AND having a poisonous bite.

Honestly, I don't remember Driders being that scary.

Deepstalkers are Dark Elf assassins who are all part of a cult, said to worship something other than what Dark Elves worship. In addition to being specialized sneaky assassins, they also have access to miracles.

Dark Elf Painlords are dark elves who are also masters of torture, knowing how to strike in order to inflict the most pain in combat.

Next are the Dark Elf Priestess and High Priestess, who occupy the same real estate, just one is higher up the food chain than the other. Fit, capable combatants, they are also blessed with Miracles and more than a few Power Points.

Finally, we have the Dark Elf Warlock, which is really as close to magic power as most male Dark Elves get, and that tends to pale next to the Priestesses.

A very good listing of Dark Elf variations, hitting all of the common ones, as well as a new one in the Pain Lord. Very highly recommended if you run Savage Worlds and like your dark elves.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Monster Brief: Dark Elves
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Battlescenes: Undead Stormtroopers (ICONS)
Publisher: Vigilance Press
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/12/2010 01:45:59

This is, apparently, the first in a series of "drop in and go" mini adventures, brought to you by Vigilance Press, who are offering up much awesomeness in their line of WWII PDFs.

SPOILER WARNING

Set in the waning months of the war, it is a last-ditch effort by the Nazis to bolster their numbers through the use of necromancy, raising the dead to become their new wave of soldiers. The main problem being that the dead hate the living.

Oops.

This is mitigated by mind control helmets on the commanding officers, which work so long as nothing removes the helmet.

The scenario is played very loosely, setting up the situation, and dropping the PCs into it (the Allies have figured out that the Nazis are up to something at Castle Grunwald, and arrive to see zombie being pumped out en masse)...from there, the whole thing is left very open. The castle and its guards are described (such as the troopers on jetpacks in the air), with the PCs getting to handle it however they see fit.

Important details are listed, along with two Optional Details (one involving a mystical artifact and the other allowing for an explosive conclusion to the Battlescene), and none of them contradict the rest, so they can all be used together.

Additionally, a couple of plot twists are provided, in case the GM feels like everything is going too smoothly.

Two pages of stats are included, for the various zombies, as well as the sorcerers powering the machine, and an optional megazombie foe.

It is not a complicated scenario, at all...but it is not meant to be. For $1, you get a few stat blocks, as well as an encounter that could take up an entire short session, depending on how it plays out. Combined with the PC teams provided in the other PDFs in the series, it could make for a great ICONS demo, or just a cool diversion in your game.

Honestly, you could even use it outside of the WWII timeline just by twisting things a bit, and maybe having the man responsible be Count Fenrise (see Eugenics Brigade) having survived the end of the war and hoping to cause the Nazis to rise once more (this time from the dead). Definitely buy it if you're digging the other PDFs in this series, it's well worth your dollar.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Battlescenes: Undead Stormtroopers (ICONS)
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API Anthology: Volume 1
Publisher: Third Eye Games
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/12/2010 00:56:58

This is kind of new territory for me...reviewing a fiction anthology, as opposed to an RPG product.

Hopefully it turns out better than my attempt at reviewing a video game the other day.

The API Anthology is the first anthology release by Third Eye Games for their Apocalypse Prevention Inc. setting (reviews of which can be found on my blog).

The API Anthology is a PDF clocking in at 92 pages with 9 stories featuring a few names that I recognize from the game industry and a few names that I don't...I'm cool with that: Everyone's gotta start somewhere, and I hear anthologies can be a great starting point.

The Apocalypse Prevention Inc. setting is a modern action-horror setting that is dominated largely by the very "Men in Black" type organization that hunts, captures and kills the demons that would threaten humanity. Every story in the anthology is set in this world, though not all of them necessarily revolve around the organization.

As is always the case with works featuring multiple authors, you are going to get different levels of work.

Unfortunately (or not, depending) the book begins with the weakest entry "Jezebel Sly, Private Investigator", with the titular character being beholden to working API cases after she gets involved in a supernatural incident. The story is a missing persons case with an API twist, but the authors attempts at making the main character jaded and cynical work too well...to the point that I honestly didn't like any character in the story.

"Girl Trouble" was another story that I had trouble with, for similar reasons. The heroic motivation of the protagonist never quite felt "real", and the payoff line at the end felt a bit cheesy and forced. This story, like the first, also cast API in a negative light, with the antagonist being a Burner serving as an API Agent. That said, the protagonist - an Oracle, who have bad luck effects on people around them - did have a VERY cool moment at the climax with the API agent.

"Back for Seconds" and "Fish on Dry Land" really capture the quirky, off-beat humor of the API universe, which is really not surprising with the former, as it was written by Brennan Bishop who has contributed some of the most disgusting aspects of the API universe (I'm not picking on him! He bragged about it!) and so his tale of Changelings as delicassies really hits on the black humor of the setting. "Fish on Dry Land" does a great job of portraying an overworked API unit and stars a Loch named Elvis. Both were entertaining reads, with humor intermixed with quirky drama.

"The Difference A Day Makes" features an API squad against a group of unlikely rivals with some very interesting pasts. I recognized the author, Rucht Lilavivat from White Wolf's Ravenloft line, and they did a very nice job of putting forth characters I actually wanted to read about...especially the laconic (until he needs to not be) Al. I liked both "teams" in the story, and thought it had a very nice payoff.

"Shut Up & Fish" has one of the smallest API presences in the book, but is a favorite of mine as it draws on the API Canada sourcebook, touching on The Thing Under The Ice (specifically, its effect on some poor saps who encounter it at sea).

"Failure To Communicate", ironically (or intentionally), does the best job in the book of presenting a situation from both sides: A wolf person trying to keep from losing control, and the pair of API Agents who try to stop him when he does. I particularly thought that the author did a great job of conveying the "change" in the wolf person's internal monologue.

"Loch, Stock, and Barrel" by Clint Black of Pinnacle Entertainment is probably the best offering in the book from a pure story stand point. The storytelling is tighter here than anywhere else, it hinges on a huge issue in the setting (Lochs and their difficulties reproducing) and one of the main characters undergoes a very noticeable change from the beginning of the story to the end.

That said, "The Pact" probably hit me the most with its sudden, abrupt ending. I can't say it was one I had never seen before, but the resolution surprised me with its execution, and in a good way.

The editing really needed to be tighter in a lot of places, with my eye catching typos here and there...and it seemed like there was probably an underuse of commas. In one story, I'm reasonably sure that a word got unintentionally invented. There was also an inconsistency in capitalizing the names of the demon races...for uniformity, I would have either capitalized all of them or none of them.

On a format note, I sideloaded the PDF into my Barnes & Noble nook, and the conversion process wasn't the smoothest, with my order watermark showing up at every page break (which was sometimes in the middle of the page) and one story have some odd fontal squishing going on. I'm not counting this as a knock against the anthology, mind you, just an observation...I'd love to see a release in epub format as well.

With much more good than bad, I would not be disappointed at all to see this truly just be volume 1, and for us to get volume 2 in the future. If you like API, or if you like reading action/horror fiction, it's a good buy.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
API Anthology: Volume 1
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LotFP Weird Fantasy Role-Playing Deluxe Edition
Publisher: Lamentations of the Flame Princess
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/10/2010 00:25:28

With an eye-catching name and some very interesting art, I was drawn to the promise of "weird fantasy" role playing...what I got was a D&D retroclone that never felt particularly weird. While I'm sure it probably holds up with other retroclones, I didn't see any particular reason one would have to choose this over another variation of D&D,



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
LotFP Weird Fantasy Role-Playing Deluxe Edition
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Player Races: the Dark Elf
Publisher: Misfit Studios
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/09/2010 17:06:16

I can see this one being polarizing.

Arguably the most popular - and hated - fantasy race I can think of comes to Savage Worlds through Misfit Studios' new line of PDFs, "Player Races".

Dark Elves became very prominent in the 90s with the popularity of Drizzt Do'Urden, and now you can't throw a d20 without hitting a D&D player who hates them. That said, I always kinda liked dark elves.

Mechanically, the Dark Elf race has both Infravision (which halves penalities for Dark Lighting) and Low Light Vision (which ignores penalities for Dark Lighting), and unless I'm missing something...that's fairly redundant.

Of the "classic" Dark Elf powers, the race retains the "field of darkness", as the Obscure power.

Dark Half-Elves are also listed, based off of Half-Elves.

The PDF also includes a new Hindrance and three new Edges, as well as four sample Dark Elf poisons and stats for a Dark Elf crossbow.

A sample Dark Elf warrior is statted up, with a sidebar on "Deep Mithral", which is used to make Dark Elf armor but degrades in the sunlight.

A very nice pick for the first Player Race, and what appears to be a balanced take on Dark Elves for Savage Worlds. Combine it with the all the other little niceties, such as the poisons and the Deep Mithral and you get another jampacked purchase for less than $2.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Player Races: the Dark Elf
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Creator Reply:
Infravision and low-light vision have some functional overlap, true, but they both pick up some slack for the other considering one is heat-based and the other is light-based. Giving dark elves both means they'll be able to spot heroes who may think some of the tricks they use to hide against normal elves will also work on these guys. It's just a minor thing that makes them just that much nastier to face.
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LLA001: Blood Moon Rising
Publisher: Small Niche Games
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/09/2010 00:56:25

Blood Moon Rising is the first adventure for Labyrinth Lord by Small Niche Games. I'm going to be approaching this from a little different tack: I don't play Labyrinth Lord or D&D or any of the retroclones. However, I do likes me some adventures, and good ideas can be stolen for other games.

WARNING

I try to go light in spoilers...BUT...it is impossible for me to leave them out completely. If you are going to be playing in this, do yourself a favor and go away.

Seriously.

END WARNING

Blood Moon Rising is set up as a "sandbox"/timeline type adventure for 3-6 characters of 1-3 level. Basically, the book gives you a town with NPCs and a backstory, and the timeline of events that will occur during their big festival celebrating an ancient warrior that they all revere.

From there, the PCs interact with whatever they will, until the whole thing is resolved. The action rises, as action tends to do, until the PCs should find it virtually impossible not to realize that something isn't right (in fact, there is a very nice hook on Day One to draw them deeper into events unless they are completely self absorbed).

I love adventures that give you freedom, and this one does from the beginning, not even making any assumptions about the reason the PCs are in the town, just giving you some excuses if you need the help.

The background section gives you the backstory of the village, which has mutated considerably until it has become a very...inaccurate...local legend.

The village of Garanton is pretty small, about 200 people, and utterly normal for the most part...except for the interesting little spring on the edge of town with strange healing properties...until the New Moon...then I wouldn't want to bathe in it.

The Feast of St. Garan is a five day festival celebrating this great warrior that liberated the land, and is presented in the book as a series of events in the manner and order that they will occur, should the PCs not interfere.

The fifth night of the festival is the Blood Moon, hence the name of the module.

We are first presented with the normal order of events, followed by the major events from each day. Warrior types can compete in the Honor Games over the five day period, with the possibility of a title and a sweet, sweet magic item out of the deal. There is also the possibility of Honor Duels, which can be fought using non-lethal damage, to first blood or to the death, if a heated issue spirals out of control.

On Day One, the first Honor Game is held, which is a simple test of strength...but characters can discover some helpful clues about the true nature of the festival from the rocks.

A potential hook is also set in which a local artist asks the PCs to pose for a portrait...but he's fated to go missing overnight.

Day Two likely starts with news of a local farmer's cows being slaughtered and the PCs missing their appointment with the artist, because he's gone missing.

Day two also provides a Test of Nerve in the Honor Game, which has the potential to set the PCs on a collision course with an orc tribe that has become drawn to the area. Overnight, the a farmhouse is attacked by creepy demons (who killed the cattle the night before), further escalating tensions and making the mood somber.

The Day Three Test of Steed can provide slight financial benefit for a participant, but no plot-worthy extras like the first two days.

Day three also ratchets up the tension with the first human casualties, at least one of which is not what it seems.

Day four provides the opportunity for the PCs to uncover the truth about one of the attacks, as well as a possible battle that can turn them into instant heroes. However, the growing darkness over the events are driving people away now, before the end of the festival.

Finally, on Day Five, the Honor Games will conclude and - that night - a nasty group of demons attack the village. If the PCs have stuck around, they have a chance of driving off the demons...if not, the village is slaughtered.

It sounds simple enough, but there's plenty of action and excitement for a rookie party over a few sessions.

Twenty random encounters are also present, which include large, drunken women hitting on the PCs and not taking "No" for an answer, a young warrior being hazed, a fan club for one of the PCs, the possibility of scoring a very special mount and more.

Another series of encounters are present for those leaving the village, including the possibility of investigating the Tomb of St. Garan (and finding the good "saint" to be a sealed away undead Wight), as well as precisely what can happen if the PCs venture to the Demon Gate that is releasing the night demons on the village, and lays seeds for continuing adventures with much more powerful beasties trying to break through the gate (for when the PCs are higher level, of course).

The final resolution of the adventure is up the PCs, depending on what they did and how much exploration they indulged in, as they could uncover the truth about the area's history (effectively ending the annual festival), inadvertantly unleash an undead plague on the land to go with the demonic one, and allow an infernal beacon to draw all manner of evil to the area (if they don't destroy the Demon Gate).

All of the important (and semi-important) NPCs are given stats and summaries, and an appendix provided adds in a new spell (Lesser Charm Monster), as well as a pair of magic items (the Mantle and Sword of St. Garan) and two new monsters (the Night Demons and Demon Grubs).

My thoughts?

I will never run this as written...because AD&D/Labyrinth Lord/OSRIC/etc do not appeal to me.

HOWEVER...I would absolutely convert this to Savage Worlds or High Valor and use it as a potential launching point for a new campaign. For $4.95 you not only get a good sandbox adventure, you get a potential "home base" for PCs with a couple of plot hooks that could spawn into minicampaigns (or full blown epic conflicts in the case of the Demon Gate and what it's holding back) down the line.

Very cool stuff, and worth it even factoring in the necessary conversion work I'd have to do (not that High Valor or Savage Worlds would require a ton of work).

Great stuff...better than most of the modules I remember getting back in the day.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
LLA001: Blood Moon Rising
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Pearl Harbor December: Villains of WWII (ICONS)
Publisher: Vigilance Press
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/08/2010 12:43:24

This is just cool...my favorite of the WWII releases by Vigilance Press thus far.

Pearl Harbor December are the Japanese superteam, who clashed heavily with Vigilance Force in WWII.

Every villain is given their Japanese name and approximate English translation...I'll be sticking with the English names for simplicity's sake.

Right off, we have the "cannon fodder" Savage Men...who are STOUT mutated raging madmen. Seriously...these guys are scary, with Strength and Prowess of 7 and Regeneration and Invulnerability of 5...possibly too good to be underlings.

My favorite member of Pearl Harbor December is the first unique member posted, the Matchless Warrior: a "simple warrior" who is capable of batting away darn near anything, including missiles, with his bo staff! Something about the concept just strikes me as being incredibly cool...he's my favorite character I've seen posted in these WWII PDFs so far.

Death Mask is an armored Japanese warrior...and by "Armored" I mean "Japanese Iron Man", flying through the air, firing energy blasts, etc.

Monster has the "soul of a poet in the body of a brute", but he's not your typical brick at ALL...he is much, much lighter on his feet than one would expect.

Sword Bearer is the Emperor's Personal Guard, carrying a ancient weather warping weapon.

Hypothermia is, powers-wise, a Japanese Iceman...though he has a soldier's temperment and not a joker's.

Rounding out the list is the immortal warrior Living Chronicle, who is actually ever scarier than just "immortal sword master".

This is my favorite of the releases so far, as the character work really comes into its own, especially with Matchless Warrior and Monster...moreso than the Nazis, these guys all have the capacity for being played as heroes as well, especially if you used them outside of a WWII setting.

Very high recommendation.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Pearl Harbor December: Villains of WWII (ICONS)
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Zombie Pirates (Collector's Edition)
Publisher: Dust Devil Studios
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/04/2010 22:47:02

Zombie Pirates is the first computer game release by Dust Devil Studios, which is made up of more than one name you might recognize from Pinnacle Entertainment.

Zombie Pirates is a "tower defense" game where you have a variety of pirate ships in your crew, you do battle with zombie pirate ships, and you have to shut them down as they try to make it across the screen.

The game stars "Smilin'" Jack O'Hurlihan and friends as they do battle with Gruesome George and his zombie pirates all over the map. There are 8 areas, each with their own "theme", divided up into 5 stages each, with a bonus stage unlockable after beating the five. For my part, I'm currently partway through the fifth area.

You begin with just your ship and basic skirmishers...but you can unlock other vessels (including two named vessels) and upgrades for your ships. I'm currently at three named vessels (one of which is a steampunk submarine) and a decent collection of support ships, my personal favorite being the Balefires (they shooted blessed cannonballs at ghost ships, as well as heal themselves and those around them, chain throwers (which launch large chains to slow down approaching vessels) and cherry blossoms (oriental ships that fire three rockets in succession at their targets).

The game is full of corny humor and bad puns, and that's part of the charm. The story is very lightweight, but this is a casual strategy game, not a deep RPG...and while the game is simple to play, I have sure discovered that if I just go in blindly I don't get as far as I do when I think my approach through.

As another reviewer noted, it is very easy to play 15 minutes and feel like you accomplished something...it is also very easy to start playing and find out an hour passed while you were sitting there.

The enemies start off with basic zombie ships, but also include zombie bird and sharks, ghost ships, and shipheads - giants with parts of ships chained to their heads.

The Collector's Edition has two minigames in it, Jack's Nightmares and Rum Running game, as well as dozens of achievements you can accomplish.

Finally, for a limited time, you can download Zombie Pirates by itself, or in a bundle with the Pirates of the Spanish Main RPG PDF for free, instead of the normal $25 for PotSM.

Is it fun? I enjoy it...especially for a light, point and click strategy game. I don't have a high end computer and the game has only hiccuped once or twice, but has never stalled out or refused to work. Plus, if the game is successful, then we could see some Pinnacle licenses translated into computer games...like Deadlands, for instance.

If you like zombie and pirates, pick it up to go ahead and kill big chunks of your free time.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Zombie Pirates (Collector's Edition)
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Crown Guard: Heroes of WWII (ICONS)
Publisher: Vigilance Press
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/04/2010 19:41:17

The latest in the ICONS WWII releases by Vigilance Press, The Crown Guard were the British super team that was fighting WWII before the US got involved, fending off the Eugenics Brigade.

Despite being outgunned and outmanned, the Crown Guard managed to keep Winston Churchill alive and convinced the Eugenics Brigade that they were better off attacking Russia than England.

As with Vigilance Force, this is a collection of heroes, so there is probably less utility for the average purchaser than there is with, say, a villain collection.

The PDF does include the necessary Team rules to fit the ICONS Team rules, if you wanted to run a Crown Guard game.

We get Big Ben, the prototypical giant brick.

Espirit is a French agent with phasing and invisibility, hence the name. Reminds me a lot of a random character I generated back for Marvel FASERIP who was ALSO a spy, and also had Mind Control...so I have a certain fondness for the character type.

Excalibur actually carries Excalibur, as well as a couple of other artifacts, making him a tough customer.

Grizzly is an animalistic Canadian hero, who seems a bit like a Wolverine riff taken the opposite direction from Marauder in Vigilance Force.

Illustrious is a bit of an enigma...a compulsive liar with amazing luck and an assumed name.

Ironclad is a living machine, the greatest creation of a dying scientist.

Repulse is The Crown Guard's Master of Magnetism.

Swordfish is the setting's answer to Namor/Aquaman.

Armorer is a supergenius inventor, trying to liberate his native Poland.

And last is John Bull, the only "successful" attempt at recreating the Nazi supersoldier project...leaving him with the appearance of a minotaur.

Again, like with Vigilance Force, there are a lot of obvious homages, but nothing I would call overtly ripped off. Even Swordfish feels like his own man and not like either Namor or Aquaman specifically.

There's the odd piece of art, but there is a big, group picture that you can use to suss out just who is who in the group. It's a good product in a good line...if World War II in ICONS interests you, then I recommend picking it up.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Crown Guard: Heroes of WWII (ICONS)
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