Another weekly roundup. Still not happy about the title. Though posted manually (like a savage) it is out on the right day. My “time away from the internet” went much better this week. I’ve got out of the habit of using social media or checking various gaming forums so I don’t even really “miss” it anymore. I also distracted myself by doubling down on improving my diet (with partial success) and going back to basics and trying to formally plot out every conspiracy in my yet to be named (probably Overdue) next great Irish novel (with much less success).
Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) – Live Action Movie Trailer
I read the first volume or two of SnK back when they first got scanlated. It was, well, ok. It had an interesting setting but I wasnt particularly enthused by the artwork nor the characters. As such I didn’t pay much attention tp the anime adaptation (apart from the OP, which is both visually and audibly thrilling in the best way). However that changed when I actually did get around to watching it a few months after it finished. Despite the budget problems it ran into (and the subsequent effect on the animation) I really enjoyed it. Like a lot of action heavy manga it often works better in motion. I did go back to the manga and I enjoyed it much more, because the story had real legs by that point. I think the live action film offers the same thing the anime did, spectacle, while its only a teaser the special effects look great and the first story arc suits itself well to a live action adaptation. Looking forward to seeing the Maneuver Gear in action.
The Witch and the Hundred Knight Revival announced for PS4
I’m a big fan of Nippon Ichi’s games. I’ve bought and completed the majority of their first party titles (often multiple times). While the gameplay and story and all the rest is rock solid one of the major draws for me is Takehito Harada’s artwork. I love it. I have all his artbooks, both for the games he’s been involved with and his other work. There’s just something about them. So when I first saw Metallia, the main character of The Witch and the Hundred Knight I loved the way she looked. So much so that if I’d the money I certainly would have bought the awesome statue they released of her.
But sadly I did not have the money for the statue, nor for the game which released at a busy time when I was cash poor and leery of throwing cash at a game that was such a gameplay departure from their usual stuff. The game got mixed reviews so I felt vaguely justified. I was pleased to hear about this enhanced port/sequel being announced. It looks like it will explicitly express several of the issues with the first game and most importantly give me an excuse to bask in more of Mr Harada’s beautiful art.
Rifts is Coming for Savage Worlds!
The exclamation mark is from the original headline but I have to admit this is pretty shocking news. I love the setting for RIFTS. Its gonzo kitchen sink madness that taps into a primal part of my brain that thinks things are simply cool. I had fun the few times I got to play it and always enjoyed reading the sourcebooks. Unfortunately I hate the fucking system. As do a lot of people. Because its shite. I toyed with a few full conversions to other systems, even but together an outline for a “Second Edition”. But Palladium had a legendary hatred of conversions and actually took legal action to get them taken down. Which will give you some idea of how proprietary they are about the game. The company and game are owned and created by one guy who made it clear on several occasions that RIFTS was his ship and he’d gladly go down on it before letting anyone else have a turn at the wheel.
My tortured sailing analogies aside this is great news. It’s a fun setting with decades of history and from what I’ve seen the current Savage Worlds system is a good match for it. I wasnt initially a big fan of the new Savage Worlds system, mainly because it lost a lot of the flavour of the old Deadlands system its descended from. But subsequent sourcebooks changed my mind a little and the “soft reboot” the system received when Savage Worlds Deluxe was published changed my mind completely. I’ve only used it once for a one-off but it does quick action well and its sourcebooks and licensees have shown that it can quickly and easily be adapted to a number of genres. So I’m hoping this will turn out to be good.
Total War: WARHAMMER announced
This looks awesome. Cant wait to see some gameplay footage. While The Witcher 3 hasnt (totally) convinced me that I need to upgrade my machine I’ve a feeling this will. I’d love to see this release during the dry summer months but it’ll probably be released in the usual Autumn/Winter push. Always been a fan of the Total War series, I havent played them all but those I’ve played I’ve really enjoyed. I’ve generally only bought the ones whose setting really appealed so needless to say this is a guaranteed purchase. Nice to see it finally announced as I’ve been waiting for something like this since SEGA bought Relic in 2013. Nice to see that my favourite Chaos God, Tzeentch, appears to be the patron of the (presumably) campaign’s main antagonist.
Wait, Karl Franz is dead? I’m pretty far behind on the Warhammer Fantasy metaplot apparently. Cant help but feel progressing the plot of the wargame setting is sort of a mistake. Though the business advantages are obvious. At least it’s not as annoying as late nineties rpg metaplots.
Remains of Nazi Officer Discovered inside 100-Year Old Giant Catfish
Story sells itself really. One fucked up looking fish as well.
My new career
She gonna get paid. Well I imagine that’s actually cheap compared to football, karate lessons (sweep the knee), etc. It just looks like a large amount when presented as a lump sum. I imagine she’s using 2nd edition due to being the most familiar with it (and it has a solid Celtic sourcebook). But I like to imagine it’s because she hate’s children and wants to inflict THAC0 on them (a system I never had a problem with). I’d like to say this would be a cool way to make money, but running D&D for a bunch of kids seems tantamount to torture. I mean imagine trying not to curse for that long?
Summon Night 5 and Class of Heroes 3 announced for localisation on the PSP
Yes the PSP. I’m always impressed that Gajinworks can “make it work” even when releasing PSP games. The benefits of a niche product and a well-known niche market perhaps? Though UMD pressing is being shut down soon-ish so this is likely the PSP’s swansong (though it’s been a pretty dead swan in the west for some time). I’m happy to see these announcements. I’ve always been interested in getting into the Summon Night series but the games seemed too much work for fan localisation and we’ve only ever got two spin-off titles released in the West. I’m a big fan of SRPG’s and while I prefer them on the big screen they’re one of the few genres I don’t mind playing on a handheld. Class of Heroes 3 I’m less enthused about. Wasnt a fan of the first one, the second was better but I just couldn’t really get into it. Apparently this one is better again and I am more of a fan of dungeon crawlers so perhaps it’ll work. Either way, definitely on for Summon Night 5 (though I’ll be playing it on my VITA, not dragging my PSP out of mothballs). Well actually I’ll probably buy the physical version, rip the ISO and play it on my PC using PPSSPP.
Here’s the lovely looking intro animation, animated by Ufotable
Eiyuu Senki’s English Opening
Another game I never thought would be localised, not least because the developers shut down the english fan translation of the PC version. I’m glad we’re getting the sex free all ages console version, though I’m less glad that the release date has been changed from the already nebulous “Summer 2015” to the chilling vagueness of “2015”. All these long shot localisations aren’t good for my limited funds.
Steam Adds More Ways for Workshop Creators to Earn Money
Well this is the latest VERY IMPORTANT THING rocking the online gaming world. I read the initial releases and arguments and then consciously and successfully decided to avoid all online discussion of it. Considering the heat coming off the “debate” over it that feels like a wise choice. Both (reasonable) sides have points, I can see the pros and cons but I think its far too early to really make any conclusive statements about so. So in the interests of that I’m, well, doing just that. It was amusing in a way as I’d just finished editing a dissertation about DOTA 2’s economic market when the news broke. It did give rise to some interesting discussion, my favourite being Modding as a hobby versus modding as a career
The Mysterious Sunken “Pyramid” of Japan
I’m pretty sure I saw an anime that started like this. I don’t care what happens to me or the world, just bring on the mecha.
Finally broke Sean’s streak
It’s a running joke that Sean wins every new boardgame I buy. But not tonight, no siree. In fact of the four players Sean was the only one who didn’t meet their individual win condition (though he came very close to fucking me out of my win mid-way through the last turn). Of course some hard decisions were made, Patrick’s policewoman abandoning scared and starving children stands out. All in all its a fun game, I feel it will be a lot more fun when it doesn’t take about three hours to play (about double the average play time reported on BGG, but all four players were new). Here’s a picture of the last turn just before I recovered from Sean’s sabotage (and decided not to tank the game for the survivors).
