Wonder Man and a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Two TV series that aren't like their predecessors?

Wonder Man

This eight episode Marvel superhero show is one that doesn't really focus on good versus evil, so if you're expecting the standard beat-em up you'll likely be disappointed. Instead, it follows struggling actor Simon Williams (awesomely played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) try out for his dream role of the titular Wonder Man while hiding his often troublesome powers. Opposite him is Trevor Slattery (portrayed by the fantastic Ben Kingsley) who takes more of a mentor type role while still somewhat haunted by his "terrorist" past (from Iron Man 3). So yes, quite different and also very good.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (Season 1)

This currently one season show set in the Game of Thrones universe follows hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall (played by Peter Claffey) as he tries to find honorable knightly work after the knight he was squiring for died. It's comedic and quite entertaining, especially with scene stealer Egg (played by Dexter Sol Ansell) though there are gross bits too - hey, still has to be Game of Thrones right? At six episodes it feels pretty short but at least there's no filler to be had here. Recommended and we're looking forward to season two!

Waiting for Duviri: The Tenth Tacticals

And now for a set of games that require planning (and maybe one that doesn't)!

Chess Ultra

Regular readers will know I'm bad at this game, but luckily there's a setting to make the AI so dumb that I can win. LOL. Obviously the opposite is true too as it is grand master approved and obviously there's the PvP option as well as spectating(?). I should probably use the tutorials provided to see if it can help my game. Visuals wise: the room, board and pieces can be customized and look really nice. That won't help you win though!

A Game of Thrones: The Board Game - Digital Edition

This competitive game has players running one of the Westeros Houses and are trying to dominate the map by either holding 7 castles for an instant win or the most castles after 10 rounds. Battles are simple where you just add up the unit values and add whatever your chosen leader card does (7 to pick from, can't reuse same one until you've used all the others). Alas, the rest of the game isn't simple: It's a mess. Boats act both as units and bridges, you need to spend a phase giving "orders" which are limited to 3 of the same, there's a phase where you just pull random events that can add or remove units or lock order types at a whim, and some houses have better starting spots than others. Not recommended.

Yellow and Yangtze (Digital)

This competitive area control game has players putting tiles down in one of five different colors. If you place a red tile on a connected tile set with your red tile leader, you get a red point. If its someone elses red leader, they get a red point. If there is no red leader then you look for the black (king) leader in the region and they get the point. Once there are no more tiles to draw the game ends and you score your LOWEST color of points.

If you try put your red leader in a set that already has a red leader, you must spend the appropriate tiles from your hand to try win your revolt and likewise if two tile sets join which would result in two leaders of the same color being in the joined state, then a war breaks out. Defenders win ties.

Super simple, but also super challenging! I was interested in getting the precursor to this, Tigris and Euphrates until I learned Yellow and Yangtze refined that game a bit. Now that I've tried the digital version - I'm probably not going to get the physical one because I am terrible at it. LOL!

Terraforming Mars (Digital)

Another competitive victory point collecting game where each player runs a company that is terraforming mars, with each company having different themes on what special things that they can do. You will mostly be dictated on options based on the random cards you draw which might be a deal breaker for you, however if you can roll with whatever comes your way you this might be for you. You also need to keep your eyes open on the first come first serve rewards you can nab, as well as the awards that you can fund (in hopes to award yourself) as those are a lot of victory points!

Turns get longer as the game goes by because everyone will have more resources later and turns only end when the player all players pass. On the flip side, if you warm the planet enough, put enough oceans and forests and basically terraform Mars, as per the title - you can activate an immediate game end sequence if you are confident you've got the points lined up to win. Pretty cool.

Warhammer 40K: Gladius - Relics of War

A strategy game where you can play as one of the various factions in the Warhammer 40k universe, where you must build a base and send your units to destroy the enemy bases, much like ye olde Dune and Warcraft / Starcraft, EXCEPT it is all turn based. And boy that makes it supremely boring. The poor tutorial doesn't help either. Skip it.

Evil Dead: the Game

The only non-board game based offering in this set - this four player co-op versus one monster player where in the four players (who most likely will be playing various incarnations of Ash Williams) need to locate the necronomicon and a magic knife to seal the evil portal within a time limit to win. The maps are pretty big, the fighting is quite decent, and having cars people can hop into together is great. The enemy player has interesting mechanics too, as they are usually just mist and must run around gaining power to be able to deploy traps, spawn bad guys and possibly possess said bad guys (or good guys, if they don't stay near the light).

As a bonus, there are AI modes that range from one player and every one else is AI, only the bad guys is AI so it's pure co-op, and single player missions to unlock stuff. Pretty cool game and one that I was ready to buy for my gaming group until I learned this is currently only available on Epic Games, which has NO METHOD OF GIFTING GAMES TO OTHERS. Pity, because that means I purchased something else (x3) instead from Steam.

Gloomhaven (Digital)

This is the cooperative "something else" I purchased (x3) for my gaming group instead of the Evil Dead, and I am pleased to say it plays very much like my physical copy of Jaws of the Lion where I've already covered most of the mechanics. Even better, this digital edition means you don't need to spend time setting up or running the monsters and just get straight into the action. We've only started the original campaign and its already pretty good, with the ability to have players drop in and out mid mission (host controls any unassigned mercs). Very good so far and recommended if you like thinking games!

House of the Rings of Dragon Power?

Two fantasy prequels that are currently season one.

House of the Dragon

Set a hundred years before Game of Thrones, this fantasy series tries to emulate the original as much as possible but instead of having many point of view characters to follow each episode there's only two or three. House Targaryen rules in a time of peace with the strength of their dragons but unfortunate circumstances (and ye olde refusing to just sit down, chat and air secrets to solve everything) just continuously happens that slowly pushes the kingdom to the brink of civil war.

I'm not kidding about slowly either, YEARS pass between episodes and it's a little strange that some characters age while others seem "timeless" but its an entertaining watch regardless with decent plot, acting and CGI. Definitely recommended and looking forward to season two.

Rings of Power

A prequel to the Hobbit, this tells the story of the time before the twenty great rings were forged - when dwarves didn't yet dig so deep, elves more easily gave into emotion, hobbits were more racially diverse and humans as a whole were dirty scum. While the CGI is gorgeous and the acting is ok it's the plot and pacing that lets down this production - not helped by the main character who seems capable of cheat-code worthy feats.

Despite not being as tightly woven as House of the Dragon it is still a nice spectacle to watch and also one I'm waiting for season two. Recommended to fantasy fans, but not necessarily Lord of the Rings fans who would take more issue with what transpires here.

BraveRats (card game system)

Why rats though?

BraveRats is a two player competitive card game where each side has eight cards representing their clan trying to compete for territory, or you know, just trying to kill each other. Play is simple: both players play one card face down and reveal at the same time, then usually the one with the higher strength value wins and the first one to score four victories wins the war. 

All cards have unique special abilities that can alter the battle though, like if you play the princess (strength 1) and the enemy plays their prince (strength 7) you not only win this round but the entire war immediately because the prince falls in love with the princess.

It's a super simple concept which means once you have the rules you can play with regular playing cards or in my case, we used the ones from Game of Thrones: Westeros Intrigue to make it Starks vs Lannisters. Not a bad little game to try outwit your opponent, but ultimately Love Letter uses a similar mechanic, is simpler, and can host more players.

Pathfinder Kingmaker - Fairy Tale

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Aldori troops led by Lady Jamandi supported by Kesten's guardsmen and Jhod's faith push through the wild hunt forces giving an opening for Siegfried, Jaethal, Valerie, Bouquet, Arkemyr and Garret to reach the Lantern King (multi phased boss fight). Fortunately Nyrissa is here too and has enough strength to break her bonds and assist the heroes to defeat the annoying fireball who is banished like the weakling he is. Only the unimportant nameless extras and Jhod die in this final phase which is a resounding victory for the King.

Keeping his promise, Siegfried takes Nyrissa as his queen but also has a friends with benefits status with a young hot elf that looks like a younger version of her mother Jaethal. In fact Jaethal now wears her daughter as a living skin suit thanks to the ritual she learned earlier - making her both not-quite undead and also more evil than when she started. With a strong alliance to house Aldori, the untouchable ace Valerie remains as regent and lawman Kesten marries ex-bandit Bouquet while Archmage Arkemyr and thief Garrett return to their own lands wealthier than before.

Then Siegfried got more advisors through the cash shop?

That's it for Pathfinder: Kingmaker. Pretty cool game but also very long. The later periods of kingdom management are pretty tough with those super high difficulty checks, but not as tough/unfair as the later combats. Especially against swarms. I hate those things.

Borderlands 2: Vanquishing Evil

[Part of the Wasted Land story]

The wizard Claptrap is as much of a failure as the regular Claptrap, but thanks to my awesome trap deactivation and jumping puzzle skills we get out of the mine and Jim rewards me with his legendary Fastball grenade because we're awesome (and he says it makes more sense tactically).

We then go up the mountain to Dragon keep, defeating the Handsome Dragon guarding a bridge and then SWORDSPLODING through an evil army before killing the Handsome Sorcerer and disemboweling his Drider-Daughter. With the villain defeated, DL sets free the beautiful rainbow queen of the land... BUTT STALLION! *NEEEEIIIGHH!*

Not so handsome after I'm through with him! Muahahaha!

After she poops out rainbow rewards for us, we learn of more evils that need squishing - starting with the whiney and cowardly prince Jeffrey (from Game of Thrones) who we take turns beating down. We then visit Murderlin's temple arena and survive all the rounds, even the bonus badass round, to learn various magic spells like fireball, chain lightning, and magic missile (regenerating grenades)!

Thus prepared, we revisit the deep mines to face the RAID DRAGONS - a ferocious foursome of winged beasts that we take down for a reward room unlike any other - we spend hours looting the treasure chest filled ruins and complete Tina's campaign!

Insight: You need to pull the swords out of the Immortal Skeletaurs to kill them permanently.

---

Blaugust Bonus: "What is your earliest memory related to one of your core fandoms?" -Syp

That would be the D&D adventure where the party came across a hall full of lifelike statues with a locked door at the end, and I decided to bash it open and fall right into a basilisk den. Due to lousy initiative they got first move and I got turned to stone immediately. I was not useful that session at all. :P

Game of Thrones (TV Series)

You win or you die.

Eight years ago I posted about this, and that write up of this book based TV series is still quite valid now that it is finished. The story, production, writing, acting, music... you name it, have all been top notch throughout.

Inspiring everyone to sit on uncomfortable chairs!

As with all things though, even this had minor dips during the course of the show, most likely stemming from the "getting ahead of the source material" problem which frequently happens in anime.

Many fans are particularly unhappy with the last season and personally, I would have preferred a different order of bad guys at the end but am quite ok with how it played out. Don't let that stop you from watching this magnificent production if you haven't already. It's fantastic!

Game of Thrones: Intrigue

The only thing intriguing is how this passes as a GoT game.

It has the Game of Thrones name on the box and the characters on each card, yet the theme is lost completely in this card game - which ultimately is for children. The play is simple - everyone takes turns creating a pyramid of cards where only similar colors are allowed next to each other. If during your turn you cannot put down a card, you take a penalty token and are eliminated that round. If you cleared all your cards you take an Iron Throne card which has a negative value.

So many decisions. Wow.

In the next round the player adjacent goes next where the process repeats until everyone has had a chance to "go first". At the end you add up your penalty points, subtract the Iron Throne values and whoever has the lowest value wins. Given I could explain the whole game in two paragraphs shows the simplicity of it, which is far too simple for my appetite. The only plus is that the cards can help people remember character names in the show. I give it 1 pyramid out of 5 and for me, it's not worth playing.

Today I Smiled: Power Up!

The grind through the River District and Chult continues in Neverwinter Online, so much so that I've not been typing blog posts! Oops! It's great to see my characters improving again though, using Baphomet as a measuring stick.

Once I put some thought into what enchantments I actually used in my gear, my mounts and my npcs companions (who I previously didn't equip at all), I'm now easily beating the demon prince.

Speaking of training, here is the real-life weapons training of Keanu Reeves for John Wick 2, which is pretty awesome. Thank you to the poster who told me about it. Also cool is this site about military strength by country which is an eye opener. Some are higher than I thought!

If that is too violent for you, I've also just learned that Japan has a cat island and a rabbit island which is cute-overload at first, but when carefully thinking about it are islands full of a) rabbit poop or b) critters that actively seek to overthrow the human race. :P

As usual I'm going to end with some musical links - the first one being the Coconut song on an airplane and the last one is Peter Hollen's version of Hands of Gold from Game of Thrones! Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Dark Souls: Manus and Gwyn

Tales from Dark Souls - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

With a fully refreshed Estus Flask, I took the lift back down into the Abyss (thank you whoever built that) and made the rather trivial journey to the bottom where I faced Demon King Kong Manus, the Father of the Abyss. So... all this black stuff came out of... man, just had visions of the Red Lady in Game of Thrones. Aaanyway, Manus was the monkey that pulled me here in the first place. He was also super easy to read, and using Iron Flesh and the Silver Pendant to negate his dark kamehamehas I slew him on the first try without breaking a sweat.

Stupid monkey.

The captive Princess Dusk was here, so I set her free and we both warped out back to the shrine with Elizabeth. The thankful shroom gave me pieces of her to eat (eww), so I just politely said you're welcome and warped back to Firelink Shrine. Frampt was awake now so I got him to take me to the temple underneath where I used the lord souls to open the door to an ash blasted landscape at the center of which stood the Kiln of the First Flame. Frampt urged me on, instructing me to "link the fire" to end this age of undeath.

A handful of familiar nameless knights guarded the path to it, but couldn't stop me from reaching it. Indeed, the best defense the Kiln had was King Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder himself and with his giant flaming sword I became shishkebab really quick. Gave it a few more tries but the end result was the same. Deciding I needed to level up a bit more I left him there for the time being for some more bonfire jumping to see if I missed anything.

Damned overcompensating fire sword...

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner 2)

"The Empire Strikes Back" of the Maze Runner series.

This is a direct continuation of the Maze Runner, picking up right where it left off - a helicopter taking the band of survivors over a zombie wasteland of a city to the relative safety of a non-descript facility, run by Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen). While that should set alarm bells going off in audience members who watch Game of Thrones, it takes the protagonists a slightly longer time to clue in that not all is as it seems. I suppose that's only natural since they don't have HBO.

It channels a bit of Fallout too.

Like the previous movie, there's a fair bit of action here as well as some well needed answers as the world is a bit more fleshed out which has surprising similarities to the Star Wars universe (sans Jedi). Don't expect an explanation for the giant spiders in the last installment though. Ultimately the film serves to move pieces around the board in preparation for the next one, ending with a slightly unsatisfactory climax.

All up I feel it's still worth a watch with good effects and valid reasons why the antagonists aren't so effective, but mostly because it is the bridge between movie A and C. I give it two and a half zombies out of five. Would I watch it again? Only if it happens to be on and I'm too lazy to change the channel or do something else.

Skyrim: Herecinde's End

Adventures in Skyrim - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

The Embassy manor itself had fewer Thalmor than the other buildings which made it easy to clear the ground floor. It turns out they were strategically waiting in ambush on the second floor which caught me and Eydis off guard. With summoned daedra and atronarchs coming out of thin air Eydis got cut down pretty quick.

Welcome to hell!?

Again, my super stash of potions saved the day here - as I slowly but surely killed all the summons, summoners, guards and council members present, including head honcho Herecinde. And so all the Thalmor here were wiped out. Or so I thought.

I have no respect for my enemies.

A Thalmor maid escaped the slaughter by cowering away. I thought about sparing her but realized she might be a "bed warmer" for one of the Thalmor big wigs. Can't have any of their spawn surviving now can we? Total Ramsay Bolton moment. Go watch Game of Thrones if you don't know the reference.

The Pillars of the Earth

Wait, this isn't a movie...

I'm bucking the trend today be reviewing a mini-series which basically follows the construction of a cathedral and quite rightfully spans many, many years. At first it might feel a little bit involved (unless you are a Game of Thrones fan) with following the stories of the builder's family,  the priory monks, the noble families fighting for the crown, the lesser nobles vying for Shiring Castle, and one masterfully manipulative and ambitious priest played by Ian McShane. He does a really fantastic job and every scene he is in is great, which is pretty good for the villain! It's also the first time I recall seeing Eddie Redmayne, who also does a decent job in his role.

All the people. :)

There are a few "weaker" actors but for the most part they can be overlooked, and I can't really complain about the wonderful sets they had there despite some "stones" seemingly being made of lighter material. Really the only two negatives for me were some of the very plain names for main characters (such as "Tom Builder" and "Jack Jackson") and that some characters age and some don't.

Also "aging" to some of the cast also just involves putting on a ludicrous looking wig so they get a little funny to look at but all in all it's a decent story which manages to tie up all the threads a little too cleanly at the end. Regardless I highly recommend it and give it four stones out of five. I also wouldn't mind seeing it again.

Today I Smiled: Cover Songs (Reluctant Heroes and Game of Thrones)

Since I'm somewhat musically inclined, I thought I'd share a trio of Youtube clips that brought a smile to my face. Especially the last two which are quite jazzy and contain a bit of improvisation so heads up if that's not your sort of thing.

Mica Caldito - The Reluctant Heroes (Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan)
Swamp Donkeys - Game of Thrones Theme
Dave Koz - "Smooth" Game of Thrones Theme

Have a great day! :)

Today I Smiled: Mario, Ozzy Man GoT and JAAAAEGER!

Got a bunch of Youtube links that got me smiling this week so I thought I'd share them with you, in case you missed any!

First up is Mario in a Mercedes Ad (somehow he reminds me of Roger Federer). He's looking the healthiest he's ever been!

Next is Ozzy Man's improved ending to Game of Thrones "The Mountain and the Viper" - spoilers ahead if you haven't seen that episode!

Lastly is for all the Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) fans - why the seiyuu's (voice actors) of Connie Springer and Eren JAEGER(!) should never sing the opening song. :P

Have a great day!

Changing the Game

Missing content seems to be a big issue on the GuildWars 2 forums lately with all the "temporary" content that comes and goes so some people are angry that they have to actually make time to play the game or miss out (this is actually common in many MMORPGs). Some have suggested being able to "replay" missed content which is ok I guess, but GW2 doesn't seem designed in lore or in practicallity to handle that so well unlike Mabinogi which caters for it splendidly for main arcs, however even there there are hot-time events and most things only also run for two weeks. Someone likened the experience to watching Game of Thrones, but missing an episode which was then destroyed forever because it is temporary content. My counter was this:

"I can just imagine Rickon Stark (youngest of Eddard’s kids) being annoyed that he can’t take part in the final part of the Baratheon rebellion against the Targaryens because he hadn’t made his character yet when those events took place and now argues with the old gods and the new to make a time loop so that that battle can continue to happen, along side the day to day life at King’s Landing, the numerous weddings, and the battle of the Blackwater at the same time so he can take part in all of them, knowing that no matter what he does it won’t change the outcome but he doesn’t care. At least this way he gets to experience it. Reading about it or being told about it afterwards isn’t good enough you see. He has to live it."

That's the sort of the logic that people who want replayable content to follow, and in some cases it simply just doesn't work. Then ofcourse there's the content which no one would replay anyway - I'm specifically talking about their latest release involving a solo enemy dungeon where instead of being able to use all those skills the rest of the game was encouraging you to get better at, you need to pickup an "everyman" tool to defeat him with gimmicks regardless of who your character is. When you alter the game in such a way, it should always be "more fun" than the standard. The Super Adventure Box did it. Hell even Bloodrayne did it in one level instead of slicing and draining everyone dead she was in a nazi-mecha (though the video poster disagrees with it being "fun"). :P

To be fair, there's not a lot Bloodrayne can't do.

One thing GW2 and Mabinogi have going for them though is that they clearly state what and when content is going to appear/vanish. As a contrast Age of Conan celebrated it's fifth year anniversary by having five days of giant bosses attacking random parts of the world. They didn't say where or when. I logged in to see if I could find them and the short answer was nope. I wouldn't have even known I missed anything if they didn't put the announcement up. Did it matter in the overall scheme of things? Not really.

Meanwhile in Neverwinter, where most of my time is spent creating my campaign in the foundry (only like 5% done >.<), my character just logs in for the shortest amounts of time to pray and send his mercs on missions. Both of those actually generate a bit of XP and some coin which I find interesting, given that I'm not actually "playing" the game. Ofcourse I was slightly surprised then to learn that I had out levelled some instanced quests that I was waiting on my guild to do, and could no longer participate in them. Odd given that all the foundry quests can already adjust to party level that their main content doesn't but it isn't really a big deal though because I like the thought that my dude's too busy to handle every little problem that occurs and that he wisely lets others take care of garbage that's unworthy of his time. If only more people viewed their MMORPGs the same way, maybe there'd be less complaints about missing content.

As a last bit of wisdom/common-sense: Real life > In Game. There's no amount of MMORPG gold, exp, monster slaying glory that can compete with experiences in real life. Just remember that kiddos! ;)

Colorful Distractions

I've hit a slight pause to my re-exploration of the zone with Mabinogi NA releasing the next main stream content: Generation 16 - Macbeth! aka - "Maybe this time I get to kill Shakespeare"? His initial addition to the game was met by quite a few WTFs but they are doing a decent job of tying his story up with the overall "which God/Goddess is not insane" theme they have going on, though the general consensus is they're all messed up in the head. :P

Haven't played Mabinogi before? I suggest you give it a try! They've even introduced martial arts abilities which are quite visually impressive. I may dabble in those later once I finish my sword and bow training too.
Another game I've been trying out is Dino Beatdown which is going quite cheap on steam atm. It is chock-full of bugs but still good fun to play with a team. Currently there are only 3 dino types with below average AI makes it a pretty easy game to practice your FP shooter skills if you are a newbie to the genre too. Can't help but think this game is a more polished "copy" though - Primal Carnage. Certainly stays to the dinosaur theme at least?

Lastly Game of Thrones Season 2 has just drawn to a close and just like its first season I (as a non reader of the books) am finding it incredibly awesome. Episode 9 in particular is a good watch with the Battle of Blackwater. Unlike the other episodes it doesn't hop from location to location but that gives it more time to show some fine medieval warfare. For the first time too I might add, as they usually just skip the big fights due to budget constraints.

Winter is Coming

Game of Thrones is a fantastic fantasy series based on "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels written by George R. R. Martin. I haven't read any of the books but I can tell you now that the series is bloody amazing. A strong cast, high production values and an intriguing story hook you in right from the first episode. For me, the first 5 minutes of the first episode. I like my spooky forests! :P

As an incredibly broad overview, seems to me there are two main plot points. The first one at the foreground is the current King seems to be completely incompetent at Kingly duties (in more ways than one) as those around him (and some further abroad) secretly (and not so secretly) maneouver for the crown. The second one being foreshadowed is somewhere in the far north supposedly some horrible beasties are waking up as winter approaches, and winter in this world can last for many many years.

While everyone, even the child actors, do a great job at their roles it is Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister "the imp" that is a great standout for me as he totally steals the show whenever he's on screen with some of the best dialogue. Also a big plus for me is that there are cute doggies.. erm, I mean dire wolves... that make an early appearance. I think my brother has one of these in his house!

Still its definitely not for everyone and is aimed strictly at an adult audience. They do not shy away from gore, adult themes, strong profanity, and in some cases soft porn. Nudity, including the full frontal kind for both male and female is present so make sure the kiddies are away or asleep before watching. Keeping track of all the characters can get a bit tough at times but if you like it that much (as I do), all the episodes are worth a rewatch or three anyway. ;)