I offered some more thoughts on AoM in the comments on this Slashdot Games link.
Month: September 2003
We shall bounce off each other and make a sport of it
This is the perfect online multiplayer Flash game, of the sort that I would make if I had all the time in the world. Utterly simple to learn, a good amount of tactical depth, and more cute than you can handle. (Thanks to Eric for the tip.)
Artifacts of even more Ages
Green Ronin has announced a special web enhancement for Artifacts of the Ages, the supplement from the Game Mechanics that brought us magic items which grow with your characters (“I’m just a tiny dagger now, but I’ve been drinking milk…”). In the free download, psionics are brought into the Artifacts
Age of Mythology First Look: how to outsource game development to a small island nation
No, not really. But it’s laughable how similar Eagle’s board game adaptation of Microsoft’s RTS hit is to the much-lauded German game Puerto Rico. It’s a very similar board, similar turn structure in which you choose a role from a (mostly) fixed set and all players (sometimes) then play that
Classic H.G. Wells novel reprinted – with rules
If you’re like me, and therefore have an unhealthy interest in the meta-game of how RPG publishers are licensing their rules and content, you might be tickled by this: Gold Rush Games is doing what has the markings of a series of Action! Classics, the first of which is H.G.
Other shoe falls: Book of Erotic Fantasy has D20 license revoked
That’s how they announced it – not that they’d decided to go OGL instead of D20, but that their D20 license has been revoked. The product will be published as OGL, in November rather than October. Full press release below.
Paranoia creator on My Life With Master
Tabletop RPG designer emeritus Greg Costikyan has posted a lengthy, incisive review of alterna-RPGers’ GenCon fave My Life With Master on his (essential) weblog. He notes that he can no longer be sure how innovative this game really is; I’m not that well qualified either but I do see things
Underworld director reveals plans for future
In an interview at SciFi.com, Underworld director and co-author Len Wiseman mentions a sequel and prequel that may come to pass (or at least, they may have before the White Wolf lawsuit; the interview was completed before the suit was filed). Wiseman is quoted as saying “I’m obsessed with seeing
When news is slow, buy something and start reporting on it: 1999 First Look
How does Cell Entertainment stay in business, despite having pushed all that plastic into the US market and watching it flop? Well, they’re evidently saving a little money on their web hosting. Anyway, their new (at least I’ve never seen it on shelves before) fantasy/sci-fi skirmish game, the perplexingly titled
George Bush kicks Cthulhu’s ass
” ‘This hypothesis is far from being proven,’ Gallard told Reuters from on board the Hesperides. ‘We use this technique because of its minimal environmental impact…the changes in pressure are very slight.’ ” And yet they are enough to drive men MAD!
Creepy News from Rio Grande
Rio Grande Games is obviously preparing for Halloween, as their latest newsletter provides information on three new horror-themed games: Dracula, Vampire and Secret of the Tombs. Also forthcoming are Mü and More, a novel trick-taking game, Chicken Cha Cha Cha, a new children’s game, and a couple of additions to
Daisho 1PG released by Deep7
Deep7 has put out another title in the 1PG line of RPGs. This time it’s Daisho, bringing historical samurai epic films to gaming groups everywhere. The 13-page PDF provides the basic rules, a character sheet, six scenarios, and optional rules, all with bookmarks and hyperlinks. Between Daisho and the new,
White Wolf still hounding Underworld
In case you missed it a few days back, White Wolf posted an update on their legal case against the makers of the movie Underworld (Sony Pictures, Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment). While it looks as though the movie won’t be stopped from reaching theaters, the press release states that
New review: Den (& Rival Den) of Thieves
Demian provides a look inside the two latest Rogue Publishing card games, Den of Thieves and Rival Den of Thieves. The backstabbing, fast-and-loose game and its sequel seem to have made a good impression on him.
D&D minis get a handbook after all
Back at Origins I was told that there would be no book for D&D Miniatures apart from the starter booklet and the D&D core books. I guess that’s no longer true if it ever was. The Miniatures Handbook will apparently be a collection of monsters, feats and spells that goes