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Monday, December 13, 2004
This must be some kind of sign of the Geekpocalypse
GameSpot previews a LEGO Star Wars action puzzle game for Xbox, PS2, and the PC.
Friday, December 10, 2004
Avalon Hill opens up and says arrrrrrr
Sword and Skull is due in March - it’s a pirate game, involving running around on a Talisman-esque track and saving the Sea… Dog… from the… merciless… crew of the… Wascally… Wabbit… or something. You get the picture. For some reason my Google fu is failing me and I can’t tell for sure if this is a new design, but it seems to be. GamerDad said back in the day that a classic AH game might be getting remade next year, which would bring the ‘05 total up to two big-box releases… so it’s not looking so good for that RoboRally rumor.
OgreCave’s Christmas Gift Guide 2004
Each year, we try to guide our readers (and those who love them) toward the best game products to be released in the past twelve months. This year is no different. The first of our Gift Guide lists, A Dozen Games At The End Of The Bed, is up, providing our suggestions for inexpensive ($20 or less) holiday gaming gifts. So consult the list, hit the stores, and check back here for our other lists over the next few days.
Thursday, December 9, 2004
Gen Con SoCal ‘04: Some Last Notes From the Exhibition Floor.
Gen Con SoCal is over. I am looking over the last of my notes pondering the future of this convention. Sunday was blur of last minute activity running from booth to booth picking up some last minute purchases and talking to a few vendors along the way. Here are the last of my notes from the exhibition floor.
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Deathknell getting louder
The latest D&D Miniatures preview has a look at two figures from the upcoming Deathknell set. Displayed in the preview are the Couatl, a Lawful Good winged snake with powerful spells (one of which “can strip all creatures in a chosen warband of their Flight ability”); and the Griffon, the Chaotic Good staple of any D&D campaign, which introduces the Bloodlust ability, granting the Griffon the Fearless ability if it reduces any opposing creature to 0 HP. My players don’t need any more allies though, so I’ll wait and see what nasty critters are previewed next.
Tuesday, December 7, 2004
From the “whittling away at RPGers’ mule-like resistance to online play” desk
So, another tool for tabletop roleplaying via the Internet. This one looks fairly comprehensive and really gorgeous - I like the attention to details like GM control of screen tinting for ambience (sweeeet), and support for pressure-sensitive tablets, which a GM with a real yen for paper’s flexibility will want to invest in.
Whiiiiich brings up that, like GRiP before it, Fantasy Grounds is a monetary investment. Gamers have thus far seemed unwilling to spend twenty to forty bucks on anything that’s pure infrastructure and no content… at least, not if they can’t fondle it. There’s also the lack of a Mac version, which gamers always make disproportionate noise about (the tendency of Mac users to be disproportionately noisy being multiplied in this case by the larger-than-normal percentage of Mac users among gamers).
I don’t think we’re quite at the tipping point yet where doing tabletop-style RPGs online just seems like the obvious thing to do, but I think it’s coming. Maybe by the time it does, we’ll have free tools that cut the mustard. What do you think?
(P.S. First guy who starts a Mac-vs.-PC flame war in the comments gets some alone time in our holding cell with Bjorn the half-minotaur)
Rio Grande Holiday Update
Rio Grande Games has posted another newsletter containing a couple of interesting pieces of news. First of all, it has the release status of a variety of titles, so if you’re thinking of doing some holiday shopping, you’ll know what’s newly available. More interestingly, it includes information on a special Christmas edition of Halli Galli, a family-friendly game of speed which might be just the way to share German gaming with the younger members of your family this year. Finally, and perhaps most intriguingly of all, there is a mention that Rio Grande is teaming up with James Ernest of Cheapass fame (along with Mike Selinker) on a new title called Gloria Munde. This could be an interesting meeting of two worlds!
Sunday, December 5, 2004
Multi-eyed orb lurks at Gen Con SoCal
Apparently, one of the trophies at Gen Con SoCal’s Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures tournament had a sneak preview figure from March’s Deathknell set built right into it. Which one? Why, the Beholder, of course. The winner of the tournament has already posted the stats over at the WotC boards, and I’ve copied them below for your reading pleasure. Take note of the Slide creature ray (an adaptation of the beast’s Telekinisis), undoubtedly destined make a splash at parties and miniatures tournments.
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Saturday, December 4, 2004
Gen Con SoCal ‘04: Day 3 - Bits and Pieces
Here are a few interesting bits and pieces from today.
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Gen Con SoCal ‘04: My Afternoon with Behemoth3
It was another long day, yesterday. Covering this convention by myself has been a lot more work than I thought it was going to be. I have a ticket for an afternoon game of True Dungeon today. That should be fun.
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