Review: Bolt Action

World War II is an era that has been popular with gaming for some time. It was a war where many feel there was a justification  for us to enter, and there was a real sense of unity and accomplishment that (at least for the United States) didn't seem to be there in wars after that point. Many great games have tried to capture the feel of world war II from many perspectives from the large scale games like Axis and Allies, and World in Flames, to the more tactical level of games like Memoir 44, and Flames of War. But recently I picked up a newer 28mm miniatures wargame that puts the action into a squad level war. The game is called Bolt Action, and it is written by Rick Priestly who had originally penned the first edition of Warhammer 40,000, and Alessio Cavatore, who is also a former GW employee who worked on their biggest titles. So in this review there will probably be some comparison to Warhammer for several reasons.

I had originally picked this game up with less than much in the way of intention to play it. I found it on www.thewarstore.com as a starter box. which comes with 40 miniatures, order dice, and Terrain as well as a rule book. Now here is the first place to compare it to warhammer (and flames of war for that matter) in most starter games, you get either an abridged rule book or a digest sized rule book, pushing for you the player to buy the "official" rule book later. In the case of Warhammer and 40k, this means after spending $120 on the starter box, they want you to eventually spring for the full rule book for about another $80.00. In the case of Bolt Action (and other Warlord games products) the Starter comes with a full freaking hardback copy of the rules. I had originally bought the game for the minis and terrain figuring them useful for a savage worlds WWII game I was considering and getting it through the warstore dropped the original $90.00 price tag to about $72.00 US. so even if the rules suck, at least the minis would be usable elsewhere.

In short, the rules did not in the least, suck. Bolt action is an amazing game, with simple and concise rules, that offer a plethora of tactical options as well as tactical obstacles. Initiative is at the heart of this game and it is handled with special order dice, which have the six major orders written on them- Fire, (don't move, and fire with no penalty) Advance (move standard, fire at penalty) Run (Move 2x, no fire) Ambush (hold at the ready) Down (not an action but a reaction, to force a penalty on a shooting unit) and Rally (pull demoralized troops into action) each unit on the field puts one die in the cup which is drawn randomly. If it's your color you assign it and it's capabilities to one unit of your choice. units that have gone (leave the die by the unit) cannot react. This makes order of your actions as well as choice vital to a successful strategy. Morale also plays a great part in game, not just the standard if you are less than 50% strength roll a morale check, or flee. but when you have been successfully shot at (even if you lose no troops, you gain a pin marker, representing your soldier's realization of their own mortality. Any unit with pin markers must make an order roll to perform an action after the action is declared. Each pin counts as a -1 to that check. Failure means they won't act and are effectively pinned down by fire. Success means you go for it guts and glory. this makes suppressing fire and timing more effective in game than in most minis games with firearms in play.  While each army gets some special rules based on their nation and the like (Russians for example get a free 11 man green infantry squad, and germans get an extra dice when firing light machine guns) The game does not rely on a litany of special feats or rules breaks that often go forgotten like in some games. The minis are mostly plastic with some metal and resin for most vehicles, and are well sculpted and very nicely detailed. Armies do take on an almost stereotypical look of each nation (US Troops chomping on stogies, the Brits with the Walrus mustaches, and so on.) They are distinct enough to recognize unpainted without being too over the top.

If there is a downside to this game it is in the same initiative system I mentioned before the more stuff on the field the longer turns will take. meaning this is not an ideal game for super large mass combats. In short Memoir 44 or Flames of War may be good games for running the storming of Normandy. This game is for more personal firefights. Taking a section of Stalingrad to fight a few blocks of door to door combat, vs trying to take the whole damn city.you probably want to keep your game around 1000 or so points or it can get out of hand. Mind you that is still a lot to play with for the detail, My 1000 points of russians inludes 55 men, a command staff, med crew, medium mortar, and a t-34 tank. Not too Shabby. Also Warlord games seems commited to bringing out all sorts of forces for the game. After Christmas I intend to start building a French army, just to be able to field a Char 1B. Players can also build Belgian Polish and Italian forces with either free pdf supplements or add on army books. The core book gives great starting lists for the US, Britain, USSR, and Germany. So you will have plenty to work with even if you don't rush out and buy every army book they make.

If you like games like Warhammer 40,000 or Flames of War Bolt Action is probably right up your ally. and unlike Warhammer the cost of units is still quite reasonable. $120.00 will put you into a full 1000 point army. where a 40k starter is maybe 1/3rd of a full army for game. So what are you waiting for man, join the war effort today!

Verdict - 5 out of 5 stars

Feelin' Blue...

So the league wants the blues, huh? Well you're gonna get the blues!!!

You can't go wrong with Jake and Elwood Blues, after all they are on a mission from god!

Blueprints from the Ogre Cybertank, one of the most badass land vehicles ever made!

Daft Punk, One more time.

My favorite Decepticon,

Lady action, blue shirt, union jack gams like you wouldn't believe what's not to like.

Ted Kord, Blue Beetle, Represent!

More Blueprints, this time Starships. 

The Minbari Shar-Lin Cruiser, big, blue and badass!

As is it's smaller battlecraft, the whitestar!

and Bluestreak, for no real reason.

Ah Nemi, You pick me up when I am feeling blue..

Now, Let's see what the rest of the league is up to...

The Monster Cafe is feeling Blue

Cal seems a bit Asure  but damn that is one nice speed racer cosplay!

Top five most over rated characters in cop culture

Lets be fair, there are some characters who we all love, and some that are just a flash in the pan, but some are pushed and held up as nerd icons and shoved down our collective throats to the point we couldn't care less about their latest exploits, or how cool most people seem to think they are. In short they are over rated.

5- Chuck Norris- Instead of a chin, he has another fist? He invented rap music when his heart started beating? Oh come on! am I the only one who is sick and tired of this has been conservative blowhard schill for the total gym being treated as a godlike being because someone decided to start some of the most dumbass memes on the net? Yeah he's actually a real person, unlike everyone else on this list, I guess being a parody of one's self has it's perks.

Oh and this is the funniest Chuck Norris fact.

4- Drizzt Do'Urden- Anyone who has ever slung a d20 has heard of this jackhole, a renegade of an evil race meant to be foes for your player characters, Drizzt, has turned every munchkin player into a renegade Drow ranger with a dual wield feat for scimitars, assuming their DM will let them get by with it meanwhile R.A. Salvatore pumps out book after book of munchkin mental masturbation, the result? Pissing off DMs everywhere who are sick of hearing it from wannabes.

3- Boba Fett- The Baddest ass Bounty Hunter of the Star Wars Saga? well think about this he is based on the same genetic template as EVERY INCOMPETENT ASS STORM TROOPER!! This also might explain why other than standing around looking cool all he really did is tie up Luke for a second before getting accidentally killed by a blind guy and his pet wookie. Seriously, why is this guy so damn popular again. I get it when I was a kid he was a big mystery one 8 minute shot on the Star Wars Holiday Special, and the first free mail away figure in the Star Wars line, He was a cool enigma, now we know him, we've met his dad, and seen his home, and watched him die like a little bitch, let it go he just ain't all that!

2- Deadpool- Ah yeah, the Merc with a mouth, everyone's favorite rip off of Deathstroke the Terminator, mixed with Ambush Bug. Need I mention he was co created by Rob Liefeld? I understand other writers may have polished this turd into something magical, but to me he's a one trick pony that has been done better by others. but yet the fans love gives us Deadpool the video game, the Deadpool Corps (seriously!?) and The annoying mouthless supermutant in X-men origins, Wolverine which every fanboy has lamented to this day played by Ryan (please stop me from being in a comic based movie) Reynolds.

1- Wolverine- What can I say, I have never understood the attraction. Woo Hoo, he's got knives that come out of his knuckles! WOW what a power! He can regenerate so fast that any heroic sacrifice is anything but, plus he's got unbreakable bones. He's a colossal jerk playing up the "dark loaner" Image to the point of who gives a crap? He's had his origin redone several times to make him "cooler" Still not cool enough, let's give him a son named un-ironically enough "Dark Wolverine" and a daughter called X-23, so we can have our wolverine and our cute dark haired goth girl fantasies all in one. Seriously one of the most over rated characters I have ever run across.

So what is the opposite of Nerd Rage?

I guess it's nerd praise, that being said I am about to lavish some on one specific source. Game designer Mike Pondsmith, and R.Talsorian games. I had been an avid gamer geek throughout most of the 1980s but in 1987, my gamer obsession went into overdrive looking for new systems, and new games. From DC heroes, to Palladium's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to Top Secret S.I., I was getting more and more into the hobby, when an article in Dragon Magazine was reviewing comedy RPGS, like Ghostbusters, Toon, Paranoia, and Teenagers from Outer Space. I was both intrigued and hesitant. I could not imagine playing a game like Toon, having to figure out THACO for a boston cream pie seemed a bit excessive, as I said I was kind of new to the hobby, but the Dragon review did make TFOS seem like it could handle a comedic rpg with style and class, and do so without over complicating the rules. SO I took some summer job money and ordered it.

DAMN! it was a book rpg with it's own (albeit very tiny) dice! the game was a blast I ran a campaign for most of my freshman year of high school, and soon was introduced to a whole world of real near humans, not very near humans and real wierdies! It's one of the few RPGs that has never left my gaming collection at all, even for a short time. and While I have since upgraded to second and 3rd editions (a new edition a new power chart) It has always been one of the RPGS I grab out when I want to introduce the hobby. It's not anywhere near as complex as D&D, pathfinder, or Champions, and it focuses on roleplaying not rules. Later in the year I got introduced to a local game club that met at my local community college, the Burlington Area Game and Game Information Nexus Society, or B.A.G.G.I.N.S. and it was there I would meet my friend and later best man at my wedding Dave Fageol, he introduced me to Mekton II

While I had played other mecha games by this point. Battletech feels decidedly un-anime, it's more like game of thrones with high tech walking tanks. and while Palladium's Robotech features mechs from my all time favorite anime series it too falls flat on the feeling like an anime mecha show. The less said about hero games's robot warriors the better. But Mekton, Mekton was simply the best. It covered every convention of mecha combat in ways that seethed Gundam, Robotech,Voltron, Gunbuster and more! It was my mecha nerdvana. Admittedly we almost never used the game world of Algol, and mostly did mecha combat for the sake of mecha combat it was the bomb! It was not too long after when I went to my first gaming convention, Quadcon. and there on the shelf were two huge new sci fi RPGs set in the dystopian future. Fasa's Shadowrun which had a full city display and demo team showing it off with it's elven decker, and mix of magic and tech and another one.

I went with cyberpunk, for 2 reasons, first to paraphrase Douglas Adams, it was slightly cheaper, and secondly it was compatible with Mekton. The idea of merging mecha and cyberpunk, at my own whim seemed far more enticing than forceably mixing D&D with
cyberpunk. and thus the choice was clear. The only problem, is I had moved to a new town my sophmore year and while I could find players for D&D Cyberpunk for some reason was like pulling teeth. Seriously everytime I set up a game my group would find an excuse, any excuse not to play, they did the same thing with Call of Cthulhu but that was because they found the 1920s boring, but this one I just could not understand, it sat and it languished. until at another quadcon I saw it's replacement.

Sure 2020 was an improvement, but what's the point if my gaming group wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole? well I decided to put my old 2013 into the auction and recoup my losses and pick up 2020 hoping I would get some use out of it. The result? I spent the next 3 years running Cyberpunk 2020 almost exclusively.  The same high school friend who wouldn't touch it before now were asking me to run it all the time. at it's height I had about 12 players in one game. Mostly because one player had been double crossed by another, and had vowed revenge leading to a massive inter party battle. but it was brilliant. I have way too many fond memories of this game. even when after the high school play, I was asked to go to the big after play party that the "cool kids" were hosting, at the Pzazz and requested to bring my Cyberpunk books with. so here we are keg in the room high school nonsense and in the corner table here I am running 2020 with the remnants of my wizard's make up on (the play was once upon a matress, and I got cast as the wizard.) From our parties attempts to take over the narcotics rackets of night city to running from Arasaka hit squads. 2020 was my high school gaming mainstay.

Now granted I had done other games Runequest, Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, Lace and Steel, Champions, Gurps, Twilight 2000, but punk was what I always seemed to come back to. after my dalainces with the World of Darkness I did another huge cyberpunk stint and got rather burned out on the game. I did have fun with it's sister game Cybergeneration for a campaign but then the next big leap in gaming hit me.

 It was in many ways the polar opposite of Cyberpunk. Honor, and civility were far more prized traits than attitude. Trying to build up a full-on combat spec before reaching cyberpsychosis was not even a possibility. no dice, no character sheets. and a high drama victorian story was the focus of Castle Falkenstein. even the book's layout showed how different a game this was. The book was divided in half. The first half was a short novella about Tom Ollam's disappearance into this steampunk Austria where the Fey existed, magic and anachrotech were real, and the Mad Kin Ludwig was still in power. and the second half was the actual game. And as dice were for the games of the "lower born" Falkenstein used cards. focusing on hands and numbers gave the game more of a feel of controlling the story even from the player's perspective. While many other games have since used cards, it is what I really loved about Falkenstein. I recall this game teaching me one of the most valuable lessons of GMing, which is if the players are having fun, let them go. I had run a module with this huge plan to turn it into a massive globespanning object hunt againts the world crime league. My players were playing the Austrian answer to Sherlock Holmes and company, as they were invited to Paris to help secure the emperor's crown, they would take a train from Vienna to Paris. the 5 minute intro of which (I.E. boarding the train) became the whole basis for the night's session, no combat, almost no use of the rules just pure roleplay for about 4 hours and my players ate it up and asked for more. Not every game that can do that.

Furthermore Pondsmith and R.Talsorian are responsible for the 2 best gaming supplements in Come il Fout, we got a ton of background and story for Falkenstein that made the game even better, and a wealth of information on the victorian era enough to turn a newb into a jolly fine chap to fascillitate this fine game. and Listen Up You Primitive Screwheads, the most indispensable GM guide for cyberpunk and beyond. chock full of dirty tricks and evil schemes it is a GM's dream!

Then After trying a particularly unsuccessful Mekton Zeta Campaign (my fault I bit off far more than I could chew) we got a view of RTG's new system Fusion. We played a bit of Bubblegum Crisis, with a so-so gm. and at this point I was less interested in the new direction I skipped Votoms, and DBZ (never being a fan of the anime) I bought into Cyberpunk 2032, but it did very little for me. the whole altcult thing just did not appeal like the old days. and as Pondsmith headed off for greener pastures (working for Microsoft on games like Crimson Skies (Which I loved)) I began playing a lot more Legends of the 5 rings, Deadlands, Savage worlds, Traveller, Pathfinder,Heavy Gear, and of course minis gaming.

However recently there has been rumblings from RTG, a hint about an english translation of their mekton gundam game, and this.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1888572386/mekton-zero

HOLY CRAP!! Mekton Zero?! a new Mekton? a new Interlock system Mekton? SWEET! Promising a more streamlined mecha design system, a faster combat mechanic and all sorts of bells and whistles, of course I had to kick start it! I have kinda been thinking about a mecha themed hunger games kind of story line, and rather than hunting down an old copy of Zeta, I will wait until Zero finally drops. So to all you out there in cyberspace who love RPGs and love Anime, this is gonna be big. I highly recommend checking this out and kickstarting now, if nothing else, who knows can a new TFOS, Cyberpunk or Castle Falkenstein be far behind? only if we are lucky!

Speaking of good TV ideas...

The following are w great ideas for animated series that Cartoon Network/adult swim, passed on. In short I have to ask. REALLY!?! I Mean you let 12 ounce mouse and squid billies on the air, but these  aren't good enough? Travesty!

Evan dorkin's Eltingville club, it's like the Big Bang theory but darker and funny.

Don't get me started on M.C. Chris, he was the funniest damn part of aquateen hunger force.

seriously, why adult swim, why?

My top ten dream products that I seriously doubt will ever get made.

O.k corporate America! Prove me wrong! I would gladly throw my hard earned monies at any of these projects, but I have serious doubts that you would want to make them. Maybe it's because I am alone in my desire, or maybe you just don't wanna anyway here is my list of things I would throw my money at if some one would just freaking make!

10- Asian themed terrain (that is easy to get)
As  a miniatures wargamer, this is an era that I tend to gravitate to, and finding even a small amount of terrain at decent cost is damn hard. I mean, really? look at european fantasy stuff and you can find tons, from GW made wizards towers to  hobbit holes, but Samurai have to for the most part fight on open planes unless I want to track down a few obscure game companies and drop some serious coin. I just did a kickstarter for a company that looks promising, but still have not heard back from the promised "few minutes" to set up an account. GRRR!

9- Mego firefly figures.
Toys are another obsession of mine, as is firefly. And when companies recently started to repro mego's iconic designs and merge them with about every damn license they can come up with Space 1999, I Love Lucy, Married with Children (Really we needed a freaking bud bundy figure, but My desire for an 8" Malcolm, or River goes unheeded) and even the Big Lebowski getting some Mego love it blasts me that few have thought this would not sell especially considering the severe lack of figs for firefly with it's rather large fanbase. I find it hard to believe I am alone on the venn diagram between loves firefly, and collects megos!

8- Mego game of thrones figures
Same as above, I know some people have customed both but I want to BUY some, I don't have time to custom like I used to, so why not make them Django Unchained got Megos and the movie hadn't even been released yet, both of these have established fanbases!! Listen to me oh makers of fine retro figures, if you build them I will buy!!!!!

7- A remake of the playmake SDF1
With the Robotech minis game kickstarter ending over $1,000,000+ over target needed this would be an awesome product for terrain at 5.5 ft long, and made of cardboard it can't be super expensive unlike say a reissue of the USS Flagg for G.I. Joe Fans (which would probably be in the same costs bracket as the new X-box one. and the internal storage would be awesome for battlefoams, I have a feeling IF I am lucky enough to find one of these on eBay, I will be paying through the nose for it!

6- A good battletech themed Clix game
I think Wizkids completely missed the mark on this one. Mage Knight (their first game) was a unique game with a focus on small tactics. IN fact seeing as they were formerly FASA, using this game for Shadowrun minis would have been great. instead they made a shadowrun game with 6" figures, and removable gear, it flopped. It flopped because unlike their other games it was not blind packed so even if you bought the whole set (both series) you were done after $120, where the smaller heroclix and mechwarrior could have you spending easily twice that to get a set. So the smart move would be to make shadowrun a warband game with blind packs like heroclix, and for mechwarrior use the 6" model for mechs (as mechs can repainted and resold with no need to retool, and players may want multiple mechs where there is no need or reason to buy more than one individual character) then blind pack the infantry and small vehicle assets, and voila, more unique game with far more profitability. and if set at 28mm players will buy more figs as they can be used for other games. but what the hell do I know both games failed. So clearly they went the best way.

5- Star Trek :Intrepid
Simple Idea. The new Trek created a new timeline. That means everything has changed right? So a TV series about Commadore Decker's crew could be cool for so many reasons. 1- it would be cool to see a different crew, a normal crew, not the best of the best crew. 2- seeing more classic Trek and a fresh take on it would be excellent, and casting the crew from Firefly is one way to bring the fans of both. Fillian could make a great Matt Decker, and Gina Torrez as 1st officer Sloan (great grand daughter of Lilly Sloan, Zephram Cochrane's assistant from first contact) and they could even do the pilot with a more positive end to the doomsday machine bit in which in the original timeline Decker sacrificed himself after his crew died. We know the cast has chemistry, we know there are great Star Trek Writers who could put this crew into the forefront, with the possible cameos by the movie crew. seriously why would this not be awesome!?!?

4- Peepshow and That Mitchell Webb look on US DVD, or Blu Ray, or digital downloads.
Two of my favorite british TV shows and no (legal) way to get them where is the F***ing justice in this people? I am not asking to pirate it I am looking to buy legal from iTunes or Best Buy. OH COME ON PEOPLE!!!

3- Bring back M.A.S.K.
So we got GI Joe 25th anniversary, and Transformers 25th anniversary, rebuilding the classic brands. but M.A.S.K. had the awesomeness of both GI Joe and Transformers, and yet it has been relegated to one figure in the GI Joe 25th anniversary. I know make the figures bigger and the vehicles (biggest selling point of M.A.S.K.) more expensive. but even if we retool them at the new styles, it could work.

2-Barry Ween: Boy Genius, Animated! 
Think Dexter's Lab meets south park. Judd Winnizk's Barry Ween was a brilliant comic that is dying to be made into a TV series on say adult swim or Comedy Central. more clever than South Park, or Family Guy, Fall on your ass funnier than The Big Bang Theory. an 8 year old with an IQ of 400+ and his hyperactive doofus best friend who normally screws things up. Honestly this needs to be made!

1- a (GOOD) Green Lantern Movie
Yup! I am beating a dead horse on this one, lucky for me I have my necronomicon handy to raise said horse from the dead sos I can beat it again! Seriously people how hard would this be to do a direct to video cartoon got it right, but your multi million dollar  coke addled studio comes up with "Hey let's make Hal Van Wilder!" Then people wonder why the hell I nerd rage like I do!

and for your listening pleasure,

A few more hardcore geek songs.

MC Mr. Napkins

More MC Mr. Napkins

M.C. Chris

More M.C. Chris

and this is just plain fun...

Desert island (League of Extrordinary Bloggers)

This one is a bit of a toughie, so first let's look at what everyone else is suggesting.

vintage toybox
victoria
30 year old boy

And now let's cheat. I mean the point of these things is to make you choose just one "best" and sometimes that is harder than not, so here is what I would pick if i had to put my self in this ghastly situation.

Companion (literally) 

Sara Jane Smith (Tom Baker era) yeah, I have a type and she's it. smart, cute as a button, and she's been around the cosmos a few times, but still has that innocence that makes her so appealing.

I mean her stories alone could be quite a lot of entertainment. and she's easier on the eye than Ol Tom was even in his day. So yeah this would be my choice for one fictional character to have on the island.

Food-
Wendy's Chicken Cordon Bleu combo meals, with fries and a diet pepsi, this sandwitch was pretty epic, My wife and I started dating last time Wendy's put them on the menu, and she got sick of going to Wendy's because well, Cordon Bleu, If there is a sandwich I would have done the Homer Simpson ribwich thing for this is it. Of course you need the fries and a drink to make it a complete meal.

Game- 

I am a bit more analogue than many of my coleagues who talked of Tetris and X-box, I am a bit more old school, for me the game is Bolt Action with apr 2000 points of units for each faction and some terrain and gaming table, The benefits of this is that it means tons of customizatin and the painting side of the hobby will also cure a bit of bordom, Sarah Jane can even provide a bit of color comentary seeing as she has probably seen some of this thanks to the Doctor, and yeah she can play brits, I am used to playing Germans anyway. so more flexibility and options than most pc games plus no batteries required or internet connection needed. 

Movie- 

This was the tough one, something we can bear to watch again and again, and not complain about for me that is the 1983 Canadian film ROCK and RULE.

A great little film with an incredible soundtrack, this is the kind of film you can watch over and over and still enjoy, and the music makes for excellent background noise, and it is a movie I would take a date to so I think Sarah Jane could at very least tolerate it more than say, 300, or Die Hard.

So that's My choices, we now return you to your previously scheduled nerd rage already in progress.

In defense of Mr Simbeidia.

So recently i dipped my foot into the whole Kickstarter thing. Being a gamer it's becoming almost a necessity for some things (DAMN YOU STEVE JACKSON WHEN CAN NON KICKSTARTERS BUY OGRE ALREADY!?!) Being also a huge fan of Robotech the godless otaku geek in me went straight for Robotech RPG Tactics, the newest game by Palladium books, and their first miniature release. It was funded in under 3 hours and has had quite the list of stretch goals which tend to be sent to me by email daily. It looks good. It looks real good. Not since Fasa illegally copied robotech designs have we had easy access to Tomahawks, of the VF-1S in miniature form. Yeah I am pretty giddy about this project, but some have said it looks great as long as he is not using that old ass palladium system as the basis.

As you can tell by the demo it is not. But it hit me why all the hate for a game system and creator that have been essentially the same for all this time? I can recall my first experiences with palladium (TMNT the RPG) the system was derivative of AD&D 1st edition with a lot of improvements, a fully fleshed out skill system, careers for classes, selfish alignments and SDC/Hit points to give characters both a better fighting chance at first level, and a more detailed idea of just how hurt they were. Is this system perfect? No, and when compared to modern RPG systems like Storyteller, Savage Worlds or M&M, it does look dated. Of course many things that are over 30 years old look dated. Which looks more modern, Sega Master System or the PS3, graphics and game play aside? Same with toys Look at the original He-man, and compare him to the new Masters of the Universe classics figures Mattel sells today. The new He-man does not look like he is constipated, and besides articulation, the figure simply looks better. Same here, it's unfair to judge palladium against newer games. The only way you could is if Palladium like so many game companies did massive upgrades such as AD&D, first edition had no skill system, and required the chart in the DM guide to determine to hit, 2nd ed gave you a basic formula to hit, and added "proficiencies" a somewhat broken skill system. 3rd ed reversed the order of Armor Class, added a more robust skill system, and feats, while 4th edition homogenized the classes simplified skills and introduced powers. My point is that while there is some similarity between 1st ed AD&D and what is now called D&D4, They aren't actually the same game. This is far more common in gaming than what Palladium does, and as often times it bites companies in the ass. D&D 4 was not the success 3rd edition was, and Same with Paranoia 3rd edition (named 5th edition for a joke), Cyberpunk 3rd edition was also a large failure for many reasons. Imagine if Monopoly did that, new monopoly had players using a movement system based on transit type and expenditure of money for fuel. you must enter an escrow phase to buy land, it might make the game more interesting, but is it still monopoly? I'm pretty sure my 1st edition Robotech rpg rule book is not completely out of sync with the new Shadow Chronicles rule book, because I know it's still the palladium system, They didn't change to an all d6, narative system, or an elaborate dice pool mechanism. so a few tweaks to make sure I am correct about my modifiers and I am good to go. It's kind of nice in a way. I know palladium gets a lot of guff for this, as well as copy pasting many parts of their games to speed up the workload, but in many ways this also makes for consistency. You aren't going to be surprised for better or worse.

As their first foray into miniatures gaming, I gotta admit it looks damn good, it is not the old paladium house system but looks to be fast and sleek while evoking the feel of the much loved and classic animated series, that has stood the test of time.

You Suck Marion!

Yes I called Pat Robertson "Marion" it's his real name. This sad old Bastard is having yet another go at Dungeons and Dragons. So let me start off this with a bit of history. Marion "Pat" Robertson (he calls himself Pat, as it was his nickname as a kid, and Marion is too feminine for he homophobic jackass. Anyway Marion ran a small christian broadcasting network that had hired a husband and wife team named Jim and Tammy Bakker to produce a christian puppet show, and Bakker did work founding another show called the 700 club. Well it became super popular with it's demographic so Marion (being the money grubbing asshat he is!) ousted the Bakkers and took the show over since then it has been his pulpit.

Marion has used this pulpit to bilk old folks out of their pensions for years, and to pimp christian products while attacking non christian media as "the devil" he also put himself on quite the pedestal, attributing miracles to himself and implying above human powers. just look at this ad for his "Diet Shakes"

He blamed Haiti for the typhoon that hit them in an accusation that seems to come straight out of a bad episode of Star Trek TNG.

and of course for me there is alway his relentless attacks on D&D the game that "Literally destroys lives" I have played D&D/Pathfinder/Warhammer etc. and the most damage it has done to my life is from small minded followers of Marion Robertson proving they are good christians by being self righteous little assholes and chastising me for my hobby. A hobby that encourages literacy, critical thinking, resource management, and teamwork. In short this man is a modern day pharisee, and if there is a god, I hope we see publicly his judgement of this man who uses the words of christ for his own selfish gain. I myself am an atheist, but as I have at least read the bible, I can tell this guy is missing major chunks of it for his own gain.

DAMN IT!!!

SO I have been looking at the new Star Trek game for the PSIII with almost as much enthusiasm as the movie. Trek has, unfortunately had a tumultuous history with video games a few good (starfleet academy ect) some bad (see the NES version) but this looks pretty good as a over the shoulder action game, and if done right I would be quite pleased mores because I had heard that the PS Move would get it's own phaser.

As all three of the big consoles decided to embrace the movement tracking schtick this time around after  so many non gamers flocked to the Wii for it's unique controls and easy to pick up play. I was impressed how Sony had at least tried to make the move not just a rip off Wii. Using the standard playstation eye meant you could but move in pieces rather than the whole console or expensive upgrade  options the other companies used. The other thing is they have tried to make motion gaming part of hard core gamer titles such as Resistance III, and Kill Zone III as a  supplemental but not required way to play. It's actually much more fun than i expected to pull out the rifle attachment and play full screen. that being said I thought phaser? Hell Yeah! but it was not to be. I mean just look at the thing! it's awesome add the epic fail of Star Wars Kinect, and it puts some serious prominence on move and Star Trek.
Oh and this is what I mean by Epic Fail of Star Wars Kinect-

So yeah Star Trek move could not dare be this kind of embarrassment to the franchise!

Ah Retro Gaming.

A few of my favorite things...

This is a "game" for the first video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, no cart inside, but a set of TV overlays (for color) mapdoard, playing pieces and other game components. 

The Odyssey system itself, yes that clunky square thing in my hand is the controller and it's as comfy as it looks!

Emulators! We don't need no stinkin' emulators! When we play Samurai Showdown II it's standing up with a full arcade unit like god intended.

200 MB cartridge, and it's about the size of a Nintendo Wii, Gotta love the Neo Geo, it's a perfect example of go big, or go home!