Omen: A Reign of War
Some of Omen’s lovely art.
Last week I reviewed Hemloch from Small Box Games, which defied my expectations by being a thematic and compact engine designed to churn out excruciating decisions that didn’t come paired with obvious solutions. This week, I’ve been playing Omen: A Reign of War, which tells the story of two of Zeus’ children slugging it out for control of the known world through Greek wrestling… or, better yet, by calling upon all sorts of heroic warriors, sexy oracles, and fearsome beasts to plunder great cities and accomplish godly feats.
So what did I think of Omen? I think it’s excellent! Review done. If for some reason you haven’t been convinced to order it straightaway, I guess I can talk more about it below.
The Walking Dad: Starved for Help
Lee tries to decide which snack to eat while waiting for tech help.
Once again, we here at the Space-Biff! Aerodrome have invited Lee Everett, protagonist of The Walking Dead, to come and review the game for us. Today he’s going to tell us about his experiences with Episode Two: Starved for Help. Take it away, Lee!
Eight Easy Steps to Becoming a Better Summoner
Ret-Talus and his Fallen Kingdom square off against Krusk’s Sand Goblins.
A few handsome and/or beautiful people have asked me to write down some strategy tips for Summoner Wars from Plaid Hat Games. Being an obscure blogger, I’m pretty much jumping up and down at the opportunity to both write about my favorite board game and to fulfill requests, which makes me feel oh so professional.
I hope to eventually write about each of the game’s factions, but for now here’s a few basic clues that I like to give players just barely introduced to Summoner Wars. If you’ve played more than a handful of games, you might not find these steps particularly useful. Though maybe you will. Who knows? The only solution is to keep reading.
Taking a Swig of Hemloch
Hemloch’s Horned Advisor advises you to play Hemloch, lest you get the horns.
The more astute among you have probably picked up on the fact that I prefer board games of the epic variety, and what little crevice I have in my heart for two-player card duelers has already been stubbornly occupied by Summoner Wars. And yet, there’s something about Hemloch from Small Box Games that has captured my imagination. Not only is their company delightfully and intentionally tiny (you can read about it over here), but John Clowdus has a way of filling even the slightest games with an immense range of compelling choices.
Imagine this: The end of an age of twilight is dawning over the city of Hemloch, and as the last member of an ancient bloodline you’ll need to manipulate, influence, cajole, bribe, and backstab to gain the allegiance of the city’s districts before the sun rises. And you’ll be doing it in about twenty to thirty minutes.
A Space-Biff! Secret Annoucement!
I made this image. Hoo yeah baby.
Alright people, rub your hands together and shake the sleepy out of your buttocks, because Space-Biff! has an announcement. “What kind of announcement?” I can hear you asking, even though you’re in Hungary and I’m locked tight in the basement of the SB! Commune. Well, it’s the kind of announcement that you’ll be thinking about for days; that will challenge your preconceptions of what “announcement” can mean; that will replace Benjamin Disraeli as the eighteenth-coolest thing in history. And it makes us kind of a tease.
The Guts of Metro 2033 (Act Four)
A brief glimpse of the splendor of Polis.
Act Four begins with Artyom successfully completing his original mission to reach Polis and tell them about the Dark Ones that are invading his home station. We know this can’t be the end of Artyom’s story, not only because then the game would have been shockingly short and lacked any real endgame climax, but because the opening scene of the game was of a desperate windswept battle against a horde of mutants at the base of a mysterious tower. Act Four is all about getting Artyom there. It’s the closest thing Metro 2033 has to a “filler” chapter, and even then there are still plenty of disturbing secrets to unearth and dreadful locations to visit.
RPS Ascension: The Index
Antopeos
RPS Ascension, the game of Dominions 3: The Awakening as played by a handful of forumites from Rock, Paper, Shotgun, has finally come to an end. The early parts were some of the first articles I wrote here on Space-Biff!, so please forgive some of the rougher sections. I could go back and touch them up, but that sounds a lot like effort.
Unfortunately, the game didn’t end as we would have hoped—a broken PC and waning interest caused a couple players to drop out prematurely, as is sometimes the problem with Dom3. Still, it was an excellent game, and whoever won (I’m not 100% clear on that, actually. All I know is that I lost) certainly deserved it.
After the jump, the complete index.
RPS Ascension: Ignominy
The Sauromatian army at Vlecz.
Did I mention that I, Ichiro, was once the Prophet of the cyclops-god? I suspect not—it is the supremest of punishments to play both the roles of Prophet and Last Believer. At any rate, it is right that you should know why I have been chosen to tell this last chapter of the tale of the greatest alliance of shunned creatures that Antopeos has ever known. We stood upon the fields of Vlecz, far from the Fissure of Yomi, and witnessed the brutality of man. And now I am their guest, kept alive for the sole purpose of regaling their guests and striking fear into the hearts of those who dare resist them.
Aition Agitation: Babel Rising
God smites some Shinarites.
Marketing people! Listen closely, because I’m going to tell you the secret of how to make me powerless against your advertising schemes! Here’s what you do: take your game—any game, really—and slap a glossy religious theme on top of your broken mechanics, tedious gameplay, and repetitive design, and I will lap it up in hopes that you’ve just created one of the few videogames ever to present an interesting take on religion.
On an unrelated note, Ubisoft and Mondo Production recently released Babel Rising on PC. What did I think of it? Find out, after the jump.
The Heart of Metro 2033 (Act Three)
A commissar’s idea of asking for volunteers.
I believe that each of Metro 2033’s five acts has a distinct goal. The first introduced us to the Moscow Metro and informed us that humanity isn’t going to be improving their quality of life anytime soon, and the second battered us over the head what sounded a lot like a theme. The third does something else: armed (hopefully) with what you learned from Act 2 (if you were listening), Act 3 is all about testing the state of Artyom’s heart (and, by extension, yours). I’ll explain.
SPACE-BIFF! 