Shawn Lucas is the self identified "Noob of All Trades". He is married and the father of three boys, two of whom help with their own podcast every couple of months. Raised on Atari, Nintendo, and Sega, he enjoys all games and will play all of them to the best of his ability, which is often average at best. Currently, he is most interested in Magic, Heroclix, and other games that he can play with Chris and his sons.
Chris and I recorded the reboot of the reboot of 2 Guys Gaming a couple of weeks ago. In anticipation of having to write about the game again, I saw that Steam had the Street Fighter 6 demo available. You may remember that I texted him after he suggested we record again, “Let’s do SF6 and MK1. Seems like the perfect soft landing spot for us.” He agreed and then we promptly recorded the episode three months later.
Hey, we’re old guys. We have lives that don’t often coordinate. The important part is that we recorded. I plan to edit and release it on Wednesday with my MK1 article, but it might end up being Friday instead because I can’t think of another proper way to end the week. Just trust that it will come at some point this week.
Play This Game for Eternity
After loading up the game, I clicked the button to start “Battle Hub”. It informs me that the game mode isn’t available but I can watch the trailer video. Sure thing. Why not. Naturally, after showing some game play via an arcade scene, a woman comes on to the screen to tell us about the mode. But, wait.
While the character sounds feminine and wears make up and booty shorts, some might argue (not me, mind you) “That’s no woman!” and angrily throw their controller at the screen. Instead, I watched the video and actually forgot about the whole thing until later while waiting for dinner with my wife. Then, I decided to look up what the community reaction to the character was. Naturally, I found a headline about some douche bag named “Johnny Chainsaw” or some other ridiculously overtly masculine username complaining about the game as woke. Just par for the course in our national conversation surrounding LGBTQIA+ people and their mere existence.
I, for one, liked the character. They brought energy and fun to the video. They may or may not be trans. But, that’s the thing. Capcom never confirms nor denies anything. Just this individual on the screen and leaves it up to you to do with them what you may. Like Gwen in Spiderverse, it makes the point that they are here and, well, you just have to deal with it. I, for one, am here for all of it and Eternity is one of the reasons I might buy the game.
“You bastard. You flipped.”
That’s a paraphrase of Chris when he responded to my text that I wanted to buy the game. I assured him, probably not at full price but after a drop or two, for sure. When we talked, we both said that neither of us wanted to buy the game because it felt like it just offered more of the same as Street Fighter 5. We both agreed that one was a dumpster fire.
Not so this time around. When he first said to me that I flipped, I texted back, “I know. But the graphics are awesome and the game play is solid. Yes, I made that determination after only about 15 minutes of actual game play. Honesly, though, what more do you need than the 2 minute video I recorded earlier. It’s Street Fighter. You fight…on the street.
The Verdict
I mean, it might be dangerous to judge a game so quickly because, as the Street Fighter 6 demo warns, “This game is still in development…followed by some other word that basically say the finished product probably won’t look or play the exact same way that it does here.” Some of that is true. Most of it, though, is just legalese to cover their butts in case someone takes better notes than I did and wants to sue them over the omission of a game mode or character. For me, though, I’m sold. Hell, if my check is big enough this week, I might just splurge and buy it then.
Only half of that title is correct. When playing, we definitely encountered dinosaurs (more on that later), we found no dungeons. I just found the term Dungeons and Dinosaurs funny. Probably funnier than it actually merits, but it’s my party and I’ll laugh hysterically if I want to.
Even if that laughter makes me look absolutely batty. Get it? Batty? Because Joker is a Batman villain. I’m an underappreciated comic genius.
Those who follow the page know that I treid to build the family into a Dungeons and Dragons playgroup. That failed in spite of my efforts. Only Quinn showed interest after the initial play session. It then took almost 3 years to realize the potential of our Dungeons and Dragons duet.
Dungeons and Dinosaurs Duet?
Assuming that you wait to click the link, let me explain. Late last year, I finally started to look for ways to play Dungeons and Dragons in smaller play groups. The above link came up as a way play with only two people. A husband and wife duo write the page and there are lots of great resources if you find yourself in need of playing D&D with only one other player.
Armed with these resources, I needed to find a setting for our adventure. I’m not sure what took me so long, but I finally came to the conclusion in a flash of inspiration. Jurassic Park. The movie blew me away when I first saw it in high school. Quinn loves dinosaurs and anything to do with the movies. What took me so long?
It was right there, staring me in the face.
And, Now for Something Completely Different
Not truly. I lifted heavily from Jurassic Park for the story of our adventure. Several times, during gameplay, Quinn said (completely thrilled), “This is just like Jurassic Park!” However, I also knew not to simply follow the story without any changes.
Okay, so maybe a tropical archipelago isn’t the best way to convince you this wasn’t a total Jurassic Park rip off.
I researched some Hawai’ian lore to add a bit of a different flavor to the campaign. I called the island with the dinosaurs, Nalala. A web site told me that Nalala meant dinosaur. I also called the prince in the story, Maneo (I borrowed from a former student for this) and a ghost pirate ship Mau Loa (“forever”) that lead to the second adventure that I’m in the process of writing.
We played through the adventure. As often happens, Quinn went off script during one of the encounters and I needed to quickly put together a battle and some loot. Honestly, though, that’s what I enjoy about D&D. The fact that you can spend a couple of weeks writing up an adventure (“All that time”, my wife said, “just for a couple hours of playtime.”) and the players still find a way to make you think and work on the spot.
Lights, Camera, Tape Rolling, 3…2…1…
As for the scripted adventure, I wrote in the notes to let Quinn take the lead when attempting to capture the dinosaurs. I wanted to let him use his expertise to find creative ways to capture them. Being low level characters, I knew we stood no chance actually fighting most of the dinosaurs. He came up with some interesting solutions to most of them. A couple, I had to bend the rules quite a bit. Then again, what else can you do when you only have one real player?
I took the advice of the Duets page and focused on the story, too. I made the trip to the ship take 3 days and then another 2 days on the water to get to the other island. I built in small encounters each day and even put together a random encounter table to keep things interesting. The fun part of that is that some of the encounters gave me ideas for future adventures. I already mentioned the ghost ship and Quinn going off the board when faced with some forest sprites in trouble. I also threw in the old D&D standards of a mysterious glow off in the distance, annoying begging monkeys, and magical leeches.
Dungeons and Dinosaurs: The Last Word?
All in all, we played a successful adventure with just the two of us. Once or twice, Quinn asked if you can’t play with two people because I put together two DMPCs to help him on his journey. No, I replied, it’s fine. These guys are just here in case you need some help. Then, I spent the rest of the time more or less staying out of his way.
We planned to play again this week because I’m on vacation. However, as I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t able to finish the next adventure. I’m pretty close, so we might play again over the weekend. For now, we tried a game that I got a few months ago after supporting it on Kickstarter. It’s called Roll Player Adventures and I will talk more about it Friday.
I plan to give the post mortem of the actual game. But, you know how we do things around there. Instead of throwing out half baked ideas as soon as the game ends in order to receive early accolades, we throw out half baked ideas after a week so that our bad ideas rise above the cacophony and illustrate just how bad they are. So, first, I present our Betting the Bowl 2023 Post Mortem.
You may remember that I tacked on a betting article at the end of last week as a final preview of the Super Bowl. I got the idea from simultaneous emails that arrived from both Draft Kings and FanDuel telling me about their sportsbook apps opening up in Massachusetts soon. They are eager to take my money. Perhaps they should heed the warnings of this post.
Stupid Prop Bets
The only prop bets I found to discuss in that earlier article were the coin toss (truly a sucker bet) and the Gatorade color. Vegas apparently needed the money this year (see the above picture for commentary) because they dumped purple (purple?! purple?! really?! purple?! I’m just trying to win a damn bet! Shoutout to Jim Mora there.) Gatorade in victory. Maybe next year I will throw some of my windfall (shot up to 10000 fake dollars with my other bets) into more prop bets when the sportsbooks are actually live.
Single Dollar Bets
Even on these stupid bets I made up on the spot to try to ride on the coattails of Simmons, I cleaned up as you will see. Since I only put a dollar overall into the bets, I cleared less than a dollar profit, but you all can do that math. So, let’s do the math.
Most Sure Bet (confidence: high): If you bet the Chefs to win, Mahomes was MVP. I got a bit nervous at the end because Hurts went TF off and I looked at my father in law and said, “If the Chiefs win, can they give Hurts the MVP?” I mean, the guy deserved it. But, the 0.25 parlay paid 0.93 cents and I already made my money back. Cha ching. Lost as a result (0.05 for the Iggs equivalent and crazy 0.10 for Iggs/ Sweat MVP parlay).
Most Sure Bet (confidence level: irrationally high): 0.25 to win 1.75 for Kelce to score first. Chiefs won toss and deferred, so….
Throw Me a Frickin Bone! (confidence level: high): 0.10 to win 0.80 for Hurts to score first. All it took was a questionable call taking it away from Gainwell (16 to 1) and then that ridiculous rugby play to get him there, but 0.80 richer because of it!
Living on the Edge: 0.10 to win 0.08. I called this one wrong because I thought the Chiefs might put this one over in the first half. Turns out the Iggs and their ridiculous rugby play paid this one out in no time. I should watch more football if I’m going to bet on this stupid sport.
Sevens Heaven: Last 0.14 to win 0.13. Tossed this one in to get down to my silly penny parlay. Both teams scored in the first quarter. Easiest money ever.
So, keeping score, I bet 0.99 and made back a profit of 0.94. Pretty damn good if I say so myself.
Perplexing Penny Parlay
I came up with the idea of using my last penny to put together a parlay that, if successful, paid out over 100 dollars. Once I started putting together the bet, it became pretty easy to get it over 100. The actual bet paid out 133.90 (a. if successful and b. if it won)
Before I go on, let me say that I know how parlays work. And I know this one sunk from the get go. But, still, 5 out of 7 hits isn’t a bad percentage and I’d take that any time on single bets. I think next time I might play around with the format and increase it to 1 million dollar payout on a penny. bet. That might be pushing it, but I will get it as high as I can while still making the parlay reasonable.
The Verdict
My betting the bowl 2023 post mortem is mostly a positive. An almost 1:1 payout on basically 5 bets (as some auto failed on the success of others is pretty good. Also, I picked the last two winners and last two MVPs from this year and last year. I said to my father in law several times, my dad always told me not to bet on a game where the ball bounces funny and I intend to keep that line. Still, I had fun and can’t wait to be back next year bigger and better.
(Editor’s Note: We have no idea if we are officially out of spoiler range for the new Star Wars movie. To be perfectly honest, we don’t care all that much about spoilers here. We are of the opinion that if you can’t enjoy entertainment that’s been spoiled, then perhaps it wasn’t all that entertaining. Besides, the movie has been out for more than a month now. If you haven’t seen it by now and care at all about spoilers, then you get what you deserve. With all of that being said, if you continue to read from this point forward, there are major spoilers to the movie.)
Kylo Ren, real name Ben (most likely named by his Uncle Luke Skywalker in honor of Obi Wan Kenobi) Solo (because he is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa) kills his father in an attempt to complete his transformation to the Dark Side. I warned you. Enjoy the following funny SNL bit as a peace offering. Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I can talk about the rest of the movie. Don’t worry, we’ll come back to Han and his angry, angry son later.
I already gave my first impressions of the movie right after we saw it. If you read that article, you know that I enjoyed it very much. Half of it was nostalgia, half of it was watching it through the eyes of my own children, and the most important third half of it was being able to introduce this universe to my father in law. I’ve since had some time to ponder the movie more. You probably think that means that the glow has since faded and that I’m now going to write about how the movie is not as good as I first thought. Well, you’re partially right. As time passes, the glow naturally fades and it might sound like I’m bashing the movie, but I’m not. The internet has just created this environment in which you can’t criticize anything without being a hater. Know, then, that I still enjoy this movie, want to see it again and thank it for saving the franchise from the better taste of the prequels. And, I’m one of the few who kind of enjoyed Episodes I-III. Imagine the people who thought the movies were the cinematic equivalent of being warmed inside of a Tauntaun and how relieved they are that a good Star Wars movie was made before they died.
Or, should I say, remade. How’s that for a segue into my first criticism? As with all of them, it is a minor complaint and one that can be easily explained. Nevertheless, I should discuss the good and the bad. Maybe I should take a bad news/good news approach to the article. Seems like the best way to write it. That way I can avoid the inevitable internet accusation of drinking the haterade. Besides, honestly, no matter how much I complain, I did enjoy the movie very much.
Honestly, though, I’m not even sure who drinks this stuff. It tastes like burning.
Still, always bad news first. From the opening scent of the movie, when the giant star destroyer flew across the screen, I felt that there was something familiar about this movie. It’s not just because they decided to bring everyone back, either. We all knew that was going to happen. Also, I’m not the only one who thought this. I’ve spoken to several friends who had the same reaction. Okay, enough rationalizing, let’s look at the evidence.
The aforementioned star destroyed sets the stage for nostalgia. I thought, “Wow, that’s just like the beginning of Episode IV.”
A cute droid carries information that is vital to the good guys.
A black masked and cloaked villain with an altered voice. This one is explained in the movie through storytelling, but still suspect at first. Kylo Ren idolizes his grandfather and wants to be just like Darth Vader, so there’s your explanation.
An unspectacular protagonist from a desert planet ends up being extremely important to the fate of the galaxy.
There is some mystery regarding this protagonist’s life story.
This progtagonist becomes the protege of a former scoundrel turned wiser old man who clearly knows more than he’s saying.
The past catches up to the old man on several occasions forcing him to reconcile with that past. He still does not reveal the whole truth, however.
There is a power struggle for the second in command of the dark side army.
The good guys have a critical meeting inside of a cantina on a planet in the far reaches of the galaxy. At least this cantina is not on the same planet that the protagonist lives.
This group, known as the New Order, have built a planet sized space vessel capable of destroying planets.
The good guys are a rag tag bunch that happens to have some of the best pilots. They destroy the so called “Starkiller” by finding and exploiting it’s single weakness against impossible odds.
The wise old guru is murdered by someone close to him in front of his friends who are all powerless to help him.
The protagonist and antagonist fight to a stand still as the battle to destroy “Starkiller” rages around them, concluding as the vessel begins to tear itself apart.
The protagonist finds a wise old Jedi master on a remote planet surrounded by water. Okay, so this one is more Episode V, but movies are also slightly longer on average than in the late 1970s/early 1980s.
In case all of that wasn’t obvious enough, my main complaint is that the movie is nearly an exact retelling of Episode IV. Okay, now for the excuse making. I will rebrand it as the good news after the bad news. First, they had to reintroduce the series for several reasons. One, I mentioned that I mostly enjoyed the prequels. Many others, to put it mildly, did not. In less sugar coated terms, most, by a wide margin, fans hated it with the fire of a thousand Starkiller beams. There is so much more for nerds in pop culture these days that fans might have abandoned Star Wars altogether for Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, or any one of the Marvel series on TV or Netflix. What better way to get fans back into it than by going back to where it all started and reboot the story as well as support.
I know, Captain Solo. I’m just as shocked as you that Star Wars nerds would turn their backs on the movies. But, it’s not the 1970s and 1980s anymore and the prophecies have come true. Nerds rule and jocks drool.
Two, those of us who have been there all along are getting old. It is harder to get us to buy the tie in merchandise, other than the video games. If those old farts are anything like me, they brought family and friends to the movie. My kids have already seen the original movies, but my other guest hadn’t. Perhaps by introducing them with a proper introduction, they are more likely to get hooked and revisit those first movies. Even if they don’t, they’re in now. They finally have a Star Wars that they can call their own. See, it’s a legitimate complaint, but one that makes sense if you just think about it.
Back to bad news. I talked about the final battle in the list of similarities Kylo Ren battles against Rey (the lead protagonist mentioned in that same list) after fighting against Finn (who I haven’t even mentioned yet and it’s not because I’m racist, which is exactly what a racist would say. Damn. Moving on.) and mortally wounding or killing him. After having just watched the movie, I discussed it with my cousin. I brought up that I felt it a little strange, and even a little convenient, that someone who had studied as a Jedi and then in the dark side for who knows how long lost to a woman who only hours earlier picked up a light saber for the first time. True, there is some ambiguity surrounding Rey’s history and parentage, but I still made the point to him. He replied, “Well, Kylo was shot in the side.” which is a plot development that I had overlooked in my excitement. That is actually a great explanation, Skywalker spawn or not. There are other inconsistencies like that, but that one bothered me the most.
Okay, Kylo, I guess you get a pass. Being shot in the side might prove to be a bit of a distraction from your epic lightsaber battle.
Even so (good news), the inconsistencies aren’t as glaring as the original trilogy that could have been explained by the prequels, but were actually made worse in many cases. Add in the silly tinkering that he did when rereleasing the original movies and those things are an absolute mess now.
Other than those two minor complaints–that can honestly be made about any movies and especially sequels that have made it to the 7th movie, I enjoyed it and cannot wait for the next one. As soon as we left the theater and sat in the restaurant waiting for our pizza, I searched on the tablet to find the release date for Episode VIII. I was genuinely upset that we would have to wait another year and a half (now moved to two years) for the movie to be released. In our video on demand, binge-watching society, that is an eternity. Hopefully spoilers start showing up soon and I can at least find out if my theories are correct.
Until then, I suppose I still have some Clone Wars to watch. There is also the new series Rebels and I have to show my father in law the first six movies. There is the machete order to try there. Maybe I will see this one again. There is plenty of Star Wars fun to keep me busy until Christmas 2017.
Good news? There’s less than 700 days as I write this.
Bad news? There’s almost 700 days as I write this.
I feel the same feels, Pepe. That’s why you always lead with the bad news. It’s better to end on a good note.
(Note: Someone get me some Nuka Cola. I’m finally gonna finish this game.)
Relax, even though I’m going to beat the game, I don’t run any risk of losing my noob cred. Even though the game is over 6 years old, I still am going to need to use a walkthrough in order to beat it. You’ve no doubt already guessed that the game in question is Fallout 3. If you didn’t guess that, then not much about this article will apply to you other than the following sentences. Go, now, and buy this game. Seriously, do yourself a favor, click the link (Fallout 3 eBay), find the game for your system, and push that “Buy Now” button. I still contend that Portal 2 is the best game in terms of game play, story, innovation, and fun. While Fallout 3 isn’t the most innovative and the game play is somewhat less in my opinion, it is only slightly behind in terms of story and fun.
Mind you, I am not a Fallout fan boy. I never played the first 2 main games before picking up the third and I honestly don’t remember why I got the third. I did, though, and found myself playing it one night that turned into two nights and then three or four. I made it as far as Megaton, did some research, and found out that you could blow up the little town if you wanted. I’m a sucker for sandbox games, especially ones with really good story or acting. I will tolerate Grand Theft Auto because it is so open world and non-linear, but I haven’t played number 4 yet. Maybe that will be my next project after finally putting Fallout 3 to rest. The story to F3 (my lazy and not so original attempt at abbreviation) reeled me in hook, line, and sinker from the opening title screen and transistor radio playing old timey music. See the introduction here. As an aside, Bioshock got me the same way. There’s just something about altered history with the accurate little touches that really bring it home. I’ve also been a fan of post apocalyptic entertainment since Night of the Living dead scared 10 year old me so badly that I still won’t pass a cemetery when it is dark to this day.
As I said earlier, the game play takes some getting used to, but I enjoyed the story so much that I spent the next week searching for the “history” of this alternate United States. That history led me to Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics on Steam and played through the first half of Fallout 1. Since I have such bad luck with computers lately and can’t really play any of the powerful games, I may go back and play those games, too, in order to get the full effect of immersing myself in the story of a United States ravaged by a nuclear war.
After all, I’ve written recently about being in a gaming rut and lamented the fact that I have these games that I’ve bought and haven’t finished. I have done a few things to help break that rut. I downloaded the Magic online client and a new block hit in Magic that has me wanting to play that again. I also got Gauntlet (but my computer isn’t good enough to play it), so I have had to find other diversions to reduce my time in Hearthstone and Marvel Puzzle Quest. I find myself going back to Hearthstone entirely too much. I often say that if you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Well, time to find that solution while I get lost in the mythos of Fallout.
The Road to Spawn 300 was littered with pot holes and detours. However, we are finally here. And, I have to say, it was worth the wait. Both Chris and I were obviously excited when we heard that Greg Capullo was going to be back for this issue. We both grew up with him as the main artist.
We were both subsequently disappointed because we had somehow convinced ourselves that he was going to be the artist for longer than just the one issue. When we learned that wasn’t going to be the case, I think I suggested that Uncle Todd should sell his McGwire baseball to hire Capullo back as artist.
At least we get him for the next issue, too. Also, he is doing variant covers for the next two. Maybe there is now an open invitation to to covers whenever he wants. As I said to Chris, hope abounds. Now, for my review of Spawn 300. It isn’t exactly like the DC 1000 issues from last year. He invited some other big names to join him. However, the issue followed continuity instead of shorter vignettes. Even so, I will review each story individually like I did with those books.
Chapter 1 (Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo)
The Spawn meter is back. What’s up with that? Oh well, like Chris said, Capullo’s art is going to ruin me for the return to the regular artist. Aside from McFarlane, Capullo’s art is the iconic style for Spawn. The story is just more creepy little girl kills her family nonsense, But, Violator shows up and there’s some gratuitous ultra violence at the end to remind us what Spawn’s all about.
Chapter 2 (Scott Snyder and Todd McFarlane)
I enjoyed the story from this chapter much more than the first one. It called back to a previous battle between the two antagonists and what happened when they “disappeared” from sight and into the shadows. This was probably my favorite story from the whole issue. Scott Snyder definitely shows that he’s a more seasoned writer than Uncle Todd in this one.
Chapter 3 (Todd McFarlane and Jason Shawn Alexander)
Another story that attempts to fill some of the gaps. This one is about the former Spawn enemies that he reanimated to fight on his side. As Chris texted, and I agree, the art style of Jason Shawn Alexander just doesn’t fit Spawn as much as we’d like. But, the story was decent and, unlike Chris, I’m going to keep collecting until the book isn’t produced anymore. In spite of being almost 30 years old under essentially the same creative control that whole time, it is still surprisingly fresh. I want to see where Uncle Todd takes us next.
Chapter 4 (Todd McFarlane and J. Scott Campbell)
The art of this chapter is great. J. Scott Campbell really nails the Spawn style. However, the story is lackluster. I just don’t give a crap about She-Spawn or her story. Alas, it looks like she is here to stay, at least for the next couple of issues, so I’ll have to get over that.
Chapter 5 (Todd McFarlane and Jerome Opena)
A teaser that does exactly that. No idea what it is or means, but I’m intrigued to learn more.
The Verdict
I like what Uncle Todd did with Spawn 300. It is a “historic” issue in that it tied the longest running creator owned comic book. It is also a nice round number that comic book nerds love. Instead of choosing to tell small vignettes as Detective and Action did with their historic 1000 issues, he continued continuity while also setting up future stories.
Overall, the strength of the writing is what we’ve come to expect from Spawn all these years. It is disheartening to be going back to Jason Shawn Alexander’s art after seeing the other interpretations of the Spawn style. Again, I like JSA’s art and I actually really enjoyed it for the Dark Horror storyline. However, it just doesn’t look like the Spawn that I remember from my reckless youth. Oh well, put it in the “get over it” bucket with She-Spawn and enjoy the ride. Here’s to another 300!
My first game was actually pretty memorable but not because of the game itself, but because it was on the day of the Boston Marathon Bombing. A friend had asked me a few weeks earlier if I was interested in trying out the game. He had played it back in his middle/high school years and wanted to get back into the hobby, the only issue being that he couldn’t find anybody to play against. After a day of thinking about it, I decided that it couldn’t hurt to at least try one game. I poured over the rules online, taking it all in, and instead of being overwhelmed or having tons of questions, I felt like it was all so easy and almost strangely familiar. Fast forward to April 15th 2013, I sat across from my friend, ready to play for the first time. I had bought a pre-made mono green deck from Amazon and nervously shuffled it, hoping that my knowledge of the game was as solid as my friends because, after all, I didn’t want to kill his good time by having to stop every twenty seconds to answer one of my questions. I drew my first hand and suddenly it wasn’t new to me anymore..it was natural to me. I didn’t win that game, or the game after that for that matter (f***ing white lifegain..), but something strange did happen..instead of having to ask a ton of questions, I was answering them. Now at the time, I didn’t read too much into it and just chalked it up as being a quick learner. From that first game on, I was hooked..when I wasn’t working or spending time with my girlfriend, I was scouring the internet for deck lists, then searching Ebay to buy the cards for those deck lists. I found out that my former roommate and best buddy/brother Shawn was looking to get back into playing and soon our once a month video game nights included MTG. We are pretty even players, usually going back and forth as far as wins and losses goes. I was always just happy that I could hang in there with someone who had previous experience and that I could actually put up a challenge.
February 23rd 2014
I received a text notification from Facebook that I had a message from an old childhood friend. I opened up the message and read..and was immediately confused. My friend was asking about a game I created when we were younger and if I had ever done anything with it since because he thought his son might enjoy it. I stared at the screen trying to grasp what in the hell he was talking about. What game? When would I have created a game? I leaned back and closed my eyes and really focused, shutting everything out. Suddenly, what I can only describe as a wave of memories came back to me all at once, bringing with it a fairly painful headache and leaving me stunned as everything I thought I had lost in my teenage years came back..
March 15th 2004
Stay with me, keep those eyes open, buddy..you’re gonna be fine.
I remember that phrase being repeated over and over to me..and every time I didn’t believe it. There was too much blood, so many things were broken, I could feel things moving that shouldn’t have been moving, my breaths getting harder and harder to take. I felt myself fading but it wasn’t scary, it was peaceful. I thought of my friends and family, said one last goodbye and prepared for whatever was next.
Ok, ok..I’ll get to the point..15 minutes earlier I was driving on the interstate on a chilly Sunday afternoon, when inexplicably something gave out in the rear end of my car, sending it careening into the median at 70 mph. The front end slammed into the dirt flipping the car over, trunk over hood. I was ejected out of the rear windshield of the car. I suffered a broken arm, broken back in 5 places, broken collarbone, collapsed lung, a hemorrhage in my right eye, and a concussion. The doctors were very worried that I would suffer some degree of brain damage, but miraculously I didn’t, I passed all of the tests: No brain damage, no paralysis, and most importantly, still alive. However, what did happen was that I suffered some memory loss..not total amnesia but I lost bits and pieces of my life..all of which were around the middle and high school years..which brings us to the final chapter of the story..
February 23rd 2014
I sat on my couch letting the memories wash over me. I remembered almost everything. My girlfriend kept asking me questions in an attempt to pull the last stubborn bits of broken memories into the light I remembered old classmates, old teachers, things I had done, people I had met, and finally sitting down in my parents basement (yeah, I know, keep the nerd jokes to yourself, b*tches) with my friends, reading comics, drawing, trading sports cards, listening to music, and playing MTG. There it is. The reason why the rules were so easy to learn, the game was so natural, was because I played when I was teenager. Strangely enough, back then I had always played a mono red deck, and sure enough my favorite deck now is a mono red deck. Red was my favorite card color back then and still is to this day. I tend to splash it into almost every deck I build as I did back then. Is it a coincidence? Maybe. But I rather believe that it was my memories, the younger me, letting me know that he was still there.
Fyi..after getting my memories back I realized that my first time playing was actually in 1995 when I was 15, a friend who went to Boston every summer, returned at the end of August with a few decks of cards, saying that everyone out in Boston was playing it now. He gave me one, taught me how to play (kind of), and that’s that. I guess I could have just said that, but where’s the fun in that?
I thought the celebration of Deadpool and Wolverine might make me play more last month. I should know by now that everything about this game runs counter to my expectations. I play more in months when I least expect it and vice versa. Even with my limited play, I still received all of the rewards on the monthly track. And, the rewards for Deadpool’s Diner didn’t wow me enough to sucker me into that mode. Plus, if I’m being honest, at the heart of it, the game is really boring. So, I make no claims about how much I’ll play Marvel SNAP August 2024.
New Locations
Okay, after just saying how boring the game play is, they give me these two locations. What can I say? I’m a sucker for Vibranium. Even if they give you a rock in the location, a 1 drop with 4 power is pretty awesome, in my opinion. And, the other location fits in well with my “Ones” deck. I just need to start running Caiera in that deck to counter the plethora of Killmonger out there at the bot levels.
New Characters
Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)
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On Reveal: Add 2 Arrows to your hand.
I never read Young Avengers, so the characters ultimately mean little to me. I know about Kate Bishop from the Hawkeye TV show and I understand that Wiccan and Hulkling have a bit of a cult following. If you told me that the others were rejects from Deadpool 2’s X-Force, I’d have believed you. However, the cards themselves intrigue me. Speaking of “Ones”, Marvel Boy fits right into that deck. Who do I remove, though to add him and Caiera? Hmm, decisions, decisions. Speed works in my Evolution deck. Hulkling, too, but the random effect is kind of dumb in my opinion. I’m not sure where to use Wiccan right now, but Kate Bishop looks like my kind of fun randomness. Overall, an impressive bit of card design this time around.
The Verdict
While Marvel SNAP August 2024 brings unfamiliar characters, I like the design of the locations and the card text of the characters. I said I wouldn’t contemplate how much I might play in the next month. What I will say is, every time I think I’m out, they somehow suck me back in. Well played, you magnificent bastards.
Another paint update comes with Warhammer Age of Sigmar 8. Next time, or maybe the time after that, we build a new model. I split the new colors on the models into two sessions because the painting became much more intricate this time around. Also, painting white on a darker color. I messed up a few times, but that’s all part of the learning curve. I think the models still look good and will bring something to the table if I ever find another person to play against.
The White Parts
When you look closely at the pictures, you’ll see what I mean when I say that I painted much more intricate details. Other than the insides of the capes, I painted around the border of the shield and the crests on their shoulders. The camera picked up the blue underneath (or maybe around) the white and tinged it light blue. But, in real life, I painted three layers, so it looks white to me.
Last time I wrote how much I looked forward to this part because I finally got to add more colors to the army. I still think that. However, that joy is tempered by the fact that I need to be more patient in my painting. Also, with practice, I’ll just get better.
The Verdict
Warhammer Age of Sigmar 8 paint update leads into another play through. This time, they add measurement and movement to the game. Of all the rules in these miniature games, that one gives me the most trouble. Because once you start adding elevation, too, then things get a bit complicated. But, I think that taking it in parts like this will help me to learn the rules quicker.
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For the first time in (forever? singing yet?) a long time, DC Comics August 2024 finishes up our week of comic reviews. I make no secret about my status as a Marvel zombie. And, because I purchased Spawn as my first non-Marvel comic book, the new Spawniverse books came in second. Now, have I saved the best for last? Let’s see.
Action Comics 1067
Writer: Gail Simone, Artist: Danny Miki. And, so begins the Gail Simone era on Action Comics. One of my favorite writers of all time taking over for what has been one of the best books of recent months. Two great tastes that taste great together? Or, too much of a good thing? I’m happy to report that it’s the former. Ms Simone gives it all to us. Great conversation, excellent action sequences, and all of it wrapped up in her signature sense of humor. My verdict: Great. PS – We lost Rainbow Rowell on She-Hulk, but she writes this installment of Lois and Clark.
Batman 150
Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Artist: Denys Cowan and Jorge Jimenez. I wasn’t a fan of the last story in the book. It wasn’t bad necessarily, it just didn’t hit with me. This one is an Absolute Power Tie-In, something that I have no interest in. However, the book and story itself is fun. So, maybe they’ll accomplish their goal and sucker me into buying into the Absolute line of comics when the time comes. My verdict: Good.
Catwoman 67
Writer: Tini Howard, Artist: Carmine di Giandomenico. I love everything about this story. Ms Howard brought a much needed new perspective to the character that’s been missing since Joelle Jones left after killing it with the reboot of the title. In this issue, alone you can feel Selina’s love for her team, desperation to keep them and her legacy in Gotham alive, and then the abject horror after the final reveal. The final issue of this story promises to be explosive when Howard’s reign ends and Grønbekk takes over. My verdict: Great.
Superman 16
Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Jamal Campbell. Okay, well, damn. You get to see my famous change of opinion based on new information in real time. This book (plus some quick research) piqued my interest for the Absolute Power story. Damn you, Joshua Williamson. And, damn you, DC Comics. Why must you always eventually make sense with your decisions. My verdict: Great. PS – Still not interested in the “Absolute” line of books at all. Those things always end up going off the rails.
Wonder Woman 11
Writer: Tom King, Artist: Tony S. Daniel. The Tom King era in Wonder Woman took some time to reach its fullest potential, but I believe it finally has. One of the reasons that Absolute Power interests me is that the fallout in these books have made for strange bedfellows. I won’t spoil them for you because part of the joy this time is in the surprise. Trust me, you’ll enjoy the ride. My verdict: Good.
The Verdict
DC Comics August 2024 were the most enjoyable group of books this month. I said in the Marvel Comics article that this might be the best time in comics in quite a while. All of the marquee books have great teams on them. That is because there are so many great creators out there. The independent books show that. I know some of the success is being driven by speculators, but in this case I don’t care. If they keep the medium alive, that’s okay by me.
