Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Thinking Out Loud: Am I my Brothers Smasher?

For a number of dull reasons, I decided to pick myself up a Nintendo Wii-U for myself for my birthday this year. As well as Mario Kart 8 and Rayman Legends, I got my hands on Super Smash Bros Wii-U, which is what I've been playing mostly. I've owned every version of Smash Bros, excepting the 3DS version and I've parted with Brawl (though I may pick it up again if I see it cheap), and I love the combination of a simple combat system and a cross-brand fighting game. The Smash series can be a fun game with friends or a majorly competitive experience, depending on opponents and dedication; there is no move memorisation, combos or combo-breaking. Basically, the games can just be a bit of fun if you want, which suits my gaming mindset just fine. Getting into the new (Wii-U) version has got me thinking (of course) about just what the franchise is to me and how it really works. So, bad news, expect a few Smash related posts though the next few months, especially as my gaming time dries up whilst I finish Post-Grad. 

Now, it's probably worth mentioning that I have, essentially, no intention of playing competitively at any point. Yes, I can beat most of my friends pretty consistently, but there's something of a major gulf between that and the tournament scene. No, for me, it's just about the fun I can have beating the hell out of Charizard with a pink marshmallow named Kirby. Although I never got good at any of them, I do, conceptually, enjoy the Marvel Vs Capcom games, because the characters featured aren't limited to fighting game staples on the Capcom side; yes, it would be better if there were the occasional Exile, 2099, 1602 or Ultimate character on the Marvel side, but can't have everything can we? What's great about the Smash series is the combination of characters, especially in the latest iterations, the Mario, Kirby, Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, Fire Emblem and many other series are represented, some which I know or care little about, but I'm glad to have them there. Think about it like having my huge array of supers, even if no one uses Ted Kord Blue Beetle all that often, would you really be without him?

The one thing I feel that is missing from the latest versions of Smash is the Adventure mode, first featured in Melee, but actually perfected in Brawl, of all versions. The Brawl adventure had a gripping narrative in which all of the characters must eventually team up to battle the Master Hand and the dark power behind the games' boss; it had epic music, odd little team-ups and some very cool moments of video to lead in fights and tell the story. It was so good, and feels so lacking from the new games, that I'd be tempted to pick it up if I ever saw it cheap, just to play through again. As I've mentioned before, I'd love a range of 28mm-ish Smash Bros collectibles for gaming, but once Super Mission Force hits, I'll pick up some Amiibos to run demo games for people to learn that superhero miniature wargaming doesn't need to be about expensive lead men and huge city tables. 

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Superhero Media: Lego Marvel Super Heroes - Maximum Overload

This is going to be a bit of a short one, for no other reason that that this "film" is around 23 minutes long, so there's not too much to cover. Loki decides that using magic snowballs to "overload" various supervillains (mostly Spider-man's) will be good for a laugh and the Lego versions of Marvel Superheroes have to stop them. It's juts a little short to keep the kids entertained, but it's fun and well executed. The entire thing can be found on YouTube if you're curious. 

The best parts involve Spider-man, who keeps getting left behind by his peers and complains about his "Spider-Angst" until Cap gives him a pep-talk at the end. The incomparable JK Simmonds appears as J Jonah Jameson, he hates Spider-Man and blames him for the Overloads, of course. Also, there's a great Iron Fist reference that gets called back when Danny turns up to help, later on. "Iron Fist isn't a fist, he's a whole guy!"

This was fun. It's not high art, or a must-see MCU tent pole, but it's damn fun and that's all it needs to be. The action will keep kids entertained and there's enough nerdy shout-outs to make it worthwhile for adult fans. Well worth taking a look at when you have a spare half-hour.

Monday, December 12, 2016

SS4 AAR: Find the Bomb!

Had a game of SuperSystem last week at club with Neil and Brendan, playtesting a scenario I'm working on. The Equalisers, NewGen and Neil's new characters had to search the city for a mutant terrorist with a hidden bomb, all of the civilians must be checked before the time runs out and it detonates! 

The Equalisers arrive on-scene, Wildcat, The Anachronism and Colonel Quantum are ready for action. 

 Backbreaker, Doctor Quasar and Mindstorm prepare to leap into action. 

 On the extreme left, NewGen (The Freerunner, Glock Roach and Natural Selection) can be seen sneaking in under the monorail. 

 In all this city, there is one madman (or woman) with a bomb, waiting to sew destruction on a grand scale. 

 "This is our historic first appearance, don't screw it up!" 

 Natural Selection and The Freerunner gang up on Backbreaker. 

 A super-speed punch knocks Backbreaker through the window of a nearby pet store. 

 Wildcat muses over the good fortune that the Equalisers didn't bring their own Mindstorm to the battle. 

 "Excuse me sir, do you have a bomb of any description?" 

 Mindstorm probes the mind of a young woman for traces of insurrection. 

 "Thank you for your cooperation, citizen!" 

 Glock Roach terrifies another random person, thank god he has good self-esteem. 

 Wherever could the bomb be? Time is running out! 

 "Thank you for your help sir, sorry about cutting off your foot." 

A fun game with good opponents, though I wasn't 100% happy with the way the scenario ran. I like that there was a chance of having no bomber, but it felt like a bit of a let down with all the teams there. Also, the Sens/Mind roll had too high of a TN, but that's easily fixed. Once I've done another couple of playtests, I'll post the scenario here so that other SS4 fanatics can give it a go. 

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Superhero Media: Hancock

What the hell was this meant to be? No, really, what was the intent with this film? Is it an attempt to cash-in on the burgeoning Superhero film market? If so, the "angel" element is confusing and works against the theme. Is it just another Will Smith action vehicle? If so, the action is lacking and too much time is spent on character. There are some interesting elements and ideas in the film, but none are really capitalised on and the whole thing feels incomplete. Smith is pretty good in the role, but I cant help but feel that Jason Bateman would have been a more convincing drunk and a relationship between him and Charlize Theron's character could have opened up some fun little in-jokes to keep the lighter tone of the first act.

There are some great bits in the film, the bank robbery, the exploration of the commercialisation and monetising of a superhero and the convenience store hold-up are highly engaging, but feel disjointed from much of the narrative. I don't, for a second, object to the idea of a superhero narrative that centers around a romantic relationship, only that Hancock probably could have benefited from being more coherent across the board. If it was a romantic narrative, why not sideline the rebuilding of a life, or focus on the redemption and leave the romance for the next film? I never felt like I was watching a cohesive film, merely a series of ideas that had been thrown together.

I know that Hancock has a devoted following, with spin-off comics, regular sequel teases and rumblings about Marvel and/or DC tie-ins, but I simply do not get it. The film is not unique enough to be overly interesting, the production is too good to be classed as cult cinema and yet too poor to be a true blockbuster. I'm simply at a loss with this one, it didn't make a lot of sense and just was not overly interesting; don't expect Hancock to turn up in an Ultimate Alliance game anytime soon.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

SS4 AAR - 3-Way Slugfest!

Played an introductory game of SS4 with Ian and Steve at NWA last week. We used the "Slugfest" Scenario from the rulebook, not one of my personal picks, but always a good one to learn on. The game featured USAwesome, The Equalisers and The Super Allies having a good generic punch-on. 

Would have liked to have the city table, but I thought I'd be playing Frostgrave, so necropolis it is. 
The three teams moved in towards the ruined church. 
The Frontier Spirit opens fire on Red Tide, but his Smith & Wesson can't penetrate the Soviet's armour. 
Red Tide and Golden Girl clash. 
The Indestructible Man rushes The 2nd Amendment to keep him from laying down too much fire. 
Jack Churchill and Lucky circle each other in cover from the raging battle in the ruins. 
Mindstorm puts up a telekinetic force field to protect Lucky from Churchill's attacks. 
Jack Churchill jumps into the fray, hoping to turn the tide.

The Indestructible Man chases down The 2nd Amendment...
...who is more tricky than he looks. 
Jacques Noir and Mindstorm battle it out on the flank. 
Mindstorm blasts indiscriminately into the melee with his mental attacks. 
 Red Tide finally takes down Golden Girl with the very last roll of the game! Victory for the Super-Allies! 

Not the flashiest game (Slugfest is always a tad slow), but both of the new players had fun and I won without being a nasty, cutthroat player. Another game this weekend, so hopefully an AAR soon on that one. 

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Superhero Media: Luke Cage - Season 1

Sweet Christmas! This programme was amazing. The cast, production, writing and photography was all spot-on and it has more layers than an onion. Warner Brothers and DC keep trying to make their audio-visual media more "adult", but Luke Cage blows them all out of the water with what it does. If you haven't seen it yet, get on it before you go too much further; I won't be doing many plot spoilers, but I will be talking in-depth about theme, character and the role of music and race in Luke Cage. The series is set in racially-ghettoized Harlem and musically the audience are transported into that world, from John Lee Hooker to Wu-Tang Clan, this is more than a soundtrack, it's an outburst. In the first few episodes, the classic soul and R&B of Pop's Barber Shop is juxtaposed by Cottonmouth's preference for the gangster rhythms and flow of Biggie Smalls, much in the way "Black Music" is categorised by a mainstream [white] audience. It is not until Luke is about to bust in a drug smuggling hideout, when he puts in his headphones and we hear "do you think your Wu-Tang style can defeat me?" and "Bring Da Ruckus" starts up that the full breadth of the sound of black rage at systematic and cultural oppression is brought to bear

It must be time for some major film nerding, because I'm about to discuss the overt use of semiotics inn Luke Cage. That a bullet-riddled hoodie becomes emblematic not only of Cage himself, but of events like Trayvon Martin and the #blacklivesmatter movement, is not only clever writing, but is a use of the superhero medium of storytelling in a manner more subversive than any other since V for Vendetta. The idea that Luke is the hero that Black America needs more than any other, not because of his inherent humanity, but because he is simply a black man that the police cannot shoot dead, is a powerful message that rightly has made many conservative and white audiences and commentators uncomfortable. The Luke Cage presented here is not the Blacksploitation pastiche that first graced the comics, he is Martin Luther King, Chuck D, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Trayvon Martin, Rodney King, Obama, Grandmaster Flash and Danny Glover wrapped in unbreakable skin and giving the strength he needs to tear down the establishment. Sweet Christmas.

I guess I should about the story, it's ok, not as good as past Marvel Netflix efforts, but as Captain America: Civil War demonstrated, Marvel's strength lies in character more so than narrative. I mean, what are you going to do, watch DC stuff for character? Arrow is built around hot people moping, at least with Luke Cage tells the story of fascinating people dealing with the circumstances into which they are thrust. I am super keen for Iron Fist and The Defenders now, but I really want to see Luke join the Avengers, like his comic counterpart.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Miniature Finished: The Psychevore

From another dimension it came, chewing its way into our reality to sate its foul hunger. The realitynaut Ulysses calls it The Psychevore, devourer of all intelligent life, he claims to have seen it extinguish entire universes, taking countless superheroes with them. Seemingly impossible to kill, The Psychevore destroys the minds of those it eats, leaving horrid brain-dead husks. 

 ATER Kickstarter Mini, a bit smaller than I was hoping. (It's on a 40mm base)

The idea behind this figure was to have a Galactus/Darksied style enemy for my Equalisers setting, something that can stand up to entire teams of heroes and make itself accounted for. This baby is 130 points of mind-blasting, damage-immune death on legs. Hopefully, he'll be getting a try out this week. 

Name: The Psychevore
BP: 130
Affiliation: None
AP: 12
Strike: 2
Strength: 2
Dodge: 2
Sense: 6
Toughness: 10
Mind: 10
Resolve: 9
Damage: 2/9 (1)
Soulless – Immune to Mind-based attacks and Healing. Automatically fails KO Checks 
Telekinesis – 2AP hovers 24” in the air until start of next turn, Immune to falling damage
Density Decrease (Always On) – Immune to Damage rolled against Toughness
Mind Attack 9, Super 1
Massive 3 - +3D to attacks against this Model
Slow Footed – Model cannot Charge