By Tanner Banks 2/2/2016, 3:00 a.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
All aboard!
The hype train is officially ready to leave the station, for the 2:45 to the Toran Empire. Set up by the Montreal-based team Cardboard Utopia, Children of Zodiarcs is a tactical role-playing game that is one part RPG, one part D&D, and all parts amazing. From top to bottom, this is one of the most complete games to come to Kickstarter in a long time. As an all around nerd, this is the kind of game that will have a little bit of everything. This is the first installment of a series highlighting video games that are crowdfunding their development that get me excited. So what is it that makes Children of Zodiarcsthe game I’m excited about right now? A lot.
First and foremost, this team has a some serious talent on it. Their names are credited to Eternal Darkness, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, The Warriors, and Far Cry 3, they know AAA games. The best part is that they weren’t just fetching coffee either. They were leading teams on major parts of the games. This team all has experience leading teams to get the job done, meaning they’ve all held responsibility for major parts of games like economy, user interface, combat, and the like. These guys know what it takes to succeed, and how to succeed in a big way.
It’s not just the team that’s promising either, from the gameplay footage, trailers, and artwork the game is going to be something special.
As mentioned before, at its core, the game is a tactical role playing game. However, there is plenty more to the gameplay with a very unique set of twists. Like any good game of Dungeon’s and Dragons, you need to pick where your hero’s will go and how they will engage in combat. And once you’ve got everything positioned you’ll need to bring out your sweet set of dice (in this case a set of d6 dice are thrown and not a d20) However, unlike D&D, you won’t have to worry about a petty Dungeon Master having you whiff on a 95% hit if you have a bad throw. Instead the dice mechanic “[will] not determine ultimate success or failure, but instead reflect varying degrees of success and alternate outcomes.” The symbols of the dice affect the games in different ways. And on top of that, you can actually craft your own dice to fit your play style even more. This keeps the game in the player’s control while adding a litany of ways for players to go about causing havoc on the Toran Empire.
And you won’t have to worry about the dice throw being predetermined. Instead you’ll get to shake your dice before tossing by using a simulated physics system that will give you a chance to use your own ritual before tossing the dice for a chance at a couple +1 attack swords. But the combat customization doesn’t end there. Inspired directly by the worldwide phenomenon Magic: The Gathering, the card system adds to the strategy.
“Each of your heroes has their own deck of cards for battle that you add to throughout the game. In combat you play these cards to perform attacks, use abilities, or cast spells. You can combine the effects of cards to create chain effects. Each card drawn from your deck opens up new tactics, making it a moment of great anticipation; that next card you draw may turn the tide of battle!“ – Kickstarter
And don’t worry about having to buy the cards or booster packs, either. They’ve guaranteed that there will be no microtransactions in the game, and the only way to get those cards is to beat them out of the enemies you meet along the way.
Watching more and more info about the game come out has been an absolute pleasure and the best part is how much the team has been interacting with the community. Soon after they reached their goal Jason Kim, Creative Director of Cardboard Utopia, hoped onto Twitch and did a stream, answering questions and chatting with fans of the campaign while playing some games. Their Twitter stream is full of support for other games being developed, funny gaming images, and a promise for a pizza. As a joke, they’ve added a stretch goal 20 Canadian dollars past the Hard Mode, of Art Director Erica Lahaie eating a pizza on stream in the future. Although it sounds funny, they’ve promised to fulfill the stretch goal. And speaking of stretch goals, they’re all very realistic about what they want to do and aren’t promising Robert Downey Jr. to voice the main antagonist if they hit $200,000, or anything ridiculous. Instead, there are a large amount of stretch goals that add to the gameplay for a reasonable amount. (Pizza stream aside.)
But perhaps the biggest reason why I believe this game will succeed similar to how Shovel Knight, Undertale, and the like, is because it’s a part of Square Enix Collective. As described by Square Enix, Collective is “a curated platform that enables creators to post ideas, and gamers to judge whether those ideas should become reality or not.” If a concept is popular enough, Square Enix might support the project through the crowdfunding process. Not only was Children of Zodiarcs (then called War of Zodiarcs) a success, at the time it was the most popular posting ever. As of today CoZ and its 93 percent approval rating is the fourth highest ever, and has officially gotten the support of Square Enix.
As awesome as this game sounds, I haven’t really scratched the surface about the game itself. I haven’t mentioned the great character designs, beautiful music, great storyline idea, or the really sweet backer rewards for supporting the game. Right now there are about two weeks left in the Kickstarter, and having already doubled their original goal, it’s going to be exciting to watch what happens next.
Z Nation is one of SyFy channel’s newest and original shows about a group of survivors embarking on a mission in the zombie apocalypse. The mission is for a man named Murphy, played by fantastic actor Keith Allan, who is the only man on earth to have survived a zombie bite and must be escorted by a team of awesome zombie killers to a CDC lab in California. I had the pleasure of interviewing Keith Allan and getting an inside talk about the show and himself. Below is the text of the interview you can read or you can go down to the bottom for an audio recorded version of the full interview that you can listen to. That is also where you will find the links to redirect you to his Twitter, and Facebook. The text interview is edited for time and space. The audio interview has all the conversation, stories, and details.
Z Nation is set to premier back on SyFy channel in mid September for their third season, and you can watch season one and two right now by going to Netflix. I highly recommend it.
Keith Allan is the one of the series’ star actors, shown here with his chest being ripped open.
Interview Begins…
Hey Mr. Keith Allan, how are you?
I’m good, Mike. How are you?
I’m great. Thank you for taking some time today to talk with me and the magazine and for answering some questions.
Yeah absolutely, my pleasure, man.
So, first off, you currently star as Murphy on SyFy channel’s Z Nation.
Yes.
What was it like to play Murphy and get that sense of the character?
Um, well I kind of had to figure it out as it went along. When I got the job, it happened so quickly that I had a vague idea of who the character was and what the show was about. So, I was getting to know him as I was getting the scripts and sometimes you just gotta wing it and see what happens next. Then one week I’m mind controlling zombies.
Speaking of the mind controlling zombies, that seems to be a pretty original twist. Are you glad they threw in these little extra things to go along with the zombie genre?
Absolutely and I think they’re really doing it right. They have creatures a character in Murphy we’ve never seen before in the genre this kind of half-human, half-zombie hybrid and Murphy can tell the humans more than anyone else what it means to be a zombie and it’s kind of a new insight on what people originally thought to be crazy meat-eating bags.
Now, why did they choose to make Murphy blue in season two?
Karl Schaefer, the show runner, he wanted Murphy to look like rotting meat with the shiny blue tint and wanted Murphy to have a different look than everyone else.
With any of the other actors, have you developed a person friendship with them?
Uhh, no, I can’t stand any of them. [laughs] No, no, no, we actually get along really well. We spend a lot of time together so it’s a bit of being like foxhole buddies.
Other than Murphy, who would you say is your most favorite and most hated character on the show?
Its hard to say, you know, I love Warren’s character because I love seeing a strong black woman in charge, I think its something we need to see on TV and she kills it on a weekly bases and looks great doing it. I think my most hated character, well from Murphy’s point of view, is 10K because he wants to kill me.
With Murphy and 10K’s rivalry, obviously Nat Zang, who plays 10K, has a huge fan base. Do you ever receive any hate or anything from the way your character treats his?
Well I wouldn’t say hate, I more get questions like, “Why would you do that?” or “You better not hurt him!” He is a character people love to hate and I get a lot of that. But no real death threats or anything yet.
With the popularity of the show rising significantly, would you consider the show a household name or more a cult classic series?
I think we’re more cult classic, at this point anyways. At this point, our show is still relatively low on the radar because we don’t do much advertising, sadly. So you have to kind of find the show, but once they find it, they love it, and that’s great. But we’re certainly not a household name yet, because people that are into the zombie genre know The Walking Dead; almost everyone on the planet knows TWD but we’re not in that same position yet.
With TWD still on the air do you think that’s hindering the success of your show or is it helping it?
I think it helps, actually. I think our shows are completely different, but once people see our show I think they see we’re not trying to be TWD.
So, are you a fan of TWD?
Oh, yeah, I think it’s a great show I watch it quite a bit.
So with you being blue a lot obviously a bit of makeup is used. How long does your makeup usually take?
Well I have to give a shout out to Corrine Foster and John Foster, they do all the zombies, including my makeup, and design all the different kinds of zombies on our show. Which I think is another cool thing our show does because it mixes it up. Just doing my hands and my face, with two people working on me, it takes two hours every morning and when we do the body, with all the scars and bite marks, that takes about five hours every morning.
Where do you think the writers came up with the ideas for all the different kinds of zombies?
Ya know, I don’t know, because I am not in the writers’ room, but I assume it’s because it keeps it fresh and different every week, and some of the zombies are very original and very interesting like the glow-in-the-dark zombies from season one.
How do you do the shooting effects? Are they blanks or CG animations?
No, we don’t use blanks at all, it’s all animated because blanks can be very dangerous and people have gotten killed from screwing around with a blank, so it’s all animated.
So has anybody actually gotten hurt on the show?
Actually Matt, who plays Vasquez in the show. I think it was his first day of shooting, and here comes mister bad ass trying to catch me and he comes around a corner and pulls his groin muscle, and he was out for like the next week. So we were, “Oh yeah, you’re such a badass, mister twelve-pack whatever.” He got a lot of shit for that, other than that just pulled muscle.
How do you think you would fair in a real zombie apocalypse?
Well, I think I would take a page out of Murphy’s handbook and find better fighters for me, because I am not a fighter, so I would just stand behind them.
So I have heard something about you and a toenail. What’s the story behind that?
(laughs) In season one, it was the tornado episode, and it’s the shot where my hair starts falling out. Well about three months before we starting shooting, I had hiked through the grand canyon with a buddy and I ended up with a couple of black toenails, so I told the producers I have a toenail that’s gonna be coming off here soon so we have to get that on film, and they were like, “Absolutely.” So it just happened to coincide with that scene where my hair is falling out and my toenail is pulling up but still slightly attached, so im pulling it off and it wont come off so I start twisting it and finally it came off, and it was so gross. Anyhow, brilliant shot, I pull my toenail off and they didn’t use the damn shot. I just want my fans to know how far I go for them.
Why do you think they didn’t use the shot? That sounds awesome.
I don’t know! I thought it was genius and Twitter would’ve blown up from it, but I don’t know, I’m not the boss.
What conventions are you attending in 2016?
Well there is Lexington Kentucky Comic Con coming up and there are a few walker stalker conventions coming up. One is in Denver and one is in… I want to say Nashville, and I’m doing another Comic Con in Houston but I’ll be posting all that information on Twitter as they come up. I’m getting to do a lot of these conventions now and I get so much love and people are so enthusiastic about the show, and I just love my fans.
What can you tell us about season three?
I don’t know everything, I only know some things. I live, I know that. I think in this season, though, there is gonna be a lot of us splitting up and going in different groups and I wont be with gang as much. Murphy is getting to a point where he’s not trusting anyone, at this point, and is kind of fed up and try to be on his own for a bit.
Do any of the stars have any actual real life military training?
Russel, who plays Doc, was in the military. He was either in the Marines or the Army but, yeah, I think he was in for four years.
What projects are you currently working on?
Well, I have a project I want to direct and produce and act in. It’s called Hearts Like Fists, I actually have a website called heartslikefists.com. It’s a graphic novel, dark comedy, about these three nurses-by-day and crime fighters by night. It’s a really broad comic-book style movie. I actually did it as a play in Los Angeles. There is actually a seven-minute opening on the website, so I can show people what it’s like and everything, and I’m really proud of it, and I’m hoping to make it happen in the next year or so.
What other TV shows have you appeared in?
Most of my stuff has been television. I’ve been in stuff like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Star Trek, Will and Grace, Dragnet, The Mullets, which was a sitcom that didn’t last very long, umm… CSI. I did Mad Men.
Have you always wanted to be an actor or is this just something you fell into?
No, I have always wanted to be an actor ever since I was very young, even when I was a little kid. I would sit and watch television for hours on end, and that’s what made me realize it from very early on.
So what makes you get up and deal with struggles every day of being an actor?
It’s a very difficult profession and some very talented people have a very hard time at it. So much of this business is about luck and being in the right place at the right time. But for me, it’s about being involved in the creative and collaborative process, and also there are moments when you completely lose yourself and you get to really be someone else and that’s a thrilling thing.
Have you had any support from friends and family or have you been going solo?
Well, for the most part I’ve been going pretty solo because parents will always want you to do something practical, and the worst thing for them to hear is that you want to be an actor, because most people can’t survive in this business.
What was it like have to transition from theater to films and TV?
It was a little nerve racking because it is a different world. With theater, when something goes wrong you just keep on going, while on TV you can stop. You film in chunks, a lot of people are standing around, so it’s totally different. It’s different but the same.
So have you always been a fan of the zombie/monster franchise?
No, I have actually written a couple zombie movies for the SyFy network. There was Rise of the Zombies and Zombie Nights. I also wrote and directed a movie called 11/11/11 that was produced by The Asylum, also. I have always been a fan of horror movies, ever since I was a teenager. I really enjoy the genre.
What would you say is your favorite zombie movie?
I’d have to say Shaun of the Dead. It had everything I wanted in it.
For the female fans that will want to know do you have a significant other like a wife or girlfriend, or are you still living as a bachelor?
Still living as a bachelor!
If there was one thing you could say to every single person on the planet, what would it be?
To everyone on the planet?!
Yeah.
Wow, Jesus, I feel pressure (laughs) we have got to figure out how to get global warming under control. It is such a huge issue and I think we are in complete denial what climate change is and the toll it’s going to take on the planet in just a couple years.
When will season three of Z Nation be premiering on TV?
Same as last season, mid-September, something like that.
Well, that about wraps it up, thanks again for taking the time out to do this, I really enjoyed and appreciate it.
Alright, man, thank you.
Syfy has confirmed the Walking… The Zomb… The Unde… The flesh-eating rage… Oh, fuck it, the zombies will return for another season in 2016. Please follow and support Keith Allan and be sure to check out Z Nation, now one of my favorite zombie shows.
Back in the late 70s, two Israeli businessmen came to America, bought a studio, and made some of the strangest movies ever made. For over a decade, they churned out hundreds of films, from Death Wish sequels to sci-fi musicals to bloody, bloody ninja movies. They made that Sylvester Stallone movie about arm wrestling. They made some period film where Deanna Troi from Star Trek has a topless sword fight with Faye Dunaway. Hell, they made two movies about break dancing. Cannon Films changed cinema forever, if only by making it weirder.
And now, thanks to director Mark Hartley, we have a documentary about the epic rise and fall of this crazy, crazy studio. Hartley performed similar magic a few years ago with his Ozsploitation documentary, which is just as fun and chockful of random film clips. What makes this documentary even better, though, is that there’s a real emotional throughline to the whole thing. The film is basically about two immigrants who loved movies so much that they forced their way into the industry. Their blind enthusiasm created this studio, and it also led to its collapse. The film is consistently funny, but the last thirty minutes are surprisingly poignant, especially considering all the bazookas and boobs on display.
Perhaps the best thing about Boogaloo is the wealth of clips from dozens of deeply bizarre films. I paused the movie about 20 minutes in, just so I could get a pen and paper to write down the titles of movies that I was going to hunt down. There are some seriously random moments peppered throughout, and if you are even remotely interested in trash cinema, you will want to keep a list of the films that are included. (At the top of my to-watch list: Ninja III: The Domination. I sincerely hope it’s as bug-nuts insane as it looks.)
These almost inexplicable clips make up about half of the film. The other half is a hilarious parade of revealing interviews with actors, directors, composers, and anyone else lucky enough to survive making a Cannon movie. Some of these people are delightfully bitter. One actress shows us her only copy of the action film she starred in, and then lights it on fire.
The best interviews, though, are with the people who (like the documentary itself) are equal parts amazed and disgusted by the Cannon business model. After all, this studio duped people into buying really crappy films, often selling them before anyone knew what the films were going to be about. For an independent studio, it had a lot of admirers, a lot of bitter victims, and a lot of normal people who are just completely baffled by its success.
Like a lot of the Cannon films, Boogaloo is a real crowd-pleaser. Also like a lot of Cannon films, it has tons of explosions. Those are always fun.
When I first bought Divinity: Original Sin in 2014, I had few expectations for what I was getting into. All I knew was it looked cool, had good reviews, and was a top seller on Steam for a long time. What I got was one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played. When Divinity: Original Sin 2 was announced on Kickstarter I funded it as soon as I could. Even though its release is slated for December of this year, I am already excited for it and you should be, too. Here are the top 10 reasons you should be excited for Divinity: Original Sin 2.
10: A New World To Explore
The world of Divinity: Original Sin is massive and extremely detailed on a level many other video games aren’t. From lush forests, frigid castles, harsh deserts, and fiery wastelands, the world of Divinity inspires awe and imagination. With the success of Original Sin, the bar is set even higher for the sequel. If the gameplay videos are any indication of the world for Original Sin 2, it expands on the what made the world of Original Singreat and goes even further.
9: Tactician Mode
The turn-based combat system of Original Sin is tactical and rewards creative thinking, and while some players may struggle, others crave a greater challenge. The Tactician Mode of Original Sin is specially designed for hardcore gamers. Featuring larger groups of enemies with expanded skillsets and tactics, Tactician Mode is a trial by fire. It’s coming back in Original Sin 2 as strategist mode. This mode will be a challenge for even the most seasoned gamers as they fight their way through hordes of intelligent enemies that don’t hold back.
8: Expanded World Interaction
Like Original Sin, the sequel will feature many unique characters and interesting environmental interactions. For example, if you come across a group of bandits, there are many ways to handle them. You can cut them down with a blade, ignite the oil barrel they’re standing by, or try to talk them down. Original Sin 2 will expand on this concept of player freedom and give players even more ways to tackle any situation.
7: Better Enemies
There many different enemies in Original Sin, so many that they could fill a monster handbook from Dungeons and Dragons. There are Orcs, Trolls, Wraiths, and Dragons, each designed to be challenging in a different way, often requiring different tactics altogether. For example, if you cast a fireball at a fire elemental, it will heal them, putting you at a disadvantage. Original Sin 2 will offer even more enemies than Original Sin, creating more unique challenges driven by AI.
6: Character Races
Being a human is nice and all but it get’s boring, especially in a world as expansive as Divinity. Unlike Original Sin, players won’t be limited and can play five different races: Humans, Undead, Lizardmen, Wood Elves, and Dwarves. Each of these five races will have race-specific traits as well. For instance, Lizardmen will be weak to the cold and have a chance to be put to sleep by it, but give them a warm cup of coffee and they will be ready for anything.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 races
5: Skill Crafting
One of the most ambitious features of Original Sin 2 is the skill crafting system. With this system you can combine any two spells or skills the game has to offer to create something new and unique. You can combine a Lacerate spell and a Rain spellto summon a monsoon of gore, or create a cadre of flaming spiders with the Infectious Flame and Summon Spider spells. It doesn’t stop there, what if you combined Blood Rain and Infectious Flaming Spiders to create something even more horrifying? The possibilities are endless.
4: Four Player Co-op
What’s better than playing a game with a friend? Playing with three friends in a party of four, and the developers know this. An entire party can be part of the same game and rarely has a game captured the spirit of the tabletop RPG quite like like Original Sin has. Expanding the experience to be shared among four people may create one of the best multiplayer experiences for years to come.
3: Game Master Mode
This new feature is a final stretch goal for the Original Sin 2Kickstarter. Like Dungeon’s and Dragons, players will be able to create their own campaigns and worlds for others to enjoy. The feature promises the potential to make a player into an online dungeon master, allowing you to adjust the world as your party plays. Game Masters could lead a party of their friends on a truly unique and unforgettable adventure.
2: Dynamic Characters
Original Sin 2 will go even further than Original Sin with truly unique NPCs and player characters. Each character in the world of Original Sin 2 will have their own backstory, personality, and will offer unique player interactions based on what’s happened so far. To enable this kind of world, the dialog system has been expanded with more options and characters – and they will remember what you’ve done
1: Committed Developers
Behind every great game is a team of committed developers doing work they love. From the 20 Kickstarter updates and counting to their numerous development videos, Larian Studios has proven that Original Sin 2 is more than just a game to them. I am confident they will deliver on their promises with Original Sin 2 and am excited to see fruits of their labor.
The SoCal Retro Gaming Expo day two is a wrap and it was a blast. (It is being held at the world famous Frank and Son Collectible Show.) Here is an overview of what we saw and thought about the convention.
For this being the first year of said convention, wow you never would have guessed. What a pleasant time we had over the past two days. Today we hung out with Phil Moore, of Nick Arcade, and got to see a great panel hosted by Pat Contri, AKA Pat the NES Punk. In addition to that, the vendors had all kind of sweet deals going on today. We managed to score a Comic Con Exclusive Friday the 13th Jason figure for only $25! These babies were going for $80 on ebay.
Thanks to everyone who was cool and hung out with us. We are already looking forward to attending next year’s show! Here are just a few of our friends and fans.
Tell us about your hobbies or the worst date you ever went on: I am a very active person, I spend the biggest chunk of my time squatting and doing pushups. I also love to sing, write music, and explore my city (NYC). The worst date I ever went on was with a guy who tried kissing my upon the first introduction and then ditched as soon as the tab came because he had to “walk his dog”.
Well, day one of the SoCal Retro Gaming Expo is a wrap and it was a blast. (It is being held at the world famous Frank and Son Collectible Show.) Here is an overview of what we saw and thought about the convention.
We were pleasantly surprised upon first entering the building to see a row of free-play arcade machines ranging from TMNT to The Simpsons courtesy of Royce’s Arcade Warehouse. Parallel to the arcade machines is a long row of CTR TVs, all with different classic systems hooked up to them. From Atari to the Dreamcast and all things in-between, it was very cool to see younger kids playing these. We witnessed one eight-year-old give Mike Tyson’s Punch Out a try, and he was troubled by Glass Joe. Well, at least he tried.
Moving along we come across the vast array of vendors the SoCal Retro Gaming Expo had to offer. Of course, there was a plethora of retro gaming goodness at the expo. In addition, there was a great variety of custom retro designed items. One vendor had custom box art blown up for wall mounting action. Another had custom NES game-themed satchels for your rupee carrying convenience. Day one also saw a Smash Brothers Tournament and a panel that was held by Keith Robinson and The Blue Sky Rangers, of Intellivision fame. Again, day one was a positive one and we are looking forward to seeing how day two goes tomorrow.
Written by: Will Flores
1/27/2016
Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
So, today ends day one of the release of Final Fantasy Explorers, the game every review site calls “Monster Hunter: Final Fantasy Edition.” To compare this game to any other game is very unfair because there’s enough unique gameplay elements that warrant a very fair and unbiased reaction. The only comparison this game deserves is to other Square-Enix games and their attempt to do something different with an already popular genre. For instance, this game is like Bravely Default, where it takes a different and interesting approach on a well-established genre of games.
This feels familiar… Whatever… I’ll just go hunt some monsters!
I sat down with FF:Ex and went in after a rousing game of kill the Zinogre in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. The two games are similar in the presentation, that’s it. You’ve got your quest hub, your shops, your crafting venue, the whole nine yards. However, pick up a quest and make your way to the world map, you’ll really begin to see the games show their true colors. You’ll start off as a freelancer, which, at face value, feels a lot like what the Onion Knight class is in Final Fantasy Tactics, can use everyone else’s abilities except class specifics, which is unimportant early on, but I’m sure will be a real make-or-break end-game.
The battle system itself feels like the love-child between MMORPGDC: Universe Online and Kingdom Hearts. You are given eight abilities that you map to the face buttons with the help of holding one of the shoulder buttons. Occasionally, if you build up your resonance meter high enough, you can unleash an ability called “Crystal Surge” that provides a party-wide benefit, such as health-drain affixed to all your attacks, Elemental Affinity, or Super Armor. The twist here is that, depending on which surge is active, some of your abilities will mutate, gaining the either a random stat/benefit permanently attached to that ability. For instance, you use a Heal ability while you have Super Armor active, for the duration of the surge, there’s a chance your Heal would mutate with the ability to grant you a defense boost whenever you cast it. Now this ability won’t be available until you’re done with your current quest and back at the hub. The idea that no one player’s abilities are exactly the same as the next grants an entirely huge layer of customization that can make any and every player feel different.
A self-buff that grants reflect magic early on? Yes, please!
Weapons and armor provide cosmetic individuality as well, but like any other game, it’s to an extent. It’s fine, because where you might eventually wind up looking like most end-game players in Star Knight Armor (My MH4U guildies will know), there’s another level of customization that you can have to let yourself stand out further, your entourage!
If they can’t beat you…
Entourage? Whaddya mean? Well, have a seat and I’ll share with you what I know! As you kill monsters on quests, you’ll eventually pick up items that are called an Atmalith. Hold onto these, you can use them to upgrade your armor and weapons – BUT – you can also use them to eventually create monsters to fight alongside you! They even level up beside you as you take them out for their daily walks.
Let ‘em join ya!
When you’re solo and taking on some of the harder missions early on, they can be a huge lifesaver! Although, make sure you have a healing spell/ability ready, because, sometimes, the AI can be about as smart as half-used chapstick and will take hits regardless of whether or not they can take it. They serve their purpose, and don’t worry about them dying, they’ll eventually revive after some time.
Multiplayer is another story.
It really does take on the traditional approach to MMO party compositions, the ideal party is a tank, a healer, and two damage dealers, because “aggro” is a factor to enemy behavior. That is, whoever generates the most “threat” to monsters, they’ll target them first. You’ll normally want your meatshields to have high aggro. I haven’t played multiplayer long enough to where that kind of approach would matter, but it is something to keep in mind.
AND IIIIIIIIIIIIII-eeeeeee-aaaaahhhhh… will always LOVE YOU!
Finally, let’s talk about the boss fights! The first one you’ll be pitted against is Ifrit, the almighty eidolon of fire! Even after grinding for good abilities and gear, you still have your work cut out for you. These bosses mean business. Although, if you’re careful, you’ll come out on top. Much like any game, take your time… or else…
I died shortly after this picture was taken…
So there you have it. First impression of Final Fantasy Explorers. A game that deserves your attention and a fair judgment. It is not Monster Hunter, so stop it…
Josh Riley 1/26/2016, 11:59p.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
Star Wars: Battlefront on PlayStation 4.
For anybody who is familiar with the Star Wars: Battlefront series, you may have noticed that the split screen options aren’t what they used to be when compared to the prior games in the Star Wars: Battlefront line. In the first two games, there were plenty of modes and maps to choose from for split screen cooperative, whereas the new Battlefront has seemingly all but cut ties with the old style of split screen gaming, leaning more to the more popular online gameplay.
Modes such as Conquest, Capture the Flag, and the popular Space Battles from the second Battlefront have been eliminated for local split screen cooperative. If you are not familiar with the Conquest mode, it’s a cross between a team death match and a zone capturing where you stay inside the limits of a flag and capture the area for your team; you could play it online or locally with AI bots. A variant of the old conquest mode does exist for local split screen gameplay; however, it’s not cooperative only head to head.
Not that playing against your friend is a bad thing.
It’s just confusing that EA would only make that mode, a normally cooperative capable mode, only head to head. Before it seems like I’m not a fan of the new Battlefront and I’m cutting it down, I will say that they did a good job as far as single player modes go, and they didn’t exactly cut out split screen entirely, they just didn’t do justice to the prior games. There is a Survival mode that has been introduced, but it would seem that the Survival mode didn’t get as much attention as it should have. If you haven’t played it, the Survival mode is essentially just that: surviving waves of enemies along with other side objectives that you don’t necessarily have to beat to complete the mission. Instead of the plethora of maps the previous games have offered, there are only four maps that you can select from for the survival mode.
Visually, the maps are astounding and, by all means, phenomenal, but great graphics don’t make up for the lack of maps to play on. With that said, the ability to choose what blaster you get to go into battle with is a really cool new feature that didn’t exist in the prior games. So, there are little improvements like that that exist that are a bonus. Hopefully, some more maps for the survival mode will be introduced as downloadable content (DLC). It is understandable that doing split screen cooperative gameplay just isn’t a relevant piece to games anymore with the online capabilities that we now possess, it’s just sad to slowly see the end of playing games with friends in person. If you don’t mind the lack of split screen cooperative modes, then you will really enjoy the online multiplayer, which contains many more map options than split screen has to offer.
By Evan Purcell 1/26/16, 12:01p.m Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
The Final Girls squanders its premise. It is also one of the best movies of last year.
This film has the opportunity to be a goofy, meta horror spoof, but turns into something else entirely: something emotional and sweet and kind of sad. It remains funny throughout, more or less, but not in the ways you’d expect. In other words, it succeeds at being a great film, but fails at being a horror spoof.
If you haven’t seen the trailer, don’t. It gives too much away. (Warning: It’s at the bottom of this page if you can’t resist temptation.) All you need to know is that a group of modern teens go to an old cinema and get magically sucked into an 80’s slasher film. Based on that premise, it sounds like the Wayans or Zucker brothers would step in and offer a three-joke-a-minute laughfest.
Instead, we get a heart warmer that—against all odds—humanizes the two-dimensional horror characters and gives the three-dimensional “real” characters some interesting existential dilemmas. The jokes aren’t about how stupid and horny the 80’s teens are. The jokes are about the real thoughts and feelings of teenagers, no matter how stupid and horny they may be.
Taissa Farmiga
The actors really give it their all, particularly the protagonist (Taissa Farmiga), who can simultaneously cry right into the camera and have about six other emotions crawl across her big-eyed, silent movie face. Malin Akerman is also a highlight, slowly morphing her bubbly, badly written character into something much more vulnerable. Most of the others—the slutty girl, the bitchy best friend, the movie geek—develop some surprising shades as the body count rises.
My disappointment, however, comes from the inauthenticity of the world. It’s a beautiful film, with bright colors and interesting camera movements, but it doesn’t look like an 80’s slasher film. It’s just too beautiful. The death scenes don’t feel like they come from a real 80’s movie. And worst of all, one of the “movie” characters is given free rein to improvise a bunch of lines, which makes him seem like he’s from a completely different (more modern) movie.
With all these issues, The Final Girls feels like a movie written by horror fans, but directed by someone who is, at best, ambivalent to the genre. I would’ve liked the look and the feel (and the murders!) to be closer to one of the Friday the 13th films, for example. None of the deaths are memorable (or particularly 80s-ish), and that just seems like a missed opportunity.
Still, the film is great. It’s just great at the things you wouldn’t expect it to be great at. It’s a horror-comedy that secretly replaces the horror with drama, but it excels at the drama in ways you’d never imagine. Perhaps that’s what makes it so effective: it surprises you with the places it goes.
For example, it has the most poignant and heartbreaking strip tease ever committed to film. If that doesn’t pique your interest, I don’t know what will.
In other games like Heroes of Newerth or Defense of the Ancients the incarnation of this abomination is a one trick pony. You hook, you rot, you devour, and you get a kill. The Heroes of the Storm version, in comparison, is pretty versatile, but if your looking for the classic ganker experience you find in other MOBAs your in for a surprise. I have to admit I was disappointed with the changes made to Stitches for HotS, but having gotten a chance to play a few games with him I now understand that the changes have made the hero much more team friendly. Pudge and Devourer were great early- and mid-game heroes, but unless you had a stellar start they didn’t played well late game. While in HotS, Stitches’ slow and damage overtime abilities scale well in late game.
Now lets talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly about this hook ability.
The good: You can actually hook through your allies! No longer will you drag a friendly back to your location. The hook goes right through creeps and other players. I really cannot emphasis enough how much of an improvement this is. I have raged many a night because an ally wasn’t paying attention to my position and unknowingly blocked a hook, but that simply isn’t the case in HotS.
The bad: Hooking doesn’t seem to do the same damage it does in other MOBAs; the only real benefit of the skill is to get people in a strategic position so you can use your other close range abilities like Slam or Putrid Bile.
The ugly:HotS doesn’t allow for players to be hooked through buildings or walls. This isn’t an insurmountable problem. With some knowledge of the map you can still position yourself to land a hook, but if, like me, you like to hook people up onto a cliff or hook them into a position where they are boxed in, it isn’t going to happen. Watch the terrain!
Now lets talk about game progression.
Early Game:
Heavy Slam is a great pick for your level one talent. Slam has a short cool down and the other talents allow your to dump a lot of power into this ability. Slam is the real bread and butter ability for Stitches. At level four, I would go with Putrid Ground. This allows you to apply the vile gas damage over time ability to players with your Slam ability. Typically you would have to wait for an enemy to hit you for your emit the Vile Gas. Getting this talent lets you keep your dot up right from the beginning of the fight. Tenderizer is a good pick for seven. This hero allows you to stack slow, and since I’m going to recommend Putrid Bile for your 10th-level talent you’re going to want people moving as slowly as possible so you can keep them in the damage-over-time area for as long as possible. I think its important to note that a lot of new players go with Gorge for the 10th-level talent, which allows you to consume an enemy hero and carry it around with you. This might be great if you’re trying to gank someone by yourself like in other MOBAs, but HotS really focuses on team fights and capturing objectives. So while you might think you’re using this abomination to gank like in other MOBAs that simply isn’t the case.
Mid Game:
For your 13th-level talent I would go with Mega Smash. This keeps with the pattern of buffing your Slam ability. This is going to increase the range and the arc of the slam ability by 25 percent. With the other debuffs placed on this ability its going to be a great choice for a talent.
Late Game:
Pulverize is going to complement your other talent choices by landing a 75 percent slow on enemies for one second. This is great to use in a team fight because its going to add to the confusion and make it difficult for enemy heroes to chase allies and get last hits. Regenerative Bile is going to be a good pick for level 20. This will allow you to use your Putrid Bile ability for longer and also increases your movement speed. This is a great hero to use to give chase to fleeing enemies, so anything that increases movement speed is going to be a great choice here.
1/25/2016, 7:38p Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag – Video games have come a long way. To get from Pong to Call of Duty, the game industry has made huge leaps and bounds, not only in graphics and processing power but also in how we connect to the game. Game controllers have also come a long way from when this industry started. You wouldn’t want to play Call of Duty with a classic Atari controller unless you like poorly aimed hip-shots. The latest controllers let you move, change weapons, throw grenades, and perform many unique actions that the earlier controllers just couldn’t handle.
With a keyboard and mouse the limits are stretched further and can better support games with a more advanced interfaces like Arma 3 and Elite Dangerous. Such games have expansive key mapping menus; however, this can work against them by over complicating gameplay. Sometimes game controls can be so complex it slows players down from doing simple tasks – finding a good balance is always a challenge for players and game developers. We are ultimately limited by what we can do in game to the controls we use and our skill with them.
One way to get past this limitation is to add motion controls for increased functionality. The Wii popularized motion controls and has games that aren’t possible with a traditional controller like Wii Bowling, Tennis, and Baseball. Not only were those games successful, but they also had broken new ground, expanding gaming in a way that hadn’t been done before in older generations. Nintendo’s innovative motion controls made gaming simple and easy enough that nearly anyone could understand and enjoy it.
Touchscreens have expanded on this idea of simplifying user control and have been very successful. Smart phones and tablets have bred a whole new industry of gaming in the form of apps because of how easy touchscreens are to use. Gaming on a tablet or a smartphone has grown from being a novelty into something many people enjoy daily. The incredible success of the iPad can be attributed its ease of use – in the professional world as well as the classroom.
Now we have a new level of control with the Kinect and LEAP Motion Controllers. Unlike the Wii or a touchscreen, LEAP and Kinect are hands free and read your body’s position. Using such controls, you can play games not possible anywhere else like Block 54, a counterpart to the board game Jenga. New games are even being released to use motion controls with an Oculus VR headset like Tran;section and Hover Junkers.
One future of control beyond motion sensing is neural interface controls. Currently the technology is being developed for medical and military purposes with companies like Neurosky commercializing it. In the future we may see simulations like Ender Wiggin’s game in film Ender’s Game, where Ender has a tablet that reads his thoughts to control his avatar with them. Going even further the technology in the anime Sword Art Online and the film The Matrix have fully-immersive interfaces that not only read your mind but provide sensory feedback from inside the simulation. At this level of simulation, gaming will be more like a superpower fueled adrenaline rush or a real zombie apocalypse. The future of gaming is exciting and I look forward to our dreams becoming reality.
My coworker recommended Bone Tomahawk to me as we were discussing the recent release of The Hateful Eight. This latest film follows a Tarantino-esque typical shootemup style as well. The words my friend used were “it starts off like any old western and then changes to something far more extreme.” What follows is a cavalcade of missteps and western cliché that somehow mesh together into a watchable story that will leave you awestruck at times and laughing at others.
Films that fly under the radar are like little hidden treasures you discover unexpectedly. I also hadn’t really seen anything with significant gore in a while. I grew to love the “gory” genre at age 10 when my aunt used the word to describe Jurassic Park 2. The forewarned feeling I went in with only heightened my anticipation. My instincts proved correct and it proved to be a refreshing taste of the kind of gore that Steven Spielberg might enjoy.
A bright barren landscape invades the screen, a setting perfect for two bushwhackers; one played by David Arquette as the bumbling criminal sidekick that stumbles on a far more dangerous foe that unleashes hell upon a small town. Even he had the sense to advise his partner not to venture into “what looks like an Indian graveyard” as if he were no stranger horror movies. (He’s been in one if you recall.) But his complaints fall on deaf ears and the two flee deeper into the classically forbidding wilderness as all sacrificial characters do to escape something far less threatening. Of course, these kinds of poor decision-making skills lead to catastrophic consequences, in this case to a chain reaction that destroys the fragile society the hardworking civilized frontier folk have created.
As the dominoes fall Sheriff Hunt, played by Kurt Russell, is sucked into the vortex as he struggles to set things right in his straight-talkin’ swashbucklin’ lawmen style. Even he however contributes to the chaos by shooting Arquette in an effort to feel important by inflicting small town justice. Once the sheriff forms his posse which consists of four men (including the required desperado, an aging deputy, and a husband with a fractured leg), they embark with a justifiably less-than-confident manner to rescue the damsel in distress. Hunt’s main tool is the advantage of a cool head and intelligent planning against the marauders’ skills.
The troglodytes as they call them are a group of inhuman cannibals who parallel in some ways the mutated clan from The Hills Have Eyes, and inbred folk from Deliverance. The old John Wayne flick The Searchers follows similar story lines where desperate men will not give up in pursuit of their loved ones kidnapped by Comanche despite the heavy cloud hanging over their heads or the seeming futility of their mission.
The human side of these men is brought to the surface in various comedic scenes. Almost immediately the nerves from divergent personalities forged in rough frontier life are ground to a paste as Brooder (Matthew Fox) attempts to invoke his superior intelligence by stringing a tripwire around the camp to fend off intruders. When Deputy Chicory (Richard Jenkins) gets into an argument over who is in control Brooder wisely changes the tone by claiming his intelligence results from the fact he’s the only one there who isn’t widowed or married. Meanwhile, Arthur O’Dwyer (Patrick Wilson) appears to be slowing the posse with his gimp leg but they somehow ignore pesky realities such as that. His calm demeanor eventually explodes when he goes on a rant about all the ways in which his compatriots have led the group to a situation of near hopelessness before even reaching the kidnappers. Finally, the posse forges a bond as they near the Heart of Darkness and even Brooder allows the deputy to carry his handmade Hamburg telescope to pinpoint their destination.
Upon first encounter, the creatures issue bloodcurdling screams that I tried to mimic by inhaling air almost like a Pterodactyl. The ferocity of these behemoths matches their reputation. The audience and the heroes don’t even have time to prepare themselves when the villains appear out of thin air even after Brooder has scanned the area. The body count of Brooder’s life of fighting Indians is of little consequence against these monsters. Every bullet counts in this battle against the speed of the Bone Tomahawk wielding cannibals.
The gimpy hero isn’t about to let some troglodytes stand in the way of him and his bride. From the depths of despair he valiantly summons all his wits gained from years on the trail in a last ditch attempt to yank her from the jaws of defeat and cannibalistic fate; in an all or nothing foray in the underbelly of the demons lair. Truly a film unto itself that will certainly leave you with something memorable, Bone Tomahawk isn’t your typical Western. Even John Wayne and Jeremiah Johnson together would have trouble with the caretakers of this Indian Graveyard.
Written by: Tanner Banks 1/25/2016, 2:22p.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
Sometimes a game is just too good to not be made. And that means it might need a little help actually getting made. Kickstarter has helped fund thousands of projects that ranged from picture books about bugs to microconsoles made with a gutted smart phone (the infamous OUYA and its $8.6 MILLION campaign). However, these campaigns are a different breed. These indie-darlings were able to successfully raise the funds necessary to see an idea become reality. And when it came to these Steamy titles, reality was awesome. This top ten list was compiled based on fun, creativity, execution, polish, and the “it” factor. Few of these games hit every nail on the head, but those that did were phenomenal. That being said, let’s get going!
10. Among the Sleep
This unsettling platformer got a bit of a mixed reaction from the community. Some considered it to be more of a walking simulator, while others thought the restricted movement and lack of motor skills to be a great mechanic. While the ending came out of left field and certainly felt rushed, the game had great design to it. It was unsettling, the level design was punctuated with fantastic art design, and the sound (voice acting aside) was fantastic. It lacked in some places, but where it hit, it hit hard.
Funding Goal: $200,000
Amount Raised: $240,358
9. Sir, You Are Being Hunted
An open-world game where you are tasked with surviving the islands filled with murderous mustachioed mechanized men from Manchester. This survival game was filled with a dark charm and a pinch of horror for a delightful time. While the gameplay felt unfinished and the visuals lacked polish, the different levels of difficulty were perfectly designed and proper gentleman mode was a great challenge. The game felt satisfying and you truly felt vulnerable in a world filled with games that lack true challenge.
This action platformer felt like a coked-up twelve-year-old’s idea of a platformer after he watched too many sci-fi movies. And. It’s. Awesome. Carrying an overkill is underrated attitude, the clever level design and personality o’ plenty this game was just plain fun. However, the game wasn’t perfect. Some levels felt like total filler, and the art felt like the same as when it was on Kongregate. However this game is a great reminder that game designers need the occasional class in absurdity, and it did a lot with one of the smallest amounts raised on the list.
Funding Goal: $7,000
Amount Raised $26,068
7. Octodad: Dadliest Catch
This cartoony rager is an aneurysm waiting to happen. Built around intentionally terrible controls with an equally absurd premise, Octodad packs plenty of funny punch and a surprising amount of heart. While the game can be a blast with a friend to take turns of frustration with, the gameplay is certainly aimed at a niche group of sadists and masochists. While you won’t be busting out the ball gag, this game will definitely spank you for misbehaving with the controller.
Funding Goal: $20,000
Amount Raised: $24,320
6. Catlateral Damage
This is an absolute, 100%, unabashed homer pick solely because of my love of cats. And I do not care, either. This cute and cuddly romp around the world from a cats perspective is like cotton candy. Sweet, light, and a guilty pleasure. The only goal is to cause as big of a cat-tastrophy as possible with the different cats you can play as. (Yay, Fart-Cat.) Add the colorful art design, fun objectives, collectibles, catnip-induced acid trips, and disco mode, this game is purrrfect for all feline fans.
Funding Goal: $40,000
Amount Raised $61,944
5. Contagion
Yes, it’s another zombie shooter in a market already flooded by them. However, this one is really good. While you can play it by yourself, the co-op is where this game shines, in my opinion. Rather than stick with the running and screaming zombies of today, it chooses a methodical, George A. Romero tone with slow clambering corpses, and very little ammo. When you grab your friends to play with you, make sure you play Hunted mode.
Funding Goal: $50,000
Amount Raised: $87,384
4. Town of Salem
An online who dunnit where the ultimate experience is only a Skype call away. This game is surprisingly deep in terms of the strategy and has a great community around it. It feels like those old school board games you used to play with your family, and has that special… thing to it that makes the game addictive. It actually had two Kickstarters, the first barely made its goal, while the second almost quadrupled its goal, which is a testament to the game’s success.
1st Goal: $15,000
Amount Raised: $17,190
2nd Goal: $30,000
Amount Raised: $114,197
3. The Escapist
How this game did so much with so little is beyond me. Originally this game was going to be number five on the list but after looking back at the microbudget funding, it got bumped up a few spots. Filled to the brim with pop-culture references, the amount of ways you have to escape all the pre-made prisons is only surpassed by the levels that came from the Steam Workshop. This game feels polished, does everything right, and hits the marks for a great time with or without friends.
This game is hard. It’s unforgiving. It’s unfair at times. It’s creepy as hell. And kicks ass! This just released rogue-like dungeon crawler is one part business manager, one part RPG, and all parts awesome. The parts I listed that make a game great above? This does it all and more. From its gorgeous design, unsettling score, clever stress system, and the satisfaction from one nail-biting battle to the next. If you want a challenge, you’ve got one. If you were looking for a game that will have you ask what goes bump in the night, you found it. If you want to know the current favorite for indie game of the year, it’s this one. Fair warning, if you don’t like grinding, this might not be the game for you.
Funding Goal: $75,000
Amount Raised: $313,337
1. Shovel Knight
If ever a love letter were written of platformers of yore, it’d be Shovel Knight. This game is just so… good. It hits so many notes to create a symphony of gaming that only few can create. It’s a brilliant homage to classic games while also proving that it isn’t the nostalgia that makes this game great. The combat is smooth, the boss battles are fun, the platforming provides a challenge, and if you die, the only thing you have to worry about is trying to get your gold back. The only criticism I have for this game is that there isn’t more of it. I want more music, more levels, more bosses, more silly townsfolk, more dances with the Trouple King. I just. Want. More.
Funding Goal: $75,000
Amount Raised: $311,502
Wait… there’s a Plague Knight mode? Be right back….
Now we have a new level of control with the Kinect and 
