May B&B Update

It's a cold, dark and wet day today, so what better time for an update.

 

The greys did not work as well as I had hoped.

With the completion of Rowan the rabbit into the Kindred Warband, this completes the starting line up. As for what the warband's name and backstory goes, I'm still working on that one, but will update more on them as it evolves. For now, the starting line up I feel works well enough for what I want them to do.

 

 Emrick, Rowan, Barnard (Leader), Irving and Conner (second in command)

If there is one thing I have learned form working on these last two miniatures for the Kindred, is that I really need to lighten up on the bases. Over crowding them with lots of grass and flowers tends to make it look cluttered and mismatched. Hopefully, future models will have a more balanced basing when it comes to working on them and will try to limit each allegiance to only using a couple of types of grass and flowers, blending them in batter and not giving the feeling that makes some patches look out of place.

Opinionated Look At: Mouse P.I. For Hire

So here was a game I had not thought I would be talking about, yet here I am. I must admit, I wasn't keen on what was shown, though it was more down to the disappointment of games that used these classic looking animation visuals and failed shooters. I would have completely forgotten about it, had a few months before release more trailers and adverts began appearing in my feeds and for some reason, I suddenly found my curiosity get the better of me and felt I had no choice but to give it a chance.

I thought I'd end up feeling disappointed playing it, I was so wrong.

I've played just under 28 hours of this game at this point and haven't regretted a single second of it and is already my main contender for game of the year. 

The game play has been enjoyable, with much of it focused on combat, which involves a mixture of movement and shooting. If you've played any shooter in recent years, then this might feel familiar enough and the variety of weapons are decent enough. About the only real issue I have with some of it is more how some weapons get obtained more so towards the end of the game, with some feeling not feeling as useful over others. Then again, that may be because those useful ones you can get early on into the game. You will also be using your tail to do a number of lockpicking puzzles, some harder then others and you only get one real shot to get it right (make sure you save, as if you mess up and want it open, you will have to load to a save before you pick the lock). You will also gain new abilities as you go through various levels, so there is some platforming involved.

For me though, combat is fine enough, but it isn't something that makes or breaks a game for me. Indeed, it is everything else about this game that has really drawn my in. I find the world of Mouse P.I to have enough world building and locations to not make the locations you travel around from feeling like it's all the same. The Noir black and white (though it's really shades of grey) style as a story about a 1930's private detective (and former war veteran) is rather well done in a cartoon world filled with gangsters, crooked cops and even cultists. A simple story of a missing magician turns into a twisted case of missing shrews, a murdered actress and an ever growing political group known as the Big Mouse Party. The best way to describe it is more an action detective story.

The characters are interesting, though I feel more could have been done with them (then again, it just might be that I just really want to know more about them and the world itself). Towards the latter part of the game they do get more what I would call 'screen time' and you do slowly get to know them better as the game goes on through optional conversations and side quests. I do recommend spending the time to do this, as not only does help you better understand those characters, but side quests do have some slight rewards to them.

Then there is the music and it is amazing. It is, for the most part, a Jazz soundtrack that is everything I wanted, with some slow parts for those detective moments, with the big swing for those big moments and action scenes. I've lost track of how many times I've listed to the soundtrack (I got the digital deluxe edition, which came with the soundtrack) with some of my favourite tracks being Mozzarella Massacre, A Case Like No Other, Jack Pepper's Theme, Blue Night's in Vaudeville etc. In fact, it's one of those soundtracks for my where instead of the question of 'what is your favourite track?', it is more like 'which is your least favourite track?' as it is impossible for me to pick one it is that good. There are obviously some tracks that were not added in, either because it gives away some points or because it's obviously licensed music. Regardless, I'll be listening to it well into the future (do you know how hard it is to find a good Jazz soundtrack).

As before, the visuals are great, with a mixture of 2D characters and certain visuals in what is a 3D environment. The animation is also something to point out, from the weapon and death animations to the health and ammo characters that appear on the bottom screens. It certainly shows the classic cartoon feel to the whole experience. I have seen mods that add colour to the game, but for me I won't use them as it just takes away from the overall visual experience (and the colour choices are somewhat questionable for some of the characters and locations). Stick with the old style I say.

 Overall, this has been an amazing game for me to play and I will keep playing it, both to 100% the achievements and because I just enjoy it overall. As such, it is my heavily biased opinion that you buy this game and play it. Jokes aside, give this game a look in and if you feel it is something you might like, then I do recommend giving it a go. 

 

A Short March Update

There is a lot going on, but finally did get another model done for the Kindred warband in Burrows & Badgers. He was given a light shield, but this proved a slight problem as when going through my collection of bits, I could only find a single shield, which I believe was from an old warhammer Beastmen sprue. Given how many years have past since I haven't collected bits, it seems I am officially out of small shields. Thankfully, this was the only model in my collection that actually needed it as part of a starting warband.

And yes, I am aware the camera focused on the shield and blurred the face, it was taken in haste.

Just need to finish the Rabbit from one of the starter sets and I'll have my Kindred starting warband ready to go. As for who else joins afterwards, I'll try to have more done, hopefully before the end of the year. After all, me and my brother have put in our orders for the Starcraft miniatures game and we will have to spend some time putting together and painting a bunch of minis to play (I'm running Zerg, though I am looking forward to Stukov and the Infested Marines, which is my fav group to play in the Co-op games we play in SC2). 

Merry Jupiter Everyone

I Love Classic 80's Cartoon Franchises in Games

I have no idea how this whole thing started, perhaps it was the success of TMNT: Shredder's Revenge that kicked it off. But however it happened, I love it.

I recently played the demo of the Toxic Crusaders game and it certainly has the feel of the show, despite a few character changes. While it may feel a little less compared to say, Streets of Rage 4, it was enjoyable for me to play and that is enough. I look forward to playing the full game when it it released and have enjoyed listening to the soundtrack (which was released before the game. Guess they did plan to release the game, but held it back either to work on it more or to just avoid competing with the Marvel Cosmic Invasion game that was being released at a similar time).

The idea that developers are taking franchises from the 80's and 90's and are trying to make games that still have a certain feel or respect for them is very much appreciated. The reveal of the Samurai Pizza Cats game with what appears to be many of the original voice actors was so unexpected that I couldn't believe it. While it isn't the usual style of game compared to many of the other franchises that are being made into games, it certainly is interesting enough that I will defiantly be following it.

There are still plenty of other franchises to pull from. Heck, we had arcade games back then for such shows like Bucky O'Hare and Wild West: The C.O.W-Boys of Moo Mesa. I imagine the licenses for those franchises to make a game would be easier to get then that of TMNT or Marvel. I know there is a He-man game in the works and that just screams classic 80's, so looking forward to giving that one a go too.

I look forward to see what other classic franchises will be brought back into games. As long as those developers a fans and put the care into it, things should be bright for those looking for a little nostalgia in these unsettling times.  

Still here....still collecting stuff

So yeah, this year has been a rough one, but there are always things to look forward too. While things have slowed down once again in the painting department, it hasn't stopped me from building a collection.

I have slowly built up a number of warbands for Burrows & Badgers for a number of Allegiances. These include:

• Freebeasts (the Mosston Village River Defenders)
• Undead (Lord Alessandro Von Ottington the Second's crew)
• Arcane Conclave
• Witch Hunters
• Hillfolk
• Kindred (Barnard's new crew)

Most are either at 10 models or close too it, so I only need a few more to finish these groups. There are also a few now models Oathsworn has planned in the future and so would like to add them to my Undead and Witch Hunter warbands when they get release. I've also got a few buildings from the Oathsworn range, along with looking at getting some vegetables from various miniature railway ranges to make a small set of farm options. I still have my swamp gaming mat from my Malifaux games, but want to get a few more options and sizes. Still looking for grass and snow gaming mats, but they aren't as easy to get or when I do find one, are even in stock in Australia. Something I'll look into next year.

I've also had my eye on a number of other skirmish miniature games, the main one being Marvel Crisis Protocol. I have enough of a range right now to choose from, along with various terrain and a city streets gaming mat. Needless to say, I'm glad that a few of my long time favourite Marvel characters (Squirrel Girl, Gambit and Rogue) have already got models, but it's now made me more interested in researching into the other characters in the Marvel universe to get a better idea of who they are and should I consider them to add to my personal collection. I've certainly grown attached to Man-Thing and find that the 10 models you need to pick your mission crew from seems way too small for all the characters I want to add. They are all assembled and undercoated, but so far I have only started working on a couple of models.

It's strange, but after using Citadel paints for years, I now find myself moving away from them and more so to other brands. Certainly the Wraithbone undercoat spray I have found is rather thick compared to other brands and their contrast paints just don't do it for me. Currently, my main brand I'm using is the Warpaints range, and so far, I'm liking them a lot. With such a variety of paint brands and colours to choose from now, it's much easier for me to start branching out with different brands and see how well they work. Hopefully once all these heat waves calm down I can try to get back into some serious painting again.

Not everything has been great. Certainly had issues with Dice Heads, who's game Zoontails is a good game to play, but how they handled their last Kickstarter I backed was done so very poorly and as such, I won't be supporting them anymore. Still, there are many other options these days, so I'll focus on those ones instead.

Burrows and Badgers update 4

So finally finished the Undead starting warband. As it stands, these are the models will be used, though if more Stable Ghasts get made before I run this crew then I'll work the list around adding one as the second in command.

Leading them is the (former) Lord Alessandro Von Ottington the Second, a once noble (if heavily flawed) Paladin of a holy order who was cowardly (his words) murdered out of jealousy. The truth is more that he was a somewhat ruthless individual who tended to upset other noble families, but more so his own. He was 'removed' due to the risk he posed and for the safety of all around him. That was a long time ago and when his corpse suddenly woke up one day, he felt the need to seek revenge, if not for his murder then for the fact he was dumped and buried in a ditch and not in the family crypts.

So far the only other character named is his second in command, a Stable Ghast (who is currently the Mist-Ghast fox model), who goes by the name Sir Gradee. Lore wise, Sir Gradee will represent Lord Ottington's right hand man and the one who carries out his Lords orders with a cruelty that is second only to that of Lord Ottington himself. The Mist Ghasts themselves don't have names as they are just servants to Lord Ottington and he cares not to learn the names of such simple servants.

While this may seem like a rather evil and dark crew, they are mostly played up as a joke. Despite all his power and his arrogant nature, he is sort of a bumbling fool who's original downfall was because he was too blinded by his own entitled and vain view of himself. Death hasn't changed that and if anything, has only made it worse. Sir Gradee is smarter and more capable, but his unquestioning loyalty to his Lord means that even when successful, Ottington's own plans still fail to some degree.

While I'm slowly accepting of the flames I've painted, I thing the ground lighting is still terrible. This is just part of learning to accept my limitations and just appreciating that I managed to complete a project. This time I actually remembered to take note of all the paints I used so that when I eventually do start to add more Mist-Ghasts down the road, I know which colours I used in this project (Sorry, photo still isn't as good as it should be. Probably need better lighting setup). 

A big thank you to Michael Lovejoy, who was able to answer my questions about Stable Ghasts and now that I have had it confirmed that they can use magic and ranged weapons, I feel even more excited to see just what I can do with this Warband. I'd like to play this allegiance as more of a misadventures series of events, where the games feel like that if win or loose, it's the story that plays out that is the real joy to be had.