- Posts: 16929
- Thank you received: 10375
- Forum
- /
- The Salon
- /
- Article Discussions
- /
- Barnes on Games- Psycho Raiders in Review, Samurai, Defenders of the Realm Revisited, Champions of Midgard
Bugs: Recent Topics Paging, Uploading Images & Preview (11 Dec 2020)
Recent Topics paging, uploading images and preview bugs require a patch which has not yet been released.
Barnes on Games- Psycho Raiders in Review, Samurai, Defenders of the Realm Revisited, Champions of Midgard
- Michael Barnes
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Mountebank
- HYPOCRITE
Ladies and Gentlemen, the best horror game ever published.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Michael Barnes
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Mountebank
- HYPOCRITE
- Posts: 16929
- Thank you received: 10375
I played it again last night and had a grand time...but the whole time I'm looking at these figures, the fonts, the map...and just shaking my head at it. It is hilariously inept- and it's not even a Kickstarter game!
It really does feel more like a DoaM than Pandemic does.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
EGG is one of the few publishers in my blacklist. They have several really good games, but is really stingy when it comes to graphic design and art.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- SuperflyPete
- Offline
- Salty AF
- SMH
- Posts: 10733
- Thank you received: 5119
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
I was shocked at how much I love Samurai. Nice review, if I didn't already own it that write up would certainly pique my curiosity. First time I played it I could tell right away this was a keeper. Very solid game, a little heady and abstract but wonderfully tense and thematic enough. I find that I've played so many games now that it's reasonably easy for me to get theme out of something (setting too really, but art helps more in that case). I could probably play a pure abstract and still feel enough theme there to keep my imagination going. Once those synapses start firing in that way you're able to feel theme from the simplest of rule sets, because you're used to looking for it and the short hand implies the language we're used to. In any case I absolutely adore it.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Posts: 1478
- Thank you received: 609
I've reversed my opinion on the production values of DotR. It's so over the top bad that I get off on it now. I'll just snicker when I look at it. That's the best case scenario I guess... Ok, the "jazz hands" dragons really make me grumble but I never use them.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
I just bought Chaos in the old World for $30 so I'm hoping that crushes my desire to jump into the Cthulhu Wars kickstarter.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- hotseatgames
- Away
- D12
- Posts: 7162
- Thank you received: 6270
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Speaking of purchases, I bought 'Psycho Raiders' after last week's glowing thread. We played two games on Wednesday evening. I believe the hype may have left me disappointed. This game could be great, but instead I feel it's just good.
- The soundtrack/radio station is a fab idea. But in practice, it's web design it pretty weak and the music is more miss than hit. I felt the same about LNoE's sound. "Meh."
- A magazine game is an awesome, old school, retro approach. I have much love for the gonzo fluff. However, the cards are horribly sized for contemporary gamers. The card stock is fine, as is the finish. It's the size that frustrates. The game may only be $24, but you know what? I wanna sleeve my cards. Because BEER. I can't sleeve the cards because they are some unholy size maximized to the 8.5 x 11" sheet. You say, "Just crop them Drew!" Well, I can't do that because the stats are usually at the margin or bleed line. Christ. It would have taken five minutes for the designer to compress or reformat the images to allow a small margin.
- The rulebook is arranged in an index format. Not my favorite, but I can work with it. The worst however;
- The map. It sucks. Like it or not, 'Psycho Raiders' is a tactical game. Tactical games need distinct spaces. Don't pass off a hex map with a tree line that covers 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, and 3/4 of a hex. WTF is it? It's kind of important to know when you're running for your life. The same with the road. Is that space On Road, or Off Road? You say, "Drew! Just take a marker and make the distinctions yourself!" The hell with that. Design an illustration that follows gameplay. And while I'm at it: IT'S TOO GOD DAMN DARK! I appreciate the need for atmosphere, but when you can't tell if you're in a shadow, or a tree, or whatever - the form does not follow function, and it's a fuck up. The designers can play cute and make remarks about it in the rules, but its unacceptable. Pay for a proof next time fellas. I'm playing the game with four other professional artists and we're like, "how did this thing get past copy?"
Negatives aside, we loved the illustrations and the game generated a lot of laughs. Three days later, and we're still screwing with each other during work. "RAAAAANDY! I can see you hiding in the woods!" It's a lot of fun, but maddening that simple steps could have made it outstanding. Nice write up MB.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- UniversalHead
- Offline
- D4
- EOG
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Forum
- /
- The Salon
- /
- Article Discussions
- /
- Barnes on Games- Psycho Raiders in Review, Samurai, Defenders of the Realm Revisited, Champions of Midgard