Hello! I am back again.

So, it’s been about 2 years since I updated this site. I’ve been really very lazy haven’t I?

Well, as well as starting a full-time history degree this year, I’ve jumped back into the world of miniature wargaming, as well as board games and card games. I still like videogames too, don’t worry! I just have less time for them now that I am often painting an evil robot soldier or a Soviet Lieutenant.

So what exactly have I wasted so much of my money on recently? Well, I’m glad you asked. For miniature games:

• Bolt Action (a 28mm world war 2 game), having purchased sizeable Soviet and German armies (also have a few Americans too).
• Warhammer Fantasy Battles. So I know this game is officially dead as of a few months ago when Age of Sigmar came out, but I honestly much prefer it to it’s newer iteration. I’ll talk in detail about my feelings about Age of Sigmar at a later date most likely, but suffice to say that I like old Warhammer and am keen to give the community-made 9th-Age a try. I collect Skaven and High Elves.
• Warhammer 40k – not gotten too much back into this, but I have a large amount of old Space Marines and Necrons in my cupboards that I’ve painted a few more of and bought a few more minis for.
• Dropzone Commander. This is a 10mm sci-fi wargame that I really like and have bought a little bit of, but have been unable to find anyone willing to play as of yet. Oh well! Hopefully that will change soon.
• Star Wars Armada. A disappointing lack of painting (although I do plan to paint my squadrons eventually) and fairly huge price-points: but by God it’s a fun game. This has also been the easiest one to get other people interested in playing, probably because it’s a bit simpler than most miniature games and the theme.

What else? Oh yes there are lots of board games. These are much simpler and easier to get people to play, and also most of the time allow for more than 2 players, which is nice. I won’t list everything I own or have played, but particular favourites include Machi Koro, Galaxy Truckers, and Betrayal at House on the Hill. Board games are just a nice way to spend time with friends!

Also card games! I got into Android: Netrunner due to a lovely friend who introduced me to it, but I’ve also gone back to Magic: The Gathering. It may or may not be an amazing game, but I love making decks and opening booster packs. It’s an expensive habit to be sure, but one I like to indulge in.

So yes, hello, I am here again. I will probably talk about videogames too at some point. Glad to be back!

Space Marine!?

I’ve been playing that Space Marine game that came out recently. And it’s quite good.

It’s a hyper-violent little jaunt through a small corner of the insane Warhammer 40k universe – a universe I have more than a little soft spot for, since I used to play the real-life plastic and metal toys thingy when I was a younger lad. I’d say that the best thing about this game is that it’s really surprisingly faithful to the source material – Space Marines are capable of killing hundreds of Orks each, something that this game gets right where most do not: it remains true enough to the background (even, ironically enough, the physical wargame doesn’t) to allow Space Marines to be the insane post-human killing machines they actually are supposed to be.

The weight behind all your actions is really quite satisfying – you feel like you are controlling a big bloke in a big suit of big armour. The guns are all meaty and satisfying (especially some of the heavier ones – Heavy Bolters and Autocannons are insane), and melee is absurdly visceral. The health mechanics also work quite well – you have a regenerating armour bar, but the only way to recover health is to perform execution moves or use your rage ability – essentially, you need to get stuck into melee at least every once in a while, and I think that’s basically a good thing – how else are you going to cover your armour with ludicrous amounts of guts?

The story isn’t particularly inspired – although I will say that the ending is a fittingly bleak one, considering the setting. Voice acting is fine, and the CG acting is surprisingly good – faces look really nice in this engine, and they animate quite well. Level design is pretty lame if you ask me, it’s essentially a series of corridors connecting a series of arenas; perfectly serviceable, but nothing particularly inspiring.

It’s also a very short game with an oddly non-working multiplayer (although I gave up trying after it didn’t work once, so perhaps I just have no stamina). Not great value for money on the longevity front, true, but it does have the virtue of being the first game in a little while that I’ve actually completed. Yeah, go me!