Are We There Yet!?
Planechase First Impressions

Planes on a Plane

Magic: the Gathering is a game seeped in flavor. With the release of Planechase,Wizards of the Coast has created a brand new way to play Magic: the Gathering, and an undeniable link to the most powerful people in the Multiverse - the Planeswalkers. Now you, as a player of the trading card game, can planeswalk throughout your battle with another player.

Planes are just like any other Magic card, with a few exceptions. The back looks different, and the cards are in beautiful landscape format, with lovely landscape art to go with it. They're also the size of two regular Magic cards placed side-by-side - the same size as the old Vanguard cards, for all of us old people out there. Plane cards, when played from a side-deck, go to the "command zone" and act like the Enchant World cards from back in the birthing throes of Magic. These cards represent a part of a Plane - and represent the place where you, as a Planeswalker, are having your battle.

Planes are not permanents; in a sense, they're the foundation on which all other permanents come from. Planeswalkers used to have the power to create and destroy realms, but after the Mending, their power has since been limited. It makes sense that planes are not able to be affected by the game you're playing on them. The only way to interact with planes are through a six-sided dice, known as, you guessed it, the planar die. Four of its sides are blank, but two very important sides trigger effects that will dramatically alter the game.

The first side (side one, if you care to call it that) is the plane face, which triggers the movement from one plane to the next. The other marked side (side six, respectively) is the chaos face, and it triggers a plane's "chaos ability" which is annotated at the bottom of a Plane's textbox with the chaos symbol. These chaos abilities are quite powerful - many of them totally game-altering. Rolling the dice is a matter of paying some mana. Each time you roll the dice, you pay 1 mana for each of the rolls that came before it. This means your first planar die roll is free, the second costs 1 mana, the third costs 2 mana, and so on. This simple rules introduction is all you need to get started on your planar road trip.

Casual Multiplayer Evolves

When I was a younger player, I used to sit down with a group of four or five friends with a pizza and a 2-liter of Coke, and play Magic all night long. These games were ridiculous - people were taking extra turns with Timesifter, Flinging Krosan Cloudscrapers, and attacking with thousands of Insect tokens. These games would have been even more fun with the addition of Planes. This is obviously the intent of the Planechase format. The chaotic design of the Planes and the rules from moving to and from them, as well as their suitability for multiplayer, should make them quick favorites around the kitchen table.

Their applications are endless in casual formats outside of the Planechase rules: what if you only stayed in one spot the entire game, or what if you could only travel between a few different planes? You could develop entire decks that take advantage of the planes more fully or make some pretty neat multiplayer decks. That's just the first thing to come to mind. The use of Planes give casual a whole new set of tools to work with, and make the game enjoyable.

The decks that come with the Planechase decks aren't that bad either. I love the list for Elemental Thunder (although I think I'd add a few more Smokebraiders), and the Metallic Dreams deck could be tuned to be quite powerful. These decks have obviously been built in order to showcase the strength of the Planes they come with, but it seems like it would be a lot of fun to mix and match the Planes with different decklists. Players who love deckbuliding can go crazy with decklists that abuse his own planes and also do well with other players planes. It's a win-win situation for deckbuilding enthusiasts.

Planeswalking: It's Not Just For Multiplayer!

The Planechase rule set is similar to the old "Chaos Magic" variant that was a part of the Apprentice system (another reference for you old people). Most of the marketing and buzz around Planechase is that it's going to be a fun addition to those massively multiplayer chaos games, where everyone sits down with their favorite deck, and crazy things happen. However, many of you older players are probably saying, "Apprentice was a two-man only system," and you're right. If Chaos Magic was fun with two players (and it is quite fun) then I can definitely see the Planechase rules set being fun in a one on one dual as well. The planes are all different, but many of them can be used to help certain decks more than others. I can imagine (and anticipate) playing a one on one match against a friend, and wondering whether its more important to play a spell or try to escape from my opponent's powerful plane card.

While it's a little more chaotic than most "serious" players would like for a regular dual, the Planes cards you'll get from purchasing a Planechase deck can definitely be added to any type of Magic. Whether its Elder Dragon Highlander, Prismatic, or Pauper games, Planes can add a brand new spice to your favorite brand of Magic.

While players can develop their decks strategically to take advantage of their Plane side-deck, strategy really isn't job #1 for Planechase. With all the dice rolling you'll be doing, it's clear that the Planechase addition relies a lot on luck. And that's where the fun lies - not knowing what's going to happen next and anticipating the game's control swinging wildly around. Its what made Chaos Magic so much fun, and what makes massively multiplayer casual games so popular with Magic players.

The Big Experiment and the Magic Online Question

Planechase could effectively be called Wizards of the Coast's "Big Experiment" for a few reasons - they've developed a product specifically for the casual, tabletop crowd that doesn't necessarily go to tournaments, and who don't always purchase a lot of cards. These casual players use the same decks over and over again and some hardly ever change. For this reason, Planechase is a bit of a gamble. Will players get the concepts and purchase the decks?

The major point to keep in mind here is that if players who like the concept don't buy into the Planechase format, Wizards has no motivation to continue to do work like this. Expansions with new planes, new alternate formats, and other "cool" content may not be produced, because it doesn't make money. Wizards of the Coast, as cool as a business as it is, is still a business. It has to devote its energies into creating products that sell well. That's why if you, as a player, like the concept of the Planechase format, you need to go out and buy a deck. Money is your largest vote of approval.

Interestingly enough, many of the casual players on Magic: the Gathering Online have been clamoring to play Planechase. The Vanguard variant has a semi-strong following, and those players, as well as players of other casual formats, are very active on Magic: Online. Wizards has yet to say whether or not the Planechase format will make its way to Magic: Online, but for now, it looks like it won't until they fix the UI for the Multiplayer version of Magic: Online. To this I say - get to work, code monkeys! I think that it is a fairly bad move on Wizards' part to not have the multiplayer UI fixed by now, especially if they are releasing multiplayer-themed products. Magic: Online is just as much a group of Magic players as the paper community. They should have access to the same cards, and you'd probably see a good return on adding the game variant to Magic: Online.

With all the details now revealed, it's quite apparent that Planechase is going to be an exciting new format for casual Magic players. If the Release events September 4-6th were any indicator, Planechase will hopefully be something Wizards continues to support. Pick up a deck at your friendly local game store, and get ready to Planeswalk. It's going to be a blast.

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Why pay, when there's "Print and Play"?

So in July I brought you an article about my recent foray into the world of Print and Play (PnP) games, and even hit you up with a few of my favourites. Shortly after we released that article, one of my work colleges caught me playing a game of Pocket Civ during my lunch break and inquired about it.

What followed was a half-an hour conversation about the game, which dove-tailed into the world of PnP games. The conversation wasn’t anything too special, but it was the question that ended it which I want to bring up:

“If there are all these games out there for free; why do we bother paying for board games at the shops?”

Wow... Let me tell you; this question floored me. I simply could not give him a decent answer. Every point I rationalized in my head immediately got shot down by some point or virtue of the PnP world. In the end I gave him the answer we’re trained to give at work in this situation:

“You know what; that’s a great question. Unfortunately I don’t have an answer for you right now; but I’m going to get you one.”

Since then, I’ve been mulling this question over and over in my head; trying to find some balanced answer which would sum up the reasons behind purchase over print. To be honest, I’m still working on that answer. That is where this article comes in – I’m going to talk the matter out.

Aesthetics

Whenever I’m scouting around for a new game, I’m looking for something that grabs my attention and holds it long enough for me to pick the box off the shelf and read the blurb printed on the game cover – I’m sure it’s the same for most of you guys and gals out there as well.

When I think back to the games I’ve purchased, they have all had some interesting detail or quirk to their box design/artwork which has gotten me over the first hurdle of “peeked interest”.

But then, when it comes to the PnP world, we get websites, forums and user-submitted reviews as our means of attention grabbing – and whilst I’m sure a pretty piece of artwork will shift a few units off the shelf; I assure you that third party assurances work better. To support my argument; how many of you RP’ers out there started out because a friend brought you into the fold? How many of you went out and bought Fallout 3 because your older brother was always going on about the first two? How many of you watched Borat because your friends were making quotes and inside jokes? How many of you started listening to System of a Down because your mates declared their records as “Awesome!”?

Asides from my weakly phrased lines in the previous statement, I feel my point is made – 'Word of Mouth' is one of the greatest marketing tools out there, and PnP games thrive on it.

Piece Design

Anyone who’s ever looked at a board game can tell you that Fantasy Flight Games make a good looking board; that Mayfair Games release some generally good components, and Games Workshop dice are sturdy, dependable things. We all accept that we’re paying £40/$60 for a board game because the components are of a good quality and will last for years to come.

Back track here a minute; why do you need a component to last that long? Surely replacing them wouldn’t be that hard right? In most cases you’d be wrong; though the small press companies are much better at this then the multi-national giants like Mayfair Games.

Let’s be honest; aren’t we all just a little tired of paying £2-4 per game just to get another D6 or two? I mean sure, if the dice have unique faces, I can see the point, but even us RP’ers have to call “stop” on all these extra dice.

Now with PnP, the components aren’t designed to be life-long durable things; they are easily replaceable – just grab a sheet of card/paper, print, cut and glue. What this means is that if I drag a game out of storage to play a few rounds and find that I’m missing a few pieces; I can easily just replace them then and there, rather then wait two to three “working weeks” for my new components just to shift from the warehouse to my “local distribution agent”.

I’ll tell you another thing: money doesn’t always buy talent and skill, it just buys end product. Case in point: Monopoly. I love the game for its’ simple mechanics and universal appeal, but have you seen the crimes otherwise known as “spin-offs” or “special editions” we’re being pawned these days? Why the hell would I want to play “Star Wars: The Monopoly Game”? I don’t remember Darth Vader paying the electric bill on his Death Star during Return of the Jedi.

Originality

The first time I saw Word-Boggle I though it was a great idea for a game – I’m a little bit of a word geek; sue me. I can also remember a time when Trivial Pursuit seemed elegantly designed and well-crafted. Then I saw the three rip-offs and the universe full of spin-offs and special editions; for some reason my view became a little bit jaded at that point.

To be fair, there are only so many things you can include in a board game, but great design and originality comes from how you implement these aspects into the overall product – It’s the Magic vs. WoW TCG argument; they both have many aspects similar to one another, but each has enough unique variants and flavours to stand apart from one another.

The same is true of PnP games – Whilst a particular theme might be played to death -- Zombies for example -- you can find such varied takes and different playing styles based upon that theme in a relatively small amount of time.

The reverse is also true; many games share a very similar base model, but tailor the system to fit with the new theme applied – Zombie in my Pocket and all its’ little children are great examples of this fact. They all spawn from the same point yet arrive at very different locations, giving the player enough variance to play a couple of the games to find their own knish.

Theme

It is true that we are all suckers for a good theme – I always fall for anything with massive amounts of Violence, Asian chicks, Horror or Strategy personally; if two or more of these things are featured then I stand little chance of resisting the pull.

Its’ also true that commercial games will obtain the license to a movie theme long before the public masses will ever know about it; in any great detail beyond rumours at least. This means that should you be a Star Wars Fan boy (Okay, bad example – most people are) and you’ve just got to have a game to complete your collection, then the commercial market is the place to go.

Yet again, this comes down to value over cost. I’ve played a few movie buy-in games in my life and as yet, I have yet to find a decent one (though I have a good feeling about the Battlestar Galactica board game). It’s the same issue with video games; all buy-ins are designed to create revenue from the theme/movie. Its’ a sad but true fact, but when a projects main object is profit, quality loses out.

So what happens when someone designs the game themselves as homage to the film/band/book? The main object becomes representation and simulation of the material and this should mean that a better product is produced. I accept that this is not always the case since there are bad PnP games out there as well. However the intention and thinking process behind the project is more genuine and honest than most companies can achieve.

I guess what I’m saying in this point is this: who would you rather co-authored the storyline for a Firefly Roleplay system: Joss Whedon or M. Night Shyamalan?

Closing

As you can see, my mind is going back and forth like a tennis ball during a match so I’m personally no closer to answering this question conclusively. There are merits to both sides; and whilst I have taken a stance of promoting PnP games here, I still continue to buy published games and don’t see myself stopping any time soon.

Which leads me to my own question; what’s your take on the whole situation? Are you Pro-Published or Pro-PnP? Maybe somewhere between the members in the community, I can find the answer.

Until next time gamers, keep rolling those dice.

Mark Manning
Deeply Contemplative

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Not To Be Over Thought
'Far Arden' A Fun Adventure

All too often I read comics that take themselves far too seriously. This tends to be the case with a medium which constantly attempts to reinvent itself as it matures. So, it is nice every once in a while to sit back with a fun, and genuinely funny, book that expresses a poignant message. That’s where “Far Arden,” the first solo effort by comic artist Kevin Cannon (WildStorm’s “Top Ten” and “T-Minus”), comes in.

What is it?

“Far Arden” is the story of Army Shanks, a man on the run from the Royal Canadian Army in search of the mystical lost island of Far Arden. Most of the story chronicles Shanks’ adventure through the arctic north as he encounters people from his past, including an ex-lover, three of his former schoolmates and a young child whom Shanks first met a lifetime ago. The adventure that follows is a series of stops which help explain Shanks’ search and provide a surprisingly rich backdrop of the character’s world.

An interesting fact about the story is that most of the book was written at blazing speed by Cannon, which explains why the story tends to be all over the place. I recently ran into the cartoonist at Chicago ComicCon and he told me that he was working on “Far Arden” as part of a 24-hour-comic challenge, in which a 24 page comic is created in 24 hours. His challenge for this book was to do a full length graphic novel in 288 hours. Cannon said that the schedule just about killed him, but it was a fun experience. I suppose its an interesting story to tell at parties and other social gatherings.

What works?

The story is propelled through non-stop action, which surprised me because on the surface it is a comedy. The story’s humor is genuine, usually relying on absurd situations and ridiculous characters that often put me in mind of indie sensation “Scott Pilgrim.” As well as blending comedy and adventure, Cannon also achieves a dark and brooding conclusion, one that seems to question our preconceived notion of heroism and the goals we set for ourselves. I don’t really want to go any further than that, but some readers may be surprised by the final chapters.

Lastly, Cannon’s art choices put me in mind of the underground comics’ work of R. Crumb (“American Splendor” and “Fritz the Cat”), relying on heavy inks and grotesque characters. For some, this choice could be a turn off, but I thought it worked well -- even if it took some getting used to.

What doesn’t work?

On the surface, “Far Arden” is a comedy that also wants to be an action adventure book and even a thriller. It is not as if the story is bi-polar, because it does work well to bring these aspects together, but there are points where I was scratching my head asking, “what does this book want to be?” In the same way that I thought this book felt like Bryan Lee O’Malley’s “Scott Pilgrim,” I also felt as if it tried too hard to capitalize on that same kind of humor, which is almost impossible because Army Shanks is as far from a title character as the Punisher is from Spider-Man. On top of that, Shanks tends to overshadow the rest of the cast, which leaves the reader with a mess of unexplored characters. Secondly, the artwork will be a real hurdle for many readers. I will admit that I picked up the book because I was intrigued by the artwork on the hardcover, however the interiors leave something to be desired. This was not a huge problem for me, but I sometimes look past art if I find myself loving the story. This tends to be the case with comics. Not every book can have the greatest art, and the art needs to be suitable for the book. “Far Arden’s” visuals definitely fit the tone, but I cannot, in good conscious, say it is for everyone.

Conclusion

“Far Arden” is a story that you need to allow yourself to get lost in. In the same way that the book doesn’t take itself too seriously, neither should the reader. And if you are thinking that I am giving the book a free ride, you may be right. Yes, there are some problems with it, but I had a really damn good time reading it, as I imagine is the case for many people who are flipping through this 400-plus page book. Which brings me to another topic: cost. “Far Arden” is $20.00, a relative steal for the amount of story you get. You can also read the entire book at kevincannon.org. I recommend it as a fun read for a long weekend, and as a must read for long time comic fans who are getting worn down by all the event books and deaths in mainstream comics. Don’t over analyze it, just have a good time.

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An Expansion Too Far
Expandable Content in Games: The Rights and Wrongs

As a child of the digital age, it never ceases to amaze me how we are able to obtain and learn so much easier then our elders, simply due to the progressive rate of technology. The main area that always strikes a cord with me the most is the home games console: being born in the mid-eighties means I was there when Atari was the main producer of consoles and games still came on audio cassettes (Oh Dizzy the Egg, how I miss you).

Of course we soon moved on from there and eventually move into a new world of Sega and Nintendo; and of the cartridges. I can remember having to “eject and blow” my copy of Super Mario World every time I wanted to play it; and I can also remember what I would call the first piece of expandable content in Video Games – Sonic and Knuckles.

This was an amazing bit of kit back in the day; for the first time (that I can recall at least) we had an extra length of game play without the need to change a cartridge or CD. It was seamless – were you to approach a copy of Sonic and Knuckles with Sonic 3 plugged in without having played the original version I would defy you to notice the addition. Moreover, it was worth it. Oh sure, you got no new levels, only a new character and a small alteration to the storyline, but when it’s all said and done, the alteration in play style that Knuckles brought to the Sonic franchise was well received and loved by both the series existing fan-base and new comers.

So what happened between now and then that has given rise to a stream of poorly made or weakly implemented expansion packs and download add-ons? I’m not saying everything between Sonic and Knuckles and Fallout 3 has been bad. but I’m seeing a definite trend in lack of quality.

Let’s take the aforementioned Fallout 3 and its brother Oblivion; both produced by Bethesda, a long run titan of the strategy/real-time genre. As a whole, they make a good product – their games have few to no issues, they don’t delay releases, and they know what their fans want. Point Lookout is proving to be one of the hardest bits of gaming I’ve had in a long while and it’s a download add-on!

Yet, I have one niggling complaint about add-ons in Bethesda games: Why is the new content handed to you on a silver plate, with a golden spoon served by a personal butler? Here’s the scene – I’m level 2, barely left the vault and haven’t even switched on my radio, when suddenly this pop-up window comes up and informs me that I’ve picked up another radio broadcast from a bunch of guys called 'the Outcasts', yet its’ phrased as if I already know them personally.

So I click to get the annoying thing out the way and what happens? Another one pops up; only this time it’s about a guy trying to find someone who will help him save his people from slavery. This repeats for every download and even gives me a map location to a place my character has never been before or would even know about. Now color me pink if that doesn’t just ruin the whole immersion experience for me.

It’s not restricted to Video Games either; we’ve been getting board game and miniatures games expansions for decades now, so it shouldn’t be too much to hope for that their getting better right? As a whole, they aren’t. In fairness, this comment is mainly aimed at the more mainstream publishers; Carcassonne and all its expansions fit beautifully together and who here wouldn’t agree that a game of Munchkins only gets better as you add extra packs?

To take this point to a tangent, role playing games have been experiencing a similar fate. We’re constantly bombarded with additional rulebook after rulebook and by the time most people on a regular salary have bought all the books they were after – they update the system and you have to buy a whole new batch of books!

Now I want to make something clear here – I’m all for expansion (Not sequels; that’s an entirely different argument), but they have to meet some minimum requirements to be worth the while:

1. It must be worth the money you charge for it
   How many people here thought £20/$30 an expansion for Sims 1 was bad pricing? A large number of expansion packs and downloadable content is overpriced – the intention of these things was to reduce to cost of production, which should in turn result in lower prices for the consumer.
   
   
2. It should be seamless
   I should never be able to say “I’m playing an expansion right now” about any game: Video, Board or Role play. A good example is the extra level PC gamers got out of Gears of War 1. I own the game on 360 and when I was playing the level on my mates PC it took me five minutes to realize that I didn’t know the level – that’s when you know you’ve struck gold.
   
   
3. I should have to work for it
   Don’t give me the keys to the pearly white gates the minute I step out into the world – put them in the care of a NPC I’m going to have to beat seven lumps of tar out of to get them; hell even going through an extra piece of dialogue option with a story-related character would be better than the “pop-up” approach. People spend money avoiding these things on the web, why would they want them in their games?
   

Alright, I feel I’ve been rambling on for quite enough now; but feel free to get your bitching cap on and join in with the conversation in the EOV public forum. Or maybe you have the opposite view; that expansion and downloadable material has gone from strength to strength – either way we’d love to hear from you.

As always gamers, keep rolling those dice until we see each other again.

Mark Manning
Deeply Nostalgic

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Arcane Legions Preview
History Reimagined

Miniatures games are somewhat of a weak spot for me. I always love to paint figures, developing strategies and combat tactics; a huge battle with friends was always a great way to spend a weekend. After playing Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, Warmachine, and even WWII minis, I've seen a lot of what these games have to offer. I've even played collectible miniatures games like Monsterpocalypse and MechWarrior. Recently, I was able to try out a preview of Arcane Legions, the first release from Wells Expedition.


Wells Expedition is made up of some of the minds behind the immensely popular Heroclix. When Topps brought WizKids down,  Wells Expedition hopped up, and now these excellent collectible miniatures designers have created Arcane Legions with a strong sense of purpose, and with a flare that is completely different than any tabletop miniatures game or any collectible miniatures game I've ever played.


Arcane Legions is a historically-based fantasy war game set in 37 BCE. Three major factions battle for control of the known world. First of these is the Roman Empire, whose forces include the minotaurs of Crete and the indispensable sorceress Atia of the Juliae and her sorceress legions, lead by Octavius, now Caesar Augustus. Second is the Egyptian Imperium, lead by Mark Antony and Cleopatra, whose 13th Legion leads the march with powerful undead soldiers and dvergar golems. Finally, the Han Dynasty has sent its powerful archers and terra cotta warriors, along with powerful spirits and ghouls to sow its divine retribution on the West, who they claim caused the chaotic and decimating "Night of Mists", decimating the great Chinese empire.

It is on the back of this fantasy historical narrative that Arcane Legions sets up one of the most impressive unit-based miniatures games that I have ever played. The strength of Arcane Legions lies within its basic unit composition building block - that is, a tray.

Figures in Arcane Legions are baseless, and need to be plugged into a tray, which can be one of two sizes: the sortie size (which is a 2.6x2.6 inch square) and the formation size (a 2.6x5.2 inch rectangle). The combination of figures, a base card, and the tray make up a standard unit. The cool thing about each unit though is that the stats are all on the base card - how many hand-to-hand combat dice you can use to attack with is based on the number of red dice on the card, how fast the unit can be is based on the number of movement points on the card, and how many defense dice you get to roll if attacked is, yes, you figured it out, on the card. When you position figures on the tray, where they stand determines what values you'll have for defense, movement, and attack, and if your unit will have any abilities. Damage that a unit takes kills individual figures, which means that as figures on the base die, you lose those attack dice, defense dice, and movement points. It's an ingenious system that does away completely with lookup tables and reference charts, but still maintains a good strategic depth.

Another one of the fiddly things that Arcane Legions does away with is the common ruler. Players don't have to fight any longer about whether or not something is 12 inches or 12.1 inches away - the game's measurement is all done with the tray - its length is how far a unit can move, and how far arrows can shoot. This seemingly simple innovation streamlines gameplay immensely.

Besides its unique unit-based gameplay, Arcane Legions ups the ante for collectible miniatures games by making figures, boosters, and army boxes as affordable for the common player as possible. This is possible by making some of the figures collectible, while others are not. For example, each Army pack contains a set configuration of 40 unpainted figures, as well as all the cards and trays you'll need to field them. Likewise each Cavalry pack contains 15 unpainted figures and their cards and trays.

Generals and more elite units come in Booster packs, which are the truly collectable part of the game - the distribution for these units is random (although you do know if you're getting Han, Roman, or Egyptian units based on what booster pack you buy). These figures are fully painted, and look awesome.

Compared to pewter, and even plastic pieces from other miniatures producers, the retail prices of Arcane Legions packs are hard to beat. Putting together a full army in Arcane Legions is inexpensive, where a full army in any one of the factions of other miniatures games can cost some major coin.

Another feature of the game allows players to get more involved in the game in ways that players have never been able to interact with collectible games. Through the Centurion Club, Wells Expeditions promises to allow players, for the first time, to be able to modify Arcane Legions. The club is a feature of the game that will roll out when it's released, and being a member will allow you to do some pretty fantastic stuff. Membership allows you to design your own base cards, and purchase special units from the Centurion Club website. Membership will be a monthly price tag of around 3 USD. Like other online content, I will wait to see what kind of benefits the membership provides before buying in. However, this is a great tool for fans of the game.

Arcane Legions releases on October 7th with launch parties at participating game stores. I'm impressed with the strength of this new-commer in the collectable miniatures games market, and I'll be checking out www.ArcaneLegions.com for information and more news about the game leading up to its release. I'm looking forward to its release in October.

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Hayao Miyazaki: Works of Hand and Soul
Let's lose our way together

It is hard to imagine that a major animation studio is still out there making feature length films by hand. Even harder to fathom scores of their illustrators, painstakingly creating hundreds of thousands of hand drawn cells for each and every film in their library. That kind of dedication and attention to detail isn't a labor of love many undertake. Especially considering that a computer can create lifelike images and render animation in fractions of the time. Disney, long considered the king of animation, has all but abandoned traditional 2-d animation, putting their stock and future into Pixar's genius 3-d features. So why is it that Studio Ghibli, often called the Disney of the East, is still hand drawing films?



For those not familiar with Studio Ghibli, they have been in the business of making movies since 1985 and has had unprecedented success in Japan and with anime lovers across the world. Founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, the studio is the collaborative effort of two genius animators to bring magic alive to Japanese children. Miyazaki is considered by many to be the greatest animator of all time, surpassing even Walt Disney in terms of quality and talent. Miyzaki's numerous masterpieces include Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind; while Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies remains his sole masterpiece.

Even though Ghibli has been impacting anime since it's inception, it wasn't until 1997 that Ghibli struck a deal with Disney to begin bringing films to the West. Already wildly popular in Japan, the first film to hit America was Princess Mononoke. It sported an all-star voice-over cast and with the Disney name attached to it, Ghibli seemed a shoo in to win over America. Then the proverbial wrench hit the machine. Miramax attempted to localize the film through cuts and edits. Instead of creating a more Americanized version, they ran into something they hadn't considered: a man who valued integrity over success. In response to the proposed cuts, Miyazaki sent a clear and simple message back to Miramax; a katana tied with a piece of paper reading "No Cuts." While probably one of the most awesome moves in corporate history, it seemingly caused Miramax to drop the property like it was hot. They fulfilled their contract to release the film, but did it to limited theaters and with virtually no promotion. The film bombed, and Miramax immediately pointed fingers at the film itself. Considering the film has consistently been in the top 250 films on IMDB, the true blame seems evident.

Fortunately for America, the story doesn't end there. Ardent fans demanded the film be better treated on DVD including a subtitled and dubbed version. With a quality DVD release, sales flew through roof, yet despite that, the next Ghibli film Spirited Away met to a similar fate. No promotion, limited releases, but phenomenal DVD sales. Spirited Away however dramatically increased awareness of the studio with the first ever Oscar win for an anime film. Since then Studio Ghibli's films have snowballed, gaining an ever-steady sense of respect and adoration from American audiences. Yet, it is nothing compared to what it should be, as Ghibli and Miyazaki are still not household names in the States.



The business history of Studio Ghibli is an interesting tale, but nothing compared to the magic that it displays on film. Miyazaki's films tend to be works of morals and values aimed at children; yet their strong messages, quality content, and genuine artistry render them popular among adults as well. Miyazaki's worlds are filled with good and evil, but he never chooses to destroy one or the other. He instead lets forces come to terms with each other, often changed by the purity of his heroes. Refined by the hands of a master, there is no tidy conclusion orexplanation, simply a world of mystery and wonderment - everything a children's movie should be.

Unlike American films, his works aren't filled with pop-culture references and hidden adult jokes. His films are pure to their very soul, even if he occasionally filled with tinges of darkness and despair. Studio Ghibli animators hand drawing almost every single cell, creating a masterpiece, poured forth from Miyazaki's mind. Each frame comes together with the last, not to make the illusion of movement, but the illusion of a new world. A world where fantastic creatures exist and the impossible seems real.

It is for these reasons that I push Miyazaki on every person I know, whether they are adult or child. My nieces and nephews are as familiar with Totoro and Kiki as they are with Bambi and Shrek. They watch the films with a certain glimmer in their eyes trying to fathom all the wonders and things on the screen. The entire time, they are asking me questions about why the entire family bathes together, why they don't wear shoes inside, what the white balls they are eating are. I've always wanted to thank Miyazaki for those opportunities to teach them foreign cultures and customs. To thank him for never allowing his films to be localized. To congratulate him for honoring his country's beliefs and traditions by refusing to Westernize them no matter how odd they might seem to others.

For adults Miyazaki offers profoundly deeper themes and undercurrents. Upon viewing his films it is quite apparent that the man is a firm believer in women empowerment, choosing to create strong feminine characters who rise above their traditional Japanese roles. While this isn't vastly groundbreaking in America, it is almost a message to Japanese women, telling them to look up. Almost all of his films feature a strong female protagonist who displays resolve and wisdom well beyond her years. Japan in many ways is still a masochistic society whose treatment of women is akin to that of the 70's in America. Sexual harassment, subservient treatment, and closet domestic abuse are still prevalent. When I watched Spirited Away, I couldn't help but see Chihiro as a metaphor of hope for the women of Japan. A young child forced to work through menial tasks without a say. A child who despite being a slave to her situation showed dignity, compassion, and the morale perpetuity of a saint. I don't know how much of a difference Miyazaki has made for women in Japan, but I hope he at least offers a glimmer of hope.



Two other recurrent adult themes he often addresses are environmentalism and politics. Miyazaki interwines them together, remaining wholly in favor of protecting the natural world and stopping globalization and capitalistic militarization. Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind are his two loudest films on these points, but all films retain elements that ring distinctly against rampant urbanization. His unified message is that as a species, we must change on our own, lest we destroy the earth by our own hands. He seems to favor rural country sides with friendly folks and tight-knit families, depicting cities as awful places where good is drowned out, suffocated by pollution and business. Miyazaki often cleverly presents monstorous spirits and beasts whom merely seek to stop us from destroying ourselves. His true villians usually turn out to be our own human ambition.

Whether you are an adult or child, you should be able to find something you love in a Studio Ghibli movie, whether it is the magical innocence of Ponyo and Totoro, the adventures of Howl and Kiki, or the fierce intensity of Nausicaa and Mononoke. If you've never seen one of Miyzaki's films, I'd highly suggest renting one or throwing one to the top of your Netflix queue. For children under 10, I highly recommend you start with My Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away. For all other ages, Princess Mononoke or Howl's Moving Castle. Personally though, I love them all.

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Ponyo releases to limited cities August 14th 2009
Welcome to a world where anything is possible. An animated adventure centered around a 5 year old boy and his relationship with Ponyo, a goldfish princess who longs to become human. Hayao Miyazaki's latest film has already been declared a classic in Japan with its unique hand-drawn animation style captivating millions. Studio Ghibli's first rated G movie since Kiki's Delivery Service in 1989, is aimed at chilldren, but sure to be a captivating film for all ages.

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Grave of the Fireflies
The Sorrowful Masterpiece

"September 21, 1945... that was the night I died." It is with this closing line that Isao Takahata starts his wartime classic Grave of the Fireflies. Originally released in 1988, Fireflies was one of Studio Ghibli’s first films, and is an adaptation of the semi-autobiographic account of Akiyuki Nosaka, a Japanese boy who watched his little sister die of malnutrition during World War II. Centered on the life of two Japanese children, teenage Seita and his four year-old sister Setsuko, the movie shows the terrible effects of war; its orphaned children, its starving masses, and its senseless death.

Grave of the Fireflies starts its tale of survival with a showing of historical moments glossed over in history books. We start in a subway, watching Seita die. We can see his spirit, and we watch flashbacks with him that show the tale of his life and death. It begins with napalm is falling on small Japanese rural towns. Small, inconspicuous canisters fall onto the wood and paper houses and burst into flame.  Seita and Setsuko are orphaned, their father a soldier for the Japanese, and their mother a victim of the bombings.


The pair end up living with their aunt, who is a cruel woman focused on the survival of herself and her own children, and less on the young waif and stubborn boy she has come to care for. In order to buy rice, she begins to sell Seita and Setsuko’s mother’s kimonos, denying them their share for something that is rightfully theirs. Seita takes Setsuko away, and they take refuge in an abandoned bomb shelter in the country. Seita has money, but there is no food to buy. We see Setsuko get weaker, malnourished, and finally die.  

The story moves slowly, taking its time to show beautifully illustrated watercolor backdrops that stay immobile behind the dancing of fireflies and the two children. Takahata uses slow moments to show the humanity of these two children. They cry, they steal – they do everything they can to survive. Setsuko is a cute, proper four year-old. She acts exactly like a four year-old. We see Seita make human mistakes, letting his teenage pride get in the way of his judgment.  At the same time, we see him shoulder a great weight to preserve the happiness and innocence of his little sister. It is this emotion that truly brings the pain of their deaths home.  In these moments, we see the stranglehold that war has on all people. As Japan starved its way to surrender in World War II, we see through these two children get pulled down along with their government and the adults that destroyed their world and, in effect, killed them.



These slow scenes portray something visceral about humanity. Whether it is Setsuko burying dead fireflies, Seita and Setsuko running and playing, or Setsuko eating her last sugar drop, there is a sense of something unique and moving in Grave of the Fireflies. This emotion can be overwhelming at times. Above all things, Grave of the Fireflies is an emotional movie. I am not prone to emotional outbursts during films, but this movie was almost too much for me to handle. The sorrow and grief are too honest to hold back- there is no melodrama to criticize, just the honest, sometimes blunt story of the death of these two children, caused by a war that they cannot comprehend.

Americans as a whole are trained by mass media and the government to be patriotic, and to support war efforts. Oftentimes the harsh realities of war are glossed over with patriotic speeches and sound bites. Grave of the Fireflies brings this harshness into full view, and displays it for all to see. If nothing else, Grave of the Fireflies shows viewers the pain of war, and its effects on all the people involved, not just combatants. Their families, their children will always be involved, even if we do not see that on the outset. It is a powerful reminder in this time of war, that the people we fight are humans.

Even though Grave of the Fireflies is a 20 year-old movie, it until quite recently (September 1st) had an active publisher. ADV Films recently acquired the rights from Central Park Media Corporation, which originally licensed the film, but then sold out its assets earlier this year. The Director’s cut may be hard to acquire, but ADV has released the film in its regular version from the old Central Park Media version. Supplies may be limited as the companies that ADV Films sold its assets to work out a publishing schedule. Still, many copies have been made, and are fairly available.


When many people think of Japanese animation, they think of things like Dragonball Z and Naruto, ninjas, giant robots, and people imbued with inhuman strength and ability. Studio Ghibli has given the modern viewer something else to consider: movies that transcend their animated roots and become moving works of art that shows us the wonders and horrors of the human spirit. Grave of the Fireflies is one such movie, and its message is even more important now in a time of war. Grave of the Fireflies is undoubtedly one of the best animated titles imported to the United States, and one of the most powerful war films ever created, and if you have not seen it, I recommend it. Just bring a box of tissues for the show.

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Ponyo On A Cliff By The Sea

The bottom line: Ponyo is probably Miyazaki's most powerful artistic vision yet, but the story simply feels lacking.

This is what I hate about reviewing Ponyo, it is as equally brilliant as it is lacking. On one hand, you have a fairly confusing story that children, and even some adults, have trouble following coupled with some of the most beautiful and memorable hand-drawn animation ever created. While the positives outnumber the negative aspects, it is quite disheartening to see so many flaws.

The Children's Movie

As a movie made for children, Ponyo exceeds expectations. All of the characters are strong role models and in typical Miyazaki fashion, seem to lacking true evil. Ponyo earns its G Rating with limited action and extremely tame themes, but it still a great watch for adults concerned of it being too tame. The three children I brought to the movie found themselves enamored with the fish/girl Ponyo and the young boy Sosuke. The duo's adventure without adults, Ponyo's magic, and a bizzarre affection for ham were things they adored the most. Especially the ham thing. Seriously, they were singing about ham.

Most of all they loved Ponyo for her innocent exuberance, her rebellious spirit, and her curious nature. I couldn't help but agree that Noah Cyrus did a fantastic job bringing the character alive. Miyazaki and Cyrus could have imagined her as a timid and confused girl, but instead scored big by making her literally brim with excitement. It is extremely hard to not smile whenever Ponyo is in human form, running everywhere she goes like a real five year old girl might.

The children I brought complained about mostly the slow beginning and the length of the film. It was about twenty minutes before the end and all three were ready for it to be over, I have admit I was too. It had lulled to a point and the ending felt like it was nowhere in sight. Ponyo runs at 100 minutes when typical animated children's movies run at about 80-90 minutes. That isn't massively drawn out, but I was curious and reading up on the movie discovered that Miyazaki had problems ending the film, which made sense considering a literal drag followed by a lightning quick climax.

On an extremely positive note, the morals it imparted were priceless. The central theme of the entire movie is unconditional love, but the more apparent one is environmentalism - particularly ocean pollution. The glorious views of the ocean transition to polluted murky waters near a human port town. Almost every single shot of the ocean near the human city is mired with glass bottles and a lack of sea life. After Ponyo's arrival this slowly changes as the magic she unleashes begins to take over the entire world. It is important to note that almost every single person in the film is a strong role model and behaves properly. Even the "villian" is acting with a noble purpose and has redeeming qualities.

The Miyazaki Film

Now let's be honest, Miyazaki in America isn't quite for children. In my theater, there was definitely a 4:1 ratio in terms of groups with and without children. A lot of young adults and teenagers flocked to the movie based on their love of anime and Miyazaki. For them, this movie was viewed as I viewed it. Beautifully flawed.

Here's the problem, even as an adult I was lost about the story. The biggest character that caused confusion was Ponyo's father Fujimoto. His motives never seemed clear and the whole ending seemed flimsy. I couldn't figure out if he was trying to save the ocean, cause the Armageddon, or if he was just being an over zealous father. Liam Nesson did a decent job with his voice work, but the whole character just seemed kind of lost. I get that you're not supposed to fully understand Miyazaki's films, but I've never questioned what he was going for before. Pieces just don't click together, a lot of it felt unnecessary and poorly executed.

On the other hand, I was often lost in a good way. The opening ocean sequence is fantastic, as are all of the ocean visuals. It it is remarkable that Miyazaki would attempt what he did by hand, especially considering the sheer number of ocean creatures that populate the background of the film. At one point I couldn't even imagine how he was hand animating hundreds of jellyfish and fish. IMDB lists that for a particular twelve second scene at the beginning, there were over 1613 conceptual sketches created - that is mind blowing. It never lets up either; there are constant scenes with intense animation and action from start to finish.

I was also blown away by his character work. Ponyo, Sosuke, Sosuke's mother Lisa, and the four elderly ladies in particular felt particularly strong. Their voice work was well done and I thought Tina Fey as Lisa was remarkable. Sosuke was modeled after Miyazaki's own son and you could genuinely see the love drawn directly into the character. I'm remissed to use the word precious, but Sosuke is an absolute charmer. His interactions with Ponyo, Lisa, and the elderly quartet are wholesome and powerful. Frankie Jonas did the character solid, selling the 'wise beyond his years' Sosuke as a pillar of purity and innocence.

And that is why I'm torn.

I highly feel this is perhaps Miyazaki's most beautiful film - animation wise - and rivals My Neighbor Totoro in terms of sheer warmth. However, I feel it is one of his weaker stories and doesn't quite rise to the level of Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Princess Mononoke. Miyazaki does deliver his usual strong, likable characters and positive morals though.

In the end, I gave it an 8.0 / 10.0. Even with the lack of a solid story, the powerful animation and characters deliver.

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Herobits Review
Attacking and Blocking are Job #1!

When I was younger, I used to love Captain Planet. It was one of my favorite TV shows. It ran from 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. on one of the local channels. I used to wake up early before school just to watch it. In my early years, I was impressed by its powerful hero and his fight to make the world a better place. He fought all sorts of bad guys; those who were neither well-defined or that physically threatening. His enemies were enigmas, and it was cool.

Many of my contemporaries would now look back on Captain Planet and call it either a hippie’s wet dream or a communist propaganda scheme. I find myself looking back fondly at the show, but I also view it a bit cynically. As most superhero shows go, it is cheesy and pretty dumb at times. Its themes are for children; its views are childlike. Still, I still get that thrill when I hear “With your powers combined…”

Why am I talking about Captain Planet, though? It’s because, in some sense, I see much of the good of Captain Planet - and much of the bad of the show - in the latest CCG to hit the market here in the States – Herobits.

Herobits is a game that, as my title suggests, holds attacking and blocking as job #1. The turn structure is very simple, with players able to play both Upgrade cards and Special cards each turn. These cards increase the Strength and Resistance of your Hero, a card that comes into play at the beginning of the game. Attackers can play Action cards to further increase their Attack, while Defenders can play Action cards to bolster their Resistance. In the end, if the Attacker did more damage than the Defender had Resistance, the Defender loses the difference in cards that they have in their hand or cards they have in play. Whenever a character takes damage, and it is the last card that is discarded, the game is over, and the Attacker is the winner. This simple concept seems like the great base to a game, but things start to meander downhill after this basic rules set.

It appears to me that Herobits is a game that favors players that can roll dice, spin and flip coins, and run three mile foot races better than their opponents. It is never correct not to go first, and it’s incorrect to not attack. The player who has the first turn gets the first attack, and will normally have the advantage in the Attack/Resistance ratio – meaning that he or she automatically has an edge against the opposing player who was only able to play around half as many cards as the first player. It seems very likely to me that the player who starts the game has around a 75% chance, if not higher, to win the game. My playtesting with friends seems to confirm this assessment, and it’s the sign of a very significant design flaw.

Herobits is very reliant on luck. This is a problem is because Herobits is full of cards that are less effective than other cards in the same deck. There are powerful Upgrade cards that increase Attack and Resistance, and weak Upgrade cards that don’t do nearly as much. These upgrades are a requirement to win. If a player gets a crappy draw, their weak upgrades will easily be trounced by stronger weaponry and shields. It is unfortunate, because the cards could have been made into more than just Attack and Resistance boosters, but for the most part, that’s all they are. I suspect that the game will evolve significantly within the next months as Herobits Corp. designs more cards and new Heroes, but for now, the simple, luck based gameplay is something that most players won’t stomach.

My final major complaint is about the card text on each card. The text is merely flavor, 95% of the time. It means nothing to the concept of the game. The other 5% of the time, it’s actually text you need to read, which is confusing and non-intuitive. Nothing differentiates the two types of text. Furthermore, the text is in a horrid font type – Comic Sans MS. It is a font that is for home-made newsletters and junior high newspapers. Using the font-type results is a non-professional looking product. It may just be me, but Comic Sans is one of my most hated scripts.

The game is simple, and that's good for the intended audience, but let’s be blunt: Pokemon, a vastly more complex game, is still played, and is actually one of the most played trading card games for the age group that Herobits also tries to target. We cannot use the target audience as an excuse here to have a very simple game. Kids that are in the age group that Herobits Corp is targeting are generally smart, passionate game players, who can do more than add. I think if I were a kid that grabbed a deck of cards from a shelf display, after a few games, I'd get pretty bored with it. However, kids that like comic books and superheroes may like the art and the hero mechanic of the game. There are very few card games right now allow you to represent yourself as a specific person in the game like this one does and that's a pretty cool mechanic.

The artwork on the cards is very good, for what it accomplishes. It shows each of the characters doing something fantastic, whether it’s conking some dumb killer robot on the head, putting on some super armor, or using a force field to deflect bullets. The insert in the box has a very wonderful poster-like image that could be hung on a wall. These large artworks are good, even pretty, and make for an excellent add-on for each of the decks. The card design is very interesting; as its layout is fairly simple, but it does what it needs to do, and it has both machines and plants on it. It is interesting for me to see that the flavor of the game is tied into the very card frame. Good show, Herobits.

The flavor itself, though, is rather confusing. The game box promises that I can both “Defend the Earth from the mechanical threat of the dominion in a future world where the human race is under attack,” and “Join an elite squad of noble defenders in a vital quest to take back the planet.” What the game delivers is a comic book’s worth of images that have no text bubbles. We have no idea what the world is like since not a single bit of flavor, other than some cheesy Planeteer quotes, is delivered on each of the Hero cards. The flavor is further exacerbated by the fact that the Heroes fight each other! “Where are the machines?” I wondered. “Why am I battling another freedom fighter?” This apparently will change with the first expansion, but it isn't readily obvious until you read the Herobits website. I do have to commend the makers of the game for tackling a real life issue through their game. It was probably a choice they thought heavily about, but I commend them for it.

Finally, I want to say that I believe that the game distribution pattern is pretty slick. Designing pre-made decks that can be purchased at the same cost as three booster packs of an average TCG seems like a great choice. This way, you get all the same themed cards and they don't have to say "this can only be used on this hero" on certain cards. It's different, and I commend Herobits Corp for trying something different. In a weakened economy, where collectible games will suffer because of the need to buy packs and excess cards, Herobits outshines the competition. It is easy to invest in the game, and get playing immediately, which is especially good for younger children. I think that the "bad cards", like the weak Upgrades, need to be phased out for more utility Upgrades that have effects other than increasing Attack or Resistance.

Overall, I am disappointed by the first offering of Herobits. I think that for this game to survive long in the highly competitive card games market, some significant changes need to be made. The core of the game and most of the flavor and art are all pretty high quality. The rules are basic, and with properly worded and designed cards, can be the basis for a pretty fun game. The distribution pattern is great for the age group, the hero mechanic and the superhero flavor all work in its favor. Just like Captain Planet, though, kids will get bored with it fast. Without a little complexity, and possibly “bad” heroes, and a little more explanation of the flavor of the game, I think the game will continue to be mediocre. As a first set, it's okay, but I can say that I'm definitely looking forward to future sets. When this game evolves, it will turn into a great game - of that I am sure.

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Battle Spirits TCG:
First Set Meta Impressions

Battle Spirits TCG has been on the shelves for a couple weeks now.  Most players are lucky enough to own a box or two, have played a couple games, and should be getting a general feel for the game.  Judging by the responses on the Bandai Forums, the game is popular and a lot of people had fun at their local release events.  I believe that this game has a lot of potential in both the local hobby store market and the mass market (chain stores like Wal-Mart and Target).  The three big reasons this game has the ability to reach this level are all the promotions that Bandai is putting forth for the local hobby stores, strong communication between Bandai research & development staff and play testers within the consumers (Battle Spirits TCG players), and local advertising through Meijin and hobby store players.  Without these three things, the game cannot attain a mass market appeal.  Right now, everyone is doing a great job of realizing the full potential of a game and I hope we keep it up!


I have been waiting for this game to release for a couple months.  It's been a long wait and I'm glad it is finally here.  Since the release of the game, Bandai has placed a searchable card list, which has spawned many threads of theoretical decks, in the deck dojo.  The general consensus between players seems to be that Purple is the most consistent and powerful color in the first set.  This is mainly due to the powerful removal abilities and draw cards that it has at its disposal.  When coupled with another color, Purple can go from powerful to devastating.  Green gives Purple the option to employ useful exhaust abilities and use core acceleration to play spirits like Sheyron or Shogun earlier.  White gives Purple the option to create a nasty combination of depletion effects with bounce effects.  These two go hand-in hand as the bounce will sooner than later catch up with the opponent and they will have trouble paying for their cards to return to the field.  At that point, you can pounce on them with Poison Shoot or Shogun. 


Red, however, is arguably the most consistent and best combination with Purple in the first set.  Many people in the forums believe this to be the top tier deck for the first set's metagame.  The reason why many people believe this is due to the solid maneuverability that this deck possesses.  With many decks, you will find yourself in a tough spot and may have little recourse to remedy your situation.  However, in this deck, you are supplied with many options in many dire situations.  The driving factor behind that reasoning is the surreal amount of destruction cards in a Red / Purple deck.  Red provides Flame Tempest, Flame Dance, Fire Lithographic Phoenixious, Sickle Fool Joker, along with other things, while Purple provides the depletion / destruction effects of Poison Shoot, Deadly Balance, and Shogun Desperado.  A vast majority of these cards are game changing when used properly.  Purple also sports the mid-game spirit draw engine thanks to Grip-Hands, Bi-Python, Skel-viper, etc..  All of these aspects coupled together create a dominant force that is able to be very aggressive and weasel its way out of many sticky situations that may arise.



There has been a lot of discussion as to the relevance of a White / Green deck.  Personally, I think this deck has a lot of unrecognized potential.  You'll have a force to be reckoned with if you take the massive core advantage abilities of Green and combine them with the expensive bounce effects of White.  It's very easy to abuse Gularva if you have a deck that has the potential to stall and protect your life points; luckily White does exactly that, making it a good ally for Green.  Combine Gularva with Stagrove, Ur-Dine, and Cemetery Aura to increase your resources very quickly.  Once you've collected your resources, you can play several White cards that bounce the opponents cards and start being very aggressive.  This also works as a sufficient counter for the infamous Sha-zoo.  Your opponent won't be able to block with Sha-zoo if it isn't on the field.



A Mono Red Dragon deck has surfaced on the boards and has drawn a lot of attention.  The deck focuses around the pre-sale promotion card The Commander Dragno.  His effect states that every "dragon" and "winged dragon" spirit receives +1000 BP.  This may not seem very useful at first, however, the advantage becomes quite apparent when you look at the dragon and winged dragon type spirits that Red has.  The Scout Dragno, Eyeburn, The Shaman Dragno, Skelton-Jaw, The Blade Dragon Steelanodon, and The Flame Dragon Ma-Gwo are all able to take advantage of this effect.  The other great thing about this deck is that Ma-Gwo receives an additional +1000 BP for every dragon type spirit you control.  You are already running a lot of dragon spirits, so this effect is a no-brainer.  What really seals the deal for this deck is the Red nexus, The Burning Battlefield.  This nexus allows you to keep the pressure on the opponent by forcing their spirits out into battle and annihilating them with your high combat beat-sticks.

A couple of other decks that have surfaced are Red / Green rush, Red / Green Beatdown, Mono Purple Core Control, Mono Green Beatdown, and Green / Purple Exhaust.  Many of these decks are considered Tier 2, but are still contenders to beat a Tier 1 deck.  The reason that this is true has everything to do with the resource system that Battle Spirits employs. Let me explain.

When playing Battle Spirits, you are never out of the game until you lose the last core of your life total is lost. Cores from your life total end up in your pool to spend on spirits, nexi, and spells once you take damage - it is subtle, but the closer you are to losing, the more powerful you become. Unlike other games, where being close to losing is nearly impossible to get back from, the resource system of Battle Spirits allows you to play down powerful spells, nexus, and spirits to regain advantage, perform combos, and build a strong field presence against Tier 1 decks in light of their quick attacks and early damage.  Ultimately, you can beat the Tier 1 deck with your strategy because you are not as limited as you would be in other card games.  It is easier to perform these combos and strategies because you will never be caught in a situation where a Tier 1 deck has completely shut you down.

I am very pleased with the way Battle Spirits is shaping up.  I really hope that all the new players continue to put forth their best effort to keep this game going at its strongest.  I've had a lot of fun in the games I've played and in the strategy discussions I've had in the Battle Spirit forums.  Don't get discouraged and fall into the trap of Tier 1 hype.  You can win with a Tier 2 deck or even a Tier 3 deck in this game because of the resource system that allows you to get an edge as you get closer to defeat. For me, that makes this game a lot more fun than other trading card games that I have played.  I like the fact that I can skill my way to a win instead of having to buy the ridiculously overpriced cards to have a chance at drawing them to win.  The meta looks very diverse thanks to all the efforts that everyone is putting into their decks.  We could easily take a cookie cutter build and use it as our own.  Instead, a lot of people are putting their effort into creating an original and fun deck to use in tournaments.  I respect this hard work and enthusiasm for creating new and exciting decks.  I look forward to taking a peak at all the strategies and deck ideas that appear on the forums and in the deck dojo! 



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The Funny Pages
ComicCon is no longer for the fans

If you told me three years ago that geeks were going to inherit the world, I would be pleased and a little hopeful. If you tell me that today I will probably punch you in the face.

After following the coverage of the 2009 San Diego ComicCon and later attending the 2009 Wizard World, er, Chicago ComicCon (the name of Wizard World Chicago has recently changed to the Chicago ComicCon, although there is no word as to why), I have to say that I am completely unimpressed by the amount of effort being put forth by the companies running them for the comics fans, the people who made these shows what they are today. Five years ago few self-respecting news sources would have even considered coverage of San Diego, or any comic book show for that matter, but as the popularity and scope of E3 began to fall, video game companies flooded the California show and major film companies followed. Today it is almost a necessity to follow the happenings of San Diego due to the amount of attention the show draws from Hollywood, video game companies and TV. Even G4 TV dedicated a full day of coverage to the show. But with all this said, where does that leave people like me, the comic book fan?

When I was in high school my friends and I were intrigued by the idea of one day going to a con. We started out small, touring some of the shows in Ohio, but our ultimate goal was to someday hit the fabled show floor at Wizard World Chicago where we would get to meet creators like Brian Micheal Bendis (“Ultimate Spiderman,” “New Avengers”), filmmakers such as Kevin Smith (director of “Clerks”) and maybe even get to see Marvel Comic’s Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada. My first pilgrimage to the show was in 2006, where I was able to shake hands with Mark Millar (“Civil War,” “The Ultimates,” and “Wanted”) and hang out with thousands of comic fans. But this year’s show left the creators on the back burner and instead focused on Hollywood. The big draws were the stars of “New Moon” and cast members from “Battlestar Galactica.” Signings from comic creators were badly organized, but the speakers were sure to notify us whenever Michelle Rodriguez (“Fast and Furious,” “Lost”) was anywhere near her autograph booth. Worse yet, neither Marvel nor DC made an appearance at the show.

This too was the case at San Diego. Whereas the past few years have seen a steady increase in Hollywood influence, this year and last were both sold-out shows and comics fans were being hushed as the general public rushed in to find out information on their favorite TV shows and hear the news about “The Dark Knight” and “Incredible Hulk.” This year’s San Diego ComicCon was bombarded by “Twilight” fans who commandeered panel rooms for hours in order to save seats for the “New Moon” panel. One report I read stated that a “Furturama” panel consisted almost entirely of “Twilight” fans waiting for their presentation to start, forcing out fans of the short lived cartoon series. What was once a comic fan's Mecca now seems to be a Hollywood pit stop.

This all leads me to wonder about the future of conventions like these. I cannot even fathom the idea of Chicago, the second most popular Con in the country, surviving, because it typically falls two weeks after San Diego and due to Marvel and DC’s decision to opt out. How can you even hold a convention if the two biggest names in the industry decide not to show? And are vendors and artists even willing to continue to go to a second rate show two weeks after the big one?

But mostly, I wonder what the fans are thinking. I’ve read a number of poor reviews from fans, and the reaction seems fairly unanimous: we no longer belong at ComicCon. What used to be a chance for us to meet our favorite creators, find out news about our favorite proprieties and maybe pick up cheap books or original art has now become a feeding ground for Hollywood, one where they can find the next “Iron Man.” The comics fans are being forced to the fringes in order to make room for people who are more interested in getting an autograph from the newest teen heartthrob than finding out who will be on the new roster for the Avengers. Do I sound like a complete dork for saying that? Absolutely, and there was a time when it was acceptable for me to be a dork at ComicCon. Now I have to watch out for cameras.

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Monsterpocalypse: All Your Base Impressions
It's Morphin' Time!

Monsterpocalypse is a game that doesn't hold back - its crazy, intense game-play coupled with an excellent theme make it one of the rising stars in the collectible miniatures world. For those of you out there who didn't catch the April or May Edition where we reviewed the initial releases and interviewed one of the designers of the game, let me recap for you all.

Monsterpocalypse is a game about "kaiju", or in English, "strange beasts." The genre started with Godzilla, everyone's favorite gigantic lizard, and once it found its footing, the genre exploded in Japan. Monster movies were released about anything from giant moths to three-headed dragons, supersized martial artists, and more. In the United States, kids growing up watching Saturday morning cartoons have been introduced to kaiju through shows like Voltron and all of the various Power Rangers renditions. With many of these old kaiju movies coming to the States and powerful debuts of movies like King Kong, kaiju movies and fiction have attained a steady appeal.

Monsterpocalypse takes the thrill of the kaiju experience to a new level by letting you be the monster! You smash buildings and tanks, and fight other monsters in an attempt to rule the world, and if you get powerful enough, you can supercharge from your alpha form into a hyper form. Now with Monsterpocalypse: All Your Base, players can channel a whole new type of monster - the Metamorpher.

Like Voltron and the Power Rangers, metamorphs are monsters that are made up of more than one smaller unit. These smaller units are called morphers, and you get 4 of them in your monster's alpha form. They're still monsters, so they use monster dice to move and attack, and can be targeted for power attacks and abilities like a monster. However, since they're small like a unit, they interact with terrain and can capture buildings as objectives. This is a powerful ability that can get you some major power dice, and get you ahead in the game.

Morphers are a very strategic way to play Monsterpocalypse because of one very important reason - despite being monsters, your morphers all act independently. That means you can use groups of them to bring the pain on opposing monsters or destroy buildings, while still using the other portion of them to harass units and capture objectives. The challenge with this strategy is that even though you have a more flexible monster, you have an increased dice cost to do things -to move each morpher it costs one dice just like a monster, so moving them all costs four dice. That's an expensive move order!



Another disadvantage morphers have is that they have no power stat, so they can't make power attacks. This is compensated by their powerful abilities - each morpher has at least one powerful ability that can ruin your opponent's plans. Finally, each of the units shares its health with the entire monster, but if two morphers take damage, then that's double the damage a normal monster would take. The damage can stack up quickly, so you need to make sure you keep track of it and position your morphers so they won't take multiple points of damage in a single turn.

Morphers aren't the only new addition in Monsterpocalypse: All Your Base. A new class of building has also been introduced - the installation. Each of these buildings has a powerful ability that takes the gameplay to a new level - from Tower of Corruption's ability to change one unit into another on the battlefield to the strength draining abilities of the Sun Industries building, each of these installations are a fun mix of flavor and power for all of the Agendas.

Monsterpocalypse: All Your Base introduces six metamorph monsters, six installations, and a bevy of new units for each of the factions currently released - it's a smaller expansion, but it packs quite a bit of punch. Playing with a metamorph monster is definitely a different experience than playing with a regular monster, but it's a lot of fun and can be very powerful when played correctly. Still the pieces are balanced with their limitations and are an excellent addition to the game.



Privateer Press has outdone itself again with the sculpting and prepaint work on all the All Your Base Set figures. Each of the miniatures are gorgeous, and looks great as part of a collection or out on the battlefield. The miniatures can be purchased in either a Monster booster pack, which contains one random monster and its four morphers, or a Units booster pack, which contains one installation and four units at differing rarities.

If you are a new player getting into Monsterpocalypse, I would forgo this expansion set for now - the easiest way to learn how to play is by getting the Starter box, which contains units, dice, maps, and two monsters for you to learn the game with. The rules for Morphers come in each Monster booster box, but the entire rulebook is available only online or in a Starter box. The rules for morphers are not particularly hard or more difficult than the rest of the rules, but it helps to have a solid background in the core rules before trying out morphers, so more experienced players will find the most use for the morphers first.

If you liked the first two releases of Monsterpocalypse, then All Your Base will be right up your alley. All Your Base morphers give players something different for their Monsterpocalypse games and are a great addition to any collection. The latest units and the new installation buildings are a must-have for anyone getting into competitive play, and add some variation to the game that keeps it fresh and exciting. All in all, Privateer Press has designed and published a solid third set to their blossoming collectible miniatures game.



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Groovy Party Game Man...
Aqurius Review

Looney Labs isn't necessarily a household name for board games and card games, but, in my opinion, they should be. The game design studio has developed many fun party games, like Fluxx and all of its variants (Zombie Fluxx being my favorite), the time twisting Chrononauts, and has just released the fun fantasy-based (and sometimes devilish) Are You The Traitor?. These games are great with friends, around the table after dinner, and before other more intense, time consuming games. They serve as a nice, fresh splash of randomness, fun, and sometimes hilarity into what can be a pretty serious gaming night.

Looney Labs' latest release is Aquarius, a game that functions as a mix between table top card games like Fluxx and the ancient favorite Dominoes. Players start the game with 3 cards in hand and a special "Goal" card that shows them one of five elements (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Space). Cards can have anywhere from one to four elements on it, or it can be a wild card (can stand for all 5 of the elements).The game starts with a card already on the table, and players play cards so that at least one of the elements on the card they play has to match with the card you're playing it against. If it happens to match more than one element, you get to draw extra cards at the end of your turn. The way to win the game is to use the cards you draw to build a line of cards with your element on them. The first player who can draw a line between cards that have a connected line of their element wins.

Seems pretty simple, right? Well, that's where the Action cards come into play. In the deck, along with all the Element cards, are cards that allow you to do things. Some Actions allow you to move cards on the board or pick up a card that is on the board, while others mess with the hidden information of the game, allowing you to switch goals with an opponent (which is a great way to steal the win away from someone), force everyone to have their Goal cards rotated to the player on their right. These Actions make the game fresh and random, giving it a much needed pizazz.

As far as the materials go, the game is gorgeous. A little abstract in its composition, the cards show beautiful, loudly-colored images of the five elements, as well as different illustrations for the Action cards. The game is startlingly good looking, and it draws people towards it when played. The game has a groovy 60 and 70s feel - even the name, which reminds me of the song "Aquarius" from the musical Hair. The illustrations have a very 70s quality about them, and the player with the longest hair gets the first turn (which seems silly, but its as good a way to choose who goes first as any).The bright colors and matching make the game suitable for younger children too, and Looney Labs has graciously added rule sets for the youngest among us. The materials are solid, and the cards shuffle very well - I would expect no less from the makers of Fluxx. More cautious players may consider investing in card protecting sleeves for the deck of cards, but I think that that precaution is mostly unnecessary. The cards will last a long time, and provided they don't get mangled or have beverages spilled on them.

Playing the game is simple, but you do need a bit of table space for all the cards, especially with the more players you add to the game. A five player game can get big pretty quickly, so try to give yourself plenty of room. Three and four player games are easy to be deceptive in: by building a line of an element that isn't your goal, you can get your opponents to try and stop you from building that element. The problem is, one of your opponents may be holding that element Goal. This isn't as much of the case in a five player game, because you know that everyone has an element, so no matter what element you build up, you are helping someone.

Many more serious gamers may be put off by the simplicity of the game - it is, after all, not a new Puerto Rico, Power Grid, or Carcassone. This may explain its semi-low rating at the Board Game Geek, where players tend to be much more focused on the strategy-based European board game. I will have to respectfully disagree with their lower rating of Aquarius. Aquarius does what it intends to very well. As a party game, Aquarius shines. Its unique cards, fun, easy to learn game play, and quick turnaround time makes it ideal for people who aren't gamers, and for newbies interested in trying something new. Small, easy party games like Aquarius function well as an ice breaker in social events, and guys take note: this is a game that the ladies of the non-gaming persuasion will probably have fun playing.

Aquarius will retail for $15.00 USD and is due to be released on August 28th. The game can be preordered at the Looney Labs website ( http://store.looneylabs.com/Aquarius), or purchased at your local friendly game store. As a quick, simple, and fun party game, Aquarius ranks up in the top.

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Take a better look at some of the Aquarius cards

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Titles the PSN Needs

One thing the PSP & PS3 desperately lacked in the beginning was a bevy of solid titles for download on the Playstation Network. Xbox was getting critical acclaim for many of its downloads and Live offerings. Original arcade titles such as Braid, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, and Castle Crashers were accompanied by solid Xbox titles such as Psychonauts and Halo. Considering that Xbox titles have little to compare to PS One and PS2 in terms of depth and quality, it is puzzling why Sony's PSN was lacking behind Xbox's Live. This mystery was only compounded by the fact that Xbox was outright stealing and openly courting Sony's normally exclusive developers, snatching up properties like Castlevania: Symphony of Night and Square-Enix properties.

While, the Playstation 2 is very much alive and there is a viable first hand market for its products, the Playstation One's market is plagued with pirated and damaged discs. There is no reason that Sony should not be countering the piracy and rampant ebay market by re-releasing titles from the PS One for the PSP and PS3. Recently, they seem to have taken notice and started to pump out some solid titles such as Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil, and Metal Gear Solid. Upcoming titles include Resident Evil 2 & 3, Tekken, Silent Hill, and Spec Ops.

Here is a list of titles that Sony should capitalize on and finally re-release:

Rare Games
There are a handful of Playstation releases that had very limited releases. Unfortunately, many of them were quality games that now are in such scarce supply the demand has pushed their second market price tags in the upwards of $100 to $300. Problem is that half of the time, you get a pirated disc or a badly damaged one. If someone is willing to pay $300 for a Playstation game, why wouldn't they be willing to pay $200 for a brand new PSP and $20 for a game?

Suikoden II
Initially panned, Suikoden II has since become a staple of top 10 RPG lists. Arguably the best of the Suikoden series, it suffered from a limited run despite a extremely strong story with tons of side quests. Suikoden games revolve around collecting 108 "Stars" to help save their country from the forces of evil. The game rides between extremely dark- and light-hearted, using tongue in cheek humor alongside political themes. I may be a tad biased, (it is my favorite game of all time), but the fact that it now usually carries a $200 price tag lends a little credibility to how badly this game is desired.

Tactics Ogre
If Final Fantasy Tactics is the mother of all Strategy RPG's, Tactics Ogre is the grandmother. Released by Atlus on the Super Nintendo and Playstation, the game never really received a popular following, but developed a loyal cult of fans. Tactics Ogre, more than any other game, should garnish credit for inventing the concepts that molded the strategy RPG genre, including the look, feel, and basic concepts of Final Fantasy Tactics. Shelling out for a copy of the game is likely to cost you in the upwards of $150.

Intelligent Qube
I.Q. was all the rage in Japan, yet it had a very limited release in the US and has always been considered "one of those quirky" puzzle games you don't forget. Anyone who has ever seen or played it can attest that the gameplay is compelling and captivating. Finding a copy to actually embellish your inner puzzler can be a little troubling, as they run in the upwards of $75 range. This game would definitely fit the motif of the PSN with its bevy of quirky puzzlers such as echochrome. I.Q. has seen several reworks and releases, but nothing for the PSP in America yet, although Japan released all the I.Q. titles as I.Q. Mania for the PSP.

Imports
One great thing about digital copies of games is that it is much easier to bring imports into the US as localization and production costs are fractioned. This should allow for hot word of mouth titles to more easily and rapidly be released where they never have before. Since many fans are already shelling out for modded systems and overseas shipping, it shouldn't be a stretch for them to pick up the PSP or PS3 if they don't have one yet. Heck, for some people, the right title is all the motive they need to finally buy one of the systems.

Rakugaki Showtime
Rakugaki is probably what Super Smash Brothers would look like if it was done in the style of Paper Mario; a 3d fighting game, compromised of 2d paper cut-out graphics with scribbled drawings for effects. Sounds goofy, but it is actually quite interesting to watch. The game is extremely over the top and quite fun to play, making it all the more memorable to anyone that comes into contact with it. Lovers of import games have always had this one on the tips of their tongues, helping it to reach a $250 price tag if you can even find it.

Harmful Park
An eccentric shooter and one of more difficult imports to actually find. I've never had much regard for shooters, but if you're all about them, this game is apparently the 'bee's knees'. The 'cat's pajamas' if you will. A little bit of the 'toaster's crumbs' as well. Featuring a picnic table for its cover, you'll be lucky to find this title for under $200.

Greatest Hits
Arguably, if a game was ever given a second release under the Playstation Greatest Hits line, it should be popular enough to warrant being on the Playstation Network. It seems like a no-brainer here. These are arguably the best selling titles of Sony's history, so let them rake in even more cash in new formats.

Chrono Cross
While Chrono Cross never quite lived up to Chrono Trigger, the game sold a lot of copies and was memorable for its own reasons. The PSP lacks some straight up JRPG style games and this game is a perfect representative of the series. Being a good game is secondary to the name though, as you could have titled it 'Chrono's Big BM' and it would still be a best selling title. The combination of quality and rabid fan support for Chrono should make this is a no brainer to do well for downloadable sales.

Nuclear Strike
The last of the beloved Strike series features the standard Apache helicopter alongside a bevy of other military vehicles. Flying around from objective to objective, the game lost a little bit of its luster somehow from the 32-bit Genesis titles. The series was still very simple, pure entertainment allowing you to gun down terrorists and rain down hellfire missiles on terrorists. Proof positive that 2d was, and still is, extremely fun.

Generation Gaps
Being a portable system, the Playstation Network also needs some games that the old and young a like can enjoy. Unfortunately Nintendo controls most of those properties, such as Metroid, Zelda, and Mario, although the Playstation has a few.

Alundra
Alundra is a Zelda-clone that was extremely well done. Featuring excellent graphics for the time and a focus on puzzle-solving, the game was a fun play no matter what age you were. Not too long or difficult, it was the perfect game for children and adults alike. Alundra has already been released as a PSone Classic in Japan so it's only a matter of time before it is released in America.

Azure Dreams
Azure Dreams is an RPG similar to Pokemon in that you collect monsters; after that things get different. Younger kids probably have the ability to raise and breed tremendous allies, while adults can grasp the seemingly complex concepts going on with the game. The game is unique in that it creates rogue-like floors for a 40-story tower that you climb again and again. It might sound boring, but there is plenty going on and the difficulty can be quite high.

While there are numerous titles that could easily be ported, these titles stick out to me as generally smart moves that would create a lot of niche and widespread interest in the PSN. New games are great, and are necessary, but to many fans the right retro release might be the perfect reason to finally pony out the cash to buy the game and the system. Sony's made some questionable moves in the last couple of years, but recently has started to move in the right direction. If they want to figure out how to sell expensive systems, the answer may be cheaper and easier than they ever suspected.

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