Friday, September 29
Game Review: Darkwatch
Darkwatch doesn't break any new ground as a first-person shooter, but it definitely adds style and panache to a genre that's been shot to death. Playing on hard, I felt I got my money's worth. [MORE]
Labels: game reviews
posted by Mike Tresca at
6:37 PM
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Game Review: Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
It's ironic that Seven Sorrows is probably most like the original Gauntlet game. That's not a compliment though; in a crowded market of Gauntlet-clones, Seven Sorrows doesn't sufficiently distinguish itself from all the other sword-swinging, axe-hurling, bow-shooting, magic-blasting games out there. [MORE]
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posted by Mike Tresca at
6:33 PM
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Wednesday, September 27
Alien Invasion Cover
Check out the cover of Alien Invasion!
Labels: author news
posted by Mike Tresca at
3:07 PM
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Saturday, September 23
Holiday in the Sun - Part 4a: A Bigger Problem
He stopped abruptly at the opening. “Well, the good news is we’ve found the rat,” said Vlad.
They found the rat all right, but he was in no condition to fight back. The room was filled with arcing webs, and the rat was firmly caught amongst them. His jaws worked futilely as he tried to gnaw his way free. Around the room were several large cocoons, some as large men.
“What’s the bad news?” asked Dril.
Deep in the shadows a pair of red eyes glowed. An arachnid form was just visible in the webs. As mandibles clicked, a raspy voice emerged from the abomination.
“If you leave now, I’ll let you live,” it whispered.
Dril drew his flintlock rifle. “Never mind.”[MORE]
Labels: arcanis
posted by Mike Tresca at
8:32 AM
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Friday, September 22
Alien Invasion Preview!
Check out the latest preview of Alien Invasion from Reality Deviant Publications! [MORE]Labels: author news
posted by Mike Tresca at
10:22 PM
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Monday, September 18
Holiday in the Sun - Part 3b: Chasing the Rat
Dril was hot on the rat’s trail, but it wasn’t very hard to track. The thing left a wake of terror and more than a few gnawed limbs of those too slow to get out of its way. Dril kept pace easily with the crowd, pulling ahead even as other sailors behind him cursed and laughed. Most of them were drunk.
Then he saw the girl.
Her parents had carefully hoisted her up on a crate, out of the path of the rat and the men. But what they didn’t count on was the rat’s mad dash, its tail thrashing behind it. The long pink tail snapped like a whip and toppled the crate, leaving the girl in shock in the mud.
Right in the path of the crowd. [MORE]
Labels: arcanis
posted by Mike Tresca at
10:07 PM
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Sunday, September 17
Book Review: T2: Infiltrator
Stirling takes time with everyone from the Dysons who deal with Miles' death to Sarah struggling with her nightmares and alcoholism to John just trying to be a teenager. This is a smart book with big ideas in a heavily commercialized genre. Don't let the fact that the book is selling for one cent fool you; it's certainly smarter than a lot of drek out there. [MORE]
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posted by Mike Tresca at
4:19 PM
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Saturday, September 16
DVD Review: Anchorman
Anchorman is all over the place. It pokes fun at news shows, like how they all hate each other like 50s gangs (and imagines them duking it out with bats in alleys). It jokes about how the intelligence requirements to become a weatherman (Brick has an IQ of 48 and is "what some people call mentally retarded.") It mocks 70s fashion (Look at those shoes! That moustache! Those slacks!). It painfully wrangles with the struggle of equality in the workplace. Sometimes it's about the love between a man and a woman…and sometimes it's about the love between a man and his dog. [MORE]
Labels: movie reviews
posted by Mike Tresca at
11:11 PM
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Thursday, September 14
Holiday in the Sun - Part 3a: Chasing the Rat
Baldric pointed at a man-sized keg that three sailors slowly rolled up to the stage. He undid several latches and with a creak, the front of the keg fell open.
In the darkness, two beady red eyes glared out at the crowd.
Ilmarė joined Dril to stare into the keg. “Oh no, he didn’t,” she said. “He’s not going to let that thing loose, is he?”
“Th' first salt t' brin' me back th' fat rat gets th' booty,” shouted Baldric. “An’ remember, he’s worth more alive than dead!”
With that, the huge rat launched itself into the midst of the crowd, nearly flattening a particularly ugly woman.
Ilmarė pinched the bridge of her nose with thumb and forefinger. “Of course he is.” When she looked up, Dril was gone. [MORE]
Labels: arcanis
posted by Mike Tresca at
8:59 AM
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Game Review: Halo 2
Play alternates between Master Chief and the alien elite known as the Arbiter. This gives the player both sides of the story, which is interesting…to a point. Eventually, the plot converges enough so that the two characters should really end up fighting each other. That would have been something, if the AI made you play through both battles from opposite sides by creating an enemy that uses your own moves.
But instead, about midway through the battle for the universe, a giant plant that looks like Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors shows up. This planet, speaking in Jabba-esque guttural tones, rams the plot down our throats by grabbing the Arbiter and Master Chief and shoving them into opposite plot lines: the Arbiter ends up working with the humans, Master Chief ends up doing the alien dirty work. [MORE]
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posted by Mike Tresca at
8:53 AM
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Wednesday, September 13
DVD Review: They
For all its flaws, They is still a pretty good creepfest. It's just not a very satisfying movie, and after awhile the heroine's histrionics become irritating enough that you start rooting for the monsters to eat her. [MORE]
Labels: movie reviews
posted by Mike Tresca at
7:55 PM
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Tuesday, September 12
Movie Review: The Illusionist
Overall, The Illusionist is a tight film of big ideas wrapped in the Victorian veneer of the old world. Just like the stagecraft Eisenheim performs, The Illusionist proves that sometimes, perception really is reality. [MORE]
Labels: movie reviews
posted by Mike Tresca at
9:24 PM
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Sunday, September 10
Holiday in the Sun - Part 2: Fun for Everyone
“As ye all know, th' Great Raid did Freeport proud,” said Baldric. “An' nay shipmate did more than One-eyed Jack. Lashed t' th' mast o' Cap’n Drac’s flagship durin' a storm, he fought off o'er a dozen fishmen o' th' deep wi' only a belayin' pin. Truly a salt t' be reckoned wi'. Now, be ye ready fer One-eyed Jack’s Stand?”
The crowd once again roared its approval. Captain Baldric made his way to the scene of the first event and he motioned to Vlad to follow him. A short distance away was a circle of packed earth with a large stone obelisk at its center. A rope dangled from the top of the obelisk.
“An' me good matey Vlad will go first. Let’s give th' lad a hand!”
Vlad blinked and looked around in surprise. “Wait…what?” [MORE]
Labels: arcanis
posted by Mike Tresca at
11:02 PM
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Thursday, September 7
The Thing: Who Goes There?
Just updated The Thing: Who Goes There? d20 Modern supplement with better rules on insanity.Labels: gaming news
posted by Mike Tresca at
8:28 AM
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Monday, September 4
Holiday in the Sun - Part 1: A Knife in the Back
“What was that?” asked Ilmarė.
“What?” Vlad asked back. The din of the crowd was so loud that he couldn’t understand her.
“I saw someone slip towards the rear of the stage,” said Ilmarė.
“What?” shouted Vlad, louder this time.
“I said,” Ilmarė shouted back, “I think there’s someone on the stage!”
“You mean Baldric?” asked Vlad.
“No,” said Ilmarė. She pointed at the stage in exasperation.
Just then, Dril whistled past them. “Assassin!” he snarled, scimitar and dagger out. [MORE]
Labels: arcanis
posted by Mike Tresca at
4:35 PM
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