Warhammer Quest Mobile Game Review

Warhammer Quest by Rodeo games, Creators of Carnage and Space Wolf, is a faithful recreation of the revered board game RPG produced by Games Workshop in the 90's. And when I mean faithful I mean faithful, with even the rooms in the game being taken straight from the tiles in the box. In fact the production values practically scream Old World and mid 90's GW's charm which made me both nostalgic and sad at the same time. Fear not, i'm sure an Age of Sigmar game will be announced in due course.

Priced at £4.00 (though i paid half this in a launch sale) Warhammer Quest is not the cheapest of games out there (though if i recall Carnage was around the same amount) but i think it is well worth the money. Of course the content doesn't last forever and that is where the extra payments come in, we will get there in a moment.

The presentation behind the game really is excellent. The core game comes with one province of the Empire encompassing seven towns each with a bespoke quest (some have two) increasing in difficulty. There are also hidden quests dotted around the map which is quite nice. Each of these is faithful in tone to the original quests in the board game, though i don't recall off hand if they are the exact same quests. after leaving each settlement you will be presented with either the bespoke narrative quest or a number of alternative short quests perfect for grinding and leveling up your characters.

Once you enter the dungeon it is pure WHQ goodness. You move and you attack, its all gridded and the whole thing plays as a faithful adaptation of the game with random encounters in corridors and enemies to defeat in every room. The rules are straight out of the game and even the abilities are the same as you level up. Once you have moved all your warriors and attacked it is the monster phase so tactical nous will be required to make sure you get the most out of your turn. For example, once you have attacked you cannot move, but Spells can be used before or after moving. Monsters encountered include Spiders, Bats and Greenskins, No Undead (they are DLC) but there are different variants of each and they are quite tough, a vicious Troll (replacing the Minotaurs from the box) is quite the challenge to defeat.

The random element of the game is also well captured although no dice are seen. This can sometimes be frustrating as your Dwarf  fails to hit his target three times in a row but lets face it, we have all had a bad run of dice rolls from time to time! Overall, it's not too bad but a nasty run of luck can see you struggle as you lose a warrior due to a crucial moment of failure. I found it OK though, failing a few quests but no massive problems once I had leveled up a few times. My time with the game was a great deal of fun. Problem is that time has come to an end. It was a fun 20 hours but i have leveled everybody to 6 or higher (7 is the cap) and completed all the quests in this region.

So what other options do I have? Well, I could try it at the harder difficulty, where warriors stay dead. Problem is there I would really need to purchase extra character packs and at over £2 a pop they would sure stack up quickly if I have to replace characters all the time. Might try it a little later as there are one or two I like the look of. The other option is to purchase additional content. Two other areas of the Empire are available at the princely sum of £4.00 each. One has Savage Orcs and the other Skaven. I lumped for the Skaven one even though it is a little shorter. So far it's more of the same mainly though the quests are a little different. I'm about half way through it and tbh fatigue is starting to kick in, without an antagonist or end game to work towards i'm not sure I can muster the enthusiasm to continue, although there is slightly more of a narrative this time round. Once i get to the end of it i'll have to once again make a  decision regarding the game. Do i abandon it? Restart it? Or fork out once again for an extended fix? Bear in mind that if you pay for all the DLC in the game it will cost  more than most full price console games and about the same as FFGs WHQ contemporary boardgame

Descent which seems like a much more sensible investment.

With high production values and gripping addictive game play there is a LOT to recommend about WHQ. It is authentic and well made with none of the game crashing bugs that plague Space Wolf.
It is easily playable on a phone due to its simple interface and your first few dozen hours with the game will be some of the most fun you have had for some time. It is an all too short lived affair though and although you could play the generic missions ad infiniatum,  i'm sure you would lose interest. To get your fix you will have to pay more. That said the game is in no way Pay to Win in format and I haven't had to purchase additional resources to get through the game. Overall I recommend Warhammer Quest, it is well worth your time, however long that time is.

Horus Heresy Novella Review: Scorched Earth by Nick Kyme

You know it's not often I head into a review with such a cast iron perspective of the subject I am reviewing. More often than not I actually construct the review as I rethink points in my head ruminating and considering various aspects and elements so as to ensure the review is balanced and free of any bias that might arise from a skewed first impression. Often I can find my view on the subject more malleable than first thought, and can often find myself at conflict with my initial perspective and I can find that my final assessment varies slightly over the course of the review.

Not so with Scorched Earth, I bloody well love this book, I really do. The funny thing is it isn't really all that spectacular (or original for that matter)just one of the most enjoyable reads i have had of late. 

When thinking of the myriad of novellas that have been released Scorched Earth is actually one that had slipped my mind. Indeed it seems to have been released only to coincide with with the latest full length novel Deathfire, from the same author. 

And I'll freely admit that I approached Scorched Earth with a certain amount of trepidation upon seeing the authors name. Not that i particularly dislike Nick Kyme's work (I still have the Salamanders Omnibus sitting on my shelf to read) but I did find Vulkan Lives a particularly frustrating read for reasons that you will find here (be warned, the very nature of my beef with Vulkan Lives means that it is one of the few reviews I have done that is NOT spoiler free) So the prospect of reading what is essentially a prequel to that book wasn't exactly a tantalising one. 

Set, as much of the recent Heresy material has been, in the wake of the Dropsite Massacre of Istvaan V, this is the first book that i have read that has been set solely on the devastated planet itself. Nick does an excellent job of establishing just how dead Istvaan is, a desolate wasteland, completely inimical and hostile.

The story itself revolves around a select few characters, all survivors of the Dropsite Massacre, being hunted down by traitor legions kill teams. The reader is left under no illusion that this is anything other than a desperate last stand. No grand resistance, just a shattered defiance against the inevitable. 

And they are indeed shattered. The characters that Nick has created are flawed and deeply wounded. Broken versions of Astartes, falling back upon training and instinct to survive. In fact the strong characterization is one of the major highlights of the book, with the characters being memorable yet identifiable, pleasingly human yet still Astartes albeit crippled versions of their former selves. 

Nick doesn't really venture that far from the established legion tropes, there is no need to. Instead he strips those tropes down to their elements to make his characters more vulnerable. The Iron Hands, rendered fatherless, seek strength as always. Be it from their augments, acceptance of Ferrus Manus's demise and the hatred derived from it, or a stubborn refusal of the same fact. The Raven Guard are as dogged and pragmatic as you would expect, dangerous like a wounded animal. Ever vigilant though few in number, and using their hit and run tactics best as they can in the face of vastly superior forces. The Salamanders are in the position of not having any idea what has become of their primarch, stoically clinging to the mantra 'Vulkan Lives'. of course Scorched Earth was bought out subsequent to Vulkan Lives meaning the reader is quite aware of Vulkan's fate. 

Still, the Salamanders are not privy to the events of Vulkan Lives and are making frequent forays away from the relative safety of their base of operations to deploy sensor beacons in the hope of locating Vulkan's ship whilst avoiding the attentions of the roving traitor kill squads. This includes the main two characters in the book, Ra'stan and Usabius who decide that rather than waiting to die they will venture out into the wastes of Istvaan to try to find out what has happened to their primarch. 

So begins (albeit more than half way into the book) a buddy story of sorts as the marines encounter all sorts of trials in their quest, This gives Nick an excellent opportunity to work on the camaraderie  between the two marines and also embellish upon the base nature of the traitor forces as the true extent of their depravity is laid bare.

The rest of the book covers the sojourn across the surface of Istvaan on their quest. This is where all the action takes place such as it it. The actual ending itself is somewhat undercooked and revolves around one clever idea.Very well implemented it will certainly cause you to flick back through a few choice pages. It's not original although it is done with a twist but the SKILL with which Nick has pulled it off is considerable. Certainly i was very impressed.

But then i was already impressed. Impressed by the masterful characters that Nick created and the way he has simultaneously portrayed them as strong yet damaged and wounded. We have not really seen Astartes portrayed this way before and i found it a breath of fresh air. It is not the most action packed book but in my opinion it in no way suffers for it. Nick seems to be in his element writing these smaller length novellas and i have certainly enjoyed his short stories as well. It seems only when he is attempting something much larger that he comes unstuck. Still, maybe that track record will change with Deathfire which i hope to have in a few weeks.

In the meantime I thoroughly recommend this book, it really is that good. Though not spectacular or a game changer it is written with real skill and is one of the more fun reads I have had recently. The ending, although pulled off with finesse is secondary to the exceptional character work within and I look forward to seeing if he can continue that strong characterisation in the future, now i'm off to read the Salamanders Omnibus

Book Review: The Unforgiven by Gav Thorpe.

It seems some writers have become synonymous with certain marine chapters. Nick Kyme has the Salamanders, Graham McNeil, the Iron Warriors, ADB took the Night Lords as his own some time ago and Gav Thorpe will always be linked with the Dark Angels.

And whilst we wait for Gav to make his first full length Dark Angels Heresy entry with Angels of Caliban, we have had his Legacy of Caliban series, a continuation of the story he started in Angels of Darkness. I have already reviewed Ravenwing and Master of Sanctity and now it is time for the third and final book. The Unforgiven, the book that should tie up and finish the arc begun so long ago.

One has to wonder how Gav views Angels of Darkness. A firm fan favourite, the book is regarded very highly and at the time added significantly to the fluff of the Dark Angels with some truly shocking revelations. Like many artists who have produced a magnum opus Gav has been judged by it ever since. Living up to a previous high point is notoriously tough and one can tell that Gav has been trying his best to do justice to Angels of Darkness with the Legacy of Caliban. Sadly thus far he doesn't seem to have quite managed it (though i did enjoy Ravenwing a great deal). Perhaps The Unforgiven will prove third time lucky.

The first of the legacy of Caliban and the best

The Unforgiven picks up the exact second after Master of Sanctity ends. The Dark Angels, as always, are on the hunt for one of the Fallen. This time they have been guided by one of the Fallen themselves and this has led to Cypher, who surrenders himself. Having apprehended Cypher the Dark Angels return to The Rock in order to find out more about him and his agenda and how it all keys into the Fallen's plans and indeed the Dark Angels very destiny.

The Unforgiven is the first book to feature Azrael in a primary role. Ravenwing established the characters we will discuss in a moment and Master of Sanctity focused on Asmodai and Sapphon. Now it is time for the Grand Master of the Dark Angels. Overall The Unforgiven actually features more characters than any of the other books and Gav is to be commended for the job he does of cramming them all in. obviously this means that some characters have a vastly reduced presence this time round, most notably Asmodai and Sapphon, this is a shame as the interplay between these two characters was one of the highlights of the last book.

Worth it for the tension between Asmodai and Sapphon

Still this is the final book in the series so Gav rightly has to make concessions as he still needs to get to a suitably climatic conclusion. We do find out a fair bit more about the Inner Circle and with Azrael being featured the Watchers in the Dark also make an appearance. Though nothing too earth shattering is revealed there are some tidbits here and there. Gav even manages to work some of his Horus Heresy work into the convoluted narrative and one has to wonder if this was his intention all along. Certainly i'm expecting more of the same with his yet to come Horus Heresy novel.

The main part of the book is taken up with the interrogation of Cypher and another infamous Fallen and inner machinations of the Dark Angels as they attempt to unravel the Fallen's plans. As mentioned Gav also brings the characters in Ravenwing's arcs to a close. Telemenus continues his woefully unsatisfying story. I find it difficult to believe that such an inept individual could survive in the ranks of ANY marine chapter for so long. Made Deathwing purely by the virtue of having seen one of the Fallen, he has since bumbled his way through his career as an elite Dark Angel, His eventual fate (no spoilers) will likely come as a surprise to none that have read thus far but makes an utter mockery of Dark Angel progression and resources. His hallucinations of the Emperor in no way endeared his character to me either. Gav has a go at justifying it all but i was left less than convinced.

So too i had problems with Annael's continuing tale. The Ravenwing Black Knight goes against orders to search for his comrade and ends up doing penance. In itself not an issue but he at this point becomes one of the most annoying and detestable characters i have ever read. Churlish, sulky, self doubting and whiny it is a poor poor example of an Astartes, especially one of advanced rank. I'd have written him off and shot him in the head personally. I have frequently championed Gavs ability to write well rounded and believable characters, but here as with his Eldar books what he has created is wholly unlikable. With the Eldar books it was understandable, after all as a race they are meant to be aloof and arrogant, so to write them as total dicks (and they were) kind of made sense.

Republished to co incide with the rest of the Legacy of Caliban and probably better than all of it. 

But to write Space Marines as whining, self pitying and self doubting oafs does them no justice at all. In particular it makes the Dark Angels come off really quite badly (man they got ISSUES) and combined with all the internal strife its all just a little odd. It's likely that id not be judging it quite so harshly and might be a little more forgiving had I not just read Scorched Earth. Gav could really do with taking some notes from that book on how to portray Marines as vulnerable and damaged yet still Astartes and retain their integrity.

Alongside all this soap opera the actual pain plot grinds to its conclusion. Sadly this element of the book is less realised than the afore mentioned character story arcs, Fairly convoluted and awkward it nonetheless builds towards a suitably epic if somewhat overreaching action packed climax as the Forces of Chaos mount an all out attack on The Rock. Here we actually get the battle scenes that so much of the saga has cried out for and it does make for a satisfying end to the book. Finally showing the Dark Angels at their best. As for the VERY end of the book, well it is audacious and bombastic and a potential game changer. I'm sure it will prove very divisive. The only way I can really describe it is 40K meets Star Trek but that really is the best I can do without spoiling it totally. If taken as canon (and i see no reason why it wouldn't be it is a pretty big deal and something that will echo throughout the background of the 40K universe.

And so to a close comes the Legacy of Caliban Trilogy/Saga, the official continuation and indeed conclusion of the narrative started in Angels of Darkness. I do not think that Gav has equaled that book, the series is too awkward and inconsistent. However, i do personally think that Gav has already written books better than Angels of Darkness so as far as i am concerned he has nothing to prove anyway. That is not to say that this series is without merit, I genuinely enjoyed Ravenwing a great deal, i thought it was a very promising start to a series and that it offered something not previously seen. Master of Sanctity had it's charms too, mainly the interplay between the titular character and Asmodai. However it was a book betrayed by it's own concept and Gav failed to really sell the concept to me. What seemed plausible in Angels of Darkness was rapidly becoming more and more far fetched and making the 1st legion look like a chapter of fools. The Unforgiven doesn't really delvier the end we deserve. The Fallen's plan seems somewhat poorly thought out and the plot seemingly exists as a secondary consideration to some truly exasperating character writing. The poor characters stand out against the lackluster overall narrative which is buried under masses of indulgence and hastily contrived ideas. The overall climax is pretty 'out there' and doesn't really feel '40K' .

Overall I just don't think the books are a good representation of the Dark Angels, I much prefer Gav's work thus far in the Horus Heresy. Angels of Darkness did a great deal for the Dark Angels within a very limited page count. The Legacy of Caliban does rather less despite being more than triple the size. Still, I look forward to Gav's Heresy novel, Angels of Caliban with great interest. I still think he is the man for the job, I just hope he reins in the characters a little as in this book I was really rooting for the Fallen and that probably wasn't his aim...

Space Wolf: Mobile Game Review

 

There have been a few interesting game announcements lately, GW have a rather lucrative licence and the medium of video games gives an excellent opportunity to bring the worlds of the 41st millennium to life.  Rumblings of Dawn of War III abound, There are Space Hulk games in the works and a new Sandbox action adventure RPG has been announced; Inquisitor Martyr.

On top of this we have the mobile and tablet games. The Latest of these is Deathwatch, but i'll not be reviewing that game here as it is available on IOS only at this point. However, another game that I have been waiting for to be converted has finally made an appearance on Android platforms and that is Space Wolf.  In the meantime I did try Horus Heresy Drop Assault and found it horrifically cumbersome on a mobile phone and horribly biased to the micro transaction format, i may pick it up again, I may not, but I deleted it after about ten minutes so do not feel qualified to deliver an objective opinion on it.

I have however been getting stuck in properly with Russ's finest. Space Wolf is a grid based tactical combat game where you use cards to control your characters. You can buy more cards and resources to make the game easier or you can try to earn the rewards yourself. Unlike Carnage the game is free to download. This is a very good thing as I think I would find it hard to recommend otherwise. It is another of those games that require constant net connection however so time will tell the impact it has on my data usage. 

So I picked it up and started playing through the early missions which incorporate the tutorial. Straight away I was quite impressed and having a lot of fun, partly in thanks to the hidden tactical depth within, You move, and attack using one of a deck of cards, each card costs a certain amount of effort to play, with heavy and special weapons costing more than a basic shot or move card. You can use ANY card to move, so if you don't have any movement cards in your hand at that moment you aren't just stuck there. The amount of effort you have accrued in your turn then effects how long before you activate again with lower effort characters moving first. Therefore there can be a distinct advantage in ending your turn after playing just one of your two allowed cards. Once you get to the stage where you are controlling multiple characters this can be critically important. 

There are also chain cards, these are cards that play automatically when you meet certain criteria. For example an Ambush card can be used as a normal movement card but if you leave it in your hand and attack a target at least 4 cells away, it will play itself and grant a  bonus to your attack. Careful utilisation of these cards can make all the difference between victory and defeat. Facing is also critically important and you will choose your facing after each move. Get it wrong and you may well be in a world of hurt. Another really cool element is as you take damage you build rage, Get enough Rage and you fire a super shot including really cool X-ray cinematic. 

The levels are not particularly large, although they do get bigger as the campaign proceeds. This is a good thing as the game is pretty slow in pace with each battle taking quite a while to play through. Thankfully the game supports a particularly robust saving mechanism and you can exit a game and return to exactly the same point. This is particularly welcome given the large amount of bugs that you will encounter, and sadly i'm not talking Tyranids. The game crashes frequently, grinding to a halt sooner or later in a session, and although it marred my enjoyment only a little it was frustrating. Not as frustrating as if my progress to that point had not been saved though. 

As you progress through the game you will level up gaining more attack power and health, there are optional objectives to achieve in each mission of varying difficulty and some will need to be reattempted after you have leveled up a few times. Speaking of leveling up, you level automatically but have to pay for your upgrades with coins. I am now level five but only have the level two upgrade as I have not the coins to unlock more. this also applies to your squad mates who level up separately! At the rate coins are earned (very seldom) I cant see myself ever getting a fully upgraded squad as  I used quite a lot of coins just to unlock Scout armour, (Sniper Rifles are deadly!) Of course you can buy the coins to unlock stuff but i'm not playing that game and i'm a little put out that the game pushes you that way as coins are somewhat hard to come by. I am currently saving to get Terminator armour (another 5,000 coins)

Still as long as the game is fun to play I don't mind taking the long way round to get the coins needed as long as they do eventually come. Sadly the game does have other ways to punish you in an attempt to get your cash. If you die in game you can resurrect (often the only viable option unless you want to start from scratch) but this will cost you a life rune of which you only have three - don't worry you can always buy more!! The game is also pretty tough, especially in the later stages and it is impossible to get through some missions with an unscathed trio of marines. Once injured you have to wait for your squad members to heal unless you - you guessed it-  pay to get them back straight away. In fairness this only effects your two additional squad members not the main character and you can swap them out for alternatives unless they are wounded too. 

so aside from the slightly frustrating microtransaction strategy which is a common part of all free to play games these days, you can just buy packs that are offered at random seemingly after certain missions. I bought one for the review, it was 69 pence and i got some nice cards and a few coins for it. I didn't feel particularly ripped off but I can see how it could get expensive for some people with a somewhat compulsive nature. 

Elsewhere the game certainly feels right for the most part. The weapons all act more or less like they should even if it is somewhat jarring when your character suddenly turns into a devastator marine toting a lascannon. As I mentioned you can also unlock scout armour and terminator armour for an extortionate amount of coins each, and each of these has its own deck of cards and plays differently offering a different tactical approach. Mixing between these different armour types can be key to your success as well and thankfully as you are playing Space wolves it doesn't feel odd to have the same character switching between the armour types. I'd like to think the developer chose this chapter intentionally but who knows?

You can also tailor your decks in between missions, this is something i haven't got too involved with yet but is something i should do as the difficulty is ramping up significantly. (teleporting chaos sorcerers are NOT fun) There is also an in depth crafting system but again as of yet i have not explored this too much, you can basically create master crafted weapons using engineer runes (another purchasable commodity i have no doubt) to guarantee success.

At this stage i have played to the end of the first campaign. You can replay earlier levels to try to achieve the additional objectives but elsewhere there seems to be little reward for replaying though you can plunder a single crate per level for a mastercrafted weapon. there appear to be another two campaigns to play through with another currently being developed so there is at least a fair bit of play ahead as each campaign is comprised of 6-7 missions.  Whether or not i will have the drive to complete them all before the punishing difficulty leaves me with no option but to pay to win or just accept defeat is another matter. 

Enemies wise it is strictly the scions of Chaos, with Word Bearer Space marines being the main foe and cultists showing up a bit later, sadly the cultists are not markedly easier to kill than the marines which feel a little odd, their autoguns pack a surprising punch too. Them aside the only other foe I have come across thus far is the aforementioned bastard Chaos sorcerer. There is a decided lack of narrative to the story and the presentation is minimal, though it by no means looks poor graphically. 

I have had a fair amount of fun mixed with a little frustration when playing Space Wolf thus far, I've no doubt that if you throw money at the game you will have a much easier and more enjoyable time of it. However even without splashing out I have enjoyed my time with the game and its challenge. I would have liked to have seen variable difficulty levels and the ability to undo move cards or at least facings, as a move will all too often trigger an surprise ambush leaving you exposed to a brutal attack from which you have no defense. That aside the only real bugbear i can recall from the game is remembering the ranges of all the weapons before committing yourself to moves.

Another element of the game that i have not yet explored is the PVP multiplayer element, in my experience this will purely degenerate into a case of whoever paid the most will win. I'll likely have a dabble at some point but given the length of the solo games it seems like it will be undue effort. Plus I hate people. 

Overall, its free so is worth at least a download. There is a lot of tactical depth and challenge involved and if you are prepared to put the time in it can be very rewarding. If you are after a casual game you can pick up and play for five minutes for a quick action fix you may wish to look elsewhere. 

AVP: The Hunt Begins boxed game review.

It's hard to believe that nearly 2 years have passed since I backed the Prodos Games Kickstarter AVP: The Hunt Begins, an ambitious project that was to be both boardgame and tabletop wargame featuring the vast majority of the characters from  the Aliens and the Predator Films and even a few of the computer games. It was something the fans of both franchises have been waiting for for some time. I myself pledged for a full army of each faction and multiple copies of the boxed game along with a load of Battle Systems excellent Sci Fi terrain (which delivered a full half a year ago). It was a massive license and should have been one of the biggest gaming Kickstarter campaigns on record given the scope. The bug hunt to end all bug hunts.

The models we were tempted with

Unfortunately it wasn't, due partly to Prodos' bizarre reticence to interact and answer backer queries and a lack of hard and fast facts or allaying of peoples concerns, the Kickstarter underperformed.With just over 2000 backers Prodos did not even gain the numbers to satisfy the minimum production run for the Resin 'backers only' special Kickstarter edition of the boxed game. Thus the exclusive version was made available to all whereas originally the retail version was to be plastic with only backers receiving resin.

The actual game ended up being fair superior to this mock up in all honesty

This would be but the first in a series of concessions, delays and set backs in the delivery of the campaign, which included at one stage the deleting of the Kickstarter page and near total silence for many months from Prodos. Delays were blamed on Fox and the licensing process and the project floated in a frustrating limbo for an age, Nonetheless the finished product has finally been produced by Prodos which is much more than i can say for another project i backed which is looking like a Total (Extinction) loss.

Now i could easily pen an entire article (or perhaps even a series) on Prodos's failings as a company over the course of this campaign. Their customer service, attitude, transparency, integrity and dare I say competency has been called into question more than once over the last year or so. Damage control measures were implemented but it is safe to say that the vast majority of backers are FAR from happy, this one included.

One of the add ons yet to come, there are also cloaked Predators in clear resin and of course an Alien Queen

This was only compounded when the final approval from Fox was finally given and the games release was set and production began. Of course Prodos found a way to run afoul of backers here too by fulfilling retail wholesale orders before shipping all the backer copies (apparently a contractual obligation). Suddenly backers were in the position of being the LAST to play the very game that they were responsible for funding in the first place! A ridiculous and disgraceful position to be in.

This is also the only reason I am reviewing the game now, as I have bought a copy from Chaos Cards (who's excellent service i can only commend) having STILL  not received a shipping notification from Prodos a full two weeks after the games release date (i'm not expecting to receive the game before August at this point). This is not even to mention the second wave of products and the rulebook for the wargame which apparently are still awaiting final approval from Fox. Nonetheless I got fed up of waiting and at least now have the boxed game in my hands to review.

It is a mightily impressive box

And what a box it is! It weighs an impressive 6.5 kilos and is pretty big too. The cover artwork is quite nice, even if the rear presentation leaves something to be desired being surprisingly low resolution and a bit sparse on detail. It does feel like a quality product however and even the cellophane around the box is thicker than that that normally encompasses boxed games. Once the lid is removed you can see the contents and the foam in the upper lid keeping everything safe (just a sheet of foam, not any good for storing the figures)

Your first view of the inside of the box...

I could only manage a cursory look through the rulebook, so much too see!

The models are in a box as are the cards, so the first thing you see is actually the rule book. This is quite the beast too. It is very thick and jam packed full of rules. oddly there is a marked lack of shots of the actual models and those that are featured are inexplicably poorly lit, making it nearly impossible to see the paint jobs or the details. This is a real shame as in my opinion the miniatures are definitely one of the major selling points of the game.

The layout is quite nice but there is a hell of a lot to assimilate

That's not my camera, The photos of the models are THAT dark. 

The rules are fairly well laid out with lots of diagrams and the book is well presented overall although the fluff that was promised at the start of the Kickstarter is absent, having been apparently nixed by Fox. There is a great deal in the book as it talks of basic and advanced rules and it makes even the most complex Fantasy Flight manual look simple in comparison. There are one or two spelling errors that may betray its Polish authors origins but i have seen much much worse.

There are plenty of missions and lots of ways to play the game. Content is not an issue here. 

One gets the feeling that perhaps a quick start booklet separate from the main rulebook might have been a good idea as the main book seems a little overwhelming. It is impressive how much is crammed in though with the aforementioned advanced and basic rules, survival mode, full stats for all the unreleased wave 2 products and a set of 10 missions. Certainly it will take a while to read it all and assimilate the rules for the game and i suspect that the best way to learn would be to just play the game referring to the book as needed. Overall i do suspect that the ruleset is too complicated for a board game, coming across as an insanely complex and convoluted Space Hulk.

AVP tiles on the left, Space hulk on the right

The AVP Tiles are ever so slightly thinner... 

and lack the finish and embossing of the Space hulk Tiles. On the whole though they are rather good.

And like Space Hulk, AVP comes with quite a lot of card floor sections. .In fact it comes with a hell of a lot. The card stock is slightly thinner than that of GW's game and lacks the veneer and embossing but it is still of a high quality. It is also all double sided although once again the suggested additional rules for these alternate designs have not transpired. Still it can be used for a nice aesthetic change and the design work is pretty good overall with only the weapon templates looking a little second rate. All the floor sections and tokens come away from the card quite nicely as well and overall the quality is very high. The sheer volume of tiles is quite staggering and although there are many duplicates there are some nice infested or 'hived' tiles to add a little variation. There is also a bit cut out of the boards so that you can get them out easier. A nice touch by prodos

...and double sided!

Though the difference at this stage is purely aesthetic

There are tokens galore, at least some of these are being reproduced in resin a little further down the line. 

The weapons templates are the only place where the design is a touch lacking. Alien acid spit is on the other side of the flamethrower template. 

The actual cards themselves are also quite nice and thick. Though the design work on them is satisfactory it falls someway short of amazing, merely serving the purpose. Event cards, stat cards and mission cards are all presented in three small separate white boxes, in total there are a lot of cards split across many decks (some are only utilised in the advanced game) and they are pretty nice if unremarkable, though the backing design is a little odd,One of the few areas where the AVP/FOX branding hasn't been used with generic Giger-esc (RIP) bio mechanical designs being used instead.

The cards within are of decent quality. Everything is readable and you cant ask for much more than that

The environmental cards are used in the basic game. Advanced rules incorporate additional decks. 

Which leaves us with the models. Though eventually these are destined to be moulded plastic sprues, at present they are fine resin models, and i mean fine. These are without a shadow of a doubt the most finely detailed models that I have seen in a boxed game, bar none. The detail that Prodos have manged to get in to the figures is insane. what is even more impressive is that for the most part the models are comprised of few pieces. Truly Prodos are revealing themselves to be masters of their craft here.

Getting to the good stuff at last. 

The Ten Alien infants (the standard creature from the AVP films and 'Alien Resurrection) are just two pieces, a one piece body and a separate tail. In addition the models are not quite all the same, there are slight variants in poses. the only issue that i can really see with the alien infants is that the details are so fine that i can see some breakages if the models are not looked after. The tails in particular are not brittle but will likely snap under a little duress. I will be heating and rebending them to add more variation to my horde so ill let you know how that goes. The fingers are also another weak point.

Exquisite..

It's structural perfection is matched only by it's hostility....

It is quite the feat of casting, props to Prodos

Cannot wait to get some paint on these. The quality bodes well for the extra models in wave 2

The Alien Stalkers (Alien 3 'Dog' Alien) are a little more compact and not quite as detailed so i see these being a bit more robust, they come in three pieces with an arm and leg being separate. The tail is moulded with the body and is actually a lot stronger than the infants, being stockier and less sinuous. Being on all fours also aids with stability, they still look nice but not quite as eyepopping as the infants. There are five in the box

The colonial marines are also excellent, given that they are a true 28mm scale the detail captured is exquisite and they are going to be a real pleasure to paint. With just the arms being separate they again are a triumph in design if perhaps a little fiddly due to them not being heroic scale (a welcome change). There are five marines in the box, Two grunts with Pulse Rifles, a Sergeant with Pulse Rifle and tracker, a Medic with flamer (saddled with a slightly silly running pose) and a SMART Gunner.

Absolutely BAD-ASS!! If armless (Arf Arf!)

In scale. Yautja SHOULD be much larger than humans. Well done Prodos

Finally, the Three Predators, these are almost certainly the cream of the crop each being pretty much a character model in their own right. One is armed with a Throwing Disc, one with a Spear and the other rather delightfully is keying into its wrist mounted control pad in another triumph of miniature design. They are a fair bit bigger than the marines (about 32ml ) and look fantastic, packed with detail, cleverly designed with again just the arms being separate and a surprising amount of dynamism packed into the figures. Again, these will be a joy to paint and i cant wait to get started. The blades and spear are however bits i'd be worried about snapping and the throwing disc is wafer thin and bendy, not sure how it will take paint.

So detailed, but lets see if that spear stays in one peice

Each Predator is a character in its own right

Overall its a quality package, all the components are of a very high standard and the care that Prodos have put into the product is clear for all to see. I do think the rules are too complicated to be really considered a boardgame and i don't think The Hunt Begins is really something for a casual gamer to pick up, even the resin models will require superglue to assemble and are somewhat fiddly and fragile. I'm not sure that they will stand up to the rigours of gaming and although the plastic versions will naturally lack a little detail im sure they will serve the role of board game figures much better. That said the miniatures ARE the talking point of the box and they really are of the very highest quality, rivaling and beating into the dirt many other manufacturers. Though i have yet to get a game in (i only opened it 3 hours before writing this review) it is certainly a case of so far so good. It's just a shame i had to buy the game from a shop in order to find that out.

In short, although i would not back another Prodos Kickstarter I can find little fault with the product. It is of a high standard and has been produced with obvious enthusiasm and care. It looks to have a lot of replay value and the amount of gameplay and ways to play coupled with the outstanding minatures make it worth its premium asking price.  Look for a game report on the Conclave website in due course.

Tabletop Gaming Magazine Review: Issue 1

Even in today's burgeoning digital age, there are still a great many printed publications covering a multitude of subjects, competition is rife with up to a dozen titles jostling for shelf space on nearly every imaginable subject from computer games to Men's Fitness and rather unbelievably 'colouring therapy' (and thus my respect for the general public goes down another notch). One department that has always been somewhat sparse however is wargaming. There are a few scale modelling, historical wargaming and military model mags but nothing that really focuses upon the games themselves. Until now, with Tabletop Gaming Magazine: a new quarterly publication from Warner Publishing nestled in among the above mentioned mags.

The Painting guide is a little half hearted but then so is Paint Splatter in WD 

At first glance the magazine resembles most of the other publications on the shelves. Certainly there is not much to make it stand out and it was actually quite hard to find. With a modern look and a bold (if slightly chromatically challenged) cover it doesn't even look much like Warnergroups other magazines (a portfolio that is largely dominated by other collectors mags and caravan titles as it happens) Promising '101 games you have to play' and interviews galore it makes some bold claims too. So lets see what it delivers.

This takes up the majority of the mag. 

Reading the editorial it appears that this was originally intended as a one off rather than a continued publication, therefore ill cut it a little slack for the '101 games you must play' taking up 70% of the page count. In fact they really do dominate the magazine, being broken up by the other articles. They are not ranked in anyway, each game garnering a column or two of text. I have to add that these are NOT reviews. They are overviews, generally gushing and giving you an overview of the rules mechanics and a general impression of what it is like to play. The variety of games featured is pretty wide, from card and deck building games to dungeon crawlers and skirmish games. I would have liked the content of these overviews to have been a little less passive as hardly any drawbacks or deficiency are mentioned at all, making many of these read like mini advertisements. Still, i enjoyed reading about them and old and new games that i have played and have yet to play are all featured. Just don't expect an in depth review.

The Articles on the other hand are much better. Interesting and informative 

Elsewhere, the articles are actually quite engaging and interesting. Again featuring a wide variety of games from Lords of War to Guild Ball to Rick Priestly's Gates of Antares. These are where the real value of the mag comes in and its a shame they are so few in number as they make good reading. There are real in depth reviews here too although once again they don't really commit. Elsewhere the interviews and features are the meat of the mag. There is even a battle report and a painting article although these are somewhat minimal and simple in nature. Once again i was impressed by the variety of games that were featured.

Thanks to GW id forgotten what a real Bat Rep looks like in print. This example is a little staid though 

One other thing that i really should mention is the errors in the magazine, although some typos are to be expected in the small text, to repeat them in a subheadline without spotting it is pretty poor. In addition one of the 101 games is repeated! It's a bit shoddy and amateurish from a professional publication, hopefully future issues will have more stringent quality control. It is also worth mentioning that this is not a cheap magazine, costing £5.25.

Spot the Error! 

So overall not too bad, there is certainly potential here but the magazine doesn't really have any critical identity, no opinion and therefore the personal aspect is gone. It reads like one of the Fantasy Flight catalogues. The articles on the other hand, are fairly well written and rather insightful and informative, i look forward to reading more of them. It's a little pricey and i am glad that it is to be a quarterly publication, i think this is certainly the appropriate frequency for it. Certainly i think Table Top Gaming is worthy of another chance so ill pick up the next issue in September. Hopefully it starts to live up to its potential.