Author: Xyon McKell

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Manga Reviews

Claymore Volume 17 Review

While volume 17 technically contains a complete “new” arc it is an immediate continuation of the last one and the series in general builds off all that has come before. This is not the place to start reading – go back to the beginning.

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The Claws of Memory (complete: parts 1-6) follows the major power shift at the end of The Lamentation of the Earth and features the intersection of many of the remaining players, and a new danger that might be greater than them all. The developments here are intense, and once again surprising. It amazes me how well and how often Yagi can spring the unexpected on the reader this late in the series and still have everything build and flow naturally and logically. Battle rages throughout the volume and several characters are permanently affected.

I can’t get into more detail without major spoilers so suffice to say this is a pivotal installment and with the conflict within just getting started the next volumes promise to be the same.

Categories
Manga Reviews

Claymore Volume 16 Review

Volume 16 directly continues an arc started in volume 15 and has several major developments that depend heavily on prior events. This is not the place to start reading – go back to the beginning.

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The entirety of this volume is devoted to the remaining chapters of The Lamentation of the Earth (parts 2-7). Last volume had a lot of heavy revelations, but Yagi is far from done with the surprises. Clare’s conversation with an “old friend” continues and portrays a intriguing tangle of complex loyalties and motivations, while filling Clare in on Riful’s machinations. Meanwhile Deneve and Helen encounter a terrifying new weapon of the Organization that made my skin crawl, leading to a dramatic change in the long running power struggle between the Organization and the Creatures of the Abyss.

Absolutely phenomenal stuff, with another fantastic ending hook for the next arc.

Categories
Manga Reviews

Claymore Volume 15 Review

And then everything changed.

While volume 15 technically starts a “new” arc it is an immediate continuation of the last one and the series in general builds off all that has come before. This is not the place to start reading – go back to the beginning.

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The Genesis of War (complete: part 1-5) opens with the continuing battle in Rabona against an awakened one. This is a strong follow up to last volumes events with Galatea and Miata and it’s quite interesting to see the seven in action. The remainder of this arc fills in a lot of important information on the existing status quo and where the series will be going from here, splitting time between the seven, Riful, and Raki.

The revelations here are absolutely amazing. To say that the information Miria shares from her investigation changes the landscape of the entire series is no exaggeration. But it doesn’t end there – Riful’s need for one skilled in reading Yoma energy is explained in another big twist that connects back to a separate lingering mystery from earlier in the series. All together this arc signifies a major shake up that will shape several plot threads going forward and yet fits beautifully with everything that came before.

This volume closes with part 1 of The Lamentation of the Earth. The seven have temporarily disbanded into smaller groups to settle remaining personal business before pursuing their main objective. Cynthia and Uma accompany Clare to the West in search of Raki, but it doesn’t take long to run into something else. This chapter ends on a very strong hook into the next volume.

More than any before this volume showcases what a masterful combination of layered storytelling Yagi is achieving with Claymore. Highly recommended.

Categories
Manga Reviews

Claymore Volume 14 Review

“If that’s your reason, then it’s a laughably weak and foolish one.”
“Yes, isn’t it? To be honest, I think so too.”

Volume 14 directly continues an arc just begun in volume 13, as well as heavily building off of developments throughout the series. This is not the place to start reading.

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A Child Weapon (part 2-5) follows Clarice and Miata’s hunt for the deserter Galatea to a familiar place: the Holy City of Rabona from volume 2. It’s an interesting place for Galatea to hide and provides a nice backdrop for what’s to come. This story is incredible, featuring several combatants with different power levels, goals and strategies in a battle that’s as intelligent as it is gruesome (and it’s one of the bloodiest we’ve seen). The jaw dropping two page spread that concludes the arc is gorgeous and impactful and is a gripping set up for the next arc.

We get another two single chapter side stories from the past to finish this volume. A Chance Encounter in the North takes us back to when Isley met Priscilla. Untarnished Resolve gives a glimpse of Clare’s training period as a Claymore. Both are nice character based supplements to the main series.

A great entry in the series that really builds momentum for future volumes.

 

Categories
Comics Reviews

Rat Queens Volume 3 Review

This trade collects Rat Queens #11-15 and Rat Queens Special: Braga #1. There are a lot of layered story threads in Rat Queens. Best to start at the beginning.

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What a roller coaster this volume was. While the focus was firmly on Hannah and her family, backstory on the other Queens is also woven into the narrative. There’s a LOT of developments in the five core issues here, and a huge shake up to the status quo to close them out.

Previous story points are built on nicely, and a few times I got so caught up in the comic I wanted to scream at the characters. The many outstanding story threads makes the news that only one issue will be published after those contained in this trade before an indefinite hiatus for the comic. Here’s hoping it comes back soon.

I was a little worried about Stjephan Sejic’s departure, but while significantly different Tess Flower and Tamra Bonvillain’s art works quite well to continue Wiebe’s tale.

The stand alone special issue featuring Braga that closes the trade was ok, but raised more questions than it answered and the color palate detracted from the art.

Still loving Rat Queens overall, and I’ll miss it while it’s gone.

Categories
Reviews Video Games

Life is Strange Episode 5 Review: Consequences

With just as many questions remaining as answered, Max must face both the impending catastrophe her powers foretold and escalating danger of a much more personal nature.

I’ll try to stay as spoiler free as possible, but will be sharing some thoughts about the series as a whole and how it all came together.

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Episode 5 picks up right where the gut punch finale of episode 4 left off. The villain’s motivations are relayed by an admitted bit of “monologuing,” but it fits the character to want to gloat / explain as well as the situation Max is in. What follows are some interesting illustrations of the complications and limitations of Max’s powers, with a couple extremely clever complications. It was also nice to see choices from previous episodes remain somewhat relevant during these sections. I appreciate what they tried to do here, and was fairly riveted for the first half of the episode.

I became much less enamored once the stealth sections began. The intent for symbolism and atmosphere was good, but the execution was not. I couldn’t wait for this part of the game to be over.

I had a good guess about where all of this was going, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. There’s a lot of discussion to be had about the possible endings, but without getting into specifics I’ll say the finale is both fitting and a little disappointing. Certain things left in mystery were more interesting to me than some of the story threads heavily focused on, and there were definitely some convenient oversights made for the sake of plot progression. Also after an entire series of doing the “player’s choices have effects” thing better than I’ve EVER seen before, a single choice ends up mattering more than all the others.

All that said, there was internal logic to the crescendo and decision point, and the drama and emotional tension was sufficiently built to present a heart wrenching moment.

Life is Strange as a whole is something I’m glad I played and would readily recommend. It’s not perfect and the ending(s) will be off putting for some, but those same endings and the events that precede them are well done and thought provoking. There was more potential to Life is Strange than what was realized, but what’s here is still extremely good.

Categories
Reviews Video Games

Life is Strange Episode 4 Review: Omens and Revelations

Impending disaster still looms over Arcadia, but Max has more immediate concerns building off the huge cliffhanger that ended episode 3.

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Several long running story lines reach culmination here, with a number of strong, impactful reveals and surprises.  Given the nature of where Episode 3 left off, I can’t talk about any details without major spoilers. The plot is building extremely well though.

The gameplay is again solid here. The immersion is as good as ever with the atmosphere getting creepier and and more intense. One of the biggest mysteries is largely wrapped up here, which is a good move because it let it get focus here while leaving the other major mystery to hopefully come to the front in the final episode. There were a couple of points where the characters made poor choices for the sake of the plot, but it can reasonably be chalked up to the emotional turmoil they’re going through.

The puzzles were fine, but the story and dialog choices are the big draw here. The important choices have much less of a “no right answer” feel then in previous episodes, but I guess that’s a bit inevitable as the series comes to a close. Choices from previous episodes still matter a great deal in terms of dialog choices and certain scenes, which is something that is usually weak in these types of games and the thing I love most about this series.

Dark Room cranks up the tension and emotional impact to fitting levels for the penultimate episode of Life is Strange. I’m a little worried about how much is left to address and explain with only one episode left, but at the same time I’m looking forward to it as overall I’ve enjoyed the series thus far.

Categories
Comics Film Reviews

Captain America: Civil War Review

“They’re not stopping.”

“Neither are we.”

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I completely adore the way the Marvel movie universe has been building, and Captain America: Winter Soldier is perhaps my overall favorite of the bunch. So to say I’ve been impatiently waiting for Civil War would be a VAST understatement. I’m thrilled to say it’s just as fantastic as I hoped.

Part of Winter Soldier’s strength came from the core characters having relatable points of view and struggles. Civil War wonderfully captures this same aspect. EVERYONE in the movie acts the way they do for specific, understandable reasons. This really grounds all the conflict and makes sure the clashes between heroes feel compelling and natural instead of awkward and forced. There were several surprises as the story unfolded and a few things played out very differently than I expected, yet everything flowed logically and nothing came out of left field. And of course the expected sublime touches of humor were present throughout. I can’t say enough about how engrossing I found this film.

A particularly impressive aspect is that all of the above is accomplished while juggling a huge cast. While some characters obviously received stronger focus and more development than others, no one felt neglected or under-developed. From the secondary cast I particularly enjoyed seeing more of Falcon, Scarlet Witch, and Ant-Man. But the amazing part was how two new, important heroes were established in this movie while still doing justice to the other TEN. Both Spiderman and Black Panther were written, handled, and played perfectly. It gives me great hope that it is possible to manage the sure to be significantly larger cast of the Infinity War movies well if done with care.

Alright, I think I’ve been clear enough about my love for Captain America: Civil War so I’m going to wrap this up to avoid devolving into spoilers. Go see it!

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Mystery Boxes Reviews

Nerd Block: Limited Edition International Tabletop Day Box Review

The Limited Edition International Tabletop Gaming Day Box from Nerd Block and Geek & Sundry was my first of NB’s special blocks. Unfortunately it will likely be my last.

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The t-shirt is nice, prominently featuring the International Tabletop Day logo. Sadly, it’s mostly downhill from here.

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The majority of the space in the box was taken up by the Magic The Gathering Legacy Collection Figure. Look, I understand how these boxes work, and I’m not surprised to be getting overstock. But for double the price of a “normal” block I expect better than so much space and around 1/3 of the advertised “value” ($25 retail price of the promised $75+ value) of the items being a two year old figure selling for less than $10 in local game store bargain bins. Figure itself looks fine, but is nothing special.

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Dungeons and Dragons Shadows of the Vampire comic #1 is a reasonable inclusion, although the exclusive cover featuring the cast of one of Geek & Sundry’s shows does nothing for me (and this will be a recurring theme).

Wil Wheaton’s D6 is a somewhat amusing novelty die featuring one dot on five sides and a logo on the sixth. The No Survivors Notepad is a meh item in my mind with a logo/branding for one of Geek & Sundry’s shows.

I like the Geek & Sundry Player Tokens and Velvet Pouch in general. The tokens are a nice size and have good weight. The five classes represented are decent choices and the related logos/designs are good. However this is one of many spots where the sponsor’s branding is an issue for me. Geek & Sundry is very prominent on the bag, as well as on the back of all the tokens. That’s a lot for me already, then on the face of the tokens Geek & Sundry is prominently featured across the top. Honestly I would be fine with all of this if all of the other items were on theme instead of featuring the sponsor, but that’s not the case.

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The playing cards are a logical inclusion, if a little plain. My issue is again the branding. International Tabletop Day is on one side of the outer box, but it’s Geek & Sundry plastered on the back of every card. A pair of pencils doesn’t impress me, with or without the Felicia Day quote. The last item is a Geek & Sundry bumper sticker. Sigh.

 

Conclusion

I have to say I’m disappointed with this special edition block, and won’t be getting any more. My monthly Nerd/Arcade/Sci-Fi Block items aren’t plastered with the Nerd Block logo, and for TWICE the price of a normal block I expected much more emphasis on the Tabletop Day theme and much less on the sponsor. “International Tabletop Day” or its logo was on 2 of the 9 items (3 if you want to be generous and count being on the outer box only of the deck of cards). Geek & Sundry logos were on 7 of 9 items, ridiculously so on 3 of them.

I’m sorry if it seems like I’m harping, but again for the additional cost I feel like if anything was repeatedly featured on the included items it should have been the advertised theme. Instead I feel like I payed for a Geek & Sundry advertising kit. If this was advertised as a “Geek & Sundry” block rather than an “International Tabletop Day” block BY Geek & Sundry and Nerd Block I never would have bought it in the first place.

Categories
Board Games Reviews

Quick Thoughts: And Then We Held Hands, Mr. Jack Pocket, and Onitama

Here are some brief thoughts on a some interesting games two-player games I’ve played once or twice so far.

… and then we held hands.

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“… and then we held hands”  is a two-player cooperative game centered around the idea of balancing emotions. There are a lot of unique aspects that really stood out, from needing to be balanced to refill you hand to using different edges of the cards depending on which side of the board you’re on to always being able to play from either your own hand or your partner’s.

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The theme, while providing decent framing and structure for the game, really disappears when you start playing. It instantly became an abstract. No real complaints about that though. I thought this was a fun, original challenge for a pair of players.

Mr. Jack Pocket

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Mr. Jack Pocket is a neat little two-player, asymmetric, abstract game. Having the four random actions available on odd numbered turns and the “opposite” moves to choose from on the  even numbered turns is a nice touch that gives the game some depth. I and my opponent both found Mr. Jack’s role more difficult to play than the detectives’, but enjoyed the game in both variations. This plays quick and does a lot with a fairly simple setup.

Onitama

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While I’m not a huge chess fan, I’m finding I quite enjoy games that take inspiration from elements of it. Onitama is another great example of that. The simple setup of having five pieces that all move the same based on cards make this extremely easy to learn. Having those cards remain the same throughout the game and “rotate” in a sense between the two players adds a wonderful layer of strategy and gives this game its unique hook. Great aesthetics too.

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Just a quick look at some games I’ve had the pleasure of playing. Hope to be back with more in the not too distant future. 🙂