All posts by Noob of All Trades

Shawn Lucas is the self identified "Noob of All Trades". He is married and the father of three boys, two of whom help with their own podcast every couple of months. Raised on Atari, Nintendo, and Sega, he enjoys all games and will play all of them to the best of his ability, which is often average at best. Currently, he is most interested in Magic, Heroclix, and other games that he can play with Chris and his sons.
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Marvel Comics June 2023: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

If we thought recent developments in DC Comics surprised us, Marvel one upped them in a big way. Last month, I needed to create a whole new category for the Amazing Spider-Man. Spoiler Alert: In spite of the name of the book, it wasn’t better than “Great”. They remedied that some with Marvel Comics June 2023, but I still hesitate to move the book any higher than I did for fear that they hurt me again.

Other than that, most of the books follow a recent status quo. The good remain good (with one teetering on great) and the great stay on top (with some, other than one suprising exception, tettering on good) of the comics heap. For a while there, DC threatened my status as a Marvel zombie, but Marvel went a long way to finding their roots and bringing the fun back to many of their books.

Note: Images taken from Marvel.

Incomplete

I started this section for X-Men because I saved the books for after I get caught up with the most current story. See, after years of listening to Chris tell me how good the book was, I finally invested in finishing my run of the main title books and buying trades of the supporting books. I intend to read the main title, probably before September, to rescue them from this section.

As far as Punisher, I either (a) grew out of my Punisher phase, (b) got tired of Jason Aaron, or (c) possibly both. Evidence points to the second very strongly. So, I skimmed the book in search of anthing interesting and found nothing. Without reading, I reserve judgement.

Decent

Thor 35

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Amazing Spider-Man 26, 27,28: Writer: Zeb Wells, Artist: JRJR and Ed McGuinness. First things first. Thank god that abyssmal Paul storyline is over. It pushed the book into territory never before seen on the page. When it ended and Ms. Marvel died, the death barely even registered. I recently learned about women in refrigerators and this one qualifies. Wells went to some old standards with the follow up story, bringing Doc Ock into the mix. I liked that much more. But, I reserve judgement in case he loses his mind again.

Black Panther 1: Writer: Eve L. Ewing, Artist: Chris Allen. I started reading Black Panther during the Ta-Nehisis Coates era. I kept reading it through the John Ridley era. To be fair, I’m probably being too tough on this book because of the tagline on the cover. Seems like every book lately represents the “most exciting” part of Panther’s life. Even though I know that things just sometimes aren’t for us and maybe this book goes there now for me, I’ll keep giving it a chance.

Thor 35: Writer: Torunn Grønbekk, Artist: Serio Dávila and Juan Gedeon. Speaking of Jason Aaron, he kind of killed Thor for me. I think during his entire run, the only story that I genuinely liked (well actually, there are two) were Thor working to get Mjolnir back and the Donald Blake one. I’m glad this one is ending and they’re bringing Al Ewing in for Immortal Thor in a few months.

Good

Doctor Strange 3

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Avengers 2: Writer: Jed McKay, Artist: C.F. Villa. I wrote last time, “another month, another Avengers 1”. While that might seem like I damned the book with faint praise, I suppose you’re partially right. I meant what I said, though. This book follows in the footsteps of that one and gives each character some screen time to show how they fit in the new team.

Doctor Strange 3 and 4: Writer: Jed McKay, Artist: Pasqual Ferry and Andy MacDonald. I wrote earlier about Marvel getting back to its roots in the introduction. Among others, this book shows that big time. In number 3, Strange faces off against Dormammu for the soul of a mortal. In 4, Wong and his allies work to put together a new version of W.A.N.D. Both stories are entertaining.

Great

Fantastic Four 8

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Note: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, insert this at the beginning of each of these reviews, “Speaking of Marvel taking us back to their roots, Marvel Comics June 2023 does just that.”

Fantastic Four 8: Writer: Ryan North, Artist: Ivan Fiorelli. A relaxing time on the farm turns into a mystery that leads to a super villain enslaving the entire town. Stop me when this sounds familiar. An excellent entry into the genre.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3: Writer: Colin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, Artist: Kev Walker. An issue that focuses on Star Lord and reckoning with his past. Can’t go wrong with that, ever. Except, it always does and then he has to spend the rest of the issue fixing it. Also, we get some more clues about Grootfall. I really need to read that story.

She-Hulk 14: Writer: Rainbow Rowell, Artist: Andrés Genolet. Again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, She-Hulk reigns supreme among all comics right now. So, instead, a story. I saw they are resetting the issues for She-Hulk. Not a new writer. Maybe a new story. I asked why. Someone commented that it makes it easier to read and collect. I don’t know if that’s true. Without legacy numbering, I get confused.

Okay, Grandpa, let’s get you back to bed.

Venom 20 and 21: Writer: Al Ewing, Artist: Cafu. I worried previously that Mr. Ewing strayed a bit too far from the horror angle that I enjoyed so much from his Immortal Hulk run. Yes, I know that different books are different, but I think that Venom works best with that undercurrent of horror. Well, he brings the horror in both of these issues and I’m going to miss him when they mix things up in a couple of months.

The Verdict

Marvel Comics June 2023 continues the upward trend of the books from the last couple of months. I gave no “Decent” in DC Comics this month and the ones that are “Decent” this month actually look promising going forward. Chris and I keep claiming the medium dead. Like the titual Marvel zombies, though, they keep coming back stronger.

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Wonder Woman 800 Extra-Size Spectacular

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Introduction

Wonder Woman 800 took a different approach than The Flash and other recent landmark issues. Instead of a collection of shorter stories, they wrapped up the previous arc and included an introduction to the next arc at the end of the book.

While I enjoy the issues with the smaller vignettes because they allow writers to explore the less well known aspects of the heroes, this method works, too. It gives the previous creative team a chance to finish their story. The new creative team gets a chance to put an imprint on the character and introduce their unique persepctive.

Whatever Happened to the Warrior of Truth? Part 2

Writers: Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad, Artists: Joelle Jones, Alitha Martinez, Mark Morales, Nick Robles, Todd Nauck, Skylar Partridge, Cully Hamner, and Jen Bartel.

I liked the Beck Cloonan/Michael W. Conrad run of Wonder Woman. They understood the character and brought her back to her roots. Similar to the current story in She-Hulk, they just get Diana and what makes her a good character. This issue goes a long way to showing all of that in the finish of their run. Wonder Woman travels the universe to visit and work with allies. She ends the story by reminding everyone out there who she is and what she stands for. My Verdict: Great

Trinity

Writer: Tom King, Artist: Daniel Sampere

I loved Tom King’s Batman series. He also wrote Miracle Man very well. I look forward to seeing what he does with the new Wonder Woman series. From what I see in this story, she is in good hands. He writes her differently from the previous writers, but change can be good. My verdict: Good

The Verdict

I enjoyed both stories for very different reasons. Perhaps surprisingly, I liked Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad’s better than Tom King. Perhaps not. They’ve had more time to establish themselves and their mythos, so saying farewell has more emotional impact right now than Tom King’s version. After Knight Terrors, we’ll see how this story in Wonder Woman 800 leads into the future of the book.

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The Flash 800 Extra-Sized Spectacular!

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Introduction

I wrote in my DC Comics June 2023 review that they released two landmark issues this month. The first of them that I read (simply due to the consequence of the alphabet) was The Flash 800. I originally started collecting Flash comics because Aiden enjoyed the character and watched the television show in it’s entirety.

I read several issues early in the Joshua Williamson run. I liked what I read, but with no attachment to the character, I never committed to making it part of my regular rotation. But, like any self respecting comic book fan, I need to read all of the big time issues. Let’s dig in to The Flash 800 and see what it offers.

Don’t Come to Central City

Writer: Jeremy Adams, Artist: Fernando Pasarin

A few years ago, while teaching a STEM summer course at Holyoke Community College, my TA made a statement that I initially considered controversial. I since heard the claim made by others and now understand the ramifications. While talking about The Flash, he says, “If you think about it in a Physics sense, the Flash is the most powerful super hero. Wait, what? Superman? The Hulk? Galactus? Then, we discussed it further and, as I said, I understood the thesis. Well, this story takes that thesis and presents it through the lens of some small time criminals warning against messing with Central City and the Flash. My verdict: Good

The Max in the Mirror

Writer: Mark Waid, Artist: Todd Nauck

As not much of a Flash fan, I think I missed something in this story. Aiden, better versed in the character, might understand and appreciate it better than me. Because, honestly, I just wanted to finish it and move on to the other stories in the book. My Verdict: Decent

Flash Family

Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Carmine di Giandomenico

I wrote earlier that Williamson almost made me a Flash fan. More impressively, he recently turned me into a Superman fan. I like this story because it is sweet and focuses on family. As I mentioned more than once lately, that subject gets me every single time lately. My verdict: Great

Blitz Back

Writer: Geoff Johns, Artist: Scott Kolins

The last story in the book sells itself as a set up for the new book as part of “Dawn of DC”. This one leads in to the lead in with an analysis of Zoom’s character and his part in the next chapter of The Flash. Of all of the Flash villains, Zoom is my favorite. My Verdict: Great

Between Love and You

Writer: Si Spurrier, Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.

This story tells the typical dual life super hero tale. Admittedly, a bit of a let down after the two stories before, but I understand the reason for ordering them in that way. And, to their credit, after Knight Terrors, I plan on giving The Flash another chance to crack the rotation. My verdict: Good

The Verdict

Overall, a fun landmark issue that highlights the important parts of Flash history. They gave the issue the subtitle of “A Celebration of Wally West”. Again, as a lesser Flash fan, I don’t necessarily have a favorite Flash, but I liked this book, so I can’t wait for the next stories in the series.

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DC Comics June 2023: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

In my previous article, I talked a little about how I kept the page going during our trip to Germany. I unintentionally left out the part about how I kept the podcast alive and neglected the YouTube page. But, even so, this represents a watershed in the history of the page. Previously, I ignored the page for extended periods of time and found it difficult to get back into the swing of thing. No such lull this year. So, even though I must update three days in a row, I bring you DC Comics June 2023.

This month, they celebrate two milestone issues, Wonder Woman 800 and The Flash 800. I review those in another article so that I can give them the proper attention that they deserve. Unfortunately, that only leaves five books for this article. Oh well, at least they are good books. Join me to see what books they are.

Regular readers of the page know exactly what books they are.

Good

Detective Comics 1073

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Batman 136: Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Artist: Belén Ortega. I bumped this one up from “Decent” last month. I made no secret of not enjoying the multiverse storyline and infinity Jokers. Well, this ended that and put Batman at war with himself, sort of. I appreciated that return to some good old fashioned disassociative identity disorder.

Catwoman 56: Writer: Tini Howard, Artist: Marcus To, Marco Santucci, M.L Sanapo. Again, I judged Catwoman harshly last month. This one might have even jumped into “Great” territory this month, but the set up felt lacking. You guys know me and my preference for the literal cat burglar stories in this book and that’s what this ends up being in the end.

Detective Comics 1072/1073: Writer: Ram V, Artist: Ivan Reis with Stefano Raffaele and Goran Sudzuka. I normally love everything that Ram V does. But, I only liked this particular storyline. He makes it as compelling as possible, but it just didn’t hit with me.

Great

Action Comics 1056

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Action Comics 1056: Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Artist: Rafa Sandoval and Max Raynor. Yes, my world continues to be turned upside down. However, as you read, see that this month rights the ship a bit compared to the previous DC article. What can I say? I enjoy this storyline right now. Lex Luthor as an ally is exactly what I need in my comics life right now.

Superman 5: Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Jamal Campbell. This one almost fell to the “Good” section this time. Part of it dragged a little bit for me. However, Williamson redeemed himself at the end and I look forward to the next installment after Knight Terrors the nexst couple of months. Speaking of, I forgot to order them in August, so I need to visit That’s Entertainment to pick up the missing books.

The Verdict

Yes, you read correctly. There are no decent books in DC Comics June 2023. Just some (very) “Good” bordering on “Great” and the two consistent Superman titles in the “Great” section again. Next month brings “Knight Terrors”, so expect a companion article for those titles.

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June 2023 Independent Comics I Love

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Introduction

As mentioned several times in articles and podcast episodes, my wife, Liam, and I went to Germany for Liam’s high school graduation. I got the idea from talking to a student who went to Disney for theirs. I thought, why not give our kids a chance at a trip of their choice when they graduate. Well, he immediately knew that he wanted to go to Germany. In spite of the length of the trip, I kept the page going with the “From the Vault” series in which I reposted a few articles from our past. And, now, I return live with June 2023 independent comics I love.

But, before that, I enjoyed the trip very much. We traveled to three countries, saw countless historical and natural wonders, and already started to plan the next trip. We either intend to travel to other countries in central Europe or finally cross the UK off our list. I think it will be the UK and then the other countries in five or so years. We plan to go domestic and then overseas for about 5-9 years until we can work for the Department of Defense and live over there for a bit. But, none of that has to do with comics. So, on with the reviews.

Just one of the many post card quality photos I took during our time there.

“Spawniverse”

These indpendent articles usually only contain Spawn and, on occasion, a random independent comic that accidentally got sent to me or one that I ordered on a whim. Every now and then, I remember one of Chris’s recommendations and order that. Well, this (and future) articles are only different in that I put all four of the Spawn’s Universe comics on my pull list. I also added TMNT after Armageddon game. Hey, I’m branching out!

Note: Spawn pictures taken from Image Comics.

Gunslinger Spawn #21

Writer: Uncle Todd, Artist: Brett Booth

I think when I mentioned to Chris that after I learned about the new Spawn related titles, he said something about enjoying Gunslinger. If so, then I 100% agree. I broke my X-Men rule for these books and just dove right in without any backstory. This issue captured me from the first page. Gunslinger and his accomplice ride dinosaurs into battle against Maelbolgia and Vindicator. Hell yes. The rest of the book tells the story of how they arrived at that battle. I’m looking forward to this one next month. My verdict: Great.

King Spawn #23

Writer: Sean Lewis with Uncle Todd as additional script, Artist: Kevin Keane

I recognized immediately that this book’s story follwed the “Dark Horror” arc from the main title. That’s my favorite Spawn arc of the last decade and is in my top 10 for comics arcs since I started collecting again. I might even say top 5. Quick analysis and I can’t think of many more that I enjoyed as much as that one. While this arc only peripherally contains story elements from that arc, it still gave me enough of that story to push it into the top tier for these books. My verdict: Great.

Scorched #19

Writer: Sean Lewis with Uncle Todd as additional script, Artist: Stephen Segovia

She-Spawn is dead. What the hell? We’re only 19 issues into this thing and one of the cover characters is already dead? Well, okay, let’s see what it’s about anyway. The book is fine. I like the characters on the team and look forward to seeing how they interact when they’re not stressed out because one of them is “dead”. I figured that out pretty quickly. Also, the story felt kind of lukewarm and a bit to obvious for me. Overall, a decent introduction and I’ll read the other issues to see how we got here and if it changes my mind at all. My verdict: Good.

Spawn #342

Writer: Rory McConville with Uncle Todd as additional script, Artist: Carlo Barberi

I think I mentioned in a previous article that the new focus on the war between Heaven and Hell leaves me underwhelmed. I get that’s the main theme behind the book. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. I’ll admit that this issue added a wrinkle that made it more interesting. Having bought nearly an entire run of the book 3 times, I intend to keep collecting and reading. I just hope they give us a different arc soon. My verdict: Good.

TMNT #140 (After Armageddon)

Writer: Sophia Campbell with Kevin Eastman as story consultant, Artist: Gavin Smith, Image from Previews World.

I thought the book might suffer from a bit of a let down after such a long an ambitious even. While there is some of that, the book sets us up nicely for the next arc. I can’t think of a reason I never collected the Turtles before this, but I think it had to do with the book being called “gritty” or some such nonsense. I do remember Chris wanting to go off on the podcast when they teased “killing” one of the turtles several years ago. But, I’m glad they hooked me with the event and I plan to keep collecting and fill in the back issues that I can. My verdict: Good.

The Verdict

Those are the June 2023 independent comics I love. Overall, the future of all of these series looks bright to me and I look forward to filling in some of the back stories. When I said earlier that I fell into a Spawn rabbit hole, that means that I tried to track down all of the back issues of those books. I succeeded in finding all but maybe 3 or 4 of them. Now, as I say, my focus becomes The Turtles. Tell me about some of the June 2023 independent comics you love in th ecomments.

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I Love Enter the Gungeon From the Vault

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Editor’s Note

To keep the page going while we are in Germany, I got the idea to rerun articles from the past year. I further got the idea for celebrating indie games in July (because Independence Day, get it?). From the Vault Series 3 brings us back to my first experience with Enter the Gungeon.

Introduction

Ever since discovering Unix based operating systems and then eventually Linux, I set up all of my computers as dual boot machines now. Honestly, I can’t think of a reason that I still have Windows on this laptop. In the past, I kept a version of Windows for gaming. However, most of my games that I play now are on mobile. What does any of this have to do with Enter the Gungeon?

Patience, my friend. I intend to answer that question. Since I never boot Windows on this machine, I downloaded and loaded Steam in Linux. It helpfully includes a list of Linux compatible games. Unfortunately, for some reason, you can only play 1 Screen Platformer on Windows. But, even though I miss one of my favorite games, Steam still offers quite a few others.

Bullet Hell? That Sounds Interesting

Because I purchased this computer mainly for updating this web page and the minor audio/video editing necessary to that end, I only trust it to run less powerful games. Sure, when I open it, Steam tempts me with games like Portal 2 and Left 4 Dead. But, I know my limitations. So, intrigued by the visuals, I loaded up Enter the Gungeon.

Even having lived through the various eras of gaming, I still can’t reliably explain what bit a game might be or why. I know the general go-to is 8-bit, which means the games run on hardware comparable to the NES. Even the font that I use for the page advertises as an “8-bit font”. But, I don’t remember any of the letters looking that detailed back in the old NES days. Heck, I worked the last couple of years to pick up some computer programming experience and I still can’t make heads or tails of it. But, I digress.

Retro. Enter the Gungeon is a retro style “bullet hell” game. What, exactly, is bullet hell? Well, after some research, I can finally tell you what “rogue like” and “rogue light” games are. So far, nothing inspired me to research “bullet hell”, but let me try to explain. Bullet hell games revolve around a randomly generated dungeon crawl with multiple enemies per level that you shoot using a variety of moves and targeting techniques. Man, that sounds good. Maybe I missed my calling as a marketing executive for small game designers.

Seriously, Though, What Does That Mean?

When you start the game, you get a choice of four characters. Having only played a couple of times and I chose the same character each time, I can only assume that the characters have different abilities. I can confirm in a future article about the game. After choosing your character, you get to play through a tutorial set of levels that gives you helpful hint of how to play the game.

If you are like me, you promptly forgot most of those hints. Either that, or you don’t possess the skill necessary to utilize them efficiently and effectively. I’m sure that with time my skill level will improve and I might even last until one of the boss fights to use the hints they gave me. Aside from all of that, you move your character and shoot your gun. I believe the bullet hell comes from the fact that you can constantly shoot and move yourself in full 360 with little to no penalty.

Enemies of various style and difficulty greet you with every new level. Again, if you pride yourself in being a noob like me, then it takes more than a couple of plays to figure out the best way to approach every type of enemy and style of room.

The Verdict

Even given my limitations, I enjoyed the game. I want to lead it up and play more. Who knows, with more free time next week, maybe I even get good, as the kids say. We all know stranger things happened. See you tomorrow for the next installment of Noob’s Book Club. Or, will I? That’s what we call a teaser in the biz.

Digital Playground

Hades is a Gift: From the Vault

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Editors Note

In an effort to keep the page going while we are in Germany, I got the idea to rerun articles from the past. From the Vault Series 2 brings an article from last Christmas about the independent game, Hades.

Introduction

Merry Christmas!

Welcome and Merry Christmas! Last year, my son bought me Hades for the Nintendo Switch on the recommendation of Chris. Therefore, truly Hades is a gift. I played the game some during the week of break. After that, I needed to concentrate on not losing my job, so I had little time for such frivolity. Then, I misplaced the game. Finally, I completely forgot about it until I realized break neared again.

I bought the game digitally in anticipation. Then, while putting my clothes away, I found the cartridge. So, if anyone wants a digital copy of Hades, I might be able to gift it to you. Send me an email and I’ll see what I can do.

What is Hades?

I never reviewed the game last year. I thought I did, but maybe I just included it in one of my Game of the Year articles at the end of the year. Hades follows your character, the son of Hades, through the land of the gods as he hacks and slashes his way to more power.

It resembles Diablo in game play. That alone gave me reason to try. I enjoyed all of the Diablo clones I played. Torchlight II became my favorite game for several months about 5 or 6 years ago. It was the subject of the lost episode 2 of the original run of the podcast.

Why is Hades a Gift?

Hades sweetens the deal with unique gameplay that follows the lore of the pantheon. One of the ways that you advance in the game is by dying. You come back and increase your abilities before plunging again into the dungeon of the Underworld. I like that wrinkle to the game. It takes a frustrating part of other games (dying and having to start over) and removes that frustration. Further, it almost makes dying an incentive. You die to take a breather from the dungeon crawling.

The game also has a unique, cartoon graphics engine that works seamlessly with the cut scenes to build a living, breathing world. The characters add to that with their own personalities based also on the lore of the gods if available. Some characters are specific to the game, but they still made me laugh more than once with their antics.

The Verdict

I played Hades again some last week. I managed to pull the Switch away from Quinn and Liam (they’ve been playing the new Pokemon game) to get a couple of games in. I still enjoyed playing even though it took me some time to get used to the controls again. In between games of Mario Party, Mario Kart, and them playing Pokemon, I hope to play more during this break. I also bought new controllers for the XBox, so I’m sure Quinn, Aiden, and I will get some Minecraft in, too. Be prepared for reports on all of it.

Digital Playground

1 Screen Platformer From the Vault Series

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Editors Note

In an effort to keep the page active while in Germany, I came up with this series of reruns from the past. And, so I present to you from the vault series 1. In this one, I talk about how thankful I am for 1 Screen Platformer, an independent game that I played obsessively for about a month last year.

Introduction

For the last few weeks, I dedicated Thursday to my Dungeons and Dragons club play through of Curse of Strahd. As you can read if you follow the link, one of the reasons I am not doing so is because my group is slowly falling apart. Last week, I stopped the game early and this week I threw out two of my group from the club before we got a chance to play. Also, Spooktober is over, so time to focus on other games I enjoy. Today, I write about how I’m thankful for 1 Screen Platformer.

I wish I remembered how I became aware of the game. Being that it is on Steam, I either purchased it during a Steam sale or it came as part of a Humble Bundle. A quick search of my Humble Bundle history shows no evidence of the game, so apparently, I bought it as part of a Steam sale.

Why I am Thankful for 1 Screen Platformer

In any case, I played the game obsessively for a month or so last year. Every now and then (like earlier this week), when I load up my Windows partition I give the game another shot. I never regret the decision. The game’s title tells you all you need to know. Instead of moving from one screen to another to advance in the level, the camera follows your character as it pans left/right/up/down to capture the game play. But the catch is that the game fits on one screen. I’ll let the trailer give a better explanation than I ever can.

The Verdict

See what I mean? Tight controls, challenging levels, varied characters and achievements for each of them come together to make (possibly surprising) for hours of entertainment. Even if you get bored after a few plays, I guarantee that you’ll be back for more. What do you have to lose? The game only costs 2.99 and there’s a “prologue” level for free to give you a better idea of the game play and if it’s something you’d enjoy.

Digital Playground

Death and Taxes: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

I write often of my exploits with Humble Bundle. Many are the games that I discovered through their generous bundles. Also, many are the programming books that I used to expand my repetoire and learn more about coding, just in case. Honestly, though, so many are the games I never played and the books I forgot I ordered. That never stopped me from learning about and ordering from another bundle page. And, so I found Death and Taxes.

You may think that because we went to Germany that I won’t update the page regularly. Especially since nothing posted since my review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. I set up the page to auto post first this article and then three more over the next couple of weeks to keep the page active and in your brain space, if you’re a fan. Let’s kick of celebrating indie gaming in July with this article.

The Decent

Limited Gameplay: I give them credit for putting as much into the game as they did. However, even with the added elements, it ultimately boils down simply to sitting in your office, receiving a dossier of people to live and die, and then choosing who actually lives or dies. If that sounds boring, well, that’s the whole point. THe game takes the job of grim reaper and makes it mid-level management hell.

What? re: Controls: I watched through the introduction comic (more onthat in a minute). Even though I don’t usually, I even paid attention during the introduction during the tutorial levels. Even so, it took me some trial and error to figure out how to move the elevator from level to level. Believe it or not, that’s a crucial skill in the game.

The Good

Introduction Comic: As one of the last few people who enjoy comics. I saw an article again the other day saying something along the lines of comics dying. Now, Chris and I pronounced them dead more than once. But, like the titular Marvel Zombies of lore past, they keep coming back. Well, Death and Taxes gives you the skinny on how to play the game and the back story through an engaging interactive comic.

Humor: In spite of the serious nature of deciding if people live or die, the game provides a light hearted approach to delivering that fate. More than once, I found myself laughing out loud at the dialogue or description of a person’s life.

The Great

Voice Acting: I never expected thegame to contain any voice acting. That it did and the acting was some of the best I’ve heard in a game impressed me. All characters have their own unique voice that gives the game a life that it wouldn’t otherwise have. I commend the designers for this choice and am glad they pulled it off.

Moral Dilemma: I might be taking this game too seriously, but I find myself faced with a genuine moral dilemma every time I get the dossiers and start reading their stories. Sometimes the requirements tip their hands when it comes to who dies. Other times, it leaves it up to you to wrestle with your own beliefs and what you think the game wants you to do in order to make a decision. Again, masterfully done.

The Verdict

I came into the game expecting a certain game based on reviews that I read. However, Death and Taxes exceeded those expectations, whatever they were. Having only played through the tutorial, I want to finish it first and then discover if there are alternate endings. I assure you that they exist. Can’t wait to see them.

Digital Playground

Lair of the Clockwork God Early Impressions

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Introduction

I mentioned in my Death and Taxes article (not scheduled to post until next week) about my experiencs with Humble Bundle. Then, I went on to talk about Fanatical, a new bundle service I tinkered with a couple of months ago. In one of those bundles, I received this game for Steam. I really like it, so I wanted to write one last article about Lair of the Clockwork God early impressions before the Germany trip.

I never heard of the game or the studio. That’s not unusual. While I want to be an indie gaming darling, the truth is that I simply don’t have the time to comb web pages searching for the latest and greatest indie gaming treasures. And, so, I generally play them far after they lose their relevance in the community. But, to paraphrase Jack Sparrow, “I have heard of them.”

Quick Note: I barely played through the first part of the tutorial level to get a feel for the game since I’m on a bit of a time crunch here. After playing the game more, I promise to update my thoughts.

The Decent

The Humor: While funny, some of the humor is a bit too on the nose for me. I like that they took both genres and turned them a bit on their head, but the continued tongue in cheek dialogue between the characters got to be a bit too much for me and I’m only a half hour into game play time. I trust that it might, but I definitely hope that as the plot becomes more complex, the humor will follow.

Couldn’t find any of the actual humorous dialogue, but this is the type of homage or dig you get from these guys throughout.

The Good

Challenge: The game offers just the right amount of challenge, in my opinion. I wrote in my Portal 2 article that I enjoy puzzles in my game. They use the innovative (more on that in a minute) game play to build new and challenging puzzles into the game. Granted, I only made it through part of the tutorial. However, the puzzles made me think but never caused me much frustration. I expect that to challenges to change as the game progresses, but I hope the frustration remains at a minimum.

The Great

Innovative Gameplay: For the amount of times that you hear this from a game, you’d think we’d have more than the half a dozen basic gaming genres that we have. Every once in a while, a game delivers on that promise. I already talked about the different puzzles that this game offers due to the style of the game. Granted, they arrived at this style by mashing together two styles that they enjoy. Even so, the result becomes so much more than the sum of its parts. I know I use the analogy often, but think Reese’s peanut butter cups. Two great games that play great together.

The Verdict

Having only played through part of the tutorial level, I can’t make a judgement. Wait, what? Someone with a reasonable and measured response? I know, I know. Supposed to have a hot take on things as soon as we consume them these days. But, my Lair of the Clockwork God early impressions are I enjoy the game very much. I want to play more. Hell, my wife even noticed me playing and asked what the game was. That’s high praise indeed.