I finished 6 or so of the color sections on the Aeronef ships but I need to get going on the last bits of Eldar for the Epic World Tournament in Scotland next month. So orange is back on the painting pallet. I got the black undersides and cockpits done. Next up is the little bit of black trim on the top, the weapons and the orange treatment.
I'm not sure if I'll have time but I'd also like to get 3 Fire Prism turrets done for the army as well. We'll see.
Vitals: Title:La Viña Designed by: Jose Ramón Palacios Publisher: Devir Games Year Published: 2019 MSRP: $25 2-5p | 30-45 min | 8+
Introduction:
A very old viticulturist has passed on to a better place. When his heirs meet at his house, the question of who will become the new owner of the vineyard is brought up. The jewel of all the old man's property is this small plot of vines, producing grapes of the highest quality, which has sadly fallen into neglect. The various types of grapevines have overgrown the area without any care or supervision. The deceased owner left a will stating that he wanted the vineyard to be brought back to its former glory. In order to avoid splitting up the plot, he declared that the vineyard would be granted to whomever is able to obtain the best yield from it. The grape harvest has just started, and there are many wineries that have offered a good price for the grapes they need.
Taking turns, each player will move his grape picker down the aisle between the vines on the trellises. The player looks at the grape cards and chooses which one he wants to collect, then puts it into one of his baskets. When he comes out of the vineyard at the end of the aisle, the grape picker can deliver the grapes in his baskets to the wineries, so long as he has collected the minimum quantity they require. He then receives the reward that the wineries offer. When a player carries out his last delivery, the game ends. The rest of the players continue to play until they come to the end of the aisle for the last time. The one who has obtained the most prestige is then declared the winner.
—description from the publisher
Blooms: Blooms are the game's highlights and features. Elements that are exceptional.
Outstanding presentation, artwork, and component quality. I especially love the prestige tokens.
I love the mechanic that allows you to move as far forward along the path as you like, but the person at the back moves first.
Great balance between gaining resources (grapes) and racing to the end in order to sell for points.
I like how the barrels are used to count down to the end of the game, with the last player to sell at a particular winery gaining a bonus and the game ending once someone places their last barrel. It's a nice blend of racing to end the game and timing your sales for maximum benefit.
Buds: Buds are interesting parts of the game I would like to explore more.
A lot of different Grape and Winery cards mean there will be a different mix every game, making each game play differently.
The game scales great from 2 to 5 players, with some minor changes for 2 players (each player controls two workers).
Thorns: Thorns are a game's shortcomings and any issues I feel are noteworthy.
The rulebook is pretty poorly translated. There are a few areas where the description of gameplay is not as clear as it could be and a few other areas where things are missing or just left unexplained. It took watching the gameplay video and reading forum comments to make sure we had all the rules correct.
The basket upgrades felt very unbalanced. I thought it was a translation error at first, so my second game we played a little different, but then later I learned that the unbalanced feeling rule is correct.
Not much gameplay arc. There's no sense of growth in the game; what you do in the first round is pretty much what you do in the last round, and it feels like it takes too long to get to the end because of this.
Final Thoughts:
There are some things that La Viña does great - incorporating the theme, balancing resource gathering versus racing to sell, etc. However, there are some areas where La Viña just doesn't quite hit the mark. The rulebook leaves a lot unclear, and there's not much game arc, however the biggest issue is that the basket upgrades feels very unbalanced.
There are always fewer upgrades available than players and there's no rule against upgrading from a small bucket to the large bin, skipping over the medium basket. The first time I played we thought this was wrong, so the second time we said you could only upgrade one step at a time. So you couldn't upgrade your starting 2 card bucket straight to a 4 card bin. You'd first have to upgrade it to a 3 card basket. You could upgrade your 3 card basket at the start to a 4 card bin, but then risk getting stuck with a 2 card bucket that can't be upgraded because all the 3 card baskets are taken. That change felt a lot more balanced. But then, after watching a gameplay video with the publisher, I saw that it was allowed to upgrade directly from the small basket to the large bin. It seems like an obvious move to shoot for in the first round, which isn't too hard since the difference is only 7 prestige, and that means the player(s) finishing last have no shot at getting that upgrade. That feels wrong and unbalanced, but I guess that's correct.
La Viña is very close to being a Bloom game for me. I think for what it does though, Parks from Keymaster Games scratches the same itch and does it a bit better. If I hadn't played Parks, I probably would have enjoyed La Viña more. But the unbalanced feel of the basket upgrades, the poorly translated rulebook, and lack of any game arc are enough to knock it down to a Bud. It is quite a bit cheaper than Parks though, so if you want this style of game, La Viña is a great affordable alternative. For me though, since I have both games, I'd choose to play Parks over La Viña pretty much every time.
Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Rating:
Bud! This game definitely has some great moments. It's good for several plays and should appeal to most gamers, especially if you enjoy other games like this.
GJJ Games Reviews are independent, unpaid reviews of games I, George Jaros, have played with my family and friends. Some of these games I own, some are owned by friends, some are borrowed, and some were provided by a publisher or designer for my honest feedback and evaluation. I make every attempt to be both honest and constructively critical in my reviews, and they are all my opinions. There are four types of reviews on GJJ Games: Full Reviews feature critical reviews based on a rubric and games receive a rating from 0 to 100. Quick Reviews and Kickstarter Previews are either shorter reviews of published games or detailed preview reviews of crowdfunding games that will receive a rating from 0 to 10 based on my impressions of the game. Buds, Blooms,and Thorns reviews are shorter reviews of either published or upcoming games that highlight three aspects of a game: Buds are parts of a game I look forward to exploring more, Blooms are outstanding features of a game, and Thorns are shortcomings of a game. Each BBT review game will receive an overall rating of Thorn, Bud, or Bloom.
It's been so very, very long since I last posted, so I want to apologize. This is a good time to review my New Year's Resolutions, and definitely one of them is to post weekly - which I was pretty consistent with last year.
The reasons are that I enjoy blogging, and it'll "force" me to think about pertinent topics to write about, which can also help with figuring out streaming topics.
Resolutions can be kept if we troubleshoot and remove foreseeable obstacles that can get in the way of resolutions.
The major obstacle with weekly postings, is not having a set schedule to sit down and write. As I'm not working on Mondays, it makes the most sense, after exercising, chores, and breakfast, to write my post on Mondays.
There's a possibility that I'll be working on Mondays, so the other free day I have is Friday, as the alternative option. I didn't know that Blogspot can automate the exact time to post, so Friday is a perfectly viable alternative.
My other resolution, I've been rather consistent, which is getting up as soon as the alarm clock rings, which I was never able to do since day 1, until recently.
I changed my alarm clock to an earlier time (from 7:00 AM to 6:30 AM) which will give me the time to exercise before work. I noticed my mind shuts down around 8 PM (I'm not a night owl), so why not go to bed earlier and get up earlier in the morning, during the hours where I truly enjoy activities?
Thanks to my Twitch buddy, who inspired me to pop out of bed as soon as the alarm clock rings, I've been more or less successful in doing so. He mentioned that he'd get up at 5:00 AM, exercise and do his chores, and has a couple of hours before he heads off to work to have fun. I was very motivated, because I would like to get everything out of the way as soon as possible, so the rest of the day, after work, I'll have free time until heading to bed!
I was surprised because last week, I actually exercised before work (the first time in decades), and today, despite not streaming, I also exercised!
In other words, I've been streaming in part because it forced me to exercise, but now I have internal motivation to exercise thanks to my Twitch friend! I very much enjoy streaming, but I now have more freedom to chose to stream or not (in the past, the major reason to stream is because it forces me to exercise). If I get burned out from streaming (which can very well happen), I won't feel guilt that I'm not taking care of my health.
In this way, I can truly evaluate Twitch streaming as a hobby I want to keep or not, and if I no longer enjoy it, I can leave streaming behind without feeling remorse.
What are your resolutions, and have you kept them? If you have, I'd love to hear about your troubleshooting. The How of Happiness Review
Based solely on how Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom looks and feels, Game Atelier clearly put a lot of heart into its creation. From its stylistic art design to its tight, metroidvania gameplay, it presents itself with aplomb — no small feat considering its history. Having descended from the lauded Wonder Boy franchise that used to grace arcade machines and Sega consoles alike, it had huge shoes to fill upon its release.
In Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, players control Jin, a young boy who journeys out to stop Nabu, his uncle, from causing havoc across the land. Nabu had been turning people into animals, and by standing up to his uncle, Jin put himself in danger, and soon finds himself turned into an animal as well. In order to undo this animal curse, he must find and make use of five special animal orbs scattered throughout the land. Only by harnessing their power can he hope to right the wrongs that his uncle had made, and undo the spell that keeps them bound as they are.
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom has a simple a premise as can be expected from the series, and it unfolds pleasantly. From the moment the game starts, its artstyle simply pops off the screen with its bright visual design and old-style anime aesthetics. Monster designs are particularly nice to look at, and serve as simple but effective callbacks to a much simpler time, when games weren't rendered three-dimensionally, but were instead two-dimensional art assets made with much care and love.
Just as well-crafted as the aesthetics are the stages themselves. While Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom's gameplay is standard metroidvania, it boasts of levels that rise above the usual dregs of the genre. For the most part, they manage to be just right, both in terms of presentation and length. They never outstay their welcome, and are often presented with various twists in their design that force the player to make use of many animal forms to progress. While some of these levels require back-tracking, they never really feels like busywork. Every new obstacle surpassed feels like an actual accomplishment, and in many ways, the endeavor encourages and rewards players to explore the environment and to not be afraid to take their time.
This does, however, open up some core issues in the game itself. While exploring Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom's levels can be fun and entertaining, engaging in combat is anything but. Its controls are responsive, but the general lack of weight of battles feels quite strange. It never kills the enjoyment, but it does leave encounters with enemies feeling less satisfying than they normally should be, as these tend to lack impact and feel more like minor obstacles than challenges of strength.
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom's puddle design is another cause for concern. It varies wildly from straight-forward and fun, to rather cryptic and confusing. While it's not usually a problem, it can really dampen gamers' enjoyment and sense of accomplishment, especially when parts of the game can drag along purely because of the puzzle's existence.
All in all, though, Monster Boy and the Forgotten Kingdom is a worthy purchase for any fan of side-scrolling metroidvania. Minor issues do exist, but gamers can easily breeze past these and tear into its plentiful content without too much of a fuss. Highly recommended.
THE GOOD
Tight, responsive controls, with very fluid and intuitive gameplay
Great art and aesthetic design
Plenty of hours of well-designed side-scrolling content available
I can't believe it has been five years since we announced the development of the first Oceanhorn game on this blog. Now the time has come for another major announcement.
We are proud and excited to reveal the next installment of the Oceanhorn franchise, Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm. Here's how it looks!
Oceanhorn 2 has been in development for little over a year
The boy has grown up? That's right! But he is a different boy altogether! Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm is set in another time period on the Oceanhorn timeline. The game has a new Hero, a boy who has been trained to become a Knight of Arcadia.
Oceanhorn 2 will be built upon the same elements that were the heart and soul of the first Oceanhorn game: exploring a colorful world, a deep backstory with secrets and twists, amazing music, and most importantly – classic Action RPG gameplay with items, puzzles, battles, and badass bosses!
The Caster is a magical weapon that only Knights carry
The game is played from a third person camera angle that will take players right into the heat of action and allows them to explore even the smallest details of Arcadia. Our battle system consists of sword fighting, utilizing powerful spells and finding creative ways to use various items that Hero discovers on his travels.
One of the key items in the game is the Caster, a gun that shoots magical projectiles! It will have many uses on the player's adventure, from puzzle solving to luring enemies and casting directed spells.
The game will feature a traversable world map
Oceanhorn 2 will also feature a traversable and vast world map that consists of fields, forests, mountains, and water. It works as a hub between levels, dungeons and towns, much like in many of the classic JRPGs.
"For us, Oceanhorn 2 is the fulfillment of a JRPG dream."
Oceanhorn 2 is an opportunity to create something new from the strong background that we established with our previous game. In Oceanhorn 2, we want to emphasize the elements that people loved and create something new and brave on that foundation.
The world of Oceanhorn has grown and so has our team. The core team working on Oceanhorn 2 is now a team of five!
Heikki Repo, Creator and Lead Artist Jukka Viljamaa, Lead Programmer Antti Viljamaa, Lead Programmer Kalle Hämäläinen, Graphics Programmer Miko Kiuru, Game Artist
Also, Kalle Ylitalo will return to compose soundtrack for Oceanhorn 2 and the famed sound designer and foley artist Tapio Liukkonen will be in charge of the audio experience.
For us, Oceanhorn 2 is the fulfillment of a JRPG dream. It is a dream of running down green fields with the warmth of the sun on your face. It is a dream of learning the secrets of ancient ruins despite the danger. It is also a dream of finding yourself looking at beautiful mountains on the horizon and imagining what's beyond them. It will be an amazing journey ahead of us and we hope that you will join us on that journey!
In the upcoming months, we will have many things to show to you and many secrets to unveil regarding Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm. This is a dream project for us, but even more importantly, we are making this game for you to enjoy and experience. So, please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas on Twitter and Facebook!
And make sure to check out Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas on PS4 and Xbox One this fall!
When Commodore made the PET-2001, they made a computer that found some success in the market, especially in Europe. The PET turned into a series, but it was an all-in-one PC that came with a monochrome monitor and was rather an expensive product. Commodore wanted to expand to more of a mass-market, and they designed the Commodore VIC-20, the first personal computer to sell for less than $300. The VIC was very successful when it was released in 1981, becoming the first computer to sell over one million systems. Its low price and feature set (color graphics, 4-channel sound) helped it to outsell its competitors. But it days in the limelight were short-lived due to the arrival of its successor, the Commodore 64. Having acquired a VIC-20, let's take a look at some of the practical issues with using it.
Nací en Puerto Domínguez novena región, el 3 de octubre de 1952, realice mis estudios básicos en la escuela 18 de Tumbes y en la Escuela Claudio Matte, egrese del liceo Nº 2 de concepción el año 1971 e ingrese a la UEDC en 1972 a estudiar pedagogía en química y Ciencias Naturales. Actualmente trabajo en el Liceo San Pedro, Soy padre de tres hijos, la mayor es ingeniera civil egresada de la UEDC y los otros son ingenieros en informática y forestal
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