(boardgame; $49.99; 2-5 players; Ages 10+; daysofwonder.com)
(five stars)
Resolving this year to branch out and play more traditional tabletop games has lead me to so many delights that could never be captured by a videogame. With all of the advances in texture modeling, 3D animation, motion capture, storytelling, etc., some types of games are just meant to be played on a flat surface... and I don't mean a plasma.
"Smallworld" from Days of Wonder is one of those types of games.
Actually a reimplementation of an older game known as "Vinci," "Smallworld" is a conquer-and-control style of game where points are awarded at the end of each round for the number of territories on a map controlled by a player. The game is played in a set number of rounds and at the end, points are added up and a winner is determined.
Translated for those who are unfamiliar with boardgame mechanics: it's similar to "Risk," but its over in an hour; and there's very little luck involved.
Unlike "Vinci's" theme which relied on European civilizations and countries, "Smallworld" is a silly send-up of all things high-fantasy. Rather than playing in any realism, "Smallworld" has 14 different races of creatures from Dwarves and Giants, to Hobbit-like Halflings and Ratmen, all battling to control as much of the small map as possible.
Each race has its own special strength and is randomly combined with 20 different special abilities. Both the race strengths and the special abilities aid the player in capturing and controlling areas of the map, or award bonus points at the end of the round. For example, a "Flying Dwarf" may capture any area of the map without needing to control an adjacent area because of the "Flying" ability, and Dwarves receive bonus points for controlling areas of the map that have mines on them. "Tritons" require less armies to conquer areas adjacent to water, and races who have the "Fortifying" special ability get to construct a castle for added defense. The random combination of races to special powers allow for a unique game every time, and strategy deciding what race a player will draft initially into the game.
Play continues with players spreading their forces in order to control as much of the map as possible. At some point, though, a player's army will be spread too thin to conquer effectively, and the player will need to strategically decide when to put that race into decline and draft a new army. Once in decline, players will continue to collect points for controlling areas of the map, but can no longer use declined races or their special abilities to conquer new areas. With the new race in place, players will have to try to conquer new areas of the map, without re-conquering areas they already control with a declined race.
Unlike "Risk," where a losing player can almost never fight their way back on top, "Smallworld's" mechanic of putting a race into decline and starting over with a new race can swing the balance of power sharply in a game. And with up to 5 people playing on a map, and with multiple races in decline, a player who's collecting a bunch of points at the end of a round because of a particularly strong race, can quickly be dominated by a newly drafted race who's forces are numerous.
The decline mechanic also prevents players from becoming too attached to their armies, and though the game naturally encourages players to gang-up on each other, knowing that you always have a race in the wings to draft when you need it, never makes "Smallworld" feel vicious. Plus the set number of rounds keeps all players in the game the entire time, as opposed to "Risk" where the first person out better have a book with them to pass the time until a winner is declared.
Two expansions have already been released for "Smallworld" with greater combinations of races and abilities for more varied play. Though the high-fantasy theme and artwork may not sit well for those who would have preferred the less colorful and more mundane look of "Vinci," "Smallworld" is a great game for hardcore and casual gamers alike.
And a highly recommended replacement for some of those more common family games out there.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Just Cause 2 Review
(Xbox, PS3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Drug Reference/Language/Sexual Themes/Violence; www.justcause2.com)
(four and a half stars)
The first "Just Cause" was released at an awkward time: right after the launch of the Xbox 360 and way before the release of the PS3. Though it had next-gen ambitions, it was primarily developed for the earlier Xbox and PS2 and the open-world island of destruction concept was held back by awkward controls, glitches, and lots of places to go with not much to do. Though it received an Xbox 360 version, little was done in the way of correcting the problems that hampered it by being a primarily last-gen game. It came, it went, and no one thought much of it either way.
Thankfully though, the right people thought something of it, because a sequel was green-lit. In an opportune window, it was released to retail at a time when there was a lull between huge releases. The type of window where a little game with next-gen ambitions can thrive when developers take a hard look at what went wrong the first time, and produce something that is sheer fun.
In "Just Cause 2," rough-and-tumble man-of-action Rico Rodriquez returns to liberate another war-torn island nation from a fascist dictator. Though "fighting for freedom wherever there's trouble" may be a secondary mission to Rodriquez, the primary reason he lands on the fictitious island of Panau is to track down a former mentor who has gone rogue. Here's the thing though: "Just Cause 2" is in every way a summer blockbuster type of game, so plot and story elements are fairly irrelevant since everyone is just putting down money to see how big the explosions get.
And "Just Cause 2" doesn't disappoint. With a densely-packed 400 square miles of cities, snow-peaked mountains, beaches, military bases, villages, and jungles, and with the open-world freedom to explore the whole of the island while going through the main adventure, Rico has more than enough places and environments to wreak a whole lot of havoc - and actually, the more havoc wreaked, the more missions appear to wreak continued havoc. Sure there's about 10 hours of story in the game, but with as many side distractions and a veritable playground at your disposal, staying on-task is something you'll actually have to force yourself to do.
Continuing on with the first game's larger-than-life action and stunts, "Just Cause 2" ramps Rico's physically-impossible escapades to a thoroughly enjoyable level. Armed again with a wrist-mounted grappling hook and stunt parachute, Rico can quickly traverse over the huge island landscape by zip-lining his way onto almost any surface or vehicle. If he needs a little high-ground, Rico can deploy his parachute while zip-lining to quickly launch himself into the air. This makes for amazing sequences that would make James Bond blush: in a pinch, Rico can hijack a helicopter, then grapple to an oncoming jet fighter, only to surf on its back while gunning down other enemy fighters - and that's not even the crazy stuff.
Oh, and did I mention that you can grapple an enemy to an explosive fuel tank, then shoot the fuel tank to launch it, and the enemy in tow, into the stratosphere? Yep. It's absurd, and its delightful.
Some games come along, like "Heavy Rain" or "Grand Theft Auto," and try to make games as realistic as possible; "Just Cause 2" comes along to make games as fun possible. It doesn't hide the fact it's an game, it relishes it.
You should too.
(four and a half stars)
The first "Just Cause" was released at an awkward time: right after the launch of the Xbox 360 and way before the release of the PS3. Though it had next-gen ambitions, it was primarily developed for the earlier Xbox and PS2 and the open-world island of destruction concept was held back by awkward controls, glitches, and lots of places to go with not much to do. Though it received an Xbox 360 version, little was done in the way of correcting the problems that hampered it by being a primarily last-gen game. It came, it went, and no one thought much of it either way.
Thankfully though, the right people thought something of it, because a sequel was green-lit. In an opportune window, it was released to retail at a time when there was a lull between huge releases. The type of window where a little game with next-gen ambitions can thrive when developers take a hard look at what went wrong the first time, and produce something that is sheer fun.
In "Just Cause 2," rough-and-tumble man-of-action Rico Rodriquez returns to liberate another war-torn island nation from a fascist dictator. Though "fighting for freedom wherever there's trouble" may be a secondary mission to Rodriquez, the primary reason he lands on the fictitious island of Panau is to track down a former mentor who has gone rogue. Here's the thing though: "Just Cause 2" is in every way a summer blockbuster type of game, so plot and story elements are fairly irrelevant since everyone is just putting down money to see how big the explosions get.
And "Just Cause 2" doesn't disappoint. With a densely-packed 400 square miles of cities, snow-peaked mountains, beaches, military bases, villages, and jungles, and with the open-world freedom to explore the whole of the island while going through the main adventure, Rico has more than enough places and environments to wreak a whole lot of havoc - and actually, the more havoc wreaked, the more missions appear to wreak continued havoc. Sure there's about 10 hours of story in the game, but with as many side distractions and a veritable playground at your disposal, staying on-task is something you'll actually have to force yourself to do.
Continuing on with the first game's larger-than-life action and stunts, "Just Cause 2" ramps Rico's physically-impossible escapades to a thoroughly enjoyable level. Armed again with a wrist-mounted grappling hook and stunt parachute, Rico can quickly traverse over the huge island landscape by zip-lining his way onto almost any surface or vehicle. If he needs a little high-ground, Rico can deploy his parachute while zip-lining to quickly launch himself into the air. This makes for amazing sequences that would make James Bond blush: in a pinch, Rico can hijack a helicopter, then grapple to an oncoming jet fighter, only to surf on its back while gunning down other enemy fighters - and that's not even the crazy stuff.
Oh, and did I mention that you can grapple an enemy to an explosive fuel tank, then shoot the fuel tank to launch it, and the enemy in tow, into the stratosphere? Yep. It's absurd, and its delightful.
Some games come along, like "Heavy Rain" or "Grand Theft Auto," and try to make games as realistic as possible; "Just Cause 2" comes along to make games as fun possible. It doesn't hide the fact it's an game, it relishes it.
You should too.
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