Wednesday 30 October 2013

About X-men, Infinity and AC:Black Flag

Hey fellas, I am back and it´s sooner than I expected. Quite a lot hapenned yesterday (Tue, 29th) that got me excited. First of all, it was my last day at work in Dome Beach Hotel in Ayia Napa, Cyprus. We did our last show, Commited to Soul, for the audience of eight people, but we did it more for ourselves, to say goodbye to the hotel, season and our workmates.



 Really awesome thing I came across yesterday is the new X-men trailer. I didn´t have time in past few months to follow what´s being released and what is planned so I didn´t know there is new X-men planned. I got a nice surprise yesterday when I found out on youtube. Storywise, I know nothing, but from trailer it seems like it´s set in sixties, after First Class storyline, since young Xavier is on wheelchair already (they don´t show it, but he is always sitting). Definite clue is seeing Beast somewhere there.



 It seems to me that after finding some relic after a fight in an ancient temple, Logan is sent to past to be young Xavier´s mentor. I see the main storyline being same as all the previous films, which is hatred between mutants and non-mutants, Magneto being solid about his intentions to dominate, young Xavier struggling with his inner fight because non-mutants want to wipe out all mutants and he wanted to be a good guy, but now he is loosing it. Who would be a better mentor for him as short-tempered, hatred-filled Wolverine?

 I can see also several side plots after seeing the full cast. We´ll get to see Quicksilver, Magneto´s son (beware, that was a spoiler!), though looks like there will be no Scarlet Witch. Another one I look forward to is Bishop, he is really badass.

 Ok, I think I should stop before hardcore fans will realize I´ve never read any X-men comics.

 Except of that, there were new Infinity the Game releases! Corvus Belli introduced their new product range called Dire Foes, where you get two special characters of opposing factions, a civilian and a PDF containing a mission that involves all three of them. We´ve also got another Tohaa airbourne unit and a mercenary TAG with a hot pilot chick.

 Now for those who don´t know what the hell I am talking about, to quote Corvus Belli, company that is behind all this sweet stuff: "Infinity is a game with 28mm high metal miniatures that simulates combat and special operations in a science fiction environment with Manga aesthetics. Infinity miniatures are characterized by the high quality and detail of their modeling, the dynamism of their postures and their futuristic aesthetic." I am planning an article explaining more deeply what Infinity is and why is it the only tabletop game I´ve ever played. In the meantime if you want to know more, check their website, you can also download a quick-start PDF or just visit data-sphere.net, which is an awesome community of players.

 Back to releases! As I am an miniature painter, I am focusing on aesthetics. Picture first:



So we have three Dire Foes mission packs. Number one is totally boring, I have no interest in these factions, I don´t play them, I don´t like their visuals. They are sculpted and painted awesomely but no thanks. Just looking at Fusilier Angus makes me fall asleep. And how is he a civilian, he is clearly a soldier!

 Second pack is the one for me. I am an Aleph guy (and Tohaa, but I´ve only just started them). So we have Thrasymedes, sadly without a rocket launcher, but still very badass. I might get him, paint his hair red and use him as a Phoenix proxy. Then we have Daenerys Targaryen, I mean Lupe Balboa, and her little dragon (I told you, it´s Daeny). If I am getting this box, I am losing the dragon from there, it´s a nonsense. But I love the rest of her! Though Nomads are Aleph´s mortal enemies, I like their looks and concept and I really enjoy painting them (Ondro, I hope I am painting Lupe for you). Engineering Officer is again not really civilian, at least she looks much better than Angus. Visual clearly Aleph-ish, so I think I will be the defender in this one. Also I like that we get to see someone who expands the Aleph´s background.

 Number three is a dark horse of this month, stunning minis even if they are from factions I don´t play. Heck I might just buy this box to paint them, maybe make a small diorama. There was a lot of complaining about CB reusing Uxia´s pose for Isobel which they claim "unfortunate". I have to say, Uxia sucks, Isobel is pulling it off. Bigtime!

 Two left, first the Tohaa. Why? He looks totally same as the combi-rifle version! Do we need him? Of course, airbourne HMG unit is better than airbourne combi unit, but still. Give us Gorgos!

 Aaaaand the robot. I can´t really say a bad thing about it. Great piece, though I don´t need it and I won´t buy it. Chick is great, nice pose, left leg seems a bit off and all I can see is this. She could be a good Haqq spec-op proxy.

 New topic: Ass-ass-ins Creed: Black Flag is out! Well not for me, as PC version was delayed till Nov 19. I cannot wait! You know, I love stories. My favourite games are story-oriented: Mass Effect, Deus Ex, etc. And AC series is like a holy grail to me. Fortunately, rumours after Brotherhood, saying that next game will be set in WW2 didn´t come true, instead they switched to Colonial Era, which was a great move.

 That being said, I think AC3 was the least enjoyable from the series, but that doesn´t mean I didn´t like it. Though there were several things I didn´t like. I don´t mind open world, it is actually quite cool to hang out anywhere you want, do anything you want, but for me it´s kinda boring. Where will it end? Having fishing contest with other assassins every Friday at the small pond near the village. Not for me, thanks! On the other hand, non-linear storyline is cool, so I am undecided on this. And lose collecting crap that gives you nothing, such as feathers and flags. I understand there are people there that have an orgasm when they see they completed a game on 102%, but to me? Meh! I also wouldn´t mind not having hunting there, but it kinda helps you to get into your character, so it´s fine.

 Ok, back to Black Flag. We lost Desmond, yayks! Seriously I hated his guts, he was dumb. Instead of that, we have some random dude working for Abstergo Entertainment, since Desmond´s genetic memories have been uploaded to "cloud" (spoiler for AC3). I don´t quite understand how and why, but if it means loosing Desmond, so be it! Looks like present part of the game is about sneaking around the company, hacking stuff which I think balances out the rough pirates part.

 Thing I am most excited about? Ships, especially Jacksaw. If I understand it correctly, Jacksaw serves as your base-of-operations, we had that in previous installments, this one also upgradeable, but this time you get to choose which way to go. If you want to have massive firepower of 56 cannons and sink enemy ships from distance, you can. Or you can choose close encounters, hooking the ship, boarding it and killing everyone there the good old-fashioned way.

 I think that´s enough for today, everyone but me is playing it, millions of reviews are being written, videos all over youtube, no need to add even more. Go ahead and enjoy it, ahoy, you salty dogs!

 Ugh, and let me know in comments, which era should the next AC game set in...

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