In adulthood, reaching a birthday isn’t as exciting as it used to be. One more year removed from youth, getting old can be depressing or scary. Thankfully, I’m in a great place in life, so that helps. Also, all of the sweet birthday gifts I got surely make a positive impact as well. For the purposes of this post, I’ll write about the video game goodies I got.
During a long stretch of time when Marvel was reluctant to tell the definitive origin story of its most famous mutant, readers only had two comics as reference: the self-titled Wolverine and Weapon X. The latter of those is tells the tale of how Logan was abducted by a shady government organization and groomed to become the ultimate killing machine.
If things weren’t complicated enough in the Morning Glories universe, things get even wackier in Morning Glories Vol. 5: Tests. Compiling issues 26 through 29, very little time actually passes in the present day. However, Casey has lived out another lifetime, as the version of herself that traveled back in time has grown into an adult in the past while still trying to save her present-day self from the horrors of Morning Glories Academy. Meanwhile, present Jade is still in a stand-off with Iryna and adult Jade is trying to help present Hunter continue the mission.
Take chess. Now add lasers and mirrors. This is the underlying premise behind Khet 2.0 from Innovention. Players take turns moving and rotating their pieces on the board in order to blast their opposition from a distance. Doubters may be concerned about how gimmicky it appears on the surface, but it’s actually a neat and solid strategy game.
After a sub-par fourth issue, I was hoping that the start of the Syborg saga would be a return to form for the court jester of Gotham. Instead, Harley Quinn #5 is a disaster. The now-predictable scene where Harley makes an idiot out of herself isn’t funny at all. She’s once again been pushed into a sidekick role when she just started breaking out as a solo star. The guy she’s working for is an awful character all around. The action stinks. Save for the art in the dream sequence, which earns a nod for looking cool, I don’t have anything nice to say about this one. I don’t think I’ll be continuing with this series going forward.
Now that HDCP can be disabled from the PS4, I finally get a chance to create video content with the hottest system on the planet right now. First up: Resogun.
The story of Rick Grimes and his fight for survival starts here. In The Walking Dead Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye, he wakes up alone from a coma to find the world overrun with zombies. He races out to Atlanta in hopes of finding his family while trying to make sense of what the world has become.
The death of your uncle is usually not a reason for celebration. Then again, who are you to mourn when a stipulation in his will says that you need to go broke as fast as you can to earn his fortune? This is the premise behind Last Will, a game where you and three other players live a lavish lifestyle until you’ve gone bankrupt.
Spending all of your money in Last Will is certainly fun, but definitely not easy. During each turn, you must plan your day and run errands before throwing down your inheritance on lavish parties, trips to the gentlemen’s club or mansions. If you incorrectly pace your spending, emptying out your pockets may become very difficult or actually impossible. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to newcomers or casual board game players, but if you’re in the market for a meatier strategy game with a fun theme, this is one to add to your list.
DC Universe: Legacies is the tale of a common man who grew up living in the DC Universe. As a child, Paul Lincoln saw the advent of the original Justice Society of America and grew up to watch the universe unfold from there. Now an old man, he recounts those stories of superhero heroics and how they connect with his own life. It’s a novel approach to retelling the rich history of a comic book juggernaut, though it also proves to be one with inherent flaws.
Holy blast from the past Batman! One of DC’s newest takes on The Dark Knight is actually a throwback to one his oldest, campiest and most iconic eras. Batman 66′ Vol. 1 contains all new stories set in the Batman universe that was popularized by Adam West and Burt Ward. No longer bound by the technology and production budgets of television shows of that time, Batman ’66 retains everything that made that show tick while blowing out the scale of their adventures in ways the show never could.
In Third Person 