Games wish list

I did a wish list a year or two back and thought I might put up some games which I'd like to get my hands on or play in the coming year. Firstly though I'll briefly talk about the games on my previous list.

The three games from my previous list were Z-pocalypse, Gears of War board game and Relic.

First off then, Z-pocalypse. One of my friends got this some months ago now and we played it a good few times. It's hugely challenging, but once you get over the quite steep tactical learning curve you can begin the enjoy it.

Second off, Gears of War board game. This one is a real gem and I'm so chuffed my brother painted the models before giving it to me. A fantastic tactical, fully co-op, military shooter. It's very challenging, but if you can get your tactics together and with a smidge of luck the missions are beatable.

Finally, Relic. Another friend of mine got this a while back and we've played it a few times. A nice variation on Talisman, but I wouldn't say it is a replacement, as many critics have suggested. I'm waiting for my mate to get the expansion though, should make for some very interesting alternative game modes; including some player interaction!

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Now on to my wish list:

Talisman: Highland expansion. This is an easy one, but one I hadn't originally considered much. Since getting the City expansion it's whetted my appetite for another corner though, as they bring so much to the game. In some ways they help to stream line it and give players areas that suit them better for a certain part of the game, depending on their level. The Highlands looks like the kind of area for new-ish characters to prepare them for the high level danger of the Dungeon.

Eldrich Horror. I've had half an eye on Arkham Horror for years. A friend from my old gaming group got Arkham Horror last year and enjoys it; sadly I've not had a chance to go down and play it. The problem is I've heard too many mixed reviews of Arkham Horror - it's too long (3-4 hours or more...), too random, without the PvP which can keep an elongated game of Talisman alive, and too many fiddly rules. The reviews for Eldrich Horror have nearly been unanimously praising it for being everything that was great from Arkham Horror, in half the time and without the fiddliness. Plus, my girlfriend loves the books and I've started to enjoy them too; it's such a captivating universe. But, I do prefer the setting of Arkham Horror; running around a city steeped in Lovecraftian mythos is more appealing then travelling around the world. The idea of globe trotting is growing on me though and I feel this is a must have game. I really can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

X-wing miniatures game. Now, this one isn't as clear cut as the above two, but is one that niggles the back of my every day thoughts. I'm increasingly becoming more thoughtful about miniature gaming, as I've mentioned in recent blog posts and this looks like a nice, tangible game, with really nice looking, pre-painted models! The mechanics and unit selection look exciting, great for multiplayer (3+ players) game, with interesting characters and game mechanics. The core set is £30, which doesn't come with much beyond the rules, but is so tempting. It has the potential to become an epic money sink, but I feel that I have reasonable self control...

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion. Another less clear cut one, but one I will almost certain pick up soon-ish - if that makes sense? I bought the Edge of the Empire beginner game and enjoyed GMing my mates through the starter adventure. Age of Rebellion brings in playing as the rebel alliance, the beginner game comes with more dice and more tools for running adventures so it'd be a great item to pick up just to help run Edge of the Empire. It's not mega expensive and if I then pick up Edge of the Empire core rulebook I'll have nearly all the resources I need to run a full blown story.

Modelling projects. What... me?

My brothers are big modellerers, they make nice looking terrain, paint armies and despite their grumbles, I think they secretly really enjoy it. I have enjoyed painting, for a short period in my late teens when I plowed through an entire Warhammer Fantasy Dwarf army.

But why then and not now, I hear no-one cry!? Well, my Dwarf army had a very simple paint scheme and I was able to batch them out regiment at a time. I'd try and fob the characters off on someone who cared about painting more, because I actually preferred just bosching through hordes of guys who basically looked the same.

Now, how and why would I get back into this?

The why is that my brothers do pester me about it, but for reasonable reasons. They/we have some great tabletop games! Flames of War, Deadzone/Necromunda, old Warhammer/Saga (or Oldhammer, as some people with large beards call it). These are all great games, which I really want to play, and I secretly want my own little forces for each. This has the annoying dilemma of then having models which need paint applied to them and there's only so much good will I can harbour before someone turns around and tells me to do it myself!

The how, well that's only theoretical at the moment. If you don't enjoy painting, but want to play a game that requires models that need painting, you need to find a style of painting to paint your miniatures with, where the paint jobs don't look too bad.

For a Flames of War army, which I think I'd like some plucky Brits and some dastardly Germans, I think this could be quite easy. For the Brits, copious amounts of green, a few splodges of flesh (on their faces preferably), a few detaily bits and lots of tactical washes; for the Germans, exchange green for grey and I reckon that would do the trick. Then some careful transfer placement and Robert's your father's brother!

For Deadzone, I'm yet to really play it, but I'm hoping to use a gang of models which will all cross over into Necromunda. I don't aim to have more than 10 really, and I got a friend to paint two of them! So I think I maybe able to suffer the remaining 8.

There are some interesting speed painting websites out there. If I was to go any further than these games I think I'd need to do some research.

Games I want to complete

Going on from my previous, very boring, post, I thought I'd put another post up with my list of games, which I'm keen to play and complete in the near future:

- Dark Souls. I'm a bit stuck on this one. Got to a boss which is actually 2 bosses and they're really difficult!

- Dark Souls 2. I bought this as a treat (when it dropped in price), for when I finished my Open Uni. However, I haven't played it yet because I feel I should complete Dark Souls 1 first! But it's so hard I might have to give up on that idea and just dive into this one. Don't think there's any particular story progression between them...?

- Gears of War(s). Been talking to my mates about these games; mostly because we've been loving the board game! Want to play through the whole series again on hardest difficulty. I'm also hoping to play Gears of War 3 in four player co-op! Also, I still want to complete a horde mode!

- Broken Age. Point and click adventure?! Hell yes! Played a few minutes here and there of this game, which I followed nearly all the way from the kickstarter. Really enjoying it and want to give it some proper time to enjoy it! Thank you Machinarium for bringing the world of point and click adventures to me - please click the link and enjoy!

- Mine Craft. This isn't really a game you play to complete, but my friends and I are trying to setup a world where we can realistically have a good crack at the Ender Dragon and "win" the game.

Not doing very much

Things are a bit strange at the moment. I've had numerous thoughts and ideas that I have wanted to post up on here, but when I've come round to sitting in front of the computer they have escaped me. Rather frustrating, but it says something about my mental state at the moment.

I finished my Open Uni the other week. Huzzah! As I was leading up to the deadline I was getting very restless and keen to get on with other things, but now the deadline has passed I've fallen into a bit of a slump.

Things on my to do list at the moment at:

- Wastelands.
- Learning Swedish.
- Applying my new programming skills.
- Fitness.
- Job/career progression.

Lets look at these one at a time.

Wastelands. Despite my current mental slump this is on my mind nearly constantly. The rules are going to go through another revision and I hope to build momentum again and try to inspire my friends to get involved once again.

Learning Swedish. This isn't too bothersome. Rosetta Stone is a very easy to pick up program and easily facilitates 10 minute lessons, which are great to fit in between things or when I get a random impulse.

Applying new programming skills. Having just come to the end of a IT module about Java programming, I feel I have knowledge which, if I can spend some time on it, will allow me to start making little games and pissing about with different ideas.

Fitness. This is very important, as it definitely has a big impact on everything else. The old cliché of "healthy body, healthy mind", is very true. I went for my first proper jog last week in over a year, at first I thought it had gone fine, but for the next few days I was nursing a very sore knee. Still a little way to go before I can really get back on top of this, which means I find myself lacking energy and enthusiasm.

Job/career. To make my Open Uni worthwhile I need to start trying to find IT jobs. I question myself sometimes, wondering whether it's what I actually want to do, but I just can't think of anything else and as I'm studying IT and computing, what else should I do?

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I realise this isn't a very interesting post with not much to do with gaming. Sorry.