Friday, 23 February 2018

The E14 Gamecast - Episode 36: What Games Are You Gaming?

On this episode of The E14 Gamecast, Rob is joined by Blake Harmer!

This episode, we talk about games we're gaming! Such games as:

  • Xenoblade Chronicles 2
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn
  • Arkham Knight
  • Arkham VR
  • Breath Of The Wild
  • The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
  • Telltale games in general
  • Heroclix

Get Your Game On!

If you want to give us your thoughts on the games we talk about, ask us questions or even suggest topics for us to talk about, you can contact us by email using podcast@emotionally14.com, tweet @emotionally14 or find us on the Emotionally14 Facebook page! For our gaming videos, check out the E14 Plays Playlist on YouTube!

Rob is on Twitter @RobWadeVision, and you can find Blake @FuckSakeBlake! You can find out more about the guys below!

The E14 Gamecast theme is courtesy of Deon Van Heerden, and you can find out all about him at DeonVanHeerden.com!


About The E14 Gamecast

A place to find the gaming content for Emotionally14. We'll talk reviews, excitement, upcoming releases - Hell, we'll even play a few! If gaining perspective on Team E14's gaming habits is your bag, this is the place you can get that fix!

iTunes

Podbean

Stitcher

Youtube

Spotify


Thursday, 22 February 2018

Aaron’s Spoiler-Free review of February (A.K.A. – The Blackcoat’s Daughter)

Horror movie themes seem to have been done to death in recent years, with some films tending to stick to one theme at a time, but thankfully for us, there are still some writers and directors out there that like to stir the pot a bit, and February is a great example of this.

February is the light-hearted coming-of- age tale (Ha! Yeah, right...) about two young girls who are left behind at the catholic boarding school over their winter break who begin to realise there is more in the air than what it seems, and dark presences begin to pop up all up and about the place. It sounds like I’m trying to sell you a piece of mediocrity here, but as mentioned, this is spoiler-free, so bear with me, I think it’s a grizzly.

First and foremost, the acting in this film is superb from our almost all-female cast, proving once and for all that young blood can still shine through, especially in genre films. There is a real sense of dread throughout this film, and a large part of that, I think, is how it manages to keep the viewer guessing throughout, leaving them with a sense of unease which is shared by those on screen, which really sucks you into the atmosphere and story as it unravels before you.

That being said, this film is of course not without flaws, borrowing many a cliché that others in its stead have near-nigh fucked to death over a barrel of the horror fan’s tears, but never the less manages to steer away from over-the- top action sequences that can make a good horror movie bad in an instant (Insidious, I’m looking at you, mister!). If you’re looking for a splatter-gore fest with a plot-by- numbers storyline being hand-fed to you (which there is absolutely nothing wrong with), then this probably isn’t your bag. However, if you like a bit of ambiguity and psychological storytelling in your horror diet, then this might just be up your alley.

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Verdict: A rewarding slow-burner with one hell of a pay off! – 7.5/10


Aaron James Waters is a best-selling Pulp Fiction writer who has written more books than he's actually read.

He's also the rotten apple of the group who thinks this whole Star Wars thing needs to hurry up and die already.

You can find Aaron's debut novel on Amazon!





Wednesday, 21 February 2018

Tabletop Review - Star Wars Armada "Profundity" Expansion

Designed by Michael Gernes and Sam Stewart, expanding upon the Star Wars: Armada system originally designed by James Kniffen and Christian T. Petersen.
  Published by Fantasy Flight Games

The Profundity is a long overdue addition to the Armada roster, considering its prominent role in the Battle of Scarif (as seen at the climax of Rogue One), and now it’s here, and...it doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking, but it’s still a welcome addition.  The modified MC75 is capable of chucking out some serious short range firepower, and with nine hull points, it’s not that far off of being able to face up to an Imperial Star Destroyer.

The model itself is excellent, with plenty of detail and some nice wash and weathering work, really making it “pop” on the table.  It’s also really big.  Not as wide as an ISD, but easily as long.

There’s some most welcome additions in terms of characters throw in here, as well. Admiral Raddus allows you to keep one ship in reserve, to be brought onto the tabletop at the start of any later turn. Bail Organa’s ability is intriguing, offering different power-ups depending on if you’re the first or second player, which could throw in some interesting bluffing tactics during fleet construction. Also, and perhaps rather unusually, we have Jyn Erso, who’s capable of filling an enemy ship with the new “Raid” tokens (see the review of the Chimaera for details on these), which could throw a serious spanner in the works for the Imperial player.

Rebel players will want to add the Profundity to their collection, and players who particularly enjoy fleet building will enjoy the new strategies and upgrades that are now on offer. More casual players may want to give this one a miss however, as while there’s plenty to recommend, there’s nothing to deem it essential.


One of the founding members of E14, Brad Harmer-Barnes boasts an impressive track record in the entertainment industry. A comedian since the age of 12, Harmer created the comedy club Rock N' Rant which entertained the people of Chatham for over five years.

A recurring guest on the Crazy Train podcast, Brad published his first novel, North Sea Hunters, in 2017, and you can now find all of his books from Severed Press via Amazon using the links below!


Tuesday, 20 February 2018

Tabletop Review - Star Wars Armada: "Chimaera" Expansion

Star Wars - Armada: Chimaera Expansion Pack
Designed by Michael Gernes and Sam Stewart, expanding upon the Star Wars: Armada system, originally designed by James Kniffen and Christian T. Petersen
Published by Fantasy Flight Games

Can we just take a moment to reflect on how awesome it is that we have Grand Admiral Thrawn in Armada now? And in the Chimaera, no less? It’s been a bumpy road bringing one of the Expanded Universe’s finest characters back into continuity, but we’re finally here now, and this expansion pack is an absolute doozy. What surprised me was not only do you get an Imperial Star Destroyer in the box (covered in Thrawn’s nice little detailing artwork), but there’s also two Mandalorian Gauntlet Fighters. They’re pretty nippy little dudes, and able to do seed enemy ships with the new “Raid” tokens.

“Raid” tokens, when given to an enemy ship, stop them from being able to issue a particular order. So a “Raid: Navigate” token, can’t resolve a Navigate order. The only way to get rid of them is to discard tokens or dials, meaning that with a few lucky shots, the effectiveness of an enemy ship can be severely reduced.

Not only that, but there are also extra bases included, allowing you to upgrade up to two other Imperial Class Star Destroyer models you already own into refitted models, with various extra upgrades. If you’re playing a 300 point game, you’d only ever be able to field two, but it’s nice to have the option there, in case you like to play with higher points costs, such as can be found in The Corellian Conflict.

So, what do we get in terms of upgrades?

In terms of characters, there’s Thrawn, and some supporting characters from Rebels, including Captain Brunson and Governor Price. There’s also a new Darth Vader upgrade card that lets you go Rogue One on a nearby ship, sending the Dark Lord of the Sith on a boarding mission to smash up some crew or equipment. There’s also the option to fire off chaff, which - as a semi-regular player of modern jet age games - I absolutely love, and there’s always room for more countermeasures in Armada.

This is an excellent expansion, and definitely worth picking up if you’re a dedicated Imperial player, a fan of Grand Admiral Thrawn, or just want to grab the new upgrades. There’s a lot more gameplay here than it first appears.


One of the founding members of E14, Brad Harmer-Barnes boasts an impressive track record in the entertainment industry. A comedian since the age of 12, Harmer created the comedy club Rock N' Rant which entertained the people of Chatham for over five years.

A recurring guest on the Crazy Train podcast, Brad published his first novel, North Sea Hunters, in 2017, and you can now find all of his books from Severed Press via Amazon using the links below!


Friday, 16 February 2018

The Crazy Train Podcast: Episode 61 - All The Cats And Kats!

Rob is joined by Blake Harmer!

Join us as we bemoan our preparedness for snow, reminisce about wrestling, decry Blake's stupid cat, field a question from a smart Kat, talk about our favourite cartoons and even name a band!

Get On Board!

Rob is on Twitter @RobWadeVision and you can find Blake @FuckSakeBlake! You can find out more about the guys below!

If you want to give us your thoughts on the subjects we talk about, ask us questions or even suggest topics for us to talk about, you can contact us by email using podcast@emotionally14.com, tweet @emotionally14 or find us on the Emotionally14 Facebook page!

Intro music: "Outlaw", by Deon Van Heerden. Find out more about Deon's music at Deonvanheerden.com!

We are part of the Brit Pod Scene podcast collective, a group of British podcasts working together to help each other improve and grow. Check it out on Twitter by searching #BritPodScene!


About The Crazy Train

Welcome aboard The Crazy Train - Emotionally14's flagship podcast dedicated to one theme: there are no rails. Ever.

Encompassing a wide range of subjects, from movies to TV to gaming, we'll give you a piece of our minds even if there's nothing in them, and you'll bloody love it.

Where will the Crazy Train go?

iTunes

Podbean

Stitcher

Youtube

Spotify


Thursday, 15 February 2018

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Review of "Interstellar"

That’s right, another sci-fi movie that I’m late to the party to. Christopher Nolan has been sweating and shaking for 4 years waiting to hear what I have to say.

Well, panic no more, Chrissy! Your movie was fab! Pour yourself a drink, buddy, you earned it!

Right, now we got that out of the way, let’s slag this piece of shit right off!

Only joking, Chris!

Nah, this movie was definitely a banger. Took me ages to watch it though. Three hours? Shit, son!

Interstellar is based on an Earth where dust clouds roam the land and food is running out, in fact, all they can grow is corn!

So, when a weird gravity ghost gives Matthew McConaughey the coordinates to a secret underground NASA base, he finds himself on a whimsical journey through space and time to find another planet for the hoomuns to ruin.

Bit of a mad film, this one, but by no means in a bad way. We have crap robots that aren’t so crap after all, physics and shit, spaceships, Michael Caine, gravity ghosts, a fuck load of water, a black guy, and Anne Hathaway.

Interstellar has a lot to offer with a fantastic cast, brilliant storytelling with plenty of surprises along the way, excellent visuals and just enough action action to keep you engaged without turning this flick into a full-on balls-out thrill-a-minute fuckfest.

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Rating: Interstellar is a pretty complex film, what with all the craziness and stuff, but as a big movie buff who has seen way more films than what is considered healthy, I saw the ending a mile off. Nice try, Chris. But without giving too much away, you will see the errors for yourself, as “these sorts of films” are notorious for. – 7/10


Aaron James Waters is a best-selling Pulp Fiction writer who has written more books than he's actually read.

He's also the rotten apple of the group who thinks this whole Star Wars thing needs to hurry up and die already.

You can find Aaron's debut novel on Amazon!





Wednesday, 14 February 2018

Brick Fury - Let's Play Heroclix! Star Trek Tactics IV Starter Set Test Run! Full Gameplay

The boys at Brick Fury are back, and in this episode they take the Star Trek Tactics Starter Set, from the Heroclix "Star Trek: Tactics" set, for a spin!

Blake takes the role of the Romulan Star Empire and Ian is representing for the Federation!

If you want to connect with the guys on social media, Brad can be found on Twitter and Instagram @realbradhb, you can connect with Ian on Instagram @gr8oldone and Blake is on Instagram @harmertheappreciator. He's on Twitter too @fucksakeblake!

Get involved in the Brick Fury fun with the hashtag #brickfuryheroclix!



Tuesday, 13 February 2018

Brick Fury - Wizkids Heroclix Star Trek Tactics Series IV Starter Set Unboxing And Review

The boys at Brick Fury are back, at their new home on Emotionally14! In this episode, they take a look at the Starter Set from the Heroclix "Star Trek: Tactics" set, celebrating the Original Series of everyone's favourite "Star" property ending in "Trek"! Sorry, "Star-Based Adventure Trek"!

If you want to connect with the guys on social media, Brad can be found on Twitter and Instagram @realbradhb, you can connect with Ian on Instagram @gr8oldone and Blake is on Instagram @harmertheappreciator. He's on Twitter too @fucksakeblake!

Get involved in the Brick Fury fun with the hashtag #brickfuryheroclix!



Friday, 9 February 2018

The E14 Gamecast - Episode 35: Shame About That Vase

On this episode of The E14 Gamecast, Rob is joined by Blake Harmer, Brad Harmer-Barnes and Spike Direction!

Thanks to a suggestion from Brad, we take this episode as an opportunity to tackle a great question! What games would you *like* to see remade, either using today's tech or added to some sort of backward compatibility?

We also pitch a Captain Scarlet series, not to be missed!

Get Your Game On!

If you want to give us your thoughts on the games we talk about, ask us questions or even suggest topics for us to talk about, you can contact us by email using podcast@emotionally14.com, tweet @emotionally14 or find us on the Emotionally14 Facebook page! For our gaming videos, check out the E14 Plays Playlist on YouTube!

Rob is on Twitter @RobWadeVision, Brad is at @realbradhb, Spike is at @_spikedirection and you can find Blake @FuckSakeBlake! You can find out more about the guys below!

The E14 Gamecast theme is courtesy of Deon Van Heerden, and you can find out all about him at DeonVanHeerden.com!


About The E14 Gamecast

A place to find the gaming content for Emotionally14. We'll talk reviews, excitement, upcoming releases - Hell, we'll even play a few! If gaining perspective on Team E14's gaming habits is your bag, this is the place you can get that fix!

iTunes

Podbean

Stitcher

Youtube

Spotify


Thursday, 8 February 2018

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Review of "Arrival"

Finally got around to watching this bad boy by Denis Villeneuve, a personal favourite of mine, and man did I get more than I bargained for!

What a rollercoaster of emotions this was! A somewhat grieving mother/linguist (beautifully portrayed by Amy Adams, another personal favourite of mine) is brought in by the government to assist Ian (a physicist played by Jeremy Renner…he’s good too I guess) to communicate with aliens who suddenly show up out of nowhere.

They do this under the command of their bossy colonel (played awesomely as usual by Forest Whitaker – Mr Ghost Dog himself, another personal favourite of mine…yeah, this movie thus far is solid).

I think what I admire about this film the most, besides the awesome cast and ambiguous storytelling, which is always awesome, is the amount of work that went into it.

A movie where everyone pulls their fingers out and grafts for a labour of love is immediately worthy of my respect, which is a form of high currency in Hollywood; believe me.

My opinions make and break empires! You have been warned!

Visually, this movie absolutely rocks the house! It never attempts to showboat or overspend, in fact it’s just like its story: elegant and understated. Plus, Abbott & Costello look frickin’ awesome!

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Rating: This movie has had a lot of attention, but I still think it’s worthy of more. A modern sci-fi masterpiece – 8.5/10


Aaron James Waters is a best-selling Pulp Fiction writer who has written more books than he's actually read.

He's also the rotten apple of the group who thinks this whole Star Wars thing needs to hurry up and die already.

You can find Aaron's debut novel on Amazon!





Wednesday, 7 February 2018

Cloud Zombie's Land Of Dystopia and Post-Apocalypse

This little segment is not really for reviews but instead it has me talking about some of my favourite dystopia/post-apocalyptic fiction (Films, Tv, Books and Games). They are not always necessarily good or bad, some of them are bloody atrocious but sometimes that can make it more fun. You get to choose if you want to give them a try if you haven’t already seen them.

New me, new dystopia

It’s 2018, and with a new year ahead of us we are (for the most part) full of hope that this year will a more joyous utopian one. That doomsday clock seems to be mocking us but we’ve survived another year and we’ll have the last laugh if we survive 2018.

Image courtesy of XKCD.

With that in mind I would like to look at the year ahead and see what new dystopia and post-apocalypse themed things will be coming our way for 2018, listing a few that are to come and talk about ones I’m excited for.

Films

To name a few that have caught my eye while browsing the net:

  • Maze Runner: The Death Cure
  • Pacific Rim: Uprising
  • Ready Player One
  • Mortal Engines
  • Captive State
  • Patient Zero

They are all different enough to look forward to. Maze Runner: The Death Cure is the third and final instalment of the Maze Runner series, so far the films have been pretty fun. Try the books if you get the chance because they have a lot of deph to them. Pacific Rim, while more of a Kaiju movie, has caused a dystopian/post apocalyptic world so I win.

Seriously though, I’m looking forward to this so much! I watch the first film after the 2014 Godzilla to add that edge that it’s missing. Ready Player One seems to be highly anticipated and I have the book in my to-read pile, so hopefully I get a read before the film comes out. Mortal Engines sounds like a great story, though I admittedly didn’t know anything about this one I’m sure it will be fun.

With Captive State, I’m going out on a limb because it’s alien occupation. It kind of evokes sensations of dystopia/post-apocalype and kind of reminds me of District 9. Patient Zero is a cool-looking zombie flick with a twist starring one of my favourite Doctors, Matt Smith.

TV Series

  • Hard Sun
  • Snowpiercer
  • Judge Dredd: Mega City One

Hard Sun is a pre-apocalyptic detective series that sounds pretty interesting, and I will be taking a peek when I can. Snowpiercer sounds pretty awesome, depicting the last survivors of Earth travelling the globe while living aboard a train. Judge Dredd: Mega City One sounds like it could be cool. Dredd is an awesome character and his world is one I’d like to know more about.

Books

  • The Last Girl on Earth by Alexandra Blogier
  • 84K by Claire North
  • Active Memory (Mirador #3) by Dan Wells
  • Mayfly by Jeff Sweat
  • SuperMoon by H.A.Swain
  • The City Where We Once Lived by Eric Barnes
  • Suicide Club by Rachel Heng
  • New York 2140: A Novel by Kim Stanley Robinson

I like the look of all these books including Dan Wells’ latest book in his "Mirador" series. I have talked about the first book Bluescreen in my earlier posts. Check that out and give it a try if you like a little cyberpunk dystopia.

Games

  • The Last of Us: Part II
  • We Happy Few
  • Days Gone
  • Metro Exodus

Firstly if you haven’t played The Last of Us, go and do it now. Yes, now. I’m sure you’re not doing anything that important. I’m sure that surgery can wait till later. Secondly, I'm constantly holding in a big squee for The Last of Us Part II! I have been looking forward to a sequel since the credits rolled on the first game, and the trailers have been amazing so far.

We Happy Few looks absolutely batshit insane, I tried a little bit of the early access and it looks like it’s going to be tricky and interesting.Days Gone gives us a new feel to zombie games with a little bit of a The Last of Us feel. I’m hoping this turns out to be the game it wants to be. The gameplay seemed interesting when I played the demo at 2017’s EGX in Birmingham.

Metro Exodus is the third instalment to the ‘Metro’ games, I’ve enjoyed what I did play but need to jump back into it.

That's all from me! As usual, thank you for reading!


Kat (aka Cloud Zombie) is a daydreaming enthusiast and self-professed Minecraft/Sims junkie from Kent, England.

She blogs about her passions over at cloudzombie, covering everything from video games, movies and TV all the way to baking.