Monday 29 March 2021

SWC+ Round Table with Robert Cast - The Last Jedi Retrospective

Rob Cast brings together Carlos Candido, Rob X and Ben from the Skyhoppers podcast to discuss The Last Jedi!


Talk Star Wars

The official podcast of TalkStarWars.co.uk The latest Star Wars, Rogue One, Episode VIII and Star Wars Rebels news and rumour.

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Friday 26 March 2021

The Roman Pod And Cast - Episode 261: Prez Conquer

The following presentation is Emotionally14 Endorsed. We didn't make it ourselves, but the people that did are fantastic and we think that you'll like it!


This week Roman and Rob discuss Real Estate, dating apps, tripping Prez, spring workout, unsolicited advice and much, much more. A proud member of the Emotionally 14 Family, the EMC and The Tangent-Bound Networks.


Roman Pod And Cast

Roman LeBeau and Robert Cast are just a couple of Canadians 🇨🇦 that put our own twist on headlines and trending stories. Not to worry. We try to keep the "eh's" and hockey talk to a minimum!

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Fire When Ready: Star Wars Legion Round-Up

Hello, once again, and welcome to Fire When Ready: Adventures in Star Wars Tabletop Gaming. Sort of.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you’ll be aware of that whole ‘pandemic’ thing that’s going on at the moment, so it’s not actually possible for me - your host as always, Brad Harmer-Barnes - and my constant compatriots Ian and Dave to get together to make an episode of your favourite Star Wars themed tabletop gaming show. It’s a sad time, but the time when we can get back together gets closer every day.

However, that’s not stopping Fantasy Flight Games, Atomic Mass Games, Hasbro and the producers of all the other wonderful games we play from releasing all sorts of wonderful new stuff for us to play with. So, we’ve decided that the best thing to do it let you guys know all about it, here, and then get them on the table for a test drive and a gameplay video as soon as government guidelines allow. So, here we go.

Rebel Troopers Upgrade Expansion

What we have here is a great idea. A bunch of minor characters that can be added to your regular Corps units in order to provide some visual distinction, and some variety in terms of special weapons and abilities. Also, it’s a fantastic way of combating power creep with something a little more imaginative than just adjusting points values every six months. What’s more, it gives you some more Star Wars toys to play with, which is, let’s face it, why we’re here.

The first thing to strike me about the sculpts was how diverse they are. The core set Rebel Troopers were notoriously human centric, with only a Duros or two to break it up. This didn’t really bother me at the time, as most on-screen Star Wars characters are humans, and it’s enough for me to paint a variety of human skin tones to provide some diversity.

In this pack, though, we have an Ithorian, a Theelin, a Gran and an Ishi Tib, and no I did not have to look any of those up, I have these things compartmentalised in my brain. Ladies, please control yourselves.

The Ishi Tib offers Rebel players the chance to add a Captain to a squad, which allows them to add Training upgrades, as well as a pretty cool ability that allows them to ignore their suppression markers temporarily.

The Gran Specialist – as well as being a job title that will get you banned from retirement homes – gives squads an extra Gear slot, as well as allowing them to dodge and surge more easily. Very useful when avoiding the concentrated fire of Imperial forces. The Ithorian Trooper carries an SX-21, which is a Star Wars version of an assault shotgun, and can be seen briefly used by Chewbacca during the escape from Mimban in Solo. Offering Two Red, Two White, Impact 1, this could be a handy little addition for making some vehicles think twice.

The Theelin comes with a DLT-20A, a support machine gun, noted for being the weapon of choice for IG-88. Offering Two Black, One White up to a range of 4, with Critical 1, this costs a hefty 26 points, but could be a great option for those fed up with the noisy but relatively ineffective Z-6.

All around, a great set, and an essential purchase for a Rebel player.

Crashed Escape Pod Battlefield Expansion

This model is awesome!

The level of detail on the escape pod itself is outstanding, with so many gubbins for painting and weathering and dirtying and all the bits of terrain making that I really love, and the impact crater comes with a nice piece of elevated terrain in its own right. Of course, where this set really shines is with C-3PO and R2-D2. These guys have taken far too long to arrive in Legion, and they are most welcome. The player cards allow them to be fielded with either Rebel Alliance or Republic forces, which is a welcome addition to the game that we can only hope will happen more often.

Included are two scenarios that I already can’t wait to play and film for you. One sees both armies hurrying to intercept a crashing escape pod, and the other sees our favourite droids (no, not IG-88 and Bollux) lost, and both sides trying to track them down.

Players are going to want this set for C-3PO and R2-D2, especially if they’re theme-driven gamers like those of us at Fire When Ready. The scenarios and terrain in this pack, however, are not to be underestimated. This is a great set.

Is it essential? To be honest, it probably just falls shy of it. It’s a big item, with a big ticket, if you’re only after one or two parts of it. My advice is to take the plunge and find a way to use everything, but it’s understandable if you’re a little reluctant.

TX-130 Saber-Class Fighter Tank Unit Expansion

JESUS CHRIST LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS BOX.

Well, you can’t, but if this were a normal episode of the show, that’s probably what I’d be saying. If memory serves, it’s bigger than the AT-ST box, and this contains a lot of sprues and a massive base. This thing is big.

The level of detail is as good as you’ve come to expect, but you have to bear in mind that it is a tank, which are not known for having a lot of detail. It’s a war machine first and foremost, but there’s enough character and detail to please painters and modellers.

In terms of upgrades, there’s a couple of minor Jedi included as pilots, for fans of The Clone Wars. Aayla Secura acts as a field commander, throwing morale boosts around with her mere presence, and Plo Koon makes the tank faster and more manoeuverable.

In terms of upgrades, there’s high explosive, bunker busters, armour piercing…everything you could possibly need to send clankers flying like ten-pins.

At 170 points, you’re not going to be fielding this model every game, but every time you do it’s going to make for some pretty memorable gaming experiences.

That’s all for now. Hopefully we’ll be able to resume our usual schedule in the very near future!

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @firewhenreadyuk


Brad Harmer-Barnes is a writer and comedian who has been into tabletop gaming since he was eight years old. He is the host of Fire When Ready and Bring On The Bad Guys on Emotionally14.com, co-host of Talk Star Wars, and a frequent guest on The E14 GameCast. His latest novel Fog of War is available now in paperback, Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @RealBradHB using the buttons below!




If Legion sounds like your bag, why not have a browse of some of its wares on Amazon via the E14 Affiliate links below? It won't cost you any more, and we get a few pennies for any purchases made via our links - everyone's a winner!



Thursday 25 March 2021

The Nerd Room Episode #263. ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE REVIEW

The following presentation is Emotionally14 Endorsed. We didn't make it ourselves, but the people that did are fantastic and we think that you'll like it!


Join the Nerd Room crew to breakdown and discuss Zack Snyder's Justice League!


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Be sure to check out more from the Star Wars Commonwealth and follow Talk Star Wars, Tumbling Saber, Generation X-Wing, Rogue Squadron Podcast, San Diego Sabers Radio Podcast, and Sandcrawler Podcast!


The Nerd Room

A Star Wars, Marvel, & DC Podcast
A weekly podcast bringing you the latest Star Wars, Marvel, and DC news and reviews!

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Wednesday 24 March 2021

Rob's Movie Night Roundup - E (Empire of the Sun, Ex Machina)

At the beginning of the year, my wife and I decided that we'd like to watch more movies. There are 52 weeks in a year, 2 of us, and 26 letters in the alphabet. What better way to choose some movies than to go alphabetically? The only rule: Where possible, it should be a movie that one or more of us had never seen before. Oh, and ideally it should be part of one of the copious online streaming services we're already subscribed to, because why bother paying for a rental when we're not short of options?

Incidentally, if anyone from the big online streaming service providers is reading this (your Notfluxes or your Prims, for example), please make it easier to search for/sort movies alphabetically. Thanks.

Also, fair warning: There may well be movies that appear on this list that you'll find hard to believe I haven't seen before. It happens.

Previous letters are here: A B C D

E

Empire Of The Sun
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson

Synopsis via IMDB: A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.

This is one of those films I'd heard the name of a lot, but weirdly had never experienced a bit of it. I'd never seen a trailer, never seen a clip, didn't know how much legendary acting talent resided in its cast. I guess, in hindsight, this can be attributed to the fact that I was 3 years old when the film was released. Also, beyond things like E.T and Jurassic Park I had never really interacted much with the works of Steven Spielberg. I didn't see Jaws for a fair few years, I forget when I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and the more I think about it, the less convinced I am that I've even watched Gremlins. Maybe one for G if neither of us have seen it.

But I digress.

I bloody loved Hook. Ok, now I'm done.

I was staggered by the quality of cast on show here. Miranda Richardson, John Malkovich, a young Christian Bale and even a young Ben Stiller! Stupendous stuff. It's no surprise, then, that the performances are great throughout the movie. Christian Bale nails an annoying but affable Jim to the degree that you want him to be safe but you don't want it to be too easy (at least, that's what I took away from it).

In terms of the film, on paper the runtime of 2 hours and 33 minutes was a little off-putting to me. Don't get me wrong, I know Spielberg is a tremendously talented director and so I was sure that no minute would be wasted, but nevertheless I was a little daunted. Strange to think that nowadays, we don't even blink at the notion of consuming hours upon hours of the same content via a TV series binge or whatever, whereas back then the idea of a 2 hour 30 minute movie was a more significant endeavour. Still, I was pleased that the movie, despite being a period of history that I'm not particularly familiar with or indeed that well read in, held my attention and captured my interest throughout.

One thing that I usually like to comment on is the music, but if I'm honest I don't remember much about it. It's pretty crazy considering that the music is John Williams, and he's a legend, but in a way I suppose the music just does a good job of fitting against the wider movie.

All in all, I thought it was a really well-made movie. Visually it does a great job, particularly in terms of communicating the devastation and chaos that would've been prevalent at the time. Framing it around a kid is particularly effective on that front (though maybe that's a kudos for the author and not the film). Really enjoyed it. Would I watch it again? Possibly not, but it was a well-executed piece of cinema.


Ex Machina
Director: Alex Garland
Stars: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac

Synopsis via IMDB: A young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a highly advanced humanoid A.I.

I've been told for some time that this movie would be right up my street, and in many ways this has given me some apprehension. In the past when I've been recommended a movie incessantly it's led to some...whelming. Not underwhelming, but just whelming. However, on paper this one is a belter. Dealing with robots (which are awesome), artificial intelligence (which is exciting) and starring Poe Dameron, General Hux *and* Lara Croft?! A movie directed and written by one of the creative minds behind the movies Dredd and Annihilation and the video games DMC and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, just to name a few things?! Man, what a treat!

The performances by the three leads are top-notch. Isaac is fantastic as a reclusive tech CEO who comes off just the right amount of unsettling that you know fairly swiftly that something is...off. Gleeson works nicely with this as the starstruck competition winner turned experiment participant, and does a wonderful job playing off Vikander as the humanoid A.I. Everyone in this film does a good job in their respective role, but the main three are understandably the standout performers, not least of all because they're about half the cast. This is not a heavily-staffed film where actors are concerned, but in a way that actually serves the story well.

The film put me very much in mind of another Garland film (mentioned above), Annihilation, which I personally thought was bloody marvellous. There's a certain sense of isolation that accompanies the subject matter in both movies that Garland does well to leverage as a means of making the audience feel that disconnection that separates the main characters from the wider world. In Ex Machina, you find out early on that Gleeson's character (whose name escapes me now, otherwise I'd just use that and save myself some time) is going to be part of the experiment for a fixed period of time so as the tension mounts you know he's not in a position to escape any bad times that might occur as a result of the situation.

Moreover, this film dials up the creepiness factor to an exceptional level, and you feel uncomfortable at times during some of the dialogue (or at least I did). It's really, *really* well done in that respect. Overall a cracker. Maybe not on the same level as Annihilation for me, but nevertheless very pleased I've given it a go now.


E was a really good letter for me. It exposed me to a film I wouldn't have otherwise given a go (Empire of the Sun) and ticked off a long-standing to-do from my movie backlog (Ex Machina). In both cases, I enjoyed myself immensely. I will have to take a stab at some point at an approximate ranking of the letters, if not the movies themselves. Perhaps a retrospective written post is in order. A thought for another day perhaps.

Did you enjoy the roundup? Let me know! If you have thoughts on the movies chosen and their respective writeups above, you know where to find me. Maybe you don't, but there are buttons everywhere to make that happen. Comments, Twitter, you name it. Moreover, if you want to make use of this movie night format, bearing in mind you're a few weeks in and might have to double up to get up to speed, feel free to do the same - I'd love to know what you chose too!

Rob Wade


Rob Wade blogs about stuff he likes. Whether it's video games or geek media for Emotionally14 or writing about speculative theories for future films on Talk Star Wars, the focus has always been on the stuff that brings the most pleasure to his life within media.

Rob is the editor of Emotionally14, and showrunner of the E14 podcasts "The Crazy Train", "The E14 Gamecast" and "Talk Star Wars", as well as the host and guest of a number of pieces on E14's Youtube channel over the years.


Friday 19 March 2021

The Roman Pod And Cast - Episode 260: Cat Cancel

The following presentation is Emotionally14 Endorsed. We didn't make it ourselves, but the people that did are fantastic and we think that you'll like it!


This week Roman and Rob discuss Real Estate, Pepe Le Pew, unsolicited advice and much, much more. A proud member of the Emotionally 14 Family, the EMC and The Tangent-Bound Networks.


Roman Pod And Cast

Roman LeBeau and Robert Cast are just a couple of Canadians 🇨🇦 that put our own twist on headlines and trending stories. Not to worry. We try to keep the "eh's" and hockey talk to a minimum!

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Thursday 18 March 2021

The Nerd Room - Episode 262. PRELUDE TO ZS’S JUSTICE LEAGUE & THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER

The following presentation is Emotionally14 Endorsed. We didn't make it ourselves, but the people that did are fantastic and we think that you'll like it!


Join the crew for a prelude to Zack Snyder's Justice League and The Falcon and The Winter Solider, both hitting streaming this week! They also discuss Superman & Lois, The Batman, and much more!


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Be sure to check out more from the Star Wars Commonwealth and follow Talk Star Wars, Tumbling Saber, Generation X-Wing, Rogue Squadron Podcast, San Diego Sabers Radio Podcast, and Sandcrawler Podcast!


The Nerd Room

A Star Wars, Marvel, & DC Podcast
A weekly podcast bringing you the latest Star Wars, Marvel, and DC news and reviews!

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Bring on the Bad Guys: Marvel Crisis Protocol Round-Up #3

Hello, once again, and welcome to Bring on the Bad Guys.

Sort of.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you’ll be aware of that whole ‘pandemic’ thing that’s going on at the moment, so it’s not actually possible for me, your host as always, Brad Harmer-Barnes, and my constant compatriots Ian and Dave to get together to make an episode of your favourite superhero themed tabletop gaming show. It’s a sad time, but the time when we can get back together gets closer every day.

However, that’s not stopping Atomic Mass Games, Knight Models and the producers of all the other wonderful games we play from releasing all sorts of wonderful new stuff for us to play with. We’ve decided that the best thing to do is to let you guys know all about it, here, and then get them on the table for a test drive and a gameplay video as soon as government guidelines allow. So, here we go.

LOKI & HELA

Two of my favourite villains of all time in one pack? What’s not to like?

Well, initially, I had some concerns over the potential fragility of the sculpts, as there are lots of long, thin and spindly components, such as Loki’s staff/spear thing, or the ridiculously ornate headgear that Hela favours, despite it being a recipe for lower-back problems in later life.

Is the assembly unnecessarily fiddly and a pain in the backside? Well, yes, and you should probably know to expect that by now. The only reason for Loki’s tiny little horns on his tiny little headband to be two separate components is performative obtuseness, as I have stated before, and will continue to state until the situation improves.

The abilities included with this pairing are just insane. Want a killer Do or Die attack? ‘Doom Prophecy’ has you covered. Playing against a spam list player? Use Hela’s ability to capture souls to really put a crimp in their day.

Hela is great, but Loki is a spectacularly thematic build, with all of his abilities running on deception and trickery. If you, like us, are the kind of players who loves it when that inanimate piece of plastic manages to actually feel like what it’s supposed to be on the tabletop, then you’ll have a great time with this.

I think we should do ‘Get Help’.

THOR & VALKYRIE

She’s Brunnhilde. She’s always been Brunnhilde. I don’t know why she’s called Valkyrie here.

I do. It’s to cater to the movie fans, but that seems a weird angle from a game that has always very clearly and intentionally modelled itself on the comics rather than any adaptation.

There are some fiddly bits on the assembly for these two, but nothing truly horrific by Atomic Mass Games standards.

When it comes to the powers and abilities, there’s nothing really outstanding on offer. “Odin’s Blessing” offers an excellent defensive power, and “Thunderwave” certainly looks fun, but I don’t really know how effective it will be in execution, or, indeed, how often you’ll actually get the chance to use it.

Thor is, as you’d expect, an absolute tank. Many of his powers hit super-hard, and I’m excited to see how he’d go against another tank, like Hulk or Black Dwarf.

Valkyrie is a solid brawler, but it’s hard to get excited about what she can actually do. A bit like an Asgardian “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

DRAX THE DESTROYER & RONAN THE ACCUSER

What’s this? Great poses, great detail, and super easy to assemble? For Marvel: Crisis Protocol? Surely not! Hey, I’ll take the win, but it would be nice to see this more often.

“No Matter the Cost” is a superb card that allows for some spectacular, dramatic attacks, which, like the cards supplied with Loki and Thor, will really interest those who are interested in thematic and narrative driven gaming.

The characters themselves are, much as you would expect, absolute tanks. If your team needs some serious muscle, without going into the point sinks of Black Dwarf or a Hulk, then these two could make a great compromise.

Join us shortly for more quickfire superhero reviews!

Follow the show on Instagram @bringonthebadguys and Facebook @BringBadGuys


Brad Harmer-Barnes is a writer and comedian who has been into tabletop gaming since he was eight years old. He is the host of Fire When Ready and Bring On The Bad Guys on Emotionally14.com, co-host of Talk Star Wars, and a frequent guest on The E14 GameCast. His latest novel Fog of War is available now in paperback, Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @RealBradHB using the buttons below!




If Crisis Protocol sounds like your bag, why not have a browse of some of its wares on Amazon via the E14 Affiliate links below? It won't cost you any more, and we get a few pennies for any purchases made via our links - everyone's a winner!