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Barnes on Games- Fireteam Zero H2H with Raf, Descent RTL, WHQ: Silver Tower

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27 May 2016 16:10 #228306 by Michael Barnes
It's a lot of minis to proxy. It can definitely be done, but consider if it's worth the time/effort or if spending an extra $70 is a better trade off.

One thing to note versus Brimstone is that this game is WAY more streamlined. There are really very few counters- some wound/stun markers, portals, a couple of map features, a couple of renown trackers and that's it. Only three decks of cards- the rooms, treasures and skills. If the box were just a little taller, everything could fit in the box, which is about Monopoly/Clue sized.
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28 May 2016 10:07 #228337 by Columbob
I still have a bunch of those WFB 4th ed/40K 2nd ed familiars lying around. They made lots of them, each cooler than the last.



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30 May 2016 12:27 #228376 by charlest
I still don't get how you can think this is terrible but think D&DAS is so good.

I love the dice stacking thing. Mixing dexterity with strategy games is totally my thing.

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30 May 2016 19:43 - 30 May 2016 20:14 #228387 by Sevej

Michael Barnes wrote: It's a lot of minis to proxy. It can definitely be done, but consider if it's worth the time/effort or if spending an extra $70 is a better trade off.

One thing to note versus Brimstone is that this game is WAY more streamlined. There are really very few counters- some wound/stun markers, portals, a couple of map features, a couple of renown trackers and that's it. Only three decks of cards- the rooms, treasures and skills. If the box were just a little taller, everything could fit in the box, which is about Monopoly/Clue sized.


I would be surprised if it's not streamlined since there is comparatively little content to the more expansive crawlers, which is not always a bad thing. It's how you use it that matters. I mean, there's very little upgrades, and all heroes share the same upgrade. Heroes are single entities (no race+class thingy), and there is very little outside dungeon content. Heck, they mushed the skill and treasure upgrade in a single deck! Everything else they jammed into the rulebook (encounter tables, monster behavior tables, random events, paragraphs...). In other games, this would have been cards of some sort of reference sheet.
Last edit: 30 May 2016 20:14 by Sevej.

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17 Jan 2017 15:29 - 17 Jan 2017 15:29 #242572 by UniversalHead
I had to come back to this post to refute Barnes's review on Fireteam Zero. I played it last night with 4 people and it was a blast. Very cinematic, a game that came right down to the classic 'last die roll', interesting choices, and yet a straightforward, non-fiddly system. Even the CD (you can download MP3s from the website) is actualy useful, as the scenario briefings are given in faux-WWII style.

I usually have a lot of respect for a Barnes review, but I reckon he completely missed the mark on this one.
Last edit: 17 Jan 2017 15:29 by UniversalHead.
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17 Jan 2017 15:38 #242573 by Gary Sax
^Just to bug you, he actually said it was his worst game of the year IIRC in another thread. ;)

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17 Jan 2017 20:06 #242582 by Vlad
I can't make myself care for the story&lore in AoS, but I do like it in Silver Tower.
In AoS, there're walls of text with something about gods and their petty disputes. You don't really need to read any of it to play. It's extensive, if uninteresting background to be read BEFORE dudes fight dudes.
In Silver Tower, you have the adventure book. With short paragraphs to read WHILE you're playing. There's a basic exposition before you head into the tower, and I expect to uncover the rest during the game. In a sense, it is sort of the way the lore is presented in Dark Souls games, which I absolutely love because it doesn't distract from playing and you can take it or leave it (I take it).
Also, another point comparable to DS is the new art direction. It is fantasy, by all means, but it is different from the comfortable stereotypes. There's a sense of mystery to the world and it's inhabitants. It feels fantastic and fresh.

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18 Jan 2017 17:56 #242645 by southernman

Gary Sax wrote: ^Just to bug you, he actually said it was his worst game of the year IIRC in another thread. ;)


You're naughty :-o !

;-)

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18 Jan 2017 18:18 #242646 by Michael Barnes
I just absolutely hate this game (FTZ, not Silver Tower). Especially in light of Doom, Conan and TMNT- not to mention Black Plague or Silver Tower. all six of these games do some very similar kinds of stuff in the hack and slash/Guys on a Grid genre. But FTZ is _by far_ the least compelling, least innovative, least unique and least fun of the lot. It is the absolute peak of Kickstarter mediocrity, a game that every publisher would have given a pass to in the era before crowdfunding simply because there is so little to recommend it. It's bland, lifeless, and if you really want this "weird war II" thing, Tannhauser still does it better after all these years. Let along Shadows Over Normandie. It's completely uninspired beyond the designers looking at other GoaG games and thinking "hey, that's easy, we can make one and write some cheese-dick story to go with it - payday!" That said, I have no doubt that the people that made it thought it was a good game. And you know, if you have no access to any of the five other games mentioned in this post alone, you might be fooled into thinking there is something there.

I mean hell, I had fun playing it with some friends but the whole time I was so completely uninterested in the mechanics, setting and gameplay that it was practically irrelevant to my entertainment.

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18 Jan 2017 19:20 #242650 by Sevej
So Barnes, is Black Plague good? I'm considering Silver Tower because I like its simplicity, but the price is crazy around here. I can get Black Plague for around $100, while Silver Tower will cost me $160+. Specifically looking for that simple co-op. Not sure if Black Plague is simple enough.

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18 Jan 2017 19:34 #242652 by Michael Barnes
Black Plague is excellent- it is a straight up hack and slash game with some cool leveling mechanics (you get stronger- the game gets stronger), easy to deal with player abilities. A decent AI, and HORDES of zombies in a couple of varieties including animals if you get the expansions.

But Silver Tower has WAY better minis, a much stronger narrative, a more unique tone, more compelling choices, and more innovative things going.

So it's really down to if you want simple and stupid or simple and smart. I like both games about equally, with ST having a GW edge.
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18 Jan 2017 19:44 #242654 by Sevej
Can you describe more compelling choices & narrative? Do you find going back and forth to the book (for monster behavior especially) disturb the flow of the game?

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19 Jan 2017 10:08 - 19 Jan 2017 10:10 #242673 by Columbob
My bro printed the monster behaviour for ST on a cheat sheet to speed things up. The book is only referred to for random events and specific room-related stuff.

Last week we lost our first game (for the fifth shard) due to an unfortunate decision on our part and the game caught us with our pants down, but we plowed through it a second time in less than an hour (that dungeon with very few enemies - not sure which Rune shard it was? Edit: Celestial magic, or Azyr).
Last edit: 19 Jan 2017 10:10 by Columbob.

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