An interesting look at the D&D brand....and I go off on a ficticious rant about the future of the industry.

Over at Discourse And Dragons they highlighted three articles via The Escapist website about the Past, Present and Future of D&D. I found it to be an interesting read and it touched on the different editions, the 'edition wars', Hasbro & WotC....and that either the tabletop pen & paper rpg is dead or we are on the brink of a new golden age.

*** Enter Crazy Rant Mode ***

I'm fearing the official 'D&D' brand is going the way of the dinosaur. Eventually the proprietary materials will be swallowed up into the Magic: The Gathering brand where mind flayers and beholders will live on in card form only.

Paizo and Pathfinder have approximately 3 years before they over saturate their market (I'm already feeling that) and they release Pathfinder 2: Electric Bugaloo Edition or Ultimate Pathfinder which is a total overhaul of the original rule set and it pisses off long time Pathfinder fans which starts an edition war within their ranks. Or they will just dump everything into this MMO they want to do and get devoured by Blizzard and EA for encroaching into WoW and TOR territory.

Posthuman Studios will still be awesome and find a nice niche in the tabletop community. I think these are the guys and gals that will break out of the traditional table top model and use technology and some forward thinking to turn their game into something really unique.

Chaosium will still be scaring the shit out of players with the Call of Cthulhu brand. Steve Jackson Games will keep veering into casual games with more Munchkin and dice games (Steve will still be rolling around in piles of money...and plush tentacles).

Catalyst Game Labs will still be doing Shadowrun and Battletech. With luck Cosmic Patrol and Leviathans will take off as well. A possible 5th Ed of Shadowrun may be on the horizon in the next 5 years to streamline the rules a bit more and reduce the sheer volume of dice needed to roll.

Frog God Games, Green Ronin and other small-ish publishers will still keep cranking out stuff they want to do and keep fans happy. I see them continuing this for a long time.

And self published games using a version of the old OGL will be put out there on a regular basis keeping the old grognards and fans of other rules sets happy for years to come. All on PDF or another electronic format no less.

With that I'm retreating back into my hiding spot in my house so I can clutch my dice and reminisce about the good old days.

Cleaning out the attic: random thoughts for 2012 gaming.

Everyone around the start of the new year has lists of resolutions that they break shortly after making them, lists of things they want to accomplish but never do, et cetera and so on. I'm just putting down some things pertaining to tabletop gaming that I've realized over time and would like to see through 2012.

1) While preparing for our annual New Years party we stumbled upon my skeleton notes for the Eberron campaign that I ran intermittently from 2005. I looked them over, smiled at my ideas and realized that I'll never get to run that setting ever again. And I'm quite alright with that. In fact its a learning moment and I'm proud that I realized it.

I remember how the heroes in the last game saved the day and was transported home. I left some clues that other things are awry in Khorvaire while they were away but it resolved on a happy note for the adventurers. And I'm going to keep it as that. Its done. I'm done telling stories there. I did it because nobody else would tell stories there for me to play. And when that happens I become the DM just so I can be in that world, even if I'm not a hero there. *I will also note that only one person offered to set a game in Eberron and due to the rules set chosen I said 'Hell No! Eberron is mine! Get off my lawn!'.*

Besides I 'beat the dead horse' before with my Forgotten Realms game that went into epic 3.0 play and it got tedious and, quite frankly, was just awful to run and was no fun either. While some of the players may disagree with me it just wasn't worth continuing for me. Without fun there is no point in playing, right? It is a game after all and that game (Realms) is in terminal limbo and I've *never* wanted to go back there. The lesson I learned with the Realms game is to know when to end the story. I got that now and I won't let Eberron, which I love dearly, end up like my Realms game. I applaud it's creator, Keith Baker, who created a toy box for my creativity to thrive in and I love my time there. I just don't want to run it anymore. Its time to be a hero instead.

2) I also realized I just want to become a player again. I'm going to finish both Rise of the Runelords and Carrion Crown AP's because I am having fun doing both and I owe it to the wonderful crews I have that play in them. After they are done I'm going to retire my DM screen for awhile again. I'd like to play some more and let someone else step up and tell their stories. Its not a permanent retirement but its going to be a needed extended one after years of running games. For those wondering its not the dreaded 'DM Burnout' as I don't want to throw out all my books and quit playing. I just feel its time to step back for awhile and let the creative juices replenish again.

A step in this direction is the Eclipse Phase game my wife and I will be trying out starting next sunday. I'm looking forward to this but I'm going in with trepidation as it appeared some minor in-fighting between people who will be playing (and know each other) began on the message board we belong to for this game and....well....it was not needed. It also puts into doubt how this group will work together both out of game and within. I will give it the college try and see how it goes. I really like this setting. If I'm not having fun though I will depart from the group gracefully.

Ideally there are two people who I would love to run a game for me. Bruce, Charles, if you guys get an itch to tell a tale let me know. I'll be ready with dice in hand.

3) Eric at Gaming With The Gnomies has a great monthly article called 'The Apathy of New Releases' based off of what is being solicited in Game Trader for retail. My realization is that there really isn't alot of product I want to get my mitts on this year. I'm going to keep my Pathfinder AP subscription because I want the Skull & Shackles AP (PIRATES!) and The Shattered Star AP which is the sequel to Rise of the Runelords. After that I'm probably going to cancel it. I have enough AP's to keep me running and playing for the next ten years.

I will pick up the collected hardcover release of Frog God Games mega dungeon adventure, Rappan Athuk, because I love their work and they are quickly becoming my go to RPG supplement guys.

Paizo's big book releases, Bestiary 3 / Advanced Race Guide / Ultimate Equipment, don't really inspire me at all. I'll look through the Race Guide but I don't think its needed. Ultimate Equipment , the GenCon 2012 book, looks like alot of extra crap that will eventually clog up the game. If you can't find it in the core rule book, or better yet create what you need with the item creation rules, then you probably don't need it and  another book full of stuff that you might only use less than 1% of...ever. Bully I say!

I always will support Posthuman Studios and the Eclipse Phase brand and fortunately they don't release alot of books in a year but I haven't heard of anything new on the horizon yet. I bet we'll get a good hardcover out of them and their stuff is always worth the price.

Cthulhu Tech, another sci-fi game I liked, has all but disappeared and I've all but lost interest in it now. Scratch that off my list.

I want to check out Privateer Press's re-release for Iron Kingdoms. I missed the 3.0 D&D compatible books and now that they're out of print its nearly impossible to get them cheaply. But if looks like ass I will pass.

And if Pagan Publishing releases a new Delta Green hardcover this year its mine. I am the eternal fan of that setting. (Again....thanks Bob!)

I don't even consider WotC's D&D 4E for purchase. Its not my game of choice. And this is a teeny tiny list of stuff compared to what I've purchased in the past. Either I'm getting older or I'm just not as easily impressed anymore. Apathy indeed.


4) I'm going to play alot of Munchkin Axe Cop this year. There is no way around that. I can't wait.

So far this is all I have for gaming on my plate for 2012. Either this will be a bare bones year or it will pick up as the year goes on. Only time can tell.

Review: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

This was one of my most anticipated games of 2011 and I finally got my hands on playing it after Christmas. What was the verdict to the third part of the Nathan Drake saga? Does it hold up to the brilliance of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves?

With heavy heart I say no, no it doesn't. But in all honesty it is almost impossible to replicate perfection. Uncharted 3 isn't a horrible game it just isn't the finale that we should have received. This game should have been the second game with Among Thieves as the finale. Let me elaborate because this game both enraptured me and enraged me simultaneously.


The good of it is the that Uncharted has never looked better in the series. Naughty Dog really pulled out the stops on the ambiance of each environment with some spectacular vistas to behold. Some of my personal favorites were the ruined crusader castle in Yemen and the sheer beauty of the desert you get stranded in in the game's final acts.

Ooooh.....sand-tastic!

The voice acting is superb as always. Hearing the banter between Nate and Sully never sounded better and more natural. The banter between the characters is still amusing but there were a few times it felt they were really trying to make Drake a smart-ass more than needed. At least as the jokes fall flat with the player they also fall flat with the other characters too and they have no problem telling him that.


They musical score is quite engrossing and retains its big budget action movie soundtrack appeal. The familiar Uncharted theme is still present as well and is still a favorite of mine. Sound effects are equally good with melee combat noises sounding very organic, gunfire is loud and crisp and explosions are deep and full of bass.


So far its looking good but some critical areas just fall flat or become outright frustrating. The story and writing is some of the weakest of the series with more plot holes than both games combined. I swear the only reason Salim is introduced in the last chapters is just because Naughy Dog couldn't figure out how to get Drake to stop being lost in the desert and get him a horse to ride. Also the general disappearance of Chloe and Charlie (who was with you from the beginning of the game) and how they are not even mentioned at the end is just bad writing.

This is Charlie Cutter. He was awesome. He then disappeared without no further mention. He also is a clone of Jason Statham.

Also the sudden reveal that Drake and Elena got married after Among Thieves but it fell apart is barely discussed. You get glimpses but nothing further given. Hell you get more background info from the strategy guide than from the game itself. What the hell?


One of my biggest complaints was the total over animating of Drake. It seems like Naughty Dog wanted to go with realism with how he moved and instead created a character with a Monk-esque need to touch every flipping thing he walks past. He also is constantly looking around like hyper paranoid person. In addition when he walks/runs/climbs/jumps now he looks like he is constantly drunk. Its too much animation and the end result is sloppy. And because of the constant bumbling around the controls suffer due to more frames of animation and Drake not stopping mid-stumble to do what the hell you are inputting into the controller.

This isn't the end of the problems though. While melee combat was improved vastly over the second game they totally went backwards and made the shooting almost unplayable with near unresponsive targeting and some desire to have far too much recoil for each fire arm. I don't see this much inaccurate shooting in the worst FPS or more realistic one. Uncharted 2's ranged combat was buttery smooth and fun, this had me screaming at the tv in full on rage quit mode during the games numerous and unnecessarily long gun battles.


I also don't appreciate having enemies with unlimited ammo for guns and grenades with expert level marksmanship while you bumble around like a monkey fucking a doorknob in the dark. I didn't even die this much in Battlefield 3 and that is a harder game where precision is a must. Uncharted is supposed to be like a big budget fun summer movie. This felt cheap and I didn't think I was screwing up as much as this aspect of the game was just poorly designed.


Finally some of the level design, while inspired, was poorly laid out. There was more times than I care to admit that I couldn't figure out where to go in the level next due to its cluttered environments. Don't get me wrong they were gorgeous but when you can't figure out how to get the hell out of an area that doesn't have a puzzle to solve just sucks and makes you feel like a moron.


This is a rough review for me to put to words as I am a huge fan of this series of games. If I was comparing it to other third person action/adventure games out on the home consoles it stands heads and shoulders above those. I can't though. I have to compare it to the other two games in the series and when doing this I can say its a technical marvel but is the worst game of the series. With Uncharted: Drakes Fortune and the sublime Uncharted 2: Among Thieves I played through those games multiple times to find all the secrets, to re-experience the world, the story, the characters. With Drake's Deception I can say with all honestly I will not go back to it after finishing it.


So Uncharted fans be wary its not as good as Among Thieves by any means. Rent or borrow it if you want to finish the series. Or better yet just imagine how Among Thieves ended and leave it at that.  I'm glad I got this as a gift and didn't buy it myself because I may have set fire to the disc. Gift eased that rage slighly.

File this one under: Games That Cause Pain.