The final Witcher DLC is finally here and with it rumours that this will be the last we see from Geralt Of Rivia.
CD Projekt Red have stated that there’s ‘over 30 hours of new adventures’ and a ‘land unlike anything you’ve seen in Wild Hunt or Hearts of Stone’, which it does not fail to deliver on.
Let’s start off by saying that the map for this section of the game, is absolutely huge, it’s basically a game in itself, although once you enter the realm of Touissaint (a duchy within the Nilfgaardian Empire) you won’t be able to return to the main map for quite some time. So make the best of it whilst you can and take everything in; which is a lot!
The main story and introduction to the DLC starts with a Witcher contract ‘Envoys, Wineboys’ displayed on a notice board in Mulbrydale. From here you get you’re first taste of Touissaint, as two knights hand you the contract information before leading you to the duchy leader, Duchess Anna Henrietta.
The landscape here is a lot brighter and more whimsical then the main game, making it feel on the whole more promising and hopeful compared to the drab look of the Wild Hunt.
New exotic looking herbs can be found throughout the duchy along with other localslised flora and fauna, just don’t get too comfortable in the bright new surroundings as there’s still quite a few areas shrouded in mystical fog and dark monotonous scenery.
As is no surprise, vineyards and bottles of wine can be found throughout most areas, often with the accommodating consumables sat along side them.
New armour, weapons and forges can be found in the city of Beauclair and its surrounding townships, along with the new game mechanic in which armour can be dyed for aesthetic purposes.
To fully emerge yourself in the almost poetic fairytale life, you can opt to take part in the Grand tourney in replace of one of the grand knights, here you can practice racing, crossbow shooting and fighting skills before being put to the test.
You can finally have a place to call home after being handed the deeds to a vineyard in disrepair. Although other places throughout the game have save boxes, this place has your own clean and comfy bed which triggers specific abilities when slept in. Along with this you can add an armour and weapons display rack, grindstone and armour workbench.
Particularly challenging are the new monsters, there’s over 20 varieties of them fighting along side the usual suspects, including Bruxas, Echinops, and Dracolixards.
Garden like monsters such as giant centipedes and Archespores seem to be the more common enemy you can stumble upon in the vineyard spotted hills, along with the odd Giant, Panther, Spriggan and maybe even a cursed spoon collecting creature along the way.
A new feature reminiscent of Shadows Of Mordor, includes bandit camps calling for reinforcements when you try to raid their , which can only be stopped by hunting down the torch carrier before he reaches the signal beacon. This makes for an interesting challenge as you’re swarmed by different infantry types who aren’t willing to back down.
It is recommended that you do not enter Touissaint unless you’re at least level 35, but if you’re playing on anything higher than normal ‘blood and broken bones’ I’d say wait at least until level 40, which is still extremely challenging.
There are a total of 90 new quests, 40 new points of interest, new Witcher contracts and high level scavenger hunts available.
One side quest in particular reveals the development of ‘mutagen X’, research into this mutagen opens up new levelling up abilities in the character development menu, which now has a maximum level of a 100. Along with patch 1.20 a general overhaul of the user interface menu has also tidied up some of the previous inventory and index issues, making things more organised and accessible.
If you’re a Gwent fan then you’ll be pleased to hear that there’s now a whole new deck and tournaments to go with it located throughout. The Skellige deck is very similar in its core to the Scoia’tael and Monsters decks, with a few new variations thrown in for good luck.
The amount of content available in this dlc makes it more than worth the price, limited versions of the dlc also come with the missing two physical copies of the Northern Realms and Nilfgaardian Gwent decks (Monsters and Scoia’tael cards available with purchase of limited hearts of stone dlc packs).
This is a spectacular content packed addition to the main game and should set the standard for all RPG related DLCs going forward.
Not long after its E3 announcement, Fallout 4’s latest dlc has now been released and it comes in the form of another workshop add on.
Titled ‘Contraptions’ it mainly focuses on the use of materials and manufacturing to produce everything from ammo and guns to Giddy Up Buttercups and Vault Tec lunch boxes.
One of the few new building options includes the ability to build a warehouse, which is basically just a tin can version of the barn addition to the workshop seen in the previously released Far Harbour dlc.
To fill your warehouse there’s a number of manufacturing machines, conveyor belts, switches and scaffolding, which require a large quantity of steel and gears to build.
The manufacturing process itself seems rather pointless and slightly long winded, particularly if you are using the ‘build’ machine.
For someone with no background knowledge of manufacturing or electrical circuits, the amount of new switches and conveyor belt options can seem overwhelming at first and it ended up being at points a lot more complicated than it probably should have been.
After selecting the item which you require, you input the materials into the machine and wait for the finished product to emerge. The finished product can then be either dismantled, equipped, sold or stored.
This whole process seems like a bit of a waste of time, as you could’ve just sold the materials used in the first place for not much difference in price, bought ammo or food or even used the materials to build something more useful.
The other machines are slightly more useful, but again can take large quantities of materials to get anything worthwhile back. Although, the use of an armoury to produce copious amounts of ammunition may be more useful for those who are struggling obtaining such thought the game.
Other new additions include generic cosmetic items such as posters, statues and fireworks.
Along with these, the ability to display treasured items in specified display cases is a fun way to show off your gear. With separate cases for guns, armour and power armour; similar to the way items were previously stored and displayed in the Elder Scrolls Vs Skyrim.
A Pillory has also been added to the workshop, which although is fun for a moment seems out of place and pointless in comparison to the rest of the new additions.
The quality of the dlc is reflected in the price, it’s basically just a few add ons to extend the time spent building settlements and occasionally producing useful items (if you have a decent stash of materials to hand).
After two very packed days at the 2016 Denver Comic-Con, we decided that the last day would be more relaxing and we would spend it mostly walking the ‘Con floor. We had a couple photo-ops lined up, but we’d still have plenty of time before and after to enjoy everything.
We started with exploring the floor a bit, then headed over to the celebrity area. As I said last time, we were going to try and meet Cary Elwes at his table and hopefully do a photo with him. Fortunately, we got there a bit early, so we didn’t have to wait in line long. As a funny aside, Cary’s table was stationed next to John Barrowman’s table for the weekend, and John was just about to get started for the day as well. While in line, one of the volunteers working the event spotted us in line and jokingly asked if we were cheating on John.
You know it’s a good convention when even the volunteers remember you.
Anyway, we laughed for a moment and the volunteer offered to point us out to John if he got a chance, which we were more than fine with.
We still had a little bit of a wait until Cary showed up, and that’s when I noticed that Sean Pertwee, whose table was on the other side of John’s, had gotten set up and had no line to see him yet. For those that might not recognize the name, he currently plays Alfred Pennyworth on Fox’s Gotham, and he is also the son of the legendary Jon Pertwee, most famous for his ground-breaking role as the Third Doctor on Doctor Who. Jon is the first Doctor that I truly fell in love with (with no disrespect to William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, who were both amazing), so I really wanted to chat with him. My wife gave me the OK to go over by myself while she and Teagan held our place in Cary’s line, so I took it. I got my photo with him and chatted for a few minutes about his current career as well as his dad. Probably stuff he’s heard a thousand times, but he was still very friendly and candid. In fact, he really seems to like talking about his dad’s work as the Doctor, and we shared a few laughs before I headed back.
Back to Cary’s line, he showed up a few minutes later. Unlike the rest of the tables, he had a curtain in front of his table. We weren’t sure why, but we figured it was either a) to prevent people from taking photos of John Barrowman’s table or b) so Cary could give each person his undivided attention, as it turns out he’s very fan-friendly. Perhaps it was a bit of both. Anyway, we eventually got in to see him, and he was terrific. He talked to both Heather (my wife) and I for a moment before crouching down to give Teagan some attention. He just loved her and couldn’t stop talking about how cute she was.
I shook his hand while Heather got a quick hug. Before we left, however, he told Teagan how cute she was yet again, then proceeded to let her pick out an 8×10 for a free autograph, which was just awesome. Of course, she picked one of Westley from The Princess Bride, and of course he made sure to put “As you wish” as part of the signature. He then made her entire year by giving her a hug and two kisses on the cheek. She beamed the rest of the day.
After a little more walking around, we had to head over to get in line for our first (and what would turn out to be our only) professional photo-op of the day with Agent Coulson himself, Clark Gregg. Teagan decided to take her pose with Gregg very seriously, instead of smiling like she did with everyone else. I’m not sure why, but he got a big kick out of it. Great guy, that one.
Now, this is where the day takes a bit of a somber turn. We were originally scheduled for a photo-op with Karl Urban shortly after the last one, but it never came to pass. Earlier that day, Urban’s Star Trek co-star Anton Yelchin was tragically killed in a freak car accident at his home. Needless to say, Urban and several other celebrities who knew Yelchin almost immediately left the convention in a state of grief. I was disappointed, sure, but I don’t think anyone at the convention would blame Urban or any of the other guests for wanting to leave due to such a horrible tragedy. Heather, who is a big fan of the new movies, took Anton’s death pretty hard as well. We wound up getting a refund for the photo-op. I took a photo of his table as a kind of memento. I can’t imagine what Urban and everyone else are going through, and my thoughts are with them at this time.
The guests who were stationed on either side of Karl, Katee Sackhoff and Brent Spiner, respectively, also left the convention early.
Since we now had a little more cash than expected, we decided to head back to the celebrity tables so we could meet Ralph Macchio, who was there as part of the Karate Kid/The Outsiders reunion I mentioned in part 1. Heather had a big crush on Ralph growing up, so she was more nervous than normal. Fortunately, there wasn’t much to be nervous about, as he’s a very cool, down-to-earth guy. Understandably, he was very tired from the weekend (and you could tell), but still very pleasant and friendly.
Back to the main convention floor, where we spent most of the day browsing the tables and looking for things to buy. I also got the last artist signature I was looking for, one Peter David. David had been away from his table every time I had come to it all weekend, but I finally managed to get there while he was available and got him to sign my Castlebook I mentioned in part 1.
And of course, what would a convention be without the cosplayers? We took Sunday to take the most cosplay photos, and there were some damn good ones. Now, some of these are from the other two days, because I honestly can’t remember which photos I took when.
This girl was also rocking a kick-ass River Song costume over the weekend.The only Finn we saw all weekend.The only Him I’ve seen at the convention…well, ever.
We ended up not spending a bunch of money on souvenirs, but that’s okay. We got to meet just about everyone we wanted to, and enough memories to last a lifetime (Cliche’ or what?). However, we each did walk away with some good stuff. My big score was the Twelfth Doctor’s 2nd sonic screwdriver, one of the last available in the entire place.
We also hit the Comcast Xfinity booth, as they had a replica of the Iron Throne set up for free photos. Teagan and I have actually sat in the real one used in the show, as it was on tour through the US last year. Heather wasn’t with us, however, so I obliged on this. Not the real Throne, but still very cool looking.
Before leaving, as there were only a couple hours left in the day before the festivities ended, Heather decided she wanted to go back to the celebrity area one last time to see if there was anyone else she wanted to see or meet. Clare Kramer, who had been absent from her table most of the weekend due to all of her panel-hosting duties, was now at her table, so we decided to spend a few minutes there.
Clare has now attended Denver Comic-Con three times, and all three times, we’ve went to her table to say “hi”. She’s just that cool. She’s very approachable and one of those guests that is absolutely fine with fans who just want to chat and don’t necessarily want photos or autographs. Even though we had gotten a photo with her last year, we decided, what the hell, let’s get another one. We were a few bucks short on cash, and the card reader at her table wasn’t working very well, so we were going to hit an ATM to get the last bit of cash. When she found out we were only about $5.00 short, she said not to worry and just took what we had, which was pretty nice. I like our photo with her this year even better than last year’s.
We spent a few more minutes talking with her, and she promised she’d be back again next year, which is totally fine by me! She also autographed one of her Geek Nation stickers for us, which turns out looks really nice in a frame.
One last celebrity visit, and then off on our way. Can you guess whose table we went to?
Go ahead, I’ll give a you moment.
…….
Give up?
If you said “John Barrowman”, you’ve been paying attention. Good for you! Anyway, we decided we couldn’t leave without talking to him one more time. Turns out that ended up being a good, hilarious choice.
As we were waiting in line, I took my phone out to take a photo of my new sonic screwdriver (see above). All of a sudden, I feel hands on my shoulders. I look up, and of course it’s John. He proceeds to tell me, “Okay. Put down your bag and your water bottle and give your wife your phone, because we’re taking a picture.” I didn’t see him come up behind me, but according to Heather, he was looking at my butt with a sly smile. Because of course he was.
After handing my phone over, he first tells Teagan to turn around for a moment because kids shouldn’t see this. A nice lady in line helped us out with that as John told me, “Now. You’re going to flex those muscles, and I’m going to come in with one hand and grab your junk”, or something to that effect. As we started to get set up, John turned to the rest of the line and told them, “Now, for those of you that don’t follow my Twitter, this won’t make any sense. But, if you follow me on there, you know he and I have been trading tweets this weekend, and this is culmination of that.” We took the photo and John told me I had to tag him on Twitter and use the caption “This just happened.”
Right after that, he handed my phone back and told me to take another photo with Heather. He went behind her and got a big double handful of breast, then told me to follow up the last tweet with another one saying, “…And then this happened.” The results are the two photos below, which have been favorited, responded to or retweeted more than anything I’ve ever put on Twitter.
His husband Scott was off to the side all while this was going on. You gotta love the guy. He’s married to one of the biggest personalities in show business, and he just takes it all in stride. Scott’s a great guy, and we both had to go give him a hug.
After all that, it was finally time to leave, but not without a few more photos. There were a ton of cosplayers lingering around in the lobby of the convention center, some of which with fantastic costumes, so we snagged a few more.
The only Kung Fury we saw all weekend. Dude nailed it, though. Even got the hair right!Easily the best-looking Tank Girl cosplay I’ve ever seen.Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who was also present for the weekend, liked this girl’s Comedian costume so much he brought her on stage during his panel.This guy has done this Galactus costume at least three years in a row now. How he’s comfortable on those stilts all day, I’ll never know. Either way, kudos.The wedding of Spider-Pool.The Veloci-Rapture. This guy shows up every year in this costume, and it’s always a hit. He carries a variety of signs on the post that he swaps throughout each day.
And so ends another Denver Comic-Con! We had an incredible time, and this was by far the biggest and best year of the event. We’ve already started saving for next year, and if I’m still with Geek Pride by that point, I’ll do this all over again. Cheers!
ADDENDUM: In part one, I forgot to mention that I ran into Frank Beddor, who had a table set up at the convention. You might remember Frank from my review of his book, Hatter Madigan. Frank has always been nice, and was very grateful for the book review.
Now, onto Day 2!
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For those of you that read part 1, you’ll see that the first day of this year’s event was quite…well…eventful. Could day 2 possibly top it?
Yes. Yes, it could.
We didn’t get to enjoy the convention as much the second day. Don’t misunderstand me; we had a ton of fun and got a lot accomplished. I just mean that we didn’t get to look around, shop, etc. due to how busy we were. See, day 2 was a day for photo-ops, all of which we had paid for in advance, so there was no missing out.
We did get to do a bit of wandering on the floor before things really got underway, but not much. Just a couple hours in, we got into one of the theaters for a panel with Cersei Lannister herself, Lena Headey. The panel was unfortunately bumped up to our busiest day due to Lena having to cancel her Sunday appearances and cram everything into Saturday instead. However, that didn’t stop her from having a great time. Hosted by uber-geek Clare Kramer, most known for her role as Glory on the TV series Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and owner of Geek Nation. This was her third time attending the convention hosted many of the panels. Turns out this one was special for her, as she and Lena go back over ten years, having worked on a movie (that sadly never got released) when they both were starting their careers. Needless to say, Clare did an outstanding job, asking questions that she knew fans would ask themselves because she is one. Eventually, Lena and Clare switched to questions from the audience, and Lena was funny, charming and very candid in all of her answers. Naturally, most questions applied to Game of Thrones, but little was revealed, namely due to the fact that the cast are just as much in the dark on what’s going to happen as anyone else. Still, what she could say was funny, and she included several great stories about Peter Dinklage, including him hustling both her and Conan O’Brien during their segment of “Clueless Gamer” on Conan’s show.
Now, my daughter got a bit bored during this panel because, quite honestly, she doesn’t know who Lena Headey is (No Game of Thrones or Dredd until she gets a bit older!). However, that would turn around in a hurry.
First up was a photo-op with two of the oh-so-many lovely ladies of Doctor Who, Jenna Coleman and Alex Kingston, better known as “Clara Oswald” and “River Song”, respectively. Arthur Darvill was also supposed to be in the photo, but he unfortunately had to cancel a couple weeks before the convention. Sadly, he had to cancel last year as well, in order to film Legends of Tomorrow. This year, a reason was not given, but I’m going to assume he needed to either film the next season of that show or season 3 of Broadchurch (Arthur, if this somehow gets to you, please come back. My daughter is dying to meet you and was very sad you canceled this year). We ended up using his portion of the photo-op for a photo with Karl Urban (more on that in part 3), but even without him there, it was a great experience. Jenna and Alex were clearly having fun with everyone in line for photos, and when it was our term, Alex was beyond charming while Jenna went out of her way pose with my daughter for the photo. I managed to get hugs from both before we had to move on. I’m sure they get asked for hugs all the time, but it didn’t stop them from giving out just a couple more. Two class acts all the way and astoundingly lovely women.
No time to rest! Immediately into the line for the next photo-op! Up next was Lena Headey. Again, this was her only day at the event, so her line was a bit rushed. Still, total pro and a sweet lady who was having a great time with everyone. Teagan didn’t know her, but fell in love with her after posing for photos. Until she’s a bit older, I’ll have to show her the version of The Jungle Book Lena was in, along with Cary Elwes (more on him in a bit), or maybe Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. She’s a big fan of Summer Glau, so it should be an easy sell.
We had a small break after that. And by “small”, I mean “a few minutes”. My wife jumped in line for the next photo-op while Teagan and I headed to another part of the convention floor so she could meet Olivia and Martin Olson, who were also only there for one day, signing copies of their books. For those that don’t know, Olivia and Martin are authors as well as involved in show business. Olivia voices Marceline, the Vampire Queen on Adventure Time, and her father Martin not only writes and composes many of the songs on the show, he also does countless voice-acting and live action gigs, and was the head writer on Phineas & Ferb for its first season.
While they did a sing-along for the kids last year, Teagan missed out on meeting them because we found out the next day they were only there one day, so I made absolutely sure she got to meet them this year. Fortunately, their line was short, but unfortunately, took longer than expected. Both are extremely chatty, which is absolutely fine, and they were also not charging anyone for autographs (save for with purchase of books or CDs), which is even more fine. What’s not fine is people taking advantage of that. A couple several ahead of us had an obscene stack of merchandise for the two of them to sign. As I said yesterday, when someone isn’t charging, there’s a limit. These two had gone way beyond that limit. To the Olsons’ credit, however, they signed everything and asked for nothing in return.
When we finally got up to them, they were extremely sweet people. Very friendly and really paying attention to every single person that was talking to him. My daughter brought a comic for them to sign, which they were more than happy to do. They also gave her a free scroll pen, which she was very excited about, then took a quick photo. Great people, and I’d love for them to come back next year when we’re not so rushed. Perhaps we can take Teagan to their panel on the next round.
Back to photo-op lines! Round 3 was with the one and only John Barrowman. If you read part 1, you know that he and I had been goofing around with each other the previous day (making my wife delightfully jealous in the process), and it turns out that wasn’t done.
Thanks to my wife getting in line early, we had very little wait time for our photo with John. Once we got in, John immediately recognized us, gave me an, “Mmmm.” with a smile on his face, then had us squeeze him as tightly as we possibly could for the photo. The result is possibly my favorite photo that I’ve ever been in. I loved John before we ever got to meet him, but now I love him more than ever.
After the photo, John hugged us again, then proceeded to smack my ass on my way out of the booth, resulting in another “Woooo!” from those behind us in line. That eventually led to an exchange of some great Tweets between he and I.
My wife calls this “Our big, happy family.”
Finally, back to another line for our last photo-op. Another one-day appearance. This time, none other than the incredibly beautiful and talented Hayley Atwell, who I’m sure you all know as “Peggy Carter” from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Agent Carter. Pretty sure Hayley now just lives as Agent Peggy Carter now. Much like Alex Kingston was dressed in a lovely dress I could see River Song wearing, Hayley pretty much looked and dressed just like Agent Carter for the day. Not only is she charming in-person, she is just as striking as you would imagine. Unbelievably gorgeous woman.
After being on our feet in line most of the day, it was time for a bit of a sit. We headed off to one off to the Bellco Theatre inside the convention center and back to the main hall, where we had seen Lena Headey’s panel earlier in the day. We were planning on attending John Barrowman’s panel, not realizing a panel was still in progress, and in fact had barely just started. Turned out that panel featured one Cary Elwes.
Great timing, as the panel was incredibly fun. Cary, who was a guest as a result of this year marking the 30th anniversary of The Princess Bride, was joined by Clare Kramer, once more playing host and interviewer. Cary proceeded to fill an hour with incredible stories from the sets of his movies, mainly The Prince Bride, and was so charming and funny. Not only that, but the man has a mind like a steel trap. He could remember absolutely every little detail about each story, and told each with such clear joy on his face, I couldn’t help but smile the entire time.
During the Q&A period with the audience, Cary fielded all sorts of questions and had fun stories to go along with all of them. At one point, one girl got up to ask a question and was so nervous, she started to stutter over her words. Cary asked her her name, said, “Hi”, then followed up with, “You know, I need a hug” before running into the audience to give her a hug. He then proceeded to hug several more questioners who were also nervous, and even did part of the panel from the crowd in between hugs. It was very sweet and genuine. He struck me as a guy who clearly appreciates the audiences and wants everyone to have a good time, and if anyone left that panel without a smile, they must be incredibly bitter.
Before the panel ended, one last question from the audience: “Would you make all the girls and several of the guys in the audience’s day by uttering your famous three words?” Cary knew immediately what the gentleman asking the question meant, chuckled a bit, then looked to the hard camera. “As. You. Wish.” At that moment, it dawned on Teagan who Cary was, as she absolutely loves The Princess Bride (she didn’t recognize him, partially due to the fact that we were quite a ways back in the theatre). We all decided we would do our damnedest to get over to his table on day 3.
After a brief intermission to allow the audience to file out and the new audience to file in (those who wanted to attend both were allowed to stay after Cary’s), we moved closer to better seats. It was time for Mr. Barrowman’s panel. No Clare Kramer on hosting duties this time around. Turns out John’s panels are a one-man show.
John hit the stage in a way only he can, sporting a long wig, high heels and a dressed. Turns out he dresses up like one of his favorite TV characters for every panel, and this time, it was Misha from Supernatural.
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After giving the crowd a thrill with some dancing (and receiving a standing ovation in return), he went straight into Q&A with the audience, trying to answer as many questions as possible. Honestly, trying to tell you everything he talked about wouldn’t do the panel justice, as he covered just about everything you can think of. I can tell you, however, he told a great story about sharing chips with David Tennant while filming Doctor Who, as well as an even better one about both Gareth David-Lloyd and Eve Myles on the set of Torchwood.
He also spent a great deal of time talking about different charities he’s worked with, and did something really cool when a partially-blind gentleman told a story about how John’s face was one of the last he saw before his sight started to slip. John hugged the man and allowed him to touch his face in order to really remember it when his sight eventually goes. The man’s wife, who is deaf, also danced with him on stage after being too nervous to do it at his table earlier. She received a big kiss from John’s husband Scott to cap it off.
Amongst all of this, Barrowman announced he and sister Carole are continuing the Torchwood stories courtesy of a new comic series from IDW, and are hoping to spin that off back into a new series of the show. He also made a special announcement that he would be doing a social media announcement over the next few days, which turned out to be that he is currently working on a pilot for a brand-new show.
Finally, John sang the song “I Am What I Am” to the crowd, a song he wrote himself that has become his personal anthem and the anthem for all of his friends and fans who don’t feel normal or feel different for a variety of reasons. It was incredible, and just shows how obscenely talented he is. Author, singer, songwriter, actor of both stage and screen…the man can do it all. My daughter was a bit bummed he didn’t answer her question, but she still had a great time and absolutely loved his song. We knew we had to go see him one more time at his table before the weekend was over.
If you’ve got an hour to spare, you can watch his panel here. The official video is supposed to be uploaded soon, so if you want to wait and see it in better quality, I promise it’s worth it.
And so ended day 2, and we had an absolute blast. Despite not having much free time, every single bit was worth it. Next time in part 3, more fun with celebrities…and a bit of a somber moment as well.
This past Father’s Day weekend in the US also marked the fifth annual Denver Comic-Con in Denver, CO. I have attended this event every year since its inception, and each year, the event has grown exponentially bigger than the last. This year was no exception.
DCC has quickly become one of the biggest events of its type and was reportedly the third largest last year (numbers are still coming in for this year), and is the single largest non-profit event, put on by Pop Culture Classroom, which you can find out more and how to donate right here. Anyway, I thought I’d take the time to discuss my experience at the convention, taking a look at each of the three days I attended.
Generally, the first day, my family and I just wander around the floor, checking out the tables and the artist. We did have one photo-op scheduled, but beyond that, it was all about just taking in the spectacle.
A panoramic shot of the crowd waiting to get in.A panoramic shot of part of the main convention floor.
While exploring the tables and taking in the sites, I took the opportunity to get some books signed by some of the artists. We got a stack of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Serenity comics signed by Georges Jeanty (Side note: If you have an artist sign more than 10 books at a convention, and they aren’t charging you, you’re a douche), as well as Castle: A Calm Before the Storm signed by Robert Atkins and Civil War: Frontline signed by Joe Lieber.
After a couple hours, we went to the celebrity section and got in line to meet John Barrowman, who was signing autographs and selling copies of his two books, Hollow Earth and Torchwood: Exodus Code, which he coauthored with his sister, Carol. These books are not available outside of the UK except through John at conventions, so we had to get at least one. After signing a copy of Hollow Earth and talk to John for a bit, he wouldn’t let us leave the table until he felt my arms. After having me flex (and getting a “Wooo!” from the crowd), he had his husband, Scott Gill, join in as well. Scott was embarrassed a bit, but he conceded. Let me tell you, gay or straight, there’s nothing more flattering than having John Barrowman and his husband hit on you. More on them later, as well as in parts 2 and 3 of this series.
Back to the floor, as it was story time for the kids. Each year, Denver Comic-Con, which has an entire area just for the young ones, has one of the celebrities read a children’s story to the kids. Last year, Patrick Warburton read the most dramatic reading of Green Eggs & Ham you’ve ever heard. The year before, Adam West did the honours, and the year before that, William Shatner. This year, if you guessed John Barrowman, collect your prize.
After blowing me a kiss off-stage (no, really), Barrowman read the book Dragons Love Tacos and an excerpt from the aforementioned Hollow Earth. John was a big hit with the kids and was extremely fan-friendly throughout.
After the reading, we went back out to the floor, where I proceeded to run into John and Scott several more times throughout the day, getting a friendly grope or two from both of them each time. My daughter Teagan also received a hug. She had asked for one in his autograph line, but he declined due to everyone likely asking for one if they saw and only having so much time before he had to do other things at the convention, such as the book reading. However, he promised her if she saw him out on the floor, she could ask for and receive a hug. Man of his word, he made her day with a great big hug.
Back to the celebrity area, DCC did a Karate Kid/The Outsiders reunion this year, and one of the cast members, William Zabka, was present. You might know him better as “Johnny Lawrence” or “every bully in every 80’s movie”. I’ve often said that the people who play the biggest asses in movies and TV shows are probably the nicest people in real life, and I wasn’t proven wrong. Zabka was extremely friendly and had a nice chat with us, talking to our daughter before showing us some photos of his son and telling a couple stories. We got our picture with him, and I also had him sign my Johnny Lawrence POP collectible.
After walking the floor a while longer, it was time for our one photo-op of the day, which took place at the very end. This was something I had been waiting for my entire life, as the photo-op was none other with the one, the only, the Generalissimo himself, Stan Lee. This is reportedly his last year of doing conventions, and we booked our photo-op in advance because no way in hell were we not meeting him. Lee was supposed to be at our event in 2013, but had to cancel in order to shoot his cameo for Thor: The Dark World, and Pop Culture Classroom has been trying to get him to come back ever since. This year, they made good. He was there for the entire weekend, doing autographs as well as a panel and was a huge hit with everyone.
The line behind me for Stan Lee photos.
When we went for our photo-op, we were told not to engage in long conversation with him. Standard procedure for photo-ops, but given his status, it was even more understandable. I didn’t get to talk to him, sadly, but still got to say “hello” and “thank you”, which was more than enough for me.
All in all, a very successful, eventful day that was a ton of fun. What could possibly top all of this? Find out tomorrow!
AUTHORS NOTE: Despite Lee repeatedly stating this is his last year doing conventions, during a panel hosted by Clare Kramer, he announced he would be back in Denver again next year. Take that for what it’s worth, folks.
In the world of Westeros and beyond, there’s not much time for hearts and flowers and it’s more pillage and chill than a cuddle up on the couch. We’ve certainly had our share of tragedies and incest-tastic couples, but it’s not all about the romance.
Throughout Game of Thrones we’ve been given some of the best bromances and partnerships in the Seven Kingdoms. In no particular order, I’m going to run through the best duos we’ve seen on screen so far. Queue the music.
1. Daenerys and Drogo
Okay, so the first duo on my list is one of the very few actual couples to make it here. Whilst Dany and Drogo wasn’t a relationship that lasted very long, not even making a whole season, it’s the one that’s undoubtedly had the biggest impact on the show so far. If it weren’t for the arranged marriage, there’s little question that Daenerys wouldn’t be where she was today, ready to battle for her title as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Our Mother of Dragons would probably be sat at home with the still-breathing Viserys, perhaps forced into some unwanted incest of her own.
Dany soon fell in love with her magnificent Khal and they certainly had their adorable romantic moments, making his departure from the show an unpleasant one. Living with Drogo and the Dothraki made Dany strong, gave her the power and courage that she needed to eventually lead her own army, along with her very own dragon babies. Still alive and kicking as our Khaleesi even after the loss of her sun and stars, she refused to join the Dosh Khaleen and united the entire Khalasar to fight for her.
2. Davos Seaworth and Shireen Baratheon
Ser Davos’ friendship with the littlest and sweetest Baratheon was fundamental in building up his character to be the charming Geordie that we still know and love today. Shireen was isolated due to her Dragonscale, also aided by her religious nut of a Mother and Stannis being busy trying to take over the world. Ser Davos befriended the young girl and she taught him to read, giving us some rather heart-warming scenes earlier in the show. Davos was absent for Shireen’s traumatic sacrifice, but after last week’s ‘Battle of the Bastards’, it looks as though he’s finally discovered what happened to the Princess. Tomorrow’s finale could see him finally avenge her death as he confronts Melisandre and I’m really hoping that he doesn’t sacrifice himself in the process.
3. Arya and The Hound
Easily one of the best partnerships we’ve seen in Westeros is that of Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane, more commonly referred to as the Hound. Whilst Arya was initially the Hound’s captive to sell off to a potential buyer, it’s also important to note that he also rescued her and he could have easily sold her to the Lannister’s, with the little Stark surely having quite the price on her head. Throughout the show he searched for remaining Starks, and later family in the Vale, that would pay a ransom for Arya.
As their journey together continued, it became one of a mentor and pupil, with the Hound fuelling Arya’s blood lust and playing a vital role in the progression of her character as we know it. Their banter was superb and something I looked forward to each episode, ultimately moving towards the moment in which she left him to die alone. With the Hound recently making his fabulous return (huzzah!), I’m hoping for a reunion in the not too distant future, perhaps one that won’t end in his demise…
4. Jon and Ygritte
Time for another semi-couple on the list, with Jon Snow and his Wildling lover, Ygritte. Whilst Jon used Ygritte to get closer to Mance Rayder, she certainly gave him some of her fierce nature and helped him to become a stronger person, which played a crucial role in getting him to where he is today. Despite their differences and penchant for shooting each other, Jon ultimately fell in love with Ygritte and his relationship with her began to sow the seeds of doubt in his mind regarding his position in the Night’s Watch. Their relationship also gave us one of the best lines in the show, with her iconic line ‘you know nothing, Jon Snow’ (*sniff*).
5. Tyrion and Bronn
It’s bromance-o’-clock now, with the ultimate banter duo. More recently we’ve seen a great partnership between Bronn and Jaime, but it’s been his relationship with Tyrion that really kicked things off. After meeting Bronn on the road to the Eyrie, he won Tyrion over with his offer to fight for him in a trial by combat. With the unlikeliest of friendships, Bronn the sell sword and Tyrion the nobleman fast became one of the best duos on Game of Thrones and the best bromance on TV, delivering the best lines on the show. With the promise of all the gold and ladies he could want, Bronn stuck by Tyrion until Cersei twisted his arm with a tasty bribe. However, Jaime soon swayed him and the two became thick as thieves, with hopefully another reunion on the cards for Bronn and Tyrion.
6. Ramsay and Theon
Less of a bromance here, with the recently deceased Bolton Bastard and poor Theon Greyjoy. After capturing Theon and removing his, erm, manhood, Ramsay transformed him into his loyal servant, ‘Reek’. Reek played a crucial role in helping Ramsay to gain power, but has perhaps since redeemed himself in rescuing Sansa from the Bolton Bastard. I was hoping that Theon would be the one to finish Ramsay off, but I think being eaten alive by his own hounds was just as fitting. However, this photo is glorious.
7. Daenerys and Jorah
Ahh, Lord Friendzone, how we love your devotion to the Mother of Dragons. Despite initially being part of a plot to get rid of Daenerys, Jorah soon became her most loyal and courageous follower. Forever branded as Lord Friendzone, his undying love for our dragon Queen has been both hilarious and heart-warming and I can’t help but feel for the guy every time he utters ‘Khaleesi’. Their recent exchange regarding his stoney fate was without a doubt my favourite yet, with Jorah finally declaring his love for Dany. I really hope that he finds a cure next season and returns to his Queen, but I’m afraid it’s permanent friend zone for Jorah and his puppy-dog eyes.
8. Brienne and Jaime
THIS. This needs to happen, for reals. Brienne of Tarth is one of my favourite characters in the show, with her relationship with Jaime turning him into another. Their journey together to King’s Landing made a changed man of Jaime, showing an entirely different personality to the one that threw Bran out of a window in season one. The loss of his hand and him rescuing Brienne from the bear aided his transformation, but it was his relationship with her that truly changed him for the better.
Giving Brienne his Valyrian steel sword was the ultimate sign of trust and affection, and I’m really hoping that she doesn’t end up fighting him with it. In recent events we have seen Jaime begin to revert back to his former self, pushed by Marcella’s death and his quest to please Cersei in every way he can (eww). His last exchange with Brienne saw that glimmer of hope yet, but he’s so deeply embedded in his quest for Cersei that he may be too far gone. Bronn finally said what we were all thinking regarding the duo though, asking Pod if he thought they were getting a little hanky panky in the tent, put a little less eloquently, mind.
The trailer for the finale sees him dining with Walder Frey and I’m more than a little concerned for his fate. Will he go rogue and wreak revenge on the Freys? Or perhaps someone else will rock up to do just that and Jaime will be caught in the crossfire. Whatever the outcome, I think a conflict is on the cards for the King Slayer.
9. Brienne and Tormund
I’m sorry Jaime, but it looks like there may be a fight for Brienne’s affections in the way of Tormund Giantsbane and his big beard. The few exchanges the two have had so far have been utterly fabulous, with everyone suddenly jumping on board the Brienne and Tormund train. The pair would make an excellent couple and it’s just wonderful to see Tormund’s softer side and Brienne on the receiving end of some love, which she more than deserves right now after her majorly crushing on both Renley and Jaime in the past. As much as I love Brienne and Jaime together, I’d love to see more between these two.
10. Cersei and Wine
Finally, what’s a Game of Thrones list without the inclusion of the resident Queen bitch? Poor Cersei hasn’t really had much luck with love besides her incest-tastic relationship with Jaime, so this is the best that I could come up with. Rarely seen apart, Cersei and wine form the ultimate partnership.
Before I get into reviewing The Detail Episode 3 – Devil in the Details, I have to say that I more than a little bit in love with film noir and hard-boiled detective fiction. I don’t exactly know why, perhaps it’s something to do with how bittersweet and world weary it can be. Or maybe it’s because of Batman (y’know, because he’s the world’s greatest detective).
I don’t think about it too much, I just enjoy whatever form it’s in. Whether that’s a Raymond Chandler novel, or a Frank Miller comic or a film with a fedora-wearing Humphrey Bogart, it’s all good to me. So when I was told there was a chance to review a game that was like a mash-up of The Wire with Sin City and done in the style of Telltale Games, I had my hand firmly in the air at Geek Pride HQ. And I wasn’t disappointed.
The Detail is a story-driven episodic crime adventure title from independent developer Rival Games. It’s a point-and-click choose-your-own-adventure game that feels as though you’re reading a Frank Miller comic book. The artwork is simplistic but brilliant in a Sin City sort of way. And just like that comic, it’s incredibly evocative of the mood of the story.
Episode 3 follows directly on from the previous episodes (and it’s worth noting here, that the game wouldn’t let me play Episode 3 without having played the previous episodes, so you need to buy all the game content if you don’t own the previous episodes already) and is set at Christmas-time. Told much like LA Confidential, the contemporary noir story centres around 3 main characters: detective Reggie Moore, informant Joe Miller and officer Katelyn Hayes.
Similar to The Wire, the new major crimes unit is tasked with tackling crime, only to stumble upon hints of major corruption at the heart of the city. The team, with Joe as their informant, work together to bring down a prostitution ring that’s kidnapping and murdering their competition. From there they follow the breadcrumbs of their investigation which lead all the way back up to City Hall.
The story and dialogue I felt were great. Whilst there’s no voice acting or sound effects (just the soundtrack) the game allows your imagination to create these characters’ personalities, which in turn makes it easier for the player to choose the dialogue selections they think are most suitable for Reggie, Joe and Kate.
The game takes inspiration from modern noir/crime sources, but still manages to be tense and keep the player guessing all the way through as you follow the lead characters down the rabbit hole and into the seedy underbelly of the city. It is a shame then that the ending was so rushed. I read after I’d finished the game, that The Detail was originally meant to run for 5 episodes but sales weren’t as hoped so Episode 3 had to unfortunately wrap up a 5 episode ark in three installments and it’s very noticeable.
A couple of other niggles that I need to mention, I created a glitch in my game by trying to replay a section to see whether my choice made a difference to the storyline. This was right at the end of the game (although I didn’t know that at the time) and I could no longer progress the story. I tried all kinds of clicking and exiting out of it, but eventually had to replay the episode again. The devs definitely need to improve on this.
I also have to say that I replayed parts of the episode and I don’t think my dialogue choices really made much of a difference. This is a problem I have too with the Telltale games and this style of game really. Obviously you can’t have infinite choices, but I would like to feel as though choosing to play Reggie as a bad cop made a difference to the story than if I’d have played him as a good cop. But then The Detail feels a lot more than an interactive comic book than a traditional game. And given that it has such a strong story too, you’re so focused on finding out what happens next that you don’t think too much about how you get there. Even so, it’s still a small mark against it.
Those are minor niggles though and they didn’t spoil my overall enjoyment of a game that felt like a breath of fresh, and yet familiar air. A great call-back to the tv shows, comics and movies that I love, and an art style that works so well with the mood of the story. I just wish they hadn’t rushed the ending. Even so, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what Rival Games produce next if it’s as good as The Detail – Seaon One has been.
The Detail is available on Steam to buy as single episodes or as a season bundle here.
As the street hawkers and market vendors of the Gog sale close down shop and box up their bargains for another year, we barely have time to click ‘install’ before our wallets are once again attacked by someone trying to flog us cheap games. This time it’s the always excellent Steam, whose Summer event is greeted with both anticipation and delight in equal measure by those of us with meager income and poor impulse control.
This time around sees them once again foregoing the drip-fed offers appearing every day or so and just having all their discounts running at the same time with different games earning the front page over the sale’s course. No sign of the usual sale-themed mini-game though, possibly due to the fact that, although always interesting, they more often than not end up being a frustratingly unplayable shitshow.
So what’s Steam, then?
Welcome back to society. I hope that those years spent living in a cave for science will yield interesting results for the benefit of humanity. Steam is platform produced by Half-Life 3 deniers Valve Corporation through which you can purchase many, many games and then only ever play two of them. Unlike someone like Gog.com, Steam focuses on providing the most up-to-date games and mods along with a thriving community offering support, tips and top-notch banter.
So what can I expect from the sale, me old mucker?
Steam is rocking all the mod cons and some fairly hefty discounts on some of the biggest titles out there at the moment, including DOOM, Fallout 4 and The Witcher III, all with around 40-50% chopped off. Dig a little deeper and you can grab some bigger savings with 75% off both the brilliant Middle-Earth: Shadows of Mordor and the chillingly atmospheric Alien: Isolation.
http://fanboygaming.com/
Take a mooch over to their site if you’ve not already given the client a home on your hard drive to check out the rest of the 12,854 titles in the sale, just try and remember you still have to pay rent this month. And buy food.
Stand and deliver, it’s your money or your life! I take a cheeky look at a board game Kickstarter homegrown in the UK (don’t worry, it’ll be available in the USA too!). It’s Highwaymen by Fat Chance Games!
Players take the role of Highwaymen attempting to pinch as much gold as possible from a heavily guarded stage coach as it passes though a forest. Each turn the players have the opportunity to shoot at the guards and the coach, in the hope of reducing retaliation from the coach’s entourage and to force it to drop coins which the players can then pick up as they pass.
What’s intriguing is the ability of semi-coop nature of the game. Players have the option to cut and run if they feel things are going badly for their compatriots, creating a tension of ‘will they, won’t they’ as the game progresses.
The prospective components also look very cool, with all the playing pieces to be realised in 3D models. If succesful this will look great on the tabletop!
For 2 or 4 players at 45 – 60 mins, this is one I’ll be keeping my eye on. Watch for our review in the near future.
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In the world of Westeros and beyond, there’s not much time for hearts and flowers and it’s more pillage and chill than a cuddle up on the couch. We’ve certainly had our share of tragedies and incest-tastic couples, but it’s not all about the romance.
