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Nuke87654

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  1. http://www.canterlot.com/blog/530/entry-2811-sins-of-a-solar-empire-rebellion-mod-enhanced-4x/ Here's my first review on a video game mod. I hope you guys can have an interest in getting this mod if you are looking for a good SOASE:R mod.
  2. So this will be my first video game mod I'll be posting a review on. To make matters more difficult, I have not posted a review on its parent game, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, so there won't be a reference to fall on for this review. Here what I'll tell in my review is that instead of judging the game itself, but rather I will judge what changes this mod does to the game and if said changes are good or not. According to moddb's page for it, the first official version of it was released December 2011, created by Goafan77. The standalone expansion pack, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion was released in June 2012 so it's likely the Enhanced 4x mod was originally a mod for the previous expansions of Sins of a Solar Empire that's been recreated for the new Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion. This mod's goal was to create a more 4X experience, a type of RTS game where this game focuses on an empire or civilization by exploring, exploiting, expanding, and exterminating, by adding new features and balancing gameplay to accommodate these new gameplay elements. Positives: 1. There is a much more refined, larger, and better diplomacy system. One of the complaints that SOASE series has had is that despite being labeled as a 4X RTS game that placed a greater emphasis on your traditional RTS games action and gameplay while retaining the 4X elements, it focused far greater on the exterminate part and left the other 3 e's in the 4X game rather bare and inefficient in comparison. One of the core changes this mod did was expanding the role of envoy cruisers your faction has. Unlike in the vanilla game where you need to build multiple envoy cruisers to increase your relationship percentage with other factions and keep it there, you essentially just need one envoy cruiser as it can build embassies now in this mod. They are structures that act as Envoy cruisers that provide many bonuses to an allied planet's gravity well through whatever tech researches your faction gives. This helps you greatly as not only does it provide you a much more efficient and streamlined diplomacy game, but you can also spend less on pop cap on envoy cruisers and can focus more on the war effort. Envoy Cruisers role has also been expanded as they can send in spy probes and even debilitate an enemy's planet to your benefit, providing you more reason to treat Envoy Cruisers with respect and use more frequently in this mod. 2. Not only are there a greater number of artifacts for your faction to use along with increased chances to collect them on planets, but said artifacts can provide you with the ability to activate powerful neutral structures that can provide your planet with numerous benefits to you. Expanding on the vanilla's game artifact system, a gameplay element that allowed you to receive powerful bonuses and benefits to your whole faction in a myriad of individual artifacts ways, by increasing the number of the artifacts available for you to find, doubling a planets planetary exploration development to four save for home planets two (that don't have artifacts save for certain unique circumstances anyway), but the biggest change is adding neutral structures in gravity wells. While there are certain structures in neutral or independent controlled gravity wells that don't require such artifacts to work, many however do require these certain artifacts to work. While it causes problems in that due to the random nature of artifacts, which doubling the planet's planetary exploration development does help alleviate, it can be a chore to explore and find these artifacts and you may not even get the chance to use it, once acquired however, these artifacts are often worth it as not only do these provide with significant bonuses that aid you greatly in defense of a gravity well and you can acquire better versions of a factions own structures for your own use. To acquire these neutral structures, you must use your faction's colony frigates or explorer vessels to capture these structures under a new mechanic where there is now a delay to capturing them to reflect your faction's marines capturing the structure to bring to your empire's control. 3. There is a greater diversity to each faction in the game. While the vanilla game does a good job of differentiating each rebel and loyalist factions in the three main ones in Rebellion, this mod takes it further by not only renaming the factions to a different name, but it also expands on that by giving each faction greater flavors to their philosophies to better reflect on their difference from other factions. An example with this while playing my favorite faction, Traders Economic Coalition (TEC), a faction of human traders under an authoritarian governing body that seeks to protect human interests by isolating themselves from other factions through strong defenses and tough warships behind a strong economy. To reflect this, they receive passive bonuses where their ships not only have larger hull point health, armor, they also receive stronger defense structures as well. Their home world comes a free heavy constructor, units that can build a star base in a gravity well, and it can deploy into a stronger than average star base unique to the home world for free too though it's upgrades cost money however. Economy bonuses, and most notably, they're the only faction that can build planetary defenses, defenses on a planet where your planet can actually attack nearby enemy attackers, ensuring that it will take more than a couple of siege frigates to bring a TEC world to it's knee after researching it. They're able to build multiple Novalith Canons, powerful planetary siege weapons that can take down an entire planet's population with one shot, more easily, and they receive huge defense bonuses to their armor and attack damage along with being the only faction that can build two star bases in a gravity well through research. Finally, their Titan, huge warships that can take on a small fleet of capitol ships on its own and is capable of providing plenty of buffs to your fleet or be an outright unit destroyer that can easily annihilate ships on it's own, is the Ankylon Titan, a huge support warship that provides defense buffs to it's allies, and receives passive bonuses to it's abilities if it is in an allied or your controlled gravity well where it can defend your planets from the enemy much more easily. The factions biggest drawback however is that because alot of its bonuses are defense based, TEC is a poor attacker compared to other factions and needs to build up strong defenses on its core worlds while relying on it's powerful late game, economy, and Novalith Canons to help them attack and defeat their enemies. There are other factions in the game too in the form of Human Traders System (HTS), Orthodox Advent, Ascended Advent, Vasari Central Command (VCC), and Vasari Independent Republic (VIR). Each comes with their own flavors suited to their factions philosophies and you must learn to master them well in this mod. 4. This mod comes with its own mini mods to help add more to it's game play. One noted good thing about this mod is that it can add other mini mods to its game like doubling the number of research tech to provide even bigger bonuses to your faction, better enemy AI, more capitol ships, and other shenanigans to help enhance your game play experience. 5. This mod is noted as being probably the first mod to introduce hero units in the Sins community. One of the noted features of this mod is the introduction of something the vanilla game never had, hero units. These hero units work much like other video game heroes in RTS where they're much stronger versions of typical units and provide unique abilities and bonuses to your group of units or debilitate and annihilate the enemy much more efficiently. They even come with a research tech where you can actually remove the pop cap the hero units consume, coupled with their free resource cost, this essentially renders hero units free in this mod. This feature would get picked up on by other Sins mods, most notably Star Trek Armada 3. 6. Despite its age, it's one of the more supported and active mods on the game itself. Thanks to a diligent and still working mod maker and others helping it, this mod is still active and working. In fact just in June, the latest version of this mod, 1.75, was released. Negatives: 1. There are bugs affecting it still. As you'd expect on many fan made mods, there are of course bugs though not terrible ones that I've seen still affecting the mod itself, most aesthetic issues such as the planet textures not looking right (notably on the volcano planets). Still it doesn't detract too harshly from the game and you'll likely not encounter anything really bad about it as it's a very sound mod. Conclusion: In a popular mod making game as Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Enhanced 4X stands out greatly as being among the oldest and best mods available in this game. With so many good and positive changes to this mod that help make the vanilla game so much better that some even call this 'SOASE:R unofficial expansion pack dlc' for just how good it is and how influential many of its changes are such as the hero units and other changes, this is a must own mod for any SOASE:R fan. Score: 9.5/10 Grade: A Question: If you have any other recommended mods for SOASE:R, let the audience hear about it too
  3. http://www.canterlot.com/blog/525/entry-2802-doom-2-hell-on-earth-video-game-review/ My latest review is up on Doom 2: Hell on Earth. Any opinions on the game are more than welcome in my review blogs.
  4. The first person shooter video game, Doom 2: Hell on Earth, developed by ID Software and the Xbox live arcade version is done by Nerve Software, published by GT Interactive for the MS-DOS version, Activision for the Gameboy Color, and Bethesda Softworks the Xbox Live Arcade version. Due to being released multiples times, including being bundled with Doom 3: BFG edition as the latest version in October 16, 2012, I will instead tell you the first release of it, the MS-DOS on September 30, 1994 in North America and October 10, 1994 in Europe. Due to the immense success of Doom, ID Software worked quickly to follow up with its sequel, Doom 2: Hell on Earth. Unlike the initial Shareware and Mail Orders the first Doom went through initially, Doom 2 was released commercially in stores instead. This lead to Doom 2 also being a commercial success. On December 26, 1995, ID Software released Doom 2's expansion pack, Master Levels for Doom, containing 21 new levels for the gamer to play with. The story is that while Doom marine was busy kicking Demon butts in hell; Demons were invading Earth and wrecking the place up. Now back on Earth, with billions killed, the surviving humanity hatches a plan to escape this nightmare by building spaceships to escape to space, however with the Demons blocking the only Spaceport with a barrier, preventing any ships from escaping, Doom Marine must find a way to break the barriers on that spaceport and even find a way to beat back the Demonic invasion however he can. Positives: 1. The same awesome gameplay of Doom 1 still resonates well here. Those who enjoyed the first Doom's gameplay will be pleased to see that the gameplay in Doom 2 is kept intact. There are very few changes in this as for the most part, you're still running rather fast in non linear intricately designed levels where massive swarms of enemies are still cleverly placed, especially in the more open areas of Doom 2 where since you're on Earth, you will often fight in urban areas where places are open for you to move around in to reach the level's exit. To balance this, the enemies in Doom come in much larger quantities, and have newer and deadlier enemies. For your weapons, you only have one new weapon: Double Barreled Sawed Off Shotgun: The big brother to the regular shotgun. This weapon not only fires two larger and more powerful slugs at targets, but is capable of killing medium level enemies in one well placed shot, let alone obliterating low level enemies to giblets. It's balanced to the regular shotgun in that it has a slower firing rate than the regular shotgun and doesn't handle multiple low level enemies as well as it as a result, and it requires two shotgun ammo per shot so it can consume your shotgun ammo pretty rapidly through heavy usage so use it wisely. There are also a few new items as swell such as the Megasphere, an item that supercharges your health and armor to 200 each. In respect to the Wolfenstein games, there are two secret levels based on Wolfenstein here too, including a Commander Keen easter egg in the final one of the two. 2. I personally think the Doom 2 ost maybe slightly better than the original ost, and that's saying something. Thanks to Bobby Prince's background as a lawyer, the composer of the classic Doom games knew how much music he can sample and take from other musics without incurring the wrath of the Music business lawyers. This has led to many pretty awesome osts such as the first level in Doom 2's takes a sample from Megadeth's Hanger 18, The Demon's Dead sampling from Black Sabboth's After All (The Dead), The Demon's dead is my personal favorite theme in the entire game. For your hearing pleasure. 3. Doom 2 still looks aesthetically pleasing too. Due to lack of any new technologies in graphics at the intervals of its release, there were little changes in graphics outside of newer hardwares allowing them to take advantage of increased performance. Still Doom 2, much like its predecessor still look impressive for a 20+ year old game. 4. The inclusion of expansion packs does help extend the life of this gameplay over its predecessor. With expansion packs in hand, Doom 2 totals to a huge 62 levels compared to the Ultimate Doom's 36 levels. If you wish to acquire both expansion packs Master Levels for Doom and Nerve Software's No Rest for the Living, Doom 3 BFG edition has that for ya. 5. Mod Support is just as great as the first Doom is. Thanks to the active Doom modding community, Doom 2 also has received the same good mod support that will help ensure Doom 2 can age well in this day and age despite being older. Check their forums and mod depositories for many Doom mods to enjoy. Negatives: 1. The game's narrative is still rather simple. Much like the first Doom, this game does little with the story outside of including text speeches in the few intermissions in Doom 2 to explain the situation and what your character must do. Not a terrible or even a bad thing, but one I feel more narrative loving people won't particularly like. 2. If Doom 1 didn't convinced you, Doom 2 will do very little to as well due to having very few changes to its predecessor. Doom 2's biggest problem is that for the most part, it feels very much like the first video game in the series. This isn't a problem for those who loved the first Doom, but for those who wanted more in a sequel or wanted a better reason to enjoy Doom than what Doom 1 provided; this game will disappoint those few people. Conclusion: If you wanted more Doom loving goodness, Doom 2: Hell on Earth will provide plenty of that with its vanilla 32 levels that can expand to an awesome 62 levels in total while you listen to some awesome metal osts and find some mods to play this game. Only those who didn't like the first Doom would not like this game due to having few changes that wouldn't convince you to pick up the Doom series. Score: 9.5/10 Grade: A
  5. http://www.canterlot.com/blog/525/entry-2799-rayman-2-the-great-escape/ Here's my review for Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Please come and discuss your thoughts for this video game and review. Negative or positive opinions, I welcome them.
  6. Rayman 2 is a platforming video game developed by Ubisoft studios Montpelier, Milan, Shangai (DS), Montreal, Casablanca, DC Studios for the 3DS, and Gameloft for the iOS. Due to Ubisoft porting the living crap out of this game in future consoles, this video game has been on PC Windows, Nintendo 64, Playstation 1 and 2, Dreamcast, Gameboy Color, Nintendo DS and 3DS, and Apple's iOS. Its original release to make things simple was on October 29, 1999. Originally, this 3D adventure of Rayman was supposed to be another 2D video game in the same vein of its predecessor and first video game in the series and it was supposed to release for the PS1 and Sega Saturn. However, due to rising and effective technologies and techniques for 3D platforming after Super Mario 64's influential success in it, this idea was scrapped in favor of making it a 3D game. Concept art showing some 2D art designs, scrapped powers that were mentioned or redesigned such as the platform fist were put in the video game magazine EGM, and a beta version of the original 2D version of Rayman 2 can be unlocked in the Playstation version of Rayman 2. It's story is that a large Robo pirate invasion force came to Glade of Dreams, Rayman's and its inhabitants world, to steal it's populace for slavery. Successfully destroying the Heart of the world and splitting it into 1000 yellow lums (or 800 in the Playstation and Gameboy color version), this greatly weakens the fighting power of the planet's resistance against the invaders and renders Rayman powerless and he was captured as a result. Thanks to Globox, Rayman's frog friend, and Li the Fairy, they managed to bail Rayman out of his prison aboard the Robo Pirates prison ship, the Buccaneer. Separated from Globox and hearing that Li, who had provided Globox with the Silver Lum to power Rayman up, has been captured, Rayman must not only save them, but also save the world from the Robo Pirate menace by enlisting the aid of a powerful being called the Polokus by awakening him by finding four masks. Positives: 1. The platforming gameplay is fantastic in this successful transition of the Rayman franchise to 3D. The mid 90's to early 2000's was a huge transition period for gaming as many games in order to maintain relevance in this technological race for the best and latest stuff available to the ever evolving tastes of it's consumers. This trend was transitioning the original 2D roots to merge into the brand new 3D environments at the time. Many games that had fame back than suffered in this transition while others however transitioned beautifully and have even remained in the 3D world since. Rayman 2 is part of the latter as not only are the platforming elements and controls tight with Rayman's flair for gameplay such as his signature helicopter fly mode that allows him to descent in a controlled slow flight, flying energy attacks that have replaced Rayman's usual fist attacks from his previous game, and even includes an effective strafing mechanic where you can use it for combat purposes or even to move to the side better. Its primary gameplay is to reach from the start to the finish of a level with as many items as you can in each level. These items are Yellow Lums that are necessary for you to collect enough to progress to the next set of levels through the hall of doors, and cages where if you get ten destroyed cages you can increase your maximum health to a total of 8 times. These cages contents can include yellow lums and other lums in the game as well. These other lums are red lums that heal you, blue lums that can refill a portion of your oxygen meter while swimming, green lums that act as save points in a level for you if you suffer a critical injury, and purple lums that help act as hook points for you to grab and swing from. 2. The level designs are great as well. Rayman 2's levels offer excellent variety in gameplay to you such as in the level Precipice, you're being chased by a small robo pirate fleet as they attempt to kill you again, get to go swamp surfing in the Marshes of Awakening, or even control and ride a pirate ship in the Iron Mountains. You'll find plenty of intricate and varied gameplay designs that will surely keep Rayman 2 fresh and entertaining throughout. 3. The graphics in this near 15+ year old game is beautiful and among the best designed games I've seen in this department. One thing I love about the Rayman franchise is how gorgeous their games are. This game is no exception as not only do the environments of the Rayman verse portrayed quirky but show a delightfully bright and vivid imagery in color and in appearance. This helps immerse yourself into the world of the Rayman verse as you can feel the environments in the game alive, weird, and aesthetically pleasing for most to enjoy. Seriously, I'm surprised I haven't' seen more Rayman fan art considering how gorgeous their games are unless there's a nefarious reason. Some examples of how gorgeous the art design is in this game. 4. The story and characters are effective in this game. Returning Rayman is still the likable hero who now is put at his low after his defeat at the hands of the Robo Pirates. Despite his circumstance, he still keeps a cheerful outlook on things and is willing to do whatever it takes to save his world. Along the way, he meets Li the fairy, your helpful mage foxgirl who helps Rayman out by boosting his powers to better heights, and even provides two bonus levels that provide a relatively easy 100 lums in total for you to collect while restoring your health to full capacity and provide a powerful boost to your fist attacks that last after 3 hits from the enemy. Another one is Globox, Rayman's best friend who is a married frog to his wife Uglette and their dozens of babies, the teensies, and many more that would leave a good impressionable impact on you. The story itself is actually an effective story where Rayman must find the means to awaken Polokus, the most powerful being in the Glade of Dreams to enlist him in the fight against the Robo Pirates while traveling around the world meeting all kinds of different creatures, some friendly and some aren't, while traversing through many treacherous environments to reach his objectives. Than at the end of the story, you'll face the leader of the Robo Pirates, Admiral Razorbeard in a duel to the death while he uses his mech to kill you. This entertaining adventure story can entertain those who do like a good story. As part of the collectibles in this game is that the more yellow lums you collect, the more lore pieces you can acquire so you can better understand the world of the Glade of Dreams better. Some of the lore logs are hilarious to read. 5. The music is also good. The wonderful musical score in this game help match the aesthetics of the environment from the creepy and eerie Tomb of the Ancients to the energetic beat of the Precipice (yes that's one of my favorite levels in the game) along with many others you'll enjoy. Also of note, the N64 version has a different soundtrack from the other versions of Rayman 2 but both are entertaining to listen to. For your listening pleasure folks. This is the PC version that I played on. Negatives: 1. Bonus levels are difficult to achieve if you don't know how to do alternate rabid button presses well. If there is a problem I had with this game, its how due to my poor skills with rabid button presses as I cannot beat a robo pirate in a race, I have never beaten a bonus stage at all. Because of that, I have never beaten them at any point in my playthroughs. If anyone has, please tell me what it provides. However this critique of it is more a problem with my poor skill in alternate rabid button pressing. Fortunately, I do not believe they're necessary to beat the game to achieve 100 (or 99.9% in my case). Conclusion: Rayman 2: The Great Escape is easily one of the greatest platforming games ever to have graced the genre. With its ageless art design, fantastic and varied platforming gameplay, excellent level designs that offer a good variety of gameplay, some quirky and interesting characters, a good story, and a good ost that help make this game a classic 3D platformer. Personally, if you want to have the best Rayman 2 experience, getting the PC version at GOG.com, the N64 and Playstation versions are a good way to find that as the hand held version don't do the game justice for how truly great it is. Score: 10/10 Grade: A+
  7. http://www.canterlot.com/blog/525/entry-2790-warhammer-40000-space-hulk-2013/ I have a review on Space Hulk (2013). Please come and express your thoughts for my review in either opinion that is positive and negative. I welcome them all in my review.
    1. Blueblood

      Blueblood

      Oh, are you a board gamer? Or more into the miniatures side of the hobby?

    2. Nuke87654

      Nuke87654

      Sorry I'm late in my response. However, despite my interest in it and it is one of my future goals, I do not have any knowledge or pieces of the Table Top games. All I know is second hand knowledge I hear from Gamesworkshop like how Age of Sigmar may have ruined Warhammer Fantasy.

  8. The video game Space Hulk (2013 version), developed and published by Full Control, using the Unity Game engine, and released for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux on August 15, 2013, and released on December 5, 2013 for the IOS, is a turn based tactics video game that is based on Games Workshop's famed table top board game called Space Hulk. Much like the Table Top game, you're in command of a group of the Space Marine Chapter, Blood Angels, and their detachment of terminators, elite units clad in one of the most heavily armored suits in the setting, who must enter inside the dangerous Space Hulks, massive derelict ships that have been adrift in space and the warp itself where they are to face one of the few units in the setting that can rend even their mighty terminator armor next to useless in the dreaded Tyranid Genestealers who infest the space hulks in countless numbers. Positives: 1. For those who have enjoyed the Table Top game would probably enjoy this game's strict adherence to the Table Top game itself. This game pretty much picked up all the rules of the table top game if what others have said about it. That means that your gameplay consists of a large turn based tactics board where you take turns to move your terminators into position against the swarm of Genestealers, whom are able to come out at certain locations at their choosing to reach or complete certain objectives. Your movement and actions performed are based on how many action points per terminator has and how many command points you carry per turn. Each Terminator has 4 action points compared to the Genestealers 6 action points. Your terminators have several abilities in the form of attack using their submachine guns on steroids in Stormbolters, Heavy flamer, and assault cannons, their melee weapons that include power fists and chain fists, Lightning Claws, Power Swords, and Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield, overwatch that allows terminators to snap fire at any approaching Genestealers in their line of sight, guard that provides terminators with a free reroll of their die should their first roll fail to match the Genestealers roll, opening doors or even outright destroying them if you choose. Space Hulk gameplay. There are several things to know about the weapons you come equipped in the Space Hulk. A. Your standard terminator load out is the terminator equipped with Storm Bolter and Power Fist. My advice is to stick him to shooting and overwatch as due to the Genestealers three rolls against your one roll that is unmodifiable, the Genestealer has the advantage in melee combat. Only fight in melee with these guys as a last resort and stick to shooting Genestealers with em and you're fine. B. Terminator with Heavy Flamer is a special heavy weapon terminator that can bathe an area with flame. The terminators flame can not only burn multiple Genestealers to death very well, but the burning flames can last for a single turn as well, providing a very effective measure of crowd control and area denial to Genestealers. Unlike other ranged weapon terminators, he cannot be put into overwatch, cannot reload after his limited 6 fuel of flames can cause friendly fire with his flames so use it cautiously, and his melee capabilities are the same as the Storm Bolter terminators so the mentioned rule applies to him as well. C. Terminator with Assault Cannon is your best ranged terminator in the game thanks to his high accuracy, and unlike his Heavy Flamer brethren, he can reload one time in the whole mission for his respectable 10 ammo clips to a total of 20 in a mission, and he can be put into overwatch. However, if he uses his assault cannon for too long, he can suffer a chance where his assault cannon can jam and malfunction, causing an explosion that kills him and anyone near him so keep an eye on how his assault cannon glows yellow to indicate overuse. His melee abilities are the same as the mentioned above so avoid fighting in melee. D. Terminator with Chain Fist is similar to your Terminator with storm bolter and power fist save for that his chain fist has a special rule where he automatically destroys a door upon command due to his chain fists power field able to slice through doors easily. Much like his compared brothers, he should be put into overwatch and shooting despite his chain fist as he really should avoid using it if he can in combat. E. Terminator with Lightning Claws has no ranged weapons to use so he can never be put into overwatch or shoot. However, to compensate for it, his melee abilities are significantly better than the previous terminators as not only does he has two rolls compared to the Power Fists one roll of die he can use in combat, but he also provides a +1 modifier to the highest roll to better his chances at winning. F. Terminator Sergeant with Power Sword provides a unique rule where you can reroll for command points for better or worse results. Equipped with Storm Bolter and Power Sword, unlike his more melee adept brethren, he can shoot and be put into over-watch at your command and not like your terminators with Power Fists however, he is also good in melee combat thanks to being a sergeant providing him with a +1 modifier to his melee abilities, and should an enemy's roll be higher than his, his parry rule goes into effect, forcing the enemy to reroll his highest dice for better or worse results. While he doesn't excel in any particular role, he's by far your most adaptable and versatile unit you can have in your squad. G. Terminator Sergeant with Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield is by far your best melee terminator in the game. Not only does being a sergeant provide him with the ability to reroll for better or worse command points and a +1 modifier to go along with his +1 modifier he naturally receives wielding a Thunder Hammer that provides a +2 modifier to his combat rolls, but his Storm Shield allows him to negate one roll of die from the Genestealer's combat rolls, canceling 33% of the Genestealer's combat effectiveness against him while he touts an impressive +2 modifier to his own combat roll. Due to lacking ranged weapons however, his only real weakness is that he cannot shoot or ever be put into overwatch. H. Terminator Librarian is your mage of the group. He carries his own unique combat abilities in the form of Psychic points that he carries 20 per mission. This can be used in melee where if he were to suffer a lower roll, his passive rule of pre-cog allows him to add psi points to his roll, guaranteeing he wins the round. However don't use him in melee if you can despite this and his +1 modifier from his Power Axe to his melee attack to make him a respectable melee terminator. Instead use his storm bolter for combat if you can and especially use his psychic powers. He has several in the form that he can trade his psi points to add to your command points per missing number though I'd advice only use it if you really need it as a terminator sergeant's reroll is more than good enough, a psychic barrier that blocks anyone from moving on this square space, very effective at denying movement to the enemy while keeping your guys safe for one turn, psychic storm that allows him to attack one target with a high chance to killing it, and psychic wave that works similar to his psychic storm only that it has a weaker chance at killing foes while being able to attack multiple targets with one attack. Whatever terminator you come equipped with, you must use their abilities to the best of your capabilities to ensure you're able to survive the mission against Genestealers, whom have no ranged weapons to attack but are deadly in melee as they can roll three unmodifiable dice compared to most of your terminators one roll of die in melee combat, encouraging you to use ranged attacks whenever you can, and they're limitless in number so you're always outnumbered by them, though their patterns of attack can be anticipated by the red beeping circles to indicate they're moving. They have one unique unit in the Brood Lord, a giant vicious Genestealer that can roll three or four dice and can add the lowest and highest number in his dice to combine for the best roll he'll pit against your own, has high dodge rating to make him very evasive towards ranged weapons, and is immune to psychic attacks. Learn the rules in this game well as knowing them can mean the difference between you losing badly or doing well. 2. The atmosphere in the game works pretty well. While not great, you can tell that effort was put into ensuring the Space Hulk was as authentically dark, tight and claustrophobic, and filled with Genestealers to increase the mood of despair as possible. The little side camera at the top right while adding little to gameplay value does add a nice touch of an alien like aura around the Space Hulk. And the game's aesthetics looks well from a distance. I'd avoid looking too closely or you'll notice the rather poor detail and clipping issues this game has. 3. You can get DLC's for more campaigns and missions, including a separate chapter in the Space Wolves. Not only can you get more missions from the DLC campaigns available along with the purely aesthetics dlc skins for Genestealers, but you can get the Space Wolves exclusive campaign where you play as the Space Marine Chapter Space Wolves that come with their own unique rules such as having one less command point at the benefit of having a natural +2 modifier to all melee combat rolls, making Space Wolves far more adept at melee combat than the Blood Angels despite lore suggesting that Blood Angels should be on par with them in melee combat as both specialize in melee. 4. The multiplayer provides you with the best experience in the game. Due to the game's nature of being inspired or ripped from the Table Top game, Space Hulk should be played with friends. There you and your friend get the option of playing either terminators or Genestealers, which the Genestealer player is provided with the ability to pick and choose which entry his Genestealers should crawl out from and he can coordinate, how many Genestealers he receives per turn, and which tunnel should his Genestealers appear to plan for whatever the terminators have planned for them. This set of gameplay and the nature of it can provide alot of fun for good friends. Negatives: 1. Graphics aren't that impressive. As I mentioned, while the game looks impressive from a distance, however even so, you'll notice some problems in various clipping animations and the details up close aren't good. Due to the stiff and repetitive animations used, one of which is notably hilarious for how Genestealers dodge flames by ducking despite being submerged in it, this can also wear whatever affection you had for the game's graphics. 2. Combat is very luck based. Due to the nature of the game being based on the Table Top, this means your chances are based entirely on how well the dice gods love you. Thus this can lead to an awesome streak where your guys are able to kill multiple Genestealers in one turn, or seeing your terminator sergeant with thunder hammer and storm shield lose out to Genestealers multiple times and die each time. To make matters worse, because the game takes it's sweet time to complete a turn, meaning should you lose a guy you really needed alive for your chances, you will have to use the windows button to quickly exit and return to the last save point as it is much quicker. This style of gameplay can be frustrating against computer players as unlike the more friendly and competitive nature of battling between friends, you don't get such love for CP's so you'll grow more ticked if you start losing guys in Single player because of these rules in their game. 3. You can't really customize your terminator load outs outside of what types of units you can carry. Your options are very limited as you're dependent upon what types of terminators you'll deploy in your mission so you're pretty much stuck with what the game's mission provides for you on the mission. 4. Missions and Objectives get repetitive and tedious pretty quickly. Because your missions largely consist of 'Capture object, defend, keep important guy alive, or kill Brood-lord,' you will get bored of the game's campaign and missions pretty quickly as save for the Space Wolves one, most of the campaigns are Blood Angels so prepare for the same repetitive flavor and game throughout this mission. 5. Storm Bolters sound rather unimpressive. Being a WH40K fan, one thing I'll note is that bolters are essentially rapid firing rpg rifles as the rounds are huge at .75 caliber and are explode on contact so I was disappointed hearing how the Storm Bolter sounded more like an angry Submachine gun than a gun that is shooting heavy rockets at you. Conclusion: Despite being a faithful adaptation of the Table Top game, this game is rather bare in performance, graphics, stiff and repetitive animations, it's tedious missions and objectives, luck based combat, and poor and stiff animations can wear out plenty of players for this game. Even if you're a fan of WH40K and the Space Hulk, it is recommended that you get this only if it is one sale and you're interested in getting this game. Personally, I'd wait for the price to drop on Full Controls Sequel game, Space Hulk Ascension as I've heard it is much better in comparison. Score: 6.5/10 Grade: D
  9. http://www.canterlot.com/blog/517/entry-2770-fim-do-princesses-dream-of-magic-sheep-episode-review/ I've added a negative point in my review, or assumption for what I thought could've happened at the battle in the episode.
  10. http://www.canterlot.com/blog/517/entry-2770-fim-do-princesses-dream-of-magic-sheep-episode-review/ My review for Do Princesses Dream of magic Sheep is up. Please come and discuss in my review your thoughts about what I put or even wish to add stuff into my review. Positive or Negative, I welcome both in my reviews.
  11. Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep is episode one hundred four in Friendship is magic. The story was done by the director and supporting director of FIM, Jim Miller and Jayson Thiessen respectively, and it was written for television by Scott Sonneborn, and the storyboard was done by Sabrina Alberghetti and Nicole Wang. The original airdate of this episode is on July 11, 2015. Background information for this is that this episode's plot was originally teased at San Diego Comic Con 2014. M.A Larson's personal website had posted that episode thirteen of Season 5 title would be 'From Seapony to Shining Seapony'. On June 27th, 2015, M.A Larson tweeted the question 'who do you trust more: me or zap2it?' He later tweeted the correct answer is Zap2it. Princess Luna's bedroom was designed by Phil Caesar. The summary of the story is that because Tantabus had grown powerful enough that if allowed to escape into the real world of FIM it can cause untold horrific nightmares to happen, Princess Luna, feeling guilty about letting it happen, decides to enlist the mane 6 and Spike by requesting that they sleep in their dreams so that she can find and locate Tantabus and stop him. Positives: 1. I liked Spike's characterization in the episode. Spike's portrayal in the episode was notable to me in a good way. Not only was he the helpful little dragon we know and love, but here had a couple of things I liked such as him lamenting how Luna didn't considered him important enough for her dreams and when he returned to his Buff Spike form from Season 1 to help the mane 6 and Luna battle against Tantabus in their dream. It was a small but noteworthy role he had in the episode. 2. The many returns of past character incarnations and fandom memes came through in this episode and most can be found in the best scene in the whole episode in the battle against Tantabus. If you thought the episode Slice of Life was the last time we see fandom references in the show, think again. This episode had plenty of different character egos in the episode in the form of: Nightmare Moon Rainbow Powered Mane 6. Winged muffins Flutterbat! Lyrabon! He even came with his own Sailor Moon esque transformation sequence. Princess Big Mac! Buff Knight Spike returns! Power Ponies return as well! This was a rather bittersweet scene for me. And many more that are not listed. Please feel free to add more in the comments section below. Most of these can be found at the battle against Tantabus at the climax where the whole of Ponyville and Luna fight to ensure Tantabus does not escape into the real world. That scene was in my opinion the best moment in the episode as it was creative, fun, and filled with energy as it was clear this was the scene the animators and the writers had the most fun writing this episode. 3. Luna receives some character development. While I'm not a big on Luna, I do recognize that she had received character development in the episode. She developed Tantabus as a sort of 'Pain Glove' as a measure to inflict herself with horrific nightmares so that way she'll remind herself of the terrible evil she had committed so that she'll never do it again. This shows a direct way of Luna's painfully regretting the crimes she had committed as Nightmare Moon and chooses to punish herself every night in her dream, bearing her guilt all the way. As Second Opinion in his vid had shown, this is actually a rather serious issue of self loathing being discussed on the show with Luna as it's tool to talk about. While I'm not going to say this portrayal was perfect or even good I'll explain below, the episode's intentions for Luna were good. What's especially fulfilling was seeing the mane 6 convincing Luna that she is not Nightmare Moon as she would've allowed Tantabus to escape while Luna is doing everything she can to stop it, showing that she isn't her. Most importantly, they tell her that they all trust her now, so how about she learned to trust them believing that she has changed. This is a nice reflection of a person needing to learn to not only learn to forgive their past actions but to also not punish themselves so severely just to ensure their past actions never come again and instead see how the people around them interact and if they've gone to accept them, perhaps they should learn to accept that they've changed for the better and learn to love themselves more. 4. I really loved this beautiful scene in the episode. 5. This dream sequence of Rd's nightmare was hilarious for me. 6. Feats for Luna's dream abilities are visibly shown in this episode. This episode is a good trove of information for what Luna can do with her dream abilities in interfacing with a person's dream and yes she can attack you in your sleep so she can mind attack you, can integrate multiple people into one dream, and her dream powers are unique to her as she confirms that only she can do them and Celestia has no powers in the dream realm. Those who wanted more feats for Luna's dream ability are going to be thrilled for this episode. Negatives: 1. Not too bad, but did you guys felt the mane 6's dreams were a bit...safe? Despite this being a dream episode where it's where the animators typically go all out in creativity with their rigs and such, I was disappointed at how stereotypical the Mane 6's dreams were. The dreams the mane 6 were dreaming of are: Rarity: Dreams of dresses that turn on her and attempt to eat her. Pinkie Pie: Thinks of random things and it happens to her. Fluttershy: Loves being groomed by her pet Angel till Angel turns into a pony eating monster. Applejack: Dreams of growing the largest apple in existence and her nightmare of seeing her apple orchard rotting away. Rainbow Dash: Beating the crap out of the Changelings and is terrified of cute things happening. While I had strong Buttercup from the PowerPuff Girls vibes in this characterization of Rainbow Dash's dream, this one was the best only because of how creepy those flowers and song were. Twilight Sparkle: Loves to read books in a library where the books turn on her and attack her. Again it's not to say these were bad by any means, and you can probably counter that they probably dream of something simple for the sake of making things easy for Luna to find Tantabus as they were informed, but I felt that the animators could've done more for the mane 6 in this dream sequence. Personally, the comic NMR arc did this aspect better as it showed an interesting take on the mane 6 by showing them their worst fears that were elaborate and held some damning consequences for them in life like RD being unable to join the Wonderbolts due to being unable to fly. 2. For a princess of the night and guardian of dreams, how did Luna not know RD loves punching things in her dreams? It's a minor thing really, but I felt it was kind of incredulous that she would assume that Rainbow Dash attacking changelings is a nightmare of hers. Rainbow Dash had to go and remind her that that it was a dream come true. But I digress on another matter. 3. Tantabus's concept was sloppy and heavily flawed. While the idea of Luna punishing herself for the wrongs she had committed is an interesting turn to her character, it wasn't executed particularly well for several reasons. A. She is deliberately making Tantabus stronger by letting it feed off of her negative emotions. Now I just can't imagine how Luna could ever think letting a sentient creature get stronger just for the sake of letting it become a pain glove. B. According to Luna, if that thing gets into the real world, it would cause untold amount of nightmares to happen. Now all I can wonder is how could Luna even think creating such a creature was a good idea, letting alone letting it get stronger? This is the equivalent of a person feeling guilty of creating Nukes and decides to create a bio bomb to remind himself to never create such a devastating weapon ever again only for said bio bomb is getting approval for use due to the potential devastation it caused. Really, how could anyone think creating that Tantabus can be anything but a disaster waiting to happen? C. Wasn't a big fan on the 'smoke' appearance Tantabus had. Though I do say I did liked its giant pony appearance it appeared to be at the end. 4. The resolution to Luna's conflict occurred too fast. One noted problem I've had with the episode's pacing is how quick Luna's resolution to her conflict was that after she learned to forgive herself, not only does Tantabus suddenly decide to stop doing whatever it was doing but it returned to Luna amicably. It was like a switch suddenly flipped for that thing to return to Luna all because she learned not to hate herself so much. This just appeared awkward, forced, and rather confusing that Tantabus would decide to stop it was doing and returns to Luna no problem. Hypnosparkle on MLP forums made an excellent point for how rather insulting it was for Luna's conflict to have been resolved so quickly as a person with noted issues of self love issues in Luna is able to quickly resolve and never have to worry about those issues again simply because she agreed with what Twilight had said. Cleverclover on mlp forums made a good point in the comment section that the scene probably would've been stronger had Celestia been the one to reach and comfort Luna there. Conclusion: It may have a good idea and vision for what it wanted to do to Luna in the episode, but thanks to its heavily flawed writing and a rather poor execution for Tantabus and his concept, it mitigated alot of the effects that could've been great for Luna. Instead this was probably one of Luna's weakest appearances in the series, which is notably strong mind you. Do Ponies Dream of Magic Sheep I felt could've been more, especially in the first half where I felt the episode played it a bit too safe with the mane 6's dreams and characterizations. However, it did what it wanted to for Luna reasonably decent enough and even touching for Luna's sake so the effort wasn't a failure and with many fandom references and past character incarnations in the show return in this episode at least ensure the battle in the Dream of Ponyville was entertaining, even with a rushed resolution hurting the story's impact. Score: 6.5/10 Grade: D
  12. Watched Do Princesses Dream of Sheep again and well, it's a mediocre dream episode that could've been more to say the least

  13. On 2nd thought, I do not like Do Princesses Dream of Sheep

  14. http://www.canterlot.com/blog/517/entry-2765-fim-amending-fences-episode-review/ Now here's my first review on this site that I hope of many. Please come and discuss your thoughts on my review. Negative or Positive, I welcome them all.
  15. Amending Fences, written by M.A. Larson, is the 12th episode of Season 5 of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. This episode originally aired on July 4th, 2015, noted as a holiday in the U.S with the Independence Day. Originally, the airdate was supposed to have been on July 18th, 2015 as what AT&T Uverse had said. Kora Kosicka was the one who designed the character Moon Dancer for this episode. The story of the episode is that due to an off comment from Spike from how much of a lousy friend Twilight originally was before she came to Ponyville, Twilight, now a more sociable and the new Princess of Friendship seeks redemption in the eyes of her old and former friends by trying to reconnect with them and hope they'll forgive her for her past behavior towards them by forging a new and stronger friendship with them. Positives: 1. A simple idea of 'what if Twilight made amends to the group of ponies she blew off at the series pilot' becomes a great and heartfelt story. This episode's story idea may have started out as a simple Twilight wishes to make amends for her past actions towards her old friends at Canterlot, but proving that a person can take the simplest of things and make something great about it. In the episode, not only do we see Twilight not only feeling regretful for her actions by inviting Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkle Shine over to a get together at Donut Joe's Donut shop to apologize from there. Despite this, these three ponies have shown they have no hard feelings towards her, pointing out that it was something that they were used to from her. Which Twilight could feel how terrible of a friend she must've been back then. However the story takes an interesting turn where after they see their old science lab in Canterlot, Twilight asks where Moon Dancer was to which they replied she was living alone studying. There we see perhaps a 'what if' for Twilight should perhaps she never had any friends to deal with and solely focused on studying. To make the comparison even more apparent, Moon Dancer is a recolored palette of Unicorn Twilight Sparkle with a different mane, though she had a similar one to Twilight when they were fillies likely in respect for her. This came at the cost of retconning what the comics had originally portrayed Moon Dancer to look like and be. Due to Twilight missing out on Moon Dancer's party where she was opening up to other ponies only to have the one pony she valued to miss out on it, Moon Dancer retreated back to her figurative bubble to never have to worry about friendships again. Twilight takes on trying to reach and bond with Moon Dancer as her next challenge to fully amend her past actions through a variety of attempts such as trying to communicate with her at the library: It didn't work well for her there. Note folks, Twilight's bubble shield can block noise. Put that in your notes for Twilights powers. She tried offering the key to her old room and library to Canterlot as caretaker and owner at the price of coming with her to a dinner with their old friends. Moon Dancer only came because Twilight promised to teach her Hayscartes methods of learning by literally emerging herself inside the book, which I'll explain a bit on later. Despite Twilight's earnest attempt to bond at the dinner party, Moon Dancer still brushed it off and even left abruptly from the dinner and refuse to listen to Twilight any longer. Causing poor Twilight to be heartbroken for what she had done. In another showcase of Twilight's power, being able to see into the past of an environment allowed Twilight to see the events of Moon Dancer's party that Twilight left. Seeing how heartbroken Moon Dancer was, Twilight knew she needed the best party planner around to quickly rectify this error Twilight had committed in the past. Twilight also become a stronger flier now that she is able to handle Spike and a full grown pony on her back. There at the 'please forgive me for what I've done to you' as I like to call it party, not only did they managed to woo Moon Dancer to it by leaving a trail of books for her to collect but there, Moon Dancer cracks from what they've done and reveals to Twilight for just how much she had hurt her for not attending the one party that Moon Dancer did so she can open up and bond with ponies better. Moon Dancer: Well, sure, why wouldn't it? That was only the first time I put myself out there, and then you didn't even bother to show up! Then you left town without saying goodbye even though we were supposed to be friends! I was humiliated! I felt like I wasn't important! I never wanted to let myself be hurt like that again! Those three finally convinced me that I had value! That other ponies might like me and want to be my friend! And you! Didn't! Show! Up! Not only was this a heartfelt, sincere, and powerful message from Moon Dancer, but it also makes Twilight's efforts in the episode even more potent. This episode's narrative held nothing back to show the audience that one of the mane 6, Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship, screwed up badly by betraying that bond of trust she had taken for granted in her past life in Canterlot. Seeing Moon Dancer cry her heart out to reveal of how traumatic her emotional experience shows of how horrific Twilight's actions were leaving Moon Dancer behind to focus on other stuff instead of her. Twilight's efforts to make amends to them for betraying the trust, especially with Moon Dancer, is made all the stronger because she has genuinely hurt someone and only seeks for that person to forgive wholeheartedly for what she had done by showing to her old friends of how much she regrets what she had done and wishes to form a new bond of friendship as a way to show she has changed as a person and wishes to be a better friend to them than what she once was. Twilight Sparkle: I'm sorry, Moon Dancer. I've faced magical creatures, the end of Equestria, all sorts of things. But seeing how my actions affected you, that was one of the worst feelings I've ever had. Once they've made up and become better people from it, there Moon Dancer and Twilight Sparkle emerged better characters as Twilight rights a past wrong she had committed and formed a better bond between herself and her old friends, and Moon Dancer learns to hang out with her friends more and not bottle herself up to waste away and instead join and have fun with friends instead. Thanks to one of the most emotional and best moments in the show, this not only cements Twilight's status for best pony in my personal s5 rankings even higher, perhaps even topping it, but it's also likely Moon Dancer will be the best new pony introduced this season and possibly one of the most secondary ponies in the fandom soon if not already. 2. The Hayscartes method may actually be a reference to the famed French Philosopher Rene Descartes. Thanks to Sunset Master in his own personal review for finding that reference, here's a quote from Descartes himself: Cogito ergo sum. This is often translated as: 'I think, therefore, I am.' Seeing how this spell allowed Twilight to literally become one with the book to help her better study, there is validity to that fact. To make the connection to that reference even greater, Twilight did pointed out that she had a copy of his 'Treatise on Ponies', a reference to Rene Descartes's Treatise of Man. Here's a link to SunsetMaster's personal review on Amending Fences, including the point I'm using in my own review as I loved it too much. https://mlpforums.co.../#comment_49925 3. That's not a beaker, Lemon Hearts, that's a flask. One humor I particularly liked seeing in the episode. 4. The rest of the Twilight's old friends also received some character development as well. While their developments weren't as great as Twilight or Moon Dancer, I did like some signs of it from them. Minuette: She's a pony who not only seems to be fond of hourglasses, but she's also noted friends with Pinkie Pie. Perhaps because both are cheer happy ponies. Wore braces as a filly. Twinkle Shine: Not much on her other than what the other ponies are doing or know. Lemon Hearts: Had her head stuck on a flask once. Has a career where she arranges state dinners and other formal events at Canterlot. Also, the fact they've been given speaking roles in an episode will allow them to have a niche in the fandom's art community. 5. Notice how eerily similar that middle bookseller pony does to a certain someone from Disney's Big Hero 6? Negatives: 1. Who was taking care of Twilight's library in Canterlot while she was gone? While the state of the library held little impact to the episode, it's one that annoyed me simply for how did the library ended up in such a state. Being with many pieces and other aged items on the floor after Twilight left it when she was transferred over to Ponyville by Celestia; it begs the question why and how would anyone just leave it there. I want to make here If Twilight still owns it as possession of her key implied, how could Twilight not have paid any attention to a library filled with books that she personally own for over a year? Still, it may have served as a metaphor to Twilight's attitude to Canterlot previously, uncaring for it but the pieces remain for her to return when she realizes of how much of an ass she had been in her past. 2. The ending felt a bit rushed. While not especially damaging as there was little to be further invested in the episode after Twilight and Moon Dancer made up, still I felt the rushed party was caused in part to make for the time it needed to make for Twilight and Moon Dancer to further cement their friendship as friends to visit every now and then on Twilight's part and to see that epilogue of Moon Dancer joining with her old friends to play a game of sport. 3. The start felt contrived. While not an especially big deal in hindsight, the fact Twilight's conflict in the episode was only caused by an off comment from Spike instead of her own action felt like it was forced to get the conflict of the episode going. Overall it's not too especially harmful in the end after reviewing it. Conclusion: This episode is quite possibly the season's second best episode in my opinion, exceeded only by the season pilot. Giving a great spot of character development to Twilight and to Moon Dancer to where they emerge better friends after Twilight sought Moon Dancer's forgiveness for her past misdeed. Showing one of the most human portrayals of Twilight since Winter Wrap Up and possibly even exceeds that, this episode is among the best Twilight episodes in the series for what it had shown. Finally, with a great spotlight on Moon Dancer and her portrayal in the episode, she'll quickly become a favorite in the fandom like many other secondary pony characters. Score: 9.5/10 Grade: A
  16. Watched amending fences again and honestly, it maybe in my top ten episodes in the series in my opinion. Planning to do a review on it tomorrow.

  17. Kinda of worried how this will end.

  18. What a weird nightmare for Rainbow Dash.

  19. An interesting answer to the question what would've happened if the Sonic Rainboom never happened.

  20. Still, it's an interesting theory. Whether it can be true or not, I appreciate you taking the time to make this blog and answer some of my questions, Avery.
  21. Also, it seems Rainbow Power will make a return in the next episode.

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. Nuke87654

      Nuke87654

      Yep but I love em.

    3. QuickLime

      QuickLime

      You actually shouldn't post spoilers, as everyone sees these statuses, and they might want to avoid spoilers :)

    4. Nuke87654

      Nuke87654

      Hmm, alright. I'll have to take note on the etiquettes here on the forums here.

  22. If what Horse News is saying is true, than Fluttershy has a brother.

  23. Than that would mean the remaning five has a greater calling than if Twilight is an Alicorn due to her friendship? Also what would happen to Twilight should her friends perish because of natural causes? I agree it's not completely ruled by it. I do believe however that the many world building and plot elements they use in their story can have some influence or trace from the Greek legends themselves for the most part. From what I could gather on the matter of the Greek's view on the elements, it seems to have been for the most part considered the substances that have formed the basics of their environment, and notably greek philosophers debated which of the three elements in fire, water, and air created the planet while a 4th argued that it was a substance that was not discovered by Greece. While It is certainly not a given that such a thing will be explored on the show, it does add one interesting possibility to what we could see in the show if it continues to be influenced by Ancient Greece and their tales.
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