issue 30 // volume 41

arts // no. 9

A 4X Ganr by

Scott Se

Image of ‘Tiny Epic Kingdoms’

Chairman of the Board: Little conquerors

» ‘Tiny Epic Kingdoms’ review

Ed Appleby illustrator Miillustrator @theotherpress.ca

B23 games are fun, but some are difficult to play outside.

fly away and a lot of little pieces can get lost. This game comes in a great travel size and has the added benefit of being able to explore huge tracts of land from the comfort of your own table. Tiny Epic Kingdoms isa strategy game for two to five players designed by Scott Almes and published by Gamelyn Games in 2014. Players control a fantasy race and attempt to gain the most victory points by growing their population,

: researching magic, and building : their tower. One player chooses

: an action—build, research,

: patrol, etc.—then all players

: execute that action in sequence.

: The game ends once a player

: fulfills one of the end game

: criteria and there aren't any more

Paper counters have a tendency to : : . See cy *° = actions left in the pool.

The rules for play are

The gameplay length can

vary quite a bit. Some players can : rush to start the endgame while : others can delay the endgame

: until they max out points. The

: war mechanic is also very unique, : with players having to contribute : resources to their war effort,

: which are taken whether they

: win or lose. During a war action,

: players can also ask for peace,

: which will allow both players

: to form an alliance and occupy

: the same spot. Although some

: extremely simplified. Each faction : : can guide you in how you play

: the game—whether you focus on : building, war, or research—but

: the choice is ultimately yours as

: there are several ways to score

: points and win. Every victory

: point in the game is hard won, so : games are often close.

players may ask for peace, only to

: make war on their unsuspecting : Opponent.

Tiny Epic Kingdoms

: combines the strategy elements

: of Risk and Settlers of Catan in

: avery small box. Don't let its

: size fool you—the versatility

: and re-playability of the game is

: extensive. I would recommend

: the game to any group looking for : a fun and versatile strategy game.

A story of life and death

» ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ movie review

Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist

OOOO

f you thought The Fault in Our

Stars was a touching movie about a girl who has terminal cancer, then get ready fora more realistic and honest view on the subject in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.

In the film, Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann) writes a screenplay about how spending time with Rachel Kushner (Olivia Cooke), a girl with leukaemia, would ruin the lives of the people around him including his co- worker, Earl (Ronald Cyler II). The first half features a lot of comedic moments while the second half gets serious and shows how someone having

: cancer can affect a lot of people.

This film’s Greg and The

: Fault in Our Stars’ Hazel have

something in common: they both talk about what they think is a

: realistic love story. Greg’s story is : more realistic because it’s more

: relatable, while Hazel’s story

: sounds like a teen novel.

Similar to the character

: Juno using unusual slang to

: tell her story in Juno, Greg uses

: metaphors to describe different

: things in his life. For example, he : uses a moose anda chipmunkasa : : metaphor for a relationship.

Molly Shannon provides

: comedic relief as Rachel’s mother, : Denise. Hugh Jackman makes

: a brief appearance in the film

: when Greg pretends to be Rachel : after she hears a comment from

: someone that talks about her

: having cancer; Greg hears Hugh

: ranting about playing Wolverine

: in the X-Men film series.

The camera movements and

: the descriptions in Me and Earl

: and the Dying Girl, such as the

: Part After All the Other Parts,

: are similar to Wes Anderson's

: films. Although he is not involved : in this film, the production

: company, Indian Paintbrush, that : released his most recent films

: also released this one.

Me and Earl and the Dying

Girl also shows the appreciation : of film because Greg’s father

(Nick Offerman) introduces Greg

: and Earl to foreign films, which

: inspires them to make their own

: versions of classic films like the

: characters did in Be Kind Rewind. : Hopefully, the DVD and Blu-Ray

: will include full versions of Greg

: and Earl’s films!

Overall, Me and Earl and the

Dying Girl will cause you to laugh : and cry at the same time.

Double-edged sword

» ‘Sword Art Online’ better as a mini- series

Adam Tatelman Staff Writer

OOOO

s someone who is obsessed

with martial arts, sci-fi, fantasy, medieval culture, and gaming, I found Sword Art Online to cater to my every fictional preference. All A-1 Pictures had to do was not screw it up. And they didn’t—at first.

With the advent of virtual reality gaming rigs like Oculus Rift, we seem to have less and less incentive to go outside nowadays. Sword Art Online agrees, setting the series in a future where gamers enjoy virtual reality headsets that simulate tangible worlds in the mind of the wearer, enhancing the experience of gaming online with friends. The game is the latest MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) from eccentric genius game designer Akihiko Kayaba. It’s all fun and games until, of course, the players find they cannot log out. The only way to escape is to beat the game, but dying in the game means death for real.

It’s a quaint, rusty hook, but the early episodes make some intriguing catches with it. The gamers evolve a social structure over time: the best players make military guilds dedicated to ending the simulation, while others populate safe zones and perfect their trade skills, such as blacksmithing. Those who risk the most gain the biggest rewards. Players can marty, own property, or even kill one another for personal gain, but they must do it all in accordance with the rules of the game. The population starts dwindling from day one, so each death has impact.

Social commentary aside, the show’s not as clever as it thinks it is. Kirito, the lead character, is so lazily written that he comes across as a blank slate. Playing solo, he manages to out-level everyone else (which

area bosses, and defy the laws of the game through sheer force

E of will, even as women fall in

: packs for his angsty anti-charm. : It makes no sense that an anti-

: social loner is the one getting

: stuff done while the teamwork

: brigade loses squad after squad.

That said, it’s the

: relationship between Kirito

: and Asuna, a guild commander : and foil fencer extraordinaire,

: that carries the show’s message : best. Although their chemistry : is amateurish, it shows that

: these are people who are

: afraid to be hurt. Opening up

: is hard for them because of

E the world they now inhabit,

: where death is easier to deal

: with if they don’t get attached

: to anyone. It’s poignant to see

: them together because it shows : virtual relationships can be just : as powerful as flesh-and-blood : ones.

Sword Art Online looked

: so promising from the outset.

: The animation was at Studio

: Ghibli levels of detail, the fights : only improved with time, and

: the soundtrack was fittingly

: operatic. However, the poorly

: structured plot kills the show

: quickly. There are too many one- : off, filler episodes that distract

: from the overall goal of escape,

: which is achieved halfway

: through the season. Even worse, : we never learn the reason why

: Kayaba chose to trap the players : in his death simulator, even

: though this was the driving

: question to be answered.

The second half of the

: season isn’t even worth

: mentioning. | thought wed

get to see a traumatized Kirito

: readjust to life outside the

: game, but instead the writers

: contrive an idiotic reason to

: revive presumed dead characters : (irredeemably cheapening their : sacrifice) and send Kirito into a : new virtual world in search of

: them. What a way to wreck the : entire point of the show for the : sake of another 12 episodes.

Like most modern virtual

: reality tech, Sword Art Online

: is depressingly overrated. You'll : find more adventure outside

: than you will in this series,

. : so find some sticks and play betensaeneporte eae | : swords. It’ll be more fun than

: this show.

Image via ekladata.com