Geek Fight CCG Review

As an avid CCG (Editor's note for non-geeks out there: That stands for "collectible card game") player, I've played a lot of card games over my lifetime. I have boxes upon boxes of Magic: The Gathering, Jyhad, Star Wars, Star Trek, Pokemon, Harry Potter, Monty Python, Netrunner (my personal favorite of all time), Overpower, VS System (both DC and Marvel), Spellfire, X-Files... Yowzers! I never realized how many card games I've played over the years! But I digress...

These days, I don't play as many CCGs as I used to. Now it's mostly Magic: The Gathering, Munchkin and Chez Geek. Since I'm such a sucker for geek humor, when given the chance to play Geek Fight from Diving Dragon Games, I jumped at the chance.

Geek Fight is in the same vein as the aforementioned Munchkin and Chez Geek in that the premise of the game is geeks fighting. Er...duh! Sounds funny. But the question is... is it fun?

Upon opening the packs, the first thing I noticed is how great the cards looked. They are business card sized and printed on glossy thick paper. They looked much more durable than a lot of cards that I'm used to. The design of the cards themselves looks good and the artwork is all over the board with everything from a poop covered cartoon pickle to paintings more in line with other fantasy CCGs. I think this seeming lack of unifying art theme would've hurt any other game but the idea behind Geek Fight is unique so the diversity in art helps to convey all the different types of geeks being portrayed (there are card players, comic geeks, movie geeks, video game geeks, cosplayers and more).

But looking good isn't the key component of a game so I called a few friends over and we played a few hands. The initial release of Geek Fight is made up of 6 preset 7-card packs (Do the math folks. That adds up to 42 cards. Yet another geek joke.) The idea of preset cards allows for less of the "who's got the better card" scenarios and that is a good thing. I always hated playing CCGs with the kid who had more money to spend on games than I did (Because I was spending my cash on comic books, movies and video games too. Hey! A geek's gotta be well rounded!) and always had the best cards.

We began by playing with just the first set. Our initial view was that the rules were overly complicated but, upon a few more re-reads (and an eventual e-mail to the game's designer), I came to the conclusion that the rules aren't really that complicated. They're just badly written. (My advice to the game's designers: Stop trying to be funny and hip in the rulebook. Just layout the rules in a simple format and provide at least one gameplay example for each rule.) Once we got the rules confusion out of the way, the game itself was pretty fun. The basic idea is that each player has a combatant card on the table that battles a combatant card from the opposing player. When a combatant is defeated, the player tosses down a new one. If he has no more combatant cards in his hand, it's game over. These combatant cards are supported by different types of geek gear and tactics cards (think enchantments and spells if you're a Magic player). To it's credit, we laughed a lot while playing and had a good bit of fun. However, once we'd seen most of the cards and got our chuckles out of the way on the first few hands, we noticed that the game always seemed to devolve into a "I attack you. Okay. It's your turn now." sort of play that grew boring very fast.

Then we pulled out the 2nd series box titled "The Final Battle". This box was made up of 2 20-card preset decks. What will be cool to internet geeks here is that the titular "final battle" is a showdown between the Angry Video Game Nerd and the Nostalgia Critic. As you'd expect, the geek combatants on these cards are characters that fans of these sites and shows will instantly recognize. The AVGN has demonic video game cartridges and Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C. 4.0 Beta, while the Nostalgic Critic has Chester A. Bum and That Guy with the Glasses.

Being a AVGN fan, I immediately chose my side and we began play. It seems that that the game's designers took some of the feedback (I noticed quite a few people on their site's forums giving similar thoughts on the "I attack. Your turn." gameplay.) on their first set as constructive criticism and the 2nd series is much better balanced and well rounded. You're able to strategize more and the game is more enjoyable as a result. It's still not as in-depth as some of the other CCGs on the market but, with the added strategy of Series 2, it's no longer the most simple either. And for only $1 a pack for the first series or $7 for the complete set of Series 2 cards, it's a game that any collector and any fan of other geek CCGs will want to get.

One last thing of note is that this is the first CCG I've seen that is ad supported (which is how they can give you a full set for so cheap). Each card has a small ad on it, usually relating to something geeky like other games, gaming supplies like dice and bags, fantasy/sci-fi novels and other stuff geeks may find interesting. This is rather cool idea. Both from the standpoint of a player who can get games with less money and because they also advertise things that I might not have heard of otherwise. I'm wondering why no one else has thought of this before and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we see more ad-supported CCGs coming down the pike.

Bottom line: Geek Fight is a decent game with great art, fun geek-related humor, very durable cards and a confusingly written set of rules.

You can find out more about Geek Fight and get your very own copy the Diving Dragon Games website.

Pull List Reviews - September 17

Action Comics #881
After the events of Superman #691, the world is none to keen on Kryptonians at this point. The issue begins with Nightwing and Flamebird still on the run from the authorities when they run into Supergirl. It doesn't help Nightwing and Flamebird that, in addition to most of the world, Supergirl thinks they killed Mon-El. A battle ensues between the three Kryptonians that only goes from bad to worse as The Guardian and his crew arrive on the scene and end up nearly overpowering our heroes, forcing them to flee. Elsewhere, Metallo and Reactron are planning a news conference to further fuel the anti-Kryptonian sentiment of Earth. After escaping The Guardian's troops, Nightwing and Supergirl share a brief interlude while Flamebird listens in leading to more in-fighting amongst the Kryptonians that ends up with Squad K on the scene. Looks like the world's a grim place for anyone from Superman's homeworld. I can't wait to see how he pulls this mess out of the fire. Also, the backup tale of Captain Atom continues here and my consensus stays the same as it has been on this story... it's pretty but I still have no idea what's going on.
Score: 3.5 out of 5

Batman and Robin #4
Grant Morrison's second story arc begins here with the arrival of Red Hood and Scarlet (the reject from Pyg's outfit). This diabolical duo begin ripping through Gotham's criminal underworld in a way that would make The Punisher proud and sets Dick and Damien on on their trail. The violence and gun-play leads me to believe that it is indeed Jason Todd beneath the red hood and Dick agrees with me near the end of this issue but it isn't confirmed. If this issue is any indication, this is new arc is going to be one Hell of a read! ...and beautiful art from Philip Tan doesn't hurt either.
Score: 4.5 out of 5

Blackest Night #3
Hal Jordan and Barry Allen continue their fight against the fallen heroes of the Black Lantern Corps. We discover the fate of the Atom (last hinted at during the opening scenes of Blackest Night #2). The Indigo Tribe finally arrive on the scene and give us details on the origins of the different colored rings. These origins only cement my belief that there will be a White Lantern (Hal Jordan, anyone?) before this whole event is over. Meanwhile, Firestorm goes toe to toe with... Firestorm which leaves him in a very unusual predicament and leaves the Black Lantern with a seemingly unlimited power battery. The issue ends with the return of some villains from the JLA's morgue. All in all, a good issue but I can't give it a perfect 5 this go 'round because it's getting kind of old that every issue of Blackest Night (or the tie-ins) ends with a cliff-hanger ending and the rising of yet more lanterns. But now that the Black Lanterns have their power to full capacity and the rest of the lanterns know about the white power, I think things are going to go all out from here on in. Let's go!
Score: 4.5 out of 5

Pull List Reviews - September 11

The DC Universe becomes an even darker and deadlier place this week with 2 new Blackest Night tie-in issues! It seems like every time I think this Blackest Night even can't get worse for the DCU...it does.

Blackest Night: Batman #2
The undead battle from the first issue continues here with a slew of villains (including Scarface, Blockbuster, KGBeast and others) as well the risen parents of Tim Drake. Dick and Damien, with the help of Deadman, prepare for an assault on Gotham City PD where Commissioner Gordon and crew are attempting to hold off a full onslaught of Black Lanterns. It should go without saying (but it won't) that lots of people die. At the last minute, Tim/Red Robin arrives on the scene as does another set of dead parents. I'm stoked for the final showdown next issue!
Score: 5 out of 5



Green Lantern Corps #40
The battle for Oa continues against the newly risen fallen Green Lanterns. Kyle has a romantic-turned-horrible aside with Jade. Salaak pulls rank on the Alpha Lanterns. Bzzd has a showdown with Guy Gardner. It's discovered that the more powerful your emotions when you are killed by a Black Lantern, the more energy their rings recharge and even more people die on Oa than in Gotham. Honestly, I used to want to be a Green Lantern. Now I'm not so certain.
Score: 4.5 out of 5

Pull List Reviews - September 2

This week's pull list was a little light with only one lonely comic coming out but it was still a good one! Read on...

Batman #690
Dick Grayson struggles to find his way as the new caped crusader as he continues the battle with Clayface and Lyle Blanco begun last issue. The fight is actually written quite well. Judd Winick (writer) understands the mind of Dick Grayson and seems to be enjoying playing with Dick's differences with Bruce. Meanwhile, the Penguin makes a deal with another shadowy crime boss (Black Skull?) that leaves him in a bad spot. And Two-Face auditions teleporters to track down the origin of a particular object that he has in his possession which leads him to a showdown that I've been waiting for since Dick donned the cowl.
Score: 4 out of 5

Twilight: One Geek Guy's Look at the Novel

Twilight. The phenomenon that's causing geeky teen girls and their moms to swoon at anything remotely vampire-ish or sparkly. As a guy and a horror fan, I've been appalled at nearly everything I've heard about this series. From what I gathered from overheard conversations and my wife's incessant recommendations, Stephanie Meyer's tale is a sappy story about a "mary jane" character who falls for the hunky perfect guy who happens to be a vampire. That, in and of itself, isn't bad. Sounds about right for a Harlequin Romance for teens. But then the horror fan in me boots up. These aren't vampires! The creatures in Twilight don't burn in sunlight (They sparkle for Stoker's sake!), you can't kill them by staking them through the heart, they have no aversion to garlic and/or holy symbols. Other than the fact that they're immortal and drink blood, they hold with absolutely NONE of the traditional vampire lore! (And don't get me started on the werewolves! But they don't show up 'til book 2 so that may never be covered on my blog.)

So far, I'd heard nothing that attracted me to this series in the least.

But...as a supportive husband who's wife is a self-confessed Twi-hard and someone who can put traditional horror ideas aside (I do like the Necroscope books after all), it was only a matter of time before I gave in and either watched the movie or read the book. Being the masochist that I am, I went the book route which took me weeks (Why so long? I'll explain later.) instead of the 2 hours that the movie would've done.

So, without I'll answer the question that all the geek guys are asking... is it worth reading?

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS:

Read this book only if you have nothing better to read or you're trying to impress the ladies or your significant other. I told my wife that the worst parts of this book were the beginning, middle and end but that's not entirely accurate. It's not a terrible book by any means and does have some good stuff but there are 3 very weak points that make it into something that I will never read again and they do appear at the beginning, middle and end of the book.

Weak Point #1 (the beginning): Bella. The central character in the novel. This is the most whiny, self-centered, complaining character I've ever come across. Yes. I realize she's a teenage girl but I don't remember the girls I hung out with in high school complaining and being all "woe is me" this much. The situation is made worse by the fact that the entire novel is first person and narrated by her. However, her demeanor really only grated on me terribly at the start of the novel when she was alone and wandering around. In fact, I put it down for days at a time while trying to get through the opening scenes and that's why it took me so long to read. Once the vampires showed up, it became tolerable and I got to reading in earnest.

Weak Point #2 (the middle): The meadow scene. You've all heard about the sparkly vampires but, in the novel, you only actually see the sparkles one time and it's the most sappy crap scene in the entire thing. Edward (the hunky vampire) takes Bella (the whiny damsel in distress) to a secluded meadow in the forest where they constantly try to kiss only to have him continually pull back due to his blood lust. Meanwhile, Bella's getting all hot and bothered and just keeps teasing him. After pages of this crud, I was hoping he'd just give in and kill her. But instead, they kiss and then Edward shows Bella why he doesn't go into the sunlight. He takes of his shirt and shows that his skin sparkles. In the book though, he doesn't look like a disco ball as I was led to believe. Instead, he looks more like a rock that has shiny sparkly bits in it. I can understand this. I get it. It's a different take on vampires. Like I said, I can put tradition aside and view them in a new light. And I am a romantic kind of guy so I get the kissy bits, but this scene seemed to go on forever and, for that reason alone, it almost lost me.

Weak Point #3 (the end): The final quarter of the book finally picks up the pace and turns into a semi-cool action/thriller when a group of rogue vampires show up. One of them, a tracker (apparently he tracks things really well) called James sets his sights on Bella for a sporting hunt. At this point, the thought crossed my mind that maybe I'd read the second book in the series. After all, the second book has werewolves and, if it continued this spirit of action, it may not "suck" as bad as the first one. However, that thought was blown away as I was treated to a brutal case of reader's blue balls when Meyer's loses her nerve and doesn't even show the final showdown between Edward and James. What we get instead (and this is yet another reason to hate that the book's narrated by the damsel) is a scene in which James rushes in to attack Bella only to have her pass out and wake up once the fight is over. James is dead and there's mention of lots of blood but where's the fight!? After all that build-up, there's...nothing.

If they'd changed the narration to third person, shortened the meadow scene and actually described the final battle, I would very likely be recommending Twilight to you right now. But, as it stands, I didn't like it. I may read book 2 eventually because my wife tells me there's more action and intrigue but not until I finish a few of the other books on my reading list. We'll see...

My overall score: 2.5 out of 5

Pull List Reviews - August 26

Green Lantern #45
As Blackest Night continues to roll across the DCU, Carol Ferris (Star Sapphire) squares of with Sinestro revealing that she's not controlled by the violet ring and that even Sinestro isn't untouched by love. In other parts of the universe, an entire planet is about to "rise" and Agent Orange continues to fight for possession of a blue ring only to get the shock of his life when Blackest Night rocks his world. The plan of the Black Lanterns begins to come together as the homeworlds of all of the color rings are falling one by one (except for one that's remained hidden). In the words of Agent Orange: "Yuh-oh." Great issue!
Score: 4.5 out of 5

Batman & Robin #3
The battle with the twisted Mr. Pyg comes to a conclusion this issue but he leaves more questions unanswered than not. And one of Pyg's escaped minions meets up with one of Batman's old enemies... but who is it really? I can't wait to see where Morrison takes our intrepid heroes next month. He's one of the few writers out there that I have trouble anticipating... and that's a good thing. A perfect storm of great writing and excellent art!
Score: 4 out of 5



Detective Comics #856
Speaking of excellent artwork, watching Batwoman get saved from Alice and her twisted crime cult by shapeshifters is made visually stunning by the images of JH Williams III. Sadly, I'm still not digging the storyline much. Batwoman is an interesting enough character and I like her interactions with her dad but the story so far is like 300... great to look at but kind of flat. The backup tale this month continues The Question's search for a missing girl as she ends up locked in a trunk in the bottom of the river.
Score: 3.5 out of 5



The Flash: Rebirth #4
This series continues to race along at appropriately breakneck speeds as Barry tries to escape the speed force and save his loved ones from Professor Zoom. Meanwhile Wally heads into the speed force to try and rescue Barry and Mercury Max. And the secret of the speed force is revealed (and while the secret isn't all shocking it is super cool for me as a fan of Barry). The final few pages preps us for an all out battle between Zoom and Barry as two opposites clash for the fate of all speedsters in the DCU. I can't wait to see where the chips fall when this is all over!
Score: 4.5 out of 5



Superman #691
Project: Patriot continues to play out as Metropolis is attacked and Kryptonian extremists are blamed. Gen. Lane comes out of hiding and his plot is revealed to be behind recent events both on Earth and New Krypton. Things take a turn for the worse as our heroes, including Superman himself, are left either captured or disgraced. Dark days are ahead for anyone of Kryptonian origin... except for maybe Zod (who I still believe to be behind all of this).
Score: 3.5 out of 5