Richard Cox, Author at For A Family Perspective

Pokémon Unite. I choose you this time.

by Richard Cox | Sep 5, 2021 | Leisure, Reviews, Video Games

First Glance

This new game from the popular ®Nintendo universe of Pokémon, creates a unique marriage between the familiar universe with an unexpected game type.

At the time of writing this, the game has been available and free to play on Nintendo switch for a just over 2 weeks. Releasing soon for mobile devices and hopefully allowing for cross platform play. As soon as you start the game up you’ll see some familiar faces. This is true regardless of which generation of Pokémon you can relate to. At this time there are 21 different Pokémon that you can choose to play as, each with different move sets. Matches take place in 1 of 4 different maps and range from 3v3 to 5v5. A great thing about this game is the “quick battles” are only 5 minutes long. This makes it very easy to pop into a game for a few minutes of fun!

Just log on to the Nintendo Eshop to download and play for FREE!

What is Pokémon Unite?

This is a pretty straightforward multiplayer online battle arena, or “MOBA” type game. Originally I remember this game type gaining traction with games like “League Of Legends” and “DOTA”. The game type did eventually make it’s way into other genre’s like first person shooters with the huge success of “Overwatch”. Although the connection between these different games aren’t exact, there are very strong aspects that lend themselves to all of them. I really enjoy the lighthearted feeling that Pokémon Unite has captured though. The focus is basically to gather energy by capturing wild monsters or defeating other player controlled Pokémon. You then have to make your way down a lane and into enemy territory to slam dunk a ball of energy into one of your opponents goals. You gain experience from capturing monsters, defeating other players and by scoring goals.

Pokémon and their abilities

Pokémon are categorized into 5 types. Attacker, speedster, all-rounder, defender, and supporter. There is also the differentiation between either melee or ranged type attackers. Each Pokémon has a unique set of abilities which consists of a passive trait, 6 different activated abilities to choose from, and an ultimate. The caveat is that you can only choose 2 of the activated abilities per match. These different abilities come in different forms. A movement type which would deal damage but also move you in a chosen direction. Buffs to increase speed, damage, defense etc. Disables to restrain your opponent. There are several types of moves and the roster of Pokémon continues do grow, but I think you get the idea.

Before and after the match

The central hub where you can customize your avatar, purchase new Pokémon and increase the strength of your items. You can also customize which abilities you use for Pokémon so that it’s automatically chosen in the match. Each Pokémon can hold up to three items which are used to give you an extra advantage during a match. Items give you basic stat increases or passive abilities like automatically healing when outside of battle. As you can imagine these items are essential to your Pokémon’s chances of success and survival!

The issue

Unfortunately this is where the game takes a hit. It is free to play but you can pay for in-game currency. This can be used to purchase and upgrade held items. This gives the game an automatic stamp of “Pay to win”. in my time playing I haven’t felt that it’s unbalanced that often. When you play an online game there’s always a chance you’re going to run into a player that’s significantly better than you. In these case there’s also a chance you’ll run into someone that paid way to much money for a free game just to win.

In conclusion

As I said earlier, one of the coolest things about this game is how short and sweet the matches can be. Even if you have a terrible match where someone “paid to win” The match will only be at the longest 10 minutes. Then you’re off to another match! The other thing that’s great about this game is even though it’s played online there’s no voice chat. This makes it safe for younger audiences and less annoying for everyone that doesn’t care to hear people on the other end complaining about everything. Overall this is a fun and simple game. Easy mechanics make this accesible. It may not hold your attention for months but it is nice to hop into for a quick match!

Upgrade yourself!

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Magic Bunnies And Sharpshooting Foxes In “Here To Slay”

by Richard Cox | Jun 6, 2021 | Board Games, Reviews

Here’s another great game from Unstable Games, Here to Slay. Many know them for games such as “Unstable Unicorns” or “Happy Little Dinosaurs.” The first thing that had us checking out this company was the artwork. It has a very lighthearted feeling that is still steeped in fantasy and mythology.

Artwork Is What Brought Me Here

This game, much like the artwork is very approachable and easy to pick up. Opening this box will bring an instant smile to your face. When you see all these critters dressed up as wizards and knights you’re sure to feel just as happy as I did! Presentation means a lot to me as a visual person. So after such a positive introduction, I was excited to jump in and see what the game was like to play.

The Concept Of The Game.

“The first player to slay three monsters or assemble a full party of six different classes, wins the game!”

Each player is allotted 3 “actions” to take on their turn. Actions can be used to draw or play cards, use the ability of a hero in play, attack a monster card or discard your entire hand to draw five new cards. Every turn you can use your actions differently because some things cost more actions like attacking monsters. When you have managed to defeat a monster you gain a new passive ability. Now you’re one step closer to victory! I find it more enjoyable to play using this strategy, which feels a little more aggressive. Collecting class types can also be fun, though it can leave you open to sabotage from other players!

Gameplay of Here to Slay.

I’ll start with set up, everyone is randomly assigned their hero to use for the rest of the game. The first three monsters are revealed and everyone is dealt their opening hands, and then let the slaying begin! Sometimes less is more and that can certainly be said for a game with an easy setup! This game has pretty straightforward mechanics. The layers of strategy are appropriately limited so that it doesn’t feel exactly the same every time that you play. This doesn’t feel like a jumbled mess of 20 to 30 minutes either, with a consistent progression throughout.

What Makes Here To Slay Different?

There’s just the right amount of ability to interrupt other players to make it feel interactive with cards called a “challenge” that allow the challenging player to roll a die against the other player to try and cancel their card. I love the addition of the dice in this game that makes it feel like just a little more than a card game. It plays as a little bit of a fast-paced, short-length, faux RPG. If you’ve ever played games like “munchkin” this might initially feel familiar. With an emphasis on the cuter and more lighthearted side of nerd culture, this game feels like a welcome mat before opening the door into strategy games. Some other great card games with a little more depth to try out would be Dominion or 7 Wonders. We’ve actually written on 7 Wonders and you can read all about it here!

If you are interested in buying this excellent game head over to Amazon here!

Here to Slay – Base Game

Here to Slay – Warrior & Druids

Here to Slay – Base Game & Expansion

In Conclusion

I love to bring this game out when we have guests over that are open to fantasy but aren’t versed in playing board games. This game has some really great humor that is perfectly self-aware. The names of some of these cards alone will have most people laughing. It should also be noted that this can be played with as few as two people. My wife and I enjoy playing this for a quick after-dinner game! I think this was a great purchase because it has a very low price point with a broad-reaching audience! I don’t find myself reaching for this game every single time I want to play a card game. However, it fits really well into a cheery group looking for a fun experience or when you have a few minutes and want to play a silly game with someone!