news Archives - Page 12 of 47 - Felix's Gaming Pages

Reopening the X-Files

As many of you know the X-Files is coming back.

I really enjoyed the original series of the X-Files there was something at the time fresh and different about the series and of course the relationship between Mulder and Scully really made a difference.

The X-Files is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by Chris Carter. The program originally aired from September 10, 1993, to May 19, 2002, on Fox, spanning nine seasons and 202 episodes. The series revolves around FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigating X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena.

I am currently re-watching the original as it is on Amazon Prime, but you can get the DVD boxed set for a reasonable price too.

Back in the 1990s I started developed a skirmish set of rules, entitled FEDS, the inspiration for which was the X-Files. The idea of FBI Swat teams fighting down bad guys and monsters seemed like a good idea for lots of fun games.

Looking forward to the new series, though not sure where I will be able to watch it.

Dad’s Army hits the big screen

So the first trailer for the reboot of Dad’s Army is out.

It hits the big screens in 2016. It has Toby Jones as Captain Mainwaring, Michael Gambon as Prviate Godfrey, Bill Nighy as Sergeant Wilson, Tom Courtenay as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones, Bill Paterson as Private Fraser and Daniel Mays as Private Joe Walker. And Catherine Zeta-Jones will set pulses racing in her role as visiting journalist Rose Winters

Any reboot is always a challenge, however I am quite looking forward to watching this when it comes out. The characters are not quite the same as the long running TV series. Bill Nighy though makes the role of Sergeant Wilson his own.

Though Tom Courtenay makes a cracking Corporal Jones.

Spectre

New trailer for the new James Bond film, spectre.

Dark Future coming back….

Well note quite, it is coming back, but as a video game.

It’s coming…

Need we say more?

Doctor Who in Lego

Well what do we have here, the Doctor in Lego.

Oh and K9 and a TARDIS.

Okay so not a proper set (just yet), but for the forthcoming Lego Dimensions console game.

The game uses “real” Lego which are then “brought” into the game. There is a real mix of brands, for example the starter set has Batman, Gandalf and Wyldstyle (from The Lego Movie).

You can expand the game with packs and these have so far included figures from the Lego franchises such as Ninjago, but also Wonder Woman, Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz and Back to the Future.

With the release of some instructions, we now know that there will also be an expansion pack for Doctor Who.

The copyright notice for Doctor Who is quite interesting as it includes details of Daleks and Cybermen.

BBC logo © BBC 1996. Doctor Who logo © BBC 2009. Dalek image © BBC/ Terry Nation 1963. Cyberman image © BBC/Kit Pedler/Gerry Davis 1966. K-9 image © BBC/Bob Baker/Dave Martin 1977. Licensed by BBC Worldwide Limited.

From this I would ascertain that we will see Lego Daleks and Cybermen, very likely in the game, but could mean Lego Daleks if and when more Doctor Who Lego is released. The BBC does not hold all the rights to all the Doctor Who monsters, therefore licensed products need to both licence Doctor Who from the BBC, but also need to licence Terry Nation (estate) for the Daleks.

In addition to Doctor Who we have also seen packs for Jurassic World, Scooby Doo, Portal and The Simpsons.

Our rules have changed

Total War: Warhammer

Our rules have changed, and with change comes war on a scale as yet unimagined.

Gigantic monsters, flying creatures, legendary heroes and storms of magical power take their place on the battlefield, alongside thousands of warriors clashing in real-time tactical battles. All at YOUR command.

In the turn-based campaign game of statecraft & empire building, you will find the Old World an unforgiving and treacherous place, filled with endless war and cunning alliances alike. Whichever race you choose to play as and however you seek conquest, you will be faced with a conflict that threatens to tear the very fabric of reality asunder.

Oh it’s a computer game…

Cold Flames of War

As well as the Brown Water Navy announcement in Battlefront’s Flames of War State of the Union, they announced a new period based on the Cold War.

October sees us diving into a brand new period as we release Fulda Gap. The period of the modern war when tensions between NATO and the Warsaw Pact were running high is a wonderful theatre to develop as the forces arrayed on both sides boast some of the coolest-looking equipment in history. And with the advances in technology, we are looking forward to seeing forces of M1-Abrams covered by A10-Thunderbolts pitting their might against the swathes of T-72s and BMP-mounted infantry. We plan for this to be a complete period with books covering nations and plastic sets for all the main vehicles of every nation. October is just the start and 2016 will have more books and additional miniatures.

Though there is very little information in the announcement, there is a mention of T72s and BMP-1s for the Warsaw Pact forces. So what of the NATO side? It appears that the US Army will be done first, with M1-Abrams and A-10 Thunderbolts, but I am looking forward to seeing the models for the BAOR.

It would make for a good game to have Chieftains, FV432s and Harriers in action against T80s and the odd Hind D Attack Helicopter.

As the announcement mentions the M1-Abrams, which entered service in 1980, we can assume that the period for the games will be the 1980s, the height of the Cold War. If Battlefront do decide to go with some BAOR British forces, we may also see the Challenger I which entered service in 1983.

As well as fighting across Europe, another possibility will be to recreate the original Red Dawn film and have Soviet forces fighting on US soil.

I might also look at doing some alternative history British Civil War games set in the same time period, this setting was described in an article I had published in Wargames Illustrated in the 1990s.

I also wonder what other nations we will see in 2016, the French possibly?