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Fun Games You Aren't Playing - The Last Door

2/27/2015

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It’s the end of the dark, cold days of winter, so I decided to take advantage of the bleakness and settle into a spooky game. I’m a huge fan of a good scary story, whether or not jump-scares jolt you out of your seat. The Last Door has a few shocking moments, but I wasn’t distracted by the threat of a sudden “Boo!” throughout the game. Think of old friends telling ghost stories in the graveyard, flashlights and all.
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You play as a Victorian gentleman investigating a mysterious letter sent by an old friend. There’s a pretty big hook at the beginning, which I won’t spoil for you, but clearly there’s something very terrible going on in this Lovecraftian (Edgar Allan Poeian?) setting. Sometimes it was obvious when I was about to stumble on something nightmareish; clearly, that door was boarded up for a very good reason! Other times, I was taken by surprise; suddenly, a dead, bleeding crow was the most unsettling inventory item I’ve ever acquired in a game.
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You might roll your eyes at the indie pixel revival look of The Last Door (I totally did, at first) but the simple graphics work great for letting your imagination fill in the horrific blanks, as if you’re listening to a storyteller and imagining all the details. The real standout in this game is the sound, with every creak, thump, and rattle you want to hear in such a tale. There’s even a puzzle to solve where you follow the spooky sounds!
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The game mechanics even enhance the eeriness; when you’re in a dark area, your character slooooowwwly walks, unable to see anything except for what’s right in front of him. It might be an old-school style game, but fortunately the controls are the more modern, simplified type- click to look, click again to interact. However, they’ve retained the Adventure Game Logic™ puzzles of yesteryear in a few instances. Why yes, use CAT with LAMP. That makes total sense. (Not an actual solution, but you get the idea.) I got stuck quite a few times, but I have no shame about checking a hint guide every once in a while.
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Point-and-click adventure games are all about the story, though. The Last Door totally surprised me in its ability to get really, really spooky. It’s a pay-what-you-want game, so feel free to try it free at first. It’s an episodic series that’s in the middle of season two, so if you’re into adventure horror games, you’re in luck!
Continuing to hide behind the couch,
The Dungeon Dame

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Rainbow Reading - Labyrinth of Stone

2/23/2015

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Rainbow Reading is our weekly series focusing on book reviews with a geeky/sci-fi/ fantasty/supernatural flair with LGBTQ characters.

This Week:
Labyrinth of Stone by TA Moore

Labyrinth of Stone is set in a dystopian future where thousands of people had been transported from Earth to an alien world, seemingly at random, during the 'Black Rapture,' 10 years previous.  
The characters in this book are harsh, danger is real and the consequences of trusting the wrong person are deadly.
The main characters are General Kearney, Captain Teller and Ben Colt.  Kearney, Teller and Colt all live in something called the Reach - which is an alien structure that provides some means of protection from outside threats (of which there are plenty.)  

Those inside the Reach are soldiers and their families.  The ones outside face the possibility of turning into a mutated creature because the food they eat or liquid they drink is infected with what sounds like parasites that very slowly feed off the human from the inside out.  Survival is all that matters in this world, and the people here will do whatever needs to be done to protect themselves or their families.
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Very quickly into the book, the reader learns that General Kearney and Colt are lovers that hold many secrets about the Reach and how it operates.  Colt has left the Reach with no word and has not been back.  After Colt left with no explanation, Kearney is hesitant to trust anyone.  And those he does trust (because some part reminds him of Colt) are choices that lead to betrayal and in some cases assassination attempts.  The reader gets a good sense of Colt and how important he is not only to the safety of the Reach but to the sanity of Kearney - eventhough the character never actually shows up.  

We are offered some theories as to why Colt might have left, but no real proof one way or another.  This is a dangling thread that makes me hope there is another book coming.  
Kearney has a breakdown and assigns  Teller to find Colt or else replace Colt as his second-in-command - and lover.  This causes Teller to pause and consider the threat, because Teller is straight.  It also means going outside of the Reach for an extended period of time with his team.  Teller finds himself oddly attracted to Kearney, and questioning his sexuality and relationship with both Colt and Kearney. 
Some of my pet peeves about the book - I wish there was more up front world building.  I actually wondered if I had started book 2 into a series, but discovered I had not.  Some of the more interesting bits about the world and the dangers in it show up right in the middle of the action.  I would have to go back a few pages to see what I had missed.  However, the world is fascinating, as well as how the people were transported there.  

It gave me a lot of room to question what brought them there - and for what reason:
- is it all part of some experiment? 
- did something happen to earth and these are the survivors? 
- is it a random event that displaced thousands of people and has no real meaning?
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The characters in this book are harsh, danger is real and the consequences of trusting the wrong person are deadly.  There better be another book planned because I have to know what caused Colt to leave, and how Kearney and Teller’s relationship continues to proceed.

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Celebrity Encounters - Matthew Lewis

2/19/2015

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by Maria Ingmire
Depending on the celebrity, a face-to-face encounter can either be a real shock or a nice surprise. There have been times when I’ve discovered that a “star” is both literally and figuratively uglier in person. 
For example, there was an unpleasant, though distant, encounter with actor Christopher Lloyd, whom I thought was some homeless dude bumming a smoke next to the Hyatt. As I was walking past I caught a glimpse of him and made the mistake of glancing in his direction just a little too long; honestly, I was crossing the street with my child and had to look around beforehand, and something about the disheveled gentleman seemed really familiar. The man actually scowled at my daughter who happened to make eye contact. 
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By the way, she had no idea who Christopher Lloyd was. Can’t imagine how she’s going to feel when she gets around to watching Back to the Future. So maybe he was just having a bad day. Stars are just like us, right? 


On the other hand, sometimes an actor can barely be recognized because his looks have been downplayed for film roles. Matthew Lewis is a perfect example.
That Time I Discovered that Neville Longbottom is Pretty Cute
My daughter is growing up in the Harry Potter generation, and I’m so happy that she has read and enjoyed the series. The movies are like old friends to her, and she still watches them whenever they rerun on cable. Any Harry Potter guest who has ever come to Dragon Con is a must-see guest, so we always go to those panels and get those autographs. Once upon a time at Dragon Con, lining up to get an autograph often meant that the celebrity didn’t mind taking a quick photo with us. (Unfortunately, this is no longer the case, so don’t even ask at conventions these days!) 
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Matthew was really sweet to fans, especially the young ones who approached his table, and he is one of the few guests my daughter Katie Beth has revisited more than once during a convention. We probably went back to his table three times that weekend whenever we saw that his line was short or empty, and he always smiled and greeted us like regular folks. When I mentioned that I’d never have recognized him on the street, Matthew confessed that they were putting a fat suit on him and padding out his cheeks for the part of Neville. Let’s just say he grew up.

The funniest exchange we had with him was about his then-upcoming battle with the giant snake in Deathly Hallows. Ray Park (Darth Maul from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace) was also at that convention at the time, and I suggested to Matthew that he should go to Ray and ask for some fighting pointers. 

Matthew chuckled at that and said, “Right then, I’ll just go get that sorted out with him!” 

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When the film opened in theaters, I was sorely disappointed when Neville didn’t use a double-bladed sword, nor did he do any fancy spins or jumps during his climactic battle scene, but then then director probably had his own vision for the film. 
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Fun Games You Aren't Playing - NES Remix

2/13/2015

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If you got a WiiU this Christmas, or during the shopping season’s big sales, you've probably already driven around the courses of Mario Kart 8 and smashed enough Bros. to get your fill. 

Now what? 
Clearly the answer is “play Captain Toad” but if you’ve already finished THAT, a fast-paced challenge awaits you with NES Remix and its sequel, NES Remix 2.
It’s crunch time here at the Dungeon Dame’s non-dungeoney day job, so I rarely have time enough to cook dinner and pass out, let alone play a fully-fleshed-out game experience. 

However, I always have time to turn my gamepad on and complete a frantic thirty second or one minute level in NES Remix, where speed matters quite a bit. 
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NES Remix takes old favorite games, like Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., and Legend of Zelda, and gives you mini-tasks to complete for your best time. 

Think of it as a speed-run-o-matic, with goals as simple as “jump on the goomba” to nerve-wrackingly difficult gauntlets.
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 There are also “remixed” levels, changing up the original to keep you on your toes (ever played Mario in the dark?). It definitely brings you back to the days where video games couldn't entertain you with thrilling narratives or delicious eye candy; all they could do was give you a challenge to complete (and, in the case of arcade games, eat your quarters).
Despite being intensely skill-based, my moments of frustration in this game were few; the challenges are usually quick enough that you don’t mind trying again and again to beat them. There aren’t a lot of super-lengthy trials where you get juuuuuust to the very end before falling and having to start all over (I’m looking at you, All the Marios). If you fall in this game, its usually within ten seconds. 

Plus, how else am I going to use all my Balloon Fight skills I cultivated in childhood? 
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Heads up: if you haven’t registered for Club Nintendo yet, take all those codes from your Nintendo game cases and type ‘em up before 3/31. 

You might be able to get NES Remix for free! 

Plus, if you end up with a few extra points, you’ll also be able to snag any new favorite NES classics up for grabs.

Buy somethin’ will ya!
-The Dungeon Dame

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New Tuesdays - 2/3/2015

2/3/2015

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DVDs & Blu Ray
John Wick
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
The Best of Me
Ouija
Hector and the Search for Happiness
Exists

Books
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances
   by Neil Gaiman
The Raven (Florentine series)
   by Sylvain Reynard
Edged Blade (Colbana Files Series)
   by J.C. Daniels
Overcome (Breeds)
   by Lora Leigh
Get in Trouble: Stories
   by Kelly Link
Funny Girl: A Novel
  by Nick Hornby
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Video Games
Apotheon (PS4, PC)
Game of Thrones: Episode Two - The Lost Lords (PS4, PS3)
RISK (PS4)
King Oddball (PS3)
World Hunter (PS3)
SpongeBob HeroPants (XBox 360, PS Vita, 3DS)
Rise of Incarnates (PC)
Darkest Dungeon (PC)
Pizzarian (PC)
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