FTL: Faster Than Light Review

FTL: Faster Than Light is a space simulator where you and your crew are piloting a ship trying to run from a Rebel fleet bent on stopping you from delivering key data to the Federation. FTL was developed by Subset Games (Matthew Davis and Justin Ma) and partially funded through a Kickstarter campaign. The game is available (Mac, PC, Linux) via the FTL website or through Steam.

I first heard about FTL from listing to the Major Nelson podcast where E mentioned that he was playing the game. From there I searched for the game and found the FTL website. There wasn’t much detail there, so I happened to come across this YouTube video of a play-through that gave a really good overview of the game:

FTL has minimalistic top-down graphics and real-time combat. You control all aspects of your ship from how much power you put into various ship systems to where you station your crew (they add bonuses as they become more proficient at a job – faster weapon power up, etc.) and how you upgrade your ship. The items you most have to manage are fuel, missiles, drone parts and scrap - the currency of the future. The controls are point and click and easy to learn and you can pause when necessary – which it is if your ship has been boarded, has a hull breach and is on fire – to help you think about where to move crew or what part of an enemy ship to target.

The basic elements of the game have you jumping (using FTL drives) to various spots in a given star sector. At each stop you may run into hostile ships, potential quests, black market stores or other challenges or dangers. At each you will have a series of choices to make that may help or hurt your overall goal to escape the Rebel fleet and reach the Federation. With each jump you make in a sector, it will (hopefully) take you closer to the exit point (where you can jump to the next sector) and away from the Rebel fleet (shown on the jump screen as a growing danger area you want to avoid – read you fight enemy ships every jump).

FTL doesn’t waste much energy on the graphics, but the sound is great and the game play is really engaging. It is similar to rogue-like games (Rogue, NetHack, etc.) in that death of your ship and crew is permanent. I found that it made me think fondly of NetTrek and similar minimal graphics starship games of the past. There are also Stats and Achievements to help you track how well you have done on each game. There are also multiple ship designs that can be unlocked by various achievements. I have played six games so far and unlocked one new ship design and haven’t come close to winning the game on normal, succumbing to a different death each time.

FTL is hard, fun and re-playable and at $10, you should go out and get it. If you wonder if FTL is right for you, watch the video above for a little while to get a feel for how it works and how quickly things can go from great to running at the edge of your seat. FTL gets 4 Mick Happies. Safe travels in the darkness of space.

Revolution Pilot Review

Revolution is a new drama series on NBC created by Eric Kripke (known for creating the television show Supernatural). The show is set fifteen years after an event where all electricity (including batteries) stopped working and hasn’t come back on. No cars, planes, lights, etc. As you might expect, the world has broken down and most of the population has died off in the fifteen years since the event.

Revolution, at least in the first episode directed by Jon Favreau, focuses on the Matheson family as “Charlie” Matheson (played by Tracy Spiridakos) searches for help from her uncle Miles (played by Billy Burke). During the episode we get a glimpse at what the world of Revolution is like. Things look a lot like the History channel show, Life After People. There are a lot of gangs and people to avoid, even the authorities of the area Charlie and her companions are travelling through, the Monroe Republic.

Being a big fan of the Emberverse (or Change) novels by S.M. Stirling (the first is Dies the Fire), I was really looking forward to watching the pilot of Revolution. I was able to catch it for free before airing on NBC.com (and later able to download it off iTunes for free). I am happy to say that I enjoyed the pilot. There were the nods to all of the usual post-apocalyptic clichés such as giving all of your cash for some toilet paper. Speaking of which, the Target toilet paper ad during the airing of the show online was inspired and very funny.

I was also pleasantly surprised that Revolution is something different than the Emberverse novels. Guns work along with some other things I won’t mention. It all leaves you wondering if the event may not be permanent for the world of Revolution. I hope that the answers won’t be long in coming and other questions will be posed to replace those that are answers.

I am looking forward to the second episode and learning more about the Matheson family. I will have to see if I can watch them online or if I will need to buy them off iTunes. Either way, I will be watching. Revolution (pilot) gets four Mick Happies. Now I am off to plan my apocalypse stash of ammunition, water and toilet paper. (It’s something my family and I discuss fairly regularly while going through the grocery store or Target).

In Her Name Review

Sometimes I come across things to try in strange ways. My wife has a number of independent authors who she has followed on twitter and suggested I check them out. One of them is Michael R. Hicks and he has published several books in a Science Fiction series called In Her Name. The books are broken into three trilogies, one still being written, and the first books in the released trilogies are available for free as e-books.

Not one to pass up on free books, I downloaded In Her Name: First Contact and In Her Name: Empire through iBooks. I started reading the series with In Her Name: First Contact, which tells the story of what happens when mankind accidentally discovers a technologically superior and vastly older warlike alien race, the Kreelans. The Kreelans make it a habit of going to war with any alien race they discover.

In First Contact, we learn that the Kreelans are an ancient race that is connected spiritually by a connection they call the Bloodsong that shares their emotions and passions and the will of their Empress to all Kreelans. The Kreelan race is slowly dying out and they have a prophecy that someday an alien will be found whose blood can sing and this will be the Kreelan’s salvation. After contact with humans, the Kreelans go to war to test mankind to determine if their souls can sing.

The rest of the first trilogy (chronologically) of the In Her Name series is continued in the books Legend of the Sword and Dead Soul (or collected in a single volume called In Her Name: The Last War). After reading In Her Name: First Contact, I bought The Last War as an e-book through Amazon for less than $5 (it is not available on iBooks). The Last War is a good military Science Fiction story with man fighting to survive against aliens they don’t understand and against their own nature (politics, pettiness and greed).

I have also read In Her Name: Empire, the first book of the second trilogy. Empire is set about a hundred years later during the conflict between the Kreelans and the human Confederation. Empire is the story of Reza Gard, a young boy who loses his parents, is put in a labor camp for orphans and later is captured by the Kreelans and trained in the Kreelan culture. I felt that Empire (which was written before The Last War) was more Space Opera in nature and deals with the details of Reza and is life and what he learns as a Kreelan prisoner than the greater war between man and Kreelans.

I liked these books and will be buying the second trilogy collection, In Her Name: Redemption to see how the conflict between the Kreelans and man ends. It was refreshing in The Last War to have a story where not everyone lives through the massive conflict that the book describes. There are characters that do extraordinary things, but many of them do not cheat death repeatedly. I also liked the unique culture of the alien race and how it was described.

You should download the free e-books In Her Name: First Contact and In Her Name: Empire. If you like Science Fiction, you will enjoy them and want to get the rest of the story. Here are my ratings for the books in the series I have read so far:

In Her Name: First Contact – 4 Mick Happies.

In Her Name: The Last War – 3 and a half Mick Happies.

In Her Name: Empire – 3 Mick Happies.

After reading these books, let’s hope when we do finally travel among the stars that any alien races we encounter are peaceful.

Chuck Season 5 (DVD) Review

It was slightly bittersweet catching up on the final season of Chuck on DVD over the past few weeks. On one hand it was nice to finally see the episodes and see how the show would end and on the other it was like saying goodbye to a fun friend for the last time.

Chuck, created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak, is the story of a smart “nerd” (Chuck, played by Zachary Levi) who has a government database (the Intersect) downloaded into his head and over time becomes a spy. It is also the story of his family, friends, handlers and co-workers who all are part of his normal and spy life over the course of the five seasons of the show. Chuck never takes itself too seriously and while there are poignant moments, for the most part it is a fun comedy with action and unique characters thrown in.

Season 5 finds Chuck and his team no longer working for the CIA and trying to make it on their own as independent contract spies. The season also explores what it is like when Chuck doesn’t have the Intersect…will he be a spy without it? We also get to see Morgan (played by Joshua Gomez) take up the spy and deal with the Intersect.

Some of my favorite parts of Chuck often have to do with the other characters in the show, the people working at the Buy More – Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence), Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay), Chuck’s Sister (Sarah Lancaster) and her husband Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin). These characters often get involved in Chuck’s spy missions without even knowing what they are caught up in and help save the day (or make it more difficult). Probably the best thing that can be said is that the characters of Chuck are the type of people you would want to hang out with and Chuck makes an electronics store like the Buy More look like a fun place to work.

The only downside for me was that it was the last season and it was over too soon (but doesn’t feel rushed). The show definitely stayed fun the whole way. The final episode was great. Almost like a clip show, but not. On the DVDs, you get an extended cut of the final episode in the Extras, it doesn’t change the story, but adds some length to many of the scenes that just give you more time with the characters before they are gone. You may even get to see Jeffster one last time.

Chuck is a fun show and hopefully will find life with a follow up movie sometime in the future. I didn’t mention them above, but Yvonne Strahovski and Adam Baldwin are great as Sarah Walker and John Casey. If you haven’t seen Chuck, go get the DVDs (Netflix, buy, however you need to). If you have seen Chuck but not Season 5, what are you waiting for? Chuck gets four Mick Happies. Don’t forget to look through the extras on the DVDs – seeing the Buy More set broken down (was a little sad) and the cast discussing where they thought the characters would be in the future  (was interesting) and of course the bloopers (fun). Now, when can I call the Nerd Herd to do some work for me?

Jesus Henry Christ Review

Jesus Henry Christ is a quirky comedy written and directed by Dennis Lee. The movie tells the story of ten-year-old Henry James Herman, played by Jason Spevack, as he looks for and hopefully finds his biological father.

Henry is an incredibly intelligent young man with the ability to remember everything he has ever seen. He was conceived artificially and grew up only knowing his feminist mother, Patricia, (played by Toni Collette) and his grandfather. As Henry searches for his father, he meets the emotionally damaged professor O’hara (Michael Sheen) and his picked on but incredibly resilient daughter Audrey (Samantha Weinstein).

The movie is an odd collection of flashbacks to when Henry’s mother was 10 years old and present day for Henry. Everything in the movie connects and comes together very well (and satisfyingly) in a compact little story. There is teenage angst, family dysfunction and at times just plain fun. Jason Spevack does an amazing job in making you believe that he is a brilliant young boy. Samantha Weinstein is also terrific as the ridiculed Audrey.

The whole family liked this one though it may not be for everyone (due to some violence, discussion of sexual preference and religion). Based on how much we laughed and enjoyed Jesus Henry Christ, I give it 4 Mick Happies. It will leave you wanting to find out where you can sign up for Angerobics.

Death Rally Mobile Review

I had never heard of Death Rally for the iOS platform before Touch Arcade posted that it was going to be free for a limited time. Never one to pass up a free game if it looks even remotely interesting; I downloaded it for my iPod Touch (3^rd gen or newer only can play the game).

Death Rally is published by Remedy Entertainment and developed by Cornfox & Brothers and Mountain Sheep, Inc. The game is an action racer where you compete against 5 opponents in a race to the death. Your opponents can be computer run (single player career) or computer/humans in the multiplayer campaign. Depending on how you do in each race, you earn points that can be spent to upgrade your car, weapons or increase your overall fame.

The game starts with you driving a beetle-like little car with a gun attached. In each race, you compete to be first, to destroy your opponents or both. During the race, you can also shoot barrels that will explode or crates that will give you power-ups or cash (adds to your points at the end of the race) all the while watching your own health hoping you don’t get killed. There are a total of 8 cars and 6 main tracks to race along with multiple weapons to choose from. New cars and tracks are unlocked by picking up parts during races (not sure if the same mechanic is used in Multiplayer). This allows you to earn all of the cars and tracks in single player mode without having to make in app purchases (except the flamer weapon, which seems to be IAP only).

The controls for Death Rally consist of a virtual stick on the lower left part of the screen to control the car and a button on the lower right part of the screen to activate your weapon. I found that having no tactile feel of exactly where I was pushing the virtual stick to be a little difficult at times, but not overly so.

What I liked best about Death Rally is how accessible it is. Have 90 seconds to spare? That is more than enough time for a race. I also like that there are multiple ways to score points in each race – meaning that winning isn’t always necessary to make enough points to reach that next car/weapon upgrade (you score points for cash pickups, killing opponents, what place you come in and if you beat your lap or race time on the track). There are also multiple difficulties for each track and challenge races including a marathon race that will take 15 – 20 minutes or more to complete.

I highly recommend Death Rally even for the $0.99 it currently costs on iTunes. Unless you are impatient, you shouldn’t need to make any IAP in single player at all. You will also get a lot of replay value out of the various tracks and cars to choose from. Death Rally gets four and a half Mick Happies. Go get your rally on.

Quick Reviews – Recent Movies

I have been to the movies quite a bit since May and thought I would give some quick reviews of what I’ve seen. Here they are (most recent to oldest):

Katy Perry: Part of Me

My daughter and I just got back from seeing Katy Perry’s documentary/concert film depicting her California Dreams tour in 2011. The film is comprised of fan videos talking about what Katy Perry and her music mean to them, backstage footage, details of how Katy reached pop stardom and concert footage. The mixture works well to give you a sense of how great Katy is with her fans, how much she gives of herself and that behind the massive fame and popularity is a dedicated and hardworking professional.

The film is touching and sad at times as you see the toll her tour and relationship take on her, but in the end Katy doesn’t disappoint fans. It is hard to know exactly what it is like to live that kind of life, but Part of Me seems to give you a pretty open look into Katy Perry’s. I enjoyed the use of fan videos, which further helped to illustrate the link between the star and her fans. Definitely worth seeing even if you are only a casual fan of her music, which is well represented in the film (of course).  A four and a half Mick Happy film... see (hear) it soon.

Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection

Enjoying Eugene Levy, we went to see Witness Protection. This was the first of Tyler Perry’s Madea movies we have seen, so it was a new experience for us. The movie is about a CFO of a hedge fund who is going to be indicted for running a Ponzi scheme. He is placed in witness protection until he can help the FBI take down the mob; who had laundered money through the fund.

Witness Protection is a fish out of water comedy about a white family staying with Madea and her dad in Atlanta. There are some laughs and the cast seems to have fun with their parts. The movie felt a lot like Martin Lawrence’s Big Momma’s House. I can give this on 3 Mick Happies.

Men in Black 3

Men in Black 3 reunites Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as secret agents tasked with protecting earth from alien threats. This particular installment of the series centers on a villain named Boris who is out to kill K (Jones) in the past. J (Smith) goes back in time to stop Boris. In the past J teams up with a younger K played well by Josh Brolin.

Men in Black 3 is a romp through 1969 with twists and turns interplayed with historical events. If you like your science fiction a bit tongue in cheek, this is movie is for you. Men in Black 3 is a return to the fun of the first Men in Black movie and I give it 3 and a half Mick Happies.

The Avengers

Having seen all of the recent Marvel superhero movies (except the Hulk movies), I was looking forward to The Avengers and it didn’t disappoint. The story for The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, centers on a team of superheroes assembled to stop Loki from taking over the earth. The Avengers team consists of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk and Hawkeye who work for Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson).

The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble in the UK) does a great job of giving each character screen time and doesn’t feel rushed. The interactions between the independent heroes as they assemble to fight Loki are great. This is the best of the Marvel movies to date and a must see if you are a fan (though if you are a fan you have probably already seen it). The only thing keeping it from getting 5 Mick Happies is the over-the-top action in the some of the later battle scenes – they really weren’t necessary. In any case, a nearly perfect superhero movie, 4 and a half Mick Happies…the next one can’t get here soon enough.