Category: Featured Posts

10/30/17

What’s Gus Playing? Episode 5

GrogHeads’ Garden Gnome of Goodness goes granite ~

Lloyd Sabin, 30 October 2017

Yes I covered Witcher 3 Hearts of Stone just a couple of weeks ago but I am so, so, so in love with the game that I am still playing it. Plus, it’s very close to Halloween and this particular part of the Hearts of Stone DLC – taking place in the von Everec manor house – is extremely well done. It is plain old frightening in some spots and I have to say, unexpectedly well done…even for Witcher 3, which is consistently fantastic.

Plus there’s evil, fairly attractive demons, wraiths and ghosts that will make you question your sexuality

The player is sent to the von Everec manor pretty close to what appears to be the end of the main story line of Hearts of Stone, and you get to fill in some major backstory on Olgierd von Everec: how he became character you’re ‘not so sure about,’ where he came from and how his head and scalp got so badly damaged. Plus there’s evil, fairly attractive demons, wraiths and ghosts that will make you question your sexuality. See below for more!

Oh and how could I forget – if you choose the correct path through Hearts of Stone, you can get some, as is tradition in all Witcher games. In this particular case it is with an old love interest named Shani. You attend a wedding with her and it is up to you to decide how you want the evening to end, as long as you are a gentleman about it. Continue reading →

10/28/17

Modern-Day Napoleonic Battles & Travels, Part the Fourth

Wherein our intrepid traveler deigns to report his on-the-ground experiences ~

Jim Owczarski, 28 October 2017

I suppose it is prudent to begin in the middle, at least as far as my trip is concerned, with my one-day drive to Schleiz and Saalfeld.

When I began traveling to Europe a lot of years ago my photographic weapon of choice was an old warhorse of a Konica 35mm SLR.  Built to last and weighing nearly enough to deny it modern carry-on status, its film had to be changed dexterously and in the dark.  I can recall having to do it more than once with my hands inside an empty duffle bag.   One never knew if a particular photograph had turned out until developed weeks later — remember Fotomat? — and, more than anything else, the cost of film and developing set a hard limit on the number of pictures one was prepared to take.

Things are different now.  I’ve spent the weeks since returning from my journey to Germany going over the thousands – yes thousands – of photographs I took of Jena-Auerstedt and other battlefields on my iPhone trying to figure out which ones tell this story best; or, honestly, even how to begin telling it.

Continue reading →

10/27/17

Dragon’ Up The Past – Week 1, Boodles!

A new feature that takes a deep dive into the history of the hobby ~

Brant & Jim, 27 October 2017

Take a spin through the archives of the hobby gaming world, as Brant and Jim peruse the back catalog of Dragon Magazine

Don’t worry, there’s plenty more where this one came from – there’s 200 issues still to go!

Chat about it below, or in our forums, or hit our FaceBook page >>

10/23/17

What’s Gus Playing? Episode 4

Our wee warmonger wages (total) war ~

Lloyd Sabin, 23 October 2017

Total War
Yes, Total War. Deal with it!

Some games just capture our imagination and never let go. For me, games like the Thief series, The Witcher series, the Age of Wonders series and Skyrim are all permanently installed on my hard drive. And then there are the games with extra special mojo that I hope to play until my dying day…like the Total War series.

I know, I know…the AI sucks! It presents no challenge after 20 turns!! Total War punched my grandma!!! You know what? I don’t care. It has always been my go-to series of games and I have loved every single one of them since the release of the original Shogun…well, with the exception of the Warhammer: Total War games. I own the first one and still have not started a campaign. I will be playing very soon but I think my delay with Warhammer: Total War is my lack of knowledge about the Warhammer universe. But that’s a tale for another What’s Gus Playing. Continue reading →

10/21/17

The Airborne & Special Operations Museum

Downtown Fayetteville showcases the history of these twin elements of the US Army ~

Mike Orwick, 21 October 2017

click images to enlarge, and read the plaques

Last week I was in Fayetteville, NC.  Fayetteville is the home of Ft Bragg, where the Army’s 82nd Airborne division and the Army’s Special Operations command are home based.  Located in downtown Fayetteville is the Army’s Airborne and Special Operations Museum.  This museum tells the story of the evolution and history of these two arms of the Army.  On the last day there, a co-worker and myself had an opportunity to visit the museum.

Before going to the museum, we walked to the opposite side of the parking lot, and visited the North Carolina Veterans Memorial.  There are pillars there with each of the county names on them, with molds of hands.  The hands represent the raised hand while taking the oath when joining the military.  The two most interesting items at the memorial was a chandelier make of over 33,000 dog tags and a table setup for a member of each branch of the military for those that are POW or MIA.

Continue reading →