Getting Back into Gaming

A few months ago, I had moved into a new apartment. It was far enough from my old place that I needed to start going to a closer Games Workshop. A few days ago, I finally had the opportunity to go in and introduce myself.

I brought in my Titan and all the Ultramarines that I had finished. I also brought in the Devastator squad that I was still working on. I've never transported an unfinished squad before, so I was a little worried. Thankfully, they were okay. No paint rubbed off at all.

After showing up and introducing myself, I was able to play a 1,000 point game with someone I had met there. He was pretty new to the game and I hadn't played in a long time, so we left our rule books open and figured stuff out together.

My opponent: Chaos Space Marines

The 2nd Company takes aim at the Chaos downrange

Marking the bases helps since they have no arms yet

I ended up winning in the end, but the match taught me a few things about how to use my army. I learned that I'm not set up well for close combat. He brought two squads of jump infantry and I was luckily able to blow them off the table before they got to my gun line.

All in all, it was a good trip. I'm still going to focus on painting, but I think I'll start making time every once in a while to head down there and get a game in more often.

Third Tactical Squad Complete

Since coming back from my field time with the Army, I've put a lot of work back into my Ultramarines.I now present to you my third and final tactical squad. Check out the Ultramarines page to see the new squad!

It feels good to have this squad done. Having a third tactical squad to work with gives me a lot more flexibility on the battlefield. Also, painting three tactical squads in a row has become quite tedious. I was painting marines with bolters after marines with bolters after marines with bolters and it was becoming a bit difficult to find the motivation to continue. Now that the mainstay of my army is complete, I can start focusing on things that are different and, in my opinion, more fun to paint.

Right now, I'm working on a devastator squad comprised of a sergeant, three missile launchers, and a lascannon. Once those are done, I'll be at 1,000 points and I can really start playing more.

I'm making sure to take pictures of my devastators through every step of the painting process. After the squad is complete, I'm hoping to post up several tutorials to help everyone see how I get the results I do. First and foremost is a nice armor tutorial. I'm also hoping to get several other tutorials out of this squad; weapons, lenses and bases being among those covered.

So stay tuned! There's good stuff coming!

Review: Kill Team

I was poking around the XBox Live Marketplace when I found Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team. I knew it existed, but I was holding out for Space Marine. After seeing this in the Marketplace for just $4.99, I couldn't pass it up.

Before I begin, let me say that you get what you pay for and Kill Team is no different. Having paid just $4.99, it's not a very long game and the graphics aren't the best in the world. It's pretty simple gameplay, too. Move around with the left thumbstick and shoot with the other one. One button throws grenades, another one is your "action" button, and a third one uses your special moves. That's it. As simple as it is, however, it's very fun and well thought out.

The premise of the game is that an Ork Kill Kroozer is heading for some unnamed forge world, when out of nowhere, a Cestus Assault Ram goes careening into the side of it and you pop out to kill a whole slew of Orks and systematically disable the vessel. Along the way, you'll see some pretty cool stuff. You'll fight a couple of minelayer vessels plucked right out of the pages of White Dwarf. You'll kill a weird boy, fight Tyranids, and even take down a Stompa. That last part is really hard, by the way.

In the game, you have the ability to play as a Sternguard, a Vanguard, a Techmarine, or a Librarian. Each one has his own weapon and his own special move. One thing I really like about the game is how they did the special moves. Take a look at this:

See that little ring around each player? That's your meter for your special move. When it builds all the way up, hit your special move button and your character will do something cool resulting in a bunch more dead Orks than usual. The thing I like about this feature is that the ring reminds me of a model on a base. That, in conjunction with all the things that are plucked right off of the tabletop (you'll see when you fight the minelayers or the Stompa). It helps bring the tabletop game back into the videogame. Not many 40k videogames do that.

For the $4.99 I paid for this game, I really loved it. It's a really fun way to unwind from a long day at work after my eyes have gotten tired and told me they don't want to stare through the magnifying glass anymore. All in all, it's a great game and I'm really glad I bought it. I suggest you get it too. I think that any 40k gamer would like it. It's simple, yet fun.

As far as the regular hobby goes, I'm almost done. I have two models sealed and the rest of the tactical squad waiting to have their backpacks finished. I know my timeline keeps getting longer, but I'm really hoping that by the end of the next work week, my squad is complete and I can focus on my Devastators from there.