Marshall Mathers LP 2

It's an ambitious move to name your new album as the sequel to one of the best albums of all time. Thirteen years later can Eminem recapture the success of potentially his most influential album? I suppose it's all a matter of expectations. Personally I don't think it lives up to it's namesake. Don't get me wrong I think it's a good album, but for me it sounds much more like his newer music than the original Marshal Mathers LP. It lacks that raw aggressive feel that made the original so good. I know the name will lead to better sales but I think the album would be better with a clean slate rather than the expectations placed on it by this name.

But let's talk a bit about the tracks on the new album. There's no denying that Rap God is a great track. It's easily my favorite of the bunch. The other single Berzerk is a bit so-so for me. It's fine but I don't really love it's Beastie Boys inspired sound. The album starts with Rhyme or Reason and it's sample heavy backing track, which I didn't really care for. The last single is Survival which I think has some great verses but I find the chorus grating. Evil Twin is the closest that he gets to the tone of the original and I think after Rap God it is the best song on the album. I don't have the time or desire to go into each track individually, in general they are all decent but none are really revolutionary. Maybe some will grow on me with more time but I doubt it.

On a side note I feel that his best album of late was his collaboration album Bad meets Evil – Hell: The Sequel. Which featured far better beats and felt like Eminem was forced to up is game to compete track for track with Royce 5'9” (the other member of the group). It had a fun back an forth that was missing here. Sure this is a solo effort but to me the sound was very different and I preferred the faster, less sing songy, more rap heavy album from Bad Meets Evil.

Overall it's a mixed bag for me. I think lyrically it's one of his best albums but I found the production to be less appealing than previous efforts. It's a solid 7 but when compared to the 10 it shares it's name with I ultimately found it to be less than I was hoping for.

Best Intro Board Games

One of the toughest things about board gaming is finding someone to play with. For many the hobby can seem too nerdy or daunting. Well fear not friends because I have a list of games that anyone can learn and that will suck your friends and loved ones right into your new favorite hobby. In no particular order here we go. My list of the best intro games.

1. Ticket to Ride – Far and away the most popular intro game. It's good for experienced and new players alike. I often hear people refer to it as “the train game”. In my opinion there is no better starter game than Ticket to Ride. Easy to learn but fun many, many games later. It's also on Steam and iOS for those that prefer the digital versions.

2. Carcassonne – Another simple game, Carcassonne is a unique tile placement game. My only reservation in recommending this one is the Farm scoring that happens at the end of the game which can be a bit confusing for new players but if you have one experienced player then this shouldn’t be a problem. It's also available on the iOS and Xbox 360 (and probably other places) where the scoring is done automatically, which is nice.

3. Settlers of Catan – If Ticket to ride is the best intro game out there then Settlers is the best intro to Euro games. It introduces trading and area control in a simple and easy to understand way that even your parents can enjoy. It's light, it's fun and it's got some excellent strategy. More hardcore gamers may find it too random but don't listen to them, just enjoy it because it's fun. Like many of the best games it is also available via iOS and Xbox 360 (among others).

4. Munchkin – Munchkin is a divisive game. It's one of the best selling games of all time and it has about a billion expansions and re-themes to back that up. However it is often reviled by more experienced gamers for it's randomness and Take That mechanics. However I think Munchkin is one of the best intro games if you think you might like something with a fantasy theme. It's simple, it's funny and it's cheap. Will you love it always? Maybe not but you'll get a lot of time out of it before you tire of it and playing with a group of friends that aren't into super complicated games can be a lot of fun.
   
   
   
   
   
   Thanks for reading. I hope some of these games can help you and your friends find something fun to play and maybe even start a new hobby.

Coming to Terms

Board gaming can be a daunting hobby. There are so many choices that one can easily become overwhelmed. Not only are there a ton of different types of games but there's also a lot of different terminology to learn. Lucky for you I'm here to help.

Let's take a look at two of the big ones. Euro Games Vs Ameritrash:

Euro Games – Games made in Europe, predominately Germany. Generally these games skew more towards strategy and away from luck based mechanics. They often use wooden pieces or cubes as markers for a clean, no frills sort of look. In the “hardcore” gaming world these seem to be considered the more refined games. Simple and Elegant.

(examples: Settlers of Catan, Agricola, Power Grid)

Ameritrash – Games made mostly in the USA and Canada. Ameritrash games are generally bigger and more theme oriented. They tend to feature plastic miniatures, dice and big highly stylized boards. Some will say that they are style over substance because of their emphasis on theme rather than mechanics but don’t be fooled Ameritrash games are just as fun as their European brethren.

(examples: Twilight Imperium, Arkham Horror, Hero Quest)

There are tons of other types of games like Abstract Strategy, Co-op and even Wargames but Euro and Ameritash are the two biggest categories for board gamers that basically split the hobby in half. Which one is for you? That depends on what you like. Personally I like both types of games but I tend to lean toward the American side of things. I love theme in games and little plastic bits are great. That said I'm pretty much always up for the auction based Euro game Power Grid if someone suggests it. Finding what works best for you will likely be a bit of trial and error. Some may find Euro games too dry, while others will find American games too lucky and not strategic enough. So the best thing to do is get out there, find some friends and play some games. Your favorites will quickly rise to the surface.

Next time I think I'll talk about my favorite intro games to get you into the hobby. Thanks for reading!

The Blog is Back Baby!

I've been thinking lately that I might like to write a few things that are longer or more involved than my Facebook for Video Game Take-Out really allows, so instead I've decided to go back to my old trusty blog. Will anyone read it? Probably not but it's fun for me so just deal with it sucka!

Recently I haven't had much time for video games (or my various shows that go with them) but I have found a new love of board games. Well to be honest I've been dabbling in them for a few years but very casually. I played simple games like Munchkin, Catan or Ticket to Ride and felt fancy compared to the Monopoly or Operation players of the world but honestly those games are not very much more complex than their Wal-Mart sold brothers. They are however quite a bit more fun and so I decided to go further down that rabbit hole and see what all the fuss about “designer” board games was about.

Now don't get me wrong, I love me some Ticket to Ride and the like but I wanted to see what else was out there. If you feel similarly then your first stop (and probably frequent haunt from there on) should be http://boardgamegeek.com/. It's interface is pretty tough to decipher for new users but inside is a vast database of almost every game ever made. Pictures, Reviews, Ratings, Videos “The Geek” as it's known, is the spot to learn more about the hobby of board gaming.

So how do you figure out which games are for you? That's a complicated question. One that I would like to answer in future posts on this blog. Stay tuned.

A little update

When searching for my show I found that this is still the first link that comes up on Google (probably because Google own Blogger). Unfortunately every link on this page has been broken for over a year. So I've gone a ahead and fixed the links on the side bar to reflect the change in server over at RetrowareTV as well as adding the recently created Facebook page for the show which will sort of take the place of this old blog of mine. If you find this page in the future please follow those links to find out what I'm up to now. Thanks for keeping track of me for all these years. :) -Ben