Condition: Everything is in excellent condition. (The green ship, as originally packaged, didn't hold together all that well, so we just use a substitute ship from Pirates CSG.) I'm throwing in some extra Pirates CSG ships with this game. All components are present and like new.
Language/Version: English. Rio Grande version in the picture. It's the later print with the big board.
Condition: The exhibit entrances have been folded into position (required for gameplay), but are in excellent shape. Everything else is like new. The game has been carefully and cleanly stored. All components are present and complete. 1 or 2 sheets from the score pad have been used. This game is in top-notch condition.
Language/Version: English / French. Rio Grande. Same version as pictured.
Condition: Everything is in excellent condition. The green ship, as originally packaged, didn't hold together all that well, so we just use a substitute ship from Pirates CSG. I'm throwing in some extra Pirates CSG ships with this game. All components are present and like new.
Language/Version: English. Rio Grande version in the picture. It's the later print with the big board.
Shipping: 48 contiguous United States only. Free shipping.
Condition: The exhibit entrances have been used, but are in excellent shape. Everything else is like new. The game has been carefully and cleanly stored. All components are present and complete. 1 or 2 sheets from the score pad have been used. This game is in top-notch condition.
Language/Version: English / French. Rio Grande.
Shipping: 48 contiguous United States only. Free shipping.
This game does so many things well. It's easy to learn, plays in a short time, and allows for interesting tactical and strategic decisions each turn, without ever really getting heavy. The deck-building is a unique mechanic, and it's just fun to keep drawing cards and using them as best you can to buy more stuff! I've been loving this one. It's good for any number of players (2-4).
Where to get it: Listen on the website or download MP3s.
Cost: Free
Background: Tex Murphy was a popular adventure game series for the PC, about an old-fashioned P.I. living far into the future, after World War III has ended. The final three installments in this series incorporated real actors, as was the trend in the adventure gaming world at the time. These three games, in order were: Under a Killing Moon, The Pandora Directive, and Overseer. This final installment ended with a huge cliffhanger. Fans were rabid for the next game . . . and then Microsoft bought Access Software (the creators of Tex Murphy), and dropped the Tex Murphy series, keeping the creators from continuing the story. Fans were signing petitions and doing everything they could to try to keep Tex alive, and the creators (Chris Jones and Aaron Connors) have kept in touch with the community, assuring them that they would still like to see Tex continue as well, but there hasn't been the opportunity as of yet.
So, to be kind to the fans, they produced this 6-episode series of audio dramas to continue the story from where Overseer ended. This audio drama series still leaves a load of loose strings untied, but it at least showed the fans what happened next and answered a few questions.
Story: After being drugged by the Australian guy's dart at the end of Overseer, Tex wakes up in an unfamiliar location and quickly notices that things are not good. Follow Tex as he puts in his best effort to seek answers and make good of the mess he's in.
My thoughts: I can't believe I forgot to list this! Tex Murphy was my favorite adventure game series back in high school and college. He was just such a likable character. My favorite thing about him was his witty and well-worded commentary on everything. Whenever you clicked on an item in the games, you heard his echoing thoughts about the item. His thoughts were always amusing or downright hilarious. I've never played such an enjoyable adventure series before or since the Tex games. I'm still hoping they'll continue the story someday, but these audio dramas was a tasty treat after the Overseer cliffhanger. The production here is excellent. The voices are those of the original actors (Chris Jones himself plays Tex, as always). Tex's commentary on things is just great. Even reading the transcripts of these episodes had me laughing out loud. The amazing thing is how funny these stories are, even though they're really dramatic mysteries about complicated circumstances into which Tex gets involved when he's hired to solve seemingly basic cases. While these might not make complete sense to listeners who aren't Tex fans, I can say that my coworker (with no experience playing the games) enjoyed them.
Plays included either my wife, me, or both of us. All face-to-face. I only track plays of games I own.
This year RftG took the lead quickly after we acquired it in August. My wife and I both liked it (for which I was thankful because she's not into San Juan). In fact, SHE kept requesting to play it. We both were glad to play the game repeatedly, and we like the expansion as well. Even though my wife has won the last dozen or so plays, I still enjoy RftG each time.
Games played 7 or more times in 2008
Race for the Galaxy: 32 R-Eco: 30 Pandemic: 26 Taluva: 18 Kupferkessel Co.: 14 Quicksand: 12 To Court the King: 12 Orchard: 11 Fairy Tale: 10 Gulo Gulo: 10 Treasures and Traps: 9 Coloretto: 7 Dominion: 7
Where to get it: Subscribe in iTunes or your own podcast program. Or listen or download from the website.
Cost: Free
Story: Macallan Orsel is a genetic scientist. Events in her life start rapidly turning in a new direction and she finds herself involved in something huge. War, danger, and secrets abound in this sci-fi drama.
My thoughts: I don't listen to this show anymore, but I'm posting for the sake of people who might like it. It's worth mentioning because the production quality of the show is excellent. In terms of website - this takes the cake. The website is just sweet-looking. They've clearly put a lot of work into this project.
When I first started listening to this story, I was very intrigued. I eagerly listened through the available episodes at the time. There was mystery to the story. Then, I listened to Chapters 8, 9, and 10, which flashed back into history to explain a few things. These chapters killed it for me. You'll either like the explanation they give, or you won't. I had hoped for something much different. As it's told, I don't like it at all. I really wish they had taken a different direction. But, for those of you who might like how it all pans out, it's worth listening. This is a very well-produced show with quality at every level. The only thing I don't like is how the story is explained, enough so that I bailed.
Where to get it: Subscribe in iTunes or your own podcast program. Or listen on the website.
Cost: Free
Story: From the website: "Agents of the secret counter-terrorist organization 'SERENDIPITY' will fight to undermine the deadly efforts of dictators, assassins, warlords and political extremists. But what makes this dramatic podcast truly unique is that its audience will be able to guide the storyline by giving ideas and feedback through a dedicated set of internet forums."
My thoughts: There are only a few episodes so far, but what I've heard has been good enough to keep me listening. Pretty cool story. I like that it takes place in space.
I tested downloading the MP3 from the Silent Universe website just to see, and it didn't work for me either. If you just click the download link, it goes to an error page instead of opening the MP3. Something is wrong.
Story: This is Focus on the Family's dramatization of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. Each book comes as two or three CDs in a sleeve booklet.
My thoughts: Focus on the Family does some of the best audio drama available. This stuff is great. The original music score is very well done, the recording quality is superb, the voice acting is excellent. This is as good as it could possibly at bringing the books to life in audio drama form. My kids have really enjoyed this one. If you like Narnia, you ought to pick this up. I'm amazed at how low the price is on Amazon now. I'm not sure when or why they released it in this new inexpensive package.
They are very well done...although I was somewhat disappointed with Aslan...just not what I had imagined when reading the book. Don't regret purchasing these though!
That said, I felt their best works were the Father Gilbert supernatural series. They absolutely gripped me as I was listening to them.
They are very well done...although I was somewhat disappointed with Aslan...just not what I had imagined when reading the book.
With this I agree. This was my first thought when listening. The voice of Aslan seems too much like a plain old man. I thought Liam Neeson's voice in the movie was much more fitting the character. The dude in the radio drama is a bit over the top sometimes. He just doesn't sound like a lion. Still, I got over it and enjoyed the stories!
garry_rice wrote:
I felt their best works were the Father Gilbert supernatural series.
Those looked really interesting to me. The only issue is that I don't like spending money on mysteries because I know I'll probably listen to them once, and then have to wait a long time before returning to them. For some reason, once a mystery is solved/spoiled, I lose interest in returning to it unless there are other memorable features that make is fun to listen again. For example, Black Jack Justice is fun to listen to again just because the voices and narration are so good.
I picked these up from Amazon because of the great reviews,and I must say that the quality of the audio production is outstanding. I've only listened to The Magician's Nephew so far but I am looking forward to all of them.
I should have done my homework on publisher/production team. I don't usually do this for purchases of literature and audiobooks, but I certainly will in the future. I would not have knowingly purchased a product from Focus on the Family, even at this extremely low price. I did not realize that these were a Focus on the Family production, and I would not choose to give money to such a conservative, religious group that supports corporal punishment for schoolchildren and conversion therapy for gays and lesbians. I think anyone who is planning to purchase these productions should be aware of the politics of the group that is getting the money, and make their decision to buy accordingly.
Story: This is the BBC's dramatization of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
My thoughts: I've listened to this a couple times through so far. At first, I was a bit unimpressed, and I think it's because the movies were so grand and so well produced. Over time, though, I found myself enjoying it more and more. By the end, I really appreciated what they had done with it. You get a bit more of the story than you do in the movies, but the battle scenes are short and almost non-existent. The music is only fair. If it were up to me, I'd rather have this script re-recorded by the actors from the movies with Howard Shore's score. If they did that, I'd buy it in a second. But, to give them the benefit of the doubt, this was produced in 1981, so I can excuse the low-budget sound and very weak sound effects. The actor who plays Bilbo in the movies is the voice of Frodo in the radio production! The rest of the voices are pretty good with the exception of Aragorn. At first I was really disliking the voice they got for Aragorn, who sounds like a large old man. But by the end, I could kinda picture him younger, and I liked him quite a bit more. I also prefer Andy Serkis' portrayal of Gollum over the voice from the radio drama. At the end of the day, the story is still sweet, the acting is still excellent (even if I prefer the movie actors), and this is some very good listening. I am glad to have this set in my collection and it's worth the buy.
Oh man, I agree about Sam. That dude is awesome. Some of the acting in this is just stellar. I think Gandalf is great, though Saruman is kind of lame. You're right that Gollum is good. I just think I like Serkis' style more. Still, the guy in the audio drama is great too. I also think Merry and Pippin sound great, although I wish they sounded a little more different from each other. Gimli and Legolas are good, but not great. Elrond - nothing special. Butterbur - awesome. Perhaps worst of all are the Nazgul voices. The movie did these better, IMO.
I just listened through this again over the last couple weeks. I continue to appreciate this series more each time. This time around, what stood out to me was the excellent quality of Faramir's voice quality and his acting. This dude nailed it perfectly as far as I'm concerned.
Having been through this whole thing about 3 times now, I've grown to handle and even appreciate Aragorn's voice. I'm glad because that one was hard to swallow the first time around.
I continue to find Gandalf's and Sam's voices and acting to be just right, and I've come to appreciate Gollum's acting very much. Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, and Treebeard are also very good, not to mention Eomer and Theoden.
As of now, I can't think of much I don't like except for the voices and screams of the nazgul. I don't think Saruman's voice is anything really special and the bird flying effects (and some other effects) are really bad, but overall, this has become my #1 pick for audio dramas. Oh yeah, and some of the singing is miserably (IMO) bad to listen to - especially the dissonant instrumentation and piercing alto singing which tells parts of the story during Return of the King.
I like this one so much, I'm moving it above Star Wars now, into my #1 position for professional audio dramas.
Story: This is the the original Star Wars trilogy (eps 4, 5, 6) as performed by the NPR Playhouse. With John Williams' original music and the voices of Mark Hammill and Anthony Daniels (the only actors from the movies who participated in the radio drama).
My thoughts: I've only heard A New Hope from this collection so far, but it's awesome. You get a much more detailed look into the story. It's very fun listening. The voice work is mostly great, perhaps with the exception of Leia, who sounds too young to me. I much prefer Carrie Fisher's vocal timbre. Still, Star Wars fans need to give this a listen.
When NPR first aired Star Wars as an audio drama back in about 1980, I listened to each episode faithfully, recorded it, and listened to it over and over. What really rocks about this is that the first two half-hour episodes detail stuff that happens before the movie actually begins.
The first episode is all about Luke's pathetic little life on Tatoonie, about Biggs heading off to the academy and Luke wanting to go, too . . . then Biggs coming back to inform Luke that he and a bunch of others are jumping ship at the next chance and joining the Rebellion, stuff like that. It really sets the stage for what's to come.
The second episode follow's Leia's life on Alderaan and how she gets involved with the Rebellion.
And only in the middle of the third episode do we get to the place where the movie opens. It really is an excellent radio serial, and I recommend to any fan of the movie (but keep in mind that it was done before much of the Star Wars universe was established by later films. Not that it breaks canon . . but it bends it a little.) It really fills out the story more. (The scene of Leia's interrogation by Darth Vader was shocking to me, having only seen the movie where you see none of it.)
The radio serial for The Empire Strikes Back was not as good. A few areas fleshed out better, but even more than the first part, it suffered from the fact that the Star Wars films are quite visual, and so you have sequences where characters painfully describe happenings in detail.
And the radio serial for Return of the Jedi is simply awful. RotJ is just too dependent on visuals. Again, you have these long sequences where the irritating C3PO describes everything that is happening in painful detail, with dialogue like "I see by the tentacles on your head that you are a Twilek! Oh, my! There is a trap door in the floor! Oh, that poor young woman just fell through the floor! Oh my! What is happening down below! I shall ease on over to the trap door and peer through! Oh my! What is that horrible monster! I cannot look!"
But the original Star Wars audio drama is ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT!
These are brilliant. Yeah, ESB and ROTJ are not nearly as long or fleshed-out as they could be, but where else are you going to hear John Lithgow as Yoda, and Ed Asner as Jabba the Hutt?
Also note that Billy Dee Williams does play Lando Calrissian in ESB. So there's one more from the original cast.
When NPR first aired Star Wars as an audio drama back in about 1980, I listened to each episode faithfully, recorded it, and listened to it over and over. What really rocks about this is that the first two half-hour episodes detail stuff that happens before the movie actually begins.
The first episode is all about Luke's pathetic little life on Tatoonie, about Biggs heading off to the academy and Luke wanting to go, too . . . then Biggs coming back to inform Luke that he and a bunch of others are jumping ship at the next chance and joining the Rebellion, stuff like that. It really sets the stage for what's to come.
The second episode follow's Leia's life on Alderaan and how she gets involved with the Rebellion.
And only in the middle of the third episode do we get to the place where the movie opens. It really is an excellent radio serial, and I recommend to any fan of the movie (but keep in mind that it was done before much of the Star Wars universe was established by later films. Not that it breaks canon . . but it bends it a little.) It really fills out the story more. (The scene of Leia's interrogation by Darth Vader was shocking to me, having only seen the movie where you see none of it.)
The radio serial for The Empire Strikes Back was not as good. A few areas fleshed out better, but even more than the first part, it suffered from the fact that the Star Wars films are quite visual, and so you have sequences where characters painfully describe happenings in detail.
And the radio serial for Return of the Jedi is simply awful. RotJ is just too dependent on visuals. Again, you have these long sequences where the irritating C3PO describes everything that is happening in painful detail, with dialogue like "I see by the tentacles on your head that you are a Twilek! Oh, my! There is a trap door in the floor! Oh, that poor young woman just fell through the floor! Oh my! What is happening down below! I shall ease on over to the trap door and peer through! Oh my! What is that horrible monster! I cannot look!"
But the original Star Wars audio drama is ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT!
A great review! I completely agree with everything that you've said.
When NPR first aired Star Wars as an audio drama back in about 1980, I listened to each episode faithfully, recorded it, and listened to it over and over. What really rocks about this is that the first two half-hour episodes detail stuff that happens before the movie actually begins.
The first episode is all about Luke's pathetic little life on Tatoonie, about Biggs heading off to the academy and Luke wanting to go, too . . . then Biggs coming back to inform Luke that he and a bunch of others are jumping ship at the next chance and joining the Rebellion, stuff like that. It really sets the stage for what's to come.
The second episode follow's Leia's life on Alderaan and how she gets involved with the Rebellion.
And only in the middle of the third episode do we get to the place where the movie opens. It really is an excellent radio serial, and I recommend to any fan of the movie (but keep in mind that it was done before much of the Star Wars universe was established by later films. Not that it breaks canon . . but it bends it a little.) It really fills out the story more. (The scene of Leia's interrogation by Darth Vader was shocking to me, having only seen the movie where you see none of it.)
The radio serial for The Empire Strikes Back was not as good. A few areas fleshed out better, but even more than the first part, it suffered from the fact that the Star Wars films are quite visual, and so you have sequences where characters painfully describe happenings in detail.
And the radio serial for Return of the Jedi is simply awful. RotJ is just too dependent on visuals. Again, you have these long sequences where the irritating C3PO describes everything that is happening in painful detail, with dialogue like "I see by the tentacles on your head that you are a Twilek! Oh, my! There is a trap door in the floor! Oh, that poor young woman just fell through the floor! Oh my! What is happening down below! I shall ease on over to the trap door and peer through! Oh my! What is that horrible monster! I cannot look!"
But the original Star Wars audio drama is ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT!
I agree...partly. While I also think the original Star Wars Radio Drama is the best, I disagree that the others are not good. All three are very good productions. I also like the the names of many of the Episodes very much, titles like: "A Wind to Shake the Stars","Force and Counter Force" and "Freedom´s Winter" have a classic, epic feel to them.
Where to get it: Subscribe in iTunes or your own podcast program.
Story: Jake Sampson is a monster hunter by profession. Follow his adventures as he makes some friends and solves some strange mysteries.
My thoughts: The production company that does Jake Sampson, BrokenSea, is one of the most prolific audio drama teams out there. Of all their shows I've tested, Jake Sampson is the only one I found worth subscribing to. The music they chose fits well, the acting is good, and the stories are fun. While Jake's voice isn't anything too special, there is a charm to it, making him very likable. This isn't the best of the best, but it's worth listening to for a fascinating adventure.
I may eventually pull this off the list. Recent episodes have been increasingly unappealing. I like the voice acting, but the story hasn't been all that good.
Recommended Audience: Teen/Adult, especially fantasy fans
Where to get it: Subscribe in iTunes or your own podcast program.
Story: Three acquaintances, all MSU students, experience an odd shift and are sent to another world. This world is a fantasy world, in a completely different time and place with magic and all. The story follows the characters in their strange adventure.
My thoughts: This is the only fantasy podcast I subscribe to. It is very well done, and best of all, the writing is good. The show improved quite a bit with time, IMO. Sometimes the dialogue is a bit too quick-paced at times for my taste. It reminds me of the unfortunate experience I had of seeing snippets of Gilmore Girls once or twice - trying to be witty, but not really doing it well. As the show went on, it got better though. Soon, I found myself interested in the characters and the new world they're living in, a world with it's own struggles. A bit into the second season, it got a little too political for me, and a little more dramatic and intense than I would have preferred, but overall, this is a good production. This is one of the few shows that has its own in-house composer, writing original music for each episode. Oh yeah. The music early on was very weak. Season two introduced the new (current) composer, and was greatly improved. Second Shift is your best hope for good fantasy audio drama.
Recommended Audience: Teen/Adult, especially Indy fans
Where to get it: Download MP3s from the website, or subscribe in iTunes or your own podcast program. I highly recommend downloading the high-quality single-file version via the BitTorrent link on the website.
Story: Indy is back as Pendant Productions brings us this new adventure! Indy and the rest of the team you've come to know and love race to discover the legendary Well of Life before the Nazis do.
My thoughts: I'm a big Indiana Jones fan, so this was a no-brainer for me. I am usually very disappointed with low quality of writing and production at Pendant, but Indy is a very pleasant exception to the rule. The voices they found for this show are EXCELLENT, particularly the voice of Henry Jones senior. My gosh. They borrowed John Williams' music from the original Indy movies for this production, which should help to ease you into this wonderfully done fan production. This was released before Crystal Skull, so in terms of continuity, the story picks up after Last Crusade. I have listened to this one a couple times through. It's really enjoyable. Download the high quality version, which they offer for free via a BitTorrent download, put on some headphones, close your eyes, and step into another great Indy adventure.
Well, like I said, I'm not a lawyer, but I know that (for example) Penny Arcade got a cease and desist for an off-color represntation of Strawberry Shortcake, and some local San Francisco folks got their staging of the Buffy musical episode shut down (though to be fair they were stealing an entire script and charging people to watch). Also, Cheapass games got cease and desisted for Before I Kill You, Mr. Bond (which is now sold as "The Totally Renamed Spy Game").
Perhaps the companies in question have decided that the fan stories add to their overall population, but as I understand it, trademark protection is a tricky thing, and once you let once person use your character you can lose control of it.
But like I said, I'm not a lawyer, so I hope that these people can go on creating things using these popular characters...
Spielberg had an interesting way of keeping the Star Wars franchise alive -- he released *toys*. This was before the internet and, with the internet, it looks like he's allowing his fanbases to continue keeping his franchises popular.
Recommended Audience: Young adult/adult geeks. I would not let my kids hear this show.
Where to get it: Listen on the website, download the MP3, or subscribe via iTunes.
Story: A couple of friends who run a comic shop, and their friends, end up involved in a life they couldn't have imagined. The show follows their day to day trials and interactions.
My thoughts: This is well-written, and most of the voice work is great. The show will be especially appealing to comic, TV, and sci-fi geeks. There are frequent pop-culture references. While I personally find the characters to be highly lacking in moral character, I appreciate the geeky references and witty dialogue.
Recommended Audience: Family, though some themes and scenes may not be appropriate for younger children. Decoder Ring is the most family-oriented of the shows to which I subscribe.
Where to get it: Their website offers a few options. I use iTunes.
Story: Decoder Ring offers three main shows, which they circulate in 6-episode chunks. These include:
- The Red Panda - Black Jack Justice - Deck Gibson
The Red Panda is a pulp story about Canada's greatest super hero, The Red Panda, and his sidekick, The Flying Squirrel. Together, they protect the city's people from constantly arising threats.
Black Jack Justice is a noir story about a hard-boiled detective named Jack, and his partner Trixie Dixon, girl detective. Listen to their amusing cases with a heavy dose of witty banter, with lots of clever narration from the two main characters.
Deck Gibson is about a Far Reach Commander named, well, Deck Gibson. This fascinating story follows Deck Gibson as he explores the far reaches of the galaxy, communicating frequently with the mysterious entity only known as "Control".
My thoughts: This is the top contender for my #1 slot. Every show produced by Decoder Ring Theatre is top-notch. What stands out here is the excellent writing. Even more impressive is that they release an episode every two weeks. This team of actors is very professional. The stories are almost always very clever and most of all, fun. Decoder Ring works in the tradition of the old time radio shows. The man behind the magic, Gregg Taylor, writes, directs, and produces the show. This is as good as it gets, folks. You won't believe this quality is available for free. My wife enjoys this one as well.
I just recently got a Zune(Microsoft iPod) and have been listening to Decoder Ring since about week 2 of owning it. I love The Red Panda Adventures and Black Jack Justice is great too. I've been listening to the shows in order so I haven't heard the newest stuff... yet. Just reached the point where I downloaded the first couple of episodes of Deck Gibson as a series rather than as a part of the Summer Showcase. Also just listened to "Black Jack Justice Episode 23: Much Ado About Norman" which is about the funniest thing I've heard in a long time. The series is usually so dark and Noir-ish that I was surprised and REALLY pleased when this episode(a farce basically) started revealing itself to be what it was. The best part of Red Panda and Black Jack is the banter, and this episode has the best banter of anything that I've heard, basically ever. It had me laughing out loud and I hope that they do a wacky Valentine's episode every year(During the "commercial break" The Red Panda and The Flying Squirrel appear and wish a Happy Valentines' to a listener/sponser).
Recommended Audience: Teens/adults, especially sci-fi fans
Where to get it: Their website links to a few options. I used iTunes.
Story: Earth was attacked by an alien race five centuries ago. Humans left the planet because it had become uninhabitable. They would like to return someday. In the meantime, they are devoted to protecting it against the aliens, who would like to take it over, even thought the aliens seem to be a superior force. Follow mankind's story through the eyes of Master Pilot Kevin Corval in this engaging sci-fi story.
My thoughts: There are very few free audio dramas out there that are high in quality. Children of the Gods is the best I've heard. The production is professional in every way. The writing is good, the story is engaging, the sound effects are excellent. I always look forward eagerly to each new episode. The downside of such a high-quality production is that each episode takes a very long time to complete. Expect to be waiting a few months for each new episode.
Posted Mon Jun 8, 2009 9:16 pm
-MMM