Dear reader,
I'd like to apologize for the time it took the team and myself to write any article on our beloved blog...It is the result of many many technical difficulties (ie: moving, lack of internet because of moving, camera dying during a trip to France, lack of inspiration, etc.) but be convinced the blog will not die out like that, in fact, like the Soviet army during WW2, this silence on the front was just hiding the noises of all the special projects the team and I have been cooking up (for my part: hiring artists to offer a better visual experience, working on a gaming table, painting tons and tons of minis, trying new game systems, etc.).
In other words: As the temperature is getting colder and colder, stay inside to read some nice hot articles!
You know you want it! You know you want WNT!!
Now resuming our main program:
Cryx had been a lot of fun, it made for a real change when I went to play them from my Skorne in MK1...They even got a nice-looking battle-engine!
But after years of games with them, the acquisition of a full Mercenary army and then a full Retribution of Scyrah Army, they were seeing less and less play to the point where...the dreaded ''were taking space'' status just seemed fitting.
Desperate tries to paint them led me nowhere so, I did the only thing a man could do, I traded them away! (But still kept that nice-looking Battle Engine, expect to ear from him one day.)
My Boss and store owner, Dan, offered me a cool deal:
A Heavy Gear Blitz Northern Army Starter Kit!!!
WOW!!
Heavy Gear...Llew, co-blogger and friend has a love-hate relationship with the company DreamPod9 that is behind this game...
He says it's one of the best game he's had the chance to play and how horrible DP9 rulebooks are.
Now, from my perspective as a total stranger to the game (although I bought the rulebook for Blitz when it was available in my store I never red the rules, only the fluff):
-Heavy Gear is made in North Armerica instead of China...It is quite expensive. (to my standard)
-There is not a lot of players (that I know/see) in my area (only my boss, Llew and another friend)
-They contract an ex-coworker and friend of mine to paint some of their models (no, not Angel Giraldez, wish I knew the guy so he could teach me how to paint!...At least he's really nice, he takes the time to answers questions about colors he used on his blog: http://studiogiraldez.blogspot.ca/ You'll get to see the some of the sickest paintjobs in the industry!)
-They hired my ex-manager to work their castings.
So technically, I should support this game as not only are they creating jobs in North-America instead of going ''the easy way/competitive'' way in China, people I know have a job thanks to them.
For the expensive part, let's not lie: if we're ready to pay 132$ for Privateer's Resin (or any Forgeworld product), it is not really an argument.
As far as players go, I have a talent to create crowds around games I like.
What is it then, that stopped me from playing Heavy Gear??
Answer: Minis were not my style. They weren't ugly at all, it simply wasn't my style and I buy stuff entirely based on visual.
Sure, I could have chosen to trade for something else, for another game...
But curiosity is my muse. If Llew says it's one of the best system he ever played (it has electronic warfare for crying out loud!), I got to give it a try!
Back to opening that box (and some of the last pictures you'll ever see from my dying camera)
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| The Box |
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| Bits in blisters, ruler, 4d6 |
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| bits |
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| more bits and a blurry picture because my camera is about to die. |
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| That's cool! It explains how the starter should be played and the role of each model inside. Very nice touch!! |
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| A 60 pages miniature version of the Field Manual. |
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| A 204 pages miniature versions of the Locked & Loaded Rulebook. |
So? What do I think?
Well, when I think about it, two full rulebooks and two full squads (in metal)...Seems like a good value so far! What really wins me in this starter is the page saying ''Welcome to the world of Heavy Gear" and that explains quickly the role of your squads as well as giving you links to their forums, army builder, etc.
What now?
Well, unboxing is only the tip of the iceberg, now there 's a 'Gear army with my name on it that is soon to show up on the blog ;).
A great man once said ''Listen to your friends not to your wallet, try a new game.''
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