Welcome a new addition to The Trollish Delver

As you're probably aware, The Trollish Delver is currently looking for contributors for its different sections. I'm very happy to announce that Ben Hall has joined the blog as a science reporter, which is hugely exciting news! Ben is a biologist and PhD student with a love for all things science, so it will be fantastic having him on board. Expect to hear from the man himself soon.

Meanwhile, if you want to contribute, read this post and send me an email - I'd love to hear from you.

Review: Cognition - An Erica Reed Thriller Episode One: The Hangman

 In addition to maintaining The Trollish Delver, I also write for the monthly videogames magazine Thirteen1. The original review can be found in the latest issue.

Platform: PC
Developer: Phoenix Online Studio

Have you managed to recover from taking in that behemoth of a title? From now on, the game will be referred to as Cognition, just to save everyone’s sanity and my fingers, but don’t let the lengthy name put you off. This is indie studio Phoenix Online’s first commercial output, having already worked on The Silver Lining, a spiritual successor to the King’s Quest series; and it’s always refreshing to see a new studio begin with an adventure title, which is something of a rarity these days. But for a commercial debut, Cognition is a good effort that will keep fans of classic adventure games happy and newcomers enthralled in the story.

There’s a reason why Cognition is such a strong game, as the story has had a helping hand from adventure guru Jane Jensen. For a new studio, Phoenix were massively lucky to have Jensen on board with the project and her golden touch really shines through. But she’s not the only big gun the developers have on their side, as the stunning artwork was done by none other than Romano Molenaar, a comic book artist who has worked on big titles like Hellboy, Spider-Man, The Darkness and Conan. Truly these are some formidable allies to have on your game.

So it’s only natural that Cognition has gone for a comic book inspired visual style, with gorgeous 3D cell-shaded graphics layer on top of beautiful background paintings. Speech boxes appear in conversation using a comic style font, making it seem like you’re playing a motion comic rather than a game. The visuals are incredibly effective and one of the game’s strongest assets.

The titular Erica Reed is an FBI agent based in Boston who begins the game tracking down a mystery figure who has taken her brother, Scott. But she ends up being too late, and becomes haunted by her brother’s death. This may sound like generic crime fodder, but Erica has a secret of a supernatural bent: she’s a post-cog - she can see images of past events by studying the aura of objects. The thing is, it becomes apparent that someone knows her secret and Erica must unravel what they want from her and how they know. The whole prologue sets the tone for the game really well, showing that we’re dealing with a mature game with a violent and dark edge to it.

The post cognition power, which is actually one of three powers that Erica has, including projection and regression, presents an interesting game mechanic that turns what could have been a run-of-the-mill detective game into something more layered. All three powers are used effectively in conjunction with puzzles, which are varied and sometimes complex, but still exciting. These powers mean that you’re not just stuck doing repetitive inventory-based puzzles, a pitfall that is so easy for an adventure title to fall into. However, there are some instances where the puzzles are bafflingly strange, such as having to break into Davies’ office as covertly as a rhino sneaking into a pub. Adventure veterans may find most puzzles a little easy for their tastes, but they’re challenging enough to keep you going.

This premiere episode introduces a number of characters, most of which currently lack much depth. John, the useless partner, likes donuts and isn’t particularly helpful; Davies, Erica’s boss, is the typical brash and shouty boss, and Terence is a gadget-adoring nerd who is all about being a gadget-adoring nerd. Maybe future episodes with expand on these characters to make them more three dimensional and, to put it bluntly, interesting.

As stated before, the art in Cognition is astounding. The expertly painted backgrounds drip with dark atmosphere, with creepy shadows, detailed textures and an eerie use of lighting that will make you feel uneasy while playing.

The plot of Cognition actually builds up really well, ending in a climax that will make you wish you could go straight into playing the next installment of the series. While its characters are, for the moment anyway, paper thin and some of the puzzles a bit illogical, the incredible art, decent plot and cognitive powers do make for an interesting and fun adventure thriller. Roll on episode two.

*****

Review: Merlin 5.06 - The Dark Tower

If the last few episodes have been lacking the high adventure that we've come to love from Merlin, then The Dark Tower has more than made up for it with a tense, thrilling and dark (ahem) story that changes everything.

While out in the woods with the knights, Gwen is set upon by Morgana, who kidnaps her and imprisons her in an enchantment-laced room in the eponymous Dark Tower. Naturally Arthur, the knights and Merlin saddle up and head out on a rescue mission to save the queen from the clutches of the ever-insane Morgana.

This is pure Dungeons and Dragons adventure, ladies and gentlemen. You have sorcery-enhanced snakes, a forest that will screw with your head, a fairy being, an enchanted sword and even a trap room. I've always found the episodes where the knights of the round head off on some crazy quest to be some of the best and The Dark Tower manages to top the lot of them, not only delivering some great sprawling landscapes fraught with danger, but a huge twist.

Morgana is trying to break Gwen with the use of mandrake root, which makes her greatest fears come to life inside the dark room where eerie silence is punctuated by blood curdling screams. While Gwen falls into more of a catatonic state, Morgana plays the friend card, persuading the queen that she is the only person she can trust, until Gwen has no idea what to think. This was a really clever way of torturing Gwen instead of just falling back on the old beating someone into submission routine and it shows how deranged Morgana has become.

There are some wonderful scenes with the knights, whose playful banter is a beacon in what could have been a thoroughly depressing story. Interestingly there's no boyish joking with Merlin and Arthur this time, eschewing it for statements of loyalty and friendship, an ever-present theme so far this series.

So how does The Dark Tower change everything? Well, for one we have a death and it's not an insignificant one, but I'll leave it at that. Secondly, the plot twist at the end will no doubt have you gasping an wondering what will happen next - it's seriously that good.

Thus far season five has given us some of the best episodes in the show's history and The Dark Tower is the best of them, especially if you love high adventure. Sure, it's a quest to save a damsel in distress, but underneath it's much more than that and something that will have repercussions for the rest of the series.

*****

Angry Video Game Nerd Movie trailer hits the internet

James Rolfe, the mastermind behind the foul-mouthed review of terrible old games The Angry Video Game Nerd, has been hard at work filming his first feature film based on the eponymous character, and judging by the first trailer, it's going to be a fun ride.

Rolfe initially took to crowdfunding site IndieGoGo to raise funds for Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie, raising more than $325,000, absolutely smashing his initial goal.

We will probably be seeing a DVD release next year sometime, but Cinemassacre.com will have all the details as they come in.

I actually interviewed Rolfe a few years ago for a site that unfortunately no longer exists, but you can find it using The Wayback Machine here.

The road to Thought Bubble Comic Con 2012 - what's Thought Bubble?

It's six days until my home city, Leeds, opens its proverbial door to the rest of the country as thousands of comic nerds flood in for the sixth Thought Bubble comic convention. The con is the culmination of a week long festival celebrating sequential art in all forms, such as comics, film and animation. In fact, the Thought Bubble Festival is the largest of its kind in the UK and a great place to uncover some hidden gems in the comic world and brush shoulders with the great and good of the industry.

There are some amazing events going on throughout the week, such as Anime Day, which was happening today, film screenings, cartoon workshops and even a Cthulhu crochet tutorial. You can find the jam-packed programme here.

I will be writing a series of posts on the run up to the weekend convention featuring some of the artists and creators who will be showing their faces and who you should be looking out for. I will also be live tweeting the convention, so follow @scottmalt if you want to know what's going on.

If you're going to be at Thought Bubble this weekend then let me know and we can go for a mid-con drink. 

For a full line up of guests, check out this page.

Writers wanted for The Trollish Delver

Over the past month The Trollish Delver has grown significantly, with a focus on geek culture in general rather than solely roleplaying games. As such, there's a whole heap of stuff to report on and one guy doesn't have enough time to cover it all. However, I want to make The Trollish Delver the site for geek culture and opinion - it's a lofty ambition but I firmly believe it can happen. However, I'm at the stage now where I'm going to need some help. This is where you come in.

If you love to write and are interested in all things geek, whether it's board games, science, roleplaying games, video games, cult TV and movies, then I want you to contribute to The Trollish Delver.

Right now this isn't a paid position (hell, I don't even get paid) but I am on the look out for advertisers for the site, which will eventually start a revenue stream and allow for payment. Until then, contributing to The Trollish Delver will get your writing seen by thousands of people per week and is a great way to enhance your portfolio. Still interested? Cool, here's what I'm looking for:

- a science reporter (covering mostly astronomy, physics, biology and tech)
- a TV reporter (covering cult TV, such as The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones etc)
- a film reporter (covering geeky movies, such as superhero, sci-fi, and fantasy)
- a roleplaying and board game reporter (covering tabletop roleplaying and specialist board games)
- a videogame reporter (erm, guess).
- a comic book reporter (again...)

Contributors will be expected to submit at least 3 posts per week. This can be news or feature based.

If you want to apply, please send an email to scott.malthouse87[at]gmail.com with the following details:

Position applying for
A 300-1000 words sample of your writing, preferably something that's previously been published