Recommendations February 2012

In this category of posts I will highlight three links I find worthwhile and tell you, the readers, why that is so. In every post like this I will link to one podcast, one other blog, and one free game, be it video-, table-top, RP-, or other. I'll try to keep this as regular category at the end of the month/beginning of the next month, hence the “of the month” attached to each category. Take that however you will. All things presented here are things I listen to/read/play on a regular basis and that is my only certificate of quality I'm offering here.

Podcast of the month: Close the Airlock!
Another week, another actual-play RP-Podcast. These guys are pretty new but spewing out new episodes at a frightening rate. It's a podcast with a regular group of people playing a campaign of Traveller so a somewhat retro-sci-fi setting is the order of the day. With decent production values and a (so far) cleverly designed campaign this podcast highlighting one of the somewhat underplayed games of classical roleplaying I have very high hopes for this one and so should you! Check it out!

Blog of the month: Shut Up & Sit Down
A blog and webshow about boardgames in all their glory and different styles. The two guys running the show over there are video-game-journalists in their everyday-lives and do this as a side-project showing their passion for playing physical games around the table with real people. Be forewarned before going there as they tell it in their about-page and they mean it: You will spend money on games they review. If you're into boardgames at all. If not, you probably stopped reading three sentences ago so why bother?

Free game of the month: Transcendence
George Moromisato's epic space-shooter-roguelike has been out for a while now but it's definetly worth a try. The game is a top-down 2-D-Shooter in a series of randomized solar systems connected by stargates. You loot wrecks of enemy ships or buy equipment at space stations, take jobs for different factions and try to upgrade your ship to keep up with the constantly increasing difficulty of the next solar systems until you reach the last gate, guarded by the Iocrym, to breach the blockade keeping you in the space designated to be the human wilderness-preserve. A steep difficulty and the procedural generation of the universe require equal parts of luck, skill, and good choices to ever get through this but failing can be a lot of fun too.