The Doctor Who Mega-Review! Episode 3 - The Forest of Fear

And they're off! Thanks to the help of the crazy old cave-woman, The Doctor and his companions have escaped the Cave of Skulls and are hauling ass through the forest in an attempt to get back to the TARDIS. The lead caveman, the one who thought he could make fire, is hot on their trail with his woman. Before he can get too close to The Doctor's crew, a mysterious unseen creature mauls him and leaves him for dead. Considering the budget for these older BBC shows were about twelve dollars, we never see the creature in question, but it does leave huge, Wolverine-like claw marks all over the dude. 

Barbara and Ian, trying to be decent human beings, go back to help the dumb savage. They tidy up his wounds and strike up a deal. They will teach the cavemen how to make fire, if the two will help them get back to the TARDIS. A couple of tubes of Neosporin later, the caveman is no longer on death's door and the group is ready to get the fuck out of Dodge.

But wait, the other cavemen! Rebel caveman and Prehistoric Will Ferrell decide to track those sonsabitches down. They're coming for you, Doc! CREDITS!

Episode 3: The Forest of Fear - 3.5 out of 5.

Pros:

Hilariously generic monster.

The Doctor being a giant douche.

The violent throwing of an old woman to the ground.

Cons:

Companions starting to get a little whiny.

Doctor is maybe a bit TOO hardcore? He was seemingly gonna brain that guy with a rock...

They could have totally gotten out by themselves. Cavemen are not known for their knot-tying skills.

The Doctor Who Mega-Review! Episode 2 - The Cave of Skulls

We pick back up with the good Doctor after the TARDIS has landed somewhere new. Turns out, somewhere new is ten thousand or so years in the past. Cavemen and shit, yo. 

A good bit of this episode is spent setting up the back story between the cavemen. One wants to make fire. Another one thinks he's full of it and demands to be leader. This is all in English, by the way, for reasons we'll find out later. The rebel caveman finds The Doctor in the middle of lighting his cigar, freaks out, and abducts him. Apparently, this old man can make fire from his fingers. And they need fire. On the list of primary things in a caveman's life, this is right up there with "Eat" and "Not Die."

Susan, Ian, and Barbara find The Doctor, trying to tell these primitive screwheads that without matches, he can't make fire. After the worst ambush in history, all four of them end up prisoners in the titular Cave of Skulls, so called because of the skulls. In it.

Overall, lots of mumbo-jumbo about how Klerg is best and Derp can make fire, and Klerg calls him on his bullshit. Surprisingly little Doctor action in this one, he's unconscious or not present for a good amount of time. He IS still "Old Man Doctor." Eccleston would have snap-kicked that caveman in the fuckin' throat and dusted off his jacket. But, I digress; Fire good, strangers bad. CREDITS!

Episode 2 - The Cave of Skulls - 2.5 out of 5

Pros:

Umm...awesome hair on those cavemen?

First mention of the "Doctor Who?" joke.

Crazy old cave-woman spouting prophecy.

Cons:

Most of the episode is cavemen-centric.

That one caveman who looks like Will Ferrell is distracting.

Not a single goddamned "Oooga" or "Booga."

The Doctor Who Mega-Review! Episode 1 - An Unearthly Child

As previously stated on this blog, I became a fan of Doctor Who somewhat recently. I wish I could say that I grew up watching it on the BBC in my younger years, but time and space deposited me incorrectly for that. It was the 2005 series, introducing Christopher Eccleston, that really introduced me to The Doctor and his adventures. Now, as I wait impatiently for the new season (Series 7, Matt Smith), I find myself wanting more of The Doctor and running low on options. After reading an informative post on Reddit, I've decided that I'm going to watch ALL the old Doctor Who episodes. All the ones that are still in existence, that is. 

So here begins the grand project. Pull up a comfy chair and pour yourself a bowl of Cookie Crisp. We're about to go old school up in this bitch.

Episode 1 - An Unearthly Child

A disclaimer first: These episodes were broadcast individually, and with separate titles, but many belong to a batch of story arcs. This is the first episode of the first arc, and premiered in November 1963. The Doctor was first portrayed by William Hartnell. He's the oldest looking incarnation, but the youngest from The Doctor's chronology. I know, time travel, it gets better.

Curious about one of their students, two teachers, Barbara and Ian, follow her home. This girl was weird, you see. She knew way too much about certain topics, like chemistry and history, but next to nothing about common sense modern things, such as how many shillings to a pound. It really got Barbara curious, and after doing a little recon, she discovers that Susan, the young girl, seems to have no real physical address. It's just an old, run-down warehouse. Fearing for the girl's safety, Barbara and Ian make with the breaking and entering after following Susan home. 

Inside the warehouse, the only thing of note is a large police box, a sort of telephone booth for back-in-the-day when you needed to call the coppers. Enter Susan's grandfather. He's a saucy old curmudgeon that basically tells them both to beat it. They suspect he's keeping Susan locked in the police box, and demand he open it. Barbara and Ian eventually push their way inside to discover a large, indescribable room inside the relatively small box. Susan and her grandfather explain that the police box is a ship called the TARDIS, and they are from another time and planet. Obviously, this goes over like crap to the two schoolteachers. They demand to be let out, but Susan's grandfather doesn't want them to blab their secret all over the place. After an argument about whether the teachers are trustworthy enough, Gramps is all like, "Sure, I'll let 'em leave... BAZINGA!" He throws the switch, activating the machine and induces a trippy sequence of lights and swirlies. 

When the acid finally wears off, Ian and Barbara are out cold on the floor and the TARDIS has materialized somewhere else. Somewhere barren. And then...a shadow! CREDITS!

Despite the culture shock of watching something in black and white from the early sixties, this still comes off well. But then again, I'm the kind of person who can watch old Twilight Zone episodes like crazy. As a fan of "Modern Who," I still don't feel out of place. The theme song is basically the same, the TARDIS makes the same noises, and The Doctor is eccentric and aloof as he should be. I like it, and fans like me owe it to themselves to see how everything started. Since this is a review as well, I guess I should come up with some arbitrary ratings system. It's not to tell you which ones to watch, but to keep them ranked in my head in order of awesomeness. For simplicity's sake, let's do a five-point scale and some Pros and Cons.

Episode 1: An Unearthly Child - 4 out of 5

Pros: 

William Hartnell is an awesome grump.

TARDIS is still familiar.

Cons:

Crappy quality (It's old...)

Good bit of exposition (but understandable).

Random Steam Review 2 - Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale

Ever wonder what happens on the other side of the RPG curtain? Sure, you frequent item shops in other games, but what about the poor schlub who had to buy your three hundred extra Mega Potions? EasyGameStation attempts to show you the answer with Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale.

You play Recette, a vapid, bubbly girl who inherits her father's sizable debt. Tear is your partner in business, a fairy sent from a collection agency who intends to get their money. The both of you open an item shop to try to raise the necessary money within a month's time.

As any adventurer knows, it's the dungeons that have all the loot. But Recette is not exactly the fighting type, so you hire a growing cast of odd mercenaries to venture in on your behalf and bring you stuff to sell. You spend your segmented days going between dungeon-running, buying items to re-sell, and tending the shop and its customers. As such, time management is key. If you spend all your time in the bowels of the earth digging up knick-knacks, there will be no time to open your shop and sell the things you get. And you'll need the time. You have only a set amount of time to pay off that money, and it's quite a lot. So much so, that you probably won't be able to pay it all off in the required amount of time, leading to a humorous game over screen. But not all is lost! Whenever you fail after the thirty day limit, the game restarts at day two, allowing you to keep all the money, items and experience you've gotten so far. You'll probably need to attempt this at least a few times to finally pay off the debt.

And once you do, it's not over! The game enters Endless Mode, which allows you unlimited time to get all of the many extras without the looming spectre of payback. You can use this time to unlock more adventurers, finish the item catalogue, or discover new dungeons.

VERDICT:  Recettear is a fun RPG full of Zelda-style action. It's well worth your cash. Buy it. Capitalism HO!

Random Steam Review 1 - Poker Night at the Inventory

So here I go in what I hope is a continuing series of game reviews. No scores, no politics, just a simple answer to the question, "Should I buy this?"

Let's kick things off with Telltale's crossover card game spectacular, Poker Night at the Inventory. It's a Texas Hold 'Em elimination tournament with some guest stars from radically different universes. The Heavy Weapons Guy represents Valve's Team Fortress 2, while the rest hail from Telltale episodic adventure games of their own. Tycho shows up from Penny Arcade fame, Sam from the Sam & Max series, and Strongbad from the popular Homestarrunner.com site. All four are fully-voiced, snarky poker nemeses, and must be run into bankruptcy immediately.

PNatI (snazzy acronym) is a simple, but polished, poker game. It is the Raisin' Cane's of video games; It does one thing, but does it extremely well and with a ton of charm. You, as the mysterious "Player," must sit down in a jazzy club with four questionable psychopaths, and proceed to fleece them out of their money. There's no crazy gimmicks, no arcade-style twists, no magical cards. It's just a game of poker, albeit with a torrent of commentary thrown in. It's a great game to relax with. You can kick back, play at a leisurely pace, and listen to the banter tossed around between the characters and yourself. Banter which, by the way, is both hilariously self-referential and totally inside for hardcore fans. Your fourth wall is not necessary.

Since it IS such a basic game, replayability may become a factor. Fortunately, the game comes with quite a few unlockables. New table and deck designs can be unlocked, as well as four items for use in Team Fortress 2 if you're keen on that game. If you like poker, and can stand playing game after game, you should be fine. It won't keep my attention for very long after I've unlocked everything, but considering the game is a paltry $4.99, you really can't go wrong.

VERDICT: Buy it. Go ahead. Treat yourself. It's cheaper than a six pack of beer, and lasts a hell of a lot longer.

Escalation

While the internet is all piss-and-fury with the news of Michael Bay's upcoming fuckery, I thought I should point out something. For the couple of people who somehow haven't found out, Bay is producing the new live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and has decided to greenlight a script that re-writes the turtles as aliens instead of mutants. I shouldn't need to go on, to explain why this is retarded.

But there is another concern of mine that this issue brings up. Something I feel is important, and ties in with the title of this post and the Joker-y picture above: Escalation.

If Hollywood is prepared to roll along with what could be drastic changes to a hugely successful franchise, what wouldn't they do? What golden calf is too sacred?

I'm thirty-two years old. The Ninja Turtles were part of my youth as much as He-Man and a shitload of dinosaur stuff. I am not a butt-hurt nerd complaining about my childhood being "raped." Fact is, this is just another episode in a long string of movies that Hollywood screenwriters won't get their fuckin' mitts off of. Not everything is bad. I'm not the typical internet cynic. Changes can be made in a property for a movie's sake. Nolan's Batman movies were entertaining as hell, and Watchmen was probably about as good as it could be made given the source material. I didn't shit on the X-Men movies because they didn't follow close to comic continuity. They didn't, they were all over the map. Spider-Man was also changed, and not counting the third movie, comic fans mostly enjoyed them. I understand changes have to be made from time to time for the film's sake. Wolverine in yellow spandex would look ridiculous in practice, and you don't have enough time in a movie to go through all of Ras Al' Ghul's back story AND tell the Batman origin. But the key to all of the comic-to-movie adaptations that were widely liked, is that the changes they made kept in the feel and flavor of the properties. Would Batman Begins have been so well received if his parents weren't killed, but instead were in an ancient clan of ninja? I understand if someone couldn't care less about the Ninja Turtles, but what if it were a property you were fond of? They could reboot Superman as a government experiment, the Looney Tunes as edgy high school youths, or The Crow as a romantic comedy. At some point, it has to become less of an adaptation of the original material, and more of a bastardization.

And through all this, Michael Bay says, "Settle down." He says the script is good and people will understand. He loves it. Problem was, the exact same thing was said about Transformers, and I don't remember any old Transformer fans salivating at his three abortions that were classified as cinema. He said to trust him, and some did. Maybe some aging geeks were sold on the fact that he got Peter Weller as Optimus. Either way, all three Transformers movies were colossal disappointments. The first was at most "meh," and the other two were the visual and auditory equivalents of an episode of "Will It Blend" where the aforementioned item is a live cat. The problems were so extensive, I would do this post a disservice by hijacking it with Transformers nonsense.

Point is, I don't WANT to trust you, Michael. You've led me down the wrong path before, with promises that it would be "really cool." I'm not going to sign petitions, or boycott theaters. I just simply won't see this if it does get made. I won't buy it, rent it, Redbox, Netflix, or pirate it. It's just not worth it. He'll see none of my money in conjunction with this horseshit. It's also not that I'm a salivating TMNT fan, ready to complain on message boards at the drop of a hat. It's that I don't support what's becoming a trend of Hollywood trying to cash in on nostalgic properties with little-to-no regard for the source material. Today the Ninja Turtles, but what tomorrow?

Around the world...

So, here I am in my new favorite dive, taking the Around the World challenge. 95 beers, from all over the world, and the prize is bragging rights. No one has pulled this off here since 2009. Never before have I so wanted a shitty plaque and a t-shirt. Editing work is done for the night. I'm all about the exotic beer, now.

Jim "Plate Lunch" Miller

If anyone out there follows UFC, you may have seen Jim Miller. He looks like a lumberjack that can kick your ass. Well, my friends and I noticed that too.

For a while now, we've been referring to Mr. Miller as "Plate Lunch." Those of you who have eaten gas station or truck stop food will get the reference. We found Jim Miller looked like that kind of guy, the typical hunting/fishing/tobacco-chewing southerner. Never mind that he's from Jersey, we drunkenly latched onto this and ran with it.

So, a few days ago, I decide to twitter Jim Miller about this (@jimmiller_155 by the way...). He re-tweets it! What the hell? Awesome. Cue to a couple of days later, and for some reason, I decide to google "Jim Miller Plate Lunch." I was floored. Someone noticed! Soon enough, there was a six-page thread on Sherdog.com talking about it. Some liked it, others had no idea what a plate lunch was.

As expected, I made a Sherdog account solely to post about this and explain it. My favorite part, later in the thread, is a quote from "rjmbrd."

"A rare once in a while, the internet wins."


This is my favorite thing ever. If he comes out as Jim "Plate Lunch" Miller, and Joe Rogan has to explain that shit to the country, I'll laugh till I die.

Second Wind

I crashed for a few hours and woke up again. Looks like tonight is going to be an all-night DVD party.

An Explanation and Two Links

So I'm tweaking real hard on caffeine right now. I had two Rock On Energy Shots, which are not unlike a Five Hour Energy, in the span of an hour. Twenty minutes after I took the first one, I didn't feel anything and decided to chug the other. Very soon after, it fucked me right up. So, despite wanting to sleep, I'm stuck waiting this out. If you see several posts for today, it's my hyperactive brain wanting content. Now, onto the promised links...

First of all, people should check out my friend Eric's blog. He talks gadgets, music, books and such. Click upon this: The Parfait Report

Secondly, BUY SWEETS! It's going into trade, and if you've missed any or all of it, now is a great time to catch up. If you're a fan of true-crime style comics,  I think you really would dig Sweets.  Here it comes now...















As you can see, it is the double whammy of both good AND cheap. Five issues of saucy New Orleans goodness await you. I was the editor on this one, and I'd like to see it hit big. If you want to be my friend, you'll buy it. All others will be flogged.

Aug 2nd - 5th DVD and video game releases of note...

I'm gonna try to do one of these every week. I won't necessarily cover everything, but I'll bring up things that catch my eye.

Conan the Barbarian [Blu-ray]  - I believe this is the bare-bones release, but nice to see Conan on Blu-ray anyway. I personally won't pick up this one until they put together a proper collector's edition on Blu-ray with good special features.

Conan the Destroyer [Blu-ray]  - And the awesomeness has left the room. This is worth watching only if you plan to tell your kids that Grace Jones is the boogeyman, and she'll sneak into their room at night if they don't listen.

Soul Surfer - Spoilers. She never does get her arm back.

Better Off Dead [Blu-ray] - A classic finally makes it to Blu-ray. This will probably also have next to no special features. In a world where movies come through our internet magically, special features are key to me actually buying a movie.

MST3K Vs. Gamera: Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XXI [Deluxe Edition] - Sweet Jesus, finally! After much legal wrangling, the fabled Gamera episodes of MST3K have finally been released. Insta-buy for me.

Eastbound & Down: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray] - I've purposely avoided everything about season 2 of this ridiculously awesome show. That way, when I buy it, I can plow through a few hours of Kenny Powers goodness.

Tracy Morgan: Black and Blue - This DVD will get you pregnant.

Facez of Death 2000 Vols. 1-7 - Holy shit. This is still a thing? These were shocking back in the day before the internet. Now, it seems a little sad.

Not a super awesome week, but Eastbound season 2 and MST3K are definite buys. And no, I don't care about Rio.

You know how Pixar comes out with a good CG movie, and then someone jumps on the bandwagon and releases a poor-man's version of it? See Bug's Life and Antz or Finding Nemo and Shark Tale. And those are the ones from major studios. What about that shitty Cars knockoff from some other country?  Yeah, well, Rio feels like one of those bandwagon movies to me, except Pixar didn't release a good CG movie about birds.

More later...

Fear and Loathing...and Delirium.

Here's the scene. I finally sat down to watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a movie I had seen bits and pieces of, but never the full thing. I had food and drink, and I was ready to give the movie my full attention.

I got through a good chunk of the movie before my exhaustion began to catch up with me. I had been running on two-and-a-half hours of sleep, not the good kind, and my body was ready to call it quits. Sometime around the scene where Raoul and Dr. Gonzo hit ether and stumble into the casino, I started to experience my own type of trip. The most natural, and most likely the first kind, of trip mankind had ever encountered: Sleep deprivation.

Maybe the first caveman to experience this had a tough few days of hunting woolly mammoth, and finally gave out. Who knows what myths and legends were born of this process of the brain; stringing together random facts and images into horrifying journeys. I'm sure there are a good number of people who will eventually read this that have never partaken in illicit substances, but I highly recommend at least one run of sleep deprivation tripping. It's free, it's legal, and all it costs you is a couple of sleepless nights. One of the only ways, I think, to understand the power of the human mind is to see the batshit-crazy things it does when it betrays your senses. 

So, while watching this movie where hallucinogenic drugs are key plot points, I began to lose my own sense of reality to my exhaustion. I remember popping in and out of recovery sleep, the kind of sleep where your body and mind basically force you unconscious. My mind began to use the movie to fill in holes. Between waking and sleep, I saw parts of the movie; a hotel room filled with water, Dr. Gonzo with a gun, the waitress, an increasingly-wrecked convertible, lizards in a club. I woke up, fully woke up, at the scene where Raoul is tearing through the Nevada desert, trying to get Gonzo to the airport in time. My brain saw panic, and gave me panic in return. I woke up not rested, partially because 30 minutes or so of sleep isn't very restful, but with adrenaline in me. I couldn't miss my plane.

Gradually, my mind started to separate fact from reality once again; movie from real life. By the time the end credits rolled, I seemed more worn out that when I first started. Sometimes, it's amazing how much control over your body your mind has. Perhaps I'll fall asleep better tonight, but not to Hunter S. Thompson.

Doctor What?

So in the course of the last month or so, I've continually plopped down in front of the TV to catch up on this "Doctor Who" thing people are raving about. I've read up on the subject, perused Wikipedia entries for hours, and put all other TV shows on the back burner.

Suffice to say, I'm on board.

Now, being a Doctor Who rookie, I had to start from a good jumping-on point. The beginning of the 2005 series is perfect for this. My first Doctor was Christopher Eccleston. While he was only there for one season, he did a great job of pulling me in and getting me attached to the character. He was strange and quirky, and absolutely believable when he threw down the gauntlet and pulled the bad-ass card. I had heard great things about David Tennant, but I wanted to reserve judgement until I saw him. After all, Eccleston was my Doctor! My doubts instantly faded as soon as Tennant's season started. He was a brilliant Doctor. One thing he did well was portray this great sadness behind most of his actions. There was a long history of tragedy in his eyes, and every time he had to make a hard decision, his pain was believable. I knew Tennant would end up leaving, but I put it out of my mind and enjoyed his time as The Doctor. So when Tennant regenerated into Matt Smith, I was legitimately bummed. Smith had a lot to live up to. Thankfully, he fit in well and ended up being a great Doctor in his own right.

The series has a great crew of writers, and I've found plenty of favorite moments across all of the new seasons. Some may criticize the show for its use of techno-babble and deus ex machina, but in the setting of Doctor Who, it feels fine to me. The series is so fantastical, I don't waste time commenting on how "that could never happen," or "that made no sense." It just somehow works.

Another thing I love is the writer's attention to continuity. Things that are done and said matter for many episodes to come. I like it when a show makes you pay attention, because usually, the payoff for it is pretty ingenious.

I've just finished with Season 5, and I'm about to try and catch up with the current episodes. Overall, I love the show. It's entertaining, funny, and has some genuine heart. The characterization is far above most on television. It just makes me feel like a kid again, and that is never bad.

ABIDE

-Dru

Sweets Reactions...

So apparently, people are really digging Sweets. I like it. The reviews everywhere have been really good.

If you've picked it up, a thousand thank-you's. It's a great project, a great story, and opens up tons of opportunities for Kody. Don't stop now. The story gets even better. It's even more important that you pick up the following issues. The staying power of a new comic can be more accurately measured by looking at sales for issues after the first. Everything drops off after issue one, but the less the better. So if you liked Sweets, and you support it, make sure you buy the rest of the issues. Don't wait for the trade. All that will likely do is delay the release of it.

Support independent comics!

Sweets #2 coming from Image Comics, August 18th!

Do you know this man?

I guess I'm kind of hoping this gets Google-crawled, however unlikely.

I'm looking for someone. More specifically, perhaps, the descendants of someone.

If anyone knows of an Alfred Wadsworth, who survived the hurricane of Last Island, Louisiana in 1865, please get in touch with me. I'm looking for anything: relatives, information, hell, I'll even appreciate knowing where he's buried. Like a lot of people who were there, not much info exists beyond a name. While this does not stop the work I'm doing, I would very much like to pay my respects to one of the two men who inspired what's going on in my head right now.

Shot in the dark, but at least I took a shot.

ABIDE.

-Dru

Last Island

My story that's been mulling in my head about Last Island for a few years now has taken a turn. Originally, it lacked focus. It lacked an overall message. That has changed.

Tonight, I've begun work on a new version. I will update here as necessary.

SWEETS - A New Orleans Crime Story

It's finally official! July 14th is the tentative release date for Sweets, a new comic by 30 Days of Night and Punks: The Comic artist Kody Chamberlain and Image Comics. Here's the blurb from Kody's Kickstarter site:

SWEETS is a 5 issue full color miniseries by writer and artist Kody Chamberlain. This comic is being published by Image Comics with an estimated release date of July 14, 2010.

A spree killer terrorizes New Orleans days before Hurricane Katrina makes landfall. Detective Curt Delatte just buried his only daughter, he’s in no condition to work. But when the bodies pile up, he masks his grief and joins the hunt through the bowels of the Big Easy. It won’t be long until his city, and his evidence, gets washed away.

Kody did the story, pencils, inks, colors and letters by himself on this one, and yours truly handled the editing work!

Support original, creator-owned comics! Get yourself a copy of Sweets on July 14th!

Those of you interested in helping with the advertising can visit Kody's Kickstarter site. Donations are all put toward advertising the book, since Kody is working for free until it's released. Those who do donate can get some cool, potentially one-of-a-kind incentives. A few may even get drawn into the comic itself!

Kody's website
Kody's Kickstarter
Kody's Twitter

Idol Worship

Anyone else find it odd not just the amount of celebrity worship in this country, but where it's focused?

Nothing against Michael Jackson, but seems like there hasn't been a day go by since he died that we've heard about it. Great entertainer, sure. Forward thinker. Humanitarian. That's fine and dandy.

Why has there been almost nothing on Les Paul since his death? When people say this-or-that person "changed music," at best it's an exaggeration, at worst an outright lie. Les Paul LITERALLY changed music. He changed how music is assembled and recorded. Without him, we would not have the electric guitar as we know it, overdubbing or multitrack recording. The only people really acknowledging how important Les was are the actual educated musicians. It's quite sad.

Well, I have some writing to do.

-Dru

Now that 2009 is done...

Anyone ready to place their bets on who is going to bite it in 2010?

Also, what is the preferred nomenclature for the year 2010? Do we call it "Oh-ten?" That sounds stupid. Just calling it "Ten" is also retarded, making it sound like the year 10 A.D. I'm a fan of calling it "Aught-ten" like a grizzled miner would.

ABIDE

-Dru

So Cal Val

Here's another real quick. Val is the TNA ring girl and often removes belts and robes and the whatnot from the ring to place them off to the side. The Val card has a similar effect, protecting one of your Pre-Match Objects and stopping your opponents from negating them.

If you notice, near the card set number, there is a version number as well. This is the revision number. As the cards are playtested and balanced, the version number may be updated. You must always play with the latest version number. Once I get it back up and running, all the cards and the images will be available on the bulletin board at http://impactccg.proboards.com. The lists there will let you know all of the latest versions of the set's cards. Thanks to the image hosting here, I can finally get them up for good and not have to worry about using other people's hosting or some unstable free hosts.