Dreadball Xtreme - Unboxing and Review

Dreadball Xtreme is one of many products that found it's way to my home via a Kickstarter though it is available via normal retail channels such as local gaming stores and of course Mantic Games themselves by now should you be interested.

I keep being told how much fun it is and that the rule-set is simple and fairly well balanced so I thought it might be a good idea if I did something with it. Of course the first stage to playing the game is to actually take the pieces out of the box and assemble them and of course I'm now psychologically incapable of taking any hobby product out of a container without first turning the process into a blog article of some kind...

The Box.

It came in a box...here's a picture of it...

Instruction Booklet.

As you'd expect from Mantic Games the instruction booklet is well laid out and has plenty of diagrams showing how the game works as well as containing detailed information on the models, new features. Those of you familiar with Dreadball will have little trouble as the core mechanics are basically the same though there are some significant (and fun) differences.

Game Mat.

The mat is good quality material and should last even the most heavy handed game player through quite a significant amount of games.

Game Counters.

These are of the usual thick cardboard 'pop-out' variety and are double sided...so I've done pictures of both sides...

Other Bits and Pieces.

The game comes with some attractive coloured bases though I used some spare clear plastic ones to base mine as it seemed a waste to use the pretty ones on a model and base I was just going to undercoat. You also get some dice, transfers and the necessary game cards.

Here's some close-ups of those cards...

Terrain.

The terrain bits and pieces pretty much all consist of two parts and click together. I didn't even glue mine together and they held just fine. They start like the top picture and finish up like the bottom one...hopefully...

The Models.

We're not going to get very far without some models no are we...

Sponsors.

These guys effect how much certain player cost (amongst other things) so have a significant effect on your team roster. The Warden (for example) gets cons very cheaply whereas Blaine doesn't pay as much for Jetari Training Drones, etc...

The Kalyshi.

They're badass versions of the Asterians that you're probably more familiar with if you play other Mantic games such as Deadzone and Dreadball. They come as either Strikers or Jacks...you get some 'prone' ones as well. Front and rear views can be found below...

The Convicts.

Probably the only way to get out of a GCPS prison for those prisoners unable to afford bribes. They're fitted with explosive collars in order to deter any ideas of escape. They come as Runners (Strikers), Cons (Jacks) or Thugs (Guards) as well as a couple that have fallen over...

These are the only character models that require any kind of assembly and come with a choice of two heads and two right arm options. Pictures of both configurations are below...

Free Agents.

Audiences like variety...Dreadball Xtreme audiences especially so...

Avaran Treebeast, Jetari Training Drones, Nameless Bloodsucker, Pusk Rampager, Vlorox Spinpede, Yndij Reaver and Zee Buccaneers.

...you get some balls as well of course...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Wyrd Games Monday Preview

Something for the Gremlin fans this time with these new preview renders for Malifaux from Wyrd Games...

Mah Tucket and The Little Lass...

...and Trixiebelle...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Raging Heroes - Dark Elf Invasion Gallery

After the spectacular success of their 'Toughest Girls of the Galaxy' Kickstarter the fine people at Raging Heroes have been teasing us with their next couple of projects. Those are 'Sisters of Eternal Mercy' and this one...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Raging Heroes - Sisters of Eternal Mercy Gallery

After the spectacular success of their 'Toughest Girls of the Galaxy' Kickstarter the fine people at Raging Heroes have been teasing us with their next couple of projects. Those are 'Dark Elf Invasion' and this one...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

The (Several) Sunday(s) Round-up

Not a bad week this week. I'm finally beginning to get some movement back in my wrists so basic hobbying is now an option but unfortunately painting isn't really viable yet due to the real world blurring out of focus periodically when I concentrate on anything for too long. I can however get away with doing some assembly work so used that as an opportunity to get some Warzone Resurrection bits and pieces assembled as well as finally getting around to organising several of the Kickstarters that have landed on my doorstep over the last few months that I've done nothing with.

This also means that I've managed to put together unboxing articles on a number of projects such as my Myth Kickstarter, my Pulp City Kickstarter and Cthulhu Wars...which was (not surprisingly) also a Kickstarter...

Even more surprisingly these can be found in the 'Other Unboxing' Tab at the top of the blog. The fact that this is where they go isn't the surprising part...the surprising part is that the tab is actually up to date...in fact that's not the only thing that's up to date...

All the Malifaux Unboxings are now in the appropriate tab, the 'Malifaux Resources' section now contains links to all my own useful features as well as now possessing a handy podcast section, all the guest articles that I've posted now have links in the 'Guest Article' section and the 'Other Galleries' tab is fully up to date with all those inspiring Wednesday Gothic, Steampunk and Cosplay galleries that we admire for their artistic merit.

One of my own recently created useful features is a list of the locations of all the background stories and character profiles of all the usable characters in the world of Malifaux that can be found in the above mentioned tab or that can be headed to directly by clicking here.

I've had some messages about the Hobby Newsletter section (again...it's one of those links under the blog header) as several people use it so they can peruse all the various companies whose products new releases and news interest them. Therefore rather than update it once a week (if you're lucky) I'm instead going to update whenever a newsletter is posted and from next week will also be including Warlord Games and Privateer Press releases as well as all the usual ones. The most recent newsletter from each company will be listed separately in their section so the newest entry is obvious though the archive bit will remain just in case you've been chained in a basement for a while and want to catch up...

Next week I'll be having a bit of a change and looking a my long neglected Dreadball Xtreme and Dreadball Season four models with possibly an article or two along those lines...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

UK Games Expo - Some RPG news

More events news from the people at UK Games Expo...

01/03/2015 We have a Game for you. The UKGE roleplaying schedule is next to go live for players to book into. On Monday 2nd at 9pm* the schedule will go live and RPG gamers will be able to fill up their weekend with a choice from 250+ RPG games.(More are likely to be added in coming weeks). So whether your gaming tastes are Pathfinder or Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, Paranoia or Squadron UK, Call of Cthulu, Traveller, Savage Worlds or Sleeper or any of 50+ different game systems we have a game for you. Games run typically from 10 till 2pm, 3pm till 7pm and 8pm till MIdnight on Friday and Saturday and from 10 till 2pm, 3pm till 7pm on Sunday. So you can play in up to 8 games if you wish. They cost £4 a game. The ever expanding schedule is laid out here. So that is Monday 2nd March at 9pm.* *Note that the exact go live time MAY vary a little - keep an eye on Facebook and Twitter.

©2015 UK Games Expo | Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel National Exhibition Centre Birmingham, United Kingdom B40 1PP