Friday, November 6, 2015

Infinity: Cyberpunk 2015

Well, I simply can't afford to wait until 2077.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, do some research on the game Cyberpunk 2077.

Hello Interwebs!  Welcome back.  It's been a busy gaming season for 30mm.  So busy, in fact, that some of us never have time to post a podcast.

:whistling inconspicuously:

Despite my lack of promise-keeping as far as the podcast is concerned, we've still found our fair share of time to get in some games...and what better way to start the fall gaming season, but with a new one!

Well, sort of.  You see, Infinity was a game that Onyx and I picked up last year, roughly around this same time.  We weren't too impressed with it initially.  Something-something poor translation of rules.

Submit to retinal scanning...

Inspired by my recent foray into League of Legends (a game I initially hated), I was eager to give Corvus Belli's futuristic Covert-Ops game another whirl.  I was not disappointed this time around.  Of course, I naturally coerced my darling podcast companions into playing (some were bribed with a free army starter box- ahem- Darren).

For those who have yet to foray into the realm of the Cyberpunkesque, Infinity takes place in the far future...but not quite the 41st Millennium.  Roughly set around the year 2300ish, the game centers around the misadventures of Humanity as they clash against each other and invading aliens.  Humanity's major powers are vague shadows of our current timeline: most of North America, Europe and the Middle East are now owned by Australia/New Zealand (Pan Oceania), whereas China owns most of South East Asia and Japan (Yu Jing).  Of course, we have the neo-Muslim nation (Haqqislam) and a bunch of AI-fearing, misanthrope, body-modding hackers who float around the cosmos in a trio of gargantuan spaceships (Nomads). Oh yeah, can't forget the backwater forgotten human colony, complete with outdated weapons and all the camouflage...and werewolves. (Ariadna) The Human territories- called the Human Sphere- is overseen by a loving, caring AI called ALEPH; by the way, ALEPH is not supposed to have a standing army.  Somehow, it happened anyway.
Deleted intrusive comment.  ALEPH is watching. 

We also have some Aliens: the Parasitically enhanced Tohaa and the invading, brutish Combined Army, who is led by an AI of their own.  (PS their backstory is hilarious)

Quote:

all the Lools

- d4chan

(You guys can enlarge that if you really want to read it.)

The game's models are gorgeous, by the way.  Such dynamic poses.  But perhaps the best part of this is the dynamic turn system the game provides.  Infinity makes sure that its players are never bored and are always doing something.  This is my favorite artifice of the game: The active/reactive player dynamic.  During a game of warmachine, one player must patient (or frustratingly) wait for their opponent to finish a turn.  After a turn of epic, curb-stompering aggression, sometimes an opponent might not have a game to com back to.

Not so with Infinity!  During an opponents "active" turn, I can take actions with my d00ds "reactively."    If a lone Nomad rifleman wanders into Line of Sight of one of my conveniently placed snipers...well... that Nomad Rifleman might get shot before he can squeeze a shot off.

Beyond this, the game also shines in one other dynamic: Infinity gives its players the power to use pieces multiple times in a turn.  Oh noes...let's say its my turn and a bunch of my guys are tied up in backfield.  There's no way they're gonna be able to get to the front lines.  My sniper, however, is still in a good position.  Infinity pieces each generate an "order" depending on how many of them are currently in play.  These orders can be used to activate a model as many times as you have orders to spend.  Now, my sniper can take multiple shots in a turn, ensuring that the front is clear for when my other slackers get their sorry butts forward.

That being said, with rules like these, Infinity is designed to be a fast-paced, action packed game.  It also tends to unfold rather quickly; in our initial games, Darren and I closed about 5 games in about 2.5 hours.

Anyways, I really like both PanO and Haqqislam, because armor, guns, and Space Terrorists.  And because this is marked as a painting tagged post, have a gratuitous painted image.


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