Fate Core

Early last month, Evil Hat Productions, opened up a Kickstarter project for their newest revision of the Fate roleplaying system. I'd originally been intrigued by the last version of the rule set sometime last year, but while it was an interesting take on story-oriented roleplaying, it just wasn't clicking for me. I couldn't quite suss out how I would use something like that to play the games that I was looking to at the time. So when Fate Core popped up on my radar, I immediately jumped at the chance to help kickstart the endeavor.

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

People often say that good things come in threes. But when the second part of a trio is a disappointment, most of us would reevaluate our belief in that sentiment. After finishing up Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (sort of, at least), I'll admit I was a bit hesitant to see how The Two Thrones would shape up. Thankfully, the last entry in the trilogy returned to its roots, a little bit wiser from the previous game's detour.

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

"Most people think Time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction. But I have seen the face of time, and I can tell you they are wrong. Time is like an ocean in a storm."

When I first played Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time back in 2005 or 2006, I immediately fell in love with the game. Yes, this was still back in the era of Gamecube graphics, but the mixture of great voice acting, interesting story and game mechanics, and parkour really sold me on the game. I even dressed up as the Prince for Halloween that year. So when the entire Prince of Persia franchise went on sale on Steam last year, I snapped it up as quickly as I could. Sands of Time was amazing, so the other games would be too, right?

So far, that prediction has not panned out.

Thoughts on the New Year

The arrival of 2013—while certainly disappointing to the disillusioned believers in the apocalyptic Mayan "prophecy"—has started me thinking about my personal goals, both those I set for myself last year and those I am considering for the upcoming year. And while I may not have hit every benchmark I was hoping to in the last twelve months, I feel that the future is looking brighter, or at least more attainable.