Dire Vampire

Posted by Jam on October 10, 2016
Posted in: gaming, horror, vampires, videogames. Tagged: , , .

​In all honesty, modern Vampire videogames are far too slash n dash for me. What the industry needs in my opinion, is some Hammer-esque with loads of suspense and a hero that isnt some kind of acrobat sword swiping weirdo with superhuman reflexes and magical powers. 


How about the good old Van Helsing character, or even an average John Doe who has a smattering of knowledge and just everyday items and wit to hunt down and take on the titular bloodsucker. Think Horror of Dracula, Salems Lot, The Lost Boys, Fright Night. Above all, stick to the vampire we know and love, dont make them electricity throwing wizard genius types. Shoot plenty of 1st person scenes to draw players into the game (rather like Resident Evil) with creepy creaking floorboards and secret rooms. 

Sometimes less is more, and the game itself should be foremost rather than what the characters can do. Jam out!

The Girl With All The Gifts

Posted by Jam on September 28, 2016
Posted in: Authors, books, films, movies, Reading. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

This time last year, my work collegue lent me the M. R. Carey book, The Girl With All The Gifts. Last night we was lucky enough to go and see the film adaption. Although an amount of the book content had been left out, this film presented us an hour and fifty minutes of fun with a screenplay fairly loyal to the story. Horror fans should enjoy this film which sheds a new light on the cause of “undeath”, although as in 28 days later, these ghoulish creature are living infected rather than decaying ressurections. The titular Girl, played by the talented young Sennia Nanua really delivers the character I had visualised in the book. The ever amazing Glenn Close and Gemma Arterton co star, this film is real girl power! With some incredibly well timed sequences and the odd jump scare, I recommend you see this film if not at the cinema then as soon as its on DVD but the book itself is far more superior!

Sennia Nanua (middle) with co stars Glenn Close and Gemma Arterton

Epic Books

Posted by Jam on September 8, 2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Creative writing doesn’t get any better than this. British author Jonathan Green has now opened a kickstarter for an epic adventure book set in Oz. But this isnt a cover to cover read. You can assume the role of Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman or Lion and decide what happens during the story as choices are given to you. 

Illustrator Kev Crossley provides the artwork for this nightmarish adventure with a steampunk twist. Pledging towards the production costs in this crowdfunder will open up a choice of rewards, from a dedication in the book to a special hardback edition. To learn more,  click this link here.

Could you face the Wicked Wizard Of Oz? Feel free to like and share and look out for the Facebook page and Twitter posts #WickedOz .

Tin Man Games Triumph

Posted by Jam on September 7, 2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , .

​Ive been avoiding reviewing this far too long as my laptop was elsewhere at the time of launch. I am a huge fan of Fighting Fantasy books and have been so since 12 years old. 

When the crowdfunding campaign was launched for the production of this version of The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain I knew id be in safe hands with Tin Man Games at the helm. They had released several text based versions of a few FF titles but nothing of this calibre. I HAD to back it, earning myself a TinMan pinny in the process. Did they deliver? Of course they did! TinMan overlord Neil, whom I met breifly in 2014 was a big fan like me so could only ever do it justice. 

The mountain dungeons look incredible, the avatars of the monsters look like they have sprang right out of a copy of Out Of The Pit (the FF bestiary) and Russ Nicholsons artwork looks as good as it ever did. To make gameplay even longer, TinMan have cleverly integrated several subplots and and army of new monster and characters… including more than one hero character. 

I cannot recommend this game enough. Gaming nerds from the 80s who dabbled in Dungeons & Dragons or Warhammer will especially love the floorplan/miniature feel, but anybody will enjoy playing this game at all.

Well done to Neil and all at TinMan.

 Jam!

Featured Book Review

Posted by Jam on September 7, 2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , .

Ok so not quite. But after the success of Jonathan Greens steampunk based Alices Nightmare In Wonderland he has now launched a follow up Kickstarter campaign. This new work, The Wicked Wizard Of Oz, is once again a playable adventure story. You can play as either Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodsman or The Lion, making this one of his most ambitious projects to date. Once again the incredible talents of illustrator Kev Crossley will be gracing the pages to convey the nightmarish Steampunk atmosphere we also met in the aforementioned Alice book. Check out this crowdfunder project packed with greay backer rewards clicking this link here http://tinyurl.com/h944yua

Book Review

Posted by Jam on September 5, 2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , .

Just recently I read the book The House On Cold Hill by Peter James. This is unusual for me as it’s a novel. Something I dont usually get along with. But what can I say? From chapter one I was hooked. What’s great aboutthis tome is James keeps a pace going which never really slacks off, and also, he manages to keep the chapters quite short rather than long winded and dozens of leafs long. (The latter being the reason I give up on many a book. With this work you feel like you’re actually getting somewhere.)

The characters are kept to a minimum. Probably less than twenty which means youdont get huge amounts of character development padding out the pages and distracting you from the actual plot. Another gripe of mine. It turns out that James has based this story on personal experiences, and on his YouTube video, you hear him telling of these experiences and where they show up in the book. 

My only real gripe is, the ending isnt all that origional. Its been done before and will doubtless be done again. He does keep you guessing for a long time but you fathom it out before reaching the end few chapters. Id have loved to have had something fresh. 

All in all, I’d happily say this is the best novel I’ve ever read. 350 pages in less than a week is unheard of for me. I would advise anyone who loves a good creepy book to seek out The House On Cold Hill and aquire it. You will not regret it. 

Jam out!

The Wicked Wizard Of Oz

Posted by Jam on September 2, 2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , .

As many of you know I am rather keen on game books. Not least those of the author Jonathan Green. Im delighted to share with you his latest game book project which you can help fund on kickstarter. It offers many rewards for backing the project from a signed copy to even being an official playtester. Here is the link to the page and the project will be live on Saturday 3rd September at 1pm UK time click here .

This will be one of Jonathans most ambitious game books to date, you can play as one of four characters, Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodsman, The Lion … each with their own unique abilities strengths and weaknesses. As with his previous book, Alices Nightmare In Wonderland, amazing illustrator Kevin Crossley is on board to bring the world of Oz to life in a much more dark and tough looking way reminiscent of a steampunk theme.

Check it out today and tweet about it on twitter using #wickedoz .