Chivalry - Medieval Warfare PS4

I am very conscious of my continued sporadic posts of late and that my much heralded return has fallen somewhat flat. However, here I am and I thought I'd share my latest distraction with you.

Released originally on the PC some years ago, Chivalry Medieval Warfare is a first person , multiplayer hack-em-up very much in the mould of Monty Python's Holy Grail-meets-Brian Blessed which has made its way onto current-gen consoles and is available for around twelve quid on PlayStation Network. Though somewhat dated in its aesthetics and restricted in its map size, Chivalry soon grabs you by the gizzard and thrusts you into the mud, blood and rain of medieval carnage.

I say carnage advisedly as the game does a sterling job of depicting heads, limbs and armour flying in all directions under a rain of blows from all manner of period weaponry. The controls are fairly intuitive and allow you to wield your weapon in a number of different ways; critical for victory.

Game play is frantic and adrenaline inducing as damage and stamina is modelled with every swing, thrust or lung of your steel; momentarily depleting your strength,  resulting in a temporary lull in your ability to react, so timing and skill are essential. There is a real sense of achievement when you are victorious over your foe. I recall a particular scrap against a skilled opponent with my character bloodied and reeling; one more blow away from death, only for me to land a lucky(?) blow from my broad sword, removing the chap's leg before I finished him off with an overhead swing - YES!!  

There are a number of game types - the usual death match, team death match and team objective, to name a few, with teams of up to 24 players per side. You choose from four classes of warrior and have the option to customise appearance and weapon load outs, with more being unlocked as you rank up.

To sum up, a  thrilling distraction that raises laughs, shouts and swearing, probably for all the wrong reasons. Buy it and I look forward to meeting you on the field of battle!

That's it for now,

Monty

Belated, Random Update!

As threatened previously, I have returned following my blogging 'sabbatical' (which is a very popular but pretentious term used increasingly nowadays, particularly in the media) and while this isn't a gaming post as such, I hope it will be mildly interesting.

Very briefly, Mrs Monty and I have recently returned from our summer holidays, part of which was spent back in my home neck of the woods (literally) in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, where we were visiting family and friends. Whilst there, among other things, we visited Chepstow castle, situated on the Welsh/English border at the mouth of the River Wye as it feeds into the Severn Estuary.

Norman in origin and dating back to 1067, the castle was active for many years and its  position, perched high over the River Wye made it strategically vital. Among its many custodians were William Marshal and Richard de Clare to name but a couple.

View looking north at the remains of the Norman central hall, giving an ideal of the protection offered from the river and its cliffs.

(Mrs Monty ruining an informative shot of medieval stonework...huurrumph!)

Unknown to me, however, was the fact that Drogon's Welsh cousin, Blogon (I know) had decided to  make the castle its home, before suddenly and unexpectedly emerging from the inner bailey to ruin our picnic lunch. Hmmm.



On a completely different tact, I was able to make an excellent purchase for £2 of Zulu Dawn in a local charity shop situated in the nearby market town of Monmouth - which itself is notable for among other things,  being the birthplace of Henry V.The film, one of my overlooked favourites, has proven a nightmare to get hold of online, so this unexpected opportunity was most welcome.

I have been flirting with getting into Colonial gaming during my malaise - more of which in a later post. However, if it's anything like the vast majority of my other 'projects' it will no doubt result in abandonment as my attention drifts elsewhere.

Finally, for now, a quick glance at my painting table, back in the 'Eagle's Nest'; just to highlight some of the chaotic non-progress that is being made. I am painting stuff, with a few things almost ready for formal unveiling into coherent games...but I must achieve focus!

Hopefully, some of you are still reading at this point, if so, many thanks and I look forward to putting something useful up very soon.

That's it for now,

Monty

4Ground Medieval Dwelling

I'm very conscious there has been very little blogging of late; my work/life schedule has taken a massive bite into my free time in recent months, although I have been (sort of) productive during this time; no reports have made it online.  

Having said all that, the academic year is grinding to a close and with it, most of my current commitments; which should allow more blogging again...

Anyway, enough of my blubbing and on with the update! During a great visit to Salute recently, what stood out for me was the very prominent 4Ground kit that seemed to dominate a lot of the display games. I always had an open mind about laser cut buildings and their inherent qualities, but having seen them firsthand I have been sold; yes, they probably don't look as convincing as resin/plastic etc, but given the time saved, flexibility and so on, they are hard to beat. Not only that, they do look impressive 'in the flesh'.

I decided to take the plunge and try one out, hence the Saxon/Medieval dwelling here,which I picked up for £14, which is fairly reasonable. For those who haven't encountered the model before, I found it very straight forward to build. The only 'dodgy' bit, I think, is the so-called 'teddy bear fur' used for the thatch. However, once it is treated with a PVA/water mix as outlined in the instructions, it isn't too bad. I may yet wash and dry brush it to give it a little more depth.

The interior, out of the box is a little sparse, so I painted and dry brushed the floor before adding some brown static grass as 'straw', along with some firewood and 'ashes' in the fire box.

I intend to base the dwelling and add some wattle fencing, currently on order from Northstar to create a centre piece for a bit of Dark Age skirmishing - probably using THW's Swordplay rules.

Finally, the obligatory scale shot, using a couple of Conquest Games' Norman Infantry; as you can see, they fit very nicely. To sum up, I think 4Ground are the way ahead and ideal for skirmish-type games and intend to order a few more.

That's it for now,

Monty 

Conquest Games 28mm Norman Infantry

Here are the first of my Conquest Games Norman Infantry that I received as a Christmas present from my lovingly sympathetic (to my "silly little soldier thingies") woman. I have been unfeasibly busy just lately due to relocating, being made redundant and leaving my previous career of twenty-nine years to starting a new job, to do anything else on the creative front; so these will have to suffice for now.

However, that said, I must say that I have been impressed with these latest additions to the ever-increasing multi-part plastic range from various companies now available on the market. It is possible to make up to forty-four Norman infantry soldiers wearing varying degrees of protection and armed with a variety of weapons, including Danish axes, swords and spears. Most carry the famous Norman kite shield, although there are a couple of round shields per sprue if you prefer to add a little more diversity to your troops' appearance. most are helmeted in a variety of head dress, although some are bare-headed and sport the distinctive Norman barnet.

One of the two command sprues featuring a handy 'dead' marker. The detail and sculpting is excellent throughout, although the figures are a little tall - 30mm toe to eye - compared to other similar ranges, which may cause a problem when it comes to matching them off against each other.

I painted up a selection of four initial examples, including the armoured knight from the command sprue and was pleasantly surprised. All figures are nicely proportioned and dynamically posed. In addition I used the excellent shield transfers from Battle Flag to complete the look.

 

I prefer versatility with my miniatures and so have based them individually, but in this case, added a scratch-built unit stand to allow figure removal.

 

To sum up, a great example of a quality product of my favourite early medieval troops just waiting for some dedicated Saxon opposition - can't wait.

That's it for now,

Monty

Battle Flag

This is a very quick post -  with poor phone photography - to hastily highlight the excellent quality and fantastic turn around (two days) of Battle Flag's very impressive shield water slide decals; in this case for Conquest Game's lovely Norman Infantry.

Here they are, jaunty photo angle and all, in all their glory - yes, I know, there is a horrible flash obscuring part of them; but they are amazing quality. Suitably 'grubby' with blood and mud effects spattered over them - perfect; I've never been into 'day-glo' historical figures, the grubbier, the better, I say, so they suit me ideally!

That's it for now,

Monty