what's been happening over the past five years with space combat games? The news of a mostly HD release of Babylon 5 has thrown me headlong down a space combat hobby wormhole and I figured I'd try to get more acquainted with the subgenre. Star Wars Armada was launched in that same year but honestly I never tried it as I wasn't actively going to conventions at that point anymore (my primary source of trying a wide range of new and old but new to me games) the few battle reports I watched explaining the rules didn't appeal to me personally and I haven't looked back into it since. DFC was sold to another company and seems to still have active support from a quick check but I just don't see much excitement from the outside looking in. It didn't end well and Spartan Games itself imploded like a finnicky nuclear reactor maintained by Pakleds just a year or two later. It was a difficult choice (especially since neither was actually out) but ultimately I chose Halo and invested in buying a couple of boxes and some extra gubbins. At the time, the two big games that were announced were Halo Fleet Battles by Spartan Games and Dropfleet Commander by Hawk Wargames. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.A few years back (2015 to be exact), I was relatively excited by the seemingly increased industry interest in space combat gaming (both fighter scale and capital ship/fleet scale) that seemed to be happened. Van Allsburg's illustrations are the best part of his books but a "hot teenage sister" is not an image he has ever published. While Stewart is fine in this role and even provides some comic relief, it is rather disturbing that the producers chose to turn her into a pubescent sex object, blustering around the house in her underwear for most of the film. "Zathura" does compromise, as the producers attempt to expand their audience by creating an older sister (Lisa played by Kristen Stewart) who was not a character in the book. Unfortunately "Zathura" it is not as pure as "Sharkboy and Lavagirl", which uniquely refused to compromise its "for kids only" story. Like "Sharkboy and Lavagirl", older viewers will find very little of interest other than a fun production design and nice effects. Like the source book, the movie adaptation of "Zathura" targets kindergarten to Grade 5 children. As Danny and Walter face the challenges of space they discover that they can work as a team and they even develop some affection for each other (a more unrealistic idea than anything they actually encounter in space). Each spin of the dial determines the distance the ship will move on that turn and a card is ejected detailing what happens to the ship at that point of space. ![]() Based on those old 1950's tin toys it involves two tin spaceships on a track racing around space. While their divorced father (Tim Robbins playing the only sympathetic character in the film) is away at a meeting, the younger brother (Danny) finds an old Zathura game in the basement. I was however surprised that anyone would find this sort of thing entertaining. Having grown up with this same sibling age dynamic (six and ten) I was not surprised at the amount of yelling, anger, and resentment that goes on between the two brothers. ![]() ![]() So it is "supposed" to be like another "Jumanji". "Zathura" was the flip side of the "Jumanji" game board and the ones the brothers chose to play (because Walter did not like jungle games). Early board games were often designed with two-sided boards so that the game pieces could be used to play two different games-usually of the same type. "Zathura" is a sequel to "Jumanji", it is about what happened when the Budwing brothers opened the game box that Peter and Judy discarded at the end of "Jumanji". Those who criticize "Zathura" for being a copycat "Jumanji" are apparently clueless about the Van Allsburg's books.
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