Episode 264 - Festival of Fear '12

[kingstownted]

MP3 Direct Download

Welcome to our 5th annual Festival of Fear convention show as we make the trek to Fan Expo 2012.

This year's lineup was light on the horror genre content but we still found plenty to see and do. Once again we bring the sights and sounds of this massive con to you with coverage of Tony Todd (at his panel and at the bar), an odd Walking Dead panel (with a very interesting appearance by Norman Reedus), and the highlight of the weekend John Carpenter!

Highlights include attending a live performance by longtime John Carpenter composer Alan Howarth, Anthony finding his way into a sneak peak screening of Doctor Who, Ted getting a new tattoo, sitting on the Iron Throne and of course the Horroretc meetup and pub crawl. So please hop in and join us for the virtual roadtrip and buckle up for the revelation of the weekend... Scully is a believer in the paranormal.

As always we welcome your comments: [e-mail]
Voicemail [phone]

[boomstickbob]

You gave a shout out for boardgames, this is awesome! Unfortunately most of the games the guys and I play are sci-fi licenses and as such I haven't played too many horror themed ones.

Zombies!!! is a great game, you mentioned having spotted it (it has a guy who is clearly an ash rip-off on the cover). It's pretty simple, so for someone who isn't used to playing really complex boardgames, it would be a good shout. It's easy to get into and a fun party type of game as characters screw each other over to get to the choppa.

The players each take a little dude, and the aim is to be the first person to get to the helicopter, the trick being that the game board is slowly developed turn by turn. Each person on their turn picks up a tile and places it thereby creating a layout of a city which changes every game. Because you don't know when the helicopter tile will show up, who will get it, or where it will be placed, it's completely random. In the meanwhile you go around shotgunning zombies gathering ammo and interesting weapons. It's fun.

The Walking Dead is a good one too, though I only ever played it once. You basically move around Atlanta to various locations gathering weapons and resources (kind of like a larger scale zombies!!!) in order to achieve goals in order to become the winner. The most interesting thing about this game for me was the gathering of helper characters, as well as the fact that all of the characters are from the Walking Dead so if you're a fan you will probably enjoy this. It's got the original artist's artwork, so the characters properly look like themselves. However, all in all it is little more than a more complex, TV-show licensed Zombies!!!

I can't really let you in on much more horror, but Battlestar Galactica is one of the most fun I've ever played. Each person takes a character from the show, and in their turn takes an action (shoots guns, fixes something, political actions etc.) then the whole group votes using influence in a political crisis card, all the while being harassed by the Cylon fleet. There are different types of characters; officer, pilot and political, and hierarchies, so someone has to be the admiral with access to the nukes, someone has to be President and can take presidential actions and someone has to be CAG.

HOWEVER, by far the most interesting element of this game is the fact that at the start everyone is dealt allegiance cards, and someone is secretly a Cylon, who to win has to sabotage the crisis resolution (you vote secretly). This leads to fantastic arguments between characters as to who is a toaster and the constant threat of people 'air-locking' each other! I can't reccomend this game or it's expansion (allowing for the use of Pegasus and more detailed Cylon actions) enough.

For the record, I always try and pick Baltar, whose special abilities include 'cowardice' which means there's more chance of you getting a Cylon or a Cylon sympathizer allegiance card, and 'Cylon Detector' which allows you randomly, at any point in the game, to look at someone else's allegience card - allowing for much Gaius Baltar-like slipperiness ;D

[Phibes]

I was there and the vid in the following link is the best representation I've seen:

blip.tv/redlettermedia/red-letter-media-at-toronto-fanexpo-6327823

[bigmac]

The one with the soundtrack is Last Night on Earth. Yea, it's spendy, but a lot of fun.

Zombies!!! is great fun as well. And both games have expansion packs, allowing you to change up the game, add more challenges and more vicious zombies (in one Zombies!!! expansion pack, you get zombie clowns!).

I have both and love playing them. Zombies!!! is great when you and your friends want to mess with each other, as survival is the name of the game. All you strategy is directed to helping the other players fail, so if you're in a nasty mood, it's the perfect game.

Last Night on Earth is more cooperative. Heroes need to work together to survive, and often end up exchanging weapons in order to get the best use out of the items they've collected. And, you have a player (or two) controlling the zombies, so it's not just a mindless horde staggering after you.

Both are great fun. Zombies!!! can go for a while, as you don't "die" in the game, just start over at the main starting point. Last Night on Earth can be over pretty quick, depending on how the dice role for you. Both should be in every zombie fan's game drawer.

[darkfiction74]

Great show. Too bad that the Fan Expo kinda sucked this year, though.

I'm really looking forward to Ted's idea for a 'what draws us to gory movies' episode. This is often something I reflect on, myself, and I have my own theories as to what draws some people to gore. My theories are probably hogwash, but it's fun to think about no matter what.

[jamtomorrow]

Yet another vote for Zombies!! here. The game's pretty simple in terms of rules etc., but what you need to realise is that the real fun comes from players screwing each other over (greatly faciltated by the mechanic that you can play your event cards at any time you like, e.g. during another player's turn). Best played with a large number of players and copious quantities of alcohol.