Rocksmith new DLC available now!

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Get Love Song
Just Like Heaven
The End of the World

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New style White Dwarf

So I walked into my local newsagents, and saw the new copy of White Dwarf sitting there, in a plastic outer bag with the words New! splashed across the top. I had vowed not to but another copy after the disappointing decline the magazine has taken over the past few years, but I picked it up and it felt, well, quality. So I purchased it, and eagerly rushed home.

The covers are of a fantastic quality, the pictures embossed on the cover. The magazine now has weight, probably due to the extra 32 pages now packed in. The magazine now has a brand new team, and it shows.

There is a in-depth look/showcase of chaos space marines, and this theme rubs through the magazine. A decent battle report, which shows off the new Chaos codex, and painting guides. Not as in depth as they used to be, but still useful for beginners to learn new techniques and advanced painters to better themselfs.

A new article, called kit bash, looks great. Focussing on the Ork Dakkajet kit, it shows some ideas on how to convert this model into some stunning pieces.

Also in this, which is quite unheard of, is a detailed look at the new Forge World Horus Heresy books, along with the models that Forge World are producing. I never though I would see the day when Forge World would get even mentioned in White Dwarf, let alone have a article about their new miniatures!

The photography has also gone up a lot. There are some really nice, well planned photographs all the way through out. Gone are the boring shots of old, the new photography really brings out the new models, and the mood set by the theme aswell.

There's loads more in this magazine that's new, and whilst being predominantly about Warhammer 40000, I suspect that it will switch between fantasy and sci fi on a monthly basis just like it used to.
It also looks like the 'Eavy Metal team are back on form, the paintjobs in this issue are definatly miles better than the rubbish that has been seen recently.

For the extra £1, this issue is defiantly worth it. If the new team can still keep up this level of quality every month, I may even re-subscribe to the magazine. Yes, it is still a glorified catalogue, but this time it appears to have some substance, with useful articles that you want to read, and fantastic photography. Keep it up guys, and you may have rescued what used to be a fine magazine.

Descent 2nd Edition

Here is a game off the beaten track of all the Warhammer 40000 posts that have been going up here recently. Descent 2^nd edition is the follow up to the hugely popular Fantasy Flight Games, Descent: Journeys into the Dark.

A lot of people loved the first edition, and a lot of people hated the it as well. The main complaints were about the length of the game, and the sheer amount of space that it took up on the table. 2^nd edition is very similar, but also very different.

Miniatures wise, like all other FFG games, they are fantastic. Not as many as in 1^st Ed, but still a good amount. Cards are standard FFG size, and board pieces and counters again the quality that you would expect from FFG.

It has been hugely streamlined. Many of the annoyances that were in Descent, like the Town, popping to the shops mid quest, all the re-spawn points, and the fact that the Overlord character has so many monsters, and then variations of the monsters that you never quite knew what you were fighting until you were dead.

This leaves a system that begs to be played, and with not as much to remember for a new player, should be completed in 2 hours or less, maybe a little longer, but not by much.

At heart its still a dungeon crawl minus RPG elements, but you can still level up characters, and indeed the overlord player can upgrade as well. If you want more of a RPG series, then D&D or other equivalent system is for you. This is a tactical miniature game. One player takes the role of the overlord, and runs the dungeon and monsters with the help of a deck of cards. Other players take the role of heroes, ones that must defeat the many dangers lurking in these dungeons.

I believe that all of these adventures could be played right from the box, pick one and off you go. This would be great to show new people how to play, but the real heart of this is the campaign system, linking all the adventures together, and powering up your characters. Indeed, the game comes with a campaign all set up and ready to go, and I can almost guarantee that there will be expansions just like 1^st edition.

If you own first edition, then there is a little bonus for you. There is a upgrade kit. It requires that the core 2^nd edition is bought, but upgrades all of the 1^st edition monsters into the 2^nd edition rules, so right from the word go you will have many more options!

Game wise, this plays well from 2 to 5 players, all within 2 hours, without the grind of 1^st edition. I played 1^st Ed, liked it enough, but never played again as it was draining in the long run. This is a lot smoother and a lot better.

If you have never played Descent: Journeys into the Darkness, and like dungeon games, then without hesitation go out and buy this game. It is fantastic and will be supported for a while to come, so many more adventures are to come. If you have played 1^st Ed, I would recommend this game a lot, but would also suggest playing before you buy. The changes are for the better, but may be changes enough to make you not like these rules.

All in all, Descent 2^nd edition is a rip roaring romp through a dungeon, with enough re-playability to keep it on the table for months to come.