The Monster Manual - just killed all the other Monster Manuals and took their stuff

I secured my copy this late evening and while I haven't had time to read it cover to cover yet, I wanted to make a few observations for those interested:

1. This is the most gorgeous Monster Manual to date. Those early reviews out there saying it's a good looking book? They are not kidding. Even the most ardent haters of the 5E style will sound lame and ineffectual if they try to argue that the 5E Monster Manual doesn't look good.

2. It has about 421 individual stat blocks, spread out over 352 pages, and covers pretty much "all the core." You may not necessarily see something surprising jump out at you (this is a book of the tried and true) but the artistic depictions and actual details of some old favorites may take you by surprise.

3. The succubus (and incubus) is now a vile race of the lower planes that plays all sides...demon, devil, whatever. Also, the incubus is distinctly more sexualized than the succubus.....

4. The spiffed up looks of the demons and devils are great, but I am especially impressed at the black-armored Erinyes, and the spined devil is freaky.

5. Where are the mohrg? Were they not iconic enough? I know they got gutted into viscera thingies in 4E, but I've loved mohrg as major foes since their 3.0 appearance. Murderous serial killer undead with drippy touchy intestine-tentacles better show up in a future book, please.

6. No nymph?

7. Downside to the book so far: it includes a nice selection of sample NPC encounter stat blocks (similar to what was released in the free mini-MM) but the advice to customize them for the core races is to use the PHB's racial details. A concise "template" of each race in the MM would have been welcome.

8. No monsters-as-playable-races options in the MM. I think they're saving that for the DMG.

9. The mind flayer illustration is seriously bad ass.

10. Revenants exist in 5E! They have a monster entry, which gives me hope they will get some space as an alternate race in the DMG or a future tome.

Two months to go before the DMG....oh, the wait will be excruciating!

Halo 4: First Impressions

Well, I finally snagged Halo 4 and managed to get some play time in. First impressions? It's clearly the best title in the series, and manages to both evolve Halo 4 and still "feel" like a Halo game at the same time...but in a good way. I've replayed all of the Halo games over the last few months, so I've got the general experience fresh in my mind. Halo 4 feels like a genuine sequel with real improvements, both in look, style and lots of subtle bits that might not be all that evident to a casual fan of the series but which really do make a difference.

When people are talking about how Call of Duty is getting long in the tooth and it's engine sort of stale and old...Halo 4 is a good benchmark on exactly how an engine (and series) can get upgraded and feel genuinely better and more innovative while at the same time being true to its roots.

Also, that opening prologue level....holy cow, that was something else. Fantastic level design. I wish Capcom would look at games like this and notice how they have managed to build very, very large levels that bottleneck at a linear pace but do it in such a way you almost never feel railroaded or claustrophobic.

One more thing: the story focus in Halo 4 is very, very well done. It really grabs you right from the start, and I honestly can say 343 Studios is doing a better and more consistently interesting job than Bungee did. As I said, I replayed through all the other Halo titles this year, and while it's true that Halo: Reach was definitely Bungee's crowning achievement, it still fails to narratively grab you like Halo 4 does. Also, 343 Studios is paying more attention to the lore and backstory they've established in the novels (something Reach sort of chewed up a bit). This trailer demonstrates scenes and events practically lifted from the novels:



Oh yeah....the gun designs, from the feel and physics down to the sounds? Extremely well done. The pistol is back, by the way, and is ranking as my favorite weapon right now.

I'm only a couple levels in, so a proper review in a few more days when I (hopefully) finish the campaign! Also looking forward to seeing how the multi-player plays.