Infinity, It Rocks! That means something to someone.
Hi boys and girls, are we all sitting comfortably? Good! Then I'll begin...
Although Warmahordes has taken up almost 98% of my gaming time in the last year and a bit, I have been hankering after some full on milscifi for that whole time as well. After being initially put off Infinity by the lower player count at the club compared to 40k, a chance presented itself for me to get in on the ground floor so to speak. My good friend AB @ G3 offered up some Haqqislam, at a fantastic price and with stunningly good paint jobs, so i jumped at the chance! The rules are available in their entirety from the site, but the books are a fantastic shelf item, beautiful and big!
Now, if you like good hard scifi, (and who doesnt like it good and hard?), Inifinity is right up your street. If you like models that are insanely good, and a complete bitch to get together, then ininity has you covered! But above the setting and the miniatures, the game stands as a massive, shining example of a game with some stupidly good mechanics! The ARO!
This single mechanic can make a game a cinematic epic that gets the heart racing and the blood pounding, with stories unfolding before your very eyes...if your on the winning side...
If your on the losing side, well, it sucks!
Basically the ARO is an Automatic Reaction Order...usually a shorter skill such as "OMG IM BEING SHOT AT..oooh! Cover...thats handy *dives*" or "OMG IM BEING SHOT AT...*lifts rifle, sprays, prays*". In other words, no trooper in infinity just sits still and lets themselves be shot to death. They will always have a chance to react, and possibly survive, possibly defeat, the aggressor. Of course the aggressor will have the advantage, but the sheer cinematic brilliance of shooting a sniper through his scope just as he lines up to shoot you is amazing (of course its actually just rolling off skills vs skills in what is called a "face to face" roll, but in my mind, its a vignette of deadly combat, played out in slo-mo).
One criticism I have heard at G3 is the dominance of heavy ordnance and snipers, with them being able to lock down entire boards. However, it seems obvious to my WM mind that for every paper, rock or scissor there is a scissor, paper or rock to counter it!
Enemy dominating a corridor of fire with overwatch? Manouver into a position where you have him covered and outflank!
Sniper getting you down? Overwatch from cover and send out some bait!
Basically, if it is a shitty trick used in real life type urban skirmishes, it can be used in Infinity!
I have hardly scratched the surface of this game but the possibilities for fast, story laden gameplay and genuine use of intelligent tactics and stratagems are all there. We plan to play a two player per team 4 player game tomorrow evening, using the Lost Post scenario from the Corvus Belli website.
I will post up a report on this, and see if it changes my opinion, but for now, Infinity is the perfect fit in my gaming spectrum for scifi and crazy batshit twists and turns that will be told over many a mead in the years to come.
Good example:
Andy's LT is hunkered down behind the counter in a fast food joint, poppping up and picking off my troops from the rear, he is pinned down but still a potent threat. My Ghulam squad leader decides she is tired of his shit, and goes Betty White on him. Casually she strolls out into the open, lighting a ciggy as she does so, she unbuckles her pistol, takes a drag and waits. Via the commlink, she impels one of her squad to pepper the area with shots. Once the shots die down, the enemy LT pops up his head, ready to end the fool who had wasted a whole clip shooting above his head, the last thing he sees is the muzzle flash before his brains bounce out the back of his helmet, ending the fight and giving victory to the Haqqislam forces invading this sector.
Of course, it was actually two face to face rolls, with me scoring a natural success, but Infinity paints these wonderful pictures in your head.
See you all soon for a report on tomorrows gaming goodness.
Oh, and until next time go here: http://tom-rolland.blogspot.com/
A genuinely funny guy who does more 40k than me.
Although Warmahordes has taken up almost 98% of my gaming time in the last year and a bit, I have been hankering after some full on milscifi for that whole time as well. After being initially put off Infinity by the lower player count at the club compared to 40k, a chance presented itself for me to get in on the ground floor so to speak. My good friend AB @ G3 offered up some Haqqislam, at a fantastic price and with stunningly good paint jobs, so i jumped at the chance! The rules are available in their entirety from the site, but the books are a fantastic shelf item, beautiful and big!
Now, if you like good hard scifi, (and who doesnt like it good and hard?), Inifinity is right up your street. If you like models that are insanely good, and a complete bitch to get together, then ininity has you covered! But above the setting and the miniatures, the game stands as a massive, shining example of a game with some stupidly good mechanics! The ARO!
This single mechanic can make a game a cinematic epic that gets the heart racing and the blood pounding, with stories unfolding before your very eyes...if your on the winning side...
If your on the losing side, well, it sucks!
Basically the ARO is an Automatic Reaction Order...usually a shorter skill such as "OMG IM BEING SHOT AT..oooh! Cover...thats handy *dives*" or "OMG IM BEING SHOT AT...*lifts rifle, sprays, prays*". In other words, no trooper in infinity just sits still and lets themselves be shot to death. They will always have a chance to react, and possibly survive, possibly defeat, the aggressor. Of course the aggressor will have the advantage, but the sheer cinematic brilliance of shooting a sniper through his scope just as he lines up to shoot you is amazing (of course its actually just rolling off skills vs skills in what is called a "face to face" roll, but in my mind, its a vignette of deadly combat, played out in slo-mo).
One criticism I have heard at G3 is the dominance of heavy ordnance and snipers, with them being able to lock down entire boards. However, it seems obvious to my WM mind that for every paper, rock or scissor there is a scissor, paper or rock to counter it!
Enemy dominating a corridor of fire with overwatch? Manouver into a position where you have him covered and outflank!
Sniper getting you down? Overwatch from cover and send out some bait!
Basically, if it is a shitty trick used in real life type urban skirmishes, it can be used in Infinity!
I have hardly scratched the surface of this game but the possibilities for fast, story laden gameplay and genuine use of intelligent tactics and stratagems are all there. We plan to play a two player per team 4 player game tomorrow evening, using the Lost Post scenario from the Corvus Belli website.
I will post up a report on this, and see if it changes my opinion, but for now, Infinity is the perfect fit in my gaming spectrum for scifi and crazy batshit twists and turns that will be told over many a mead in the years to come.
Good example:
Andy's LT is hunkered down behind the counter in a fast food joint, poppping up and picking off my troops from the rear, he is pinned down but still a potent threat. My Ghulam squad leader decides she is tired of his shit, and goes Betty White on him. Casually she strolls out into the open, lighting a ciggy as she does so, she unbuckles her pistol, takes a drag and waits. Via the commlink, she impels one of her squad to pepper the area with shots. Once the shots die down, the enemy LT pops up his head, ready to end the fool who had wasted a whole clip shooting above his head, the last thing he sees is the muzzle flash before his brains bounce out the back of his helmet, ending the fight and giving victory to the Haqqislam forces invading this sector.
Of course, it was actually two face to face rolls, with me scoring a natural success, but Infinity paints these wonderful pictures in your head.
See you all soon for a report on tomorrows gaming goodness.
Oh, and until next time go here: http://tom-rolland.blogspot.com/
A genuinely funny guy who does more 40k than me.
Comments
Post a Comment