Staining The Timbre

In the wake of Joe Biden being declared presumptive president-elect and four of the most ruthless, combative, and generally disdainful years in modern US history, there has unsurprisingly been push back from the losing team while the winners gloat. It varies from group to group but what I want to address is the notion that those who oppose Trump should somehow show deference or literally a modicum of kindness to those who back(ed) him.     Under normal circumstances I would agree that, when in doubt, it's best to operate by the Golden Rule, "Treat others how you would like to be treated." It's served many people well thus far and I don't expect it to ever falter. It stokes a worldview of inclusion and fairness, assuming you're using it in good faith and not as justification for an "eye for an eye" attitude. It's a simple rule, easy to learn and easy to master, and is a universally agreed upon beacon for humanity's behavior. At times, though, ...

DM: "You push through the now-unlocked wooden door and find yourselves in an expansive cave. Floor-to-ceiling pillars are equally spaced in rows, stretching to the far side of the room 200 feet away. Every other pillar has a lit brazier, casting an eerie, dim glow across the dirt floor." Rogue: "Checking for traps. 17." DM: "You are unable to find any traps in your immediate vicinity." Barbarian: "So it's just a big empty room?" Sorcerer: "I cast light on the furthest pillar from me I can reach." DM: "A pillar 60 feet away from you shines, casting harsh, white light in all directions. The room grows significantly brighter, but it is now more difficult to see in the shadows behind the pillars." Druid: "Can I Commune with Nature to get a layout of the room?" DM: "Sure. What info are you looking for?" Druid: "Any exits or secret areas attached this room, any living creatures in there with...

Let's get this out of the way right up front: It is both appropriate and inappropriate to say The Outer Worlds , the first-person scifi RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Private Division, is Fallout in space. The core mechanics are largely similar, the dialogue system is very reminiscent of the Fallout series (save for Fallout 4 and the lifeless, emaciated husk that is Fallout 76 ), and the unique weaponry all smack of what we know and love as Fallout . HOWEVER, I think what many people don't realize is that those traits aren't unique to Fallout , they're unique to a designer who helped create Fallout. Leonard Boyarsky, as far as the average gamer goes, doesn't get the celebrity he deserves. He made his mark at Interplay (eons ago in the ancient 1990s) as Art Director of the first Fallout game, pulling double duty as well polishing dialogue, and cemented that notoriety with his broad stroke involvement in nearly every aspect of Fallout ...

This article is part of a review series covering XXL Magazine's Freshman Class of 2019. For reviewing purposes any content covered is exclusive to the artist's most recent or highest acclaimed work, with the latter taking precedence.

This article is part of a review series covering XXL Magazine's Freshman Class of 2019. For reviewing purposes any content covered is exclusive to the artist's most recent or highest acclaimed work, with the latter taking precedence.

This article is part of a review series covering XXL Magazine's Freshman Class of 2019. For reviewing purposes any content covered is exclusive to the artist's most recent or highest acclaimed work, with the latter taking precedence.

It's little secret that I'm a fan of the high strange; weird tales of grim fantasy and supernatural supposition meant to scratch the parts of our minds that beg for answers to the unknown. Those that ring true give vigor to the falsities and, at its core, conspiracies as people most frequently intend amount to little more than world building exercises. You start with an established, objective fact and spin wildly from there. In this effort The Hillbilly Moonshine Massacre succeeds, eventually. The story's thrust follows Abraham Richards, a war veteran recently returned to Cattaraugus County, a backwater conglomeration of acreage that resembles a town as much as any other 500 population fly-over. Plagued by wartime traumas, and perhaps hoping a job might give him some much needed direction, Abe falls under the employ of Sheriff Cecil Kotto as the County's newest deputy. As any good pulp story asserts, the main character (Abraham Richards, in this case) will alway...