This article donated from a site no longer online.

Originally published: June 24, 2006

[Edit: I'm posting this because I plan to review the figures which I got last year and cover HorrorClix a little more in depth in the coming weeks. This article's just to give you an idea of the game in case you're unfamiliar with it.]

 

I’m a pretty consistent fan of gaming. Be it video games, board games or those life-sucking MMORPG’s (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). I’ll even admit that I’ve spent a few hours indulging in the intensely geeky realm of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Generally I prefer immersive gaming, like say Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I love the whole concept of freeform play with the ability to still have a storyline. As much as I enjoy watching characters move around the screen, though, one of my dreams has been a game I could play with physical characters. It’d be sort of like going back to my teenage, err.. pre-teen years when I played with G.I. Joe and Star Wars figures. I’d finally have a chance to re-enact grand stories with gaming mechanics adding that twist of chance to really spark my imagination. Maybe other kids would play with me, too!

For years that dream was out of reach. However, it’s begun to move closer to becoming reality. Well, ok, it actually is a reality. Wizkids has already brought us games of this nature with Mage Knight (which I bought in massive quantities a few years ago) and HeroClix. These are CMG’s (Collectible Miniatures Games) and they use small figures on special bases which contain stats and dials to keep track of damage during combat and whatnot. This is all well and fine but superheroes and medieval fantasy just aren’t my thing. Horror is. Guess what Wizkids is coming out with in August?

Yep! It’s HorrorClix! This isn’t just combat-based war-gaming with monsters, either. There are going to be actual STORY elements!

 

HorrorClix is going to be a whole new breed of game, from what I’ve been reading. The emphasis of gameplay is going to be on the participants playing out a horror-style story. Sort of like horror fiction or film, except you get to determine how things go. To spice up the blood-chilling action, there’ll be game fiction, scenario cards, plot twist cards and even character cards. Can we have a halleleujah for the perfect marriage of table top AND roleplay gaming?

As for what sorts of characters you’ll be able to obtain, they’ll all be sold in packs (or bricks if you’re truly hardcore), so you never know what you’re going to get. Please hold the Forrest Gump jokes, folks, they’re tired - very tired. Anyways, from what I’ve snooped it appears we’ll be able to get a whole range of monsters. Big ole 16" Great Cthulhu should be a true show piece and highly collectible. Aliens Vs. Predator are scheduled to be available, too. There’ll also be werewolves, vampires, serial killers, derranged clowns, loony cultists, zombies, headless horsemen and the devil only knows what else. Oh and did I mention that VICTIMS will also be available? How cool is THAT?

I’d like to pause for a moment, just to allow us all to take a calm breath and slow our hammering hearts. Imagine the games you could play with these figures. You could have serial killers slaughtering hapless victims only to be preyed upon by vampires far more powerful than Mr. Killer had ever imagined. You could have zombie armies battling it out with werewolves over some sacred grounds or another. You could invent a story about a cult that manages to exercise mind control over vast legions of supernatural baddies and then sic ‘em on a group of determined victims who must wage war to save the planet - or your living room floor. I mean, the potential here is amazing.

Alas, I have not yet played the game itself. The figures won’t be shipping until August 2006. I do indeed plan to get some so that I can review them right here on Happy Horror. From my sleuthing, I’ve discovered that Starter Packs will go for around $13.00 and Booster Packs for around $8.00 or so. You can pre-order these from many sites online already.

If you want the official scoop on HorrorClix, click on this

I confess. I cannot wait to review this game. Be sure to add us to your favorites and check back frequently to see my earliest reviews. Until the next time I drool over my moldy keyboard in awe over yet another fabulous plastic creation, this is GlowStormLion, pre-ordering vast ships full of HorrorClix product to hoarde and release slowly on E-bay at outrageous prices. Goodnight, horror fans!

Originally published: October 31, 2007 @ 12:13pm PST

The other day at work I spotted a bag of items in the Halloween section of Wal-Mart. I didn’t think much about it at first, but after I got my digital camera I decided to snag a package and write an article up about it. Good thing I did, too, as there were only two packages left and I wasn’t about to pick up the other type they had there.

 

Yes, it’s 25 Halloween Party Favors!

25 of the creepiest, crawliest, most disgus-… wait, is that a lavendar bat? And a pink turtle-shaped blob? These things don’t exactly exude scary if you know what I mean. At any rate, let’s take a closer look.

 

 

Makes for an interesting pile of items, doesn’t it? Nicely pastel in some cases, darker in others, all with an interesting "new plastic" smell to them. So, let’s start our tour.

 

LAVENDAR BAT: Well, we start our summary with the most noticeable item in the bag: the bat. What is there to say about the bat? Well, aside from looking like it took a dip in can of purple paint, not much. I thought it might have a suction cup on its back but no dice there. I thought, then, that it might glow in the dark… wrong again. It just sits there, all purpley and clear and battish. 2/5

 

YELLOW SUCTION CUP SPIDER: Now this is a little more like it. Spiders are inherently creepy, and the suction cup adds a bit more use to it [Editor's note: this way you can attach the spider to your forehead and walk around!]. Still, even if you call someone into the room with the intent to scare them with the huge spider you’ve stuck to the mirror/window, they might see through the bright yellow color scheme. 3/5

 

LOPSIDED SNAKES AND LIZARD: These just confuse me. I mean, I understand the inclusion of the snakes (the creepiness factor again) and the lizard is a nice touch, also. However, closer examination reveals this:

 

Each of the reptiles have these little clips on the underside of them. What’s the clip for? In case you want to wear a snake as a brooch? Tie a lizard in your hair? Really desperate to hold some papers together? Mysterious! 3/5

 

BUG AND SPIDER RINGS: One of the staples of my childhood Halloween adventures is the classic black spider ring. Indeed, even now, I remember a gentleman handing them out in place of candy, telling me that, in the dark, said ring would become a real spider and crawl up my arm. Fun stuff! The rings in this package, however, don’t quite live up to this scary tradition. Sure, you have a pair of younger brothers to the Suction Spider from earlier, as well as a very cool-looking scorpion. However, the other seven bugs seem a bit less than fear-inducing. A ladybug? A dragonfly? An ant and beetle? I see at least one stinging insect in this group, but I can’t be sure what kind. Still, nice scorpion. 3/5

 

FROGS: I’m sorry, but frogs just aren’t scary to me. That being said, I do like the texture on the smaller, darker frog. 2/5

 

PASTEL TURTLES: Last on our list are these, the most baffling items in the bag. What do turtles have to do with Halloween? Why are they such brightly colored, happy turtles? However, they do have a use:

 

Pencil toppers! Yes, you, too can have a reclining pink turtle on the top of your favorite writing implement! Be the envy of all your friends! Still, this isn’t enough to save the turtles from me having to score them 1/5. Don’t get me wrong, they’re excellent turtles, just not Halloweeny enough for me.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this stroll through a bag of goodies meant for a little kid’s party.

Here’s the official tally:

1 purple bat

1 yellow spider

6 clip-on snakes

1 clip-on lizard

10 bug and spider rings

2 frogs

4 pastel pencil topping turtles

Have a great Halloween! Until next time, this is Red Hawk signing off!