Wednesday 17 June 2015

Zombicide Scenario C23 Day Zero Part 5

TURN 20
AMY. "I'll deal with these," Amy announced as she swung her chainsaw in a wide arc that resulted in the beheading of two Runners.
Doug, Josh and Ned all had their guns raised just in case things went wrong for the young Goth Girl, but by now Amy knew exactly how to wield her chainsaw. She thrust the spinning blades into the mouth of the third Runner, splintering his teeth. She pushed harder until the chainsaw blades emerged from the back of the Runner's head. He died messily.
JOSH. "Fucking awesome!" the teenager declared, full of admiration for Amy's skill with the chainsaw.
DOUG. "Hey, Ned, I found this and thought you might find it useful," Doug said as he held out the flashlight he'd recently found. "Do you want it?"
NED. "Yeah, thanks, Doug," Ned replied. He slipped the sturdy torch into one of his coat pockets. "Do you know what this really is?"
Doug didn't understand the question. The answer seemed so obvious. "It's a flashlight," he said.
"No, it's a metal tube for storing dead batteries!" Ned shot back, grinning widely at the joke.
Doug looked blank, until the penny dropped and he suddenly realised the drifter was pulling his leg.
PHIL. Phil's concentration was fully focused on the two Runners who were moving fast enough to give any Olympic sprinter a good run for their money. He let them get within a few yards of him before he blasted them with his Remington 12 gauge pump-action shotgun. Their legs flew out from under them and they fell to the ground in ungainly heaps. This time they stayed dead.
WANDA. "You guys never give up, do you?" the rollerskating waitress said with an air of resignation. She jabbed her chainsaw into the throat of the leading Runner and deftly removed his head from his shoulders. The second Runner crashed into the back of his colleague and they both fell down. Wanda could not believe her luck. As the second Runner tried to stand back up she placed the chainsaw on the back of his neck and sliced his head off.
ZOMBIES. A fresh batch of seventeen zombies arrived to replace those recently slaughtered. From the north came six Walkers, from the east came three Runners, from the south came two more Runners. Finally, from the west came two Fatties and four Walkers.
TURN 21
AMY. Amy stepped up to face a group of six Walkers head on. She blasted one in the head with her special combi-weapon and was considering charging the others with her chainsaw but Doug called to her in warning.
DOUG. "Amy, back off!" he shouted. "We can deal with the others."
Amy was happy enough to obey. She reloaded Ma's Shotgun as she retreated. Doug fired two short bursts from his twin Uzi sub-machine guns and killed three more Walkers.
Doug is the first Survivor to reach the Red Danger Level. Now the zombies would come flooding in!
JOSH. "I'll get the last two," Josh said eagerly as he swapped places with Doug. His twin sawed-off shotguns barked twice, fatally wounding the two remaining Walkers.
"Teamwork," Amy acknowledged. Josh nodded at her and reloaded his weapons.
NED. "That's a big group down there," Doug said pointing one of his Uzis at the four Walkers and two Fatties who were advancing from the west side. "Do you think you can whittle 'em down some?"
"I reckon so," Ned replied as he took aim with his sniper's rifle. He was true to his word. In an impressive display of marksmanship he killed the four Walkers with four shots.
Ned also advances to the Red Danger Level and chooses the Tough Skill, making it harder for zombies to wound him.
PHIL. The young police patrolman also displayed fine marksmanship. He killed three Runners with four shots from his hunting rifle.
WANDA. Wanda was only a short distance away from the crossroads where the two Runners had suddenly appeared. By now she was feeling sick and tired of constantly killing zombies. She wanted nothing more to wash away the blood and gore from her hair, her face, her hands and arms. She dreamed of lying in a hot, soapy bath as she swung her chainsaw repeatedly at the two Runners. It barely registered that she'd killed them. She just stood and blinked until her eyes focused on the two headless corpses at her feet. With a sigh of resignation she spun round on her skates and glided back along the street to the store front.
ZOMBIES. Suddenly what had once been a trickle of zombies arriving turned into a raging torrent. From the north side, a group of seven Walkers shuffled into the neighbourhood.
All Fatties gained an extra Turn during this Zombie Spawn Phase.
Four Fatties led a charge of eight Walkers from the east side of the city.
The two Fatties facing Doug and Ned were swiftly followed by four Runners. Wanda got a well deserved break when no new zombies appeared from the south side.
TURN 22
At this point in the game the Experience Points totals for the Survivors were - Amy 38, Doug 43, Josh 35, Ned 43, Phil 40 and Wanda 35. 43 was the total needed to reach Red Danger Level.
AMY. "We could do with more firepower here," Doug yelled in warning.
"I'm on it," Amy responded as she stepped in front of Doug. She swiftly put a stop to the advance of the two Fatties with head shots from both barrels of Ma's Shotgun.
Josh originally scored 1 hit and 3 misses but used his Re-roll Skill and scored 3 hits and 1 miss.
JOSH. "Is it just me or does there seem to be more zombies arriving?" Josh asked rhetorically. Their numbers were increasing and that worried the youth. He killed three Walkers out of seven with his twin sawed-off shotguns. He stepped back and reloaded.
DOUG. Doug jogged along the street, hoping to kill all four Runners with his twin Uzis. Unfortunately for him, he only scored two kills. As he sprinted back he shouted, "Ned, get 'em!"
NED. Ned did not reply. He calmly fired and shot one of the Runners clean between the eyes. The last remaining Runner ducked down just as he fired. The bullet passed his head by a fraction of an inch. The zombie had been lucky once. He was not lucky a second time. Ned's third shot hit the Runner just above the left eye and splattered his brains out of the back of his head.
PHIL. Phil moved closer to the four Fatties advancing on him and cranked a round in his pump-action shotgun. His first shot caught the foremost Fatty in the face. Phil quickly fired again before the body had hit the ground. The recoil momentarily caught him off guard and the shot went far too high. It was a stupid mistake to make and he knew it. Annoyed at himself, he took more care with his next shot. A second Fatty fell down with half his head missing from the blast.
WANDA. "Hey, Wanda, are you free?" Phil called out. "I could do with some help here."
"Hang on. I'm coming," Wanda shouted back. She skated around the general store and past Ned's bunker to come to a stop alongside the patrolman.
"Jesus, you weren't kidding," she gasped as she saw just how many zombies were heading towards them. She fired her own pump-action shotgun one-handed, killing one of the two remaining Fatties.
"The fat bastards are going down," she declared through gritted teeth. Her second shot was just as accurate as her first and the fourth Fatty collapsed from a fatal head wound.
 ZOMBIES. The twelve remaining Walkers were joined by five more from the north.
To the utter horror of Phil and Wanda, a horde of six Walkers and three Fatties suddenly came into sight from the east side.
 Another eight Walkers arrived from the south side of the city.
The two Runners who arrived from the west side appeared to be little more than an afterthought. It beggared belief where all the zombies were all coming from.
TURN 23
AMY. "Hmm, chainsaw or shotgun?" Amy wondered out loud as she jogged towards the two newly arrived Runners. She fired up the chainsaw just as she reached them and swung into action, scything them down with confident ease. She sprinted back to join the others.
DOUG. Doug walked up to the T-junction leading to the north side. He fired two short three-round bursts from his pair of Uzi sub-machine guns at the horde of nine Walkers and was delighted to see three of them drop down dead.
"Guys, they're getting too many to deal with," he said solemnly. "I really think we should get outta here."
He dashed into the general store behind him. There was a time for fighting and a time for running. This was the time for running he'd decided.
NED. Ned took out a female Walker with a single shot from his 7.62mm sniper's rifle.
"I'm with you, Doug," he called out as he followed the office worker into the general store.
JOSH. The teenager totally agreed with his colleagues' decision to split. But he also knew that the more zombies they killed the greater their chance of escaping would be. He took a couple of paces forward to face five bloodthirsty and ravenously hungry zombie Walkers. His twin sawed-off shotguns boomed twice, spraying out a cone of destruction that killed four of the walking dead. He reloaded both shotguns as he slowly retreated.
PHIL. Although he hadn't seen Doug and Ned run back into the relative safety of the general store he had heard them and agreed with their tactics. It was time to quit whilst they still could. He fired once with his Remington shotgun and beheaded a teenage Walker.
Phil is the third survivor to advance to the Red Level. He picks Sniper as his new Skill.
"Wanda, we can't fight them all," he said concernedly. "We have to get out of here. Now."
"Go," Wanda ordered. "I'll follow shortly."
"Make it very short," Phil said as he sprinted into the rear entrance of the general store.
WANDA. The young waitress had come to the same conclusion as Josh. The more zombies they killed now the less they'd have to deal with later. She fired her shotgun repeatedly until it clicked on empty. She did very well with her shooting. Four Walkers lay dead just a few yards away.
She saw her friend Amy further down the street as she skated to a halt alongside Josh. Amy waved at her and she responded with a thumbs up sign. Ned, Doug and Phil were making their way through the general store.
ZOMBIES. The eighteen remaining zombies were joined by a further nineteen. Seven Walkers came from the north.
Two Runners from the east and five Walkers from the west made that part of the neighbourhood a no-go area for humans.
Five more Walkers came shuffling in from the west side.
TURN 24
AMY. Amy knew that she was getting low on ammo for Ma's Shotgun. She took a few steps towards a group of five Walkers and fired the combi-weapon at extreme close range, killing one of the undead. She had hoped to have got more of them in the lethal discharge but one was better than none.
Amy is the fourth Survivor to reach Red Danger Level. She chooses the Medic Skill, which will should prove very useful.
As Amy sprinted as fast as she could away from the Walkers she suddenly realised she had never used the machete attached beneath Ma's Shotgun.
There was only one road out of the neighbourhood that had remained free of zombies throughout the morning. It was the obvious escape route to safety and Amy took it at speed. She would live to fight another day.
DOUG. Doug was the first to exit the general store and he saw Amy leaving. Sensible girl, he thought as he followed her.
JOSH. "One more kill and then I'm leaving," the reformed street thug said to Wanda. He fired his pair of sawed-off shotguns at the nearest Walker. It was overkill and Josh knew it. But he didn't care.
Josh also makes it to Red Level this Turn. He opts for +1 Free Move Action as his fourth Skill.
 "Don't wait any longer, Wanda," he warned. "Follow me quickly. We have to get away."
 He raced through the general store and out the front entrance.
NED. He might be crazy to some but Ned was a lot smarter than most people gave him credit for. He had predicted the zombie apocalypse and he knew exactly what to do in order to survive. Right now, running away was the only sensible tactic. He jogged out of the store to follow in the footsteps of Amy and Doug. Safety beckoned and he was relieved to have escaped without loss or injury.
PHIL. Phil was behind Doug and Ned and so had farther to go to reach safety. He moved at a steady pace, eyes and ears alert to any danger. He saw three of his friends depart but hung back to make sure that Josh and Wanda were safe.
Wanda actually missed when she first shot at these two Walkers but because she had Plenty of Ammo she was allowed a re-roll and this time she scored two kills.
WANDA. Like Josh, Wanda could not leave without a parting shot. She fired her shotgun at a pair of Walkers and caught them both in the blast.
Wanda is the sixth and final Survivor to advance to the Red Danger Level. She selects the +1Die: Combat Skill.
She spun round through 180 degrees and agilely skated into the general store, relieved to be away from the vast horde of zombies that were inching ever closer.
ZOMBIES. The neighbourhood was filling up with a tidal wave of zombies. Twenty-nine Walkers, three Fatties and two Runners were joined by two Runners from the north.
Just look at all of those zombies! Now imagine throwing a Molotov Cocktail at them, he he!
Four Walkers and two Fatties joined the horde from the east side.
Five Walkers had spotted the survivors making their escape. They were too far away and too slow to reach them. Their number doubled when five more Walkers from the south joined them.
Off to the west, four Walkers would soon be overtaken by four Runners. The neighbourhood was now populated by fifty-one zombies.
TURN 25
JOSH. "What a morning, eh?" Josh remarked as he jogged past Phil away from the zombie-infested neighbourhood.
PHIL. "Yep, it has been one hell of a morning," Phil agreed. He glanced at the front entrance to the store and shouted, "Wanda, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Phil," the pretty young blonde replied. "Go. I'll catch up with you in a second."
Phil smiled and followed his four comrades in arms away from the danger zone.
WANDA. "Wherever we're going, I hope they have a bath or a shower," Wanda wished out loud. She glided gracefully out of the general store on her rollerskates and quickly caught up with Phil and the others.

CONCLUSION. They made it! All six survived what was without doubt, the longest and toughest game of Zombicide I have ever played. What is even more incredible is that they survived without suffering a single wound. So how come they performed so well? It's all down to the three "T"s - tactics, teamwork and terrain.
TACTICS. The primary tactic I used was hit and run. Move in to shooting or melee range, strike, then back away. This coupled with the long range shooting from Ned and Phil with their rifles was so effective in dealing with small numbers of zombies.
TEAMWORK. This is absolutely vital in any game of Zombicide. The Survivors supported one another whenever one needed help. Ideally, I like to keep my Survivors grouped together but the nature of the scenario and the location of the Zombie Spawn Points meant it was necessary to split up the Survivors so that they could cover each Spawn Point. Even so, they still kept fairly close together and were able to offer assistance when needed.
TERRAIN. This game was played on a large game board and as a consequence the four Zombie Spawn Points were spread far apart. The Zombies kept arriving in such small numbers (up till the Red Danger Level) that they never had the chance to group up. Most times, all zombies who arrived, were killed in the following Turn. This kept their numbers down, making them less of a threat. Because the survivors almost always kept to the centre of the board it meant that the Zombies couldn't reach them quickly enough to attack. That proved very decisive for the Survivors.
I loved every minute of that game and it just reaffirmed why Zombicide is such a great game. My stand out moment of the game was when Amy drove the pimpmobile at four Walkers and killed them all. That was so unexpected but so cool! As for who I thought was "Man of the Match" I can only say that all of them were. They all performed heroically. They survived and that was the main thing.
I should say that not all games of Zombicide run as long as this one did. The scenario objective (reach Red Level before escaping) meant it was going to be a long slog. Amy, Doug, Josh, Ned, Phil and Wanda are my six favourite Zombicide Survivors, so you can expect to see them again in more batreps.
One final thought before I leave - this was such an intense experience for the Survivors. They bonded well and killed an incredible amount of zombies? So, do you think they did enough to warrant Ultimate Survivor status? My feeling is no, they didn't. I'd like to run them through more scenarios before according them that accolade. But, there are no rules to state when a Survivor becomes an Ultimate Survivor, so anything is possible. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this topic.
If you have stuck with me this far, many thanks for your perseverance. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed playing it.

30 comments:

  1. Read it... wow, much more on this later (one of my loooong replies). But, sadly, I have to go out now. Look for a reply from me very soon.

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    1. I look forward to it, Steve. Your long replies are always worth reading.

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  2. Actually, I think that an ultimate survivor would have persuaded the team to leave the area long before this group did :-) . I can't quite believe that all 6 of them made it; they seemed to be under constant siege.

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    1. The only reason that they stayed so long was because of the scenario objective. Once they had all reached Red Danger Level they soon departed. A constant state of siege is very much a feature of Zombicide. Zombies are relentless foes and the game surely does emphasise this fact.

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  3. And... breathe. Phew what a stonkingly wonderful marathon of blood and guts Bryan... tense, nervy action, loads of bullets and brain splatters. In fact everything I wish "The Walking Dead" comic book would contain ;-) I was a bit gutted to see those poor hapless innocent Fatties get waylaid by some of your meanie survivors. But them's the breaks when you're an overweight dead guy I suppose. The only think missing was a cameo from some of the undead rodents from that A-listed horror flick "Zombeavers" :-)

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    1. I always appreciate your comments, Simon. That was quite a compliment, especially your comment about "The Walking Dead."

      I must admit that I also have a soft spot for Fatties. But in no way can you describe them as "innocent!" LOL!

      "Zombeavers?" I dread to ask! :-)

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  4. That was a great report Bryan. I actually copied and pasted the whole five parts and all the pictures (in the right place) on a word doc: trimmed and bordered the edges, made the pages look like old newspaper manuscript..., and saved the lot to my external hard-drive, so I can let it rest and (like fine wine) and get it out to read again at my leisure in the future. Next time I go to read Day Zero, it will feel like I`m reading a short story, with loads of cool photos added in.


    I was surprised everyone made it; and then another part of me realised half way through part 4, that “this is Bryan at the helm, he`s simply not going to lose anyone at this stage: he`s too seasoned a Zombicide player.”


    There was one part near the end of the final episode when I looked at Wanda getting a bit cocky and blasé with her chainy, and I thought “Uh ohhhh!!! She`s getting sloppy, this could end badly for her.” But naaaa, you nailed it. The gang was safe under your guidance.... as safe as the gang are in Walking Dead under the veteran leadership of Nick.


    Nice narrative report throughout the whole thing, on all five parts. It held together well, and read like a really decent zombie fest. I enjoyed it like I would a good novel: and I found myself looking forward to the individual episodes like I always look forward to a new episode of Walking Dead.

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    1. Steve, mate, when I read what you had done with my batrep, I was gobsmacked. What a cool thing to do! And what an honour that you'd want to preserve it that way. I am so chuffed! You have made my day!

      I did not want to give away the ending in my e-mails to you but I did leave a few clues for you to pick up on. You certainly picked up on one when I said I was a very good Zombicide player and that I know what tactics work and what doesn't. Yes, I'm very pleased that "the gang was safe under my guidance."

      To say that my batrep reminded you of "The Walking Dead" is high praise, indeed. It is what I was aiming for. This is the first time I have posted a narrative-style batrep and I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. I'd like to think that I imbued all six Survivors with personalities and made them come alive. To me, those six were far more than plastic figures on a game-board. They were real people whom I cared about very deeply. I did not want any of them to die but if the dice gods decided to be cruel I'd have accepted it, albeit with much sadness and regret. In any game that uses dice you can never predict what the outcome will be, but by making use of the right tactics you can tip the odds in your own favour. This is what I did. At times the game may have seemed like a walk in the park for the Survivors but that was because I knew what I was doing. It may have seemed easy for them but believe me, it was incredibly tense when I was playing it, simply because I could never predict what the dice rolls would be. Also, you can never predict what cards are going to be turned over. It all adds up to a tense and uncertain experience but when it all goes right, as it did for me, it is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

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  5. Ooooo, I totally forgot to add my penny` s worth to your open question.

    NO!!! its too early for them to have reached Ultimate Survivor status. Think of Walking Dead. How many series did it take for them all to reach their uber 5th series status? How long did it take the likes of Carol to become the `Ellen Ripley` of the show?

    Let the `gang` endure a bit more first Bryan ^^ that's my thoughts on it.

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    1. Thanks for being the first to answer my question, Steve. I also think it is too early for them to become Ultimate Survivors just yet. I have my own ideas on how long it should take for a Survivor to become an Ultimate Survivor and it won't be a quick process. We think alike, huh?

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    2. ..... absolutely Bryan. Yeah, take your time over it. Actually means you get to play more games along the way too; though of course, realistically as it happens, means more chance you`ll lose one or two through the long course of their endeavours.

      By the way, talking about Carol being the `Ripley` (the Alien movies) of the Walking Dead show, is not a spoiler.... I know you still haven`t seen the second half of 5th season yet. No, I`m actually talking about her rise in personal power and status from her first appearance in season 1, to her amazing presence in all the later series.

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    3. One of the cool things about the Zombicide Compendium is that it contains lots of scenarios that specifically mention the six original Survivors. I'm thinking of playing them all in the order they are written. Whether I do or not remains to be seen but it is a dream of mine. I am so in love with Zombicide that I want to play ALL of the scenarios that have been written for it. Now that really is long term thinking!

      I totally agree with your comments about Carol. She has now emerged as one of my favourite characters of the show. I'm looking forward to seeing how season 5 ends but for now I have just started watching season 7 of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I've been watching the last six seasons of Buffy back to back and thoroughly enjoying the show.

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    4. Interesting..... we are on season 7 of Buffy as well (6 episodes from the end). Like you, we have just watched all 6 previous series as well.

      Xena next ^^

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    5. You're slightly ahead of me as I have 10 more episodes to watch. I'm thinking I'll be watching all five seasons of either Angel or The Walking Dead next. Choices, choices, choices!

      Xena - cool! You can't have failed to notice the not-Xena figure you'll be receiving in Zombicide: Black Plague? She's called Xuxa - yeah, right!

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    6. oh BOY yes, that`s what made me think of watching Xena again from the start.

      It took me ages to collect all the seasons on DVD. They`re not that easy to get, made harder by the fact that the box sets are made in half seasons at a time: so like "Season One part 1" and "Season One Part 2" etc.... so at 2 box sets to a full season, tracking them all down was a bit of a labour of lone. Understandably, these form a part of my most treasured DVD collection.

      Even thought of doing a Xena rpg at one stage. But the subject was vast and gave me a headache just thinking about the dynamic of it all.

      But drat, thinking about it. I don`t know if I will be able to watch Xena next. I have a feeling at the end of Buffy, wifey (who has never seen Buffy before and so is in rapture at it this first time around) will demand we watch Angel next hahahaa.

      God I love life.... so much to DO in it every day, week, month, year :))))

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    7. ..... "labour of love" even

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    8. The one thing that put me off buying the Xena DVD boxed sets was the fact that each season came in two parts. That, to me, seemed like nothing more than a money grabbing scheme, which I wasn't prepared to fall for. So, even though I loved the TV series, I never did collect any of the shows on DVD. Surely there must be a boxed set containing all six series that is available to buy?

      I said last time I was thinking of either watching all of Angel or The Walking Dead next, but I suspect I'm going to go with Hils' decision and watch Angel again. If we both do that we can compare notes.

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    9. Yep, just found the complete series of Xena on DVD at Amazon. All six series for £41.95. I'm tempted but slightly put off by some negative reviews, especially those that mention the complete lack of extras. I love watching the extra features on my DVDs. The more the better, in my opinion.

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    10. totally agree about the extras. None of my Xena`s has much in the way of extras either. It seems "Anchor Bay Entertainment" simply didn`t go in for it; and now "Universal Studios" has produced a five series box set (strangely, the last season is missing in the new box set release) but again.... no extras.

      I suspect, the series originally made on cellulose (hence the slight grainy texture on some episodes) a heck of a lot of the outtakes and extras was lost (New Zealand did that a lot with their early TV material).

      BUT.....

      ..... this is Xena we are talking about. extras or no extras isn`t it better to have it than not to have it?

      Its a classic man..... you gotta..... you just gotta... you know you wanna?

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    11. Oh, yes, Steve, I totally DO want it... but I wish the boxed set wasn't so flawed. For just over forty quid for all six series, it is a good deal and more than likely I will buy it. I was a big fan of Xena back in the days when it was first aired. I know that I have forgotten a lot of what happened, so it would be nice to revisit the series and once again fall in love with the exploits of Xena and Gabby. I know... I gotta... and I wanna... and I will! :-)

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    12. Thatta boy Bro ^^

      Actually, tell me what other bad things you`ve heard (beside the missing extras) and I`ll try relay your fear. I know my Xena well, and may be able to help calm your reservations. I sometimes really hate (almost verging on intense resentment) the negative comments you get on (so called) balanced reviews, especially customer comments on Amazon.... so so so many of them are infantile and simply nerdish fan boy rubbish and do not give an accurate or fair depiction of the item being mentioned. I notice this from DVDs, music CD`s`, books, and especially game related stuff.

      Last bad one I saw was actually on Amazon, about a set of card stand up `miniatures... `Pawns`.... for a D&D game. EXCELLENT value for money; but there were so many negative comments like (quote) "Man, they left out the Beholder Monster, that just sucks big" and "this set stinks, no stupid tokens can replace real miniatures" and "Don`t buy this dude, you`ll hate it" and "if you don`t play Pathfinder dude, only half of this set will be useful to you, the rest just sucks".

      Now all of these comments are so darn misleading and also far too subjective and biased..... and frankly misleadingly bad.

      ooops sorry, went off on a mini rant there. Let me know what you have heard about the Xena box set Bryan, and I will try to answer with accurate information.

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    13. I hear what you're saying about inane complaints, Steve. But the negative comments about the Xena boxed set had nothing to do with the story but with technical problems. A very valid criticism, I thought was why do region 1 customers (i.e. the USA) get lots of extras on their DVDs and region 2 customers (that's us) get none?

      Another reviewer said, "Video quality ranges from watchable, to poor. Sometimes the compression causes the detail to fly away like one of the mythical creatures in the show. Sound is adequate, and no worse than you would expect from a show this old." Fair comment again, but I can live with that.

      Another criticism - "So then we come to the actuality quality of the disc presentation, and this is where it falls over. I can only presume that these discs were put together by lazy workers, using 10 year old DVD authoring software. When you get to the Episode selection menu on DIsc 4, it says "Disc 1" on the menu. I thought, "well maybe it was originally released in two halves, and this is Disc 1 of the second half of the season". Then I put in Disc 5, and that also said Disc 1. A small mistake, but it's just laziness that it is there at all. It's not rocket science to change the number displayed, to match the actual disc number. The discs are physically labelled correctly, so it's purely a disc menu error." Once again, I'm sure I could figure out which disc is which, especially if the discs themselves are correctly labeled.

      There is not much you can say to that, Steve. As to the series itself everyone praised it very highly. Indeed it received 73 five-star reviews, 21 four-star reviews, 7 three-star reviews and no two-star or one-star reviews. The vast majority of the comments were highly favourable. So, I'll buy it soon and add it to my list of boxed sets to watch. Thanks for recommending it to me.

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    14. Part 1

      WOW Bryan, that's really unlucky. I normally hear of issues like this one, if it’s from a series I really like. Similar thing happened to I Claudius, and Dad`s Army..... interesting that most of these issues occur on things converted from VHS, or even, worst reel to reel, like the well known trouble they had with the Laurel and Hardy collection. But thank GOD they put them to DVD at all, as over half of the L&H movies are now lost to the ravages of time... for ever. Same nearly happened to Dad`s Army; thankfully, we only ended up losing half of the black and white series 2 (amazing really, they found most of these episodes in an old shed at the bottom on an allotment near a railway embankment, on reel to reel tape.... grandpa’s old collection. THANK GOD someone realised their worth and told the right authorities).

      I just checked my Xena`s through, and I seem to be very lucky. None of the problems you describe appear to be apparent on my copies but then again, mine are all quite old; definitely over 10 years old all of them. My season 1 2 and 3 are probably 14 years old at least (I actually just had to open the cellophane for the first time as my boxes are still mostly still sealed). I wonder if the problem lies in the complete 5/6 series box set? I know box sets are often lesser quality than individual series are..... this is apparent in the Buffy series, and X Files. I know, because I bought these for one of my daughters, and I was surprised how bad the quality of the boxes and the disks were compared to my copies... which were all individually purchased, a series at a time when they first came out.

      The original sets had detail, smacked of quality, and lots of yummy visual appeal. The later box sets were functional, but thin card boxes, ultra slim DVD cases, and the disks lacked that visual appeal of the early ones (possibly the quality of the recordings as well, I dunno). Mind you I paid something like 50 quid per series for mine, where as the complete set now costs less than I paid for just one series.

      This goes for my entire DVD series collection, my Band of Brothers is the amazing Metal Box full fold out HBO set, not the latter thin cheap card set you can buy now. Buffy Angel, X Files, Xena, Star Trek TNG, Voyager, DS9, and Enterprise, Sharp, Hornblower, Blakes 7, etc etc etc the list is endless, all mine are originals and high quality. I notice the current Amazon versions (or if I see them in the shops) are perfectly adequate... but boy has consumer quality dropped over the last decade, and its no more apparent than in DVD complete series boxes.

      No, the issues you speak of concerning Xena do not seem to apply to me. But obviously this is a heavy consideration for you purchasing a later set.


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    15. Part 2

      As for bad quality of picture/sound quality. Again, that`s subjective really. I watch The Water Margin, a series from the early 70`s, and Kung Fu, and Terry Nation`s Survivors, etc, and the quality is often dreadful compared to nowadays.... bit like a teenage console gamer playing a modern computer game with all those amazing graphics, who then tries out an old Nintendo game made in the 80`s... before they were even born; they`d most likely say “hey, thats so baaad”. To me, I can enjoy Dad`s Army, Rising Damp, Steptoe and Son, Aint Arf Hot Mum, Colditz, Secret Army, Wish Me Luck, etc etc and still enjoy their charm, because I LIVED it, I was there when it was new.... I watched these programs before Colour TVs were even invented, usually on old tv sets where the picture was fuzzy at best in any case. Naaaa the inferior quality of some of the Xena`s doesn’t bother me personally.... besides its really not bad Bryan. Now if you want bad.... try watching my old film noirs: Fu Manchu, The Torch, Zoro, etc *wink* sometimes you`re lucky if you can actually see what`s going on or moving across the screen let alone hear the talking.

      It’s all perspective really I think.

      The incorrect naming on the disks themselves; Well that`s inexcusable really isn’t it. But again I suppose, if the actual episodes work fine, it’s better to have the series than not to have them at all. I have a similar thing on my series of “Roar”. The disks are all over the place AND in the wrong language hahaha. So that even if I DO sort out the proper order of the episodes, the Dutch language has them marked incorrectly anyway.

      Still, bright side I suppose.. this will make them collectable one way hahahaa.

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    16. Afterthought:

      I didn`t actually BUY Xena when they first came out on DVD. I sought them out, half a series at a time (remember, they originally come out a half a series at a time... Series 1 Part 1: Series 1 Part 2... etc etc). I searched and searched and searched for these original box sets, partly on Amazon, partly from newspaper advertisements, and partly from second party sellers on Amazon.

      Took me even longer to collect, as Region 1 was fairly common, but Region 2 was nigh on impossible to get for a very long time.

      Like I said, it was a real labour of love collecting all 12 box sets in this way.

      I should just have waited.... can get it all now in a straight set grrrrrr..... hahahaa.

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    17. As I said, Steve, there are problems with the current boxed set of Xena, but not enough to stop me from buying it. I just wish that someone would do an Ultimate boxed set, with the picture and sound quality restored and of course, as many extras as they can squeeze in. Now for that, I'd pay good money.

      As you know I'm currently watching season 7 of Buffy. When I'd finished watching season 6 and was putting the boxed set back on the shelf I noticed that I'd still left the original price sticker on it and I was amazed to see that I'd paid £64.95 for it. How prices have dropped these days. I could get all seven series for that price nowadays! Like you, I bought each series separately. The production values for the original boxed set of Buffy season 1 were amazing and that set is one of my prized possessions. The way the discs are packaged just reeks of quality. It actually folds out to make a cross, which is clever for a series about a vampire slayer. I have never seen packaging like it on any other boxed set.

      Hey, all those old shows you mentioned, I lived through them as well. Every show you mentioned is a show that I also watched. Coincidence, or is it just a case of there being so little choice of what to watch in those days? Still, I have to say I admire your taste in TV. You know, someday we ought to have a long discussion about our favourite TV series. I can bet that it will be a very LOOOOOOONG discussion!

      I'm glad you thought that collecting all your Xena sets as a labour of love. That's how I felt about collecting many of my own favourite shows.

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  6. Excellent conclusion Bryan! Great job getting them all out, much kudos Dude. This has been an epic story to follow, and a huge undertaking on your part. You've done a fantastic job showing just what a great game Zombicide is.

    On your question of the "ultimate" status, I don't think one mission is enough to award such an esteemed rank. Many more trials should have to be faced and completed before a survivor can be considered for such a title.

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    Replies
    1. Many thanks, Bob. It was a lot of work to put this batrep together but I feel immensely proud of it. All the hard work was worth it.

      I wholeheartedly agree with you about Ultimate Survivor status. It is not going to happen for these six for a long time.

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