Back in August last year I think it was, I took an exploratory dive into the Antares universe, and since that time, I've beevered away, building armies, trying out the game and roping in some of the locals to give the game a whirl, to whom I am very grateful; David, Jayden, Paul, Robert, Garry and Chris, please take a bow!
The game took a wee while to get to grips with, and whilst being conversant with Bolt Action certainly helped, there are certainly differences between the two games. And indeed Bolt Action itself has gone through a revision since then, incorporating some of the ideas from Antares... like the Follow or Snap to order mechanism.
Similarly we've had another game come along which appears to have then taken some hybridized route between the two games; Konflikt-47... which has incorporated the idea of Reactions from Antares but didn't adopt the other changes that came along with the upgrade to Bolt Action2...
But I digress, back to Antares and I have to say I have really enjoyed getting my head around the game, and it's more classic or 'high sci-fi' setting, if that's the right way to describe it...?
It's background is certainly a refreshing change to the doom and gloom laden milieu of another certain well established sci-fi game...
I have found the differing human races that feature there make the game easy to get your head round, yet each with a unique character of their own.
There are no other true alien race armies as such in their own right, the Tsan-Ra being one exception but even they are an allied squad with the Isorian force.
I am sure we will see an Alien race in the not too distant future... the name Vorl has been whispered in dark corners and we await with bated breath to see how they will eventuate.
The game is still relatively in its infancy and many of the described larger vehicles are yet to have models produced for them, making the game a largely infantry affair. But I am happy to say the guys at Warlord are steadily producing figures and vehicles to complete and expand on the range.
Having listened to the podcast the Freeborn Shard it's been interesting getting a glimpse of the mind of the games creator and how he plans to take it forward... Rick Priestley none the less.
Rather than coming up with an army list or revision of one and then trying to get all the models churned out for it before the next revision is due, Rick has this time taken the approach of adding story arc supplements which add and expand on the existing ranges, rather than replacing wholesale...
That was one of the reasons I dumped 40k many aeons ago... I had started collecting squats and collected and painted a whole army...only to see them canned ... I then switched to orks only to see a codex revision that made redundant half of what I had bought and painted.... even now the company continues to revamp it's ranges forcing you to try and keep up...
So nice to see a more reasonable approach to developing and expanding on a game system....
Antares plays well, and if you've enjoyed Bolt Action, and like sci-fi, then you really should give it a go. Admittedly the Xilos stater set, whilst good value, was a little tough to get to grips with, largely due to the number of special rules attached to the Ghar race.
The new Kar'a 9 set is a much better intro to the game with two well matched regular infantry forces. And great value again. And with an easy intro version of the rules to break you in gently.
So again I say give it a go... you won't be disappointed.
I will be taking our Hobby Corner stall to the Hutt Miniatures clubs Valley Con event this weekend... and whilst there will also be demo-ing Antares with mate Chris Pooch, and no doubt ably assisted by mate Dave Oemcke.
Here's some pics of the troops and scratchbuilt terrain I've been working on... (thanks again to Bala Menzies for helping out with some of these buildings)
Boromites
Concord troopers
Concord Drones
Concord and Boromite Comparison
Xilos Beasties - Drummer and Snappers
My painted Concord so far... still more to finish and Ghar to finish too...
Anyone with any good links to other Antares related blogs or websites... feel free to add then in the comments.
Some links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gatesofantares/
Nice work on that terrain! One way to use pharmacy cast-offs!
ReplyDeleteSo true... it's one of the great things for a scratch build modeller, the setting really lets your mind free to create pretty much anything out of anything... the down side is you start looking at all manner of odds and ends differently ... and odd plastic junk that normally would be binned is saved for the bitzbox in case it comes in useful... ;)
DeleteJust another point I thought I'd make and that is the Antares community seems a great place to be. Lots of encouragement online, and answers to queries quickly provided. Also a good inside track on what's coming up in the pipeline.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. I've looked at the game several times and got to see it first hand at Warlord-Con last year. My biggest problem has been the miniatures themselves. I'm just not digging the sculpts. You have done a fantastic job of painting them as usual, but they the races just don't do it for me. I'll be following your developments.
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Thanks for the feedback Baron. I must admit I was ambivalent about them at first, but having started working on them and painting them up I really like them now. I like the clean look of the concord forces, which contrasts with the gnarly look of the Boromites. The Algoryn have a a more angular look to them, which again contrasts well. The Ghar are marvellously quirky and I love their big crawlers especially The High King with his bubble-pipe and concubines... that's worth buying just for the figure! The isorians have a wonderfully mixed organo-mechanical look to them which is a little creepy but I think my favourites are the Freeborn... many varied troops types which remind me of elements of so many classic sci-fi films from star wars rebels to dune-esque troopers... theres a lot to like there.... One thing I am very greatful for is the stubby ended guns... no more snapped off gun barrels! Yay!
DeleteGreat post Scott and lovely to hear from you. you really have been busy and this project has certainly caught your imagination - fabulous job Sir.
ReplyDeleteThanks Michael... I've been so busy with stuff I've let blogging slide a bit... ( and one of the reasons I didnt enter AHWPC ... I just cant commit to it) though have still been active on Facebook as I find it quicker to interact with...
DeleteVery nice looking miniatures and terrain Scott. I can't find something to grab my attention for GoA unfortunately. I seem to only like the odd unit here and there.
ReplyDeleteYeah for some reason there seems a lot of apathy towards to the range, which I cant understand why, other than its not linked to any particular existing background; whether movie, book or game related.
DeleteShame really as its a great little game, good rules, nice quality figures... perhaps its just that that other sci-fi game is so well established its hard to draw people to it...
I hope when they release the new Alien race(s), and produce more bigger 'tanks' for want of a better word, it may start to grab peoples attention more... fingers crossed!!
A number of folks have certainly commented on the models.... I wonder if everyone is too used to the gloriously detailed and over-scale figures of a certain dark millenium...???
DeleteThe new boxed set at around £33 is a superb value for money starter set ( Strike on Kar'a Nine)
ReplyDeleteYes I thinks it's a great value little starter set!
DeleteLove, love, love that terrain!
ReplyDeleteHave to say, I am really looking forward to the weekend!
Cheers! Yeah looking forward to a great weekend!
DeleteBeautifully painted Scott.
ReplyDeleteCheers Ray
DeleteScott amazing terrain. I tried to get the game up and running when it first came out however not much interest with local players. We are going to try again in the coming months since we have people playing K47. I really like the game and feel we will get more people playing with more models in the range.
ReplyDeleteThanks mate. Yeah I think as the model range expands and gets fleshed out it should attract more interest. Cheers
DeleteJust love those Star Wars style buildings!
ReplyDeleteI've been playing a bit of Infinity here in Melbourne, it's a skirmish level game (think maybe 6-12 minis per game) and the way they expand is by releasing 'sectorial' lists, kind of like subfactions, that play a little differently, but can still be used in a main army if you wish. It's actually really fun, and much cheaper to get into!
ReplyDeleteHi again by the way, it's been a while!
Hey Jon great to hear from you. Hope all is well in Melbourne. There's some infinity interest hereabouts too though I haven't tried it yet. Stay in touch :)
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