C.T. Phipps's Blog, page 55

Hitman 2 (2018) review

    Red Dead Redemption 2, Fallout 76, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, and more. Really, it's kind of a terrible time to release your new video game if you're not a AAA blockbuster. Hitman (2016) was a successful but not entirely controversy-free game that revived interest in the franchise after the tepid response to the grindhouse cinema-inspired Hitman: Absolution.

    There's a lot of stuff which was going on behind-the-scenes at Square Enix and IO Entertainment tha...

Sunset Strip (4.5 Tome of Bill) review

    THE TOME OF BILL series by Rick Gualtieri is a guilty pleasure of mine. Much like my Supervillainy Saga books, they're a lot of nerd references with a semi-serious take on the supernatural. Unfortunately, the books have an oft-putting quality to them due to Bill's causal use of sexist, homophobic, and abelist remarks (he constantly refers to Sally as a b*** for example). Indeed, those are a good reason not to buy them even though I otherwise enjoy the series.

  &nb...

Tournament of Supervillainy is now available!

Hey folks,

Better late than never, am I right? THE TOURNAMENT OF SUPERVILLAINY is now available on Kindle and other related platforms. I'm very glad you guys have supported me and I want to let you know book 5# is the start of a new four-part series of Gary Karkofsky's adventures.




Gary Karkofsky a.k.a Merciless the Supervillain without MercyTM is presently the most disliked supervillain in the world. Superheroes don't want to just throw him in jail, they want to deliver...

Bloody Rose (The Band #2) review

    I was a huge fan of Nicholas Eames' KINGS OF THE WYLD and wasn't alone in my fandom. The combination of a traditional Dungeons and Dragons' esque high fantasy story with THIS IS SPINAL TAP was such an electric combination that it topped a lot of the "Best of 2017" lists, including my own. About it's only competition that year, in my opinion, was THE GREY BASTARDS and KINGS OF PARADISE.
    So, it's with some reluctance that I state I don't think Bloody Rose l...

Chicago by Night manuscript review

    I thought I'd share this in the final hours of the Kickstarter because we've finally got a complete view of what the book's interior. We may not have the formatting or art and there will undoubtedly be some editing done but, overall, we know what Chicago by Night 5E is going to look like and what material it contains.

    For those who don't know why Chicago by Night is important, the answer is that it was the first city-book for Vampire: The Masquerade and es...

World of Darkness Documentary review

    THE WORLD OF DARKNESS DOCUMENTARY is ridiculously hard to find. I'm saying this before I tell you my review of the work. This should be available on Netflix, Hulu, and on DVD for purchase as well as digital download from a website. Instead, I had to download Fangdago on Xbox One in order to purchase and watch it. [Edit: I've since found it on Amazon Prime as well]. It's a wonderful piece of art which talks about one of my favorite pieces of media: White Wolf Entertainment's...

White Wolf, Chechnya, a book review, and me

    So, you may have heard White Wolf Entertainment has been folded into Paradox Interactive. My childhood of Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and Mage: The Ascension had been a big influence on my formative years. The reasons for the end of this venerable institution related to the controversial Chechnya chapter in The Camarilla sourcebook. I also played a small role in the end of my favorite gaming company, though it was more Greek chorus than active partici...

Chicago Chronicles Retrospective (Classic Vampire: The Masquerade reviews)

    I am the world's third greatest Vampire: The Masquerade fan. I say that despite the fact I don't belong to the larger RPG community, that I have supplements I don't own, and I was only tepidly involved in its come back after 20 years. However, it feels right of me to say that I am this because the setting had such an enormous effect on my life. I grew up in a fundamentalist household and I went the extra mile from my parents, becoming even more of a self-righteous jerk who...

Chicago by Night Kickstarter for Vampire: The Masquerade 5E

 Hey folks,

I'd like to take a moment to talk about my favorite tabletop roleplaying game of all time, Vampire: The Masquerade, which hit it's heyday! I'm not normally one to take time to advertise for someone else but I got to say I'm really excited about the VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE supplement CHICAGO BY NIGHT 5th Edition Kickstarter which is currently ongoing.

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/chicago-by-night-for-vampire-the-masquerade-5th-ed/description

I'...

Devil's Night Dawning by Damien Black review

   DEVIL'S NIGHT DAWNING by Damien Black is a dark fantasy story set in a European-esque setting afflicted by demons, a generational blood feud, and a young woman who discovers running away from an arranged marriage is not as easy in the story books. This was a highly entertaining read and I found it to be one of my favorites of 2018. The book did have some criticisms but it's a solid piece of fantasy straight from the independent circuit.
    The book begins with a fa...