Apocalypse Rising 2 Crates

[Erminia Scharnberg]

Inorder to break through a part of the barricade Matthijs had original planned to have a big shovel parked just outside the site. It could be used by gangers to plough through a portion of the obstruction. With several gangs starting on the same table edge, all with the same goal it would be interesting to see what would happen. Matthijs however, forgot to bring the shovel. So the alternative would be dynamite. Next to a stash of dynamite at the place where the shovel should have been there were also crates on the board where dynamite could be found.

The gangs were all lined up. My Esher were on the side with the red building. Next to that was the dynamite. All crates with items were on the other end of the board, so these were a bit out of range for me, especially with 3 rival gangs between them and us.

I decided to just go for the dynamite and try to blast a hole in the barricade at my side of the table. Hoping that the other gangs would start to head for the crates and start killing each other. As I expected the shooting started right from the start. As one of my gangers went forwards she passed some barrels. And ofcourse these held volatile contents which could explode when fired upon. Something my fellow players would very much like to see happening. Fortunately the shots were not good enough.

So, while the casualties between the other gangs were rising I was going ahead with my plan. I hoped to retrieve the dynamite while my other gangers would hang back on the flanks of the barricade, perhaps keeping them from being killed by stray bullets. The plan worked pretty well and I managed to get the ganger with the dynamite at the barricade while the other gangs fought each other. One of my gangers was targeted and killed and the rest of the Escher returned fire.

It was a rough year overall for the mere concept of loot crates. They took a beating in both mainstream and social media, but not all loot crates are created equal. While EA and Battlefront II's pay-to-win took the issue to the dark side, Epic Games' Fortnite took a different approach with their adorable and humorous loot llamas. These quirky paper mache pack animals actually make loot crates fun and amusing. If there was a game where all I did was smash these things over and over, I would buy it. It is with great pleasure that we award Fortnite's llamas the honor of Shacknews Best Loot Crate of 2017.

Unlike every other loot crate ever these llamas have personalities. Each one has their own quirks; some are sad, some get sassy, others have llama-themed puns. There's even petite, little, mini-llamas with personalities of their own that players can earn through quests, or by helping other players with building and defending their storm bases.

As a matter of fact, earning even regular-sized loot llamas is a fairly easy task. A standard llama only costs 100 V-bucks (the in-game currency), which can easily be earned in a mission or two with light effort. They're even generous with their special currency for event-themed llamas. During the Fortnite Halloween event, I was able to earn a ridiculous amount of orange and black, slightly spooky pinata pals just by playing through the themed content.

Beyond their colorful character and relative abundance, there's also the random chance that a loot llama will turn silver or gold while you attempt to bash its head in with a guitar, bat, or various other blunt objects, and shower you with an insane amount of swag. I haven't paid a single penny for any loot since my initial founder's pack purchase and I have a ton of legendary weapons, traps, heroes and survivors at my disposal just through their random drops.

I can't think of a single other game that personifies their loot crates like this to such a successful effect. Destiny fans may have their shopkeeps and bright engrams, but none of them can land a joke. These wacky dudes permeate iconography throughout Fortnite in a way that help it shape the game world and tone. While the Fortnite itself may basically be about surviving the zombie apocalypse, loot llamas help illustrate the oddly colorful chipperness and lightly-morbid cynical tone that give the game its personality. Fortnite's Llamas are a shining beacon of hope for this game design mechanic and is most worthy of the title of Shacknews Best Loot Crate of 2017.

Blake has been writing and making videos about pop-culture and games for over 10 years now. Although he'd probably prefer you thought of him as a musician and listened to his band, www.cartoonviolencemusic.com. If you see him on the street, buy him a taco or something. Follow him on twitter @ProfRobot

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