Alternate History Weekly Update: Weekly Update #177

Editor's Note

I was so happy to get one of my two big announcements out of the when I revealed my Capricon 35 schedule. I plan to make the second this week, so stay tuned for some more big news.

Not sure if I talked about this yet, but I am going to be doing something different for the rest of the year. Occasionally I have experimented with "theme" months, but this year I am going to put a little more effort into it. You will learn more about what I am planning later either at the end of the week or next Monday.

And now the news...

What do the critics think of Agent Carter?

I know The Man in the High Castle is still on all of your minds and trust me I didn't forget about it. In fact I made another special link dump for it below under the Links to the Multiverse section. We still don't know when we are going to get a new episode, so if you need your alternate history television fix, why don't you check out Agent Carter?

According to Wikipedia: In 1946, Peggy Carter must balance the routine office work she does for the Strategic Scientific Reserve (S.S.R) while secretly assisting Howard Stark, who finds himself framed for supplying deadly weapons to the top bidder. Carter is assisted by Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, to find those responsible and dispose of the weapons.

Now I have always held that the Captain America films and their spin-offs, like Agent Carter, blur the lines of comic book universe and alternate history. Even if it is not a true alternate history, there is no denying it has a dieselpunk aesthetic to it (and if you want some unexpected dieselpunk, go watch The Grand Budapest Hotel). But is it any good?

Well so far the reviews I have seen have been positive. Liz Bourke of Tor said she is in love with the show, but she may be predisposed to liking to show because of her "pro-ladies-hitting-people-with-snappy-dialogue" personality. Meanwhile Vix from Geek Syndicate gave episode three a 4 out of 5 star review and praised the show for being a trailblazer in bringing more female leads to the Marvel universe.

Have you watched Agent Carter yet? Tell us what you think in the comments.

“El Dorado” Expansion for Europa Universalis IV Lets You Go For Gold

Yeah I didn't come up with that title, but I thought it was amusing. Anywho, Paradox Development is bringing the ~~genocide~~ adventure and politics of the Spanish conquest to life with the "El Dorado" expansion for Europa Universalis IV.

This expansion’s historical focus will be on the Central American and South American theaters. According to the press release, you can play "[a]s the Aztecs, [and[ subject the Mexican plain to your rule but make sure you have enough vassal kings to sacrifice to your angry gods. As the Europeans, push deeper into the jungles of the Amazon, following rumors of lost cities and magical fountains. Defer to the Pope as he intervenes to divide the New World among squabbling empires."

The centerpiece mechanic of "El Dorado" is the Nation Designer, a tool that let’s you customize your starting nation in a campaign. You choose your starting capital and neighboring provinces, modify your starting culture and leader and then play as this nation in the game. Sounds like a useful tool when crafting an alternate history scenario.

Learn more by watching the trailer:

Europa Universalis IV: El Dorado will be available on major digital delivery platforms for Windows, Mac and Linux next month.

Videos for Alternate Historians

Its time for some more YouTube videos that bend the borders of reality. We begin with Game Theory's look at the Pokemon multiverse:

Next up, author Gareth L. Powell is interviewed on the Abaddon Solaris channel and man are those some amazing British accents:

By the way, you can also read this text interview with Gareth on Rising Shadow. Speaking of sweet British accents, here is the new trailer for PlayStation's The Order: 1886:

Learn more about the game's plot here and see how violent the game is here. And finally, we end by asking is time travel possible with some of the most seductive British accents Doctor Who can provide:

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

2 comments:

Michelle R. WoodJanuary 27, 2015 at 1:22 PM
I'm very much a fan of Peggy Carter. I've posted reviews of the first three episodes, plus the "Man in the High Castle" pilot, on my blog (www.woodmr.net/blog). I hadn't considered "Agent Carter" alt history, but it makes sense especially given the revelations in "Winter Soldier."

Thanks again for all the recommendations.

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Monday, January 26, 2015

Weekly Update #177

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