"The Wolf Among Us" Gives Fairytales a Second Take

The Wolf Among Us features a wide array of characters from fables,
nursery rhymes, mythology, and popular stories.

Time off is the best.  Over spring break I was able to dip into my back log and finally play a couple of games that I had purchased in one of the Steam sales.  My first adventure took place in TellTale's comic book spin-off series The Wolf Among Us.  I have to say that I was impressed and continue to enjoy the signature TellTale style of storytelling.

The Wolf Among Us is based off of a DC Comics series known as Fables.  I had never heard of the series before playing the game.  The basic premise of the game/comic is that many of the heroes and villains from popular fairytales and mythology have been forced to live in the same world as everyday humans.  There's a very Harry Potter-esque difference between the magical beings and the regular humans known as "mundies."  In order to live among humans these characters, especially the less human appearing, are forced to use powerful and expensive spells to disguise themselves as regular people.  Life isn't easy for these fairytale characters who find themselves struggling to blend in and make a living in the modern world.

In order to protect and uphold the laws for these magical beings a sheriff is appointed.  That sheriff happens to be the main character in the games, Bigby Wolf.  As the name implies, this is the Big Bad Wolf of "The Three Little Pigs" fame.  Bigby reminds me of a film noir style of detective--a brooding, hard drinking and smoking hero who has a tough life but still manages to get the job done.

The series centers around the investigation into the serial murders of several women from the fairytale community.  As Bigby investigates he learns that there is a wide ranging conspiracy that involves some of the more well-known fairytale characters.  Part of the challenge is simply trying to connect the dots to figure out who has actually murdered the women.  Players have to search for evidence, find clues, and interrogate suspects to unravel the mystery.  I don't want to go into too much detail and ruin the story for anyone.

Georgie.  Owner of the "Pudding and Pie"

For me the best part of the game was seeing how some of the most well-known fairytale creatures were incorporated into the world.  Characters like Ichabod Crane, Snow White, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Grendel, The Woodsman, Beauty and the Beast, and so many others are much different than their fairytale beginnings.  Georgie Porgie of the nursery rhyme, runs a strip club called the "Pudding and Pie" in the game.  He's a tattooed pimp who caters to the exotic tastes of the fairytale community.  Tweedledee and Tweedledum are private investigators and thugs who do the bidding of the rich and powerful.  Yeah, these ain't your sweet, innocent nursery rhyme characters....

Bigby is an interesting character because players are able to make choices that shape his personality.  He can be the rough, gruff, tough-talking and scary "Big Bad Wolf" or the kinder, gentler, reasoning authority.  You can choose to have Bigby rough up a suspect or to simply interrogate them.  There are times where Bigby can't ignore his true nature and is forced to revert to his wolfish self--mostly during action-packed fight sequences.

Unlike other episodic story games, I had purchased this entire series at one time.  I found that I actually prefer the binge-playing option over the one chunk at a time option.  It was nice to be able to finish up one episode and have the story fresh in my mind as I moved onto the next part.  It took me a few days to play through the entire series, but I didn't feel as confused about what was happening due to large gaps between episodes.  In the future I am going to try to buy my episodic games on sale and all at one time.

The Wolf Among Us is another great episodic story game from TellTale.  I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys TellTale's games or to fans of the comic books.  You can pick it up on Steam (I would wait until a sale--you can get it much more cheaply) for $24.99 or on other mobile devices.

Character Highlight: Philippa Eilhart

I am still elbows deep in my most recent playthrough of The Witcher 3.  Every time I play through a game that I truly enjoy I try to find something new or something different to ponder.  Last week I posted about the whole Radovid issue and the double-edge sword type of choice players must make.  In deeper thinking about Radovid and the characters involved in the plot, I really started thinking about a character who I mostly like but who is tough to place in your typical "good guy/bad guy" scheme.  Love her or hate her, Philippa Eilhart is one of the more interesting sorceresses in The Witcher 2 and The Witcher 3.

Philippa isn't an easy character to love.  She is cold, ambitious, constantly plotting, and more than confident in her abilities.  Her abilities are so powerful that she is one of only a handful of mages who have ever mastered the art of polymorphy.  This ability to morph into an owl is extremely useful and helps her to evade her captors in The Witcher 3. Her motives always seem to be about what will put her ahead--be it good or be it bad.  She agrees to help Geralt life the curse afflicting Vergen in The Witcher 2, but only as a means to an end.  That end involves saving the life of the poisoned Saskia (who happens to be a powerful dragon in human disguise)...but only so that she can cast a charm spell that allows her total control of the poor woman/dragon's life.

The more you learn about Philippa the more you realize how truly cunning she is.  The Witcher 2 contains several goofy scenes involving a romantic relationship between Philippa and her "leashed" apprentice Cynthia.  It's very apparent that Philippa prefers the ladies.  In The Witcher 3 things become much more complicated as Geralt attempts to locate her as a favor for Radovid.  In his search of Philippa's temporary hideout he finds a series of love letters between the sorceress and one Sigismund Djikstra, the head of Redanian intelligence.  Triss also reveals that Philippa has had other male lovers in the past, but usually only as a way to get her closer to whatever she is planning.  And there's always a plan....

In order to defeat the Wild Hunt, Geralt must restore the Lodge of Sorceresses and request their magical assistance.  This task is particularly difficult since the Lodge has been outlawed by Radovid and it's members, including Philippa, are in hiding throughout the world.  Now that Geralt knows that Philippa has been hiding in her owl form (and right under his nose) he has a better idea about where to locate her.  The rescue gets much more complicated when he learns that Zoltan has lost his friendly own, who he named Polly, in a card game.  The lucky winner was Sigismund Djikstra (AKA Sigi Reuven) who has plenty of reason to want to harm Philippa--she did use him, then discard him, then attempt to have him assassinated.  Geralt and Triss arrive right in the nick of time and track down Philippa who despite being blind is still extremely dangerous.  She's managed to destroy Sigi's bath house and leads Geralt on a brief chase through the sewers.  Geralt manages to subdue Philippa and convinces her to help.  Once they are back in the bathhouse Sigi lets slip the plot to kill Radovid.  Philippa, of course, is very interested and wants in on the plot.  Djikstra does not agree and excludes her from the plotting.

Revenge is sweet.

My favorite Philippa moment comes during the mission to kill Radovid.  Geralt isolates Radovid on the bridge leading to Temple Island but the plot starts to fall apart.  Radovid flees wildly and orders in a large contingent of Redanian soldiers--a fierce battle breaks out and it looks like he might actually get away.  As he desperately seeks a place to hide he bangs on the door of a house and demands entrance.  The door opens to reveal none other than his nemesis, Phillipa.  In a form of poetic justice she blinds him by blowing magical dust in his eyes.  He stumbles away into the street and into a dead end.  Rather than kill him with magic, Philippa plunges her dagger into his back.  Thus ends the rule of Radovid V.  Revenge is sweet!

Philippa keeps her word and along with the other sorceresses of the Lodge helps to defeat the Wild Hunt.  Her help seems to have some strings attached as she tries to convince Ciri to become a member of the Lodge.  There's always something...

I'm not really sure what it is about Philippa that makes her one of my favorites.  She's not a traditional "good guy" kind of character--she's probably more of an enemy than a friend.  The fact that she's so complicated, devious, ambitious, powerful...all those things make her a truly interesting character.  There has been little talk about the future of The Witcher franchise, but if there is another game I hope Philippa is one of the characters.  I would love to see a story that involves the Lodge of Sorceresses.

The Radovid Dilemma--Do You or Don't You?

Now that I've officially completed XCOM 2, I have returned to the familiar waters of The Witcher 3.  This choice was spurred on by the fact that I firmly believed that the last DLC pack, "Blood and Wine," was going to be released in March.  I figured that I could start a new game and get to the point where I would be ready to start the DLC when it was finally released.  It turns out that the March release date that I remember reading about was probably very premature and that the new content most likely isn't due for release for quite awhile.  But who cares?  The Witcher 3 was my favorite game of 2015 so another adventure in that world isn't a bad thing.  Possible minor plot spoilers ahead.

I really enjoyed the first DLC, "Hearts of Stone," and have been looking forward to a longer adventure in a brand new setting.  "Blood and Wine" is supposed to take place in the country of Toussaint and screenshots released in December show a beautiful country filled with lush greenery and bright, vibrant buildings.  The new campaign also promises to add 20-30 hours of new content.  I can't wait to see what the next DLC has to offer!

Radovid V--The Crazy...err Stern.

As I have been progressing through the campaign in The Witcher 3, I have been thinking about some of the smaller but plot/world significant choices that I have made or will make.  One of those choices concerns the king of Redania.  Geralt meets his former BFF/frenemy Vernon Roche who sets up a meeting with a "Redanian contact" at a chess club outside the city of Oxenfurt.  Upon arrival at this discrete location, Geralt discovers that Roche's "Redanian contact" is actually Radovid V.  As the conversation progresses it becomes apparent that Radovid is a little loony--there is a very awkward exchange where he questions Geralt about whether he can hear the chess pieces and implies that each chess piece is actually alive and has a heartbeat that he can hear.  It's very apparent that at best he's a little weird and at worst he's completely insane.

The Radovid issue becomes much more complicated once you really gain an understanding about what is happening in Novigrad.  The persecution of anyone even remotely associated with magic illustrates how far he is willing to go to pursue his hatred of mages...and really anyone who doesn't fit into the perfect human world.  Pyres used to execute those who he finds unworthy have become a main attraction in the city.  Everything gets personal as Geralt helps his former lover Triss, one of the most highly sought after sorceresses, escape from the witch hunters.  Soon after Triss escapes, Geralt is drawn into a complex plot to assassinate Radovid.  During the meeting with the other conspirators, Geralt is given the choice to withdraw from the group and leave them up to their devious plotting.

As someone who has played through the campaign several times, I know how each choice plays out.  If you choose to assassinate Radovid a plan is hatched to draw him into a trap involving his arch-nemesis, the sorceress Philippa Eilhart.  Of all the characters in The Witcher, Philippa has the most reason to want to end Radovid.  One of the most dramatic scenes in The Witcher 2 takes place in a dungeon in Loc Muinne.  Radovid, who endured Philippa's cruel tutelage throughout his childhood, orders her eyes to be gouged out in what is supposed to be the first act in the torture and eventual death of the sorceress.  Fortunately for Philippa the chaos that occurs later on in the chapter allows her an opportunity to escape.  After her reappearance in The Witcher 3, she becomes a willing participant in the assassination plot and is the one who actually commits the act.

After you finish the campaign and the epilogue rolls you find out that the choice to end the royal nutjob was not necessarily a good thing.  Even though Radovid is murdering mages and non-humans, his true strength as a ruler lies in his prowess as a commander and strategist.  He is the only leader in the Northern Kingdoms who has the ability to oppose the might that is Nilfgaard.  By killing him you have essentially doomed the North to serfdom in the Nilfgaardian empire.  So much for a free Temeria...

If you opt to have Geralt walk away from the plot things turn out much differently.  Radovid manages to rally the remnants of the shattered North and successfully repel Nilfgaard.  All of the conquered Northern Kingdoms are then united under Redanian rule.  Things aren't so great for the mages and non-humans who live in his empire.....but at least there's no Nilfgaard, right?

I found the assassination option much more satisfactory than simply walking away.  As a Philippa fan the scene where she finally gets her revenge felt so good.  I am looking forward to finally reaching the point where I can watch it again.

The whole Radovid issue is another instance of what I enjoyed about many of the choices in The Witcher 3.  They aren't your typical "good choice" or "bad choice" options.  No matter what choice you pick things don't turn out perfectly.  Even the seemingly better choice has it's drawbacks--letting him live means that mages and non-humans will face condemnation and death at the hands of Radovid's witch hunters.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Ambivalence and XCOM 2

Well, I just finished XCOM 2.  I wish I felt more excited about it, but I don't.  The whole experience was marred by bugs and I just don't feel like there was enough in it that was that new/exciting.  Since I'm now officially done, this is my review.

I'm not much for strategy games.  I like to dip my toes into the pool once in awhile and I've found that I enjoy turn-based strategy games.  There's something satisfying about watching your squad follow your commands to success.  It's about 50/50 satisfaction/horror.  After thoroughly enjoying XCOM, I was overjoyed to hear that there would be a sequel.  I vaguely filed it away in the back of my head with other games that were coming out in the future and didn't think about it.  Then it was delayed.  Then I really didn't think about it.  It wasn't till a few days prior to release that I gave in to the hype (against my better judgment and resolutions to stop pre-ordering).  The sweet, sweet hype.
The Good:
1.) Plethora of customization options.  The character creator tool allows you to handcraft your own group of soldiers.  I have seen some very clever groups--one made up of video game heroes like Gordon Freeman and Duke Nukem--and some ridiculous ones too.  Your soldiers can sport unique props like hats, cigars, and eyepatches and even those items can be customized with a wide array of patterns and colors.

An Advent city.  The alien menace is always lurking in the background.

2.) Setting/Small Stuff.  I thought that there were a lot of clever small details the made the experience feel more immersive.  On some maps you would see flashing wanted posters with the faces of your soldiers on them.  The opening screen features one of your top soldiers peering at a random Advent position.

While it's true that the setting didn't change between the first and second game, Earth feels a lot different in XCOM 2.  The alien menace, "Advent," has clearly taken over and signs of their dominance are present on every map.  Guard towers and checkpoints dot maps.  Gene Therapy clinics are prevalent centerpieces on many urban missions.  This ain't the Earth you knew 20 years ago...

3.) Wider selection of utility items.  Research is much more robust in XCOM 2 and you can pour your fictitious funds into a wide array of items.  Different types of ammo, unique explosives like flashbang or gas grenades, proximity mines (which are really, really great--research them!), various additional armor types....the list goes on.  With these new items it was much easier to specialize your soldiers.  I decked out my hacking specialist like a robot killing machine--Bluescreen Rounds that do extra damage to mechanical units and EMP grenades--combine these items with talents like capacitor discharge and Sectopods don't stand a chance.

4.) Steam workshop and mod support.  There are already many, many mods that can improve gameplay or turn your gun into a Corgi.  It's nice that the game was developed with modding in mind and I have no doubt that there will be a great number of mods that will expand upon the base game and make it much better.

The Bad:  (I only have one, but it has been a big one)
1.) Bugs, optimization issues, and crashes.  I was hit hard by the dreaded chrysalid cocoon savegame corrupt bug (which has now been fixed).  It was frustrating to be so thoroughly enjoying the game and then having it become unplayable (but I am thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't one of the people who decided to play Ironman and then had their one savegame corrupted and had to start completely over).  Even though I'm not someone who sits and tracks framerate and other statistics, it is glaringly clear that some parts of the game run very slowly.  There has been a lot of disappointment in the fact that a game that shouldn't require a monster PC seems to be bogging down relatively good machines.  2K has promised to keep looking into the optimization issues and come up with fixes.  If you want those smooth framerates, you're going to have to wait.

Even with all these things that I liked, I didn't feel like XCOM 2 was really all that different from Enemy Unknown.  The gameplay is not drastically different--keep your squad in cover, don't get flanked, and try to plan ahead.  The basic premise of the game was essentially the same.  You have a base, this time it's the Avenger, and you develop that base.  You recruit and train soldiers.  You find scientists and engineers to beef up your research.  The story also didn't seem drastically different from the EU.  There are still some teeth-grittingly annoying times when aliens will land a seemingly impossible shot on a soldier in full cover.

Is XCOM 2 worth the $59.99 price tag?  Hmmm.  I'm really on the fence about that one.  I think the replayability value will have me starting up a new, more difficult campaign.  Overall I would say that I enjoyed my time playing but the game-halting bugs I experienced were not so fun.  Many have complained about the poor optimization and the fact that even beefy PC's seem to have a hard time running a game that they really shouldn't have.  My advice to potential XCOM 2 purchasers is to wait.  Steam generally has a summer sale around June/July/August.  Hopefully by that time the game will have been optimized and patched to eliminate any bugs.  Get it on sale.