Legacy of the First Blade Done!

I've been sitting on the content from the season pass of Assassin's Creed:  Odyssey for quite awhile now (which honestly is fine with me...I will get to that) and I just finished the first three "episode" chunk:  Legacy of the First Blade.  I had kind of forgotten how controversial and unpopular this DLC was--I have to say that I actually enjoyed it, but I can understand some of the negative feelings and reviews that people have expressed.  Ohhh, it's complicated!

A whole new masked conspiracy to slay!

One of the main reasons that I am glad I waited on playing the DLC is because I am still a tad mind boggled as to why it was released in an "episodic" way and I am not a fan of playing things in chunks--I prefer to just keep playing straight through something so that it's fresh in my head.  I think it would have been slightly torturous to play through one episode and then wait another six weeks for the next one to be rolled out (although, I suppose the flip side would be that for players who want to take their time they could potentially roll it together).  What exactly was the point of doing it that way?  To build suspense?  I just don't get it.

SPOILERS HO!  Yeah, from here on out I'm going to be writing about aspects of the main storyline in Legacy of the First Blade.

The basic pretense of the storyline in Legacy of the First Blade is that a new collection of baddies (AKA a new conspiracy--'magine that!) has appeared from foreign shores and is plotting deviousness in the Greek world.  Your character (Kassandra in my case) finds themself drawn into the machinations of The Order (yes, the precursor to the Order from Origins and every other AC game) and meets a father/son (or, I have a feeling if you play as Alexios--father/daughter) duo who is hellbent on hunting down and destroying them all.  As the story unfolds, Kassandra/Alexios learns that they are being hunted by The Order because of their "tainted blood."  Working with the mysterious Persian father/son--Darius and Natakas--Kassandra must uncover clues to hunt down and destroy The Order (look, you get a new cultist menu, it has new baddies...it all feels very familiar).  Darius is very mysterious and carries a familiar weapon...a spring-loaded blade strapped to his wrist.

Interestingly, a large part of the controversy about this DLC comes from the fact that players are largely stripped of their ability to make choices within the story.  One of the major controversies came from the fact that the story forces players into a relationship with the son/daughter character--because the narrative is largely driven by the concept of Kassandra/Alexios bloodline and the need for it to be wiped out by future insidious conspiracies, there's a need for offspring.  Therefore, regardless of many of the choices you've made prior to this point in the main story--you have a baby!  A lot of people were upset by this because they were given the freedom to shape their character how they wanted--including choosing only same-sex LI's--and then having that taken away.  It definitely ruined that particular aspect of the game.

Since I wasn't dead-set on playing my Kassandra one certain way (and I was going for the "flirt with everyone" option), I didn't find the relationship controversy to be as rage inducing as it seems to be for many people (I can understand it though).  I actually liked the "family" aspect of the story and felt like it gave it a wider range of emotion.  There are A LOT of negative reviews for this DLC that hinge on the fact that player choice is taken away (and it's true), but I was also surprised by the number of reviews that especially mention "ruining Kassandra."  I definitely did not feel that and don't understand those feelings--why can't Kassandra still be a badass even though she has a baby?  She can't be a mother and still club people to death (my Kassandra!)?  She can't show any emotions?  It seems like seeing the softer, more traditionally feminine side of Kassandra causes discomfort for some people--and, I suppose it does get back to the whole "illusion of choice" complaint--if you're playing your Kassandra as a heart-breaking, tough-talking misthios...it sort of doesn't make sense.

For me personally, I enjoyed the ups and downs of Kassandra settling into the "simple" life (although I will agree with the assessment that Natakas is boring as crap)--that's always been a part of video games that I like--seeing characters that we've grown to enjoy having something nice happen.  Of course, right when you feel the happy vibes the story rips that right away.  The Order attacks your happy little home and Kassandra is on a mission to find her missing son.  Strangely enough I found the violence and killing much more justified as Kassandra goes Mama Bear on The Order.  (Umm, she's still a badass, and probably more of one when she is desperately trying to find her son)

I guess it's an unpopular opinion, but I actually liked Legacy of the First Blade.  I can agree with many of the criticisms (the choice thing does suck; there aren't any new areas to explore) but I enjoyed unraveling The Order and getting to experience a wider range of Kassandra.  I liked how the story ties together the bloodline with the assassins.

I would cautiously recommend Legacy of the First Blade to those looking to check out additional content for Odyssey.  I enjoyed the story but can understand some of the outrage over taking away player agency.  Maybe buy it on sale if you're feeling hesitant.

Stealth Failure

After getting bored with The Division 2 (which, FYI has released it's first DLC "episode," so could potentially be worth revisiting), I decided to rededicate myself to completing the not-so-stealthy adventures of warrior Kassandra in Assassin's Creed:  Odyssey.  I forgot how absolutely massive the ancient Greek world is in Odyssey and can't stop my completionist self from completing every...single...location on the effin' map.  I've officially reached the point where every zone is almost finished and I'm ready to knock out the rest of the main story and move on to the DLC (which was my goal for re-playing the entire thing).

Warrior Kassandra looking heroic.

Playing as warrior Kassandra has prompted several changes in my playstyle from the first time around.  I decided to put all my talents into the "warrior" tree (rather than the assassin tree which I initially chose) and Kassandra is an absolute beast when it comes to pummeling large numbers of enemies.  On the other hand, her stealth skills are trash and trying to sneak through anything is hit or miss--she can stab someone from stealth, but they usually don't die in one hit (it's probably worth mentioning here that I also decided to raise the difficulty on this playthrough to hard).  This means that being remotely stealthy means luring unwitting guards, bandits, etc. to somewhat isolated areas, stabbing away a portion of health, and then giving them a few powerful whacks with the minotaur axe (I decided to go the two-hander route for the warrior build).  This strategy sort of works, but the majority of the time other guards hear the whacking taking place and Kassandra winds up in a wild melee with numerous enemies--it's chaos, but with the chain attack overpower ability and some built up adrenaline, it's usually bam, bam, bam, bam, and they're dead.

Further contributing to warrior Kassandra's lack of stealth is the decision to use fire-based attacks.  I do love a good DoT, but poor Kassandra lights herself on fire more often than not.  I've mastered the stop-drop-and roll method of putting out the raging self-inflicted fire.  I've grabbed every weapon that has extra fire damage and especially enjoy the bow of Hades which turns all basic arrows into fire arrows.  The downside of the bow is that I frequently forget about the flaming arrows and accidentally engulf entire camps in a raging inferno--which doesn't exactly encourage stealth--the guards will notice (eventually).

"Hard" difficulty hasn't been too bad, but due to the aforementioned poor stealth skills, Kassandra tends to have some level of bounty on her head.  One of the major differences from "normal" difficulty is that bounties seem to decay at a much slower level.  I've had to make it a point to seek out bounty holders and slay them if I want the bounty level to lower to where I won't be constantly stalked by baby mercenaries hoping to slay the godlike-Kassandra (they are fairly easy to kill, but have a tendency to make appearances at very inopportune moments).

A very non-consequential decision I made about this playthrough is that if the "flirt" option is offered in dialogue, Kassandra will take it.  As a result, Kassandra has had numerous romantic encounters with a very wide variety of people.  One of my favorites happens early in the game--the infamous horny, old lady who lives near the Oracle of Delphi (she sends you on a mission to gather a bunch of animal-based ingredients so she can make a potion for her exhausted husband).  I wasn't sure how the scenario would work out with flirting right in front of her husband...but he actually seems relieved when you offer to take his place.  There's a funny cutscene of several days passing--while the husband spends his free time hanging out with friends and practicing his musical skills on some sort of stringed instrument--and then your character finally emerges and basically tells the husband that the old lady should be good for a few days.  I really didn't expect that and it made me laugh.

In another romantically based decision I decided to forgo a romance with Kyra (the rebel leader on the island of Mykonos) in an effort to avoid the tragic end of that whole quest line (SPOILERS here for this quest--basically her Spartan BF doesn't really appreciate you cheating and the quest line ends with a fight and his death).  I even tried to flirt with the BF and he stayed loyal to Kyra and turned Kassandra down!  I thought I would get a happier ending to the quest line...but noooooo, someone still dies (I had made another decision which could have been different and possibly would have resulted in a better ending).  Sometimes you just can't win.

I have yet to touch the DLC, but I'm getting close.  My goal is to be neck-deep in it next week and able to write about it next weekend.

Saving D.C. in The Division 2

After a ton of shooting and looting, I think my time with The Division 2 has come to an end.  I've managed to eliminate the major faction leaders around the city and re-establish the national link to the SHD agents around the U.S.  Mission mostly accomplished!

I will preface this review by stating that I didn't purchase The Division 2 but received it as part of a package of "free" games that came with the new components in the PC I built.  I don't hate shooters, they can be fun, but they aren't generally my #1 picks for gaming enjoyment.  With that said, I actually had a lot of fun with TD2 and would recommend it for those out there who enjoy shooters or who are looking for some co-op fun.

A bleak, burned out landscape in the middle of D,C,

Pros:

+ Washington, D.C. has been recreated in stunning detail and, for a game that is a shooter, I found myself wanting to ignore the bullets flying and just explore the famous landmarks around the city.  Many of the major combat missions/battles take place in the most famous American landmarks (like the Capitol building) and it is amazing how they've included tons of small details on top of the cover system and post-apocalyptic vibes.

+ Different factions provide combat variety.  Each section of the city is chunked up into zones with specific level ranges and is dominated by one of the three factions--the Hyenas (a criminal gang bent on exploiting the post-apocalyptic chaos for their own gain); the Outcasts (a group of cult-like whackos who seem determined to further the spread of the Green Poison virus); or the True Sons (a militia group made up of former soldiers who have created their own little fiefdom).  Each faction has its own unique soldier types and combat style and learning how to deal with each is part of the fun.

+ Collectibles and achievements.  Scattered throughout the city are different items that provide additional insight into the apocalyptic events and current state of D.C.   There are audio recordings, ECHO's (a sort of digital recreation), paintings, and found American relics to collect.  If exploration is your preferred mode, the sprawling city provides tons of nooks and crannies to check out.  There are also specific roaming enemies that can be killed and serve as another sort of collectible.

The achievement system has several different categories and can also serve as motivation.  Achievements are worth points and completing them will move you up "tiers" and provide extra caches of equipment.

+ Options for gameplay.  There's a traditional story that you can follow, there is PvP matchmaking (a 4v4 Conflict system which offers ranks), and there is the Dark Zone (a mixture of PvP and PvE elements).

+ Co-op recommended, but not necessary.  There is a matchmaking system but I was surprised by the fact that most of the game seems soloable.  I have read that the game is better when played with others, but I still had fun with the challenge of soloing.  Matchmaking seems straightforward--there are terminals in safe areas around the city where you can matchmake, or you can matchmake for specific activities like missions or bounties.

+ Level 30 content refreshes old areas with new enemies.  I was a little confused about what happens once you reach top level, but interestingly enough the game introduces a new faction of tougher enemies that takes over the city.  Each mission area that you had previously cleared of the three initial factions is now taken over by the new faction.  The new faction provides a tougher challenge and allows you to play through a secondary story that serves to gear up your character.  Your goal post-level 30 is to increase your "gear score" to specific levels so that you can complete new strongholds.

+ Specializations unlock after you've completed all of "story" difficulty and are very easily changeable.  You can pick from one of four specializations (gunner, demolitionist, survivalist, or sharpshooter)--each provides you with a special weapon and abilities.  The really nice part of the specialization system is that you aren't locked into whatever you pick and changing is simply a matter of going back to the White House and swapping out talents.  There isn't any cost or penalty so experimenting with each is fun.

+Combat is fun and challenging.  There are multiple difficulty levels to choose from and once you hit level 30 there are daily challenges for specific missions at higher difficulty levels.  Many of the achievements are geared toward higher difficulty levels (which, once you've geared up, aren't too bad).  Combat is third-person and based on a cover system.  Moving in cover is very fluid and easy.

+ Different classes of weapons to choose from.  There are tons of weapons to loot--rifles, assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, light machine guns, and marksman rifles.  You can carry two weapons and a sidearm, so there's some room for picking the best guns for your playstyle.  I enjoyed rifles and assault rifles but found shotguns to feel weirdly underpowered.

+ Top tier content.  There is a raid that is unlockable once you've completed the "invaded" missions at level 30.  If you are looking for extra challenging content to group for...this is right up your alley.

+ Clan system.  You can join or create your own clan.  There is a system of achievements and tasks associated with being part of a clan.

+ Open-world of D.C. becomes much more chaotic at level 30--much more challenging.

Cons:

-Can be repetitious.  I thought it was interesting how they re-used the same mission areas at post-level 30 but I eventually reached a point where I could feel the fact that I was going back and doing the same areas over and over.  The combat is enjoyable and challenging enough that it didn't happen for awhile, but it did happen.

-Microtransactions.  You can't really avoid them these days and I will say that they are limited to cosmetic items--apparel, emotes, and weapon skins.  The nice part is that the premium items can be looted in-game.  They also aren't overtly pushed on you.

-Heroic content is insanely hard (it's the top difficulty level...so it should be) and is geared toward future, higher-level content.  I tried in vain to clear a level 4 control point and died repeatedly.  It's currently brutal (but possible!).

I was surprised at how much fun I had with The Division 2.  There are definite degrees of strategy required and I can see how playing in a group with different abilities could be awesome.  I would recommend it to players looking to solo (it's totally possible--especially at lower difficulty levels) and especially to those looking for co-op play.  

Feelin' Like a Badass in The Division 2

The CPU and GPU in my new PC came with a few "free" games and one of them is The Division 2.  I was completely unfamiliar with the series and knew very little about it, but it has been my main source of entertainment lately.  Shooters aren't generally my games of choice, but TD2 is proving to be more than just endless shooting (although, there's a looooot of that, of course).

One of the non-shooting based parts of TD2 that has really grabbed me is the post-apocalyptic world of Washington, D.C.  The city has been meticulously recreated and it is truly amazing to see famous American landmarks and how they have been incorporated into the gameplay and story.  One minute you're marveling at the Lincoln Memorial and the next minute you're in a pitched gun battle with a bunch of various baddies.  The city is laid out in friendly tidbits (teeming with conflict and opportunities for shootouts) and exploring each chunk is fun.

The Capitol building looms in the background of a downed Air Force One.

Another exploration-based aspect I've been enjoying is finding the many collectibles littered throughout the city.  There are audio recordings that reveal additional details about certain factions, characters, or events related to the fall of society.  These recordings are cleverly tucked away around the city and often require some additional searching to locate them.  In addition to the recordings, there are also ECHO's which are a sort of digital reconstruction of various events that took place in D.C.  Finding these collectibles helps to flesh out the story and motivations of some of the major characters in the game.  There are also famous paintings and various important American artifacts (like the Declaration of Independence) hidden throughout the city just waiting to be found.  It's nice to have this variety of activities to do within a game that on the surface seems like a fairly serious shooter.

My baby agent...looking like a badass.

But, of course, the major draw of the game is the third-person combat.  I've had a ton of fun tweaking my talents, figuring out which ones work well for me, and experimenting with different weapons.  I like the way that there are several different factions in the game and that each faction has a different feel when you're fighting them.  The Hyenas are a violent gang who will boldly attack you with little thought to actual strategy--I love the little details like the fact that their basic soldier type of enemy holds their weapon sideways in a sort of "gangster" stance as they casually stroll around spewing lead at you (which makes them easy fodder for slaying).  The Outcasts have a very real "cult" vibe and utilize fire-based attacks (demolitionist/grenadier type mobs hurl Molotov cocktails and later there are flamethrower wielding soldiers that blast you with a stream of fire).  Their suicide bomber melee mobs will come wildly charging at you and need to be dealt with from far away.  In the first story mode, the True Sons are probably the faction that seems the most strategically sound--they utilize more traditional tactics and soldier types and are more prone to staying in cover.  As you progress through the game you encounter each faction and learn how to effectively deal with them.

Post-apocalyptic chaos punctuates every scene in D.C.

As you work to level up your character you travel throughout the city and discover settlements that are in need of assistance (these also serve as local bases where you can restock, stash, and buy/sell equipment).  Certain projects pop-up as you progress the story and as you complete them you get to see how each improves the settlement in some way--better food production, a concert stage for entertainment, better defenses, etc.  Each improvement makes you feel like a real hero and that you are helping the fictional people of post-apocalyptic D.C.

Most missions take you into major D.C. landmarks like the Museum of Native Peoples.

I've managed to level my character up to 30 and have worked through all the initial story-based missions.  Getting this far has been a real learning experience and. even though most of the in-game tutorials do a good job of explaining most aspects of gameplay, there are a few things that you have to figure out on your own.  Once I reached level 30 I was very confused about the three "strongholds" that existed.  In my head I had an idea that strongholds were designed to be a sort of group/team raid zone and that you couldn't complete them by yourself.  It turns out that strongholds are soloable (at lower-difficulty levels, anyway) and that you can progress the story by doing them on your own.  After finishing the story-based difficulty I wasn't really sure what was next--there were other elements of the game geared toward PvP aspects (conflicts and the Dark Zone).  The interesting part is that a new faction, the Dark Tusk, invades D.C, and the map essentially resets itself (the settlements/safehouses stay the same) with new conflict points and main missions.  The Dark Tusk are a more technologically advanced faction and throw out some more challenging gameplay.  I've just barely started the "invaded" missions, but so far I like the way they've upped the difficulty.  I also really enjoy the way they are re-using the assets from the initial levels and introducing a different story.

Backpack hippo is the best.

Without a doubt, the best part of The Division 2 is the loot.  There's oodles of it...tons of guns to choose from, crafting materials galore, and resource items scattered around in discarded luggage or at specific supply points.  Of all the things I've looted, the one thing I've been the most excited about is a ridiculous backpack ornament of a stuffed hippo.  It's super cute!

I'm going to keep playing The Division 2 until it becomes too hard to solo.  Then, I might take a stab at one of the other shooters (seriously, every "free" game I received is a shooter).  

I Built a PC!

After months of planning, ordering parts, watching tons of "how-to" videos on YouTube, I finally completed my first PC build!  It was extremely nerve wracking and I was definitely worried about hooking something up wrong or dropping something and damaging it.  Fortunately, that didn't happen and I'm now enjoying my new and improved PC (if you're wondering what exactly I built here is the link).  I didn't go for anything that shiny or extremely high-end but did try to spend a little bit of extra money on a good GPU.  Here is a very unimpressive picture I took with my crappy, old phone:

My Fractal Designs case has great airflow.
I only opted for two RGB components (fan and MoBo).

I had only bought pre-built PC's up until this point (mostly Dell branded products,--my last PC was an Alienware) and didn't think that I would ever have the technical expertise to actually piece together a computer that would actually work.  It turns out that building a PC isn't too terribly technically demanding--it's mostly a matter of following directions and having small enough hands to connect some terrifically tiny connectors.  The piece that intimidated me the most wasn't necessarily the building aspect, but was more on the software side--I had no idea how to do a fresh install of Windows on a brand new PC (spoilers--it's actually very easy).

My interest in building my own PC stemmed from playing PC Building Simulator.  Even though it is a game and there's no handy auto-connect tool in real-life to hook up all those tiny wires, the game made me realize that building a PC was definitely doable.  If you're someone who feels like they have some technical expertise, but are by no means an expert, I can tell you that it's totally possible.  I did it...and so can you!

Now that I've actually completed my first build, I can hand out tips like a pro.  My first tip is to use PCPartPicker to start your research into components and build a list of parts.  PCPartPicker is absolutely awesome and includes user reviews, staff builds of PC's at different price points, user generated builds, and great market analysis tools for tracking prices and sales.  Once you've selected your parts, PCPartPicker will check them for any compatibility issues, which is particularly handy.  Then, it's just a matter of waiting for good prices, ordering your parts, and assembling them into working fashion.

Another great tip is that there are tons of very educational PC building videos on YouTube which are perfect for beginners.  I personally enjoyed this series of videos by Paul's Hardware which covered all the bases of building a PC--from picking the right parts, to installing them, and then to finally setting up the software on your new PC.  There are tons and tons of videos to choose from and you should have no problems finding one that fits your own preferences.

Of course, since now I have a new PC, I also have a few new games that were bundled together with the components that I bought.  As part of various promotions, I've received Tom Clancy's:  The Division 2, World War Z, and Wolfenstein:  Youngblood.  (Youngblood hasn't been released yet and I still haven't received my codes for World War Z).  I decided to give The Division 2 a chance and so far have been enjoying it.  My new graphics card is helping to paint a beautiful picture of a post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. as my SHD agent runs around gunning down baddies.

Prior to building my new PC I had started a new Assassin's Creed:  Odyssey playthrough with my new and improved warrior Kassandra.  I decided that this time around I needed to notch up the difficulty (to hard...not to the highest one yet) and I've noticed the change--there are more guards roaming around and they tend to be "elites" much more often.  Warrior Kassandra can't stealthily one-shot many of the newer, tougher enemies, but she can definitely fight off the massive numbers that swarm as a result of these failed attempts to be stealthy.  This also means that warrior Kassandra attracts quite a bit of mercenary attention.  I've been sitting on the season pass for several months now and I need to finish the new content...it will happen eventually.

One of the major PC building disappointments of my 2018-19 was my earlier decision to buy an upgraded GPU for my older pre-built.  I had an AMD R290 that worked great--no problems at all, but it was just getting a bit dated and was only meeting minimum specs in some games.  I decided to upgrade to an RX580 and went with a brand that I was not familiar with--XFX.  For the first few months it worked great--I had no problems--then, I started to have problems with the card overheating and forcing me to have to manually shutdown my PC.  The really weird part of the overheating is that it would take place while I was playing games that weren't particularly graphically demanding (Slime Rancher).  It was really frustrating to have a brand new card that was not working great and the fact that I was having to turn settings way down to prevent overheating!  I did some research and discovered that there were some well-documented heat issues with RX580's and XFX cards in particular.  I was left with a couple of options--I could RMA the card and get a new one (which would mean sending the card in and waiting an unspecified amount of time for a replacement) or I could try to look up a faster solution.  One of the possible causes of the overheating problem was possibly linked to low-quality thermal paste that wears out after a short amount of time.  I decided that replacing the thermal paste on the GPU would be the best bet (even though by doing that there was a chance that I would be voiding the warranty).  After a thermal paste replacement (that was very simple...there are also good videos on YouTube about that process) my card did start running somewhat cooler.

2019 is the year of PC failures and triumphs (fingers crossed!) for me.  I would recommend building your own PC--it's a lot of fun to see your boxes of parts come together into a working product and you get a great feeling of pride and ownership in your work.  You can also make it very sparkly if you desire...there are RGB components for almost anything!