Nothing is Perfect Part 2--More Perfect

I'm still working on playing my way through the Mass Effect trilogy and I've recently finished playing Mass Effect 2 and all the DLC.  Mass Effect 2 has long been my favorite in the series and after hiccuping through the bumpy first game (literally bumpy because of the Mako) it was a relief to watch my beloved Shepard get spaced during the prologue cutscene.  Even though ME2 is my favorite, there are still parts of it that I am not crazy about.

Mass Effect 2 introduces a few familiar faces and many new crew members.

What's Great:
1.) Teamwork!  My favorite part of ME2 is travelling the galaxy to find new members for your team.  BioWare does characters extremely well and there are plenty of diverse, intriguing personalities that make up your final team.  I think the team building aspect of the game is the closest to perfection.  I love meeting the new members, chatting them up and learning about them, and then eventually getting to do their loyalty missions and seeing what really lies behind all their quirks and insecurities.  Earning the loyalty of your team and knowing individual strengths and weaknesses is key to helping everyone to survive the suicide mission. 

2.) The teamwork aspect extends beyond simply character building and is also applied to combat.  The combat in ME2 is an extreme improvement over the combat in the original game (which I do not enjoy) and using specific abilities in combination results in powerful attacks.  It is fun to figure out which abilities work well together and which squadmates are the best compliment to your Shepard's skills or for a specific type of enemy.

3.) DLC is (mostly) great and makes meaningful additions to the core game.  Kasumi Goto is a fun character and her loyalty mission is one of the best in ME2.  Lair of the Shadow Broker is the best of the bundle and has a great story, challenging combat, and adds in the fabulous feature of the Shadow Brokers base as an additional resource.  My least favorite is Overlord, but even it has a solid story.  Arrival provides a bridge between the events of the second and third game in a way that you don't even realize until you begin ME3.

4.) Side characters add fun dialogue and crew banter.  Not everyone gets to go out on combat missions, but they're still a part of the team.  You can learn about your non-combat crew members by simply wandering the ship and listening to what they are talking about.  Ken and Gabby in engineering have a cute relationship and their conversations are funny.

5.) The bulk of the main story.  You've got to build your team, but you also have to figure out how to stop the Collector attacks on human colonies.  The story missions take you to various locations and have some of the most challenging combat in the game.

What's Not Great:
1.) My main gripe about ME2 has always been the resurrection aspect and how it is used to tied Shepard to Cerberus.  I'm willing to accept a lot of space magic, but I abhor the story element of someone dying and then being brought back to life...it's just way too unbelievable for me (and it's the basis for essentially making Shepard feel obligated to work for Cerberus).  I just wish they had come up with a more believable way to make the story work.

2.) The combat is massively improved over the original game, but the AI for your squadmates can be sketchy at times.  Way too often I found myself being the only one attacking a target (and, I probably do a bad job of issuing attack commands to my followers).  This is a bit of a problem throughout the series though and arguably is still a problem in many games that use AI squadmates.

3.) Scanning planets is still a boring chore.  I've learned how many minerals I will need and try to stockpile them right at the beginning so I don't have to continue scanning.

4.) M44 Hammerhead.  It's definitely easier and more fun to drive than the Mako, but I think the vehicle combat in ME2 was a bit of a flop.  You have to be extra careful on the missions where you come under fire because the M44 can't take very many hits and you typically can't save while in a vehicle.

ME2 still remains my favorite game in the Mass Effect series.  It's a perennial favorite among many gamers and marks the progress of the formula adopted for the series--building a team, strengthening that team, and working together to overcome seemingly impossible odds.  The quest for perfection gets a bit closer.

Nothing is Perfect

It has been one of my usual summer traditions to re-play through some of my favorite multi-game RPG series--namely The Witcher and Mass Effect.  With multiple games in each series, there is enough to keep me happily gaming for quite awhile.  Even though both series are my favorites, there are parts of each that I just have to grit my teeth and get through.  It's very, very late in the summer and I recently decided that since I skipped Mass Effect last summer it was time to fire it up again (despite having played through it more than what is probably healthy).  It was during this time that I reflected on the imperfections of the original Mass Effect.

One of my first struggles was figuring out exactly how I was going to re-download the series.  I had bought the first two games on Steam and trying to locate, download, and install all the DLC has always been a headache.  The BioWare Social Network used to be the home of all the DLC, but it no longer exists.  The easiest option was to use my CD key to download the game on Origin.  One of the benefits of using Origin is that all the DLC is now easily accessible and doesn't require the multi-step approach that the Steam version requires.  Another upside is that the "deluxe edition" of Mass Effect was given away for free on Origin at one point--this edition includes both pieces of DLC for the original game--Pinnacle Station and the Bring Down the Sky mission.  Having all the DLC in one place is especially handy for the second and third game as there are multiple pieces of content.  (FYI--there are multiple guides on EA and Steam on how to use your CD key to download the games on Origin.  It's really easy.)

After getting everything downloaded, I settled into my new Commander Shepard.  Did I make any different decisions about how I was going to play?  No; no, I did not.  My adept FemShep will be a paragon and make exactly that same decisions I have made every single time I play.  Le sigh...insanity, right?

What I love about Mass Effect:
--I've always felt that the first game in the series has some of the best sci-fi writing and does the best job of capturing the wonder and magic of space.  Landing on an uncharted world and exploring is always fun (even though driving the Mako...is not) and the visuals in the first game support this feeling.  I've always loved the Feros mission in particular and the Thorian--an ancient, plantlike creature that can enslave organic species and clone slaves?  So cool!

Driving the Mako sucks, but the views are fabulous.

--Big moments.  There are aspects of the main story that always make me grin and that I absolutely love.  My favorite is toward the end of the game when Shepard is pursuing Saren on the Citadel and has to improvise when the elevator is disabled.  Stepping out onto the side of the Citadel tower and seeing Sovereign looming overhead and then fighting through the army of Geth to reach Saren...it's the core of what makes Mass Effect magical.

--Teamwork.  The first game plants the seeds of building a multi-species squad and learning how to work together.  I've always loved the sense of diversity.


What I just have to tolerate and get through:
--Driving the Mako.  There's a joke in one of the later games about the Mako driving like a drunk rhino.  It's true!  You bump and bounce along and try to navigate.  It's painful, but tolerable.

--Old graphics.  I'm sure that there are mods that can spruce up the textures in the first game, but I'm not much for modding.  Much of the game looks fine, but gear and uniforms in particular are dated.

--Combat is so, so horrible in the first game.  There's a moment where it tries to introduce a cover-based system, but it's a lie!  The enemy AI is bad--enemies rarely stay in cover and shoot at you and instead choose to charge right at you.  The basis of combat in the game is trying to survive the press of enemies charging at you.  Sadly, I've never finished the first game on Insanity because the combat is rough.

Invasion of the pixel people!

--Bugs.  Apparently, if you have an AMD CPU (yes, CPU...not GPU) there is a weird graphical bug that effects certain parts of the game.  The textures for your squad and any enemies will disappear and all are turned into weird, blocky black pixel creatures.  This happened during my playthrough on Noveria (once you reach Peak 15) and also on Ilos.  The good news is that it does go away after you play through each area to a certain point (there might be a fix, but it looked too technical for me). 

--Romance means talking.  Everyone knows that the best part of Mass Effect is picking your love interest and then actively pursuing them.  In the first game, simply talking to members of your squad is enough to mean you've actively engaged in a relationship.  It's irritating, but easily fixable with some pointed conversational changes to shut down any unintentional relationships.  ("You talk to Kaidan a lot...you love him!"  It's annoying.)

Sometimes it is good to go back and remember exactly the point where a story starts and the hiccups that happen as it builds steam.  Mass Effect isn't perfect, but it's worth a re-play.  If you are like me, you'll have to tolerate some of the more annoying aspects of the first game, but the story and big moments make it worthwhile.  Just remember...eventually you'll make it to ME2 and it's all worth it!

RimWorld in Full

I originally wrote a review for the strangely entertaining survival sim, RimWorld, while it was in early access.  Recently, I decided to try my hand at rescuing a new group of unfortunate lost souls.  This foray hasn't resulted in success for my whacky crew, but it did give me a chance to check out some of the changes that have come to the game since its full release (which was actually back in October of last year).

For my newest survival adventure I chose the default difficulty and settings--three survivors, Cassandra Classic as my storyteller, and "normal" difficulty.  One of the big changes I noticed from the last time I had played was that the squad selection screen seemed more detailed--it's easier to swap out characters among the 7-8 choices you are initially presented with--you just have to drag and drop the ones you want.  I always try to pick a crew that has a diverse set of abilities and includes some of the most valuable early survival skills (I like to lean toward growing, construction, and doctoring).  In RimWorld it's always a balancing act between positive and negative traits--I decided to keep one character who was old because he had relatively high cooking and research skills.

The grave of Beefeater...RIP loyal companion.

The early stages of any colony are always a bit rocky and my colony was no exception.  Almost immediately a grizzly bear began hunting the companion animal (a dog--weirdly named "Beefeater").  By the time I scrambled my squad into combat, Beefeater had succumbed to his wounds from the grizzly attack--then, the tough decision about what to do with Beefeaters remains loomed over my squad--his death could provide my crew with some much needed sustenance...but, that seemed way too macabre so Beefeater was the first victim laid to rest in the settlement graveyard.  It seems like any predator animals in the area of your colony are much more likely to attack animals AND humans.  As a precaution, it's probably best to hunt them down.  I lost numerous tamed animals to predator attacks (and my colonists ate them...unless they were bonded).

Once my colony was fairly established and on the road to having some semblance of normalcy, I set about building up defenses and researching toward a starship to escape.  The caravan system also introduced optional world events--these random events give you the option of forming a caravan to rescue prisoners (as recruits to your colony), have peace talks with enemy factions, search for hidden/guarded valuable loot (including the AI persona core), or actually travelling toward a downed starship.  My colony grew rapidly from 3 to 6 residents due to some various events--one event that was new to me was the arrival of "wild men."  These are humans who live in the wild and can be "tamed" and then recruited into your colony.  You can choose to ignore these humans who will roam around the map and do their best to survive (chances are they will wander right into your settlement because of the convenience of accessible food).  I ignored one of them until they were disabled by the cold and then decided to rescue them (you could just let them die....it seems kind of evil, but if your numbers are too high....)

My starship is built.  Surviving the onslaught is another matter.

Building the starship is no laughing matter and it has become much more difficult in the full release.  Each portion of the ship requires materials that can be difficult to find and that require quite a bit of crafting (advanced components require regular components, gold, and plasteel...each ship part requires several advanced components).  On top of that, there is the matter of tracking down the AI persona core (you can wait for the ship event to happen or hope that you can take a caravan to a guarded AI core).  Once the ship is fully constructed you also have to wait through a "power up" period of 15 days.  During this period your ship emits a signal that is detectable by all the baddies and your base is almost constantly raided.  Through some creative save scumming I reached this point and then decided to give up.  Ugh.

RimWorld has been much improved since its days in early release and I was impressed by the number of new items that have been added into the game.  There are many more options for defensive items and weapons, allowing for a much more robust security system.  I was also happy with the fact that colonists will now organize and stack items rather than letting them take up valuable storage space.  Cleaning has also become a much more important task--certain rooms, like the hospital and kitchen need to remain sterile and other rooms receive a negative mood modifier if they aren't clean.

The main building in my colony.

One of my major complaints about RimWorld is the fact that gameplay can fall into a bit of a lull when you're between tasks or unsure about what direction to take next.  I always hit a figurative wall or boring at a certain point in the game and it takes some serious refocusing to soldier on.  If it has been awhile since you picked up this delightful survival sim, I would recommend checking out all the changes present in the full release.

Sisterly Nazi Slaying--Wolfenstein: Youngblood

I built a new PC earlier this summer and received several "free" games that were packaged with my graphics card and CPU.  Every....single...one of them was a shooter!  I don't hate shooters, they just aren't generally my first pick for gaming.  Luckily, there was enough variety within the games I received that I've been able to remain invested enough to finish most of them (not World War Z, sadly).  My most recent shooting spree (*in a violent video game...that didn't make me violent) took place in the Nazi-occupied world of Neu-Paris in Wolfenstein:  Youngblood.

The Blazkowicz sisters are on the prowl for Nazis.

It's worth mentioning here that the last time I played a Wolfenstein game was when I was a kid--in fact, it was likely the original game from the 1990's (the controversial violent game from then!).  I've been intrigued by the series since its rebirth in the modern day, but not enough to give any of them a go.  Wolfenstein:  Youngblood is my first foray into the new series--it's probably a bit of a strange place to start since it is supposedly a departure from the format of the previous games.

The story in Youngblood follows the twin daughters of professional Nazi-slayer BJ Blazkowicz.  Jess and Soph(ia) grew up in the (apparently) liberated United States (in Texas...ya'll) and appear to be in training to continue the family legacy of Nazi killing.  There is a nice introductory cutscene that lays out the Blazkowicz family dynamics--Jess is carefully guided by her father in hunting a bighorn and Soph is being pushed by her mother in hand-to-hand combat.  A few weeks later, BJ mysteriously goes missing and Jess, Soph, and their technologically-gifted friend Abby "overhear" (*are spying with equipment that Abby stole) BJ's supposed last known location.  Rather than sit back and wait for the adults to take action, they procure (*steal/borrow) the FBI helicopter belonging to Abby's FBI Mom (and, conveniently filled with Nazi-slaying goodies) and head to Neu-Paris to track down their Daddy.  The girls manage to track down the Parisian resistance who assists them as they work to follow the leads to BJ.

Pros:
+ Great environments.  I enjoyed the details of Nazi-occupied Neu-Paris.  There are several different districts to unlock throughout the city and each has its own vibe.  There are shantytowns where desperate residents have attempted to flee; there is the fancy, hoity-toity Nazi officers quarter filled with storefronts hawking traditionally German food and drink (pretzels and beer--but there's also a touch of Paris in the number of croissants present); each area is sprinkled with checkpoints, guard posts, and plenty of Nazi's to kill.  There are also other little details which are indicative of the daily life that happens in each quarter--a broadcast area is set up for a Nazi propagandist to give a speech--you fight among the speakers, cameras and chairs set up to accommodate this event.

The game also has a very cool, 1980's with a Nazi twist kind of vibe.  I enjoyed all the German language advertising for 80's products.

+ The Catacombs is a badass base.  The Parisian resistance have set up their base in the famous catacombs located under the city.  The base is a network of tunnels lined with the bones of thousands of past Parisians.  The base is the perfect place to recharge and prepare for actions out in the open-world of Neu-Paris--there are shared life crates, a shooting range with ammo and armor, a music room, and, the best part, an arcade cabinet where you can play through the classic version of Wolfenstein.  There are many different characters who offer sidequests and its best to revisit the catacombs often.

+ Co-op.  Youngblood decided to take the series into the land of co-op and it's very apparent that the system is built around working together (I played singleplayer, but got a good idea of the mechanics).  Your sister squad has a shared pool of lives--this means that going off on your own is a bad idea--if one of you can't be revived before the timer expires, your team loses a life.  Each sister can equip a unique "pep signal" that will give the team either a health or armor boost.  Inputting some codes, opening doors, and shared life chests require both players to interact--you have to stick together.

+ Sisters!  Soph and Jess are supposed to be teenagers...who just-so happen to have an excellent Nazi-killing pedigree--and throughout the game there is banter and general sisterly-goofiness.  Whenever you ride an elevator there is a mini-loading screen that shows the sisters goofing around between floors.  When you get off the elevator, the sisters give each other a cute fist bump.  I liked the way the relationship between the sisters played out.

+ Serious, but not too serious.  The beginning of the game sees the sisters killing their first Nazis and their giddiness is kind of hilarious.  There are jokes sprinkled throughout the game and the tone stays well-balanced.

+Story missions take place in several large, well defended towers,  Each tower represents a part of the Nazi control structure in Neu-Paris--one houses a jail and interrogation center; one is the center of zeppelin travel; one is the center of research and development; and the last is a super, top-secret location (and, you have literally no idea what goes on there...but it can't be good).  Each "brother" tower is a large, sprawling area where you are guaranteed fierce firefights.

+ Collectibles.  Scattered throughout the world are several different types of collectibles--there are readable items that help flesh out the story of Neu-Paris/the Nazi controlled world; there are 3-D glasses which unlock character models; there are "UVK" (like a Nazi version of a VHS tape) tapes with goofy Nazi plots; and there are special Gestapo crates which unlock concept art (the challenge is in finding them and also finding the codes to unlock them).  If tracking down items is your thing, there is plenty to encourage you to search every nook and cranny.

+ Stealth kills are violently fun.  In general I find stealth in shooters to be kind of a stupid mechanic, but if you take the cloaking ability, you have a brief window in which you can silently stab Nazis.  The takedowns are very violent, but oh-so satisfactory.

+ Weapon customization.  You can choose the type of customization you want for each weapon and purchase mods with currency you loot.  There are three different "sets" which, when all are combined, unlock specific bonuses--for example, greater headshot damage or faster firing rate.  Or, you can mix and match (but you don't get the "set" bonus).

+Pricing and buddy pass system.  I think the $29.99 price tag is perfect and I really like what they did with the buddy pass (basically you can spend $40 and give one copy to your preferred co-op partner!).

Cons:
-No full-size map--the only map you have is your mini-map and there are minimal helpful markings on it!  I know that there is a contingent of gamers out there who think maps aren't needed....but I'm not one of those gamers.  I don't understand the decision not to include a full-size map--I had moments of genuine frustration when I would find a floppy disk and then have to go searching for the last place that I thought I had seen a computer (you have to find specific computers to "decode" the disks you find).  Once, I got ridiculously lost while trying to exit a sidequest in one of the towers and spent about 30+ minutes trying to navigate to the metro exit.

-Not enough to make it much different from other FPS.  The guns in the game are pretty standard FPS-fare--pistols, shotguns, etc. and even the "special" guns that you locate throughout the game aren't anything extremely exciting.  The game being co-op is...something, but I just don't think that the gameplay itself was unique enough to differentiate it from any of the other numerous FPS games out there.  Yes, there is a "talent" system, but the points that you get still build toward very standard abilities--carry more grenades!  Carry heavy weapons!  My one major wish is that they had built more talents that are co-op focused and could be utilized by both players.

I expected a DOOM-like fast-paced style, but I didn't really get that at all.

-Side quests take you back throughout the same 3-4 areas in Paris and are also pretty standard "kill this!" "Fetch this!"

-No explanation about certain aspects of the game.  Early on I kept finding "unidentified ammo" and certain doors that required specific weapons to unlock (and, unlocking these doors is entirely optional).  There is no explanation about the fact that you find the "special" weapons required to unlock these doors in the main story missions.  It would've been nice to at least have had a hint about these doors/crates!

Other:
Microtransactions.  I'm not going to label this as a pro or con even though there were some folks who were triggered by the fact that there are microtransactions in this game.  I honestly forgot that there were microtransactions...that's how unobtrusive they are!  I was never prompted "buy this special currency!" or "sale!" or anything even resembling that.  There was some early days confusion over boosts that have since been fixed, but honestly, its nothing to get excited/upset about.  The majority of items in the game are purchasable with in-game currency (silver coins).  There are a few (like two, maybe?) skins/weapon skins that utilize the real-money currency (gold bars).  Not a big deal at all (and not worth freaking out about!)

Buy it or skip it?  Final verdict:
I enjoyed Youngblood, but don't think it really added anything new or special to the FPS genre.  I think more work could have gone into developing better co-op talents that could have possibly given it some uniqueness.  I do think the pricing and buddy pass system make it an affordable option for anyone looking for something fun to play with a friend.

Buy it if you're looking for some co-op shooter action.
Skip it if you're looking for something that is going to be genre-changing and life altering.

Asassin's Creed: Odyssey--The Season Pass Conundrum

If you're at all budget conscious, the thought of spending an additional $40-$50 on DLC (for a game that already cost $59.99) can be downright anxiety inducing.  Much of the time you don't know if the content you're paying for will be worth it.  I decided to buy the season pass for Assassin's Creed:  Odyssey because I enjoyed the base game and I received that base game for free (*free in the sense that it was packaged with a new graphics card) so I wanted to throw some money at Ubisoft.  I'm going to try to wrap up my thoughts about the DLC with the hopes of helping someone else who might be waffling on this purchase.

Here's what you get in the Season Pass for Odyssey.

The season pass includes two separate story arcs that add in many more hours of content.  Both story arcs seem to have a different type of focus that follows a pattern I noticed in Origins--one focuses on more narrative driven content that works to tie characters, story, etc. together and the other is more exploration/open world driven.  Both packs add in many additional hours of gameplay, new weapons, new armor sets, and new types of enemies.

Legacy of the First Blade
Pros:
+Narrative driven.  The focus of the first DLC pack is tying together Kassandra/Alexios with the entire assassin storyline.  If you're someone who likes storytelling and seeing how everything in the bonkers AC timeline is pulled together, this DLC does exactly that (in a controversial way...).

+ New characters.  As part of the story you are introduced to Darius (a Persian assassin) and his son (or daughter).  Darius has a compelling story tied to Persia and the assassins.  His son/daughter is boring as crap and serves a purpose tied to the aforementioned controversy.

+ New (ish?) enemies.  The story introduces a new conspiracy (The Order) of Persian (and maybe some unhappy/traitorous Greeks).  The basic enemy type doesn't change much--there are still brutes, regular soldiers, archers, stabby rogues, etc--but you do get a brand new cultist menu of baddies to track down and assassinate.

+New weapons/armor sets inspired by Persian aesthetic.

Cons:
-Player choice is stripped in the name of connecting story dots.  This was the big controversy that blew up when this DLC was originally released.  It was so contentious that Ubi actually ended up changing parts of it.  If you're extremely attached to playing your character a certain way...you're probably going to be disappointed.

-No new areas to explore.  The story takes place in three different Greek zones (that you've probably already fully explored).

The Fate of Atlantis
Pros:
+ Ties together some of the more confusing main storyline elements--i.e. those involving the staff of Hermes Trismegistus/Layla Hassan.

+ Introduces three new zones inspired by Greek mythology--Elysium, the Underworld, and Atlantis.  Each zone has is ruled by a different "god" (Isu) and is a part of the main story.  There are new places to explore/attack.  It's a welcome change from the potential 100+ hours spent in Greece in the main story.  Each zone has its own unique mechanics.

+ New abilities.  Part of the story involves unlocking the potential of the Staff of Hermes.  Special "insight" stones introduce alternative abilities (for example, one ability juiced my Wrath of Ares ability into a flurry of rapid spear attacks).  These abilities are Isu inspired and help spice up those same ol'-same ol' skills you've used for those same 100+ hours.

+ New enemies.  Isu soldiers have new, more challenging abilities.  The Atlantean Polemarchs in the last part of the DLC are extremely tough fights (unless you cheese the fights like I did--hide in a bush, snipe w/fire arrows, continue sniping while Polemarch freaks out from being on fire... dead Polemarch)

+ New boss fights.

+ New weapons/armor sets.

Cons:
-Story ending/parts of the story.  There's always the entire aspect of the story taking place in the animus and what is exactly going on is a tad confusing.  The worlds of Elysium, the Underworld, and Atlantis are simulations within the animus (I think?) and Aletheia is helping to guide Kassandra/Layla through them to juice up the staff.  The third episode (in Atlantis) in particular seems to also commit the sin of stripping out much player choice.  Kassandra/Alexios is placed in the role of "judge" and is told that they will be making serious decisions that could potentially impact the future of the city (which appears to be a bastion of human/Isu cooperation).  In the end though, your decisions don't really seem to matter at all.

-Layla Hassan.  She does a bad thing in the story and it just felt weird.  I was turned off by the entire Layla sequence.

Final verdict:
Buy it on sale.  I liked the new zones in Fate of Atlantis and parts of the story in each DLC, but wasn't extremely thrilled by the lack of meaningful choices.  There are also the "Greek stories" which add in new chaining story missions to the base game that involve some of the main characters (and I actually quite liked many of them).  I do think the $49.99 price tag is fair for the amount of content that you get.

Heaven, Hell, and....Atlantis?

The journey of warrior Kassandra (who, I've got to admit, I'm not enjoying as much as assassin Kassandra) has now officially moved beyond the beautiful shores of ancient Greece into the realm of mythology.  The Fate of Atlantis DLC for Assassin's Creed:  Odyssey  finally decides to move the story out of the real world (thank baby Jesus...or Zeus in this case--a change of scenery is much needed).  Similar to Legacy of the First Blade, Fate of Atlantis was released in an episodic fashion and, in this case, it makes sense.

(SPOILERS AHEAD for the part of the main storyline and possibly for part of the Fate of Atlantis DLC--fair warning!)

One part of the story that I originally found highly unsatisfactory was the entire weirdness with Layla Hassan (of the modern day) being handed the staff of Hermes Trismegistus and trying to wrap my head around several things--1.) Kassandra was still alive (the staff granting immortality is explained, but it was still surprising) and then you get to watch her die and 2.) There was absolutely no explanation about why handing the staff to Layla was so important.  Luckily, if you've purchased the Fate of Atlantis DLC it attempts to fill in the blanks of that strange part of the story.  Honestly, it's all still a bit confusing.

It turns out that Kassandra and Layla have a sort of strange connection bestowed by the Isu.  The story reveals Kassandra's unique DNA (the "bloodline") and the fact that she is next in line to take control of the powerful artifact.  As it turns out, her job isn't to simply guard the staff, but it is to unlock its true potential as a conduit of Isu knowledge--she is bestowed the role of "keeper."  After she has unlocked the Isu knowledge and juiced up the staff, her other job is to wait to hand it off to an unspecified "heir of memories."  (Layla Hassan...of the present day...the part of the story that was originally very unclear)

Powering up the staff is no laughing matter and it requires Layla to once more enter the animus and guide Kassandra to the many locations where this hidden information can be unlocked.  The even more complicated aspect of this is that the information has been hidden by the Isu (namely the pro-human and helpful Aletheia) in simulations cleverly disguised as parts of Greek mythology.  Each "episode" sees Kassandra travelling to a different location, becoming wrapped up in the current difficulties within that region, and ultimately working to unlock the true potential of the staff.

Elysium is filled with gorgeous landscapes.

 The first episode takes place in the heaven-like land of Elysium.  The land of Elysium is ruled by Persephone, the wife of Hades--it's also her prison which she has crafted into a beautiful land of clear, glassy water, floating rock islands, and swaying fields of colorful flowers.  You can't help but feel a sense of wonder and happiness in Elysium...buuuuuut, everything is not perfect.  In order to unlock the true potential of the staff, Kassandra finds herself at the whims of the godlike rulers (the actual "gods" in the mythology sense are actually Isu who rule the realms) who aren't willing to give up their secrets without something else in exchange.  Not only that, but there is trouble brewing on the horizon in the form of humans in Elysium who want to rebel against the rule of Persephone.  Elysium provides a new area to explore; new enemies with differing abilities; the opportunity to alter certain talents into new abilities; and also way more choice making than in Legacy of the First Blade.  I won't go into too many details about how the story plays out.

Persephone's palace in Elysium is nothing to scoff at.

The Underworld is a stark contrast to Elysium.

Episode two sees Kassandra thrust down into the bowels of the Underworld.  It's quite a jarring change to go from the scenic, flower filled world of Elysium into the barren, hellish landscape of the Underworld.  Hades, ruler of the Underworld, also has problems that need solving in exchange for his help unlocking more staff secrets.  It turns out that Hades is kind of a bastard though...who would've guessed?

I've just recently exited the Underworld and now Kassandra is adventuring in the mysterious world of Atlantis.  Atlantis provides another visually stunning, mythological zone to explore and even more Isu secrets to unravel.  I enjoyed the whacky afterlife scenarios in Origins and am digging Fate of Atlantis as an entire DLC.  There are still a few pieces of the story that I don't understand, but hopefully completing the entire thing will help it make more sense.  Even though I am enjoying it, I'm also feeling like it's time for the adventures to end (AKA...I'm ready to play something else for awhile).

Welcome to hell!