Doing the Things You Hate--Assassin's Creed: Syndicate

There are certain sidetasks in many video games that I tell myself that I don't need to do...but then I end up doing them anyway!  Currently, I'm still working my way through Assassin's Creed:  Syndicate and, as I've stated several times before, I'm a shameless completionist.  The idea of speeding through the main storyline in a matter of a few paltry hours is completely unacceptable to me.  I...must...do...all...the...things (even if they annoy the crap out of me).  I've made it my personal goal to at least try to find all the collectibles (which includes several different categories--chests, illustrations, helix glitches, and pressed flowers).  I was feeling good about my progress with this task until I realized that there was an entirely separate class of collectibles--music boxes!  I had accidentally stumbled upon a few of the items and had no idea what they were--then I made a visit to the hidden vault and discovered that they are a more challenging type of collectible; the kind that is intentionally meant to be hidden and puzzled out by players.

A visual music box clue--there are some helpful details.

Generally, I don't like looking things up unless I'm absolutely stumped, so doing the search for the music boxes requires some powers of deduction.  Once you reach the hidden vault, a new series of clues appears in your game progression log--each music box location is accompanied by a short poem (that seems to be completely useless) and a visual clue that is more helpful, but can still include frustratingly little information.  I've managed to puzzle out the locations of several boxes by looking for large, prominent landmarks to use as visual references--a large church steeple or towering chimney can offer an convenient place to begin your search.  From there, it's usually a matter of using the rope launcher to traverse rooftops and keeping your ears open to the tinkling, musical notes of a nearby music box.

There's also a part of me that absolutely hates wasting time doing these searches--wandering around feels fruitless and like I could just look it up and save some valuable time.  I find that looking things up completely ruins the reward of working things out for yourself though, so I am usually able to avoid it (I did have to look up one box last night though--the clues for it were very vague and I had already looked for about 30 minutes).

I'm a little torn on some of the other sidetasks--there are several characters who you randomly meet as you explore the city (some are important historical figures and others are just interesting people) and they offer up a series of tasks that you can choose to perform to raise your reputation with them.  Robert Topping offers activities of the more recreational type--a "fight club" series of battles scattered around the various zones of London or carriage races.  Ned Wynert's activities include doing anything to interfere with rival gang activities and economic interests--hijacking guarded carriages, sabotaging goods on barges, or robbing trains.  I've found Ned's activities to be the most tedious and am still undecided on the value of trying to raise my reputation with him.  Raising your reputation with the various side characters in the game does unlock new items or schematics, so it's definitely worthwhile.

I still have many more hours of adventuring in 19th century London ahead of me and I'm mostly having a good time.  Next week, I hope to write my full review of Syndicate.  Have a happy gaming weekend!

Stabbing Fancy People in Assassin's Creed: Syndicate

After I gave up on Borderlands 3 (which I liked, but I am a failure at the slaughterfest side missions), I decided that I would attempt to get Assassin's Creed:  Syndicate to run.  For some strange reason (which I believe was tied to the GPU in my old PC), I could not get Syndicate to work--I even tried to refund it (and failed because I was outside of the two-week return window).  The good news is that it works like a charm on my new PC and I can enjoy leaping from the smoggy skies of Victorian London to stab the gang members lurking below.

I am finding Syndicate to be an interesting mashup between to older Assassin's Creed games (the ones that the AC purists will claim are the "real" games) and the newer, more RPG oriented entries into the series (namely Origins and Odyssey).  The world of Industrial Revolution-era London is stunning--it's filled with factories full of giant, churning machines; bustling streets filled with the various social classes of the time--grubby street urchins, bedraggled workers, and the impressively bedecked upper-classes.  Like the other games in the AC series, the attention to historical detail is amazing.

Jacob Frye perched above the smoggy skies of London.

One of the more interesting aspects of Syndicate is the fact that there are two protagonists in the form of the Frye twins--Jacob and Evie, and that players can freely switch between the two characters.  Each character intentionally leans toward a specific set of talents and a playstyle--Jacob is geared toward more of a directly confrontational style, while Evie seems to lean toward a stealthier, more indirect style (of course, you can pick any talents you want).  There are also many options for the types of gear that the Frye's can utilize and a crafting system where new items gradually unlock.  The main storyline also accommodates the unique two character system with branching missions that require players to switch between the twins.

The semi-open world of London also features tons of side tasks to complete.  Each district in London is under the control of a violent gang called the Blighters.  As you explore and find fast travel points, different tasks appear on the map--a Templar controlled area that requires you to find and kill a certain leader; a gang controlled area that requires you to sneak in and kidnap a leader; or missions to free the unfortunate victims of child labor.  Each time you complete one of these tasks, a small portion of the map comes under the control of Jacob and Evie's gang, the Rooks.

Other than establishing gang dominance over London, there are also numerous side missions to complete.  Throughout your adventures in London you meet many famous historical figures who have tasks that they need help with.  Some of these tasks reward you with money and experience points, but the best of them rewards your character with new gear or upgrades.  They are definitely worth completing.

If you get tired of doing sidequests there is always the option to just tool around and explore the city.  The city is littered with various collectibles and hidden objects.  One of the fun pieces of equipment that makes exploring a blast is the rope launcher--a special addition to your assassin's gauntlet that lets you launch a rope to quickly climb or zipline across virtually any space (it's awesome.  I can understand why they took it out of subsequent games--it makes traversal way too easy).

I'm having a blast with Syndicate and look forward to eventually establishing gang dominance over the entire region of London.  Long live the Rooks!

Max Level Shenanigans in Borderlands 3

I finished the main story in Borderlands 3 last week and then waffled on what to do next--should I start up a different vault hunter for a new experience?  Should I find something else to play (I'm leaning toward trying to get Assassin's Creed:  Syndicate to run on my new PC)?  Should I invest in another new game?  The answer to all of these questions turned out to be a resounding none of the above.  I decided to stick it out with Amara and see what else Borderlands 3 had to offer.

My post-main story options were to A.) start over in True Vault Hunter Mode (the new game plus mode) or B.) finish up any remaining side missions and hunt down any missed challenges/Eridian writings.  I opted for B and discovered the addition of a cool, new feature in Borderlands 3--Mayhem mode!  Mayhem mode reminds me a lot of the different Torment difficulties in Diablo III--basically, you can choose to crank up the difficulty (tougher enemies, even some character debuffs) and get better drops--a higher drop rate for rare loot and increased cash and Eridium crystal drops.  This option is great for any missed content--the enemies you face are maximum level and you can have the added challenge and better drops.  Even better, there are three Mayhem modes that increase in difficulty and reward (I've only played it on the first level) for all the uber-gamers out there.

After you complete the main story (and possibly discover and translate Eridian writings) a series of trials unlock.  Each trial is a timed challenge where you face various enemies--wild critters like spider ants and skags, Maliwan soldiers, Children of the Vault, or basically any combination of baddies.  It features a gated map where you can only advance by killing all the enemies in one area.  At the end of the challenge you face a boss type of enemy.  The challenge includes bonus objectives like killing a special Eridian creature called a Fallen Guardian which appears and then will warp out if not killed quickly.  There are also bonuses for completing the trials quickly (within 10 minutes--which is a bit insane) and not dying.  The trials offer a bit of challenge and are fun (I completed a couple of them on Mayhem mode, but the ones that are higher level are rough).

I also had a Slaughterfest mission left to complete and decided that I would try to do that one in Mayhem mode (I'm probably going to regret it).  Slaughterfest 3000 is a match-up against Maliwan soldiers (bring a shock weapon).  It's going to be tougher than the Children of the Vault one.

This anointed assault rifle provides a nice buff for my siren.

As I've reached the "end game" I've noticed that there are some different options for weapons--certain weapons are "anointed" and feature general or class-specific bonuses.  I've managed to grab a couple of guns that offer siren specific bonuses like increasing weapon damage and accuracy after phasegrasping an enemy.  The real reward is to find anointed legendary weapons--so far, I've only managed to land one (I'm guessing that chance would increased with additional Mayhem modes, but I don't want to die).

I think I will mess around with Borderlands 3 a bit more.  It's proving to have quite a bit to offer.

UPDATE:  I only had Slaughterstar 3000 left (and I kind of hate the slaughterdome-like missions) and I gave up after several failures.  I think it's time for a Borderlands 3 break for now.

Go Loot That Vault! Borderlands 3 Review

Just this morning I wrapped up my first full playthrough of Borderlands 3 and now I've processed  the finality, I'm feeling ready to write up my review.  I mean, most likely it's not final...there will undoubtedly be a spewing toilets worth of DLC dropping at some point in the near future (I'd loot that toilet!).  For now, I will just content myself with wrapping up some undiscovered challenges and tracking down collectibles.

Some stats from my first playthough--I decided to start off with Amara (the bufftastic siren) as my vault hunter.  My completionist ways forbid me from skipping sidequests or exploration based challenges, so my complete playthough clocked in at 58 hours.  I didn't quite get all the exploration based challenges and actually forgot to complete a couple of the slaughterfest-type challenges (I fully intend to complete them...even though it's totally pointless).

For technical reference--I had one crash (a weird lockup) and one strange bug (during the last fight, a huge black pixelated blotch appeared in the center of my view.  It eventually disappeared, but it was really weird).  Performance, for the most part, seemed very stable.

Pros:
+ Beautiful new environments.  I was ecstatic to be venturing off of Pandora and I found the new areas to be varied and fun to explore.  The story takes place in a bunch of different settings--neon-lit cities, swampy jungles, ancient ruins, and many, many more zones.  The game manages to keep its signature look (that sort of hand-drawn, semi-cartoony feel) and jump the graphics up a notch.

+ Photo mode.  I'm one of those nerds who likes to take screenshots in video games, and the new, improved Borderlands is worthy of stopping and taking pictures.

+ Vastly improved gun play.  The Borderlands series has always been a bit of an odd duck (or Goose for all you Untitled Goose Game fans)--it's trademark has been the blend of shooter and RPG.  In my opinion, the shooter aspect of the game has always felt like a weakness.  The guns in previous games just didn't feel good to shoot and had a bit of a mushy, unrealistic feel.  I can tell that much time and effort went into improving the way that the weapons perform in Borderlands 3.  They feel more realistic and believable--I don't know that there's a good way to describe it; to me, they just feel like they have a more solid impact.

They also gave many guns multiple firing modes which is one of my favorite new features.  Maliwan weapons (traditionally the guns that do elemental damage) typically feature two firing modes that allow you to switch between elements.  It's like getting two guns for the price of one!  Other weapons feature a blend of more traditional firing modes--semi-automatic, burst, and automatic fire.  Many legendary guns feature very unique bonuses.  For helping to build CL4P-TRAP a new robot friend I was granted a pistol called the "baby-maker" that, when reloaded, is thrown like a Tediore weapon, but instead explodes and spawns multiple "baby" pistols that act like mini-turrets.  There are also new gun brands--Children of the Vault weapons look like a blend of a gun and a machine and they feature the unique ability of not needing to be reloaded.  The downside is that those guns overheat and require a "repair" period.  Atlas guns feature a self-targeting fire mode which will send every bullet toward the target of your choice.  They weren't kidding about the billions of guns.

+ Vehicles are more fun to drive.  There's really only one new vehicle variety, but the fun part is that you can find parts (through exploration, through hijacking hostile vehicles, or by finding special unique vehicles) and then customize your rig to your liking.  I enjoyed the cyclone, a very cool looking, fast and maneuverable single-wheeled vehicle.  From there, I could choose customizations for my weapons, my armor, and for other features--like one that allowed my cyclone to hover just above the ground.  It's a lot of fun to experiment with the new parts and find your favorite combinations.

+ A very detailed 3-D map.  I absolutely love the new map--it shows the entire zone (and there are many, and they are quite large) and indicates exactly which parts you have explored.  Since it is 3-D, you can tilt it to discover any areas that might be above or below your current position.  I didn't have any trouble finding quest markers or waste any time searching for something only to realize it was located on a higher or lower part of an area.

+Fast travel from anywhere.  One of my major gripes with the past games was the amount of pointless running around that you would find yourself doing.  Borderlands 3 has added in the ability to fast travel from anywhere--this doesn't mean you can just skip huge chunks of areas, but it does mean that once you've found the fast travel beacon in the area that you can simply look at your map, select the node you want, and then immediately select that area.  You can also fast travel directly to your vehicle--this feature also saves a ton of useless running around.

+ Each zone features exploration based challenges.  The nice part about the new map is that when you are close to one of the challenge items, a symbol for it appears on your map, so that you can quickly return to the item if you want to go back later.  Having these challenges available made me want to explore every nook and cranny of the map.  I found the number of challenges to be just right--it's not an Ubisoft-esque nightmare of map symbols.  These challenges include scavenging parts from dead CL4P-TRAP's, finding unique creatures to kill for Sir Hammerlock, killing outlaws for Zer0, listening to historical logs left by a past vault hunter, or finding unique vehicles for Ellie.

+ Fun cosmetic items.  There aren't the ridiculous amount of skins which were constantly dropping in the older games, but instead, there is a smaller (but still fun!) collection.  There several categories of cosmetic items including character skins, character heads, weapon trinkets, weapon skins, emotes, room decorations, and info module skins (your character actually pulls out a little doodad when you look at your map).  The nice part about these cosmetic items is that they are purchasable with their own currency--Eridium crystals.  Storage deck upgrades are no longer tied to crystals and are purchasable with the regular in-game cash.  These cosmetic items range from downright goofy to stylistically awesome.  Weapon trinkets have a special tie-in with past games.

+ Many of our old, favorite characters make a reappearance (which doesn't work out well for all of them...but, no spoilers here).  It's nice to see what the characters from the previous games are up to.  Some of them have rather minor roles, but others are a central part of the main story.  There are also some new faces who will most likely play a role in future games.

+ This time around, I didn't find myself getting bored.  I've always felt a bit torn about the Borderlands series--the shooting was always so-so, but I could find something to enjoy in the quirkiness of the story and characters.  I always disliked how you would clear a zone, return to a bounty board in another area, and then immediately get a mission that would require you to re-clear an entire area.  It drove me bonkers.  Borderlands 3 is less guilty of this and the maps are so large that quests are more easily cordoned off into one area.  I also believe that the fast travel system was a vast improvement.

+ Main story is fun, adventure-packed, and has plenty of twists and turns.

+ Sanctuary III serves as a fun base filled with everything you need.  There are some great new features too--namely the fact that there's no longer a tiny amount of shared loot storage, but instead you can use your bank (and buy bank SDU's) to share loot between your characters.  There's also a new type of machine that will magically save any blue+ loot that you might've missed.  Marcus sells guns, Tannis peddles shields, and Crazy Earl sells cosmetic items.

Cons:
-The Calypso twins are pretty blah as villains.  They're obnoxious, do lots of horrible things that make you want to kill them, but they are nowhere near the evil greatness that was Handsome Jack.

(This one might be a pro for some people, but a con for others)
-Signature Borderlands quirkiness is lacking.  I've always enjoyed the utter strangeness of the citizens of Pandora and the randomness of the tasks they ask you to perform.  There's definitely some degree of that, but it's just not as prevalent as in other games.  The story and events have a much more serious tack--it's a bit like Borderlands grew up.  Some people might love this fact, but I enjoyed the weirdness (I read a negative review by PC Gamer where the juvenile sense of humor in the game was definitely something the reviewer didn't appreciate--I was confused, because apparently this person hasn't played Borderlands before)

- The entire voice-actor dispute that resulted in the voices Rhys and CL4P-TRAP being completely different.  You will get used to it, but it's very noticeable and slightly disappointing.

- Soundtrack isn't as great and I barely noticed the music in the game.

- Boss fights are so-so.  There are a few bosses with unique mechanics, but mostly the strategy for victory is to just keep moving and shooting as much as you can.

- New vault hunters feel a lot like variations on the previous ones.  There doesn't seem to be much that's new or unique.

- Gameplay wise, there's not a lot that's new.  I would agree with the assessment that I've read several times--it's more Borderlands.  If you're expecting something fresh and completely different from the series...you're probably going to be disappointed.

Even though I didn't feel like there were many fresh, new elements added to Borderlands 3, I did enjoy many aspects of the game and feel like the base gameplay has been improved.  The main story is fun, there is a much larger exploration based element to the game, and plenty of new locations to visit.  I don't think it deserves the more critical reviews that I've seen and that most fans of the series will be happy with Borderlands 3.  Currently, it's only available on PC at the Epic Games store, but will eventually be released on Steam.