Cute Vibes in Unpacking

Every once in awhile an unlikely indie comes along and becomes an internet darling.  Unpacking is one of those games...and dammit if I'm not a total sucker for indie darling gossip!  Luckily though, the hype over this cute game that takes on the monumentally un-fun real-life task of unpacking your stuff after a move, is totally warranted.

Pros:

+ Gameplay is very straightforward--you simply click on moving boxes to pull out a random item.  The next task is figuring out where to place the item within the room.  It's oddly enjoyable to test out different locations and try to find just the right one.  The basic goal is to unpack all the items and place them where they belong (just like in real life, sometimes items wind up in the wrong box).

+ The soundtrack fits the gameplay perfectly--it provides a soothing, melodic background while you focus on placing things just right.

+ Hidden achievements.  You can receive special "stickers" for placing items a certain way.  There's very little description on these achievements, so you can try to get them by puzzling out the meaning.  (*I would recommend NOT looking up any guides).

+ It has a photomode with lots of fun features like frames and stickers.

+ Every time you complete a home (think of it like a "level") you can watch a high speed re-play of all your actions.  While this might sound ridiculous...it's strangely engaging.  You can also opt to save your re-play as a GIF for future enjoyment.

+ The way that story and character has been built into the game is unique.  There's no real explicit storytelling and the only clues you get are short captions on photographs taken at the end of each move.  My personal take on the story is that it's reflective of life's ups and downs and all the major events and changes represented by the act of moving and starting anew.  As you unpack items you learn more about the characters in the game--even though they're nameless and faceless, you have a general idea about who they are and what they are interested in.

Cons:

- It's really short.  I finished it in 3.6 hours.

- Sometimes it can be difficult to tell exactly what an item is (I actually read a funny article about how many players kept placing the Nintendo Gamecube in the kitchen because they thought it was a kitchen gadget).

Recommendation:

Even though the short length is a bit of a downer, I found Unpacking to be a cute little game that's worth playing.  Perfectly positioning items is way more entertaining than it has any right to be.  Plus, the story has a happy ending...and who doesn't want one of those these days? 

Flippin' Torn

Even though they aren't every gamer's cup of tea, I have found a particular soft spot for simulators.  I know, I know!  When you mention a simulation game the automatic reaction of so many people is to immediately question "why?"  Why the heck would you want to play a game about something that you could do in real life?  The simple answer is...I don't get collectibles or achievements for cleaning up my house in real life (I do get the intrinsic joy of not seeing the trails of cat litter that somehow get tracked EVERYWHERE).  Casual games also tend to be a nice way to relax after a long, stressful day of work--I like to turn off the music and catch up on a favorite podcast or listen to my own music.  It's with this relaxing scenario in mind that I decided to take a gamble on House Flipper, a casual game about fixing up and selling property for a profit.

Pros:

+ It has a nice, casual vibe.  The controls are very simple--literally point-and-click for many tasks--and easy to learn.  The music is calming and has a sort of Sims-esque build mode feel.

+ With each job you complete there is an extremely satisfying "before and after" photo taken.  Seeing a garbage strewn, dirty house turned into a cute and functional home is the ultimate payoff.  It's a great feature.

+ There are tons of options for decorating that even include miniscule details like adding crown molding to a room.  You can really personalize each job and make it feel unique.

+ There are numerous well-paying jobs you can complete to build up your bank account before you purchase homes to flip.  These jobs serve as a sort of tutorial and have specific objectives that must be completed.

+ The menu of houses to purchase and flip is plentiful--from small homes up to large mansions.

+ Seasonal updates provide new, free content.  Around Christmas time there were jobs added that involved re-decorating several houses to get them ready for the holidays by adding Christmas decorations.

Cons:

- Some objects can't be moved after they are placed and you have to sell and then re-purchase them (at a loss).  It's inexplicable why most object can be moved, but certain others cannot.

- No object snapping.  You have to pay very close attention to how you are placing certain objects because they will not automatically line themselves up.  This is particularly annoying when laying pavers outdoors or when trying to place doors.  It would be great if there was at least the option to toggle object snapping on or off.

- There is a cast of characters who are potential buyers for the homes you flip.  Each person (or family) has their own preferences for what they want to buy and they will periodically comment if they approve of your actions.  Over time, you sort of get a feel for what they like and can keep those preferences in mind as you re-model.  Their preferences are also recorded...somewhere, in some menu that you can access.  Many of the descriptions are vague and the whole system hinges on you doing something first and then them responding to it.  Personally, I would just like to have a list of specific likes and dislikes that was easily accessible rather than the weird feedback system.

- The Garden DLC allows you to fix up the outdoor spaces around the homes you purchase, but the core game and the Garden DLC doesn't work together--there are house jobs and then there are garden jobs.  The garden jobs, in particular, are weird.  The cast of characters who give you feedback about the house don't have anything to say about what they want from the outdoor spaces.  It would be great if both pieces of the game worked together--if I bought a house to flip and owned the Garden DLC that the characters would have both home and garden oriented likes and dislikes.  Instead, you can choose to re-model the yard and enter it into a "garden contest."

Mega-Mop fixes all problems!

- Some suspension of reality is required in simulator games--they can't be so detailed as to be boring.  You really have to suspend reality with parts of House Flipper.  A few examples--you use the mop to clean every kind of surface (floors, counters, ceilings); when chopping down a tree you get to watch as the tree falls through the ground and into tree oblivion...and there are others.  Some tasks are very detailed and then you have trees falling through the earth...it's an odd balance.

- Some of the homes you flip have the exact same floor plan.

- The selling price for the homes you flip is not well-defined...this ties in with the weird feedback system.  I wish it was more specific.  (It seems like you will pretty much automatically make a larger profit the more money that you spend and that your actions don't influence much).

- While re-decorating, the menus can be very slow.  It's irritating.

- You can demolish walls, but can't build them.  Home layouts are fixed.

Recommendation

I wish Steam had a "maybe" option.  I don't think House Flipper is anything particularly fantastic, but it's also not horrible and has some redeeming qualities.  If you are looking for something casual and relaxing and are willing to suspend reality--it might be right up your alley.  If you are hoping for something detail oriented, there are better simulators available.

How to Not Totally Fail at Wasteland 3--Some Tips

Since my first playthrough of Wasteland 3 was a bit of a hot mess, I decided that I would start fresh and try to avoid the mistakes I made the first time around.  My first playthrough was rife with disappointment--I had two squadmates who I could reliably count on getting KO'd in every encounter, I made choices that felt morally good, but which resulted in a very disappointing ending...I just didn't feel good about how things ended up.  I'm happy to report that playthrough #2 has gone much smoother and my frustration level is noticeably lower.

Tip #1:  The pre-built character duos are fine, but custom characters offer up a fun roleplaying experience.

This time around, I decided to create custom characters as my initial squad of two--I do think that the pre-built character duos offer up a good distribution of skills and are perfectly fine, but there's something kind of fun that makes custom characters feel like your own.  If I was more creative, I would also come up with a super cool backstory for my duo.  To new players, I would advise choosing one of the pre-built duos the first time around and getting a good feel for the skills and abilities.  Then, on your next playthrough, go for custom characters.

Definitely put those points in leadership!

Tip #2:  Don't skimp on leadership!

In my first playthrough I skimped on the leadership ability--I had one character who had a few points in it, but I didn't invest heavily in it.  The second time around, I decided to build one of my custom characters with leadership in mind, and it has proven to be one of the most useful abilities.  What exactly does leadership do?  It bumps up the hit chance for your squad (within a certain radius that is dependent on the number of points you've invested) and gives a squad-wide buff when your leader character makes a multi-kill or revives a downed squadmate.  I've definitely noticed the impact of the increased hit chance this time around.

Barter is another skill that can seem to have very limited usefulness, but that with the right perks can be very useful.  In particular there's a perk that gives a chance that junk items can be sold as "antiques" for a massively improved value--take it, because it's a great moneymaker.

I'm a bit torn about the usefulness of a couple of different abilities--namely animal whisperer and weird science.  One of the perks of having a squaddie with animal whisperer is the fact that your animal followers are much stronger and more durable.  There aren't a ton of encounters with animals, but the ability to tame a wild animal can help draw some attacks away from your squad.  There's also the ability to tame an army of cyber chickens (if you can keep them alive).

The other ability that I'm not completely sold on is weird science.  Weird science allows you to use a variety of whacky weapons that can do things like shrink enemies or scramble their brains and have them temporarily fight on your side.  The weapons are fun, and there's a very solid set of armor (if you can find all the pieces), but I'm finding it to be a bit limited in usefulness (there are only a few skill check encounters with weird science).  

Tip #3:  Diversify your weapons as much as possible.

Part of my struggle during my first playthrough was due to the fact that I had two characters with the small arms ability.  The downside of small arms is the fact that they have a relatively short range and require close proximity to the action (which usually resulted in one or both characters getting absolutely obliterated).  It's logical to think that the solution to this would be to simply avoid taking the small arms ability and instead opt for assault weapons.  I would recommend against that because the ammo situation can get fairly tight if you have more than 2 characters sharing the ammo pool (there can also be overlap with some heavy weapons, so you really need to pay attention).  Having a small arms spec'd character is worthwhile because shotguns are great at destroying cover and exposing enemies.  I've had success with two characters who are assault weapons spec'd but having one specialize in submachine guns and the other use assault rifles.

Tip #4:  Flame away!  (*but be careful if you have friendly fire turned on!)

This time around I've found that flamethrowers are a great weapon--especially for those times when you have numerous enemies who decided to clump up in one area.  Having your big guns expert lay down a curtain of fiery death causes a good amount of damage but also has the potential to leave enemies with lingering damage over time.  It's true that flamethrower ammo is pretty limited, but be on the lookout for opportunities to hit multiple baddies.

My trajectory for the story on this playthrough is taking a much different path and I'm hoping that I get a better ending this time around.  Fingers-crossed!

A Fun Waste-venture--Wasteland 3 Review

After spending waaaaaaay too much time trudging through Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, I decided that my next game would be vastly different.  I opted for Wasteland 3, the 2020 sequel to the Kickstarter reboot Wasteland 2.  If you haven't heard of Wasteland before, it's likely because it has its roots in the 1980's when the original hit RPG was released.  The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of the United States where the Desert Rangers are desperately trying to maintain some semblance of order in a world filled with chaos.

What is it?

Wasteland 3 is a turn-based RPG that tells the story of the Desert Rangers--a group of lawmen and women who after the events in Wasteland 2, are desperately seeking aid for the ailing people of Arizona.  Their calls for help are received by a man called the "Patriarch" who claims he owns the state of Colorado and is willing to help supply the Rangers if they help him with his big, looming problem--namely the fact that his three children (and heirs) are all AWOL and he wants to bring them back into the family fold.  Finding his wayward ilk is no easy task--each has their own personality and motivations and none of them are interested in going home to daddy.  The situation isn't simple by any means--the Patriarch isn't exactly an upstanding citizen, his health is failing and he's in need of an heir to take over.  Let's just say that his kids range in personality from a highly delusional nerd to an absolute psychopath to an iron-fisted tyrant.  The future of Colorado (and Arizona) hangs in the balance.  

Playtime and stats

I would estimate that a thorough playthrough that includes the main story and most side content would take about 40-50 hours.  Since I was enjoying the game, I decided to invest in the two story DLC's and add them to my playthrough--each probably added another 10 hours, so my full playthrough clocked in at around 60 hours.  I found the amount of playtime to be just right--the story and gameplay was still enjoyable and it didn't feel like it dragged on for too long.

Omen--a custom character.

Pros:

+ Character customization (or not).  When you start a new game you get to choose two characters who are your core team.  You can either choose from several pre-made pairs of characters or you can create your own custom characters.  The pre-made characters are fun and have their own backstories--I chose a father/daughter duo who had experienced the tragic loss of the mother/wife figure at the hand of raiders and were seeking revenge.

If you opt to create your own characters you get to design their looks as well as stats.  Character creation isn't extremely detailed, but there are plenty of options to help give your custom characters their own unique flair.  You can also opt to pick special "quirks" which offer up combat bonuses that also come with penalties (for example, one quirk offers up 15% additional melee damage but at a 50% lower crit chance).

+ An array of squadmates to choose from.  Your squad can have up to 6 members--4 of those members can be Rangers (your two core characters plus two others who you can choose once you've established your base) and two can be "followers"--characters who offer to join your squad.  You can also opt to create your own custom Rangers to join the squad (exactly like your core characters).  What's the difference between Rangers and followers?  Rangers are sworn to your cause and will remain with the squad regardless of the choices you make.  Followers, on the other hand, join your squad with their own motivations and can choose to leave if they don't agree with your choices.  There are a number of followers who will volunteer to join you, but you should always keep in mind that they could leave.  Followers start off with a specific set of skills and abilities, but you do get to choose their skills and abilities when they level up.

Fist--my custom brawler character.

+ Combat that is well balanced--it's challenging, but not too difficult.  Combat is isometric and turn-based--it relies on taking cover and strategically choosing your actions.  Throughout the game you face a number of different enemies and have to choose your strategy carefully for each type of enemy.

+ Multiple difficulty options that can be customized.  I played on default difficulty, but the levels range from "tourist"--a low-stress option for players who just want to experience the story with minimal combat up to "supreme jerk"--the maximum difficulty setting for people who want to suffer.  The nice part about all the difficulty settings is that you can also toggle permadeath, friendly fire, and difficult skill checks (if you want that old-school RPG feeling of failure every once in awhile) to even further personalize difficulty.

+ An engaging story that is impacted by the choices that you make.  Throughout the game you will be forced to choose sides and make decisions that run the moral gamut.  I tried to make my Rangers the "good guys" and found out that the old "nice guys finish last" adage turns out to be very true.

+ Signature Wasteland quirkiness.  The series has always been chocked full of 1980's and 1990's related humor that gamers of a certain age will appreciate.  Wasteland 3 continues this trend--audio logs can be found on cassette tapes (you'll have to Google that kids) and there are other jabs at the "good ol' days."  My personal favorite jokey part of the game was the Gippers--a cult that worships an AI version of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.  There's tons of Reagan related humor (that history nerds will understand) and a bizarre, but unique storyline.

Many of the strange, signature post-apocalyptic Wasteland baddies make an appearance in the game--the ghoul-like Drools, the giant, robotic Scorpitrons, and many versions of addled cultists and raiders.  The enigmatic Night Terror also make another appearance (candy?).  You'll encounter cannibal cowboys, a gang of violent clowns, a gang that likes to dress up like old-school monsters (Dracula, werewolves, Frankenstein's monster)...and more.

+ A customizable vehicle to help your squad cruise through the wastes of snowy Colorado.  Exploring the world and completing encounters will help you find new weapons, armor, and other customizations for your rig.  The nice thing about your vehicle is that you can use it in certain combat encounters (and it's a beast).

+ Collectibles to find.  If searching high and low for items is your jam, they've got you covered.  You can find a wide array of creepy dolls hidden throughout the world.  The nice part about collecting these gross creepers is that each one provides a specific boost to your squad stats--finding them is definitely worthwhile.

+ Crafting system that's not too onerous.  It's a good idea to have characters in your squad with the weapon and armor modding skills.  These characters can craft weapon and armor mods and also (eventually) weapons and armor.  Your squad will come across a metric-crap ton of loot and can break down weapons for extra scrap which can be combined with other crafting materials that you find.  One other nice feature is the fact that you can craft usable items like med kits and ammo.

+ A wide variety of weapons to choose from--pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, energy weapons, flamethrowers, heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, melee weapons....and more.  You can choose combat abilities for your followers and they can specialize in a specific type of weapon.  There are also weird science weapons which have unique attacks (like a pistol that fires shrink rays).

+ The game looks nice and runs well.  It's an isometric RPG, but there's a lot of detail in the post-apocalyptic world.  There are some cutscenes early on, but not very many.  I had read in earlier reviews that the game was buggy, but I didn't encounter any bugs or have any crashes. I don't think the requirements are too high, so it's probably playable on older machines.

+ Save system is very flexible--you can quicksave almost anywhere (except for combat).

+ There's an ability called "animal whisperer" that allows a character to tame animals that will then follow and fight alongside your squad.  The type of animal that they tame provides a specific buff to the character.  One of the animals you can tame is a cat named Major Tomcat...and, best of all, he's a cat in a cowboy hat and bandana!  It's very cute and I wish there were more cats in cowboy hats and bandanas in video games.

+ Both DLC's are worthwhile additions to the core game.  Battle for Steeltown adds in a new area that includes an engaging story that features new types of weapons and armor to acquire.  The Cult of the Holy Detonation has a good story but also throws in a new variety of gameplay that is more objective oriented (not just killing all the baddies) and manages to be even more challenging.  If you can get them on sale, (which I did for $10 in the holiday sale) they're definitely worth it.

+ The music is fun.  They have taken familiar songs (from old television shows) and re-made them in a different genre.  It's goofy, but the songs just hit a different way in their new versions.

Cons:

- Early on in the game it's easy to get locked out of missions that you didn't even know were there!  I hadn't even left the starting area (Colorado Springs) and the first time I rolled out into the open world in the vehicle I was informed that I was too slow and had missed out on making a decision between saving some innocent ranchers or saving a shipment of power armor for the Patriarch.  This was irritating as I didn't even know about the missions!  (I'm currently replaying the game to see if I maybe missed a radio message or some sort of notification)

- Combat is challenging and can sometimes be frustrating.  I had two characters who absolutely got lit up in almost every encounter and I never figured out a way to prevent this.  Both specialized in small arms (which have a fairly limited range and need to be close to the action in order to be able to attack) and I could count on one or both of them being downed during combat.  It could very likely be my own incompetence (I definitely think I needed to use a wider variety of deployable items) that caused this, but I found that some characters are very, very squishy.

There are also times during scripted missions that your squad doesn't get to choose their starting position and will get absolutely blasted.  That can be frustrating.

- It's possible to lose key followers very late in the game.  I'm fairly confident that you can finish the game with just your four Rangers, but it's something that could be frustrating to some players.

- As far as I know, you cannot change your skills or attributes after you pick them.  I never stumbled across any person or item that would allow for re-spec.  Choose carefully!

- Periodic stuttering and weird performance issues.  Occasionally the game will slow way down for no discernible reason.  It's annoying, but can easily be remedied with a quicksave and quickload.

Recommendation:

I enjoyed Wasteland 3 even more than Wasteland 2 and found it to be a great improvement.  Barring some initial frustration with getting locked out of some missions I didn't even know about, I found the gameplay and story to be challenging and fun.  I tried to be the "good guy" in the story and absolutely bungled the outcome.  Am I mad about it?  Nope, not many games would offer up an outcome that bleak, but I think it's a good take on the world not being black or white.  The disastrous end to the story in my first playthrough just made me want to go back and make different decisions--I've already started up a new game and am more than happy to play through it all again.

My Parting Assassin's Creed Thoughts & Wishlist for the Future

After my marathon playthrough of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, I decided that it was time for something completely different.  The Steam holiday sale is currently in full swing and I had grabbed a couple of titles from my wishlist with the intent of trying them out after AC.  As I've started my journey with Wasteland 3, I've realized how amazing it feels to be playing something that's not Valhalla--I think that feeling is a problem and could potentially impact my desire to continue investing in the AC universe.  A game shouldn't feel like work or that you're just trying to push through to get it out of the way.  I'm not saying that there weren't things I enjoyed about Valhalla, but personally, I am starting to get that stale feeling from the series--something needs to change!

My AC wishlist:

1.) My (and many others) biggest gripe about the new iteration of the series is the amount of bloaty content in the game.  As much as I don't want to complain that there's too much...well, there's too much and it greatly detracts from the game.  Valhalla included the staples of the series (assassinating members of a massive conspiracy to unravel clues to track down the leader; a huge map filled with tons of optional treasures and artifacts to track down; a main storyline that focuses on the historical character in the animus as well as the modern day issues...etc.) but also decided to add in fishing and hunting deliveries, river raids, tombs of the lost, seasonal events, a new crossover storyline between Odyssey and Valhalla, a side storyline that takes place in Asgard and Jotunheim--there's just a metric ton of stuff to do!

In my head, I wish they would build the game around the concept of assassinating members of the order.  The story could involve finding and tracking them all down--they could keep the entire system that requires players to find clues and could also build the story around the baddies that you track down.  Each region could focus on hunting a particular target and could still involve the intricate web of lackeys that serve the conspiracy.

2.) A new setting that's more interesting than Dark Ages England (Sorry England, I didn't like you as much as Egypt or Greece).  I think it would be great to see a game set somewhere that doesn't get a lot of screen time in games--India, Africa, Cambodia...somewhere with less of a European connection.  Part of the challenge of the new series is trying to find a historical period and adapting the game to that time frame.

Eivor just isn't Kassandra.

3.) Eivor =/= Kassandra.  I also wish for a more interesting main character.  Kassandra was the absolute highlight and even though I enjoyed Eivor's Viking ass-kicking attitude, it just wasn't as playful or fun.

That's all I can think of right now.  Whenever I think of Valhalla my brain gets all fuzzy and I just picture a massive map filled with glowy dots.  I'm looking forward to not thinking about Valhalla for a long time.