At Least I Can Build Virtual PC's--PC Building Simulator 2

Anyone who has been paying even minor attention to the world of building your own PC's knows that if you want to actually build a decent PC nowadays you need to set aside a pretty gigantic hunk of cash.  GPU costs have skyrocketed as have the costs for motherboards and other components.  But hey, at least with games like PC Building Simulator 2 we can pretend that we're actually building our dream PC's.

What is it?

The follow-up to the relaxingly enjoyable PC Building Simulator.  It involves running a fictional PC repair store and fixing or building new PC's for customers with varying demands.  One thing to note--PC Building Simulator 2 was developed by Spiral House (not Cladiu Kiss) and published by Epic Games.  It's sadly not available on Steam.

How long is a playthrough?

Basically you could run your virtual shop forever.  It's the kind of game that you can casually pick up whenever you feel like it and then put down again.

Pros:

+ The core of the game has remained largely similar to the original game.  In career mode you run your own PC repair shop and receive orders from customers via e-mail.  The PC's arrive at your store and then it's up to you to fix them, tweak them, build them, or otherwise improve them.  You earn experience and star ratings for how well you complete jobs (gotta pay attention to all those little details that customers like pop into their e-mails) and as you level up you unlock a wider range of improved PC components.

+ Your shop is vastly larger than in the first game and you can add some personalization.  Your repair shop also includes an actual storefront where you can sell PC's that you build.  You have several "themes" you can choose from when personalizing your shop and you can also choose the layout for the posters scattered around your shop walls.

+ More options for creating unique PC's.  You have the ability to swap out your building tables at any time--this includes an option for a PC customization table where you can create custom cases using spray paint, stickers, and laser cut graphics.  They also made the process of adding water cooled components much more detailed--you can add a table that allows you to create water cooled RAM, MOBO's, and GPU's.

+ A vast array of current components to choose from.  Yes, you can actually virtually touch a 40-series GPU!  It'll probably be the only time you touch one, so enjoy it.  Periodic updates add new components to the list.

+ Small quality of life details have improved on some of the minor annoyances from the first game.  They have added in a tablet which allows you to be able to easily order parts or use apps anywhere in the store.  The best feature though is the ability to mark parts for specific jobs when you are ordering them--this has eliminated the need to physically write down and keep track of parts yourself.  There's also a handy warning if you forgot to order the parts in your cart before you end the day--super handy.

+ Making profits from your store is cheesy easy.  This could be good or bad depending on the level of challenge that you are seeking out.  One of the major differences from the first game is that rather than buying individual parts (from the daily parts re-seller) you are offered "broken" PC's that generally have one malfunctioning part that can easily be swapped out.  Then, you can further improve that PC and sell it in your store front.

+ Tons of options for custom lighting, custom fan controls, and all the bells and whistles.  It's much more detailed than the first game.

Cons:

- Selling PC's in your store front is pretty formulaic and can get old.  Basically you need to swap out whatever part is broken then you receive bonuses to the sale price from performing the same set of tasks: customizing the lighting, overclocking (if the CPU is capable of it), adding water cooling (the bonus isn't really worth the cost of upgraded though), benchmarking it, and customizing the case.  By doing all of those things you can maximize your sale price.

- Story missions aren't as goofy and memorable as in the first game.

-  Figuring out the math of benchmark scores is still a puzzle (at least to me).

- I do wish the customization options were a little bit larger.  I feel like I'm often re-making the same PC's over and over.

Recommendation:

If you enjoyed the original PC Building Simulator, the second game manages to keep much of the core formula and improve on it.  Having a store is fun (but does get a bit old) and the addition of case customization allows you to create some cool PC's.  The small quality of life improvements have made it much easier to keep track of day to day business in your shop.  

Fighting and Dying in F.I.S.T

I just recently wrapped up a playthrough of Forged in Shadow Torch (F.I.S.T) and I gotta say, for someone who isn't big into metroidvanias, fighting games, or platformers, I found myself genuinely enjoying smacking some baddies around.  Currently, I'm on a mission to play through my backlog of Epic freebies.  F.I.S.T was offered up as part of the last holiday sale and I decided to give it a go even though it falls into a genre of games that aren't exactly my favorite.

Rayton and his fist.

What is it?

A metroidvania with aspects of fighting game and platformer.  The story is set in a world filled with anthropomorphized animals--you play as Rayton, a rabbit, and former soldier who has retired.  The city of Torch is run by an oppressive regime of robots and Rayton gives up retirement to rescue his best pal--a fat bear inventor named Urso, who winds up getting arrested.  Rayton must recover his trusty old weapon--a giant, wearable fist--and then bust Urso out of prison.  In the process, Rayton runs into an old ally...who now has some new, undesirable friends and uncovers a deeper plot by the leader of the regime to find an ancient artifact that will grant him greater power.

I finished my playthrough in a little over 20 hours.  I did try to go back and search some of the zones that require certain items to unlock, but I wasn't trying to 100% or anything.  I felt like the amount of playtime was just right.

Pros:

+ Even though it is a metroidvania the visuals are nice.  The backgrounds that are scrolling by vary according to the area, but they have a sort of 3D feel and are packed with all sorts of details.  Old Torch City has the feel of a 1920's or 1930's Chinese city and it's fun to just stop and look around.

+ The fighting/combo system is a lot of fun and feels really good.  There are three different weapon types to unlock and it's nice that you have some options.  You can unlock more moves by spending coins and data disks at terminals.  There are many different enemy types and part of the fun is figuring out which weapon works best and how to defeat the various types of bad guys.

+ Collectibles and upgrades provide a good reason to return to previously visited areas.  Ray can find posters for classic furtizen movies hidden throughout the game--these posters can be turned in to Urso to unlock special paint jobs for his weapons.  There are also plant seeds hidden in the many nooks and crannies in each zone that can be turned in for various rewards.

+ If you really just enjoy the fighting there's an arcade game where you can play "Slum Fighter" and challenge the various bosses from throughout the game to a fight.

+ Boss fights are fun and well-balanced.  You're probably not going to one-shot very many bosses and most of them will take you several (or many) tries to finally down.  It's challenging and occasionally frustrating, but all the fights are definitely do-able.  You definitely want to go back and find the upgrades that you missed before taking on the last boss.  The feeling of finally downing a boss that you've been struggling against is very rewarding.

+ The platforming isn't too stressful and doesn't detract from the enjoyability of the game.  There are definitely areas where you'll need navigate some tricky obstacles (and there's one Ori-like chase sequence), but since it's not a straight platformer, it's not too bad.

Cons:

- You're going to want a controller.  I used my trusty, bargain bin Amazon Basics XBOX 360 controller and it worked like a charm.  Mouse & keyboard is possible, but is always way more challenging.

- Performance was pretty good but there were moments when things got a bit slow--mostly when re-visiting the "core" base area where the vendors are located.  It's generally pretty short-lived, but definitely noticeable.

- There is an ability to parry enemy attacks, but the timing required is pretty bonkers.  I managed to do it mostly by accident and actually figuring out how to consciously do it would require quite a bit of practice.  It is helpful during boss fights.

- Replayability is limited.  You'll maybe want to go back and try to 100% the zones or mess around with "Slum Fighter," but there's not a lot of other reasons to go back.

Recommendation:

No price beats $0, but I would pay for F.I.S.T.  It's a solid game with very enjoyable fighting--even for someone like me who is horrible at fighting games.  It looks great, is challenging (but in just the right way), and smacking down baddies never gets old.

Backlog City

I've decided to make it a goal to start working through my backlog.  I've made a habit of snatching the Epic Games freebies and then letting them sit and gather dust.  I generally don't feel too guilty about it--I mean, they were free, right?  I'm fairly selective about what I choose to grab, I mostly stick to games that look like something that I might enjoy.  I decided to check out a game that sort of lingered on the edges of my usual taste preferences--F.I.S.T (Forged in Shadow Torch) was offered as one of the holiday sale freebies and I guess you could call it a Metroid-vania.  It's a part fighting game, part platformer combo that I've been mostly enjoying.

The first thing to note about myself and fighting games--I'm pretty bad at them.  To be genuinely good at them requires some mindful and quick button combos.  I'm more of a mindless masher and it shows.  Somehow, even with my pathetic skills, I've managed to make some solid progression (however, there's no hope for me when it comes to the combat/combo challenges).

F.I.S.T features a cast of anthropomorphized animal characters.  You play as Rayton, a rabbit and former member of a crack squad of animal soldiers.  He's retired, but finds himself pulled back into action when his lovable, bear BFF Urso is captured by the oppressive guards and thrown into jail.  Rayton has no choice but to recover his old weapon--a giant, robotic fist (that he wears on his back...which wouldn't be my first thought, but it works), that can be used to lay the smack down on his robotic oppressors.  Then, it's just a matter of fighting his way through the many different kinds of guards (some small and easy slapped around and some who are much larger and require some genuine strategizing) and navigating the obstacles in each area.

Throughout the game you can unlock several different weapons for Rayton to use--his giant fist, a large drill, and a whip-like device.  Managing combos in a regular fighting-type game is difficult enough, but in F.I.S.T you can also switch between weapons mid-combo.  To truly master the fighting styles requires even more mindful button-mashing.  I attempted some of the combo challenges and quickly realized that I'm no match for them...even the relatively simple ones!

I started off strong and was really enjoying the game and then I took a little break and have had a hard time getting back into it.  It has a lot to offer--there's fighting which is mostly fun, boss fights (also, mostly fun, but there are a few tough ones in there), some light platforming (it's not too bad), collectibles (it's one of those games where it's worthwhile to re-visit an area after you've acquired a new piece of tech--things that might have been blocked off before might be available), and a decent story and characters.  I think I've found my stride again and will hopefully finish it this week.

My Brain is Stranded in Confusion--Death Stranding Review

Death Stranding was offered up as Epic Games triple-A Christmas day giveaway.  Even though I'd seen and vaguely heard a few things about it, it really didn't seem like a game that I would play.  Most of the descriptions I read were confusing--some jokingly called it a "walking simulator" and it just looked plain weird.  After 90+ hours of playtime (and yes, there are definite elements of weirdness) I've finished the story part of the game.

What is it?

Well, it was free, but unless you snatched it up on Christmas day, then it's a bit of a pickle to figure out exactly how to describe it.  It's part horror-ish, part "walking simulator," part science fiction, part co-op-ish; there's some third-person shooting action at certain points--it's a strange brew of a lot of different parts.  Basically, you play as Sam "Porter" Bridges, a guy who delivers items.  The world in which Sam is delivering these packages makes his job anything but simple--the world has been shattered by an almost-apocalyptic event known as the "death stranding."  Society has been completely broken apart, the world has become infested by invisible monsters and a type of rain that ages anything it falls on.  It's so dangerous that most people don't dare venture out of their shelters and rely on porters like Sam to deliver the goods they need to survive.  Things get much more complicated as Sam finds himself unwittingly pulled into a plan to re-connect the shattered strands of what used to be the United States.  And...it only gets more confusing from there.

How long is a playthrough?

I would estimate that this number can vary greatly--if you just do the story deliveries and tasks...maybe 40-50 hours?  If you want to be a weirdo-completionist like me, you could be looking at upward of 90 hours.

Pros:

+ Looks great!  I was pleasantly surprised by how phenomenal the character models look--you get to see a lot of Norman Reedus, but every character looks very realistic.  The animations are phenomenal and the character expressions are never awkward or weird.

+ Runs (mostly) well.  I only experienced 2 crashes in 90 hours of play--that's pretty good.  With the beauty of the graphics I totally expected my GPU to be chugging along (ala Assassin's Creed) and it stayed nice and quiet (and surprisingly cool).  I'm not running a 30 or 40-series card either, so if you don't have the latest and greatest, you can definitely still enjoy it.

+ Gameplay is surprisingly entertaining.  People might jokingly call it a "walking simulator" because much of the gameplay hinges on delivering packages across terrain of varying ruggedness.  Somehow they managed to make this into a game--part of the challenge comes from making sure that Sam's cargo is arranged in a way that keeps it balanced (an unbalanced load results in tipping and makes it much easier for Sam to take a tumble and damage his cargo).  Each delivery is ranked according to a scale that takes into account factors like the size of the cargo, damage, and the route taken (a shorter, more direct route will award bonus "likes").  Some deliveries are timed and require speed.  Actually delivering goods is rarely straightforward--obstacles like rugged mountains that require utilizing various fabricated tools and dangerous encounters with the invisible monsters (called BT's)--can make what seems like a simple delivery into a heart-pounding adventure.  Deliveries are ranked with the "S" rank being the highest and each location also has a "connection" rank that can be levelled up to provide additional bonuses.  You can also earn "likes" for being more efficient in your deliveries which helps to increase your connection level.

+ The story is bonkers...in a mostly good, but massively confusing way.  I don't even know where to start--the world has experienced an apocalyptic event that has basically destroyed the veil between the world of the living and the dead.  BT's (the invisible monsters) are entities from the world of the dead who invade the world of the living--generally at the location of timefall (a type of rain that causes everything it touches to age).  Regular people cannot sense the presence of BT's, but certain individuals who suffer from (a totally unexplained) a condition known as DOOM's can sense them, but not really see them.  However, there is a way to detect BT's...through the use of "BB's" or "bridge babies," the unborn babies of brain dead mothers who are housed in an artificial womb.  Porters and other individuals who need to detect BT's can hook a BB up to their gear to help them navigate the world.  One of the side effects of hooking up a BB is that the user will occasionally get flashes of the BB's memories--these memories play a role in the story.

Much of the story revolves around Sam trying to reconnect the shattered "knots" of the former United States.  Each connection might require multiple steps or other connections before it is complete.  The story is full of plenty of twists and turns and it's refreshing to play something that is very unique.

Sam and BB pose for a pic.

+ Plenty of celebrity cameos and stars.  Norman Reedus (of The Walking Dead fame) voices and is the character model for Sam; Guillermo del Toro (horror movie director) is Deadman; Lindsay Wagner (a film and television star from the 1970's) is President Bridget Strand; and probably the best cameo is Conan O'Brien as the MC--a character you randomly stumble across as you make deliveries to new locations.

+ Gaming related easter eggs.  Throughout the game you receive messages and jobs related to Half-Life/Portal and Cyberpunk 2077.  Completing these jobs will reward you with special themed items (like a special lambda symbol truck or a Trauma Team hologram).  You can also unlock Horizon: Zero Dawn holograms of Aloy and various robotic minions.  It's fun to find these little gems sprinkled throughout.

+ Lots of gear and options for personalization.  One of the perks of upping your connection levels throughout the game is that you are rewarded with new and improved items or cosmetics.  Some of the gear options provide improved versions of items that are more durable, which is a great thing considering the fact that anything touched by timefall will decay.  You can choose how Sam looks and what items best suit his needs--it might be a special skeleton that attaches to his suit that helps him carry larger loads or armor plates to protect him from enemy fire.  There are also various vehicles to unlock and use throughout the game.

+ While I would hesitate to call it "co-op," there are aspects of working together with other players in the game.  As you make connections and add places to the Chiral network you unlock the ability to see and interact with structures built by other players.  There's also the option to donate items to a "shared" locker that is accessible to anyone--this is nice for when you forgot to grab a ladder or climbing anchor and need one to navigate an area.  There are also road pavers which offer up the ability to create paved roads in certain areas of the game--these pavers require a large amount of regular items but are well worth unlocking as they make travel with vehicles much, much easier.  Interestingly, players can also leave items in the areas of boss fights--a very handy feature!  I really liked this aspect of the game and there's an entire "likes" system built around other people using structures you build.

+ The "likes" system is a silly, but fun way to reward actions.  Sam can earn "likes" from completing deliveries, for picking up "lost" cargo (cargo that has been dropped by another player), or from other players utilizing structures and vehicles that he built.  I earned a lot of likes because I had a weird obsession with re-building roads.  And, you get likes from everyone who uses your re-built road.

+ There is a photo mode and plenty of fun poses, filters, and add-ons for snapping up candids of Sam in action.

+ Even though there are aspects of "horror" type of themes, it's mostly just creepy and not jump-scare-y.  BT's are creepy and you basically have two options in dealing with them--you can try to sneak by them (by crouching, walking slowly, and having Sam hold his breath--it's actually not too difficult) or eventually unlock weapons that can "kill" them.  I mostly opted to sneak, but will admit that I lost patience a few times and chose violence.  The worst thing about BT's is that if they do detect Sam they will send out splashes of an otherworldly, tar-like substance that will grab ahold of Sam.  Human-shaped beings will emerge from the tar and try to pull Sam under...into the world of the dead.  Fortunately, you can try to run and shake off these beings--if you fail, Sam will find himself pulled into an encounter with a much larger, much scarier BT (that takes several forms) and has to escape from that being.  It's not terrifying, but it is slightly panic inducing.  If you're not a fan of horror games (like me), I can reassure you that it's not really that scary.

+ There are boss fights of varying bizzare-ities.  They're mostly enjoyable and throw in some variety.

Cons:

- Each item Sam hauls receives a rating...and holy, bejeezus does this get repetitive.  Yes, there is a built-in option to skip, but wow are there so many things in this game that give you the option to skip.  You will frequently find yourself mashing the skip button...especially the longer you play.  There are just too many little cutscenes!  It's also worth noting that the two crashes I had occurred when I was doing a lot of skipping...so maybe try not to skip or turn on the auto-skip option.

- Long...and very long cutscenes.  Yes, they're also skippable, but you will miss so much of the already bonkers story that I wouldn't advise skipping.  It is particularly bad toward the end of the game--let's just say that you have to sit through the entire credits not once, but twice and, unskippable!).  I am generally pretty patient, but I found myself getting annoyed.

- "Fake" endings.  I hate them!  Toward the end of the game the credits started rolling...but I could still play.  Did that mean the game was over?  Not if I could still play!  So yeah, just keep playing and sit through the weird credits roll--the story keeps going.  I don't understand the choice to make players sit through the credits twice.

- While the story is unique, it's veers into the incomprehensible zone.  No spoilers here, but wow, it's weird and difficult to wrap your mind around certain parts of it.  Don't be surprised if you're Googling something like "Death Stranding story explained."

Recommendation:

Death Stranding is not a game that I would normally buy, but I actually mostly enjoyed it.  I don't think everyone will like it though--you're literally delivering items (it's like the ultimate "fetch" game) for most of the game--and would find it kind of boring.  The story is strange, but the world is actually pretty interesting.  I liked the sort of singleplayer co-op in the game and the fact that you can help out others while not needing to directly interact with them.  Overall it's an interesting game that I think will jive with certain gamers.