Upcoming Title Excitement!

As summer starts to transition to fall, there's plenty to look forward to--cooler temperatures, pumpkin spice (not for me, but I do enjoy apple cinnamon vibes), and even some upcoming games to play during those rainy, cool days.  A few titles don't have a release date yet, so maybe not the fall, but soon-ish.  I'll highlight a few titles/DLC's that I'm excited about.

1.) Two Point Museum

We've mastered our medical skills in Two Point Hospital and educated the clueless masses in Two Point Campus and now we get to build fantastic museums!  The Two Point games are a personal favorite of mine and are semi-serious management games.  This summer there were a series of in-game challenges that were clues that led to the eventual announcement of Two Point Museum.  Several short videos have rolled out that show various parts of the gameplay.  You get to run, design, and discover artifacts to display in your new museum.  There's also an aquarium section that you can fill with fish, turtles, and other fun aquatic species.  Personally, I'm very excited for this title and am looking forward to finding out more.  Thus far, no release date has been announced.  I'm hoping for a holiday release (because then I will be off work and have plenty of time to dedicate to my awesome museums).  Here's the announcement trailer:

2.) PowerWash Simulator: Shrek Special Pack

If you're feeling a desire to relax and clean a variety of virtual surfaces, PowerWash Simulator is rolling out the perfect DLC.  The best part--it's themed with one of the best movie franchises of the early 2000's!  (I stan Shrek & Shrek 2--they are amazing.  Fight me!)  That's right, we get to clean up Shrek's swamp and other Shrek-themed locations in the upcoming Shrek Special Pack.  Of all the DLC that has come out for PowerWash Simulator, this is the one that has made me the most excited.  (I just noticed the sword sprayer skin and the armor set!)  Apparently the pack will feature 5 maps that include signature locations from across the film franchise.  There's also no release date on this one, but I would anticipate it anywhere from a few weeks until maybe the holiday season. 

3.) Strange Antiquities

The makers of the plant-themed mystery game Strange Horticulture announced Strange Antiquities awhile back and I've been watching for any news.  The news has been sparse, but I very much enjoyed their quirky, clever first game, so I'm definitely looking forward to another strange group of events and people to analyze.  Oh, and also apparently antiquities--no plants this time.  The announcement trailer doesn't reveal much in terms of gameplay, but it looks like we'll be returning to Undermere AND that there's a cute new shop kitty (named Jupiter) to pet.  There's no release date on this one either and it's actually listed as "to be announced" rather than "coming soon," so I'm assuming that it might be a ways further off.

4.) Dragon Age: The Veilguard

I'm listing this as #4 because it is actually a ways down on my excitement list.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Inquisition but BioWare's recent struggles have put a damper on my...let's say expectations.  Since it's a triple-A title there have been numerous teasers, trailers, and gameplay previews released.  From what I've seen, it does look pretty cool.  Also, shockingly, the requirements on PC seem reasonable.  I would say that the fan reaction has been a bit mixed.  Like me, a lot of BioWare fans have a healthy dose of caution when it comes to their recent titles.  I've seen a lot of negative reaction to the fact that you can't control party members (I think you can still issue commands) and it sounds like combat is going to play like Mass Effect: Andromeda with players primarily focusing on controlling their character.  I'm definitely not pre-ordering (c'mon folks, just don't do it!) and will likely wait on this one.  There has been one VERY GOOD piece of news--if you buy it on Steam you will not need to go through the EA App.  Praise the baby cheeses because the stacking launcher problem is stupid and annoying (not to mention that the EA App is a bit notorious for problems).  I'm not gonna lie though--this most recent trailer is AWESOME!  It's got everything to make a Dragon Age fan feel pumped and a little extra--you've got fan favorite returning characters, dragons, a stunning variety of environments, and some pretty fantastic enemies (oh, and some light romancing).  Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases on October 31st--a Halloween treat (let's hope that BioWare pulls it off and we don't wind up feeling tricked instead).

The Dog(town) Days of Summer

I've finally finished up my even more epic playthrough of CyberPunk 2077 featuring the "Phantom Liberty" DLC.  Whew!  It was quite a journey thanks to the fact that I had to delay for a week or so due to some unforeseen technical issues.  So, what's the official verdict?  Is it worth your cash to spend another $29.99 on CyberPunk?

What is it?

The one and only DLC for CyberPunk 2077.  It introduces a new area to the already large Night City as well as an action-packed story, new friends and foes, as well as a plethora of new items (weapons, cars, clothing...the whole she-bang).

How long does a playthrough last?

Depending on playstyle (sticking only with the main storyline vs. being a completionist) I would estimate between 20 and 40 hours.

Pros:

The Heavy Hearts Club is a notable Dogtown landmark.

+ Dogtown is what Pacifica really should have been--it's the rotting bones of the partially completed mega-hotels and ruined entertainment venues.  Honestly, I wish the two zones were one cohesive area (but, thanks to the lore/story in "Phatnom Liberty" that's not a possibility) because I was a bit underwhelmed by Pacifica in the core game.  Visually it has some variety--there's the swanky Heavy Hearts Club with it's Egyptian theme (and obviously Las Vegas Luxor style inspo); there's the more down-on-your lucky feeling containerville with its stacks of homes; and of course there are the huge cranes and looming bulk of the giant hotels.  There are some notable, visually unique places--Terra Cognita features multiple technology expo buildings.

+ The vibes in Dogtown are slightly different than the rest of Night City.  The area is ruled by what basically amounts to another gang, Barghest.  (*A nice nod to The Witcher that also features a similar color scheme to the legendary beast--fluorescent yellow) There aren't any police and there's a hint of anarchy (but Barghest basically act as the law).  One regular feature is drones being shot down over the area--you can audibly hear when this happens and see the downed drone crash.  The location is marked with a giant plume of red smoke and you can choose to pursue it.  If you do...better be prepared for a fight because there's usually at least one faction in the mix battling it out.  The reward--some semi-swanky loot.  (I think I went after one drone and that's it, but it is kind of fun)

Since the NCPD is not a presence in Dogtown, there aren't any scanner jobs.  (Bet you're bummed about that since there are about 500)  There are multiple gigs though as well as the introduction of a new side activity that you can choose to participate in--stealing random vehicles for Muamar "El Capitan" Reyes.  I enjoyed the gigs and I've always loved stealing cars in games.  Before I played "Phantom Liberty" I found the vehicle combat to be superfluous, but it factors into the auto theft jobs.  Typically once you've hopped into a vehicle you'll be pursued by some angry baddies and need to either lose them or fight them off.  Alternately, some missions have an optional timer that you can beat to earn a bonus.  After you've completed the first vehicle theft job they will start appearing on your map at random.  Why do them though?  They've added in several new vehicle models that can only be purchased once you've completed a certain number of vehicle theft jobs.  There are some pretty flashy cars on offer if that's your jam.

Sorry Kerry...V's the star here!

+ The story and gigs are much more combat focused.  Very early on in the story you face off in one of the tougher fights of the game.  Gigs also tend to have moments akin to cyberpsycho fights where you're facing off against one "boss" type of enemy.  If you ever felt frustrated that the core game didn't feature enough "difficult" combat opportunities, it's like "Phantom Liberty" tried to correct that.  Stealth is still an option in many scenarios, but you should fully expect that you'll be battling it out at some point.

+ Hidden opportunities in Dogtown.  There is a new set of special "Relic" talents introduced in "Phantom Liberty."  They provide upgraded abilities with a special focus on cyberware--augmenting your arm blades, launcher, or monowire.  However, you don't earn them with traditional experience points and have to locate special Militech dataterms scattered throughout Dogtown.  In order to find these terminals you have to explore--some are easy to find and others are located in special areas populated by enemies (that generally includes one of the aforementioned "boss" type of fights).  The locations do not show up on your map and you have to be in the general vicinity for them to even pop up (although the terminals themselves do make a very notable beeping noise).

+ An action-packed story with plenty of difficult choices.  Similar to the core game, there are multiple endings to choose from...and, in typical CDPR fashion, they're all a mixed bag of positive and negative outcomes for V and the other characters.  The story missions see V doing all kinds of crazy things--incorporating special face-shifting technology and attending a fancy dress party (my favorite story missions are the balls/fancy dress party ones).

+ Engaging new characters--Idris Elba is the model and actor for Solomon Reed, a veteran FIA agent (the fictional CIA equivalent); So-Mi "Songbird" is a netrunner who works for NUSA president Rosalyn Meyers (both are interesting characters); and there are many others who figure into the story as both major and minor characters.

+ Making certain story-based decisions in "Phantom Liberty" unlocks a new ending in the core game.  I won't spoil anything, but after experiencing all the other endings in previous playthroughs, it does offer a bit of a refresher on the same ol', same ol'.

The mysterious Mr. Hands.

+ Mr. Hands gets a cool makeover, a very awesome base of operations, and a less cheesy vibe.  He's the fixer for Dogtown and Pacifica (with "Phantom Liberty") and you get the chance to meet him in person.

Cons:

- Bug-tastic...even after all this time. They are no longer patching CyberPunk, and the last time I played through it I felt like it was probably in the best, least buggiest state that I had seen it.  This time though...I encountered numerous bugs.  Probably one of the most annoying bugs I encountered is one that has been known almost since release--the dreaded "unavailable" fast travel terminals.  Luckily, this issue worked itself out after at least 1 in-game day had passed, but it was obnoxious.  There's a certain vehicle called the "Blackbird" that is part of the vehicle theft missions from "El Capitan" that is notorious for bugging out.  The vehicle in question is capable of hacking and disabling enemy cars but you have to stay within proximity for a certain amount of time--basically, you're chasing down a speeding vehicle that is shooting at you.  Twice I had the hacking counter get to 60 or 70% and then it wouldn't advance any farther.  Searching this issue revealed that those missions are notoriously buggy (skip them if you have problems--you don't have to do them).  I had an issue in the core game where I couldn't talk to Judy in her apartment (once I had chosen to romance her)--she was standing at the window with the shutter closed and was basically stuck.

It's a bit frustrating that these bugs persist...especially those that have been a known quantity for several years.  Don't expect a "perfect" experience and remember to save frequently.

Additional Features:

If it has been awhile since you fired up CyberPunk you'll probably notice some other changes that were added in as bonus content in major patches that were released with/after "Phantom Liberty."  I thought I would mention a couple.

1.) "Quality over quantity." Your chosen romantic partner will reach out to V to spend some quality time together.  You can choose from any of your rented locations and invite them over.  At the location you can chat, cuddle, dance, shower, and sleep together.  It's kind of nice to have this added because many people griped that V's interactions with his/her romantic partners felt kind of short and lacking.  The downside is 1.) your partner texts to hang out fairly frequently 2.) there's very little/no new dialogue.  If you have "Phantom Liberty" installed there is a little bit about the events in it, but other than that...it's the same.

2.) They've added a few new music stations, which is nice.  They've also made it so your radio plays pretty much all the time--even when you're in the open world.  It will toggle off when there's dialogue you need to hear/participate in, but it automatically turns on.  I was a bit irritated with how often I had to turn it off (I didn't check the settings to see if there was something to toggle it) because I prefer the in-game music.  It also shares a hotkey with something else so you'll want to change that setting.

Recommendation:

I think the $29.99 price tag for "Phantom Liberty" is fair for the content you get.  The story is enjoyable with lots of cool/fun moments, there's more of a combat focus, and Dogtown offers up some variety from the rest of Night City.  If you enjoyed the core CyberPunk experience you'll like "Phantom Liberty."  Don't be surprised if you encounter some bugs though...sadly.

Another Heist-Tastic Adventure!

Since my CyberPunk adventures were on a temporary hiatus (*but it's back on track!), I decided to check out the newest entry in the genre spanning SteamWorld series.  SteamWorld Heist II continues the rootin', tootin', and of course, shootin' adventures of a new group of plucky steambots trying to overcome a looming disaster on one of the many shattered shards that make up the SteamWorld universe.  If you're not familiar with this excellent indie series, I highly recommend checking out any of the titles.

What is it?

The second game of the "heist" variation in the SteamWorld.  It's a blend of turn-based strategy, adventure, and role-playing.  The story centers around captain Quincy Leeway, the son of a legendary hero who is trying to step out of the shadow of his monster-slaying mother.  As the captain of a swanky submarine, he is actively seeking to solve the mystery of what is causing the water (a chief fuel source for the steam powered robots) to be corrupted.  Along the way he recruits a unique cast of bots to help him defeat the legions of dieselbots, rattlers, and other enemies who stand in the way.

How long does a playthrough last?

This number could vary greatly depending on several factors.  My full playthrough clocked in at around 40 hours, but I will admit that I struggled a bit with the difficulty that I picked and that I skipped a couple of optional challenge levels.  I would estimate between 20-40 hours depending on whether you stick to the main storyline or try to be more of a completionist.  There's plenty of content and it definitely felt longer than the first Heist game.

Pros:

+ Ran great, with no problems.  The specs are low, so even if you're sporting a potato PC (or one with some lingering GPU issues) you can still enjoy it.  I encountered no crashes or problems.  I think once it loaded kind of slowly and that's the main technical difficulty that I encountered.

+ One of the new features in this iteration of Heist is combat with Quincy's submarine.  The world is littered with enemy ships and defensive structures, so the sub needs weapons and defensive measures.  Luckily both can be found as epic swag on certain levels or purchased from one of the many bars throughout the world.  There are a wide variety of weapons and other items to equip on the sub and it's fun to experiment with them all to find something that works well--whether that's low-damage, constantly firing lasers or slow-firing, high damage cannons and torpedoes--there are many options.

The open-world combat with the sub is enjoyable and fairly easy to understand.  

Dame Judy Wrench.  My favorite boomer/brawler.

+ A cast of new steambots to recruit and befriend.  You can spend resources to unlock crew slots and eventually recruit up to 10 fellow steambots to the cause.  My favorite crew member is Dame Judy Wrench, a seasoned bot with a reputation for bold exploits.  

+ The class system is familiar and features many of the same specializations for your bots--brawler, boomer, flanker, and sniper.  I believe that reaper and engineer are two new classes (I don't remember them from the first game, but I'm not 100% sure).  The engineer is a sort of support role whose attacks are fairly weak, but debuff enemies to take more damage from attacks during a turn.  They can also gain talents that allow them to build cover, grant an extra action, and heal other bots who are close by.  The reaper is a more offensively focused class that has the ability to attack twice if they scrap an enemy with their first attack.  Part of the fun of the strategy in Heist is to figure out the best combination of classes for success either on a specific mission of just in general.

+ Probably the best new feature that relates to the class system is the ability to give your bots multiple "jobs."  This means that you can combine classes and have talents from one or more other classes.  All you have to do is equip the main weapon for a different class (i.e. have your sniper equip a submachine gun) and then earn experience on a mission.  This unlocks "cogs" which can be spent to combine talents--each bot has a certain number of cogs and you can even equip special secondary items which increase the number of cogs a bot can equip.  It's a lot of fun to experiment with different talents and classes to find the most effective combination.

+ Several different world "zones" that feature unique combat challenges.  Certain zones feature frozen items (exploding barrels, icicles) that when exploded/dropped will lay down a patch of frozen ground--any bot that lingers on this ground will gain a "chilled" debuff that causes damage and if that bot continues to stand on that frozen area, will become frozen for at least one turn (but can be unfrozen by being shot by a friend/enemy).  Other zones feature items that cause fires which and cause burn damage.  This throws in a whole new layer of strategizing when positioning your bots.  Fortunately, there are special secondary items that can be purchased or found that can help counter these challenges.

+ A wide variety of combat missions with varying objectives.  There are your standard story missions, but also challenge missions.  I found the combat to be varied and challenging throughout with many different enemy types and special considerations to be made.

+ "Bounties" provide extra challenge when completing world combat or missions.  The star rating system from the first game is still in place, but now there are also special resources tied to your rating.  The higher your rating, the more bounty tokens you are awarded.  These tokens can be turn in at the friendly, local bar for a variety of rewards.  Part of the challenge of this system is the fact that your bots can only complete one mission before they need to rest and will be locked out of future missions.  Basically, to get the best rewards you need to have a good rotation of crew members, weapons, and items and be able to complete multiple missions in a day.  It's a whole new level of strategizing.

+ A solid story with the signature SteamWorld positivity and good vibes.  It's about building a fun team who works together to overcome a challenge.  If you're looking for something light and positive, this is it.

+ Multiple difficulty levels to choose from.  They range from "story" (your lowest difficulty which is more focused on experiencing the story rather than challenging combat) all the way up to the "veteran" level for the more "hardcore" folks out there.  Interestingly, they have also included an option for creating a "custom" difficulty level where you can adjust sliders for open-world combat with the sub and/or mission difficulty.  I didn't play with the custom slider, but it's a feature that I haven't seen at all in other games and offers up a way for players to adjust to their own needs.

Hats galore!  (*there are many, many more to collect)

+ Tons of fun new hats to collect (I think there are over 100!) and unique weapons to find/unlock.

+ There's no penalty for aborting and restarting a mission if things are going poorly.  I had to do this many, many times (mostly because I chose a difficulty level that was too tough toward the latter part of the game and made some mistakes with my class/job choices).

Cons:

- Earning maximum bounties requires quite a bit of strategizing.  One aspect that I was frequently frustrated by was the fact that weapons and secondary items become locked if you've used them on a previous mission.  Basically this means that your best items are only partially available.  I did a poor job planning for this and it came back to bite me later on when I was trying to do multiple bounties in a day.  Honestly, it's probably avoidable with some decent planning when it comes to assigning secondary "jobs" to your bots, but I struggled with it and felt limited as a result.

*This is not a con, but more of some advice--don't be afraid to turn down the difficulty.  I initially chose the "experienced" level thinking that since I had played the first game that I was, well, experienced.  The first part of the game was a bit tough, but I was able to get through it.  Eventually though, things just got too frustrating--alarms are tight at higher difficulties and enemies are much better shots.  I finally caved and lowered the difficulty to "moderate" and had a much more enjoyable time.  (I will just say that the final zone was brutal for me on the "experienced" difficulty)

Recommendation:

SteamWorld Heist II takes everything I loved about the first game and makes it better.  It's the kind of game that can appeal to a wide array of skill-levels and gamers.  It'd be very easy to glance at this game and scoff at it, but it can be challenging for even the "hardcore" among us while also having a fun, enjoyable vibe for someone who just wants a good story and lovable cast of characters.  I had a great time and would highly recommend it.

Temporarily Sidetracked

I had fully intended to be continuing trucking through my "Phantom Liberty" playthrough of CyberPunk 2077 (which, I have actually finished the core of the content but wanted to experience the "new" ending that is tied to "Phantom Liberty) but have unfortunately had to put it on hiatus due to some technical issues.  While enjoying my adventures I had noticed that my PC seemed to be a bit on the hot side--I chalked it up to the fact that it is summer and is in fact well, hot.  Generally I run a fan in my gaming room/office to help keep things cool (because anyone who is gaming in the summer months knows that the combination of hot weather + a nice, toasty warm PC can make a sweaty, uncomfortable experience) and it tends to drown out a lot of external noise.  Then, on a cooler morning, I decided that I didn't need the fan and started CyberPunk up only to discover a somewhat alarming, grindy noise coming from my PC.  After some case deconstruction I isolated the source of the bad noise--one of the fans on my GPU is apparently coming to the end of its life cycle.  My PC is getting a bit long in the tooth at 5 years old, so it's inevitable that something will wear out.  The good news is that my GPU is still working--I've been limiting myself to titles that aren't graphically demanding in the hope of repairing my ailing 2070.  I've decided to attempt to replace the fans (you can easily find new fans online) in the hope of not having to invest in a new, expensive GPU.  (*This is not something I would recommend to anyone who still has a GPU that is under warranty--send it back for your warrantied repairs.  Yes, it's a PITA and takes time, but it's undoubtedly better to have professionals do it. My card at 5 years old is well out of warranty range and I figured it would be worth trying a $30 repair before having to spend several hundred dollars for a new card.)  Basically wish me and my poor, ol' 2070 luck with our repairs.

While I wait for my replacement fans to arrive (all the way from China), I've been occupying myself with the newest installment of the SteamWorld series--SteamWorld Heist II.  I've been very excited about the release of Heist II because the first game was my favorite in the multi-genre spanning series.  Thus far my Heist II adventures have been challenging, but enjoyable.  (Added bonus that it's not graphically demanding and my GPU fans don't need to spin up at all) I'm looking forward to writing up a full review once I've finished up a playthrough.  If you haven't heard of the SteamWorld games, look them up on Steam.  I would highly recommend playing the first Heist game before checking out the second (although, it's not something that you need to have played first to have an idea about the second game.  It's very accessible to new players)

Cyber-Adventures in Dogtown

I finally decided that I was feeling like starting up a new CyberPunk 2077 adventure so that I could check out "Phantom Liberty."  (Funny/dumb thing:  my addled millennial brain keeps thinking "Phantom Menace" and I have to stop and correct myself way more than I want to admit) Very, very briefly I was intrigued by the option to start a new adventure at the point that "Phantom Liberty" begins--not like I haven't played through the entirety multiple times, but this seemed completely blasphemous.  I'm not completely through the DLC, but V is definitely deeply embroiled in the Dogtown drama.

Since I haven't fully completed the DLC, I thought I would just cobble together some thoughts about my impressions so far.

1.) The initial story mission starts off with a big, action-packed bang--tons of gun battles, a harrowing boss fight, and several notable and intriguing characters.  It's a lot of fun and very different from much of the mainline content.

There is a stunning array of full face masks, helmets, and chest holsters in
"Phantom Liberty."

2.) Dogtown is really what Pacifica should have been and I wish that the two zones were one conhesive zone (even though for story reasons that wouldn't really work).  The vibes in Dogtown are post-apocalyptic Las Vegas-esque with a dash of anarchy.  There are the standard gigs and side missions, but they decided to introduce some discovery/exploration oriented aspects.  There are no scanner jobs--because there's no NCPD in Dogtown--instead it's worthwhile to just wander around and check out the sites.  You can opt to go after one of the drones that periodically get shot down over the zone--marked by a plume of red smoke--but you'll have to fight off any other potential seekers.  Going after drones is generally pure chaos with different groups battling it out for control of the loot.  Or, you might accidentally stumble across a "heavily guarded" stash--it's marked by a new icon that sort of looks like three skulls and you can only find them if you're close enough; they don't automatically appear on the map.  Unlocking the stash requires taking out all the enemies in the area.  This generally includes some sort of big baddie/minor boss fight.  Tackling these locations is definitely worthwhile as they can hold unique legendary weapons and one of the new dataterms that give you "relic" points that reward enhanced abilities.

3.) They decided to throw in more "boss" style battles and I've found the combat to be more challenging.  I'm enjoying it except for the fact that I've opted for a stealth/melee weapons build that isn't the best for this scenario.  

4.) There are new unique legendary weapons and tons of new clothing items.  One of my favorite activities is messing around with the wardrobe function and making outfits for V.  They added in a literal boatload of very hideous head gear though...it's boggling.

V also gets a large selection of formal wear cuz every merc needs some
fancy duds.

5.) You can add vehicle theft to V's extensive list of criminal activities!  "El Capitan" now offers up random cars to steal and return to a certain point.  A random steering wheel shaped icon appears on the map and usually you'll have to fight off a few guards.  It's a repeatable mission so you can steal as many cars as you feel like.  As a reward you get some cash and an offer of a discount when purchasing vehicles through "El Capitan's" website.

I will write up a full review once I've finished V's fun times in Dogtown, but so far I'm having a dandy time.