Save Scumming 2.0. AKA XCOM2: War of the Chosen.

I've admitted it before, but I will say it again--I'm the most piteous save scummer.  I, sadly, have no qualms about loading up a recent save as a means of avoiding the outcome of my own stupidity.  In most games this isn't really much of an issue--autosave is there for a reason, right?  In turn-based strategy games part of the challenge is moving your set pieces in an intelligent and beneficial way.  If you're smart about it there really shouldn't be any reason to be scumming.  Yeah, I haven't reached that benchmark yet.  I've been teasing my weakness with the fantastic expansion to XCOM2--War of the Chosen.

I've been eyeing War of the Chosen since it was released several months ago.  Although I will admit to not being a tactical genius, I have always enjoyed the challenge present in the new XCOM games.  There's management on many levels--managing your squad while they're out on a mission, managing the Avenger--picking engineering and research projects, managing your troop roster, assigning construction and building projects....there's constantly a decision to be made.  War of the Chosen adds several entirely new layers of stressfully enjoyable decision making.

What's new/different:

The Warlock, Hunter, and Assassin comprise the ranks of the Chosen.

--The Chosen.  War of the Chosen introduces three new nemeses in the form of "the Chosen."  These uber-aliens are extra deadly and each have a different set of skills.  There's the assassin who can enter stealth and then launch devastating surprise attacks at inopportune times.  The hunter specializes in ranged attacks and can summon extra help in the form of "beasts"--which mostly means chrysalids and the faceless.  The warlock possesses powerful psionic abilities and can mind control your soldiers, launch devastating psionic attacks, and summon psi-zombies.

On their own the Chosen aren't too difficult to defeat.  The problem is that they rarely appear completely alone.  Each Chosen occupies a different territory on the world map.  Any mission that takes place in one of those territories is subject to the appearance of that particular Chosen during the mission.  Not only are you battling Advent soldiers, but now you've thrown a tricky, tough alien into the mix.  It can be a very difficult and brutal mix.

Once you've engaged a Chosen you have a few choices.  Choice #1) kill it!  This might mean shifting your focus off of your current targets in an effort to quickly burn it down.  It usually means that you're not going to come out of any mission completely unscathed.  #2) Do your best to avoid it and manage your losses.  Each Chosen has an ability to disable and then "scan" your soldiers for intel which could lead to them eventually locating the Avenger and launching an attack.  The positive side to this strategy is that the Chosen will leave the mission on the next turn and you don't have to deal with them.

If you choose to take down the big baddies they don't stay down.  They leave the current mission, but are able to resurrect themselves at their secret bases.  Locating these bases requires working with the three special factions that are another new addition to War of the Chosen.  Taking them out is almost mandatory as they will continually gather intelligence about the location of the Avenger as time goes by.  You can't simply ignore them and hope they'll go away.  They won't.  And they'll continue to deliver long, rambling monologues the entire time.

--New factions with special abilities.  Fearsome new enemies means you need some fierce new allies to help in your fight.  Three new factions offer aid in the form of special faction related benefits and special "heroes" who will fight in your own ranks.  The Reapers specialize in stealth and can remained concealed for long periods of time.  Their soldiers are good for scouting ahead and attacking from the shadows.  The Skirmishers are a group of rebellious Advent soldiers who have gone rogue against their alien creators.  They are versatile soldiers with the ability to attack multiple times in one turn, to use either melee or ranged attacks, and to utilize a grappling hook to maneuver to advantageous positions.  The Templars utilize psionic abilities and have a unique style of attack with a melee focus.  Each successful melee kill builds "focus" which makes future attacks more powerful and which can be expended to fuel other special abilities.

Each faction also unlocks special "covert operation" which are completed behind the scenes.  Covert ops require one or more of your own soldiers and have certain specific outcomes--most importantly, they are the method for tracking down and eventually permanently disposing of the Chosen.  Managing your roster gets even more complicated as you send soldiers out to complete ops.  Those soldiers are unavailable for the duration of the op and can possibly be wounded, ambushed, or even captured by the Chosen.  Successfully completing ops grants an outcome but also grants influence with each faction.  Once you've reached a certain level of influence each faction offers special benefits that vary--some help lower the time to build new rooms on the Avenger, others offer resource gathering boosts.  Each month you can choose a different set of boosts to satisfy your needs.  Raising your influence with each faction increases the number of boosts you can utilize.

--New enemy types.  You know what every game needs?  Zombies.  This is almost a scientifically proven fact.  War of the Chosen features a brand new type of enemy known as "The Lost."  Although the Lost are technically former humans who have been poisoned by Advent technology (remember all those weird, glowing green canisters from Enemy Unknown?  They were good for high cover...but weren't ever explained.  Well, ta-da!), they are basically zombies.  The Lost tend to appear in groups and can easily be killed--for each Lost you headshot and kill you are granted an additional action, mowing down groups of them isn't too hard.  On their own the Lost aren't too bad but, like the Chosen, they have a tendency to pop up at inopportune times--like when you're in the middle of a nasty fight with Advent.  The nice part about the Lost is that they don't discriminate--they'll go after anything that's alive, including Advent.  They can serve as a handy distraction while you pick off the deadlier Advent soldiers.  The really bad part is when you get Advent + Lost + the Chosen....I had that happen...and it was ugly.

--New Maps!  If you were tired of all the old map sets, there are some nice, shiny new ones in War of the Chosen.  There are sewer-like tunnels, Lost-infested cityscapes, farmhouses with train tracks (I loathe trains  they box you in and are difficult to maneuver through.  I always inwardly groan on train/subway maps), and new specialized bases for the Chosen.

My squad celebrating killing the Hunter.

--Photobooth.  This might sound menial and stupid to hardcore turn-based strategy gamers, but I am absolutely loving the posters that you can create in the game.  Each mission provides an opportunity to make a poster featuring your chosen squad.  Or you can make posters for your favorite individual soldiers.  There are a variety of backgrounds, filters, text/font options to make a unique tribute.  The fun part is that these posters will periodically appear on the walls of other missions that you are playing.

--Soldier bonds.  You can further enhance the abilities of your soldiers by pairing them up with similar squadmates on each mission.  As they learn to fight together they will develop bonds which can provide benefits as they are strengthened.  Once you've developed these bonds you can build a special training room which allows soldiers to level up these bonds and which provides extra combat benefits.  Every soldier can have a battle BFF!

If you've gotten bored with the same ol' stale XCOM2 I would highly recommend the upgrade to War of the Chosen.  It offers so much new content that it makes the game feel completely different.  My favorite part has been the quest to destroy all of the Chosen.  This is something that isn't easy and consumes a great chunk of playtime.  But, when you watch those last few bars of life spill out of one of those giant goobers, it's fist-pumpingly fun.  Not to mention the fact that you can research and equip their own super-powerful weapons on your own soldiers.  It's totally worth the extra effort to hunt them down.

I'm Playing Okami on my PC...and it's Magical!

I've decided to dub 2017 as the "Year of the Port."  It seems like there have been a bunch of console-only titles that have finally made their way to PC.  I highly enjoyed delving into the strange world of Bayonetta and have been floored to play one of my all-time console favorites--Okami (Okami HD)--on my PC.  In general, I try to avoid re-masters and re-releases.  This time I just couldn't keep myself from jumping at the opportunity to have a better version of a game I truly enjoyed.  But, was it worth it?  Is Okami still the game that I remember it being almost ten years ago?  ....Sort of.

It's back!

Okami was originally released on the Nintendo Wii in 2006.  I used my 2008 stimulus money to stimulate the economy and purchased a Wii (I am not much of a console gamer and mostly enjoy Mario Kart).  It was only after buying the Wii that I discovered that besides the Zelda series that there weren't a lot of notable titles.  And I can only play so much "Mario" themed stuff before I get bored...So I began searching for the best games for the Wii and kept seeing the name Okami pop up.  I decided that it would be worthwhile to check it out...even if it sounded like something that was completely bizarre.

The story in Okami is based around Japanese folklore, something that I know absolutely nothing about.  You play as the resurrected god/wolf/deity Amaterasu and are on a mission to lift an evil curse from the land of Nippon (that's an old-school name for Japan).  Of course, the story is never this straightforward and you will find yourself zigging and zagging to try to keep up with all the twists and turns.  Probably the most interesting aspect of Okami are the "celestial brush techniques"--these are special abilities that you unlock throughout the game and they are very much like painting.  Certain enemies are susceptible to attacks using these techniques and mastering them is a lot of fun.  (I'm going to say that they are more fun on the PC--most of the time when I was playing this on the Wii I had moments where I contemplated throwing my controller through a window--the motion controls on my Wii were particularly picky...especially after I accidentally vacuumed the cord to the motion sensor bar and cracked one of the lens covers)

Should you bite and spend another $20 to add this classic to your PC library?  I'm going to say yes, but that it's not perfect.  Here's the list:

Pros:

--Art style/graphics.  Okami has always been celebrated for its traditional Japanese inspired art style and the HD upgrade means that it still looks amazing after more than ten years.  The floral theme, scrolls, and block prints that are used throughout the game are stunning and make me want to learn more about Japanese art.

--Interesting and quirky story.  Like the art style, the story also has its roots in traditional Japanese stories and characters.  It's enlightening to learn the names of the deities and to see their stories unfold into the fictional story in the game.

--Combat style/celestial brush.  I don't know if I can say that I've played another game with a combat system that is as unique as Okami.  The whole idea of drawing your abilities seems absurd.  Sometimes it can be frustrating (some of the brushstrokes require you to be fairly exact--this was really challenging on the Wii, but is less so with mouse and keyboard), but it adds a new layer to the traditional system of attacking and dodging.  Learning which enemies are susceptible to certain skills through trial and error is enjoyable.  Mastering the brush strokes is the highlight of the game.

--Side quests....tasks...beads...there's much more than just the main story.  My PC playthrough clocked in at around 36 hours (I would guess that if you stuck to the main storyline that you could definitely finish it in less than 30) and I made a somewhat concerted effort to complete side quests and do some collecting (there's 99 stray beads...I've never gotten remotely close to finding them all).  If you're looking for something to keep you busy--there's plenty here.

--Boss fights.  Every boss fight challenges you to utilize your knowledge of the brush strokes.  It's not simply about avoiding or doing damage--it's about figuring out what works best.  I have always enjoyed how the strokes you learn directly apply to fighting the very next boss.

--Replayability.  There is rating system built into the game that challenges players to earn the coveted "cherry blossom" ranking (you're rated on the time in which you complete the fight and the amount of damage you take).  If you're feeling driven enough you can continue playing and try to earn those cherry blossoms for every category.  Personally, I got three on this last playthrough (out of six...I think) and that's the most I've ever gotten.  There are also those stinkin' beads.....or the unlockable demon fang items...or the fish tome....there are plenty of reasons to play again.

--Amazing soundtrack featuring traditional Japanese instruments.  I especially enjoy the music when you enter combat.

Cons:

--Cutscene animations are weirdly shaky.  It's a weird thing that bugged me throughout the game.  I don't think it is intentional and am hoping that it is a bug that can be sorted out relatively soon.  If you're bothered by the way that the characters seem to have a shimmery, shaking effect...you're not alone.

--Effin' camera controls.  This is my #1 complaint with so many console games.  The camera never stays where I want it to and just won't adjust to movement.  It's kind of nice that you can click the middle button to recenter the camera, but even that can be annoying on scenes with a lot of movement.  With mouse/keyboard controls, the mouse is used to control the camera.  It's also used for doing other things like tackling which means that it's something you need to use.  Unfortunately it seems to be so touchy that I had to mentally make myself take my hand off the mouse when I was exploring so the camera wouldn't be jumping all over the place.  (There are some settings for the camera that I didn't mess with.  There's a chance I missed something ridiculously easy to fix.)

--Reading.  I personally don't mind a game where you read the dialogue, but I know that there are some people who don't believe that reading and games should mix.  If you dislike reading, you're in for some torture.

--It repeats.  (SPOILERS...yup.)  Didn't I just fight that same boss before?  Why yes, yes I did.  And I'm going to fight it at least 2 more times.  This didn't bother me in previous playthroughs, but it bugged me this time.  Yes, the fights are fun the first time...but not so much on the third time.

I have always enjoyed Okami and it was great to play it on the PC.  Gaming has changed so much in the ten plus years since it was initially released, but it still has a unique style that makes it stand out.  Those of you that played it on consoles will enjoy the improved performance, graphics, and controls on the PC.  

SteamWorld Dig 2. There's More Digging to be Done!

Steam's Black Friday sale was an opportunity for me to impulse buy a bundle of games for a nice, low price.  I snatched up three SteamWorld  games for under under $20 and have been gradually playing my way through them.  At first I was worried that I might've wasted my money on something that I wasn't going to like, but boy was I wrong!  I've had fun playing all three of the games (if you're interested you can read about SteamWorld Dig here and SteamWorld Heist here) and after finishing up SteamWorld Dig 2, I feel great about my purchases.

SteamWorld Dig 2 continues the story of the spunky, steam powered robots who populate a place that is very much like the old American West.  Rather than playing as Rusty, the robot protagonist from the first game, you play as Dorothy--the cute, little robot vendor from the same game.  The story follows Dorothy as she tries to locate Rusty, who disappeared after he handily defeated the evil robot mastermind, Vectron.

Dorothy visits the town of El Machino.

Dorothy finds herself searching the area around the robot town of El Machino.  On the way she stumbles across an odd, sprite-like entity known as Fen.  Fen is a feisty little bugger who enjoys destruction and serves as a sort of helpful follower.  Similar to SteamWorld, the town of El Machino is filled with robots who provide a number of helpful functions--there are vendors who buy minerals and sell upgrades, there are pneumatic transportation tubes to quickly zip Dorothy to different locations around the map, and there are friendly robots to chat with.

The gameplay in SteamWorld Dig 2 is very similar to the first game--much of it revolves around digging through different areas and searching for minerals and caves to search.  Luckily, the developers paid attention to some of the minor annoyances in the first game and did a fabulous job of addressing and changing some of them.  As players dig further below the earth they will find that the pneumatic tube system is much easier to find and use.  There's no need to depend on expensive teleporters as a more efficient source of movement--you can use the map and easily teleport directly back to El Machino.

Dorothy has access to a number of handy implements that greatly improve her movement and make digging and navigating a literal (and metaphorical) blast.  The grappling hook is handy for grabbing onto and boosting Dorothy over and above certain obstacles.  It also alleviates one of the problems I ran into in the first game--digging a shaft too far down and then getting stuck because you couldn't wall jump out--which meant you had to rely on ladders, which cost gold.  As you progress even farther into the game you unlock the rocket pack which allows Dorothy to briefly fly.  When used in tandem with the grappling hook, there's almost no movement that's impossible--you can fly up into spaces that seemed unreachable or traverse wide areas.

Another aspect that was improved was the upgrade system.  You can still upgrade your tools using the money you make from digging up minerals, but there is also an upgrade system that uses special cogs that are hidden/sprinkled throughout the game.  These cogs grant special abilities for each tool--for example, you could put a cog into your lamp slot and gain a bonus to the amount of light that your lamp provides.  As you collect more cogs you have to figure out exactly what abilities will be the most beneficial--some upgrades cost only one cog while others might require three or possibly four cogs.  The nice thing about the cog system is that you can easily swap cogs from one ability to another since they aren't locked.  Many of the challenge caves have cogs hidden throughout them and they are well worth finishing just to find more cogs.  There are also hidden "artifacts" that you can trade to a certain archaeologist robot to unlock special blueprints that unlock cog-based abilities.  Each blueprint requires you to find a specific number of artifacts and increases as you make progress.  (I think I found something like 42% of the artifacts--they are hidden well!)

Besides all the gameplay related improvements there are plenty of other things to like about SW Dig 2.  The soundtrack isn't really what you'd expect from a game that is set in an area that resembles the American West and instead has a cool, electronic ambiance (especially El Machino).  The variety of environments you will find yourself in varies from the traditional mine shaft to an ancient temple filled with conveyor belts (and puzzle-like areas) to an area filled with bioluminescent plants and unfriendly critters.  The story has some interesting twists and turns and even manages to give you a large dose of the feels.

I would heartily recommend SteamWorld Dig 2 and would say that purchasing the entire Image & Form Games bundle is a good idea.  Even though the three games aren't directly linked, they take place in the same universe and it's fun to see the connection between them.  (I don't want to spoil it, but when you finish SW Dig 2 you get a strong feeling that it and Heist could be closely related in the future).  Get your dig on!

Pros:
--Digging and navigating has improved since the first game.  It's still very similar, but it's better.
--A mix of old and new tools.  There's the ol' reliable pickaxe used for most digging but there's also a
   grappling hook and rocket pack.
--Fleshed out upgrade system that rewards players for exploring and finding cogs hidden throughout
   the world.
--Cute story and characters.  All the robots have unique personalities and Fen, your friendly guide, is
   good for some laughs.
--Variety of environments to explore.  Mineshafts, ancient ruins, glowy, plant-filled areas...you won't
   get bored.
--Challenge caves offer a fun way to earn extra cogs/minerals/artifacts.  My personal favorite was the
   "Floor is Lava" cave (covered with buttons and required you not to touch any of the buttons while
   utilizing the grappling hook to navigate).  It took me about twenty tries, but I finally unlocked the
   artifact at the end.
--Replayability.  Making it a priority to try to find all the artifacts in the game could provide a reason
   to replay.
--Family friendly.  There's some violence and fighting, but this game would be appropriate for kids.
--Keyboard/mouse controls are good--you don't really need a controller.

Cons:
Hmm....I don't really know that I have any serious concerns.  I wish Dorothy had more hats like in SteamWorld Heist.

Happy holidays everyone!  The SteamWorld games would make a great gift for gamers of any age.

Ready for a Catventure?

I love cats and spend more time than I would care to admit watching videos and liking posts featuring cute, frisky felines.  When I saw a game appear on the Steam top sellers list that was an RPG featuring cats, I just couldn't resist.  Plus, the price tag was just $10.  I've been adventuring in the fictional, fantasy world of Cat Quest for most of this week.  I haven't quite finished the entire story yet, but I've played enough to have a good feel for the game.

Pros:

--Easy controls.  It plays like an ARPG--click to attack, numbered skills, dodge button.

--Tons of cat puns and jokes.  If you're a fan of cats you will enjoy all the cat references.

--Large map with lots to explore.  There are traditional quest boards, but you can also just wander around and look for caves and dungeons to clear.

--Gear to support any playstyle.  You can gear up your cat to be a mage, a warrior, a ninja or almost any combination of those.  Ninja-mage cat could be your thing...you don't know until you try it.  There's also special gear that drops from locked chests that makes your cat look extra cool.

--A very cheery soundtrack (it's also a bit of a con...)

--Different enemy types that require you to change up your strategy.

--Low PC requirements--you could probably play it on a toaster.

--Appropriate for the younger crowd.  Your kids could definitely play this game--there's really

   nothing questionable other than violence (you kill monsters, but it's not bloody) and pseudo

   swear words that are turned into cat humor (godcatit!  furry...etc.)

--For a $10 game there's plenty to keep you busy.

My catventurer taking a rest in Windmew City.

Cons:

--After several hours of playing the aforementioned "very cheery soundtrack" gets a little annoying. 

   Fortunately, you can choose to turn it off in the options menu.

--Quests are the best way to level up your character, but they can get repetitious.  There was one set

that required running from one side of the map to the other every time you wanted to advance the

quest.  It was extremely annoying.

--Upgrading your gear is a crapshoot (and follows an in-game lootbox-like system).  You can

   purchase crates from Kit--50 gold for a crate containing regular gear or 5,000 gold for a large crate

   that contains upgrades for special gear.  Each crate gives you one piece of gear (or one

   upgrade for a piece of gear if you already have it).  I've geared up my cat with an armor/attack

   focus, but I keep getting caster gear.  My arcane set is level 36 while my prefered warrior set is

   only in the 20's.  It's irritating to have to repeatedly purchase 50g crates only to get stuff that you

   don't want and can't get rid of.  It's the same way for loot that you find in caves/ruins.  They

   seriously need to rethink this whole system.

I think Cat Quest is worth its $10 price tag.  I will admit that I've gotten a little bit bored at points and that I don't see anything groundbreaking about this game.  It's a cute, cat oriented RPG that would be better for someone who sees themselves as a more casual gamer or for someone who is looking for an appropriate game for their kids.  I don't regret buying it, but it falls firmly in my "meh" pile.

Steam Link:  Cat Quest

Tearjerkers--When the in-game Feels hit ya hard'

We've all been there--we're blithely playing our favorite game when all of a sudden a real soul-crushing moment presents itself.  I'm talking about the moments where you find yourself blubbering all over your keyboard (or controller if you prefer consoles...).  This seems to be a question that pops up all the time in many of the gaming groups I follow and it really got me thinking about some of mine.  There might be some spoilers ahead so read with caution.

1.) Ori and the Blind Forest

Seriously, who cries in a platformer?  A freakin' platformer!  A game that is about jumping and running and double jumping and floating....  Ori manages to pack a ton of feels from the first ten minutes of the game all the way until the end.  I was already bawling like a baby after watching the opening prologue.  Watching Ori get rescued and grow up with his big, goofy friend is so cute!  Then watching the big, goofy friend basically sacrifice itself to keep Ori alive AND seeing all the memories of the fun things that they did together...grab the Kleenex 'cuz you're gonna need 'em.

Later on in the game you discover why the villain (a large, very angry raven-like bird) keeps trying to kill you.  You wind up even feeling bad for the thing that is trying to kill you!  I applaud Ori and the Blind Forest for managing to be a fun and challenging platformer and for having such touching stories woven throughout the game.

2.) Mass Effect 3

The Mass Effect series has been one of my absolute favorites since I originally picked up the first game for a steal.  By the third game in the original trilogy, players had gotten to know the crew of the Normandy pretty darn well and had definitely developed some feelings of attachment.  I was excited when I reached the point in the game where I would finally get to help the Krogan out and cure the genophage.  I took all the best paragon stances--I told the Salarian dalatrass to shove her offer of support in exchange for sabotaging the mission, I warned my loyal crew members about her shady dealings, and everything looked like it was proceeding well.  In one of the many dramatic and memorable moments of the game I guided Shepard,  as she sprinted past a FULL ON REAPER, to reach the maw hammers and watched in awe as a flippin' thresher maw destroyed the giant, robotic monstrosity.

It is directly after this amazing moment that you witness one of the most heroic sacrifices in the game.  Mordin Solus, the singing Salarian doctor (the very model of a scientist Salarian), tells Shepard that the Shroud is damaged and that the only way the cure for the genophage can be administered is if he travels to the top of the rapidly disintegrating Shroud.  You can try to talk him out of it (and if you've chosen some specific major choices it's possible to)  but he demands:  "It had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong."  Then you mostly just mop the snot off your keyboard.

3.) The Witcher 3

I love big RPG's that have strong storytelling and characters.  The Witcher 3 is a grand epic and one of the few open world RPG's that really manages to hold tight to the story and characters.  The tutorial for the game (if you opt to play it--I play it every time even though I've done it about six times) not only gives you a basic run through of all the controls in the game, it also gives you some great insight into the relationship between Geralt and his adopted daughter Ciri.  Ciri was rescued by Geralt and then raised by the witchers in Kaer Morhen.  It's cute to see the freckled little scamp running around the crumbling castle while all four of them dote over her.  From those very first moments it is completely obvious that they have a close father and daughter type of relationship.

The bulk of the main storyline involves trying to pick up Ciri's trail and find her.  Geralt runs around following leads in at least three different zones before he's finally able to extract the information (and a magical, weird, glowy firefly-like object) from the mysterious elven mage, Avallac'h.  The clue leads him to the Isle of Mists--a forsaken, magical island from which no one returns.  It all seems very ominous....

You find yourself leading Geralt through a boneyard of scuttled ships and onto a misty, freaky, desolate island.  As you search the island, you find a small, locked cabin smack dab in the middle.  Upon examination you discover that it is currently the hiding place of some unfortunate dwarves who have managed to become stranded.  They demand your/Geralt's help to find their three missing friends before they will unlock the door.  You scamper around the island helping (but mostly not helping) the remaining dwarves.  As you guide the only surviving dwarf back to the cabin the dwarves drop some definite bad news--a girl matching Ciri's description is inside, but she was dead when the dwarves arrived.

There's so much about this scene that is amazing--the way that Geralt cautiously moves towards her, like he's scared of what he's going to find; how he is so dejected that he has failed to find her; how he embraces her body and just seems absolutely crushed.  And then...that weird, glowy, little spark floats right into Ciri...and she opens her eyes!  She's alive!  As she wakes up we see a flashback from when she was a child at Kaer Morhen--she sees Geralt in an open field and runs toward him to give him the biggest hug.

If this doesn't give you a hardcore case of the feels--you're like Olgierd von Everec and have a heart of stone.