Oh CrossCode, I Will Never Finish You

I was feeling fairly proud of myself last week for dusting off CrossCode, a game I had started, played through for a decent chunk of time, and then had shelved.  Then, I had some internet issues (no internet or phone service for two days....) and also got some unexpected DLC news for one of my favorite silly management games, Two Point Hospital.  The new DLC, "Culture Shock," was being released in just a few days!  The scent of burning plastic was intense as I whipped out my credit card to grab the newest addition to my sprawling hospital mega-industry.  Prior to my internet cutting out I had moved into a brand new zone in CrossCode and had also found myself stumped by a puzzle.  After trying to solve the dang thing for 30-45 minutes (and I had figured out 3/4ths of it!) I decided to go to bed and that I would look up the solution in the morning.  The morning came and the internet went and my motivation to finish the puzzle went with it.  I fully intend to finish CrossCode....some day.

But let's talk about the newest DLC for Two Point Hospital, "Culture Shock."  The DLC is set on a series of maps that are designed to have an artistic theme--the first map takes place on a movie lot; the second map takes place on the scene of an outdoor music festival and I haven't quite unlocked the third map yet.  I am guessing the third map will angle more toward the hospital attractiveness goals.

Dr. Roderick Cushion at your service!

The first scenario has a fun map that is set on the location of Plywood Studios, a functioning movie studio--you get to build your hospital next to a giant, mechanical shark in a pool (very Jaws-esque) and other movie themed set pieces.  The first scenario challenges you to build a hospital that is actually the set for a reality hospital show featuring none other than the famous film star Roderick Cushion!  Roderick is playing the role of an actual doctor, so you're required to have him on staff.  Having a famous movie star on staff isn't all it's cracked up to be--Roderick Cushion is untrained, has an insanely high salary, and isn't content to share the staff room so will retreat to his private trailer so he can properly rest (which means he takes very long breaks and has to walk across the entire map).  While the medical drama plays out, the shows producers will periodically propose events to add drama to the show and not all of them are positive--sometimes they will offer you a bonus if Roderick cures some patients and other times they want machines to explode (I allowed this to happen once....the bonus was more than the cost to replace the machine).  As an added challenge, fans can periodically leave reviews for the show that can impact your reputation--let's just say that they're mostly negative and it takes awhile to build reputation.

A patient with Stunt Trouble waits outside the cure room.

Every new Two Point DLC features a few new diseases that include new cure rooms.  The first of these that I encountered on the Plywood Studios map is called "stunt trouble."  Patients afflicted with stunt trouble can be seen wearing Evel Knievel-like outfits and pretending to ride a motorcycle.  To cure these patients you must allow them to act out their dare devil desires by allowing them to ride a fake motorcycle through a set of faux flaming rings.  There are also several other new diseases that have visual cues--some patients present with giant, pixelated glasses on; others are wearing one of those weird green screen outfits covered with little white balls (from motion capture); and one where patients have a giant pencil sticking out of their heads (writers block!).

A new added challenge is trying to impress the resident art critic Zara Fitzpocket.  Like other celebrity guests she periodically asks to be invited into your hospital so that she can inspect your artistic flair.  I generally get around to fully decorating my hospital, but my artistic sensibilities weren't enough to impress Fitzpocket.  I'm guessing you need to place a dazzling array to sculptures, paintings, and other artistic features to adequately gain her praises.

I played Plywood Studios to three stars and have now moved on to the second map, Mudbury.  Mudbury takes place on the scene of a music festival and it's your job to provide medical care to the various waves (yep, it's another wave based challenge) of festival-goers who are afflicted with a wide array of health issues.  The wave based maps are always kind of fun, but also a bit obnoxious due to the fact that your income can vary quite wildly due to the massive influx of patients and then the relative calm as they go through the diagnosis and treatment process.  Mudbury seems like it might be a bit different because the goals they want you to accomplish on each wave aren't necessarily built around cure rate.

If you're a Two Point Hospital fan like me, check out "Culture Shock" and enjoy some relaxing hospital management.