Feeling Meh about "Fallout"

Lately it seems like ye olde streaming services have become real interested in adapting video games into streaming series.  In the last few years we've gotten several adaptations including Netflix's The Witcher and Amazon Prime's Fallout.  This trend seems like it is continuing as I've seen rumors/stories that a God of War adaptation is currently in production.  There's something kind of fun about seeing stories and characters from some of our favorite games making it into the main stream, but generally, I've found the quality a bit lacking.

Let's start with the highly controversial The Witcher adaptation on Netflix.  I watched the first couple of seasons and found it somewhat enjoyable.  Henry Cavill played a believable Geralt of Rivia and is a favorite of all nerds thanks to his own dedication to the nerdy arts (such as building PCs and painting Warhammer miniatures).  The series seemed to garner quite a bit of dislike online because many of the characters were not an exact replica of how they were depicted in the game.  I found this a bit silly since the series is based on books (that, let's be totally honest here, aren't the greatest read) and the game characters don't even totally stick to how they're described in the books!  The storylines in the show seemed to at least somewhat follow what was in the books (although there was also controversy because the director/showrunner fully admitted that she hadn't read the books) and there were some fun CGI monster fights.  For me, the show went fully off the rails when Henry Cavill decided to leave and they replaced him with an off-brand Hemsworth (Helmsworth?  I don't know and don't want to look it up).

I greatly enjoyed Amazon Prime's first season of Fallout and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't absolutely suck.  The characters were fun and the world in the show felt like an accurate depiction of what is in the games.  This second season though...woof.  I was very excited because it was going to take place in the New Vegas universe and it was kind of fun to see the landmarks from the game in the show.  With that said, I found the storyline to be very...in-between-y.  It felt like the middle book in a series (and, I kind of wonder if they're going for a 3 seasons type of schedule where we'll see all the major fireworks occurring next season) and like it was sort of leading to something but not really going anywhere.  I was definitely underwhelmed.

Should the streamers keep pumping out these video game adaptations?  I feel like they're looking for anything with a guaranteed fanbase that will tune in regardless of the quality (and, I'm guilty of that).  That's not to say that these adaptations are pure garbage--they've got some enjoyable qualities (at least for awhile).  I'm watching to see which beloved video games will be adapted next--methinks an Assassin's Creed series could be a possibility.

It's the weekend and I hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy their favorite games (or streamers!).  Happy gaming or streaming!

Newsin' It Up

I've been bouncing around between several games (and, semi-guiltily, I also felt a strong urge to re-visit The Witcher 3 for the 9,000th time) and feel like I'm having some gaming ADD.  I haven't quite finished one of them (and I'm struggling to get it done), but decided that I had played one of them enough to write up a review.  If you're feeling an urge to run a fictional 1930's style newspaper empire, you'll want to check out News Tower.

What is it?

A management/simulation game where you run an old-timey newspaper.  You hire a team of dedicated news professionals responsible for the various tasks associated with the paper (reporters, telegraphers, typesetters, and even more mundane tasks like cleaning) and are responsible for researching various stories that must be published by the end of the week.

How much gameplay can I expect?

This will depend heavily on your engagement and dedication.  If your ultimate goal is to monopolize the newspaper market (which means wiping out all competition) you're probably looking at a significant chunk of playtime (maybe 30-40 hours).  There are tons of things to unlock, but again, it is dependent on your desire to keep playing.

A shot of my medium-sized tower.

Pros:

+ It's something different and the retro focus is fun.  You start off with a very basic news operation--a reporter, a telegrapher (who receives information about potential news stories that you can send a reporter to), and a typesetter.  As you progress and make more money you build up your "tower" and can add more levels, hire more staff who can add more complex aspects to your paper (like graphics or photographs), and buy better equipment to make your newspaper bigger (so you can publish more articles).

+ Gameplay loop that is satisfactory (for awhile...).  You play through a one week timeline where you initially get to choose your goal--your #1 goal is to expand subscribers to your paper so you can target specific districts.  Each district wants to see specific types of articles published so your goal is to try to satisfy their requests (there are "tags" for each type of article that a reporter can gather information about).  Reporting on these articles takes differing amounts of time and sometimes there are risks associated with certain stories--your reporters can get injured (and have to spend time in the hospital...not reporting), they can get into legal trouble which results in potential fines/lawsuits, can have the cops fine them, or even have the mafia show up and damage your equipment.  You have to decide if it's worth the risks to report on certain items (if it's a goal for a district you pretty much have to go for it).

At the end of the week you get to choose which completed articles you place in your paper.  There are bonuses for reporting on similar tags (like sports, for example).  As you progress and unlock more features things get more complicated as you can choose articles with a certain political bent (right or left) and there are weekly bonuses for publishing toward one view or another.

+ Management that's not too onerous.  Hiring staff--especially reporters--means keeping an eye on which types of stories they can report on.  Each reporter has certain "skills" and can only report on stories that fall within those article types (for example, politics).  You want to have a balanced pool to cover many different types.  You also have to make sure that you keep your tower stocked with the various supplies that are needed to keep it running (paper, food, and fuel).  You also need staff to maintain and care for the tower--maintenance people to repair broken/damaged items and cleaning people to tidy up.  All your employees have basic needs (food and restroom) so you have to make sure they can take care of those.  As you progress you can add a variety of different staff to help you avoid negative events (like lawyers to help counter any lawsuits).  Your tower fills up pretty quickly!

+ Various factions to side with.  Each week you can choose whether you want to try to satisfy the requests from different groups around the city.  The mayor's office might want you to avoid publishing politics stories for a week to avoid potential controversies.  They'll reward you with money or a special currency that can be used to purchase new items (that can buff staff abilities or improve their mood).  The downside...siding with one faction means you'll lose approval with another--to the point of becoming "enemies" with them--meaning that they will no longer offer you jobs.

+ Fun, jazzy music that matches the time period/vibe.

+ Good tutorial that explains the gameplay basics.  It's very easy to pick up.

Cons:

- Gameplay loop is satisfactory at first, but doesn't change much as you progress.  I found myself losing interest after about 10-ish hours.  It will undoubtedly depend on your level of engagement--if you really like it, you could easily play for many, many hours.  I sort of had to walk away for while and then come back.  Don't be surprised if you find yourself taking breaks or doing the same.

Recommendation:

If you're a fan of management games and are looking for something fun and mildly challenging, look no further.  News Tower offers up some enjoyable gameplay that's going to be dependent on your level of engagement with the gameplay loop.  Some reviewers have banked 60+ hours while others (like me) have found themselves losing interest after 10-ish.  I plan on returning to News Tower and think it could be worth your time and money.

My Favorite Video Game Romances

In honor of Valentine's Day I decided to reflect on my favorite video game romances.  Having the ability to form fictional romantic attachments in video games might not be something that all gamers seek out or enjoy, but I'll fully admit that it's something I enjoy (and it seems like many people do enjoy given the number of gripes/complaints about romantic options that I see online).

#3: V and Judy Alvarez in CyberPunk 2077

There's just something about Judy...

I've always enjoyed Judy Alvarez as a character--she's a great example of CD Projekt's ability to write flawed, but still engaging characters.  Judy's idealism is her biggest flaw--she feels a fierce sense of protection for all the dolls/sex workers and winds up involving V in a crazy plot to take on a powerful gang that controls a local sex club in order to replace the leadership with Judy's very untrustworthy ex (who, of course, has her own plans).  The entire plan backfires and nothing turns out the way it was planned. For me, part of Judy's allure is her blind idealism--she's passionate about her closest friends (who happen to be mostly dolls/sex workers) and is willing to go to the mat for them...even if it means potentially catastrophic consequences.

#2: Geralt of Rivia and Triss Merigold in The Witcher series

I'm fully aware that this is a bit of a hot take and that there's plenty of good reason to shun Triss as an option (the main reason being that Triss basically takes advantage of the fact that Geralt has amnesia to pursue a relationship with him).  With that said though, I've always found Triss to be so much sweeter and more affable than the haughty, self-serving (but still smokin' hot) Yennefer of Vengerberg.  I've always highly enjoyed the masquerade quest in The Witcher 3 and the ability to opt to kiss Triss and share a highly romantic moment.  There's always that inkling of doom lurking in the background though--the Rose of Remembrance that Geralt gives to Triss is supposed to permanently bloom as long as there is love between the giver and recipient.  When Geralt finds the rose early on in TW3 it is wilted and dying, so there's that though.

#1: FemShep and Liara in Mass Effect

Liara is another character that I read many complaints about.  Many gamers feel like BioWare sort of automatically angles you toward her (although let's be real...your options in the original game are very limited to begin with).  Personally, I also feel like the Asari species was designed to be mush more appealing--who wouldn't want to romance a species of beautiful, blue alien ladies?  I still find Liara to be an enjoyable character to get to know and watch grow throughout the course of the three games.  She starts off as a very awkward academic type who has spent much of her life on digsites and is just learning to interact with other aliens.  When she finally appears in the second game, as an information broker in Ilium, she immediately demonstrates how much her confidence and skills have grown as she implores Shep & Co. to go after one of the most illusive and powerful entities in the galaxy--the Shadow Broker.  By the third game she has proven herself to be a confident and capable leader who is still vulnerable about her own family issues (a mom that betrayed the galaxy to help the Reapers--that's a real bummer) while using her influence as the new Shadow Broker to help build a super weapon that could save the galaxy.  I just find Liara to be another likable and well written character who has some of the best animated glances in video gaming.

Whether your romances happen in the digital world or real life, I hope everyone has an enjoyable Valentine's Day.  Even if it's not your favorite holiday, at least it's a good excuse to eat some heart-shaped candy.

Frosty Cult Leading in the Woolhaven DLC

I am a big fan of the oddball cult leading adventures in Cult of the Lamb so was excited when a new DLC was announced.  Just this last week I finished up the "Woolhaven" DLC, so it's time to talk about it.  Should you shell out the ol' buckaroonies for some more sheepy cult leading fun times?

What is it?

A "full-length" DLC for the base Cult of the Lamb game.  It introduces a brand new area, called Woolhaven, and sets our beloved lamb on an adventure to uncover the story of a new goddess known as Yngya.

How much playtime can I expect?

Depending on your playstyle (someone who just focuses on the main story vs. a completionist who does it all), I'd estimate that it adds somewhere around ~10-20 hours.

Pros:

+ Two new combat zones.  The main story involves completing a path (similar to the combat areas in the base game) through a zone known as the Rot or Ewefall.  Similar to the base game you navigate a series of rooms and get to choose your path through various challenges at the end of each area.  There are new mini-bosses and new weapons.  The Rot is a sort of disgusting, mutated goo-filled region that is tied to events in the main story.  Ewefall is more aligned with the winter theme of the DLC and you face off against new enemies in the form of various wolven baddies.

+ New weapons and curses.  There's a new flail but also a series of "legendary" weapons that can be unlocked as part of quests found in Woolhaven.

+ Winter is coming.  Woolhaven introduces the winter seasonal shift to the base game.  When winter arrives you need to build a special furnace that is fueled by rot (a resource you collect in the Rot) in order to keep your cultists from freezing.  If your cultists freeze, they can be unfrozen using a special new baptismal font (that requires items from the Ewefall zones).  If you don't unfreeze them, they stay frozen throughout the duration of the entire winter season (they don't do jobs or worship...they're just frozen).  Your crops freeze and farming is limited during the winter.  Basically, it throws a bit of a survival wrench into the base game.  The winter season only lasts so long though and eventually things thaw out and its back to business as usual.

As you progress through the game the winter season gets harsher and periodically blizzards roll through.  During a blizzard your cultists will stay in their shelters and do no work until it's over.  You can grow chili peppers which let you cook a hot dish that can keep your cultists from freezing.

+ Introduction of a new cult activity--ranching.  You can now build a ranch where you can raise a number of different critters that provide a new resource, wool.  Wool is used to unlock special buildings and events in Woolhaven.  It is harvest from fuzzy critters that you raise on your ranch.  You can also raise critters that provide basic resources (seeds, crystals, and spider silk).  Ranching involves keeping your animals alive by feeding them and raising their level by petting and walking them.

The New Woolhaven zone adds lots of new quests and content.

+ Tons of stuff to do in Woolhaven.  Besides the base story there are also special quest givers that have several quest chains.  One of those buildings unlocks a new silly game (similar to the dice game) where you face off against different foes to unlock special game pieces.  There are also the graves of various lamb-y heroes from the past which require different amounts of wool to unlock and reward new capes for the lamb (so far they don't have any special abilities though--they're just cosmetic).

+ New follower forms and types.  You can find "rotten" followers as you navigate the Rot.  These followers only live for a short time but they provide special rewards and resources (their poop is highly useful!)  There are also several different new animal forms such as a snow leopard.

+ New winter themed doctrines.  

+ New winter themed decorations for your home base.  This includes an icy theme for your chapel.

+ Exorcise those bad traits!  One of the new buildings you can add to your base is an exorcism platform where you can swap out follower traits.  It's totally random what they get replaced with but it's a way to get rid of the more obnoxious traits.

+ A new main story with two new big bosses to take down.

+ Base expansion is possible.  You can pay a new star-nosed mole character to add a couple of different new areas to your base if you're feeling pressed for space.

+ New photo mode that includes fun stickers.

Cons:

- Bugs are still being worked out.  I experienced a few bugs and noticed that there were almost daily hotfixes/updates.  I only had a couple of issues (and none of them were game breaking--just required a re-load) and it seems like things have improved with the numerous hotfixes.

 Recommendation:

Woolhaven adds in quite a bit of new content and I had fun with it.  The winter season can make things feel a bit more stressful because you're trying to take care of the cult and navigate the main story.  Despite the bugs (which seem to have been largely worked out), it's a new opportunity to return to the cult and make it even better.  If you enjoyed the base game, you'll definitely want to give it a go.