Half Magic, Half Terror

One of the few magical times of year is finally here!  Not only is it summer (the most magical time for teachers!) but it's also time for the excitement and wallet-burning fervor that is the Steam Summer Sale.  I always go into Steam Sale week with the mentality that I will be a cautious buyer and not start clicking away like mad.  The sad part is that I always fail--even with the new, much less pressuring format of the modern Steam Sale (the old school countdown timers were my ultimate downfall).

I am enjoying the very cute-sy picnic theme for the sale...happy little popcorn and hot dogs enjoying a multitude of summer activities.  But who cares about stupid cartoon popcorn...we all know it's really the slashed prices on games that matter.  I've picked up a veritable menagerie of games that really don't seem to have any rhyme or reason to them.  The good news is that the most I've spent on one game is $15.  There are some AAA titles on sale, but not discounted enough for my tastes (...plus, there really aren't any triple A games that I'm interested in right now).  The bad news is that I went into this sale feeling like I needed something new to play--a feeling akin to going to the grocery store when you're hungry...everything looks delicious and you wind up buying way more than you intended to.

Here are my purchases so far...(and hopefully for the rest of the sale!  God willing...)

1.) The Banner Saga Bundle (Store Page)....I greatly enjoy turn-based RPG's and have heard that this is a fun one.  Plus, I like vikings and the art style looks awesome.  I've read that it's kind of flawed....but VIKINGS!  The bundle included both the first game and the fairly-newish second game.

2.) The Walking Dead:  Michonne (Store Page)--As a fan of TWD (who is still peeved about the ending of the TV series--but also of the comics) I felt inclined to pick this one up.  I generally try to get TellTale games during sales.  They aren't the kind of thing that you're going to replay for hundreds of hours and not really worth paying full price.  Sure, their formula is pretty tried and true (and some would argue stale) but I enjoy a good story and Michonne is one of the more interesting characters in TWD universe.

Soon to be cruising the roads o' Europe.

3.)  European Truck Simulator Bundle (Store Page)--I don't secretly yearn to drive a big-rig or anything like that, but I've read a lot of good things about the truck simulator games.  There's something peaceful in the thought of hitting the virtual open roads and cruising Europe....and creating a trucking monolith that dominates trade!  Unbeknownst to me (I didn't read the whole description for the bundle) it included the original game too...plus a bunch of other spinoffs...there's a bus game, a tractor-trailer one, and enough DLC paint job packs to keep your trucks looking spiffy.

4.) American Truck Simulator (Store Page)--So, I also couldn't pass up the opportunity to virtually drive trucks in the United States.  Really hoping that I like these games......

5.) Undertale (Store Page)--This one has sat on my wishlist for a long time.  I had heard very good things about it from students, but was hesitant to dive into something that seemed so....trendy.  I'm hoping it's as quirky and fun as I've been told.

6.) Subnautica (Store Page)--I generally give early access games a very wide berth, but I can't help but be intrigued by this game.  It looks really cool...you dive, build things, explore, and probably get eaten by a multitude of sea creatures.  I don't think I've ever played a game that has been set completely underwater.

Yeaaaah....so I've just greatly increased my backlog and have several other regretful purchases reminding me of bad choices in past sales.  As a final note...explore your discovery queue every day and cash in those 3 free trading cards.  The few cents you get for each card can add up over the course of the sale and you might save enough to buy a cheap game.  (On a side note:  My discovery queue is really weird.  There are some RPG's, but I also seem to be getting a lot of anime games--including the weird, boob punching ones.  C'mon Steam...the only anime game I played was Chronicles of Valkyria and it was totally G-rated family fun.  I think they need to adjust their algorithm).

Happy purchasing (and then later, the buyers remorse :P)!

 

Dishonored 2 Gameplay Trailer from E3

Besides the very exciting new gameplay trailer from Mass Effect:  Andromeda, we also got a brand new video for Dishonored 2.  Unlike Andromeda, Dishonored 2 is slated to come out this year...yay!  Here's the new video for your viewing pleasure:

So, it looks like Dunwall is still the same ol' politically charged murder-fest that it was in the first game.  But it looks like those murders are going to happen with some spiffy new abilities--like the foggy/shadowy go-go gadget arms that seem to allow you to grab a guard from far away or the time warping ability that lets you pause and shoot.  I had read that Emily wouldn't have exactly the same abilities as Corvo (seeing as how Corvo had that extra special relationship with the Outsider--who, surprisingly, appears in this video) but her abilities appear to be at least inspired by his.  For the most part it doesn't look like the gameplay will be changing drastically.

The people who appear in the video also leave some room for speculation.  There are some strange masked people--(maybe more creepy city guards?), a woman who looks an awful lot like one of the Brigmore witches, and several shots of those weird, robotic sentinels that we initially saw in a trailer from E3 last year.  These characters suggest an interesting stew of issues and people who could really spice up a second game.  Oh, and the Outsider!  He's apparently still poking his bizarre black eyes into the business of the denizens of Dunwall.

Now that E3 is over we can stop "oohing" and "aahing" over all the smokin' trailers for these upcoming games and put in some serious time on our backlogs.  But all that stabbing....damn.

MASS EFFECT™: ANDROMEDA Official EA Play 2016 Video--Woot!

If you're not a big follower of gaming news then you probably didn't know that E3 is currently happening.  Lots of important gaming news related to some of our favorite games from EA has been popping up.  Today this marvelous new Mass Effect: Andromeda video popped up....and wow, it's exciting!

While it's a pretty short video there's room for plenty of speculation about what appears in those two minutes.  Firstly, did you catch a glimpse of the ship?  I caught the name Tempest, which seems a little odd.  Aren't Alliance ships usually named after important military engagements?  But check out the silhouette!  There are definite shades of the Normandy, but also a much sleeker, streamlined design.  We've already seen hints of the galaxy map from other videos, but the interior of the ship looks just as impressive.

The exploration theme has already been widely bandied about, but this video re-ignited the idea of roaming across a vastly undiscovered galaxy.  It's nice to see the old familiar pre-fab space structures from the previous games mixed in with new creatures and landscapes.  While I've been a little bit skeptical about the whole "discovery" theme, this made me think that it could work and be really interesting.  Maybe a shift away from the constant "crisis" theme of the series will be a positive move.

It was also nice to see a smiling Asari face.  Sure, it's not one of the old tried and true crewmates, but someone new!  BioWare is so good at creating memorable characters and I can't wait to meet some of the new ones--especially this interesting Asari with the face paint.

There are tons of quick shots of combat--it looks like it will follow the model from Mass Effect 3.  To me, Mass Effect was never really about the combat.  It's kind of fun, but Mass Effect has always been about the story.  Maybe we'll see some new classes?

The part of the video that most intrigues me is the very end.  We see a female character (our new FemShep variation maybe?) who appears to be waking up.  There might be some hints about some major ME3 lore holes--namely the destruction of the mass relays.  To me it seemed like this character was waking up from some sort of cryo/suspended state.  Since Andromeda is taking place in a different galaxy, maybe the absence of the mass relays isn't going to matter much.

We've heard very little about Andromeda, so it's pretty exciting to have a new tidbit.  I've been concerned over the seemingly large number of BioWare people who have moved on to other projects.  It makes you wonder....  For now, I'm just going to ride the wave of happy thoughts about this latest trailer.

Sunny Toussaint

Summer is almost upon us.  For me, and the millions of teachers out there, this is a magical time.  The long awaited break from the chaos is now within reach (and possibly already here for many).  On a gaming front, this is a time where I try to figure out where I want to spend my time adventuring.  I've been restlessly hopping from one game to the next and haven't really been able to settle on one.  Fortunately the last expansion for The Witcher 3, was released this week and has sucked me right back into the world of monster slaying and Gwent playing.  Blood and Wine looks to be the solution to my gaming unease and I'm enjoying being back in the gorgeous world of The Witcher.

Toussaint is a nice visual change from the other zones.

Blood and Wine adds a brand new zone to the already massive world of The Witcher 3.  Toussaint is a region that seems to be inspired by a combination of Italy and France.  Vineyards filled with laboring peasants dot the landscape and knights errant wander the countryside searching for noble quests to undertake.  There's a hint of humor at the concept of these almost cheesy knights with their overly flowery speech and damsel saving.  Toussaint is a fairy tale kingdom nestled into the corner of a dreary, war-torn world...it's a huge change from the familiar zones.  Geralt meets two puffed up knights in Velen who are "saving" some peasants from a gang of bandits.  After fighting off the rabble and listening to an extremely drawn out formal request for help, the knights set off for Toussaint.  As the small party rides into this new zone I was immediately impressed by the blue skies and verdant, green landscape.  No depressing, creepy swamps to trek through!  Yes!

Unfortunately, I haven't really had a lot of time to dedicate to Blood and Wine.  I've barely dipped my toes into the new world but am extremely excited to be playing one of my favorite games.  Even without fully experiencing everything that Blood and Wine has to offer I can tell you that spending the cash for this expansion will be worth it.  This isn't your traditional "2 hours of extra gameplay!  Some new outfits!" DLC....  Toussaint is filled with new locations to explore and old pastimes to take up--namely lots of monster slaying and gwent playing.

Here are some of the highlights that I have experienced so far.  I will try to avoid any major spoilers!

New Monsters--Alright, some of them aren't totally new.  Players of the earlier games in the series will recognize some familiar fangs and feelers....  Remember those devilish plants, the archespores, from The Witcher?  They're back and they are some tricky little buggers.  Beside shooting projectiles at you, now they also sprout blooms that blow up if you move too close to them.  I would advise maneuvering carefully and hacking down the blooms whenever possible.  Players will also recognize the familiar demon hounds, barghests, which we gleefully slew in droves while freeing the outskirts of Vizimia from the clutches of the infamous Beast (or the evil of man).  There are also some rightly new monsters like scurvers which seem to be the new and improved version of rotfiends.

Old Friends--No expansion would be complete without the reappearance of a favorite from a previous game or, in this case, novel.  Fans of the novel will recognize one of the major characters from the books as one of the central characters of the main questline that is part of the DLC.  I won't give it away, but let's just say that this person's reappearance will come as a bit of a shock to anyone who has read all the books in the series (which, sadly, I have not.  The last book still has to be translated into English.).  Needless to say, this character is a good one regardless of your knowledge of the novels.

New Gwent!  Because you can never get enough gwent.  One of the very first quests I stumbled upon was an introduction to a brand new gwent deck--Skellige.  The Skellige deck is fun to play and depending on your draw, can be really overpowering.  One of the most powerful cards in the deck is Cerys an Craite.  Cerys is a hero card with the muster ability.  The best part is that her muster ability calls forth cards that have a cooperative bonus and their attack power is tripled (once you've won all the shield maiden cards that is).  Another unique ability of the deck is the ability to play berserkers which, on their own, are pretty weak.  However, players can play a Mardroeme card which will morph those berserkers into powerful bears which greatly increases their attack power.  The deck also adds a powerful new weather card, Skellige Storm, that combines both the ranged and siege blocking abilities of impenetrable fog and torrential rain.  While playing this deck is a joy, countering it is a pain.  I would recommend scorch and cards like Villentretenmeth to counter Cerys's OP-ness.  There's also another gwent tournament to enter and win.

Player Housing--This is a bit of a spoiler...sorry.  After completing a few early quests in the main questline you will earn the deed to Geralt's very own estate and vineyard.  It's a little ramshackle, but with lots of coin and some TLC players can re-hab this broken down house into a gorgeous villa and farm with a myriad of items to give it that special witcher-y touch.  Have you always wanted a special place to display your beautiful armors and weapons?  Well, now you have that.  There's something fun about imagining your character settling down into the home you've made for them.  I can fully imagine Geralt and Triss settling down into this happy little home.

Even if you don't invest in the Blood and Wine expansion there have been some great changes to the UI for the base game.  I immediately noticed the much more organized inventory screen that breaks items into much easier to find categories.  Attacking on horseback has also gotten much easier with the addition of slow motion attacks--no more whiffing while on horseback.

I'm going to be investing much more time into Geralt's adventures in Toussaint and fully enjoy it.  The Witcher 3 looks to be the final entry in the Witcher series and I am saddened that I won't get to have any more adventures with Geralt, Ciri, Dandelion, Zoltan, Triss, Yen, and the rest of the cast of unique characters of that world.

Now, back to slaying!

Play 'em or slay 'em?

I've been going through a bit of a weird gaming spell.  Pillars of Eternity frustrated me to the point of exasperation, then I felt like shooting things and switched gears to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel which I'm not that crazy about.  Then I felt like driving so I started up a new round of Grand Theft Auto V.  My manic bouncing from game to game isn't over but I think I've finally settled on something that I can spend some time with.  Dishonored is one of those classic games that is severely underrated.  I had played through it several years ago but hadn't touched it since finishing the main storyline and all the DLC.  There's something special about stalking through the streets of Dunwall and the upcoming sequel has been a welcome reminder of what I've been missing.

A few weeks ago one of my former students posted a funny quote on Facebook about how she always wants to help people in video games and will play the "good guy."  I, too, have this exact same mentality and find myself leading Corvo on a quest of non-lethal takedowns.  But where's the fun in that?  Assassinations feel so much more rewarding than choking out every guard you come across.  I've always wanted to play a higher chaos campaign....

One of the main reasons I've avoided the high chaos scenario is that the game (and many others) seems to reward players more for choosing the less lethal approach.  There's a special box to check off for killing no one, for not being detected or raising any alarms.  This seems to be steering players toward the more stealthy approach--which, I fully agree with, but secretly I've always wanted to opt for the less peaceful option.  I feel like I'm missing out on some of the best parts of the game when I choose to be a pacifist.  I never get to shoot anything or do any of the cool drop assassinations or set a group of ravenous rats onto a guard.  No fun, no fun!  I mean, it's still fun, but the stabby stuff is kind of awesome.

The drop assassination.  Peaceful players are missing out on this fun move.

Players are awarded special points for never being detected and for not killing anyone.  Why isn't there an award for masterful assassination?  Or for going on a vengeful killing-fest of all the guards on a level?  This sounds a little bloodthirsty, but isn't that sort of the point of the game?  You're on a mission to avenge the death of the empress whose assassination you were framed for...what's a little revenge?

I finished Dishonored for the second time on a low-chaos playthrough.  The reality is that I struggle at playing the bad guy.  Even though I find it hard to kill mercilessly in a video game I do feel that many games intentionally steer players along a specific style of play.  I'm torn about this illusion of freedom and choice.  I'm also really looking forward to the next installment of Dishonored, Dishonored 2, which is scheduled to come out later this year.

...And Then You Remember.

Last week I was thoroughly enjoying the CRPG Pillars of Eternity.  Then, after one tragic and very frustrating encounter, I decided I'd had enough.  My trend of being unable to finish CRPG's continues.  I am an utter failure.  /sadface.

My whole frustration started with a bounty.  Once you have built the warden's lodge as part of your stronghold, you can accept bounties that send you after different characters scattered all over the map.  These bounties are designed to be high paying, high experience, and high difficulty encounters.  So yeah....they should be a challenge.  The first bounty sent me to kill a large earth elemental creature called "The Dweller."  The Dweller possesses some unique abilities--he can cast druid-like spells that inflict sickness on your group AAAAND the best part....he can summon these ridiculous earth elementals which are giant, floating balls of rock.  Along with his obnoxious spells, it is also accompanied by several trolls.  The first major difficulty of the fight is to decide if it's better to just mow down the big, baddy itself or to try to take out the minions.  Despite being made of rock, The Dweller is surprisingly squishy.  My advice to anyone who wants to take on this bounty is to go straight for him.  Don't waste time on the minions because he will just keep resummoning more earth elementals.

One of my biggest frustrations with PoE has been the difficulty of keeping enemies focused on my "tank" characters.  I have found that in many instances enemies will either completely ignore my fighters or become very easily pulled off.  It's easy to deal with the aggro from a few small enemies that are killed off easily, but it's much more irritating when the big ones won't stay in one place.  I am not sure what I am doing wrong--I am focusing fire on one target so there shouldn't be a reason for them to attack anyone other than my fighter.  I do not fully understand "engagement" and how it works.  I know my fighters can only engage so many enemies at a time and that it is partially determined by the talents you take for your fighters.  I have been rolling with one tank and that might be my mistake.  I have read that it is recommended that you take two fighters and I think I'm going to have to adopt this strategy.

It took me a few or twenty attempts before I finally managed to down The Dweller.  The battle was challenging, but not so hard that I couldn't manage it.  I decided to move on to another bounty and immediately hit a wall.   Sly Cyrdel is no slouch.  He also really hates any casters in your party and will completely ignore your fighters to smack your squishies around.  Beside his un-tankability the fight is further complicated by the presence of casters who will heal Sly.  A head-on battle resulted in failure every time.  The strategy I settled on was highly unorthodox--I would send my wizard running across the map which would allow him to kite Sly away from the group.  In the time it took Sly to chase and kill my wizard, the rest of the team could take out his posse which would allow me to focus all efforts on taking out Sly.  This actually worked!

Sly Cyrdel and his band.  I hate them.

Taking out Sly on his own turned out to be just as difficult.  Sly was far enough away that my group came out of combat and could crawl away and re-group.  Re-engaging Sly was much easier, but he still felt the need to go straight for my wizard.  It's no easy matter trying to whittle him down--he has a big, two-handed weapon and hits like a Mack truck.  He also has freakishly high resistances.  It didn't matter how many spells I slung at him trying to reduce his damage or damage reduction...he continually managed to slay my group.  I spent hours trying to kill him.  Then, I threw my hands up in futility.  I give up!

I think I just need a little break from Pillars and then I will end up finishing it.  Where I initially found the complex mechanics to be refreshing, now I am finding them frustrating.  Maybe I am just not "hardcore" enough for CRPG's?  I struggled with Divinity:  Original Sin and still haven't finished it.  Ugh.

UPDATED 5/31/16:
I decided to give PoE another go.  I skipped over good ol' Sly and his bounty and returned to the main questline and side quests.  I was having a pretty good time and had almost forgotten how frustrating the complicated combat systems can be when I was reminded of something else...the game crippling reality of bugs.  The Endless Paths of Caed Nua were needing some exploring and I bravely ventured past the fifth level.  Once on the sixth floor I discovered the progress blocking door that requires you to find three seals (from the quest with the title something like "Seals of the Endless Paths").  I already had the quest for the seals since I had stumbled across one of them on the fourth floor in my previous explorations. But, lo and behold, when I went to slot them into the door I found that I only had two in my bags.  The third seal had mysteriously disappeared, which meant that my progress on the Endless Paths had come to an end.  Did I sell the seal?  Nope.  It's a quest item which means it's unsellable.  I ventured back to the fourth floor to explore the original spot of discovery only to find that the seal was not there, which I already knew.

Could I keep playing?  Yes, I could.  Not being able to explore the Endless Path's isn't really a game-killer.  Do I want to keep playing?  Nope.  I think I've had my fill and just need to give up on CRPG's.  Maybe it's just not meant to be.  /sigh.

Sometimes You Just Don't Know Why

Do you ever have those games that you barely play and then revisit later and think to yourself "why didn't I keep playing this?"  I've been having one of those moments lately with Pillars of Eternity.  I had played it for about ten hours and then it sat in my library for months.  No second thoughts...just pure neglect.  Stardew Valley has been getting a little stale so I decided to give something else in my library a whirl.  I couldn't remember exactly why I stopped playing Pillars of Eternity.  I had some vague recollections of difficult fights that I couldn't figure out but it was odd that I had played for ten whole hours before setting it aside.  Well, I've dusted off my adventurers mantle and decided to take on this modern CRPG.

CRPG Magic!

CRPG's had a big comeback in 2014/2015 with games like Divinity:  Original Sin, Wasteland 2, and Pillars of Eternity all aiming to bring back one of the staple genres from the heyday of PC gaming.  I thoroughly enjoy a good CRPG but sometimes find that their complexity, depth, and length can be slightly overwhelming.  Even though I was 80% through Divnity, I still haven't finished it.

As I plunge back into PoE, I am remembering the many enjoyable parts of this game.  The character creation process is rich and full of choices to make your character unique.  Not only do you get to select a class but you get to select a specific background and backstory.  Each choice yields up special stats that can help you craft your hero into exactly who you want them to be.  My character is a fighter who I opted to make into a tanking type.  She wields a sword and shield and has stats that support being a fully effective meatshield.  Most games today have simplified their character creation process into three or four different classes with numerous cosmetic choices.  Is it more important for your character to be unique or to look unique?

CRPG's can be more than a little daunting and I am finding the challenge of combat in PoE a nice change from the simplified formats present in many of today's games.  That doesn't mean that I have mastered it or that I actually understand much of what is actually happening.  For some reason my fighter has a very difficult time keeping enemies locked down in true "tank" form.  My priest is commonly reduced to a thin, priesty paste as the baddies make a beeline for him.  I have managed to cobble together a diverse group of characters from many different classes, but actually utilizing all their abilities is difficult.  Wizards possess many powerful AoE attacks but it is difficult to find the exact moment to use those spells.  Friendly fire is real and forces you to focus on where you're laying down a huge fireball.

I'm also finding that I'm enjoying the lore at the center of the game.  I didn't pay much attention to the story during my brief 10 hour adventure and honestly, you can't expect to briefly play a big RPG and really get a grasp on the story.  The central concept of souls being reborn and the ability to manipulate them is unique.  Your character's unique ability to "read" souls allows you to learn about random NPC's.  Every NPC with a name has a backstory that you can "view."  These brief glimpses are well-written mini-stories that can easily be skipped if you don't like to read.

Despite having neglected Pillars of Eternity, I am really enjoying it and am counting on eventually finishing the entire thing.  I am hoping that as I progress that I will become more masterful at the combat aspect of the game.  My poor casters can't keep taking the poundings that they have been.