Going back and forth between DA:I and WoW lately. I'm impressed I'm enjoying both as much as I am right now.
Finished Shadow of Mordor tonight. I hadn't realize I was so close to the end--I kind of thought there would be a third big section, but no, it speeds along to the climax. One cool bit was gameplay-wise was
The story certainly took some interesting twists. I know Talion isn't the most fascinating of protagonists, but the plot was engaging.
I started the Lord of the Hunt DLC. It kind of just resets an area and then gives you lots of new stuff to do, which is fine. But I'll probably play it more later; I had enough tonight. Back to Dark Souls tomorrow.
Facing my nemesis. I confess, I didn't really consider him my nemesis and had sort of forgotten about him since he was from the first area, but he did kill me a number of times since he had a "no last chance" attribute. He was an asshole, so I didn't feel bad about it anyway.
The story certainly took some interesting twists. I know Talion isn't the most fascinating of protagonists, but the plot was engaging.
Seeing Celebrimbor seduced by the ring immediately was a surprise. To think this thing had that kind of dominance over people from the moment it was forged. Although that ending ... Tolken himself said the forging of a ring to counter Sauron's would be disastrous for Middle-Earth, comparing it to an arms race in the note at the beginning of my copy of Lord of the Rings, so I don't think things will go as planned for Talion in the next game.
I started the Lord of the Hunt DLC. It kind of just resets an area and then gives you lots of new stuff to do, which is fine. But I'll probably play it more later; I had enough tonight. Back to Dark Souls tomorrow.
I swear you're doing it on purpose.
No one listens to me.
I wouldn't call Jay an expert at Mario Kart 8, but let him play as Ludwig on a tricycle and he'll fuck you up.Mario Kart 8 being the other one, right?
I....I should have made the S bigger?Shadows of Mordor
Shadows of Mordor
Shadows of Mordor
Shadows of Mordor
Get it yet?
Shadow
Does that work?
ShadOW. ShadOW. There is one shadow. One shadow to rule them all.
But given the new circumstances that you've applied, I'm willing to change that in my head.
But given the new circumstances that you've applied, I'm willing to change that in my head.
"ShadowHope of Mordor"? I don't get it.Shadowof Mordor?
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Who's a bigger menace to lives and property, Superman or Sauron?
Sauron creates jobs and really boosted Mordor's economy.
For some reason, my wife likes watching me play Dark Souls. Maybe she likes sharing in those rare moments when you feel god-like after killing a boss. Last night as I growled, "He's dead! He's fucking dead!", she started cackling maniacally.
Then followed two hours of blacksmith back-and-forth bullshit that killed the momentum and the evening. Uchegatana is a good weapon, but it doesn't scale too happily. On the uniqueness side, there's the Chaos Blade and me without the Faith to cast the miracles that make it worthwhile. Then there's the Lightning Uche, which requires Titanite Chunks that cannot be purchased, so a-farming I go. I thought I didn't have to worry about grinding for materials until Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate comes out at the end of March.
I think I'm going to eat the rest of the boss souls I have. Aside from the butterfly one, they all make items I can't wield on a Dex character.
Then followed two hours of blacksmith back-and-forth bullshit that killed the momentum and the evening. Uchegatana is a good weapon, but it doesn't scale too happily. On the uniqueness side, there's the Chaos Blade and me without the Faith to cast the miracles that make it worthwhile. Then there's the Lightning Uche, which requires Titanite Chunks that cannot be purchased, so a-farming I go. I thought I didn't have to worry about grinding for materials until Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate comes out at the end of March.
I think I'm going to eat the rest of the boss souls I have. Aside from the butterfly one, they all make items I can't wield on a Dex character.
The Uche scales fine and is one of the best dex weapons... but if you want more damage, you could also try the Great Scythe (found in the Catacombs) and the Silver Knight Spear (dropped by the spear wielding knights in Anor Londo). Great Scythe has great hit zones, is easy to get early, and can be buffed/upgraded into whatever. The Silver Knight Spear is considered holy (so it kills skeletons dead without killing their necromancer) and only needs Twinks (which you can buy) but doesn't get the damage of a Lightning weapon.
Best place to farm chunks in New Londo once you've lowered the water. Just kill Dickwraiths... they can also drop slabs, which are VERY nice. Just look for these guys.
What I meant by not scaling great was the work I had to get its stuff. I tried the Chaos Blade first, but couldn't stomach the damage to myself. Right now it's at Lightning+2 and is pretty good at dishing out damage. I wish I hadn't wasted chunks earlier on the Lightning Spear--if I hadn't, I'd have Lightning Uche +5 now.
I may farm later; I did not enough tedium last night that I want to advance some stuff next.
Are you using the Gold Serpent Ring? It buffs drop rate. Having humanity in your meter also buffs it (as well as makes you a bit stronger).
I've really been itching for something new to play, but I just haven't found anything on Steam lately that strikes me. I snagged a couple different things during the sale, and put some time into random things, but nothing's really grabbed me. I don't know what exactly I'm looking for, either, which makes it all the more annoying.
Wish I could get into Crusader Kings 2.
I like to imagine you guys just leave a hollow shell floating out in space, with a few crates of useful stuff... and a hidden sensor that detonates the hundreds of warhead blocks you've built into the walls. Just to drive the point home.
Okay, so Gyromancer is 5 bucks, so was Sonic CD and the Ys games are on sale.
I just burned 90 minutes on Gyromancer. It's Bejeweled meets Pokemon.
I just burned 90 minutes on Gyromancer. It's Bejeweled meets Pokemon.
So, I finished Assassin's Creed 3. Or, at least, the main storyline.
Honest opinion? It's not bad. I don't think it's as terrible as a lot of people make it out to be. Yes, it's undeniably got problems, but I had fun playing it, and I don't regret buying it.
The rest is in spoilers just in case there's someone who hasn't played it.
Honest opinion? It's not bad. I don't think it's as terrible as a lot of people make it out to be. Yes, it's undeniably got problems, but I had fun playing it, and I don't regret buying it.
The rest is in spoilers just in case there's someone who hasn't played it.
There was a lot of stuff I liked, and a lot of stuff I didn't like because it's bullshit, and a lot of stuff I didn't like because it's simply different from the previous games.
I loved the sequences with Connor and Haytham together. Haytham alone is boring, Connor alone is boring, but somehow when you put them together, it's gold. You can feel Haytham's grudging pride towards the man his son has become, despite opposing everything he stands for. You can see how Connor still feels a bond with his father, despite claiming that he'll never forgive him for getting his mother killed. After all, I doubt Connor would consider allying the Assassins with the Templars if the Templars were led by any other man.
Going through the wilderness and hunting wildlife was also surprisingly enjoyable. You know how in Pocahontas she sings about "Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest"? Simply running through the forest in AC3 gave me such a sense of peace and wonder. I'd go sprinting through the forest trails, or clambering from branch to branch, endlessly and aimlessly, and not get tired of it. And then I'd spot an elk twenty feet below me, and air-assassinate it, because that's what I do. I'm a hunter. I hunt. By stabbing animals with a hidden blade.
The naval side game was quite enjoyable. I particularly liked how my first mate is voiced by Joshamee Gibbs, from Pirates of the Caribbean.
There were also a few small touches I liked. The wanted posters are now placed in locations that actually make sense, unlike in previous games, where posters were placed on ledges and on balconies and on rooftops, where no one could plausibly see them. The rope dart's a lot of fun to use, I quite enjoyed hanging redcoats from branches and clothing lines in the street. Building up the homestead felt more personal and enjoyable than building up Monteriggioni/Rome/Constantinople in the previous games, because I could get to know each individual settler and do quests for them.
On the other hand, there's no denying that AC3 is a glitchy game. Fortunately I didn't encounter anything game-breaking, but several quests couldn't be completed first-time because a necessary element wouldn't spawn. I'd have to go away and come back another time to try it again. Sometimes entire chunks of dialog or cutscene were noticeably skipped. Guards would attack me when there's no plausible reason for them to. Guards or collectibles wouldn't match their locations on the mini-map. I ran into quite a few sound and animation glitches, too.
Additionally, the ending felt rushed, hacked together, and altogether too contrived. Firstly, Charles Lee simply does not have the right impact as a final antagonist, especially when compared to Haytham. Oh they tried to turn Lee into a detestable villain, but really when you think about it, Connor is so bent on killing Lee because Lee picked on him when he was a kid. That's not really a compelling narrative. On the other hand, if they'd made Haytham into the final boss instead, that'd have a much greater emotional impact. That final scene, with Connor finally tracking Lee down in the inn, and both of them heavily wounded, and Lee finally having a drink with Connor in a gesture of grudging respect, before allowing Connor to kill him? Imagine how well that scene would've worked with Haytham instead. Imagine that final scene, where Connor puts his head close to Lee's, imagine that being Haytham instead. That'd make so much more sense.
Speaking of things not making sense, the final sequence is full of WTF. Why would Connor simply walk up to Lee as he's giving a speech, and get himself arrested? Did he forget how to air assassinate people? Even if you say he's wounded and cannot climb any more, did he forget how to fire a pistol? Shoot a bow? Throw rope darts? And the ending with Juno and Minerva felt like it came out of nowhere. Suddenly Juno's an evil goddess who wants to conquer the world? And why does the machine have to kill Desmond to work? Hell, why does it need Desmond to work at all?
Oh, and some of the optional synchronization requirements were bullshit. You want me to air-assassinate a grenadier and remain undetected? Did you not notice the grenadier is surrounded by a bunch of other enemies? Oh, and that minigame to break up the fight between Godfrey and Terry? That was complete bullshit.
A lot of the stuff that was changed took some getting used to. Combat became more one-dimensional. I could no longer grab people and punch them in the face. I like punching people in the face. Much like the previous games, counter-attacking is king, so apparently Ubisoft decided to embrace it, and give you full countering abilities from the beginning of the game. Eagle vision was less useful here than in the Ezio games, though I suppose that's understandable since Connor's relatively young and inexperienced, while Ezio's honed his skills over a lifetime. The addition of fast travel points was nice. Having to unlock them by navigating an underground maze was not. Climbing trees to synchronize was cool. Not being able to see where I'd be able to jump down safely, however, was not. That caused a few deaths.
On the whole, I'm happy with the game. I'm thinking of playing it through again, and doing some of the stuff I missed on my first run through, before I move on to Black Flag.
I loved the sequences with Connor and Haytham together. Haytham alone is boring, Connor alone is boring, but somehow when you put them together, it's gold. You can feel Haytham's grudging pride towards the man his son has become, despite opposing everything he stands for. You can see how Connor still feels a bond with his father, despite claiming that he'll never forgive him for getting his mother killed. After all, I doubt Connor would consider allying the Assassins with the Templars if the Templars were led by any other man.
Going through the wilderness and hunting wildlife was also surprisingly enjoyable. You know how in Pocahontas she sings about "Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest"? Simply running through the forest in AC3 gave me such a sense of peace and wonder. I'd go sprinting through the forest trails, or clambering from branch to branch, endlessly and aimlessly, and not get tired of it. And then I'd spot an elk twenty feet below me, and air-assassinate it, because that's what I do. I'm a hunter. I hunt. By stabbing animals with a hidden blade.
The naval side game was quite enjoyable. I particularly liked how my first mate is voiced by Joshamee Gibbs, from Pirates of the Caribbean.
There were also a few small touches I liked. The wanted posters are now placed in locations that actually make sense, unlike in previous games, where posters were placed on ledges and on balconies and on rooftops, where no one could plausibly see them. The rope dart's a lot of fun to use, I quite enjoyed hanging redcoats from branches and clothing lines in the street. Building up the homestead felt more personal and enjoyable than building up Monteriggioni/Rome/Constantinople in the previous games, because I could get to know each individual settler and do quests for them.
On the other hand, there's no denying that AC3 is a glitchy game. Fortunately I didn't encounter anything game-breaking, but several quests couldn't be completed first-time because a necessary element wouldn't spawn. I'd have to go away and come back another time to try it again. Sometimes entire chunks of dialog or cutscene were noticeably skipped. Guards would attack me when there's no plausible reason for them to. Guards or collectibles wouldn't match their locations on the mini-map. I ran into quite a few sound and animation glitches, too.
Additionally, the ending felt rushed, hacked together, and altogether too contrived. Firstly, Charles Lee simply does not have the right impact as a final antagonist, especially when compared to Haytham. Oh they tried to turn Lee into a detestable villain, but really when you think about it, Connor is so bent on killing Lee because Lee picked on him when he was a kid. That's not really a compelling narrative. On the other hand, if they'd made Haytham into the final boss instead, that'd have a much greater emotional impact. That final scene, with Connor finally tracking Lee down in the inn, and both of them heavily wounded, and Lee finally having a drink with Connor in a gesture of grudging respect, before allowing Connor to kill him? Imagine how well that scene would've worked with Haytham instead. Imagine that final scene, where Connor puts his head close to Lee's, imagine that being Haytham instead. That'd make so much more sense.
Speaking of things not making sense, the final sequence is full of WTF. Why would Connor simply walk up to Lee as he's giving a speech, and get himself arrested? Did he forget how to air assassinate people? Even if you say he's wounded and cannot climb any more, did he forget how to fire a pistol? Shoot a bow? Throw rope darts? And the ending with Juno and Minerva felt like it came out of nowhere. Suddenly Juno's an evil goddess who wants to conquer the world? And why does the machine have to kill Desmond to work? Hell, why does it need Desmond to work at all?
Oh, and some of the optional synchronization requirements were bullshit. You want me to air-assassinate a grenadier and remain undetected? Did you not notice the grenadier is surrounded by a bunch of other enemies? Oh, and that minigame to break up the fight between Godfrey and Terry? That was complete bullshit.
A lot of the stuff that was changed took some getting used to. Combat became more one-dimensional. I could no longer grab people and punch them in the face. I like punching people in the face. Much like the previous games, counter-attacking is king, so apparently Ubisoft decided to embrace it, and give you full countering abilities from the beginning of the game. Eagle vision was less useful here than in the Ezio games, though I suppose that's understandable since Connor's relatively young and inexperienced, while Ezio's honed his skills over a lifetime. The addition of fast travel points was nice. Having to unlock them by navigating an underground maze was not. Climbing trees to synchronize was cool. Not being able to see where I'd be able to jump down safely, however, was not. That caused a few deaths.
On the whole, I'm happy with the game. I'm thinking of playing it through again, and doing some of the stuff I missed on my first run through, before I move on to Black Flag.
GasBandit
Staff member
Playing Fallen Enchantress as the undead faction is tough. Food and its normal growth dynamic is completely ignored... You ONLY get population increases by KILLING ENEMIES. That means the cities grow extremely slowly and you get settler units equally slowly. Which means you not only have to creep map mobs for champ experience, but also because every one you kill is another undead citizen back home.
Yeah, you summon monsters and as you break gems in the puzzle board they save up energy for attacks. You can break their attack gems to cancel an ability, and chain attacks together for bonus damage. Each monster is aligned to one gem color, and some colors are weak/strong to others, giving attack/defense bonuses.
It's addicting as hell.
Never played it, but yeah this game is fun as hell.
Yeah, I've just been giving it a whirl. Though I'm not a fan of the Bejeweled Twist (or whatever the spinny version is called) it is silly addictive.
Shantae and the Pirate's Curse: I think a good platformer is apparent the moment you start moving the character around. Tight controls can make or break a game like that. With Mario slipping and sliding at every motion in the New series, I have to fight to like it.
This game rocks. Tight controls, some Metroidvania elements without actually being Metroidvania, fun music, there's a good amount of content--I'm sold already on the Kickstarter-funded sequel.
This game rocks. Tight controls, some Metroidvania elements without actually being Metroidvania, fun music, there's a good amount of content--I'm sold already on the Kickstarter-funded sequel.
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Dark Souls
A sign said "Imminent sorrow," so I expected a tough enemy or boss. Instead the fight ahead was really easy and sad
. I'm amazed he even made it to Lost Izalith with the shitty equipment I picked up from his corpse.
A sign said "Imminent sorrow," so I expected a tough enemy or boss. Instead the fight ahead was really easy and sad
. I'm amazed he even made it to Lost Izalith with the shitty equipment I picked up from his corpse.Poor Solaire. We were buddies!