MGSV: A Real Snake

[Part of the MGS Diary]

I awaken to a squad of Diamond Dogs administering the snake anti-venom to save my life. Quiet is nowhere to be found. According to the crew, she broke her silence on the radio to direct the rescue chopper through the storm - activating the English strain of the virus. A tape recorded message she left behind indicates her plan to eliminate the threat she now carries, and she is never seen again.

The snake anti-venom has another side effect though - one that restores my memories. I am not the original Big Boss... that was Jack Bauer back at the hospital! Ocelot, who knew this whole time, explains that I am his secret "phantom" whom the world knows about while he works from the shadows.

Was I just a doppelganger?

Shaken by this, I decide to challenge myself on a few more missions to prove to myself that I am Big Boss - sometimes deploying with just my knife and fultons, and other times requiring total stealth to complete a task. In one of these sorties D-Dog is killed by an enemy gunship, and with Quiet gone I am forced to use D-Walker in a battle against a left over Skulls unit.

Turns out its speed and mounted gatling gun make for the perfect weapon against those freaks. It is only when I standing over their corpses than I confirm to myself that I am no phantom. I am... Big Boss!

Insight: In the subsistence mission where you need to take out a tank convoy, you can fulton them out. In "total stealth" ops, you only fail if the enemy sees -you-. Feel free to nuke everything from orbit and call for air support from a far.

MGSV: A Quiet Devil

[Part of the MGS Diary]

While developing D-Walkers, Dr. Emmerich gives us a lead that Skull Face is up to something in the wide open plains of Africa (as he was shipping walker gears there) so we naturally start accepting missions from there too. While the good doctor is quite the blabber mouth, Quiet doesn't break her silence and soon freaks out the men so much that they want her off base.

I take Ocelot's suggestion to take her on missions with me and she quickly proves to be a valuable asset, easily taking down heavy Skulls infantry and capturing guard posts single handedly making her my favorite companion.

We soon find a lead to Skull Face's operation at "the devil's house", a remote facility filled with people dying from an unknown disease. Skull Face himself makes an appearance here, but once again retreats upon spotting me - instructing his pet fire monster to deal with me instead.

Hello again you flaming bastard.

His fire balls easily destroy my first extraction chopper so I follow Jack Bauer's example from the hospital and stun the enemy by exploding the nearby water towers. I also put him on a fulton balloon just to further delay his recovery while Quiet and I escape on chopper number two.

Insight: If you aren't bringing D-Horse, bring a jeep to cut down travel time.

MGSV: Self-Discharge

[Part of the MGS Diary]

I am saved from the assassin by a heavily bandaged man who I believe is Jack Bauer. He helps in sneaking me past the murderous soldiers and a supernatural flaming monster to exit the hospital until we are separated by enemy gunship fire.

A boss fight already? Sure!

It is then that Ocelot arrives on horse back to assist with the rest of my exfiltration, especially as the flaming thing pursues us on a flaming horse! Good thing he didn't pick a flaming motorbike, flaming all-wheel drive, or flaming plane. We manage to escape by crossing a river.

Ocelot then gives me a robotic arm, which is better than my old one, and the task of rebuilding my mercenary crew and getting vengeance on those who did this to me. Sounds like a plan!

Insight: Do what Jack Bauer says/does if you want to live.

Designated Survivor

Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland), a low ranking member of cabinet, is suddenly promoted to be the President of the United States when everyone else is killed during a State of the Union address. The first season is great, where the people have little faith in this untested President who is simultaneously trying to restaff the White House, run a country and find the bad guys. The action plot usually headed up by agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q), who is surprisingly bad at driving and at following protocols.

You can taste the patriotism!

Still, the early success in the "action plot" is what generally cools this show down through the second and third season, turning more into a standard White House drama and while it was still good to watch Kiefer have some Jack Bauer moments, I feel it did ultimately lead to its cancellation.

The first season at least is definitely worth a watch, especially if you are a Kiefer Sutherland fan. After that your mileage may vary.

Riva: Law & Order SVU

[Part of the Darklands of Arkania Story.]

During the celebration the Holberkians present the party with yet another quest hook: a young Holberkian girl who claims she was "gifted" to the orcs a few weeks ago by a local grocer named Gorm. Thanks to the recently bought town map in their possession it doesn't take long at all to find his shop at which point Wolfy Eyes goes all Jack Bauer on the Elf Grocer.

Violence is always the solution!

Gorm reveals he was just the delivery method and that the actual "deal maker" was local judge Bosper Jarnug. While the judge outright denies this, the team does find out some dirt on the guy from local go-to info guy Tarik.

Apparently Bosper likes convicting innocent people (regardless of gender) who he fancies so that he can sleep with them. More interestingly is that he was very sick a while back to the point of being near death but somehow recovered despite all the healers claiming he was a goner.

Tarik says he will help the team by scheduling a meeting with Malnodir Elin, Bosper's ex who might have useful info against him. As an aside, Tarik also mentions that the "ghost" of the local watch tower is just a prank by "the guild" to keep people away from their headquarters. The party checks it out regardless and finds it to be pretty convincing!

At least she didn't mess her pants...

Sacred: Bad Odds

[Part of the Sacred Journey.]

After arming Wilbur the two of us travelled on through the orc desert to a small stone fort which was where Prince Valor and his men were holed up. Wilbur told the Prince where the orcs were coming from, a place called Wyvern's Pass in the deep sands and the Prince immediately decided that he will go march there with his troops, because he's had enough of these damned orcs. Can't blame him. Valor requested we (Wilbur still tagging along) go ask someone named Count DeMordrey for reinforcements though, as he knows his current force will be outnumbered.

Sounds like an important job, but since it looked like none of the soldiers there were in a hurry to go anywhere I decided to first deliver another letter - this time for a merchant, deeper in the desert at an oasis outpost. The orc patrols were getting scarier and scarier the further we went until my character herself had a voice over line indicating the sheer terror she felt in that region because the MOBs so badly out levelled us.

The same feeling terrorists get when Jack Bauer is in the area.

Still, I made the delivery and did pick up all the quests in that oasis camp. Bad luck if they wanted them done anytime soon though because after a cursory look around, Wilbur and I were high tailing it right back past Valor's fort and Porto Vallum. I noted that the orcs are bad shots with their bows, but they still managed to kill my horse (I failed to evade that volley), a farmer girl NPC I was trying to take back to town, and a herd of stolen cattle. In hindsight it was fortuitous to have so many meat shields with me. Hey, Wilbur survived!