Nameless: The Magic Number

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

The sewers were much bigger than Ash thought they would be, so tall in fact that Indas could actually stand upright in most places. She was just glad that the huge, muscular woman could actually fit through the garbage pit near the arena's kitchens. It had been a few hours of walking blindly through the smelly, maze like tunnels since then but what was around the next turn would make all of them stop in their tracks.

Small campfires, makeshift tents from refuse and filthy, disheveled people going about their business - until one by one, they too suddenly saw their new visitors and stopped to stare. It occurred to Ash that having four women wearing close to nothing might cause some problems so she instinctively readied for combat with her companions following suit. It never came though as all the strangers just continued to stare silently with more than one leering pair of eyes scrutinizing every inch of their flesh. After a long, awkward silence an old man with a long bushy beard and plagued skin hobbled forward on his table-leg cane.

"Hello, fine ladies!" he coughed out with spittle spraying out of his mouth. It was hard to imagine how he managed to smell worse than the sewers they had already been traveling through. "It is rare that we get any visitors to our little community down here. I assume you are ... or were gladiators of the arena, yes?"

"We're just... passing through," answered Nerith from somewhere behind Ash. "Do you mind pointing us to the way out?"

"I'm sorry my dear," shrugged the old man. "You have just traded one prison for another. You see, there are only three ways out of here and all of them are heavily guarded, the first of which being where you came from."

"That doesn't make sense," interjected Nessa. "I thought the sewers ran through the entire city?"

"Not these ones," grinned the old man as he leant heavily on his cane. "These were special built. Weren't you curious as to why the guards didn't pursue you down here? It's because there is no need. They simply keep us in here for Dagolar."

"Dagolar?" asked Ash.

"He is a sorcerer working for King Tectuk, as you might expect since the Wizard King made it a point to execute all the sorcerers that refused to work for him. Dagolar is also our host, if you can call him that. He ensures we get food down here. Scraps really, but there's only so much one can forage here. In exchange a few of his guards take some of us every so often. Those that are taken are never seen or heard from again. That also happens to be the second way out."

"What's the last way out?" asked Nessa quickly. It was clear she didn't like the old man's odor.

"The tunnel to your left eventually leads to the farm land just outside the city, but as I said that too has no shortage of soldiers guarding it. Too many even for us," the old man gestured to the camp behind him.

"We still have to try," muttered Nessa as she began heading for the left tunnel.

"Ness wait," ordered Ash. "We can't just leave these people here!"

"Why not?" Nessa hissed back. "They've clearly already given up."

"Would you want to be stuck here forever?" countered Ash. Nessa let out a sigh of defeat.

"So tell me old man, how many guards does Dagolar send here at a time?"

The old man feebly raised four fingers and grinned.

Today I Smiled: Video Update Temple

A video-link heavy post today, mostly thanks to my late viewing of the Superbowl related stuff! Apart from Katy Perry's halftime show (yeah, I'm a fan), my favorite ads were the ones for Clash of Clans, Snickers, and Esurance's Say my Name. I quite liked the Toyota Camry one too but for different reasons. Guess I'm a sucker for "dad" ads now.

Seen all of that? Maybe you'll enjoy Penn and Teller's anti-anti vaccination vid, or these Japanese commercial featuring sizzling maids or this ... other weird one. Tired of vids? Maybe this article on Iceland building a new temple to the Norse gods is what you need.

I've also revisited Forced recently and found that in now has coop save points, making it much more playable than it was before. Also updated is the link to the Neverwinter Nights module by my brother, Dragonlord, which had moved to the NWNVaults awhile back. In bigger update news Feng Lee's Attack on Titan game has gotten some awesome upgrades. If you are a fan of Shingeki no Kyojin I suggest you give it a try, though be warned - the steep learning curve hasn't changed one bit!

The graphics got better, but not quite as good as Tybee Diskin sitting in a tree. :P

Lastly I've added 12 new blogs on the Paths I Travel link to the right, mostly taken from Massively's farewell page. Always good to have more things to read. I'm also interested to see if  they can withstand my simple "rule".

Hope you all have a lovely day!

The End-Times: Suddenly, Zombies

[This is part of The End-Times (Project Zomboid) story.]

Jennifer Reed, Police Officer (intro only)
No one knows where they came from. They suddenly appeared everywhere. There's no choice now. For any others still alive I have to lure away as many of these ... things ... as possible! They seem to be attracted by sound so I'll use that. Hopefully I can take them away from the city and lose them in the forest.

Shaun Jones, Security Guard (beginner)
I knew moving to Kentucky was a bad idea. I haven't been here a week and already there's some zombie apocalyse going on. Good thing I didn't really unpack yet. Seems to me the dead heads are attracted by noise so it's better to leave quiet like with my pre-prepared pack of supplies and water. I saw some train tracks on the way in. The plan is to follow those and get the hell out of here.

Nick Hernandez, Construction Worker
JESU-CRISTO! Is this how the world ends!? I might only live in a trailer and my whole life spent only in building things, but by the grace of God, the almighty Father, and this handy two by four I am going to smite all these ugly cabrones that threaten my home! Bring it on, pendejos!

Kimberly Ward, Park Ranger
Woke up to some loud sirens racing past the house, so I look out the window and what do I see? OMG - Zombies!?! I don't know what's going on! The TV doesn't work, and I picked a really bad time to start that diet! There's literally no food in the house, just designer handbags and fashion magazines. Think brain, think!

I know! I'll just raid the creepy fat dude's house. He's fat, so he should have lots of food. Right? This can be payback for all the times I've caught him perving at my bed room window...

What luck - he's not home to get mad at me for breaking his window. Or taking some of his food! I'm sure he wouldn't care about me burning some bacon in his microwave either. I was distracted by this shiny pistol I found in one of his drawers. NICE. Oh look, the fat bastard is out on the street... he's one of them? Hah! Serves him right!

Wait, no I got a better idea. Let me get this door open... "HEY YOU, FAT ASS!"

Haha, he's even uglier now as a zombie. He so has this coming as I point his own gun at him and pull the trigger with a satisfied grin on my face.

*click*

Eh?

[Dead: 1 Day 6 Hrs]

Chuck Gray, Angry Fireman
When will that stupid bitch stop screaming? Ah there we go. Serves her right for confronting one of those with an empty gun. There are zombies. So what? Not my problem. I'm just going to shut all my curtains, read my books and cook some food from my well stocked fridge.

Earl Parker, Unemployed
Wow, everything's going to hell eh? Well unlike that Mexican motherfucker with the two by four defending his "home" I'm not really attached to this caravan. It's my third ex-wifes really. I only inherited it when she accidentally fell onto some bullets and rolled into the lake tied to a concrete block. Sure looks like it's everyone for themselves now, and if I can choose which house I want to be mine next... it would be that one. The pink, two story one. Aheheheh!

With a bag full of booze and a golf club I once found on some rich, fool who was killed in a hit and run by a car I happened to be driving at the time, I'm headed over to claim my prize.

Turns out it was well guarded, but not well guarded enough. The window was easy to open, and killing the five cute, zombified dorm girls inside was actually kindof... arousing. Aheheheheh.

The End-Times

For those who have been following since last week, you've probably read that I got a free copy of Project Zomboid (Beta) from Isey. I've since played it and thought that it would be a pretty good game to make a short adventure journal of, so here it is! If you like reading about zombie related stuff I also encourage you to take a quick look at my old Dead Island diary too. :)

Note: All characters are on Survival mode, unless otherwise stated.

Chapters:
Suddenly, Zombies
Surrounded by the Dead
The Good News
The Bad News
Cold and Dark
My name is Earl
Peace and Quiet

The End-Times tale has ended for now! Thank you for reading! :) 

Payday: The Heist

I once said I'd never play this, then I got it as a gift and guess what? I like being the bad guy. :P

I had a quick look at my review list to see any non-MMO titles where you actively played as a villain, at least in part of the game. As of this post, I found four: Black Flag (Kenway's a Pirate), Thief (Garret steals stuff), Shadow Warrior (Lo Wang is a bad dude and works for a bad dude), Necrovision: Lost Company (Nazi Zimmerman unleashed a zombie plague). This is the first coop shooter I've played where you are the bad dudes. Four misfits trying to get rich quick.

AKA - Four stupid clowns.

While there are Heists which let you walk around and case the places first before going into the "action" segment, most missions actually just drop you right into the action where something just went wrong. By rule of thumb something ALWAYS goes wrong, mainly because the "fifth" member, an NPC strategy guy comes up with the most ludicrously hilarious plans to get your objective and get your team out. It also helps that you are penalized for shooting civilians and are actually encouraged to take hostages from both them and the police force.

Hostages can be traded later to get downed allies to respawn quicker which is a pretty clever idea. Also clever is the "fairness" of the police AI. They don't swarm you like hornets unless you are standing near a camera or making a lot of noise. They actually go hunt you down slowly, albeit in ridiculous numbers. Their special forces are also cool, from the tanky shields and bulldozers to the agile tazer dudes and wall running spec ops guys that down you instantly if they reach you. It is to the point of being comical which is what gives this title a free pass into the bad guy zone.

Also impressive is the "drop in" capability of letting friends just join a game in progress, and while lag is slightly present when I host it is still very playable and enjoyable. I also very much like that the worldwide success rate for each map is shown during mission selection, and that no rating is currently higher than 30%. So far my brothers and I have won 2 maps but there are plenty to go. There is a slight lack of customization I've found, but that might be remedied by gaining more experience/reputation.

All up, I'm glad to say I shouldn't have judged this book by its cover and give it three and a half bullets out of five. I recommend it especially to those who already have cooperative game teams.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends

The direct continuation from Kyoto Inferno, this film wraps up the "Shishio arc" in the anime quite well, but obviously with big differences in locations and plot due to the time constraints of a two hour movie. This means you don't get to see all of the ten swords fight, which might be a good thing. The few you do see who haven't been introduced with a speaking line in the previous movie are understandably very pale comparisons from their anime counterparts that had episode upon episode of character building. Instead they just become oddly dressed fodder. In exchange they creators just made Shishio a hell of a lot stronger.

Bandages are armor?

As usual, there are some questionable plot points especially when it comes to the government people but these are easily overlooked while you get amazed again by the fast paced, beautiful and brutal fight scenes. I also really like whoever they got as Kenshin's master, he fits the role perfectly. Better than the last movie? Hmm, I think it is about the same - or maybe better by just a little. The very first movie is still the tightest plot wise since they didn't deviate around too much. Not that it matters because you are going to watch all of them in order right? ;)

Highly recommended for Kenshin fans regardless, or fans of Eastern action movies.

Nameless: No Freedom from Fate

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

With one final push, the large metal gate finally broke from its hinges, collapsing with a deafening crash inwards into the torch lit hallway behind it. The gladiators were now in uncharted territory but there was no time to be cautious as the heavy foot falls of the armored guards drew closer from all directions. Gigal, bow in hand, quickly leaped ahead of everyone, her slender long legs letting her reach the upcoming intersection first and following her nose, turned right. The kitchen contained the means to their escape.

For all her speed she lacked the reflexes to evade as a door on her right suddenly opened with shield-bearing guardsmen charging through and knocking her off her feet. She screamed in agony as one of them then stabbed her in the thigh with a stone sword while the rest of his companions rushed down the hallway to combat the other escapees. In desperation Gigal flailed wildly against her bearded attacker but the man simply caught her hand and after staring down at his beautiful, scantily clad prize for a moment, dragged her helplessly back into the room he had come from and locked the door.

The rest of the Sisters of the Sand along with the slowly dwindling numbers of Scar's group were being pushed back by the sudden appearance of the guardsmen - their numbers compensating for the lack of skill. Seeing that it was a losing battle, Scar suddenly whistled and he and his two remaining men broke from combat and ran in the opposite direction leaving Ash and her girls to handle the ever growing number of enemies.

"We have to fall back," muttered Nessa with gritted teeth, just as she parried away an enemy blade. Ash knew that but without a clear opening not all of them would make it. It was then she saw the dilapidated, secondary support beam above them.

"Indas! The beam!"

The towering woman knew what Ash wanted and right after pushing back a pair of guards, jumped up and slammed on the aged timber with all her might, sending it loose from its bearing and right into the line of guardsmen, knocking them all to the ground. Before Ash could give another order, Nessa and Nerith tumbled over the downed enemy line and quickly slit as many throats as they could. Only three of the guardsmen made it back to their feet with Ash spearing one through the face and the other two having their skulls crushed together by Indas' huge hands.

The sounds of battle ringing down the hall signaled that Scar's escape hadn't gone so smoothly either. While the brunette sisters looted what gear they could, Ash and Indas reached the door the guards had come from and, seeing Gigal's bow lying on the floor as well as hearing her cries and whimpers from the other side, they tried desperately to break it down.

It did not budge.

Screams of death followed by marching feet indicated that they were out of time. With tears of frustration on her face, Ash signaled the rest of her team to keep moving; towards the smell of roasting meat, towards the kitchen, towards freedom and leaving Gigal to her fate.