March 2021 Review: Goodbye Muffin

Just a short one this time as I'm a bit down. Muffin, Jim's pet malamute, passed away yesterday. She was a good dog. :(

Gaming wise, I know I told myself I'd be doing less story posts but I simply can't help it when I play a game like Pillars of Eternity which is what's kept me busy for most of this month almost to the exclusion of everything else! The same goes for the crazy board game known as Cthulhu: Death May Die so expect to see some of that coming up soon.

BLOG STATS

One Year Ago

Like many others I got locked down by COVID. I also started posting about my adventures in Enderal.

Five Years Ago

I started playing Thea and was enjoying foundry quests in Neverwinter Online, most by content creator master Eldarth. Needless to say he long gone since the foundry got shut down, as are his epic creations - much to Neverwinter's detriment.

Most Viewed Posts in the last 30 days

February 2021 Review: Hello and Goodbye Sharandar
Longmire
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion

That's a first, having a blog status post take the top spot. I guess the mix of Sharandar news and a Wordsworth poem is a winner! The other two are understandable as both Longmire and Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion are quite popular pieces of media.

Hades

Dying moves the game forward.

In this action roguelike, Zagreus, eager to run away from his hellish home will let nothing get in his way, not even death! Unlike most games death isn't a game over though - instead it is a set back which puts you right back at the start... however, thanks to a magic mirror you can actually make Zagreus stronger per attempt and then there's the absolute brilliant part... death actually advances the story. 

You've got a long climb ahead...

Being the son of Hades, being sent back to the start lets you meet more people / possibly even adversaries who you've fought/yet to fight, have more fantastic dialogue with everyone and generally get to know what is actually going on.

It's also clever in the way it works the randomness in like just as you get used to a boss it's suddenly switched out to a new person to throw you off, and the way the rooms are generated on your escape route. You can always pick what reward you are after when you choose the path, but if you've been dutifully doing your father's tasks you might have actually created rest chambers and the like to aid your escape.

While the game play does get repetitive in that you need to go through a to b to c, the genius design alleviates it to some degree making it a pretty enjoyable experience. I give it three Obols out of five.

Insight: It's worth working on the Minor Prophecies to boost your currency.

The Alienist

Aka psychiatrist.

It's 1986 and to help solve a series of gruesome murders, titular alienist Lazlo Kreizler (Daniel Bruhl) is called to help the police to solve the crime and catch the killer. There's quite a bit of production value behind this one with good set pieces and costumes to back up the decent acting though there are bridges in the plot you'll need to ignore. Large rickety bridges.

The intrepid and always well dressed heroes.

Season two sees Dakota Fanning's character take more of a lead role in the series since Lazlo is somewhat unlikable at times, though this does make it sway a bit too much into the "girl power" spectrum. Regardless, both seasons make for interesting TV especially if you are into period murder mysteries. I give it three climbing hooks out of five and would watch season 3 if one is ever produced.

Sunless Sea

Likes the letter Z.

This roguelike game has you captaining a ship in top down fashion to explore the terrifying pitch black waters of the Unterzee and collect various currencies while evading or fighting the pirates and giant monsters that lurk those waters.  

Takes a bit of getting used to.

They do warn you that your first few captains may perish, but they can always pass something down to their successor to make future runs slightly easier but really death wasn't the problem for me: it was the slow movement.

Yes, the ocean is scary when there's something around. The other 70% of the time is just traversal and with such a slow pace this game commits the sin of having too much empty space without anything to do. The journal interface also took a bit to get used to but while clunky, its fine compared to the other problem. As such I can't recommend this and give it one and a half zeebats out of five.

Insight: In combat, try stay behind enemies so they can't shoot you.

Wandavision

There's nothing wrong with your TV...

This time amalgamating sitcom featuring Avengers members Wanda Maximoff (Elisabeth Olsen) and the Vision (Paul Bettany) is fantastic and mind trippy but definitely something to hold off on watching it until you've seen at least Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame as this takes place after those.

Thumbs up for these two!

The oddity of the episode changing format (not to mention the cool music) is what really makes this stand out among other superhero series. It is also the reason I don't think they can do a season two of the same format That doesn't matter though, as this makes for excellent viewing - doubly so for people who enjoy the superhero genre! I give it three Fietros out of five and would probably watch all nine episodes again!

Hitman (2016)

Let's try this again. And again. And again!

This reboot (after Absolution) sees Agent 47 tackle eight new missions in spectacular settings all over the world. While the story takes a bit of a back seat, the actual stealth game play in each of those maps is superb and clearly designed for multiple playthroughs, given the number of unique methods to kill each target.

My favorite way of killing people.

The interface and controls are nice and clean, and 47's super senses really help in finding everyone's patterns. But hey, if you lack the patience, you can always just draw your weapon and start shooting. Loads of fun and lots of funny stuff to boot, I only have two complaints: the first being the length. As it is focused on replayability, there is less actual length to the game which can be finished in a weekend.

Secondly, the online "elusive targets" mode sounds great - until you realize the time has expired on all of them and this game is no longer supports those. Leaving the menu in to see everything you "missed" and can't ever play again leaves me less convinced to pay for the current Hitman game rather than more. I mean, they could have easily just removed that menu item, but there it is. Still recommended for stealth or Hitman fans, I give this three and a half Helmut Krugers out of five.

Insight: Coins are OP. If you run out of coins, throwing anything else with weight (like scissors) can have the same effect of luring someone to the sound.

Shooter (TV Series)

He doesn't miss... often.

Bob Lee Swagger (Ryan Phillippe) is one of the best retired snipers in the world. It is amazing that bad guys keep trying to mess with him throughout this three season series produced by Mark Wahlberg (who originally played Swagger in a movie of the same name). There are decent action scenes and obviously a bit of gun play, but there are parts in the story which will make you go "Huh?"

The plot unravels a bit later in the series.

It is still entertaining though, and an easy recommendation for action fans, especially action fans that like guns. I give it three Black King's out of five and would actually watch the whole thing again.