Witcher 3 Review

I have been working in playing my way through my games library that thanks to Humble Bundles, Steam Sales, and GOG Sales plus free games garnered from a variety of sources lately- in fact I have put myself on a games ban where I am not allowed to purchase anymore games until I beat a specific number of them in my library. Recently I finally finished The Witcher 3.

I had not played previous Witcher games primarily because of the control schematics. They always seemed counter-intuitive to me --so surprisingly I found Witcher 3 to be an enjoyable experience.


Strengths 

1. This game has amazing narrative gameplay and storytelling. The writing is excellent and somehow you can empathize with even the most unlikable characters in the game.
2. Open world --much like other epic open world games like Skyrim or Breath of the Wild there is always something to do, something to explore or some new side quest to lead Geralt off the beaten track.
3. The romance system-- Geralt has a lot of options- ranging from local brothels to the two women he has loved a good part of his life- Triss and Yennefer.
4 .DLC. this game has awesome DLC and CD Projekt Red provided a significant amount of free DLC as well as paid content.

Weaknesses

That being said this game still has some weaknesses

1. The control schematics are still somewhat still somewhat problematic although the studio had done a great deal to address the issues since Witcher 2.
2. Battle system -- again it was counter-intuitive compared to what I am used to


Overall this game gets 4 stars from me.. CDProjektRed are an amazing studio -- can't wait to see what's offered with Cyberpunk 77

ESO Summerset

Elder Scrolls Online is a game that I have been playing since Beta. It is one of those games that has only improved over time. These images are from my character in ESO Summerset. 

PAX East 18 and Dying my Hair Purple

I keep forgetting about this thing-- at any rate welcome to my midlife crisis in which I dye my hair purple, lose weight (10 lbs in 1 month thanks psoriasis meds) join a gym (later in April after PAX) and finally have a job I like

Review: Mass Effect Andromeda

Mass Effect Andromeda

I have a lot of thoughts about this game. First, off it should be clear that the Ryders are not the Shepherds. The twins are less experienced and less well known. They aren't coming into the game already defined as a hero or a villain. As such Bioware allows you the player to define who the character is in a way we never could with Femshep or Manshep... This is not necessarily a bad thing because in many ways we came into the original Mass Effect Trilogy already knowing our Shepherds. In contrast with Andromeda, and any future games in the MEAverse Bioware is allowing us more agency in choosing who our Ryder will be.. they will grow in the series as will we. 

I think that in terms of gameplay MEA is a combination of the best of all three of the games in the first trilogy. Much as in ME2 you can choose to play the game as a straight on story based RPG, a FPS, or a combination of both. You can also play on any difficulty ranging from very easy to nightmare difficulty. The game has 55 achievements ranging from achievements for story mode to multiplayer achievmenets. 

While there were some issues and glitches with the game such as bugged tasks (Angaran Lieutenant Training Quest, Lost Scientists), and shoddy facial animations overall it was a good game. It was by no means the ME that I'm used to and it will take some time for me to get used to Ryder rather than Shepherd but, I feel that over time (granted that Bioware doesn't follow the pattern of Dragon Age II and ditch Andromeda) Ryder is a character I will grow to love.

This is like any game in a new series that is part of a larger series in that some fans will take issue with it not being "their Mass Effect" but I tend to take games at face value and accept them for what they are not what I think they should be.. I get that the games designers who sure as hell know more than me about game design have some kind of vision in mind for these characters as hinted at in the final Victory Party Scene after defeating the main villain in the game... I am going to wait to judge this new ME series until I see where they are taking it in games 2+++  but overall the experience left me satisfied in a way only a Bioware game can.

Fallout Shelter Diary #1

Vault 64 News : June 26, 2097

In today's news we've had 17 days straight of feral ghoul attacks. As Overseer I've asked our scouts currently out in the Wasteland to seek out whatever nest these ferals are coming from and then destroy it since these attacks are putting a strain on supplies. 

In other news we would like to welcome Stephanie Wood, Stephen Foster, and Susan Scott. The newest babies to be born in our vault bringing our resident count up to 58. 

On Tuesday we will be holding a vote on whether to build a Theme Workshop. This will allow Residents interested in interior design to develop their talents in the areas of carpentry, plumbing, electrical work and of course it will allow us to brighten up the vault since we have currently been in operation since October 23, 2077 and have yet to undergo any renovations.

We are also asking for opinions on the possibility of adding a hydroponic garden and a hair salon. These will be costly efforts and will require large crews of Residents to go out scavenging for materials in the Wasteland for salvage and caps.

An intramural baseball game will be held in the field outside the Vault between the Vault 64 Gamer Guards and Vault 333 Perilous Plotters on Tuesday night. The winners will receive a Nuka and Radroach Pizza Party for the entire team. 

There will be a ballet recital from Miss Asheley's School of Song and Dance on Wednesday.

Finally, congratulations to the latest batch of Vault Tec youth to pass their GOAT Exams. We are currently looking for new employees in all areas of the vault including Facilities, the Dining Commons, The Quartermasters Division, and WVTC Radio Station.

Among the Sleep: Leaving me Sleepless

It's a little odd to write about a game I'm not finished with yet but I am about 3/4 of the way through this game and I have some thoughts. First, thanks Krillbite  Studio for reminding all of why bieing a little kid was so completely terrifying. The monsters under the bed are real and they can even scare adults.

The immersion in this game is amazing. You actually see the world from the perspective of a terrified toddler. This in and of itself is terrifying enough when you are an adult but realizing how even the most mundane fears are terrifying when you are little is even worse. Especially as you go through the game and discover the secrets hidden in the game about who/what the Banshee/Monster under the bed really is.


While it is a wonderful game I have learned several things about me and survival horror games. 1. I need to not play them in the middle of the night. This game is good at giving you jump scares especially as you get towards the end of the game and the Banshee becomes an actual physical threat to the toddler. 2. I need to not play survival horror games alone-- it's bad not good.

Overall this game gets a 5 out of 5 from me. It is long enough to become immersed in the story without multiple side paths into sidequesting which is a real problem for me in other games like Elder Scrolls, Fallout, the Witcher, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age where there are multiple paths and multiple sidequests leading to hundreds of hours of play.  The story is intriguing and without spoilers the game follows a very different path from the typical zombies/missing wife/dystopia common to AAA survival horror games. I'd say it was an enjoyable experience but it scared the heck out of me.

PAX East 2017

As some of you who know me are aware I have been attending PAX East since I began this blog first as an attendee and beginning in 2014 as an Enforcer. I started off as in Enforcer Care tending the Enforcer break room and then moved out onto the Expo floor as an assigned Exhibitors Assistant. This is an amazing experience. It has helped me to connect with other nerds, geeks, video game and tabletop nerds and I have made a lot of friends. If you get a chance to go either as an Enforcer or an attendee than go. It is amazing when you see how may people there are like you in the world.

So at any rate here are some pics from this years PAXEAST sorry for the crap camera quality.