Stray

 

So, it's been about a week since I finished the game. It's gorgeous. And adorable! But!!! It's also a tear-jerker. And I'm not kidding about this. It will make you cry. Unless you have the emotional range of a rusty spoon or something. 

What's it about? Well, if you don't know, you play as a cat that got separated from its other cat friends and fell down into this city filled with humanoid robots and Zurks - little critters that try to eat you.

It all takes place in some kind of a dystopian future where there are no longer any humans and the robots live in this walled city they have never been out of. 

As the cat, you get to explore this city and meet a group of bots trying to get out of it and see the outside. With their help and the help of a little bot called B-12, you manage to get the city open. 

But!!! The little companion bot dies in the process! And it will make you cry. And, if you're like me, the first thing you will do after finishing the game, is go on AO3 and look up some fics where B-12 either survives or the humanoid bots the cat befriended manage to save him. 

Dungeon Siege 1

So I got me all three of them. I mean, I played the first one ages ago. Back when I was in grade school. Like 12 or younger, probably younger. Because my cousin had it and I just had to play it. Back then she had all the best video games. So yeah. I remember playing it. And I think that my father's friend might have had it as well. But I'm not entirely sure on that front. And asking my father would be pointless as he probably has no idea what Dungeon Siege is anymore. 

But yeah. I also had it some years ago but I lost that copy. But I did manage to beat it then. And even backtracked all the way to the beginning after doing so. Just killing any leftover mobs that I could find. 

The one issue I have with this game is that it's virtually impossible to max out all the main skills on a single character. You simply have to specialize. And that's something I simply don't like. Heh, whatever. Not the point. Now that I have re-acquired the game, I have one big issue with it. Saving. I tend to only save when I intend to quit for the time being. As I have said in the Gamer's diary. And well, I tend to not pay close enough attention to the health and mana bars and I forget to give the chars their potions. So they keep dying. And then I have to backtrack. Lame. But it's still a good game. Great one even considering how old it is. I like it. And despite dying, I'll keep playing it. 

Raft

Well, to put it as simply as I can, it is Minecraft on water. That is only partially bound by the grid. In Raft, you are only bound by the grid with the actual buildings/raft. Oh, and any object that needs direct access to water to work. Like anchors, paint mill and similar. Furniture, plant beds and similar objects can be placed wherever you want them as long as they have a solid foundation underneath. You obviously can't place them on water. 

I have found the game rather recently and I absolutely had to have it. So I bought it from steam and I'm loving it. Like Minecraft, it has several difficulty options. I started on easy and then found out that you can get everything even on peaceful so I created a new world on peaceful (you can't switch difficulty on an existing world) and never looked back. Peaceful is the only one where the shark (yes, there is this annoying shark) doesn't eat your raft. It will still retaliate when you attack it (as will anything else) but nothing will initiate the attack. Peaceful simply makes it so much easier to gather stuff from the sea bed around the islands you happen upon. 

A Joker turned Raphael

 

I drew this using a Joker reference on youtube. However, it somehow turned into Raphael from Soulcalibur. At least that's what it looks like to me. Still, not too bad. Done in pencil and I believe I used white posca or gel pen to add highlights.

~AnnElfwind

Resident Evil 4 HD

 I'm playing too much Resident Evil 4. I got myself the HD version from steam after finding out that my old version was not working correctly. It was a bummer, I liked that one. It had everything unlocked and all. So, bummer. And I didn't even remember how to unlock half the things. I knew how to unlock the typewriter gun and also how to unlock the plaga weapon. I'm not gonna be unlocking that one again. I only used it like once or twice. I don't like it. But I absolutely had to have the handcannon. And well… Unlocking that is quite the pain in the ass. My ass specifically. I hated having to unlock it again. Because let's face it, getting that 60k score on all characters on all of the maps in the mercenaries is pretty hard. I mean, not that hard with Wesker and Ada. And well… Hunk somehow managed too. But Leon and Krauser were a pain on the last map. Horrible! Let me tell you! At least I knew that you can only get two of the giant chainsaw men. Thank god for small miracles… 

But hey, I have it all. Well, sans the plaga weapon. I didn't bother with that. But at least I have also unlocked the special 2 costume. I need that, I need invincible Ashley. That way, I don't have to bother protecting her. She's quite safe in that armor. 

The Long Dark: Wintermute - Episode 4

 They finally released the fourth episode in The Long Dark - Wintermute. And it's pretty good. I mean, there are some puzzles that are just tedious. Like in the steam tunnels. The valves. Opening and closing them. I honestly can't say I enjoyed that. Or the parts you have to sprint through because you would suffocate otherwise. Really not a fan of those. Mostly because as you near suffocation, your vision gets blurry and you can't even see properly where you're going. Honestly. Those parts are really bad. 

Me and Videogames

 This is just a little something I would like to share with you and hear your own experiences. You see, I play video games a lot! Like, a LOT! Honestly, I may be picky with the specific games, but when I'm hooked on a game, I can play it day-in, day-out. No problem. Even better if I can mod it. 

My current obsession is Mount&Blade. The original one. No Warband in my steam library. No thanks. And you really should hear me when I'm playing. When I'm playing anything, really. I have a tendency to just talk to the game. Just now, I was playing a Ranger's apprentice map for M&B and suddenly, a bunch of farmers were walking to me. And I'm like: "What the fuck?!" And when I was talking to the lords to get some quests, they kept telling me they had nothing for me, so I kept insulting them. Honestly, it didn't help, but it made me feel better about it. 

And during battle, I kept talking to the troops, commenting on their tactics and telling them what they should do, not like it helped, they did what they wanted instead. I could have used commands, I know, but I hate using those. The only command I use, that I have hotkey-ed to G, is for them to charge. Because some of the mods make it default for them to hold their position. And I hate that. Fuck holding. They should be charging. Always!

So yeah, hard to describe, but I do have full conversations with my games when I'm in the zone. Trust me, if you heard me, you would be rolling on the floor laughing. My only saving grace is that even though my mom can hear me, she can't really understand me. Her English is not the best so for now, I'm safe. For now. She's learning it on Duolingo and well, there is progress. Even though it's slow.

Well, there you have it. A proof that I really am a complete lunatic. :D 

~AnnElfwind

Written on the 16th of August, 2021

The Long Dark

Unbelievable! I haven't written about this game yet. I simply cannot believe it. I started playing this game when it was still in its beginning stages. Back when there was no story mode. No Wintermute (Story mode name) or challenges. Back then, your only goal was to survive. And back then, there were also no cheats. So you had to do it the hard way. I used to play on the easiest mode. And while I wouldn't probably ever play on Interloper, I do enjoy the mode where wildlife can still seek you out. Voyager, I think it is what I'm playing on. 

The game is still expanding and we're expecting episode 4 of story mode this year. I can't wait for it. I mean, survival is nice, but a story is a story. 

So, how does this work. You spawn in a map of your choice or you go at random, but within the map you pick, you can spawn more or less anywhere. You have some starting gear, that can vary too. But you will definitely start with some food and some clothes as well as, I think, some fire-starting tool. 

Phasmophobia

 I'm still shaking. I just survived two back to back huntings. Today was my second time playing this game. And I have yet to play together with someone. All my ghost hunts so far were done solo. And for that reason, I keep picking the same house over and over again, because it's small. And I play on amateur. And with the five-minute window, I learned something. Easiest way is to find the room, either with EMF or a thermometer. Then place the camera. Then, in the camera's view, close enough for you to see, place the other one (EMF or thermo) and then add the spirit book, also in view. Use the remaining time before you can be hunted to try and talk to the ghost or look for fingerprints. Then, cheese it out of there and use the camera view to look for other signs. This way is the best way to see if something was written in the book. 

I did my latest hunt this way and it turned out well. Even saw a ghost orb. So yeah. Completed two out of the three daily objectives, figured out the best way to survive a hunt, and wanted to play with someone, but that didn't work out... So... I guess I'll try that out some other time. 

Still, the game is great and I do recommend it. But it is scary. I think the most important thing is to keep an eye on hiding places. Closets and similar. Though I just went to steam discussions and frankly, at this point, I'm not all that sure about hiding and what works and what doesn't. Closet worked for me so far. So, I think I'm gonna trust it. The ghost walked right past me and didn't try anything. Could be because I played on amateur, but who knows. 

I love the voice chat integration. The way you can anger the ghost. Though I haven't had a ghost talk to me yet, I had one play the piano for me after I talked to it. And I'm not even sure the house had a piano. So, ghost piano anyone? 

I've also been watching the Oxbox play the game on youtube. And even watched Eurogamer play it on their channel. And I learned some things from that. And the main thing is to get to level 3 asap. Because it unlocks the strong flashlight for you. And I have the funds for it already, but I don't have the level yet. I'm almost there though. So, hopefully, when I regain enough nerve to play again, I'll reach it and will be able to finally have more light. 

I did buy the thermometer though. It makes things somewhat easier in terms of finding the ghost room. Or basement, as was the case for my latest hunt. That was why I was placing everything in view of the camera. I didn't wanna go back. But I did, in the last minute before hunting, I tried to talk to the ghost and that was when she played me the piano. And the ghost turned out to be a banshee. And I guessed it right. So yay me. 

~AnnElfwind

Written on the 28th of November, 2020

Minecraft

 Well, like I said in the previous post, I've managed to make my Minecraft work again. And I've been playing it almost every day since. And the reason why I even made the effort to do it, was because of a video I watched on youtube. But that's not all. That video made me want to watch story mode again. Not season 2, the admin thing wasn't that great. I mean, I watched it the first time, and I might end up watching it again, but at that moment, I really wanted to watch the portal hopping part. And for that, I had to watch the Wither storm episodes just to get into the story properly. So I did. And let me tell you, there's a ton of playthroughs on youtube, but to find one where you save Gabriel instead of Petra, was the problem. But finally, I managed to find it. Yay me!

Oh, and obviously, I prefer male Jesse. So I'm watching the playthrough of the first episode and I'm like: "maybe I should give fixing my Minecraft another go..." So I did and I upgraded to 1.16.3 and got a bunch of mods. Thankfully, my favorite furniture mod as well as my favorite food mod were upgraded to this version, so great! I also added a bunch of other mods and optifine (for dynamic lighting). I'm a bit sad that twilight forest hasn't been upgraded to 1.16, but oh well, can't win them all. 

And so I played and while I did so, I listened to the story mode. And, just like the first time, my favorite character is Ivor. I dislike Petra and I was pretty mad that the person playing it was most of the time really mean to Ivor. 

Also, during the white pumpkin mansion episode, I don't know if it was intentional or if they were just really bad at it, but when it came to the big reveal, they kept picking all the wrong answers. Too bad Telltale games shut down and you can't get the game legally anymore. And just when I started considering it... *groan*

Anywho, I'm off to play some Minecraft. See ya.

~AnnElfwind

Written on the 25th of November, 2020

Dark Arisen+

 So yeah. I finished the game. And now I guess I know why I had it on my Steam wishlist... It has a NewGame+ feature. I love those. And there was a time where I would look specifically for games that have that option. One of the reasons I'm a proud owner of The Witcher 3. The second being the Netflix show. But let's ignore that one for now. 

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

 Yeah. Let's do this. Even though I haven't finished the game yet. 

I have no idea if this is just one game in a series or something, like if there's another Dragon's Dogma game aside from this one. And I don't care. I wanted this one. And it was on sale. So yeah, mine now. 

To put it simply, it's a fantasy RPG game with a shared pool of minion characters that is available to everyone if they play connected to the internet. I'm still not too sure about the main quest chain as it's not labeled as such anywhere. But well. It starts with a dragon that tears your heart out and eats it. I'm not sure if it's hilarious or weird. I'm leaning toward the former. 

And then you run around the world and complete quests. And as you level up, you ditch your minions and hire new ones. As only the one you create during the first segment of the game (after the tutorial) is leveling up with you. So don't waste your time trying to find the perfect-looking minion while you're only level 7. You'll be ditching them soon enough. Unless you somehow cheat and got your hands on a ton of the currency (in-game) needed to hire minions with level infinite. Whatever that means. 

Playing lots of Skyrim

 Lately, I've been playing a lot of Skyrim. It started with me finally deciding to tackle one of the mods I had installed. It's called Blackland. You can teleport to it from Riverwood's Inn. And only from there. Or you risk crashing your game. So I did, I teleported there. And immediately, I was surprised by something. It put me in a legitimate cutscene. I had absolutely no control over my character. And I'm not talking about having to sit through an unskippable dialogue, like with the Daedra. No, the character de-quipped her weapons and even moved and sat down. And that was definitely something new. 

Yeah, you get scenes in the vanilla Skyrim where you stand and watch something happen, but even with that, your character doesn't move on its own. Or at least not to this extent. I mean, my PC sat down, on a fucking chair. And that was just one of several instances of this throughout the mod. 

Vacationing at relatives' house

So, today I came back from vacation at my relatives' house. It was nice there. We played lots of games and played some table tennis too. I won at flags and lost when we played Qwirkle. We also visited Ikea and the adjacent shopping center in Ostrava. And my mother and I almost bought new phones - Huawei P40 Lite but backpedaled at the last moment when we learned that they don't support Google Play. And that's something we can't live without. I mean, I have a Huawei now, but it's a P20 Lite. And yes, it has that Huawei app store thingy, and I checked that out. Most of the apps (read games) I'm using are not there. Not even Pokemon Go. So I know that I don't want any more Huawei phones. Not unless they start cooperating with Google again. Guess when I do decide to upgrade my phone, I'll be turning to Samsungs or something. Definitely not something I wanted to do, but right now, it seems like the only viable option if I want something half decent. 

So, that was the visit to the shopping center. We also had some of our other relatives come to visit. And we played more games. And guess what? Do you know what the "other big ape" is? Well, it's obviously Godzilla. And it makes a little more sense in Czech. But it's something that is by now iconic prompt in one of the games we usually play. There's one more. This time related to the movie Planet of Apes (Or even the 12 Apes (or Monkeys)), but I'm not even gonna try to translate it so that it makes sense. Cause this one uses a bastardized version of a Czech word and while the word can be translated, there's no way to translate the bastardized version. So I'm not gonna attempt it. 

Oh, and I played lots of Star Stable Online. Well, lots... I did my daily routine in there and one day, I played it together with Eliška, my cousin's daughter. She has her own account (previously mine) and we play each on our own PC sitting next to each other and debating the game. It's fun. Though we don't do this nearly as much as we used to. But I enjoy it none-the-less. So if the opportunity presents itself, I'm not gonna let it slip by. 

Oh, and while playing one of the games, I don't remember which one, I and Eliška were dying of laughter. I wish I could remember what was so funny, but I don't even remember that... I wish I did, but alas, not happening. Still, we were just laughing so hard! Tears were streaming out of our eyes! I think we were playing iKnow Hit List, but I could be lying... It could have been the game with the other big ape too... 

Heh. So, a nice vacation. Was there from Tuesday till Sunday. The original plan was to travel to Great Britain, London, but fucking COVID crushed that plan... Oh well, this was nice too. So London will maybe happen next year or the year after that. Hopefully. 

~AnnElfwind

Written on the 12th of July, 2020

Must have Skyrim Mods

Or at least a list of mods that I can't live without. Well, I could probably live without them, but at this point, playing Skyrim without them would just be weird. 

Soul Gem Mining

A mod that is essential if you want to really get into enchanting. Whenever you mine ore, you also have a chance to mine soul gems. You can even mine Grand and Black soul gems. And I'm big on enchanting so I think this is a really great mod if you want to enchant your equipment. 

Soul Siphon Unbound

Another mod that goes into the enchanting category. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Basically, Soul siphon ability works with people as well as beings. So you can recharge your favorite weapon by killing the closest bandit instead of hunting animals. That is if you don't have any soul gems to recharge it the normal way.

Resident Evil 2 - Remake

I can't believe it took me this long to even think about writing about the Resident Evil 2 remake! Even though I've had it for quite a while now. First thing first though. I've never played the original RE2. Ever. And I'm not gonna. I considered watching the whole thing on youtube, just to see how the two scenarios meshed together, but I scrapped the idea pretty soon. Though this is one of the few things I don't like about the reboot.
The scenarios no longer mesh together the way they did in the original. This time around, there are things that happen in both scenarios no matter what. And that's the thing. Those of you who are new to RE2, you need to understand that there are two scenarios. Both can be played with either Leon or Claire. Those are the two protagonists. Well, technically, two out of four protagonists, but more on that later. So, two scenarios, two main heroes. However, instead of being one smooth scenario that you only see in full after playing both campaigns, you have events that take place in both scenarios no matter what. Would it have been so bad to only have one of the campaigns fight against G1? Or the medallions to open the statue... Would it have been so bad to rework that just a little, so that maybe one campaign has to find two and the other one medallion and then have them meet in front of the statue and have them face the G1 together? With maybe Clair escaping with Sherry and having Leon do the fighting? Of course, the one that has to only find one medallion would have to have it much harder, but I'm positive it would work. Then it would work fine afterwards until they get to the hive. Well, Hive actually. But who's nitpicking... Me, I guess. I'm definitely nitpicking.
Oh yeah, they first have to get through the underground area. So maybe have to areas? Back to back, meet in the middle. Where the tram is, but even that, there would have to bee two. And maybe there are. Back to back. Now, who needs to get to the Hive first? In my opinion, it's Claire. And here, my ideas get a little iffy. Because, what if Sherry has an ID band that lets her go into level 3 instead of Claire having to go and find the bands one by one? Because, and bear with me. Claire deposits Sherry into the side room. While she's in the side room, Leon arrives and moves into the kitchen area and starts looking for a level 2 band. While he's there, Claire goes directly to level 3 with Sherry's medallion and ID band. There, she unlocks the case holding the G-virus and the anti-virus for the T. She grabs the antidote and bolts back. While she's in level 3, Leon is in the level 2 Greenhouse looking for a level 3 band. While he's in the Greenhouse, Claire heads back to Sherry together with Anette. They administer the antidote and Claire and Sherry leave for the lift that takes them down. As they depart, a new lift comes from above, ready for new passengers. And Ada makes her way onto the walkway leading to level 3 area.

While Claire was administering the antidote, Leon made his way from level 2 to level 3. He reached the G-virus and took it from the now open case. As he was making his way back, he was attacked by William Birkin in his G3 form. Leon took him down and continued to the central area with the level 4 lift. As his legs are not injured he walked faster than Ada, who, while waiting, used her hacking tool to open the lift.
So now, Leon is in front of the lift, Ada is on the central platform, but close to the walkway to level 3 and Anette Birkin is making an appearance from the side room where Sherry was. She's not dead like Claire and Sherry thought. Not yet at least.
Then the confrontation happens. Ada falls down, the G-virus falls down and Anette finally succumbs to her injuries. Then, Leon makes his way down and toward the train leaving the area. On the way, he battles the final form of the Tyrant and then jumps on the train. There, depending on which scenario you're playing, he will take on the final form of William Birkin - the G5 and the game will end with the final cutscene. 

And I should have probably warned you about spoilers. But hey, this is how I think it should have meshed together. Like, consider this a draft. It needs polishing. Especially the police station and some of the dialogue would have to be reworked, but with some additional work, I think this would work just fine. Probably better than the story the remake has now. And it would appease the fans of the original that miss the intertwining the original had. Heck, it would appease me and I've never played the original game.
Still, regardless of this little cough*big*cough problem, the game is fantastic, has superb graphic and I absolutely adore Leon. He's my favorite character. My other favorite character is Ada Wong. The dress is not as good as the one from RE4, but the graphic of it is way, way better. Of course, it is, since the game is from 2019 while RE4 is from 2004 or something.
And I haven't even given a proper review, even though I've written so much already. So, game, great! Love the fact that it doesn't have a fixed angle camera like the original, because, hey, even though I haven't played the original, I know many things about it. Thank you, YouTube conspiracy theories. Okay, moving on. I don't mind fixed-angle camera in games, but considering my first foray into Resident Evil was RE4 and that has an over-the-shoulder camera, I guess it is just the preference I have. It's the same with Devil May Cry where on the other hand a fixed-angle camera is preferable for me, thanks to DMC4.
Moving on, I am also glad that they didn't re-use the first person thing from RE7. I hated that and I hated it even though I only watched the playthrough on youtube. Or, I guess, most of the playthrough. I did play a little bit. The very beginning. Before I chickened out and decided that nope, there are just too many things wrong with RE7 to do more than to watch a playthrough just to see what happens. I generally don't mind a first-person point of view, but it just doesn't fit with the RE series. I'm fine with it for Elder Scrolls, for Grimrock (not that you can choose there...), even for facing games. But RE started as a fixed camera angle game and then evolved into the over the shoulder camera which I think, at this point, most people prefer. And even though I think we would get used to it if you sprang a first-person pov on us, I still prefer if we had an option for a third person. Yes, games evolve, gaming systems evolve too, but I think that there should always be an option to switch between first and third person. Or leave it in third person. Not everybody has a VR system set up and the first person pov is mostly meant for that. 

Now, back to RE2 remake. There are also minigames. The Ghost survivors. Several could have been scenarios. Several what-if situations that, if true, could change the whole game. Imagine running into Kendo in the sewer system... Or not finding Ben in his cell because Katherine broke him out? Though maybe he left the recording behind so this instance wouldn't alter the story too much...
Or maybe the soldier. And frankly, that could have happened. The only reason it didn't is because we know that Ada survived and she was the one to retrieve the sample or something like that. Well, sample, I think it was a bit of Birkin instead of the pure version of the G-virus. So even if the soldier found the G-virus ampule, he definitely didn't make it out. Or Wesker wouldn't have been so pleased with the partial sample Ada got.

And the last scenario that makes sense. The one in the gas station. What if Leon or Claire were speed devils and got there just a bit sooner? What if the Sherrif went to town with them? Would that have changed anything? Or would he die as soon as they encountered a licker? Or maybe he would survive long enough to encounter the tyrant and die by his hand?
Well, regardless of these what-if scenarios, there is one more. With several modes to it. The Tofu survivor. And yes, that is a bit of a joke, but oh well. It's still a legit playable scenario in the ghost survivors. I didn't play this one, but I saw the settings and bits and pieces of it on youtube. So yes, it is a bit of a joke. Still, you might enjoy it. But I prefer the main game. Even if I would prefer the scenarios to mesh the way I described above. And I also apologize for not really explaining the characters or anything like that, but I think that most of you know who they are. If you don't and would like me to write a brief description for each of them, let me know, I'd be happy to do it. 

Written on 14th of April, 2020

~AnnElfwind

Resident Evil 7

Well, just recently I installed the Resident Evil 7 game and played up until the big main hall of the main house. Then, I decided to do some googling about the game itself. And I have to say that RE7's 'New Game+' sucks. You don't get to keep any of the gear and only the unlockables or something like that. So I said scratch that and uninstalled the game right after reading that. I love RE games for their New Game Plus feature. In RE4 and RE6 it was done right. Can't speak for RE1 as I didn't play that. I would have played RE2 - Leon, but the graphics are horrible, well, it's old. I'm gonna wait for the remake. I played a bit of RE3, but it has no Ada or Leon and I'm not that big fan of Jill Valentine. So I uninstalled that. The same problem was with RE5, but it at least fit into the storyline. 

As for RE7, it doesn't seem to fit anywhere, even though it could technically take place after RE6. But then there's another problem. As far as I know, Chris Redfield does not work for Umbrella Corporation. But at the end of RE 7, they are flying in an Umbrella chopper. So what gives? 

And as for the whole RE7, you could have guessed it, but I watched the whole thing on youtube as a playthrough without commentary. The person who filmed it decided to save Mia so I don't know anything about what would have happened if Ethan saved Zoey, but maybe I will go watch that ending too, not now though.

Like I said, I played the beginning of the game myself. Unlike all the previous RE games, this one is from first-person point of view. Like... I have nothing against first-person games, but it just doesn't fit with the Resident Evil theme... Also, the E-virus, aka what Eveline is, that's so far removed from all the other viruses (or plaga), that it maybe saw them out of a window of a moving train. And that's me being generous. Even the fricking RE6 styled regenerators that are named something completely different, made more sense than those black sludge creeps that Eveline made with the E-virus powers. 

And yes, I'm calling it the E-virus for simplicity's sake. I'm not even sure what it is actually called. and I'm not gonna go and find out. To me, it's E-virus and that's that. 

Now, what I wanted to really say, is that the first chapter of the game, the guest house mainly, reminded me of the Slender games. Mainly the long-ish one with the flaming forest near the end and two different endings based on what difficulty you're playing at. BTW: I didn't play it, just saw it on youtube cause I had a phase where I needed to know anything and everything Slender related.

Back to RE 7. The main reason I didn't like it, well, I'm an Ada and Leon sucker. If a Resident Evil game doesn't have at least one of them, I'm probably not gonna like it. Some people may think that these characters are overused, but I think that they are classic. And hopefully, if there shall ever be an RE8 game, they will bring them back. But for now, there's at least the RE2 remake to look forward to. I'm definitely playing that one. 

And now I'm deviating from RE7 again. Oh well, that's what you get when I decide to talk [write] about a game that I didn't like and it's part of a series that has games I adore. Though the one thing I do have to give to RE7 is that the graphics are really fantastic. Scenery, atmosphere, great, but to me, it just doesn't really fit into the RE universe. 

Hell, even the fricking live action movies fit in better than this... Their feeble attempt to tie it into the series by bringing Chris Redfield at the end of the game, well, it seemed cheap. Seemed like an afterthought. 

Sorry, but RE7 did not sit well with me. However, if you liked it, that's your choice and I'm not trying to tell you it's the wrong one. I'm just saying that I picked differently and I'm not gonna change my mind. Also, if you came here to learn more about the story itself, well, tough luck. I'm not spoiling any more than I already did. Which, I don't think I spoiled much... 

So, some conclusion... I did not like it. It has no Ada or Leon. The first person style doesn't fit with the rest of the RE series and the 'zombies' in this one were weird. Too weird. I wish they would hurry up with the RE2 remake so that I may overwrite this thing from my brain. If you have different opinion, I would love to hear it. It will probably not change my own, but hey, feel free to share.

~AnnElfwind

Skyrim

Several years ago I bought a game called Elder Scroll Series IV - Oblivion. You're probably wondering what that has to do with Skyrim. Well, everything. As it was shortly after that that I got me Skyrim. Simply because I really enjoyed Oblivion and Skyrim was a sort of sequel to it. To be honest, when I first installed Skyrim, I decided that I absolutely hate it. And so it was left in a drawer for years. Then, I gave the original copy to my cousin's son for when he got a good enough pc to play it on. But then I got into nightcore, which has, at first glance, even less to do with Skyrim than Oblivion. But, there was this nightcored song... The Dragonborn Comes. And I figured that it was from Skyrim. Which got me thinking.... That maybe it was time to give Skyrim another go. So I installed it through steam and started playing. 

At first, I got frustrated because it didn't support my gamepad. But then I decided that screw it, if I could successfully play Oblivion with mouse and keyboard as well as most of Assassin's Creed games, then I will be just fine playing Skyrim with mouse and keyboard. Though the first thing I did was to play with the keyboard mapping. Made it a bit closer to Oblivion - aka jump with E and action with spacebar. Admittedly, it is still slightly confusing, as the game shows me the original key mapping when it gives hints, but hey, I can manage! I did with Resident Evil 4 and there the key mapping is really ridiculous... 

So far, I'm not that far into the game, only just past High Hrotgar, but I'm enjoying it immensely. Though, there is one thing I really don't like! And that is that you can't equip spell alongside your bow! At least, I haven't figured that out yet! In Oblivion, you could equip whatever weapon you wanted to and still cast! That is something I miss here in Skyrim. But I guess we can't have it all...

Also, someone tell me how to disable the cinematic finishing blows in fight... Those are really annoying and interrupt the gameplay as well as disorient you as to where the next enemy is coming from... 

Oh, and the NPC names are crazy! I know it is trying to imitate the nordic tribes and so on and so forth, but come on! I've met a lot of characters a lot of times by now and the only names I remember are Ilireth (or something like that) and Alvar. At least Oblivion had normal names... Or maybe it is because I've simply been playing Oblivion longer. That's probably it. 

A question for those who also play Skyrim. Do you play with subs on? I mean, I can understand the characters just fine, but usually, I finish reading what they have to say before they finish saying it. Do any of you have the same problem? And is it even a problem? Well, it is in the situation where you can not just skip the speech. 

Anyway! I enjoy Skyrim and I hope that by the time I finish the quests I will be able to remember at least some of the names. 

And my favorite NPC's are from Oblivion. Too bad two out of three bit the dust...  

Before I finish this post, one more thing. DLC for Skyrim. Is it worth it? I would like this answered by someone who actually played the DLC. Not by someone who just read about it or something. Thanks! 

~AnnElfwind

Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil 6 is, so far, the newest Resident Evil game. A lot of charcters are back and some new ones come into play. The one main character return is Leon Kennedy who wasn't part of the fifth gmae. Only mentioned there.
The sixth game is vastly different from RE4 and the ones before that. It is a lot like RE5 from what little I've played of that. The big difference is that RE 5 and 6 are controled not only by keyboard but also by mouse. Or you can just use the controler like I'm doing. For RE4 it is not necessary as it is playable with keyboard only, but RE 6 is best played with controler. Well, apart from certain parts that take too long to react to the controler.
But enough of my comparsions.
RE6 has four campaigns and three of them can be played with one out of two characters. First is Leon and Helena, second Chris Redfield and Pires Nivans, third Jake Muller and Sherry Birkin and the last one is a solo campaign where you play as Ada. She's one of the few female characters that I actually like. All four of the campaigns take part during the same timeframe and the characters meet each other. Each of the campaigns meet at one point or another with all the others. And that is something that I really like about this game.
Of course, the fact that Ada has her own full length campaign, is a bonus, as well as Leon being back. Before fully trying RE6, I was always saying that RE4 was the best. But I take that back. RE6 is the best, so far.
Admitedly, I don't relaly like Chris's campaign, but that's because Piers dies at the end. Or, well, it sure looks that way. Though fanfic authors decided that he lives and comes back. Bless them!
So far, I'm still deciding if my favourite is Leon's or Ada's campaign.
Leon's campaign starts with the death of a president of USA and continues with a run through a city and trying to reach a chaple. There, they fight a boss with the help of some survivors that were there. Follows a trip to the underground to find Helena's sister and another boss fight, thsi time, against said sister herself.
Then fleeing the crumbling dungeon and faking their deaths and going to China or wherever it is. It sounds chinese.
There, they meet Alpha team and then Sherry and Jake.
After that, they have to fight the final boss with the help of Ada. And then, the end.
Now, for the second campaign. Chris and Piers. They start on an earlier mission in Edonia. Fight some virus infected mutated things, two gigantic things, meet Sherry and Jake, then there is a time skip and we go to China. They fight their way through the infected city chasing Ada's doppleganger and end up on a ship and then in an underground facility. But before that they meet with Leon and Helena while confronting said fake Ada.
In the underwater facility they meet Sherry and Jake and fight a gigantic thing called Haos. At the end, Piers is infected with enhanced C-virus and dies while protecting his captain. But like I said, I'm part of the group of people that believe that Piers is alive!
The third campaign starts in Edonia too. This is Jake and Sherry. Jake is immune to the C-virus and Sherry is tasked with protecting him. Well, it turns more like him protecting her, but I'll let this slide.
They meet with Chris nad Piers and fight the two gigantic mutated things, then split up with them and go in a chopper. Well, throughout the whole campaign they are chased by this 'thing'. It makes their chopper crash and they end up somwhere in a foggy place. And let's just say that that is my least favourite part of their campaign. They end up in a cave and have to sneak past the 'thing' in order to escape. It can't see them, but it has really good hearing and can her them if they mess up.
Not an easy part to play through.
After that, they are captured and have to escape an Umbrella facility in China. They meet up with Leon and Helena and have a quick go at the 'thing' before spliting up again.
They end up at the underwater facility where they meet Chris and Piers fot the second time and have to escape Haos, but at least they don't have to fight it. On the other hand, they have to fight the 'thing' in a lava cave. My suggestion is to save your magnum shots for this fight. Or it will take ages.
The last campaign is Ada. She starts on a submarine and tehre learns of the C-virus and when she escapes, she makes her way to the chapple, well, the underground part of it. There, she meets Leon and Helena and helps with the fight agains Helena's sister that mutated. Then, she goes on her own way and to China. Yes, everyone is going to China. There, she vitnesses Leon and Helena crashing a plane and has to fight a chainsaw boss. She saves Sherry from being shredded by a chopper rotor and continues on in pursuit of her own doppleganger. She end up fighting it (Carla) in it's mutated state and manages to win. After that, she goes on to help Leon and Helena with their final boss - Simons.
The last thing Ada does is to wreck Carla's lab in the Quad tower.
I think that Ada has the least of boss fights. But the encounter with Carla in her mutated form is probably the hardest. Well, hardest for Ada. Teh ahrdest alltogether is Haos! And I'm saing that mainly because Piers dies. I liked him! I didn't want him to die!
Oh well.
I managed to win all four campaigns and to be honest, I'm never playing Chris's again. I'm definitely replaying Ada and Leon. as for Jake, it is a maybe. I'll probably replay it at some point, but Ada and Leon have the best campaigns. That's for sure.
Again, there are some extras and there are a lot more things you can do with the game, but you have to have an official version, not just a download from somwhere like I do. But it's not like I'm planning to play online with someone playing the other member of the pair.
There's also something like Agent hunt, but again, requires to be able to play online, therefore official version. I'm not missing it though.
And now, that this post is completed, I'll go and play some RE6.
~AnnElfwind

Lead Ropes

So I've been playing SSO for almost a year now. And for the past two or three months I've been reading that people want lead ropes to be implemented in the game. Well, that happened this week's wednesday. And I'm one of the few who just don't see what the hype is all about. I mean, yeah, okay, looks cute when you're leading your horse, but that's about it. Because it's slow and I don't do slow. 

Why would I wanna lead my horse when I can ride it to my destination. 

And the argument of someone about loosing your horse, well, someone said it before me, but there's the pick-up option that will transport you and your horse to your home stable. 

The new lead function has, in my opinion, two major disadvantages. One, it costs a one-time payment of 135 or so star coins, which is, frankly, ridiculously insane and two, it doesn't give you anything. 

Like I said, looks cute, but that's all it is. 

So yeah, I'm part of the small group of people that will not be buyign the lead ropes and I'm happy to be part of that group. I just don't see myself using the lead ropes. 

I mean, yeah, if it was part of a quest or something, but the way it is now, not a chance in hell that I'm using it. 

Now, if any of my readers are SSO players, I would like to know what you think of the lead ropes and wether you're part of the group that's using it or part of the group that isn't. 

~AnnElfwid