Twice

Two more freezes. Dang.

Do I wait-out 1709, hope it stabilises like 1703 did, and cross my fingers this doesn't happen with every new version? Go back to 1609 because LTS? Give-up altogether and stay officially-supported with 7? Just build a whole new desktop?

Argh.

Also bought a bunch of LED light bulbs for my place... Non-dimmable, non-RGB, non-programmable, non-WiFi-enabled LED bulbs, but still :) 60W 5000K for the bathroom and a combination of 60W and 40W 2700K for the living room. Was not feeling the one 60W 3000K bulb I got though. I have no idea why I'm documenting this.

"They like to roll the dice"

Some recent update to Windows 10 1703 seemed to fix the stability issues I was experiencing, so I was confident about performing a clean installation of 1709 on my officially-unsupported-since-Windows-7 X58-based desktop... Three hard freezes in the first six hours, and I'm feeling kind of annoyed. Granted, the first one happened before applying a few remaining Windows updates, and the latter two happened while updating the still-buggy Street Fighter V, so... We'll see. Still can't justify a new build.

Also, Cuphead is a masterpiece, and I recently got to meet some of the artists and see a bunch of the original sketches and models and everything was awesome :)

Making chemicals at the chemical plant, of all places...

Arkham Origins was weak. Nice graphics, but so bland; solid gameplay, but woefully repetitive; cool story, but weak dialogue; and it goes on like that throughout... Glad I finished it, but not interested in 100%.

Jumped right in to Arkham Knight though, and wow! So slick! Great production value, though the dialogue's still a little weird at times and the Riddler stuff is kind of awkward, but yeah, just... Wow.

...All over again.

Wrapped-up Final DOOM, forgot to mention Master Levels for DOOM II in my last post, but yeah, I went and blew through those as well... Some cool setpieces, but not quite up to Final DOOM standards. Moved-on to Quake Epsilon and DOPA, remembered that I'd never finished either of the Quake Mission Packs, and so I'm onto those now. Didn't realise the first one was made by what would eventually become the studio responsible for the SiN series, and that the second one was made by the studio responsible for Strife! This's been a lot of consecutive id FPSes though, so I re-installed Arkham Origins (never finished it; about halfway through now), and of course I'm still plugging away at Ys VIII on my Vita... Also considering ordering the Asia-exclusive physical release of Ys Origin for Vita.

Speaking of Arkham Origins, I'm having way more fun with it now that I've taken some time away from the series, but it's still just not as polished as its two predecessors. The intro missions were all so drab, Electrocutioner was pretty forgettable, Deathstroke was kinda frustrating, Copperhead felt like a budget Scarecrow, the Mad Hatter mission was really cool but anti-climactic, the Deadshot mission can become tediously unfair, and the collectibles... Oh god, so many collectibles. Still looking forward to getting into Arkham Knight, but may just take a little more time before then.

Funny thing though; I went through my old posts, and it looks like the last time I was playing Arkham Origins, I was also playing Ys (Memories of Celceta) on Vita and Quake Epsilon :)

Day One

Got the Galaxy A5, updated it to Android 7.0, switched over to the Google Now Launcher, disabled every Samsung app I could (though I'm stuck with the phone and the camera), and it's solid... Especially since I got it for free; $200 promo discount, $180 in credit, and $120 saved over two years because my new plan is $5 cheaper per month. The camera's alright, but does some weird image processing that doesn't look as good as what the Android 7.1.1 Google Camera did on the Nexus 5X. The screen displays some very rich colours, but seems kinda dark... I'm sure I'll get used to it though. Everything else feels nice except for the physical home button/fingerprint scanner; I really wish the bottom buttons were more like the Nexus line and that the fingerprint scanner was on the back of the phone. It's a clear step up from everything cheaper, but I still think I'd rather have a OnePlus or an Essential... They weren't, however, available for $500 off.

Anyway, I've almost finished Final DOOM. Wrapped-up Evilution and felt pretty good about myself, then started The Plutonia Experiment and immediately realised that I had accomplished nothing. I'm on the final level now though, and it's been fantastic throughout; real challenge without necessitating savescumming or mind-numbing repetition. I still think the first three episodes of the original DOOM are the only collection of levels that really works cohesively in that engine, and I avoided Final DOOM back in the day because it was fan-made, but there is some truly inspired level design in there that holds-up incredibly well today. This also means I'll've completed The Ultimate DOOM, DOOM II + No Rest for the Living, DOOM 3 + Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Mission, and DOOM (2016), which really only leaves DOOM (2016)'s Arcade Mode... Which is punishing even at lower difficulty levels... Wheee!

Episode VIII

Bought Ys VIII on Vita and it's great, so far. The localisation of the script though... Like, hire me, and I'll fix that shit real quick. Wasn't thrilled about the deserted island setting either, but it's developing into something interesting and I love the emphasis on exploration. Still need to get to Ys Origin (would love to get a physical copy for Vita, but Steam'll do for now) and the Aeon Genesis translation of Ys V in Higan.

Otherwise, looking to pick-up a Samsung Galaxy A5 'cause everything else is either too expensive and overkill, or weirdly-configured - I'm looking at you, Xperia XA1 and LG Q6. Now watch Google bring back the Nexus line the second I buy an A5 :\

Tacos!

Clearing-out old stuff...

Trading a broken (bad CPU) and mostly bare (no RAM or HDD) 2004 Power Mac and two "working" 2005 iMac G5s with the owner of a local gourmet taco joint for some gourmet tacos. Keeping my dual-1GHz Quicksilver Power Mac and 1.2Ghz iMac G4 though.

Still trying to figure-out how I'm gonna get rid of 24 Dell Latitude 2100 netbooks... Hrm.

Also snagged an NEC NP-M260W projector with a fresh lamp for free 'cause someone was throwing them away! Those things went for $1150 a few years ago, and the lamps are still $350! It's kinda nice, getting a 120" WXGA display for free :)

Still doing the math...

In addition to I-War, I also snagged complete copies of Iron Soldier 2 CD (the '97 black disc) and Zero 5, and I'm pretty stoked about it even if it did cost me a few hundred bucks.... It was my birthday and I treated myself :p Also found a complete copy of Atari Karts (I only have a loose copy), but they wanted $150 just for the box... Couldn't do it. Did a little more searching, and I could complete my copy of Ultra Vortek and add new copies of Phase Zero, Protector SE, and Skyhammer... But they'd all be coming from the US, so shipping, currency, exchange, and duties would put the total up around $550 and that's just not gonna happen.

Otherwise, Quake II on N64 with an Expansion Pak, Rumble Pak, and Controller Pak is pretty sweet, Street Fighter V's Fight Money system is kind of annoying, and Severed on Vita is fantastic.

Meh-cksell? Sorry, that was bad... I tried :(

Wrapping-up my time with Mortal Kombat XL, and I just don't really care. Solid fighter, countless ways to play, very satisfying, totally pretty, and I'm walking away feeling kinda... Meh. Mortal Kombat (2011) was fantastic - especially the way it updated the classic with a novel single-player experience - and XL comes from the same mold; it's just too bad that nobody seems to have gotten it right since... Injustice, Mortal Kombat XL, and Street Fighter V have all had ridiculously convoluted and overwrought single-player experiences that are nowhere near the revelation that was 2011's Mortal Kombat title. Myabe Injustice 2 is as good as I've heard, but I'm not hopeful.

Anyway, Hyper Light Drifter was awesome.

The True Pacifist ending of Undertale was incredible, and the Neutral ending was pretty cool, too.

...And I bought Quake 2 for N64 'cause it's not so much a port as a re-imagining, and has sweet multiplayer.

Also bought a sealed copy of I-War for Jaguar because it's an interesting game, I wanted it for my collection, and I've yet to come across an opened or loose copy. Yes, I'm totally gonna open it.

Not HD

New Pro Tools build for a friend:

• Core i7-7700
• ASUS PRIME B250M-A
• 2x16GB 2400MHz DDR4
• Samsung 960 EVO 500GB M.2
• 4TB SATA HDD
• Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-Bit

...Plus a decent PSU, a basic dual-monitor PCIe video card, and a DVD burner for ~$1700+tax.

Also, Shadow Warrior 2 was weak... Like, I played it all the way through and finished most of the DLC; the sheer amount of weapons is really impressive, the graphics are gorgeous all the way through, and the gameplay is pretty viscerally satisfying... But I can't stress just how disappointing the writing is, especially after its immediate predecessor knocked it out of the park.

Anyway, I'm almost done a pacifist run-through of Undertale and is's absolutely transcendent. This is genre-redefining stuff, but we already knew that.

And a buddy gifted me a copy of Hyper Light Drifter, and while I'm just getting started, I mean... Wow... Like, already... Wow. I'm in.

Oh! The Flame in The Flood! I want to like it! I really do, but I just... I just don't think I'm enjoying myself :(

I thought I wanted some Wang, but...

Two hours in, and Shadow Warrior 2 is so disappointing... Like, the first one (1997) is a product of its time and hasn't aged well in terms of its racism and misogyny, but the 2013 reboot was a surprisingly huge step forward in every aspect of its design, presentation, and maturity. Given the brilliant 2016 reboot of DOOM, I was stoked to get into yet another modern update to the oldschool FPS genre and instead I found a hub-world, what appear to be side-missions, and loot-based gem powerups in a game with atrociously tone-deaf writing!? All of the sympathetic character development from the 2013 game seems to have been forgotten, many of the scene transitions up to this point have been shockingly abrupt, the drastic aesthetic changes haven't been adequately explained, the new one-liners fall flat, and even the fortune cookies are pretentious literary quotes instead of irreverent jokes. It all kinda sucks so far; I hope things get better as I play, but I've got this sinking feeling... The linear levels feel a little too focused on showing-off the gorgeous visuals now, and exploring for secrets seems to have suffered for it. As for the gem system, I get that it allows for more robust leveling options, but I'm already spending too much time in that menu; I thought the limited skill trees of the previous game were just right, and all the extra customisation feels unnecessary in this franchise. I guess I'm just seeing a series of disappointing design decisions that make me wonder if Ubisoft secretly took over for this sequel, and I haven't been too pleased with their cookie cutter approach for a few years now.

Otherwise, I got back into Borderlands in a big way, wrapping-up The Pre-Sequel and all of the DLC for the original; taking a break before digging-in to the DLC for Borderlands 2.

Owlboy was fantastic.

Giving Shovel Knight another try soon, I think.

Still can't get back into Kentucky Route Zero or Undertale for some reason, even though I do love them both.

Figures

So MPQ nerfed Old Man Logan since my last post, saying over 10% of all battles won include an Old Man Logan on the player’s team. I mean, it's not like Wolverine's one of the most popular characters ever, Old Man Logan is one of the most revered graphic novels ever, the Logan movie just kicked ass at the boxoffice, and as the oldest five-star cover, chances're good that players will have more of them than others... I get their rationale and I'm not against the changes, but I just thought the logic was kinda questionable, y'know? :)

Anyway, I was updating my Battle.net account info, and decide to re-install Diablo III to see what's changed over the past few years... And now I'm right back at it and this Paragon business with my barbarian; thinking demon hunter next.

I dunno, man...

Stalled on Darksiders, haven't touched any consoles or handhelds, saw some movies, recorded some podcasts about them, spent some time in a recording studio with a band, built some computery things at work, met over dinner and drinks to sign-on to prototype two coding projects for a non-profit and they totally expensed my bill which was pretty tite of them to do, and so whatever, here's a post about Marvel Puzzle Quest.

I'm pretty sure I'm playing the game pretty incorrectly most of the time. I buy nothing with real money, I rarely use health packs, I immediately maxed-out three one-star covers (Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Juggernaut) and traded every other cover I got in exchange for Iso-8, which I then traded for tokens in hopes of getting three-star covers so that I could skip the mostly-lame two-star covers because slots are limited and I earned a couple of three- and four-star covers very early on and I didn't want to waste them and shutup okay!? While it took a while, I've now championed my favourite three-star covers, dumped a bunch of four-star covers because I don't like them, and have a handful of five-star covers that're actually useful. Also, I beat a level 222 Punisher MAX with a level 106 Howard the Duck in the latest Deadpool Daily - Crash of the Titans event because fuck yeah, I did!

Current three-star champions: Black Widow, Cyclops, Daredevil, Deadpool, Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange, The Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Mystique, Thanos, and Wolverine... And I'm two covers away from championing Iron Man.

Current four-star covers I'm building-up: Well, there're 33 of 'em, so let's stick to my favourites...

• Hulkbuster, Miles Morales, Moon Knight, Spider-Gwen, and X-23 because they're just badass.
• The X-Force guys - Wolverine and Deadpool - because of their team-up effect; it's kinda like the four-star Power Man and Iron Fist, but without the lingering taste of the latter's shitty Netflix series.
• War Machine because he fucks with those goddamned invisibility tiles.
• All the rad 'n powerful covers like Nick Fury, Punisher MAX, Red Hulk, etc...
• It's the game-breaking covers that I like best though; three-star Deadpool and Doctor Strange kinda fit into this category as well, but I'm really talking about covers like Captain Marvel, Carnage, Ghost Rider, and Gwenpool. Those four are great examples of how to shake things up and change the game. Captain Marvel eliminates how long I have to wait to kick your ass, Carnage literally takes over the board and creates carnage, Ghost Rider throws your damage right back at you, and Gwenpool lets me wipe-out whichever tiles I choose! These covers encourage us to develop all-new strategies, and I just think that's neat :)

Current five-star covers: Logan (one of each; already super-powerful), Black Bolt (one yellow; pretty useful), Black Panther (one yellow, pretty useful), Phoenix (one green; pretty useful), Silver Surfer (one blue; really only useful as a tank), and Captain America (one blue, so pretty meh).

Now, I didn't like this game at first, and I've said as much on this blog... I loved the first Puzzle Quest, enjoyed the sequel, didn't get into Galactrix, just discovered the first game's expansion while researching for this post(!), initially had more fun with Adventure Time Puzzle Quest than Marvel Puzzle Quest (that was silly of me), and haven't touched Puzzle Quest - Magic: The Gathering... Or the card-based Magic: The Gathering, for that matter. Basically, I played the first game on PSP (AND ONLY FOUND-OUT ABOUT ITS EXPANSION NOW!?), the sequel on my phone, and then everything else just felt disappointing... For years... And that was probably largely due to what I was saying up top about how I was playing Marvel Puzzle Quest all wrong. Well, I'm glad I stuck it out because this shit is for real, and I still really only play on the subway, and yeah, I think this is the longest I've ever stuck with any game. Look, I know this post fell-apart around the midpoint and maybe I'll come back to it but for now I'm gonna go make lasagna and then eat that lasagna because I took the day off work and slept-in and so it's lunch time for me now even though it's 3:30pm here.

Gears of Zelda

Got kinda bored of Mortal Kombat XL's campaign, haven't gotten into the latest act of Kentucky Route Zero yet, and stalled on Undertale... So I started Gears of Zelda. Upon downloading Darksiders from Steam (which I purchased forever ago), getting through the intro, and then taking a little break, I noticed that I'd also received the Warmastered Edition for free somewhere along the way... Sweet! Download twice as much this time and install and play all over again. Wheee! Actually though, really good game! Ridiculous, but not in a bad way; takes itself seriously without feeling completely lame.

Unrelated, but got a free 32GB Nexus 5X, so Rayman: Fiesta Run, Rayman; Adventures, and Triple Town got reinstalled. Also got to the point in Marvel Puzzle Quest where I'm earning a Legendary token every few days, so that's fun.

And I finished ReCore. Nowhere near as bad as the reviews said. Great little world to explore, wonderful art direction, creative combat, solid platforming... Yeah, it feels rushed; and yeah, the second-last boss and the tower are really weird; but the rest is aces, and I really hope we get a full-fledged sequel.

Fighting

So it took a year-and-a-half, but NetherRealm finally fixed the Windows port of Mortal Kombat X, released the XL update, and dropped the price to $17 CDN! After a 35GB download, a tutorial, and a wander around The Krypt, I'm a little overwhelmed... Like, the I'm-never-gonna-put-in-the-time-necessary-to-get-good-at-this kind of overwhelmed.

Maybe I should just go back to Street Fighter V... Except it's too hard to earn anything in-game, and I'm cheap. I guess there's always Killer Instinct; that's pretty badass and I don't feel like I'm terrible at it :)

Also, 18-hours into ReCore, and...  The concept's great but the story's paper-thin; the audio logs're just plain silly, and not in a good way; Unity's a little buggy with this one, but it's nothing show-stopping; there're a few holes in the geometry and a missing sound effect or two... And yet I'm still having fun exploring and grinding and unlocking cool shit. Well worth the $25 I paid for it, even if it does fall apart by the end :p

Push

So...

• ABZÛ is a solid Journey knock-off.
• Rise of the Tomb Raider was great fun; a fantastic balance of open-world playground and story-driven single-player... The dialogue sucks though, and really hurt the actors as well as the story... And the story's already kinda weak as it is.
• INSIDE is like Limbo, but better. The secret ending is pretty cool, but I think I like the normal one better.
• The Witness is a goddamned masterpiece of design. Holy fucking shithelldamnfart. Game of the Year alongside DOOM, for me. I haven't felt that way in... I dunno... It's insane how powerful that experience was. Played-through to the "endgame" with zero hints. Took me about 20 hours to power-up all 11 lasers, unlock and watch three films (with two more left unlocked and one left unlocated), countless audio logs, and a smattering of glyphs, and then I just kinda went for the ending... And now I'm wishing I'd spent more time with it. I will revisit it soon.
• ReCore just feels great, even if the whole experience seems a little anemic. I'm about halfway through, and still enjoying it quite a bit.
• As for Marvel Puzzle Quest, I've started championing three-star characters, and am showing no signs of slowing-down. Well done, Demiurge!
• Picked-up Mortal Kombat XL on sale on Steam; 35GB download though... Yeesh!

Moving on, the only reason for me to pick-up an XBOX One at this point is Crimson Dragon and Halo 5 single-player, right? Everything else (Forza, Gears of War, Halo 5: Forge, Killer Instinct, ReCore) are on Windows 10 now, right? Huh.

Was considering a PS4 Slim + Uncharted 4 + WATCH_DOGS2 bundle, but then I read that The Last Guardian runs better on PS4 Pro, so now I'm waiting for a PS4 Pro price drop... Which is fine 'cause I already have too much to play anyway.