BioShock Infinite’s 1999 Mode – Game Review

(Disclaimer: This is a continuation of my BioShock Infinite review. I will not go out of my way to avoid spoilers. This review is designed for gamers who have beaten BioShock Infinite and want to know more about 1999 mode before committing to it for another play through. I would not advise 1999 mode as a first play through.

Irrational Games designed 1999 mode to be more challenging. Coming from someone who was able to get through Dark Souls relatively well solo (besides O&S, I’m not that good), 1999 mode was challenging yet very possible. If you are going to play on 1999 mode I would recommend going for the Scavenger Hunt achievement. To do this you must play though 1999 mode without purchasing anything from the Dollar Bill machines. You have to find all your supplies from the environment and from Elizabeth.

So, what was playing under this mode like? Well, I’ll tell you. Thanks for asking.

When I played on normal difficulty I used a carbine and a shotgun as my weapons. I did this because in games, and in real life, I prefer using powerful weapons instead of quick-firing weaker ones. If there was a bolt-action rifle besides the sniper rifle (low max ammo), I would have used that. When I started 1999 mode I found these weapons as soon as possible. It pleased me to find out that these weapons were perfect for 1999 mode. Of course, this had a lot to do with my play style. I would typically stay back in a battle and try to get head shots on my enemies and use the shotgun for when I was rushed. This strategy worked well in 1999 mode, except for the handymans…

The handymans in 1999 mode are some of the hardest challenges in the game. When you do play your 1999 mode try to remember when and where the handyman will spawn and do your best to kill as many enemies as possible before engaging it. The only area where this didn’t go well was at the end of the Fink factory level. The handyman there spawns only when you get near it in a small area so escaping it is near impossible. I preferred to stay on the run and only fight the handyman when I could stun him. To be fair I don’t remember how I dispatched the handyman in the factory. I died, re-spawned, and he was gone. You can say that I didn’t beat it fairly, be my guest. It was dead so I moved on. Every other handyman is very beatable and if approached correctly should not give you any problems.

The motorized patriots are not as challenging as you might imagine. If you are being engaged by one when it’s alone, just use shock jockey on it and pound it with your shotgun. If the motorized patriot is accompanied by a lot of troops it’s possible to use possession on the patriot. The possession won’t last long but sometimes the enemy troops will heavily damage it before it changes back to being hostile.

Then… there’s the siren. The siren is the only “boss” battle in BioShock Infinite and she is a major pain in 1999 mode. There are multiple strategies online on how to beat her but I’ll describe but I did.

In the graveyard there’s a mausoleum to the upper left when you’re facing where lady Comstock is buried. There’s only one way in there so it’s adequately defendable. I went in there and waited for the siren to come in so I could unload my shotgun. I would then use Return to Sender for when she uses her big shockwave attack. This took me several tries before it worked. Even when it did work I eventually ran out of ammo when the siren reached low health and i had to run out and use a crank gun in order to finish her off.

The other two fights with the siren are not as difficult because there are better spots to fight from. In the bank, try to not go through the vault’s door. The resurrected soldiers can’t get in to you and you can just take your time to take long shots with the carbine. At the entrance to Comstock house there is an alcove near the entrance where the vending machines are where you can hide. From there you can pop your head out to take shots at the siren.

Those strategies are not the best but they’re what worked for me. You may find strategies that work for you better.

Then there’s the last battle. I looked online for a good strategy before I started it and it was still difficult. Just remember to sue Return to Sender traps around the power core and to use the skyline up to the sniping perch above the flight deck. Remember to use the Songbird to take out the motorized patriots, trying to take both out at the same time during a wave, and then use it to take out the blimps as soon as possible. You can not take your time in this fight; the power core will not regain health. If you have to use the Songbird to take out a blimp while there are patriots try using possession on one of the patriots to distract the enemies forces for a few seconds.

The rest of the battles in BioShock Infinite’s 1999 mode are very doable. As long as you remember to take your time and not rush then you shouldn’t have any problems.

PROS

• Challenge Is Enjoyable
• Restrictions Onto Combat Improve Roleplaying

CONS

• Game’s Faults Highlighted
• Siren Fight Very Annoying
• Last Battle Not Designed For 1999 Mode

Was 1999 mode fun? For the most part it was a blast, but the end battle did wax away some of the enjoyment. The last battle is very much a pain and after a second play through it is the scourge of the entire game while the siren is right behind it. 1999 mode does do the service of highlighting the faults in BioShock Infinite. I don’t think the last battle was designed with 1999 mode in mind and thus it can be ridiculously annoying. I would only advise playing this mode if you’re wanting all the achievements or if you enjoy a challenge. If you’re just curious about it then I would say to give it a shot but be forewarned that near the end it goes from fun to mildly aggravating

Rating: 3/5

Trials of The Noob Squad – Operation Forgotten Prophet (Mission 3)

Last mission things didn’t go as planned… we kind of lost everybody. We lost our two “veterans;” the only two guys who had gone up a rank. They were only squaddie rank but nevertheless losing them is a loss for the entire XCOM project.

Now, we have a small UFO shot down by our Interceptors in the continental United States. We’re sending in a team of 4 completely inexperienced rookies to deal with this threat. Also, I have not played XCOM since last week so… don’t have high hopes.

On this mission we have James Lee, a native of the United States, Abdullah Suleiman, a native of Iraq, Kalia Gavde, a native of India, and Jesus Perez, a native of Brazil.

Don’t become too attached. The fact that I’m listening to the Dark Souls OST while I’m doing this can’t help our soldier’s chances.

Our soldiers are dropped off by the Skyranger and begin to make their slow advanced forward, moving from cover to cover.

We had one turn of quiet movement. On the second turn out point man, Kalia Gavde, spotted two groups of two sectoids. Preferring to fight the aliens on our terms, Kalia falls back to her original position. Everyone else goes into overwatch.

Two sectoids come into view and fire at Kalia with only one hitting. Since she was on point she could only move back to her starting position. Note to self: use the person in the back as point man for now on. That will help support the person who can’t go into overwatch.

Kalia moves back while the only other squad member who didn’t have a line of sight on xenos moves to where he does have one. The squad fires back.

Only one hit… Kalia is doing all the work today. The attack only did 1 damage and the hurt sectoid receives psi support while the second attacking sectoid received psi support as well. The second one moves up and fires, killing Kalia. The first sectoid fires and misses. Abdullah and James have panicked. It’s up to Jesus to save us.

Neither alien is in grenade range and explosives can’t be used on a second move without a perk. Jesus can only do one thing; shoot at the alien scum. He hits the already injured sectoid and scores a critical hit, killing it. Jesus comes through!

The other sectoid receives more psi support and actually falls back. The sectoid what was giving psi support to the first one has moved up but does not fire. We’ve received a moment of reprieve.

James moves up to besides Abdullah where he can get a line of sight at the sectoid while Jesus moves onto a little of higher ground to get a flanking position. This could either work or it could fail drastically. James fires on the sectoid he can see and dispatches it. Jesus can see the sectoid thats falling back from where he is. He takes a shot but misses. Abdullah moves up but the sectoid sees hit and takes a reaction shot. Abdullah goes from his full heath of 4 to just 1. Ouch. He fires back but misses.

The sectoid receives more psi support and fires back at Abdullah, critcallly injuring him. Jesus panics.

So now we have only James to work with. James moves up to a covered position where he can see the sectoid. Instead of firing at a 25% chance os success he throws a frag grenade in the hopes of disabling the alien’s cover. It works, dealing 3/5 damage to the sectoid.

The sectoid receives psi support again, healing 1 damage it seems, and falls back. We need to kill the other sectoid.

Jesus has to reload (what a wonderful statement) so James moves to better support him. He has to dash but there are no sectoids in sight to fire back immediately.

No sectoids are sighted in the alien’s turn so our team begins to move up to where they’re hearing movement. They don’t see anything so they go into overwatch. Tension is high.

Well, Abdullah bled out. This made James and Jesus panic and… James shoots Jesus, dealing 3/4 damage. If he survives I’m changing his name to the Dark One. Jesus just goes into overwatch, not wanting to move up without support.

When our turn has returned, both James and Jesus move up. Neither see anything. Jesus goes into overwatch and James reloads since he had only one shot left after shooting Jesus.

Finally we see the sectoid. James sees it so he fires and misses gloriously. Jesus moves up a bit and fires himself. He misses.

The sectoid, not being able to stand the awesome firepower of the bipolar duo, falls back. We continue to move up.

We… have a problem. The sectoid ran into the crashed ship and there is no cover for more than one unit of movement. I don’t dare dash my guys up there. It’s time to go the long way over a hill. This hill is where the grenade injured sectoid escaped up to so maybe we can finish him in the process. Our duo moves up and… nothing. Overwatch is commenced.

Our guys are hearing sounds from inside the ship. We’re on top of a hill and can see no other xenos around. We begin to cautiously move towards the ship.

A sectoid pops out and both James and Jesus take a shot. Both miss. Oddly enough, the sectoid makes a second move after this and is just standing in the open. I’ve rarely seen enemy units do this in XCOM. We have to tale advantage of this.

James misses while Jesus hits. James needs shooting lessons from Jesus, apparently.

…and the sectoid runs away back into the ship. Coward. We use this opportunity to reload.

In the process of moving up, James gives the coward sectoid a reaction shot and receives 3/4 damage for it. We have two soldiers left, both at one health… crap. Instead of going into overwatch, James moves to a place where the sectoid can’t see him while Jesus does go into overwatch. The hope is that Jesus will be able to deal the final damage to the sectoid.

He does.

From the aliens I’ve seen, there’s only one sectoid left. Then there’s the Outsider. We may be able to pull this off.

Our two men stack up on the door and go into overwatch. I want their full amount of running potential of the other sectoid is inside. Hell, even if he isn’t and the outsider is alone we may want to run.

We open the door. The sectoid is not inside. The Outsider spawns but he moves up behind the wall adjacent to the door. We should be able to kill him. Our men move back, not wanting to risk being mowed down if they miss. James can get to good cover in only one movement unit but Jesus can’t. Because of that, Jesus dashes to better cover. Hopefully James will be able to get a reaction shot off and then whoever is left can finish the Outsider.

Jesus didn’t run far enough… he was killed by the Outsider. If only he had lived he could of taught my guys how to shoot!

James can only do one thing… overwatch.

After 5 turns, it’s obvious that the Outsider isn’t coming out. We can only do one thing… move up, and then move back. A 28% shot is just crap. James tries moving up to a different side. Now it’s a 20% shot. Damn, Impossible difficulty is a real jerk. The Outsider isn’t moving so the only thing we can do is take a shot.

As per James’ history, it misses in a majestic fashion.

James dies.

So… who want’s to go join the aliens now?

–

After Action Report

Since we only have two soldiers left, I hire two more. I would hire more but we’re short on money and need to save what we have.

Weapon Fragments research is completed. Research into Experimental Warfare begins. It’s rated as “slow” but we need laser rifles.

The council contacts up about a target extraction mission. Thank GOODNESS the council mission for this month wasn’t a terror mission. I might of just stopped this series there.

So we have only 4 soldiers left. This next mission is going to be vital to our success. I’m saying this now: if we fail the next mission than I’m ending this series. If that happens, I’ll just start one again but on a lesser difficulty. Impossible difficulty is names way too well.

Please play the above video for the musical portion of this post.

Rest in peace,

Rookie James Lee, United States

Rookie Abdullah Suleiman, Iraq

Rookie Kalia Gavde, India

Rookie Jesus Perez, Brazil

–

Their sacrifice, and James’ horrendous aim, will forever be remembered amongst the other sacrifices made in the defense of Earth from the alien threat.

The Bigfoot Show – Things I Recommend

Alright, so this one is going to probably be laughed at. Nevertheless, this is my blog and I do with it what I wish! This week I’m recommending The Bigfoot Show podcast. Why, you might ask?

To be frank, there’s a whole lot of bad information out there on the topic of the Sasquatch. A majority of people do not think that Bigfoot exists or even could exist. The problem is that most of these people are uninformed. They get their info on the topic from Finding Bigfoot and other very respectable sources of scientific research. The more fringe elements in the Bigfoot world make crazy theories and try to pass them to the public to accept as the mainstream.

One thing I love about The Bigfoot Show is that the hosts never say that they’re experts, they just try to approach things from a logical point of view. The main host, Brian Brown, serves on the Board of Directors for the North American Wood Ape Conservancy (previously the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy) and has first hand accounts of encounters with the species of apes that the Bigfoot community is trying to prove.

For those of you who really don’t know much about Bigfoot, here’s a few ideas to remember.

There is more than one. Bigfoot isn’t a lone and solitary beast; it is a species of ape that has a probable lineage in the geological record.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of sightings each year; many of which go unreported. I personally have seen something myself that can only be described and explained by the Bigfoot phenomenon. Call me crazy, but it happened.

There is real and serious research going on in this field. The NAWAC itself is doing some extremely interesting research in an undisclosed location in eastern Oklahoma. I will link a below a video taken of a presentation that Brian Brown made during the latest annual conference of the organization to highlight the evidence that they have collected over the last year.

If you consider yourself someone who appreciates the advancement of science and wants to try to have an open mind, there’s worse places to find interesting information than The Bigfoot Show. They crack jokes, some of which are inside jokes for the bigfoot community, but they do a good job at judging things logically and scientifically. Educate yourself before you prematurely judge something as impossible. Jane Goodall said that she thought that there was something behind this phenomenon. If Jane Goodall thinks it’s worth investigating then we should all be doing our best to look into it objectively.

–

Links

“In the Valley of the Wood Ape” – Brian Brown

“The Bigfoot Show Episode 51: On Location in Area X”

Gwyn, Lord of Cinder – Character Study

(Disclaimer: Dark Souls’ lore is very vague in its description and a lot of it is left up to personal speculation. Below is my opinion. You are free to disagree with me if you wish. Also, MAJOR SPOILERS for Dark Souls ahead.)

I’ve chosen to do a look at Gwyn not because he has a long and detailed backstory, but because what story he has and how his story is told through Dark Souls is a great example of how a game like Dark Souls can really move you.

No one really knows where Gwyn came from, or anyone else before the battle with the Ancient Dragons. The histories simply begin there. The Ancient Dragons, clothed in primordial scales that granted them immortality, ruled over everything. The land was barren and desolate, with only giant arch-trees to give it any form. No other race could dare confront them.

Them came the primordial flame, and from it came the Souls of Lords. the Lord Souls where capable of giving the beings who possessed them great power. There where four Lord Souls, each representing a different aspect of the world. The four beings who seized the power of the Lord Souls where Nito, the First of the Dead, the Witch of Izalith and her Daughters of Chaos, Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight, and the furtive pigmy whom I shall get to in a minute.

With their combined powers, Nito, the Witch, and Gwyn struck down the Everlasting Dragons from their rule over the world. Thus began the age of fire where these beings pretty much became gods over the lands. They resided in Anor Londo, or the Land of Lords. There they stayed, rarely leaving their kingdom.

Elsewhere in the world the descendants of the pigmy became humanity. We spread, clashed, and eventually grew to be a power ourselves. Anor Londo was spoken of in legends and songs but few ever went there.

After some time, the lore doesn’t specify how long, the power of the Lords began to fade. The Age of Fire was coming to an end. The Abyss, a force of darkness that is not fully understood, had began to encroach on the Flame. It is unclear if the Abyss is truly evil or if there are things inside of it that are evil, however anyone who has gone into it has come back tainted.

It was around this time that the curse of the undead came into being. People began to come under the Darksign, a mysterious mark on their bodies which indicated that they would become undead. In this world, becoming undead is the first step to fully losing your humanity. After you become undead you are sent to an undead asylum where you await becoming hollow. When you’re hollow any bit of humanity or conscious or sanity has left.

Why was this happening? The humanity in our souls was needed to fuel the flame. Humanity was the remnant of the fourth Lord Soul, the Dark Soul. Humanity, as a whole, was also one of the Lords. By using this fuel the fire could be maintained for a short while. However, it was only a bandaid on the Titanic.

Eventually Gwyn knew that this solution would not work. The Flame was fading, and once it had burned out only darkness would remain. Gwyn decided to make the ultimate sacrifice. Gwyn went down to the Kiln of the First Flame, the home of the primordial Flame, and offered himself up to it.

Even with all of his power, this solution was only temporary as well. Gwyn had left in place a prophecy that an undead would come to Anor Londo who would collect the Lord Souls in order to fuel the first flame. The plan was that by the time this undead made it to the Kiln they would be truly powerful and a worthy offering to the Flame. More would be needed down the road, but as long as there was a patch then maybe the Abyss wouldn’t encroach any farther.

When the player, the chosen undead, finally reach the Kiln of the First Flame they meet Gwyn in combat. What is left of him is just a husk of his former self, the Flame burning away anything that made him more than that. No longer was he the Lord of Sunlight; he was the Lord of Cinder. At this point in the game the player is expecting an epic battle. Throughout the game the player has faced many challenges and has brought titans to their knees. In the end, they find themselves facing one of the easier bosses in the game. I’m not saying that Gwyn is easy, but he is a far cry from the rest of the game.

This is done to highlight the tragedy of Gwyn’s story. His only goal was to prolong the Age of Fire, to prolong his lineage’s place on the throne of the world, but every age comes to an end. After the battle ends, the player can choose to either offer themselves to the Flam in order to prolong the Age of Fire or to leave the Flame to die in order to bring about the Age of Dark. The game never specifies which one is the “good” ending, and this makes Gwyn’s sacrifice even more tragic.

The music to the fight with Gwyn. It does an excellent job at highlighting the tragedy of what Gwyn has become.

Video games are EVIL!!!… Or are they? – Opinion

Is it a coincidence that he’s playing a PS3? I DON’T THINK SO!

Ok, so I know that I’ve addressed my opinion on video game violence in the past. However, there has been a couple of things lately that have made me want to write on it again. The idea that video games are a scourge upon humanity is one of my pet peeves and I strive to argue this in this post.

This urge to write about this began when I read a Kotaku article last week. In this article Franklin Graham, son of famous evangelist Billy Graham, went onto the Stossel show to argue how there should be a violence tax on violent video games. He says that since we can tax other harmful things like tobacco and alcohol then we should be able to tax video games as well.

I can see how video games can appear to be this harmful from someone who does not understand them. I appreciate that Stossel had the materials ready to argue that video games have not led to more violence and a degradation of morality. Whenever someone commits a mass murder, investigators always find Call of Duty or some similar game in the killer’s possession. Therefor, video games where the cause.

I’m sorry, but this is just crap. My psychology professor made sure to drill into the minds of her students that correlation DOES NOT mean causation. You may find correlation between two events but, unless you can witness a direct cause and effect by removing variables and doing a scientific study, any argument you have is worthless.

Another thing, EVERYONE PLAYS CALL OF DUTY. Ok, maybe not everyone. There are those snobs out there who look down their nose at Call of Duty and other games like it as “games for the uninformed and uncritical.” Those people are just losers. I love to play a little Call of Duty every once in a while and millions of people enjoy doing the same thing. The argument that these games are “murder simulators” is moronic. Shooting a gun in a video game just consists of pressing a button. Also, you press a button to reload quickly and to reload that fast in real life takes a lot of practice.

Another argument I’ve heard is that video games make young people desensitized to violence. I would have argued against it without any real evidence until this weekend.

During this weekend I was checking up on some news and I heard about an airplane stunt performer who died in a crash. Curious and not thinking me decided to watch the video. I’ll embed it below but beware, it doesn’t cut away.

This video REALLY depressed me. I mean, in the process of writing this I can’t make myself watch it again. There’s just something so unsettling about watching someone’s life flicker away. It’s human nature to not take any enjoyment in that. Yet, if the more extreme anti-video game crowd was correct then I could repeatedly watch this and laugh because I play a LOT of video games. The difference is that a video game is not real. My mind knows that. When I press the trigger in a game, I’m shooting code at artificial intelligence programs and telling them to fall down and stop hurting me so I can save the world. Yeah, not everyone thinks the same way as me but I would bet that almost all gamers subconsciously think the same thing. If something dumb happens in a game and you lose, you yell at the game and not at the AI. At least, that’s what I do.

I don’t play video games to get my kicks killing people. I don’t play video games to empty my buckets of nerd rage at others. I play video games to have fun.

In my opinion, one of the best things about video games is that you can vicariously experience things that you could never do in real life.

Like saving the world.

I’m going to use one of the most beloved video games of all time to highlight my point; The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

In Ocarina of Time you play as Link, a young boy who discovers that he is destined to defeat a great evil and save the world. That’s the bare bones of most video game plots. Why do most games do these sort of stories? It’s because people like to save the world. Most games where you play as a bad guy are done as satire, such as Overlord.

As you play Ocarina of Time, you guide Link through many trials and tribulations until he finally becomes the Hero of Time, a young man full of courage and bravery. In the Legend of Zelda universe, for those who somehow don’t know, the mystical triforce is the most powerful object in the land. It is split into three parts, the triforce of power, wisdom, and courage. Each piece is powerful enough on its own and is given to individuals who most represent those characteristics, and when combined can give the owner infinite power. The bad guy, Ganondorf, holds the triforce piece of power and wishes to combine the pieces to put himself in power.

 

Ganondorf eventually captures Princess Zelda, who holds the triforce piece of wisdom, and taunts Link to face him so he can get the third and final piece. Link must go through many dungeons and trials in order to develop the skills to fight Ganondorf. In the end, of course, he defeats the bad guy and saves the land.

What’s interesting is that almost every Legend of Zelda game has this as a basic plot structure. The Legend of Zelda series is one of the most popular of all time and is loved by man, including me. It’s just such a down to earth and honest story of courage and standing up to powers bigger than you in order to make things right. That’s not something we can really do in real life.

Thank goodness that Link ate his Wheaties today

So what does this all have to do with my point, you might ask. Well, as normal human beings we possess no super powers and are not chosen by destiny (that we know of). If our governments or other bodies wish to put us down there’s not a whole lot we can do about it. We can still stand up for ourselves but in all honesty we really don’t stand a chance.

Playing video games gives me the opportunity to vicariously do great and noble things. If anything, video games to be are “courage simulators” more than murder ones. Those games like Call of Duty or Battlefield where the play is supposedly just mowing down dudes for the heck of it, their characters are actually laying their lives on the line against near impossible odds in order to accomplish a goal that usually involved saving people. It takes a lack of critical thinking to just see the implied killing as the main factor.

Books and movies are the same way. I don’t watch movies or read books in order to see explosions. Even with the bane of modern literature, Twilight, young ladies are vicariously experiencing the kind of relationship that they dream about. If a real vampire came up to them and asked them out I would imagine most of them would say no.

That’s what is entertaining about entertainment. It’s not about special effects or about graphics or sparkly vampires; it’s about experiencing narratives and living lives that transcend our normal existence. Even the normal game to real life, The Sims, is crazy ridiculous.

If there was a murder simulator game, it would include trial, jail, and execution. Now that would be an interesting game. Funny thing is, and kind of proves my point, it would sell horrendously.

So do your own research and buy games that you have a good idea that you’ll enjoy. Not all video games are quality, just like not all books or movies are worth your time either. When someone you know brings up that video games are bad, discuss it with them. Tell them about some of your most epic moments in games when you’ve saved the world. Tell them about when you faced down Ganon in the ruins of Hyrule caste or when you struck down Alduin in Sovengarde. Tell them about all the innocent princesses you’ve saved and all the nuclear bombs you’ve diffused. Tell them how being a gamer is awesome, and then invite them to experience it with you.

That’s the most important thing; be prepared. Be prepared to debate and be prepared to share your passion. Comic books were once looked down upon as the scourge of the nation and now they’re huge blockbusters. It’s up to us to be the vanguard of our passions and to pave the way for further generations to share in the best form of entertainment to ever exist; video games.

I do miss my GameCube…

 

A good watch but be expecting a bit of profanity.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – Game Review

(Disclaimer: This is a retrospective review. No new game to review this week.)

I still remember the day I first started up Morrowind on my PC. I was young and my older brothers had picked it up from Wal-Mart and I had watched them play some of it. I was enticed so one day when they weren’t at home to hog the computer I logged on to try the game out.

And thus, my love for the Elder Scrolls was born.

Even to this day, Morrowind is my favorite Elder Scrolls game. It’s not that Oblivion wasn’t fun or that Skyrim wasn’t a joy to play, it’s that Morrowind was truly a unique experience for me. Everything in Morrowind is more “hardcore” than the later games in the series.

The combat in Morrowind is based entirely on your skill levels for your different weapons. When you swing your weapon, dice are rolled and the higher your skill level the greater chance for you to hit your opponent. I loved this feature. I’ve talked to people who hate it but I feel like it makes the game a more pure role-playing experience. If you’re completely inexperienced with two-handed weapons than you shouldn’t expect to be able to just pick up a claymore and go to town.

Another thing that I liked about Morrowind was how it has more classes of weapons and armor than the later games. You have short swords, long swords, spears, axes, blunt weapons, marksman weapons; it’s not the limited classes that Oblivion implemented. There’s also medium armor in Morrowind if you want protection but not the weight of heavy armor.

This leads me to another feature of Morrowind that I miss; the enemies did not level with you. Yes, this could lead to you becoming so strong that everyone around you being much weaker than you but it made the rarer weapons and armor much more valuable. If I remember correctly, with the expansions installed there is only about 2.5 sets of daedric armor in the game. This leads to moments where you find a stash of super rare stuff and actually being excited about it.

Exploring in the world of Morrowind is also an experience all unto itself. The map isn’t automatically explored for you, even the large towns aren’t there. If you just use the transportation between the large towns then you’re leaving large swathes of land unexplored. To me, this made the world much more experienced and made exploring it more of a rewarding experience. The landscape of Morrowind is so alien that exploring new areas feels like exploring a new world full of unknown secrets.

This world hides a land of really great stories. When Morrowind was made the technology to have voice for each character for all the speech that they had wasn’t there. Because Morrowind doesn’t have this limitation it uses a speech box of sort where the player has a list of questions or answers that they can choose from. Since the NPC talks in text I feel like Morrowind was able to have a lot more lore and character in its world.

The main plot of Morrowind is also the best of the Elder Scrolls games that I have played. Usually I would talk about it but it really is something to experience yourself.

Morrowind doesn’t come without its faults, however.

The game does look VERY dated, and if graphics are a big thing for you than that may be a turn off. There is a lot of walking between locations and the horse wouldn’t be implemented as a game mechanic until Oblivion so prepare to hoof it.

The game can screw you without warning and leave you unable to continue without loading a previous save file. There are different spells and diseases which will permanently affect your endurance level until it is cured. If you’re out adventuring without a way to get back to a temple or to find a cure then… you’re pretty much screwed. Just makes sure to keep a few Restore Endurance and Almsivi Intervention so that you can get out of those sticky situations.

PROS

• Great Combat Mechanics
• Interesting Alien World
• Engaging Story

CONS

• Long, Boring Walks
• Dated Graphics

If you have never played Morrowind and enjoy fantasy RPGs or are curious what a good RPG plays like than I would highly recommend picking it up on Steam. Almost any computer these days can play it without any problems, just don’t expect the graphical fidelity of today’s games. Besides, graphics are not what makes a great game.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Trials of The Noob Squad – Operation Blind Giant (Mission 2)

Our poor batch of soldiers are back in action.

We have Squaddie Lorenzo Basso, Rookie Charlie McIntosh, Rookie Denise Phillips, and Squaddie Ewan Campbell. They are attempting to stop an alien abduction in a train yard in Volgograd, Russia. This is set on Impossible difficulty with Iron Man node enabled so… I can’t say for sure that all of them will return.

Our motley bunch stack up on either sides of a gap between train carts. After last mission, the main battle plan is to be slow and try to not make any mistakes.

Phillips spots a sectoid behind the train cart. They don’t know we’re here. Phillips is on the end of the squad, which has two members on each train cart. He takes the shot and… KILLS THE SUCKER! However, this activates the rest of the group and they move out of sight. The rest of the squad, here more aliens beyond their cover, go into overwatch.

Nothing happens. We wait another turn.

Basso sees a sectoid run across at least 10 meters away. He raises his shotgun and…

K. O. Another sectoid down. Slow and steady wins the race… but the race isn’t over yet. The squad keeps in overwatch due to the strategy working at the present time.

For an instant a sectoid comes into our field of view but he falls right back. I get the feeling that from out position the only place that the aliens can see us is at a dangerously close range. Either this will work or we’ll have to start to prod their lines.

After 5 turns of overwatch and no more alien sightings, Charlie moves about one movement point away so that he can aggro and get back to position. He spots a group of sectoids further down the map before he returns to safety.

Denise, the only squad member with a kill in this battle has been hearing sounds from the group of sectoids she aggro’d but hasn’t seen them since. She moves one square down where there’s a gap in space on the boxcar for a better look.

Sectoid reaction shot… hits, but only does 2 out of 4 damage. Since the shot to hit the sectoid is only a 25%, she moves back. Since she’s not critically injured we’re going to save the one medkit we have.

The aliens aren’t falling for the ruse, we have to move. Instead of moving through the gap the squad moves along the train. As they move to where one of the boxcars is open they see a sectoid on the other side. Both Basso and Charlie take their shots.

Btw, I’m calling Basso by his last name because Lorenzo is longer. Sue me.

Both miss.

Denise moves up to where she can get a shot off… and kills the bastard. Girl power?

Basso moves into the boxcar to get a better view of the landscape. He sees nothing. The rest of the squad moves in with him. In theory each side has the other protected from being flanked but this position still worries me.

Sectoid spotted and all three non snipers take a reaction shot. My sniper still is too low of a rank to get to fire after his first move. 2 miss and one does 2 out of 4 damage.

Well… there went the neighborhood. Charlie got hit by the sectoid and it was a critical hit. This put Phillips, and more importantly, Basso into a panic. Basso is the one with the Medkit and he decides to run forwards while Phillips is sensible and runs back into safe ground. The only one not panicked is our sniper Campbell. He has to kill this sectoid.

And he does. Good job, man.

Basso immediately moves to Charlie to stabilize him but… I guess I thought I could but it’s more like “Win in two turns or he dies.”

Everybody say goodbye to Charlie!

Unfortunately there is only one good piece of cover where we can see the side of the map where I know the aliens are. I move the sniper Campbell there. Everyone else has to get into good cover.

Sectoid spotted. Basso wasn’t in good enough cover. He’s dead.

Phillips runs back into the fight behind cover.

Campbell attempts a head shot on another sectoid farther away. Missed. Phillips shot is only a 28% so she throws a frag grenade. Not enough to kill the alien but it’s assured damage.

The second sectoid receives psi support and becomes even stronger. He kills Phillips. We’re down to one. The one hp sectoid takes a shot but misses. Campbell is almost sure to die, but he’s going to get some revenge.

Faced with <50% shots on both of the sectoids, he draws his pistol. The one hp sectoid is in a better place to kill him so he tries to kill it first. This is Campbell’s last stand. This war is humanity’s last stand.

He kills that sectoid.

The other sectoid gets psi support again, but from a different sectoid that Campbell can’t see. From the evidence presented, it’s 3 vs. 1. Surprisingly though, that sectoid falls back and doesn’t shoot. The sectoid is still in visible range but he’s behind full cover. It;s a 35% shot. There’s no other option

Except to try to fall back! If you’re going to make a last stand, might as well do it under your own conditions. I’ve got to consider aborting the mission though. Do I risk the chance of reward or try to get my sniper back? I decide that since Campbell is only a squaddie, I’ll risk the reward. it’s a tough choice but it has to be made.

Campbell hunkers down for the fight. At this point all there is to do is go into overwatch and hope they come for him.

After 5 turns of overwatch, nothing has happened. Campbell could make a run for it to the Skyranger but that would really expose him. Instead, he runs to cover at the end of the boxcar to get a better look. He’s sees nothing. He moves to another boxcar and sees a sectoid. Since he can’t shoot after moving, he hunkers down where he is so that he has a shot at the alien next turn. The sectoid tries to shoot at him but misses.

Campbell fires back. It’s another 35% shot. It’s a miss.

The sectoid returns fire.

Campbell falls.

Squad is down. Status Black.

Russia falls into panic. So does Australia and Canada. This war has gotten off to a bad start.

Panic has increased across Europe, Asia, and North America.

–

AFTER ACTION REPORT

Small UFO sighted over the United States. Interceptors scrambled.

UFO-1 has been shot down. That’s our next mission. Hopefully we can get a leg up on the aliens and pull out a victory. We need to, to lose another squad would be horrendous.