I usually play Normal mode when there are choices for modes, but here I went for Story Mode. I didn’t see what would pass for Normal mode, so the weenie route Story Mode it is. As if that could save me!
Shadow of Mordor is way more grisly than I imagined. I can’t think of anything I’ve played that is quite like it. In the intro, your son lies dead nearby when you wake up. You have a brief flashback of the two of you fighting together. This was the simple part, before things went bad. A bit of slash and block. I got this.
But I don’t because your son and wife are killed in front of you, and then who’s up next?
It’s ok, though. Everyone may be dead, but you are denied death, really, because you’ve got a vengeful buddy.
You’ve a choice of objectives. I went for the story advancing “find the Slaver Captain.” Got to my spot, and was having a good time shooting at the archers on the wall when The Big Guy himself and his merry band come to talk to me.
Oh wait, a tool tip! I can hit Enter to look at some Appendices. I’m a bit busy. Why oh why didn’t I stop to pick herbs?
It felt like things happened fast and I think if I re-start a time or two, and note all the moves, I may have a better chance. Spacebar does way too many things.
In the original version of the game, I had only made it as far as Innsmouth. In the revised version, my character is level 15, and still working the mean streets of Kingsmouth.
When last I played, my character was investigating the trunk of a car with a laptop in it. And there she still was when I brought her back.
Managing to get the password for the laptop, I went in search of an occult object. I thought I had found it as I fought several waves of Draug after interacting with it.
The quest to find it remains in my log, and there was no option to pick up the device. Dunno.
Sometimes it’s best to walk away and come back later. Off to Edgar’s Scrapyard to help him with his defenses. I failed the defense a couple of times trying to go between the two defense points, but they gnawed down the fence each time.
The third time, I dropped my blue barrel, then jumped the barricade and waited for the draug to come. I just took them all out easily that round.
Figure A Blue Barrels.
The next line of defense has you pick up and drop Green Barrels.
Fig B Green Barrels
While I can pick up a Green Gunk Barrel, I only endlessly drop Blue Barrels, and the Draug are not attracted, and the mission fails. I tried logging out and in. I may have to abandon and re-start the mission. I’ll be back!
I thought I had played this game in the past. Clearly, I have not, because I don’t recall the opening level at all. In Action/Adventure games, where I’m learning the controls, I tend to remember the fine details.
The game is a Playstation port, which never bodes well for PC players. Someone’s wires always seem to get crossed as they try to make the PC game controls do what the console controls do. You’ll find your character almost unresponsive in some situations that should be simple movements.
Unlike in my beloved Tomb Raider games, you can’t save early and often. Before and after jumps being the traditional spot. Here, you need to finish a chapter fully, and then when you exit the game saves you there.
So, those wily Ivory Hunters are around to teach you the basics of combat. Punching with your fists is a favorite mode. It does not help at all, for instance, to try “punching” with your machete in one hand to do extra damage. Nope.
Put up your fists and fight like a man.
Unless. There are two hunters at their little camp. They laugh at your fists.
You missed the little room off to the side with the shovel.
As you go whaling into the camp with your best friend the shovel, the game lets you know you might take a moment to try a bottle or chair on the guys. I’m sure the Ivory Hunters will wait while I get positioned just right to pick up the bottle or chair.
The shovel was great. Whap, whap.
Now that those guys are gone, you get to the good stuff. Using your whip to leap across chasms by wrapping it around handy crocodile heads.
A bit trickier for me was the “Wall Hug”. This is a simple movement in most games, you just make your way along a narrow ledge, then jump to your next spot. Here, you’re supposed to walk up to the wall, press E, and Indy puts his back to the wall and sidles sideways. Except he doesn’t, several times, and you drop below and have to climb and swing back up. Getting him to go the direction you want once he is in position….But I finally got it.
The broken floor tile and break through pillars leaps were nothing after the Wall Hug.
Ah, what’s the real bane of your existence in these games? Swimming. Drowning.
Look at that tiny bit of water. Indy can’t swim. If you use the spacebar (Jump) as is intuitive to get him to go up to the surface, he dives down. I got him to his first objective here, but as soon as he went back in to try to climb higher, he seemed to be pulled to the bottom. I couldn’t control him at all or get him to the surface for air. Yup, he died. And, if I can only get a save once he’s through the Hunter’s Camp Chapter, I will need to do these sequences all again. Not missing the shovel next time.
I think we’ve established my habit of charging in without fully reading the instructions. I created my Evoker when they came out, and for some reason didn’t like any of the clothing and armor options available. I reasoned that the character would just appear in some basic mismatched peasant outfit, as characters all do.
Imagine my surprise when she just entered the world, blue scales out there for all to see. She’s particularly gorgeous, I think. Surely some quest armor reward will be forthcoming.I didn’t get far with her because something about her movement is a bit queasy making. It’s worse when she flies.
In truth she’s at the bottom of a ravine where she float/sank down during her last flight.
That quest/tutorial sequence reminded me of when I dream I’m flying. In my dreams, I take a little run, flap my arms, and up I go. At some point I start to drift relentlessly downward. No amount of flapping will keep me from hitting the ground. The tutorial sequence which ended up with my blue girl in the ravine was exactly like that.
For the purposes of this post I created another Evoker. I gave her all the best features and armor and ornaments.
Though she’s cool looking, she’s likely to be killed off for her character slot. You know how that goes.
Here’s one of those Steam Sale purchases that I bought not knowing too much about it except that it fell into the Mystery category. I also liked the graphics, which are beautifully done.
Willy’s father Henry has been missing for ten years to the day. When Willy gets a letter in the mail from his father, he knows it’s time to go to Bone Town where Henry was last seen.
Before you can go, there’s a puzzle to put together a bicycle, since it’s a several hours ride. Willy hasn’t used the bike for a long time and the parts have been set to other purposes all around the house.
Working on this puzzle made me question why I bought the game.
Once in Bone Town, its all good.
Time to find lodgings after that long bike ride. How about a cozy room at the Dead Man’s Inn?
The Innkeeper is an absolute scalawag and sets the tone for the tale. Borderline rude, evasive, working hard to ooze charm, that’s our man. Willy’s father disappeared from this very inn, so Willy does what investigating he can.
All clues lead to the Library, of course.
While the lower level is appealing, if a tad disorganized, the upper level is a mess.
Willy’s clues lead him to a restaurant where he has an opportunity to show he’s The Chosen One. Apparently not today. Zzzzz…
Willy’s uncle turns out to be Mayor of Bonetown. A busy man with lots of to do lists.
I’m enjoying the game and it’s mystery. Did I mention his mother is on an expedition in the Amazon and he hasn’t heard from her in a bit? I don’t suppose Willy will end up in the jungle, rescuing both parents? Nope, that would be too easy.
We’ve almost made it halfway through Blaugust. Isn’t that great? Many people seem to be just cruising along and having a good time. I haven’t seen anyone really struggling, but I look at Inventory Full’s handy blog roll, and all the recent things pop up on top. No rage quits yet, but they will come this week if they come.
How’s the Writing Going Over here?:
I’m still doing fine. I find myself looking at things I haven’t played from my Steam library. Why shouldn’t Blaugust be a good time to look at these things I purchased for low low prices.
I think my posts will continue to be “story posts” which are mostly pictures giving an intro to the games played, or an update to continuing stories.
In normal times (not Blaugust) I really just read blogs about World of Warcraft, because it’s where I spend my time.
During Blaugust, I’m reading about all sorts of games, or about people’s lives. What a fascinating group of people have gathered to write and share this year.
I haven’t peeked into Discord at all this year, and actually tend to peek in once and that’s it. Just too shy. Always have been, always will be.
Games for the week of August 14-20 are likely to be:
Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town
Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb
Secret Worlds Legends
Lord of the Rings Online (though I’m having trouble logging in all of a sudden)
I checked back in with the genetically modified folks at Citadel Station in System Shock.
I picked up a gun! Now for me, guns in games are good, but unless you’ve unlimited ammo, you don’t want to use them up. So I don’t use them.
I don’t know what was happening with some people when things went bad, but…
There’s a new mutant in town and his name is Cyborg Drone. He shoots blue jaggy rays from a bit far out. I handled the first one fine, but kept getting killed at the second one. A bot on a nearby platform takes you right down. Watch your back!
Speaking of upgrades, you can go, literally, into Cyberspace to get upgrades! Boink!
I wanted to give a further peek at the cozy apartment in System Shock. It’s just a great little place.
Elder Scrolls Online
One of my August goals in ESO was to finish the Dungeon Xi-Tsei, that I had begun and set aside. I had no problem there at all this time and finished with ease.
Outer Worlds
I had another couple of goes at the Maraudersby Hawthorne’s ship.
Use Crouch to Sneak Up. Detected. Dead.
Gun to try to take one out. Everyone shot back at once. Dead.
Clever, tried popping off a shot, then running back to the Lieutenant for help. They all came, never shot at the Lieutenant, shot through rocks, as a matter of fact. Dead.
Circled way around to the left, sprinted in, got three of the four. Dead.
My quest to find the scholars of the Antiquarian Circle led me to a new to me area: Western Skyrim. For some reason, I’ve never gotten far in the actual Skyrim game, but I spent quite a bit of time last night in the ESO version. Though I passed the initial tests of the Circle with flying colors, I need considerable practice in Scrying and Digging.
I spent time helping a Dunmer in a Peculiar Bottle try to regain his own form. There are more steps, but at least he’s in his own form to complete the Maelmoth Mysterium.
Next The Aspiring Scholar in which a young woman needs help getting rubbings from Dragon mounds.
I spent a considerable amount of time in Kilkreath Temple because I went in without having the quest for the dungeon, because, hey, the entrance was right there, and the quest giver was a distance away in a cave I hadn’t found. The second time through was a breeze.
Rounding off the evening, I found Lyris Titanborn in a seedy tavern, and began an investigation into smugglers. I have not done the Main Quest with this character. She’s not a soulless vestige who rescued Lyris. They’re just new partners.
I was immersed in the story and looking all around the landscape for places to explore, so I forgot to take many screenshots. More next time.
If you’re me, this is going to set off some inner alarms. This means flight or driving simulations. I beyond do not do well with either type of game.
Nonetheless, there you are with your adorable buddy camping out. Seems ok. I thought it was a game of exploration. Maybe we’re going on a hike.
So a pilot. Off to a village nearby to get my launch codes. While I did talk to everyone, I hadn’t the patience to play with a toy spacecraft. I also found only one of the people who were playing Hide and Seek, teaching me a skill I’d also need. Pfft.
No wonder the creepy statue at the Observatory went all flashy and showed me my alien life in five seconds.
I want to be like my fellow explorers before me, even the Missing one. Really I do.
I’m a bit surprised at the ship. The phrase “Flying Tin Can” came to me. When I talked to the villagers, though, many did seem to be kind of laughing at the ship.
It’s real cozy inside though, clearly with all the essentials for interplanetary flight. It took me a minute to see the pilot’s seat.
Again, I can’t fly (in game or out) and I can’t drive in games. Out in space, there was just a field of stars, with this unhelpful screen that made me feel as if I should be going somewhere any second. So when nothing seemed to be happening, and the only option seemed to be to abort autopilot…..
That was never going to go well. I tried moving forward, but felt like I wasn’t going anywhere. All I seemed to be doing was aiming into the Sun. I got a map to come up that said YOU ARE HERE. I could see a couple of planets on the map but couldn’t move towards them.
While I was pondering my next move, the screen lit up, my life flashed before my eyes again, and I was back on the ground by the campfire with my launch buddy.
Clearly I need to do a little research to see how to fly. I also need to find Hide and Seeker number 2, thus learning some key skill, and for sure try out the ratty little space ship toy that will help me learn to fly.
Now here we go. Mad AI, Human Experimentation, exploration, ethical dilemmas, monsters on the loose. That’s what I call entertainment.
My spouse and I played System Shock II together and I am sure it was one of our all time favorites played side by side. The other key games were Star Wars Dark Forces, Realms of the Haunting, and Bioshock.
Those were the days.
We would have played the original System Shock game, but it was never available till now. I’m pleased to say that I’m ok so far with the creatures you fight. I’m not scared as I often am. This means I can play it solo, and make my way through. With not too much screaming. There was some screaming.
So you’re a hacker trying to get access to some body mod upgrades. In a cozy apartment (usually future living spaces seem barren) you flex your fingers and log onto a computer.
Oops, busted.
A man named Edward Diego promises to get you the implants you want if you will do a bit of hacking for him. It turns out Shodan, the AI who runs Citadel Station, now in it’s glorious 10th anniversary, needs some tweaking to remove her “ethical restraints.”
Done, with ease. But, no good dead goes unpunished, (I don’t really believe that but it fits the narrative) and you’re stabbed, then wake up on Citadel Station. You’re in the Neurosurgery department, so you’ve got your upgrades. Good news.
The bad news is, things have gone south on the station following the removal of Shodan’s ethical restraints. You will need to try to set things right.
Thank God you get a proper weapon right off. I can’t decide which is finer, a wrench or a lead pipe.
It’s clear pretty quickly that things have gone very wrong here. This guy doesn’t have a hangover.
This guy is beyond help.
Be ready when you open doors.
You get a glimpse of how these guys got the way they are via the Cyborg Surgeon.
I didn’t like doing it, but I took out the surgeon and his patients just in case they might show up again later. Even so, I think next time I’ll pass anyone by who is half baked. Yuck. Maybe they could be saved.
There’s a pipe puzzle for puzzle fans. It took me longer than it should have, but now I see how they go.
Guys creep up on you from behind so it’s a good idea to turn around and look for them as you work.
Really well done. It isn’t spoiled by knowing about Shodan in advance. The game looks great.
The Last Chapter Gaming Blog 