Good morning everybody,
We're a day into November and some old concerns have popped up, a few of which are related to some local government decisions here in New Jersey... and funny enough it's election day... with Phil Murphy hoping to get another term as Governor. Considering his challenger is a Trump support, I'm pretty sure Murphy is going to win... even though a decision he made has put a lot of us in a bind.
Anyway, last night's stream featured the start of Tomb Raider, not the original from the late 90s, but the 2013 game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix. I have played it before, in particular, I played the version on Steam, once in 2017 and again in 2018, both play through were streamed on Twitch. This run is using a console, namely the X-Box Series S, since it hasn't been used much as of late.
One huge difference I feel between the console and PC versions is the fact the controls feel fighter on console. Sure I had a few deaths during the stream, but I feel they were more my fault as opposed to the game not reading inputs... so I'm a little more open to exploring and finding collectables than I was the first two times.
Graphically, Tomb Raider still holds up nicely, and I didn't waste time putting Lara in the 1930s Aviator attire to give her a look that makes sense for the adventure she's on... plus I think whenever she is shivering, it looks even colder if she's actually wearing a jacket! I do find it fun at how she can be covered in cuts, blood, mud and scrapes... then is totally clean moments later. I get why no game has really gone with the realistic wear and tear on clothing for games like this, just about every game with a female lead would be rated M for mature.
Let me also address the title of today's blog, because I joked about how Tomb Raider is basically Lara Croft falling down a lot, or as some of my regulars called 'Lara just get the shit kicked out of her'. There are quite a number of instances where Lara is falling from a great height, tumbling down a hill and so forth... and this is not even counting missed jumps or failed Quick Time Events or failed combat situations. Since the developers wanted to show Lara toughening up, safe to say that happens quite a bit.
In terms of where we left off, it's at the start of the Chasm Monastery, so a little less than half way through the game, but I do remember there are a lot of big action set pieces in the second half of the game, so I don't think we'll finish it in two nights.
Huge thanks to Kalenal for the raid during the stream! They were playing Tales of Vesperia on Monday night over on twitch.tv/kalenal!
Following the stream the fun was sent over to LifeWithStan who was playing Dark Souls III over on twitch.tv/lifewithstan!
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition Achievements
- One Smart Cookie: One optional tomb completed.
- Big Game Hunter: 10 large animals killed and looted.
- Unfinished Business: One challenge completed.
- Predator: 50 enemies killed with the bow.
- Bookworm: 25% of all documents found.
Twitch Clip Links
- And that is gonna hurt even more!
- Lara 1 Deer 0
- We're The Predator!
- Dude you're finished!
- We glitched through the floor!
Volume 6 of Gungrave and Volume 7 of Chrono Crusade arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon, meaning 17 years after I picked up volume 1 of both series I finally have the complete DVD sets. Always nice to be able to fill in gaps in the collection.
A good portion of my off-stream Final Fantasy XIV adventures involved side quests associated with Idyllshire, a city that was abandoned but is now thriving (sort of) under goblins who took it over, and are gradually setting up a community... meaning a lot of quests involved running around, making deliveries, taking out monsters and such. It is a charming little series of side quests, even if when one is done three more pop up... but that is why they are side quests!
Anyway, I did progress the Main Story Quest up to The First Flight of the Excelsior, and I have to say the apparent death of Iceheart aka Shiva was glorious, but very ambiguous since she fell to her death providing covers for everyone heading to Azys Lla, which is the next huge major chunk of the story.
Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Intermediate Combo #2, Advanced Combo #1 and Weaving Combo #1 for a duration of 31 minutes and a estimated calorie burn of 490 kcal. As of today we now have 80% of the EX achievements unlocked.
Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise EX Achievements
- Monster Weight Puncher Lv. 4: Reach a total punch count of 450,000 HITs
Oddly enough the requirements for Monster weight Puncher Lv. 5 is only to reach 495,000 HITs, I wonder why it isn't an even 500,000.
For tonight's stream we'll continue Tomb Raider using the X-Box Series S console as we work our way through the island!
So on that note we'll see you later tonight over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!
