Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone,

I know some folks set off for traveling yesterday, and so I hope everyone made it where they wanted to be for today's holiday!

Last night's stream was a variety night,  featuring four games, and it would've been five, if the UK exclusive, Extreme Ghostbusters; The Ultimate Invasion, would've displayed properly. Oh well.

Anyway, the first game we featured was WWF SmackDown, which was released back in March of 2000 for the PlayStation. Relearning how to play this took some time, as it's fast pace brawler. Sure the matches on normal difficulty would take a few minutes, the biggest issue is figuring out how to stun the opponents to hit the finishers. We did matches with everyone on the roster, mostly singles matches, but also a couple of tag team bouts. Now does it hold up after 20 years... kind of. It is a relic of its time in terms of how it looks, but it's still a fun game.

Next was Marvel Super Heroes, and this was the Japan-region version I picked up last year. Originally released in arcades in October of 1995, the PlayStation got its version in September of 1997. On 'normal' speed, the game is sluggish as hell, but on Turbo its plays really well. We did a few arcade runs, and tried out different characters. My main for this is still Psylocke, as she has a nice variety of moves that fit my frantic play-style. Does it hold up, yes it does, the a.i. may be cheap at times, but it certainly has a nostalgia factor to it.

We spent some time playing Mortal Kombat Mythologies Sub-Zero, originally released for the PlayStation in October of 1997... I swear this game is basically what inspired Bloodborne and similar games for its ass-backwards controls and the need to be perfect on everything you do. Don't get me wrong, it is a good looking back,and the cut-scenes are hilarious with the bad acting... but the controls are what hold it back. The button layout is to mimic that of the Mortal Kombat III, and its so against the grain, there is a reason why this game has the level of infamy that it does. I mean you have a button that you need to press to turn around for crying out loud.

Finally the nigh concluded with Capcom Fighting Evolution... the game that is said to be the reason why Capcom did not make a fighting game until Street Fighter IV.... and I don't see why. Sure there is  very uneven look to the game since the sprites from Street Fighter III, Red Earth, Street FIghter Alpha III and Darkstalkers were all ripped from their games, why the sprites for Street Fighter II were basically brand new. Game play wise its solid, Sakura plays as I expect her to, even if her sprite standing next say Chun Li is a clear indicator that this was not exactly a polished product in terms of its presentation. The a.i. is also pretty wonky, as some times its just standing there waiting to get punched and other times it's a tooth and nail fight to the death.

Following the stream we raided ThisGuyTom who was playing Overwatch over at twitch.tv/thisguytom! 

Twitch Clip Links

• The Boss Man Slam!
• Psi-Thrust For The WIn! 
• I was over confident
• That was effective
  

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Left-Right Step Combo, Double Combo #2 and Advanced Combo #2 for a duration of 31 minutes and an estimated calorie burn of 554 kcal.

My brother and his family tested negative after recently catching Covid, so that is some very good news.

Question) You're in a car, headed north and you see a red fire engine to your right and a fence to your left. There's a horse in front of you and a helicopter behind you. What do you do?

Answer) Put down your drink and carefully get off the merry go round!

My off-stream Final Fantasy XIV adventures, saw me focus on what is the YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse Questline, namely to deal with the third alliance raid, following the two that were seen on Thursday's stream. Needless to say it gets very metaphysical in terms of the plot... and I can safely say I'm glad I got that third raid done because I'm very unwilling to want to deal with it again. I've seen some bullshit AOE attacks in the two months of playing Final Fantasy XIV, but having to worry about attacks coming from behind is just insanity!

For tonight's stream, we may just do another variety night, as we'll get back to the normal routine on Sunday's stream. 

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

My Reaction To Until Dawn

Good afternoon everybody,

Last night we started the stream a bit early because I wanted to do a one night play through of Until Dawn, which was a PlayStation 4 Exclusive Title released in August of 2015.

Until Dawn is like many of the games I've played lately, a game where the choices made will lead to a variance of the outcome, in this case, how many people survived the night. It is a horror game, with the plot being that Josh invites a bunch of friends up to a cabin one year after a prank gone wrong lead to the disappearance of his twin sisters. Josh plans to get back at everyone with an elaborate house of horrors.... but things go wrong when there is something else, much more real and terrifying up there with them.

Since this was released on the PS4, Until Dawn certainly looks real good, and the controls are pretty responsive, I felt like i had plenty of time to make snap choices and to respond to quick time event button presses. The atmosphere of the game is complete 1980s/1990s Teen Horror schlock, as the set up just screams of something you'd see in the Friday The 13th franchise. 

The characters are mostly stereotypes of that same genre as well, from Matt being the guy who happens to be wearing a varsity letter jacket, to Emily being a complete bitch that you want to see get killed, to Sam being you're typical blond heroine who is seemingly more capable than the other females in the cast, to Mike being the obvious douchebag who becomes oddly heroic and bad ass by the end, and so forth. 

I do have the comment on the camera angles reminding me a lot of the ones used in the early Resident Evil games, where it was fixed so you couldn't fully see everything in a room, only what you were meant to see.... it's great for making one feel scared, but for finding collectables... not so much. Granted we found most of them, but I have a feeling a guide might be necessary to find the ones I missed

With this being a game where I could make key choices, my first play through was more in line with what the characters would do and not chasing any achievements, which meant quite a few characters got killed (you can see those in the Twitch Clip Links down below), so we certainly had quite a bit of gore  tonight, which is certainly not usual for my streams unless I'm playing Mortal Kombat!

All in all, I enjoy Until Dawn and I'm looking forward to streaming it again at some point, to see if we can do better than just having Sam, Chris and Emily survive! Also, I do wonder if I jump to particular points in the story can I unlock achievements and find the collectables that way... just in case I want to knock off some off-stream.

Following the stream we sent the fun over to MommyBee who was playing Final Fantasy XIV over at twitch.tv/mommybee! 

Until Dawn Achievements

1. Scream Too!: Mike cut off his fingers to free himself from the bear trap
2. The Psycho Path: Sam or Ashley attacked the psycho with a weapon
3. The Skillful Wolf Man: Mike kept the wolf alive throughout the Sanatorium
4. You Let The Wrong One In!: Ashley or Chris opened the trap door and let the monster in
    

Twitch Clip Links 

• We Just Got Monk'ed... KILL HIM!!!!
• Guess That's Not Going To Happen
  
• Matt... didn't make it
• Groovy!
• Dramatic Explosions!
• Ashley... didn't make it
• It Lost Its Head!
• Josh... didn't make it
• Jessica... didn't make it
• I don't think Mike made it
  

Yeah that's a lot of clip links, but considering the gore for the death animations, I figure folks would want to see them, hell it is October and it's the Halloween Season after all!

It's Sunday which means we got a new Twitch Bits video for ya'll to see. This week we played Overwatch, Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered, Detroit: Become Human, Gears of War 3, Life is Strange True Colors, Marvel Super Heroes Vs Street Fighter & Until Dawn! 

I now have the tough task of picking what game I shall feature next.... there are a couple of candidates based. The Evil Within 2 and Call of Cthulhu have been things I've been teased about in regards to things I should play... but I'm not sure if I want to tackle 'first person' horror as horror is not something I typical go after.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 Daily Workout saw the return of Janice as the trainer and lasted 31 minutes with the following exercises: Straight Combo #2, Sway Back Combo & Hop Shape Focus Combo. The estimated calorie burn was 476 kcal

It's Sunday which means Overwatch is on deck as the game of the night, we'll be tackling Quick Play matches as we eagerly await the start of the Halloween event, which should be this week.!

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

A Marvelous Wavelength

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night was a double header, as we returned to Life is Strange: True Colors to play the bonus episode 'Wavelengths', and then followed it with Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter EX Edition, so we used two different consoles, the X-Box Series S and the Modified PlayStation.

So first, Life is Strange: True Colors, the 'Wavelengths' episode was certainly a lot more in-depth than I was expecting. It serves as an incredible bridge between what we saw with Steph in Life is Strange: Before The Storm and how she ended up in Haven Spring for True Colors, by showing her getting settled in with running the music store and being a DJ. Since we picked Chloe over Arcadia Bay, we saw the annual PTSD Steph has when it comes to the storm that tore the town apart, plus seeing her slowly getting back into the swing of things. The episode takes place over the course of a year, so it jumps to the key important days of her life and it all leads up to the day Alex arrives in Episode 1 of True Colors. 

To be honest with you, I found that Steph having issue with connecting with anyone long term because of Arcadia Bay getting wiped out adds a lot more to her character than say 'oh she broke up with the girl she was in a band with', as it gives that extra bit of spice to what she is dealing with and why she is comfortable being a DJ and running the music shop, not to mention her conversation with Mikey (also from Before the Storm) also adds more meaning to their continued Dungeon and Dragons shenanigans

Now there are some question I'm wondering in regard to how Steph's choices will effect the main game of True Colors if at all, as it seems like only a few differences could be possible due to how the music store look, and maybe how some NPCs around Haven Springs act, but I doubt that's the case. Still, it was incredible, and I'm really glad the pacing for it was what it was, as it gave so much depth to a character that really stood out from their first appearance.

Also: There were no achievements added to Life is Strange: True Colors with the bonus episode

 Playing Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter EX Edition on the PSOne certainly was an experience, as I don't recall ever playing it in the arcades... and I played all the other all the Capcom Marvle games in the arcades at some point during the late 90s and early 2000, but somehow this one never made it South Jersey. 

We did two arcade runs, one with Manual / Normal settings, and then then Manual / Turbo settings, clearing it with Sakura and Cyclops respectively. The PlayStation port of MSH vs SF, much like X-Men vs Street Fighter, see the tag team mechanic removed, turning the game into a best two out of three round fighter, where the power meters build quickly and the super moves are devastating. I didn't have too much trouble getting through every opponent up through Apoclypse... but Cyber-Akuma... or as in the version of MSH vs SF I was playing 'Mech-Gouki', was a completely different story.

The Cyber/Mech Akuma/Gouki was hell of a pain in the ass with how it would moves, and it took quite a few attempts to beat him. Facing Cyber/Mech-Akuma/Gouki also really showed the different between Normal and Turbo. With Normal I had the time to predict what's coming based on the sprite animations and try to adjust for it, while Turbo basically made me hope I could input things fast enough to overwhelm the game's A.I.. 

Following the stream we sent the fun over to TaterSalad21 who was playing the new MMO 'New World'. You can check his streams out over on twitch.tv/tatersalad21

Twitch Clip Links

• The ones Chloe made
• That has to be a plug for Dark Horse Comics!
  
• When all else fails...
• Shinkuu Hadou-ken with Sakura & Ryu
• I got nailed by Cyber-Gouki's Shining Gou Shock!
• Sakura Beats Cyber-Gouki with Shinkuu Hadou-Ken!
  

Yesterday we added The Fisher Price Rolling Stones Little People set to my collection of oddities, and it is really cool to see the Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and the late Charlie Watts as little figure. The packaging is really awesome as it looks like stage for a concert. The is something i noticed on the Mick figure and that his mouth seems like  the coloring wasn't completed for his lips to show that his mouth is open. 

Work yesterday was weight as I lost one hour because of something needing to be fixed before the majority of the evening staff started, but hey on the flips side, those of them who started during my last hour, also lost time. So I guess it balances out.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted 31 minutes with the following exercises: Waist Shape Focus Combo, Block Combo and Hook Combo #1. The estimated calorie burn was 490 kcal. Today we've reached 75% of the EX Achievements... but we still got a long way to go to get to 100%. We're gonna put off going after the Hiro's Champion achievement (to train with Hiro for Over 50 hours) and will now focuse on Jancie's Contender which is to train with Janice for over 30 hours. We already have 13 on record using her.

Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise EX Achievements

1. Hiro's Contender: Train with Hiro for over 30 hours
   
2. Grand EX Fighter: Acquire 75% of EX Achievements
   

For tonight's stream we're diving into horror with Until Dawn, so we're obviously using the PlayStation 4, we'll probably start as soon as I have dinner and we'll try and do the completely story in one super long stream!

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

Is Rose Going To Be The Most Important Character in Street Fighter VI?

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream did start 'on time', only because an expected work assignment was cancelled, so it looks like tonight's stream may have that same uncertain 'start time', as I told my job I will be available fairly deep into the evening.

Anyway, what we did last night was go through every single character story in Street Fighter V, and while nearly all the initial characters from the game's release tie into one another to various degrees, but it's when I got into the 'DLC' characters where I started to ponder, particularly when it came to things involving G and Rose. Rose is drawn to face G after using Tarot Cards that labeled him 'The Fool', but the battle has her realize that the world is heading to its in, later when she is meeting with Oro, she wonders if things could be changed, if her younger-self could learn of what's to come it could lead to things being done different and that they had to get back to 'Zero'... hell her story is called 'Back to Alpha'. So this has me thinking the obvious.

Is Capcom Going To Use "Time Travel" In Street Fighter VI?

And I put 'Time Travel" in quotes, because actually going back in time isn't totally necessary given Rose's soul power and psychic abilities, all that would be required is her sending some sort of message to herself. It's a stretch, but it certainly an option considering all the seeds of an Armageddon plot being set considering that time line wise, Street Fighter VI is basically reaching the point of the events of Street Fighter III where Gill and the Secret Society was basically looking for 'subjects' to repopulate the world. So basically, Rose becomes Raiden from Mortal Kombat IX. And considering the questions I have about G and all the talk about Bison's Psycho power it just makes me think Rose is going to be the most important character in the next game.

Or course, there is the chestnut Oro says to Dhalsim about a pure warrior being the one to possibly be the one to save the world, and that basically is Ryu considering his character journey over the decades. So there's that clearly obvious path Capcom is going to go down.

Anyway, going through all the character stories you could tell who they had a lot of ideas for and who they didn't... as E.Honda's story was basically him 'beating the rules of the bathhouse into the skulls of Laura, Rashid and Ryu', and Abigail's was just him wondering where his car was. Then you have the grand interconnected stories that see all the Final Fight characters (Cody, Poison, Abigail, Lucia) crossing paths, along with things like the continued odd association of Sakura, Blanka and Dan which was humorous. 

Since we ere going through every characters' story, that meant we got to play as everyone, and I was pleased with how nearly every character felt 'pick up and play' in terms of being able to figure out some stuff fairly quick. Some character felt very awkward, in particular Necali, then you had the obvious filler of characters like 'Kage' whose only purpose seems to just further the fact Ryu is going to obviously save the world in Street Fighter VI.

Also... Birdie seemed to be universal punching bag, I mean seriously, I know he's a comic relief character in the general story of SFV, but I believe he gets beaten up by the majority of the default 16 characters.

Something that I did observe when it comes to a log of the dialog in the characters stories, you could replace the word 'fight' with the word 'fuck' and everything would still make sense.

One last observation, something that did surprise me about the character stories is how uneven it was, it took 6 hours to finish, with characters having anywhere from 1 to 5 fights to complete depending on their story. The average I believe was 2 to 3, but it certainly meant getting into a groove of going from story to story a bit uneven.

There is a question of when will I do another Street Fighter V stream and for sure after Luke debuts to see his story, but there are the various arcade endings to get for the characters considering how the arcade mode is set up.. So we'll see what ends up happening. Maybe some nights of doing ranked matches too.

Anyway we didn't do a raid last night, instead we hosted Maximilian_DOOD  (twitch.tv/Maximilian_DOOD) who is f the largest streamers I follow, he was featuring X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes.

Street Fighter V Achievements

1. Quantity Over Quality: Level up 5 characters! Up to level 5 should do the trick. When it comes to food and fightin', it's quantity over quality, mate.
2. Lucky We Met!: Whoa, I'm really mixing it with the celebrities here! C'mon, Rashid, you're the Raging Storm! Get out there and finish 5 Character Stories!
3. Vindicated Honor: Raise your player level to 50. Level up that much and you'll be about ready to exact you revenge.
4. Burning Spirit: Your player level is a reflection of your passion! Aim for the stars, and reach level 100!
5. No Rest For The Wicked: Your stats are as pitiful as your strength, maggot! Come back when you've raised all characters to level 5.
6. The 16 Trials: So you wish to learn Yoga? If that is truly the case, then first you must complete the Character Story with all characters. There is great merit in walking each of their individual paths.
7. Number 2 Is The New Number 1: Niiihehe! 2, 20, 200! Such a glorious sound, I could say it twice more! 200! Raise you player level to 200! I already have, niiihehe!
   

Twitch Clip Links

• Ken Introduces Ryu To The Wall
• Chun Li Destorys Charlie 
• Birdie Wants To Eat Something... Chun Li Appears
• R. Mika's Super Move... It's Bootiful
• Ibuki Makes Birdie 'Canon' 
• Ed's Super Nice Super
• Figuring Out Abigail's Super
• Figuring Out Cody's Super 

We managed to track down a copy of Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix for the PlayStation, which is a tough game to find in the United States (but it's fairly common in Europe). It does need a custom case made for it, so I'll check and see what customgamecase.com has listed, because I need a case for the PS3 versions of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag and BioShock Infinite as well. 

Did some more organizing of DVDs and such... got basically all my anime DVDs put together, but going through my collection I feel as though I'm missing quite a few. It's probably just me over thinking considering I'm looking to have every DVD I have available to do watch-parties in my Discord. Anyway, I might put puts on one bookshelf (shocker) to free up shelf space on the one most people have seen on camera.

Overwatch has re-released the prior years All-Star skins, which meant I was able to grab the 2018 Pacific All-Stars Skin for Genji and the 2019 Pacific All-Stars skin for Lucio. Also made sure to grab every remaining Overwatch League team skin for D.va to complete that set... guess the next ones to gradually work on would Ana I guess.  

Overwatch Season 30 Competitive Results (Tank)

1. D.va - Route 66 - 13:01 - Win - 3-0
2. D.va - Nepal 00:25 - Tie - 0-0 - (Match thrown out)
   
3. D.va - King's Row - 14:32 - Win 3-2
   

So far this Season I have played 14 matches, winning 11 and losing 3, averaging 28.29 Elimination per 10 minutes with an average of 4.29 deaths per 10 minutes. 

We added Teen Titans for the PlayStation 2 to the collection today, and I was very much unaware that the animated series that made the ships of Robin/Starfire, Beast Boy/Raven, Cyborg/Jynx and so many more main stream in the 2000s had a game based on it. I should not be surprised but I am.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted 31 minutes with an estimated calorie burn of 472 kcal. The exercises for today were Weaving Combo #1, Intermediate Combo #2 and Advanced Combo #1. As you can tell by the screen shot, today was a flawless session, every thing registered as perfect. Very rare when that happens.

For tonight's stream, I'm not sure what we'll be doing, let alone a start time, but I'll keep folks posted in the Discord and on Twitter (twitter.com/fredcasden).

Regardless, we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!