Overwatch 2 and other notes

Tonight's stream started two hours late because of the thunderstorms that rolled through, so I ended up finishing Becky Lynch's book which I started reading months ago when I got it. 

Once we got started, we ended up having a decent night outside of several idiots that we had the misfortune of teaming with. Big thanks to PandaSweet for being apart of the fun! Nearly finished the Battlepass for Season 11, will knock it out over the course of the week when doing dailies and working on next week's challenges.

Overwatch 2 will return next Sunday night!

Tomorrow night we are playing Marvel's  Midnight Suns, and will work on the Deadpool related story and things. 

For the raid we dropped in on samaell_alwahm who was playing Wuthering Waves 

Started work on the next commission story which is WWE related, should be able to knock it out between tonight and tomorrow

Did part of my laundry, I really need to put the heavier t-shirts away until the winter time

Will have my first movie reaction video for my YouTube channel posted in a couple of weeks on  July 18, and it will be of Zorro the Gay Blade

I need to find a decent cheap video editor that is similar to windows movie maker.

Zorro, Ghostbusters and Unclogged Drains

 Good morning yesterday,

Well work completely sucked yesterday, didn't get a single interview done, one due to the respondent constantly swearing and drawing out their answers, and the other due to a bad connection. Here's hoping for a better day today.

My own plumbing adventures turned out to be a success, as my preferred shower drained rather smoother after I was done with no water coming up from the pipe. I have to remember to hot-link the plumber's snake I ordered, because it was very helpful

Last night's stream of Zorro: The Chronicles saw us finishing the game and surprisingly, the last few stages were massive in terms of getting from one place to another to take care of main objectives. I did play as Ines a few times, and the only real difference between her and Diego is that she has her own Super-KO and has more health, while he can take out up to six enemies at once. Now we did get all the achievements that one could get in a single normal play through.

Which leads to the question: Will I attempt to play the game on hard to go for completion... and the answer is maybe. I already know how to play the game, but I do wonder on if everything I unlocked carries over, or if it's a fresh play through and everything has to be earned all over again.

Now we did do some bonus game, bringing back Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed, playing three games, two as a Ghostbuster and one as a ghost. We were successful in our matches as Ghostbuster, even getting the final trap to win a match!

What will replace Zorro: The Chronicles in the lineup next week will be Alice: Madness Returns as we're moving it from Thursdays to Mondays & Tuesdays..Think of it as promoting the game, and as a way for me to finish it faster! Now I ponder what will be the next Thursday night game.

Zorro: The Chronicles Achievements

• Partner In Crime: As Ines, dance with an enemy as part of a super-KO.
• Multi-Tasking: Defeat 6 enemies with one multi-KO as Diego.
• Justice Served: Complete the game.
• Top of the World: Reach the highest point in Monterey's Heist.
• Master Vigilante: Purchase all skills.

For the raid we dropped in on TracyDoll during their stream of Friday the 13th: The Game at twitch.tv/tracydoll

The plan for tonight's stream is to play Fall Guys in the first half and then to continue Resident Evil 5 with Iceman picking up in chapter 3-3.

Talked with my Aunt Rosa yesterday, and she's planning a breakfast brunch for later in the month. That shall be cool to go to... hey I like food, it's why I weigh so much

Did some writing last night, and the latest Mass Effect short story commission is about 50% complete.

I tried new Overwatch 2 character 'Lifeweaver', and I'm not a fan at all of his kit... it's too gimmick-heavy for my taste, which is a shame because he does look like a cool character.

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

Zorro: The Chronicles is not a bad little game

 Good morning everyone,

So the drain snake arrived a day earlier than anticipated and I roughly figured out how to use it. Only was able to extra a small amount of hair, so the question what is the cause of the clog. I want to try everything reasonable before I reach out to my brother for help. Now I do think I got the matter under control, but I need to clean all the gunk that came out of the shower out before trying it again. Maybe send the snake down one more time.

Last night we started up Zorro: The Chronicles, and it's not a bad game, you can play as Diego or Ines, an you generally have two ways to play, either focus on stealth or combat. Every stage has optional objectives to accomplish (most of which are combat related) in addition to finding Wanted Posters. There are 18 stages, (and we knocked out 12 of them last night). Sound wise, it's decent in terms of sound and music, there are very limited voice lines (only a handful). The controls are pretty responsive and you get enough of an indicator of when to dodge or parry. It's achievements list is rather short with probably the most difficult achievements being completing the game on Hard and unlocking all of the skills.

Now we're obviously going to finish it tonight, as my rough idea when announcing it for this week's lineup, which means we'll be pairing it with another game, and it may be Hades as I continue to work towards getting as many of the final achievements in that as possible. 

Speaking of Hades, I did get another achievement in it yesterday, leaving only five for me to get (and only four of those five that I think are possible)

Hades Achievements

•  Night and Darkness: Fulfill the 'Night and Darkness' Prophecy

Zorro: The Chronicles Achievements

• Never Knew What Hit Them: Perform 30 stealthy KOs from above or behind.
• Cleaning the Streets: Defeat 200 enemies.
• On Your Marks...: Mark any combination of 30 enemies and objectives.
• Do You Want Fries With That?: Achieve a 30x hit combo.
• Superpowered: Defeat 50 enemies through super-KO or multi-KO moves.
• Adept Vigilante: Purchase half of Zorro's skills.

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz during their stream of Daymare 1998 at twitch.tv/powerthumbz

Not sure what is on the agenda for work today as the clogged shower issue held my attention yesterday. 

As I ponder how I want the living room to look like as I get things in order, I did made one change, taking down the make shift curtain mom had up on the screen door. It was part of a plastic table cloth... so maybe I can find something that will not look as... tattered?  

Has anyone noticed that all of the Friday episodes of the Super Mario Bros Super Show (aka the ones that featured The Legend of Zelda cartoon) are never included in the digital version.

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

Finished New Tales From The Borderlands... Now What

Good morning everyone,

Work was rather bleh... the sample we're having to work with is horrible, whoever put it together did a horrible job in my not so humble opinion.

Last night's stream of New Tales From The Borderlands certainly lasted longer than I thought, because Episodes 4 and 5 had a lot more plot heavy and extended scenes, that matched the timed it took to get through the first three episodes the previous night. That said, I am more than satisfied with it, not to thrilled with Stapleface being killed off for narrative purposes... but the fact that the choices made during the episodes really effect the outcome involving who lives in terms of the main characters certainly warrants future play throughs (at least 4 from what I understand)

Some things I missed were the Vault figures, as I know I missed opportunities to find them and I think one major choices in the 5th episode leads to an option of earning a few. The biggest problem with getting the other endings is that some very specific choices needs to be done.

That said, I think for me the most important aspect was the reveal that Fiona from the original 'Tales From The Borderlands', gets a cameo that sets up future adventures... as one of my biggest disappointments from the character reveals for Borderlands 3 was that Fiona didn't have a cameo of any kind. Still hearing the familiar voice of Laura Bailey certainly was cool.

New Tales from the Borderlands Achievements

• You Poor Now!: Spend the money from Sink or Swim.
• You Got the Goods, Kid: Nail a perfect, sexy dance.
• Mas, Por Favor: Wish for more tacos.
• The Shardmenstration: Complete Episode 4.
• Tale in the Toilet: Reach a Tale Over for the first time.
• Totally Intentional: Fail an action for the first time.
• Those Were the Days...: Win the retro battle.
• And Still Champion...: Win every Vaultlanders battle.
• Super Trusting Friend!: Perform every background check.
• ...To Heroes: Complete Episode 5.
• Hey, Thanks!: Watch the credits after finishing the game.

For the raid we dropped in on PrincessPashley during their music stream over at twitch.tv/PrincessPashley 

The plan for tonight's stream is the usual Wednesday night split between Fall Guys and Resident Evil 5, with the goal of maybe getting chapter 3 done in that with Iceman. We'll see if we have any luck in that regard.

Now question is... what game will replace New Tales From The Borderlands in the line up... well, this Thursday we'll be starting up Alice: Madness Returns. I have played the PC version before, but this time we'll be playing the Xbox 360 version for... you guest it... achievement purposes. Plus its a neat game. Monday and Tuesday's game will be Zorro: The Chronicles... because...why not. It looks like it should take me at least two full streams to play through.  Plus since we got Spider-Man, I really don't want to start up another massive open world game at this point

Unwisely, I did two more runs in Hades last night... did get another achievement which kind of made it worth it.

Hades Achievements

• Slashed Benefits: Fulfill the 'Slashed Benefits' Prophecy

Surprised the Phillies managed to win a game after being smacked around in the first four games of the season. Can already tell it's going to be a long 2023 in South Philly.

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

Quick Thoughts: Zorro The Gay Blade

Growing up, I watched a lot of movies that most people probably either never heard of or can believe that I was allowed to see as a kid. One of those movies is Zorro The Gay Blade, starring George Hamilton as the twin sons of the original Zorro, one of whom is much more flamboyant than the other, as they battle against the tyranny of Captain Esteban (played by Ron Leibman). In terms of a plot, ZTGB does fall in line with every other Zorro film of a masked vigilante fighting on behalf of the people against corrupt leaders who exploit their positions for their own game, but unlike other everything else Zorro related this movie is a comedy.

From the opening narration (done by Frank Welker) which established the connection between ZTGB and 1940's The Mark of Zorro, everything plays out as one would expect, Diego Vega is summoned to return home by his father only to learn his father had died, learns of his legacy and takes up the mantle of Zorro, while seeing his childhood friend Esteban going mad with power as the new Alcalde. On his first night out as Zorro, Diego is injured but the arrival of his twin-brother Bunny Wigglesworth (changed from Ramon Vega) allows for Zorro to remain a thorn in Eseban's side until Diego is healed up. 

Of course the name of Bunny Wigglesworth is gonna stand out... and that ties into the title, turns out their father thought Ramon wasn't man enough and sent him off to the British Navy.... and well the Navy makes men and they certainly made Bunny. While the character comes in about half way into the movie, Bunny does have sizeable impact with the first appearance being wearing a plum version of the classic Zorro attire, and apparently had several costumes made (we only see the Gold, Orange and Dark Blue on screen), and his flamboyant personality certainly leaves an impression and easily sets up my favorite scene in the film, the second costume ball. Esteban sets a trap using his wife's new necklace as bait, but apparently details for the theme of the ball was changed and all the male guests arrived dressed as Zorro, including Diego, which allows Bunny to dress in drag and go as Diego's cousin Margarita, who Esteban becomes smitten with upon seeing her setting up the little chaos that leads to the theft of the necklace in question.

Now this is a Zorro film and there is plenty of action, the first proper scene of the film sees Diego fighting off a handful of enemies, there's a one on one fight against the Alcalde's top tax collector, the first costume ball turning into a fight, Bunny's first time out as Zorro and of course the big epic brawl at climax of the film. The fencing is actually pretty good and when I think about movies that I have seen that had good sword play, the only other one that comes to mind is Robin Hood Men In Tights. Then again, sword play in movies has basically become a lost art and the closest most people have seen are the Star Wars films with the light saber duels.  When it comes to the music.it's fine, the big bombastic theme serves nicely to open up the credits be used for fight scenes, but the romantic theme and other incidental music is kind of on the meh-side. If memory serves me right, I think it was nominated for worst film score in the 1981 Raspberry Awards, which may have been a bit harsh. 

Having watched this for the first time in a long time this week, I still enjoyed Zorro The Gay Blade for what it is, a fun film is a homage to what came before it while being unique in its own way.