The Return of Alice: Madness Returns

 Good morning everyone,

Yes I forgot to post yesterday's blog until the afternoon... my bad.

Work yesterday was great, with three completed interviews... but on the flip side, no work today because of Good Friday. I swear if I got paid for every time work was put off because of a day that is not a federal holiday, I would be in good shape. Oh well...

Last night's stream saw me starting up Alice: Madness Returns, and I can't remember exactly when I played the PC before, but it was a few years ago, so going through the tutorial was great to remember how to play. I am impressed with how responsive the controls are, and for the most part I can zip around and avoid most damage I would take... but my bad game play skills and not remember how some enemies attack or defend. Take the tea pot enemies, I have to use the Pepper Grinder to stun them before diving in and using the Blade to break them... but remembering and re-learning the timing took a few attempts.

Now while there are only five chapters in the game... they are long chapters. In fact we only covered the entire first chapter and about half of the second chapter during the stream. Granted a big reason for the time it was taking for me to finish the first chapter was due to me trying to find all the collectables... and I'm rather perplexed on how I missed the ones I did. 

I also have to say I love the art style of Alice: Madness Returns, despite being released in 2011, it still holds up extremely well.

I was asked by Striker if I played the original American McGee's Alice which was released in 2000, and the answer is... nope. But I do know the Xbox 360 version of Alice: Madness Returns includes the original game, so maybe after I finish A:MR we'll play AM:A.

Alice: Madness Returns Achievements

• No Happy Returns: Back to Wonderland
• Snicker-snack!: Acquire the Vorpal Blade
• Ground Pork: Acquire the Pepper Grinder
• Strike a Deal: Upgrade a Weapon
• End of Innocence: Complete Vale of Tears
• Hatter's Demise: Complete Wonderland Chapter 1
• Strange Hobby: Acquire the Hobby Horse
• Weapon Schizo: Hobby Horse to Vorpal Blade to Hobby Horse Combo
• No quarter! No mercy!: Defeat 100 Ruin Enemies
• Dress-Ups: Equip a Different Domain Dress

For the raid we dropped in on SweetLindir who was playing some board games during their stream at twitch.tv/SweetLindir

The plan for tonight is not to play Spider-Man, but instead Elder Scrolls Online. The reason is because Striker will not be available on Saturday for the normal ESO night, so this week ESO is tonight, and Spider-Man will be tomorrow.

Watched a few movies last night Rocky Balboa, The Replacements & The Big Tease.... and also did some more writing on the Mass Effect short story commission, I figure it's about 60% complete at this point. And also did several runs of Hades, earning more achievements and knocking out various in-game objectives.

Hades Achievements

• War-God's Bloodlust: Fulfill the 'War-God's Bloodlust' Prophecy
• Rare Collectible: Equip a Chthonic Companion
• Musician and Muse: Fulfill the 'Musician and Muse' Prophecy
• Dark Reflections: Fulfill the 'Dark Reflections' Prophecy

Oh and I now have a 12 day streak of Xbox achievements, earring 83 over that time frame. It's not often I get a streak of more than a few days so that's pretty cool

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

Victory in Fall Guys, Progress in RE5!

Good morning everyone,

Work yesterday ended up being surprisingly good with two full interviews, which made me feel good and productive.

Talked with my cousin Bianca yesterday, they were checking up on me and I very much appreciate it!

Last night's stream of Fall Guys saw the usual nonsense of the game not making sure every Duo or Squad having equal members, but we made it to the final round a couple of times... and We won a Duos Show! Somehow I got very lucky and didn't fall of the platforms in the Krakken Final Round despite being knocked into the air several times.

In Resident Evil 5, I got very use to the controls thanks to the Mercenary mode which lead to being able to do better with aiming in the main game when we were joined by Iceman. We only cleared Chapters 3-1 and 3-2 tonight because we were taking out time trying to find everything. Plus I got eaten by a crocodile. Thank goodness we're playing on Amateur mode, which makes it a lot more manageable. The inventory system is also a pain, but we've balanced things out quite well I think.Chances are next week's installment of RE5 will open up with a boss fight encounter

Resident Evil 5 Achievements

• Meat Shower: Defeat 3 Majini with one grenade or proximity bomb.
• Stop, Drop, & Roll: Defeat 3 Majini at once by setting oil canisters on fire.
• Get Physical: Defeat 20 enemies with physical attacks.
• Completed Chapter 3 - 1: Complete Chapter 3 - 1 on any difficulty setting.
• Completed Chapter 3 - 2: Complete Chapter 3 - 2 on any difficulty setting.

We didn't do a raid last night, as Iceman and I ended up chatting about Zorro, the WWE Sale, Video Games and Baseball till about 1:30 AM... so the stream ended up being 7 hours long.

The plan for tonight's stream is the beginning of Alice: Madness Returns, it should be quite interesting!

Got a little writing done yesterday, and I figure I can finish the Mass Effect commission story request before the weekend.

Speaking of the weekend I have to call my brother to make sure he's still coming over on Saturday to help with moving of stuff.

So 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

New Tales From The Borderlands Is Charming

 Good morning everyone,

Yesterday was productive on several levels, as I got a bunch of boxes broken down and ready to go out to the trash this week... so it'll be another Wednesday when I'm taking two bag of garbage around to the back of my house.

Last night's stream featured episodes one, two and three of New Tales From The Borderlands, and there is a lot of charm to it, which is the case with many games in the Borderlands franchise. The three main characters of Fran, Anu and Octavio have a nice mix of personalities, even if Octavio can be a bit grating. Visually, it does make me interested in wanting to play Borderlands 3 at some point to really understanding a lot of the back story. 

The plot is a little paper thin, in that the trio are three nobodies who find themselves in a position to make things better for the world, and by episode three, they get funding for their healing ray. There are some similarities to plot of the original Tales from the Borderlands developed by Tell Tale Games.

I will say, much like Saints Row '22, New Tales From The Borderlands certainly is inclusive, and I bet that pissed off a lot of MAGA, Right-Wing, Conservatives... in fact I should look up the reviews and comments from when NTFTB to see what the reaction was.

Of course we'll be looking to finish New Tales From The Borderlands tonight with episodes 4 and 5. Depending on how that 

New Tales from the Borderlands Achievements

• Who Needs Keys?: Perform a Super Science Slap.
• Each Sold Separately: Obtain a Vaultlander figure.
• You're Not Naked: Obtain a cosmetic item.
• We're In: Complete a hack.
• From Zeroes...: Complete Episode 1.
• Don't Get Cocky: Win a Vaultlanders battle.
• Shard Snatchers: Complete Episode 2.
• You Rich Now!: Get the money from Sink or Swim.
• Our Lucky Winner: Complete Episode 3.

Oh and for the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz during their stream of Daymare 1998 over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz

Apparently the company that owns UFC has purchased WWE... and well, safe to say the WWE is now dead as company. 

Will be interesting to see what's on the agenda for work today, I didn't look to see what everyone was on yesterday.

Looking into a more efficient way of connecting the PS1 and PS2 to the capture card and to eliminate the need of composite cables. Not sure when I'll be able to test that

I continue to unwisely chip away at the achievements and in-game goes at Hades before going to bed... what can I say? I have a very good idea of what combination of boons work in that game.

Hades Achievements

• Haste of Hermes: Get 20% dodge chance with the Lambent Plume

Added World's End to the Nintendo Switch collection of games that I have. Really thinking about making Thursdays the Nintendo Switch night of the week.

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

The Googly Eyes Of Overwatch

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Overwatch 2 was a lot of fun, with only a handful of matches making me question the intelligence of the teammates I got grouped with. Big thanks to PandaSweet for being apart of the fun. I picked up a few Plays of the Game as Orissa, Reinhardt and Bastion during tonight's matches. Other characters used were Junker Queen, Moira, Ana, Widowmaker, Ashe, Wrecking Ball and others.

With it being the weekend for April Fools, I totally forgot about the googly eyes being on every character in the game... which made for some disturbing visuals depending on the skin. To my surprise, there voice lines for ultimates were also changed, and it was hilarious to hear Moira yell 'Kamehameha!' when doing her ult!

To my surprised, I did end up getting one of Widowmaker's achievement's done last night completely at random. Keeping in mind, and it was an off-chances that I was able to pull it off... because the requirements for the achievement indicates that it should be done at the same time, but I know I didn't get four eliminations with her venom mine. Oh well.

Overwatch 2 Achievements

• Did That Sting?: Kill 4 enemies using Widowmaker's Venom Mine during a single Quick or Competitive Play game.

For the raid we dropped in on TracyDoll during their stream of Resident Evil 4 Remake over at twitch.tv/tracydoll

For tonight's stream we're starting up New Tales From The Borderlands, and I figure we should be able to finish it in two nights, based on my history with other episodic games of a similar nature

Got mom's portrait hanging on the wall by the entrance to the kitchen. It's kind of straight... more or less

Did a fair amount of writing done yesterday afternoon for the latest Mass Effect short story commission, with luck it will not take a week to finish writing it. Wait didn't I say that last week regarding the last story story?!

Played some more Hades last night and knocked out two more achievements.

Hades Achievements

• Grown Close: Forge a bond with any character
• Well Versed: Fully Unlock the Olympians' Codex entries

People mocking the DLC road map for Saints Row '22 clearly didn't play it, because as I recently proved, it's not a bad game and I was doing every single thing in it that I considered possible on stream! 

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

We finished a main story in ESO!

Good morning everyone,

Well yesterday started with me calling my dad back after he called me late the previous night. Surprisingly civil conversation. Do know he's heading to Indiana next week, for what I do not know.

Did find an exterior plug which explains how my mom used the lawn trimmer, so I can easily deal with the grass without having to worry about leaving the front door open for an extension cord.

Last night's stream of Elder Scrolls Online saw Striker and I finish the main story quest, and it was pretty cool in terms of wrapping up the story with Lord Vivic. There are still a lot of side quests to cover in the Vvardenfell, and I'll like to get those done before we move into other areas of the game. Was pleased to see by completing a main story quest resulted in earning an achievement. 

Of course the next time we play it will be on Friday, flipping it with Spider-Man this week because Striker will be unavailable on Saturday

The Elder Scrolls Online Achievements

• Champion of Vivec: Restore Lord Vivec's lost power, save Vivec City, and be named Champion of Vivec.

 For the raid we dropped in on Felkimchi while they were playing Final Fantasy XIV over at twitch.tv/felkimchi

And since we have a new week, that means tonight we're playing Overwatch! What carnage shall happen tonight? We'll just have to wait and see.

Finished The Mass Effect story common request and got the go-ahead to continue on with the next chapter of it. Also began writing the next installment of my Star Trek: Yar series which be based on the season one episode The Naked Now.

One thing on the agenda for today is laundry. You may ask why because I never go anywhere. But thing is while I do have a large stash of t-shirts, other garment I do not have much of. Figure doing laundry once every two weeks is about average.

Ended up watching Born in East LA last night following the stream... and I'm surprise my DVD copy had an aspect ratio of 4:3... still a funny movie if some of its jokes don't age well.

Also did more grinding in Hades last night as well clearing out several achievements. At this point I have 32 of the games 49 achievements. Does surprise me that I got good enough with this game's gimmicks to bang out successful runs

Hades Achievements

• Had to Happen: Fulfill any 15 Prophecies
• Tools of the Architect: Choose 50 different Daedalus Hammer enchantments
• Hold the Onions: Clear an Erebus Gate without taking damage
• Weapon of Fate: Clear an escape attempt with a hidden Weapon Aspect
• Bad Call: Use an Olympian's Greater Call against them in a Trial

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

Being Spider-Man Chasing Pigeons

Good afternoon everyone,

Work was really bleh yesterday, I didn't mind it too much, but man, trying to interview New Yorkers is like pulling teeth... a lot of pain with little reward. Still at least next week everyone should be on the same playing field.

As for last night's stream, well a big focus was spent on side content, dealing with all the Demon thug encounters across the map, then finishing the last of the Osborn science labs, and finally progressing the story to where Peter is evicted from his apartment and Martin Li makes his move as Mr. Negative as well as the Batman-like origin story for Miles Morales. Basically we finished Act 1 with huge chunks of the side-stuff already done which is really cool and of course shows off the approach I take in games like this. Do everything you can before advancing the plot means the odds of getting achievements is higher.

And that paid off as I picked up 10 achievements last night, with the most pain in the ass one being the one involving finding Howard's Pigeons. Now don't get me wrong, I like the web-swining aspect of Spider-Man just fine... however trying to chase pigeons was a real pain the ass since they can change elevation rather easily. Still, very few people bothered doing the quest it, only 13% of players finishing it.  At this point I have 51% of the base game trophies unlocked.

Marvel's Spider-Man Trophies

• Arachnophobia: Perform 75 Stealth Takedowns
• R&D: Complete all Research Stations
• Cat's Out of the Bag: Collect a Black Cat collectible
• Cat Prints: Track down Black Cat
• Pigeon Hunter: Catch all of Howard's Pigeons
• Demons Emerge: Complete Act 1
• With Great Power...: Pay respects at Ben Parker's grave
• Born to Ride: Ride the Subway 5 times
• Hero for Higher: Perch atop Avengers Tower
• Science FTW!: Craft 15 Upgrades

For the raid we dropped in on tokushoutsu during the marathon of  Kamen Rider Kuuga over at twitch.tv/tokushoutsu

The plan for tonight's stream is more Elder Scrolls Online as Striker and I will continue our misadventures.

Of course, Striker told me next week he'll be out of town to go see some the Anaheim Angels face the Toronto Blue Jays, so we're going to flip the nights Elder Scrolls Online and Spider-Man, with ESO on Friday and Spider-Man on Saturday.

Marvel's Avengers is coming to the end of its poorly thought out 'game as a service' life later this year and all of the premium content is being unlocked for free. So yeah I did re-install the game on my Xbox One just to log in and claim all the goodies. Which means I'll keep the big box collectors edition for the PS4 I got during the Square Enix permanently sealed. Also managed to get an achievement that apparently was glitched way back in 2020!

Marvel's Avengers Achievements

• Trying on Perfection: Earn a 100% rating on a mission without any team member being downed

Yes I did do the dishes after last night's stream.. haha

Also made one of those insta-pasta packets for tonight's dinner. Seemed like a nice alternative and it'll go well with pop corn shrimp. 

Did a fair bit of writing as it relates to the Mass Effect short story commission, I should be able to finish it before tonight's stream.

Got a new toilet brush, and it should be impossible for me to snap the handle on it (still not sure how i snapped the old one's handle in the first place)

Watched Strange Brew last night... such a hilarious movie, all I know about Canadian culture I learned from watching this movie... and old SCTV re-runs (I'm kidding)

This weeks Fitness Boxing: Fist of the North Star stats are as follows...

• Punches Thrown: 10681
• Estimated Calorie Burn: 4000.01 kcal
• Fitness Age: 18
• Achievements Unlocked" 60%
  

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