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

Shower Drains And Overwatch

 Good morning everyone,

Well yesterday I woke up very late, but considering how tiring Saturday was, you can't blame me. But did discover a new problem with my preferred shower having a slow drain issue... so that is something I have to deal with. At least it doesn't have any standing water (took character of that), so now to invest in a plumber snake and some draino. 

Last night's stream of Overwatch 2 was a bit of the rough side, in terms of wins and losses (we only won 9 matches all night), and we certainly rain into our fair share of feeders and people not trying. Still on the positive side, we had fun, big thanks to PandaSweet for being apart of the action. Picked up four plays of the game as Soldier 76, Reaper, Orisa and Bastion (Panda even got one as Bastion too!). Other characters used were Doomfist, Reinhardt, D.va, Moira, Ana, Tracer, Cassidy, and several others. 

Also managed to get one achievement as Doomfist, which actually keeps my current daily achievement streak going at 14 days!

Overwatch 2 Achievements

• Power Punch: Slam 3 enemies into a wall with Doomfist's Empowered Rocket Punch in Quick or Competitive Play.

For last night's raid we dropped in on Felkimchi right as their stream of Fall Guys started over on twitch.tv/felkimchi

For tonight's stream we're starting up Zorro: The Chronicles, and near as I can tell, only one other person has streamed it on Twitch. So it'll be something very few people have seen!

Finally finished the one Mass Effect short story commission and got instantly requested to do the next installment in it's series (currently there are 25 chapters).

Couple of the last things I want to do in Hades are certainly locked behind interaction with characters between runs, such as maxing out bonds with the Olmpian Gods, which can only be done once per escape attempt. Was hoping I could quickly grind those out but I was wrong!

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

A Day of Junk Removal and Spider-Man

 Good afternoon everyone,

Yesterday was a long day as I was up at 7 AM and got things as ready as I could for when my brother came over, and we got a ton of stuff removed from the house. The deep freezer, an old fridge, massive television (which was basically destroyed), an old screen door and a bunch of stuff we weren't sure as to why mom kept things. Big thanks to his entire family for helping out.

One thing we did find was a trunk full of records... so I'm going to need storage containers for them, because I think there's well over 300 records I have to catalog! Also found a GameBoy Color and copies of Pokemon Red & Blue!

Last night's stream of Marvel's Spider-Man saw a few main-story quests done while I also knocked out of a lot of achievements, having 58% of the base game's achievements unlocked, which is really cool as I didn't think I'd be able to get the ones associated with the Taskmasker challenges done. Near as I can tell, without finishing Act 2, I have over 70% of the side content done.

As far as the plot goes, it's basically the everything in setting up to face Mr. Negative who is going after Norman Osborn, while the road to Doctor Octopus becoming a villain  I do know the nest time I play Marvel's Spider-Man (on its normal night of Friday), the first thing I'm doing is a side-mission involving Tombstone.

Marvel's Spider-Man Trophies

• Inner Sanctuary: Take down each Demon Warehouse
• Ace the Base: Complete all objectives in a base
• Short Fuse: Get Spectacular or better in a Taskmaster Bomb Challenge
• Fists of Fury: Get Spectacular or better in a Taskmaster Combat Challenge
• Ninja: Get Spectacular or better in a Taskmaster Stealth Challenge
• Spy Hunter: Get Spectacular or better in a Taskmaster Drone Challenge
• Hug It Out: Knock together 10 pairs of enemies with Trip Mines
• Challenge Finder: Complete every Taskmaster Challenge in the city once
• Master of Masters: Defeat Taskmaster

Last night's raid saw us drop in on Kalenal who was playing Final Fantasy XIV at twitch.tv/kalenal

The plan for tonight's stream is Overwatch 2, as the new season begins on Tuesday with the launch of the new battle pass. So expect me to be playing that a lot to bang that out asap

Because of how long it took to clear out the dining room, I didn't get any writing done yesterday, but I should finish the Mass Effect story commission in like 45 minutes, probably less.

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

The Plan Is To Move Stuff

 Good morning everyone,

Today my brother is coming over today and with luck we'll be getting a few things out of the dining room area of my home along with the deep freezer from the basement (finally),

With yesterday being a non-work day that I had scheduled myself to work, I took advantage and did another run of Hades (currently have a streak of 151 clears I think). I do feel like I could get 5 out of the 6 remaining achievements will little trouble, but the one called Thorn of Thanatos will give me the most trouble because it involves not taking damage in 15 room to build up a 30% damage boost. Sounds easy, until you realize that I tend to be super aggressive with my approach to playing this game

Hades Achievements

• Infernal Arms: Unlock all Weapon Aspects 
• Harsh Conditions: Fulfill the 'Harsh Conditions' Prophecy
• End to Torment: Fulfill the 'End to Torment' Prophecy
  

Last night's stream of Elder Scrolls Online saw me getting lost a lot, but thanks to Striker I was able to stay on track as we cleared out a lot of side quests and started up the main quest in High Isle, which will be our focus for the next time we play it next Saturday. If there is one complaint I do have about ESO its the placement of mountains to make each area seem bigger than it really is, because one thing I enjoyed about Fallout 76 is how I could get everywhere with little trouble.

Yes the soup you saw me eating was indeed very salty... I haven't had much salt on anything since my mom passed away, and it certainly was a jolt to the system. 

Last night's raid went to MissCammi316 who was playing Smite. They stream at twitch.tv/MissCammi316 

The plan for tonight is to continue Marvel's Spider-Man on the PlayStation 4, and I actually forgot if I'm opening with side-content or the next main story quest. Either way we'll be getting things done!

Phillies won their home-opener yesterday, much to my surprise. 

This week's Fitness Boxing: Fist of the North Star stats are as follows

• Punches Thrown: 7976
  
• Estimated Calories Burned: 2968.75
  
• Fitness Age: 18
• Achievements Unlocked: 63%
  

Watched Paul Rodriguez Live from San Quinton, which originally aired on HBO back in 1995. It's one of the many weird DVDs I have in my collection, which I got in either 2001 or 2002.

Did some work on the Mass Effect short story commission, I should have that done before tonight's stream. 

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

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