Six Plays Of The Game In One Night? Madness!

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Overwatch was of course focused around getting the matches and wins needed for the Reaper's Code of Violence awards, which we were able to pull off in the first three hours of the stream. Big thanks to PandaSweet for being apart of all the fun!

Now I'm trying really hard to think of if I ever had a stream where I had six plays of the game as I did last night. I've had four in a night a couple of times, but never six. And I was using my usual characters, D.va as a Tank and Moira as Support, but for the few Damage role matches I used Mei. So it was a crazy night in that regard. Probably my favorite moment was dropping a D.va bomb right at the spawn point of the enemy team that got a triple kill... but then there was also getting resurrected as Mei and popping her ultimate to get a few eliminations

As far as the new Reaper skin goes, it looks decent enough and I'm surprise they are calling it as a Legendary skin for him, because I doubt it will become available at any point via Loot Box. The whole event being based around him meant I could sub out the word Violence and replace with with Violins, because if you say both words they sound almost the same.

For the raid we dropped in on PradoxGamerAU over at twitch.tv/pradoxgamerAU who was doing a Dungeon and Dragons stream!

Twitch Clip Links

1.  Double... no TRIPLE KILL!
2.  Right at their door step!
3.  I die... I get rez... I freeze!

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted 28 minutes with Uppercut Combo #2, Body Hook Combo and Body Uppercut Combo for an estimated calorie burn of 441 kcal. In terms of the extra exercises, I set a new personal best for Double Combo #2 on No Mercy difficulty. Also as of today we're up to 45 out of 50 hours trained for the Hiro's Champion achievement.

Fitness Boxing 2 Rhythm & Exercise February 2022

• Punches Thrown: 43,475 (37,359 in 2021)
  
• Estimated Calorie Burn: 17,904.25 kcal (16,413.35 in 2021)
  

Messed around some more with SoulCalibur last night, going through the arcade mode with every character I haven't yet to earn the Edge Master achievement. There are four achievements left in the game, two related to Time Attack, one for beating arcade mode on its hardest difficult and the last is for defeating 25 straight opponents in Extra Survival (one hit sudden death). That last one I've hit a streak of 20 a few times as Taki, but man its frustrating to get so close but then to start over!.

SoulCalibur Achievements

• Edge Master: You have mastered all characters and defeated every opponent in Arcade Mode.

A lot of folks are making a big deal about Nintendo saying that Super Smash Bros will not be featured at EVO this year. Let's keep in mind a few things, Nintendo never wanted Smash to be included at EVO in the first place, that was something they reluctantly did to get some good will from those who play it competitively. Second, Nintendo announced a while back that they are going to work with someone else when it comes to coordinating an actual competitive scene for Smash. Besides, as

Fans of Asuka are rather pissed this morning when it has come out that the WWE has no creative plans for her after it was speculated she was supposed to return to TV. Here's the reason why there are no creative plans for Asuka: Becky Lynch is being wasted in an attempt to get Bianca Belair over and Charlotte Flair is being wasted as cannon fodder for Ronda Rousey. So when the top two match ups that are possible for Asuka are off the table, any thing else is really just a waste of time. 

For tonight's stream, we're going to mess around with Light Fairytale Episode 1, which is apparently a short little RPG, that should only take a few hours to finish. Knowing me it will take two or three nights! Anyway, we'll be using the Xbox Series console for it.

Anyway on that bombshell we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

 

Far From A Flawless Victory

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream featured the story mode of Mortal Kombat IX, which of course is just known as Mortal Kombat because it was a reboot of the franchise and a re-telling of the story of the first three Mortal Kombat games, introducing a new generations to all the characters... and killing a quarter of them!

I'm not kidding, for all the good that comes with the story of Mortal Kombat IX, they really went out of their way to kill off a good chunk of the 'good aligned' characters. Sure many were brought back in Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11, but the infamous moment when Sindel one shots everyone but Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage in chapter 15 really is a way of saying 'none of these characters matter'. And then there were some of the fights and how wonky the game can be with how block heavy some can be, and Shao Khan can be an absolute monster unless one is spamming certain special moves, but that is what it is. 

Some of the character model designs still look good for a decade old game, while others certainly didn't age that well. The controls are still pretty damn responsive by modern standards, and the impact of every attack sounds really damn good. That said, some of the audio was mixed oddly to suppress the stage music, but Mortal Kombat has never been a franchise known for having good music

Now we also went ahead an unlocked 50% of the Krypt during the stream, getting a good portion of the alternate costumes. And I am considering doing more Mortal Kombat IX stuff associated with Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on Wednesdays, since we'll be using the Xbox One console for the later when teaming up with Iceman.  The big thing I do want to accomplish with Mortal Kombat IX is 'mastery' of one character, and that would require 24 hours of play time using one character, 100 victories, 100 finisher, 10,000 pints of blood and 100 X-ray attacks done

For the raid we dropped in on Kalenal as they were playing Final Fantasy XIV over on twitch.tv/kalenal! 

Mortal Kombat Achievements

• Halfway There!: Complete Story Mode 50%
• There Will Be Blood!: Spill 10000 pints of blood
• Cold Fusion: Unlock Hidden Fighter "Cyber Sub-Zero"
• Quan-Tease: Unlock Hidden Fighter "Quan Chi"
• Back In Time...: Complete Story Mode 100%
• Undertaker: Unlock 50% of the Krypt 

Twitch Clip Links

1. Jax has been disarmed
2. Ah his is in the air 
3. Lucky... 
   

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted 28 minutes with Front-Back Step Combo, Beginner Combo #1 and Hook Combo #2 for an estimated calorie burn of 441 kcal. But as you can tell with the screenshot we did some extra, which I always try to squeeze in even if I don't documented here on the daily blogs!

Messed around with SoulCalibur again last night trying to bang out some more achievements and noticed that one that was unlocked a few days ago was finally credited to me (Close Call). Anyway, for as barebones as the game is the achievements are possible to some degree. Anyway with the 'Guardian' achievement that does extent my current streak of Xbox achievements another day, so woo-hoo!

SoulCalibur Achievements

• Close Call: You have triumphed over extreme adversity and defeated an enemy with very little health.
• Guardian: You have learned to counterattack your opponents' repels and parries.

A new week is here, but let's look back at what games we featured on Twitch last week, which were Overwatch, Tell Me Why, NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5, Final Fantasy XIV, Persona 5 Royal and Mortal Kombat IX! 

If you think Donald Trump was a good leader, then you are a fucking idiot and you should move to Moscow and kiss the feet of Vladimir Putin you misanthropic nutball.

For tonight's stream, well you know what day it is, it's Sunday, which means Overwatch. Currently there is a mini-event called Reaper’s Code of Violence, which is to unlock a new skin, icon and spray for Reaper. So that is our goal for the evening!

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

A Night Of Exploring The First Palace

Good afternoon everyone,

Well, I wanted to fully experience a dungeon or palace in Persona 5 Royal, and last night certainly was it. Sure we got some character development and leveled up a few things, and badly mishandled fusing Persona's, but the biggest thing was going through what I think would've been 90% of the first palace, missing a couple of things along the way.

Still with the notes I'm using saying to go through it in one 'in game' day, I can see the perks to it, because leaving and going back to them would be a pain. This means I would have to certainly stock up on stuff that replenish HP and SP, since there doesn't seem any way to do so in the Palaces outside of of the Will Seeds.

I do like the different enemies that are encountered and the fact that if certain conditions are met, they could be recruited, however only so many can be had at one time, which means fusing some with the hopes of getting something fairly powerful is key, not to mention having the fused Persona have a variety of elemental attacks to be used in battle.

Still the next time we do Persona 5 Royal, which will be on Friday, we'll do the Calling Card set up and see how that goes!

For the raid, we dropped in on SheepFuzz who was doing JackBox Party things over at twitch.tv/sheepfuzz! SheepFuzz also raided my stream earlier in the week... and I forgot to make note of that! They are certainly good people! 

Persona 5 Royal Trophies

• I am Thou...: Obtained a Persona through negotiation.
• Tactical Teamwork: Performed a Baton Pass.
• You'd Better Hang On!: Used the grappling hook.
• Let's Blow It Up: Defeated enemies via Disaster Shadow explosion.
• Technician: Triggered a Technical.
• A Deadly Debut: Performed a Guillotine execution.

Twitch Clip Links

1. You wouldn't believe me if I told ya 
2. We recruit another one 
3. That finished Them

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted  28 minutes with Defensive Combo #1, Defensive Combo #2 and Double Combo #1 for an estimated calorie burn of 437 kcal.

Fitness Boxing 2 Rhythm & Exercises Stats 2/20 to 2/26/22 

• Punches Thrown: 11,309
  
• Estimated Calorie Burn: 4677.42 kcal
  
• Total Days In A Row (Counting original Fitness Boxing): 600
• Total Days In A Row (Only Fitness Boxing 2): 441
• 43 out of 50 Hours trained for Hiro's Champion
  

Learned that the rewards for the four current Pandemonium raids in Final Fantasy XIV can only be claimed once a week, which kind of negates doing them daily. Tough beans man. 

Experimenting with making original content for my YouTube channel again, starting with a 'First Time In A Long Time' reaction to Cowboy Bebop: Asteroid Blues. Why first time in a long time? Because I haven't watched a lot of stuff in years. Still this was mostly to test the waters to see how this would work in terms of avoiding any copyright claims by making it as transformative as possible, such as combining the episode with my green screen and background and cutting the audio from it to about -17 dB. Editing was an interesting process  to focus on things that I said at key moments.

For tonight's stream, we'll be tearing through the story mode of Mortal Kombat IX, we will be reducing the difficulty to try and get through all 16 chapters, but you know it's going to probably take several hours to get through.

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

What did we do in FFXIV last night?

Good morning everyone,

The crazy weather of let February in South Jersey popped up as last night we got some snow... well that was surprising.

Anyway, last night's stream of Final Fantasy XIV saw a few things getting done, we did a few dailies, and a couple of raids, included two of the Pandaemonium raids (Second & Third Circle). I can imagine how much more of a pain in the ass these would be on Savage difficulty, which I would eventually have to do to try and get gear that's level 600+. That will be a torture for sure.

Still I did do some level up grinding for both Blue Mage and Fishing, and those are progressing quite nicely with gaining about two levels each. Mostly used Fates for Blue Mage and found a few quests that gave some XP as well, which worked out nicely.

There was one quest, The Greatest Story Never Told, which proved to be really pointless since the rewards was only 10 gil. I think in terms of an actual quest , it is probably the worst one when it comes to presenting lore, and assumes everyone will know who every ones is within the game world when unscrambling letters.

No raid last night, but we did host Maximillian_dood who was playing Elden Ring over at twitch.tv/Maximilian_DOOD! Now, do I have any interest in playing Elden Ring myself? Are you kidding, I could not make it very far in Bloodborne, do you really think I'm going to mess around with something even harder?!

Twitch Clip Links

1. This is going to happen a lot
2. I'm just a fool like that.... 
3. Ressurected and knocked out in an instant
   

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted 31 minutes with Biceps Shape Focus Combo, Triple Combo #2 and Intermediate Combo #1 for an estimated calorie burn result of 525 kcal. Now if I was to guess, I would say we would hit the 50 hour mark for Hiro's Champion around March 12th, not factoring in the little extra sets I do each day on top of the daily sessions.

Microsoft announced that as of March 1, 2022 Party Chat will no longer be available in the Xbox Console Companion app on Windows Devices, which means I'll have to finally start using the Xbox app itself in order to have voice communication with those who join in on games I play using both Xbox consoles. Thing is, I have found the Console Companion app to be superior to the Xbox app in terms of layout and ease of use. Still we must evolve with the times since we have Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on the horizon.

Messed around with SoulCalibur, the Xbox 360 port, and managed to knock out a few achievements to keep my current streak going at 15 days. I will say this, the sound mix for SoulCalibur is loud as hell, even at 50% volume for back ground music and sound effects! In terms of how it looks, I'd say for a game that was once in the arcades that was ported to several consoles, SoulCalibur, the character models still look good, but some aspects such as the backgrounds have not aged well. Controls pretty decently too.

SoulCalibur Achievements

• Zen Warrior: Concentration and practice have led you to perfect your skills and obtain a perfect victory.
• Summon Suffering: Ivy is graceful but deadly and you have mastered her signature throw, the Summon Suffering.
• Warrior: Your skills have shown improvement now that you have defeated Arcade Mode.
• Art Connoisseur: You truly appreciate fine art and have viewed all the different areas in the Museum Mode.
• Apprentice: You have begun your journey by playing 3 different characters.

Really excited for Persona 5 tonight, mostly because the visual novel aspect of the game gives me so much to react to in terms of the story, but also I'm looking forward to really seeing what the dungeon experience is really like to some extent.

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

Roads and Collectables Found

Good morning everyone,

Let me begin this post the same way I started last night's stream by saying that Greg Abbot the governor of Texas has set a dangerous standard by making every family that has a youth who is trans a target for harassment in order to try and save himself politically. He, and anyone who supports him, are clear and present dangers to the American People.

That said, last night's stream opened up with Forza Horizon 4, as I set the goal to try and find every road in the main area of the game.... and some how I haven't discovered the final 3. The map says I've been everywhere, so I have no clue where these short side roads would be at. Still I finally found the final Beauty Spot location in the game to get that achievement.

Iceman joined in for Gears 5 as we set about searching for the final four collectables of the game, having to replay two major parts of the campaign. It did work out rather nicely, as we discovered a unique aspect of of JACK's shield which can stop a pouncer from diving onto a player. We also took Iceman into his first run of an Escape, which was chaotic fun.

We did announce that next Wednesday the Gears of War franchise fun will continue as we're going back to where it began with Gears of War Ultimate.. which was the remaster of the original game. It has an extra section that was exclusive to the PC version, so it should be a lot of fun. For that adventure I'll use the X-Box One for it since it is an older game.

No raid last night, but we did host JustBrootal who was playing Call of Duty: Warzone over on twitch.tv/justbrootal!

Forza Horizon 4 Achievements

• Taking the Grand Tour: View every Beauty Spot.

Gears 5 Achievements

• It’s Not Hoarding if Your Stuff is Cool: Collected all Campaign Collectibles

Twitch Clip Links

1. I would create restaurant... 
2. JD... Phrasing
3. The Shield Stopped The Pouncer! 
   

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted 34 minutes with Difficult Challenge Combo #1, Difficult Challenge Combo #2 and Difficult Challenge Combo #3 for an calorie burn estimate of 647 kcal.

Jumps into Tell Me Why to speed run Episode 3 with all the 'negative' choices to get the final achievement to 100% complete the game. Needless to say skipping over all the context and lore of Mary Ann really takes a lout out of the game, which means going for the 'split' of the Twins is something deliberate one must go for.

Tell Me Why Achievements

• Life Tears Us Apart: Complete the story with the twin's bond weakened
  

Messed around some more with NBA Jam last night as well, wonder how many achievements are actually do-able with it that don't depend on online play.

Back in the 90s my dad did a lot of research into family history, tracing his side of the family back to Belarus on my grandfather's side, and Ukraine on my grandmother's side... so it that later part that has me hoping that the mess caused by the Vladimir Putin gets sorted out quickly. 

It's looking more and more doubtful the 2022 Major League Baseball season will start on time, I meant it ain't that hard to say 'we'll use the old agreement until the new one is agreed upon', but the greed of the players and stubbornness of the owners continues to hold things up 

I have no issue with Machine Gun Kelly being in WWE 2K22, I however do have a problem with yet another WWE video game using licensed songs for the menu screens that cannot be used for custom entrances. It's really a waste of the rights fees 2K has paid to acquire the use of those songs... granted it's a terrible selection regardless.

For tonight's stream we'll be playing Final Fantasy XIV, probably do a daily alliance raid, level up blue mage and fishing a few levels!

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

Which Tell Me Why 'Positive' Ending Was Better?

Good morning everyone,

Last night we continued and finished Tell Me Why, and we went the extra mile to see both endings, one where Alyson stays in her and Trevor's mother's house, and one where they left the town to move on with their lives. Now one thing that surprises me is that as of 2/22/22, The 'Lock-Up And Go' ending is the one damn near everyone picks, and so it really makes me wonder why would folks pick it over 'A New Chapter'.

Probably the first reason is that most folks would want to see the twins basically putting everything behind them, and since Alyson does have some issues needing to sort through it's more of a happy ending... and the other with her staying behind, it does seem to set her up for many of the same issues her mother did. On the other hand, with Alyson staying behind allows her to basically forge her own path and do what's best for her and probably do something with all the Goblin stories that played a huge part of the game.

It's really a tough call... but what wasn't a tough call was making sure Trevor and Michael end up as a couple, and doing every single puzzle which certainly adds a lot of lore and back story to make everything makes sense. If you have not done every puzzle in the loft, you should because it really opens up a lot of details.

Now with last night's stream, we have every achievement for episode three except for one... and that involves making sure Alyson and Trevor lose their power of communication telepathically with one another. So after doing a little Final Fantasy XIV, I loaded Tell Me Why back up and basically did a speed run of Episode 1 and 2 making every 'negative' choice when it came to memories and conversation possible... which basically shows how 10 years apart can really divide how people view things.

Anyway, we had some extra time so we loaded up NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, which was released way back in 2011. Rather surprised the NBA Jam brand has been left dormant again for so long, but considering EA hasn't made a basketball game in what seems like forever I'm not surprised. Still managed to knock out an achievement for it which was a nice little bonus.

For the raid, we dropped in on SeverOmega who was playing Apex Legends over on twitch.tv/severomega!

Tell Me Why Achievements

• Mailbox Bandit: Found out who the Mailbox Bandit really was
• Just One Fix: Helped Sam fix the engine
• Are You My Daddy?: Learned the truth about Sam's relationship to the twins
• Fish all the Fish: Caught all the fish with Michael
• The Princess' Lost Treasure: Uncovered the princess' lost treasure
• And Everything In Its Place: Placed all collectibles in the attic
• Twins4life: Completed the story with the twins strongly bound together
• A New Chapter: Started writing a new chapter with Alyson
• Lock-Up And Go: Locked-up and left the Ronan house with Tyler

NBA JAM: On Fire Edition Achievements

• Jam Sesh: Participate in 5 JAM Now games.

Twitch Clip Links

1. This is how legends begin 
2. Make The Move
3. Everything in its place 
4. Dawkins Is On Fire!
   

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted 31 minutes with Sway Back Combo, Hip Shape Focus Combo and Straight Combo #2 resulting in an estimated calorie burn of 462 kcal. I am closing in on 600 consecutive days since I started the original Fitness Boxing in the summer of of 2020.

So with Tell Me Why finished, what will be the next game dedicated to Mondays & Tuesdays? As of right now I have not made up my mind yet, but there are a number of possibilities on the X-Box side of things that I'm considering. Current contender include Dragon Ball Kakarot and Game of the Thrones: The Tell-Tale Series (which I have a physical copy of).

At the time I'm writing this it's 64 degrees outside, which is nice, but the forecast is to see it drop down to the mid 30s tomorrow. Welcome to the wacky weather of later February in New Jersey

For tonight's stream, we'll lead off with more roaming around in Forza Horizon 4, then we'll load up Gears 5 to find the last four collectables needed to it an achievement!

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

Tell Me Why Is A Very Surprising Game

 Good morning everyone,

Well as you tell by the title, Tell Me Why is already surprising to me on so many levels that I regret not playing it sooner. Developed by DONTNOD, the same folks behind the original version of Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2, Tell Me Why sees a pair of twins reunited 10 years after a tragic night to put the past behind them... but old secrets start cropping up, and a mystery needs to be solve.

One thing I can appreciate is the DONTNOD clearly clearly their lesson from Life is Strange 2, that instead of making a massive road trip with side-characters were barely get to know, we get to stay in one spot which allows the story to breath. And having not played the third episode yet, it does appear DONTNOD learned a lesson from both of their efforts on Life Is Strange and Life is Strange 2 in that padding for the sake of stretching a story out is not a good thing.

That, Tell Me Why is a gorgeous looking game and it really does force one to admire the details of the scenery. Some of the sound mixing is a little weird at times, depending on how far you are from a character that is speaking, but that's fine. I'm real excited about seeing where the story ends up, and how the choice I mad matter.

There may be a need to do three full play-throughs based on choices, but I'm not sure based on what I'm seeing, based on going back to find collectables and things missed for achievements in episodes 1 and 2. Speaking of doing that, I managed to discover some things I clearly missed 'story wise' that would have added even more depth to the characters.

Oh, and in case anyone cares, I'm more than cool with Tyler being a trans character, in fact, I got more than a little off-put by the fact there is a character in Tell Me Why who despite everything, wasn't going to accept him for who he is. Of course... anyone who things conversion therapy is a good idea has their own head so up their own ass that they can taste what they had for lunch two days prior.

Funny thing to note, because of the episodic nature of Tell Me Why's initial release, the game is considered completed with all achievements unlocked for episode one, with the episodes two and three just counting as DLC. So that's an interesting little nugget of information!

For the raid, we dropped in on PragoxGamerAU who was playing Final Fantasy XIV over at twitch.tv/pradoxgamerAU!

Tell Me Why Achievements

• Rear View Mirror: Left Fireweed Residential Center
• We Need To Talk: Took time to talk things over with your twin
• One For The Collection: Found your first Book of Goblins figure
• Homecoming: Entered the Ronan House
• Crafty Goblins: Solved the puzzle on Mary-Ann's door
• Full Confession: Made Tessa tell everything she knows
• Hacking 101: Found the password to unlock the Police Station computer
• Bound To A Lie: Remembered the night the twins agreed to lie
• Chapter One: Completed Episode One
• Guess Who?: Figured out who inspired each Book of Goblin character
• Arborglyph: Corrected the old graffiti on the tree
• State Your Emergency: Found a recording of the twins' 911 call
• Cold Case: Discovered intel about Mary-Ann's past and her death
• Sharp Shooter: Won the plushie battle
• Rest In Peace: Made peace with Mary-Ann at the cemetery
• Chapter Two: Completed Episode Two
• This Is Despicable: When we say locked, it's locked 
• Kick Me: Stick a note on Tyler's back
• Moo'd Changer: Prove to Tyler that moo boxes are actually funny
• Remember Strange Vampire: Find three classic posters
  

Twitch Clip Links

1. Obvious Puzzle Is Obvious
2. Playing WIth Fuses 
3. Something Poetic About Time Travel and Life Being Wierd...
   

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 Daily Workout lasted 31 minutes with Hook Combo #1, Waist Shape Focus Combo and Block Combo, with the calorie burn estimated at 494 kcal.

I have a sinking feeling the United States and Russia will probably be entering a very hostile period over the Ukraine, which will probably pull in quite a few Eastern European nations. 

Not shocked at the sudden surge in rent costs across the country, the price gouging done by leasing offices is down right criminal.  

Update on my YouTube channel over at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoZDn5flULzEeJlW0Rw2X2Q (I do not have enough subscribers with it to get a dedicated domain name), previous streams will be posted one week after they are streamed on Twitch. The reason I'm stating it is because up until this week, there was like a two week delay.

Got my gear score in Final Fantasy XIV up to 569, so steady progress being made in that with the simple daily Alliance Raid runs!

I will not be surprise of the 2022 MLB Season doesn't start until mid-April, there is no way a deal will be hammered out in time for spring training to be anything less than the rushed mess it was at the started of the 1995 season.

For tonight's stream we'll finish up Tell Me Why, and depending on time, we might pair it with Paladins or Smite. 

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