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

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