Resident Evil: Revelations 2

Finally, we put it to the test

The sequel to the smash hit Revelations pushing forward Claire Redfield and Barry Burton on a Russian mining island to fight of the B.O.W:s that taken it over. Back in the day it was an episodic adventure I gather, but thankfully they released it as a whole package (waiting for a Lords of Shadow-collection Konami so I can play that game as well). It work pretty much like the first game, but they enhanced a co-op play-style since you always have a second companion with you. Problem is that they play rather differently. Both Barry and Claire are the damage dealers so the secondary characters Moira Burton and Natalia are used for more puzzle solving. Or as much puzzle solving there is with opening chests. 

Story is that Claire and Moira is working for Terra Save, a clean-up/civilian organisation compared to the BSAA:s military function (in political science we would talk about something like soft and hard power in relations with nation and it's pretty much the same here). At a work party the whole office gets kidnapped and Claire and Moira tries to escape their prison. They find out they are on an island and sends out a distress message. The perspective switch to Barry who arrives on the island and find Natalia, a girl that lost her parents in the Terragrigia attack as he search for his daughter and Claire. At the end of the first chapter we find out that the distress message was sent 6 months ago so basically we play through each area twice, once with each group. Claire finds other survivors from Terra Save and we learn that this virus is T-Phobos, a virus activating by the hormone that produces as we experience fear so they are put in constant stress to force the virus to activate. They all have bracelets that works as communicators (and I assume GPS trackers) for the Overseer that watches all this an with a colour indicator representing in what stage their fear is. Green good, yellow anxiety and red you transform. Now obviously everyones is yellow except the boss of Terra Save... he's a bad guy. And Natalia's is red which would mean she should transform. You get this by reading a note so it's a pretty easy guess. Apparently the boss of TerraSave was a believer in Morgan Lansdale in that the world need to saved by a military force that gets free reign as long as the threats of Bioterrorism exist. 

Now, who is the Overseer? She is Albert Weskers sister that for some reason is gonna use the virus to find an individual with such a strong psyche she transfer her own mind to the vessel and therefore ascend to godhood. Of course it's Natalia, that is what the red indicates and that she doesn't transform.  In the final chapter it's revealed that Claire escaped the island, but Moira was left behind so that is the reason Barry found out. Nice twist. Of course she survives and you can play that part in a separate chapter where one of the few living characters take care of her and teach her to use weapons and survive in the wilderness (you know he dies since you find his dead body as Barry). She apparently once fired one of Barry's guns on her other sister (the sister survived, but in what state I can't tell since she's never on screen) and vowed to never pick up a gun. Until she has to. That also seems to push her colour into red without her turning, accepting her fear of guns I think. The end boss is Alex Wesker, but it's weird since she is a monster and she committed suicide when she believed the transfer of mind to be complete and awaits the awakening. So like in Tad Williams Otherland-series she needs to get rid of the old body, but it apparently failed and that is the reason she hunts Natalia, but the ending is a bit ambiguous over if Natalia is herself or a reborn Alex Wesker.

Overall a good game, but it feels like the maps and chapters are to long compared to the first game. I like Claire and Barry and there is nothing wrong with the others, but I don't like all the points of no returns when I might remember a thing to check, but can't get back or I wandered in the wrong way cutting of my way back. And damn invisible enemies and just weird collectibles they don't explain how to get. And as always want more inventory space and ammunition. But it was fun.

Resident Evil: Revelations (Switch)

They are back!

Of course I had to get the port of Resident Evil: Revelations 1 and 2 for the Switch. A pity it wasn't released physically in Europe and pretty much not in the rest of the world either as I gather the US got the first game on cartridge and then the second, much larger game downloadable only. Now, if I had 2 TB of space on the micro-sd card no problem, but I only got like 120 GB and if 33 GB goes to just two games it will eat up everything else as well. And it's only the first year.

I played it way back on the Wii U (and later also on the 3DS which was it'd first release, but I never finished it). I liked it then and I like it now. I enjoy the story, I like all characters and pretty much all the good guys survive until the end. It's rather optimistic actually. Although I still wonder if they switched the name Parker Luciani around and that he really should be Luciani Parker. Or does anyone have the first name Parker?

Now, how differs this from the older games? First, as you start up you can play a shooting game where you shoot zombies to score points that converts to BP which is the currency for Raid Mode. And that is pretty much the only difference I can see. I assume the graphics are slightly better, but I can't tell. Apparently they also added gyro-aiming in a throw back to the wii Resident Evil 4 game. I played it without, but I can see that easing some problems I can have with shooting in that it takes to long to align the sights with the stick. Also, instead of like me in the old game having to buy special weapons as DLC it is included directly. Thanks Capcom. I've earned it after buying the game 3 times over at this point.

And now I'm waiting for the Mega Man-collection buying the Mega Man games for the 4th time (Wii, Wii U, 3DS and then Switch). At least I didn't buy the collection for the 3DS so I would have bought it twice for the same system and pushing it up to 5 times. And then the Bayonetta-series... Does it feel like I'm buying the exact same games I bought for the Wii U on the Switch instead?

A DnD Tale: Curse of Stradh - Wintersplinters Coming To Town!

And he's bringing his naughty list

So the team take an hour to heal up and investigate the tree that bleeds blood. Hope reminisce about a vampire named Gulthias that was staked and from the stake sprouted a tree. The tree also reminds them of the staff the druids had in the winery. Imiral picks out the axe in the tree and even more blood flows out of the tree. Toby picks it up as the only one used to axes overall. Specially good as it is a magical axe. Now, I'm used to magical axe giving +1 so I might have put to much power since it's only magical and gives extra damage to trees so I might have to rectify it. So they basically feel the tree need to be cut down so Toby stays ready and starts to put the axe in position when they suddenly hear thunder strikes from the east, from Castle Ravenloft. It starts out as a black speck from where thunder strikes, but as it gets closer they notice a black horse with red mane which rides across the sky with a rider with pale skin, black hair and red armour. They quickly hide behind the tree.

The rider rides toward the stone circle and across the storm they here the sounds of a chant and the rider throws bolts of lightning within the circle and twelve figures raises from the ground, 6 berserkers and 6 druids. The druids stand in a circle in front of the statue and starts chanting while the  berserkers circle the druids watching the entrances to the circle. The group springs to action and charge at them. And the first stage of the battle goes ok. Katrina throws a fireball at 3 of the berserkers at first that make her grow a beard. Imiral and Hope uses their long range weapon while Toby and Cygnus forms a wall for the storming berserkers. The first berserker that reaches Cygnus heaves the axe and critical him, but with the help of Imiral and Hope the berserker is slain. Katrina uses Crown of Madness on another Berserker and gains command of him and set him upon his former friends. At the same time she gets even more health back... that was already full. Thanks.

Cygnus on the other hand has to heal himself with lay on hands since that one strike from the berserker bloodied him. During the battle the druids chant higher and higher. As the group push forward Katrina throws another fireball and with it the wild magic surges makes lightning flow from her body hitting one berserker and two druids... killing them all. They round up the rest of the berserkers and druids except one... that obviously is able to complete the ritual as the ground shakes and the statue beams of green light emitting from the chest. Another spell from Katrina turns her invisible and she runs toward the statue to pick up the gem. She climbs it and as the druid laughs like a maniac the roots around the statue begins go upward forming Wintersplinter (Katrina was able to stay on the outside). Imiral and Hope slays the druid while the other focus on the huge tree. Toby and Cygnus slashes with their weapons while Katrina throws of scorching rays on the tree. Which causes her wild magic surge to cast certain spells as an bonus action. Nice! Doesn't help that much when Wintersplinter uses two branches to hit her and Cygnus while the roots grab Toby and Hope. Cygnus tries to free Toby, but misses... twice. Hope on the other hand breaks free from her own and Imiral hits the tree while Katrina is able to throw of 5 scorching rays... that is 10d6 of damage (of course the draw back is that she now ages 6 years so she is 41 years old at the moment). Then Toby on his strength alone breaks free and with his last action swings his axe killing the tree and revealing the gem inside it as the green light shines out from it. Imiral picks it up and the session ends.

A DnD Tale: Curse of Stradh - Running Up That Hill

Let's see if we can make a deal with god!

So they left for Yester Hill, the whereabouts of the druids the Martikovs believe have stolen one of the emeralds that powered their vineyard. They walk for an hour with only finding a blood stained tea-cup that belonged to a child tea set. As they walk up the hill they see lightning strike the sides of a rock mound on the top. In it is a statue that resembles the statue they found beneath the haunted house. Hope the tiefling rouge tries to pursued the high elf monk Imiral to touch it, been he knows to avoid touching things that could be filled with evil. He also is to fast for Toby picking him up and throwing him at the statue.

Behind the ring the trail leads to a small glade of trees with a dead tree in the middle. They see 6 needle blights walking around the tree so they sneak up and attacks them. Killing 5 of them, but Katrina attacks one of them with a burning hand spells that grazes the tree catching it on fire. From the tree three vine blights emerges and the trees around them unleashes 12 twig blights. The battle rages for a minute or two. No one fainted or something like that and the most interesting parts are as usual the sorceress wild magic. And here it delivers first a swarm of butterflies that fly around Katrina with flowers growing around her. Of course it's Barovia so the butterflies are the ones from Silence of the Lambs with the skulls and whatnot while the flowers where dead and crumbling, thorny and whatever. And then the wild magic summoned 6 Flumphs. Some kind of jellyfish creatures from the Underdark.

Welcome to Barovia!

They pretty much run away from the players until 1 minute have been going around so they were sent back to the Underdark. Pretty much everything that happened this session.