Redwolf's Journal (continued)

 Overall, it's a good movie. There's action, drama, comedy, and heart. The tone works for Deadpool. Perhaps my highest little bit of praise to offer is that there really wasn't anything that took me out of the journey along the way. Now, it's not perfect. It suffers from being a multiversal movie in the same way others do. It's pretty tightly focused on Deadpool, so we can buy into his stakes to a decent degree and he's not out to change his past. The tons of other characters from other timelines (and there are tons of cameos), however, all become low-stakes characters. Even this is handled probably as well as it can be, but it's what I might call a weakness. Still, it's fun. There are many characters who may be unexpected if one hasn't been spoiled - several caught me by surprise. It's a fitting capstone for Deadpool movies, if it is such, and doesn't necessarily weave into the main MCU (but does acknowledge it).

 Shadow of the Erdtree is more Elden Ring - one of the best games of recent years. Oh. More? Okay, I was initially disappointed by the map size. That turned out to be because you initially only see about a quarter of the overall map. So, size-wise, it's respectable. And there is a layered element to it. There are a few tombs and some more complex areas. Overall, I think there's a good amount of terrain, though there are a few areas that are underused and relatively empty: - The abyssal wood is atmospheric, but really too expansive for what's there with no riding. - The "finger" areas are fairly large for being important in one quest line with very little more than being littered with annoying enemies. - The shaman village feels like there should be something, anything, there. The exploration was still fun, though, and I liked finding ways to get places I could see. There is still at least one truly evil tomb designer out there, though, with that teleporter-filled,...

 So I was asked last night what I actually want in an RPG game/campaign. I came up with a few points, but that's a question I find hard to answer on the spot. It's easy to point at things in an ongoing game that I don't like, and a little harder to point at things I do (darn negative-focused psychology), but making generalizations is more difficult still. It does, however, give me something to focus a little on and ramble about for a time... Story I like a narrative through line - not usually to the point of "railroading," but I want more connective tissue than just returning to a job board after each mission. Sometimes that develops as things go, with character goals shaping things. Setting an end goal at the outset ("defeat the demon lord!") can have ups and downs. However it comes about, I really like to feel there is some forward momentum toward something, though. Consistency This one gets sub-points!  As far as setting, I sort of stopped using the t...

 Being entirely too critical about the state of some current games... After a long-running, system-spanning, started-in-person-and-went-online D&D campaign ended, one group reshuffled a little and started a new campaign set earlier in the history of that world. The DM wanted to use a... certain style. Hmm, I forget the term now. It would be a bit wilderness focused, leaning a bit more heavily on random encounters during travel and resource tracking than a heavy narrative. That was not highly appealing to me, but I was willing to try it. Out the gate, we had a few hiccups. The character background I had in mind was largely tossed aside to fit in with another character. That's not a huge deal to me, but it did throw me off a bit. The game style isn't seeming as satisfying as hoped. For my end, I think I prefer a little more narrative continuity than randomness. The "encounter" for one early day in travel was finding a flute in the road. With an idea what we were in ...

 So, Baldur's Gate 3 is definitely the better of the games I've played recently - probably my (and maybe others') game of the year. It isn't perfect, but it's a good adaption of D&D 5E rules with a solid enough story, some great characters, and a lot of creative ways to interact with things. Excellent. Starfield has me thinking a bit more, though. It's certainly not as good, but the overall game is reasonably good.  Most of the not-good in the game itself seems to stem from engine limitations as Bethesda's Creation Engine, even with iteration, has a lot of the same feel of its previous games. Outpost building is a variation of what was seen in Fallout 4/76. Starship building seems to be a variation of that. The fact that you have to load between surface/space/shipboard play feels like it's largely because ship flight/combat seems to have been bolted on rather than really integrated. And there are interface and animation issues that look familiar all ...

Okay, first thing's first - I have to admit to giving into the dark side and buying Diablo IV. I am not a fan of Blizzard these days as a business and I'm not a big fan of many of the turns WoW has taken since the days I was really active in it. But... Diablo IV is a solid ARGP-looter. The story is above average, told pretty well, and was compelling enough for me through the campaign. If I didn't already have an appreciation for Diablo lore, I'm not sure I would praise the story quite so highly, but I think I'd still have to say it's better than the norm for such games. So as a level 49 rogue having completed the main story, but not yet gotten into the 50+ "endgame," that's my review: good game, pretty good story, worth playing if you're reasonably into the game style. The cash shop deserves to burn in hellfire (~$25 for a cosmetic class ensemble?) and the company is iffy, but the game itself is good. What lingers in my mind after playing is th...

 The Battletech Mercenaries kickstarter has been one of the only such projects I've tracked in the last several years and it's been an interesting ride. At over seven million dollars pledged (and a handful of hours left), it's actually sitting close to the top 20 most-funded (specifically) Kickstarter projects of all time. This when their minimum to go forward with the base offering was fifty thousand and their previous kickstarter project for the Clan Invasion ended at around 2.5 million dollars. That seems to indicate the game, market, and awareness is growing quite respectably. I'm happy with the performance and stretch goal unlocks, though a little worried that it may not reach 7.5 million as that would unlock Crescent Hawks swag. 8 million would be even better with Blood Asp mechs and another force pack unlock. Through some of the streams with Catalyst Game Labs employees along the way, I've learned a few things. I knew FASA died out at Battletech (as well as o...