Strategy Guide Reviews

A Strategy Guide for your Strategy Guides

The Corner of Randomness: CEO 2017

By Leave a Comment

CEO took place last weekend. This is the last big FGC event before EVO steamrolls into town in July. The hotel was packed with participants, Twitch.TV streams rocked my screen almost all weekend, and there were plenty of upsets to keep me at the edge of my chair. I know EVO is basically the Super Bowl of the FGC, but these smaller events are just so much fun to watch.

There are plenty of videos for you to check out on twitch. Separate from some really crazy hyped matches, there were two things that have stuck with me since the event came to an end on Sunday. The first item is something I see as a very positive shift in the Fighting Game Community. I saw more females and transgendered players at the event. It’s not like a huge amount of players from these two groups, but enough that it was noticeable to me. This was more evident on Friday and Saturday nights as the pools were jam packed with participants. Still, it was good to see a more diverse grouping of players at the event.

The FGC is notorious for the brotitude it has. Players can be stupid nice (Smug), while others will talk smack and piss in your Wheaties. What is very consistent is that the commentators treat the players with respect. It must be two or three years now that the Street Fighter commentators have referred to Ricki Ortiz by her chosen gender. Yeah, Twitch chat is still a Shit Lord when it comes to being an adult about these things, but it’s nice to see that these two groups of players are starting to feel comfortable enough to compete at these bigger events.

The second item isn’t such a happy one. Sunday was the last set of pools for several games. During the day, victors would be crowned in games such as Tekken 7, Injustice 2, Street Fighter V, and other games. If you ever watch an FGC event, but only have one day you can do so, watching the last day is always full of hype games. I started the morning watching the Street Fighter V DreamHack finals from Sweden. I’d then moved on to watch Tekken 7 followed by Injustice 2 Top 8 pools. Check out the Injustice 2 Top 8 pools if you can.

Now, most big events like this end with Street Fighter. There are a few reasons for this, but as much as some would like to see a different game closing out events, this is the way it is. This is where things fall apart. I had been streaming CEO all day with no issues. Capcom takes to the stream to close out CEO and suddenly nothing works. There would be some commentary, a few seconds of a match, and then the stream would go down. It comes up, runs their damn ads just fine, get into a match, and die again. This went on for about four or five matches before they got things under control.

It’s hard to give Capcom a pass on this. CEO streams ran just fine the whole weekend. I read that the hotel internet had went out during the Street Fighter V Top 8. They had to switch to a 4G card. That card wasn’t holding up. They had no other backup solution. I have been watching these streams enough to know that during big events, you bring more than one 4G card. You prepare for this type of situation. Capcom failed.

Sure, we got to watch the last few matches, which were pretty damned good, but many viewers left with a bad taste. It was bad enough that people started to Periscope the event so people could watch. With the negativity already surrounding Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, this was just more salt in the wound. Hopefully EVO won’t have such a sad ending.

CEO was very enjoyable to watch. There were plenty of upsets across the various games I was interested in. The hype train is now rolling out towards EVO. Man, where the hell did a year just disappear to?

In Pursuit of Platinum: Odin Sphere Leifthrasir

By 4 Comments

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir platinum trophy

I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get the Platinum Trophy for Odin Sphere Leifthrasir because of bronze trophy. I was certain I couldn’t get the trophy requiring an attack chain of 200. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get beyond 150. I figured it was beyond my skills, but I’d still try to get every trophy I could in the meantime. Turns out, I just needed the right character to get that chain. Once that trophy popped, oh it was game on.

I played the game any time I wasn’t working, taking care of the kids, or sleeping. It was rather easy to do since the story is so great. Some nights I stayed up too late playing, thanks to the riveting story. Now that I’ve unlocked every cut-scene, I’ve been tempted to watch them all in chronological order. I like the pulp fiction way of telling the whole story, and I could see how the pieces fit together. I still think it would be interesting to watch them all in order (which you can do) and get the whole, clear picture.

Seeing every possible cut-scene and ending in the final book was also incredibly worth replaying those bosses for. To see all of the endings, you have to make wrong choices about who fights which of the five final bosses. All of those were heartbreaking, but it filled in other motivations, backstories, and gaps that made the true ending feel more complete. It takes at least four playthroughs of the final bosses to see everything. The only bad thing I have to say about the game is that it gave me hand cramps since I couldn’t stop playing.

By Saturday, the Platinum Trophy unlocked. I was part jubilant and part sad. I put in nearly 50 hours into the game. What was I going to do now? I always feel that way after finishing a game I really enjoyed. It’s akin to going through the stages of grief. I’m happy to have accomplished a goal, but now that it’s over, what will I fill my time with? Will the next game bring me as much joy? Am I ready to let these characters go and make new friends?

Other great games await, such as Horizon: Zero Dawn. Question is, which game will I next pursue a Platinum?

The Corner of Randomness: Let’s Get Random

By 1 Comment

Keri recently let me know of a new speedrun racing event that is currently going on. For those that might not know how this works, two (or more) gamers speedrun a game at the same time. The person who finishes first is the winner. There are brackets to proceed through. There is a ton of knowledge dropped. It is often intense and highly enjoyable.

One of the games currently being used in the race is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Yet, this one has a caveat to it. This is a game that is run through a randomizer. This means they use a ROM, run it through a special program that randomizes where all the items in the game show up. You might find the master sword in the very first chest you open. You might also get trolled something fierce and only find rupees for a substantial amount of time. It makes for some interesting runs.

So, of course I had to download the randomizer tool. I have now played two different games and that has yielded two very different experiences. In fact, this might be one of my new favorite ways to play an old childhood favorite. One of my runs was littered with rupees and keys, which meant key items were all acquired later in my play through. The second time I had a nice balance of key items to bland items. It was stupid fun and I look forward to a few more jaunts through a completely randomized Hyrule.

I know there is a tool to do this exact thing for Super Metroid. I might have to check that one out as well as that is another game I cherish from my younger years. I think the complexity of that one would be even more fun.

While I won’t be speedrunning this setup anytime soon, I will enjoy it casually. I just don’t have the ambition to learn route planning, or study the game deep enough to be able to compete. Yet, this is a great distraction at the moment. We all need a good distraction at times!

Gaming Diary – E3 is Distracting

By Leave a Comment

It hit me last night that I hadn’t written my Gaming Diary for the week. What in the world have I been doing? I’ve been way too distracted by E3.

Assassin's Creed Origins

I’m not there this year, which is weird. I wasn’t there in 2013, but that was only because I was 8 months pregnant. This is the first time since 2010 that I’m not going because I’m not affiliated with any press outlet. I have to say, it’s rather relaxing watching all the press conferences from the comforts of home. Been working on one monitor while the pressers stream on the other. My cell battery is lasting quite a bit longer too, as I’m not battling anyone for Wi-Fi or cell tower bandwidth. Then there’s fact I’m eating and sleeping far better than I would be if I was there.

I do miss seeing my friends, and I miss meeting up with my strategy guide contacts and talking the state of guides. That’s part of what is weird. The other part that’s weird is watching the press conferences and seeing where I normally sit. It’s like watching people sit at a bar or a restaurant at your table. That’s my table. I sit there. But now I’m not; I’m on the outside, looking in.

But I am able to do something from home I couldn’t do while at the show—watch gaming tournaments. Nintendo is hosting three invitationals this week, and I’m having a blast watching them. I never had time to stand around outside the Nintendo booth to watch these matches. E3 is always about running from one appointment to the next, usually in different halls, shoving $7 pizza down your throat on the way, and trying to find time to write about what you’ve seen. This E3 I’m watching gaming tournaments. It’s a toss-up which is better.

I’m also able to play Odin Sphere Leifthrasir whenever I want (a/k/a after I get my work done). At E3, the work is never done. The only free gaming time I have at the show is checking my StreetPasses. I’m still loving every minute with OSL. When I realized I can watch any of the unlocked cut-scenes from any chapter, I’ve spent an hour just rewatching the cut-scenes in chronological (not chapter) order. The story is so great, I’ll probably reread/rewatch these cut-scenes multiple times. I’m such a sucker for fantastical lore and love stories.

Then maybe I’ll be ready for the crazy open world game waiting for me in my backlog. Did you see how many were presented at E3? It’s all zombies and open world this year.

From the press conferences alone, here are the games I’m looking forward to the most from the show:

  • Wolfenstein II
  • Assassin’s Creed Origins
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • South Park: Fractured But Whole
  • Far Cry 5
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 2

The Corner of Randomness: ESO

By Leave a Comment

Well, I finally cracked and took up ESO (Elder Scrolls Online) after wanting to try it for a few months. What finally triggered me to buy the game was seeing one of my brothers playing it. I hit him up on chat and he was kind enough to Share Play his game for a bit. We joked as he did quests, I tried to force Vlad the Heartless on a few of his decisions, and I got hooked. After doing this for two days, I broke down and purchased Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited.

Now I know Morrowind was due to release this week, but I went with Tamriel Unlimited as it was $30. I figured by the time I got through the current content, I’d then be ready to see what Morrowind had to offer. I regret it a little bit as this means my ESO time will be a bit more expensive, but I am weak.

As for ESO itself, I’m really liking it. I know when the game first released it didn’t have that warm of a reception. Yet, I’ve been enjoying my time in the game. It feels like a solid Elder Scrolls game, but with random people coming and going throughout the world. I do enjoy the random people scattered about as it makes the world feel much more alive than say something like Skyrim.

After a few days of playing, I also spent the $15 so I could get an XP bonus as well as getting access to the crafting bag. I do wish that $15 included some more niceties as there is only so much I will be able to buy with the in-game currency (crowns), and once I’ve done the DLC included with the monthly subscription fee, there isn’t much to really justify the cost.

I’m glad I finally bit the bullet and bought ESO. My time so far has been enjoyable. I’ve grouped with my brother to handle some of the more difficult quests that I couldn’t complete on my own. The world events happen pretty frequently and add a bit of distraction from all the fetch quests. So yeah, if you’ve ever debated playing ESO, I’d recommend giving it a try, especially if you enjoy Elder Scrolls games!

Top Posts & Pages