Blaugust 2016 Day 5 - Return to the Wasteland

Today I returned to Fallout 4. Having got more than a little burned out on release and never actually getting through the story, I decided it was time to revisit. 

I found my trusty Deliverer right where I left it so dipped right back in to the main story, that required a trip to the irradiated area far to the south. Then I realised why I'd quit, it was too hard. So I abandoned my stealthy gear, got into my lead lined Power Armour and stomped in, barely making it to the crazy Atom worshippers. Once I'd got that out of the way I came to realise not only was I very short on 10mm ammo for my trusty stealth weapon but the ammo crafting mod I used to use no longer functioned. 

Looking into how I could restore the function, I found an official add on had been released that allowed for ammo manufacture, so I snapped it up as it was on sale anyway, and set up my bench in the Castle. Once I'd managed to get everything together for the required power, switch and controller I started the processes of manufacture, only to find I'm drastically short of lead, a key component. Not knowing where best to hunt for lead other than pencils, I searched the map for a viable supply and spotted the Boston Library, as yet unvisited. Let's hope the amount of ammo I use clearing the place will be worth the return on pencil lead!

New Year, New Games!

Happy New Year!

I've been so taken up with games the last month that I've not had chance to even look at the blog, let alone post, so thought I'd drop a quick update on what I'm spending my time on this very cold January.

I've unsubbed from Lotro for the second time and have remained so for several days so far (the last time lasted 24 hours) As much as I love the community, especially my own little corner of it, the game is just not interesting to me right now and given the current issues with servers following the migration to new hardware, I'm glad I'm not in the middle of it.

Instead, three games have been taking most of my gaming time..

Marvel Heroes 2015

After a break from this game after hitting cap with Punisher, I got a yearning to return and to level my newest character, Blade. The character itself is a favourite of mine and in game he mixes melee and ranged, which is a style I enjoy. The management of the thirst can be a pain at first, requiring you to take serum when you fill a bar after a  number of kills, but it soon becomes second nature. So far I'm up to level 40 and loving it!


Wildstar


My main, Jestro Fardock, is a Spellslinger and maestro with dual pistols. Since jumping in after the free to play launch, this has become my MMO of choice. Not a big fan of the cartoony graphical style at first, I soon learned to ignore it over the great stories, incredible sound and easy to master combat.





I've spent a fair bit of time playing with the excellent housing system too, thanks to the awesome Guild I fell in with, the Black Dagger Society.







Fallout 4

Just before Christmas I grabbed Fallout 4 on sale. I loved Fallout 3 and knew I'd come to this at some point but didn't think it would be so soon and it's incredible. The base building really speaks to my love of those elements that I enjoy in survival games like H1Z1 and the quests and storylines, even of small side quests are the quality I've come to expect from Bethesda.



The graphics are incredible, even on lowest settings and some of the vistas across the wasteland are stunning.At last count, my character is level 25 and barely scratched the surface of the game and according to my Steam log I've played 164 hours.





Other notable mentions...

I completed Tomb Raider recently, the first single player game I've focussed on in some time and found the ending very satisfying. I really need to focus more on this kind of game.

Bioshock: Infinite has been sitting in my unfinished list so what seems like years. I revisited it recently and found I was close to 80% through so I need to focus and get it finished.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is an MMO I've dipped in and out of and actually subscribed for a month recently to unlock the new content, though I've not played any yet. I got into it for a while, playing through the Trooper story for the first time and drifted into Wildstar before I got very far, but with the current Star Wars fever I may get back in soon.



I picked up The Elder Scrolls Online in a sale at the end of the year and played a little. Having loved Skyrim, I hoped it would capture my imagination, but I don't seem to be able to play for too long before I get bored. For me an MMO needs a community to make it interesting and I just haven't found one there yet. I'll keep looking but for now it's a now and again game.



Warhammer:Vermintide is another game I dip in and out of, but that seems to be the nature of it, good for short bursts. I've only played with strangers so far and I'm sure the experience is better with people you know. I also looking forward to more content that is planned for this year and with the Warhammer universe being an old favourite of mine, it can't fail for me.