Nostalgia Moment: Castle

 When we had our PCjr, there was not many games out there. One game we randomly got was called Castle. It was a ascii adventure game where you moved around a small map and typed in actions for your character to perform. Since there was no list or instructions on how to play, we never really finished it but we had a lot of fun trying to figure out how to actually do things. I recently watched someone else play it, (below) and found we actually got pretty far in the game. I think we even got the scepter once but never used it on the gate. But we tried a lot and had a lot of fun doing it. 

Here is a random video of someone beating it in two parts;

Nostalgia Moment: Test Drive III

 Test Drive III was one of the first driving games that I played as a kid. It was amazing to watch you be able to control a car and drive under bridges and hit various things. We didn't have a legit version so we would always get stuck at the verification screen. We did know some answers which we had written down but most of the time we would guess wrong and have 1 minute only to drive before it would kick us out. Made us really want to buy the game but there was no way for us to actually do it at the time. 

Gameplay was (at time time) awesome. Now... not so much. It was very choppy for us so we crashed a lot. Also we didn't know how to drive so we would just go as fast as possible. Also probably the reason why we crashed a lot. 

Here is a random video of someone playing the game. 

God Of War Map of Niflheim

The second optional realm for God of War can be a tad confusing. I tried to make a map as spoiler free as possible but still be helpful. If you are searching for this, there is probably a reason and this should help. 

You start at the bottom of the map... Good hunting. 

Fallout 4: The Silver Shroud: Save Kent Connolly

This game has everything. Sometimes you have to make choices. This is some help on how to make some better ones for The Silver Shroud Quest. Careful, there are some spoilers going on here.

There is a quest that you can start by talking with a ghoul names Kent in Goodneighbor. You do a lot of strange and fun stuff while pretending to be the Silver Shroud from an old TV and radio show Kent remembers before the war. Then Kent gets captured and there is a standoff while the boss, Sinjin, is holding a gun to Kent's head. You need to react quickly to save him which is entirely optional.

First off, if you act as the shroud through the entire conversation with Sinjin, you will scare off all the others and don't have to fight them. That leaves the man himself with a itchy trigger finger. There are a few ways to do this.

1) Have a really good weapon. Pretty straight forward; go into VATS mode and aim for his head and hope for the best. If you are not at a high enough level, this is not much of a chance. If you are lucky you can aim for his gun hand and disable him before he gets a shot off but again, unless you have high enough stats, you are betting against the house here.

2) Take some Jet. Or a few drugs if you want. You will greatly slow down time and might get enough shots off to finish him off.

3) change the choices. If you have high Charisma, you can get everyone including the boss to shoot at you instead of Kent. If you are not that strong, you might not survive however.

4) Use the syringe gun. This gun you will actually find in a locked room before the final elevator next to a chemistry station. You can make all types of syringes with the chemistry station including one that will freeze an enemy for 10 seconds. If you are a hoarder like me you can go back to your base and make one of those no problem. Come back and shoot him before he has a chance to do anything. 

Thief (2014) Game Collection Sets and tips

Serendi Stone Circles (7)
Amethyst Circle (Chapter 1)
Diamond Circle (Chapter 2)
Emerald Circle  (Chapter 3)
Lapis Lazuli Circle (Chapter 4) #
Ivory Circle (Chapter 5)
Sapphire Circle (Chapter 6)
Amber Circle (Chapter 7)

Whiteridge's Duty (6)
The Constant Lady
The Statuesque Lady
The Observant Lady (Silence is Golden)
The Virtuous Lady (The Carnal Connoisseur)

Flowers Eternal (6)
Hydrangea Brooch (The City)
Daisy Brooch (Chapter 2)
Lilac Brooch (The City 2)
Sunflower Brooch (The City 2)
Roose Brooch (Chapter 5)
Iris Brooch (The City 4)

Memories of the Dead Set (6)
Charity’s Memory (Chapter 2)
Stonemason’s Memory (Chapter 3)
Soldier’s Memory (Chapter 4)
Child’s Memory (Chapter 5)
Braggart’s Memory (Chapter 6)
Elder’s Memory (Chapter 7)

The Mortal Coils Set (6)
Sootback Bracelet (Chapter 1)
Marsh Adder Bracelet (The City)
Wellpool Viper Bracelet (The City 2) #
Shale Snake Bracelet (Chapter 4)
Harlequin Bracelet (The City 3)
Bronzehead Bracelet (Chapter 7)

City Heritage Plaques (16) *
Our Lady of the Iron Litany Chapel (The City)
The Crippled Burrick Tavern (The City)
Ulysses Northcrest’s Obelisk (The City)
Obediah Northcrest’s Obelisk (The City)
Stonemarket Clock Tower (The City)
Stonemarket First Bank (The City)
Barnabus Northcrest Obelisk (Saving Face)
Carlysle’s Mill (The City 2)
Customs House Bridge (The City 2)
The Siren’s Rest (The City 2)
The Keep (Chapter 4)
Moira Asylum (Chapter 5)
Archibauld Northcrest’s Obeslisk (The City 3)
Elias Northcrest Statue (Chapter 6)

The Court of Montonessi (12)+
The Arrogance of Nobility (The City 2)
The Insatiable Appetite (The City 2)
The Dangers of Seduction (The City 2)
Rutting Out of Season (The Disappearing Poet)
Living a Lie (The City 2)
The Grace of Insecurity (Silence is Golden)
What is There Cannot Be Seen (The Carnal Connoisseur)
The Abundance of Emptiness (Chapter 4)
The Repulsion of Civility (Chapter 5)
The Married Spinster (Chapter 6)
Compassion, Foul (Chapter 8)

Unique Loot (9)
Lygrove's Jewelled Mask (Chapter 1)
Soul of the Automation (Chapter 2)
Ancient Figurine (Chapter 3)
Morendrum Medal (Chapter 4)
Mechanical Eye (Chapter 5) #
Glittering Plumage (Chapter 1)

Client Loot (8)
Jeweled Mask (Chapter 1)
Cornelius’s Ring (Chapter 2)
Ritual Book (Chapter 3)
The Talking Skull (Circus 1)
The Mechanical Hand (Engineer 1)

Bank Heist Loot (2)
The Star of Audale (The Bank Heist)
Sothrye's Watch (The Bank Heist)

The Pinned Castinets (6)
Oilbox (The City 2)
Jewelwing (Chapter 3)
Greater Ruststain (Chapter 6)
Ghost Girl (The City 4)
Dawn Gauzy (The City 4)
Mourning Bell (Chapter 8)

Help with Optional Objectives
How to find the Vase (The Bank Heist)
How to use the Medallion (Chapter 3)
How to Remain Undetected at the End (Chapter 4)
How to get in (Taking A Fence) ##
How to complete (Casing the Cargo)
How do I get in (Fit for a Queen) #
Where are the 5 pages (The Disappearing Poet)
How do I complete (Saving Face)
How do I disable the trap (Poor Protection) ^
How do I complete (Shark Bait)
How do I open the Southquarter Safe (extension of Sick Willy)

* Need Wrench
+ Need Razor
^ Need Wirecutter
# Need Rope Arrow

Other helpful links (1) (2) (3)

Dungeon Keeper Clones

The original Dungeon Keeper is one of those games I hold dear to my heart. When Bullfrog created it, my mind was blown. You can actually be the bad guy and have fun doing it?! This tore at my little catholic mind and an evil sprite was created. Like lording over an anthill or taking all the lego wheels so your brother could not use them, it was good to be bad (just a little bit).

Dungeon Keeper 2 came along an I loved it even more. I grew weary of the few game crashing bugs but my love for it kept me coming back for more. I beat that game 3 times I think in a very short time span.

Fast forward to today and I am still looking for a updated version of that game. Heck, I was recently thinking on making my own. Then Dungeon Keeper for iOS came out from EA. It had all the same stuff but the love was not there. It was replaced with pay to win style gameplay. Not as bad as others are touting but it just doesn't let you feel the way the original did. I actually found myself playing the original on GOG.com recently to give me a quick fix.

I started looking out for others that might exist. Played several demos and have compiled a list for your devilish enjoyment.

Dungeon Keeper (1997) Bullfrog: The one that started it all.
Pros: Has a great story and feel. Lets you do what you want.
Cons: definitely dated
Rating: 5/10

Dungeon Keeper 2 (1999) Bullfrog: The masterpiece.
Pros: Everything
Cons: crashes sometimes, getting dated
Rating: 9/10 (Only reason why it don't give it 10 in it's own category is the bugs and the age)

Dungeons: (2011) Realmforge Studios: The attempt to expand the idea
Pros: Has the feel and humor
Cons: has unusual resources that force you to let people into your dungeon, steal stuff, and only then can you take them out. If you are going to do that, have some traps or triggers so you don't have to sit and watch and wait.
Rating: 5/10

Dungeons: The Dark Lord (2011) Realmforge Studios: The attempt to expand the idea version two

Pros: Still the same humor and good graphics
Cons: same problems as it's predecessor
Rating: 6/10

Dungeon Keeper Mobile (2013) EA: The pay to win
Pros: has the right minons and same sounds and graphics
Cons: No way to complete. Just keep building and keep the others out. And if you don't want to wait, you need to pay a lot.
Rating: 2/10

Impire: (2013) Cyanide Montreal: The wanna be
Pros: has all the basics you want. Lots of content.
Cons: Doesn't have the right feel. AI is not really there. Overly complex systems.
Rating: 6/10 Has a more unique tail to tell rather than simply a clone. A rather good one at that. The tediousness of the systems really keep you from liking it more.

War for the Overworld (2014) Subterranean Games: The updated clone that isn't afraid 

Pros: Looks great, feels great, sounds great. Supposedly made by some of the guys who did the original
Cons: a tad expensive right now. too bad I missed the Kickstarter.
Rating: x/10 * I try not to give ratings to unfinished products but this is really looking like it will be a high score when done. 

So my conclusion? I am looking forward to "War for the Overworld" but it is still a tad expensive for what it is recycling. Can't officially say until it's full release if it will be worth it. As for the rest, just stick to the original for now. 

Xbox One: Forza 5: Benchmarking the P1 Achievement

To get the badge

1) Setup and login to you xbox live account (does not need to be gold) http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live

1) Play Forza 5 for a little bit to get a few gold trophies etc.

2) Log into the Forza site https://rewards.forzamotorsport.net

3) merge your xbox live account with the site.

4) click on rewards

5) If you have accumulated more than 240 rewards points (not hard to do) then you click on "claim rewards". You will be sent to a page showing you have been sent 1,000,000 credits to your Forza 5 account.

6) Start up Forza 5 again and go to your Message Center

7) Go to gifts

8) Might take a few hours (but I got mine in minutes) and click on accept the million credit gift

9) You will need about 410,000 more dollars by other means to afford the 1,400,000 price tag with 10,000 in tune-ups.

10) enter the Exotic races, enter the"Modern Hyper Car" event.

11) Buy the Maclaren P1 with the tuneups

12) exit the race and go to the main profile screen

13) Select Free Play

14) Select Le Mans Circuit de la Sarthe

15) Select Old Mulsanne Circuit (this circuit has the longest straightaway)

16) race. Took me 2 triest to get the needed speed of 245m/h or 396km/h.

17) Finish the race and you should get the badge!