Try-It Tuesday: THE LAST OF US

Posted on January 25, 2020 by J.L. Hilton

MY RATING: 10,000 STEPS

THE LAST OF US is an incredibly popular action-adventure survival horror game developed by Naughty Dog (who’s also behind the Uncharted franchise) and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as a PlayStation 3 exclusive in 2013.

I downloaded the remastered version, free via PlayStation Plus in October 2019, to give this highly-acclaimed, multiple award winning game a try.

THE LAST OF US features a post-apocalyptic story in which Tess, Joel and Ellie make their way across a ruined Boston wasteland where spores and desperation turn people into monsters.

If my video seems pretty exciting, just keep in mind that I cut 2-1/2 hours of walking, talking and climbing. With its quick-time events, confusing stealth segments, walking simulation and boring conversations, THE LAST OF US didn’t do much for me.

You take the path the game dictates. Slowly. You listen to the conversations it gives you. No dialog choices. No skipping. There aren’t any decisions to make beyond “do I use my alcohol for molotovs or health packs?” or “should I use my limited ammo instead of this pipe that will vanish after five hits?”

I liked Tess. But I reckon she dies or disappears early, since the promotional art and online discussion is all about Joel and Ellie, so that didn’t really encourage me to continue playing, either.

I’ve been told several times “the story is good.” Maybe I didn’t play long enough to mosey along to the interesting scenes. Everything that happened in the first four hours seemed to be some version of:

Lonely guitar riff: Bow-wow-wow

(Characters shuffle into a room)

Tess: I’m mad, you know that?

Joel (gruffly): Y’all know I’m from Texas? Yeehaw or somethin’.
I jus’ don’ reckon we shud be doin’ whut we’re doin’.

Tess: We have to. Let’s get going.

Joel: Yes, ma’am

Lonely guitar riff: Bow-wow-wow

(Slow pan to the skyline)

THE LAST OF US is rated “M” for mature audiences due to blood and gore, intense violence, sexual themes and strong language.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: GLASS MASQUERADE

Posted on January 21, 2020 by J.L. Hilton

GLASS MASQUERADE is a beautiful, relaxing stained glass puzzle game developed and published by Onyx Lute.

Each puzzle is a colorful clock face inspired by the histories and cultures of twenty-five different countries. There are no time limits but puzzles may be repeated for a faster time, or just to listen to the enchanting soundtrack by Russian composer Nikita Sevalnev.

I enjoyed this game very much. My video shows the first five puzzles – France, Britain, Germany, Portugal and USA – with action sped up 5x to shorten the run time. The entire game will take about three to four hours, depending on how fast you work.

My only criticism of GLASS MASQUERADE is that manipulation of the puzzle pieces with the joystick is a bit awkward on PS4. I’m also disappointed that I can’t get the Halloween, Christmas and other bonus puzzles available to PC players. A sequel, Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions, is available for PC, and I’m hoping it will come to consoles soon.

GLASS MASQUERADE is rated “E” for everyone, and available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

UPDATE (FEB 2020): The sequel is now available on PS4.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Farewell to Fallout 4

Posted on January 4, 2020 by J.L. Hilton

Four years ago, I started playing Fallout 4, and a few months later, in the summer of 2016, I started streaming settlement tours on my YouTube channel. 

“Fallout Friday” became a regular feature after I started a second playthrough in March 2017 with Rose the Nuka World raider overboss. 

After finishing the main story twice and earning every achievement in Fallout 4 + DLC, I went back to where it all began with Fiona my first Sole Survivor. I’ve been streaming settlement remodeling and other shenanigans with Creation Club content in her wasteland for the past few months. 

However, January 31, 2020, will be my last Fallout Friday. Then I will say farewell to Fallout 4. 

There’s still hundreds of archived streams, music videos, settlement tours, contraptions showcases and other content archived on my channel, but after January, I will no longer do the 3-4 hour weekly Fallout 4 livestreams.  

It’s been a ton of fun but there are several other games I want to play, such as the Untitled Goose Game and The Outer Worlds. My daughter and I want to finish Cat Quest II. I’m enjoying the hell out of playing Stardew Valley co-op with IceStella and Sulfur.

After watching the Witcher on Netflix I want to try Witcher 3 – on sale for only $15 until January 17 on PS4. Artifex Mundi also has several puzzle games I want to solve. And 2020 will probably bring many more games I want to play. 

At this point, I have almost 1,500 YouTube subscribers. Which doesn’t sound like much but it’s 1,500 more than I ever thought I’d have and I’m very grateful. I know many came to my YouTube channel because of Fallout 4 and I hope they will stay to share my new adventures. 

~ J.L. Hilton

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FALLOUT 4: Gunners vs Minutemen

Posted on November 23, 2019 by J.L. Hilton

Taking back Quincy is something I’ve wanted to do ever since playing FALLOUT 4 for the first time in 2016, but the new Gunners vs Minutemen creation club item is pretty disappointing. A few weird power armor paint jobs, one boring battle and no new settlement? That’s it?

Seriously, at this point I’ve taken out a thousand Gunners in Quincy and at Gunners Plaza, just me and Hancock, at least ten times. I’m supposed to get excited about this creation club fight?

And just who are these scrubs backing me up in Quincy? If those were MY Minutemen they’d be wearing official uniforms with ballistic weave and combat armor, carrying stealth boys, stimpaks and upgraded laser rifles. Several of them would be wearing Minutemen power armor from the Castle armory.

I’d be a lot happier if I could move Mama Murphy, Jun, Marcy and Sturges back home. Then the story would have closure. It would make sense, after all we’ve done in the Commonwealth to restore security and prosperity. But, no.

It’s Bethesda, so we can’t have nice things.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: ENIGMATIS 3 The Shadow of Karkhala

Posted on October 23, 2019 by J.L. Hilton

Private investigators search the Karakorum Mountains for a way to stop the demon Asmodai from returning to the world in ENIGMATIS 3: THE SHADOW OF KARKHALA, a 2016 point-and-click puzzle-solving supernatural adventure developed by Artifex Mundi.

Click here for Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek
Click here for Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood

The entire Enigmatis trilogy is good but this might be the best of the three, with improved graphics, storytelling, puzzles and settings. There are plot twists and new game mechanics that make things even more interesting.

ENIGMATIS 3 is rated “T” for teens due to blood and violence. Available for PS4, PC, Xbox One and mobile.

These are singleplayer games but work well for parties and sleepovers, with one person on the controller and the others suggesting solutions or pointing at hidden objects. Assuming your friends enjoy games, mysteries and puzzles, of course!

See all of my Artifex Mundi videos here

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: ENIGMATIS 2 The Mists of Ravenwood

Posted on October 16, 2019 by J.L. Hilton

The search for an evil preacher leads a detective to a haunted nature preserve and a missing family in ENIGMATIS 2: THE MISTS OF RAVENWOOD. This 2013 point-and-click puzzle-solving supernatural thriller is the sequel to Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek, which I played back in October 2018.

I enjoyed the story and puzzles but missed the more elaborate, picturesque hidden object scenes that are usually featured in Artifex Mundi games. (Update: They return in the next installment, Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala. Yay!)

If you like this genre and the idea of defeating vampire trees, giant ravens and demon worshipers appeals to you, I highly recommend ENIGMATIS 2. It will take around 3-5 hours to complete, depending on how fast you solve the puzzles and whether or not you play the bonus level or complete the collections.

ENIGMATIS 2 is rated “T” for teens due to blood and violence. Available for PS4, PC, Xbox One and mobile.

See all of my Artifex Mundi videos here

~ J.L. Hilton

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Mrs. Potts drawing challenge

Posted on October 9, 2019 by J.L. Hilton

Someone joked on Twitter about Mrs. Potts being impossible to draw without looking like some sort of demonic elephant, and they invited people to try it. This is my attempt, sketched in about 10 minutes from a reference pic. Not bad, I think, for someone who doesn’t draw.

Still looks a bit like a demonic elephant, though.

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Duke University Medical Center

Posted on October 9, 2019 by J.L. Hilton

Duke University Medical Center is like a castle, huge and labyrinthine. Perfect setting for a video game. Something creepy, post-apocalyptic or zombies, maybe.

While taking pictures, someone asked me what was “photoworthy.” I said, “This beautiful building.” He said, “It is, isn’t It?” as if he hadn’t noticed before. How could anyone not notice? This is an entrance begging for a story.

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Try-It Tuesday: BATMAN Arkham Knight

Posted on October 2, 2019 by J.L. Hilton

MY RATING: 3/5 KAPOWS!

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT is a 2015 third-person action-adventure game offered free to PlayStation+ members in September 2019. Developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, it’s based (if you hadn’t already guessed) on the DC Comics superhero Batman.

Batman is one of my longtime favorites, going all the way back to the 1960s “dynamic duo” Adam West & Burt Ward who I watched in reruns during the ’70s. My grandpa gave me a portable radio shaped like Batman when I was around 6, which my dad thought was a crappy toy “for a girl” but I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Not my actual radio, that’s long gone, but it looked like this

I wasn’t crazy about the Michael Keaton movies but I obsessed over Batman Forever in 1995 with Val Kilmer, Chris O’Donnell, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carry and Nicole Kidman.

I collected Batman Forever trading cards, listened to the soundtrack on CD and even put a discarded promotional display from a local movie theater in my apartment.

It was obviously because of the car, right? “Chicks love the car.”

Or the nips on his PVC batsuit?

Anyway, back to BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT. Swole Batman is hot. All the WHAM! POW! and PUNCH! stuff is fun. The game also has that cool “swoop through the city” thing like the Spiderman and inFAMOUS games, and I love the dark gothic Gotham City environment.

Unlike Batman Forever, however, I don’t love the car. A lot of gameplay involved racing and car-based combat, which I didn’t enjoy. And what’s with Poison Ivy? Could they not even give her some green tights? How long is she going to stay locked in his trunk?

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT is rated “M” (mature) for ages 17+ due to blood, language, suggestive themes and violence. Available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: A PLAGUE TALE Innocence

Posted on September 25, 2019 by J.L. Hilton

MY RATING: 1000 DEAD RATS

A PLAGUE TALE: INNOCENCE is a third-person stealth horror game developed by Asobo Studio and released by Focus Home Interactive in May 2019. It’s available for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. I played the free trial this week.

In a creepy, supernatural version of 14th-century France, Amicia de Rune must save her younger brother Hugo from the Inquisition. As in Dishonored, there’s a plague with swarms of ravenous rats. Unlike Dishonored, however, her only weapon is a sling.

PLAGUE TALE is a series of survival puzzles involving the use of stealth, distraction, light, fire or using the rats against others, with very little combat. Lead designer Kevin Choteau told Variety that Asobo Studio wanted to make “an emotional character-focused game” like The Last of Us and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.

The game seemed at turns tragic, boring, frustrating, confusing and ultimately unsatisfying, to me. The age and emotional maturity of the characters, coupled with the simplicity of the game mechanics, might be targeted at younger players, yet PLAGUE TALE is rated “M” for ages 17+ due to blood, gore, strong language and violence.

A sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence was confirmed in December 2019 as being under development by Asobo Studio, and is expected to be released in 2022. (Source: XboxSquad.fr)

~ J.L. Hilton

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